Street Goliaths and Rock n Roll

This weekend I hit up NASS Festival in Royal Bath and West this weekend for a shit load of action sports and rock n roll to boot. In line, skate boarding and BMX kept me quiet but the streetboarders were the icing on my extreme sports cake with their near-Goliath defying stunts. Competing for cash they literally lost their skin and added to their scar collection as the airs got bigger, the tricks got more dangerous and the constitute streak in each of them grew; the fake-skaters (kidding!) pulled in the crowds with double backflips, sevens and a couple of the guys even riding switch. Mental, mental, mental.

The one action sport we could all partake in went down in the sadly rarely-full Kerrang! Stage where rock's finest young talents shook the converted cowshed to the core; despite the questionable acoustics they all battled on to throw out massive mosh-along anthems. Musical highlights came from Young Guns with performances of killer tracks off their new album, All Our Kings Are Dead (go buy it now!). Crazy Arm vibed their punk-blues schmooze across the airwaves and meandered into the ear canals of their captivated crowd. Exit Ten ripped it up with their hardcore melodies and tales of record label woe in a way that most present frontal lobes will be feeling for a while. The Ghosts Of A Thousand, well, TGOAT bowled over the closest to capacity the Kerrang! Stage had seen all weekend with their onstage japes, crowd surfs, circle pits and premature walls of death - third time lucky, eh guys!

Frolics and japes and banter...oh my! The Athlete's Bar was the place to be with the DJs dishing out club bumpers for the kids on the dancefloor and foam half-pipe alike...despite street Goliaths Stripey Neil and Grumpy Josh ladelling under the stars! Nice one guys, you made my NASS.

It's Crystal Clear

A wonderful package landed on my doormat today. Inside were four wonderful things. Four shiny, new CDs full of beautiful, new music from Crystal Castles, Example, Young Guns and Brendan Perry.

At this exact moment in time, my frontal lobes are wrestling with Young Guns' debut, full length album, All Our Kings Are Dead. It's big and it's very clever. The High Wycombe five-piece have unleashed a dozen tracks beyond their foetal careers; ambitious, honest rock anthemica. One listen will have you attempting to sing along with Gustav and co's shoot-from-the-hip choruses and flailing your limbs around your living room like a crazed, mosh pitting behemoth. It's crystal clear that this is merely the beginning of something beautiful for these Brit rock breakthroughs.

Listen to: Crystal Clear, After The War and Beneath The Waves.
Check out: www.myspace.com/youngguns for summer tour dates and their winter headline UK tour.
Watch: The video for latest single Crystal Clear

Slam Dunk in 30 seconds

Last night I returned back to the Diff after a London weekend of frolics and one hell of a day at Slam Dunk South in the Uni of Herts, Hatfield.

In a nutshell, here's what went down:
1980's mane inducing rain, lots and lots of rock and punk and pop and rock and reggae-metal and acoustic, Rolo Tomassi pretty barking. Save Your Breath on Young Guns being 'dishy', June and Jude (and Debs), cake houses and jelly drums. Moneen big rock, baby pics and Max Blaze.  L'Amour La Morgue, rocked the shit out of Babycakes Bar. Fortune cookies from Sam Little - You are awesome and that's a fact! Mini-albums from Lost On Campus. Straight Lines predict knarly Jager vomit waves courtesy of all festie lovers simultaneous up-chucking will carry us all to Leeds. Security riots and disgruntled festival goers. Cider showers. Skindred hating on Florence and the Machine. NEW FOUND GLORY hold my hand Sonny sing alongs. Getting lost round Shoreditch, Cargo rip offs with Quicks and Toplis - HOW MUCH? - and Jamie T window ledge karaoke at 8am.

And that kids, is how to kick start any festival season.

Save Your Pennies

I've just been abusing my iTunes account - amongst other things, I acquired Diamond Eyes by Deftones, obvs natch - and then stumbled upon Save Your Breath. After seeing them as support to Young Guns this week, I investigated the Newport rocker's back catalogue and found an absolute gem. Hold your breath.....as Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy but it sure is great value at £1.29 for 10 pop-punk-rock wonder tracks. What a bobby bargain. Save Your Breath save you money. Get involved. Diolch!

BBPD.

A Different View

I've been keeping myself busy and of late been doing bits and bobs for the lovely people at Alternative Vision. Head over to the latest E-magazine for interviews with The Computers, Sorry and the Sinatras and GU Medicine. As well as reviews of Moneen, Boys Like Girls, The Paddingtons (on the website only) and tons of other bands.

Coming up in next month's E-magazine will be interviews with Slaves To Gravity and Young Guns.

BBPD.

May Day! May Day!

Euurrrgh! The weekend before payday is always rife with unequivocal shitness. Yup, sad times. Silver linings often keep themselves highly camoflaged but this is a silver lining shiny enough to whip a flock of magpies into a highly reflective frenzy.

Cardiff's first weekend of May holds more musical snacks than a Wimbledon picnic.

May 1st sees High Wycombe's Young Guns rock out a matinee show in Clwb Ifor Bach. Armed with brand spanking new material this nigh on sold out Cardiff date is set to be a pre-summer scorcher with new single Sons Of Apathy out now to buy.

If Welsh music is more your bag then I suggest you definitely get yourselves down to Cardiff International Arena on the evening of May 1st for a night of club bangers courtesy of Pontypridd's finest Lostprophets. With support from Kids In Glass Houses, both bands sporting some jazzy new material under their belts and Ian Watkin's unquenchable desire to beat the crap out of 30STM, you're not going to want to miss out on antics from Wales' favourite rock kids.

As if that isn't enough for you, indie beats from melodramatic Melbourne man-band The Temper Trap are playing to a sold out Cardiff Uni Great Hall. The Aussies will be awaiting your already thrice battered frontal lobes, ready to soothe away all the hurt with their electro indie cwtches on May 2nd.

What? You still want more? In one weekend that isn't a festival? Crumbs! Well lucky for you  Cardiff Student's Union is housing an eyeball shaking all dayer, thanks to Grab Promotions and P4 Music. The likes of Pulled Apart By Horses, The Guns and Cardiff newbies Straight Lines act as support for the mighty The Bronx and their marraccas-weilding alter egos Mariachi El Bronx. All on May 2nd.

Think of it as Festival Season warm-up.

Info and ticket deets are below and on the bands' Facebook/Myspace/Twitter/Official Websites and:
www.ticketweb.co.uk

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/
http://www.seetickets.com/
http://www.wegottickets.com/
http://www.aloud.com/
Cardiff University Box Office
Ticketline UK (Cardiff)
Spillers Records (Cardiff)
Derricks Records (Swansea)
Diverse Music (Newport)

BBPD.

Emo's Calling On Music Monday

Music Monday is just about gone, but Twitter is rife with sweet tweetings from some of our favourite new rock bands sending happy greetings from within the studio. Spring time studio hideaways can only mean one thing - brand spanking new albums will be winging their way to us all in the coming months. Yes!

Bands in the studio this Spring and that you may want to keep your ears peeled for include:
Young Guns recording their debut album,
My Passion are working on 2009's Corporate Death Party follow up,
New kids on the Welsh block, I Am Hope, have been tweeting inbetween breaks from recording their debut album. As have Shefvegas indie troup All The Damn Kids. Hit them up on Twitter @AllTheDamnKids and preview their new single on Sound Cloud.

And back to music out now....Straight Lines released their debut album Persistance In This Game is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings. They're Welsh and, oh boy, can they rock. If you were lucky enough to catch them supporting Young Guns before Christmas you'll know what I mean.

Straight Lines. As pleasant as Salt n Vinegar Walkers clad in Fred Perry.

New Zealand wannarockers So So Modern are back at their post-punk, electro math rock. They make Brett and Jerome of Flight of the Conchords seem more of a sure thing than Ellie Gounlding is tipped to be. Leave the self-prophesyingly titled Crude Futures safely on the iTunes shelf. Speaking of Ms Goulding, her debut  was released today and it's as pop filled as a shaken bottle of Coca Cola and nearly as predictable as La Roux. All in all not dreadful, just critically overrated.

Is awkward electro pop your thing too? It is? Epic. Then come join the Two Door Cinema Club hitting us with Tourist History. NME calls on the 'spiky songs that are tighter than a snaake's bumhole in a sandstorm.' And with thumbs up from Kanye West to boot, who am I to argue?

Buy This Addiction. Or else..!

Alkaline Trio are back. And I for one couldn't be happier. This is the only guide to love, loss and desperation you will need. Now, step away from the landfill indie offering of 2008 and be greeted by the warm cwtch of punky licks on This Addiction; Dine, Dine My Darling is my personal favourite. Don't go anywhere. Don't miss a beat. Just listen from beginning to end. No skipping.

Finally, Alice In Wonderland's OST Almost Alice gets by with a little help from some rock royalty friends. Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, Avril Lavigne, Wolfmother and 3OH!3 lend their vocal chords, but it is Plain White T's Beatles esque Welcome To Mystery that really makes this collection of melodies truly unique.

That's your lot for today. Enjoy.

BBPD.

No Choice For Sophie...Or Us!

It's May 1st 2010. You're a South Welsh music lover and excited about the many gigs leading up to the festival season. Prepare for an England v Wales that will rock your socks.

It's May 1st 2010. Lostprophets play the CIA. Young Guns play Clwb Ifor Bach. But instead of a Sophie's Choice sitch, Young Guns will play a matinee so no one has to miss out on any fun! YES!

Straight from the Gun's mouth. Thanks Gus!

Young Guns tickets details at Young Guns Myspace blog.
Lostprophets ticket info at Ticket Master.

BBPD.

Free Shit for Followers!

Free stuff is great isn't it? BBPD has some free shizzle to send to you signed by your favourite rock Hercules: a My Passion flyer signed by all the band, a Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour 2010 ticket signed by Lostprophets' Stuart Richardson and Luke Wilson (who happened to be hanging out around the merch stands, which was nice) and a signed copy of Young Guns' EP Mirrors.

All you have to do is follow this blog and answer the following question:

Who headlined the Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour 2010 and what was their encore song?

Answers below in the comments box. First to answer correctly will win.

BBPD.

Relentless...Young Guns

Straight off the stage and dripping in sweat, an out of breath, and poorly, Gustav Wood poses for countless pictures and signs tickets, EPs, t shirts and, erm, skin only added to the butterflies in their young fan's stomachs. A relentless street team add name upon name to their mailing list. Surely working tirelessly night after night to promote these guys must take its toll? Not on a diet of 'caffeine pills, whisky and lovely young men'. That's gotta be better than Atkins!

Rewind to about 40 minutes earlier...Next on the Kerrang! Relentless Energy tour bill was Young Guns. As usual, the High Wycombe quintet ceased to disappoint with loud and bouncing choruses and riffs to melt your face with. The massive sweaty teen filled mosh pit grew and grew with Weight of the World and in reward they were crowned 'easily the best fucking crowd of the whole tour.' Cheers Mr Wood! Sweaty and poorly but no less energetic, Young Guns are continuing to secure their unshakable place on the British music scene.

BBPD.

P.S. Fun Tuesday = Free Tuesday!

Fun Tuesday Tsunami

Fun Tuesday has come back around again. You lucky blighters have already had one slice of fun, fresh and free music this week with Young Guns' Winter Kiss but prepare yourselves for the tsunami of free downloads from Swansea rock starfish...too far with the ocean metaphors? Yeah? Ok, fair enough....where was I? Oh yeah, Swansea rock stars Tidal have released their free debut EP at http://www.trsmusicmanagement.com/. Tidal, completed by Ollie Hine (vocals), Adam Vaughan (guitar/vox), Joe Lewis (bass) and Joe Wilkes (drums), are another string to the axe that is the South Wales rock music talent pool. Expect gritty vox and raucus riffs mixed with smouldering basslines and ear-bleeding percussions.

This week, BBPD has gone OTT for Tidal.

BBPD.

Musical Mulled Wine

Get your lip balm at the ready for a Winter Kiss. Here's the only link you need today. Download Young Guns' new single, Winter Kiss by clicking this link.

You won't be disappointed.

BBPD

Free Winter Warmer

STOP THE PRESS!

Direct from YoungGunsUK Twitter HQ...It's free AND legal AND warmer than a Buffalo Mulled Wine in a Christmas jumper.  From the more-ish Mirrors quintet to you and your beloved iPod.

Winter Kiss for free download. YES! Get in Young Guns, get in!

Check back at midnight to find out where...

BBPD

Snowgate

OK, so it is still pissing down with snow, my cassette-wielding car is still stranded at the stables and somehow I have still made it to work. Everyday. Early. What's that about? But whilst on the train this evening, inbetween paragraphs of HST's Generation Of Swine, I got to thinking about what I am looking forward to.
Number 1) Kicking off my birthweek with Young Guns, All Time Low , The Blackout and My Passion on The Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour hitting Cardiff on January 29th to . I literally tingle with excitement. Info here and beyond: tour.kerrang.com

Number 2) The vast number of immense gigs and albums gracing our shores over the forthcoming months; 30STM (Actor-cum-rockband not to everyone's taste, but I find them inoffensive...sorry Ian Watkins!), You Me At Six, Reel Big Fish, The Temper Trap, Fightstar, Dead By Sunrise...KISS!

Number 3) I love A Sides! And B Sides! The possibility of a cassette revival leaves me salivating a little bit (is that wrong? Oh well, if La Roux's hair doesn't have to be right then neither do I!). Is anyone else stoked to make a proper stop-record-pause-rewind-stop-record-stop-playback mixtape!? The Tapeworm are a cassette only label helping keep the magnetic-recording dream alive. For more info www.tapeworm.org.uk/.

Number 4) A Mark Hoppus-Pete Wentz hair-off! Sadly, this is made up but how great would that be? Well, until PeWe lost his emo-fringe to the mercy of Mark's clippers. In reality, the punk pair teamed up to create a tune for Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. PeWe hasn't ruled out further work with the Blink-bassist assuring us 'it sounds nothing like Blink 182 or Fall Out Boy' (from Yahoo news UK). No hint of sarcasm, my breath is actually baited.

Number 5) Praise be for Christmas anarchy! As if splattering Joe McElderry's sad cover of Miley Cyrus's The Climb all over his Christmas pudding wasn't enough, Rage Against The Machine promise of a victory gig. This year. In the UK. For free! Should be. According to this week's Kerrang! magazine Mr Morello and his angry mob 'couldn't be more excited about it' and say the free show will be 'insane'. On top of all this the US politcal-rockers donated all the GBP800,000 (yeah, my pound sign doesn't work. Brilliant) profits from their Christmas Number 1 to UK charity, Shelter. RATM - we salute you.

BBPD

Get the Guns' eye view of studio life as they talk babes, one-take wonders and shooting the video for their brand new single, Winter Kiss. Watch out for head-teacher horror stories and basement anecdotes from the old school maintainance dude. At time of blogging this Young Guns insider video only had 19 views!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M53pjBIfIXU&fmt=18

Make sure you catch the High Wycombe fivesome on the 2010 Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour kicking off on January 22nd at Dublin Academy alongside The Blackout, My Passion and headliners All Time Low. For more info, K! Tour blog and ticket details go to http://tour.kerrang.com/

BBPD