SO OUR FINAL HOUR HAVE A NEW SONG
They have a new vocalist & an awesome new sound, so go check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=temqgpqoXdY
First Podcast!
In this podcast, we mainly talk about music journalism, The Used, Jack White and The Great Escape festival.
Enjoy (:
Just realised I’ve never posted this on here
For uni, we had to do a radio show. Here’s what we came up with http://soundcloud.com/emily-jane-reed/georgia-gore-rock-show-final (:
So we’re gonna start doing a fortnightly podcast about music journalism/concerts. Super excited.
Our Final Hour
After conquering England, post-hardcore band ‘Our Final Hour’ finally takes on Europe.
Sitting outside the Rovers Return pub in the grey, Isle of Man weather, Our Final Hour have a much deserved break as they talk about their previous European tour and the difficulty of living somewhere with such a minor music scene.
Originating from such a small island, the band has had to work harder than most in order to gain such a large fan base. While bands in England can easily find local venues that will be happy enough to accommodate their band for even a few small concerts, the same can certainly not be done on the Isle of Man. Jamie Carrington, the band’s vocalist, claims that ‘there’s no venue that wants to do music. Nobody cares about music anymore, they just want to go out and get drunk,’ which is not surprising, considering the island has the highest binge drinking rates in Europe.
Carrington then goes on to explain how the band managed to pursue a career in music despite the lack of encouragement from their hometown ‘we never played a song without recording it, so we knew our sound; we would always record, then play it back. Then all of a sudden, we just went to England and recorded. We hadn’t played on the Isle of Man for a while and our first show back was at Battle of the Bands. We didn’t blow up, but because we’d been on TV and had a music video, it was absolutely packed and people knew the words for pretty much the first time. It was crazy and we had number seven in the charts and loads of people started adding us on Facebook and telling us to play places in England, so we thought ‘why don’t we?’ so we just went on tour and from then, we decided that that’s what we wanted to do.’
Due to the struggle of finding places to perform on the island, the band has decided to move to the South of England next year in order to find more gigs. ‘We haven’t really decided on a town yet but we’re just all gonna get a house together,’ admits drummer Sam Knight, before adding that once in England, they are going to begin booking more shows in Europe, as it will be much easier for the band to travel there.
On the subject of their recent European tour, the band believes that the shows were the best that they have ever done. ‘When we go to England, it’s the same old routine, but when we went to Europe it was new, so we just enjoyed every moment of it,’ says Carrington, who then goes on to describe their live shows ‘we never stand still. If they’re not seeing all the energy, why would they want to give it back? We just give it our all, no matter who’s there; if there are 5 people or 100 people there, we just always have a good time.’
This undoubtedly seemed to be the case once the band began to open up about their tour stories. After some encouragement from the rest of the band, Knight admits ‘the first time we went to Europe, it was Hadman’s [guitarist] birthday, he’s fucking well old by the way, but it was his birthday so we decided to get drunk at the venue that we were playing at the next day. It was really cheap so we got really drunk, then me and Hadman smoked a joint that we found on the floor, which didn’t really go well. Turned out it wasn’t really a joint and like, I went to the future.’
From this, as well as other stories including Daniel Stocks [bassist] pole dancing at a club after their second show and getting a tattoo of a moustache on his finger in the kitchen above a club, it is clear that the tour was anything but boring. Despite this, not all of the excitement was good. ‘The first day we got there, I put £50 of petrol in our diesel van, so we had to call the AA out and pay £180 to fix it, then when we got around the corner, our gear stick snapped in the middle of traffic and we had to replace it with a spanner,’ explains Carrington. The band also got the van impounded at a later date, causing them to miss two shows. Luckily, they managed to make it to the third show by train and had to borrow equipment. In spite of this, the band kept their spirits high claimed it to be one of their favourite shows due to being so memorable.
Since the band got back from their last date in Europe, they have been focusing all of their energy on changing and improving their sound for the new EP. Carrington claims that they are planning on redoing everything and starting again, as they are looking for a ‘whole new start, writing new material and trying to get a new sound’ after firing their second vocalist Mikey Gatt once the tour was over. ‘The new stuff’s going to be better,’ adds Knight, clearly excited by the prospect of starting over.
The band’s EPs ‘Like Oceans’ and ‘From Heart and Home’ are available from itunes
Merchandise is available from http://ourfinalhour.bigcartel.com/
Pixies- Surfer Rosa & Come on Pilgrim
Experimental, soothing, catchy. Three words that usually would not go together, yet perfectly describe the Pixies fourth studio album, Surfer Rosa & Come on Pilgrim.
The album is a complete mix of songs that somehow fit together to make arguably one of the band’s best records.
While the soft sound on tracks like ‘Where is my Mind?’ and ‘Gigantic’ would be perfect as background music, or even to fall asleep to, they are by no means boring. With thought-provoking lyrics and catchy chorus’, it is almost impossible not to find yourself singing along.
Despite this, the album also features some more upbeat songs with less serious undertones. A great example of this is ‘Tony’s Theme’, written as the theme for a non-existent superhero. With lyrics like ‘riding ‘round on a bicycle like a pony’, the song is clearly not supposed to be taken seriously.
Although each track is completely different from the last, they all seem to fit together as though placed in some kind of strategic order. Even the track ‘You Fuckin’ Die’, in which we hear 42 seconds of seemingly unplanned chatter in the studio, somehow belongs exactly where it resides.
As a whole, the album seems to be a puzzle of songs that the band have, against all odds, put together to create possibly one of the greatest albums of its genre.
Non-profit record label to ‘overthrow the current profit-based music business’
A non-profit record label claims that they are trying to ‘overthrow the current profit-based music business’. The label was founded by Ray Holroyd, under the name of ‘Revolution Harmony’, with the purpose of letting artists release their music at no cost of their own.
Although the label itself is new, it has partnered up with the likes of Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group and gained sponsors such as Bandzoogle and Avenging Animals to help fund it and to help it grow.
Holroyd states that he is ‘trying to create a new ethical and sustainable business model that contributes positively towards our planet’, as all of the company’s proceeds are distributed among various charities, including PETA and the United Nations Children’s fund.
The label is definitely one to look out for, as Holroyd claims that ‘lots of super exciting news and announcements’ will be available from their website in the near future.
Good music doesn’t always come at a price…
Buying CDs can be expensive; it can be so much easier and cheaper to simply download music, but I can’t be the only person that still prefers to have the actual CD.
Many people claim that they can’t afford to build up their CD collection, but there are still ways to buy good albums without spending too much money. Take ‘That’s Entertainment!’ for example, a place where you can find good albums for £5 or less.
If you don’t have one of their stores nearby, you could also try HMVs “2 for £10” offer. Even if you can’t afford to spend £10, you can do the offer with a friend and buy one CD each.
It might still take a little more effort to buy the CD instead of downloading it, but surely that’s not too much for ask for when you could get a whole variety of CDs for at least half the price!
A little off topic…but you guys should definitely check this band out!
Tom Cook, 16, talks about what it’s like being in thrash metal band, Korpser.
“Our original name was Shotgun Surgery, but when we found out that it was already taken, we realised that we needed to change it; we had a gig the following week so we had to be fast. We eventually came up with Corpse, but accidentally spelt it with a K in a typo. We thought that it was catchy and it evolved into Korpser”, admits Tom Cook, the band’s bassist.
The band can seem easy to dismiss, with the members being teenagers still doing their studies, yet Korpser is certainly not a band to be overlooked. With what the band describe as “blistering drum beats, shredding guitars and growled vocals”, the Bristol based thrash metal band are quickly attracting a large audience base, with music that is unique in comparison to other bands on the scene. While the band seems to have their own sound, there are definite influences that can be found within their music. Tom claims that their main inspiration is “the big four,” referring to the big four metal bands, consisting of Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and Metallica.
Despite the band being very ambitious, the members have not limited their career choices with the band. While Tom G and George study at music college, Tom and Ryan have kept their options wide open, with Ryan studying history as well as two music related subjects and Tom even more so, choosing to study psychology, media and ICT b-tech. In spite of their studies, the band still manages to find time to rehearse at least once a fortnight at a local music college under the name of “Access to Music”.
On the subject of their live shows, Tom states “we’ve performed about seven or eight concerts this year alone, but we’re doing a gig in Bath next month, which will be our first time playing outside of Bristol, so we’re really excited for that” he smiles. He goes on to describe the shows as “loud, fast and energetic,” admitting that the atmosphere is mainly due to the crowds, who love to mosh and head bang along to the music.
The thought of the band ever making it to the big time is enough for Tom to get excited, saying that he would be “over the moon” if they managed to make it, claiming “my life dream is to do something to do with music. A tour alone would be insane; a festival would be the best though!” He goes on to say that appearing at Bloodstock or Sonisphere Festival alongside bands like Slayer and Rammstein would be a dream come true for Korpser.
The band will be performing their next gig in Bath on the 7th of April and have plans to release an EP, which will include four original songs including Terror in the Night and Game Over.
The Bouncing Souls- The Gold Song
‘The Gold Record’ is the seventh studio album from New Jersey based punk rockers, The Bouncing Souls. Despite the band having been around for over 25 years, their music continues to evolve, ensuring that each album holds something completely different from the last.
While the album seems to be much calmer than some of the band’s earlier music, the songs are just as honest as ever. From the upbeat lyrics found on tracks like ‘Sarah Saturday’ and ‘The Gold Song’ to the more serious, thought-provoking ‘Lean on Sheena’, the Souls appear to have created an album that is completely relatable to their audience.
Although the album does hold some more serious songs, it is also filled with light-hearted, fast-paced tracks, such as ‘Better Things’ and ‘Sounds of the City’, that help the band to keep their punk rock roots. As a whole, the album demonstrates just how diverse the Souls are capable of being, as they continue to create such striking, unique music.
