Questions and Answers

10 Questions For Striking Swedish Youth Turbo… ROME IS NOT A TOWN

Posted on by JL

Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

From Gothenburg, Sweden please welcome… ROME IS NOT A TOWN

This Swedish all-female noise turbo scored one of the most outstanding longplayers of
2017 with full-length debut IT’S A DARE. A mighty crackerjack of a record. A rowdy flow
of loud and clear eruptions, a non-stop avalanche of human reflections on daily life, on being young, on being female, on right here and right now. Intoxicating riffs, sharp hooks, brawny licks and fiery vocals. Electrifying intensity with storming echoes from yesterday’s heroes Sonic Youth to today’s Canadian powerhouse Metz. Before meeting the ROME IS NOT A TOWN girls let’s warm up with one of their knockouts off the album…

Hello Caroline, Susanna and Kasja!
Thank you for joining Turn Up The Volume!…

1/ When, how and why did the band form?
Caroline:” Hmm, we known each other for quite some time. Back from where we all played in different constellations and bands. You know when you’re out late at night and you start a hundred new bands that never make it to their first rehearsal? This is one of those bands, but this one made it.”

2/ When did you know “this is how want we to sound,
this is what we want to tell the world”?
Susanna: “You always known, but you never know. Our music is a mix of our four pretty different backgrounds, our personal taste in music and the capturing of a moment in time. The outcome will be different depending on where you are on your personal mood board that day. Times 4. It´s a pretty advanced equation.”

3/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
Kajsa: “An octopus. Because it has eight arms.”


Never underestimate a band with 4 girls and 8 tentacles…

4/ What’s the signature track so far for ROME IS NOT A TOWN?
Kajsa: “Well, so far we’re not a signature-track-kind-of-band. Our song ‘I’m In A Brand’ is
on top of our most played songs in the Spotify-app, I guess that has to mean something.”
Caroline: “Yeah I agree, the lyrics are on point. So signature of us. I would also say that “21/27” is quite signature for our sound in general. Drums, guitars, bass, vocals. Playing together.”

https://soundcloud.com/romeisnotatown/21-27
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5/ What other Swedish bands should we listen to?
Kajsa: “School ‘94, Kollapse, Shitkid, Pale Honey, Tyred Eyes,
Vicious Irene, Growth, IBEN, True Moon, Radula.”
Caroline: “Makthaverskan, Skin Care, Holy Now, Spice Boys, Hater.”

6/ What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
Susanna: “Filosofiska rummet”.
Kajsa: “Mm, yep. It’s a philosophy-podcast. Perfect to listen to in the car when you´re
on tour. The next day, or days, you have a basis for group discussion. Sometimes good discussions, sometimes it can get better. But we never ever fight.”

7/ Who’s your number one artist /band to go on a world tour with?
Kasja: “PJ Harvey in the 90s. No, wait.. it would have been cool to go on tour with Bikini Kill in the 90s, maybe 1993, on the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah tour. Yeah that would’ve been nice.”


4 x Yeah…

8/ What movie would you pick to visualize your music when playing a gig?
Kasja: “Trainspotting. The mood, the crazy eyes, the humor, all of it, except the four boys.”


Spotting trains while playting…

9/ If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask for a selfie together?
Kasja: “Mm, we would go to the Rock’n’Roll legend Gene Simmons in Kiss and take the picture. After the selfie – it’s actually a groupie right? – we’d have to ask him about this line in Burn Bitch Burn: “Oh babe, I wanna put my log in your fireplace, maybe, baby, you wanna get played?”. I mean, are you sure you can put it there?!? Doesn’t sound like a question to me, bitch…”

10/ Plans for 2018?
Caroline: “We’re playing at the festival in Austin, Texas (note TUTV: probably the most prestigious showcase festival for alternative bands on the planet). Gonna get ya! We have some really crazy good shows planned but can’t tell you nothing about that yet… just keep your eyes on all upcoming festival announcements. We are going on a Germany tour in late spring, and we will start recording some new songs during fall. 2018 is just another busy year.”

Thank you Caroline, Susanna and Kajsa for the A’s.
May the road rise with ROME IS NOT A TOWN!…

One of the best 2017 albums.
IT’S A DARE here in full…


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ROME IS NOT A TOWN: Facebook – Label: Startracks

(pic on top: Turn Up The Volume!)

10 Questions For Phantastical And Psych-O-Delic Glam Punk Tandem… TOKYO TABOO

Posted on by JL

Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

Please welcome from the sparkling city of Brighton TOKYO TABOO…

WHO?
The duo comprise of singer Dolly Daggerz and guitarist Mike, who are joined by a band for their live shows. Dolly takes inspiration from iconic performers from Heart to David Bowie and Karen O and Mike simply loves a good riff. Tokyo Taboo is a perfect amalgamation of Dolly and Mike’s influences, inspired by Manga, Japanese culture, drag and eighties fashion, they are true performers, with an image that equals the intense vibrancy of what you hear on record.

WHERE?
London, UK

WHAT?
An eccentric big bang tandem, looking out-of-this-world and sounding as mental as their flashy outfits. Multi-coloured, sexy and in-your-face. They produce a monumental glam punk hullabaloo that will mess up your mind, senses and limbs. With dazzling guitars, smoking synths and most of all… MASSIVE TUNES! The raging vox of singer Dolly Daggerz can easily pulverize idiot Trump‘s Mexico wall and Mike‘s riffs are huge. PERFECT! Last year they launched their red-hot debut LP, cannily titled 6TH PSYCHOSIS STREET. An explosive reflection of who and what they are. Before talking to Mike let’s get all in the right mood with one of the tremendous firecrackers off the album. Here’s ‘Papercut’…

I guess we are all ready to roll now…
Hello Mike, thanks for chatting with Turn Up The Volume!

1/ When, how and why did 2-piece engine Tokyo Taboo catch fire?
“We met eight years ago when Dolly was auditioning for girl bands and when Mike
was a music student. Dolly was working with a producer at the time who was stealing
other people’s music and getting her to sing over it. He would literally take the bass line from Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground then think he was producing. Strangely that working relationship didn’t go anywhere so Dolly and Mike started writing some angry music together and Tokyo Taboo came to life!”

2/ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
“I think if we were a city we would definitely be Tokyo. Crazy, colourful, chaotic and a little bit on the psychotic side! Dolly gets in trouble a lot for saying what she thinks. She once told an interviewer the reason the band wouldn’t win the band competition they were taking part in because she has a vagina and not a penis. So that’s where the Taboo part comes from. We also try to write with no censorship involved. Just mouth to paper no
filter or edit.”

3/ Who designs your far-out outfits?
“Dolly collects clothes and is constantly searching online and in any city we are playing shows in for new cool – if slightly slutty – shit to wear. Vintage/thrift shops and sex shops also have some weird stage outfits in. Lucy from Lu La Loop also designed some clothes for us and we love high fashion/drag too!”

4/ When did you know “this is how want we to sound, this is
what we want to tell the world”?
“We developed our sound with the amazing Noah Shain in Los Angeles (Dead Sara,
Orson). We met Noah and something clicked. He really understood what we are about.
He embraced the craziness and added the psychosis to how we sound. I think it really helps to like the person you are working before. We bonded on a very real level. We love Noah!”

5/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
“We would be a noisy Siamese cat as Dolly is very bendy, loud and
cat-like. 😂 Cats are very quirky and slightly fucked in the head like us.”


Hello, Dolly…

6/ What’s the signature track so far for Tokyo Taboo?
” ‘Self Sabotage‘ was picked up by Forza Horizon – video game – and gave us some new followers. ‘Make It Out Alive’ is the track that wrote itself so maybe that one is more of our signature. Dolly wrote a chorus and the rest came together really fast. We didn’t change anything about structure/ lyrics / melody. It felt right from the get go.”

7/ What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
“All kinds! But Marilyn Manson makes us feel badass and ready to kick butt on stage!”


A human Siamese cat…

8/ What movie would you pick to visualize your music on
a big screen when playing a gig?
“‘Labyrinth’ or any movie with Bowie in it. Maybe a montage of
all his movies and music videos. That would be AWESOME!”

9/ If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask for a selfie together?
“David Bowie as he’s Dolly’s soul mate. We both are obsessed with Bowie!“

10/ Plans for 2018?
“UK Tour, starting in February supporting Esprit D’air. European Tour Dates.
US Tour Dates. Japan Tour Dates. Recording new music!”

Many thanks for this chat, Mike and say meow to Dolly!
May the road rise with TOKYO TABOO!

LET’S ROLL! Here’s 6TH STREET PSYCHOSIS…


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Album available here on iTunes

TOKYO TABOO: Website – Facebook –  Twitter


(band photos – press promos via the band TOKYO TABOO )

10 Questions For Brighton’s Blazing Blues Brothers… JUNKYARD CHOIR

Posted on by JL

Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

Please welcome from the sparkling city of Brighton…. JUNKYARD CHOIR

Carlo Woods Estevez and Tom Herbert, one half Scottish grit, the other half Caribbean spice, are JUNKYARD CHOIR. A virile tequila blues engine, with frontman/guitarist Estevez‘s voice as impressive as the cathedral of Notre-Dame-in-Paris and hoarser than Joe Cocker and Tom Waits doing a duet together and with drummer Tom Herbert hitting his gear merciless and inexorable as if he’s beating the shit out of idiotic politicians. The crushing tandem already infiltrated my ears, back in 2015, with debut LP Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, a raw Americana blues beast. This Friday, 26 January, their second longplayer TROUBLE IN MIND will be released (listen below). An overall sultry steamroller. From massive knockouts that will dare you to smash your neighbour’s furniture to melancholic ballads, you can cry your heart out to. The record sounds and feels like if wicked wall-of-sound legend Phil Spector was in the production chair. Everything reverberates MUCH bigger as if a whole army
was hired to pump up the decibels. Mammoth riffs, huge organs, titanic drums, mighty harmonies and even LOUDER vocals. Before talking to vox Mister Estevez let’s play the towering lead track from the new LP to get us all in the right mood. Turn it up…

1 / When, how and why did the band formed?
“The band started by accident. We used to be a 3-piece for many, many years going under the ‘Junkyard Choir‘ banner. One rainy night at a gig in Croydon (South London) the bass player couldn’t make it, so we rehearsed one hour and the gig as a duo went so good that we kept going like that under the pseudonym ‘Dos Hermanos Locos’ during late 2013 and early 2014, before resurrecting the ‘Junkyard Choir’ band name in the summer of 2014
and releasing our debut album ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie‘ in April 2015.”

2/ When did you know “this is how want we to sound, this is what we want to tell the world”?
“Our sound came when I dug deep in the fire and pulled out this old ‘Dirty rat‘ distortion pedal that someone had left me many moons before. I plugged it in and It was wild, untamed, raw. I purchased a 2nd hand octave pedal from a friend to further fill the sound without leaning on a bass player. I bring the songs in and Tom bashes them into shape and we see what sticks to the wall. Our sound has developed over the years and with the new album we’ve added some more colour and shape with some great people guesting on the album.”

3/ Why is it that Brighton is such an inspiration to form a band, as almost every week a new one is coming up on the surface?
“Tom and I both moved to coastal towns east and west of Brighton, we rehearse in Brighton, we gig there. Everybody in that town is so creative, inspiring. It’s a melting pot! Bohemia! Once we left London it was a great place to go. Great venues & neon lights!”

4/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
“The wolf. Howling out from the mountain. We can smell a song about 2 miles
away which makes for good tracking!”


Junkyard Choir howlin’ at the moon...

5/ If brand new album ‘TROUBLE IN MIND’ was a movie, which one would it be?
“Hell Or High Water, two brothers in conflict. The desert. A Chevrolet Camaro. Enough said.”


Junkyard Choir’s new album looks quite explosive…

6/ What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
“The Band, The Stones, Dylan, Arctic Monkeys, Quotsa, Uncle Neil, Creedence.”

7/ Who’s your number one artist/band to go on a world tour with?
“The Dead Reds. They are our blood brothers from Brighton way. Blues soaked rock & roll baby. We would shoot pool with each other’s girlfriends and share a can of beans broken down on the roadside.”

8/ If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would you knock and
ask to have a selfie together?
“We would go to Nellcote in Southern France. With Keith & Gram Parsons and jam it out in a sweaty basement. Avoiding the substance abuse we would get the exiled guys back on the red wine and have a damn good time.”

9/ Plans for 2018?
“More hotels & patching up broken dreams. Fix up the car & build a snowman.
Then go write another album.”

10/ The band’s ultimate dream?
“To tour Europe & the Americas, eating enchiladas and drink nothing but tequila.”

Bottoms up, Carlo, and thanks for the chat…
May the road rise with JUNKYARD CHOIR!

About time for some cracking blues bravado
Here’s the brand new LP TROUBLE IN MIND
available on Bandcamp…


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JUNKYARD CHOIR links: : Website – Facebook –  Twitter – Debut LP on Bandcamp

10 Questions For Hair-Raising Leeds Gang… FIZZY BLOOD

Posted on by JL

Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

Ladies and gents, please welcome from Leeds…. FIZZY BLOOD

FIZZY BLOOD is a mighty turbulent four-headed engine from Leeds, pushing its way, track by track, to the premier-league of the most exciting new bands. A red-hot rock unit with a lot to twist and shout about. Last year they draw tons of attention with the excellent, barbed wire 5-track EP ‘Summer Of Luv‘. And this very day they launch a brand new clip for one of its rip-roaring tracks ‘ADHD’, a real life song written from the experiences of guitarist Paul Howells, who is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Before meeting vocalist Benji Inkley, let’s first roll the fresh, eye-catching video …

Hello Benji, welcome at Turn Up The Volume!…

1/ When, how and why did the band form?
“We first became a band back in early 2015, shortly after a previous band of mine (Benji) and Paul’s ran its course. We didn’t know many people in Leeds at the time so we put
up an advert on the Leeds College of Music Facebook page that we were looking for a drummer and Jake was literally the first person to reply. We had a rehearsal with him
and yeah, that was that. Tim and Ciaran weren’t in the band at the very beginning but
we met them eventually through Jake.”

2/ When did you know “this is how want we to sound,
this is what we want to tell the world”?
“Every band has a couple of songs in the beginning that have “a sound”, we didn’t want to limit ourselves by saying we want to sound like this or similar to this other band. We just wrote the tunes and the sound came with it, which is why I think it’s been so well received. I’ve been asked to describe our sound on many occasions but I always just think it’s best for the audience to make their own minds up, so basically what I’m saying is if you haven’t already, listen to the tunes!”

3/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
“A Hydra, so we could have the individual heads of each band member stemming
from a singular neck. We’d feel pretty cramped inside a single-headed organism.”


Beware of the band’s alter ego…

4/ The band’s signature track so far?
“It would have to be ‘January Sun’, we’ve played it at every single gig we’ve ever played
and I don’t see that changing very soon.”

5/ What’s on the on van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
“Anything and everything, It depends on how we’re all feeling after a gig.
Sometimes it’s Chesney Hawkes, other times it’s Tom Petty.”

6/ Who’s your number one artist /band to go on a world tour with?
“Touring with ‘Arctic Monkeys‘ would be sound. Sheffield and Leeds are pretty tight.
Plus, they’re an alright band as well.”

7/ “If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask for a selfie together?”
“I’d go to Elvis’ place, whip out my 2018 Google Pixel 2 in his face and say “CHEEEEESE”, there’d be complete silence for 7-8 seconds as he tries to figure out what the F*** I’ve got in my hand and then he’d calmly whisper, ‘I could go for some Cheese man… come inside.”


The King Of Cheese…

8/ What movie would you pick to visualize your music
on a big screen when playing a show?
“Shrek 2 would be my choice. Although it’d probably end up being something
“cool” like Pulp Fiction… tch.”


Classic pulp…

9/ Plans for 2018?
“We’ve got a support tour with Spring King lined up for January, a BIG headline tour in February and some new music to be released as well which we’re all really excited about but can’t discuss in great depth just yet. Beyond that, festivals and such. Hopefully, 2018 will be as kind to us as 2017 was!”

10/ The band’s ultimate dream?
“It might not exactly be a “reach for the stars” kind of dream, but all we want from our
time in Fizzy Blood is to connect with as many people as possible through our music
and to be able to earn a modest living. That’s it, nothing more, haha sorry if it’s all a
little underwhelming.”

Thank you, Benji Inkley, for taking time to answer the Q’s.
May the road rise with FIZZY BLOOD!

No worries if you’re not able, for whatever reason, to go out and see them,
just play their crushing EP here on repeat and go apeshit…

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2018 is all theirs…

FIZZY BLOOD: Website – Facebook – Twitter

10 Questions For Boston’s Fervent Garage Rockers… THE GALA

Posted on by JL

Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

Ladies and gents, please welcome from Boston…. THE GALA

THE BAND says:” We are a bombastic Boston garage rock n’ roll band that appeared out of nowhere about two years ago. We managed to build a hype for ourselves with fuzz-drenched, fun-loving, energetic shows…
TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: “If Debbie Harry and Chris Stein would have been into brawny garage rock instead of bubblegum punk Blondie would have sounded just like this. Hefty, robust, provocative and with an unstoppable appetite for lively tumult fueled by organ orgasms.“

Before we start the chat with frontgirl Emily Doran and guitarist Chris Kenneally,
let’s get in the right heated mood and touch the band right here, right now…


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Here we go, folks
Hello Emily, hello Chris…

When, how and why did the band form?
EMILY: “To shred humans with rock n’ roll and eat them!”
CHRIS: “Hahaha. We’ve all been friends for about a decade now and would play tons of shows with each other in our separate bands. We always threw around the idea of starting a band together when we had the time for it, then in 2015 a couple of us found ourselves in band situations that were wrapping up so we finally got the chance to pursue this and the rest is an intergalactic myth.”

When did you know “this is how we want to sound,
this is what we want to say to the world”?
CHRIS:: “I don’t think we had a choice. Hahaha, Becca (organ) and I are obsessed with
doo-wop, garage bands and early girl groups of the 50’s and 60’s so that’s just how we write songs. Todd (drums) and Justin (bass) have a very similar vintage punk aesthetic, sonically there is a lot of middle ground between us. Aside from some crossover punk influences, Em’s vocal style is more dramatic than that but that seems to be the combo that makes the songs so unique. I’m not sure if any of us could’ve anticipated something sleazy and cheesy!!!”

If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
EMILY: “Seahorse, I think that goes without saying. Magical creatures, much like us!”
CHRIS: “We are the most savage animals I’ve ever met!!! Between all the pizza and
high-fives it’s a wonder we are still alive!!!”


The Gala’s magical alter ego (according to one source)…

The band’s signature track so far?
CHRIS: “Probably ‘Touch Me‘, but it seems like ‘Between The Lines‘ is quickly changing that with all of the attention it’s been getting lately. They both have the ‘family recipe’, a rockin’ beat, frenzied organ and LOTS of memorable vocals. If it’s not as good as the sax solo in Baker Street it gets trashed!!!”


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What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
EMILY: “Our songs, non-stop vocal ups. Hahaha.”
CHRIS: “Link Wray, Flamin’ Groovies, The Cramps, The Sonics, The Mummies, Supercharger, Shannon and the Clams, Del Shannon, Howlin’ Wolf, The Ramones, The Trashwomen, X-Ray Spex, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Ex-Cult, The Kinks, Motown, The Shangri-La’s, The Ronettes, ZZ Top, The Stooges, Motorhead, The Ventures, Chuck Berry and the sax solo to Baker Street.”

Who’s your number one artist/band to go on a world tour with?
EMILY: “The Kills! Alison is a bad ass and does so much herself; the world will always
need more women out there like her.”
CHRIS: “Tough choice but probably would have to go with Roky Erickson though, he’s
one of the architects and the fact he’s still touring is an absolute triumph. Definitely a
huge influence! Close second is Beetlejuice’s Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue at Universal Studios, great show!!!Total pros!!!”


Bad ass Alison…

If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask for a selfie together?
EMILY: Dexter Poindexter!!! Because he’s HOT! HOT! HOT!!!
CHRIS: I would’ve LOVED to stop by Lux and Ivy’s (The Cramps) place, I’d try to steal all
their songwriting/guitar tricks too! I keep throwing out there that I want Ivy Rorschach to play guitar on our album in hopes that somehow it gets back to her, no luck yet but if you know anyone give them my contact info! Hahaha.”

What movie would you pick to visualize your music on a big screen at a gig?
CHRIS: “Hahaha, definitely some type of trashy, John Waters exploitation film like Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Female Trouble, etc. Something rude and bizarre with a love story mixed in.
EMILY: “Or anything Nicholas Cage!!!”


Looks like a movie about The White House…

Plans for 2018?
CHRIS: “We have a bunch of gigs lined up supporting the recent release of our ‘Touch Me‘ 7” which is available at Dead Beat Records + Mailorder as well as the single ‘Between The Lines’ which will be appearing on a couple compilations later this year. We are also
in the middle of writing TONS of new songs, 14 are done but we are writing around 22 total before we start picking the best ones and figuring out what to do with them. Not sure if it will be our debut LP or a couple EP and Single releases yet, but I can say there will be a live album out later this year as well.”

The band’s ultimate dream?
CHRIS: “The dream is to land a booking agent and label that truly believe in us and what we create, we want a team that wants to help us perform and release as much incredible music to the most people possible throughout the world. We would also love to get to a point where we can help other bands do the exact same thing. After that, possibly moon missions and infomercials!!!”

Thank you Emily, thank you Chris.
May the road rise with THE GALA


THE GALA: Facebook – Bandcamp – Twitter

(promo press band photo received via THE GALA)