Monster Treasure land in UK ahead of debut album release

Briana Granados- Guitars/Vocals

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

For the first time ever, Monster Treasure have touched down in the UK. Landing earlier this month the Californian trio have already played a string of notable British venues to prepare us all for Friday’s release of their hypnotically bittersweet self-titled debut album.

Monster Treasure have made no qualms about the record’s meaning, stating that it’s inspired by heartbreak, mortality and financial struggle. With that being the case you could expect a pretty melancholy result, and in many ways you wouldn’t be wrong.

But there’s another dimension to Monster Treasure, bordering on ‘sweet’, which also shined bright from the stage of London’s The Lexington on Monday night.

RJ Mar - Drums

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

Monster Treasure’s layered vocal work, shared between Briana Granados (guitar) and Rachel Orimo (Bass), is engrossing to see live. Their harmonies give an almost psychedelic feel to the live performance, perhaps nowhere better then in Weird, the last track of the new release.

Catching up with the band ahead of their set drummer RJ said: “People that haven’t seen us physically think that we’re just an all-girl band…really there is a male drummer.”

That would be a male drummer that is infinitely present. A huge part of the perfect ying-yang that is Monster Treasure comes from the contrast between those psych vocals and the ferocious and fast paced nature of that rhythm section.

Rachel Orimo- Bass/Vocals

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

The latest single from the album, Wake Up, is just one example of how that dimension works and also has a perfectly eclectic video to match.     

Using a healthy dose of distortion to nudge it all on its side, Monster Treasure perform live with just the right amount of personal reserve. The crowd could not take their eyes off the stage.

Utterly mesmerising soundtrack feels.    

 You can listen to Monster Treasure's The Salt for free, courtesy of Leisure & District, right HERE. 

Summer City impressed at London's Nambucca

Benji Adams - Guitars/Vocals
Nambucca, London
02/05/2016

As is the case for a lot of bands world over, several other artists have been used to describe Summer City but never has a “for fans of” tag line had the potential to be so long. These guys have taken inspiration from a huge range of genres and seamlessly fused them altogether to make something just a little bit different.

After just dropping their electrifying new EP Reprobates (April 22^nd, 2016) it was only right that Summer City took it out for a spin on a 6-date UK tour winding up in London’s famous Nambucca,  where they ran into us!   

Reprobates is a vigorously animated record which left a lot for Summer City to live up to on stage but they brought all the spirit, energy and attitude that these tracks demanded and more.

Kit Parker - Bass/Vocals
Nambucca, London
02/05/2016

First single, I’m A Wreck, was a definite highlight with one of the most engrossing electro-riffs I have ever heard (warning: will make you want to rave immediately) teamed with an unyielding drum section and a practically classic rock guitar solo which comes out of absolutely nowhere.    

But the pureness of Summer City’s punk-rock roots shine brightly in Burn It Down, a more stripped

back track with less electronic influence which really gives you a chance to appreciate the natural value of Benji Adams vocals.

Don’t worry, Summer City have got the all important acoustic track nailed as well. Sound of the Crowd is a really moving track heaped with emotion and really quite intense to watch on stage (even if we do phase into Hot Line Bling at some point, why not?!)

But title track from the EP, Reprobates completely stole the show. The perfect showcase of electro-pop-punk-british-hard-rock (yep, it’s a thing, see above) but with added sing-a-long lyrics. I call that perfection.

Reprobates is a fantastic second EP, an actual breath of fresh air, and it’s incredible to see that Summer City can more than pull off these tracks live. As they head off to film a new music video you can’t help to see what they come up with! Keep your eyes peeled!   

And obviously there was no way that we were letting Summer City go all the way back to York without facing the Grab Bag so if you're wondering which member once pissed himself on stage...well then this one is for you!: 

Benji Adams - Guitars/Vocals
Nambucca, London
02/05/2016

Eliza and The Bear performed a magical set at Bristol's Thekla

Eliza and the Bear
Thekla, Bristol
14/04/2016
Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

Seeing Eliza and the Bear has been on my “INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO DO LIST” since we criminally missed their set at Glasgow’s Hydro Arena last year. Since the London quintet just released their debut, self-titled, album I decided enough was enough, the time had come. I would see Eliza and The Bear at Bristol’s Thekla on April 14^th 2016.  The timing, as it turned out, was perfect.

At Louder Now we are no strangers to impromptu and slightly lengthy (yet never excessive) road trips. Whilst our jaunt to Bristol was by no means the most extravagant of these journey’s it might just have been the most bizarre.

Somewhere between castles that were actually train stations, closed roads that were actually open and boats that were actually gig venues I lost my mind and fell in love with the place.

Chris Brand - Bass
Thekla, Bristol
14/04/2016
Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

One of my favourite things about Bristol is that my very talented friend, Miss Lauren-Alice Golding,

lives just up the road, a situation that I took full advantage of. Lauren grabbed her 3-tonne camera and met me at the castle/train station for our first ever (and first of many please) collaboration!

And it’s just as well she did because the emotional rollercoaster that Eliza and the Bear were about to take me on was definitely not a ride to take solo.

My new favourite song, “Light It Up”, originally released on the 2014 EP of the same name and now sitting mid-way through the new album, kicked off the party. It’s the most upbeat, positive and encouraging track I have heard in a long time, the ultimate summer anthem and the perfect opener.

I adore that optimistic inclination that saturates everything that Eliza and the Bear do but it’s how they twist, variate and distort (key) which makes them special. “Make It On My Own” is a paramount example of this, a backdrop teetering on the verge of morose but still maintaining an affirmative energy and tempo to reduce you to tears. If you’re crying by song number two then you know the set’s magic.

Martin Dukelow - Guitar
Thekla, Bristol
14/04/2016
Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

Crowd participation is what takes a show from being great to being absolutely unbelievable, and we weren’t short of it tonight. Nevertheless the band challenged the audience with song “Where Have You Been” instructing them that it was their chance to prove that they had the album. It’s fair to say the audience passed the test.

Aside from the fact that it’s a blinding song with a parade-esque marching band beat, I have a huge appreciation for “Brother’s Boat” because live it was dynamite and also…we were on a mother flipping boat!

And just in case you doubted the bands determination (which I don’t think a single member of the crowd did for one second of this entire set) it’s worth remembering that vocalist James Kellegher asked his doting audience if they were “going to sink this ship or what?”

Whilst the tempo setting drum track from Paul Jackson maintains that addictive energy and Callie Noake’s keys add the optimistic tingles it’s the scratching guitars from Martin Dukelow that adds depth and sets Eliza and the Bear apart from the indie crowd.

James Kellegher - Guitar/Vocals
Thekla, Bristol
14/04/2016
Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

Live “Oxygen” was the best display of all of those attributes as well as a relentlessness where you could be sure that you’re being set up for a tempo drop that never, ever, comes.

Just as I was ready to declare that this performance could not possible get any more emotionally

charged Eliza and the Bear went and nailed a spine-tingling, tear-inducing, mobiles-and-lighters-up acoustic track that near enough broke my heart. For me, “Cruel” has been filed away in the playlist entitled “Beautiful songs that I must never listen to”.

After an equally beautiful chant of “YOU DIRTY SOUTHERN BASTARDS” the boys came back to play their defining tracks “It Gets Cold” and “Friends” to all the love, support and participation that a crowd can possibly give.

It was a remarkable set that, despite my months of waiting, really took me by surprise. If I ever get a chance to see Eliza and the Bear at a summer festival I will grab it with both hands because I honestly cannot think of anything that would be better.

But they are not just that summer band that you adore for festival season and then forget about. Eliza and the Bear are producing deeply meaningful and inspirational work and their live shows are nothing short of electric.

Martin Dukelow - Guitars
Thekla, Bristol
14/04/2016
Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

Eliza and the Bear are a band that you need in your life. When the stresses of work, dreams, friends, family and life have dimmed your internal lights you’ll be thankful that Eliza and the Bear are there to do what they do best and light it up.

Thankfully I can tell you that Eliza and the Bear did not sink Bristol’s Thekla. But my word did they try.

Huge thanks to Lauren-Alice Photography who took all of the stunning photos shown as well as shooting and editing this weeks Grab Bag video! She can be contacted HERE!

Cardinal Bay showcase new EP 'Answers'

Let's do things just a little bit different this time: 

Want to see that video on our YouTube channel? Of course you do!

Text from article reads: It’s obvious to anybody that has seen them play that Cardinal Bay are a force to be reckoned with. From thunderous new music to playing most of the show in the crowd, the Bridgewater 5-piece are nothing short of determined to deliver a good set.

Besides, it’s not as if they don’t have the experience to do just that. All five members have played in other bands in the local scene but joined forces in 2014 to make the post-hardcore super group that is Cardinal Bay.

Now they’re preparing to unleash their second EP ‘Answers’ on May 13^th 2016, which all but formed the set list for their incredible performance at Leamington Spa’s Zephyr Lounge last week.  

The set opened with new single ‘Answers’ which tackles a solemn and conspicuous social issue with all the energy that it deserves.

“The track ‘Answers’ is about divorce and how it affects any young children of those parents” the band have said “It’s about how a child might perceive the situation, perhaps believing or only hearing one side of a story … and not understanding until they’re older, trying to find ‘the answers’ themselves…”

With a vivacious drum track from Matt Ward, ‘Answers’ translates perfectly in a live setting and the dash of scream adds the edge that the topic needs.

Once the precedent had been set the rest of the night kept up the pace showcasing what could be the most promising EP release of the year.

Vocalist Josh Rogers complained of a scratchy voice but it didn’t hold him back one bit, launching into the crowd and staying there for a majority of the set you would have to be blind to miss his undeniable vigour.

‘Hold Tight’ and ‘Way Back Home’ from last year’s EP (of the same name as the latter) were also thrown into the mix. Both tracks have stood the test of that short time and stack up nicely against the new offerings. Somehow they add even more raw brashness to the live performance and it will be a sad day when either disappears from Cardinal Bay’s set list.

It was an electrifying performance and remarkably distinguished. If this is their output at 18 months then the potential here is staggering, they may well be able to outdo those artists they’re constantly compared to. Watch out Mallory Knox.

But yes, all of that is completely obvious to anybody who has seen Cardinal Bay live. But what might not be obvious is that they do really questionable things before they walk out on stage and would completely sell out given half a chance to tour with Justin Bieber. No seriously, you can hear all about it on our YouTube channel. 

• ·         Catch Cardinal Bay on the main stage at Teddy Rocks Festival at the Blandford Forum, Dorset,  on April 30^th 2016
• 
  
• ·         The explosive second EP ‘Answer’s will be released on May 13^th 2016
• 
  
• ·         Watch the video for new single ‘Answer’s on the bands Facebook

CARDINAL BAY CAN BE STALKED AT:
https://www.facebook.com/CardinalBay/...
http://www.cardinalbay.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/CardinalBayUK
https://www.instagram.com/cardinalbay/

Finally, the Louder Now Grab Bag vs Black Veil Brides

Here it is! The final Louder Now Grab Bag victim at Vans Warped Tour UK 2015 was Jinxx of Black Veil Brides! 

It was a huge pleasure to be able to meet with Jinxx and have what was actually a pretty serious chat for us.  

He was, of course, lovely and had a small request for his fans to quit calling him a certain name.

Black Veil Brides also absolutely nailed their headline set with a hell of a lot of pyrotechnics. But who would expect anything less? We got some ridiculously amateur footage of it, which you can check out in our highlight reel (coming up later today). 

Man Overboard vs the Louder Now Grab @ Warped Tour UK 2015 - THE MOVIE

Alright, we're not saying it's a feature length film or anything but we're still pretty stoked we caught all this on camera. 

We were lucky enough to meet up with Nik Bruzzese of Man Overboard at Warped Tour UK too and he had a chat with the Grab Bag about Rage Against The Machine, his several thousand injuries and the biggest influence in his life, his father. 

It does get a touch political, but then it always does when Rage Against The Machine are mentioned. 

Huge thanks to Nik for meeting with us! If you missed the first two Warped UK interviews with Black Foxxes and Tigress you can watch them right now on our YouTube channel. Interview number 5, with the so-pop-punk-we-bleed-pizza-sauce ROAM is uploading as I type.  

Watch Tigress go head to head with the Grab Bag at Warped Tour UK 2015

Believe it or not, their set at Warped was the end of Tigress' very first tour.

Not that you could tell because whilst they are a new band, they are no strangers to each other or the stage. 

Confused? Allow the Grab Bag to dig out the story for you in it's second video appearance! 

TIGRESS CAN BE STALKED AT:

https://www.facebook.com/TigressOfficial

https://twitter.com/TIGRESSofficial

http://tigress.tmstor.es/

https://instagram.com/wearetigress/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTev...

Did you miss the Grab Bag's video debut with Black Foxxes? Not to worry, here it is

Black Foxxes faced the Louder Now Grab Bag at Warped Tour UK 2015 and we filmed it!

It's no secret that the Louder Now Grab Bag has been getting a bit out of control recently but it came as a huge surprise to all of us that the lovely people over at Warped Tour UK allowed it to run havoc in their press room. 

As it was such a special occasion we decided that the Grab Bag finally needed to be seen in it's full glory so we got a microphone and a tripod, taught ourselves a few rudimental (and in no way impressive) Movie Maker skills, and headed over to Ally Pally. 

So here's number 1! First up we sat down with the sensational Black Foxxes after they rocked the Kevin Says Stage. We hope you enjoy it! 

Make sure you subscribe to our shiny new YouTube channel so you don't miss out on the rest of the Grab Bag's antics at Warped Tour UK, which will be posted sporadically between now and the regular posting day of Wednesday October 28th. 

We'll meet you back here then for a round up of our time at Warped and a nice little highlight reel! 

EofE - Germany, Tibia's and Bridges

EofE
London Hoxton's Underbelly
15/09/2015

Never, in its entire existence, has anybody returned to face the Grab Bag for a second time. Until now.

Last month (we’ve said it before but, our time management sucks) we saw EofE in Hoxton’s Underbelly ahead of the release of their incredible new self-titled album. It was there that EofE vs the Louder Now Grab Bag, round 2, happened.  

You’re bored. What do you do?

Luke: Err…I…

Dan: Is he allowed to say?

Luke:  I just play some games on my laptop.

Reece: What do you play on your laptop?

Luke: Football Manager usually!

Ever had an epic fail on stage?

Nicky: Every. Night.

Louder Now: Last time we saw EofE you were up on top of an amp. You must have fallen off of that at some point right?

Reece: I haven’t!

Nicky: Ahhhh now you’ve jinxed it!  

Reece: I haven’t had an epic fail, yet. In Rock City I did stand on my amp and I was wobbling a fair bit and everyone was laughing at me. I did think I was going to fall over I must admit.

Tom: I think your epic fail was when we were at the Great Escape and you stepped in that puddle. That was your birthday as well.  

Where is the worst place you have woken up?

Tom: Reece’s mums bed.

Reece: You can’t say my mum’s bed.

Tom: For comedic value.

Reece: But you’ve never been in my mum’s bed.

Tom: I have.  

Reece: You definitely have not.

Tom: I HAVE!

Nicky: We’ve all been there.

Who is your musical hero?

Dan: Slash. When I first got into guitar, I heard Sweet Child O’ Mine and was just blown away by his playing and that’s what made me really want to get into a band.

What is your favourite album?

Reece: It’s got to be the EofE one that you can get on iTunes.

Nicky: Nice plug, yeah!

Reece: It’s shit.

Dan: You mean the one that’s out on the 9^th of October?

Reece: Yeah that one Dan.

Dan: It’s our debut album if I’m not very much mistaken.

What country would you most like to visit?

Luke: Germany.

Reece: Why?

Luke: I dunno, just always wanted to go to Germany really.

Reece: Boring.

Have you ever broken a bone?

Tom: No, I haven’t.

Dan: I have!

Reece: I have, I fell out of a tree.

Dan: I use to skateboard religiously.

Reece: Yeah, not very well obviously.  

Dan: I broke my tibia playing football. I didn’t know for months. It was a crack, but if you imagine bending plastic until you get that white line, just before it snaps, that’s what happened. So I carried on playing for like three months.

Nicky: God, you’re so hardcore.

Dan: I was kickboxing, snowboarding…

Reece: Ha! Running marathons and fought a bear once…

Dan: It actually started to bend out, where it kept healing and breaking again. I went to the doctors and they just said “oh it’s fine, it’s just a bit of swelling” and then had an actual scan.

Reece: This coming from the guy who has to cover his hair from the rain.

Dan: What are you saying?

Reece: You make yourself sound really hard!

Dan: Well I am. Or I was.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how weird are you? Explain.

Dan: Probably say a 7.

Reece: You’re weird because you can break bones and carry on.

Tom: That’s pretty weird.

Dan: I day dream quite a bit.

Tom: You do day dream all the time.

Dan: It sounds big headed, but I can start a conversation whilst thinking about something else, and then just carry on.

Reece: No, no, no. That’s just called being rude and ignoring people.

Nicky: And yes, you do have a big head.

Is there one thing that you want to become better at?

Reece: Definitely guitar for Dan.

Dan: Your suppose to be answering for yourself.

Nicky: This is a hard one, because we’re so good at everything.

Tom: What’s the question again?

Reece: Listening for Tom.

Dan: Yours has got to be drinking.

Nicky: I’m great at drinking.

Dan: Hmm.

Nicky: No, because I get drunk really fast then don’t have to spend as much money.  I have a great time! I’m a happy drunk, friendly.

Reece: You abused me at Download.

Nicky: Well we went out for my birthday, me and Luke. Reece was there.

Tom: I was there as well. You were smashed when I got there and you’d only had four pints.

Dan: I’d like to be better at getting up early in the morning, because I really struggle. I have to pick these guys up for practice at about 9:30 and it’s hard.

Louder Now: Driving whilst tired is probably not the best idea.

Dan: It’s better than driving hungover because that’s horrible.

Reece: You’ve never done that Daniel because you abide by the law.

Dan: Everyone drives hungover.

Reece: If everybody jumped off a bridge would you do it?

Dan: Probably.

Reece: If it was going into water…

Nicky: What kind of bridges do you go across?

Reece: Have you never gone over a bridge with water underneath it?

Nicky: Oh WITH water.

What is your favourite memory of being in this band?

Nicky: Mine would be Download Festival. That was a highlight for me.

Reece: Yeah Download, or the process of recording the album. We had a great time doing that. We bonded, we cooked…

Nicky: I was sick in the sink.

Reece: You were sick in the sink.

Tom: We got that picture right at the end with Johnny Rocker to say that we had finished the album.

Nicky: It was over five weeks but we spent weekends back at home.

Reece: It was pretty intense, we would be in the studio for 10 and then we would come back at 2 Am sometimes and then back in pretty much straight away.

Dan: Some of the songs came together in the studio. You figure out the small bits. It’s like you go in there with a jigsaw piece and then you put it all together, and that’s when you see what can really happen.

Tom: You can see what you’re missing that way as well because you have pieces that you think might work but when you hear it back, and you’re building up the layers it makes sense.

The Decline - Cats, Bodyjar and Wembley Stadium

Back in August (our logistics suck) we saw Australia’s The Decline bring their sunny skateboard punk rock to Kingston’s The Fighting Cocks. The Grab Bag is always out of control in that venue so it was only right it attacked The Decline whilst they were over the water!

Describe yourself in one sentence.

Pat: One time…

Harry: You’re just describing yourself, you don’t have to tell a whole story.

Pat: I know but I want to tell a story that describes me. There are so many sentences. One time I borrowed this cat off of somebody and I had to give it back so I got another cat to replace it but then I got given the other one, so then I ended up with two cats, also, I really like cats.

Harry: That was two sentences.

Pat: No! They were all commas man. They were all commas. Two cats COMMA I like cats.

What is your favourite song to play live?

Harry: Do you remember the name of the songs?

Ray: I do now. I’m new to the band but I do know the song names. I think… I Don’t Believe.

Harry: You don’t believe what?

Ray:…the song is called I Don’t Believe. It’s probably one of my favourite songs on the new album, and there’s a section that I get to sing.

Harry: We don’t let him sing much.

Pat: Just one section on I Don’t Believe.

Ben: So in that song Ray is actually stepping in for Cam (Cameron Baines) from Bodyjar, who actually sings it on the album. So he doesn’t sing often but when he does it’s in the most important spots.

Ray: And Cam’s one of my favourite singers as well.

Pat: Ray has a Bodyjar tattoo, they’re one of his favourite bands!

Where is the worst place you have woken up?

Ben: I guess in the van after sleeping for half an hour. Or maybe a park…but I can’t remember how I got there. Maybe I was bird watching…drunk.

What is your favourite venue to gig in?

Pat: Do we have to of played there before? Because if not then Wembley Stadium.

Ray: I don’t think I’m ready for 60,000 people.

Ben: We could play to 5 people there…

Pat: Yeah, be realistic now.

Ben: We’ve been pretty lucky on this tour. There was a place called Bar Ceferino in Barcelona that was pretty cool. It was a small capacity venue, maybe you could fit 40 or 50 people in there max. We played there after playing Resurrection Fest to a few thousand people, which was something we had never done before, and then we played to a small group and that was amazing.

Ben: We should open a bar in Barcelona called Bar-celona.

You’re feeling ill and can only have one home comfort, what do you choose?

Pat: This is hard because I really like pizza, and I really like cats, and my girlfriend so….pizza.

What is your favourite memory of being in this band?

Ben: Erm…waking up in the van? I don’t know, maybe the second show of this tour playing Resurrection Fest which was fucking insane, I had no idea what to expect.

Is there anything you know this week that you didn’t know last week?

Pat: UK traffic is pretty bad. That’s one thing.

Ray: Something from Karl Pilkington maybe?

Pat: Oh yeah! Karl Pilkington has some good stuff. He said that every time you remember something you’re actually remembering the last time you remembered it and not the first time it happened. I mean he didn’t say that but…

Have you ever had an epic fail on stage?

Pat: One time I fell over on stage. We were playing this weird bar like 5 years ago, but there wasn’t that many people there so it was okay.

Ray: At Resurrection Fest, in front of thousands of people, I was playing and I must have jumped and stepped on my leg. For like half a song we may have played without any bass.

Pat: I keep on forgetting to play this song called Wrecking Ball that we have. I keep forgetting that it’s on the set list so I just go straight into the next song where I start singing by myself and the rest of the band just doesn’t play. I’ve done that maybe 2 or 3 times on this tour.

Ben: It’s only been on the last third of the tour, so it doesn’t quite make sense because it was never an issue before.

Pat: It’s because we started adding this old song to the set and I always think that’s instead of Wrecking Ball but it’s not, it’s as well as Wrecking Ball!

The Beards - Beards, Beardless People and Stonking Beards

The Beards
Darren Iliffe Designs
http://darreniliffe.blogspot.co.uk/

To mark the start of the UK leg of The Beard’s huge European anniversary tour the Louder Now Grab Bag has gone face to face with guitarist Facey McStubblington.

It’s been four months since it first started claiming victims, and the Grab Bag has gained itself a bit of a reputation. But now it has finally met its match for ridiculousness.

Happy 10^th Birthday The Beards!

What is your favourite song to play live?
"There's Just Nothing Better Than A Beard" is my favourite song to play live because everybody sings this sentiment together with us at the end. It's a sentiment I feel very strongly about.

How would you like your band to be remembered?
As a group of men who were uncompromising in their stance on what was proven correct by the beardless genocidal cleansing of 2019.

Who is the first person you would choose to be stuck in a lift with?
Our frontman Johann Beardraven - as he is my spiritual leader and best friend. Incidentally, we are often stuck in lifts together as he gets so worked up about how much he loves beards that his constant jumping and yelling often disables the mechanics.

What is the best set of lyrics you have ever heard?
"An archivist needs a beard", because when you really think about it, it's SO true.

Have you ever broken a bone?
No. As a bearded man, my bones are unbreakable. I have, however, broken the many hearts of beardless men and women who want to bed me. But as I always say, if your beard ain't stonking, we ain't bonking!

Describe yourself in one sentence. 
An excellent ginger beard attached to an adequate human male.

GO TO SEE THE BEARDS!

Wednesday 16 September                          BRISTOL The Thekla

Thursday 17 September                                NEWCASTLE Think Tank

Friday 18 September                                      GLASGOW King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

Saturday 19 September                                MANCHESTER Gorilla

Monday 21 September                                 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms

Tuesday 22 September                                 BIRMINGHAM Temple

Wednesday 23 September                          LONDON Dingwalls

Friday 25 September                                      BRIGHTON The Haunt

Saturday 26 September                                SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms

Tickets are priced at £14 regionally and £15 in London and are on sale via www.seetickets.com or from the venues directly.

New Found Glory - Boardwalk Empire, Piano & 400,000 Likes

Cyrus Bolooki - New Found Glory
O2 Academy Islington
24/08/2015

It's not every day you get to meet the legends of Pop-Punk and see them warm up for Reading and Leeds Festival, one of the biggest dates in the musical calendar. 

So when we sat down with New Found Glory drummer, Cyrus Bolooki we put a pile of ridiculous questions in front of him. Obviously.  


What decade would you most like to have been born in and why?

That's a great question, and one that I don't think I've ever been asked! I'm currently in the middle of watching the TV series Boardwalk Empireand so I think in the spirit of that show I'll say the 1920s...obviously a very interesting time given how much has changed since then. I don't know about here in the UK, but in the US there was a lot of crazy stuff happening with prohibition and it just seems like it would be a fun time to be born in. However, that being said, I probably wouldn't have lived long (obviously healthcare was nowhere near as advanced as it is now), and I highly doubt I would have ever been able to be in a band and travel all over the world like I have been fortunate enough to do in my life. So on second thought, maybe I'll just stick to my current life, a kid from the 1980s!

Is there any musical instrument that you would love to be able to play?

I'm a drummer by trade yet played guitar before joining NFG, and I started my musical career by playing the piano.  I would love to become better at piano, to the point where there's no effort in playing almost any tune, because I think the piano is one of the best ways to learn music in general, and it is pretty accessible meaning that you can play anything from a small keyboard all the way up to a grand piano, instead of having to purchase an expensive (and/or large) instrument. 

Who is the last person on earth you would want to be stuck in a lift with?

There isn't a specific person, but rather a "type" of person. I would hate to be stuck in a lift with the uber-pessimistic person; the person who immediately would think worst-case scenario, and whose overwhelming anxiety would surely bring us both to a quick end.  Just relax and calm down buddy, and (hopefully) help will come!

What is your favourite memory of being in New Found Glory?

Fortunately we've had plenty of amazing experiences in NFG and it's really hard to pick just one memory. However being that I'm in the UK right now, I can definitely look back on our appearances at Reading Festival as some of the biggest (and best) shows we've ever played as a band. When we played Reading 2 years ago my drum tech posted a picture while we were performing on the main stage of the view from over my shoulders showcasing just how many people were actually there watching us. That picture was later reposted by the official Instagram and ended up receiving over 400,000 likes! It was truly an amazing picture, an amazing show, and an amazing memory that I will always cherish! 

What excites you the most about the future of your band? 

At this point, I'm excited about the fact that NFG has been going strong for almost 20 years now, and that there seems to be no end in sight. Every year we find ourselves traveling to new countries, new cities, and doing things that we never thought imaginable. We continue to write, record, and release new music constantly, and our shows are just as fun now as ever. We've been able to have an amazing career not only in the US but all over the world, and I am truly grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to us. Like I said, there seems to be no end in sight and I want to continue to do this for as long as we can, so just the thought of keeping this going is enough to excite me and hopefully does the same for all the NFG fans out there!

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The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Australia, Anniversaries and Pink Floyd

Hardcore legends, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, came to London’s Borderline at the start of the month and we were honoured to sit down with guitarist Randy Winter before their nostalgic and impressive set. Of course, Randy faced the Louder Now Grab Bag, but luckily for him he grabbed some of the more sensible questions.   

What is your favourite memory of being in this band?

That’s sort of a tough question because there’s so many. I would say one of my top ten favourite memories, because I can’t really narrow it down to one, would be a collage of a few. My favourite memories of this band will always be travelling the world. It’s awesome to be blessed to even break even, or be able to make money for a living being able to travel the world doing something you love.

What country would you most like to visit?

I really enjoyed the Phillipines but as far as where I have enjoyed the most it would probably be Australia. It’s so similar to America and the UK. It’s like a hybrid of the two, if you took both and slammed them in to one and added awesome coast lines, with good waves all the time. I surf all the time so that’s a big thing for me.

We have never been to Alaska though, but that will probably change next year. We’re going to be doing an anniversary tour for our debut record Don’t You Fake It. Next year it will be exactly 10 years since it came out. So we’ll probably stretch out to some spots we haven’t been to, intentionally.

On a scale of 1 – 10, how weird are you?

Judging myself I would probably say a 7, being realistic. I’m really picky about stupid things. Be it, OCD, a ridiculous sleeping disorder that I’ve had ever since I can remember or food. I’m a low card guy, I’ve been doing that for almost 11 years. To an average person I guess those three things really add up because it’s something that reoccurs every day.

My sleeping schedule is literally non-existent. I can’t sleep longer than 2 hours sustained. I randomly get two hour sleep bursts whenever I get a chance. It’s actually optimal for this occupation but it was definitely a hard time whenever I was in school because my brain wasn’t getting REM sleep so whenever you’re not doing anything that requires a lot of attention and physical exertion my brain is like “alright, nap time!” I’m always a hands on person otherwise my brain is going to shut off.

Have you ever had an epic fail on stage?

Not really an epic fail but near epic fail, that’s for sure. Where monitors aren’t pinned down correctly and they’re hanging off the edge and you’re up there playing and, woosh, there it went! A couple of times I’ve almost flipped forward but I’ve caught myself with my left hand and caught the next note.

Sound tech issues with mic’s not even being on. I’ll just back hand it and then they figure out, oh there must be something wrong with that mic because he just threw it away. Sometimes they can’t hear what you’re hearing on stage or they’re working on a different part of the mix. Engineers get really into their job and I respect that a lot because I am also an engineer. They’re not just staring at one guy the entire time you’re listening to the mix as a whole.

This is really the fourth version of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. There were three different versions with different names and I think we got all of the epic fails out of the way then. The closest thing we’ve had to a disaster was recently when one of the strings broke on my guitar that’s tuned to C. I looked around and there was nobody there so I just threw it back into the boat and had to grab another guitar that was tuned to a completely different key and had to transpose, on the fly, and move everything up a full step. If someone would have told me that I was going to be thrown under the bus like that then I would have been freaking out and would have to think it through and maybe give it a test run but I just had to do it.

What’s your favourite album?

Again, this is one of those questions where I’m going to have to avoid answering with just one because that’s impossible. My absolute favourite would be, off hand, the one that I’ve probably listened to the most would be The Wall [Pink Floyd] and then probably from that point Final Cut, which was supposed to be part of The Wall. Anything Pink Floyd, I’m a stupid fan boy for Pink Floyd, David Gilmore and Roger Waters. It’s a shame that they couldn’t just make things work and continue on but I’m sure it was a pride thing. That happens when you have two amazing singer/songwriters in the same band, that’s rough I’m sure.

If the question was what album have I listened to the most than it would be The Wall. It’s definitely a favourite of mine but I can’t say it’s THE favourite because it’s very mute. If that was your favourite album, and that’s all you ever listen to, then you would be depressed and locked in an insane asylum. But it’s so perfect for when you feel that desperation when you feel that need for a light at the end. That’s the one. 

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