This album is a document. A document of something of value, of something that – not matter what – has affected to a point of no return many lives. This was the peak of Dead Skeletons. A venue packed with 800 people raving and dancing and singing to songs that will remain as hymns for a generation, tattoed on skins and souls. I haven’t heard this album, no need for, ’cause I was there that night, December 04th 2013, at SO36, not in the audience but as a friend, somewhat as part of the story. In the very end all started longtime before, when early 2012 I was asked by their publisher to help with the very first Dead Skeletons tour. I didn’t finish the job. There were lots of difficulties and problems I wasn’t aware of: a band in desperate need to recoup some money, promoters pushing to confirm gigs months in advance. Very complicated. But the idea of Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia was born when I offered Dead Skeletons to Harvest Sun promotion. I still have those emails. They thought of setting up a psych festival around the gig. So it was born. There were no Psych Fests in Europe at the time. The rest is history, good or bad that is, and you all know it.
This gig in Berlin it was the peak for Dead Skeletons. They had just released Dead Comet EP, a new album was announced for 2014, another spring tour was being booked already. It was safe they were heading and ready and fit for the big match. From the inside, it was a rollercoaster ride: when you are at the top, you crash to the bottom. That gig was good. I remember the blue lights, the heavy sounds filling the air with the smoke. A ceremony, a mass, a consacration. For the time they played, you couldn’t tell the tiredness, the issues, the doubts. It was deadly magic, yes, hanging between Nirvana and Hell.
That was a stressing tour. The band arrived at the venue after a 10 hours drive from Zurich. Control was slipping out of hands, expectations were driving and pushing to the point of break up. The Thing was eating the Spirit. Everyone would have sold his soul to the devil to open that golden door, but for someones there must be a reason to do things and that reason cannot be fame, and neither money. So this vinyl is the document of the peak of Dead Skeletons, and it was high.
The endless nightly hours that followed, the light of a pale morning, then the darkness again, broken by the merciless lashes of the first snow of the winter…all that was just the sound of a chinese porcelain crashing to the ground, in silence. It was no one responsibility if at that crossing point everyone was struggling with ghosts and if all these ghosts met together and decided to hold a macabre party. It was like opening a Pandora’s box, and all the evils of the world came out, except hope.
So maybe now it is the right time to finally release these live recordings. It was great. A nightmare, a firework, an horror movie, a lesson to be learnt. A crash at 150mph. It has affected to the point of no return many lives. Mine for sure.
The album can be preordered now from Fuzz Club Records, and it’s a double 12″ with gatefold cover, but is also available on cd and cassette .
So listen and do not fear death and do not regret deaths, ’cause death is only a transformation. Your only one chance to be a butterfly.
It’s a bit of a bet to interview a band that has not even released a full-lenght yet. But Mancunians Purple Heart Parade have been on people’s mouths for a while now, and finally seeing them live just confirmed they’re a winning bet. Through an incessant but careful live schedule they managed to gather a faithful fanbase. But there’s more. This band’s got a 360° view of what they’re doing, and they know how to do it. Songs come first, they focus on writing very good mesmerising songs with dreaming vibes and more colours than rainbows. But also their visuals, videos, merchandising…every piece conjures to drive a crowd into their wonderland.
Here’s our chat with Peter Cowap (singer and frontman) and Ste Woods (bass player).
Do not expect them to be naive about it, they know they’re heading for the Big Time! Did you already forget they’re from Manchester? Big mouths strike again and again, and we’re already mad fer it!
Q – Many fans became aware of Purple Heart Parade thanks to the many gigs you played as support for bands like Toy, Night Beats, The Lucid Dream, The Cult of Dom Keller, The Telescopes, just to name a few. Was this an obvious choice to reach a larger audience? Do you feel you’re now ready for more headline slots? Peter – We’ve all been in bands previously and had to experience a load of shit over the years and became aware of who and what to avoid. We are very picky with who we play with and only play with bands we dig. It might come across as arrogant? But I honestly believe that we are an amazing band destined for fucking massive things! People may think I’m a prick for saying that? But it’s what I feel in my bones.
We play a very rare home town headline show on the 26th June for Astral Elevator at Gullivers. We’re looking forward to this as we’ve only played once in 6 months in Manchester, at Cosmosis Festival. We seem more popular in London having played there a majority of the time. Ste – We like to play with certain bands who create great music, we’ve grafted hard to get shows that get us in front of more people. As for headlining, London loves us at the minute and we’re doing well down there. I’d love to see us live though.
Q – The North West is the real center for the psych scene in the UK at the moment. I’m thinking of bands like The Underground Youth, Mugstar, Clinic, The Blackrays, The Lucid Dream…but also about established gatherings taking place in the area, like Liverpool and Manchester Psych Festivals. Do you feel to be part of a scene, being friendly and collaborative with each others? There are more bands in the area you would advice to listen to?
Olya from The Underground Youth wearing a PHP t-shirt
Peter – The North West does seem to have a bit of a buzz at the moment, though to be honest I think the scene in London is thriving too. I think Liverpool Psych Fest was responsible for spawning the scene, I’ve been to every Liverpool Psych Fest so far and to open last years Fest was a dream. We do know a few of the bands, though I wouldn’t say we were part of a scene as such as we pretty much do our own thing. I’ve always felt like an outsider who occasionally gets invited into the party ha. The Lucid Dream have been brilliant to us from day one, they’ve given us advice etc.. To which we’re grateful, I’d love to do a track with Mark one day as we’re on the same wavelength. As for other northern based bands? I’d say The Black Delta Movement from Hull are worth a listen, they supported JAMC recently which is cool as milk. Ste – There’s a lot of decent bands about but that are top people too – bands like The Lucid Dream have been great in giving us advice as well. I hate the thought of there being “scenes” as they bring “scenesters”. Scenes also mean there’s a lot of shite around too trying to jump on a bandwagon that doesn’t really exist.
Manchester Psych Fest 2014
Q – How much the visual side of a concert is important for you to create the right ‘vibes’? Peter – A majority of our tracks have been written in a dark room lit up by fairy lights, it’s a beautiful sight and creates a magical vibe. So to have some cool visuals while we play onstage is tops and gets me especially into a zone. Ste – Massively important. I’d say the visuals and vibes are as important to this band as the music. I never really thought of us as a trippy psychedelic hippy 60’s power flower shite you see draped over most bands – I see us as a bit darker, moodier, and I think our visuals reflect in our music too.
Q – Your presence on stage – expecially Peter – reminds a lot of The Verve. Are they a key influence for you? Do you feel you got a ‘northern soul’? Peter – Ha, thank you! It makes a change from a young Bobby Gillespie (which I think is also cool!). I just get lost in a world of my own up onstage. I’d be lying if I was to say we weren’t influenced by them as I think “A Storm In Heaven” is the greatest record of all time but there’s more to our sound. We listen to and are influenced by all sorts ranging from Aphex Twin, Beach Boys, Funkadelic, Talk Talk, Stooges, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Sonic Youth, Hollies etc.. Have we got Northern Soul? Dead Fucking Right!!! Ha, I was brought up on Motown and Northern Soul music so I’m absolutely riddled! We’re very proud of our roots, our city is mint and like no other in the entire world. I love its gloomy romantic cloudy skyline, always good to come home to after gigging away.
Q – We live in a DIY age where most bands do their own promotion and book their own gig. PHP instead have had from the start a proper manager looking after them, and a real and rich website. Are you into a more classic and professional way to approach the music biz? Peter – Ha brilliant! Who told you we had a proper manager? We have a maniac! Only joking. We have my long time friend Stephen De Sarasola or Sausage as he’s known looking after us. He’s been great at sorting stuff out for us as it gives us more time to concentrate on the music and artistic side of things. Ste designs websites for a living so we’ve been lucky on that aspect regarding the website, I think he’s done a great job. Experiences in our previous musical adventures have proved to be a great asset too, we’ve all suffered at the hands of bullshitters and charlatans at some point, so we’re pretty good at sussing out the blaggers.
Q – What are your plans for the future, in terms or releases and tours? Peter – Release wise we have “The Room” coming out on a split 12″ vinyl release with Chatham Rise and a couple of other bands on the US based Picture In My Ear Label towards the back end of summer. We go into Spirit Studios in Manchester in June to record 3 or 4 tracks for an EP also with a release hopefully for around autumn? We have a few festival slots lined up which we are buzzing about! Sadly we can’t reveal anything yet along with a few other gigs which is killing me. Once the EP comes out in Autumn we’ll be looking at doing our own headline tour. Ste – We also have plans afoot for venturing overseas but we can’t say too much at the minute or we’ll be fired out of a cannon into a wall!
Ask The Sky 