Dead Buttons (데드 버튼즈) (KR)Garage Rock from Seoul
Dead Buttons are a Seoul-based rock'n'roll duo comprised of Korean guitarist and singer Jihyun Hong and Paraguayan/Korean drummer and singer Kanghee Lee.
A veteran of Seoul’s indie scene, Hong previously played guitar for hardcore and punk bands like Combative Post and Sweet Guerillaz along with the psych- and pop-tinged garage rock act The Infamous Orchestra.
In December 2013, less than two months after their live debut, Dead Buttons traveled to Tokyo to perform at the Japan-Korea Punk Festival.
In May 2015 Dead Buttons published their first EP "Whoever You Are". Whereas the band’s early material had more of a garage punk feel, "Whoever You Are" boasts a wider array mixing garage rock, blues, country, punk, and psychedelic music. Subsequently Dead Buttons performed several gigs in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and France including the Liverpool Sound City festival and the Primavera festival in Barcelona.
Dead Buttons signed with U.K. record label Baltic Records and released their first EP titled "Some Kind Of Youth" produced by iconic rocker Kim In Su of Crying Nut followed by their second full length album "Rabbit" in 2017.
Reviews
"…fast, catchy, energetic, reckless and tongue-in-cheek straightforward garage rock, rockabilly and country blues in a terrific mix… great melodies and raw, rocking riffs... Definitely a band that is worth checking out for any rock fan."
- Mikkel Falk Moller, GAFFA.dk
"Dead Buttons hooked their crowd in unlike anyone else I’d seen at the festival. Dead Buttons are accessible to all, taking a more international approach to the rock scene, and singing in English. It is maybe this more international styling that has audiences so hooked by them, they are a shining example of what the Korean Indie scene has to offer."
- Unitedkpop.com, Live review
"It introduces a city sluggish with Beatles nostalgia to the likes of Dead Buttons with their Black Keys-esque dirty riffs and angsty blues-shot vocals."
- Silentradio UK, Live review Liverpool Sound City
"The sound is really garage-y, bit gritty, sometimes punk – a sound I have loved for as long as I can remember. So far, I have loved turning this up loud in the car and just singing along with it, but it also gets me through busy work days. I’d say the charm in this really is the sound: it’s very real and very solid work. The vocals match the instrumentation and the album is consistent, not all over the place chasing different styles. In all, I think it’s just really fun and totally worth listening to."
- Beats and sheets Blog
Dead Buttons – 16-22
Upcoming shows
No shows booked at the moment.
Band
- Ji-Hyun Hong – Guitar/Vocals
- Kang-Hee Lee – Drums/Vocals
- MJ moleman – Bass/Vocals
Discography
- 2017 – Rabbit (CD) / Loverock Company, Seoul / Baltic Records, UK
- 2014 – Whoever You Are (EP) / Loverock Company, Seoul / Baltic Records, UK
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P. BENTHAM & THE DINNER LADIES (UK)
Garage / Kitchen Core / Punk Rock
Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies are a four piece from Liverpool. Pete on Guitar, Paella Fitzgerald on Bass, Sonny Rollingpin on Saxophone and Tony Calzone on Drums. Plus The Dinnerettes. They are at the vanguard of current Liverpool music scene
The band was formed in 2006. Pete wanted to form a band that was a pure rock & roll band with modern lyrics about real life. They have clever, witty songs about working class life that feature Night Club Bouncers, Lorry Drivers, Cats & Dogs, always telling the truth and they speak out against things they oppose like consumerism and racism.
The music is raw punk rock and roll reminiscent of the The Cramps, The Fall and the Velvet Underground.
They have so far released three albums, toured the UK and Europe and have played many festivals including Rebellion Festival, the largest punk festival in the world alongside bands such as The Damned, The Beat and the New York Dolls.
A band who actually sing about things they know and believe in and always with sense of humour. This is Kitchencore!
Reviews
"It’s an utterly joyous spectacle. The songs are defiant yet fun odes to rebellion, with the likes of ‘Do the Don’t providing a suitably fun two-fingered salute to conformity. There’s a tune about being a ‘Hip Potater’ and a blistering, Billy Childish-esque tribute to their hero ‘Marcel Duchamp’. The set ends with the two dinner ladies having a mock fight on the floor and in the middle of the audience. If we weren’t already standing I’m pretty sure the band would have got a standing ovation."
- Soundblab magazine
"Check it out. Its easy to see why they are a great band to have at any festival, as they bring with them energy, up beat rock songs to have any crowd dancing about."
- little indie night
"Classic Liverpool Rock & Roll. Songs about things you've observed and experienced. Fun and upbeat."
- Sound City
"Third album from Pete & The Dinner Ladies, the Liverpool based ‘kitchencore’ outfit who with this offering have produced their most accomplished release to date... somehow The Dinner Ladies have not just pulled this off, this is a triumph – played with due respect but also with that ‘fuck you’ punk attitude that certainly Syd Barrett expressed; I get the feeling Barrett would chuckle if he had heard The Dinner Ladies, instantly responding to their free-spirit DIY take on rock ‘n’ roll."
- Louder Than War Magazine
"It’s a shame John Peel is not with us any more as Pete & The Dinner Ladies would certainly have been taken to the great mans heart and been regular favourites of the twilight airwaves. This album has pretty much been on constant repeat for the last month and protest has never sounded so great. This should feature highly in the end of year best of albums that we so love to compile and read about."
- Never Loved The Shovel Blog
"Best performance of the year thus far due to nothing more than the aforementioned points and the downright commitment to the cause. A fitting exclamation mark to a fine day that provoked much thought and much pleasure."
- Fungalpunk fanzine
"We were starting to flag at this stage but Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies rev it up with an entertaining set back at the Art Academy and prove punks not dead, it just wears a shiny 80's suit and is surrounded by Dinner ladies, it also proves that you can write a decent protest song without being a po-faced navel gazer, or tortured poet with a shit beard. “Do The Don’t” “Part Time Punk” and ” Hip Potater” are all crowd pleasers, but if you listen and pay attention you’ll find that behind the “fun” façade Mr Bentham’s got plenty to say and raises some very salient points."
- The VPME, Live Review
"To have spent many a gig in the company of Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies is not going to prepare you for just how good they sound, just how wickedly delicious and note-worthy they are tasty a band when allowed the freedom to wax lyrically in an anarchistic scrumptious style... The idea of David Bowie performing it with David Gilmour is one to feel goose bumps appear, to hear Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies play it is to almost understand the gender blurring of fun, slight majestic sleaze and sex appeal that runs through each line. You can only imagine the curly haired music genius who shone too brightly would have raised a smile towards the band, for it is a piece of art."
- Liverpool Sound and Vision
"Their infectious fusion of ska, folk and, er, circus music (that’s the only way to describe it, honest) seems a good enough reason to work off Pete’s (legendary) free Veggie Scouse via the medium of boogie... Pete begins by inviting everyone to pray for more good weather 'so we can riot in shorts and t-shirts'. Comedy is as much a part of Pete's act as the music; he enthusiastically explains the meaning behind songs, such as 'Nature', which was inspired by a conversation with a self-righteous hippy...
By the second encore, it's turned into a right old organic cider-fuelled knees-up; everyone obeys Pete's command to kneel on the floor before leaping back up for one chorus. Despite a lone stage invader almost spoiling proceedings, the show is a triumph."
- Purple Revolver, Live Review
"When all of the band kick in, the sound is tremendous; Pete thrashing away on his guitar trying to wear out the scratch plate (and his elbow); Gabrielle bashing the hell out of the drums. Marigoldy thunderously playing the bassiest bass possible and John 'The Caretaker' Lewis going cross-eyed trying to inflate either the sax or clarinet. The crowd loved them... Those diehards resisting the kitchen assault were all to be reigned in with the totally interactive 'Hip Potater'. Here, Pete had the crowd in the palm of his hand, ordering them to shout back the words 'Hip Potater, Hip Potater' at his command. A truly marvellous spectacle… You must give this band a listen, preferably live."
- Roomthirteen, Live review
"Wow, ich bin echt begeistert und habe mir das Album zum Besprechen sicher 10x angehört."
- Kink Records
"Bentham und Co. schaffen es, sich von allen Genrekonventionen zu lösen und Pubrock mit der Tanzmusik von Holly Golightly zu verbinden, Chuck Berry und Punkrock zu kombinieren, Saxophon und Klarinette einzubinden, eine entschärfte Version von THE FALL in Richtung KINGS OF NUTHIN’ zu lenken, mit einem kleinen Schlenker Richtung TOY DOLLS, und dabei dann doch nie wie eine der hier erwähnten Bands/Musiker zu klingen..."
- Ox fanzine
"Ihre Scheibe 'Hip Potater' läuft bei mir schon den ganzen Sommer lang... Trotz der frühen Uhrzeit ist sehr viel Publikum anwesend. Live sind sie eine Spur härter und schneller. Ein richtig guter Auftritt."
- Useless fanzine, Live Review
DON’T (US)
Garage / Punk Rock
Don't formed in Portland in 2009 when Jenny Don't (lead vocals, guitar) was introduced to drummer Sam Henry (The Wipers, Napalm Beach, The Rats). They created a genre-blurring blend that opened a Pandora's box of musical touchstones.
Recently bassist Kelly Halliburton (Pierced Arrows, Problems, Defiance) and guitarist Eric "Vegetable" Olson (Poison Idea) were roped in which makes Don't the ultimate Portland Punk-All-Star band.
A live presence to be reckoned with from their very first show, the band quickly built an enthusiastic and loyal following across the US and Europe.
Their powerful songs defy easy classification, sometimes dark and eerie, sometimes punk and surfy, but always melodic. Rooted in the same blues that are the foundation for almost all rock and roll, Don't contorts that basic concept into something dark and mysterious.
After their first album “Away Away”, several single releases and extended US and Europe tours, Don't published their new album "Fever Dreams" in the US (Doomtown Sounds) and Germany (Rockstar Records) in 2016.
Twisted Chords (Germany) will publish their new 7" "Enough is Enough" in spring 2017, before the next Don't-tour in May and June.
Reviews
'Don’t' are a surf-tinged punk group from Seattle featuring members of Napalm Beach and the Wipers and fantastic singer Jenny Don’t, whose voice has the same throaty, dark quality as a young, hungry Siouxie Sioux. The group are touring around a forthcoming full-length, and if their songwriting is as strong across the album as on the few preview tracks on their website, it should be a hell of a show."
- l’étoile magazine
"Before Portland earned its reputation as a playground for young adults, it was (and continues to be) home to individuals who devoted themselves to lifelong efforts at creative endeavors. Thankfully this side of the city endures amid escalating stereotypes and is on display with the musical project Don't. Formed in 2009 the band combines the talents of legendary local musicians Sam Henry (drummer of the Wipers, member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, and tonight's birthday boy) and Dave Minick (bassist for Napalm Beach and more), with the pioneering spirits of guitarist Dan Lowinger (the Love Lasers) and vivacious frontwoman Jenny Don't. The result is music that sounds effortlessly timeless while pulsating with that new and earnest energy we call rock and roll..."
- Portland Mercury
"DON'T is a band that is best described as being of the garage persuasion with hints of surf and punk thrown in. Fronted by the striking Jenny Don't the band also includes Sam Henry on drums, a man who has been inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, partially due to the fact that he was the drummer for The Wipers, one of the most well-known bands from that region. Musically the songs on this new release are laid back with Jenny DON'T providing a luxurious vocal performance that has a soothing quality to it, just right for kicking back and relaxing, as you drink whatever poison is needed to reset the levels of normalcy after the tedium of work."
- Punknews.org
"Portland’s got no shortage of throwback punk-garage outfits, but few nail the low-fi, devil-may-cry sound as seamlessly as quartet Don’t. Credit that to a lineup that includes members of groups like the Love Lasers, Audios Amigos, the Wipers and Napalm Beach. Traversing a robust musical plane of garage rock, country, spaghetti Western instrumental work and other seemingly divergent styles, the band’s sound mixes the rollicking rowdiness of old-school punk with a touch of Ventures-style surf rock. It’s all held together by guitarist-vocalist Jenny Don’t, whose voice combines the cadence of a lost Ramones sister and Metric’s Emily Haines, punctuating every slick riff with bravado. The group, formed three years ago, is steadily gaining a following by keeping one foot in the past and putting the other one forward."
- Willamette Week
"Bis auf die junge Frau an der Gitarre und am Mikro alles gestandene Menschen mit langjähriger Banderfahrung (unter anderem bei WIPERS und NAPALM BEACH), die dürfen dann eben auch mal GUN CLUB oder eben die WIPERS höchstselbst covern, ohne dass es aufgesetzt wirkt. Eine wunderbare Band, die zur richtigen Zeit am richtigen Ort einen Laden in Flammen setzen kann. DON’T muss ich wieder sehen!"
- Ox fanzine
"Jennys zuckersüßes Stimmchen verursacht Wohlfühl-Gänsehaut, während die Herren um sie herum das machen, was sie offenbar schon seit Ewigkeiten am besten können: gängige Melodien zu einem Surf-Postpunk-Rock'n'Roll-da-steckt-jede-Menge-Wipers-drin-Cocktail zu mixen. Noch einen bitte!"
- Plastic Bomb fanzine
"For those who are into gut-punching rock 'n' roll, this is some satisfying shit."
- Willamette Week, about "Fever Dreams"
STACY CROWNE (DE)
Action Rock / Rock / Rock'n'Roll
Stacy Crowne kommen aus Köln und machen High Energy Rock'n'Roll. Die vier sind eindeutig inspiriert vom Sound der skandinavischen Rockwelle um Bands wie The Hellacopters, Turbonegro und Gluecifer, trotzdem werden hier keine Klischees bedient – auch Hardrock- und Punkliebhaber kommen auf ihre Kosten.
Die 2014 selbst herausgebrachte Debüt EP findet in der Szene großen Anklang. Nach zwei Touren und zahlreichen Shows, u.a. im Vorprogramm von The New Christs, The Casanovas und Electric Eel Shock erscheint 2019 die erste LP „We Sound Electric“ über Savage Magic Records (USA). Als Produzent wurde Ola Ersfjord ins Boot geholt, der zuvor u.a. mit Imperial State Electric, Lucifer und Dead Lord zusammengearbeitet hat.
Vertreten sind die Jungs außerdem auch auf der Neuauflage der legendären “A Fistful of Rock & Roll” - Serie des Electric Frankenstein-Gitarristen Sal Canzonieri, die ebenfalls 2019 veröffentlicht wird.
Reviews
"Langsam macht es den Eindruck, dass das Virus, welches die skandinavische Rockwelle um Hellacopters, Gluecifer oder Turbonegro Ende der Neunziger durch Europa und die Welt getragen hat, erst jetzt seine Wirkung entfaltet, denn so richtig gute Epigonen tauchen, zumindest in Deutschland, erst in den vergangenen Jahren auf – und Stacy Crowne aus Köln gehören definitiv zu den besseren."
- Ox Fanzine
"Stacy Crowne kombiniert Ausdauer, Schweiß und high voltage and high frequency capacitors" [...] 'Soul in Stone', 'Black Widow', 'I'm in' und die Zuckungen im ganzen Körper werden schlimmer. 'Set me free!' Was dann folgt ist der Zustand totaler Erschöpfung und die Gewissheit, alles gegeben zu haben, bei jedem Akkord hellwach zu sein und beim vollen Körpereinsatz immer noch eine Menge Spaß zu haben. Wo AC/DC altersschwach werden, keimt bei Stacy Crowne die Hoffnung auf, dass Rhyhtm&Blues immer noch neue Türen aufstößt, um das Bestmögliche zu erreichen und keine Zweifel aufkommen, dass zwischen Risiko und Nutzen immer das Bauchgefühl siegt. Schweinegeil!"
- Underdog Fanzine
"Nicht zuletzt das macht die von Heiko Lohmann großartig produzierte Scheibe zu einem Hörgenuss für alle, die Rock'n'Roll krachig mögen, aber nicht auf überlebensgroße Melodien verzichten möchten."
- Kölner Stadtanzeiger