Dirt Box Disco/Split Dogs – Jacs, Aberdare – 10th December 2023

Dirt Box Disco/Split Dogs – Jacs, Aberdare – 10<sup>th</sup> December 2023

“Hooray Hooray it’s Dirtbox day.”

It feels like a mighty long time since I had that melody line spinning around in my head in the run-up to a Welsh Dirt Box Disco gig, and correct me if I’m wrong, but this must be the first time the streamlined version of the band has ever played a show in the valleys.

So, with this in mind nothing was going to stop me from making the trip up to Aberdare to catch the band’s return to a Welsh stage, not the torrential rain, and given that the gig has a 2 pm start, not even my nephew’s ninth birthday celebrations. The latter does mean I’m about an hour late getting to the venue (my apologies to openers Jaws Of Life who I missed as a result), but leaving just as the birthday cake sugar rush starts to kick in also means I am fully in the mood for a party, and thankfully Split Dogs are on hand to provide the soundtrack. 

This is my fourth time of seeing Split Dogs this year and each time it’s been with a different line-up, this time around it’s my first time catching them with new bassist Suez, and the next time I catch them they’ll have a new drummer as this afternoon is also one of the band’s last shows with current drummer Rich. Not that any of this seems to phase singer Harry and guitarist Mil in the slightest, and it’s their belief in the dozen or so songs the band have behind them to date that burns brightest, and the moment these tunes explode on stage is a joy to behold, yet again. The likes of ‘Prison Bitch’, ‘Feeder’ or ‘Punch Drunk’ live (or on CD) just leave you breathless, and in ‘Tear Down The House’ the guys might just have written the natural successor to ‘Sunday Morning Nightmare’ by Sham 69. A Sunday afternoon nightmare (of a gig) though, this most certainly was not.  

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I predict big things for Split Dogs in 2024.

These days there are not many things that can get me to do the Showaddywaddy swagger dance but the sounds of ‘Under The Moon Of Love’ blasting out of the PA as Dirt Box Disco take to the stage is enough for me to don my imaginary crapes and drapes and “waddle” my way to the front of the stage with a huge grin on my face, and it’s not just me either, as everyone around me is doing the same (smiling that is, not waddling) just as Spunk Volcano leads his gang of misfits into the opening a cappella of  ‘I Just Want To Be A Girl’ and off we go on a rollercoaster ride of a set packed full of punk rock bangers at every twist and turn. 

With the exception of two new tracks (these being the title track and the Finbarr Saunders approved ‘Up The Dirtbox’) drawn from the band’s 2023 record ‘Rokapokalips’ and ‘Unstoppable’ from their 2020 album ‘TV Sex Show’ the rest of this afternoon’s hour-long soirée focusses on the band’s first three albums and debut EP, and who can blame the lads when they have the likes of ‘Peepshow’, ‘Burning’, ‘Standing In The Queue’ and ‘My Girlfriends Bestfriends Sister’ just waiting to be screamed along to. What makes it even more perfect though is the fact that there’s a young lad in the crowd (wearing an ace battle jacket complete with a Twisted Sister back patch) singing along to these songs like they were written yesterday not a decade or so ago when he would have still been a baby.

It’s proper sunshine indoors stuff when ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Out With You’ gets us finishing off whatever is left of our voices, and not even a misjudged stage dive by one over excited punter during ‘Let’s Get Wasted!’ can’t spoil the atmosphere as ‘My Life Is Shit’ calls last orders on this most glorious of matinee shows.

Forget Whamageddon or whatever they call it, the Dirt Box Disco Armageddon is not about avoiding great music, it’s about celebrating it. I swear the guys could have played for 3 hours this afternoon and not a single person would have complained, not in the slightest. It’s just a shame they didn’t find time to slot in ‘I Don’t Want Anything For Christmas’, as I think deep cut gem would have been the real icing on the cake of one the most feelgood gigs I’ve ever been to.

Remember folks, Dirt Box Disco is for life, not just Rebellion, so get out there and support them in 2024, and let’s make every day a Dirtbox day.

Author: Johnny Hayward

Dirt Box Disco – ‘TV Sex Show’ (Avenue Recordz)

Dirt Box Disco – ‘TV Sex Show’ (Avenue Recordz)

So here it is boys and girls, the seventh (or eighth if you include the ‘Hooray! Hooray!’ compilation) studio album from those lovable punk rock anti-heroes Dirt Box Disco and it’s also their first since the departure of singer Weab.

With news of the frontman’s decision to leave the Disco sending shock waves through the punk rock community back in early 2019 masked guitarist and songwriting dynamo Spunk Volcano decided (with the help of his bandmates; Maff Fazzo on drums, Deadbeat Chris on bass and Danny Fingers on guitar) that the time was right for him to step forward and grasp the microphone with both hands and ‘TV Sex Show’ is the result.

I guess some of you will probably be thinking, “oh it’ll just sound like Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions now”, and yes, on one of two occasions like on the foot to floor mosh pit fight starter ‘VDTV’ and (the first of two bonus tracks on the CD version) ‘Tizwatitiz’ you might have a point, as both of these tunes could (to my ears at least) very easily have been written as Eruptions songs. But, and this is huge BUT, within the context of the fourteen songs (there’s twelve on the vinyl) on ‘TV Sex Show’ this is still very much a Dirt Box Disco record.

Kicking off with ‘Unstoppable’, this a song that is destined to be an immediate live hit. It actually reminds me in many ways of ‘Rum & Cola’ from the band’s ‘Are You Ready?’ EP released back in 2011. It’s a rousing call to arms, a song of solidarity, and a clear message that Dirt Box Disco are not going to be messed about with almost a decade into their career.

‘Insomniac’ which is up next is where ‘TV Sex Show’ really shifts up through the punk rock gears though, and coupled with the trademark Volcano/Fingers six string chugger that is ‘Barebones’ I have to admit that after thinking I might well me doing a Judy Collins by now and asking “where are the clowns?, send in the clowns”, I’m not, and this has to be down to the strength of the songwriting with the likes of ‘I Want Out’, ‘Reminisce’, ‘3 Bottles Down’ and ‘Bitch Full of Stitches’ being some of the catchiest songs the band have ever recorded, and I’m not joking when I say that the Disco sound positively supercharged during the likes of ‘Dickhead And Hype’ and album closer (well if you have the CD anyway) ‘Wake Up’.

There are a couple of tunes that I’ve still yet to fully get my head around, namely ‘The Count of Monte Cristo Lives in San Francisco’ which whilst insanely catchy still has the ominous spectre of ‘Reminisce’ looking over its shoulder, and the same could be said of ‘Ain’t Life Grand’ which is the LP closer that has me thinking I’ll have to buy the CD too just to hear ‘Wake Up’ which really is this set of songs very own ‘Dirtbox Days’.

It would have been all too easy for Dirt Box Disco to have called it a day after Weab left, but it is to Spunk, Maff, Danny and Chris’ credit that they have risen to the challenge by releasing their strongest set of songs since their err.. legendary 2012 album ‘Legends’. So, my advice to everyone is get off your arses check it out sharpish. Pre-sales for ‘TV Sex Show’ are live right now via and if you want to secure one of the mega limited 500 only vinyl LPs you best get your skates on and get clicking the linky.

 

Buy ‘TV Sex Show’ Here

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Author: Johnny Hayward

October Playlist

October Playlist

With 2019 quickly rolling downhill towards 2020 and with Halloween just around the corner and Shit Island still under Tory rule heres a playlist to take you away from the humdrum of real-life and to take a peek at whats on the RPM turntables and MP3 players this month.

Alice Cooper is in the house with Go Man Go taken from his excellent EP ‘The Breadcrumbs EP’ and how could we not include Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind so get down and get with it as ‘Shazam’ is in the house on the virtual player.

Also on the live front we’ve caught up with the awesome Cyanide Pills who are ‘Still Bored’. this month we’ve got an exclusive interview we recently did with Spunk Volcano so it seems right we should include ‘Shit Excuse’ from ‘Double Bastard’.  It seems that every man and his dog is attending one of The Cult winter tour dates so why not play ‘New York City’ from the 30th Anniversary ‘Sonic Temple’.

Hands up if you’re heading to one of the Black Flag dates around the UK this month?  We are so ‘My War’ is on the list. Pulled Apart By Horses rode into Newport and left a mark so ‘The Big What If’ is on the list.

As for new albums we’ve reviewed how about a few new ones starting off with Pardon Us with the opening track on their debut album ‘Wait’ ‘check out ‘Beyond The Valley Of The Wolves’. The Hangmen are back with ‘Cactusville’ as are Starcrawler who we’ve included with the excellent rock and rolla ‘No More Pennies’, Bitch Queens bring ‘Superboy’ and their brothers from different mother are back with a new single.  The Hip Priests ‘I Hate The City’ from their recent split but fear not pop pickers they have another single on the way this month we’ve heard it and its a no brainer kids all killer and no filler was written for them.

As we say goodbye to Barrie Masters we’ve included Eddie And The Hot Rods cover of ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’.  Since they’re having a movie made about them we think it’s apt that we include the awesome Redd Kross with ‘Motorboat’ on this months playlist.  turn it up baby because Charger make the paylist with ‘Victim’ from their self titled record. Cockroach Clan released their new/old record so why not sample some Norweigan punk rock whilst youre here.

It wouldn’t seem right not to have a Wildhearts tune in our playlist seeing as they have a new mini-album out this month and are playing the UK again so heres ‘A Song About Drinking’.  Supporting them on this round of dates are Janus Stark who also have a headliner at the hope & Anchor so with news of their new album released last week heres one from them for good measure – We can’t play you anything new but trust us when we say it’s going to be worth the wait so to keep you going heres ‘Every Little Thing Counts’.  It only seems fair we offer up some Shitbaby Mammals with the opener from their record ‘Heart On My Sleeve’.  To wrap up this months playlist heres some Black Star Riders with the second track from their new album and title track ‘Another State Of Grace’. So until next month…

Rebellion Festival – Blackpool Winter Gardens – 3rd August 2019

Rebellion Festival – Blackpool Winter Gardens – 3rd August 2019

“Slow down Cunthead!”

I get to hear this profanity being hollered by a rather worse for wear Blackpool local just after 10am on a glorious Saturday morning and actually take it that its aimed at me as I admit I feel like death warmed up after our Fan-dabi-Friday spent in the unprecedented heat of the Winter Gardens with The Stranglers in The Empress last night possibly setting the record for the hottest gig I’d ever been in. It’s not though, the comment, it’s actually aimed at a local taxi driver who dared to pass the unhappy chappy on a pedestrianised area, but still I find it a life lesson worth taking on board as with the prospect of another full day spent in the punk rock pleasuredome ahead the last thing I really want to do is crash and burn with so many great bands still to check out.

To counter this I feel a bit of retail therapy is in order to restore some balance as I plough through the local second hand record shops looking for that ever illusive vinyl copy of Alistair Terry’s ‘Yonge At Heart’, which of course I never manage to find, but instead I come away with 10 cock rock albums that would make any grown man blush if they were ever caught in the possession of them.  Let’s hope then that I don’t happen to bump into The Bar Stool Preachers on the way back to the hotel and become the brunt of some brutal ribbing for actually buying an album by a band called Dirty Blonde… oops!

With my sanity partially restored I head back into The Empress for my first band of the day at the still ungodly hour of 12:35 to catch the return of South Californian hardcore outfit Spider to Rebellion. Featuring former and current members of bands such as Channel 3, Walk Proud, Total Massacre and Bullet Treatment Spider provide a thunderous wake up call for those brave enough to leave their pits early doors.  There’s a cover of Black Flag’s ‘Depression’ slotted in somewhere within their energetic blur and it’s a song which also features on the band’s new ‘Energy Gone Wrong’ EP. ‘Barcode Baby’ and ‘Metal Detector’ help them deliver some killer blows too. You know I’d pay good money to see a double denim rocker actually turn up at a show played by this lot thinking it was the 80s UK boogie band who went by the same name and get the shock of their baldy longhaired lives, I really would.

Taking a trip up to the Rebellion Punk Art show is always on my list of “must-dos” if not just to see my old mate Colin Creamcrop Scott who as always is entertaining the masses with his tales of 80s Polish hardcore bands as well as wowing them with his use of reclaimed items to deliver his stunning visuals. There’s always something that catches my eye here not least this year the ever-growing mixture of media being used but I must admit what I do miss having witnessed some right corkers over the years are the old John Robb curated literary interviews that used to take place throughout the weekend in this very venue. Still this year there’s Micky Geggus and Jordan popping up for some Q&As and signing sessions so all is not yet lost.

Heading back to the Arena just in time to catch kung fu kicking Swedish garage punks Zero Zero this bunch of mentalists leaves a lasting impression me both on and off stage with their intoxicated antics. There’s no nudity to write about this time around but bassist Felix later revealing to me and Dom that The Sick Livers are one of his all-time favourite bands was indeed a weekend defining moment.

Quickly shuffling over to the Opera House ready to catch The DeRellas playing what has become their Rebellion second home (and duly rechristened The DeRellaDome by yours truly) the immediate thing that hits me – other than the rather welcoming air conditioning – is just how packed it is down the front ready for Joe, Timmy, Luca and Billy to make their appearance, and this alone really restores my faith in the UK music scene right now as it’s great to see the guy’s continuous hard work making such a noticeable impact.  Of course, delivering a set packed full of glam pop goodies like ‘Don’t Go’, ‘Rip It Up’ (where Luca channels his inner Spaceman) and the simply fantastic ‘High Rise Supersize’ is only going to help the fan devotion grow even further and a year on with Billy Chaos holding down the backbeat The DeRellas really are sounding like the band I think they’ve always dreamed of being. I once saw The Only Ones play the Opera House and they weren’t anywhere as good as The DeRellas were today. You better believe it brothers and sisters.

It’s at this point in our Rebellion Saturday that me and Dom normally find a local boozer and enjoy the first weekend of the football season unfold on a TV screen but this year Dom’s interviewing Mr Spunk Volcano for a soon to be published RPM exclusive interview so instead I tag along to listen to possibly one of the most in-depth discussions the masked man has ever given and trust me when I say this one is certainly going to make for some interesting reading.

Returning to the Winter Gardens with every intention of watching my old mate, ex- Glitterati and current Rich Ragany & The Digressions guitar dude Gaff, playing with Desperate Measures I arrive at the Arena for their allotted slot only to find the place in band changeover mode so I assume they are running a little late and get myself a drink. Then when Blitzkrieg finally do make it onto the Arena stage the penny drops and I realise I should have been in the Pavilion all along and even with a quick sprint to the correct venue I literally turn up just as the final chord is echoing out around the horseshoe. Bollocks! Sorry lads, that’s gotta be a first for me, but at least I’m man enough to admit it and hopefully raise a smile or two in the process.

Angry with myself at this band faux pas I make sure I’m in The Opera House well in advance of Alvin Gibbs and The Disobedient Servants taking to the stage and yes I do triple check my planner this time, because having see this band deliver one of my gigs of the year so far I was not about to miss out. Especially when today the core trio of Alvin, Leigh and Jamie that I saw just a few months back are being joined by the master of guitar crunch Steve Crittall and for just a couple of songs birthday boy Gizz Butt who looks positively delighted to get to shred his way through the solos on the raw power of ‘Clumsy Fingers’ and the Iggy tribute ‘Down On The Streets’ . The setlist is pretty much the same as the one I’d seen previously but with the added bite of Crittall on guitar, I can’t help but wish I’d seen this line up play these songs in a small club. Still here’s hoping for the future as with the band sounding this great the ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ album surely can’t be the end of the solo adventure for Alvin.

Moving back to the Empress Ballroom just as Italian boot boys Giuda are about to take the stage with an uproarious version of ‘Overdrive’ from their excellent if somewhat sonically different ‘E.V.A’ LP it’s the intensity of the slightly rejigged line up that immediately hits me. I admit I was half expecting them to have turned into Giuran Giuran (thanks to Jim Rowland at Uber Rock for that one) given the use of synths on the new record, but no, as they rattle through the likes of ‘Back Home’, ‘Number 10’ and ‘Get It Over’ they actually sound tougher than ever before, which with no between-song banter and this time around no cover versions makes for the almost complete version of Giuda yet. Leaving the stage with ‘Cosmic Love’ from ‘E.V.A’ blasting out of the PA was certainly a bit odd though.

At this point, I admit I could have just stayed in the Empress for the veritable smorgasbord of tasty Oi! bands that were about to follow but with the lure of Duncan Reid playing the Opera House and that venue’s rather splendid sound and air-con I decided to play it cool ahead of Cock Sparrer and catch the 1-2 of The Big Heads and then later Walter Lure before sweating out half my body weight back in the Empress.

Opting to catch Duncan Reid And The Big Heads proves very quickly to be an inspired choice of band as the quartet rattle through some of their very best songs including a poptastic ‘Baby Doll’, a huge sounding ‘Bombs Away’, along with the uplifting ‘Just Because You’re Paranoid’. It’s also guitarist/keyboardist Sophie K Powers’ birthday and that seems to add an extra bounce to the whole band tonight and as guitarist Nick Hughes takes to the microphone for a run through ‘Brickfield Nights’ and the whole band join in on ‘First Time’ (a song Duncan dedicates to the songwriting genius of Honest John Plain) the whole party atmosphere seems to engulf the front rows right through to the last chord.

Picking up a quick bag of chips to keep me going I’m soon back in the Opera House in time to catch the only remaining Heartbreaker Walter Lure and his all-star LAMF band that also features Mick Rossi on guitar, Mark Laff on drums and Nigel Mead on bass. Now the cynics out there might be thinking this has car crash written all over it, but I’d actually say after watching these guys live it felt a hell of a lot more like a real band than the last time Lure played Rebellion back in 2013 with a few (admittedly excellent) hired guns. In particular, Laff and Mead are a watertight rhythm section and Rossi has always been something of a Johnny Thunders disciple can barely hide his excitement tearing off the riffs to the likes of ‘Pirate Love’, ‘Chinese Rocks’ and ‘Born To Lose’. Lure again adds in a few Waldos numbers along the way plus this time there’s also a couple of Slaughter & The Dogs tunes sung by Rossi. What we have here ladies and gents is a highly entertaining set that once again treats the Heartbreakers legacy with the respect it deserves.

Saturday night at Rebellion 2019 is all about the return of the mighty Cock Sparrer to the Empress Ballroom, and trying to get a good vantage point from which to watch their set is proving an almost impossible task even a good 15 minutes out from the scheduled start time. Having previously watched them from the pit, from half way back by the sound desk and from when the stage was side on almost from the side, tonight I choose a balcony view from behind side stage which means I not only get to watch the band without obstruction but I also get to watch the huge crowd too. As the lights dim and the ‘Overture’ intro tape booms out the PA I can feel the beads of sweat already running down my head, heaven only knows how hot it must be onstage under those lights or down the front, as once again the opening trio of ‘Riot Squad’, ‘Watch Your Back’ and ‘Working’ send the (shock) troops into a veritable frenzy. I’ve seen Sparrer live a good few times now and tonight really is one of the very best performances I’ve seen to date (even right up there with that show stealing Hellfest slot a good few years back now) and its perhaps made all the more significant and special when mid set Colin asks Andy (the husband of Kathy Rocker) to join them onstage for a truly heart wrenching rendition of ‘Gonna Be Alright’.  Elsewhere from the 2017 album ‘Forever’ we get the awesome ‘One By One’ along with the tongue twisting ‘Nothing Like You’ whilst the rest of the set is packed full of classics like ‘AU’, ‘Runnin’ Riot’ and ‘Where Are They Now?’ and never mind how many times I hear these songs live I never grow tired of them. That Sparrer play for 80 minutes and it feels like 10 minutes also shows what an immersive experience seeing them live really is, and yes, I’ll be doing it all over again when they hit the UK club circuit for one last time in 2020 along with support from Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions.

Joining back up with Dom at the Opera House for the end of The Godfathers set (and in fact as it turns out the end of that band) we ponder for a minute about going to watch another band before the night is out, but me, I need to go back to the hotel to wring out my T-Shirt as that really was the kind of day Saturday was at Rebellion 2019. (JH)

Whilst Johnny went off to lace his Doc Martins up and iron his Fred Perry I stayed in the Opera House, took five and waited for The Godfathers to take to the stage. Starting the set with ‘Birth, School, Work, Death’ seemed like a great idea as the band sounded thunderous and little did we know what was brewing. ‘This Is War’ had Steve Crittalls guitar slashing like a samurai sword through the super locked in and tight rhythm section. It was a ‘Big Bad Beautiful Noise’ and it was, a Beautiful noise that is.  It was commented that the band was ripping it up and I think it’s fair to say that this was shaping up to be one of the performances of the weekend. ‘If I Only Had Time’ had never sounded so good and following that up with the flip flop of ‘Til My Heart Stops Beating’ throughout the fifteen or so songs the band played they were on fire and ending the set with ‘Defribulator’ seemed apt under the circumstances.

The band returned briefly for a romp through the Ramones ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and then they were gone.  Little did we know that some days later Peter was making the public removal of the whole band on Facebook! 

Sure it’s his baby and his prerogative to shake the lineup and hire and fire but Facebook?  From a fan of the music and the legacy of The Band I’m gutted – shit happens, I get that but this line up was channeling some incredible MC5, Stooges,  Detroit sounds which makes it all the more sad to see it unfold so publicly and after such an electrifying performance.

Alex, Steve, Tim, and Darren’s contribution should be recognised because they seriously rocked, it’s a real shame that the legacy of The Godfathers might very well be damaged  (I hope not) because I was buzzing after the set and that was largely down to the band who just played, Peter included. Who said Rock and Roll was boring? (DD)

Now over to Mr. Sutton to fill in the blanks of what else went on elsewhere in The winter gardens…

Saturday is something of a tactical battle as alcohol intake has to be tempered by an impending midnight gig to be played. As a result, many intended viewings fall by the wayside. ut there’s no way I could miss the Cockney Rejects and there’s also no way you can miss the full-blown Wonk Unit set after last night’s masterclass and it’s good to see a totally packed Club Casbah agree wholeheartedly. Two blinding sets in 24 hours?  Wonk Unit shit them!!!  The early day logistics meant that one of the bands I missed was Informal Society but that aforementioned midnight set we had to play at a fringe gig also happened to have Informal Society playing the 2am slot, so actually catching them was a real bonus, as the LA troupe really ripped out a high energy set for their second stint of the waking day.

Authors (JH) Johnny Hayward additional words from (DD) Dom Daley and Mr. Darrel Sutton.

Pictures of Alvin Gibbs, Gizz Butt, Cock Sparrer, Cockney Rejects courtesy of Dod Morrison Photography

All others from the shakey Dark Fruit sponsored phones of Hayward & Daley

Rebellion playlist – RPM style August edition

Rebellion playlist – RPM style August edition

Its August and this week sees us roll with our comprehensive Rebellion Festival round-up so why not run our twent choice cuts from our perspective.  We’d have listed the likes of Zero Zero and Rotten Foxes but they’re not on Spotify so we’ve gone with a solid old and new twenty plus.  Check em out there has to be something for every taste in there. Remember kids don’t just stream go out and watch these bands and buy their merch and music.  It keeps them making the music we love.