Summerlin

So summerlin are one of those bands that came from nowhere and just can't be stopped! From the very beggining they've had nothing but success and have amassed a huge group of dedicated fans!

They play that type of catchy as fuck pop punk that's absolutely perfect for this time of year; happy and light sounding perfect for listening to when you're bevvying at a BBQ.

Recently Summerlin went into the studio and recorded their debut EP, "So make your move", which is yet unreleased so you'll have to listen to their MySpace until then!

We recently caught up with Jake from Summerlin...

So, how about you start by describing your sound for anyone who's yet to hear you!

I'd describe us as catchy pop punk. Love songs you can dance too haha. We are just fun bouncy pop punk music.

For a band that is relatively new to the scene (less than a year?) your success just seems to be never ending! To what do you attribute such a success?

They are kind words so thank you. We just work hard and make sure we write really good songs that we love and that we think people will love. We had some amazing help off our drummers dad Ron Broad and we are extremely grateful.

And do you guys have any specific goals for the band in 2009?

Our next goal we have is the release of the e.p 'so make your move' and get that out there. After that i'd say just tour, tour, tour and write new music and continue just having a sweet time. We would love to hit up a sweet tour with bands such as all time low or you me at 6

Why should our readers come to see you live?

Becasue we just love to dance haha We try our hardest to put on a good energetic fun show. People will see us fall over, people will hear our wireless packs turn off, people will hear us try be funny and prance about onstage but its just fun. We love performing live and nothing beats that.

What has been your favourite moment as a part of Summerlin so far?

Possibly recording our first release 'so make your move' we worked so hard to get the songs as they are now and we are soo proud. We went through so much hassle and crap trying to find members in the begining that now it just seems so amazing to have an actual cd. Also a HUGE highlight was been featured on BBC radio 1 on the show 'switch' w/ Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, it was amazing!

Lately I've decided to slip in a cheesy question as much as possible, something you'd findin smash hits magazine so here is yours...What I think all the girls out there really want to know is are you guys all single?

We do all have girlfriends sorry to dissapoint except Ben he's the single one but i dont think any of them would care about Ben really hahaha

Ladies?

And finally, the question we're asking every band; which bands/artists (apart from yourselves)do you see big things happening for in the future?

Bands such as Me Vs Hero and Tonight is goodbye are all sweet.

Cheers lads!
Check out Summerlin HERE
And buy lots of their lovely merch HERE

Street Team

So finally the street team should be starting up again soon! We had a lot of problems with our printers but it seems in a few weeks we'll be ready to start sending packs out again!

These packs will include stickers, posters and flyers and then whatever else we've got in at the moment, that could be anything; badges, keyrings or whatever random shit is lying around.

Here's a picture I took with my phone (only thing i had at the time) of the first print of the stickers I got!

So if you want a FREE street team pack then send an email to TheFastSet@googlemail.com Saying "send me a street team pack!" and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

This City - Slam Dunk festival

So ThisCity (interview HERE!) are hoping to play the slam dunk festival and because I love them so much I of course support them in this, so...

If you love TheFastSet or ThisCity or are just a plain fucking lovely person then send an email to:

slamdunk@thecockpit.co.uk

With the Subject as:

ThisCity - please can they play at Slam Dunk Festival?!

A perhaps a little thank you as the message if you're feeling a little saucy!

Go on, do it! Be a hero!

One love for Chi.

"Chi Cheng, bass player for the Deftones, is currently in a coma following an automobile accident in Santa Clara, CA. on November 4th, 2008. Chi is slowly making progress but he needs our help."

So Chi's been hurt pretty bad and this website has been started to help his mum cope with the medical bills. Up to now there have been 762 donations with the total currently at $33,009.42 and a target of $50,000.00 to be reached.

Donate here

This City.

This City are one of my favourite bands right now! Hailing from Brighton these lads just seem perfect for the scene right now with catchy as fuck songs, an imaginative and original rhythm section and live they are just so tight it's unbelievable.
Imagine a mix of at the drive in and Bloc Party with Johnny Whitney singing and you're still not even close to describing them! Best to catch them live (they seem to be constantly gigging so it will be easy to catch them somewhere) and to also buy their debut album as soon as it's released, which was recently recorded in that haven of music, Seattle.

We recently caught up with George of This City...

- So, before we start i think it's best if you could try explain your style of music to any of our readers yet to hear you!

between the 5 of us we like a lot of different types of music and hopefully that comes across in our music. Arran will put his discordant rhythm guitar against grant's more melodic lead parts, combined with a mix-up of rock and disco drum beats and punchy basslines. then the lead vocals try to create a unique intensity that is balanced by the melodic backing vocals. but we consider ourselves to be a fun band that gets played at a party and gets everyone dancing!

- And What can our readers expect from one of your live shows?

lots and lots of energy, playing live is why we do this. releasing records and making videos mean that we get to play live more, so you can expect to see us really enjoying ourselves and hopefully have a good time too!

- So it's pretty well known that you guys are into your tattoos big time and that this has quite a lot to play in the formation of the band; what's the story there?

arran and chris met at a tattoo convention, and i was asked to come along to a practise because i had the same tattooist, Woody from In2U in brighton. that really is as far as the story goes, our tattoos are more about our personalities than the fact we like tattoos - they're almost read like a catalogue of bands or films or artwork we liked when we had it done. so far grant and nick still have the original colour skin they were born with though.

- Currently the music scene in Britain seems a little unbalanced with a mix of shit bandsgetting all the breaks whereas a lot of the better bands are remaining a lot more underground.What are your thoughts on the state of the british music scene?

well it depends. i think a lot of bands are reaching the pinnacle of their career too early. bands are reaching a high before they're ready, and then can't produce decent 2nd album to take it further. where as a band that slowly makes their way to the top, or even just the middle, will have a career and will hold their own and keep their fanbase. however, as a musician myself it is hard to do it the latter way because you get to a stage where you need to be on the road all the time but need to also work to pay the bills, so a lot of the 'career' bands never really get the attention they deserve.

- You recently recorded your debut album in seattle; how was that experience?

amazing. just the culmination of everything we had worked for together since we started. this was us 5, making our debut album for a truly fantastic record label we had all grown up listening to, working with a producer who was in and worked with some of our favourite bands. in a city legendary for its musical history. if we broke up now, noone could take that away from us.but if you wanna know what it was like, it was fantastic. we we sleeping on the floor round the gear half the time, playing from the moment we woke up to well after our bed time, we got so bored in the day when we weren't doing our parts, we ate so much, we went out all the time... we're wading through the video footage at the moment, there's gonna be a making of video where you'll see it all!

- As of now where does the record stand? Any date of release planned yet or is it still a work in progress?

no specific date of release, just end of summer when all the festivals are done and dusted.

- Finally, which bands (other than yourselves of course) do you think we should expect big things from in the future?

this is an interesting one. i could go on forever about everyone! but i'll just name a few:Data Select Party - we've been going on about these guys for years, we're almost friendly rivals always doing the same things at the same time.Outcry Collective - just signed to visible noiseRig Up Explosive - our mates from up north, on small town records. they're gonna be hugeMy Emergency! - guys from liverpool who can write a melody and a halfJoey Nightmare - from chichester near us, just about to release their EP and a video that chris and i were in last weekChaos Days - Brighton Pop punk that Nick has been helping out since their drummer left them a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks a lot guys!

You can check out This City's myspace HERE

And their online blog HERE

Bompas and Parr.

So Bompas and Parr have just opened possibly the fucking coolest bar ever; Alcoholic Architecture. It's pretty much a room where you sit there and get bevvied from fumes, they pump in a cloud of breathable gin and tonic. It's stationed down at 2 Ganton Street in London but I'm not sure how much longer they'll keep it open (or if it even still is) so be quick.

So you can pay like a fiver or something to go in for an hour and breath this cloud of old lady themed insult to alcohol but on the plus side there are "giant limes and massive straws"...Fuck yes.



Check it out here

Buy tickets here

Gizmodo article here

Jerm IX

So recently(ish) Jerm IX from Vancouver pretty much just offered his body up to street artists; he gave out an open call via StencilRevolution and Flickr asking for submissions to be tattooed onto his body. The thing is, he actually went through with it and has been getting at least one sitting in per month and despite how fucking stupid it seems it does actually look pretty good! Some chillin' stuff up to now so check it out, watch it develop!

Check it out HERE

ScanAmerica - Police Scanner

This is something fucking awesome for anyone graffing in the US; free online police scanner. From the looks of it a lot of the states are covered pretty well so this is definately something you wanna take advantage of before you go out on a mission or what not.



ScanAmerica

Wall Street Riots

Here's a fucking cool band to check out; Wall Street Riots! (formerly Death Can Dance). Don't let the looks fool you, these guys are much more than just a pretty face! Behind these good looks they hide an amazing talent for making the type of tunes that will stick in your head for weeks...but you'll LOVE it!

Their style is pretty indescribable, to me it sounds like a bit of a dancey, punky, indie mix but even that would be pinning them down far too much! They're the type of band you wanna catch live to truly appreciate; they're a lively, entertaining and fucking awesome live act!

We caught up with Mike from Wall Street Riots recently...

Ok guys, before we start it would be great if you could try describe your musical style to us for any readers who haven't yet heard you!

Oh god, a short sharp melodic kick in the nuts! Its hard. i think everyone interprets music differently so if i say one thing others could think differently

So until fairly recently you guys were actually called Death can Dance; why exactly did you feel the name change was necessary?

Well we had been going through a bunch of changes, line-up, musical direction, puberty and we just thought it was right to start again. Not that we are ashamed of the past but we just felt it wasnt a good representation of where we were at the time

Your musical style is much different and original than a lot of music on the scene at the moment, much fresher!What are your thoughts on the current state of the british music scene?

Theres some amazing talents out there at the moment, some of them not getting the recognition they deserve, and then of course there are some who are over hyped. But the industry has been like this for decades now. Think how many TERRIBLE TERRIBLE pop acts were around when we were younger, A1, steps, sclub 7 to name a few, but how many great bands were plugging away at it at the same time?

What can our readers expect from one of your live shows?

Sweat, dancing, often regrettable stage moves and some terrible banter from me! haha. Live is our element, the only reason we got into bands is cos we love playing music to people so theres a lot of happyness on stage, even if we pretend to be moody

Here's a generic question! Who or what are your main influences? Be they musical or otherwise.

Fuck! hate this question. Mozart, The Manfred Man Band, Journey, Cliff Richard

Recently you held an event called "Riot House" in the Camden Barfly; is this going to be a regular event?How could you describe one of these nights?

Yeah well we spend probably a bit too much time going out to clubs and seeing bands so we thought we would throw our own little night. Basically with all the acts we are loving, theres no music policy, last time we had, Archeo Price opening the show, master shortie djing crunk, us playing in the middle and a electro rave afterwards.They are pretty wild, but thats how we like it.

And finally, which bands (apart from yourselves of course!) do you see big things happening for in the near future?

How much time do you have....
Archeo Price
Frankmusik
Master Shortie
The Temper Trap
Billy Boy On Poison
Kase
A1 Bassline
Foamo
Charlotte o'connor

Listen to Wall Street Riots HERE
And check out their upcoming gigs HERE

Lament.

Shit! Lament is fucking something else! This girl's pretty new to the scene but already her shit is unbelievable! I can't really explain her style; it's sort of morbid but with that it's stupidly cool, it has a proper comercial factor whilst still remaining pretty alternative! Recently we caught up with Lament...

So, Lament what exactly got you into the whole street art game?

The way I got into street art is a little funny actually, One of my friends wanted me to join this site [stencil revolution] and I did, and at this point I didn't put anything up at all. I met a lot of really inspiring people, and met this guy who calls himaself human, and he's been really pushing me to get up more. I'm actually fairly new to putting things outside, but I don't plan on stopping.

Awesome, so here's a generic question; who are your main influences?

I draw a lot of inspiration from fine artist, as I am sort of a fine artist first street artist second. Egon Schiele is a big inspiration, also Scott G Brooks and Zak Smith. Ghostpatrol and Miso especially were the big ones of the first sort of "street artists" that I was exposed to who did graffiti but weren't writers, people who were sort of in it to just make beautiful things and put them out into the world for people to see. That was the most attractive aspect I think, The notion that your artwork is out for people to see and not only that, to interact with in a way they never would be able to in a gallery setting.

What is it that influences you to start a specific piece?

With my works on the streets, I usually try to just go with my instincts. There are so many restrictions I put on myself when it comes to creating works on canvas or work for my personal portfolio that making pastes is like really relaxing. They're sort of like large scale doodles, the kind of things you draw all the time but feel like they don't have enough substance to be anything other than a doodle, but on the streets that sort of stuff doesn't really matter

How is the scene in your area?

The scene around me is dying. There are a lot of really good writers, and a few really kind of prolific sticker kids, haha. I don't feel like I'm that involved in the scene itself.

When it comes to putting up work on the streets where do you stand? Are you more a "Ha-Ha" type character with his two cans a night philosophy or a "as and when the mood strikes" type of artist?

Human is really the one who pushes me to get out and get up. I'm really sort of new to the whole thing, so Ive been getting up more, but not very much, hahaI'd love to one day to be going out every night, but there are limits haha. I'm trying to really kind of ease into putting things up more.

Treehouse collaboration with Human

Lately a lot of writers seem to be going for the more public route and holding exhibitions in public gallerys; where do you stand on this matter?

Well my background is really in formal art and art education, I have no problem with exhibitions and shows. Being able to eat a little is something we all want, and living off of your art is like everyones dream, haha. Unfortunately you have to sell art in order to live off of art. It's the sad truth of the way the world works.

So, finally, who do you think we should look out for in the future?

Indigo, Haligh, and especially Pahnl, also how could I get away without saying human and I. We have big plans for the future, look out, haha

Rebel 8 Clothing

Rebel 8 clothing is awesome; good mix of styles from basic to the more detailed tattoo-esque designs! And then there's the absolutely covered in detail busy busy tees that I fucking love! Owned by a guy called Joshy D this is getting massive and is being regularily worn by the likes of Travis Barker.

As far as I can tell the designs seem mostly (or all - I'm unsure -anyone knows otherwise get in touch and I'll change - TheFastSet@googlemail.com) done by a guy called Mike Giant who kicks ass! Does awesome tattoos, sketches like a fucking badman and even has his own fucking signature sharpie marker, must be fucking good!

Mike G is also a graffer so there's some awesome graff elements incorporated into the tee designs, some throw ups on there and what not which look fucking awesome.

Their website sells it all; Tees, hoodies, stickers, posters, sharpies, socks and totes. Prices are good, designs are fucking awesome. Get something and wear it for the summer.

Check out Rebel8's:
Blog
Shop
Twitter

Black Arc

So I've just been scouring the internet for some cool new tunes and fucking hell, I found a fucking killer band!..

Black Arc

Hailing from glasgow and sounding like the shit! I love these guys! From what I've learnt in the short time between hearing them, loving them and starting to write about them (about 2 minutes), they tour like motherfuck and have got fucking awesome reviews from some big people including Zane Lowe and Martin Bate from XFM.

Guitar tones are perfect and the rhythms are fucking great, the bass is locked so tightly with the drums which are absolutrly perfect and the singing is spot on all the time; fucking great.

Bit of an experimental rock sound going on but still with a commercial edge that makes them good for radio and shit; I'll be definately catching these live whenever I can!

So check out Black Arc

Get involved

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Sign it HERE

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