There's been quite a bit of gossip about The Band and the pop-punk band Catharsis in the underground press lately. Kim Black and Ashley Gothom have reportedly exchanged words, and James Black has called out York in interviews. York has never made an official comment on this(and probably never will) but at a recent gig The Band played a parody/cover of Catharsis' song "Without You", with York waling in a high pitched voice, and frequently changing the lyrics to dirty puns. It can be established that he's none too happy about the recent comments.

The Band played at an indie bar in England a few days ago. This is a partial transcript of the evenings happenings.

John is sitting outside puffing a cigar priot to the show starting. He is generally sullen. The hipster/yoga girl bar tender comes out and tries to get him to go to yoga class with her the next day, saying it will improve his mental outlook.

John-My "mental outlook" is fucking fine and will not be improved by my performing contortions.

She then tries to get him to attend a winery with her, but alas, he has other commitments. It's time for the show to start.

They open with a cover of Oasis' "Live Forever". Black is playing a rare bass, oddly tuned, giving the song a trippier vibe, the song also speeds up into a punk rock song on the chorus'. York ad-libs on the first solo, and screws up a couple times, and is very noisy. He plays the second solo as written. When they finish......

John-A cover of an Oasis song is kind of ironic when you really think about it. (everyone snickers, except John's hipster girl who gawfas. She loves irony.) On the drums we have Ian Black, Edmund Pitt on guitar, John York(he points to Kim) on guitar as well, and me on vocals and bass. I'm Kim Black...............move each name to the left and you've got it. Got anything to say Kimmie..................

Kim-uhhhh, Helllllllooooooooo[giggles] (she is propped up on John and may or may not be high)

John-We should keep going.

They play their Single "Only The Beginning" second. The songs length loses some of the audince, causing them to focus on their drinks and conversations. They next play the song "Maneater" from their EP, earning a good response.

John-Honestly, it's so fucking dark in here, I can barely see my instruments, and can't see anyone in the audience. I'm not going to play into a black hole. Please turn the lights up a bit...........please..............(the lights are turned up slightly) A little better.

Kim-Blondie cover time.

They launch into their slowed down. bluesier cover of Blondie's Pretty Baby that they played on The Underground Live

Kim-Before the next song I would like..........to...go ahead and apologize in advance to everyone.............or anyone who's been aborted
John-Jesus Christ, Kim.

The Song is The Sex Pistols anti-abortion anthem "Bodies". It is slightly slowed down into a Post-punk arrangement. Kim imitates Rotten's Vocals, but is completely out of it, spitting with each word. It is followed by the ballad/b-side "Every Road Leads to Your Door"

John-My mother was a fucked up, fucking awfull woman, but she did say one good thing-if you can't say anything nice about someone don't say anything at all. So Instaed I'm going to sing. Yes, me. I will say that acting stupid and being authentic are two entirely different things.

They lauch into a "cover" of Catharsis Power ballad "Without You" John sings in shrieking high vocals, and intentionally screws up the words. He is stopped after a minute.

Edmund-John, seriously, stop it.
John-I'll blow into a trumpet to get the taste out of my mouth.

They play "The Question We All Want Answered" with John on the trumpet, and Ian on the main guitar part.

John-In case no one's noticed, we fucking love Johnny Rotten.

They cover "Public Image" by Public Image Ltd.. It is far noisier than the original, and John usus some samples and turntables. Singing Johnny Rotten while under the influence of a foreign substance is never a good idea, it is apparent that Kim is not well(or that she'd gotten well). Theynext play the ballad "Not What I Want" minus the outro, and The Wrestler. During the next song, their are major tech issues. In house "roadie" type figures are unable to do much. John is growing more and more frustrated and kicks equitment around the room, and lets out a massive stream of obseneties. Kim serenely stares at him raising an eyebrow. They talk amongst themselves......

John-uhhh, sorry for the delay everyone. We're going to try and continue unplugged.

They Play "Does Anybody Care" minues the inro, and with more focus on the brass. Ian plays acoustic ryhthm guitar. They look at the amps again, and are able to get them semi-working. The sound is fuzzy. They give their post-punk song "Fascist Pigs" all they've got. The performance gets the crowd in a flurry. John is playing so agressively that he cuts his hand open. With a huge amount of noise in the establishment, they go into their "hit" My Washboard. It was saved for the end so that no one would leave after it was played.

John-We're now going to play "that one song, by that one new band that was on the radio a couple times" (a rustle in the crowd) So Ki......uhhhhhh

Kim has passed out. A small crowd gathers around her. John pushes people back. She awakes and John helps her up, he whispers something in her ear and she giggles again. John just looks confused. She thinks she can go. They play an equally agressive lo-fi rendition of My Washboard. John's wound gets bigger and there is blood all over his guitar. Kim mumbles the lyrics in a strangely sensuous fashion and then lays down on the stage. The crowd is loving the dirty guitars. So much that, seperate from the crowd and even the music, a makeshift mosh pit has formed.

John-Honestly will you fucking stop it. (guy yell something indecipherable) I've had enough of this.

John hops down, runs over and goes pshycho puching the guy, getting blood all over him, a couple other guys jump on John and beat up his face pretty badly, but others break it up. One of them calls Kim a whore and John tries to go back in but is restrained. The manager gives John a "You're done here" look. John, however goes back on stage.

John-And we're back......Kim(she's still laying on the floor) Oh screw it. We'll do out Nobody Does it Better Cover

The cover, without Kim, is pure silliness. They take turns singing, ambondoning their instruments to run around with the mike. The reaction is mixed between laughs and eye rolls.

John-We're finally done

Kim wakes up. Ian grabs her to get her out before any bargoers can get her in her current condition. John loiters all night. He is sitting outside with his hipster friend. She his cleaning up his hand and face injuries which are swollen.

Bartender-I know it's late, but if you'd come home with me I could put some natural oils on your bruises. They'd heal up in no time
John-Forget it.......
Bartender-Well, I know my house can be a bit dirty but I don't see any......
John-Sure. Are you driving?





Setlist-
1.Live Forever(Oasis cover)
2.Only the Beginning
3.Maneater
4.Pretty Baby (Blondie cover)
5.Bodies (Sex Pistols cover)
6.Every Road Leads to Your Door
7.Without You (Catharsis cover/parody)
8.The Question We All Want Answered
9.Public Image (Public Image Ltd. Cover)
10.Not What I Want
11.The Wrestler
12.Paranoia About Death and Heartbreak; Featuring Observations about Privacy, Sexuality in the Female, and Passages from Carl Jung's Psychology of the Unconscious
13.Does Anybody Really Care
14.Fascist Pigs
15.My Washboard
16.Nobody Does it Better(Carly Simon Cover)

Edited by user 15 April 2011 13:25:51(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

John-I'd say the only good part about that gig was my making a new friend. Too chaotic. I'm always bleeding on my guitar, though.

Edmund-John's anti-social and misanthropic tendancies have reached their peak, as he is now in the process of writing new songs. We should be able to record soon. It's been more than a year, so everyone is ready.

Early in The Band's public career "management" decided to push John into wearing contact lenses instead of his usual glasses for aesthetic reasons. John has always found this stupid, and recently declared, "screw you guys, I'm wearing glasses". He will hate that a big deal is being made about this, but any nice comments will inflate his ego even further. Anyway, he does look radically different.

John-Our second album, entitled uh, The Band's Second Album, will be released on June 10th. It's going to have a much cleaner and dare I say, poppier sound. It's a very straightforward guitar record. We will dabble in some funkier and more extreme punk influences on a few tracks, and there is an acappella song, so it's not entirely predictable. Anyway, we'll see how people like it. I'm thinking about releasing a track listing

John-I agree with most of Ashley's comments. I don't have a problem with Catharsis. If I was still 14 they'd be my favorite band.

"Royal Wedding" single. Song details. Buy our single today and not Catharsis' to give The Band victory in the opening chart skirmish, prior to the albums. Aside from the two studio songs, the single contains a live track.

Royal Wedding-3:41-Music by John York, lyrics by John York and Kim Black-John York considers this one of the two masterpieces he has written on the new record. The song opens with John playing a couple high pitched notes on electric guitar. They have a serious, almost sad, sound. Then, a compressed drum beat enters, followed by a dominant, catchy bass line, and John and Ian on acoustic guitars. Kim Black belts out the lyrics, in a style reminiscent of John Lennon in "I am The Walrus" or "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite". A sitar played by a session musiscian enters in the middle of the verse, adding a layer of trippiness. The first verse is a sarcastic, sneering pledge of allegiance to the royals and the crown. For the chorus, everything but the drums dissapears, and York plays a light electric guitar riff. Black sings a big, huge, pop hook with clean vocals and backing vocals from Ian and Pitt. The chorus has Black stating all the things she's rather do than attend an elitist event, like a Royal Wedding. The song goes into a second verse/chorus cycle that's the same as the first, with Black rebutting everything she said in the first verse, and coming dreadfully close to calling the nobility nazis. She shows surprising vocal prowess by sliding into the second chorus. After the second chorus, there is a collage of jazz samples, with the drum beat continuing. First there is a melodic group of horns playing, which is quickly overwhelmed by a distorted wave of brass noise. A musically complex saxaphone solo quickly fades in and out, before cutting to the bridge. Black sings at the higher end of her registry, with Pitt and Ian singing harmony. The bridge is absract, with Black only pleading for help. There is a very light organ playing, and Black occasionally strums her bass. The chorus is then repeated for a final time, and begins again as the song fades out.

Sounds like(links)
Verses-
Loser by Beck

Chorus-
Beetlebum by Blur

The Things I Forgot to Say-3:08-Written by John York-The song beggins with just Black the chorus singing with Ian and Pitt singing harmony. This opending is slightly distorted. It then goes into a verse, in a guitar driven post-punk arrangement. The chorus is then repeated in this rock style. York than plays a melodic, danceable guitar solo, with a few flourishes at the end before the chorus is repeated again, and there is a "fake ending" after a couple seconds of silence, the loud guitars enter again, and the song fades out as Black, Ian, and Pitt yell past lines from the song. The lyrics describe paranoia about death without telling people close to you your true feelings about them.


"The Royal Wedding" music video-The video was shot on a low budget, with Kim and John as the credited directors. It opens with John playing the opening guitar part sitting alone in a cot. He then walks outside joins Ian and Pitt, who are playing in a grassy English field. The video cuts between them playing, and Black singing, riding a cable car. Kim is dressed in a more "outdoorsy" fashion, wearing a flannel shirt and tight jeans. The others are dressed in coats and ties, minus the tie for York. Just before the chorus, the camera goes tight on Black's face, and the background changes to have her in the country side with The Band. While singing the chorus, she sensuously rolls about in the grass, giving the camera nice views of her bottom and bare stomach, as her shirt has rolled up. She quickly hops up and sings the second verse. The camera is tight on her face the whole time, and moves with her as she walks. She again rolls on the ground for the second chorus, with York, who had left, jumping off a boulder and running up to play his guitar part. The Band are overwhelmed by very bright artificial lights during the jazz segment. York sits down and discusses metaphysics with a talking rabbit(this audio is not in the song) and Black appears to sneeze a bird. Fot the bridge, eveything goes black around them, and they stand in formation, with Kim in front, and even John lip-sinking, even though he didn't sing on the song. Everything goes back to normal for the final chrous, and at the end of the song Kim jumps on John, and they go rolling down a hill as the video fades out.

Edited by user 02 June 2011 05:20:30(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Lily: I'll have to catch one of your shows :)

John-Good coming from you. It looks like it's going to become a classic in a bad way, the BBC is giving us more shit than any band since The Pistols over this. Kim or I would love to do something on one of your records.

OOC-You can PM me about what you want to do. Kim can be a featured vocalist, or John can play a solo or a world instrument. Thanks for the reply. When I first did it I thought it was pretty good, but then I didn't get any replies for a while and looked at it again and realized it felt better when I was typing it. I briefly thought about quitting after I finished my few commitments on here, but then figured I should just do whatever I want.