South Yorkshire band, Hands Off Gretel, have released a 48-page full colour zine, which includes over 70 pieces of individual fan art. The zine will help raise funds for Brighton based anti-bullying charity ‘Ditch the Label’, which was chosen by band front woman Lauren Tate, who recently spoke out about the impact of years of bullying and online harassment.

The fan artwork that features in the zine was invited by the band as part of their ‘Lock down’ activities to keep fans engaged, as tour plans were cancelled due to COVID-19 . The band received over 70 submissions of fan art and prompted Lauren to create the fan zine.

‘We just couldn’t believe the standard of the artwork that came flooding in. I decided that we had to create something really special, so that we could truly celebrate all of the artwork together and I came up with the idea of a Fan Zine, The ‘quarantine Edition’ ‘

While Lauren set about narrating the zine she was subjected to yet another hateful public attack online, something that has been ongoing for 5 years. The perpetrator posting false personal allegations online and messaging other bands, fans, promoters and music journalists, hiding behind fake profiles to try and sabotage Laurens character.

‘On the one hand I was dealing with such amazing positivity from our fans receiving these wonderful art creations, at the same time as battling this hatred online. I had felt so powerless that someone was actively using the Internet to spread hate about me.

Everyone tells you its ‘Normal’, ‘just ignore it’, ‘haters gonna hate’, but unless you have been through it, you have no idea how much it messes with your head.

Receiving the artwork from all around the world really helped me so much during this time and the sheer positivity of this just gave me the confidence and the courage to finally speak out.

Creating the zine to raise awareness of the impact of bullying and supporting the anti-bullying charity ’Ditch the Label’ just seemed like the obvious thing to do, turning this into something really positive and doing my bit to help others going through the same thing.’

The lock down has led to a huge increase in bullying, harassment and online abuse. The bands chosen Charity, ‘Ditch the Label’, has seen a 158% increase in contact with their charity during the lock down. Each week, thousands of people benefit from the charity’s resources and digital one-to-one support. They have a team of digital mentors who are trained to help young people navigate through issues related to bullying, such as improving mental health, body image, coming out and building confidence and self-esteem.

‘Ditch the Label are delighted to be involved in the Hands Off Gretel fanzine, which will not only raise awareness of the prevalence and impacts of bullying and abusive behaviours, but will also raise vital funds. These funds directly help us keep our support services running – thank you so much on behalf of those we support.’ Sue Jones CEO Ditch The Label

 

The 48 page fan zine ‘Quarantine Edition’ which includes all the art submissions and personal accounts from the band around issues of bullying and self confidence is on sale on the bands website and will also be sold at the live gigs (when they resume) £5 from every zine sold will be donated to the charity ‘Ditch The label’.

Shop Here

https://www.ditchthelabel.org

TRAMPOLENE & PETER DOHERTY are making available a new track, ‘Uncle Brian’s Abattoir,’ written and recorded during the Corona Virus Lockdown in Swansea, London  & Normandy. Jack Jones from Trampolene recorded his spoken word piece on his phone in Swansea and wired it to producer Mike Moore in London who added the music and then forwarded it to Peter Doherty in Normandy who put his vocals down on his phone and emailed it back to Mike Moore, who put it all together. ‘Uncle Brian’s Abattoir’ is released via Strap Originals/Cargo Records and is available now to stream or buy from: Here

Trampolene singer Jack Jones: “Uncle Brians Abattoir came about when I was picking up my little cousin from an after school art class…she had painted a paradise where animals and humans lived in harmony but mistakenly called it an Abattoir…I found the whole thing very charming and jotted it down in my notes…So its about an abattoir…but not as you know it…its taken straight out of a childs imagination. It has taken on another meaning for me lately as it is also about slowly going mad being stuck indoors during the Lockdown”
Producer, multi instrumentalist and guitarist with Liam Gallagher, Mike Moore says of the recording:  “it’s a bit like that kids’ drawing game where someone draws the head, folds the paper and passes it on.Someone else draws the body and so on. Then the reveal is the surprise to everyone involved.”
The video was edited together from footage shot on phones in The Mumbles (Jack’s home) and Etretat (Peter’s Lockdown home) by Katia de Vidas (The Puta Madres). The Artwork was painted during the Lockdown) by Trampolene bass player Wayne Thomas, who also makes a cameo appearance in the video swinging from a tree.

When you read the names like Tom Baker and Tad Overbaugh and they’re on a record released on Rum Bar Records you know it’s going to be something special and most likely kick some serious Rock and Roll rear end.  The Dirty Truckers paints a picture of a dusty parking lot with beer and a dimply lit bar room where a band is knocking out some sweet sweet music – loudly!  Enter The Dirty Truckers – from the first flurry of overdriven chords on ‘Little Mine’ you know what’s coming down.  ITs straight unfussy rock and roll following a long linage of bands and artists from all over the globe who just kicked it from the Keith Richards overdriven chord book.

It reminds me of Georgia Satellites and Izzy Stradlin and his ju ju hounds with a bit of Kevin Kinney thrown in for good measure. It’s ten tracks long and the songwriting standard is excellent.  Fire up the BBQ and open all the windows get the beer on ice and let’s get this good time happening.

 

there are familiar riffs here and there from the Belter ‘Help You Ann’ that has a hint of The Hives thrown in for good measure and that’s always gonna be a good point to prick up the ears. I hate to say I told you so but The Dirty Truckers just kick it.  Throwing in some big fat sweeping acoustic guitars for good measure on ‘Back To Back’ it adds a different flavour to the pot whilst maintaining the high standards.  Throw into the mix a couple of choice covers like the awesome ‘Sixteen Blue’ by Paul Westerberg and to top off this great record is the Nick Lowe ‘Raging Eyes’ and a great tip of the hat to two clear and big influences on Tom and his direction in this business.

 

If you want a good time and are looking for songs to pick you up and make you feel good then look no further your journey has reached its destination – hop on board and let the Dirty Truckers take you for a ride it’ll Rock and Roll.

Buy ‘Second Dose’ Here

Author: Dom Daley

The band that played a major role in the evolution of power pop and are considered a forerunner of punk rock readies two of their most popular albums
The Flamin’ Groovies played a major role in the evolution of power pop and are considered a forerunner of punk rock. This summer they will reissue two classic albums: “Now” on July 10th and “Jumpin’ In the Night” on August 7th.
While it took a long and torturous five years for the Flamin’ Groovies to find their way back to an American record deal with Shake Some Action, a year and a half later the band had a follow-up ready, and while 1978’s Flamin’ Groovies Now isn’t quite as cohesive as the album that preceded it, in many respects the band sounds at once tighter and more relaxed, with some time on the road firming up the rhythm section while giving the songs a bit more room to swing (which wasn’t one of the strong suits of the British Invasion bands that provided their aural template). The band lost guitarist James Ferrell during the post-Shake Some Action tour, but former Charlatans picker Mike Wilhelm proved to be a more than simpatico replacement on these sessions, and while leader Cyril Jordan didn’t come up with another new song as transcendent as “Shake Some Action,” “All I Wanted” comes pretty close. But it’s significant that most of the songs on Flamin’ Groovies Now are covers, and while all of them are played with love, enthusiasm, and the right period flair (especially the Beatles’ “There’s a Place,” Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Ups and Downs,” and “Move It,” an early U.K. hit for Cliff Richard), they give the album a feeling of being padded, and just because covering the Rolling Stones rarity “Blue Turns to Grey” was a good idea didn’t mean the Flamin’ Groovies had any business tackling “Paint It Black.” All in all, Flamin’ Groovies Now is a terrific-sounding record that captures a fine band when it was in great form, but it also makes clear that the gremlins that often dogged the Groovies in the studio (namely their inability to make a 100 percent satisfying album) hadn’t gone away.
The third and last of the Flamin’ Groovies late-’70s albums for Sire, Jumpin’ in the Night storms out of the gate with the title song, a top-shelf rocker that brings the muscle of the Flamingo-era lineup of the Groovies to the more style-conscious British Invasion sonics of Cyril Jordan’s version. Though Jumpin’ in the Night never rocks that hard or that well again, it does sound decidedly tighter and tougher than 1978’s Flamin’ Groovies Now, and guitarist Mike Wilhelm, a new addition to the Now lineup, is much better integrated into their wall of guitars, with the Groovies sounding more solid than they did a year before. But while Jumpin’ in the Night finds the Flamin’ Groovies sounding better than ever, the material unfortunately lets them down. It’s no wonder why the Flamin’ Groovies loved the Byrds — both were American bands who fell in love with the sounds of British rock and crafted their own variation on the style — but three Byrds covers on this album is about two too many (especially given how clunky David Wright’s drumming sounds on “5D”), and though having the Groovies tackle “Absolutely Sweet Marie” and “Please Please Me” sounds good on paper, the audible results are a bit underwhelming. (On the other hand, their cover of “Werewolves of London” is better than anyone had a right to expect.) The production and engineering by Roger Bechirian is crisp and flattering to the guitars, but lacks the resonance of Dave Edmunds’ more layered approach on Shake Some Action and Now. A great band, the Flamin’ Groovies often seemed to have a hard time reconciling their best qualities with the record-making process, and Jumpin’ in the Night is probably the best example of this dilemma, though it has more than enough worthwhile moments to compensate.

This Saturday Vive Le Rock magazine will host 32 acts from around the world for its free online music festival -VIVE LE ROCKDOWN. Acts include RUTS DC, COCKNEY REJECTS, MICHAEL MONROE(HANOI ROCKS), THE PICTUREBOOKS, KIRK BRANDON(SPEAR OF DESTINY) , DEREK FORBES (SIMPLE MINDS), SEX PISTOLS LEGEND GLEN MATLOCK and newer acts like TOKYO TABOO and the BARSTOOL PREACHERS.

All proceeds go to the Music Venues Trust to help keep our music venues alive!

VIVE LE ROCKDOWN-This Saturday May 23rd. 7pm U.K time at

 www.facebook.com/vivelerockworld www.vivelerock.net

When you wanna Rock and Roll and you want to do it without any bullshit or drama then Rum Bar Records is always a good bet for delivering the goods and Brad Marino is one of their charges who has the magic at his fingertips.  This is Marinos second solo record with a couple of choice covers thrown in for good measure.

 

There’s no False Alarm here it’s the real deal – Real deal Rock and Roll actually created in the garage so bonafide Garage Rock n Roll for sure. It opens with the title track think a boogie Woogie Rockpile riffing on a Beach Boys tune and you’re kinda in the right ballpark.  Always the man with a melody and cool hook.

 

Along with artists like Kurt Baker or Pat Todd.  Marino is a songwriting machine and simply doesn’t make bad records – Like a sponge, he’s soaked up a lifetime of great songs and rinsed them into his own melting pot ‘What’s My Scene ‘ entertains a hint of Ramones style guitar playing into the pot whilst covering a Hoodoo Gurus number (it’ll make more sense when you play the song – trust me) Well that’s technically it folks the first three tracks make up Brads new single but being Rum Bar Records release it doesn’t end there which is why this isn’t in the 45s roundup.  Digitally there is more to plunder.  The CD, however, goes into extra time with a further five songs including a grand cover of ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ which was previously released as a single.  ‘Shoulda Known’ is very much in the vein of a CJ Ramone track from latter-day Ramones releases or certainly his solo material.  Really airy arrangement and simply a good old romp. n roll tune.  ‘I’m On The Brink’ is ever inch as good as a song of the same name from a wonderful UK band More Kicks its not the same song but they both have the Rock n Roll gene in their make up.

Listen if you’ve got the money and are looking for a straight forward uncomplicated slice of good time rock and roll then the hard work is done for you just click the link and hit this EP/minialbum call it what you like its a banger.

Buy ‘False Alarm’ Here

Author: Dom Daley

Get Unsung Heroes Here

In fact quite a lot of their friends….. including members of Die Toten Hosen, Donots, Flogging Molly, Hepcat, Mad Caddies, The Toy Dolls, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Talco, The Infadels and the UK queen of Ska Rhoda Dakar.

Buster Shuffle are releasing a double AA side 7 Inch single titled ‘Unsung Heroes’ which consists of two songs inspired by two real heroes that the band wanted to write about whilst on lock down.

Inspired by the unprecedented times we find ourselves in and the people who are putting themselves at risk daily for the greater good- from doctors and nurses to delivery drivers, lead singer Jet Baker said ‘Whilst on lock down at home, I kept thinking there must be something we can do. Both my sisters work for the NHS on the front line so I needed to do something other than just sit at home and do nothing’.

All profits from vinyl/MP3 sales will be going to the World Health Organisation.

“If we sell 300 then great, if we sell 1000 then even better as its more money for The World Health Organisation” says Jet. “It’s really down to the Ska Punk community on how much money we will raise. It’s a good community so I’m hoping for a positive response”.

The thought provoking and powerful songs are about two brave people who, in their time, faced extreme danger and huge challenges to make changes in the world for others:

Ruby Bridges – At six years old she became the first African American student to integrate into an elementary school in the South USA. Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals to the school every day that year. She walked past crowds screaming vicious slurs at her. Undeterred, she didn’t miss a single day of school despite all the abuse and physical threats she received.

And

Iqbal Masih was sold into slavery by his parents at 4 years old to the owner of a carpet factory. After many years of forced labour he eventually escaped He then decided to help over 3,000 Pakistani children that were in ‘bonded labour’ to escape to freedom and made speeches about child slavery throughout the world. He was regularly threatened for speaking out but continued to give speeches regardless of the danger to himself. After receiving many awards for heroism Iqbal was murdered at just 12 years old.

This is a truly unique and inspiring single, recorded in total isolation with figureheads of the ska punk music scene spanning the globe making their contribution, all whilst on lock down in their homes and with all sales profits going to charity.

Connect with BUSTER SHUFFLE:

www.Facebook.com/bustershuffleofficial 
www.Instagram/ bustershuffleofficial 

‘Blue Jacket’ pokes fun at the ‘Brexit means Brexit at any cost’ ethos. It’s humorous, lyrically dark, yet musically happy. That offset makes for a stark contrast between the disappointment and anger in the words and the optimism in the music.

“We hate Brexit,” states frontman Scott Picking. “Musically It’s most likely going to cripple UK DIY touring bands on the mainland. Not only that, but with the way the world is so affected right now by COVID-19, we need unity more than ever. Nobody had a clue what they were voting for and people are still none the wiser and all divided.”

IDLES have returned with a new track – “Mr. Motivator” – a battering ram of positivity that’s also the first preview of their highly anticipated third LP due out later this year. The song doubles down on the (self-admitted) sloganeering and social commentary that’s become the band’s signature, yet here more than ever they’re able to take clichés and turn them into music that’s deeply complex and brutally relevant. Listen/watch the accompanying self-directed music video, which features fan-sourced exercise footage and the band members themselves.

 

IDLES frontman Joe Talbot says of the song: “We want to start this journey with a means to not only encapsulate the album’s sentiment, but to encourage our audience to dance like no one is watching and plough through these dark times with a two tonne machete of a song and the most beautiful community of scumbags ever assembled. Let’s go. All is love.”

IDLES last album ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ was one of the best reviewed rock records of 2018, debuting top 5 on the official UK album charts. ‘Joy’ earned the band instantly legendary performances at Glastonbury, Jools Holland, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and sold out tours across the world. They featured on the covers of DIY, Loud & Quiet, NME, Kerrang!, CRACK and So Young, as well as earning high praise from many more. They also won the coveted Ivor Novello Award for Best Album, and were nominated for the Mercury Prize and BRIT Awards. All 10,000 tickets to the band’s Dec 2019 headline performance at London’s Alexandra Palace sold out in under 24 hours.

More info on LP3 coming shortly!

Official / Facebook / Twitter / IG /YouTube

Man, I always have a soft spot for Californian pop/punk, especially when it’s a young band coming on like the 90’s never ended. And that’s where I introduce you to The Bombpops. Founded in 2007 by dual singer/guitarists Jen Razavi and Poli Van Dam, the 4 piece band take the title of their sophomore album ‘Death In Venice Beach’ from Thomas Mann’s celebrated novella about the price of artistic life.

The follow up to 2017’s ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ it sees the band explore dark themes of alcohol addiction, health problems, toxic relationships and suicide all wrapped up in high energy punk pop.

 

But the dark lyrical themes are certainly not the first thing that hits you about The Bombpops. The SoCal sound that inspires the band is prevalent throughout, you could say ‘Death In Venice Beach’ sounds like the lost 90’s soundtrack you need to fill the hole between ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ and ‘Josie and the Pussycats’.

Take latest single ‘Double Arrows Down’. Lyrically inspired by Poli Van Dam’s diabetes seizure and subsequent dice with death, it’s actually a euphoric blast of dual vocal melody and overdriven guitars, with a sugar-buzz pop melody that will inject sunshine into anyone’s dreary day. Sweet vocal melodies The Dollyrots would die for and the sort of catchy choruses Letters To Cleo perfected in their prime.

And so it continues for 30 minutes or so. 12 short, sharp, shocks of punk pop that do not overstay their welcome. Songs that would’ve bombarded the airwaves back in the day and singles that would’ve been vying for attention with the likes of Bowling For Soup and Sum 41 on your TV screens.

 

‘Dearly Departed’ name-checks doomed celebrity couples over high energy pop/punk. Sid & Nancy rub shoulders with JFK & Monroe as Jen & Poli deliver pitch perfect vocal harmonies and dirty guitars in unison. A tight rhythm section and a crisp production courtesy of (among others) NOFX’s Fat Mike only adds to the high quality.

With the likes of ‘Sad To Me’ and ‘Zero Remorse’ they have a knack of delivering a verse that create momentum and builds to what you just know is going to be an anthemic, killer chorus that will stay in your brain long after the song has ended. The girls’ vocals work well together and it is that, along with the top notch songwriting, which lifts this album high above the current competition.

The bouncy bass intro and the offset guitar riff in ‘Notre Dame’ will bring to mind The Offspring, ‘In The Doghouse’ comes on like The Creepshow at their most commercial and the raw tale of isolation and heartbreak that is ’13 Stories Down’ sounds like a female-fronted NOFX. Elsewhere you’ll swear you’ve heard the likes of ‘Radio Silence’ and ‘House On Fire’ before. And that my friends, is the knack of a catchy melody put to very good use.

 

There are lots of comparisons that can be made to lots of cool bands when listening to ‘Death In Venice Beach’ and that’s not a bad thing. The Bombpops wear their influences proudly on their sleeves and have their own imitable style and their own way of exorcising their own personal demons with a set of strong, bouncy tunes.

To be honest, you could imagine any of the 12 songs on offer to be featured on MTV, with the band playing next to a swimming pool or a frat house in California, surrounded by teens with nothing more on their mind than pulling the hottest cheerleader and downing a four pack. And while in these troubled times those sort of antics may seem as distant a memory as the 90’s actually are, it’s still the great escape some of us need right now.

Buy ‘Death In Venice Beach’ Here

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Author: Ben Hughes