GBH preview and some tour dates...

jsinn - 7-10-2008 at 11:34 AM

A quick 500-word preview I did for FOLIO WEEKLY in Jacksonville...

CITY BABY'S RETURN...

Britain's G.B.H. finds their way back to the States

Grievous Bodily Harm: (UK Law) serious physical injury, or the fact of causing such injury.

In the streets of Birmingham, four blokes came together in 1979 during the punk explosion in England to form one of the most influential bands in the scene's movement. Originally started for "fun and merely something to do," it became their way of expressing rebellious individuality, unwavering nonconformity, and disgust towards the system around them. Now after an almost thirty-year run, the band in which they were satisfied in just playing their local pub, has taken them around the world numerous times and produced nine studio albums along with countless other releases.

G.B.H. is one of the pioneer bands of the hardcore street punk movement and is coming to Jacksonville this July. Begun in those early days by the core trio of Colin "Col" Abrahall on vocals, Ross Lomas on bass, and Colin "Jock" Blyth on guitar, G.B.H. percussion is now pounded out by their fourth drummer since inception, Scott Preece, a former member of Bomb Disneyland.

Col professed that people who have gravitated to the punk and hardcore scenes over the past three decades have found their ways by different means. In an interview with underground critic Mark Prindle, he explained how as much as people's ideals vary, the root beliefs of the movement still remain the same.

"My definiton of punk would not be the same as anyone else's 'cos in my opinion it's different for everyone," he said. "But sure, there would be points on which everyone agreed. I think it's a mixture of political and social issues as well as love for good, honest music."

In the fledgling days of punk's evolution in England, G.B.H. stood out from most other bands with a blistering, unrelenting sound. Like many of the bands of the day, such as the Exploited, Broken Bones, and Discharge, they were focused on sociopolitical commentary, but they did it faster, heavier, and harder, as shown on their two groundbreaking, hardcore-defining releases: "City Baby Attacked by Rats" and "City Baby's Revenge."

"Lyrically, I try to paint a picture of what's going on in my head in a way that another person can understand," said Col. "I also like double meanings, and if I can get some cheesy rhymes in too, all the better."

Col said his inspiration didn't come from traditional sources, classical training, nor popular music, but moreover what was going on in the streets, in the pubs, outside people's doors and windows, and in London in general.

"I didn't have much interest in any kind of music before punk," he said. "But as soon as I heard the early stuff on the radio by the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, I was hooked and had to find out as much as I could about it."

G.B.H. kicks off their U.S. tour in Florida with Austin's Krum Bums in tow. Their fourth show of the tour hits the Fuel Coffeehouse on July 25th in Jacksonville. Following the blitz across America, the lads from Birmingham join the Warped Tour in August. Guitarist "Jock" Blyth summarized punk and why it still remains a crucial part of his life.

"(It's) a way to escape every day boring life, doing and following something that excites me and gives me something to wake up for."

G.B.H. and KRUM BUMS
Friday, July 25
Fuel Coffeehouse, 1037 Park Street, Jacksonville
8pm
425-FUEL

TOUR DATES:
Jul 22 2008 8:00P
state theatre st petersburg, Florida
Jul 23 2008 8:00P
culture room fort lauderdale, Florida
Jul 24 2008 8:00P
the backbooth orlando, Florida
Jul 25 2008 8:00P
fuel coffeehouse jacksonville, Florida
Jul 26 2008 8:00P
the loft at earthlink live. atlanta, Georgia
Jul 28 2008 8:00P
exit/in nashville, Tennessee
Jul 29 2008 8:00P
pops,smallroom sauget, Illinois
Jul 30 2008 8:00P
the record bar kansas city, Missouri
Jul 31 2008 8:00P
gothic theatre englewood, Colorado
Aug 1 2008 8:00P
avalon theatre salt lake city, Utah
Aug 5 2008 1:00P
saskatoon credit union centre saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Aug 6 2008 1:00P
race city speedway calgary, Alberta
Aug 8 2008 3:00P
idaho center amphitheatre nampa, Idaho
Aug 9 2008 1:00P
gorge amphitheatre seattle, Washington
Aug 10 2008 1:00P
columbia meadows portland, Oregon
Aug 13 2008 1:00P
savemart center fresno, California
Aug 14 2008 1:00P
coors amphitheatre chula vista, California
Aug 15 2008 3:00P
shoreline amphitheatre san francisco, California
Aug 16 2008 3:00P
sleep train amphitheatre lot sacramento, California
Aug 17 2008 1:00P
home depot center los angeles, C

I think there are more

defstarsteve - 7-10-2008 at 01:47 PM

the krum bums on tour with gbh....
what a world

not that they are not good guys, but man we used to go to their place when I lived in austin for house shows/partys.
it's amazing they made it out of the living room, but man the punk scene is struggling if these guys get the whole tour.

CR83 - 7-10-2008 at 01:47 PM

Well I know what I'm going on July 30th. Very cool

jsinn - 7-10-2008 at 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by defstarsteve
the krum bums on tour with gbh....
what a world

not that they are not good guys, but man we used to go to their place when I lived in austin for house shows/partys.
it's amazing they made it out of the living room, but man the punk scene is struggling if these guys get the whole tour.

haha...I emailed them to get their two cents about the tour...never heard back...from gbh either...ah well, got it done without any of them...hahah

clevohardcore - 7-10-2008 at 03:16 PM

No CLevo. Comeon GBH at least make a Clevo stop. DAMN! What the fuck is going on with Cleveland?

Barnesey - 7-12-2008 at 07:51 PM

Quote:

They've been on tour all over America & Europe for the past few years touring with STREET DOGS, CASUALTIES, etc. They were just on the cover of the AUSTIN CHRONICLE too. Those guys have been busting their ass.

Here's a tour diary that was in the Chronicle:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:...

clevohardcore - 7-13-2008 at 12:10 AM

They are playing Clevo in September.

Barnesey - 7-15-2008 at 10:55 PM

KRUM BUMS TOUR & NEW RELEASE!
A cross combining the heaviness of Motorhead/Entombed with the buzzsaw attack of Reagan Youth & early Circle Jerks - the KRUM BUMS fresh off their tour with the CASUALTIES are heading right back out to embark on a full U.S. tour with UK82 legends G.B.H. The boys were recently on the cover of the AUSTIN CHRONICLE and the story featured a tour diary written by Dave KRUM BUM from their recent tour. They’ve got quite the buzz going on in their hometown and they even snagged “Best Punk Band Of 2008” at the Austin Music Awards. Their new album “S.O.S.” will soon be released on TKO Records.

Tour Dates:

Headlining:
07/09 Houston, TX @ Numbers
07/20 New Orleans, LA @ Tarantula Arms

Supporting G.B.H.:
07/22 St Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
07/23 Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
07/24 Orlando, FL @ The Backbooth
07/25 Jacksonville, FL @ Fuel Café
07/26 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
07/28 Nashville, TN @ Exit / In
07/29 Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
07/30 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
07/31 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
08/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theatre

Headlining:
08/03 Berkeley, CA @ Gilman St
08/07 Los Angeles, CA @ A.W.S. Outdoor Arena
08/08 Riverside, CA @ Back To The Grind
08/09 Long Beach, CA @ Punk Rock Social at Alex’s Bar

Supporting G.B.H.:
08/21 West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
08/22 Phoenix, AZ @ The Brickhouse
08/23 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
08/24 Lubbock, TX @ Tequila Jungle
08/27 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
08/28 Austin, TX @ Emo's
08/29 Houston, TX @ Meridian
08/30 Dallas, TX @ The Door
08/31 Tulsa, OK @ Rose Bowl
09/02 Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
09/03 Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
09/04 Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
09/05 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
09/06 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre
09/09 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
09/10 New York, NY @ The Fillmore / Irving Plaza

Headlining:
09/18 Shawnee, OK @ Fusion Affect
09/19 Dallas, TX @ Reno’s Chop Shop
09/20 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
11/13 Cologne, Germany @ Sonic Ballroom
11/27 Munich, Germany @ Orangehouse
11/29 Linz, Austria @ Jugendkulturbox

clevohardcore - 7-16-2008 at 08:39 AM

09/05 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom

^^ I just needed to repost this because it is great news.