Leeds band Ultimate Thunder have released the buzzing ‘I’ve Got No Bees In Your House’ from their forthcoming second album, ‘A Spider Will Come To Eat Your Flesh’, set for release on the 10th May, 2024. Following on from 2022’s renowned, self-titled debut; the band are once again collaborating with producer/musician James Mabbett (Napoleon IIIrd) and will be releasing the album via Easy Listening Records.
Aptly described by Mabbet as ‘The Fall meets Hawkwind’, the creative collective have earned a reputation for offsetting their spiralling grooves with a snarling, noise-rock edge. On lead single ‘I’ve Got No Bees In Your House’, frontman Matthew Watson’s surreal lyrics and captivating, stream-of-consciousness vocal delivery are the perfect accompaniment to the song’s disco inferno drums, driving bassline and cacophony of synth sonics.
First coming together in 2013 with the help of Leeds charity ‘People In Action’, the eclectic collective began writing, performing and gigging across Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford before beginning work with Leeds arts charity Pyramid in 2017, offering band members the support they need for the band to continue to thrive.
The current line up of Matthew Watson (vocals), Scott Anderson (drums), Alex Sykes (keyboard), John Densley (percussion), Kenneth Stainburn (bass) and the band’s mentor, guide and guitarist James Heselwood made their live debut at Leeds’ revered DIY space Wharf Chambers in 2019 before joining up with Leeds musician and producer Napoleon IIIrd for their debut album.
The band’s second album ‘A Spider Will Come To Eat Your Flesh’ is as vivid and psychedelic as the title suggests, with the outfit combining writing skills honed online with the ineffable chaos of face-to-face improv interaction. Channelling Mark E. Smith at his most withering through an FM radio stuck somewhere between afrobeat and musique concrète, ‘I’ve Got No Bees In Your House’ showcases a band in their element and serves as a fitting reminder to embrace all the noisy joy that comes with unbridled creativity.
However, in February, with the album finally finished, the band received news that their supporting charity would no longer be able to support Ultimate Thunder financially. Unbeknownst to the band, Ultimate Thunder made their final live appearance to date on Feb 3rd, 2023 at The Brudenell Social Club. With their album complete, Ultimate Thunder face the prospect of the record being released without having seen each other in months.
To allow them to continue operating, Ultimate Thunder are raising money via a crowdfunding campaign, with all funds going to support the band’s continued existence. Practising, recording and performing are all particularly costly for Ultimate Thunder as all but one of the band’s members have a learning disability and complex needs that require dedicated additional support.
The crowdfunding campaign, set up by Mabbett, has already led to the band appearing on ITV News, BBC Breakfast, BBC Look North and BBC Radio Leeds whilst attracting vocal support for their cause from the likes of fellow post-punk outfit Yard Act, beloved Leeds venue The Brudenell Social Club and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) who has also invited the band to perform at this year’s Kendal Calling festival.
Ultimate Thunder will release ‘A Spider Will Come To Eat Your Flesh’ in May 2024 with support from Arts Council England, Pyramid Arts and Leeds Inspired.
Gold-certified British rock frontrunners ASKING ALEXANDRIA are kickstarting the new year with a new EP highlighting the debut single, “Dark Void,” from their 2023 critically acclaimed album WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? via Better Noise Music. Available today, January 12, across digital platforms, the DARK VOID EP features five tracks including the original version of “Dark Void” along with a new radio edit, a stripped-down piano version, and a Sullivan King-remixed version. The emotive and empowering single relates to those battling with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness, while acknowledging the strength it takes to confront one’s inner demons and fight off negative thoughts.
“Blue Monday is coming up this Monday, January 15,” relays ASKING ALEXANDRIA bassist SAM BETTLEY. “Unfortunately, it’s that time of the year again where a lot of us, including myself, are facing depression, anxiety, and loneliness. I can’t stress enough how much music has helped me through these dark times. Our song ‘Dark Void’ gives an insight into how crippling these feelings can be. So put it on, turn it up, and let it be a reminder that you aren’t alone and together we can make it through!”
The DARK VOID EP also includes the fan-favored electronic-tinged album track “Nothing Left” which ASKING ALEXANDRIA have highlighted with a new lyric video aligning with the EP’s release. Watch it streaming via YouTube HERE.
Stream/download ASKING ALEXANDRIA – DARK VOID EP now at
https://askingalexandria.ffm.
ASKING ALEXANDRIA—Ben Bruce (lead guitar), Danny Worsnop (vocals), Cameron Liddell (rhythm guitar), Sam Bettley (bass) and James Cassells (drums)—spent last fall touring across the U.S. on a co-headlining run with labelmates THE HU along with stops at several of the country’s top rock festivals such as Rocklahoma, Louder Than Life, Inkcarceration and Rock Fest. The band will continue to bring their high-energy performance to audiences across the globe throughout the year starting with a support slot on the “I Wanna Be Tour” from March 2 -10 acrossBrazil with Simple Plan, A Day To Remember, The All-American Rejects, All Time Low, The Used and more, and will be seen on festival stages including Knotfest Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane) and Slam Dunk Festival(UK). ASKING ALEXANDRIA will return to the U.S. this Spring from April 12 to May 18 on a headlining tour featuring support from Memphis May Fire and The Word Alive. See all dates listed below. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.
ASKING ALEXANDRIA Tour Dates:
3/2 Sao Paulo, BR – Allianz Parque ^
3/3 Curitiba, BR – Estádio Couto Pereira ^
3/6 Olinda, BR – Area Externa do Centro de Convenções Pernambuco ^
3/9 Rio De Janeiro, BR – Estádio Nilton Santos – Engenhão ^
3/10 Belo Horizonte, BR – Arena da Independência ^
3/21 Melbourne, AU – Knotfest Australia
3/23 Sydney, AU – Knotfest Australia
3/25 Brisbane, AU – Knotfest Australia
4/12 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater &
4/13 Houston, TX – House of Blues Houston &
4/14 New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore New Orleans &
4/16 North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues Myrtle Beach &
4/17 Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre &
4/19 Tampa, FL – 98Rock Fest
4/20 Orlando, FL – 101 WJRR Earth Day Birthday 2024
4/21 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution &
4/23 Richmond, VA – The National &
4/25 Norfolk, VA – The Norva &
4/26 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring &
4/27 Worcester, MA – Big Gig
4/28 Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center &
4/30 McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre &
5/1 Columbus, OH – The Bluestone &
5/3 Milwaukee, WI – Hog Fest
5/4 Saint Paul, MN – 93X Twin City Takeover
5/5 Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha &
5/7 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre &
5/8 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot &
5/10 Portland, OR – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom &
5/11 Garden City, ID – Revolution Concert House &
5/12 Seattle, WA – The Showbox &
5/14 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades &
5/15 San Diego, CA – House of Blues San Diego &
5/17 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues Anaheim &
5/18 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre &
5/25 Hatfield, UK – Slam Dunk Festival (South)
5/26 Leeds, UK – Slam Dunk Festival (North)
^ “I Wanna Be Tour” (with Simple Plan, A Day To Remember, All-American Rejects, All Time Low, The Used, Mayday Parade, Boys Like Girls, Plain White T’s, Fresno, PITTY and NX Zero)
& headlining tour with Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive & Nerv
Jeordie Shenton from Tonic Rider opens up about the charity’s work, and gives thoughts on the state of the music industry, grassroots music venues, and much more.
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https://www.tonicmusic.co.uk/tonic-rider
Omer Hagomer is an aspiring (and inspiring) sports journalist and wheelchair basketball player in Cardiff. Tom Speller of Tom Talks Rubbish sits down with Omer to discuss moving from Sudan to the UK, the challenges of growing up with Spina Bifida and so much more, including the future of Wobbling About and Rocking Out’s Podcast.
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Santos Escobar gives WRESTLESPHERE an insight into his background and his legacy as a luchador and with the LWO.
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WWE’s Santos Escobar discusses the LWO, heritage and confidence
WWE’s Bayley talks to Dom and Sam at Wrestlesphere about how she practices good mental health by not overusing social media!
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WWE Superstar Bayley discusses Damage CTRL, Iyo Sky and Money in the Bank
“This is a message of power – taking it back and standing up with your chin up. Getting stabbed, beat up, humiliated, jumped, ostracized … many tried to ‘beat the gay’ out of me – you know what? It didn’t stick,” says guitarist Steve McKnight of Los Angeles-based band GAYC/DC about their new song and video “HOLD YOUR HEAD UP.” A defiant cover of the 1972 Top Five hit by English rock band Argent, the all-gay band who pays unwavering tribute to AC/DC shifts the song about a battered woman into a song of LGBTQIA+ and anti-bullying empowerment.
This cover’s origin was born of tragedy, not from within GayC/DC’s realm but from the acclaimed producer Timothy Eaton (En Vogue, The Allman Brothers). “Seven months ago at midnight on a Sunday night, I received a call from a photographer friend, Ward Boult, who suggested that I contact the band GayC/DC, as he felt that I might be a perfect fit to produce them,” recalls Eaton. “[Boult] ended the call by telling me he loved me and I returned the warm salutation. A mere few hours later, I got a call from a Nashville detective who informed me that Ward had killed himself and, in fact, I was the last call on his phone.” The message that was said to Eaton didn’t fall on deaf ears, and, in fact, became a mission. In order to pay proper respects to his late friend, Eaton contacted GayC/DC.
“We met through a tragic experience but once Timothy saw one of our shows, he was smitten and asked us for a meeting,” explains vocalist Christopher Freeman. “He proposed an idea that he had to create a music video around the old Argent hit from the early ’70s, ‘Hold Your Head Up,’ but putting it in a new context: a video about bullying. All of that would promote a nonprofit of the same name that would help to fund efforts to combat bullying and violence in the LGBTQIA+ community, like Inside Out Youth Services in Colorado Springs.”
The powerful accompanying video, directed by celebrated photographer Robert Sebree, is an age old tale of high school bullying. But instead of the standard trope of the nerd bashing, the camera is turned to a harrowing tale of transphobia within high school hallways.
“This song, like the very moving accompanying video, is a journey,” explains drummer Brian Welch, “and like what our current climate is for the LGBTQIA+ community, the scary part passes and Hope swells again. We’ve been down this road before, and we know that love will always win.”
Adds Eaton, “Much like Haley’s Comet or a Blood Moon, an artistic force of nature such as this band seldom manifests itself in the music industry anymore, fearlessly cutting a path through all the amateur artists and their congestion. The band recorded a riveting song and video entitled which is a clarion call to young and old to do just that, be brave in the face of adversity and prejudice.”
A step beyond their standard songs of spot-on tribute to AC/DC, GayC/DC glitter-hugged the Argent song and made it their own, not just in honor of the greatness of the original but also because of the message of strength and perseverance in the face of homophobic, anti-trans and anti-other adversity and violence that is pervasive in the divisive current political environment. “It’s said that sometimes good things can come from a tragic event. In our case with Timothy, this is absolutely true,” says Freeman.
“Proud to be a part of this project, and GayC/DC, and gay, Gay, GAY,” shouts McKnight proudly and in agreement. “I earned this spot! Holding my head and chin up even higher!”
“The response so far to Hold Your Head Up has been incredibly touching, and we’re very grateful for all the heartfelt messages and everyone who has shared this campaign further,” says bassist Glen Pavan. “Only together can we make lasting change for future generations of queer and marginalized youths.”
Concludes Welch, “Now, let’s do something about all this bullying!”
“Hold Your Head Up” is available now via DSPs.
Leeds Beckett University will host the 11th annual conference of the European Society for Periodicals Research (ESPRit) at Leeds School of Arts on 27-29 June 2023.
Researchers from around the world will come to Leeds next month for an international conference looking at how magazines, newspapers, zines and other periodicals make readers feel included or excluded.
Approximately 100 academics from universities in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia will come together for the ‘Periodicals and Belonging’ themed conference, focusing on the unique power of magazines and newspapers to bring people together and make them feel part of a community of readers – or feel rejected as outsiders.
Dr Mary Ikoniadou, Senior Lecturer at Leeds School of Arts, said: “We are grateful to Leeds Beckett University, and to the University of Central Lancashire, for their support in putting on what promises to be an important conference.
“In an age when many are growing concerned about the role of a “partisan” media in creating opposing camps, we wanted to look at how print periodicals, in the past and the present, can make people feel like insiders and outsiders. we look forward to welcoming so many guests from around the world to Leeds School of Arts later this month.”
Conference delegates include experts on football and punk fanzines, teenage girls’ magazines, reader communities, why so many 19th-century newspapers failed after a few issues, French Resistance newspapers, digital research techniques, regional newspapers and local identity.
Keynote speakers include Cambridge professor Clare Pettitt, who will talk about how nineteenth-century ship passengers created their own shipboard newspapers, and Professor Samuel Etienne of the Ėcole Pratique des Hautes Ėtudes, Paris, who will show how digital research techniques can reveal networks connecting punk fanzines.
The event begins with a training day for PhD students, followed by two days of presentations by academics from 22 difference countries.
To book your place, visit the Leeds Beckett University website.
Dominic Knight from Men Against Patriarchy in Bristol talks about the development of the project, the dangers of the “Not All Men” ideology, and more.
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https://www.instagram.com/men_against_patriarchy/
https://menagainstpatriarchy.co.uk/
How can journalism be more open to changes in mental health awareness?
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For more information, and resources on media and mental health visit:
https://twitter.com/takeanewsbreak
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