Versus The World - Nirvana, Curry and Bikes

Backstage at the Camden Underworld 

We went to see Versus The World put on a true Punk-Rock performance at Camden’s Underworld a little while back and caught up with bassist Mike Davenport to answer some Louder Now Grab Bag Questions!

Donald (vocals) and Steve (guitars) also jumped in on the action, because the Grab Bag is just THAT much fun that it almost has magnetic powers.

Who is your musical hero?

Mike: That one’s really easy. That’s Kurt Cobain. I am a huge Nirvana fan. I started on The Beatles as a very young kid maybe 5 years old and that got me

Would have never guessed who Mike's hero is

into music and then I started playing by 9. By 12 I played in my first band but Nirvana came up and made Punk Rock mainstream. They made it so that bands like ours who were just playing in our garage, who didn’t really think we were going to be able to do anything more than play shows, could tour the world which I’ve been doing now for 20 years. Their song writing is genius his lyrics are genius. I don’t really like him as a person but I love him musically. I think he was kind of a whiny bitch and he should still be around.

I was in a band called The Ataris before I was in this band and when I was in The Ataris we got to play Reading and I remember thinking then “Wow, this is where Kurt played maybe 12 or 13 years before.” That was sort of, completing my journey.

What excites you most about the future of your band?

Mike: Probably touring right now. We just finished our third album I always tell people, if your newest album isn’t your favourite thing that you’re doing then you should probably change what you’re doing. I love our new record and I’m excited to play it for people. We hadn’t played shows in a year and half. We broke down to make this record and spend some time at home. We just started touring again two weeks ago and the reaction to the new record is so great! I’m just excited because we’re going to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, The US, Canada so it’s a lot of touring coming up and I can’t wait to play these new songs to everyone.

Where are you the most excited to see?

Mike: I haven’t been to New Zealand ever in Versus The World so I’m really excited about that. I’m tentatively excited about Canada because Donald has big problems getting into Canada all because of a DUI. We’ve been turned away, not for whole tours but for shows here or there because of that. It doesn’t help that Donald is a little bit of a smart ass so his smart mouth definitely has kept us from getting in a couple of times.

Donald: Canadians are the nicest people…but they just keep on throwing me out!

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

Donald: When I’m sick as shit, like I can’t leave bed, my favourite thing to do is to order a pizza in bed and then play video games for like a full day.

Mike: My total cure is Thai pineapple curry. That’s my chicken noodle soup. I’m not vegetarian completely but I was one for 23 years so I get a vegetable curry pineapple. It’s spicy and it will get rid of anything. Fuck Chicken Noodle soup.

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

Mike: Yes! Amsterdam! They say, about the canals, 3 meters water, 3 meters bikes. So many people throw their bikes into the canal that if you were to dive in you would probably get stuck by a bike. I’ll tell you another little tidbit, because I did a walking tour in Amsterdam, there are actually 16 men employed 24 hours a day 365 days a year to fish bikes out of the canal and they probably fish between 12 and 15,000 bikes every year. See what happens in Amsterdam is that the locals don’t like the bike rental companies so if they see one, and it’s not locked up, they throw it in!

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

Steve: Oh this is a cool one! I would love to be able to play the Cello, I think it’s such a romantic instrument. I think it’s because I don’t actually plan on playing the Cello anytime soon but I would like to.         

STALK VERSUS THE WORLD: 

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Versus The World bring Punk Rock back to Camden

Donald Spence - Vocals

California quintet, Versus The World, have just concluded their tour of the UK and EU and we were in the front row to soak up some of that west-coast summer punk rock. It was glorious.

Punk Rock has always been, and always will be, a staple part of our musical diets. For decades we have turned to the US west-coast for the unsurpassed and rawest form of Punk-Rock and Versus The World are right up there with the best of them.

We caught up with them at Camden’s legendary Underworld and, you guessed it, we forced them to answer some questions from the Louder Now Grab Bag, and you can read all about that here.

They burst onto the iconic stage with The Santa Margarita, the opening track from their new album Homesick/Roadsick (released on June 23^rd 2015) and all of a sudden we were at a classic rock show!

Bryan Charlson - Drums

The album is a time-warp of an experience, flying us back to the good ol’ noughties instrumentally and then dragging us back to the present with more despondent lyrics. Live, however, Versus The World are old school punk-rock through and through, even with those powerful lyrics.

And those lyrics…Donald Spence’s vocals are perfect, and he really brings it on stage. He has a well-rounded vocal range, hitting those high notes with ease on stage (and when he’s getting down and sweaty in the pit) and completely eradicating the nasal trademark that can sometimes, irritatingly, go hand in hand with the genre that he is a pillar of.

Stage too small? No problem...

There is no better example of all of this then in The Black Ocean (our favourite Versus The World track) which was followed up live by She Sang The Blues which, as Spence announces on stage, was written for his Mum.    

Tony Caraffa - Guitar

But those vocals are just the sweet cherry on top of the cake whose recipe has been passed down through generations. Distortion, wah pedals, power chords, it’s all rudimentary but it works and as the quintet launch into A Sight for Sore Eyes you know they’re capable of producing their own anthems.

Title track, Homesick/Roadsick, is surely self-explanatory in its meaning but Bassist, Mike Davenport, took the time in between songs to thank the partners of his bandmates for joining them on this tour. Versus The World seem to have found a cunning balance between Tour Time and Family Time. Bring the family with you!

As the set closed on Our Song it’s abundantly clear that Versus The World are sentimental and bursting with expressiveness but they deliver it in a punk-rock wrapping which truly makes it a gift to the scene.

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Highly Suspect release 'Mister Asylum' & we've lost our minds

A few weeks ago a dear friend of Louder Now e-mailed us a music video. 24 hours later we had played that video roughly a million and one times. That video was Highly Suspect’s Lydia which has now been released as track three on the New York Trio’s incredible debut album Mister Asylum.

Made up of Johnny Stevens on vocals and guitar, and twins Ryan (drums) and Rich Meyer (bass) Highly Suspect are quickly becoming the worldwide ones to watch this year. Hailing from Brooklyn New York, they carry that tell-tale home-grown sound but have far exceeded expectations with this spectacular record.  

Opening and title track Mister Asylum is the introduction to end all introductions. It’s dirty as all hell and filled to the brim with grit but, and this is THE thing with Highly Suspect, it’s the catchiest thing you’ll have heard this year.

The same goes throughout the record but is by and far the most evident in Lydia. I know I’ve said it before but, quite simply, I am in love with this song. Amongst several hundred other things, it showcases pure lyrical genius and has an almost hypnotising video to accompany.

Sometimes I fall into the heinous crime of neglecting the bassist. Well, there is no way on earth that would be possible to do with Highly Suspect. Rich Meyer is about to be fast-tracked into the Bassist Hall of Fame for sure. The bass lines in Lydia,  Bath Salts & Bloodfeather  (I would go on but that list is also known as ‘the tracklist’) give a beastly rock quality that you are compelled to grime to.

But if you prefer your rock to leave you sobbing like you’ve never sobbed before then I point you towards Mom, a record that maintains its heavy and thrashing place in the world but, just listen to those lyrics.

It’s actually also a prime example of the slinkier and saucier guitar riffs that are distorted in touches to match those chunky bass lines and complete what is potentially the sexiest instrumental line up of the decade.

So essentially what we’re saying is that this is one of the most impressive debuts in a long, long time and with pretty epic tours coming up with Black Stone Cherry and Halestorm it seems certain that this is just the beginning of a pretty epic future.

Highly Sexy. Highly Spectacular. Highly Suspect everyone.

Witchingseason - London's Quintessential Music Professionals

Tom Reynolds - Guitar/Vox

If you have an appreciation for real, determined, grungy and qualified rock music then, ladies and gentleman, we present to you, Witchingseason.

We caught up with the band last week at London’s The Islington, to see what all the fuss was about and can gladly report that the hype is completely founded.

Born just last year, Witchingseason have honed an expert skill of performing dark, gruff and passionate songs to an incredibly high set of standards. These guys know how music should sound both artistically and technically and strive to ensure that this is delivered on stage.

Spiders, is a key specimen of dirty guitar perfectly unified with those gruff vocals which will identify this band immediately for years to come. Impressively both factors come from leading man Tom Reynolds.  

The band's various influences scream through most of their tracks but perhaps no where more than in our favourite song from Witchingseason , The Healer, which channels Queens Of The Stone Age but with a grittier dimension which only a British Hard Rock band could add. That extra darkness really works and we've been singing those tiny high lines for a week.  

Wayne Summers - Drums

Honestly, it feels a little odd seeing Witchingseason on a stage of this size because they could, and should, be playing bigger. But one of the wonderful things about this band is that they are so focused on the music and getting that sound out that I genuinely don’t think they realise how big the venue should be. It’s a hard thing, to be a new (ish) band in London, but if you're going to do it…do it like these guys do. With the utmost respect for music, the willingness to constantly progress and blot out the schmoozing where you can.  

James Willans - Bass

The most remarkable thing about this band by far, is that it’s a work in progress. So much so that there was a song on the set list that drummer, Wayne Summers, could only refer to as ‘New One’. That excites us more than anything else because if this is what they're producing now then the future is going to be all kinds of amazing. 

Check out Witchingseason's Facebook here and listen to a few of their tracks on their Soundcloud here. Let us know what you think of them in the comments below! 

Whilst you're on the internet why not like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. It really means a lot! 

Never Hill - Netflix, Brownies and Paul Rudd

Never Hill backstage at Nuneaton's Queens Hall

Never Hill played Nuneaton's Queens Hall last week and it was something pretty special. As is their new EP, Epilogue, which they released on June 20th. You can read about what we thought of the record and their show here. But here's some unnecessarily ridiculous questions that we put to the boys before they took to the stage! 

Tell us the best joke you have ever heard:

Jacob: Honestly, I’m blank!

Jake: Google it!

Adam: It’s like you’ve had the worst truth or dare like “Ah, I can’t do this…”

Jake: Okay we can move on and come back…

When was the last time you screamed at the TV?

Daniel: Definitely this week when, SPOILER ALERT, Jon Snow got stabbed to death.

Adam: See I didn’t scream I just cried a little bit.

Daniel: I was devastated, I was actually screaming at Olly the little kid who did it.

Perfect night in?

Jake: That’s easy. Netflix. Daredevil Series, class. With a Chinese takeaway.

Adam: I literally have the opposite of that question…which does not suit me…

Perfect night out?

Jake: We should actually swap. You don’t go out!

Adam: The thing is I really like just going to bars with my mates. If I go to a club I end up getting really embarrassed because I get way to into the dancing. I dunno, I would say going to another gig. It gets me pumped and I’m all “yes! I want to do that.” It’s like when we went to Slam Dunk, I was off on one.  

Jake: With a cheeky nandos!

All collectively: CHEEKY NANDOS!

Tell us the best joke you’ve ever heard.

Dan: Are you ready yet?

Jacob: Hell no!

Dan: Okay we’ll go again.

Have you ever given someone a hickey?

Jacob: Yes! And she’s my wife so. I’ve been with one girl my whole life so…

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

Jake: There was something, I can’t remember what it was. Maybe I should think about it and pass it on.

You’re feeling sick and you can only have one home comfort. What do you choose?

Adam: I would say Game of Thrones, but if it was food.

Jake: What? If Game of Thrones was food?

Adam: No! But that’s my TV show! But, really specifically, if it were food, then it would be Birds Eye Chicken Chargrills, because they’re really nice.

Jake: Ah yeah they are nice.

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

Jake: I’ve remembered my thing now! We are all born with blue eyes. We’re like kittens.

Adam: I looked at you then and thought... “dude, you’ve got brown eyes…”

Jake: No but we start off with blue eyes and then they change.

Weirdly enough, when we put this question to EofE their answer was that there is no Nando's in Never Hill's host town, Nuneaton! Read that interview here.

Tell us the best joke you’ve ever heard.

Jacob: Okay I’ve googled it but this one I actually heard! I went to a really emotional wedding the other day…even the cake was in tiers.  

Jake: Hahaha it’s so good but it’s so bad!

Jacob: Yeah, it wasn’t funny.

Adam: I don’t get it.

Jake: It took me a while but then…tiered…like cake tiers.

Adam: Oh is that what it’s called??

Piercings or tattoos?

Dan: Tattoos, all the way. If I could have more, I would! If I could afford more.

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

Jake: Oh god, I don’t know!

Adam: We seem like the most boring people! None of us live a life!  

Jake: All we want is Netflix and jammies. We have made that clear, straight off. Erm, I would probably say the 80s because it looked fun.

Adam: It looked fun? That’s it?

Jake: I would want to be born in the 80s so that Calvin Harris would put me in his song.

Dan: I was born in the 80s.

Jake: Yeah but that’s because you’re old man.

Have you ever broken a bone?

Adam: Yes. I think the funniest one was my nose. I’ve broken quite a few, they’re all from skating really. There was one where one of those pendulum swings. I don’t know why, no one was even on it, but I just stood there and it swung back and hit me in the face, and I just went home. It was the most casual breaking, my nose was on one side. Then there was one where I went over a skate ramp and then just cracked my head off the floor and then went home and didn’t even say bye to any of my friends. So yeah. They’re not really that funny, they’re quite devastating.

You’re bored. What do you do?

Louder Now: You’re not allowed to say Netflix. I’m banning Netflix as an answer.

Jacob: Oh. That’s exactly what I was going to say.

Dan: Well you like to do a particular thing that you made for us last night…

Jacob: When I’m bored, it’s a bit lame, but, I like to bake.

Jake: To be fair, the brownies you brought in yesterday were so good. They were perfect.

Who’s the first person you would choose to be stuck in a lift with?

Jake: You have a wife.

Dan: Yeah but is it like, famous person included? Nah, I won’t go with the wife.

All: Oooooooh.

Dan: Because if you’re going to be stuck in a lift, you’re only going to be in there for a couple of hours so you want to be in there with someone funny.

Jake: Yeah but you could…have fun.

Dan: I love my wife but if I was going to be in there with someone funny it would be someone like Kevin Hart or I really like Paul Rudd. That really dry, sarcastic humour. I would really want to relive that moment in Friends where him and Ross just have nothing to talk about.

Adam: Why would you ever want that?! We are SUCH boring people!

What excites you the most about the future?

Jake: I think you wanted to answer this one, do you want it or shall I answer it.

Adam: No, you picked it up.

Jake: Okay well it’s definitely the prospect of this band picking up. Even the close future coming, with the EP that we’ve just dropped. I think it will push us to where we need to go, leading to bigger stages and supporting and touring with bigger bands. That excites me. I wouldn’t want to do it without this lot.

Adam: Oh. Mine was just going to be grey hair. I’m really excited to have grey hair.  

How long does it take you to get ready?

All: *scoff*

Adam: What? I was going to say really quickly! No? In the morning I’m like 10 minutes.

Dan: It’s the time that you decide to get ready I guess. So you get ready quickly but you decide to get ready at the time you’re supposed to be at the place. So if you’re supposed to be somewhere at 6 you’ll start getting ready at 6.  

Adam: That’s true. I was late today. I actually went home before I came here.

Dan: I knew you would.

US or UK?

Jacob: Oh it’s got to be UK. All day long. I meant the US is a nice place but…

Have you ever had nightmares because of a film you saw?

Dan: Yeah, I actually had nightmares after The Grudge because of that creepy noise they make. I had a dream that there were kids making that noise and it was horrible.

Adam: I didn’t like changing rooms after I saw that film. You know how the clothes are hung up, and the guys just looking at them, and then they turn into her!

Who was the last person to make you laugh?

Jake: Sitting on my left. Literally, Adam is the funniest person ever. It’s just his face, his expressions.

Jacob: It’s something pretty spectacular.

Jake: You’re something special mate.  

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

Adam: Erm. Paul Rudd. Because it sounds SO boring. Honestly, Jennifer Lawrence. She’s so whiny! I can’t watch The Hunger Games anymore. Yeah. Sorry. 

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Buy Epilogue here. 

Never Hill might be our new favourite band

Never Hill Vocalist Adam Ross

I lived in Leicester for three years and I am absolutely devastated that this was the first time I had been to Nuneaton’s Queens Hall. It’s less than an hour’s drive from where I used to live and I’m almost positive I would have spent every weekend there, had I known it existed. The place is insanely cool, from the downstairs bar covered in posters and merch (some priceless, some not so priceless at all) to the top floor backstage area painted in an intense orange. It is a wonderfully typical local rock venue.

And on June 19^th it played host to a sterling selection of local acts, all of which were pretty impressive. But our interests were quite singular. We were there to see Never Hill.

You might have seen these guys before, performing under the name The Oceans Above, but around March 2015 they rebranded. Thus, Never Hill was born and it is glorious.

We sat down with the boys before the show and they answered some ridiculous questions from the Louder Now Grab Bag for us. You can read that mayhem here. But if there’s one thing that our time with Never Hill taught us, it’s that these guys pay particular attention to detail, all the way down to their stage clothing. “It’s not that we all HAVE to wear black…” explains guitarist Dan Thomson, “we wouldn’t say he couldn’t play with us or anything…” We think you might consider it though Dan. Be honest.

Never Hill Guitarist Dan Thomson

After we were done torturing them with pointless questions, we got to witness an incredibly energetic and impressive performance. Propped up against the stage to get some snaps, I could feel the whole construction shaking. This band have stage presence in abundance.

Opening track, Forgive Me, is taken from their EP, Epilogue, which was released on June 20^th and is also a clear sign that this band are going places. It’s loudly melodic, the vocals are on point and it has a ‘woah oh’ that NEEDS to be played in a huge venue with adoring fans screaming it back. We love a ‘woah oh’ here at Louder Now. You can see the video for this track here, and we strongly suggest you do give it a listen.

The Nuneaton crowd was then treated to Starting Line, which is also from Epilogue, and has an astounding production value rarely seen in a band at this level. The flawless vocals throughout the EP are paired on this track with that of Eleni Drake which is genius because it allows for some killer harmonies and a whole new dimension smacked into the middle of the record.

Never Hill Bassist Jake Mendham

As the guys launch into Afraid of The Dark you would think that they have been on that stage together a thousand times before. The reality is that they have just welcomed a new guitarist into the fold in the form of Jacob Morris and their drummer, Peter Cornell, is out with a knee injury. Despite all of that they nailed this set and it was remarkable to see a band who can record fantastically also bring it on stage.

And whilst we’re on the subject of drumming (well we sort of were, shut up) we are in love with the opening to Stay Away. In fact this whole track has been swiftly added to our summer soundtrack. Road trips, festivals, barbecues, we’re gonna be wacking this song out all over the place and screaming along the chorus as if we were still in Nuneaton.

Closing up the set with Fire we are stoked we managed to catch these guys just before the world exploded with Never Hill Fever. If you’re one of those people who takes pleasure in saying the sentence “you know I saw them before they were massive”, and I am 100% that person (one day I’ll tell you about Give It A Name in 2006 when Paramore and You Me At Six were itty bitty) then you MUST get yourself to a Never Hill show. Soon. If not immediately (you can throw one together instantaneously right guys?)  

If there was one criticism to be made it’s that we didn’t get to hear Colours, the token slow song of the record. It would have been incredible to see this but I suppose there’s only so much you can ask of a band that later admitted to me that they only had a 3 hour rehearsal before the show! That is mighty impressive lads.  

I suppose there is a lot to be said for the method of always leaving them wanting more.

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Buy Epilogue here. 

YOUNG GUNS GIVEAWAY

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!

Last week we asked Young Guns a handful of ridiculous questions from our Grab Bag!

But now we want to know what YOUR answers would be.

For your chance to win a SIGNED copy of the sensational new Young Guns album, Ones and Zeroes, click here, scroll to the bottom, and answer the question we put to Si Mitchell: "What was the most embarrassing thing to happen to you at school?"

The comment which makes us laugh the hardest wins the prize!

All entries must be made as comments on our recent interview with Young Guns (Young Guns – Heat, Sleep and Falling Over)

Comments made on any other post will not be considered.

All entries must be made by Sunday 28^th June, 5PM BST.

We are happy to post the album worldwide but you must be willing to e-mail us your address (obviously!)

Leave your Twitter, Instagram or Facebook Usernames in your comment so we know who you are!

Good luck everyone!