Fancy listening to a bit of Pulled Apart By Horses but you’re in more of a PJ’s and hot chocolate mood? Then problem solved.
Matt Emery, solo musician and drummer for the critically acclaimed band Stagecoach, has released an EP of acoustic/accapella covers of PABH tracks. And better yet, it’s absolutely free.
The idea came about in September last year after Matt recorded ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ for a covers EP of his favourite songs and artists. But after putting the track online - and it being ‘retweeted’ by PABH themselves - it got over 500 downloads in just a few hours. So, due to popular demand, Matt decided to focus on just covering the Leeds based group.
“Their music is practically the opposite of what I do, so they were a perfect choice of artist to cover,” said Matt. “I think if you’re going to do a cover you should make it your own and put your own spin on it. It also shows the songs in a completely different light, because they are done in such a different style. I hope that they will be enjoyed whether you’re a PABH fan or not.”
Matt has also been lucky enough to tour with the band, as Stagecoach supported them on their tour last year. “They are a right lovely bunch, they’ve already mentioned the EP via Twitter/Facebook and helped out with getting people to join the Facebook event for it.”
The EP, called ‘Pulled Apart by Matt Emery’, features four acoustic covers of PABH’s singles from their self titled debut album, as well as an added bonus accapella version of 'Yeah Buddy’.
The tracks are almost unrecognizable from their original versions. The entire EP is beautifully produced and each song is a work of art. Layers of piano and stunning vocals give the tracks a whole new layer of epicness, whilst still maintaining that raw PABH attitude.
The artwork for ‘Pulled Apart by Matt Emery’ is also superb and was created by Matt’s friend Tony Deebank. “He is a very talented artist and was the person who actually introduced me to PABH a few years ago,” said Matt. “I had the idea in my head of what I wanted for the artwork when I decided to do the EP, and he beyond nailed it. It really does look like me, and the blood is pretty sick, in a good way.”
The EP is available as a free download online now and Matt hopes it will be a ‘win for everyone’. “I’m just a big fan really and want to share my versions with the other fans and as many people as possible.”
You wouldn’t have thought Hanson would be listed among the influences of the hottest new pop punk band in the UK right now. But Southampton five-piece Not Advised, who are personal favourites of You Me At Six, are not afraid to admit their love of 90’s pop, as well as deep fried food, comfy chairs and their blossoming bromance.
You’ve been together for quite a while now, how did the band come about?
Andy (drums): The band came about when we were 14 years old, just jamming in school practice rooms. I didn’t know Jack before I started secondary school, that’s where we met.
Jack (guitar): Rock brought us together.
Andy: Then we started playing as the band Not Advised with different members. Then we stole Jim and Ash from other local bands to make a supergroup and decided to go out on the road and start playing music.
Which bands influenced you to become musicians in the beginning?
Jim (vocals): There are two for me. A band called New Found Glory and a band called Goldfinger, both got me into the rock circuit.
Ash (guitar): Hanson was the first CD I ever got. I listened to that a lot and I always wanted to play drums, but I wasn’t allowed.
Did you have the long hair to go with it?
Ash: Well, not straight away.
Greg (bass): Anyway, yea I think Blink 182, New Found Glory and, when we got a bit older, Fall Out Boy got us motivated.
Jack: Yea and I was big on my Oasis when we were first starting out.
You guys are from Southampton, just up the road. How is the music scene over there these days?
Andy: It’s alright. When we first started touring and playing properly, Southampton was a really cool place to play. Really great local bands and Joiners is a great venue. But I couldn’t really tell you now. We tour quite a lot so Southampton is just like playing any other town now. We obviously enjoy it because we get to see friends and stuff. We have friends in bands there. A band called Lost On Landing are really good. There have always been good bands in Southampton and I’m sure there still are.
Gary: People are doing well, you never hear of people not turning out to shows.
Jack: It was definitely a cool place when we were starting out. It definitely helped us as a great place to build from.
Where is your favourite venue to play in Southampton?
Andy: We’ve only ever played one!
Jack: Yea, Joiners has been great because we played out first show there and then we built up over the years and now it’s a case of Joiners being the smallest venue on our tour, which was a nice place to end it. It’s always been a cool place for us, it’s where we started.
Which UK bands are you guys excited about at the moment?
Gary: The guys we just took out on tour, Pegasus Bridge.
You’re quite good friend with You Me At Six and have supported them in the past, will you be bribing them for backstage passes for the Blink 182 tour this summer?
Andy: Yes.
Ash: That was the first thing we confirmed last time we saw them.
Andy: Nah, we tried in January but it didn’t work. The amount of people that will be calling them, pretty much everyone they know, plus a few others.
If you could support any band, who would it be?
All: Blink 182
Jack: They are the kings of pop punk. It’s the dream.
Jack: All those pop rock bands that can break out onto the radio really. Like Blink 182, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy. Those sorts of bands are the ones we look up to. That’s where we want to be so any of those bands would be cool to play with.
Pop punk is quite a saturated genre, how do you guys keep your sound fresh and different from the competition?
Andy: We stop worrying about everyone else and just do what we want.
Jack: People call us a pop punk band but we never set out to write pop punk songs. I think if you just listen to our band without looking at us or the bands we play with, you’d probably just think we’re a rock band or an alternative band. We don’t have a problem with people labelling us but we never really care. We just write songs that we want to write and if people like them then that’s cool.
You’ve done a hell of a lot of touring, where is your favourite place to play?
Greg: Mine would be Newcastle.
Jim: Scotland is always good.
Jack: Scotland was really supportive early on. Now, we’re lucky that we have a good fan base so we have lots of nice fans everywhere. But when we first started touring, Scotland was one of the first places that caught on and really helped us out. I remember when we turned up and played our first show in Edinburgh, there was a big queue of people to see us even in the morning. And that had never happened for us before. So it’s always been really cool to go back there to see new faces as well as the people who helped us out from the start. It’s a special place for us.
Did you try any deep fried Mars Bars while you were up there?
Jim: Jack did!
Jack: Yep, I like everything deep fried, even haggis. No straight haggis.
What is your favourite track to play live?
Jack: The new ones I guess. Because we toured the EP ‘After The Fight’ quite a lot, we play those songs time and time again. So now that we’re writing the album we get to test run the new songs and that’s exciting not only for us playing them but also to see people reactions.
Andy: I still like playing ‘Right Now’ though.
Gary: I like ‘The World’s Not Ready’ as well because it always gets a good reaction.
Ash: Mine would be The A.R.K.
Andy: So to answer your question, all of them.
Jack: Anything that gets a reaction from the room. That’s the most important thing. So any time when people are jumping or singing, that’s the coolest part of the set.
Have you ever had any crazy fan experiences on tour?
Andy: We got a lot of gifts in Scotland. Jack, tell your story.
Jack: Well I was sat upstairs in Glasgow, minding my own business and Ash text me saying I’ve got to come outside the venue. So I go downstairs, not really knowing what to expect, and this lovely girl had made her own Jack hoodie. She got it printed with ‘I <3 Jack Fairbrother’ on the front and a picture of me on the back. That was the most ‘out there’ thing that I’ve ever had. It was really quite sweet.
Jim: There are actually two girls coming here tonight who have come all the way from Edinburgh, which is insane.
Jack: I sound like a fatty, but food! We get a lot of food. We get baked goods like cookies and cupcakes and Danishes and sweets.
Ash: We’ve also got some scrapbooks of every time people have seen us play and what we mean to them.
Jack: We drink lots of vitamin water, play Tiger Woods, and watch films.
Andy: Ash smokes quite a lot out the window.
Jack: We’re not really fussed about the travelling; it’s all about the gigs.
Andy: On the last tour we just did, the travelling wasn’t that long because the dates were planned quite well. So I think we mostly just watched Pineapple Express.
Jack: And some Star Wars. I think it’s gone from not what features the van has but to how comfy the seats are. If you get a nice leather recliner like we had on the last tour them I’m set.
Andy: We talk quite a lot too I think.
Jack: We just amuse ourselves with stupid in-jokes. We’re all good friends. It’s a bit of a bromance.
I understand that Ash had to take over vocal duties when Jim got ill on tour last year, are you all quite multi-talented in the band?
Ash: Definitely. If Greg can’t make a practice or something then Jim steps in on the bass
Jack: As well as playing drums, Andy writes loads of the initial guitar parts, which is quite unusual for a band I suppose.
Andy: Yea, we’re all really multi-talented.
Jack: We’re actually the best musicians, times about five.
Greg: I play every instrument. Even the oboe.
Andy: Nah seriously, when I first started in the band, I couldn’t play guitar or anything like that. I think it’s just the fact that you’re around these instruments so much that even if you just pick it up and mess around on it for five minutes a day, you end up playing those five minutes so many times that you’ve probably played guitar for about three days straight.
Jack: I think I’m the exception to the rule. I can’t play drums. But I think it helps with writing as well because when people pick up an instrument that they’re not used to, they’ve got a new perspective and come up with ideas that perhaps we wouldn’t normally think of.
Talking of writing music, how is the new album coming along?
Jim: It’s going really well actually. It’s in full flow now.
What can we expect from the new record?
Jim: Tunes. Absolute tunes.
Andy: Chugging riffs. More of the same feel and emotion that we put in to our songs but maybe in a slightly different way.
Jack: It’s cheesy I know, but it is a natural progression really. There’s more depth and more going on. But we’re not trying to be anything else, we just thought, lets write some songs and see how it comes out.
Andy: We still always go with the songs that when we’re jamming and we get that funny tingling feeling inside and we start smiling. And we all stand there smiling at each other, again it’s a bromance. We tell each other “You’re the best! That riff is the best!”
Greg: We’ve got some monster riffs on this record.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Jack: We’re on a tight schedule to get this album done. So we’ve postponed summer and we’ve just been sat in our practice room trying to get the songs written and ready for the studio. Then we’re going to record in early summer and hopefully tour. But the focus is the album so next year we’ll be doing all the stuff we’ve missed out this year.
Andy: I think we’ll be doing a few support tours in the summer and do an even bigger headline tour in October/November time when the album comes out.
Jack: But for now we just want to get the CD right. We’ve got a strict deadline that we’re working towards.
Andy: We’re about a third of the way through with enough time left.
You know you’re doing something right when you manage to sell out a venue before you’ve even released an album. But Southampton pop punk five piece Not Advised have done just that, taking a little break from recording their debut full length record to pop down the road and play Bournemouth’s favourite little sweat box, iBar.
As the crowd pile in, the first support act I Met Nature launch into their set. The female fronted group from Salisbury appear to be having brilliant fun and deliver some standard pop punk. Unfortunately, microphone issues - which continue to crop up for all three bands this evening - disrupt their tight performance but are soon laughed off as the five piece power through.
The girl power continues as Checking Pulse take to the stage with leading lady Emily. The trio’s blend of stomping rock and soaring electronica beings something truly original to the table. Emily’s pre-programmed auto tuned vocals manage to avoid being irritating, leaving the crowd hugely impressed and content to sing along with every word. An outstanding cover of Tinie Tempah’s ‘Written In The Stars’ tops off the set, getting everybody suitably sweaty for tonight’s main act.
Preceded by some rousing classical music, Not Advised grace the tiny stage and commence with their massive sing along anthems. Kicking off with the lyrical genius of ‘The Winner’, the packed out iBar basement starts to move as front man Jim clings onto the ceiling. After a couple of classic tracks from their two EPs, the lads showcase some of the new material they’ve been busy recording for the album. The new tracks receive a warm welcome from the fans but the excitement really starts to bubble when the group announce that tonight will be the night they play ‘A Red Light Situation’ for the last time. And what’s more, to mark the occasion, they treat the fans to a remarkable stripped down version of the track.
After a few more new songs the band launch into huge anthem ‘Right Now’ and the crowd go crazy once more. Further mic issues almost go unnoticed as the crowd have no trouble taking over vocal duties for the mighty chorus. Not Advised finish their set with a sincere thank you to the fans, particularly the two girls who made the mammoth journey down from Edinburgh for the show. With hardcore fans like that, it’s hard to see how these guys won’t be huge news this year. Roll on album number one!
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows’ debut is a truly attention seeking album. Right from the spine tingling opening of ‘If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is’ to the chugging riffs of closing track ‘My Swagger Has A First Name’, the American super group will have you hooked.
Not only is D.R.U.G.S. scattered with rousing chants and scathing lyrics it also features the odd bizarre and down-right eerie moments. A snippet of classical music pops up from nowhere during ‘My Swagger Has A First Name’ and ‘The Hangman’ appears to begin with a bizarre remix of chanting monks. The track titles, such as ‘Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm’ and ‘Laminated E.T. Animal’, are also a little baffling. And just when you think things can’t get anymore weird, they throw a prank call message on the end.
But don’t think this album is all one big joke. The pounding ‘The Only Thing You Talk About’ and the soaring anthem that is ‘I’m Here To Take The Sky’ are classics in the making. Sharp production, five experienced men and just the right amount of crazy is a recipe for a sensational new super group.
The Xcerts decided that the Bournemouth leg of the Rock Sound Exposure Tour was the perfect opportunity to discuss cross-dressing and a Bob Dylan tribute act…
Murray (vocals/guitar): I was thinking about wearing a dress for a show or two. But I haven’t given it much thought about what I should wear. A lacy number? Or a gown?
Jordan (bass): When you do the same thing every night, you wanna mix it up. Do something different. All this rocking out, I thought about maybe for one of the shows just not rocking. Something a bit different. So I tried not rocking but it didn’t work, as it happens. But I tried something new.
Have you ever played Bournemouth before?
Murray: Yea we’ve played here twice. The first time was actually with our original line up a couple of years ago. And we played a club NME show and we thought it was the biggest deal.
Jordan: And it totally wasn’t
Murray: It sucked
Jordan: And then we played iBar once before as well. And that sucked. There was nobody here. And apparently it sounded a lot better in the toilet than it did out front. So anybody that was taking a whizz that night was loving it. But you couldn’t watch because it just sounded awful.
How would you describe your sound to people who have never heard of The Xcerts before?
Murray: Distorted pop. I guess its rock music. But we like our pop music as well.
Jordan: I guess I’m gonna say Weezer for a third time.
Murray: Weezer and Elliott Smith. I think that’s it. Perfect combination
What’s the story behind the name of the band?
Murray: Nothing
Jordan: 14 year old kids trying to sound cool. We never really got around to changing it.
What do you do when you’re not writing or performing?
Murray: Tom works.
Tom: Yea, I occasionally work at a video shop.
Jordan: No brand names.
Murray: Blockbuster.
Jordan: Ah
Murray: It’s the only one though!
Tom: It could have been some cool independent one.
Murray: They’re all dead.
Tom: I’m a corporate whore now. Thanks.
Murray: I’m in another studio based group. So I’m busy making an album right now with them.
Tom: And Jordan goes to open mics and makes noises under the guise of ‘The Troubadour’.
Jordan: Yea that’s my other character. Sort of a Dylan-esque folky poet. I talk really nasal. It doesn’t pay really well but I’ve got a really loyal fan. This guy that comes to every open mic, he’s great. Hi Steve!
What have you got planned for the rest of 2011?
Murray: We’re touring again in April. Hopefully a few festivals but because we’re a smaller band we kind of have to wait until the start of summer to find out where we’re actually going. Then hopefully we’ll go to Europe and tour there some more, and the States, hopefully. And then onto album number three. Or maybe we’ll just do a ‘Troubadour’ record.
Jordan: That would be ideal for me. I’ve been trying to launch this side of me for ages so to jump on the back of The Xcerts would be amazing. Maybe I could open for some tours. I see really bright things for ‘The Troubadour’ in the future.
When the Rock Sound Exposure Tour stopped off at iBar in Bournemouth, I chatted to Leeds based trio Dinosaur Pile-Up. It wasn’t long before the conversation turned to hopscotch…
Matt (vocals/guitar): It was really good fun. We know Japanese Voyeurs and The Xcerts from before but it feels like this tour is a really good chance for us to reconnect. Everyone was a bit nervous and everyone got on really well and we ended up crashing with Murray from The Xcerts and hanging out so it was good.
Have you got anything special lined up for the rest of the tour?
Mike (drums): Every gig is special!
Harry: We’re less concerned on this tour to necessarily play exactly what’s on our record. We’re doing some new stuff and some old stuff and trying to mix it up a bit and have fun. And also because we’ve gone into the tour not knowing if we’re going to open up shows or headline shows, we have to be punchy and good. We feel like we’ve got a bit more to prove. There’s gonna be a bunch of people out there who have come to see The Xcerts or Japanese Voyeurs and we wanna be like ‘yea we’re good aswell!’
What do you guys get up to when you’re not making music?
Harry: Skateboarding
Mike: I was road surfing earlier
Harry: Hopscotch. We’re pretty into urban hopscotch at the minute.
Mike: All you need is a piece of chalk and something to throw and you’re away.
Matt: Between us and The Xcerts, we’re starting that as our full time road hobby.
Maybe you could introduce it into the Olympics?
Harry: I like to think it’s too gnarly for the Olympics. A bit too extreme.
For people who haven’t heard of Dinosaur Pile-Up before, how would you describe your music?
Harry: Probably equal rock and pop. But not in a Nickelback way. Actually, we probably do sound a bit like Nickelback. But cool, because we don’t sell so many records. Thus we’re cooler.
Matt: It’s quite heavy and ‘poppy’ at the same time. Because I guess there is an equal mix of what we listen to in there. There’s pop and really old pop and heavy metal.
You’ve been compared to some pretty big names, such as Foo Fighters and Weezer, is that a little daunting?
Matt: Not at all. They’re all rad bands and we’ve all listened to them so it’s not daunting, it’s complimentary. But I guess a big thing for us is for people to be able to see past that.
What does the future hold for Dinosaur Pile-Up?
Mike: We’ve got some festivals coming up.
Matt: But we don’t know which ones. We’re going to South By Southwest in North America. Then we’re going to do a few gigs in Mexico
Mike: And riding an open top bus and playing!
Harry: Then in April we’ll be touring in England again
Matt: We’re also going to do some recordings of some sort.
Harry: The single ‘My Rock N Roll’ comes out in March.
Matt: But that’s a secret.
Harry: Oh, is it?
Matt: No.
Mike: And we’ve got some love making with The Xcerts slotted in there somewhere as well. Making some DPU/Xcerts babies.
On the Bournemouth date of the Rock Sound Exposure Tour, London rockers, Japanese Voyeurs, talk female genitalia and pervy photography...but not at the same time.
You have just embarked on the Rock Sound Exposure Tour, how did the first show in Bedford go?
Romily (vocals/guitar): It was good. There were a lot of people there. People seemed to be getting into it which was fun. Because you never really know. Some people, how they enjoy a show is just to stand there and watch. Which is cool but it’s always fun for us when people jump around a bit.
Steve (drums): I used to be in Dinosaur Pile-Up. Matt is one of my best friends so it’s nice to be back out with him. But Dinosaur Pile-Up and Japanese Voyeurs toured together a little while ago.
Johnny (guitar): We’ve done a couple of gigs with The Xcerts. So everyone kind of knows each other anyway.
What have you got planned for your sets in the next few weeks?
Romily: We’re not really into any stage dramatics. We just try to rehearse as much as we can so that we play as well as we can. We don’t really plan anything. I always think if you go and see a good band, the music should be enough.
How would you describe the music of Japanese Voyeurs?
Tom (bass): Loud rock music?
Romily: I think it’s easier to talk about the bands that we love. We sort of formed out of a love of bands like Melvins and Jesus Lizard. I think that always plays a part in the music that you decide to write. Otherwise, all those other crazy subgenres get a bit much really. Like alt-rock…box… number 3, I dunno.
Who else do you list among your influences?
Steve: Between us there is a big range of musical influences. Those are the ones that connect us all. But my first favourite band was Iron Maiden. I’m really into tech metal. But I also like classical music and a bit of dubstep now and then.
Romily: Ha!
Steve: Yea! I love it!
Romily: Yea there’s some stuff that sort of unites us and that’s the stuff I guess most influences the core of what we do. But then it’s always good to have other weird references coming in from the tech side of things that Steve loves. It adds another side to it.
Having a front woman, you are inevitably going to be compared to the likes of Paramore and Evanescence. Does this bother you?
Romily: I just have absolutely nothing to say about that. I just think if journalists love writing about music then surely they should be able to look further than what genitalia I have.
Who are your favourite women in music at the moment?
Romily: I love Lori S, who sings and plays guitar in Acid King. They’ve been around since the 90s. And she is like phenomenal guitar player. I love PJ Harvey, she’s a cool lady. I just read Patti Smith’s book. There might not be that many front women but there are girls in Earth and Electric Wizard. So they’re about.
What do you do when you’re not touring or writing music?
Rich (keyboards): Tom’s a video blogger on YouTube!
Tom: I don’t wanna talk about that.
Steve: I’ve got a daughter so I spend most of my time looking after her.
Romily: I read a lot. I love to read and write. Those are basic human skills which I partake in. I love pedals as well. So I’m always geeking about with that sort of thing. I think the thing is when you do something you love you sort of end up doing it all the time, even if you’re not actually doing it. I think everyone sits around and plays a lot even when we’re not all together.
Where did the name Japanese Voyeurs come from?
Romily: It comes from a series of photographs taken by a Japanese photographer in the 70s. And he found himself alone in a park one night and stumbled upon, as the story goes, all these couples having sex. So he decided to start taking pictures of these people. And he was one of the first photographers to use infrared film for art. It’s just really interesting in terms of what it says about human nature and that primal desire to look at the things which you probably shouldn’t look at and to do the things you probably shouldn’t do. And that sort of goes with a lot of the lyrical themes so we just thought it was a good fit.
Have you got any plans for the rest of the year?
Rich: Touring mostly
Johnny: And doing as many festivals as we can. We’ve got our first gigs abroad in March. Two gigs in Germany. We’re playing Ireland too, so we get to go on a ferry!
Romily: Obviously once the album comes out we’ll be in as many places as possible.
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