Heineken Green Energy Presents...... Ikara Colt / The Parkinsons Whelans, Wexford St. Monday 6th May 8pm / €12.50
Ikara Colt A quick history: -The Band met at art college in London & vaguely formed the band at the very end of ’99. -They spent a lot of time doing nothing! -In the Spring of 2001 they record a demo which they send off to the usual suspects. -Steve Lamacq see the band at the glamorous Dublin Castle playing their fourth ever gig. -They record their debut single ‘Sink Venice’ for Fantastic Plastic & it makes Single of the Week in Kerrang!. -NME ‘on’ feature pronounced them “fast, angry, clever, smart, frantic, totally linear, and slick, mod-headed gunslingers who scream sex and hard drugs”. -John Peel book the band for a session. -The band get booked Reading/ Leeds and Glasgow gig on the green festivals. - September 2001 ‘One Note’ is the second single & the band do their first UK tour - Kerrang! Single of the Week again “in terms of alcoholic beverages, ikara colt would have to be a Guinness, as this is nothing less than pure genius” -Session recorded for ‘The Evening Session’ -Start recording in the Fortress Studio in East London. -UK Tour with Six By Seven “high octane rock ‘n’ roll” (Time Out) -Finish off album & slot in a couple of shows for December -New single ‘Rudd’ released the 8th February, and album ‘Chat and Business’ to follow on the 22nd February John Ball (bass), Claire Ingram (guitar), Paul Resende (Vocals), Dominic Young (Drums)
THE PARKINSONS 'There's no stopping them apart from a bullet in the head' (live review, Consensus) It's not true. If a bullet were to try and stop this lot it would find its casing being ripped off and molested over the top of a ruined Les Paul. It would be left begging for more… A band raging against the attempted murder of all that is good in music – energy, bile, belief and pure rock'n'roll, They're taking the slogan of 'Quiet is the new loud' and ripping it into a hundred sweat drenched pieces. Without carnage there is failure. Without anger there is nothing but a couple of limp-wristed mother's boys with acoustic guitars and a desire for a quick return to the singer-songwriter Hell from whence they came. They're naked, they're loud, they're riotous and they want your soul. They are The Parkinsons, and they're here to shoot you up with the passion that's been missing from your life for so long and inject the current music scene with a long overdue kick up its saggy arse. The three at the front, singer Alfonse, guitarist Victor and bassist Pedro met in their home town of Coimbra, Portugal, land of Madeira, Catholicism and boredom. Realising in each other a shared love of outrageous and amoral behaviour combined with a love of sleazy rock'n'roll (New York Dolls, Stooges, MC5), they saw there was only one way it could go – if you're gonna implode young you might as well be a rock star. They played together on and off, honing their individual live acts and releasing occasional singles, Victor and Al in The Subway Riders, and Victor and Pedro in The Tedio Boys. The latter band released 3 albums from 1994 to 1998 on Elevator Music (www.elevatormusic.com), cementing their reputations as Portugal's Kings of Chaos and attracting notoriety (and arrest!) for their impromptu gigs on top of buildings in their city centre. It was this word of mouth that got them an invite to play Joey Ramone's birthday party in New York's Continental Hotel in 1997, an incredible honour for a little known act. They didn't look back, touring America with the likes of The Fall and John Spencer. In 2000, having ripped the States apart, they relocated to the home of punk, London. They needed fresh blood to drink and minds to warp – the UK capital was the obvious choice. Partying was the order of the day. There was never a fixed plan to make it as a band, they were just there for the booze and anything else that came their way, but it wasn't long before the three Portuguese maniacs, especially Al, were known as the people to find if you wanted a wild time. It was one of these nights that led to the fateful encounter that would put the embryonic band on the road to rock fame. A slightly worse for wear Al was set upon after a night of punk films at the ICA. Unable to contain himself during the vintage Dead Boys footage he jumped up to add his vocal talents to the soundtrack, causing some puritan punks offence. A beating was certain, but just as the brawl began in stepped fate, in the dubious guise of Chris Low, a notorious face around Camden's more disreputable watering-holes. Averting disaster, Chris revealed himself as one of the most proficient punk drummers of the last 20 years. He had toured Europe from the age of 14, playing in bands such as The Apostles (http://users.tinyworld.co.uk/acidstings1) supporting anarcho-punk legends Crass and releasing over a dozen records, as well as a stint playing bass for Ewan 'Trainspotting' McGregor's group). He had later run hugely debauched and successful clubs in his native Edinburgh. It was clear to all four that the force of The Parkinsons could not be denied, and they began to rehearse. The first gig took place in Soho with an unsuspecting audience of over-privileged trustafarians and a few of the band's mates. They blew the bloody roof off. Revealing their penchant for getting naked onstage and attempting to fuck or abuse anyone or anything that refused to worship at their altar of rock'n'roll damnation, the gig was amazingly only a warm up for what was to follow. The Verge, Kentish Town, January 2001. Sandwiched 2nd on the bill between two Oasis copyists, The Parkinsons had drawn a massive audience purely on rumour alone. A crowd that had come out of curiosity left an hour later in a state of shock and exultation. Victor set the tone by pissing into a punter's glass as he came onstage and by the third track Al was wearing only winklepickers and a pair of pink briefs. Naturally, the briefs were on his head, and he was soon drinking beer out of his shoes! By the last song Pedro was hurling pints at the front row, Al was performing an obscene act on an amplifier, and Victor was standing naked on the bar, attempting to pummel the barman while continuing to play his guitar. The Verge's manager was in a state of hysteria, desperately trying to shut the venue and throw out the baying crowd. After 20 minutes he quit, and ran out of the venue screaming. He wasn't seen again. Neither were the headlining band who didn't get to play. But then, who would dare follow an act like that? The Verge gig defined The Parkinsons, endowing them with an aura of invincibility and a reputation for chaos that hadn't been seen on the London circuit for years. Their astonishingly fast rise was assured. More gigs followed. Their energy on stage being describes by one journalist as "making At The Drive-In seem like The Corrs". At the 100 Club Mark Perry of ATV and Sniffin' Glue fame remarked that Victor was the finest guitarist he had seen since The Clash's Mick Jones. Lunatics they may be, but these boys can play. Even following a powercut at their last gig (caused by Al swinging on the lighting-rig, bringing it crashing down on stage!) there's no stopping the frenzy they whip up. What would be the ultimate catastrophe for most bands is merely a minor setback for The Parkinsons, remedied by Chris exploding into the drumbeat for crowd favourite "Bad Girl" while the band and audience belt out the lyrics. Electricity resumed, it's just 1-2-3-4 and the guitars burst back into life, heralding the next song and sending the crowd to fever pitch. And all this from a band who have only played six live shows in as many months together! It's been a long time since the UK music scene has produced as truly unique and exciting a band. The wait IS over. The Parkinsons are here and they're taking no prisoners. More info : buzz o neill buzz@mcd.ie MCD 7 Park Road Dun Laoghaire Co Dublin 353 1 2841747