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Hey All! Welcome to the Easter 2008 Special which I reckon is the best issue so far despite being on deaths door the past couple of weeks! Hasn’t been a few weeks? While the Tibetan people are fighting off the Chinese regime and there’s still battles going off in both Afghanistan and Iraq yet most people are still obsessed over the divorce battle between Heather Mills and Paul McCartney. Fuck that for a game of soldiers - Let’s deal with the real issues instead. After all aren’t lives more important than a high profile divorce?! If the divorce is more important to you then stop reading now and fuck off and read a trashy tabloid instead! Anyway there’s plenty to read and I hope you enjoy this issue. Catch up with you at the beginning of May.
Steve DIY
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"I picked up a guitar when I was seven years old and told my dad: This is exactly what I want to do." And Nicola hasn’t put her guitar down since."
Traveling the world’s greatest music cafes and venues, Nicola’s compelling soul-rock sound has captivated the entertainment industry and fans worldwide. In a short five years, Nicola has put out three full-length, internationally distributed, independent albums; catching the attention of every major media channel, with her five piece brilliant band. A singer, songwriter, musician and trained dancer, Nicola’s pitch-perfect vocals and deep-rooted lyrics are ripe with conviction.
"I never set about to convey a specific image or message in my music regarding politics, love, loss, angst or humor, and yet those themes are always at the helm of my writing and my thinking. I’m a terribly undisciplined writer in the sense that I’m very erratic and impulsive. I don’t write every day. Never have. But when I do, I can spontaneously spin out several songs in one day. It’s like I get on some emotional roll and the songs just seem to write themselves. I write what I hear, what I see, what I feel. If something moves me, I can’t let it go. I just have to write it down."
Nicola’s infectious music has been sweeping the press. She has been featured in the National Songwriters Hall of Fame, Billboard, Women Who Rock, Inside Connection, Glide, Time Out London, Time Out NY, New York Cool, The Village Voice, Outwords, Long Island Entertainment, Go NYC, Punk Globe, Songwriter Universe, The Deli and in newspapers across the globe.
I’ve been a fan of Nicola’s for just over two years now. Her last two albums ’Don’t Take It Personally" and ’What’s The Point’ both blew me away. A great artist and one of a few who’s music I love to play time and time again. I’ve interviewed Nicola on two previous occasions but since she has a new release coming out shortly I thought I’d better catch up with her again. You can read the full interview HERE
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Boycott The Olympic Games
It’s been great to read about the Pro-Tibet protestors doing their stuff at the lighting of the Olympic torch in China. What the fuck is going on when one of the world’s most oppressive regimes is allowed to host the Olympic Games which is all about bringing people together?
Anyone who is interested should check out the Free Tibet campaign site which can be viewed HERE
It would be great to see the athletes telling their various governments to boycott the games unless the Chinese government start to talk with Tibet and of course lift their oppressive laws which has seen many people murdered, tortured and serving long prison sentences.
You can do something by making a stance and supporting/taking part in actions in your countries.
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Kissy Kamikaze are one of my favourite Punk Rock N Roll bands to come out of NYC in a few years. The’re made up of members from various other bands including the X-Possibles, Lady Unluck, Dirty Mary and Morning Glory. I caught up with Tibby X (Vocals) through My Space and an interview was arranged. You can read what this NYC four piece had to say for themselves HERE.
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A Poem For Your Thoughts
(Radio Static)
A bravado that could only be put on announces:
"Hurray and buy tickets today for the opening performance of ’Crucifixion of the Freaks’. Scarred ones, tall ones, bruised ones, short ones…there is something for everyone. Bring the whole family for a night full of joy for all ages. Allow your children to learn from the show, illustrating to them what not to become and adults also can enjoy by resting easy that you didn’t turn out like one! Sit in our ultra-comfortable cushioned seats of judgment and behold a show with an ending that never disappoints: an actual crucifixion of all 20 freaks we hand select per night. Ever walk down the street, see those "certain type of people" and wonder what our society is coming to? Well worry no more for we’ve got them here to get what they deserve for even thinking they could be different from us. An intermission will be held before the grand finale to alot for bathroom time and refreshments. Upon re-entry to the theater, we will even provide face guards to guarantee no blood or bodily fluids from the performance make their way onto your fine clothing. Now you might say to yourself, this is too good to be true? How can we get all this for the low price of $3.00 a ticket? The answer is, dignity is at an all time low in the marketplace and the ones of the freaks are even less expensive in these days and times. So purchase your tickets of humor and humiliation while you can and come on down. Its all a phone call away, simply dial 1-800-No-Freaks."
(Radio clicks off)
(Phone dial-tone as listener dials number)
Keimi Yamagata
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Anti Nazi Or Apologist
Watch the video. You decide which side of the fence you’re on!
Assert On My Space
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Britain’s best Street Punk band have a Live album with four new studio tracks released through ’People Like You Records’ in April. To check out the Street Voice review of this album please go HERE.
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Pennywise release the wicked ’Reason To Believe’ album later this month through My Space Records in the USA and Epitaph in Europe. To check out the Street Voice review of this album please go HERE.
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Fake is the new single from Paparazzi Whore and it’s going to be downloadable on Monday 28th April. Please give this single the support it deserves. To check out the Street Voice review of this album please go HERE.
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Just Say No
There is nothing you can do. The problems are too large. Life is too short to give up too much. We’ve all heard these statements. We’ve all felt smaller than the mounting problems in this world. But the truth of the matter is, they are all fucking lies. Simple mental reasoning to further oneself away from taking responsibility and action. In our everyday lives one change can be made that lend a fist to the fight…say "no."
Corporations, inevitably, give off a bad taste in your mouth when you say its name, but its not only sweatshops or labor issues, but the cruelty animals endure from these companies in there never ending pursuit for money. Today more than ever undercover investigations are unearthing things that are horrific and yet, the money doled out to them is rising everyday. So, what can you do? It’s a simple equation, don’t buy the products, you don’t support the companies. I’ve compiled a list of the top 3 current offenders and my only hope is that at least from the wallets of all those who read this, no money will be taken out for the following companies.
The first is not a complete shock in that its name has been linked to the invariably evil Wal-mart for quite some time: Lowe’s Hardware Store. The crime? Selling perhaps the cruelest products still in circulation, the glue trap used to kill innocent rats, mice, and many a time, "nontarget" creatures. The traps are known to cause the creatures to loose a limb when trying to detach itself, they can also suffocate when their noses, mouths, or beaks are stuck to the pad. Despite numerous emails and calls to the company, there has only been one concession made from Lowe’s to only sell traps that contain Eugenol that is supposedly an "anesthetic." BUT, this is simply a ploy to calm the public down and fool them into thinking that this is a humane alternative. In actuality, the only right thing to do is to ban the product all together and until that happens, not shopping at the store can send a powerful message right to the wallet of the CEOs and rule makers behind the corporation until change is achieved. Below is a photo, courtesy of PETA, that needs no words and silently solidifies all I’ve already said.
Another company that is guilty for glue traps is one of America’s leading pet shops, PetSmart, whose contributions to cruelty don’t end there. A recent undercover investigation from PETA revealed the breeding mills that supply the stores PetCo & PetSmart have horrendous practices and no apparent care for the animals they raise. A statement from PETA reads, "In addition to the ever-present misery caused by extremely crowded cages, filthy conditions, a lack of basic enrichment, an often inadequate food and water supply, and excessive noise, PETA’s investigation of a massive breeding mill and one of PetSmart’s main animal suppliers, Rainbow World Exotics in Hamilton, Texas, also revealed that live animals were thrown into the trash, were deprived of desperately needed veterinary care, were suffering and dying alone in their cages, and were cannibalizing each other; that rabbits underwent crude neuter surgeries at the hands of a layperson in a filthy, dark room; and more….Unsuspecting PetSmart customers have reported buying unsocialized, sick, and injured animals, including guinea pigs with eye and upper respiratory infections, hamsters with deadly diseases, sick and dying betta fish, and suffering birds. As PETA’s investigator documented at this breeding mill, overcrowding, lack of veterinary care, and lack of socialization are the norm, not the exception, for the tens of thousands of animals at Rainbow." No more needs to be said.
And finally, perhaps the most relevant company this time of year with those who celebrate Easter is the Mars candy corporation, makers of popular items such as M&Ms. If you are one of those out there who celebrates Easter or even has a sweet tooth, please choose a true alternative: vegan chocolates or candies paired with a letter to Mars in the mail. The experiments that the company is guilty of conducting are truly nightmares.
Here is a list of just some of the experiments from the expose on PETA.
? Mars recently funded an experiment on rats at the University of California, San Francisco, to determine the effect of chocolate ingredients on the animals’ blood vessels, even though the experimenter admitted that studies have already been done using humans. Experimenters force-fed the rats by shoving plastic tubes down their throats and then cut open the rats’ legs to expose an artery, which was clamped shut to block blood flow. After the experiment, the animals were killed.
? Mars funded a deadly experiment on mice that was published in a 2007 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience in which mice were fed flavanols (phytochemicals that are found in chocolate) and forced to swim in a pool of water mixed with white paint to hide a submerged platform, which the mice had to find in order to avoid drowning, only to be killed and dissected later on.
? In one experiment supported by Mars and conducted by the current Mars, Inc., endowed chair in developmental nutrition at the University of California, Davis, rats were fed cocoa and anesthesized with carbon dioxide so that blood could be collected by a needle injected directly into the heart—a procedure criticized by U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Dr. William T. Golde, who notes: "This is not a simple method. … Missing the heart or passing the needle completely through the heart could lead to undetected internal bleeding or other complications."
? Mars supported a cruel experiment to learn how a chocolate ingredient called PQQ affects metabolism by cramming baby mice into 200-milliliter Plexiglas metabolic chambers—around half the size of a 12-ounce soda can—and then submerging the chamber for nearly five hours in a chilled water bath, inducing labored breathing in the distressed mice. Experimenters then shoved tubes down the mice’s throats every day for 10 days to force-feed them the PQQ, after which they were killed and cut up for analysis.
? Mars funded a test in which experimenters forced rabbits to eat a high-cholesterol diet with varying amounts of cocoa, then cut out and examined tissue from the rabbits’ primary blood vessel to the heart to determine the effect of cocoa on rabbits’ muscle tissue.
? Mars supported a test in which experimenters attached plastic tubes to arteries in guinea pigs’ necks and injected cocoa ingredients into their jugular veins to examine the effect of cocoa ingredients on their blood pressure.
Change is possible, but it doesn’t happen on its own. Not all people are capable of the same size contributions, but every step helps clear the path toward animal liberation, or liberation of the world for that matter. Grassroots activism has always been the most powerful force in any war of morality and you can be apart of it by simply not contributing to corporations who are responsible for ugly and horrific acts. It’s up to you, make the choice to just say no.
Keimi Yamagata
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"Jenny Beck is a Swedish singer/songwriter. She relocated to the UK in 2001 to further her music career and has since written, produced and recorded four CDs that have attracted much attention from record labels, the music press, radio stations and internet music sites world-wide. Though her main genres are Folk/Pop and Acoustic music she is often experimenting with various kinds of genres, such as R&B, Pop, Soul and Blues - genres that feature on her CD "On The Outside" which is available to order on her site and through the official Jenny Beck website, iTunes, tapintomusic and TuneTribe, to name but a few online shops. The CD is also distributed by the world’s leading digital distributor of music, The Orchard."
Apart from having a pretty face and visiting some of the coolest places on this planet I have to say Jenny Beck is a wicked singer/songwriter with an amazing voice. It helps being able to play the guitar like she does. After receiving her latest release just before Christmas to review I decided then I wanted Jenny Beck interviewed for Street Voice and that interview can be seen HERE.
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"Here we go! What does Bambix sound like? Great! hardcore, punk, energy, melody, pizza calzone sin carne. A combination of a medicine no doctor would ever give you, especially with the new health insurance law. Imagine lyrics about what the world should be like and never is. How people feel their asses are on fire but they can’t find water anywhere. How you wanna bang speed 24 hours a day but don’t have the time. Imagine a band that plays so tight the string in yr bum will snap. That is when Patrick hasn’t smoked too many spliffs.
Who? Wick Bambix: sings and plays gibson L6 and studio. punk from birth. girl. Peter Dragt: splendid drummer, Slayer-adept. boy. Patrick Turner: plays bass but when you get him drunk he’ll drag out the ukelele and play some good old Scorpions songs. boy.
Where? What? Bambix are a new band, well, kinda new. well, kinda not-so-old. well, maybe kinda old-er. Are currently recording their newest cd which will be called ’Bleeding In A Box’, a culmination of what Bambix is all about. It will come out end of the year 2007 on Go Kart Records. They played Brasil 4 times and are proud to be real rockstars there with MTV coverage for over 30 million people. Muito foda! Can say they are real friends with cool bands. Played big festivals, like Deconstruction, Earect, Dynamo, Rostock and minor toilets like the one at the Bijstand. Been around Europe many times. Germany is their second home. Were the first band to play former Yugoslavia after the war. Went back there in 2006 only to be sent back at the border. Crossed that same border 24 minutes later anyway. Love to play in Eastern Europe. Had 8 to 10 points out of 10 for reviews on their cd’s in cool magazines like OX (D), Visions (D),Aardschok (NL), Rock Brigade (Brasil), Plastic Bomb (D). Played and toured with bands like Bad Religion, Terrorgruppe, Fabulous Disaster, GBH, Good Riddance, Ataris, Sepultura, Pennywise, Snuff, Snapcase, Toy Dolls. Had the opportunity too to play support for BonJovi, but finally they weren’t asked for it, cuz jon bon jovi didn’t want patrick to get all the girls. Are on GoKart Europe and What’s in A Name has been released on Daemon Records in the USA and Canada. Daemon Records! you know... the label of the fabulous Amy Ray/Emily Saliers. Yep that’s us! Play some 100 gigs per year all over the world. Never toured Mongolia, but comes the time then more then willing to ride horses with fresh meat on the saddle instead of under it."
I first came across Bambix when I was writing for Girl Punk Net and what I heard blew me away. In fact I didn’t realize they were still going until Nicole from Go Kart Records sent me their latest album for review. I enjoyed the experience of re-discovering this Pop-Punk band I decided to send them an interview. You can read that cool as fuck interview HERE.
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"In the spring of 2005, five seemingly ordinary musicians gravitated together to form a rock ’n soul uber band called Stone Halo. From a myriad of backgrounds, Stone Halo soon developed a unique, hypnotic, rock soul-grinding sound. On their second gig they supported the explosive Alabama3 (of "The Sopranos" fame) in Norwich, England, and were asked back for further shows on their 2005 tour. Not bad for a new unsigned band. With a growing industry following and an ever increasing fan base, Stone Halo are currently recording their debut album and have just finished shooting their second video, scheduled to be released later this year. Highly acclaimed Virgin Radio DJ Steve Harris describes them as "the band to watch for" and industry insiders are hailing Stone Halo as one of the most exciting new bands in Britain today. So friends, it’s time to polish your halos and prepare for the perfect storm!"
I really like Stone Halo and they impressed me from the moment I heard them. Top band and if you’re looking for something new then maybe Stone Halo are the band for you. I recently caught up with them for an interview. You can check that interview HERE.
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Televised Sexism in the USA
Whenever possible, I try to distance myself from the box known as the television and since I am, as they say, without cable, it makes it that much easier, but for the brief times I am foolish enough to tune around the channels, I’ve noticed some very sad, sad things. America may think its far away from the times of I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners, but think again, sexism seems to be inundating the channels are much as ever.
Exhibit A, cleaning product commercials. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a new detergent, vacuum, or freshening spray, the same trend pops up: only women are in these commercials (and of course I speak in general terms for the sake of length). The women are the ones ecstatic that a lavender scent is now available or that the duster now comes in shades of red. Why? Because we are not done in this country with the stereotype that women are the tidy ones and do the cleaning. Even commercials where the wife is working has her in a skirt for the most part or just as overtly happy over the new cleaning innovations in the world.
The current family sitcoms that make up the airwaves in America are even worse than the ads they share their time slot with. The majority of the shows are about husbands who work and like football and wives who stay at home or are overly sensitive about everything and the couples bicker over typical sexist arguments like the woman wanting to buy too much or the man forgetting the anniversary, the women are always the status quo when its comes to being pretty, yet the men can be overweight or slobs. Here are but a few examples of shows that follow that tired old formula: Everyone Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Still Standing, According to Jim, and the shows could go on and on. And even when the shows don’t deal with couples, its evident that shows like Sex In The City, the new Lipstick Jungle, and many others play into the fact that women run around in packs dying to find a man, wanting big weddings, being emotional, or buying every pair of shoes in sight.
The bottom line is that this is all very sad and when people argue that the world really is like those sitcoms, it’s an even sadder thought. The revolution of the sexes is one that still hasn’t happened and while it’s better than it was years ago in this country in some ways, there is still ALOT of ground to cover, but until the world reaches that glorious point of equality, I’ve found the perfect solution: tuning out the sexist rants and turning off the television.
Keimi Yamagata
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"After an advert in the local newspaper "The Citizen" we got together because of a love of fast aggressive music with something to say and a mutual detest for the drivel that is dominating the airwaves at the moment. In the true spirit of 1977 we decided to pick up the instruments and have a go, after all there’s no point moaning about something if you aint got the balls to try and make a difference. So Citizen Keyne were born. We started with Sex Pistols covers but soon realised this would make us little more than a strange cabaret band so we decided to go it alone ( although there a still a few Pistols tracks in our set ) and in a fit of boredom at work John wrote the lyrics for our first 5 solo tracks.
Our songs reflect the way we feel and the issues that bother and annoy us, police corruption, pointless wars that have fuck all to do with us and of course the modern day menace that are the CHAVS !!!!"
I really enjoyed the debut album this eighties influenced Punk Rock band have recently released. In fact Citizen Keyne impressed me that much I decided to run an interview with them and that interview can be read HERE.
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"Based in a small town called Worthing in West Sussex, Ettin are a reggae influenced four piece who have been playing together for about two years. SO FAR on our mission we have supported Toots and The Maytals, The Slackers and have been recently signed to Do The Dog Records."
To be honest I’d never heard of Ettin until Do The Dog owner Kev Flowerdew sent me his latest release to review. When I played Ettin’s ’Rise Yourself’ EP I was more than impressed. In fact as soon as I had the opportunity to do so I offered them a gig as well as writing a good review of the release. Ettin are a fresh face in the UK Ska scene and here’s hoping the do much more. I caught up with them for an interview and you can read what they have to say for themselves HERE.
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The Headlines are a Swedish Punk Rock act and released one of the best albums I’ve heard in ages. I caught up with these guys for an interview and you read what they had to say for themselves HERE.
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Stuff Your Fucking Armies and Your Pointless Wars
From the day the human race set foot on this planet there’s been nothing but fucking wars with many pointless deaths through bullets, bombs and other atrocities. Have we learned anything from these pointless fucking wars? Have we fuck! They’re still happening and what’s more we keep voting in the tossers who start them!
While it was great to see record numbers of people throughout the world attend mass demonstrations to show that their disgust at the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq it’s fair to say our respective Governments couldn’t careless. If they did they’d do something about it but for them what can be gained is far too high so they’ll never walk away.
Well what can we do to force out Governments into listening to what we have to say. Some examples include.
A. General strikes. If the majority of people went on strike in the western world we would bring everything to a halt. Bosses would get pissed off and donations to political parties would begin to dry up for starters. Then there’s the damage to the economies which would have the bastards in power shitting bricks!
B. Come election day if every one refused to vote then the so called democratic process would come to a halt. These bastards would have to re-think their attitudes to the majority and give us what we want.
While some of you may look to the extreme right in their countries for a solution you must realise that is never going to happen? In fact with those fuckers in powers the situations we see our world in now would just get worse!
We have to play the Governments at their own game and fight them the way they use us. Yes it’s a dirty battle but a battle that has to be won.
Afghanistan and Iraq have become the new Vietnam and with it the bloodshed will never end as long out Governments and their armies continue to fuck up. Lets face it from day one both conflicts have been huge balls up. While our Governments would argue that isn’t the case the media reports throughout the world tell a different story.
There have been many deaths, misery and pain in both Afghanistan and Iraq and it’s up to us all to stand up and correct the situation so that the people in those countries can make their own decisions and have their lives back which have been stolen by our Governments.
War is a terrible business and it’s about time the tide turned. Let’s see these bastards in power being removed from their offices. Let’s see these stupid fucking wars finally come to an end so we as a race can begin to live in peace with each other.
It’s 2008 and the year that we should all stand together to fuck these parasites off so come on who’s with me?
Steve DIY
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Well that’s it for this issue. Keep on checking out the Street Voice Music Site as it’s updated on a daily basis. See you in May. Happy reading!