A Quick Chat With Your Demise

image myspace.com/yourdemise

Tonight I ventured to the Cockpit to brave uk metal/hardcore act Your Demise on their we used to be kids tour. A sweaty room, hard rock, inaudible lyrics and people throwing themselves off stage...my only regret I bought my handbag and couldn't join in!

I caught up with a very sweaty Ed Mcrae, the lead singer of the band.

How did you find tonight's show?

It was rad, it was so good. It was sold out for one and we haven't played Leeds properly in a while. I love playing Leeds it's always amazing.

You got a lot of stage crashers tonight, how often does that happen?

Yeah, we seem to be a lot recently, it always happens and tonight was no exception.

They music you guys play is pretty hardcore. Did you see the comment that journalist made about Rock being dead?

Rock is quite a general term for music, so no it's not dead. No music's dead really. When it first came out the attitudes have changed. But no, no music is dead. Music and art can't die.

What do you think of the British music scene at the moment?

Thriving, thriving. I guess the art and culture scene, there's so many bands coming up and in general there are so many artist and musicians coming out, that are really good and from the UK. A lot of the world are now seeing that the UK is back on the map as quite a hub of music.

Sum up tonight's show in three words?

Really fucking good.

Freelance Whales

This Friday I attended a gig, solo, not only was it the first of 2011 but the first one I had ever been to see on my own. Nervous I sat down expecting the band that would sound like a mix of Mae, Owl City and Hellogoodbye. After Initially getting over the feeling of being on my own, I started writing down notes in shorthand on a discarded bus ticket, partly for reviewing purposes partly so that if people saw me sitting on my own they would know what I was actually doing.

After the gig I approached Judah Dadone, to speak about the gig and also find out the story behind the interesting name. After the band had finished packing up their equipment and he came back to talk to me. He told me that as a kid he had almost drowned in the sea of Galilee, Israel. A lifeguard saw that he was struggling, jumped in and dragged him onto the beach to give him the kiss of life. As he came to, an elderly gentleman, who the lead singer believed had dementia, said something about 'Liberty Whale' and that was the reason for the word Whales is in the name.

This Friday, the Freelance Whales packed out the Brudenell Social Club, it's a place where the bands that play leave their egos at the door. The intimate venue welcome the Brooklyn based band like an old friend, clapping and politely cheering as they took to the stage.

Seeing the band live, you realise that each member is an integral part of the overall sound. The guitars, harmonium, synthesisers, bass, glockenspiel and drums aren't the only instruments in the bands repertoire, but their voices as well. Carefully planned harmonies build up and create the base of each song. The distinctively high lead vocal by front man Judah Dadone, stands out over the plethora of sounds, and is often softened by the gentle voice of Doris Cellar.

The texture of their music is more apparent when they play live, the music and organisation of the band, creates an electricity in this small venue. They didn't just know how to play the instruments, but how to experiment with them. At one point the guitarist took out a bow and started playing his guitar as a violin. The crowd weren't just listening to the music but were looking intently as to how it was created.

They opened their set with 'Rise and Shine', treading carefully as they begin, opening with an acoustic guitar and onto a quick build up of percussion and finally the vocals. The song a blend of pop and folk, with lyrics played to a nursery rhyme style tune, "Cutting all the corners, tearing down the borders, ignoring all the warnings, living out of focus". They aren't the run of the mill lyrics, but they received a positive response from the audience.

'Generator 1st floor', provoked the best response from the audience, the band did not command a raucous reaction from the crowd. Just the fact that people were moving to the music, seemed to mean everything to the band.

Though confident in their abilities, Freelance Whales were humble and sometimes bashful after addressing the audience, it made for a relaxed and enjoyable night. A band like Freelance Whales are definately one to be experienced live, it isn't until you see them perform you are able to see the complex formation of their music and how each member of the band is quintessential their trademark sound.

Whips N' Chains Excite Her.

This month I have read articles and teasers about Rihanna's new song, S&M, now initially naivety struck I thought, Ri Ri wouldn't be so bold as to release a song about S&M it's bound to stand for something else.

I saw teasers of Rihanna sporting bright red Side Show Bob style hair and another of her licking an ice cream with a patch on resembling a Pete Burns Dead or Alive Character, and thought nothing of this.

I have followed and been a fan of Rihanna since the beginning, 'Girl Like Me' and 'Good Girl Gone Bad' feature in my mp3 collection. My playlists also include the odd single off the other albums. Me and my friends like the girl so much we have a dance to Umbrella, and like to call Rihanna Ella, as if we know her. Totally normal for 22 year old girls I know.

In the last year Rihanna has seemed to really come into her stride leaving dated songs like 'Final Goodbye' and 'Unfaithful' in her wake. Post Umbrella Rihanna has released what seems like a thousand songs, sometimes having two songs in the chart at once. She is a hair icon, fashion icon and has made herself a household name.

But what's more apparent is her maturity in her songs, more recently, instead of flirting with the listener Rihanna has opted for in your face sexuality, which if Madonna's success in the eighties early nighties is anything to go by, with her open and honest sexuality being shared with the world, it's a smart career move. Rihanna has gone from the innoncent 16-year-old, pleading with the DJ to turn the music to asking a big boy to get it 'up'.

The starlet even managed to turn heads and rile up angry parents on her recent appearance of X-factor, where she danced on stage scantily clad. Now, Mr Cowel and Co over at the X factor empire are not stupid, they are familiar with Rihanna and how she portrays herself. Her outfit would have been Okayed by the team, dance routine run by producers and she would have been given the go ahead to perform. Plastering newspapers with endless headlines of her appearance is just more publicity for the X Factor machine.

The most outrageous stunt by Ri Ri, has to be her new video, clicking Perezhilton.com, I saw a link saying 'click here, click here, click here' and not one to turn down gossip I clicked it. The link led me onto Youtube and urged me to confirm I was over 18. What the Hell, had the celeb blogger led me to ?!

Then it began, Rihanna's most daring career move to date, S & M. Opening shots of Rihanna, encased in acetate and holding a press conference, to room full of journalists silenced by ball-gags and scribbling down insults such as slut on the reporter pads. Between these shorts you see a latex clad Rihanna, leading Perez Hilton around like a dog, which he plays maybe a little too eagerly. On top of this there are blow up dolls, journos gaffa taped up, Rihanna writhing in a rubber dress and one more thing, that is no way to eat a banana young lady! Narrating this song are lyrics such as ,"I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it" , "chains and whips excite me" and the piece de resistent, "sex in the air I don't care I like the smell of it". After reducing my eyes to their normal size, forcing my jaw shut and hoping and praying it doesn't get played at school discos I tweeted it.

Then the backlash began, first on my twitter, then the blogs, the newspapers and finally the airwaves. The pop princess's video has now been banned in about eleven countries, received thousands of column inches and been subject of discussion. She has achieved exactly what she wanted and portrayed in her raunchy vid, the press in the palm of her hand. Rihanna's video will now be one of the most searched, read about and downloaded artist to see what all the fuss is about.

The girl has not only matured but succeeded, in being the name on everyone's lips!

Ri Ri joins press favourite Lady Gaga, in the award for shocking videos and daring lyrics. Despite my original shock I like the song, the only danger is, that it's so catchy I hope I don't end up singing it in the supermarket!