Rebellion Top 5's

Rebellion Top 5's

Top 5 moments from Rebellion 2012

The anti-fascist sing songs from Los Fastidios, the Filaments and Hard Skin - whilst it may have been less prevalent than in recent years there is still a small number

of people who believe themselves to be superior due to the colour of their skin.  This year there was some great sing along moments and three stand outs are from bands

who actively proclaim themselves as anti-fascist.  It is with great irony that I stood amongst 1500 people proclaiming at the top of my straight edge voice the hard

skin anthem "We've still got beer"

Neville Staples looking after his daughter.  One thing about punk is the anti-hero sentiment prevalent in many songs.  Both SLF and Neville Staples proclaimed from the

stage "Everyone is SOmeone" and how true that is.  everyone is someones son or daughter and for many attending rebellion they also have duties as parents.  Whilst it

was heartening to see a large number of kids in attendance with their guardians it was great to see Neville looking out for his daughter in the crowd as near 2,000

people were skanking along to doesn't make it alright.  She was up the front having a great time - her first pun k gig.  Meanwhile Neville was slightly uneasy but n ot

letting it get to his performance

Literary Stage - it was great to hear the history of punk being spoke by people who were there in 77.  Slaughter and the Dogs gave a great insight into Manchester of

the day, Viv Albertine spoke educationally about London, John King spoke of the influence of punk rock his writings and Pete from the Lurkers spoke of their travels.

This really ought to be filmed and made available for all as John Robb asked just the right questions to tease out the stories from the history makers.

The MOB were haunting in the Pavillion.  It was a superb venue for them, maybe 400 capacity and their harrowing sound was perfect for it.  An amazing intense set that

belied their years and who could believe that album was over 20 years ago

The Acoustic Stage is a gem - many classics are unearthed every year.  This time around it was my introduction to Ginger Wildheart.  I was simply amazed to see so many

people singing along and having a great time, nowing every song, anticipating every move.

Top 5 t-shirts
We did a very scientific search on t-shirts n display - looked at them all and tried to remember which were most popular band by their merch

Resistance 77 - wierd that they fell the need to explain their patriotism but even wierder that england seems to be mentioned on all their shirts

Cock Sparrer - perennial Rebellion favourites, there was less on display than previously but still easily into the top 5

UK Subs, evergreen Charlie Hrper must have released a tshirt every year the band has been in existence, that alone would guarantee a fair amount but the subs must be

up there for the number 1 spot

Restarts - I was surprised at how many shirts siad restarts on them. increasing in number each year

Gimp Fist + SLF - i was tempted to go see them as their was so many oversize adults proclaiming their alleginace to the band.  Unfortunaltely I still don't know what they sound like but strangely feel acquainted witht h band as there was so much, SLF were equal in numbers and the stiff little fingers can make a nice gimp fist!!

Top 5 ways to improve Rebellion

I loved the festival this year, altough I'm a recent enojugh convert over the past 5 years this was my favourite one so far.  Lots of good diverse bands and with so

much to do.  I love that it's on in Blackpool as the tatty slightly decaying seaside town is such a perfect home for the punks.  As with everything there is room for

improvement, here's my suggestions

Liase with Blackpool Tourist Agency - it's nmot enough for the Blackpool Gazette to welcome the punks in their editorial more of the local restaurants and businesses

need to recognise the value of attracting 6,000 people into theire shops over the weekend.  I noticed one cafe doing a 15% discount for attendees, some more of that

would be very welcome.

More VEGGIE Food - It is obvious by the empty fridge section in the nearby Holland and barrett and the sparse salad shelves in M&S that a punk rocker likes thier vegetarian food.  unfortunately we're not all vegan but there is a large contingent of us that are.  In the Winter Gardens itself the catering on display isn't great for the veggies but it is all in house.  The nearby chippers (of which there are many) have greasy fare of fish and chips and battered sausages, many of us don't want this type of grub.  If some influence could be put on winter gardens to have a better selection for us animal rights championers that would be a winner

It's an independent music festival celebrating punk rock and its alternative culture.  There are many stalls selling items from punk rock key rings to coasters and clothes and some records.  Bands get a look in when they are on stage and set up pop up stalls along the way. How good would it be to have stalls dedicated to up and coming punk and indie labels.  Labels like Boss Tuneage http://www.bosstuneage.com/ who do a great job publicizing the old and the new.  It's not all about Captain Oi!!

Fanzines - It's not just where have all the bootboys gone you know? What happened to all the zines.  I know they are a bit sparse but no way have they all vanished. Are people allowed sell zines at it?  How great would it be to have a stall with zines, it could lead to a resurgence in this way of documenting our scene

Books - it is great to hear the interviews John Robb does on the literary stage, fabulous insight into the history and hopefully will be recorded some day.  Why is it only books from people speaking at these go on sale?  Let's push our counter culture, let rebrellion be the stage for those putting out their own books, their own records, their own zines.  Let it be a voice for creativity.

The last quarter - rebellion day 4

The last quarter - rebellion day 4

Well it's done and dusted now and I must say that this years rebellion festival has been my most enjoyable. Today was more a case of what I missed as I got to see my annual Blackpool fc football game. 

I first came to the tatty seaside town the membranes sang about as a young teenager. It coincided with my introduction to punk rock. I used to be able to pick up records in my trips over here or even see an odd gig that never would have happened in Dublin in the early 80s. I have great memories of angelic upstarts live in Blackpool bierkeller, or buying zen arcade by husked du or spike milligans tape recorder by the membranes. Blackpool was part of my education growing up and part of that was going to see Blackpool fc. A trip to the sea by premiership side everton was happening so I scored my ticket early for that. Because of it I missed the amazing Goldblade, random hand, sonic boom six, dubtones and the last of the literary events. Seasiders won 2-0 so that was nice to see anyway. 

A festival like rebellion is almost like a trip through my musical scrapbook, more so this year with the introduction of the bizzare bizzare at the opera venue. I got to see outcasts and altered images there tonight. Both bands had their 6 month period in my life. The outcasts were the band from the north who played in the magnet. My brothers would come home with stories of trouble and excitement from these gigs. I listened to that first album over and over again. I managed to see them with the clash in the sfx and still have the ticket. Altered images on the other hand had a couple of good singles and were cool because they featured "the actress from Gregory's girl". I stayed for most of their set but did draw the line when they covered baby I was born this way. I ran to catch agnostic front belting out heir version of blitzkrieg bop. Chalk and cheese in the two venues. But isn't that part of the joy of it all. We can celebrate diversity!!

Another band important to me for a while as a kid were stiff little fingers. Again it was stories of their gigs that I was regaled with, stories that always featured trouble somewhere. I used to wonder why would people fight at gigs, are we not all in this together?  There was not a sniff of trouble in the 2000 strong crowd singing along "everybody is someone". That was also a theme of my surprise of the night  Neville staples of fun boy three and specials fame. I expected to pop in and catch a couple of good tunes. Instead i couldn't leave as I was taken in by the infectious dance rhythms. We were all smiling and singing along. "everybody is somebody" for sure. 

And then there's tv smith. Tim was in the adverts but has been blasting his own songs for years. I spent a good year listening to a tape of crossing the red sea with the adverts. We could listen to music in work and this was one album we all agreed on. Tv smith played at least 4 times over the weekend, each time with a different flavour. Tonight was acoustic and mostly his new songs, played with unrelenting energy and passion. If you ever get a chance do check him out. 

I'd never come across ginger wildheart before but felt like I'd stumbled on to something special tonight. It was like coming across a members group that was open for anyone to join. Hundreds of punks screaming along to gingers acoustic songs, knowing every word. Amazing. 

And that was it!! Rancid were packed out, uk subs were missed for slf and the outcasts, loads more missed out but so many good memories. I can now catch my breath and add this to my wonderful scrap book of punk rock life.

Here we go, three in a row. Rebellion day 3

The stamina of some of the punks is unreal, either that or they are sleeping outside the winter gardens. Statics were on at 2.30 so that was my starting time but rebellion had already a big crowd in attendance. Los fastidios, from Italy were on in the empress Ballroom at 2.25 and they brought their usual large crowd. I love watching these Italian skins singing about anti fascism and animal rights. We can all sing along for animal liberation and how the workers of the world must unite. But unfortunately I owed it to the statics to watch them so missed a bulk of Los fastidios. 

That's the great (and sometimes bad as I completely missed Geoffrey oicott due to scheduling) thing about a festival like this. You can easily dip your toe in and out of bands. So I got to see a bit of penetration, Spizz energi, monochrome set, vice squad, blood or whiskey, neck, the only ones and choking victim in between the fuller sets. 

Also on was John robbs excellent series of interviews. I caught the ones with mick and Wayne from slaughter and the dogs and also viv albertine formerly of the slits. It would be great if these were recorded as they provide a fascinating insight into the history of punk rock. Slaughter gave a great account of the manchester scene and growing up in that time. Viv spoke of squatting in London in the 70s and hanging out with mick jones, sid vicious and the start of the punk scene. She also spoke of her time with the slits and the eccentricities of people. Fascinating. 

I left to hear the now englands biggest anti fascist gay oi band. Hard skin announced themselves on stage and blew us away with their ironic oi anthems. Im in on the joke so I can gladly sing along to "we've still got beer" as I raise my glass of water. A great laugh and in many ways summing up rebellion. Decent people not to be taken seriously. 

Next full set was paranoid visions in the Olympia. It's a long way from fibber magees that's for sure. you could probably fit 10 fibbers into this place. It's massive and must have been daunting for the 8 visions on stage. Tv smith even joined in for a song. 

I vaguely remember patrik Fitzgerald from way back. He had a guitar a unique voice and some quirky songs. These were all in fine fettle tonight. For some bizarre reason I thought of frank side bottom as i closed my eyes listening to patrik. Frank, without the paper mâché head and the keyboards and the cover version, maybe you get my drift!!! Let's just say he could be a relative with THAT voice. 

I was completely blown away by ruts dc preceding patrik. They played to a huge crowd and it was a blistering set. The ruts hold a special place in my heart. I remember Malcolm Owen dying. As a young kid I could almost feel the pain that Malcolm was going through. His songs in the ruts were stories about his life. His experiences of trying to give up drugs and subsequently loosing that battle in the bath in his parents home exude sadness to me. I wrote about him in my first zine in 1983 and still have that sadness over me when thinking about how his life was wasted. I loved the ruts so excitement was pretty high for me. They kept going for a while under this moniker after Malcolm's death but their records never captured the same excitement as the ruts. Tonight started off slow enough. I was enjoying their white reggae / dub sound but was hoping for a bit more. This I certainly got in spades. They reworked some of their classic songs  and still seemed heartfelt. Staring at the rude boys and jah war were the standout moments of the festival for me. It wasn't just the songs on the night, it was the history. Brilliant. 

P.I.L. finished the night for me, considering I didn't go see them in Dublin recently I wasn't expecting too much. I got what I expected and I had to queue in for the pleasure as the ballroom was so packed, it hadn't seen a crowd like this since the darts!!

Rebellion - day 2

Still rebellion - day 2

After the late end to last night rejoicing the wonder of the buzzcocks I had to pace myself a bit better today. I also had to get to Bloomfield road to score my ticket for evertons trip to Blackpool on Sunday. 

I got back in time to see John robb talking to Tom hingley. Tom was the lead singer of inspiral carpets and has many a good story. He also plays a great acoustic set. Of course he talked so much today he missed his slot and pog who were on next and Perkie after that couldn't be expected to miss theirs so Tom couldn't play. I found comfort in the fact that he is back in Dublin in September so will see him then. 

I remember HDQ playing in mcgonagles in the 80's and was completely blown away by their stage presence. Much like the instigators from that same era the band moved and jumped around stage like it was an Olympic gymnastic event. The years have taken their toll but it was nice to see that brand of energy once more. Andy T was a different type of energy, he ranted over punk tunes but always had a message. It was exciting to see him and the mob. Unfortunately I missed out on Hagar the womb but the mob made up for it. Full of menace and vigour. I closed my eyes and had the gatefold 7"s in my hand whilst singing along. "No doves fly here" was poignant. Hopefully the tribe increased yesterday. 

Paranoid visions and acoustic is similar to peanut butter and jam. Whenever I ask for that on my bagel I tend to receive strange glances however it's great. You should try it just like the visions have embraced the acoustic. Well not all them. It was so noticeable that deko was not there spitting out the venom. 30 years of the visions and this must have been a first. No deko on stage! He saw a bit of them and then headed off to see Chelsea. Their set was refreshing, after 30 years that is great to hear. 

There is a certain attitude that goes with some people in bands. My best phrase for it is the rock star attitude. It is one that my punk is the opposite of. People in bands could quite easily be in the crowd watching. Anyone can be in a band, everyone should try it. It mightn't work for us all but you can have fun trying. That's what makes punk relevant to me. You could be the vocalist, the fanzine writer, the promoter, the guitarist, sound engineer or the paid up punter. None are more important than the others. So when I see bands troop on stage after someone tunes their guitars and places their water in the correct place I get worried. I've seen a few bands like that today and that's not my punk rock. I don't feel part of their community. However when I see Lost Fastidios and 7 Seconds I am with them. Together we can take on the world. Together we can do anything. Tonight we sing along and it is glorious. Highlights for sure. Citizen fish not far behind there  too. These are my rebellion, with tv smith playing along and John robb narrating. 

See you tomorrow

It is not a rebellion but it is rebellion - day 1

It's not a rebellion but it is rebellion

Where do I start with rebellion?  If its new to you check out www.rebellionfestival.com it's an annual gathering of the punks to blackpool. Blackpool is such an apt location for it as its a city stuck in the 70s with bits of modernisation but very much old school. Rebellion has over 200 bands playing during its 4 days and I'm here for the weekend, here's a snippet of Thursday's action

First up for me was the tea time antics of max splodge (yes of splodgenessabounds). He was compering bingo later (it is Blackpool after all) but for now it was an acoustic set ably backed up by 2 men in drag running around the room.    
I ran up to the art exhibition upstairs which had been home to a q and a earlier which saw the mercurial John robb in conversation with mickey fitzgerald from the business. It's a great concept and I vowed to do my best to catch it tomorrow. Anyway the art was surprisingly good. Knox, from the vibrators. Charlie harper, from uk subs. Gaye black from the adverts all had work on display. One notable exhibitor was David worth's punk rock cartoon. Www.punkrockcartoons.com. I only wished I had of stuck with my ferry plans for travel as I could carry so much more. 
Back to the music and off with their heads were banging out some anthems. It's my kind of sound, loud tuneful, heartfelt songs.

Different to Jim sorrow who was doing an acoustic set but no less heartfelt.  Hull troubadour Jim was strumming that banjo like it was his Gibson sg. He also plays in freaks union. I couldntvstsy for more than three songs as the filaments were on in the empress ballroom ( yes the same venue that hosts bale rom dancing and darts competitions). It was upbeat, fast with a manic trombone player. Great to hear an openly anti fascist song as its amazing how unnerving it is seeing so many people in the crowd with short hair and union jacks. 

After the filaments shredded it was back to the acoustic room for Lucy ward. Lucy  is a regular on the folk scene and this is her first rebellion I think she'll be back especially if she keeps throwing in an odd clash song.

I couldnt pay too much attention as the excitement of seeing snuff was about to explode. I remember first seeing snuff in Belfast in 1988 (I think). They blew me away that night and have been a regular on my playlists since. They only have Duncan from that line up but are still amazing. The songs are so good. They didn't (maybe couldnt) play I'm not listening anymore but more than made up for it in their 45 minutes. Class

I think because it was a further two hours before the buzzcocks were due to go on stage that it became a struggle. I suffered through Rory McLeod and his acoustic, spoon led warblings. I wondered if the Newtown kings were the commitments of ska or maybe the resident wedding band for rebellion. I found demob, the heavy metal kids and the business pretty painful. They signified to me what is bad about these events. Sometimes there's no need for middle aged men to get on stage. Maybe if they meant more to me back in the day!!! 

Speaking of middle aged men, the buzzcocks  finally played to a packed empress. Those songs are so good, songs like boredom and what do I get with shelleys trademark tones.  The huge crowd lapped it up and I sat there happy that I started my journey 22 hours previously to get to this point

EURO 2012 DARE TO DREAM

Euro 2012 - dreaming about you Now that was a nice distraction. All discussions around bail-outs and currency and interest rates and EU/IMF were concentrated on events on the football pitch in Poland and Ukraine over the past month. From the kick-off in Poland to the trophy being lifted in Ukraine all European matters revolved around football in my house. My 3 kids were driven to distraction by my demented warblings about the political situation in Ukraine. European history was discussed around whatever game took place. Russia and Poland - let's talk about Glasnost - England v France - gentle rivalry across the channel - Germany v well anyone really and World War 2 raised its head. And then there was the Spanish - my son's project on Spain became about Homage to Catalonia and how it was notable that the Spanish team don't really sing the country's national anthem (maybe like the Irish rugby team they could make one up......)

But what about the football?? I coach an Under 11's team and have been drilling into them for the past couple of years the importance of passing the ball and trying to keep possession. Goalkeeper must roll the ball out and players must rotate all positions. If you don't start a game one week you sure as hell will be starting the following one. It is all about learning the game and how to play as a team for these lads. Of course that means they make mistakes (the best way to learn) and they score less goals than the opposition in some games. But every game they do something worthwhile and it doesn't involve any mirror image of the way Ireland or England played in the tournament.

How disappointing were the Irish and English national teams? I felt Ireland were going to have a torrid time as the three teams in our group were so superior but I had hoped that we could achieve something notable against them. I suppose we did this, but for all the wrong reasons. Least passes? Ireland, least shots on target? Ireland, most goals conceded? Ireland. Our neighbours across the Sea may have fared better with results (they finished the tournament unbeaten) but their football was awful. It was a worrying trend this season when Chelsea won the Champions League. I am all for the underdog but can't accept Chelsea being the poor relation of Bayern Munich or Barcelona. They played a bad brand of football and the English national team played like them in the Euros. Thankfully Italy put paid to theat style.

Imagine saying that that about Italy, but they were great to watch - as were Spain. Every pass was a joy for me. I can now prepare for pre-season training with what will be the Under 12's safe in the knowledge that it is ok to pass, it'll pay dividends in the end. Stay true..

Pride Parade 2012

"He's just a stereotype" is what the Specials sang many years ago. I remember the night the Specials first played in Dublin. I remember getting the bus home from town and some rude boys were travelling out to the Stardust to the gig. I was envious but it was a case of too much too young as my parents decided that me as a 13 year old would not be going. Instead I had to content myself with my rude boy badges on my black (and then red) harrington. This was my uniform, my statement to the world. I like the Specials, I like punk rock, it doesn't matter what you make of it.

Interesting that 21 years on I was to attend a parade of people making a similar statement. It all started when my union conference passed a motion a couple of years ago to participate in Dublins Gay Pride Parade. There was much discussion over this and thankfully the motion passed practically unanimously. Our union would parade in solidarity with members whose sexual preference was for people of the same sex. I had never attended a pride parade (my reason being that I didn't feel any wish to express my sexuality in public) and didn't attend with my union colleagues that year, nor the next. However something changed at our conference this year. Firstly I got elected onto the Unions Executive Committee so there is a certain responsibility that goes with that. Secondly it was mentioned that the motion previously passed in regard to parade was in danger of being ignored this year. Turnout from PSEU was very disappointing, in much the same way as people can be hesitant to come out in public, many people are hesitant to be seen to be union activists, especially a public service union. So with that in mind I made it my duty to ensure we would be represented. Many people feel unions are irrelevant in todays society, I would never subscribe to that view but can totally see the reasoning behind it. So much work has been done in this country to better the conditions of the working man and woman and with most improvements in working conditions there is a strong union propping them up. Unions are relevant when people require decent working conditions, when they are looking for pay rises, when dealing with work expectations and leave arrangements. If these hard earned gains are already in place then where's the relevance? Of course it is there to ensure these conditions aren't eroded beyond repair. Anyway union talk can come another day (and will). I'm here to talk about pride.

The day of the parade came and we had banded together a dozen assorted folk to go along. As I boarded the bus (going in the opposite direction to that Specials gig 21 years ago) I suddenly became self conscious. "What if people see me on the March....oops parade"? I was thinking, "Would they think I was gay?" And suddenly it seemed to matter. I was amazed at this internal reaction. Of course I reasoned it out with myself but I couldn't prevent that initial feeleing. I have spent all my adolescent and adult life saying it's ok to be what you want and do what you feel. Your actions and how you treat others are what count and yet something very simple like walking down O Connell Street in full public view with a bunch of amazing people dressed in some of the most outrageous and colourful costumes you ever will see felt a little uncomfortable. And this is where society comes in, this is where organisations like PSEU and other trade unions can lead the way. it is ok to be gay, it is ok not to be gay. It really doesn't matter and until society fully accepts this there will continue to be a need to have Pride day.

blackpool v west ham championship play-off 2012

Do moral victories mean anything? I'm here on the train watching the beautiful countryside intersect with electrical pylons throughout middle England and I just can't get the ill taste out of my mouth. It is certainly not the ill taste of food as the fare today has been exemplary. Planet organic after the game was preceded by some vegan cake from bumblebee and vegan treats from vx in kings cross. The food today has helped temper the feeling after watch west ham beat my beloved Blackpool today. Yep I'm biased, I have my tangerine memorabilia on as I type this but damn did west ham play awful football. I have attended many many games throughout my 2scoreandfour years and west ham were a reminder of some seasons going to the Carlisle grounds to see my other seaside team, bray wanderers. Goalkeeper kickouts typified it today. When England international rob green put the ball down at the edge of his six yard box every one of his team mates congregated in a 20 yard circle each side of the half way line and towards one side. It was like the space used before a game to play 3 v 3 games, except there was 20 players in that area. It reminded me of the many disorganised protests I have been to down through the years. Instead of spreading out and making it seem like we were more in number we huddled together for strength in solidarity. Now while that may be ok if you are protesting about Israeli behaviour on Palestinian people or trying to make people more aware about he horrific barbaricity of vivisection but for a football team of professionals it seems just as wrong to me as eating meat (guess that still leaves me in the minority). Anyway there was a "football" match today. West ham were pre match favourites but the thousands of tangerine clad people were like attendees at a barak Obama rally believe we said, hope was in our hearts as the little guy went to bat against his rich counterpart. It didn't start out quite as planned for the cockney team as Blackpool created some good chances. Matt Phillips was on the pfa team of the championship this year but it wasn't for his finishing. He got into 2 great opportunities but after fluffing the first one his second effort went just wide. We believed, we hoped but then the hammers scored. Mark noble played a great long ballot Carlton cole after some wrestling our the wing. Cole showed his class against Ian evatt and scored before Matt hills could reposition himself correctly. West ham fans, your team has some great players. Demand that they are allowed play!!!!! And so at halftime we were 1 down. What was to happen next? I had an eye on the clock as I has to get back to euston for 7 o clock. When Blackpool came and really took the game to west ham in the second half I had all sorts Rolf permutations going round my head and most of them involved missing the ferry!!! When we got the equalised there was a sense that something could be achieved today we pushed and tried to get that winner. We kept at it and with ten minutes to go it seemed that If the game wasn't foing to be extended by extra time then it would be because the pool got the winner. And so we sang, we held our arms aloft and we believed. And then we were shut up. We were put back into our ideological cubbyhole. Hammers won a scrap played some quick passes and suddenly the ball was in the net. Don't ask me how but the team with the money had muscled their way into the lead. We tried to hit back, tried to our sing those fans but their bubbles were too loud. Our bubble has burst and all that was left was for me I run out of the stadium and catch my train. So I pondered on today's fare whilst eating my treat in planet organic, football mirrors life sometimes the good guys win but NOT always. Good luck to west ham in the premiership next season, they finished third in the league so natural justice belongs to them

We made something Better

Gimme Something Better - "The Profound, Progressive, and ocassionally pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day"
by Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor (Penguin Books)


I love these types of books. Historical, geographical and telling a punk rock stroy. Every City has a story and more and more cities have these collections. The style of writing is similar to John Robbs Death to Trad Rock book, or American Hardcore by Steven Blush. It consists of quotes from people. The authors must have spent exhaustive hours trying to get eye witness accounts recorded with stories covering nearly a 30 year period. It must have been an editing nightmare to decide what made it to the cutting room floor. It is no surprise that to hear that it took 3 years to complete this 489 page book.

As for it's story - well The title says it all. Even though they are not mentioned on the title this does start at the start. Punk rock coming to town and bands like the Nuns, Avengers and Crime starting up. An avenue I quite enjoy is where the book talks about venues. Punk rock (and music) isn't just about bands turning up to play. There's a whole network of people making things happening, people who may have never touched a guitar in their life. These people are recounting their perspectives here. Another aspect is the energy, excitment and fear that came from attending punk shows in the 70's. You would most certainly be returning from a night out with more marks on you in those early punk days.

As punk rock developed in the Bay Area and people started making things happen for themselves you really get that feeling through quotes from those who made the fanzines, booked the shows, attended the shows and bought the tshirts as well as from band members.

I must admit a slight bias. Back in 1980's Dublin I used to devour the punk zine maximum Rock'n'Roll, often called the punk rock bible MRR is still in existence today. It was through MRR that I could find out about all those cities around the world screaming their lungs out. I have an abiding memory of receiving a reply from Tim Yohannon (RIP) after sending questions for an interview with him, the then editor. Tim spoke all his answers on to one side of a cassette (anyone remember those) and did a compilation of SF bands on the other side. That type of inclusion and respect carried through to me for so much of what I did with music. Every month MRR had scene reports and tons of reviews and intrerviews. better still it had addresses where you could write to people. Some of those interiewed for Gimme Something Better were old penpals of mine. Others were zine wirters of zines I bought regularily or of bands that subsequently played in Dublin. Through Hope Promotions (and then Hope Collective) I was lucky to be in a postion to provide some assistance to some of the East Bay Bands. It's nice to hear how they started up through these pages.

Reading all the accounts it made me want to check out some bands I missed first time round, like the aforementioned Avengers and also to dust down those 7"s of bands like Winona Ryder, Econochrist and Monsula. It also made me want to revisit those Green Day, Dead Kennedys, Victims Family and Operation Ivy records that haven't had an airing for me in 2011. The soundtrack will go on for ever.

My life is better for reading this book- I suggest you root it out and then make it happen in your town.

joe solo

I have a confession to make. I write this as I proudly wear a Joe Solo t-shirt. I have been following the works of Joe since his days as front man for Lithium Joe. I have very happy memories from the time they played in Ireland in June 1996.
I also have an apology to make - Lithium Joe's trip to Ireland co-incided with "football coming home" (Euro 96 being hosted in England). Ireland in 1996 was a lot different to today, certainly no trip to the country was being anticipated by Queen Elizabeth II. Many Irish peoples view of the term football coming home was just another example of an English media exaggerating the importance of their country in world affairs. There was a feeling that somehow English people felt themselves as superior to their fellow world citizens. As people who had organised gigs for many folks of different origin it mattered little to us what country was on your passport once you were taking the time out to visit our little country. It did matter to us however if when you were a guest of ours that you started cheering for the country of your birth, if that country was England. And so we revelled in the misery of an England supporter seeing their team loose to Germany. "How can you prefer Germany to your next door neighbours" we were asked. Our answer entailed plenty about the history of Ireland but still to ordinary working class English folk who had complete disdain for their parliament it seemed we were rude. And you know what? maybe we were. If we were to judge all international football games by history you would be hard pressed to find sides. Sorry lads.

Anyway Lithium Joe played some gigs in ireland and some good bonds were build up with Dave and Paul from their side and me from our side. Putting on gigs the way we did allowed such friendships to build. My best memories from being involved with 200or so gigs are the relatiosnhips that blossomed from some of them. I am proud to call some people my friends who started off as penpals discussing the possibility of playing music in Ireland. Joe solo is one of these people.

I have a second confession to make. The first time I heard Joes solo songs I was stuck for complimentary words. The quirky style didn't strike any chords with me. Thankfully 7 albums later all the chords are now the right ones. It didn't take long, and just like my cheers against English teams are a lot less muted these days my cheeres FOR Joe are rapturous. It's a folk sound with beautiful songs from the heart. Joe wears his heart on his guitar strap and sings with great passion. When I attend union conferences I always seem to be urging delegates to accept motions, I urge you now to check out Joe Solos honest sound and share in his integrity.

"When I get in debt I've got to pay my way out
They get in debt I've got to pay some more
I ain't gonna take the fall for no-one
Ain't gonna be a pawn no more"


the sweet sounds of Joe Solo
http://www.myspace.com/lithiumjoe
http://www.joesolo.co.uk

time for change once more

So goodbye 2010 you were a tome of badness! Well, you weren't really but politically you were redundant.

I wrote my first fanzine in 1984 and had pieces in it about capitalism being the wrong choice for the people. 26 years and a lot of mileage later we should be recreating those zines of yesteryear. We need a different slant to the anti-gang though. We now need to be the pro-gang. Don't be anti-state, be PRO change. Reclaim our world and reclaim our words.

With that in mind here's my new year revolutions

1) Keep listening to uplifting music. It may only need three chords, sometimes a lot less but music has the power to do so much more than entertain. Entertainment is good, it's a start. We can use our music to spread knowledge and inspiration.

2) Support local business. Whether you are anarchist, capitalist or a pain in the tits you use money at some stage. This can pay rent, keep you warm or whatever but it is a chain we are cogs in. You can be a good cog and try and grease that chain.

Anytime you think of something that you feel would be a shame if it ceased then support it. In Dublin it was Road records and local shops. Let's support those worth supporting.

3) All talk is cheap, talk Politics! Don't be afraid to voice a reasoned opinion. let's get dialogue going again. How can we get out of this mess? How can we assist each other through this (see point 2). Let's have debates, let's have fun, let's be optimistic and let's DO!

4) Don't rely on elected individuals. Whilst I have no doubt that most people believe they can change the world, those that feel elections are the only avenue are misleading the rest. We can work within our communities to affect change. Sure, politicians can enforce decisions that effect us all but lets start local and in the meantime try and get those who might assist the people to be the ones in power.

5) Communities are the key. That could be punk rock community, residents community or work community we can work together to make our surroundings better. Help your trade union, help your local charity, help your neighbour. BE!


6) This one I have given a lot of thought to, let's help our neighbours out. Invite them in for that cup of tea, car pool, food pool, work together. A group of parents hang out? why not swop babysitting sessions. Gonna go out for a meal? why not dine in and invite your friends. Organise some pot lucks (preferably vegan). Let's work together and be in it for EACH other.


7) Henry sang it, I've said it but the words ring true Don't talk about it, DO IT
With that in mind my pledge for this year. Remember it is not about what we are against anymore, it is about what we are FOR

Support these

Volunteer - Seomra Spraoi
Join - Dublin Food Co-op
Read and subscribe - DIG BMX mag ,
Maximum Rock'n'Roll fanzine , Razorcake fanzine ,
New Internationalist magazine
Support thumped.com , moshspace.com

Make your own pledge and let's change this damn world

Saturday afternoon 2011

"My soul for the sole of your shoe" -

Being raised as a a Catholic in a completely different Ireland to 21st Century those words had such an effect on a 14 year old aspiring punk rocker from Dublin. My older brothers introduced me to music. Their weekends consisted of bringing home the latest vinyl from Advance records and pounding our stereo speakers with sounds from the Sex Pistols, Clash, The Ruts and Ian Dury. Mine was spent looking up to them. After a while it was less about pink socks and bondage trousers and more about the words. The Clash played a huge part in this but without question it was Crass that upped the levy. The questions were flying thick and thin. You want politics, we got them in Ireland. Britain had the Miners Strike we had a hunger strike!! Ten Men Died after deciding it was better NOT to eat food than wear a prison uniform.

My Dad had a name for me and my friends, the Saturday afternoon gang. Our Saturdays consisted of leafletting or protesting whatever cause was looking for support. Want to organise a boycott? Just call us in. This was the case for a number of years and when Flux started questioning our food consumption it just made sense not to eat meat. Chumbawamba sent on tapes and with them came information about vivisection and cruelty to animals. Our choice was made for us. Meat was up there with Thatcher and Reagan. Evil!!!


Our community was one of letter writing penpals. Soaped stamps and communication was key. Fanzines reprinted whatever leaflets were left over. "Wanna help with Martin Foran being released from prison?" Sure thing. "Do you agree with No More Censorhip" Definitely. "How about Merrell Dow locating to Ireland" No way. As for Apartheid, boycott them all and spread the gospel through our photocopied publications.

Our 50 copies was your 5000 facebook friends!!!

The next step was to get a band together to supplement the words. We questioned everything. Every decision was political. All politics is local, all local activity scrutinised. Our bands played gigs that people could afford to attend, we then spread the wings to try and get bands to come to our country. We used our community to get these bands and the community spread the word like wildfire. We then were able to give these bands some food, all vegetarian.

After a few years of no nestle, coca cola or unilever products it just seeemed logical to take the next step. Remove all dairy. the Smiths made vegetarianism ok with their meat means murder lp. Recent terrestial TV station, Channel 4, showed a powerful tv programme about meat production. Sure it isn't it the same for Dairy. Still the same cycle of torture and dominance. And so it continued. Vegan for life!!!

And then the tories were kicked out, peace came to our country, Saturday afternoons moved to football, lots of gigs happened, lots of bands started travelling and it became the norm. We still tried to kick against the pricks but they were made of rubber. In Ireland we had a celtic Tiger. A lot more people got a lot more disposable income but the gap between rich and poor kept increasing. The celtic tiger got septic whilst our mortgages all kicked in. Meat still means murder, dairy still means torture and maybe, just maybe our Saturday afternoons will liven up once more now that we are penniless.

allo allo what's going on here

allo darlin' s/t fortuna pop

For those of us who love sun this is the equivalent of a dream desert island. Blue skies and seas, glorious days and not a trouble in the world. Every time I listen to allo darlin I close my eyes and dream. Dream of a better place where we don't kill each other for food or pleasure.

I remember a time that seems like a world away. An era where there didn't seem to be any recession. ireland had come from a time when all your school mates left the country for work. It was adjusting to a life where people were now choosing to stay in the country. My memories of that time are one of looking to music for everything. It gave me politics, it gave me sense and it gave me Sarah records. Even mentioning the bands Talulah Gosh and Heavenly bring a nostalgic smile to my face. Allo Darlin' bring me back to that life.

This is the bands debut album and it reeks of intelligence. Beautiful songs that are talking to me, the listener. This is not a band that will spend it's time hiding backstage. They will be out there with us, speaking to us, listening to and communicating with us. What I'm trying to say to you is that I love this album, I love this band and I think if you have a hankering towards a pop tune you will too as you listen to music for all the right reasons

Sing along now
"We do it, because we love it, and I'm here, because I love you"

Remember the 7"

I have finally had a bit of time to get up and down to the record player every few minutes. I've acquired some 7"'s recently and it has been so refreshing listening in.

For some reason they have made me get my Montana Pete 7"s out and even further by having a refreshing listen to Minutemen. I can never get tired of listening to the Minutemen. Anyway back to those 7"s

Airfix Kits
FlexTime 7"/ Playing Both Sides 7" (Deranged Records / Dirtnap Records)
Minutemen kick Big Flame up the Dawson
(I love yr) 80s aesthetic, 21 Hot Knives are the perfect supplement to Flex Time. Short snappy songs on a 7" record with a jangly guitar sound. It's slightly off time and is a throwback to what i liked most in the 80's. I'd love to see their record collection cos I want what these listen to. The other 7" is playing both sides and Leaving produces more of the same. Allans scotish vocals reminds of a time when whirling pig dervish played the lead in my collection. I can't get enough of this stuff.


And then I get a 7" by Sauna Youth. There is very little detail on the band and the 7" is pretty minimal in detail. However thanks to the internet I can read all about them. it's not reading I wanna do it's listen to these 3 songs. Kind of like a more hardcore version of Airfix Kits. It has that quirky sound but with Minor Threat as the condiment. Again no info on the 7" but 4 great songs can be explained by huxleyboon@gmail.com if you want.

Stop Climate Chaos

Georgios Altinitzis from the ITUC spoke on this subject. His main thrust was that this is the one major issue facing us all over the next few years. As members of the human race it is imperative on us to act. As members of a Trade Union we have to represent workers rights so to this end the ITUC are working on proposing a “Just Transition” which will allow a move to ‘green’ jobs and aid developing the green economy. An example was given from the floor about cleaners who loose their jobs when recycling is made mandatory. Georgios was quick to point out that this was not a result of trying to implement climate change but work practice change. Recycling is different to cutting carbon emissions and it is being used as a way of implementing cuts, hence the need for a Just Transition. Patricia McKeon from Unite spoke about how their union have been evaluating all they do from a carbon emissions point of view and encouraged other unions to set up working groups that will detail ways of reducing their carbon footprint.
Internationally: ITUC recently passed a resolution on combating climate change where it calls for a reduction of emissions of 40% by developed countries by 2020.
Nationally: ICTU are setting up a working group to look at the Climate Change issue
Colin Roche from Stop Climate Chaos gave a talk on their work to date. 25 million climate refugees anticipated over the next decade due to rising sea levels. There will be a bill going to Govt soon on climate law that the group have been actively pursuing. They have also been busy lobbying politicians to their cause and have received 70 signatories across the political spectrum to a climate commitment. Stop Climate Chaos is a conglomeration of 30 organisations from Civil Society with no union endorsement. This meeting was a first step towards changing that and it was mooted that if the Just Transition was put on to the agenda that unions could then be persuaded to join in.

Trade Union Friends Of Palestine

Mags O’Brien, from SIPTU gave a presentation on the Irish delegation that recently visited Palestine. Again she detailed stories of untold hardship being impressed on people. Mags showed pictures of deserted streets which are no go areas that contrasted greatly with the bustling activity on the streets of illegal settlements. She also spoke about the wall that Israel are building to shield itself off from the Gaza strip. This cuts through peoples gardens and rites of passage and is a massive structure being built against the wishes of the international community right around the Gaza Strip.
The BDS Campaign of Boycott, divestment and Sanctions was supported. Mags stated that Israel is an Apartheid State like South Africa once was and Sanctions and boycott have been called from Palestinian Unions in an effort to force Israel into a settlement. ICTU support this stance. There is a boycott of Israelis goods and of cultural activities. Artists, like Leonard Cohen, who have played Israel are being boycotted in a effort to stop them from going there. 150 artists from Ireland have signed up to a campaign pledging they will not travel to Israel to promote their music.

International Trade Union Confederation

ITUC
International Trade Union Confederation held their 2nd World Congress in June this year. Owen Tudor who is head of European Union and International relations of the TUC UK attended and gave a rundown on how the ITUC works. 13 Resolutions were passed on major issues such as Climate Change, Globalisation, gender equality, Peace, Israel and migrant workers. World Day for decent Work is taking place on October 7 and ITUC is the driving force behind this

Clean Clothes Campaign

The Race to the Bottom film was shown. This details the horrific conditions some workers in Bangladesh sweat shops face on a daily basis. How they need to work 16 hour days for no extra payment in inhumane conditions that no person should have to work.
CCC is an alliance of organisations in 13 European Countries. That number is set to increase on October 7 when Ireland joins the list. Its principle objective is to improve the working conditions and support the empowering of workers in the global garment and sportswear industries. CCC Ireland will be launched on October 7.

Justice For Colombia

Colombia is still the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. 49 trade unionists were murdered in 2009. 31 activists killed between Jan to June this year. Of the 2,700 union members murdered there have been just 4 convictions.
Jack O’Connor spoke about the horrific sights that befell him and his colleagues on a recent trip to Colombia. He heard horror stories of people not returning home, about mass graves for the disappeared and about people being imprisoned for the crime ‘Rebellion’. This is an all encompassing term that can mean jail time for anyone without trial and proof. Currently there are 5,200 political prisoners in Colombia, the majority being held under the charge ‘Rebellion’
All Irish MEPS have signed a declaration that they are opposed to signing up to the Proposed Free Trade agreement with Colombia until Human Rights violations are reduced drastically. Under intensive lobbying that will seems to be dwindling. Pressure needs to be put on these MEPS to ensure they stay on board. It may go to all national parliaments so we may need to lobby td’s. Representatives from very small unions in Colombia are going to Brussels making false claims to MEP’s and some of this seems to be working. Democrats in the US have refused to sign up to this Agreement so the Justice For Colombia Irish group have been working to try and ensure that Irish representatives do as their American counterparts are currently doing.

Global Solidarity is good fun

Over 50 trade union activists were in attendance from all over the island for the 2nd Global Solidarity Forum last weekend. This was a 2 day event held in the Capital in ASTI’s hq near Christchurch Cathedral. The event was wonderfully organised by Stellan Hermansson who is Global Solidarity Officer for ICTU.

There was a number of themes over the two days, all very enlightening and unfortunately feature stories that need to be shared with colleagues. Whilst we may feel this is an extremely hard time for ourselves in Ireland we mustn’t loose sight of the plight of our less fortunate brothers and sisters throughout the world. This conference helped put a focus on that.

I'm gonna break it down by topic so will post a few seperate blogs on the following

Justice For Colombia

Clean CLothes Campaign

ITUC

Trade Union Friends of Palestine

Stop Climate Chaos