Exclusive Interview: Attack!Attack!

For starters, your called Attack!Attack! (2 exclamation marks). Fans, Spotify and new music scouts must surely get you confused with Attack Attack! (1 exclamation mark). Do people ever turn up to your gigs expecting an American hardcore band?
Haha, Yeah its happened a couple of times but in general most people are able to work it out and because the music is so different its easy to tell apart

So, you've toured with Kids in glass houses, Lostprophets, Youmeatsix and just done a headline tour. Impressive! But if you could tour with any band who would it be?
I would love to play with Pearl Jam , they are my fave band and it would be a dream to share the same stage as them

You've got a new album coming out, could you tell us about it please?
Its called "the latest fashion" . The title refers to how in music it seems more important to look "cool" than to actually write good songs. As a band we always put song writing first , image isn't important to us , writing great music is. It's 11 tracks of rock classics :D

How important for the band was your single "You and Me" getting onto Guitar Hero 5?
It gave us exposure that we would never have had on a worldwide scale . We got to play our music to millions of people who would never of heard it. And all of our friends thought we were awesome too :p

Wales has turned out some amazing music. But who do you rate; past, present and future, as the best?
The best for me are lostprophets and stereophonics , both bands have written some amazing songs , but there are so many great bands from Wales , The manic street preachers , skindred , funeral for a friend plus there are loads of new bands coming through that are amazing like straight lines and tiger please for example

One of this blogs first articles was about Attack!Attack!s live performance in Blackwood Miners Institute. You've gained a local reputation for having crazy gigs, but what was the best you've played?
Our fave gig was reading festival. It blew our minds how many people showed up to watch us on the really small Radio 1 stage, it was an amazing experience

The singer of Attack!Attack! Neil Star has another band - Dopamine. A band that is reforming. Is this just for a while; a few one off gigs or are you looking to have an album out?
Dopamine never really split , they just took time out whilst Neil concentrated on A!A! Dopamine have written a new album , the first 3 songs are being released as a 3 track EP at the end of the year

Describe Attack!Attack! in less than 10 words.
Nice guys , fun to watch live , kick ass on CD

Finally, What's the funniest thing that's ever happened on tour?
We had our passports stolen in Amsterdam along with our sat nav, it wasn't really that funny at the time but trying to get to Germany using printed instructions in DUTCH was a challenge , looking back on it we laugh!

Artist: Lostprophets

The Pontypridd band are 4 studio albums in and still going strong, their debut album reached platinum status this week. So I'm going to be looking at their secrets, albums and criticisms.

During their emergence in the late 90's and new millennium, rock music was dominated by Nu metal, although it seemed popular, for many people it didn't appeal. Dance music was attracting big audiences with catchy loops and quick drum beats. Lostprophets were one of the first bands to capitalise on using dance music and metal together. A prime example is on their debut album "The fake sound of progress" opening track "Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja". This album was a testament, even from the name, that they wanted to change rock music forever. Essentially, giving rock the pop element and mixing the calm with the chaotic, became a trend and although the album wasn't that popular, people took notice.

Their next album, really progressed their sound. This really was the sound of progress. Essentially, "Start Something" had began the emo movement. Their singles "BurnBurn" and "Last Train Home" broke them into the mainstream. Their music was on every music channel. The album reached 4th in UK album chart. The album was so popular with music enthusiasts that the next album was expected to change rock music for a good while. They had the potential and the momentum.


"Liberation Transmission" was an immediate hit, reaching number 1 on the week of its release. Singles "Rooftops" and "4am forever" were anthems fit for the stages on the festivals they were playing. However, Ians voice seemed to be less emphatic compared to previous albums, growling and down tuned guitars chugging were replaced with catchy indie style riffs. Instead of taking the sound forward they had stayed still and if anything goes backwards. Some fans would say its their best album, it's certainly their most commercially successful. Other fans would say it was selling out; they had become a pop band.

The most recent release "The Betrayed" reached 3rd in the charts and was said by the band to be the darkest album to date. Certainly it has shown elements of the old days. It still doesn't have the brashness of "Start Something" or the raw uniqueness of their debut. However, it has progressed their sound with catchy pop-like singles that ll rake in the money (such as "where we belong" and "its not the end of the world")and laced together with that grungy style they were recognised for (like "Dstryr Dstryr)!

Only time will tell if they carry on in a decline with their fan base growing up, will they mature their sound or maybe change it to pick up the a young crowd? Time will tell.

Exclusive Interview: Goldie Looking Chain

You knows it! The GLC have a cult following around the UK and beyond. Hit after hit came from these comedic rappers. I didn't want to give them the usual treatment, so as legends, I gave them a few testing questions and some hilarious answers:

You come from Newport, Wales. It has a bit of 'reputation', the home office declared it one of the "most dangerous places to be at night" a few years back. What are its redeeming features?
We have a really good hospital within stumbling distance from the arena of conflict that is Newport town centre. We also have a statue of a metal pig, a great indoor market and one of Britain's best independent record shops, Diverse records.

You recently performed at "TJ's in the square" in memory of John Sicolo who died shortly before TJ's, a music venue where so many legends have played, had to be close down. How much of a loss is this to music in the area?
There are a few music venues in the Port but none more important that TJs. It's a massive loss.

I hear there is plans to have "TJ's in the square" every year, will the band be helping to make this a reality?
It was one of the most amazing things in the world to play in your home town in the place you use to hang out in as a kid in front of everyone you know and the "Vic Reeves generation" that we grew up with. I kind of hope they do it every year with bands from all over the UK and Wales. It was run really well and everything went according to plan which is a credit to the organisers. Check out my blog for pictures etc http://glctour.blogspot.com/

Your known for your eccentricity and being well... a bit mental. So out of all the members of GLC, who is most likely to die first as a result of this?
We have been waiting for maggot to die for ages now. He lives in a flat in London on his own and we always joke that they will find him dead in that flat one day. Mike Balls said he would be dead by thirty but he messed that up, he is thirty one now. I think he has put it up to thirty five now, we will have to wait and see.

You were invited to play at the Wales Vs England world cup qualifying match, you then caused controversy by singing "your missus is a nutter" at the Beckham's..This resulted in a rumour that said you being summoned into the mayors office? Was this your proudest moment? And what did the mayor actually say to you?
That's a lie, who told you that? We got some negative comments from the Welsh FA but they don't know shit, they put John Toshack in charge and he is a dick.

How has going independent from your record label worked out for you so far?
It's really great. It's nice to be in control of things we have a great distribution deal and we can put music out when we want. We have a sort of stop LP out now, it's a mix of 20 songs that have never been released. you can get it here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tape-Vol-2-Goldie-Lookin-Chain/dp/B003MY6BC2/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1276661607&sr=8-10 or buy it in HMV. It's called "the mix tape two".

The Ryder Cup is coming to Newport soon, will you be attending?
Nope, we have done a Ryder Cup golf anthem, it's great keep and eye (or ear) out for it.

How do you think you will be remembered in 20 years time?Does anyone remember Derek B? he was amazing, he made me believe I could make it in the rap game. If anyone remembers him then we will be ok......Do you know Derek B?


Unfortunately, I don't know Derek B...Sorry. What are the GLC planning to do in the future?Well we got the Golf anthem out soon and we have a really great new LP full of banging tunes to make you sweat in the bedroom/nightclub. Got a load of festivals to smash up and hope to do a bunch more next year.

A few of you recently appeared on BBC's 'Snog, marry, avoid'. So to finish, here's a scenario: The Queen, The Pope and The Go Compare man; Snog, marry, avoid?Funny you should say that I actually know the Go Compare man, he is Welsh, we use to get smash up on the booze down Cardiff bay before he hit the big time. I would snog the Queen, that would be a great story to tell the Americans. Thanks I love you. :)

Great Interview.

Exclusive Interview: CubaCuba

CubaCuba are an indie-pop/electronica band based in South Wales. Hottly tipped for success. I have been given an exclusive interview with the singer Morgan:

What sets CubaCuba apart from other bands?

We dont try terribly hard to set ourselves apart from everyone else. Having said that, we do want our music to be appreciated for the right reasons. We just write what sounds good to us and we like to come up with some fun ideas to go along with our music. Our debut album which we've just recorded, sets us apart more than ever before.

What is the song you look forward to performing the most?
From our new set, I guess we all enjoy performing 'We Rode' because it's new and were excited to hear what people have to say about it.

What's the best gig you've ever played?

The best gig we've played is always a hard one. We've played some massive shows and some tiny shows but we always agree that Swansea Student Union last year was really fun. The crowd were drunk and dancing.

Who do you site as your biggest influence?

If you ask Mike he'd say Dream Theatre because he's a metal head turned soft. The rest of us have all kinds of influences, maybe Bloc Party or Coldplay being 2 strongs amongst us.

Cuba Cuba are from Wales, where did the name come from? Has the USA got an embargo against you?

Haha, awesome question. The answer is probaby yes, the U.S do have an embargo on us. The name though, came from a period where we were brainstorming and I was studying Cuba at the time so we decided to put 2 Cuba's because repetition is good...

Who do you expect to make it big in the next few years, except for yourselves of course?

We have some very good friends that make amazing music in South Wales right now. Our buddies Tiger Please are set for very big things. Mark my word. Other friends of ours Straight Lines are definetly going to make a mark on music and outside of Wales, Tubelord will hopefully reach great heights. All awesome bands.

Do you think South Wales as a place of natural beauty or as a run down, depressed area that you can't wait to move from?

We love South Wales. Theres definetly some natural beauty. It's to easy to talk about how crap your town is etc which is why we've never done it. The basic theme of our debut album is wanting to experience adventure and to travel the world but you'll never catch us slating our hometowns. We're very gratefull.

It seems you have another album coming out, can you tell us how it will be different from "Tales From The Cabin"?

'Tales From The Cabin' was a collection of our best songs to the point where we recorded it. Some songs were written so long ago. It lacked structure and story whereas our debut album has a real running theme that people can relate to. We're very proud of our first E.P but this album is a massive step up for us. It's everything that we hoped it was going to be. We honestly cant wait to show everyone.

Who is the Vainest member of the band?

This one is between Sion and Mike. Tales have been told of Sion taking up to 3 hours doing his hair in the mirror. He also likes to hit the fake tan for the summer. Mike on the other hand, is also partial to a bit of fake tan to compliment his highly defined muscles. He also uses Veet to rid of any body hair. The worrying thing is, they both live together in a house...

What are your plans/goals for CubaCuba?

We tour this month then we're heading to London to polish off our album at the beggining of August and then you can expect to hear news on it shortly after. We always said we'd love to release an album and were doing that now. Its awesome. Were very confident in the album to. We plan to tour a lot in the coming years. We hope it will take us to Europe and beyond. As long as were still having fun, Cuba Cuba will still be around in 20 years time.

Check out our upcoming shows and latest news on :

www.myspace.com/cubacubamusic

Cheers mate, fun interview

Wales' Most Important Export

Blame politics. Blame foreign competition. Whatever you want to blame, Wales is exporting less in the way of manufactured goods than ever. Apathy is rife throughout the country and it seems that any chance of revival has diminished. But do the people of Wales sit back and let themselves become victims? No! They fight back whether its striking, protesting or creating music.

Recently Wales' most important and sucessful resource is music and pop-punk sensations like Kids In Glass Houses, Attack!Attack! (see previous reviews) and pop-princess Marina and the Diamonds are just a small sample of Welsh artists that have newly broken through onto the scene.

Wales seems to have an unlimited amount of talent at the moment, but who is set to shine in the next couple of years? Here are a few to wet your lips:

Tiger Please
Probably one of the most exciting alternative acts in Wales at the moment, Tiger Please blend tranquil guitar and aggressive vocals, there sound is akin to a modern Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and the Gaslight Anthem. Wales hasn't produced an sound like this before, predominantly Wales is a hotspot for young pop-punk bands. I wrote a short review last year after seeing them peform in a miners institute in a small valleys town. Since then, the bands reputation has accelerated enough to play Download after some brilliant reviews from Kerrang and Rock Sound. Recently, they have extended their catalouge with an excellent seasonal EP called...uhhh.. "Seasons". Check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/tigerplease

Cuba Cuba
Another talented bunch with a committed group of followers, Indie-electro quintet CubaCuba remind me of the sort of fun and energetic atmosphere bands like We Are Scientists, Foals and The Automatic gave off when they arrived. Its a gentle but confident sound that anyone who enjoys upbeat and catchy music will appreciate. They have expereinced exposure on Radio 1 and hopefully soon will impress us with a successful future. Again, they aren't sticking to the Youmeatsix infulenced pop-punk that litters Wales at the moment, "Tales from the cabin" EP boasts a lot of good potential singles. Definatly worth a listen.

http://www.myspace.com/cubacubamusic

Young Guns
They seem to have been about for ages! Young Guns have taken their time but playing small and intimate venues has allowed them to build up a solid local fanbase. The angsty and heavy alternative sound is similar to Paramore and Madina Lake. Songs like "Winter Kiss" and "Sons of apathy" are often played on Rock music channels. Getting the credit they deseve, Young Guns will be opening Readings main stage. I'm pretty confident of success very soon. Watch this space!

http://www.myspace.com/youngguns