It’s a glorious time for UK hardcore at present – there’s so many gems sprouting up all over the country in recent times, and Reading five-piece Golden Tanks are no exception. The name assumedly being a homage to the Cancer Bats song of the same name, they don’t sound too unlike the Canadian outfit. This self-titled debut offering oozes personality and physical presence from the get go.
Review: Golden Tanks – Golden Tanks (EP)
November 28, 2010
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Interview: The Menzingers
November 23, 2010
There’s something in the water of Scranton, PA, bringing us the likes of Tigers Jaw, Captain, We’re Sinking and, of course, The Menzingers who are over in the UK for the first time. So, ahead of their Newcastle show, Faye got talking to them about their local scene, the release of Chamberlain Waits and weed cookies.
Faye: Can you introduce yourselves?
Tom: Sure, I’m Tom, I play guitar and sing.
Greg: I’m Greg, I do the same, play guitar and sing.
Faye: How are you today?
Tom: Great, it’s not as cold as it was in Glasgow, that’s for sure, which is where we were yesterday, but there’s no Buckfast here.
Greg: That’s true, which is a good thing.
Tom: It’s this insane caffeinated spirit, it’s pretty intense.
Faye: Can you tell me a little bit of history about The Menzingers?
Tom: Well, we all played in separate bands when we were younger, they were ska bands. Then since we graduated high school and we kind of started that summer. Greg had played in a band with my brother, and Eric, Joe and I had played in a band together, and then we just kind of started jamming and took it from there.
Greg: We come from a town called Scranton, Pennsylvania and the scene is extremely small, so we all kind of played in the same kind of bands, so it just kind of went from there. Everyone knew each other because we always played shows together.
Faye: It still seems like a pretty good scene, with Tigers Jaw coming out of there too.
Greg: Yeah, the band I used to be in was with some of the guys from Tigers Jaws, and let me go on the record to say, I was the first member of Tigers Jaw. I didn’t play the first show, I quit, it was a battle of the bands thing, and I didn’t want to do it, so then Tom’s brother jumped in and played. They probably won’t say that, though. [laughs]
Faye: Aren’t Captain, We’re Sinking from there too?
Greg: Yeah, that’s my brother’s band too. Everybody has played in each other’s bands and dated each other’s girlfriends and everything. [laughs] It’s a very small scene.
Faye: Are there any other bands emerging from there?
Tom: I’d just say Captain, We’re Sinking, Tigers Jaw, and Title Fight who are from a little outside of Scranton, anyone else?
Greg: Yeah, those are probably the ones you’ll hear of, but there’s other bands in the States that are doing really well like The Holy Mess, Highlites and Dirty Tactics from Philly who are good friends of ours.
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Live Review: Paramore – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, November 18th 2010
November 23, 2010
What a strange set up we have here – a virtually unheard of opener, a chart-storming R’n'B artist, and arguably the biggest name in pop-rock currently doing the rounds. It’s incredible how far Paramore have come in just four years since visiting the UK for the first time, now playing to in excess of ten thousand people in Newcastle tonight – wonder if a certain Twitter picture has anything to do with it all?
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Live Review: The Menzingers – The Northumberland Arms, Newcastle, November 17th 2010
November 23, 2010
With ska-punk legends Less Than Jake playing down the road, there’s obviously a bit of uncertainty regarding how The Menzingers will fare, but the 50 or so that are gathered into the dingy Northumberland Arms plausibly manage to pack the venue out.
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Live Review: Minus the Bear – O2 Academy 2, Newcastle, November 16th 2010
November 23, 2010
Taking a break from supporting Jimmy Eat World on their UK tour, math-rock experimentalists Minus the Bear drop by in Newcastle as part of a handful of headlining dates.
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Interview: Comeback Kid
November 9, 2010
As the Never Say Die Tour stopped off in Newcastle, Faye caught up with Jeremy Hiebert, guitarist of modern hardcore heroes Comeback Kid, where they got talking all about their new critically-acclaimed record Symptoms + Cures, being signed to Victory Records, veganism and a lot more!
Faye: How are you today?
Jeremy: I’m very well, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, but over-tiredness kind of puts me in a better mood for some reason, so I’m good. You’re lucky if you get a full night’s sleep on tour.
Faye: This is a bit of a weird tour for Comeback Kid, do you agree?
Jeremy: The funny thing is, we just got off from a full-on pop-punk tour with Four Year Strong and The Wonder Years, and now we’re doing the full-on metalcore tour. One thing about us is that we never want to just play with bands that sound just like us, I guess we kind of like the challenge of trying to win over a new audience. Every band on this bill is heavier than we are, so we have to go out there and really work for it, but it’s fun, though.
Faye: Are you into this kind of music?
Jeremy: Here’s the thing, I’ve toured with a lot of bands that I could never get into, but if the guy’s are cool, then I’ll find myself starting to like the band. I’m not going to name any names, but there’s already bands on this tour where I never really listened to them – I’m 34-years-old, I don’t really listen to a lot of new metalcore, so a lot of these bands are newer and you meet them, hang out, then you get it. Bands like Bleeding Through and Parkway Drive, we’ve been friends with them for a while, so we’ve been on other tours and shows with them. Metalcore isn’t my favourite style of music, but at the same time, I don’t hate it. There’s a lot of bands I can get into if they know what they’re doing and are bringing something unique, then that makes it kind of fresh and exciting.
Faye: The tour only started a few days ago, has it been going ok for you?
Jeremy: Yeah, it started in Germany on October 29th, and that was off the hook, France was off the hook as well. Yesterday was a little rougher, it was a large room, but it was still fun. It was definitely more of a metalcore crowd, though. We just put out a new record and wanted to do a CD release headliner around Europe, but then we got offered this slot. It’s not really the way we wanted to do it with the record coming out, but we’re going to be playing to a bunch of new faces, so why not? We’re going to come back and do a headliner next year.
Faye: You’ve been playing in large rooms with barriers, is that a downer for you?
Jeremy: I hate barriers, but at the same time, that’s just the way it is when you’re supporting on these bigger tours. It is what it is, I don’t know if you’ve seen us before, but we’re all about stage-dives and sing-a-longs, just people getting close and tripping over ourselves, but with a barrier, you’ve got to put on a different show. It’s still fun, but you don’t have that same intimate vibe that we like at a ‘legit’ Comeback Kid show. [laughs]
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