Thanks to the generosity of Route 215, I made my first trip to the York Fibbers to see the second date of their jaunt with Solabeat Alliance. Truth be told I probably wouldn’t have travelled 100 miles just to see SBA – but after the gig my opinions changed for the better. Local bands NINEPOUNDNOTE (I say local, I mean Yorkshire based) and another whose name I did not catch warm up the couple of hundred fans who have gathered on a mild Saturday evening. Both bands do their jobs well, serving up decent, if unspectacular ska and pop-punk consecutively. Both bands lack a confidence and stage presence to make a mark, but for warm up acts both do their job well.

ROUTE 215 had been on the lash until 6am that morning and, unsurprisingly, their performance was affected by their dehydration and sleep depravation. The Londoners have always been spot on whenever I’ve seen them, but despite having a clutch of tunes more powerful than a rocket propelled grenade in their arsenal, tonight they are rather sloppy. Rod isn’t quite his usual self, missing the higher notes and fluffing some bass lines, while Nick looks like he may throw up at any point. The on-stage heat is blinding though, making Sean and Ryan’s constant jumping and pirouetting ever the more impressive. Old favourites ‘GTT’ and ‘Steal Your Soul’ are still glorious slabs of pop-punk, while newies ‘Jesus Was A Sexy’ and I Am What I Am’ (i think) show there’s plenty more miles in the 215 tank. I also must point out the fool (who I believe may have been a PT forum member) who proceeded to elbow, punch and roundhouse sweep every member of the dancefloor into submission. That was until he was told by one of my mates where to go – if he wanted to keep his teeth. Dance by all means, but don’t decapitate those around you. An off night, but 215 still wipe the floor with pretty much every pop-punk band in the country. (7.5)

If you’re yet to catch SOLABEAT ALLIANCE on tour you are really, really missing out. To be honest I was expecting slick, no frills ska punk, but what I wasn’t expecting was a band so tight, entertaining and armed with a set of anthemic tunes that I was left gasping for more. Although much maligned, Moon Ska certainly know a classy band when they see one and SBA are surely one of the best in their genre. By far the best live set I’ve seen so far this year – and I’m not a huge ska fan – SBA have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. Frontman Tim is as charismatic and energetic as any singer I’ve seen this year, constantly prowling across the stage, while the brass section are tighter than Linford Christie in a skintight leotard. I thought ‘Island Fire’ was good but not great, but listening to it after you’ve seen them live brings a whole new dimension to proceedings. ‘All Or Nothing‘ has some immense melodies and huge hooks, throwing back comparisons to Catch 22 or the Mad Caddies. I could go on forever, but the plain and simple fact is that I was converted, big style. If the sun shines this summer, expect Solabeat to blow up big…(9)

www.route215.com
www.solabeat.com

Paul

BEN – So, the question that you’re going to be asked in every interview from now until forever…the name?
TIM – Basically because Spankboy happened to be some kind of gay porn thing in America…

[Interrupted by SolaBeat needing to soundcheck…leading to Location 2: The Upstaits Bar]

BEN – Back to the reasons for the name change…
TIM – Yeah, some organisation kept getting some of our emails and had been writing to us trying to get us to do something about it. After the [spunge] tour we got loads more emails and they started putting a bit more pressure on.
BEN – Did you ever get any of their emails?
TIM – No…we once got sent something about Spankboy and Ratboy and checked it out. It was fairly dirty…
BEN – Last time I interviewed you we were sitting on the steps outside some crappy London pub…
TIM – …In the rain…
BEN – …and now you’re second on the bill on Moon’s most prestigious tour. What’s been going on?
TIM – Some cool shit! I dunno, we didn’t really stop playing after we spoke last. We rolled straight onto that [spunge] tour…well I guess we did stop playing for about four months whilst we were getting signed. It’s been better than everyone’s expectations. Everyone thought it’d be cool but it’s been so much better than cool.

BEN – What have the reactions of the crowd been like?
TIM – Insane. We have not had a bad night on this tour. It’s been really, really cool, and a lot of these places we haven’t played before. We turned up in Oxford and there’s 300 people going mental and they know the words, which is the scariest bit!
BEN – Do you think that having signed to Moon you’re going to be getting a whole lot more exposure?
TIM – We’re getting a lot more exposure than we thought we would for what we’ve done. We’ve only put out an EP through the website…
BEN – Yeah, but it’s not as if you’re a new band, so to speak…
TIM – …yeah I know, but it’s all caught up with us without us realising. Now people are paying a bit more attention and it’s showing through.
BEN – Do you reckon this is deserved off your own backs, or is the current rise in alternative culture helping you?
TIM – I think it’s made it a lot easier for us, but we have been together for about four years doing this so some bands will ride the rise of the scene then fall. We’re enjoying the fact that a lot of people are into it, and it seems to be a big scene and we’re still doing what we did and will continue to do.

BEN – How’s it been working with Moon? Have they been conducive to your style of doing things?
TIM – They’ve been really cool through the name change, and they haven’t tried to make any direction changes or make us fit into what other people are doing. It’s been “Do what you do”, which is nice.
BEN – Do you reckon that having worked with Moon, and having toured with [spunge] and Whitmore, that SolaBeat could get to a higher level?
TIM – I’d like to think so. The reaction’s we’re having on this tour give us the confidence that we can. I don’t know how to gauge where [spunge] are right now.
BEN – Well they’ve had videos, and singles, and a pretty good slot on the Concrete Jungle last year…
TIM – And Download this year…
BEN – [rant about Deconstruction and Download]
TIM – Yeah, it’s all got weird this year.
BEN – Are you guys playing any festivals this year?
TIM – No…I think it’s because we haven’t got any new releases. The new album…we’re recording it after this tour and we have about three or four weeks to do the demos.
BEN – How’s the reaction to the new stuff been?
TIM – Really, really good. It’s pushing the extremes a bit, the songs you just heard [at the soundcheck] show that there’s a bit of reggae stuff, there’s some harder stuff too. It’s going down well and seems to fit into the set.

BEN – How do you find that you’re progressed as a band after playing together for so long?
TIM – We’ve learnt how to write for the band as opposed to writing a big thing then mashing it all together chaotically. The newer stuff is concentrating on bringing out various parts of our songs.
BEN – Do you find that you’re enjoying it a lot more now?
TIM – Yeah, absolutely loving it. It’s become a lot more ‘taking pride in what we do’ as opposed to cranking out some songs and having some beers. We’re a lot prouder of what we do now.
BEN – Do you take yourselves more seriously now?
TIM – Yeah. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing though!
BEN – I think it’s necessary in a way, as long as you don’t get into Spinal Tap territory.
TIM – There are moments in the day when it all gets a bit serious and you have to keep things in check.
BEN – I was looking at the MoonSka website and I saw the Tour Diary for the last tour…there was a points system which I’ve been looking for clarification about…
TIM – You can have clarification when the Dictaphone’s off! [Note: I received clarification. Such filth and degradation.]
BEN – Without wishing to give too much away, is there a similar system this time?
TIM – No, there’s not. There was going to be…
BEN – You sound disappointed.
TIM – Yeah, but it’s just too young this time. And too many people know about it this time.
BEN – Even without the points system, how has this tour gone so far?
TIM – Socially it’s been amazing. There’ve been so many cool people, and one thing that’s great, although it’s been ‘All Ages’ it has actually been ‘All Ages’, as opposed to ten to…ten year olds! It’s been great because although there’s an energy you get from the kids it’s nice to kick back with some beers after the show and not have to worry about everyone leaving at half-ten.
BEN – As you said, with so many kids coming to shows nowadays, will it help the scene?
TIM – The kids are the people going out looking for something new.
BEN – I think it works both ways…with p-rock and stuff there’s a lot more readily available…
TIM – It’s a good question but it’s hard to answer. The more you’re involved with the scene the more you forget it’s not a mainstream thing. This is what we do every day. To us, all bands that we come across are just everyday things but to a lot of people they’re not, simply because they’re not there. Unless you click onto a Sky channel or go to an indie record shop you don’t come across it. When you’re out on the road you come across it all the time. With p-rock…

[Now interrupted by really loud music coming out of the PA, leading to Location 3: the corridor outside the dressing room which is full with half of SolaBeat and a few of Mixtwitch]

TIM – Where were we…oh yeah, p-rock’s coming back.
BEN – Will you make a video for them?
TIM – I’d like to make a video that we can be proud of. We will make a video, probably take something off the new album and make sure we’ve got enough money behind it to make it a decent video. I don’t want people to see a video of ours that’s bollocks. I don’t see why just p-rock…if we make a video it’ll be hopefully for all stations.
BEN – Do you think there will be a time when there is mainstream rotation for this kind of music…

[Now interrupted by the rest of SolaBeat and Mixtwitch running through the corridor, elated that they actually have showers, leading to Location 4: a small alcove thing in the back of the Arts Centre where a strange old lady is trying to open to door so her dog can get out]

BEN – This is going to be a bastard to transcribe…
TIM – We have now moved to the Poodle Parlour…
BEN – Yeah…so will there be a time when there is mainstream ska rotation on something like MTV?
TIM – As a genre or as a band?
BEN – Either. I mean there’s LTJ…
TIM – …who are getting the stereotypical slating for signing to Warners
BEN – Yeah but there are so many people who make MTV-friendly music who aren’t on MTV. They’ve been around for so long that they’re still LTJ and they deserve respect.
TIM – If we can write music that’s catchy enough to go on MTV then we’d be happy. You know from talking to us before that it’s hardly a priority for us.
BEN – Have you found any bands that have been really media-centred, caring about their markets and stuff like that?
TIM – A lot of the support bands you get are really cautious of that…but we’ve never come across a band who really concentrate on it…

[Now interrupted by the sounds of Graveltrap soundchecking pounding through the corridors. Moving to Location 5: The disabled toilets]

TIM – We’re in the toilets…it’s got very weird…
BEN – I’ve forgotten what I was saying…yeah….erm, who are you listening to at the moment?
TIM – I came across a wicked band for chilling out to, they’re called Dispatch. They’re a crazy mix of Ben Harper crossed with Sublime or Pepper, and they rock out a bit too. Mad Capsule Markets too…
BEN – They’re fucking fantastic! Osc/Dis is such a good album
TIM – I’ve got really into their stuff, good driving music. They’ve got a huge back catalogue too, and you can get the dolls of them as well! Crazy stuff. Are you going to see them? They’re playing with Cypress Hill and SOIA and The Vandals in the Millenium Dome…

Here it just tapered off into random, stupid music banter. I think there’s about 3 sentances of coherent stuff amongst all that rubbish in there…cheers to Tim for being such a legend.

Man I felt old at this gig. GRAVELTRAP opened proceedings, and I had never heard anything by them before. I came away impressed to an extent, since while they played with a lot of passion and managed to win over a crowd that

BEN: You’ve been touring for much of the year, which bands that you’ve toured with have you really hit it off with?
TIM: Lightyear are really nice guys, Capdown as well.
BEN: Capdown are supposedly going to be hitting the bigtime, according to a certain national radio station and they have a more traditional Ska sound. Does that bode well for you guys?
TIM: They’re doing well because they have their own sound. I like playing with bands like that because I find it boring if all the support bands sound exactly like the headliners. It’s all about diversity, which is why I like Capdown and Lightyear.
BEN: It’s all about originality I think. Looking at the biggest bands now, when Green Day started up about a decade ago, not many bands were following the Ramones-esque 4 chord punk structure and now it’s widespread. Do you think that in perhaps 5 years or so we could be seeing a more Ska based mainstream?
TIM: I think so in the UK definitely, especially with [spunge] in the charts, thats a really good sign. Hopefully there’ll be some bands with different styles too, as Capdown show with the dub element. That’s one of the coolest things about Spankboy, everyone listens to different music. Some are loving the dub, some are into punk and that’s how we write what we do.
BEN: So what are you listening to at the moment?
TIM: All the Trojan and Reggae Dub sets. So good to chill out to!
BEN: Is there a way in for a dub influence for Spankboy?
TIM: There’s definitely an influence and because everyone likes different music we try to get a mix, but I don’t want to write a song where it’s like dub bit, then a hip hop bit with a punky chorus. We try to mix it all in so it’s not obvious.

BEN: The underground scene in the UK is stronger than it has been for the last 5 years in my opinion, and with the continued popularity of dancehall culture do you think that’ll help you, or merely prompt other bands to jump on the bandwagon?
TIM: I’m not sure, because you can tell when a band is heavily influenced by ska or dub because it’s evident within their music, but you also get a lot of punk bands who take a ska element into some songs, so you end up with skate punk with brass. That’s not a bad thing at all, it’s different.
BEN: Talking of influences, what did you listen to as a kid, what made you want to be in a band like this and write your own music?
TIM: I used to be really into rave and hardcore music! Then I started listening to Green Day, and NOFX and Rancid are massive influences too, even though that doesn’t really show in our music. ‘…And Out Come The Wolves’ is one of my favourite albums ever and I’d really like to do that, write an album for which everyone loves.

BEN: What do you guys do outside Spankboy? Is there a time for jobs or lives outside the band?
TIM: Yeah, until we did this tour we didn’t tour because of jobs, we had 3 people at Uni as well. Our drummer’s just finished his degree and now we’ve got 2 left, hence tour ending around September! We play every night so we don’t have much time to do anything else, and we also found that the tour just gets longer and longer.
BEN: Do you think that with putting a big emphasis on touring then having a break helps you, or do the breaks kinda make the people forget about Spankboy?
TIM: I think you need the time out on the road to learn what people like and see what elements of your set go down well, and it’s important not to leave it too long before touring again. I think we left it too late before, a lot of the promoters thought we’d given up! It’s been ok this time though.
BEN: Does your set change much night to night?
TIM: Yeah, we tailor it to the first couple of songs and then decide how it’s going to go.
BEN: What’s been your favourite place to play?
TIM: It’s really surprising, there’s a place in Taunton called Cafe Mambo which is just a cheesy nightclub which started doing music nights. We’ve played there 4 times and there weren’t that many people there, but once the guy phoned up and said ‘You gotta play, everyone wants you to play’ so we turned up. They had the fattest PA with really good sound, and by the time it got to our set it was so rammed we couldn’t get to the stage! We started playing and it was like a sweat-pit, like a swimming pool on the floor! Everyone knew our stuff as well.
BEN: With the rise of the internet and mp3s, do you think that it could be the scourge of the music industry or is the most important thing just getting your music heard?
TIM: At our stage it’s the most important thing to be heard. If someone buys our CD at a gig, we tell them to copy it for their mates. Anyway, some people check out your stuff on the net then buy your CDs.

BEN: Establishing a fan base is one of the hardest things for a new band, have you toured overseas yet?
TIM: Not yet, we’re going to Europe in March next year…
BEN: That’s gotta be scary…
TIM: I’m really looking forward to it! We don’t find it scary any more because we know we’re going to have a good time and hopefully the crowd will too. Anyway, if they don’t, we’re out of there in half an hour!
BEN: Is enjoying yourself onstage more important than being as tech as possible?
TIM: Yeah, because people know what level we’re at.
BEN: As the gig tonight showed, it’s not just a gig – there’s an element of putting on a show too. Does that take attention away from the music?
TIM: At our level it’s important to have a show and interact with the crowd as well as get the music through. Because we’re playing pubs rather than proper venues, if you just play your music, after 3 songs people will turn away and face the bar, so it’s a good way to meet people too!

BEN: Just to finish off, some quick questions…what’s your favourite film of all time?
TIM: ‘Dazed And Confused.’ Not many other people like that, because very little actually happens! And the Kevin Smith films too…
BEN: I just love ‘Clerks’ for the line “My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks!” “In a row?!”
TIM: Yeah, that and Mallrats are my favourites. Nothing happens in those either!
BEN: Favourite drink?
TIM: Tequila!
BEN: Oh dear…that’s evil stuff!
TIM: We used to love cider too. We named ‘Adventures In Blue Flash’ after White Lightning and put a big blue flash on the cover. Our funnel (Note: this involves pouring a pint of beer down some poor sod’s throat through a 1 inch wide tube) used to be used for downing one of those huge bottles of cider!
BEN: Carnage…favourite sandwich?
TIM: Hmmm…I’d go for a Ploughmans.
BEN: Dude, it’s all about the Cheese and Pickle!
TIM: Perhaps,. but a Ploughman’s is pretty similar…
BEN: Gareth or Will? I want an answer!
TIM: Oh man…who did ‘Light My Fire?’
BEN: Will I think…I’m not proud of knowing that!
TIM: The other one then! That was a travesty him murdering that song.
BEN: Another hard question…Terminator or Terminator 2?
TIM: Terminator, I’m going for the first one.
BEN: Ach, bad answer!
TIM: Haha, we getting a bad review now? It’s because I saw Terminator when I was younger, and it had such an impact on me. And Arnie…Arnie’s Arnie. No need for girls!
BEN: Dude, there’s a line and you crossed it!
TIM: OK, sorry, sorry…
BEN: Last question. There’s a fight…a gorilla versus a bear. Who wins?
TIM: The bear!
BEN: No chance…
TIM: Have you seen how strong bears are? They’d destroy a gorilla! The gorilla has more skill, but the bear would win for pure strength.
BEN: Nah, gorillas are 6ft wide, and built of solid muscle! They’d own a bear, no question!

And with that, the argument continued late into the night.

Link: www.spankboy.net