THE MUSIC MAGAZINE FOR WAlES ISSUE 1

Exclusive InterviewDarran SmithGuitarist from Funeral For A Friend speaks

The Full Ponty Reviewed

Featured BandsLastCall12 Gauge AllianceCornerStoneLosing Sun

£1donation

SONIG Youth Music Industry, the Youth Arts and the Digital Media Programme are proud and excited to be funding the creation of the brand new PLUGGED IN Music Magazine for Rhondda Cynon Taff!

Nearly everything you see in this magazine has been created by young people from the borough, from the latest music news, reviews and interviews with artists from the Welsh music scene to the fantastic photographs

of local up-and-coming and internationally acclaimed bands.

PLUGGED IN Magazine reflects the exciting times we are living in, here in Rhondda Cynon Taff, throwing the spotlight on the thriving music scene that is continuously emerging and that’s something we should all feel proud of!

From the success of The Full Ponty Festival, to the once monthly sell-out success of Fight Night Band Nights at The Muni Arts Centre, and the inclusion of music industry vocational training within some of our local schools E3 programmes,

it feels like something really is happening right on our doorstep and it just keeps on getting better.

SONIG, Youth Arts and the Digital Media programmes are part of the Learning & Inclusion Team within the Arts Development Unit of RCT CBC’s Cultural Services. The SONIG and Youth Arts programmes are funded by Cymorth

through Fframwaith — Rhondda Cynon Taff’s Children and Young People’s Partnership — enabling us to create great opportunities like this for young people aged 8-25 to get involved in all kinds of artistic and cultural activities. The team develops opportunities through workshops,

projects, events, rock schools and training days, as well as mentoring and guiding young people into careers within the Creative Industries. SONIG is also involved in supporting bands and artists that already exist within the local music scene, as well as

helping aspiring young promoters and entrepreneurs to take their first step into the music industry. The Deadstar Productions Fight Night Band Nights at The Muni Arts Centre and the recent Taste Of Tragedy event at Clwb Y Bont are great examples of this.

We have lots coming up this Autumn and next Spring! l This Halloween, look out for ‘Fright Night’ Band Night at The Pop Factory, organised by one of our Interskills project participants

(a project which develops young people’s skills in the Creative Industries) as well as the Fight Nights at The Muni Arts Centre.l SONIG and the Digital Media programme are looking for two more bands and around eight media students to take part in this year’s

14-19 Music Media Project. If you’re in a band and interested in learning more about the media and would like to create your own music video, please contact SONIG at the address below. For possible band selection, you’ll need an up-to-date CD of your band for

us to listen to, be aged between 14-19 years of age and be living in the borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff.l Keep an eye out in future issues of PLUGGED IN Magazine for Community Music Wales Rock & Pop Workshops

and Rock Schools at venues in Rhondda Cynon Taff.l The Band & Live Performance Photography Project Exhibition will be showcased at The Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, throughout October.

Come along and see some amazing shots of the hottest bands in the UK and beyond, taken by the Rhondda Cynon Taff photographers of tomorrow!

Finally, we would like to hear your views about arts and music development within Rhondda Cynon Taff. Our Youth Arts Co-ordinator is in the process of producing a Youth Arts Strategy as part of the Arts Council Of Wales funded Youth Arts Strategic Partnership. This will set out how

we develop opportunities for young people to get involved in creative and cultural activities. Would you like to see break-dancing or live band events happening in your area for instance? Call Liz on the number listed below and get your voice heard!

A big thank you to Darren and Gail, Artistic Directors and Mentors for PLUGGED IN Magazine, and, of course, a big thanks to all of the talented young people who have participated in the delivery of the very first issue. If you would like to get involved

in PLUGGED IN Magazine or any of the other projects mentioned above, please contact:

Tanya Walker, SONIG Co-ordinator - 01443-490205 - sonig@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk

Elizabeth Driscoll, Youth Arts Co-ordinator - 01443-490208 - elizabeth.a.driscoll@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk

Anne Hayes, Digital Media Co-ordinator - 01443-490239 - anne.hayes@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk

You can also check out the SONIG website at www.sonig.org.uk

PLUGGED IN is the creation of Haul Fryn Publishing & Mentoring Services (info@haul-fryn.co.uk), and must not be sold at more than the recommended price contribution cost shown on the front cover. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any of the content of PLUGGED IN, without prior permission, is strictly forbidden.

All contributions to PLUGGED IN must be original and not duplicated from other publications. Haul Fryn Publishing reserves the right to modify any material submitted for publication in PLUGGED IN.The views expressed in the pages of PLUGGED IN are not necessarily the views of RCT CBC.

This magazine has been written and developed by young people who have all dedicated their time for free, as a way of them gaining invaluable experience working within the creative industries. Your contribution of £1 towards the cost

of this issue will enable us to produce further magazines and give more young people opportunities to become involved in this fantastic new venture. Thank you.

Tanya WalkerSONIG Youth Music Industry, Rhondda Cynon Taff

PlUGGED IN 03

Meet the team...

Contents4 Darran Smith

talks about being a Ponty boy

7 10 Questions Losing Sun tell us a few home truths

8 LastCall spill the beans on why they love playing music

10 12 Gauge Alliance explain why they’ve stopped screaming and started singing

12 CornerStone a diary of an epic journey to London

16 The Full Ponty six pages of band reviews from July’s

fab festival in Ynysangharad Park

20 Fringe Festival a look at what went on in the week-long

lead-up to the Full Ponty Festival

23 Gig Reviews a round-up of live gigs that were on in

our area over the summer

25 Fight Night find out what it’s all about

26 The Guest List the PLUGGED IN team get invited

27 What’s On a listing of venues in RCT

28 Performance Photography a peek at an exhibition going on show

email: editorial@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

WElCOME TO PlUGGED IN — a magazine for everyone who loves music.

Music lovers in RCT are very lucky to have PLUGGED IN, a magazine dedicated to featuring the talent in this area of Wales that’s produced a stream of young bands — bands which are as good as any you hear in the mainstream charts. But the magazine is also an outlet for other talented youngsters in our area — as it’s produced by a group of people who want to write, take photographs or work in the design industry, and who are learning their individual crafts to a professional standard.

The idea behind the magazine is to interview bands with close links to RCT — both well-known bands and those about to break through to a wider audience — giving you, the reader, an insight into their Welsh roots and what drives them to success. Every feature will be complemented by photographs taken exclusively for PLUGGED IN. In every issue there will also be at least four pages of live gig reviews, all with original photography of the bands taken at the gig that is being reviewed.

In this, our first issue, we have an in-depth interview with Ponty’s own Darran Smith from Funeral For A Friend — who spoke to us just before the band embarked on their recent world tour. We also have two featured bands, Last Call and 12 Gauge Alliance, who tell us a few home truths. And not forgetting a full report on all the bands that played at The Full Ponty, surely the highlight of the summer for gig-goers.

Issue Two has an exclusive interview with the LostProphets, and future issues will feature Pennie from The Automatic and Kim from Miss Conduct — so ask for the magazine at all gig venues in RCT and get PLUGGED IN.

MANAGING EDITOR Gail GriffithsCREATIVE DIRECTOR Darren WarnerBoth Gail and Darren have worked in the media for over 20 years and have enjoyed tutoring the PLUGGED IN team — there’s hidden talent in every one of these guys.

DESIGN Stephen lewisThe unique PLUGGED IN logo was the creation of Stephen, and he’s also had a hand in putting together the first issue — creatively colourful, wouldn’t you say?

PHOTOGRAPHERS Ashley Shelbaieh, Hannah Culverhouse, James Foxhall, Kally Pugh, laura Williams, leah Evans, Stephanie JonesWith such a big team of snappers it’s no surprise that the pages of PLUGGED IN are filled with fabulous colourful images of bands at work and play — all photographs have been specially taken for the magazine by these guys. This issue’s cover photo of Darran Smith was shot by Leah after just 10 minutes’ preparation — pure professionalism won the day.

lIVE REPORTER Gary BolsomChief gig-goer Gary has spent the last six months spending all his spare time watching bands and drinking beer — it was a tough job but someone had to do it!

WRITERS Kayleigh Edwards, Richard SamuelK-lee and Richie have had fun interviewing band members for features in this and future issues of PLUGGED IN, as well as writing up music reviews — read their poetic prose on nearly all our pages.

STAFFERS Danny Dystopia, David Howells, Mia WingfieldThis trio have helped promote PLUGGED IN from the start — all doing a bit of this and a bit of that.

MARKETING Chris NicholsBig guy Chris has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure PLUGGED IN gets known throughout RCT — our thanks to him.

ADVERTISING advertising@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

This magazine has been written and developed by young people who have all dedicated their time for free, as a way of them gaining invaluable experience working within the creative industries. Your contribution of £1 towards the cost

of this issue will enable us to produce further magazines and give more young people opportunities to become involved in this fantastic new venture. Thank you.

Tanya WalkerSONIG Youth Music Industry, Rhondda Cynon Taff

Darran Smith Muni Arts Centre Pontypridd May 2007

Late one evening in May I sat down in the café bar of The Muni for a friendly chat with a local boy.

We talked about growing up in Ponty and how the place has changed over the years, slipping into Welsh at one point after I discovered he’d gone to the Welsh school and I knew enough to hold a conversation. It was such an easy exchange that it’s hard to believe I was actually talking to Darran Smith from Funeral For A Friend — a bona fide pop star just about to embark on a world tour with his band.

But then again, if you know anything about Darran Smith you’ll know what a genuinely nice guy he is, who has often given his time willingly — and free — to help and advise other young musicians. And music is a passion for Darran, it has driven him from a young age to where we find him today — lucky us I say!

Since we last spoke, rave reviews and five-star ratings have greeted Funeral’s third and most accomplished album Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. It’s an epic album that lifts you to another plane and takes you through a mixture of emotions with its lush layers of rock music which are accompanied by heartfelt lyrics. No this album isn’t another Echos, this is a big leap into oblivion. Taking risks musically shows a brave and progressive step which is a path that, unfortunately, not many bands follow.

“When we put the video for Into Oblivion on our myspace site the majority of comments were positive, though some said we’d sold out. I can’t think of a more naive statement.” Darran keeps his cool, doesn’t raise his voice or look angry, but you can tell certain subjects annoy him. “I believe selling out is producing the same music again and again, aiming at the same demographic and not experimenting. People grow and their tastes change, and that includes myself and the other members of Funeral. We’re doing music the way we want to, we haven’t sold out — far from it!”

There are some people out there in the music industry who see an opening in the market, take a band to fill that

hole until it’s overflowing then disregard the young band instead of nurturing them and giving them space to develop. Funeral don’t fit this bill and that’s just the way Darran likes it.

For the better part of this year Funeral have been out touring the album. They hit the road during the middle of May covering most of the UK, then moved over into Europe and on to America. Prior to this they did a few low-key gigs to test the waters. “As well as doing support slots for My Chemical Romance, we also played some small pub venues down in Cornwall with no more than 200 people able to get through the door of the largest venue in Penzance. They were quirky kinds of shows in small fishing villages, which went with the concept of the new album. They were very intense but fun, no barrier between the stage and the audience.”

The reaction to Funeral’s new sound was positive, and it gave the band the energy to take on the world

— literally. “I like touring, it’s kind of fun, though like most things it can be a double-edged sword. It’s great going to all these different cities, but you don’t really see the the places properly

— often you just turn up, offload the gear, do the sound check, perform the gig, pack up and move on. The toughest part is the amount of travelling involved — and a scenario we’ve had a few times in the past has been when we’ve toured America, flown back to the UK for a couple of shows, then back to the States to continue the tour out there. With the jet lag setting in it can get pretty gruelling. Still it’s a pretty amazing situation to be in and much better than having a boring office job.”

And Darran’s no hypocrite as, even though it may be hard to believe, at one time he used to work in an office for British Gas. “I hated it. It was around the time that Funeral were on the verge of breaking through and gigging all over the place. I couldn’t take leave all the time so I had to come to a decision — quit the job or quit the band. Of course, I gave up the day job, but it was pretty hard at the time as we were penniless and still playing support shows that only paid £50 a night. Still the vibe in the press was good about us, and people would come and watch us play even though we weren’t the headliners. We didn’t have much money but it was the best time ever. Doing a lot of gigs, getting your

EXClUSIVE INTERVIEW

Interview by Mia Wingfield Words by Gail Griffiths Main Photograph by Leah Evans

Darran Smith

PlUGGED IN 05

“My life was stolen by music”

06 PlUGGED IN

name out there and gaining recognition is all part of the process. People started talking about us which got us noticed by promoters, who would then book the band to perform again. That’s just part and parcel of being in a band — playing all sorts of shows to build up a good fan base and getting recognised.”

So has life changed since being signed up? “I feel exactly the same and I don’t believe I’ve changed

my attitude or personality at all, though it takes a little while to get used to other people’s perception of me. What I have done though, along with all the other band members, is develop a way of dealing with the public. Like when someone comes up to you and tells you how much they like the music or want your autograph we’ve created this outer shell which stops us feeling embarrassed by the attention. But then I think back to how I felt about the bands I loved when I was growing up, like Metallica, and getting a signature from one of those guys was awesome.”

And as far as the current music scene in the valleys goes, Darran is still very much interested in what’s happening here. “A few years ago now it was all about the indie-type bands like The Sterophonics and The Manics, and it wasn’t until The Prophets got signed that people noticed there was a credible rock scene here as well. Funeral was signed soon after The Prophets and Bullet For My Valentine soon after us, with many other bands also gaining

recognition since then. This is hugely encouraging to think that a small place like Wales can produce such a lot of internationally admired bands. Now you see The Blackout and Kids In Glass Houses playing at The Full Ponty and breaking through to a wider audience, so the current scene feels very positive and healthy in the valleys and South Wales in general.”

Darran is very supportive of the local music scene, and when not touring can often be seen at Tom’s watching a band he knows — he’s even been spotted at

Fight Nights in The Muni. “I know the people who run Tom’s Bar and they have a lot of great bands playing there, so I like to go along and catch up with some mates who may be playing. I like to try and make it to shows and be supportive of local bands that deserve attention.”

Talking about new bands it’s clear that Darran is a huge fan of music and has a broad range of musical tastes. “I think it’s important as a musician to open your mind to different styles of music and absorb what you hear around you. It makes you a better musician, and definitely for me as a guitarist I like to think I can adapt to lots of styles of music — predominantly rock, but there are different types of rock and levels

of intensity. Music is about taste, and if everyone sounded the same it would be a boring world.”

Darran started playing guitar when he was 14, after being a fan of rock bands like AC/DC. “The next step was to pick up a guitar of my own. At the time I was a fairly good football player and one step away from being in the Welsh schoolboy squad. But my love of music became a passion I couldn’t live without and I was stolen by music. My football coach wasn’t too pleased though.”

Football’s loss was our gain, as turning his attention to music saw Darran practising guitar for up to 12 hours a day — that’s dedication bordering on obsession, as even he admits. “When I do something I want to do it to the best of my ability, and learning guitar was no exception. It’s led me to where I am today. I used to play football in Ponty Park as a child and last year there I was playing guitar in front of thousands of people at The Full Ponty — it was quite surreal, but I totally loved it.”

So is it cool to be Welsh? “Totally. I’m very proud to be Welsh, and Funeral always proclaim ourselves to be a band from Wales. That feeling of coming from somewhere small but making it big is overwhelming, and I think being patriotic is something to be proud of. It’s just in you.”

* Funeral For A Friend are playing the CIA in Cardiff on the 22nd December. For more details go to www.myspace.com/funeralforafriend

INSIGHT

10 Questions with...losing Sun

This hard rock outfit from Cardiff (www.myspace,com/losingsunuk) are on the point of breakthrough,

following in the footsteps of bands like Bullet For My Valentine. With an album on the way and a major tour in both the UK and US on the cards they headlined at July’s Fight Night at The Muni in Pontypridd. PLUGGED IN was there and put the guys on the spot.

1 First off, what are your thoughts on the Welsh music scene?It has its ups and downs. It’s a

great thing that so much Welsh music is being showcased, and that the scene is becoming more important in the UK as a whole, but there’s a lot of the same genre coming through. Sure we like a lot of the bands, but there’s so much of it. A bit more variety is needed, but it’s coming through slowly which is encouraging to see. As a whole the scene’s great.

2 What was it like to have your video played on national TV? Well, it did its job! We’d just released

our first album on an independent label, with a different lead singer to Ben, and shortly after its release we had to part company. So really it’s a bit of history that we didn’t really do anything with. But to have a video on Sky was great.

3 What are your thoughts playing in Wales again and, best of all, on headlining at a Fight Night?

Fantastic! It’s great to see a scene so supportive, and coming back home after touring the UK for two years gives us a chance to please fans here. It was really nice to be asked to do the gig though, and to be honest a real Tom Jones ‘green green grass of home’ moment. So happy as Larry to be doing a Welsh set up.

4 So then lads, why the name Rising Sun… I mean losing Sun!?It’s Losing Sun!

JF: At this point my head goes into my

hands and extended amounts of laughter and joking ensue — hence no real answer to my question is given!

5 Moving swiftly on - do you guys have any favourite artists or tracks that have influenced you?

To be honest we all love all sorts of music, from Electronica and dance stuff to rocky stuff. It’s just a real amalgamation of everything we listen to. We’re not rockers, we’re not dancers, we’re just us. Oh and we like Girls Aloud and their great rhythms — ha-ha!

6 As a band what would you say your worst and best gigs have been so far then guys — any real

stand-out horrors and triumphs?Well there’s only been one bad moment to be honest, where the gig just went wrong from the start and was just really disorganised — but that’s all we’ll say on that one! As for the best gig, it would have to be one of the London or Bournemouth gigs. With the thriving industry in London we get a fantastic response there, and as we’ve been touring a while and the fan base has increased, every show is great for us. Nothing we can really complain about, except…more beer please!

7 Any new projects or surprises in the pipeline from the band?Well we’re doing a new music video

soon that should surprise a few people, and will feature some very well-known people in it. Put it this way, you won’t be let down — just think of every great villain there’s ever been.

8 Now that leads on to my next question: Star Wars or Star Trek?Ohhhh! It varies throughout the

band, but I think we can clearly say Star Wars! It has to be Star Wars!

9 Another big question now, who would you say is the most famous contact on your mobile phone?

Ha-ha, not sure if we should say! Probably would have to be Nigel Wood though.

10Finally, if you could play a gig anywhere in the world at any time and you could

support any band, who would it be?Hmmm, that’s a hard one... I think it would be if we were to support a dance-style band like Faithless or The Prodigy. It wouldn’t be an arena show though, it would have to be quite intimate — but still very sweaty and lots of energy.

Words by James Foxhall

lastCall Ynysanghard ParkPontypridd June 2007

FACE TO FACE

Words by Kayleigh Edwards Photographs by Hannah Culverhouse

Sitting in a dark corner in Tom’s Bar I’m joined by Ponty’s own epic-blues-metal band Last Call.

They’ve just come off stage after playing another truly amazing show — this time in aid of the Noah’s Ark charity — and are all fired up for a cosy chat.

All coming from the Ponty area these guys grew up listening to metal, buying records by Guns N Roses, Thin Lizzy and, strangely, The Temptations. Not so metal, I know, but it just shows that each of the five band members have their own unique taste in music and a wide variety of influences — the most notable being Killswitch Engage and the almighty Pantera. It’s clear where they get their powerful melodies from, but it’s also quite clear that their own unique sound is thanks to all the different types of music they each enjoy — and they proudly display the fact that they are a band like no other in RCT.

It all started six years ago in the garage of Daniel Parry (drums). He and Andrew Webb (guitar) had known each other from work and after picking up Dwayne Howells (guitar) at a Lostprophets gig they were on their way to becoming a full band called Callous. After being introduced to Craig Hodges (bass) through a friend they were almost there, just in desperate need of a singer. That was when Jamie Todd (vocals) came along. At the time he was singing for another band, but became the temporary vocalist for Flatline as they then became. That was four years ago and by the looks of it the boys aren’t letting him go just yet. “We’ll get rid of him if we get signed!”

After a recent name change to Last Call and also changing their style, they have become one of the Rhondda’s biggest-known and most adored bands. Having supported groups like The Unsung and The Ga*Ga*s, they’re slowly working their way up in the music industry, leaving their mark wherever they land and getting their name across as boldly as they can. But they’re not in any rush to get to the top. They show that a true passion for music doesn’t mean standing on anyone and

everyone’s toes to make it, but sitting back, enjoying the ride and taking every step as a blessing. “This is something we enjoy doing, like a hobby, getting signed would be a bonus that we would happily take on board and be grateful for, but never take for granted.”

Having seen Lostprophets become worldwide stars right in front of their noses, they agree the rock scene in Wales has got bigger because of it. It’s thanks to this ever growing scene that guitarists Andrew and Dwayne were lucky enough to have the opportunity to be taught to play their instruments by the now well-known rock star Darran Smith of Funeral For A Friend.

Says Dwayne, “We both used to frequent the Malsters Arms in Pontypridd every Thursday night,

as did everyone a few years back — it was the place to be. After seeing Darran DJ-ing there often he mentioned to us that he was teaching guitar and we both decided to take him up on the idea.” For the three to four months before Funeral got together Dwayne and Andrew spent their time with Darran valuably, although it was apparent that Andrew was the star pupil. Since then all the band have got to know Darran, “We’re very grateful for all the help he gives us — he even wears our band T-shirts, which is really cool.”

It’s not being friendly with stars that’s getting these guys their contin-uously increasing reputation though.

It’s working hard at what they do. With their first EP as Last Call coming

out sometime in the summer, the boys are working harder than ever to make sure it’s perfected to their new style.

“You can expect a completely diff-erent sound to anything you’ve heard from us before. We want to get away from our first EP as we’ve matured enough to assure fans that this one is going to be something they should be as proud of as we are for making it. All the songs are written and ready to be recorded, and have an optimistic theme. Having been written based on personal experiences, we’ve tried to turn every bad situation into something good, reinforcing a positive vibe for the entirety of the EP.”

To put it plainly they look set to take the Welsh music scene by storm, and taking it a step at a time they seem to be enjoying the journey carrying them to their expected success. One thing they guarantee though is that no matter where this road takes them they’ll always stay true to their roots and favour local bands they’ve played with like MEA, Johnny Mental and Dead End — “there are so many good bands in RCT it would take too long to name them all.” So we can be sure these boys will forever be ours and forever be the band bringing us something different.

* Check out www.myspace.com/lastcalltointervene for the name and release date of their latest EP.

PlUGGED IN 09

lastCall

12 Gauge AlliancePontypridd Railway Station, June 2007

FACE TO FACE

Words by Richard Samuel Photographs by James Foxhall

12 Gauge Alliance

PlUGGED IN 11

Ponty’s Muni Arts Centre had an extra special buzz one Friday night in July when news that 12 Gauge

Alliance were playing at a Fight Night — apparently the late announcement sent ticket sales flying though the roof and an extra 200 fans packed into the venue.

Johnny (guitar) and Lee (drums), who hail from Treorchy, built the foundations of 12 Gauge when they were in college and started jamming together. Previously known as Never Ending Suicide, band members have come and gone but when Alun (vocalist) joined the lads they had a major gig lined up. “About a week after I joined the band we had one of our biggest shows to date, supporting Skindrid from Newport at The Pop Factory. It came as a bit of a shock as Skindrid are one of our main influences, and as this was one of my first gigs with a new band it was quite a daunting task.”

Soon after they decided to change the name of the band to 12 Gauge Alliance and were looking for a new bass player. Alun spotted James at a Fight Night and approached him with the words, “Ahh, you look like a bass player!” to which James replied, “Yes.” The audition questions from Alun were, “Do you own a car and do you drive?” and James again replied, “Yes” — not knowing what he had agreed to because of his mildly drunken state.

Describing themselves as “a nuclear war on stage”, the boys come from the screamo/heavy metal genre, but as a songwriter Alun says, most of their songs do have lyrical meaning, “They’re based on bad past experiences. Guns, Girls, Wild Nights is about clubbing, drinking and fighting in Ponty on a Friday night.”

The band say they always want to keep an element of heaviness to their music, however as they’ve grown up so has their sound, maturing with age and making a gradual crossover from screaming to singing. Recently Alun’s mate Pennie (from The Automatic) recommended they get a synthesiser, “So we did, and now we’re continually mucking about and finding something which works. This has allowed us to have a different twist on our collaboration

of No Limit by 2Unlimited.”The pivotal moment of the band so

far has been being featured in heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer, and having a song on the CD that came free with that issue. “We’d been told that there were two CDs going out, one featuring mainstream bands and one of unsigned bands like ourselves. So we were expecting to be on the unsigned CD and were totally gutted when we didn’t see our name listed. But then when we picked up the main CD and couldn’t believe it when we were listed next to some of our heroes.”

The whole experience changed the feeling in the band and made them realise they really were going somewhere. So now they’re planning to independently release a single in Sep tember, hopefully with distribution coming from music giants iTunes and HMV, and a mini-album at the end of the year.

And to prove 12 Gauge are serious hot property, they’re now also being courted by clothing company

Ed Stone Rockware who endorse bands Funeral For A Friend and My Bullet For My Valentine. “Ed Stone were looking for bands and so we bugged the hell out of them to get our name known. In this industry it’s all about self promotion.”

If you’re in a band just starting out, this is one of the best pieces of advice anyone can give you — so take note now from someone who’s been there and is about to do it big time. And anyone would agree that progression is always a good thing for a band, whether it be musically or gaining a larger fan base — both of

which 12 Gauge are achieving right now. Their rising status in popularity can be shown by the number of nationwide gigs planned for the next few months.

It’s all praise too for Fight Nights, a series of gigs put on at the Muni which provides a major venue for both up-coming bands and youngsters who are into the local music scene. “The promoters have worked hard to get Fight Night where it is today, we’re pleased to be a part of it and enjoy being on the bill. The bands to watch out for are without a doubt Dead End, LastCall and The Unsung.”

Due to certain circumstances the lads didn’t play The Full Ponty but played on Electric Friday, a part of the Fringe Festival with its showcase of up-and-coming talent. “We were a bit nervous when Clwb Y Bont wasn’t packed until about half hour before we got to the stage, but the night was a success.”

So what does the future hold for the riotous four-piece metal group? James said it would be cool to play the Millennium Stadium and Sydney Opera House, while Alun wants to play the Main Stage at Reading and live in Los Angeles. These could be a real possibility with an apparent huge following in Australia, the USA and Japan. “In five years’ time expect us to be a successful band.”

The new wave of valleys metal is about to dawn on the UK with 12 Gauge Alliance spearheading the campaign — sounding like no other band out there.

* The new single from 12 Gauge Alliance is due out this month, check it out on www.myspace.com/12gaugeallianceuk

CornerstoneTaffs Well July 2007

DIARY — 29th July 2007

DAY IN THE lIFE

We (www.myspace.com/cornerstoned) have been fully ‘Funk’tional for the last two years. Originally

CornerStone was a five-piece Led Zeppelin-styled rock outfit where the original members included just two of the current five — Lego Man (guitar) and Steve-o (drums). CornerStone were starting to emerge on the music scene playing a lot with another band YellowFoodFobia of which at that point Oxo was the drummer and Sleeps laid back on the bass. Through acts that can only have been described as divinely induced by the hammer of Thor, the current line up developed with Oxo taking on the role of frontman/vocals and Sleeps stepping in after YellowFoodFobia demised into a comfortable snooze.

The style of music, although quite similar between the two bands anyway, developed into a bubbly funky rock performance. By this point there was only one more thing left to do — Enter Owain on saxophone. There stood the foundations of the CornerStone we know and love today. Since then, gigs have been aplenty and new songs have been awritten, although there is still loads more unwritten material bursting to explode in your ears.

We entered the Emergenza Inter-national Band Competition earlier this year and quickly found ourselves lined up to play the first heat at Cardiff University’s CF10 bar. The evening was great with plenty of good bands on display. CornerStone however won the evening with an incredible 10-vote lead, claiming our place in the regional finals at The Point in Cardiff Bay. Also as a cheeky

little bonus, we were consequentially asked to support up-and-coming Welsh band The Guns at the September Festival 24 in Cardiff (which was a great show). The Point gig was an even further concentration of the better bands in the competition and, suffice to say, expectation for qualification was very low. However, come the end of the evening after everyone had dried the bar out, the announcement was made and CornerStone were on their way to the UK finals in the Mean Fiddler — London Astoria. Hurrah!

After the news finally sank in, CornerStone decided to get serious with this final and made attempts to ensure that their fans from Wales were able to make it down for support by sorting out a bus — known affectionately as the Golden Bullet. We went down to London knowing, not surprisingly, that there was going to be some fairly stiff competition. Bands such as McGoozer (who have toured in support with some very large names) and Back Alley Sally (a funky punk rock band from Chepstow) were going to prove difficult to contend with. Ultimately the guys of McGoozer won the day with their mellow acoustic cello whispering antics and CornerStone retired back to the old drawing board of potential world domination.

We’ve had a little time to reflect and lick our wounds, and have found there are plenty of positive things to take from the experience — which had already exceeded all expectation. We had made it to the UK finals, which surely suggests that CornerStone have a sound people like and want to hear.

11am As all the band members were picked up at their respective abodes, the Golden Bullet (our bus) started its epic voyage in Merthyr where a bulk of the CornerStoners reside. 11:35am Arrival at Taffs Well meant all the band members were now assembled – time for a photo opportunity before leaving for the Big Smoke. Cheers and jubilatory activity was then cast upon every soul in the bus – which included the consumption of alcohol and a lot of fooling around.12:45pm Consequential to the large amounts of drinking, the first leak stop was undertaken at Bath services. 15:40pm Arrival in London was met by 1000s of Iraqi’s celebrating their amazing victory in the Asian Cup – was absolutely bonkers! Cars zipping about with people hanging out beeping horns, waving flags.16:30pm Arrived at the London Astoria’s Mean Fiddler to discuss arrangements of the evening’s proceedings with the event organisers. Very little opportunity for sound check meant only a handful of bands had time to do so… Strangely, these were the same bands that ultimately won the event prizes at the end of the night.17:40pm Temporarily departed the Mean Fiddler for drinks at Lloyds where the bar staff kept the crowds happy with glass smashing antics - priceless!20:45pm Arrived back at the Mean Fiddler to tune up and chill out. We had a chance to meet some of the other band members who were all pretty sound to be fair. 21:30pm Shortly following the rumbling chants stomped out by the CornerStone valley commandos we arrive on stage ready to funk the shiznit. The sound was good, expectation and anticipation was met. We blasted out a classic five-tune set of original material. The crowds were amazing and I think we managed to capture the attention of many of the people within audible distance.21:55pm We departed from the stage to the continued chants that literally gave me goose bumps. It was now time to relax, enjoy the other bands and catch up with everyone. The evening continued with entertaining shenanigans by and for everyone.23:30pm Announcements were made for the winners of the evening and with much disappointment the name CornerStone was only to be heard by the crowds, and not the announcer. We generally took the news with a hint of satisfaction that there were some really good bands at the event - well, apparently the best in the country. To have even made it to this stage in the UK finals was prize enough for us.00:00am The Golden Bullet made its final trip back to the Land Of Our Fathers and was successful in delivering our CornerStoners back home safely and in one piece. All in all a great day with an experience that will last a lifetime.

PlUGGED IN 13

CornerStoneWords by Chris Hill live photographs by Rhys Thomas

Words by Gary Bolsom,Richard Samuel, Kayleigh Edwards, laura Williams

Photographs by Hannah Culverhouse, James Foxhall, leah Evans, Stephanie Jones

Back in May, as the sun rose over our sleepy valley, Pontypridd was once again placed firmly on the live music map — a map scorched by last year’s high-octane performances of the excellent Funeral For A Friend and Feeder. The Full Ponty was back for a second outing with hometown heroes lostProphets headlining 24 bands playing over three stages in the fantastic outdoor music venue of Ynysangharad

Park. The hills came alive to the ceaseless sound of music, and PlUGGED IN was there.

14 PlUGGED IN

THE FUll PONTY

Imagine being the first act to play at this year’s Full Ponty, a daunting task but one which was taken on by

a young group going by the name of 84mm (www.myspace.com/84mm) on the Coca-Cola stage. I say young — these guys are only 15 years old! — but the performance was far from that with the mature voice of Luke Henton (vocals/guitar) showing great promise for the future. Influences of 70s punk could be found throughout their set, heard in songs like Public Uniform and Breaking Down, a song written specially for the festival as a thank you to Ian Watkins and The Pop Factory. Being the first act on near the entrance to the site worked to full advantage for these three guys as the tent began to fill up with eager music aficionados ready for a day of brilliant bands — and PLUGGED IN would say they definitely won a number of new fans with their energetic set.

Over on the main stage P.Xain and Eggsy from Goldie Lookin’ Chain introduced Miss Conduct (www.myspace.com/missconductband), and these guys (and girl!) simply tore the place apart with their individuality, kick-ass attitude and overwhelming energy drive. They could sell records based on their looks alone, so when Kim Waterson (vocals) started singing with a voice raw yet beautiful, and began running around the stage like a caged animal set free, it just proved the point that this is an amazing band with a truckload of talent. The crowd exploded into action at the high point of every song and it seemed nobody could resist the urge to dance along to their poppy anthems, including Six Feet Under and the catchy Waiting For You. The crowd went crazy as they wrapped things up with their best-known song to date Sinner Vs Sinned — in PLUGGED IN’s view, destined to be a hit. These young rockers are sure to be higher up on next year’s bill, I can smell it.

A welcome change to the event was Eric Unseen (www.myspace.com/ericunseen) with their vibrant

dress sense. They really started the ball rolling in the fun stakes with their catchy sing-along choruses that can only be described as Clap-Happy Rock as defined in the track Pretty Patty. Eric Unseen played their set as if they were having the time of their lives, and so too it seemed did the crowd — but how can you not with those melodies?

With an ever-growing fan base in the hardcore scene, Bridgend’s The Ghost

Of A Thousand (www.myspace.com/theghostofathousand) had the ultimate chance to prove themselves to those who hadn’t heard of them. Every single word was screamed down the mic, with so much passion and heart you could feel they were really going for it. Their fans are some of the wildest around, and anyone who came out of that mosh pit without a bump or bruise must have had armour-plated steel skin. This is a band to watch out for in the future.

Back at the Coca-Cola tent Friends Electric (www.myspace.com/friendselectricmusic), a young quartet from Neath, put on a Full Ponty debut to be proud of — performing infectious synth-dance-rock that had the crowd waving their hands in the air like we

really couldn’t care. These guys are on to something big, and certainly stood out against the other guitar fuelled rock acts of the day with their unique sound — drawing on influences from legends like Gary Numan and Daftpunk. The hot and sweaty tent aided the performance ensuring everybody that danced to the infectious beats of Lightning Bolts and You Are Action came out feeling sticky. The song Electric Weekend is a killer track and really worth checking out.

It was with good reason The New 1920 (www.myspace.com/thenew1920) had been moved on to the main stage. Front man Col Francies is not the type of singer that would suit a small stage — he needs space to let all that energy out! At one point during Torpedo Libido he climbed halfway up the stage supports while staying totally focused on the task in hand of singing. A solid performance was ensured and the Full Ponty witnessed

its first taste of “The Mosher’s Guide to Ring A Ring O’Roses”.

Along Came Man (www.myspace.com/alongcameman) gave a solid, steady performance and a set full of melodic songs. Silhouette and Wish I Was Michael Jordan are the type of songs that you just can’t help singing along to — even though you may be hearing them for the first time, and when you have songs like that then you know you’re on to something. One thing PLUGGED IN was disappointed in though was the lack of a keyboard player — the keyboards play a

big part in the sound of Along Came Man but unfortunately all keyboard parts were pre-recorded. It would have been good to see the full live setup.

When The Guns (www.myspace.com/gunsmusic) took to the main stage they really got the by-now buzzing crowd going. They lived up to their reputation for having a rock’n’roll attitude with a series of catchy rock numbers, such as No No Know and Uber Woman. Then we were in for a treat when Tom (vocals/guitar) asked for some crowd participation with the song Gordon’s & Lemonade, clearly a favourite among the fans who needed no persuasion to participate — it became a mass sing-along with Tom teaching

lIVE PERFORMANCE — THE FUll PONTY

16 PlUGGED IN

everyone the words. The band’s frantic performance finally provided some worthy guitar solos from Adam Turner (lead guitar) which PLUGGED IN felt had been missing so far. These guys have a new album out soon called With The Guns, and if it’s anything like their live performance it’s going to be hard, big and in your face — which is going to give The Guns the success they deserve.

Gethin Pearson And The Scenery (www.myspace.com/gethinpearsonand thescenery) was a welcome change to the hard, power-driven songs that had

dictated the state of play so far. The audience was introduced to the acoustic guitar (shock!) and to PLUGGED IN’s knowledge the only one of the day. Not only that, but the crowd also saw and heard the haunting strings of the violin and were given a chilling treat of some feel-good folk songs by this six-member ensemble. Shatterproof is the perfect acoustic song with all the essential ingredients — fantastic meaningful lyrics accompanied by beautiful backing vocals and sweeping violin tones with an uplifting chorus. Bliss!

When indie rock band Dopamine (www.myspace.com/dopamine) took to the Atrium stage the whole of Ponty

Park took notice. Ryan Day (lead guitar) launched into a set of heavy riffs that perfectly complemented the strong voice of Neill Starr (vocals/guitar), and immediately got the crowd bouncing along with them to spectacular songs like Call To Arms and This Message. It takes real skill to put a slight break in a band’s guitar playing, but together with James Leaves (bass) these three guys have practised the pause to perfection and, with the steady beat of Sam Phillips (drums) controlling the tempo, this four-piece band gave a tight performance that couldn’t be faulted. A thrill for the crowd was a stage invasion by Sean from The Blackout, who grabbed a mic and started singing along to I Disappear —

whipping the fans up into a frenzy and getting them to chant along to the words of the chorus “Do we just give up now?” A fitting finale to a fine set.

The loudest band of the day came in the form of soon-to-be high-flyers The Blackout (www.myspace.com/theblackout). The six-piece band gave a performance of 1,000 men — and fans can tell you this is how they perform at all their gigs. Two lead vocalists is a tough thing to pull off when you’re in a rock band and not attempted very often, but Sean and Gavin’s voices complement one another throughout the set and they pull it off with ease. The Merthyr lads lived up to the hype with a screaming performance that deafened the entire crowd singing I’m A Riot You’re A Fu*king Riot, and even slipping in a cover of Madonna’s number one smash hit Like A Prayer. The slower-paced number It’s High Time Baby shows

The Blackout are very much capable of toning it down too, ending their set with a track called Fashion Conscious Suicide — as soon as you hear it you know it’s a guitar angst-driven track, so PLUGGED IN wasn’t surprised when Matt (lead guitar) decided to obliterate his axe. The Blackout aren’t going away anytime soon, and by the looks of things are going to deafen an entire generation — these are definitely a must-see band for anyone who appreciates music.

Canadian emo rockers Silverstein (www.myspace.com/silverstein) launched themselves onto the

Atrium Stage like a band possessed, obviously not afraid of playing live in front of a crowd that didn’t know them. Accomplished musicians, they ripped through a set list that included My Heroine and Bleeds No More in which the tuneful voice of Shane Told (vocals) shone through the heavy guitar riffs. Belying their influences of bands like Metallica, they still had their own sound and won over a few new fans by the end of their powerful performance.

Swansea based synth-rockers Viva Machine (www.myspace.com/vivamachine), who had recently supported Head Automatica, took to a full Coca-Cola tent and the glow stick army was out in full force for them. Their intergalactic robotic sound was out of this world and reminded PLUGGED IN of David Bowie during his Major Tom era. Bounce is the type of electro-dance-rock tune that does exactly what it says on the tin, and when Chris (vocals/keyboard) sang the words “bounce to the beat/ everybody just move your feet” with real enthusiasm everybody followed him like a sheep until the whole place was bouncing. Yo Ho, hopefully soon to be an indie dance floor classic, was another of their songs that lit up the tent and cracked a smile on most faces with its upbeat tempo. Viva Machine ended their set with the futuristic track Death Star Trucker, culminating with front man Chris performing a Jimi Hendrix-esque solo on the keyboard and the rest of the band ending up in a big messy, sweaty heap on the floor — which just showed the passion they have for their music, and which is getting them noticed.

Californian ska-punksters Reel Big Fish (www.myspace.com/reelbigfish) crossed over the pond and found themselves on the main stage as one of the big acts of the day. Reel Big Fish have a reputation for being one of the

lIVE PERFORMANCE — THE FUll PONTY

PlUGGED IN 17

lIVE PERFORMANCE — THE FUll PONTY most feel-good bands to listen to. Their fast-tempo upbeat brassy sound makes anyone want to get up within seconds and bust some moves — and they didn’t disappoint. This performance was filled with originality, humour and fun for all, with Aaron (front man/vocals) leading the way wearing a bright green Hawaiian shirt. First up was one of their biggest hits of the Nineties Sell Out, followed by classic tracks She Has A Girlfriend Now, Where Have You Been, Beer and, surely, the highlight of their set performing the many versions of SR “which is the same song, just different emotions” as Aaron told a by-now smiling crowd. These guys confirmed that summer had arrived when they went on to beam Californian sunshine on The Cure’s gloomy Boys Don’t Cry which was a mind-blowing cover complete with the trombone and trumpet being used by Scott, John and Dan to perfection. They finished their sunny set with a cover of A-Ha’s Take On Me giving it a more upbeat and faster tempo than the original. Don’t think that Reel Big Fish are a novelty act because they’re far from it — each member knows the ins and outs of their respective instruments perfectly and can certainly be excused for blowing their own trumpet.

You know a band you’re about to watch is respected by the music scene when you look around and a

members of a lot of other bands are in the audience. This was the case in the Coca-Cola tent when The Future (www.myspace.com/thefuturerocks) took to the stage for a strong set of heavy electro numbers, including We Are The Future and Do As I Say. There were a few unfortunate technical problems, but they didn’t interfere with the band’s performance as they had huge stage presence and the atmosphere was buzz-ing as gig-goers filed out after a steady supply of powerful, melodic songs.

The next big Welsh band coming up on the scene is Kids in Glass Houses (www.myspace.com/kidsinglasshouses) and they just can’t do anything wrong at the moment — on or off the stage. A near perfect performance was given, banging out classy addictive choruses constantly — most notably Easy Tiger which is powerpop rock at its best. The rain was thinking about spoiling things halfway through the set, but the stage presence of these guys, especially Aled Philips (vocals), ensured that we all ignored the downpour and enjoyed a

truly pro performance.By the second song into their hour-

long set Gallows (www.myspace.com/gallows) frontman Frank Carter had already broken a microphone and asked the crowd in the Coca-Cola tent to punch him in the face as he jumped into the epicentre of the moshpit — talk about first impressions! To watch Gallows is soul cleansing. In a world of identikit fringes and fashion it was refreshing to see a band that cared about nothing but the music and the four other people making noise around them. From opener

Abandon Ship the tent was awash with bodies flying, Carter making his way through the crowd to the people outside (“There’s a couple of hundred of you lot out there, and four security guards! Rush ’em!”), inciting figure-of-eight pits and spitting out three-minute furies like Come Friendly Bombs and In The Belly Of A Shark, along with a cover of Black Flags’ Nervous Breakdown and a simply apocalyptic Orchestra Of Wolves. Gallows might not be set to change the world, but they’ll certainly make it a much more interesting place.

Alternative rockers Paramore (www.

myspace.com/paramore) headlined the Atrium stage and their performance showed that this was deserved. Para-more’s performance was every bit as slick as their appearance and the foxy Hayley Williams fronting the band sent tingles down the spines of men. It’s pretty sur- prising they’ve only been on the scene for a mere two years and already have a strong fan base. The crowd was treated to old favourites such as All We Know and Pressure but also treated us to a host of new songs off their current album Riot — most notably the single Misery Business and Hallelujah which went down a storm with the crowd. Paramore have the presence, attitude, youth, appearance and certainly not forgetting the talent to take things to the next level and become a household name.

After performing in Switzerland the night before and having had only five hours sleep, The Automatic

(www.myspace.com/theautomatic) took to the main stage in the run up to the headliners and played a scorching set kicking off with Peruvian-inspired Raoul. Sounding in fine form they absolutely tore apart their entire debut album Not Accepted Anywhere, but unlike most bands where all eyes are on the lead vocalist (Rob in this case) Ponty’s were on the energetic and hyperactive Pennie, the band’s keyboard player and back-up singer. He’s renowned for being animated on stage and this performance was no exception — his antics included scaling the 12ft-high speakers, jumping off them mid-performance, going into the crowd and making full use of the stage for every song. Quality songs off their current album went down a storm as they constantly bombarded the audience with them, though surprisingly their smash hit Monster was played earlier in their set than expected. Next up was their cover of Kanye West’s cover of the Ray Charles classic Gold Digger (that was a mouthful!) where Rob showed off his flute skills, before finishing with a superb performance of the electro-pop treasure that is Recover which got everyone in the jam-packed audience dancing — and explaining why Monster had moved up the playlist.

After a truly fantastic day of awe-some live music there was a short break in the proceedings, during which PLUGGED IN mused that all in all it had been a successful day — especially for the up-and-coming talent that Wales had to offer the world.

18 PlUGGED IN

PlUGGED IN 19

PLUGGED IN wishes to thank Joe O’Neil, Dave Driscoll, The Pop Factory and Julie Weir at Visible Noise for all their help in allowing us access to The Full Ponty and the performers.

The scene had well and truly been set for headliners LostProphets (www.myspace.com/lostprophets)

to perform — ultimately the band most people attending The Full Ponty had come to see. With the classic Green Green Grass Of Home playing, an excited ripple ran over the crowd and the long-awaited hometown heroes came out to the deafening screams of 11,000 adoring fans. And with no further ado, Ian Watkins and the boys launched into a powerful set of hit after hit, with the opening line of each song drowned by the noise of the delighted audience.

Last Train Home took the crowd up to another level, acting as a seventh member of the band as they sung along. And the boys just kept banging out classic after classic — 4:AM, Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja, Rooftops. The magnificent one hour and 30 minutes they were on stage was full of energy, rawness and intensity that not many bands can compete with, putting the Prophets up there with the best of them. All six members

contributed to an orchestral effect and a true sound of progress from the proud Ponty rockers.

Watkins was in fine spirit as he told anecdotes to the crowd about growing up in this small town — intimate memories shared with 11,000 people who all felt they’d been invited round for a chat with their best friend. Throughout the whole performance, we could see and feel that the lads were ecstatic to be home and extremely proud of their Welsh heritage. Making this event a unique occasion, Watkins then began to acknowledge old school friends in the audience and call family members to join the band on stage. He even made everyone sing Penblwydd Hapus (Happy Birthday) to Mike’s mum — I don’t think you’ll see that at any other gig.

Back to the job of playing music and the Ponty crowd got the privilege of being selected to hear for the first time ever a live performance of new song Dead — a typical Prophets song full of mega hook lines and the trademark

sing-along chorus which we were easily persuaded to participate in. By the time the chorus came in for the second round it was as if we had known and loved this one for years. This just has to be a future single release.

The finale to their set was one of the best showcases I have ever seen. The Prophets paid tribute to all of the Welsh bands that had played in Ponty Park throughout the day and then called them on to the stage to help celebrate what was a groundbreaking day for Welsh music. With true pride everyone launched into a rendition of the Welsh National Anthem (Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau) with the crowd spontaneously joining in — and it was mind blowing.

This was a one-off gig you will never experience again, it was a unique Welsh occasion that can never be repeated — not even anywhere else in Wales. This was a moment for Pontypridd — and Ponty can be as proud of the Prophets as they are of it, proving that home really is where the heart is.

Words by Gary Bolsom

] lostProphets ]

lIVE PERFORMANCE

Full Ponty FringeWith the full force of an asteroid smashing into a planet, New Yorkers’ Head

Automatica hit the stage at Ponty’s Muni Arts Centre to rapturous applause and set about creating a wall of sound that engulfed the by-now enflamed

audience. This was the night they chose to play their first-ever gig outside the USA and, boy, was Wales ready for them.

Stepping out of the shadows to take the mike, frontman Daryl Palumbo (also of GlassJaw fame) exuded energy and enthusiasm and promised a performance of passion, while launching into a break-neck speed set of songs. Many of them, including chorus-driven tracks Graduation Day and Laughing At You and the slow-tempo number Scandalous, came from their latest album Popaganda. But tracks like the popular Beating Heart Baby, from the days when ‘Dan The Automator’

produced them, were not left out — and got the already captivated crowd screaming along wildly.

Jarvis Morgan Holden on bass guitar was controlled but calculating, and the steady but powerful drumbeats of Larry Gorman complemented the whole performance, showing that Head Automatica have the talent to keep their act tight and well balanced. Just watching them on stage

showed that playing live was not a chore for them, it was a heart-felt passion.Palumbo describes Head Automatica as a “Power-Pop band” — not the kind of

pop music associated with today’s society, but the true meaning of the word “pop” and he’s driving at full speed to get this meaning back out there. Palumbo once said, “Pop music is unbridled melodic craftsmanship” — and this explosive set was performed with that exact melody with which he describes his art.

The highlight of the night was kept for last with an instrumental track that started off with the psychedelic tones of the synth and gradually built up to a crescendo of noise with Palumbo screaming the lines, “There are two types of people in the world, walkers and talkers — which are you?” I can’t answer that personally, but I can tell you that Head Automatica walked the walk and certainly talked the talk on the debut performance from these transatlantic rockers’ European tour. The asteroid had crashed into the Muni setting the audience alight, and I have survived. GARY BOlSOM

After watching Tanya Walker (www.myspace.com/tanyawalker) and her backing musicians set up

their instruments with precision, the expectant crowd in Tom’s Bar was eager to see if the last performance of the night was going to be worth it. By hitting the first note on her keyboard Walker became totally focussed and completely absorbed by her music — and so did the audience, as we were engulfed by the sweet sounds that came from this powerful performer.

Melodic music flowed through this unlikely venue and enchanted onlookers with soulful ballads such as Soul Brother and Perfect View, as well as the more folk-influenced Good Days Bad Days and Sea Green Blue, all of which were ever so slightly enhanced by the careful guitar playing of Gareth Lewis (acoustic) and Gaz Williams (electric).

Walker writes all her own material, drawing from personal experiences both painful and pleasurable — and you can really see her reliving each emotion when she performs, hammering away on the keys with eyes closed tight as she immerses herself into the moment and the music. Finishing her set with the angst-ridden Babylove, which slowly builds up to a crescendo of sound, Walker left the stage spent and exhausted while we the audience were left holding our breath and wanting more. GAIl GRIFFITHS

lIVE PERFORMANCE

Ponty’s Clwb Y Bont is a quirky venue that ensures an in-your-face relationship with the bands on stage. Attack! Attack! (myspace.com/attackattackband) kicked it all off with some cracking guitar-driven tracks and a powerful

performance that really got into the spirit of the music-fuelled weekend. The energetic set went through the roof — literally, because instruments were almost stuck through it! For those who don’t know Neil Starr (vocals) and Ryan Day (lead guitar) are two-parts Dopamine, giving fans (and the rest of us) a high-energy treat with a racy set featuring head-thumping songs Home Again and Lights Out.

Next up was screamo/metalheads 12 Gauge Alliance (myspace.com/12gauge allianceuk), who really pumped up the volume and got the crowd going — especially front-man Alun Reynolds, who just couldn’t help himself joining the crowd for a big moshing session during Guns, Girls, Wild Nights. I have no idea how 12 Gauge weren’t the main act of the night — no disrespect to the final band — but this lot truly are performers of the highest standard with some hard-hitting heavy rhythms.

Last up was Saidmike (myspace.com/saidmike), a young act who gave a mature performance. Their sheer energy on stage was met by an equally enthusiastic crowd whose moshing had now spiralled into a tornado of sorts. The song Head’s Down was the highlight of the night, with its various tempo and volume changes reminiscent of the whole evening’s diverse variety of bands. The ceiling almost got attacked, the crowd got held at gunpoint and the floor was told that not everything is set in stone until Mike said so… Who’s Mike? I didn’t care. At this point I was merry, had had a good night and went home unbalanced. GARY BOlSOM

Billed as diverse, the Electric Friday gig at Tom’s Bar saw Gwent rockers Kill The Kids First (myspace.com/killthekidsfirst) rip through an energetic opening set, with frontman David really playing to the crowd. Songs included new

track Headlines and the fast-paced Hardcore, and finished with Losing The Summer — anyone who wasn’t hot or sweaty after that performance wasn’t there.

Pontypool indie rock kids Kick Box Riot (myspace.com/kickboxriot) stepped up next, giving the crowd new tunes like Sharks and Jurassic Park before playing myspace listed We Are Nowhere and Glass Feet. Front man Mike got the crowd under his thumb and up dancing. This fast-paced action performance took it up to the next level, with a general feel-good vibe coming from their set.

Hailing from Swansea and Llanelli, Frame 3-13 (myspace.com/frame313) played rock sliced in half and funk crammed inside. Jack (vocals) came across a bit of a cheeky chappy, but certainly put his money where his mouth is. This set was funkier than a 70s disco dance floor with the crowd dancing along. This funky sound has to be credited to be coming from Wayne (bassist) with his mesmerising riffs. Their set list included Take it Rough, Fall Into Something and crowd pleaser Suicidal Sister.

The closing act had to be something special to stand out and The Alternative Ending (myspace.com/thealternativeending) took the baton home for a sprint finish. The most energetic performance of the night, all due credit has to go to front man Paul (vocals) who ensured all eyes were on him and him alone. In the lyrics of the Arctic Monkeys, “We can’t keep our eyes off that T-shirt and tie combination” — and this was certainly the case with Paul’s outfit choice. Their rock highlighted the sound and talent coming out of the South Wales scene. They tore the place from its limbs with songs such as Constantine and Living Dead. RICHARD SAMUEl

The Malsters Arms was host to two bands on Electric Friday. First up was Restricted, a young four

piece who had only been together six months. Playing covers, all bar one, they gave the crowd an enjoyable show, belting out well-known classics that got people singing along, as well as appropriately playing homage to Ponty heroes LostProphets with Burn Burn. The problem? When you make a mistake playing covers people are going to notice. And yet when they’d finished their last song, the crowd still wanted more. So they gave it to them — and finished the set like conquering heroes.

The second band up were Hand Of The Daedra, as always providing an entertaining show to say the least. Opening up with Scum To The Nation.Not surprisingly the boys released anthem after anthem of some of the purest metal you can find in the Rhondda — even if they did have a bassist who was finding it hard to stay standing after drinking just a little too much beer. Taking advantage of the fact that they weren’t enclosed by the stage, the band members gave it all they’d got not really caring how many people were actually there. Playing every song to its full potential, and playing a big part in making this night memorable, Hand Of The Daedra failed to disappoint — leaving the stage to a small crowd of big fans. KAYlEIGH EDWARDS

PlUGGED IN 21

Henry Rollins Speaks, The Muni Arts Centre

It’s not every day you see a Punk Rock icon in Ponty — but there was Henry Rollins chatting in the evening sun, watched by a film crew, just before his Spoken Word show at the Muni back in May. The frontman of Eighties punk band Black Flag/The Rollins Band, actor and all-round good guy is 46 now and has the grey hair to prove it. But he hasn’t mellowed with

age, no siree. He’s still an angry man — and the war in Iraq, George Bush and Christian rock music all came under fire in this mesmerising two-hour performance.

Rollins got the show on the road by telling us ‘wonderful Welshians’ about his love for Dylan Thomas and about his first trip to Wales. (For a chaotic gig with Black Flag in Colwyn Bay — the band were just grateful they got fed!) It’s the way he tells ’em — moving effortlessly from subject to subject with bags of humour, often taking the mick out of himself along the way. This guy reckons he’s not a strong person, but he seems pretty fearless to me. His work with USO (United Service Organizations) involves meeting young servicemen who have been terribly injured in conflicts and it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.

What a life Rollins has lived – how many opportunities he has grasped and how many amazing stories he has to tell. Tonight, us ‘Welshians’ were delighted to hear them. STEPH McNICHOlAS

On the Wednesday night of the week-long Full Ponty Fringe Festival it was — believe it or

not — hot and sticky. The invited guests to the Acoustic Night spilled out from Ponty’s Clwb Y Bont on to the cobble stones outside, downing drinks and talking loudly. An air of excitement pervaded the place, for that night these people were privileged to experience a unique occasion.

Through the searing heat the sounds of an acoustic guitar filled the air as soloist Ceri Collins (www.myspace.com/cericollinsacoustic) took to the stage. His soulful voice is sublimely soothing and worked wonders on those of us standing close-by with pint in hand. This man has been put on earth to sing this way and as he travelled through his set list you felt the moods of his songs touching you like waves on a beach.

Second up was Scott Andrews and Chris Morgan from Midasuno (www.myspace.com/midasuno) who upped the pace with their two guitars and singing voices that reached every pitch in the audience’s hearing range. The guitars

co-ordinated perfectly as they both dived into oblivion and were lost within their own musical world.

It’s when Kids In Glass Houses came on that the small venue became packed to breaking point — including the stage where the five band members were seated. No-one had been left out in this show as even Shay (bass) and Phil (drums) played rice-filled plastic egg shakers and a red-plastic-drum-thing respectively. But it worked and they played the strongest set of the night stripping down and laying bare numbers like Me Me Me and Easy Tiger. They played tight and professionally, hinting at the performance they would be giving at The Full Ponty in a few days’ time. The crowd acknowledged this and they finished to rapturous applause.

It was a fitting tribute to KIGH when The Blackout stepped up next and Sean told the waiting crowd, “We’re gonna sound crap compared to them” — but then like he also said they usually hide their voices behind a barrage of noise and wailing guitars. But of course this wasn’t the case during an acoustic set,

both he and Gavin’s voices complement the songs they played perfectly — especially in crowd-pleasing favourite It’s High Tide Baby as they sang the line “I Apologise For The Summertime”. Between songs Sean’s banter was as good as many a stand-up comedian with friendly heckles flying from all corners of the packed room, but it was when he introduced their special guest on to the stage the sweat ran down my neck as boiling point was reached.

It was with much anticipation that we waited for Ian Watkins to clamber through the crowd to reach the stage — probably not his best entrance, but this tiny venue was packed to the rafters and by the time he got there everybody was ecstatic. Making The Blackout boys don stetsons, Watkins performed a fantastic wailing version of Bon Jovi’s Dead Or Alive. Hail to the all-conquering hero that is LostProphets frontman Watkins and his merry Merthyr army.

Clwb Y Bont was red hot that night and for once the drama of the performances created this inferno, not the blazing sun outside. DW

Acoustic Wednesday, Clwb Y Bont

22 PlUGGED IN

lIVE PERFORMANCE — FUll PONTY FRINGE

live & loudlIVE PERFORMANCE

Jazz Night, Clwb Y Bont

On the first Wednesday of every

month, Ponty’s Clwb Y Bont hosts a Jazz Night. There’s no standard cost but a collection box is politely passed around for you to add a donation for the people who work hard to make these

nights happen. I’d never been to one before so was pleasantly surprised to find instead of a full-on live gig kicking off, the early evening involves a jazz workshop where members of the public can turn up with their preferred instrument and jam along with three jazz pros in an improvisation session.

Two hours later the main show starts, with the three pros forming the backbone to the music and audience members

joining them on stage to perform the already practised songs. This kind of thing gives the performance a lot of variety — and as the nature of jazz is pure improvisation and randomness what better way to be random than to really take audience participation to the extreme.

Audience members I saw attempting the on-stage performance always pulled off some magical skills because they pushed their instruments to the extreme — which is what’s needed to be a jazz musician and takes years of practice and dedication to achieve. Don’t think that because you can blow an ‘E’ note into a trumpet you qualify to show off that skill.

People of all ages were jumping up on stage — from 85-year-old Tom (who claims to be the oldest jazz pianist in Wales) to the young student crowd. You can come and enjoy the show on your own, with a partner or a group of friends, no matter what your age and musical preference and still appreciate the skill and musicianship that goes on.

For a fantastic finale, all audience members who’ve performed get up on the stage for the last song and one by one show off their improvisation skills — and this time you can forgive these people for blowing their own trumpets! GARY BOlSOM

We’ve had a terrible July, rain, rain and more rain — and the Thursday night I dragged myself

to Tom’s Bar was no exception. Inside the room was quiet and devoid of people. I ordered a pint and waited to see what the next few hours would bring to lift me out of my mood — this was meant to be quite a spectacular event in aid of the Noah’s Ark charity.

As Vanessa Nicholas and Wayne Samways from Mea (www.myspace.com/meaofficial) started the night with an acoustic set of original and cover songs, the sun shone brightly and any dampness from the day was blown away. A voice that is usually hidden behind a scream of guitars wooed the now expanding audience, especially on numbers like Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know. It was soulful, it was charismatic, it was sad, happy and full of every emotion in between, and Wayne kept the music flowing with his melodic guitar playing. Raw and emotional and excellent.

Then guitars were plugged in and amps turned on as next up came Working Class Heroes (www.myspace.com/workingclassheroes). Launching from song to song like a train on a tight schedule, they lifted the mood upwards with a pop/rock feel. Frontwoman Kattie carried each song wonderfully

with her polite but mischievous play of vocal style, stopping between numbers, including Miami Injustice and The End, to chat with the crowd. Though they were a hard act to follow the mood was defiantly buoyant by the time they finished their 30-minute set.

I had just enough time to grab another pint before last Call (www.myspace.com/lastcalltointervene) cranked the pace up and proceeded to rip the living guts out of Tom’s — if the venue’s namesake had been dead he would have been positively spinning in his grave. This band can play, and play hard. Ripping guitars, strong bass and hard-hitting drums create power with the gusto of an Apollo rocket, while Jamie Todd’s soulful driving rock vocals bounce you from the walls with his fiery passion. They careered through songs like The Kill and New Best Betrayal as if they were losing control of a car, though they’re actually skillful F1 drivers going for the pole position! But then introducing the last song Gates of Autumn saying, “This is as close to Emo as we’ll ever get,” they played a touchingly beautiful piece of rock mastery. An excellent set by an excellent band.

Then darkness descended

and the best screamo rock band in this area Hand Of The Daedra (www.myspace.com/handofthedaedra) took possession of both the stage and my brain. Possession in the santanic sense that is, and they drove it hard and fast. Starting with their now classic Scum To The Nation they proceeded at breakneck speed through a set of nihilistic tunes that left bodies in their wake. Mike and Chedz (vocals) spar for your attention, while Liam’s tribalistic pounding drums crash into Foxhall’s guitar and Tom’s bass like there’s no tomorrow. Like having a chainsaw tear into your stomach they end and you feel battered, bruised and left for dead.

I left Tom’s Bar for home and it was still raining, but the rain just turned to steam from my radiant glow as I was sunshine itself. DW

Noah’s Ark Gig, Tom’s Bar

lIVE PERFORMANCE

Gig-goers and music-lovers enjoyed a weekend of music in early July, featuring 24 bands over three

nights playing their talented hearts out. PLUGGED IN was there and, though we didn’t manage to get round them all, here are the bands that we did see.

FRIDAYDownstairs was a live punk fest kicking off with the Smut Puppets

(www.myspace.com/smutpuppets) who play good ’n’ hard ’n’ fast in a Ramones-esque styles. With shouting rather the norm they cracked a pace with tunes like Running On Nothing. Upstairs Void Illusion (www.myspace.com/voidillusion8) had a set of great melodies and a brilliant singer to boot, crashing through a raucous set including stand out track Careless — it was a shame to send them back over the border…Downstairs and DJSpragg rapped some interesting opinions to an interested crowd eager to take up the cause, but freestyling wasn’t his best “thang”. Back upstairs again and Dr Faustus launched into swaying streams of infectious noise which was both gripping and dramatic. In amongst this chaos their lead singer posed and strutted in an unconventional manner, making the performance both watchable and disturbing. Downstairs Post 84 (www.myspace.com/post84) seemed to have learned a few lessons from three-minute wonders UK Subs, cracking out tune after screaming tune. Strong songs that gave the audience reason to pogo around, though most kept their feet firmly on the ground. Kurt Cobain sang the line “Here we are now, entertain us” and this audience must have been waiting for something

— and that was 2 Sick Monkeys (www.myspace.com/2sickmonkeys) who in the last performance downstairs produced punk which was what punk was all about, Protest. Full of venom and hate this bass and drum duo were on top form with witty quips from singer Pete between numbers. Ascending to higher ground (again!) we found the brilliant The Shanklin Freak Show (www.myspace.com/thefranklinfreakshow) made up to the hilt. Their masterful performance of strong and unique songs belied their obvious influence of Marilyn Manson, but within this there was a hint of fun — good old freaky fun that is, enjoyed by band members and audience alike. DW

SATURDAYMelon Farmer (www.myspace.com/melonfarmerband) gave an

incredible performance with band members playing perfectly while jumping about wildly — even the drummer, who deserves a particular mention for his great energy and utter pace and rhythm, especially on my fave track of the night Everything You Told. Another energetic set came from Octopusink (www.myspace.com/octopusink8) who are local guys with a more progressive feel to their rock music. After a few screamo numbers they become mellower singing slower track It Must Be Midnight with tuneful passion — it was a great atmosphere. JAMES FOXHAll

SUNDAYAll-female The Darlington Jacks (www.myspace.com/thedarlington

jacksx) have a great set of songs led with drums and backed up with flashing lights that give off a sense of disco, though uniquely their sound had a rock and roll mixed with Blondie feeling to it. Following on, The Ghost Of Reason (www.myspace.com/ghostofreason) were really impressive with their frantic style of rock, laden with some heavy shredding and guitar riffs galore. This band showed signs of diversity while on stage, jumping from sweeping subtle tones and then suddenly hitting you with in-your-face rock. Next up, three-piece band The Vehement (www.myspace.com/vehementrock) produced pounding rock songs that got their fans moving. The highlight of their performance was when Anna Williams (vocals/guitar) took a leaf out of Eddie Van Halen’s book and went into a tapping-style guitar solo during their quality song Price To Pay. GARY BOlSOM

Mini Music Fest, Tom’s Bar

One of the few fine summer’s evenings in July saw me making my way to Clwb Y Bont in Pontypridd and another fine live music gig. It started off with a mellow chilled out session from The Morning lights (myspace.com/themorninglights) playing a calm sound

to which you could easily sit down with a cold pint and unwind, including a cover of The Drifters’ Under The Boardwalk. Next up were Darlo (myspace.com/darlouk) who got bums out of seats with their frantic rock sound which was the total opposite to the sound of the first performers. My eyes were firmly fixed on Alex (bass) who played with so much energy it took the spotlight off frontman Simon (vocals).

Making their debut gig appearance Cuba Cuba (myspace.com/cubacubamusic) had a refreshingly DIY sound with smashing cowbells, synth sounds, guitar riffs and drum beats. Morgan (frontman) seemed to have done this time and time before, and the highlight of the night was their fantastic cover of Dr Dre’s Forgot About Dre. Tomorrow’s History (myspace.com/tomorrowshistory) had to prove their worth as headliners, but with Gareth and Luc (guitars) animatedly performing off one another and Leon (vocals) regularly ripping it up in the crowd with a good old-fashioned raw sound they showed that they were. On this performance they also showed they’re a band with ambition — and potential. RICHARD SAMUEl

Clwb Y Bont, 08/07/07

Fight Nights at The Muni have become synonymous with excellent live performances in Pontypridd.

An array of top-notch bands and up-and-coming local groups vie for your attention on a stage that gives you four to five bands in one night every month. Not bad for a small town. In May, prior to the Full Ponty we were given a night of ecstatic glory and treated to performances by The Stop Motion Men (www.myspace.com/stopmotionmen), Along Came Man, Miss Conduct and The Guns.

June and a double headline whammy of Hand Of The Daedra and 12 Gauge Alliance was preceded by Alter Ego (www.myspace.com/alteregowales), Criatura (www.myspace.com/criaturauk) and Prince Of Fochriw (www.myspace.com/princeoffochriw)

The July Fight Night once again brought a brilliant array of performances for us to savour. Though not the best band of the night We Are The Deal (www.myspace.com/wearethedeal) gave a chaotically heavy screamo performance that was crowd pleasing to the younger

members in the audience. The two singers’ voices clashed against each other as if they were sparing boxers while the new members of the band, who were performing for the first time, kept the music moving. With more energy than a 10,000-watt generator Attack! Attack! made the stage theirs with a tight, hard, rocking performance that was faultless and vibrant. Throwing more songs at you than spears during a Zulu raid, the pace wasn’t just cracking it positively split the world in two. Never a band to miss — ever. A total style change, which makes the swings and roundabouts that is a Fight Night worth coming to, saw ultra noise freaks The Unsung (www,myspace,com.theunsunguk) do more than take to the stage, they grabbed it between their hands and squashed it into a little ball. An annihilating performance that had Dave (vocals) leave the stage and spend much of the gig among the audience he now possessed. They took you and sent your mind spinning in all directions as they wound the music up and down like a stormy sea. Exhaustively brilliant.

We needed peace and serenity and that came in the hauntingly melodic

voice of Vanessa fronting the talent that is Mea. Saying that, peace never lasts for long in this world and Mea flew about the stage slipping their catchy masterful songs into your psyche. Like conquering heroes they took all the applause and cheers that erupted from the audience in appreciation. Eclectic and amazing.

The one problem Fight Nights have is that by catering for an audience widely ranging in age, the venue empties as time gets on and younger people have to go home. But then that was probably a good thing last July because the headliners were losing Sun, and they ain’t PG, they’re X-rated. Uncompromisingly hardcore their heavy beats thundered through a set that came running at full speed in a suicidal drive. Songs like Trigger Finger and Memory Run shine on their up-coming album Perspective, all played with a raucous sense of fun. Power is Losing Sun’s game — powerful music, powerful songs, played by powerful musicians. They showed the fight to the Fight Night audience and sent them home to scary dreams. DW* The next two Fight Nights are on 29th September and 3rd November.

Fight Night, Muni Arts Centre

Kick-starting The Full Ponty Fringe Festival on Monday 21st May was a small gig that got

slightly overlooked. But not only was this event a pivotal moment in the careers of the two bands playing, it was a chance to be involved in one of Wales’s biggest music festivals. The atmosphere was electric when the unknown Anweddus (www.myspce.com/anweddus) and growing-in-popularity In The Firing line (www.myspace.com/itfi) took to the stage.

First up was Anweddus, a Welsh-medium garage band who got a surge of teenagers rushing to the front of the stage for a 20-minute set that was nothing but impressive. A choice to cover Between Angels & Insects by Papa Roach was a certified plus in their

performance, as the crowd was familiar with this song and felt compelled to sing and dance along to the number. During Achub Fy Mywyd and Rejoice, singer James’s stage energy and presence was exceptional. Anweddus finished their short set with the favorable track Cythrel which got the crowd bopping along and even attempting to sing in Welsh — in all honesty this was somewhat entertaining and quite outstanding.

In The Firing Line, a screamo/metal band, has a very noticeable front man in Daniel and are also nothing but original — much to do with their fast solos and dynamic lyrics that leave the crowd wowing. Again this band only had a 20-minute set, which I thought put a strain on them to perform so well in such a short space of time — they had to knock out a tremendous performance to challenge what Anweddus had just

accomplished. Talking to Daniel pre-show and then watching him perform, I can only describe his behaviour as Jekyll and Hyde — which was somewhat disturbing. He loses grip on reality and goes into his own world where only outstandingly entertaining the crowd is important.

The band cleverly used an intro to enter the stage, which got anticipation high and the crowd roaring with excitement. Christ On A Bike and John Pedro were not the finest tracks for easy listening if you don’t like this genre, but the group terrifically executed them in style. The band’s most creditable song Dura was nothing beyond first-class — and the crowd longed to belt out the lyrics, which made an atmosphere beyond compare. High energy, humorous mockery and brilliant band co-ordination made In The Firing Line a real thrill to view. DANNY DYSTOPIA

14-19 Project, Muni Arts Centre

PlUGGED IN 25

SONIG YOUTH MUSIC INDUSTRY EVENTS

The Guest listINSIGHT

26 PlUGGED IN

We all like receiving emails and a recent message that winged its way through the ether to the

PLUGGED IN offices was one from our friends at The Pop Factory, inviting the PLUGGED IN team to the recording of their latest season of The Guest List — which the gang readily accepted.

Be at the studio for 10am sharp was the instruction and throughout the day we were herded in and out of the studio while watching the antics of nine different performers. It’s amazing to see the complexity of organisation that goes into producing a TV show of this calibre, with camera crews bouncing from stage to stage, while presenter Col Francis has to look cool and in control despite being on his third take while surrounded by strangers listening to his every word.

This is what some of the PLUGGED IN

team thought. Abi Jeremiah: “Attending a live recording of the show gave me a better insight into how much time and effort is put into making a TV show. It gave me a real appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.” Kally Pugh: “I thought The Guest List was an excellent experience for anyone interested in TV production, as you got to see where and how things were filmed.”

Danny Dystopia sums up: “I thought I gained a true insight into how a television show is made — I really didn’t know how much effort was actually put into it. I’ve learned that anything within the media takes a long time to do, but to actually be on the set of a TV programme yourself is a different matter. It was a somewhat different experience that I would like to do again. Just playing a minor part

of standing in the crowd proved to be a major part after all, an exciting experience. It was definitely fun to see bands giving it their all to be on telly.”

The day also showed us all a wide range of musical talents — rap from lethal Bizzle, melodic songs from Amy Macdonald, indie rock from little Man Tate, soulful grooving from David Jordan and an acoustic set from Tom and Andy of The Enemy, whose album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns should be on everyone’s ipod. There were also four brilliantly talented groups from Wales — the epic rock of The Guns, sexy Kim fronting the excellent Miss Conduct, the cool and collective Friends Electric and the just totally wild Viva Machine.

PLUGGED IN enjoyed our day trip, you too can enjoy the shows — The Guest list is on ITV1, Monday night at 11pm.

Ve nueLis tin gs

The ColiseumMount Pleasant StreetTrecynonAberdare01685-881188www.rct-arts.co.uk

Clwb Y BontTaff StreetPontypriddCF37 4SL01443-491424www.clwbybont.com

The Pop FactoryJenkins StreetPorthCF39 9PP01443-688500www.popfactory.co.uk

Park & Dare TheatreDyfodwg StreetTreorchyCF422 6NL01443-773112www.rct-arts.co.uk

The Muni Arts CentreGelliwastad RoadPontypriddCF37 2BP01443-485934www.rct-arts.co.uk

Tom’s BarWood RoadTreforestPontypriddCF37 1RJ01443-406666www.tomsbar.co.ukwww.myspace.com/sarahattoms

PlUGGED IN 27

If you’re a music venue and want to be listed in PLUGGED IN, contact us via editorial@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council Youth Arts Project is Proud to Present An Exhibition of Live Performance Photography

By Abigail Jeremiah, Josh Blisko, Hannah Culverhouse, Laura Williams, Leah Evans, Owain Williams

& James Foxhall

10th October to 10th November, Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd