Rattlesnake Remedy and Dead Against The Rest in Cardiff

5pm Wedneday 21st February. Spent the afternoon chasing up photos for my book ROCK LEGENDS AT ROCKFIELD. Get sent three great shots by Richie Edwards of The Darkness. They include a great shot of the stray cat he befriended in the band's last few weeks at Rockfield in April 2005 when recording One Way Ticket.... He fed the cat salmon and steak among other luxurious items as the feline music lover sat in on the final few sessions. Later Richie found out the cat had died soon after they left Rockfield. Upset at first, Richie soon began to realise that maybe he'd helped make the cat's last few weeks quite special. "He ate like a King and watched some great music being made" was Richie's upbeat assessment of the cat's final days before he went to kitty heaven!
A few more emails are rattled off to try to round up the last few photos. Now time to rest -- it's off to see Rattlesnake Remedy - among others - in Cardiff city centre.

7pm - I head into town. Tonight Rattlesnake Remedy are playing The Barfly. I bought their CD Magic Man months ago and haven't stopped playing it. Also on the bill are Welsh band Dead Against The Rest. I've heard a few of their songs on their Myspace site and am looking forward immensely to seeing them live.
7-30pm I arrive at the Barfly and I'm given a bright orange band to put around my wrist. Tonight's gig is for over 16's. So those 18 and over have to wear a wristband to prove their age for the purposes of the bar. The lady on the entrance desk assesses me briefly, and having scanned my slightly haggered appearance, decides that I am over 18!!! It must have been a close call though - not!
I meet up with my friend and colleague Nick Dermody. He works in News Online for BBC Wales. He's survived the traffic coming into the city centre on his bike. Brave man or foolhardy adventurer!!???! His dice with death on the rain soaked streets of the Welsh capital is now over so without delay we hit the bar and proudly flash our orange wristbands to prove we can legally sup the ale of the gods!!!!
We move backstage and exchange greetings with Rattlesnake Remedy. The guys in the band recognise my name as their management have been using a quote from me on their website praising the band's debut album. They are a remarkably amiable bunch.
Back in the bar area - the small number of early starters are watching a group called White Label who chug through a pleasant, if not original, set of rock songs. They're not bad as an appetiser for the main attraction.
Next up are Dead Against The Rest. This band was formed in the Welsh valleys in 2003 by a group of good friends and they are slowly starting to build a name for themselves. The small Barfly stage seems to creak slightly as five guys take to it. Lead vocalist Cy looks the part with his shaggy mane of long hair, while bassist Wilf is an imposing bloke with his biker-style gruff beard and long locks. (See first two pictures)
Drummer Bix is no less imposing - a big character who resembles John Bonham as he sits behind the drums - sticks raised waiting to pound out the opening rhythmns. Guitarists Lyo, Kane and DJ also shuffle their way onto the tiny stage area and the five get ready to rock. The opening sounds of Knock Me Out Loud reverb around the hall and people at the bar area start to turn and take note of the action on the stage behind them. Now more and more people are moving toward the once empty stage area. Dead Against The Rest are on a roll. The growling guitar opening of Enough's Enough sparks a run of three songs including Angry Machine and One Way Ticket which capture a driving, heavy sound coupled with wonderfully harmonious vocals and hook filled choruses. My favourite is a track called Big Love. Later when I tell this to the band they snigger in unison in mild embarrassment and tell me they consider that track 'Cheesey' but they still recognise that it's as catchy as hell and has to be played live!!!
Dead Against The Rest are ones to watch. They're signing a new management deal and a record deal looks to be just on the horizon.

10pm The main act -- Rattlesnake Remedy come onto the stage with a real swagger. They sound like a cross between The Black Crowes and Free with a hint of Zeppelin and Sabbath thrown in. Singer Lee Stone's voice is awesome. He has a really soul voice with a wide range and, as a front man, has real presence. A solid, swinging rhythm section in Matt Birch on Bass and Dave Ballard on drums is rounded off with the ballsy, bluesy guitars of Ben Bartlett and Mark Buckler.(See middle pictures 3+4) These guys are like the Allman Brothers rolled in with a bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd. wow! It's great to watch and the songs from the debut album pack a punch live. The rockin' Black Sheep Fiddle, Drag You Down and Freestyle, counterbalenced with the softer touch on songs like Free To Feel. Best of all is the hypnotic title track, Magic Man with its haunting guitar hook. It's a time machine back to the 70's - back to rock 'n' roll at its best!!! All it needed was for Starsky and Hutch to raid the bar and the moment would have been complete.
Disappointly it was a smallish crowd at the Barfly, it being wednesday midweek. But the band were philosophical. Their attitude of 'we'll play in front of any crowd from 20 to 20 thousand' is a real tribute to their drive and ambition to keep giging until their music reaches a wider audience. It'll surely pay-off.
Gig over and after a few more pints Nick and I (end photo -- me to the left Nick to the right - with a bycycle helmet on!!!) head off home. Roll on the next gig!!


The new book ROCK LEGENDS AT ROCKFIELD by Jeff Collins is out in August/September 2007 on University of Wales Press. It will also be available on www.amazon.com.

This is a feature I've done at the request of the management of US Heavy rock band Megattack and singer Midnite Angel to promote their forthcoming collaboration. Hope you enjoy it!!!!

MEGATTACK/ANGEL FEATURE by Jeff Collins February 1st 2007

'I think this is gonna be a project where, when people come see it, they're gonna leave completely exhausted by the end of the show. Exhausted and totally satisfied. Like a good lay!!!'

Megattack's lead singer Rick Jackson laughs with delight at his view on his band's new project with upcoming metal goddess Angel. The band have been recording with the singer at a studio in Salt Lake City and the sessions have been a resounding success for those involved. Just as the metal world shook from the combination of Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford and the meeting of Motorhead and Girlschool on record, so the mixture of Rick Jackson's booming, soulful voice and Angel's deep, haunting vocals are set to make rock fans worldwide sit up and listen!

The sessions with Angel cap a phoenix-like return from the ashes for Megattack. Two decades ago, they burst onto the scene with their debut album Raw Delivery, which sold hundreds of thousands of copies before the band's record company went bust and Megattack eventually broke up.

But the band are back, and following on from their 2005 CD Save The Nation, they've joined forces with Angel. Guitarist Jay Gough explains how they first got together. 'I ran across Angels' site on the Myspace website and sent her a comment saying that I thought her stuff was fantastic. She liked our sound as well and had some crazy assed ideas and asked if I'd be interested in hearing them. So we got in touch and took it from there.'

In fact Jay made no bones about his views on Angels voice and his original Myspace messages read:

'I don't fucking believe it! You've just kicked Lita Ford's ass!!! Holy Shit, you've got some pipes! As far as sharing the stage...oh hell yes! You rock girl. Big time!!! I doubt there's a stage big enough to handle your rockin' ass! Horns up and all hail to metal's one and only Angel!!'

I think it's safe to say that Jay really liked her voice!!!!! Angel was as enthusiastic as Jay about the project: 'I've got my sound and Megattack have their wonderful sound and we both thought putting that together would be magic.'

Angel is making big waves with her much anticipated debut CD recorded with the Midnite Angel band, featuring Trent Morley on bass and Kevin Schafer on guitars. But taking a break from her regular group, Angel made her way down from her base in Vancouver in Canada to the studios in Salt Lake City where Megattack planned to record a single with her. After one of those sessions, the band are sitting together in the studio as Angel recalls the nightmare journey she endured on the way to hook up with the guys.

'It was a hell of a story trying to land the plane that night! The fog was too thick and we were over Salt Lake City for about an hour when the pilot announced that we were running out of gas!! So we flew to a tiny little town in Idaho, fuelled back up and three hours later we finally landed safe in Salt Lake. Thankfully Megattack were there waiting. They're very professional and made me feel very comfortable and right at home when I got here. So we got right into the studio. They were well rehearsed and ready to go. All I had to do was get the microphone and do what I do. We ran through the song a couple of times but then jet-lag set in. The next night, though, Rick and I got together and ran through it again and we worked so well together. The song takes you back to a Lita Ford and Ozzy duet, but better!'

So with the band in the studio laying down the song Are You Alone Tonight, how well did they get along having finally met in the flesh?

'Great!' says Rick excitedly. Then pauses and smiles as he adds 'Well, no-one's bleeding yet! That's always good. No, we're doing really well, starting to gel and get a really sharp sound.'

'The chemistry is definitely there,' chips in Angel. 'Combining our sounds makes us unstoppable.'

'It gave me a fuckin' hard-on!' interjects guitarist Jay, and the room once again dissolves into laughter. If these musicians have as much chemistry in the studio as they do socially then things are looking very good.

Jay regains his composure to add 'With Rick and Angel, the combination is something that can't be described. The sound between the two of them is intense. It causes goosebumps. You only get chemistry like that every so often. It's rare, but they've found it.'

'Plus we're both great entertainers!' says Rick with clear pride. 'We're taking baby steps for the moment. We're gonna record the song Are You Alone Tonight, get it all tight and in the can, and go from there. If people like the single, then we'll cut more stuff. I'd like to incorporate Angel and Megattack permanently.'

So the first single will play a big part in determining if the two have a long-term future, but the signs are very promising. And the band are optimistic that this is the start of something big. Jay tells me 'The early responses we're getting are extremely encouraging. If people do like it, then they're gonna get more of it. Loud and in their face!'

For Megattack this renewed state of activity of a massive bonus. A second chance that most of the band surely felt they wouldn't get. The group never really had the opportunity to capitalise on the success of that first album, which was released in 1986. But good rock never dies and the band found that copies of their Raw Delivery album were being bootlegged and selling well in Europe. Plus some songs from that album were also featured on a compilation called Hard 'n' Heavy Rarities Vol.2 by Racer Records. Two decades on and interest in Megattack was stirring as Jay Gough explained to me.

'My wife came across it on the internet about two years ago. She pulled up our name up to see if anyone remembered us and found that our album was still selling really well out there. Songs from the first album had also been put on a compilation called Hard 'n' heavy with bands like Vixen among others, which was also really selling. At that point, I decided to get back in touch with the guys and try to get put the band back together, because people still remembered who Megattack was. We reformed and recorded the Save The Nation album, which was released in 2005, and we are getting a lot of really good reviews overseas on that new record. People still comment on the old album as well though. A lot of people are glad to see the follow-up record, but they're a little pissed off, because it took us 19 years to do it. I don't want to see another 19 years before another one comes out, so we've written material for a third album. This new stuff even blows the latest album out of the water!'

Rick agrees that second time around Megattack are better prepared for their assault on the rock world. 'It feels really good. If you've heard the first album Raw Delivery, you'll know that was good. But the second album is a lot better. Everyone's had time to mature and grow up a little bit. Its in the music.'

In these barren days of Pop Idol and manufactured boy bands, rock music and 80's old-school rock, in particular, is enjoying a revival. It's something Megattack and Angel can play a huge part of.

Angel agrees 'This is a proper rock group. It's good, uplifting music for the people.'

Pondering an 80's revival, Jay Gough simply says 'Thank god for that!'

Rock Legends at Rockfield - book contents

ROCK LEGENDS AT ROCKFIELD

CONTENTS

Hi everyone. The manuscript for my book ROCK LEGENDS AT ROCKFIELD is now in with the publishers. They're working on a publication date which is now looking like sometime in September - though hopefully earlier.
Here's a rundown of what's in the book--- (probably best to ignore my comments in brackets next to each chapter title) :

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE ---- From Small Acorns....(an introduction to the whacky ways of life at the studio.)
CHAPTER TWO --- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Ozzy’s causing mayhem at
Rockfield.(The Black Sabbath Chapter)
CHAPTER THREE --- Welsh Rockers Budgie Influence Metal Greats. (Budgie rool!)
CHAPTER FOUR --- Hawkwind invent space rock in Wales. (Hawkind obviously)
CHAPTER FIVE --- Motorhead’s painful birth at Rockfield. (Lemmy and co, hells angels, drugs and the visit from the parents!!!)
CHAPTER SIX --- Worldwide hit singles - Queen and Ace rule the airwaves! (Bohemian Rhapsody and How Long sell by the bucket load - well quite a few bucket loads!)
CHAPTER SEVEN --- Judas Priest, Rush and Gillan: Legendary names descend on Rockfield. (need i say more!!)
CHAPTER EIGHT --- The 80’s usher in a new breed. (Icicle Works, Simple Minds, Echo and the Bunnymen try to look cool while Paul Di'anno and band play at Spinal Tap and Shane McGowan's time with the Pogues comes to an end at Rockfield)
CHAPTER NINE --- Led Zeppelin legend rediscovers himself in the pubs and studios at Monmouth. (Yo It's Robert Plant - how cool!!)
CHAPTER TEN --- The 90’s: Oasis and The Stone Roses raise hell at Rockfield. (Oasis trash Rockfield and The Stone Roses trash everything else and ultimately their career)
CHAPTER ELEVEN --- Tokyo Dragons, Kasabian and The Darkness usher in the 21st Century!
(wow - life in the 21st century - Thank god for the Tokyo Dragons - The Darkness and Kasabian also enjoy the rock and roll lifestyle)


There's also a Rockfield TIMELINE. How could there not be?

Cheers

Jeff