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Ed Says. . . Does the end of the UK’s summer spell doom for festivals?
Author's Note: This was written yesterday, when the skies decided to deposit their contents upon my head on my way to, and from, the office.
Once again, I have been absolutely drenched during my commute into ABoF HQ. I wouldn't usually mind, but it's only just September and I can barely remember a day in August when I wasn't soaked from head to toe by the time I arrived at the office.
So, where the hell has summer gone this year? We had yet another God awful winter this year, and the only thing that consoled the populace while the UK's public transport system imploded in a plume of it's own unpreparedness was the old wives' adage - "you know what they say: cold winter, hot summer". Well, that just hasn't happened. And I want my summer back.
If this trend carries on, I am at a complete loss as to what's going to happen to this country's festivals. We all expect a bit of rain come festival season, but this summer has been different - rain's one thing, but when it's bloody freezing and all you have to protect you from the elements is a thin sheet of canvas, and a waterlogged sleeping bag, you're soon going to see droves of people upping sticks, sick of it all, and packed up on the first train back to civilisation.
I remember the first time Bestival was washed out - a storm hit the Isle of Wight in September 2008, making camping for the missus and me a complete and utter impossibility. We'd just bought a massive tent, after spending the last two years festival hopping in our trusty two person pop up. Well, we arrived off the ferry to massive winds, and dark and ominous skies. The rumour mill was already in full force; tales had been trickling out of the campsite that the rain had been so abundant, whole villages of tents had started gradually sliding down Robin Hill to be deposited in the bowl of the festival, contents spoiled and covered in mud. Determined not to be put off, we decided to abandon the camping idea (the prospect of setting up a massive 4 person tent in high winds and torrential rain didn't fill us with glee), and hole up in a bed and breakfast.
Unfortunately, we weren't the only people to come up with this groundbreaking idea, and spent the best part of 6 hours trawling the island for an available room before settling on an "unofficial" B and B that was in the process of refurbishment. With a dry place to sleep sorted, we made our way down to the festival. Several spills in the mud, too many mojitos, and several torrential downpours later, we decided to cut our losses and run. It was impossible to get inside any of the tented stage arenas to see the bands we wanted to see, and the outside main stage became more of an endurance test than anything else.
We made our way back to the mainland, with dozens of other fed up festivalgoers in search of central heating and dry clothes. We may have missed The Breeders, The Specials reforming, and what was supposedly an amazing set from George Clinton, but we didn't die from pneumonia. Which is always a positive.
Anyway - I'm cold, wet and fed up (which you may have figured by now). I'm off to sit by a radiator to dry myself out and steel myself for the long, cold and damp journey home.
You can follow ABoF super assistant Ed on Twitter
Blogger Of The Week: My Band’s Better Than Your Band.
After a short break, we're back with another edition of ABoF's Blog Of The Week! This week we tracked down Ollie Russian, former A&R man cum blogger extraordinaire, to chat about his hugely influential blog - My Band's Better Than Your Band.
Tell us how My Band's Better Than Your Band got started?
I started the blog just after I got made redundant from my A&R role over at Atlantic Records. Initially, it was a way that I could show people that I was still out there hunting down new acts all the time, I guess to try and hook myself another job really. It was also quite satisifying being able to shout about all the super new things going around rather than keeping them close to my chest and being all secretive. I very quickly really got into the whole blogging thing and was soon getting some great exclusives and tip offs on new acts from a whole host of contacts throughout the music industry.
You've been name-checked by the BBC as one of their "trendsetters" - did you ever see your blog becoming this influential?
God no! I thought that a few of my music industry mates would read it every so often but it seems that its readership has really grown; a huge section of the industry now read it as well as lots of genuine music fans. It’s quite an honour!
What's your best resource for finding new music?
The internet itself and other blogs in particular. I’m finding that Twitter is really starting to have a bigger influence on the music I’m discovering. I’ve spent the last few years putting a lot of work into growing my Twitter following, and now I have a great pool of people who regularly tip me off on new acts: it’s like having my own network of 11,000 scouts across the UK! Saying that, I still rely on my network of industry contacts to a large extent.
Keeping a blog fresh and entertaining can be a daily struggle - how do you manage it?
Sometimes I don’t know! I found it a lot easier when I was unemployed for 12 months, that way I could spend all day trying to find an angle or theme for a post. If I can, I try and have some kind of vague theme in each post rather than just ‘here is a band’ (though I do do that sometimes, in a vaguely ironic way of course!). I have tons of bands that I could blog about, but if I have nothing sarcastic/witty/stupid to say about them then I tend not to mention them!
As well as DJing, you've also played your fair share of gigs as a bass player for bands such as Les Incompetents and Meanwhile, back in Communist Russia. Do you have any amusing stories from on the road?
What goes on tour stays on tour.
Who are your top tips for the remainder of 2011?
Not sure which ones are going to actually break through at this late stage but a few to keep an eye out for are Tribes, Michael Kiwanuka, Rae Morris, Spector, Deliah.
Are there any bands/artists on the ABoF roster that tickle your fancy?
It’s all about Keith Top Of The Pops, innit?
Finally, what are your top tips for anyone wanting to start running their own music blog?
Work out what you want to say/achieve before doing anything. Do you want to focus on purely new music? Or things you love? Lost disco classics? Lady Gaga remixes? Once you have that try and update at least once a week, and try and keep it concise - if I want to read an essay on the history of folk music in the Netherlands, I’ll buy a book or check Wikipedia instead. Also, you have to find your own voice, don’t try and bullshit your way around a subject - passion always comes though.
Ed says. . . please, just give me a driving licence
Last week marked the 3rd time I failed my driving test. The first time was ten years ago, just before I went to unit, where I picked up a major fault two minutes before the test ended, dooming me to a decade of public transport, and god-awful rail journeys up and down the country (during those ten years I had neither the time, nor the money, to retake my test). The second time was only a month ago, where I managed to spectacularly mess up a turn in the road by mounting the curb - the rest of the drive had been perfect.
The last time was different - I was convinced I'd passed. When I pulled back into the test centre, the examiner asked me if I remembered the horse I'd overtaken. Apparently I hadn't given it enough room, and had overtaken a tad too fast. A horse. In London. Major fault. No licence for you sir.
My major annoyance with constant supervision while driving is the lack of music. I listen to music while I'm doing everything. When I wash the dishes, I tend to listen to something fast paced and rocky to make the time fly by while I'm up to my elbows in suds. When I write, I pop the radio on in the background so I don't over think, and lull myself into a half conscious state where the words just flow.
I have yet to drive with music on, and I can't wait to start doing so. Whenever I hear a boy racer go past with bass rattling the windows of my house, I think to myself, "If he just tweaked the treble up a tad, and took some of the bottom off, that would probably sound amazing".
Alas, it's not to be. I have to endure another couple of weeks until I can retake my test, and then I'll probably encounter a UFO, exploding cattle, or the wheels will fall of the car. But, until then, I'm going to be spending my downtime creating the best driving playlist the world has ever seen!
You can follow ABoF super assistant Ed on Twitter
Ed Says. . . If you fancy a chat, please do the decent thing and stand at the back.
I've been going to gigs since I was 14, and at the risk of starting a "when I were a lad" diatribe, I've noticed an annoying addition to the live experience: conversation. Now, don't get me wrong - feel free to chat to your friends at a gig. Hell, you can discuss the duality of the mind-body relationship and the problems of a physical entity interacting with a non-physical one for all I care. Just don't stand beside me, at the front of the venue, during the band's set, and shout over the music.
Band's spend hours rehearsing and honing their set to perform it live, and when you bowl up to their gig and talk over their music, in the loudest voice you can muster, you're taking a liberty. It disrespects the crowd who have paid a significant amount of money to see the artists play, and the band, who really don't want to see people at the front discussing this weeks shopping list, or "who slept with who" last weekend.
Call me old fashioned, but gigs are not there for you to be "seen". They're there for people to watch and listen to music.
Just to clarify, I'm not a gig fascist. If you want to chat - fine. Go for it. But, maybe you should stand at the back, quietly, away from the speakers, and out of the band's line of sight.
A month or so ago, at a friends show, I found myself at the front of the crowd, lost in the music. Then it happened: two Hoxton casualties, standing within 2 feet of each other, shouting their conversation at the top of their lungs during the latter half of the band's set. I let it go for one song. Then by the second, when it became clear that they weren't going to stop, I felt every muscle in my body start to tense. By the third I could stand it no longer - I had to say something. What should have been an explosion of incandescent rage manifested itself as a calm, passive aggressive query - "excuse me guys? Are you going to talk all the way through this? It's just that it's becoming quite distracting." Never have I been looked at in such disgust. Still, they stopped talking. Turns out I look a little bit terrifying to people who don't know I'm a a pussycat who couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Who knew?
So, in summary - if you're chatting loudly at a gig - stop it. And if someone is chatting loudly at a gig, and you want them to stop - ask them. Chances are they will.
You can follow ABoF super assistant Ed on Twitter
Blogger Of The Week: Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot
It's time for another edition of ABoF's Blogger Of The Week! This week, we've decided to shine our light on Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot, the brainchild of Mark Cousens. Passionate about music, he realised that he still had enough time left over from his day job (writing reviews for Artrocker Magazine) to launch his own music review blog. ABoF caught up with him to ask him a couple of questions.
Tell us about Punk Rock Ist Nicht?
The name comes from a Billy Childish song of the same name. The blog was borne out of frustration with the UK charts being watered down by things like the X-Factor; there was nothing being played on the radio that interested me. I started the site as a way of finding good music, and hopefully introducing others to it too. We mainly concentrate on alternative and indie but occasionally stray into folk as well. The site is mainly a review site but we also put up news items we think are interesting and we regularly stream mp3s and music vids.
What's your best resource for finding new music?
Since starting the blog I get sent plenty of demos so I spend a lot of time listening to those, some aren't great but some have gone on to become favourite bands. I also invested in several DAB radios so I could listen to 6music both at home and in the car, it's the only mainstream station worthy of my ears. Oh, and Spotify is brilliant for a quick listen to something I've been told about.
For a while now print has been playing second fiddle to the online press. With so many blogs around, how do you separate the wheat from the chaff?
As long as I like the music they cover I give them all a chance, but the ones I stick with are the ones whose writing style I like best, like SoundsXP and indie-mp3.co.uk.
How do you keep your blog fresh and different?
Really by covering music that no one else is. Also I don't worry too much about genre - if I like it it's on the blog, though you're unlikely to find any R&B on there.
Tough question, but which artist(s) are you enjoying most this year?
Hmmm that is tough, there are so many good bands out there right now... the ones I keep returning to at the moment include the Smith Westerns, Young Buffalo, Archie Powell & the Exports, Yacht, Our Mountain, Cults, Yuck, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Limozine, Theatre Royal... the list goes on.
Have to ask. . . Is there anyone on the ABoF roster you're quite keen on?
For sure! I really Architects Of Grace and The Blood Arm, and I've seen Keith TOTP a few times with different lineups, he can always guarantee a fun night out.
Finally, what are your top tips for starting your own music blog?
Make sure you have the time; you'd be amazed how much it sucks up. Don't waste time writing about stuff you don't like. Always be friendly and polite in your emails. Always use a spell checker. Be nice to PR people.