King Prawn interview + new songs

A week ago, I featured King Prawn as part of the GDAC Playlist. I talked about how their song The Dominant View is a favourite song of my friends and I for many years and generally got nostalgic, as I do. Little did I know that Da Prawn were actually back!

Their drummer, Nikolai, filled me in on their return, shared some stories and took the English language on a merry dance. He’s quite the wordsmith!

This is the best screengrab I could get from Youtube.. The 2.50 mark of this song is relevant, more on that later..

As always, I asked for a Generic Band Biography to start.

We formed initially in the mid 90s. We were the leftovers on the London music scene, the ones that no one wanted,  you only had to look at us to see that  the industry would take one look at us and say what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?  So it was a natural progression that our music would take the same path. It's been a rocky one overgrown with some right cuntish weeds but we armed ourselves with razor sharp musical machetes and got hacking.

We released four LPs in our first incarnation and through sheer bloody mindedness we worked ourselves to a position where we were the king of the freaks and kings of the road.

We've always leapt through styles in our songs but ever present was the underlying anger and mistrust of the world in which we live and those that control it.

So what's it like being back? 

It doesn't feel much different for me really, just like we took a ten year holiday then eventually got bored kicking sand around on the beach and twiddling cocktail umbrellas so went back to work and found the office space hadn't been filled. 

How did the reunion come about? And can you explain the lineup changes

We got regular annual offers to do shows and have always said no, it's hard to pinpoint what made this time any different really... fear of a finite existence where the scythe waits at every street corner? Yeah it was probably that.  We have a new bassist in Zac Chang, he's a big rocksteady bear; solid like granite. We also have an extended horn section, a couple of guys that we have collaborated with for years and who featured on past releases. They are Marvellous Matt Dowse and Mr Alex Gordon. We sound far fatter than we ever used to, before it was like a street brawler now it's like an army marching to war.

What has everyone been up to since we last heard from the band?

Hustling, dodging gainful employment, dodging each other, driving to distraction, walking the plank and trying to stay afloat on a savage turbulent sea.

How has the scene changed since you've been gone? Ska punk was thriving in the UK in early noughties with yourselves, Farse, Whitmore, Spunge..It's been, what, ten years? 

Even in our own scene we were never 'in-fitters'.  We were always the minor key minority in a major key majority. I'm not sure there's going to be any ska in any of our new stuff, there may be, there may not be. To us it's not a big deal, it doesn't define us. The songs will be strong, fresh and mint like toothpaste whatever style they're in.

I'm guessing the internet is playing a bigger part in promotion now..

The internet is a big tool that whilst around when we were has changed the whole ball game

in how bands can interact and inform.  Although at the day's end social media is still merely

an extension of the same cliquey competitive willy waving bullshit human condition

and is able to display the very worst side of our collective soul just as quickly as it can the best.  Come to terms with that and we're all gravy.

 

How have your live shows been going? Is your audience mostly older folks now or are some of the younger British ska bands brought a new audience for you?

Very well thanks, we haven't really done enough shows to gauge just what the audience is. Reading and Leeds seemed younger, like the younger siblings of our crowd back then that were always left at home sulking when their elders went out and tied one on. To be honest if the music is good then it transcends generation and reaches to all age groups. I think the nature of our music and punk in general appeals to the young and the young at heart through the sheer energy of the music and the passion with which it's delivered.

Da Prawn were favourites of Kerrang! magazine for a time, and The Dominant View was featured heavily on p-rock TV, what kind of bands were you touring with at the height of your initial fame? 

Fame eh? Are you sure you've got the right band here?! That side of our business always made us feel uncomfortable, but thankfully we never got close to the kind of scrutiny that tears your life apart and makes daily life unbearable. This was never part of why we do what we do. We make music, you only have to look at the state of our culture and it's depressing obsession with idiots that ain't worth a fuck to know that that way lies monsterdom... To actually answer your question we played with all sorts of acts, playing with Madness was a pretty big deal for me as when I was like ten One Step Beyond was the first LP I ever bought. Gig was a disaster though, biggest stage we'd ever got on and we had no monitors for half the set so we were a shambles. Happy days.

More importantly, you must have some great tour stories! Diss the goss..

They pretty much all involve outwitting the international plod and border guards all over Europe.

We made Howard Marks look like a rank amateur.  They might have taken my clothes and dignity but they'll never take my refer! Anyway If I tell all this shit now then you won't buy my internationally acclaimed book when it lands will you?  Plus I'm not entirely sure what was real and what was a dream now. 

What bands are you listening to now, any new stuff you'd recommend? 

I don't know about new stuff, some stuff may be 30 years old but maybe it's new to me. It's a right old mixed bag of bollocks as you'd expect, at the moment I'm listening to The Sound Defects, Dizraeli and the Young Gods, Bedouin soundclash, Sebastien Tellier, Dangermouse, Friendly Fires, 2nd Class Citizen, Prince Fatty, Mala, Shaolin Afronauts, Ebo Taylor, Madlib, Fat Thumbs Ronnie (these can't all be real, can they? - Alanso), and lots of King Prawn demo ideas to see what/how things can be bettered.

So..what the hell is The Dominant View about anyway?

Dominant View is essentially about finding a real nice vantage point, like a well worn bench on a

clifftop on a clear sunny day and just sitting down and taking it all in, reflecting on the finer things in life. That's right innit Al? (he means singerAl Rumjen, not myself - Alanso) ..oh..it's about the perspective and false reality that the marketing and advertising world portray as a norm, when in actual fact it's so unattainable it's harming to the self esteem and mental well being of the easily impressionable.

Was the bridge and 'three snare hit' part at 2.50 or so subconsciously influenced by the bridge in Bullet In Your Head by Rage Against The Machine by any chance? 

I guess so, I mean we didn't sit around and intentionally say 'right we're lifting that!' But back when we were starting out we did rinse the shit out of their first LP. After that though they did stop being too influential on us, I think we lose a little respect for anyone that adheres to strict rigid formulas when it comes to their art form, it's all a bit one trick pony.

Speaking of snares, what gear do you use?

I sold all my kit after Prawn split back in the day, I sold it instantly, just had had enough of drumming, didn't even wanna see as much as another stick. I've picked up bits again over the years playing in Left Step Band but never wanted the arseache of lugging around another full kit. The set up I use now is a Pearl sensitone elite bronze phosphor 14 by 6.5 snare. I did a little research as I wanted to pick up the best mid range price snare going and this kept coming up on forums. Our soundman loves it, he told me to never ever change it. It's a real beast of a drum, deep with a crack like lightening. The shells are a DW birch prototype kit that's about eighteen years old. It's piano black and pretty mean. I picked the whole lot up on Ebay auctions, stands, cases the works, I just couldn't be dealing with going to shops and getting overcharged - a geezer drove down from Sheffield with the shells for me!

Check Da Prawn on Bandcamp and Facebook for music and tour dates. They're touring UK right now, so get on that.

GDAC Playlist: King Prawn - The Dominant View

I can't overstate how big the p-rock channel was for me. It was the rabbit hole that I fell into to find punk rock and ska, providing a soundtrack to my teen years. Years later and my friends and I still revert to these songs when drunk or road tripping.



The Dominant View was a song I'd forgotten about until it was played at a house party a few years ago. This song was typical of British p-rock bands; though predominantly (heh) ska and punk, it has a pinch of nu metal. And of course they have a midget playing the bass.

Top 10 Teenage Tunes: Aidan from Murdock

New Feature Time! I was going to call this nostalgiacore but I'm pretty sure that's what Title Fight are doing, hence the awkwardly long, alliteration-heavy name. Anyway, seeing as I know lots of folks who also have opinions on music, I figure once in a while I should ask them about the songs they loved when they were dealing with hormones and whatnot. 


I think I want to be Aidan from Murdock when I grow up. For those of you that don't know, he is singer/guitarist in Irish metal/hardcore punk/noisecore nice guys, Murdock. (We're not big on sticking to one genre in Ireland, thank goth). Not only this, but he also runs his own studio, The Forbidden Zone. And his day job? Oh yes, he only goes and teaches sound recording! - Alanso


Nostalgia you say? Any of my friends will tell you that I am a very nostalgic guy, sometimes too much so! To me, all great memories are safe and cannot be changed, they are good times locked up in the bank of nostalgia, to be called upon whenever needed. They are mine, and YOU can't have them! Why, did you want them?

So I will do this in some what of a chronological order of me getting older. These are not my favourite songs by any means, they are the soundtrack to memories that stick in my head and make me happy.

Stereophonics - Bartender and the Thief



This song was the first I ever heard that made me realise how loud gutiars could be, and Im pretty sure It is the reason I bought my first electric guitar. At the time I was about 12, I was getting lessons on acoustic guitar playing 'she'll be coming round the mountain' and that was boring me. I heard this song I and thought 'THATS WHAT I WANT TO DO'


Nirvana - Mr Moustache



So I started playing electric guitar, and I thought I was so awesome. I had braces, too much gel in my hair, a navy sweatshirt and beige trousers with white runners, I couldn't talk to girls, and my voice was at the squeeky head wrecking 'pre-drop' stage. Did I give a fuck? NO! Cos I had an electric guitar. I first got into Nirvana from the Nevermind album, which I LOVED, and I remember saving up to get some more of their stuff. I got the album bleach and could not get over how much better it sounded, it was darker, dirtier, and much less polished and I loved that. Im still convinced to this day, that the Bleach album is responsible for getting me into darker, weirder, noisier, music and it is the reason that my band Murdock sounds like it does today. We don't sound anything like Nirvana, but it is in there somewhere.

Less Than Jake - Gainsville Rock City



So as far as I knew, the only bands out there were Green Day, Nirvana, Blink 182 and Korn. And that was all I needed, or so I thought.
One day I came home from school, it was just coming into the summer, and my dad had bought Sky Tv for the house, which had Kerrang, Scuzz and P-Rock TV showing music videos around the clock and my mind was blown away. So many new bands, so many cool videos and all summer long to watch them all and learn them all on guitar.
This was the first song I saw on Kerrang TV and it always reminds me of how good that summer felt.

Alien Ant Farm - Movies



Following on into the next Christmas after I got Sky TV, I must be 14 by now? All I wanted was the guitar from this video! I nagged my parents and ended up getting a guitar which I thought was this guitar, but it actually wasn't, BUT it was an awesome guitar which I still have. That Christmas the house was snowed in, so it was me, my guitar and all the songs that I could learn from Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3. A game I still play every Christmas to this day!


Blink 182 - Anthem Part II



So the next summer I got a part time Job. For the first time I had some money to spend. There was a bass in the local music store on special offer and all I could think of, waking up in the morning, going to sleep at night was THAT BASS. I ended up not buying it, but this song reminds me of that summer. I also vividly remember my friends calling over to get me to go to a youth disco to hang with some girls, and I wouldn't because I was too busy learning the new Blink album on guitar. I have no idea how I have a girlfriend today.

Korn - Clown



So around this time, Nu-Metal was everywhere, and I loved it. I still throw some of it on every now and then. My part time job was cleaning cars. They were all older used cars, and they all cassette decks in them. Every morning going to work, I made sure that in my top right pocket of my overall's, I had Korn's first album on tape in there. The album is about 40 minutes long, and I listened to it ALL DAY, EVERY DAY! And I never tired of it

Every Time I Die - Ebolorama



2003 hit and everything changed for me musically. MTV 2 started showing 'headbangers ball'. All of a sudden things got, heavier and faster and louder. Hatebreed, Converge, Every Time I Die, Poison The Well, As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, The Black Dahlia Murder were regularly on. Late one Tuesday night, Ebolarama by Every Time I Die came on and I could not believe what I was hearing. It was rock and roll but it was insane!
One of the coolest moments of my life happened last year, where my band played a few shows with Every Time I Die. They were playing the song, while a couple of them were wearing my band Murdock's tee shirts, and I couldn't help but smile like the biggest weirdo in the venue, thinking back to 2003 and falling in love with this song/band. (That is me being nostalgic about being nostalgic, cos that gig was Oct 2012, That is like inception shit!)

Between the Buried and Me - Mordecai



One night me and all my guys (2 of which would start Murdock with me), were hanging out in the car park in a retail park. Driving around bollards, skateboarding. I don't remeber much of the details but I remember that this song was blaring thought it.
Also one of the guys jumped in though the window of the moving car and landed perfectly on the passenger seat. It was great!

Moden Life Is War - D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S



This song is probably the reason that I play music and drive around in a smelly van, with smelly guys playing smelly venues.
This song is from 2005 and at this stage we were playing music for fun, with out biggest goal being to get a gig at a local venue.
The song made me dream of playing a million miles away from home and being so tired you cant even breathe. If any song resonates inside me, with any sort of a creed or anthem, then this is it

Posion The Well - Ghostchant



The opening guitar riff and snare roll of this song, actually bring me back in time to 2003. No TARDIS or Flux Capacitor needed.
I remember reading a review of this album in Kerrang magazine, before I had ever heard of this band. And from the reviewers words alone, I knew it was going to be the best thing in the world. I still have the magazine in an old drawer somewhere, I dont think I have ever had music make me shiver as much as this song does when the chorus kicks in.

Sum 41, Billy Talent and more, Vancouver, March 14, 2013

From the moment Deryck Whibley hits the stage, it is clear the diminutive Sum 41 singer has not aged well. But more on that later.

Taking our seats in the old person section, we did not have long to wait for this hockey arena show to kick off. And the time we had was filled with the running, slack-jawed commentary of two Canadian rednecks who were in the row behind us, every word coated in pot smoke.

Indian Handcrafts

Like an ugly, 'warts and all' music documentary at the Oscars, Indian Handcrafts both surprise and merit smatterings of applause, but really they are just tolerated rather than appreciated. Which is a shame as their slightly psychotic blend of blues, doom, hardcore, shrieks and indie was quite fun to behold. Never the type of music I would listen to at home, but good live music for a certain period of time regardless.

Hollerado

That guy...

More on par for the night these fresh faced guys have parent-and-teen-friendly good vibes as they cliche their way through some indie poprock.  It wasn't my thing but I can understand why the kidz might like it, especially if they have never seen an arena show before. The singer had a bit of That Guy going on, but hopefully the incident at the end of their set will make him reconsider his stage presence. In a preplanned move, the song built to an ending where he rebelliously launched his guitar a whole 4 feet in the air and caught it with the final cymbal crash. Pretty cool, eh? Unfortunately he caught it WITH HIS FACE, which caused the redneck to hoot and holler, and caused quite a bit of bleeding also I imagine. Still, chalk it down as a lesson learned.

Sum 41

Avert your eyes, children!

And so with little or no waiting around Sum 41 blaze into The Hell Song and damn, they are good live! I missed my chance to see them 8 or so years ago when they played Ireland and then they pulled out of a tour a year or so ago. The sound is impeccable, a wall of noise that is complemented by a sweet light show but there is something distracting that is gnawing away at my pure, unadulterated enjoyment of the moment.

What is it? Oh yes; the singer has a fat face so he looks like the novelty 'blow up head' part of New Found Glory 'My Friends Over You' video (1.26), topped with 'older lady trying to look younger' messy, crimson hair. This, coupled with his extremely camp onstage demeanor, and a speaking voice that sounds like the aural representation of a pubescent child with lung cancer, means the whole effect is that of an elderly drag queen who is influenced by anime. So in between killing it with a whole backpack full of hits, we were treated to the odd spectacle of Deryck c 2013.

Not that it took anything away from the performance. I was actually the happiest I've been at a gig of this sort in a very long time. It is not often that you can see a band a decade too late and still really enjoy the set. Of course they did ham it up, with Arena Rock fan interaction parts in every second song, but that was counterbalanced by them bringing up some kids on stage for most of the set and, well, sounding pretty damn good.

Billy Talent

I've always meant to listen to Billy Talent a bit more, I've never heard a song of their that I didn't like and I've actually known them for a long time, maybe 10 years or so. This tour seems to be a BIG DEAL to them as they're doing coast to coast of Canadia, playing arenas, using big screens, nice looking sets and recording the whole thing. They took about 2 months to set up, with a huge curtain covering the activity behind. Then, the guitarist with the weird hair and the singer with the weird hair started the set by themselves IN FRONT OF THE CURTAIN. It did of course drop as the band kicked into the song and everyone cheered but I dunno, seems like they're still figuring the process out!

Five songs in, it becomes clear that I don't know a lot of BT songs and after a good opening, I'm beginning to lose a little interest. But hey, I'm getting old and I had work that day... This isn't really a discredit to the band, they gave it their all and I was kept entertained by the cool camera that was in the mic stand and gave really unique shots of the action. The band deserve major props for staying together for 20 years and I'm pretty sure they started in their mid teens, which makes it even more impressive. The fans seemed suitably whipped up into a frenzy and there was barely a note out of place during the entire set.

Again, it was a case of DAT VOICE in between songs and during the screechier parts of his range. But it is unique vocal experience and one that has gotten BT to where they are today, so who am I to judge, except a slightly cynical music lover with slightly damaged eardrums.

Have you listened to Tsunami Bomb?

Like Farse, Tsunami Bomb are one of those bands I associate so much with listening to skate punk as a teenager (and watching P-Rock TV) that I forget other people might not know them so well. Like the college brah wheeling another keg into another house party who doesn't know why the singer of The Wonder Years doesn't just loosensup and has some fun, I have a mental block where I just assume everyone into punk etc had the same musical upbringing as me. Where in reality I lived in rural Ireland, yada yada..

It's like god looked at Brody Dalle and went 'Crap, let me try that again..there..that's better.'

Tsunami Bomb had what seemed like a winning formula: Relatively good looking female singer (who is automatically hotter in the sausagefest that is punk) + catchy major key songs + vaguely rebellious subject matter = $$$. Unfortunately after some quality work Tsunami Bomb hit a shitstorm of band drama and eventually broke up in 2005.

In a nostalgia multipack, this video is ripped from p-rock AND a drummer in a band I was in based our band name around this song and passed it off as his own idea. The fiend. So this is probably one of their most famous songs. Based around the same 4 chords as in every other song, with a snazzy riff  and of course sweet vocals and a catchy chorus. Not sure what's going on with the tattoo segments of the video. I mean, obvious there are continuity errors all over the gaf because she doesn't have any tatts in the 'live' parts..but..there's photos of her with tattoos from Tsuanmi Bomb era and then without in more recent pics...hmmmm.

In this video Agent M spends alot of time running for some reason and generally looking a bit lovely and she sings with a dignity, restraint and grace that everyone can enjoy. For some reason the band really seem to be holding back during the 'live' sections, not sure why, maybe they were told to tone down the punk elements. This song also showcases the backing vocals of the guy who wants to look like Matt Skiba. While his vox are somewhere in a middleground of meh between singing and a hardcore shout, his parts do add a hook. Also, the drummer never seems to look at the camera. Does she give the finger at 2.20?!?

This is one of my favourite TB songs. It sticks to the same formula pretty much but it's a winning formula.

This was unreleased for the most part and bloody hard to find on youtube. Another song based around G, C and F, another winner.

They also did crappy teenage pop punk style songs in their earlier days, yay! This one is about how Irish boys suck cos they chat her up and then pass out so naturally it strikes a chord with meself. I still love you, Emily. Or at least the version of you who sings this song.

And a last one, a fast one with some PUNK RAWK SHOUTING! She can do it all folks.

So yeah, I could post all of their songs here because they're all classics. Some of the best songs are the ones that were never released as singles. Check them out if you haven't already.

Have you listened to Farse?

Farse clearly had to rely on their music and not their looks/money.

Farse are one of a few bands that received solid rotation on that most joyous of tv stations, P-rock, before disapearing into relative obscurity. But they are still revered by those of us who bust them out on road trips and drinking sessions on the reg. Ska is a dangerous genre to attempt, especially by a group of white lads from the UK without a brass section. Farse however didn’t let this hold them back and wrote some of the best ska-punk singles of all time, brilliantly encapsulating the formula of major keys, backing/dual vox hooks, song structures that are along the lines of ‘so, then we’ll play the same chords but like, heavy, with distortion and stuff’, and a vocal style with more rolls than Galway deli counters go through in a week.

Their biggest hit (or at least my favourite song) is Hopskotch, a minute and a half of energy and hooks!

•  No idea of the lyrics..don't think there were any official lyrics..
• DEM rrrrolls!
• Such a DIY video, srsly, there's about 50 seconds of footage hacked together and copied/pasted
• Is Rasta dude at 00.27 in the band or not? He pops up a few times...
• And then it's over and I want moar!

And with wanting more of the same in mind, it's lucky that they stick tight to their forumula for most of their songs

•  How should we start it...another drum intro? deadly.
• 'hey how about you sing woahs instead of hah! at the end of my lines, and then we can sing back and over in the chorus, I mean it worked once..' 'sweet, yeah let's go with that.'
• DEM RRROLLLS. Best thing ever.
• 1.01 - harmonies, noice.
• Bass/drum bridge with scratching over it = nevar not cool!
• And back to the chorus, here we go again you say?
• MOAR.

This is more punk rock I guess...

• Srsly, you can't say they got attention for their looks..and is he wearing his own tshirt at 00.08
• Super DIY videos ftw, clearly an old house belonging to a relation...
• Yep I can confirm he's wearing a farse tshirt. Were they really that poor?
• 00.36 lololol
• I love that the one dude in the denim is clearly TRYING TO STAY TRUE to his metal/rock roots and probably joined just to be in a band.
•  Makes me nostalgic for the days of playing in a shitty room in a band made up of ppl who just wanted to be in a band tbh
• Wood pay top dollar for a farse t-shirt
• Drummer is pretty good I think?
• Dat miming to the outro, haha

I know they'll only appeal to a certain type of person who grew up not knowing that ppl who like ska aren't meant to like metal and you can't be punk without being super lame about politics and not having fun.