Country music, while popular, often has a disdainful eye
cast in its direction by modern day music fans.
Strangely enough this lack of respect for the genre doesn't apply as long as
you call it Americana,
but that's a discussion for another day because right here, right now, we are
all about wrapping our ears around "Grand Ol Otley", the glorious
side project of country covers released by Tony Wright of Terrorvision and
Texan troubadour Ryan Hamilton.
Ryan, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a gentleman
whose star is most definitely ascending with his power pop/rock band Ryan Hamilton
and the Traitors, a band that I would urge you to familiarise yourself with and
then thank me later.
It's clear from the first track, a plaintive and haunting
cover of Jolene with Tony taking vocal lead, that both men are bringing a great
deal of passion for the material to the table for this release. This is a far
cry form a vanity project.
The term pastiche doesn't reside comfortably in the mouth, but homage certainly
does.
Song after song you are left in no doubt that they are both happily immersing
themselves in the performance.
Tag teaming the material they pass the baton back and forth on the vocals and
there's no hint that either will drop it.
Anyone with a passing interest in country music, or just
good music in general, should consider this a must have addition to their
collection.
Tony Wrights take of In the Pines sees him adding his name to a very long list
of artists who have done this traditional song justice, while Ryan Hamilton
tackling of the Rolling Stones song Wild Horses is a sublime masterpiece. On an
album that features many glittering jewels it is this that shines the
brightest.
In so many ways this touches on being the perfect crossover album. Neither artist
feel the need to grandstand and both appear to intimately understand that
playing to their strengths as a team is what will provide rich dividends.
Weak links you ask? They don’t exist on this album. It starts of strong and
remains strong throughout.
It's a release that they both should be extremely proud of, and one that fans
of both artists should be equally enthused about lending an ear to.
The only thing left to say, and it's a question, is "when is the next one
coming out?"
Last year it was The Main Grains
with the Drama Club Rejects that rolled into town. Between them they tattooed an
indelible memory in my head.
And now on this outing they are
back to open for another band that similarly impressed when I seen them on the Edinburgh date of their
Heavy Heart tour in 2017. They would be the mighty Ryan Hamilton and his Traitors.
It was a cold day in Glasgow, but these two
acts could easily heat up a cold day in hell on a solo jaunt, so we gleefully went in with high expectations
for the show they were doing together, and we were not disappointed.
The Main Grains.
The Main Grains are heavily tapping
into something that gets the primal blood pumping hot and fast through the
veins.
It's difficult to put your finger on what it is though. When you break things
down you might find yourself with all the parts, but in the process lose sight
of why it all works so well.
The best bands, or the best in my opinion, all had this sum of its parts
element. The Ramones, The Cramps, The Damned, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones,
Motorhead, The Stooges etcetera.
You don't look too closely at it what's going on with them. Instead you simply stand
back and let yourself be swept away with what they can do.
Thrashing drums, guitars chugging, or howling away, the bass underpinning it
all. They are all creators of an aural drug that is highly addictive. And now
so are The Main Grains.
Guitar rock and roll crack
anybody?
What do we want to call it
though? Good time rock and roll?
Is that enough?
I suppose it will have to do. It falls short, underplays the power, the
passion, but what else fits?
They can certainly offer the soundtrack for a party. Not a cheese and wine gathering.
The sort of party where casual nudity and vomiting in the bathtub will probably
feature, or in short the best sort of parties that we all remember from misspent
youth years.
It’s not a stretch to say that as a whole the band have positioned themselves
to be ready to accept the baton from legends such as The Ramones, Stiff Little
Fingers, and such and run with it.
Not a bad place to be really.
This is the third Main Grains show I've attended, and the best. They aren't
content with getting incrementally better. They want to, need to, make the huge
leaps, and they are doing just that with style.
My only concern is that with a tour of the UK
and Australia
coming up for Danny with The Wildhearts that it will possibly slow the momentum
that the Main Grains are garnering, but apparently there are plans afoot to
ensure that we don't forget about them.
I'm looking forward to these plans being revealed.
Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors.
Last year Ryan Hamilton rocketed
to the top of my "new favourite artist" list, and then stayed there.
Late to the party I might have been, but damn I'm enjoying playing catch up.
From his solo releases, to that with The Traitors, to his recent country
collaboration with Tony Wright of Terrorvision, I don't think there's been one
misstep made.
In fact I'd go as far as to say that I've yet to hear one song from him that I
would consider falls below a quality bar that he has set very high for himself.
How many artists could you say that about? Not one weak song!
Even his podcast "Lost the plotcast" is in my opinion essential
listening.
You just have to get on board with everything he is doing.
On stage is where everything Ryan
does makes complete sense though.
He, and his band, are born to perform. The live environment is where it's
at.
There's something familial about the experience. We are all in it together from
the first note to the last, and that's a good feeling to spread about.
It's the sort of foundation that great things can be built on. You could
imagine him a few years down the line playing a larger venue and reminiscing
about playing club venues in Glasgow,
and pretty much everyone who was there in Stereo would be standing front and
centre and reliving the memory with him.
Like the Marines, Ryan probably isn't going to leave anyone behind.
There's something special about that, but I guess you had to be there to
understand what I’m trying to convey.
Thankfully the upside is that you can be the next time he is in town.
It's not an exclusive party.
Everyone is invited. So if you like your rock with a country twang, like your
power pop bands too, then Ryan has his pen in hand and will tick all those
boxes for you.
Highlight of the set wasn’t
actually one of his songs, but a cover of Tom Petty that ended the night on a
high. Similar to what was said about the Main Grains being positioned to take
ownership of a baton Ryan is equally standing there with his hand out and ready
to run too.
If you want to get in early and
be able to crow about seeing these guys in clubs before everyone else picks up
on them then now is the time.
Happy? I'm chuffing delirious! ;). As we were mixing it I was thinking; "This is bloody good, but will anyone agree with me?" Now the reaction has been ecstatic. Everyone is saying it's our best yet and the reviews have been magnificent.
That has made me very happy to say the least.
With it being your third album release in five years it’s not been a case of there being too long between new material coming out.
Do you find the process easy?
Yes and no. The writing process seems quite long winded. Being in a modern independent band means you have to do everything yourself because there's no record company to help. So, there's not just rehearsing and playing gigs although that takes a lot of time. There's also booking gigs and the whole process of marketing and releasing records, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, the website ......... and so on.
It seems to take up all my time so that no "headspace" is left for writing songs.
I don't mind because I enjoy all of it but it takes longer to write songs than it would have done way back when.
Recording is the easy part!
Could you release more than that though? If the solo workload was not so time consuming? I ask because often there are others factors that sometimes people don’t consider.
For instance Nick Cave once said that he could release albums more frequently, but Mute, his label, wouldn’t.
That would be a business decision. For others it is financial?
No. As I said before, it's all determined by how quickly I can write. As soon as I feel I have enough good songs for an album we push the button.
You have a firm control over your career. You currently self release, self promote and even book.
As you experienced the other side of that when in The Boys what is preferable?
Obviously one is less work, but also less autonomy?
One of the benefits of having a few years under the belt is experience.
Someone once said of the film business; "no one knows anything". That's not strictly true of the music business, but I have a lot of experience and my opinion is as valid as anyone's.
So, that is a preamble to saying that the best would be to keep control but be able to direct people to help.
For instance, you can always tell when bands have digital marketing agencies who take over their Facebook, twitter etc. The output is totally bland and characterless.
I saw a tweet by a superstar from the punk days just recently which just said: "Retweet if you are coming to our gig at X venue on Y date" with a photo of the poster.
How boring and corporate is that!
You have to express your personality as much as you do with your songs. That isn't difficult if you are just being yourself. It is difficult if an office is doing it all as part of a roster of clients.
But with help there would be more time for writing.
Another example. Young bands on major labels who have a little success are pressured into coming up with another album after nine months or, they are told, new bands will come along and they will be forgotten.
Now, you can't write an album that quickly so they are put with the same professional writer/producers as everyone else and so end up sounding the same as everyone else.
As it happens I want to try co-writing more than I have, but in my own time!
On the other hand, record companies have influence. It's taken us years to get onto the festival roster and we have no real mainstream media exposure. Record companies can use the influence of having a bigger artist on the roster to get openings for new ones. "Play this new band and you'll get an exclusive on that big one".
Like life. There are swings and roundabouts.
The band has consistently been Sophie and you, but other members appear to slip in and out as required.
Is this something that you are comfortable with?
Not that there is ever a quality issue, but maybe more so on a personal level.
Wouldn’t a solid band all committed to the one aim, of being a Big Head, be better?
Actually the last four years has been a quest to create a stable line up.
It has just been very hard to achieve but, fingers crossed, I think we are there now. As you say, Sophie has been a constant for a long time now, Karen has been with us for over a year since Ciara became a mum and, although Nick is in a number of bands, he's committed to us.
It's just great to not be changing all the time. Having said that it'll probably splinter again now! ( I hope not). Everyone is so great and the Big Heads is such a good platform they are bound to get offers. I just pray it doesn't take them away.
You do appear to be travelling around outside the UK to play frequently enough. From your point of view what are the pros and cons? What could we learn about promoting shows and hosting them here in the UK from these other countries, and what could they maybe learn from us?
Since the end of last year we are trying to play more in the UK, especially as we've had some great festival offers. There just seems to have been a "tick up" in the level of interest here that is really exciting.
When we play abroad we have to travel light. There's always the stressful fight with BA or EasyJet when they try to insist our guitars go in the hold.
They get a mixture of fury, charm and crying from us to prevent the baggage handlers from having the chance to smash our gear up as they always do.
Big Heads meets bureaucracy. So far we've won.
We are just back from Sweden though and will continue to play in Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, Spain, Ireland and, hopefully South America for as long as we are able to.
We’d love to play the US again but the visas are a killer.
The biggest difference abroad is that you generally get treated better. There will often be food when you arrive for the soundcheck, dinner is laid on, drinks provided and accommodation.
With most promoters in the UK, and you are one of the notable exceptions, you have to fend for yourself. Often you don’t get as much as a single beer. I'm not complaining but the difference in approach is stark.
Other than that, there isn't much difference really. Great promoters are heroes in my opinion. They usually do it based on a love of the music which they are vital to the cause of keeping it alive. Musicians can be difficult as well, especially if they have a sniff of success!
There have been some comments coming from the music industry about the impact on musicians touring. Do you foresee any problems?
There is one major problem already and one potential one on the horizon. Venues are being shut down by complaints from local residents. These residents often live in houses built after a venue has been open for years.
Venues need to be protected. Having fun is noisy. Let's get the balance right.
The potential one is that if, after Brexit, we in the UK require Europeans to have work visas for temporary jobs here then it seems likely that the EU, like in the US, will require musicians to have visas to play in Europe.
I'm not commenting on whether that is right or wrong politically, it just seems likely to me. Like in the US and Australia, work visas always cost thousands of pounds so that will be the end of playing abroad.
A loss of livelihood for us and a little bit of foreign revenue lost to the UK. You could say I'm keeping a keen eye on it.
Looking back over the last five years, the albums and tours, is there anything you think that you would do differently. We all learn from our experiences. What have you learnt that could be good advice for other musicians?
Learn everything you can about how the Internet works.
There is science behind Spotify, Facebook, twitter etc. Go on courses, learn and do it yourself.
Then concentrate on building up a live following by being as good as you can be and playing as much as you can. Spend any money you have on playing live, and making the best records and videos you can afford.
Try to make personal connections with people who have followers like internet radio presenters and help them promote themselves. Help promoters and other bands do what they do.
It's all about helping each other.
Don't waste money on PR companies and record pluggers. In general the mainstream media only want to know about people who are already famous or who once were.
It’s all quite DIY in the original spirit of punk!
Lastly, don't be a prick. Nobody likes a prick and it all comes around.
What’s next for Duncan Reid and the Big Heads?
We carry on not being pricks! We have some great shows coming up.
Really looking forward to paying all the people back who lobbied Rebellion to have us there (Saturday afternoon in the Opera House - don't miss it).
Plus a few other great festival dates like Undercover at Margate in September, Skegness in October, Jessheim in Norway in August, Camden Rocks and Wychwood at the beginning of June.
Sorry to all the promoters whose gigs I haven't mentioned. Just too many. Look at duncanreidandthebigheads.com to see everything. The never ending tour goes on!
And of course we have been looking forward to your return to Glasgow. This time in NiceNSleazy so it isn’t far for you to join the patrons upstairs to dance to ABBA. Does Glasgow hold fond memories for you? Playing the Apollo with The Ramones in particular?
It's always great in Glasgow. The last time at Audio was part of the tour where things seemed to turn a corner for us. The reaction was incredible.
I'm really looking forward to NiceNSleazy. Heavy Drapes are great and we are relying on everyone who was at Audio to bring their mates.
As you say, we can pop into the guilty pleasures disco after and bop to Black Sabbath and Sheena Easton. What a combination!
That Ramones tour was mad. Imagine hanging out with Joey Ramone every night! And didn't the Apollo have a sky high stage?
Had to be careful not to go careering toward it at top speed.
We'd been told if Glasgow audiences didn't like you, you wouldn’t get out alive. They loved us so I'm still here all these years later!
That fact sometimes gets lost in all of the debates surrounding how to get people to engage with the hard hit club level music scene.
It is especially tough for the amateur promoter who does it for the love of music rather than any financial gain.
The reason for this is because the amateur promoter doesn't have the deep pockets that a major tour operator has.
Everything that is done in a promotional sense is very tightly budgeted.
It has to be.
And even with it all being done on this eye watering budget there is still no guarantee that an event will be a success.
It's great when it is, but if it isn't then the reality behind a poorly attended event can be that the amateur promoter is eating toast and savers spaghetti for a few weeks.
I know this to be true as I am that man.
And yet even with it all being such an uphill struggle that demands blood sweat and tears - and cash - I keep doing it.
I think Einstein was talking about amateur promoters when he defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, because like so many others I always just lick my wounds and return to the fray no matter how hard the hit was that I took.
It is insanity.
click to enlarge
There's no doubt about it, but at heart we do it because we consider it to be a positive thing.
We don't try and bring the bands to the public to make money from them, but instead are wanting to share our love of the music they create with more people.
In so many ways we are just the super fans going that extra mile.
So it is particularly hard to take when the efforts of an amateur promoter are sabotaged.
Sabotaged as in some individual taking down the posters distributed in Glasgow for the forthcoming Duncan Reid and the Big Heads to sell on ebay.
I was aware of this person selling posters of events that I have promoted in the past, and to be honest it wasn't an issue.
Far be it for me to stand in the way of their entrepreneurial endeavours.
The gigs were in the rear view mirror and my opinion was fill your boots mate.
Now I am less than impressed with their street smarts.
Removing the posters months before the event is factually hampering my attempts to get the word out on the streets.
As this is the case I would urge people not to buy these posters.
Post event then go ahead, but before it has taken place?
Well that's a different story.
I will quote another famous scientist now.
Newton said that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
And with that being the case here is my reaction.
If anyone wants a poster you can message me and I will email the image back and you can print it off on nice shiny gloss paper at a fraction of the cost of buying one from ebay.
Or if you want to wait until the night of the gig then I will have plenty with me that can be taken for free, although a donation to Westgap for each one would be appreciated, or swap a tin of food for one as part of their food drive.
Basically if you want one you can have one.
Please don't buy posters by independent amateur promoters before the event from this seller.
Thank you to Heavy Drapes for drawing this to my attention.
Update: The seller has responded to a message sent apologizing and has withdrawn the sale.
Apparently he was unaware the event was in the future.
I have responded to his reply 'and yet it has still been removed from where it was located defeating the purpose of it advertising the event. and of course you are selling others pre gig. You are making independent promoters jobs harder and impacting on the success of acts at the club level.
Kicking off in style with ‘Can’t Stop’ Duncan Reid and the
Big Heads are laying their stall out for all to see.
Think Helen Love if they managed to get within sniffing
distance of a real recording studio and you’re in the ball park.
No offence to Helen Love. Love that lo-fi pop trash, but
yeah, they would definitely swap their zx spectrums for a slice of this.
It’s a magnificent start, but before you know it you are
neck deep in album title track ‘Bombs Away’ and it’s a mighty glitter bomb of a
terrace stomping glam tune.
Please release it as a single and make a seventies pastiche
video for it while you are at it Mr Reid.
We need the flairs and the mock top of the pops studio. We definitely
need woollen tank tops and platform boots too.
Shangabloodylang pop pickers.
Two tracks in and the party has started.
There’s no stopping them.
No one should be surprised though.
Three albums into their career and the band quite literally
haven’t put a foot wrong.
The two released prior to Bombs Away sound like greatest
hits packages, and they have done it again.
Every single track could, and should, be a single.
In the alternative world that exists in my head, the one
that I often find preferable to real life, these guys are dominating the
charts.
They’re on the news as the BBC film them getting off of a
private jumbo jet to hordes of screaming fans that have brought the airport to
a standstill.
It’s Big Head Mania.
They are in the middle of a ballpark and you can’t hear them
for the screaming.
‘Let’s skip to the good bit’. It’s a song that is ambrosia
for the ears.
This can be the flip side of Bombs Away on the double A
sided single.
I’m writing a letter to Santa saying that I’ve been good and
it’s all I want this Christmas.
To get the point across about how good this release is it
has to be said that as far as quality goes it is relentless.
Every single song without exception is a classic in waiting.
There are fourteen of them too.
While some bands struggle to hold the attention of even
their most hardcore fans over the length of an ep this album demands your
attention, and demands it in the best possible way.
It’s not even half way through the year and it is going to
take something very special indeed being released to knock this off the top of
a personal best album of the year list.
It’s a solid chunk of power pop magnificence from start to
finish.
With their debut ‘Ugly Cherries’ quickly grabbing attention
outside the niche scene that spawned them, the band PWR BTTM had a coming out
party like no other.
In so many ways it felt like the world was ready for change and
they were going to deliver a big shiny and glittery calling card screaming that
they were here and here to stay.
With their infectious, weezer-esque pop punk tunes they had
set their stall out and people loved what they were offering.
Now all they had to do was live up to the promise of that,
and with Pageant they didn’t.
Instead they jumped much further ahead than was expected.
If people were looking for an Ugly Cherries 2.0 they will
still be acclimatizing themselves to Pageant.
Everything from the debut that fans loved is still in place,
but the songs sound supercharged.
It’s an evolution in progress at a speed that we can all
participate in.
Who knows where the difficult third album will take us, but
for now Pageant is a luxurious, but also deeply personal, indulgence that is
recommended.
The socio political angle can’t be ignored either.
As the world appears to be slipping back a step or two when
it comes to equality rights for many it needs its champions.
It needs people who will make their presence felt.
It doesn’t necessarily have to come from a platform, or from
a protest march, but from the artists like PWR BTTM who will deliver a message
via their art.
All over the world Pageant will slip unnoticed into
households and open eyes to another world.
A world where what is considered normal is challenged. A
world that highlights that under the clothing, under the masks people wear,
under the labels given and those clutched at, that we are all just people. We
are all simply people trying to get through the day. People working on how we
fit in with our families, with our friends, and in the general the world about
us.
And that’s not a bad thing because Vive le difference!
The party is here. You can join us or pretend it’s not
happening, but the music will play on regardless.
(Currently PWR BTTM have been dropped by their label and their management team.
Two members of the touring band have left and other acts who were booked to support the band have withdrawn from the live engagements.
This is the reaction to allegations against band member Ben.
Allegedly he has sexually assaulted some individuals and is being classed by many as a sexual predator.
It would be very easy to consider that there is no smoke without fire.
Especially as those surrounding the band publicly cut them loose, but I am of the opinion that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and right now as this review goes live no proof whatsoever has been provided to substantiate the allegations.
If that proof does come to light then of course that changes everything.
It is not my position to defend anyone that abuses others.
It is also not my position to castigate anyone, famous or not, based on unsubstantiated allegations.)
(Video updated to feature one from Ugly Cherries as Pageant videos have been pulled from YouTube)
Southern Approach – Restitution
A new wave of goth inspired rock?
The jury has contemplated the charges laid before them and unanimously found Southern Approach as guilty.
Damn guilty of wallowing in the birthing pool that gave us The Cult, Gene Loves Jezebel, Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, and every other kohl eyed guitar slinging band that did the rounds back in the eighties.
It’s not that Restitution is a nostalgia smash and grab party though.
There are plenty of punky guitar and rock elements that proliferate throughout that puts that notion to bed.
It’s an album that has very obviously been recorded in the present, a release that very carefully avoids sounding as if it is an unearthed gem from yesteryear.
It’s also has to be said that is material that wouldn’t be comfortable residing on the small stages of the clubs as it is obviously designed to order for stadiums.
The big grand sound is back, and it’s dressed in black.
Unfortunately for fans of this genre, new and old, they are not going to have Southern Approach coming to them.
Either on a small or large stage, and if the need arises then they will have to come to the band.
This is not due to any arrogance on their part though. It’s simply the nature of the beast. Southern Approach, as a project, was the result of old friends getting back together to address unfinished business.
They were a group of individuals that became the big fish in a small local pond and should have, could have, been destined for something more, but then life got in the way.
It’s a tale as old as time itself, but one that many don’t get to add a happy ending to.
There have already been some well received outings for the band, and other dates will happen, maybe even more recording, but the intent was never to chase anything more than what it is, and that is friends making music.
Any plaudits that come forth are just the icing on the cake for them.
That being said the future is indeed unwritten.
So maybe everything will change again.
At one time the notion of a Southern Approach album being recorded would have seemed fanciful.
And yet here it is.
For everyone who dared to dream here is the proof that they can be manifested into existence.
