You know a show is going to kick off when you get doused with glitter before the band even gets on stage.Their opener was the enigmatic DJ known only as Machete, replete with Mexican wrestling mask and crisp white costume.  He had tribal dancers wearing ripped black glitter clothes accompany him while while he played rock, electro and indie dance tracks. Nice warm-up.

Standing in the dark of a packed club with a few hundred sweaty drunks was nerve-wracking .  Thank God glitter rained from the sky to break the tension, within a few seconds the beat dropped and Boom a man with a cape comes out.

Ghostland Observatory play everything live, even the weird sound effects are done onstage.  Every song was exactly like the recordings and the crowd was insane the entire night.  Highlights include the drunken sorority girl in front of me who kept accusing me of bumping into her.  I kept telling her it wasn’t me and that it was a guy that walked by.  Actually, it was me!  I was dancing my face off!

You know, I am convinced it was the accompanying laser show that warped everyone’s minds into a frenzy.  Lasers have that kind of power.  Just look at the Star Wars fans, I doubt there would be so many obsessed fans if lightsabers were not involved (and aren’t those just “Force” lasers on a stick?).

When they played “Sad Sad City”, “Rich Man” and “Silver City” the crowd went nuts including a guy that was dressed like a black stallion. I kid you not, he had a luxurious mane, tail, hooves, the whole she-bang. Fun night.

http://www.myspace.com/ghostlandobservatory

*Below is not the band…it’s just an artistic representation of sorts.

So if Kerrang! gives you their blessing, that pretty much means your golden right?  Let’s ask Blitz Kids, the rock mag just spread some good lovin’ all over the Northwestern boys in a recent gig review.  Now they have a much buzzed EP Decisions and I believe that means the appropriate thing to do is to write some lengthy pretentious review describing what each cymbal, nuance and bass line sounds like.  The only problem is, describing a song is sort of like describing what it’s like to be drunk.  In all honesty, you can try to do it, but it’s sort of pointless when the only thing you really need to do is experience it for yourself.

So here’s the deal, they’ve been compared to Idlewild, Lost Prophets, and Mars Volta with influences from Refused, Jesus Lizard, At The Drive In and The Get Up Kids.  If none of that interests you, you need to check them out anyway.  They’re songs are catchy, tight and they seem to pull off what all the other bands in the genre are trying to pull off which is, to quote LL Kool J, “doing it and doing it and doing it well.”   I had a chat with their drummer Hawx and their singer Joe James.  Read it, they’re charming.

A:  When did you get together?

Hawx:  We formed in August 2006.

A:  How did it come about?

Hawx:  Well, me and Bill met at a bus stop a year earlier and had been building a band since then (August ‘05).  We had similar ideas for a band and we connected musically.  Then we just searched the area for other members to form a band, people with similar tastes to ours.  It took a year to get that down.  Joe joined shortly after, even though he had no singing experience.  He just thought he’d be a cocky bastard and say he could sing.  We auditioned him in my car in the Spar car park and I figured he could be fuckin’ awesome, so we took him on.  We then tried a few other people, but nothin’ really stuck til August ‘06 when Nic and Jono’s punk band split up.  I’d wanted them both in the band from the start.  When we were out at the pub, Bill was pissed and so was Nic and Jono.  So I asked them to join and they agreed, a hangover later and it stuck ever since.

A:  So Joe, you had never sung before auditioning.  How did you know you would be able to do it?  Did you sing when you were alone or something?

Joe:  I had never sang a note in my life other than at shows when you’re competing with 1,000 other kids, so you can’t hear if you’re out of tune.  I tried singing a couple times at home, singing over Used records, Hundred Reason records, Taking Back Sunday records, but my voice just wasn’t high enough to keep up.  I pretty much gave up.  I got really down about it at the time, so I just carried on playing drums in this band I had and got my head down with my art course.

Then I was just hanging out with my friends in the canteen and everyone left to go lectures, save for this one dude.  HE HAD A TATTOO.  I was like, “Shit man, this is so awkward he’s not gonna want to talk to me he’s so cool, but he did.”  He talked about how he was starting a band and he needed a vocalist.  I didn’t even think, I just spoke, “I can sing.”  Haha, anyway he called my bluff and arranged for him and his drummer to pick me up and have a practice.  SHIT THE BED!

So that night, I went round to my girlfriend’s house and explained everything.  She found it hilarious, but I was so nervous.  I knew I couldn’t sing, but I wanted to be a singer so desperately.  I told her to go downstairs while I practiced a couple of Thrice melodies with altered lyrics.  She came back up with a brew when I was ready and I sang to her.  It was two lines, but her face lit up.  She said, “Dude, that was pretty good, sing it again.”

That night, Hawx and Billy picked me up outside my house and took me to the Spar car park (classy I know, but it’s where they hung out back in the day).  They pulled up and were like “sing”, so I did. I don’t know where the confidence came from.  I just sang the same lines I sang to my girlfriend and they liked it.  I was in.

A:  In an article I wrote about Blitz Kids before, I mentioned the oddities of Crewe.  I think it must have some influence on you being from such a quirky kind of place.  Do you think the band being from Crewe and Nantwich has affected you musically.

Hawx:  Yeah I reckon so, there is nothing here.  It’s pretty grim. Nantwich is nice, but Crewe really isn’t.  Three of the band were brought up in Crewe: me, Bill and Nic.  A lot of people talk about “getting out.”  It’s boring, dull and I’m pretty sure chavs were invented here.  We all used to skate ’round Crewe because there was nothin’ else to do.  So, I guess the good thing is that because the town is so shit we had nothin’ to do, but keep ourselves occupied which ended up being music.

A:  Are there any bands that you are really into at the moment.

Hawx:  Err, it’s tough to say.  I can’t really think of many.  There is a band called Heartless who are pretty good.  They are very into what they do, got time for them.  As for the UK, Apollo’s Arrows who we did our first tour with.  We love those guys. The JCQ are fucking crazy live, fuckin’ awesome band.  Deaf Havana have just made the best screamo record I’ve ever heard and Blackhole.

A: What bands or artists influence you in the way that you write and sing, Mr. James?

Joe:  Bert McCracken was the reason I started singing.  When it comes to writing, I take influence from everything I read that I like.  I am the guy who sits online all night reading lyrics.  It fascinates me how cleverly some people can convey an idea they have and make you understand it so easily, often in just a few lines.  If I had to pick my favourite lyricists: Dustin Kensrue (Thrice) and Jesse Lacey (Brand New).  They can do no wrong by me.  As for the way I sing, I have to give some credit to my sister.  She started way before me and I have to admit I copied her a bit at the beginning.  Since then I have just taken influence from everything I have ever heard and liked from Chet Baker to Karen O. and put it into one big mixing pot.

A:  I’ve heard the new songs and you’ve grown an insane amount as writers and performers since you first started.  Are there any songs that you look back on and go “Fuck, why did we write that?”

Joe:  It’s difficult to say, on the surface, yes.  There are times I hear old songs and cringe, but in the greater scale of things, as Heath Ledger’s Joker so iconicly states, “It’s all part of the plan.”  I’d like to think there are songs we love now that would never have come together if it weren’t for the “learning curve” of or earliest stuff.

A:  What can somebody expect from a Blitz Kids gig?

Joe:  We will blow you away.  For us it’s always been important to be one of those bands you HAVE to see live.

A:  You going to do Europe?

Hawx:   At some point, yes definitely.  From what I’ve heard the kids in Europe actually go to shows and buy merch.  We thrive off a packed venue full of kids who want to rip the place to pieces.  I wish I was born earlier, so that I could have been in a band in the late 70’s / early 80’s when kids really gave a fuck about music and went to every show.

A:  What about coming to the States?

Hawx:  We’ll definitely be hitting the States sooner rather than later.  It’ll be next year, right now our management are in talks with labels and stuff.  I dunno exactly what’s goin’ on, but basically if we get a chance to show our stuff we fucking will and people will never forget it.

A:  Tell me about what being a frontman is like from your perspective, Joe.

Joe:  I get so nervous before shows it’s almost a joke now, but as soon as I’m on stage I’m fine.  Performing live for me is the best feeling in the world.  It makes me feel like a kid again, screaming every word to “The Melting Point of Wax” in the middle of the pit.  It’s just you and the music.

A:  I have to ask, any crazy tour stories?

Joe:  We just get naked a lot.

A:  Nice. I always ask what books people are into.  Do you read a lot, Hawx?

Hawx:  Yeah I read a fair bit, I mostly read up on shit though on Wikipedia whenever I get curious about how shit works or what something is.  Books wise: Tolkien, A.C. Crispin, fiction books based on Star Wars, shit like A Tale of Two Cities, and anything by Dickens Hell, I even read business books about how businesses work.  I just want to know about things.

A:  Joe, we spoke before about you possibly transposing all the Blitz Kids’ songs to piano.  Do you play other instruments too?

Joe:  I have a terribly short attention span.  I have played the guitar, saxophone, trumpet, drums, clarinet, bass, drums, violin…all for about 2 months.  There was a recurring joke in primary school about who I would be sitting next to in the orchestra at each practice.  Don’t get me wrong I sucked, but everyone sucked in primary school.  Now I’m a bit older, I’ve decided to stick to an instrument.  So, I’ve started teaching myself piano.  It’s a great way to come up with melodies and practice singing.

A:  Last question guys, what’s coming up for the band that we might not know about?

Joe:  Our Debut EP Decisions is out now.  Our debut single is available for free download on our Myspace.  The video for that single “An Ink Blot In A Blood Clot” will be on all good music video channels November onwards.  We’re Touring the UK in November and December.  Check Myspace for dates.

Thanks guys, I would like to also add that in researching Blitz Kids for this interview I read a lot of gig reviews.  Each one couldn’t say enough about how insane their live show is.  This only adds to my ever-growing list of awesome things about England.  Really though, isn’t it enough you have Galaxy bars and free healthcare?  Although, you can keep Katie Price…she looks like a Barbie doll exploded all over a hooker.

http://www.myspace.com/blitzkidsuk

I had a little contest off of a YouTube video I had posted…and the winner of the Deluxe Ed. of Cosmic Egg is:

dutch91701

Thanks to everyone that commented!

Don’t let the beauty of Beluga’s front woman Isabel, a dead-ringer for a Brazilian Debbie Harry, fool you. Nor let the rest of the band with their subtle chic swagger mislead you to think they can’t kick out some fierce tunes. The rest of the New York City-based quintet: Stefania, Gabriella, Ally and Elliot can and do deliver some good old fashioned East Village rock n’ roll on their debut 7″ Pet. They’ve also been building up a proper buzz for themselves around NYC with their energetic stage show centered mostly on an adventurous front woman. Think Iggy Pop minus the blood-smeared chest.

The production on Pet is decidedly lo-fi, but that’s part of punk charm isn’t it? Beluga’s distorted guitars with their crunchy melodic riffs over simple driving drums make you want to dance a bit and then lick a stranger’s face. Vocally Isabel is no Celine Dion, but range isn’t the appeal and her voice cuts through the guitar fuzz quite nicely. She has a talk/sing delivery with some growl that’s reminiscent of ghosts of Riot Grrrl’s past and the on-stage writhing antics that now defunct CBGB’s is missing out on.

Singling each track out, the guitars on the first song “Pet” have a more indie rock vibe which leads to an almost Blues guitar wail at the end of the chorus while Isabel beckons “Come and be my pet”. The breakdown in the bridge shows Elliot’s prowess on drums before moving into an almost surf rock outro.

“Cowboy Boots” opens with a driving drum beat that I dare you to not be reminded of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl”. It then breaks free slamming into some sleazy rock riffs and fantastic growling vocals before ending in a frenzy of swung hair and borderline metal arpeggios.

This is definitely not for the listener who thinks Creed is king and rock is defined by Buckcherry; Beluga is the real raw deal. They’re not at the crux of revolutionizing the genre yet, but as a first release I’m impressed at their potential. So, if you love good raucous rock n’ roll you should check their record out.

Beluga’s first 7″ Pet is currently only available on vinyl. Check their site myspace for details. Myspace.com/beluga

Band Sex/ Sounds Like: A 1990’s K Records girl band making sweet, yet violent, love to the Stooges (if you don’t know who that is think Hole, but punk rock).