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Thursday 30 August 2012

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Vernon Downs Raceway NY 29th August 2012

Start time 8.02pm Finished 11.39pm
Setlist


3. Hungry Heart (request)
4. STAND ON IT (request)/5. I’m a Rocker (request)

6. We Take Care of Our Own
7. Wrecking Ball
8. Death To My Hometown (end of Wrecking Ball at start)
9. Darkness On the Edge of Town
10. My City of Ruins
11. The E Street Shuffle
12. Frankie
13. Open All Night
14. Jack Of All Trades
15. HUMAN TOUCH
16. Prove It All Night (’78 Intro)
17. Darlington County
18. Working On The Highway
19. Shackled And Drawn
20. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
21. Dream Baby Dream/Backstreets
22. Badlands
23. Land Of Hope And Dreams



Encores:
24. Thunder Road
25. Born To Run
26. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
27. Dancing In The Dark
28. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
29. Quarter To Three
30. Twist And Shout


John Peel

Would have been John's birthday today.

Still missed.

Monday 27 August 2012

Auntie Bruce #2

This will not be a normal thing to post two Auntie Bruce articles in a day but whilst Auntie was to hand it seemed like a good thing to do.

S4L: This question for you is posted by a pretty cool Mother who lives near Sheffield. She asks, "My daughter has decided to drop out of school. Should I be worried?"

AB: Some people assume that I am quite anti-education because of my song 'No Surrender' from the 'Born in the USA' album back in the 1980's. The opening lines from the song go like this:

"We busted out of class had to get away from those fools
We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school"


But I'm not anti-school at all. Education is good to have but sometimes it's not for everyone and it shouldn't be forced upon a child when they reach a certain age. Sometimes we have to just let them go and find their dreams. In my song 'Better Days' it begins with a statement of discontent at where a persons life is at that moment in time:

"Well my soul checked out missing as I sat listening
To the hours and minutes tickin' away
Yeah, just sittin' around waitin' for my life to begin
While it was all just slippin' away.
I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come
Or that train to come roarin' 'round the bend"


The character in the song is fed up with waiting for the dreams to begin coming true and is determined that something is going to be done about it. Teenagers are rarely satisfied with where they are at. They seem to think like my song 'Thunder Road' that where they are is a "town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win." But life is a journey for them as it is for us and I'm sure that she will come to that place where she sees that "dreams will not be thwarted" and she'll find her place in a "land of hope and dreams" (from the song 'Land of Hope and Dreams').

S4L: Should she be worried at all?

AB: She wouldn't be a good mother if she didn't worry. In my song 'Jesus was an only Son', the mother, Mary, prays for her child:

"Sleep tight, my child, sleep well
For I'll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell,
Shall pierce your dreams this night."


And at the end of the song, the child, Jesus, says to his mother,"Mother, still your tears/For remember the soul of the universe/Willed a world and it appeared." In other words it's going to be alright.

S4L: This one is from a chap called Eric, I have no idea if you can answer this one, it's a bit like stump the band time!

AB: I like the sound of this already. Bring it on.

S4L: Why does my wife own 28 pairs of boots but only ever wears the same 3 pairs? She has 4 pairs of black thigh high ones............ i've never seen her wear , must stop upsetting her I suppose."

AB:  Well, the first thing you wanna stop doing is upsetting your wife, there's no song reference for that it's plain old common sense.
Secondly, in the words of my song 'All That Heaven Will Allow' (which is not a restriction on how many pairs of boots she has!):
"Rain and storm and dark skies
well now they don't mean a thing
If you got a girl that loves you
and who wants to wear your ring
So c'mon mister trouble
we'll make it through you somehow
We'll fill this house with all the love
all that heaven will allow"


So ultimately it doesn't matter how many pairs of boots she has, if she wears your ring then you got the deal signed, sealed and delivered, as Stevie Wonder might sing. 

All song lyrics are by Bruce Springsteen and can be found at his website.





Ask Auntie Bruce Debut Column

Last week we were reading an article about how Bruce Springsteen changed someones life, in the article the chap said, "the answer to life’s questions really do lie in the words of the Boss. I believe there isn’t a problem in the world that cannot be solved by consulting the lyrics of Springsteen."

Here at Soundtrack4Life we decided that this was far too good an opportunity to pass up and so for the past week or so have been collecting a few questions to put to our new Rock 'n' Roll Agony Aunt. It gives us great pleasure to introduce to you.....


S4L: The first question in your debut column is from a Manchester United fan in England: "at 10 years old, my daughter is already far more mature than i'll ever be. Apart from threatening slow, painful death, how do I deal with potential suitors that arise?"

AB: If my memory serves me correctly I have only ever referenced two sports teams in song before (and I stand to be corrected by the hordes of Tramps out there if it's wrong). In 'Jungleland' I name checked the New York Rangers ice hockey team ("The Rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night") and the New York Giants football team in 'Wrecking Ball' ("The arena’s filled and Giants played their games"). As for Manchester United I have no song lyric for that but we did play at Manchester City's ground in the summer.

I know a little something about this problem with parents who don't like the boys their daughters are maybe running around with. In 'Rosalita (Come Out Tonight') I wrote:
"Now I know your mama she don't like me 'cause I play in a rock and roll band
And I know your daddy he don't dig me but he never did understand
Papa lowered the boom, he locked you in your room
I'm comin' to lend a hand
I'm comin' to liberate you, confiscate you, I want to be your man
Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But now you're sad, your mama's mad
And your papa says he knows that I don't have any money
Tell him this is last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance

Because a record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance."

I'd be worried about that type of guy as well and I'd probably send him packing! But she's 10 years old at the moment and there's a long way to go, so just remember "None of this has happened yet!" (from 'Livin' in the Future'). Just go and be the best Dad you can for her at the moment and when she needs you when she's older and has experienced heartbreak and break up it will prepare her well for when a guy comes along and says:

"Now honey, I don't wanna clip your wings
But a time comes when two people should think of these things
Having a home and a family
Facing up to their responsibilities
They say in the end true love prevails
But in the end true love can't be no fairytale
To say I'll make your dreams come true would be wrong
But maybe, darlin', I could help them along." (From 'I Wanna Marry You')

S4L: A concerned Hearts fan has asked "How do Hearts beat Liverpool on Thursday, does the boss have a solution?"

AB: We are talking football again here?

S4L: Yes, Hearts lost their home game by a single goal last week, an own goal as well and the second leg takes place at Anfield in Liverpool this week.

AB: Well, "Two Hearts are better than one" (from 'Two Hearts') and that's a good place to start. You can't give up on your team even in the face of the difficult road ahead. If you don't prevail, it's gonna be a 'Long Walk Home!'

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Moncton Canada 26th August 2012

Magnetic Hill Music Festival in New Bruswick, Canada. Bruce had an early night playing one of the shortest shows in a while - three hours and three minutes! But it's understandable because it seems that a lot of these festivals the headliners only have between 2-3 hours.




Set list:
1. No Surrender
2. Workin' On the Highway
3. Hungry Heart
4. We Take Care of Our Own
5. Wrecking Ball
6. Death To My Hometown
7. My City of Ruins
8. Spirit In the Night
9. Pay Me My Money Down
10. Jack of All Trades
11. Because the Night
12. Lonesome Day
13. Darlington County
14. Shackled and Drawn
15. Waitin' On a Sunny Day
16. The Promised Land
17. If I Should Fall Behind (solo piano)
18. The River
19. The Rising
20. Badlands
Encores:
21. Thunder Road
22. Born To Run
23. Glory Days
24. Dancing In the Dark
25. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
26. Twist and Shout (with Red Rider)

Saturday 25 August 2012

Born To Run - What You Mean to Me


Between January 1974 and July 1975 Bruce Springsteen was in the studio with The E Street Band trying to create his third album. His first album ('Greetings From Asbury Park , N.J.') did not sell so well - only 25,000 copies in the first year alone! Neither for that matter did the follow up ('The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle'), which hit the streets 8 months later and was dogged by slow sales. 

There are two things that stand out to me about Springsteen at this time. Firstly, his record company signed him with an awful lot of hype that he was the "New Dylan", but Bruce has never been the "New Anyone", he's always been himself no matter what the expectations of his label or the music press were. Secondly, the first two albums, whilst good, fail to actually capture the true nature of Springsteen's music, for that you would have to rely on his live shows to get a real feel for how these first 16 studio creations should sound. I've heard quite a number of bootlegs from these days and they are phenomenal (for 1973 shows click here. For 1974 shows click here. And for 1975 shows click here.). 

The songs that made up the first two albums became another lifeforce when played live and maybe as he entered the studio in January 1974 to begin work on the new album that was in the back of his mind because he was about to create an album that was a sonic assault on the senses after the fashion of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound!

With a bigger budget to "play with" and the added pressure of his record company expecting to claw some money back after the first two failures (in their eyes, though both albums garnered critical praise) he began crafting the songs and finely tuning them to become the 8 songs that make up the release, surely one of the best 39 minutes and 26 seconds ever carved out on Vinyl! The process probably took a lot longer than he wanted (14 months) and it didn't help that he got stuck for six months working on the title track alone! 

On it's release it finally broke the top ten in the USA peaking at #3 (it had entered the Billboard Charts at #84 on September 13th 1975 and the following week had a massive jump to #8) whilst in the UK it reached #17. All of this success elevated Bruce Springsteen to such dizzy heights - appearing on the cover of both Time and Newsweek in the same week and his record company almost went into overdrive to see the album gain international success (most of this type of hype though was quite despised by Springsteen himself).

I was 10 years old when Springsteen's first two albums came out (ok, technically for the first one I was still 9 years old) and although I really didn't have much of a clue what he was singing about half the time, I mean did you know what a "month long vaction in the stratosphere" (from 'Growin' Up') was when you were 9? Neither did I but I remember hearing songs like 'Blinded by the Light' and being totally amazed at the amount of words he was using in a song and I was hooked. And when the second album came around I probably still hadn't matured enough to even begin to know what he was talking about in 'Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)' when he sang, "The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft sweet little girl's tongue Rosie you're the one," but it sounded a little exciting! I remember seeing the video for Rosie on the Old Grey Whistle Test filmed in Arizona in 1978 and I think I knew then that music would always have a place in my life in one way or another.

On August 25th 1975 I was 12 years, 3 months and 19 days old (or young), I was heading for my teenage years fast and on that day Bruce released the album by which set the standard he would be judged by the rest of his career. Eight songs about going places, cars, and girls (I had pretty much discovered them at such a tender age and they weren't smelly like we thought and they were actually really nice to kiss without running away!). I think I even knew at that age that the place I lived would not confine me the rest of my days and so when the final line of 'Thunder Road' kicks in - "It's a town full of losers/And I'm pulling out of here to win," - I know exactly what Bruce is saying and he's telling me that there's a road to be travelled that you'll never discover it if you stay! 

I wanted friends like Bruce had in 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-out' like "Scooter and the Big Man" and I had a feeling that I'd know by experience quite soon that "Somewhere tonight you run sad and free/Until all you can see is the night" (from 'Night'), and that desire in 'Born to Run' - "I want to know if love is wild/girl I want to know if love is real" - I didn't realise then that it would take many, many years to have that one answered! I was still on the journey of discovery and there was a word of hope that seemed to stick with me like a friend throughout all of those days, months and years:

"Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run"







Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Toronto 24th August 2012


Wednesday 22 August 2012

Ruts DC at Rebellion Festival 4th August 2012


From various reports that I've read the performance by Ruts DC at Rebellion earlier this month went down an absolute storm. I could do no better than to point you Philip Thompson's review of their set over at Louder Than War.


Mirror Smashed

It Was Cold

Backbiter

Smiley Culture/SUS

Staring At The Rude Boys

Mighty Soldier

One Step Forward

Jah War (not complete song on video)

West One (Shine On Me)


Monday 20 August 2012

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Playlists


1st Leg USA

2nd Leg Europe


3rd Leg USA and Canada

Yellowcard - Southern Air 2012 (Hopeless Records)

I'm really loving this album at the moment. It's got some great hooks and superb lyrics. The only let down for me (and I'm sure others might disagree) was the inclusion of  'Fix You' as a bonus track. I'm not a fan of Coldplay at all and so I can take it or leave it. Have a listen, click on the links.

Tracklist
09. Ten

Sunday 19 August 2012

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Foxboro 18th August 2012




 Three Hour and 18min set at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro that included for the first time in the USA on this tour, and only the 2nd since the passing of Clarence, Jungleland.
Setlist:
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Night
Out in the Street
Hungry Heart
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
OPEN ALL NIGHT
Growin' Up
Lost in the Flood
Because the Night
She's the One
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Racing in the Street (Audio only)
The Rising
Radio Nowhere
Badlands
* * *


Jungleland
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
DRIFT AWAY
Twist and Shout


 

Saturday 18 August 2012

Joe Strummer at 60!


Just in case I forget, this coming Tuesday (21st August) would have been the 60th Birthday of Joe Strummer.

As a wee celebration I've put together a playlist of the music of The Clash that includes a rockumentary on The History of The Clash, a stack of music videos, some full concert sets and the movie Westway to the World.

Hope you enjoy it.



Thursday 16 August 2012

Aztec Camera Expanded Releases

Preceded by the singles Pillar To Post and Oblivious , and the NME cassette release of We Could Send Letters , High Land, Hard Rain was released in April 1983, not long after Roddy Frame's 19th birthday, and followed by Walk Out To Winter . The album and singles were originally released on the Rough Trade label, before being taken on by major WEA, who re-released Oblivious to great effect.

The bonus tracks are the non-album singles sides, including two 12 mixes of Oblivious and a lengthy mix of Walk Out To Winter . Released 27th August.

 HIGH LAND, HARD RAIN
1. Oblivious
2. The Boy Wonders
3. Walk Out To Winter
4. The Bugle Sounds Again
5. We Could Send Letters
6. Pillar To Post
7. Release
8. Lost Outside The Tunnel
9. Back On Board
10. Down The Dip

BONUS TRACKS
11. Queen s Tattoos
12. Haywire
13. Orchid Girl
14. Set The Killing Free
15. Oblivious [12 mix]
16. Walk Out To Winter [12 extended version]
17. Oblivious [12 extended remix] 

 In the wake of the success of first album Hard Land, Hard Rain , WEA brought in Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler to produce the follow-up at Air Studios in London. Knife was released September 1984, accompanied by the hit single All I Need Is Everything .

This reissue features the non-album singles sides, including two versions of Van Halen's Jump , as well as five songs recorded live at The Dominion in London in October 1984, originally released across two singles. Released 27th August.

 KNIFE
1. Still On Fire
2. Just Like The USA
3. Head Is Happy (Heart s Insane)
4. The Back Door To Heaven
5. All I Need Is Everything
6. Backwards And Forwards
7. The Birth Of The True
8. Knife

BONUS TRACKS:
9. All I Need Is Everything [7 edit]
10. Jump
11. All I Need Is Everything [remix]
12. Jump [Loaded version] 


If High Land Hard Rain made him an indie hero and heavyweight music press favourite, and Knife saw him tentatively embraced by the rock establishment, then Aztec Camera's third long player Love is the album on which Roddy Frame became a bona fide pop star. Somewhere In My Heart was the first to crack the all-important Top Ten, and Frame found himself, whether he liked it or not, the property of the Smash Hits generation. Also included are the singles How Men Are and Deep And Wide And Tall . This reissue contains all the non-album singles sides, including five remixes and three live recordings. Released 3rd September.

LOVE
1. Deep And Wide And Tall
2. How Men Are
3. Everybody Is A Number One
4. More Than A Law
5. Somewhere In My Heart
6. Working In A Goldmine
7. One And One
8. Paradise
9. Killermont Street

Disc 2
BONUS TRACKS
1. Deep And Wide And Tall [Breakdown Mix]
2. Bad Education
3. The Red Flag
4. Killermont Street [live]
5. Pillar To Post [live]
6. Somewhere In My Heart [12 remix]
7. Everybody Is A Number One [Boston '86 Version]
8. Somewhere In My Heart [The alternate mix]
9. I Threw It All Away [live]
10. Working In A Goldmine [sax version]  

 Five years after singing about The Clash, Roddy Frame found himself singing with Mick Jones on Good Morning Britain , a Top 20 hit and the centrepiece of the fourth Aztec Camera album, released in June 1990. This reissue contains all the different mixes of the Big Audio Dynamite-influenced song, along with the single The Crying Scene and the non-album singles sides, including a duet with Edwyn Collins of his Orange Juice song Consolation Prize , recorded live at Glasgow Barrowlands. Released 3rd September.

STRAY
1. Stray
2. The Crying Scene
3. Get Outta London
4. Over My Head
5. Good Morning Britain
6. How It Is
7. The Gentle Kind
8. Notting Hill Blues
9. Song For A Friend

Disc 2
BONUS TRACKS
1. Salvation
2. True Colours
3. Consolation Prize [live]
4. Do I Love You?
5. Good Morning Britain [7 mix]
6. Good Morning Britain [Laylow Posse Hypno-Mix/Kitsch n Sync mix]
7. Good Morning Britain [Laylow Posse Hypnomental/instrumental mix]
8. Good Morning Britain [Laylow Posse Hypno-edit/vocal remix]
9. Good Morning Britain [Mendelsohn Single mix]
10. Good Morning Britain [Morning Acid mix] 

Produced by Yellow Magic Orchestra's Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dreamland was Aztec Camera's fifth album, released in May 1993, and preceded by the singles Spanish Horses and Dream Sweet Dreams . The two editions of both singles featured thirteen songs recorded on one night at Ronnie Scott s now gathered onto a single CD.

The extra bonus track If Paradise Is) Half As Nice was recorded for the NME s Ruby Trax cassette as a duet with the song s original vocalist, Amen Corner s Andy Fairweather-Low.  Released 10th September.

DREAMLAND
1. Birds
2. Safe in Sorrow
3. Black Lucia (Safe in Sorrow is the 2nd song in the video)
4. Let Your Love Decide
5. Spanish Horses
6. Dream Sweet Dreams
7. Pianos and Clocks
8. Sister Ann
9. Vertigo
10. Valium Summer
11. The Belle of the Ball
Bonus track:
12. (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice [Aztec Camera with Andy Fairweather-Low]

Disc 2
LIVE AT RONNIE SCOTT S
Recorded at Ronnie Scott s Club, London, 23rd June 1991
1. Birth Of The True
2. Song For A Friend
3. Killermont Street
4. Spanish Horses
5. Stray
6. The Bugle Sounds Again
7. Dolphins
8. How Men Are
9. Sister Ann
10. Good Morning Britain
11. Mattress Of Wire
12. Let Your Love Decide
13. Orchid Girl
Bonus track:
14. Just Like The USA [live at Sala Apollo, Barcelona]  

 

Released in November 1995, Frestonia was Roddy Frame's last album under the Aztec Camera banner. It was produced by the legendary team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley at Westside Studios, which were located in Frestonia in Notting Hill.

The bonus tracks are four live recordings issued across the two editions of the album's sole single Sun. Released 10th September.

FRESTONIA
1. Rainy Season
2. Sun
3. Crazy
4. On The Avenue
5. Imperfectly
6. Debutante
7. Beautiful Girl
8. Phenomenal World
9. Method of Love
10. Sunset

BONUS TRACKS
Live At The Phoenix Festival, July 1995
11. The Crying Scene
12. Black Lucia
13. We Could Send Letters
14. Rainy Season 
 
 Edsel is proud to announce its reissue programme of all six albums by Roddy Frame's Aztec Camera, originally released between 1983 and 1995, and now issued in deluxe casebound books with bonus tracks, the lyrics, and annotation by Uncut journalist Terry Staunton.


Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Boston 15th August 2012


Wednesday 15 August 2012

Sixpence None the Richer - Lost In Transition 2012

After a long, long wait the brand new album by Sixpence None the Richer is finally out!
Since re-uniting in 2007 fans of the band have had to be very patient for new material to appear. In 2008 they released an EP called 'My Dear Machine' and then they released a Christmas album, 'Dawn of Grace'. Reports and rumours of a brand new album have been on the go for a few years now and unfortunately Sixpence had once again had to undergo record company issues before it saw the light of day two years later than originally planned.
'Lost in Transition' is released on their own imprint and it is pretty fascinating to hear Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum creating some beautiful music together again.
The first single from the album is called 'Radio'.

Tracklist:
01 – My Dear Machine
02 – Radio
03 – Give It Back
04 – Safety Line
05 – When You Call Me
06 – Should Not Be This Hard
07 – Go Your Way
08 – Failure
09 – Don’t Blame Yourself
10 – Stand My Ground
11 – Sooner Than Later
12 – Be OK

Radio (Official Video)

Live in Texas 2nd August 2012
Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen Cover)/Between the Lines

Breathe Your Name
Live in Texas 2nd August 2012

Down and Out of Time


Ocean Size Love
Mercury Lounge NYC 7th August 2012

Livestream Show Acoustic


Saftey Line

Radio


Sooner Than Later


Melody of You

When You Call Me


Kiss Me




Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball Tour - Boston 14th August



Setlist:
The Promised Land
Out in the Street
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
The E Street Shuffle
Jack of All Trades
Atlantic City
Because the Night
Johnny 99
Darlington County
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
BOOM BOOM
Drive All Night
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
* * *
We Are Alive
Born to Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
DIRTY WATER
Twist and Shout

Monday 13 August 2012

Thursday 9 August 2012

The Old Timers - Soli Deo Gloria. Punk Rock for The Glory of God

 It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you The Old Timers from South Africa. Lead Vocalist Dave Emerson is someone I count as a dear friend and so to be able to turn the spotlight on his band and the work he is involved in so far away from the land of his birth is really something special.

Dave and Don kindly agreed to do an interview with Soundtrack4Life.



And also on iTunes 
 
So the big question that has to be asked is how on earth did the band ever get together seeing that you are based in different countries?

OT: Don and Dave met through a mutual friend in Cape Town. Dave and family took a holiday in Don's home town, Port Elizabeth, in early 2011. Things went a bit pear shaped so Don and family offered Dave and his family a place to stay...looking back we can see this was God's plan all along because that time just sealed their friendship. Both guys are big into punk and the JCHC (Jesus Christ Hardcore) movement. Later that year Don sent some tunes over to Dave which he loved and offered to put vocals over. This became The Old-timers demo. Our friend Dusty over at Caustic Fallout loved the demo and was keen to help us put out an album. He contacted friends at Veritas Vinyl and Thumper Punk Records and the three labels agreed to do a full length co-release. At that point in time Matt Lagusis was playing drums for another Thumper Punk Records band, False Idle, and agreed to join team Old-timer as well! That is how our line-up was formed!

How difficult did that make it when the recording of the album began? How exactly did you do it?

OT: The distances involved did make things a little difficult but modern technology helped us a ton. Dave lives just outside Cape Town, 12 hours from Don in Port Elizabeth and countless miles from Matt, who lives in California. Added to that our mixing guy, Sef Idle (uniSef, False Idle), lives in Idaho and it was Mastered by Lan in North Carolina. So the internet played a huge role in putting the album together. Basically Don writes and records the music in Port Elizabeth, it's send over to the states for Matt to record drums too, mixed a bit and send to Dave who records vocals and sends the tracks back to the mixing studio. All the mixing is done by Sef and once we've all listened it over and approved it Lan masters. Its time consuming but very satisfying once it's finished.


Christian Punk Music is something that various elements within the Church frown upon. Why do you think it’s important that people see that at the heart of all you are seeking to do is the glorification of God’s name?

OT: This is something that is super close to our hearts and forms one of the three main purposes of this band – 1) To Glorify God 2) To Bless People & 3) To have fun while doing 1 & 2!! We also named our album 'Soli Deo Gloria' because it means 'To God alone be the glory' and we hope our band and music does just that – brings God glory. So yea this is really important to us! We've both grown up facing opposition to punk from Christians but our argument is that, like every aspect of music, culture and the arts, punk can be redeemed and used for the advancement of the Gospel and God's glory. There are of course certain aspects of the punk lifestyle and mentality that do not fit this purpose but we feel that just as sports, fine art, pop music and fashion can be arenas for Christian outreach, so we can take something we love (punk in this case) and do it in ways which honour God. That's what we're doing with The Old-timers and we hope it's pretty clear to any who would oppose us. All we are doing is taking Paul's advice and 'becoming all things to all men, that by all possible means we might save some' (2 Corinthians 9:22). So far we have not experienced any opposition from Christian or secular circles which we are pretty stoked about.

I like the idea that any proceeds from the sale of the CD go towards Dave’s missionary work in South Africa. Do you want to share a little bit about that?

Dave: I feel super priviledged to serve my God and King in a full time capacity, there is really no way I'd rather spend my time. I moved here to Paarl with my lovely wife Vicky and our young son Elijah in late 2009. We've since had another son as well. So the four of us are here serving at a small but growing church plant and helping with various community outreaches. We work with some of the most poor and desperate people groups in the area such as the homeless, local prison inmates, prostitutes and underpriviledge kids at a rural school. We live fully by faith, all of our financial provision has to come from outside of South Africa due to the kind of visas we have. God has taught us a great deal about trusting Him in the almost three years that we've been here – He has never allowed us to go without. So the support that comes in from the CD release will help us to continue in the mission that God has us on here. We're always thankful for the awesome provision of our loving Father.


In your press release regarding the album you mentioned a number of bands that you have been influenced by would you like to expand on that a little?  What do you make of some of the other Christian Punk bands that are out playing shows and releasing  music, like MxPx for example and also someone like Haley Williams of Paramore (I know they are more poppy Punk than you guys but I’d still value your thoughts).

OT: We all have very diverse and eclectic musical tastes but our focus as The Old-timers was really to create hardcore punk and hence our list of influences were more of that sort. Don was involved in the first wave of punk in South Africa which was very much of the anarcho persuasion, so this comes through in our tunes, Crass still being very much an influence. Dave cut his teeth on pop-punk but came to love the 80's 'american hardcore' sound much more. This was what he was aiming for in his vocals and so obviously Minor Threat were an influence here, since they are the architype. That said we have tried as far as our genre permits to bring something fresh rather than spitting out another copy and paste hardcore punk album. Not sure how well we achieved that!
            We love MxPx, their legendary. Pop punk isn't our cup of tea but we don't hate it, a number of our lable mates on Thumper Punk are more poppy than we are and we support and love 'em. I think we'd just say whatever music you love go make it but be sure to do it for God's glory and not from a selfish motive.

You seem to value a more hardcore punk approach to music rather than a more traditional punk sound (favoured by bands like UK Subs etc). Is there any reason for that or is it just the best way in your mind. It’s like a short sharp shock listening to the album with only one song going over three minutes (‘Family Prayer’ – which is not quite what you expect to hear in a punk song!) and the rest are like this assault on the senses because they are so fast, how vital then are the lyrics? I noticed you are pretty upfront with your faith when it comes to the lyrics. Is that important or should we just listen to the music?

OT: Yea we just prefer our punk short, fast and hard. It's all we've got! The music may be abrassive and obnoxiously fast but the lyrics are definitely important to us. We sing about life and Jesus is a big part of our lives. We've found in Him all the meaning for our lives and eternal salvation...we want to share this with every person we can. We'd like for everyone who hears The Old-timers to be impacted by Christ, we pray that our lyrics would be words of life for thirsty souls.

Best Punk band you have ever seen?

Dave: Flatfoot 56 at Cornerstone (20mins from their set this year at the festival) this year. There were several thousand people and the circle pit was basically the whole tent. They had a seven foot water slide off the stage into the crowd which was probably the most frightening thing I've ever done. Lots and lots of fun at that show
Don: Fuzigish. South Africa's no.1 punk ska band. These guys attract huge crowds and you garenteed to get a show from the guys as each guy is a real character to boot. They have an energy that is worldclass, and their moshpit inducing punk rock are meat grinders.

One band you always wished that you could see live?

Dave: I'd really love to see The Chariot, I just keep hearing about how amazing they are live.
Don: Eish! only one? Brian Setzer then, he is a legend!

Top Five Punk albums?

Dave: It's so hard to only pick five, I mean there are just so many great records out there. But I guess these are the five that I've been most influenced by 1) Hit The Deck - Look Alive. 2) Our Corpse Destroyed – Strength To Strength. 3) The Deal – Cutthroat. 4) One21 – When The Dragon Is Finally Laid To Rest. 5) The Redemption Song – Confessions

Don: As Dave said, to pick 5 is near impossible, but I will list the first 5 that come to mind. 1)Streetdogs - Street Dogs 2)The Jam - In the city 3) X-ray Spex -  Germfree Adolescents 4) Officer Negative - Dead To The World 5) Crucified - The Pillars of Humanity

What is your Soundtrack4Life? (A ten or twelve song compilation that reflects songs that have made and continue to make an influence on your life).

Dave: This is not in order of priority, just as my scattered brain picked 'em out...

2. Voice Of The Mysterons – We are the death of God movement
5. Hit The Deck – Just Enough
10. Five Iron Frenzy – Everywhere I Go

Don: Much the same as Dave, its not in any priority.

2. Anti-Hell Society - I believe in God
4. CircleOne - Gospel
7. Knights of the New Crusade - Witness
8. Manafest - Come Alive

As for The Old Timers album, well it does exactly what it says on the tin! It's hard and fast Punk Rock infused with Biblical pronouncements and passion for One higher than themselves. Go and Get It Now!

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