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Do you have a tour coming up? Let’s talk about some ways that you can promote it.

6  ways to get more out of your tours

First of all, it’s worth remembering that the responsibility for promoting a show doesn’t lie solely with the promoter. Sure they need to be doing their share of the leg work, and a good promoter will always do plenty of online and real life advertising to get the numbers in. But, if you make a bit of time each day to promote the shows then it’s going to benefit everyone involved.

Tour Posters

While you might not be playing huge shows, it’s still important that you do things properly and having a professionally designed tour poster is one of those things that you should invest a few quid into.

Ask around fellow musicians to see if they can recommend anyone who can design a poster for you or tweet a band you like asking who made theirs. That’s how I found Monica who designed this poster for Bad Ideas.

When you email a designer for a quote its worth asking if they’ll knock up a Twitter and Facebook cover photo using the tour poster artwork as well as a standard design otherwise some parts might get cut off.

If you want to go the extra step then you could also have some posters printed up all nice and glossy. Not only can you send these out to promoters / venues for their promotion but if you have a particularly nice design then you might be able to sell a few on your merch table on tour.  

Mailing lists

Mailing lists are often forgotten about by bands but they are a direct line with your fan base.

Once you have all the tour dates in place get a newsletter prepared telling your fans about the tour and how excited you are to be ‘on the road again’.  Be sure to include ticket links.

Consider sending out the newsletter a day earlier than your official ‘tour announcement’ as a way to reward the fans that have joined your mailing list. It’s a small gesture which can build loyalty and show you appreciate their support.

Concert listings

Concert tracking apps Songkick and Bandsintown have millions of users who sign up for ‘pings’ when their favourite bands are touring nearby. So make sure you have all your tour dates uploaded and scheduled for announcement so fans can hear about the show. Both platforms also have some integration with Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Deezer and YouTube to some extent so it’s certainly worth doing.

Press Releases

Without giving you the hard sell, press releases are something that we specialise in and that we recommend to bands every time they announce a tour.

A press release will include plenty of information about your tour and will be sent out to online music websites & physical magazines in the hope that they’ll write about it. It serves a dual purpose as we’ll also ask some of their writers to come along to conduct an interview or review your set.

Press Invites

Making a tour successful for your band involves not only hard work before you leave but also while you’re on the road. In an ideal world you should be taking plenty of photos for Instagram, making funny videos for Facebook and sharing general nonsense on Twitter.

You also should be making the most of the fact you’re travelling around the country. While there might not be all that many music journalists and radio DJ’s in your hometown of Boston there’s plenty in say Manchester, London, Glasgow or Berlin, right?

Track them down, invite them to a show or see if you can arrange an interview and once they say yes make note in your tour itinerary so you can remember to put them on the guestlist!

Facebook Adverts

Much to the annoyance of many-a-musician Facebook is very much a ‘pay-to-play’ platform these days and that means that you need to be using their advertising features to get your voice heard.

As bad as this is for your pocket in the short term, it can benefit you in the long run. You can target both fans and yet to be converted fans in specific areas (the places you’re playing!) to make sure they know that you’re coming to their town.

I’ll probably write a short guide on using Facebook adverts to promote your band at some point in the future but if you have any burning questions then shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to help.

THE KEY TAKE-AWAYS: 

- It's your job to promote the show too - Get a tour poster made and have a few versions tailored for social media covers - Send physical posters to venues and sell the leftovers - Don't neglect your mailing list and let them know tour dates before anyone else - Upload tour dates to concert tracking apps (Songkick / Bandsintown) - Send out a press release - Invite DJ's and music journalists to shows - stay busy! - Maintain an active presence on social media while on tour! - Facebook is 'pay to play' make the most of its advertising features!

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HOT MASS announce UK tour dates with THE MENZINGERS

Swansea punk band Hot Mass are pleased to announce they have been invited to join Epitaph Records’ favourites - The Menzingers on a short run of UK shows this October. 12th October - London, Scala 13th October - Nottingham, Rescue Rooms 14th October - Edinburgh, Teviot Underground 15th October - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club “We’re super excited to announce we’ll be heading out with The Menzingers later this year on their October tour of the UK, this will be our first major tour playing as Hot Mass and we can’t think of a better way to kick things off,” said singer / guitarist, Rhys Jenkins commenting on the tour.   Having already racked up shows with the likes of Iron Chic, Gnarwolves and Tellison, Hot Mass are recruiting new fans by the dozen with their full-throttle musicianship. A desperate take on the “mid-twenties freak outs” which marries the intensity of acts like Black Flag and Jawbreaker with the raw sentiment of Marked Men, Husker Du and more contemporary acts like Joyce Manor and PUP.   The coming together of former members of The Arteries, 33 and Dividers HOT MASS released their debut album ‘Nervous Tensions’ on the 7th June via All In Vinyl (UK), Brassneck (UK) and Waterslide Records (JP). It is also available digitally via Spotify and Bandcamp.   Stream and purchase 'Nervous Tensions' here: http://www.allinvinyl.com/products/573682-hot-mass-br-nervous-tensions.

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HOT MASS Stream Debut Album 'Nervous Tensions' In Full (Out today via All In Vinyl)‏

Swansea punk faves HOT MASS (featuring members of 33, Dividers and The Arteries) are pleased to present their debut album 'Nervous Tensions' which is streaming in full today. The album is a co-release between Birmingham based record label All In Vinyl, Brassneck Records (UK) and Waterslide Records (JP). 'Nervous Tensions' is released today and is available both digitally from Bandcamp and on wax with a limited run of 'duckegg transparent' vinyl on sale now here. Stream and purchase the record here: http://www.allinvinyl.com/products/573682-hot-mass-br-nervous-tensions. Hatched out of the bedroom of front man Jenks’ South Wales bedroom, HOT MASS began life as a series of super-charged jams between members of Swansea bands DIVIDERS, 33 and former Paper + Plastick records favourites – THE ARTERIES.  Quickly finding their feet in the nuances between punk, garage rock and pacey hardcore they quickly racked up shows with the likes of Iron Chic, Gnarwolves and Tellison before entering Sonic One Studios with Tim Hamill to record album #1. NERVOUS TENSIONS the band’s first album showcases top-draw musicianship with sharp, cutting songs that compound BLACK FLAG style intensity with the raw sentiment of acts like JAWBREAKER, MARKED MEN, HUSKER DU and JOYCE MANOR. The resonant full-throttle instrumentation is matched in fervour by vocalist Jenks who hatchets his way through songs of ‘mid-twenties hopelessness’ narrating the “the transition points in life and major freak outs over what you’re doing, what you want to be doing and what you should be doing”. If you’re born to riff then you’re born to riff - and so even if Swansea punks HOT MASS had wanted to play punk-rock-by-numbers, it was never going to happen. Instead we have NERVOUS TENSIONS a collection of scorching hot punk bangers awash with defiant upbeat lyricism and more guitar battles than you’d find on a THIN LIZZY record.

Stream and purchase ‘NERVOUS TENSIONS’ at allinvinyl.com 

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KINDfest confirm first wave of bands for 2016

Popular Lincoln music festival 'KINDfest' have revealed the first wave of bands for the second edition of their annual music festival. Lincoln based live music promoter and local musician, Lee Byrne is teaming up with popular Lincoln High Street bar KIND for the event which takes place Saturday 2nd July. "When out on the road with my own band, Knock Out Kaine, we're often asked what the music scene is like in Lincoln? While I think there has been a quiet spell here for a while - the amount of great local talent we have at KindFest this year underlines the potential that we have here Brawlers who will be headlining the festival have toured internationally with some of the best bands out there and we're delighted to have them at the festival"  explained promoter, Lee Byrne. The all-day with event will see home grown artists from Lincolnshire such as Lincoln indie-punk outfit The Decomposers and Grimsby folk rock group The Finest Hour sharing the stage with internationally recognised artists such as 'Brawlers' from Leeds. Brawlers were profiled as 'one of the 20 hottest bands in the world' by Kerrang Magazine and the band have since toured with Set if Off, Decade, Real Friends, Allusondrugs, Lower Than Atlantis, Mooseblood and As It Is, as well as a recent Australian tour with punk band Luca Brasi. "I think this a great opportunity for local artists to play with some larger profile acts and we'd like to invite any original Lincolnshire bands to get in touch with us if they'd like to play" Tickets cost £8 and are available from Kind, Back to Mono and online at mudandbones.bigcartel.com. Further information can be found on the official Facebook event: http://bit.ly/25y0fDn Bands announced so far:

Brawlers, Chico & The Bandalitos, B-Leaguers, The Decomposers, Half Hearted Hand Gestures, Less Deceived and The Finest Hour.

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Scene Better Days Festival confirm full lineup for 2016 Scene Better Days Festival is pleased to announce the final line up for their 2-day festival which takes place Friday 12th - Saturday 13th August at Wharf Chambers, Leeds. The full line up includes indie-punk headliners The Spook School and Specialist Subject Records favourites - Doe as well as Bear Trade, The Kimberly Steaks, Happy Accidents and 12 more acts over the two days. There will also be art stalls and Colombian themed vegan / vegetarian catering provided by Arepa Arepa Arepa! Weekend tickets are available now for £10 and single day tickets can also be purchased for £6 on the Friday and £12 on the Saturday at the door. Tickets can be purchased from scenebetterdays.bigcartel.com. Please note that Wharf Chambers is a Co-operative Club and as such guests must register as a member at wharfchambers.org in order to be able to attend. Membership costs £1 and requires a minimum of 48 hours to take effect. Bands announced:

The Spook School, Doe, Bear Trade, The Kimberly Steaks, Happy Accidents, Kelly Kemp, Chrissy Barnacle, The No Marks, T-Shirt Weather, The Repossessed, A Great Notion, Austeros, Werecats, Junk, Crumbs, The Party Kills and Settle For Anything.

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Hot Mass (UK) stream 'Repeat' from their upcoming LP

Welsh punk rock band Hot Mass are pleased to reveal a new song today. Titled 'Repeat' the song is taken from their upcoming debut album 'Nervous Tensions' set for release this may via All In Vinyl (UK), Brassneck Records (UK) and Waterslide Records (Japan). Upon listening to the frantically paced rhythms of 'Repeat' it shouldn't take you long to figure out this isn't Hot Mass's first rodeo. Based in Swansea, Wales Hot Mass features members of some notable UK punk bands including 33, Dividers and The Arteries. Commenting on the new track, vocalist Jenks explains: “I’m coming to the end of my PhD and the song is about kinda losing the motivation for what I’ve been doing for the past four years ”With deadlines, and the expectation to do well favouring repetitiveness over creativity. I think that imbalance applies to a lot of other things too.”

Stream ‘Repeat’ here: http://www.punktastic.com/radar/listen-to-repeat-the-new-track-from-hot-mass/. 

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Bad Ideas announce break up and share unreleased album

Lincoln indie punks BAD IDEAS who planned to release their third full length album this summer have announced that the project has come to an end. A statement from vocalist, Sam Cook reads: "As the founding member of Bad Ideas all of five years ago, and the main catalyst in this decision, Ive been nominated to write this- but I will try to speak for us as a collective as much as possible here… Bad Ideas has been a massive part of our lives. We’ve had endless amazing experiences, and met countless wonderful people in many different parts of the world. When you’re working on projects like this that take up so much energy and time, and pay off in ways other than excessive financial reward, the people that understand what you’re doing and why will often come out of the woodwork. We’ve had incredible support, understanding, and love from so many of these creative, caring and marvellous individuals, and first and foremost- THANK YOU to you all! The point comes with many things in life where you know you need to stop, and unfortunately I have found myself at this place with Bad ideas. Its not been an easy realisation, and to my bandmates- Im sorry, and thank you for the past couple of years and all we’ve shared and done. We made a record last summer that we’ve not managed to release yet. Its something we poured a huge amount of time, love, and energy into, and were immensely proud of it. At this juncture it feels appropriate to finally share it with the wider world- We hope you love it as much as we do!" Bad Ideas originally as an acoustic project in 2011 of former The Living Daylights frontman, Sam Cook but went on to release 2 EP's and two full length albums as a full band. Most recently their 2014 EP 'The Better Parts of You' which was released under Uncle M, Aaahh Real Records and Paper + Plastick in the USA. The band recorded songs for what was to be their third album and had recently released a new single, (somewhat ironically) titled 'Give Up' which premiered via Noisey at Vice.  The album has now been made available via their Bandcamp page www.badideas.bandcamp.com. 

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The Lion & The Wolf announces solo UK / EU tour dates

The Lion and the Wolf is embarking on a month-long tour of mainland Europe and the UK. Tom will join up with Southampton singer songwriter, Heart of Oak for shows in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland before returning to the UK for a further run of solo shows.   Since quitting his job at the start of 2014, Tom has racked up close to 300 shows, the majority of which has been orchestrated of his own back. His debut LP ’Symptoms’ has just sold out of it’s second pressing and this year will see the eagerly awaited follow up which was recorded in the same studio in his home town on the Isle of Wight. Tom has performed at 2,000 Trees, Hevy, Isle of Wight, Blissifleds, and most recently at Fest’ in Florida. “I’m really excited to get back out to Europe for this headline run. I’ll be playing songs from my new record and this will be my last solo run until I return with the band as well as the new album!’ explained Tom George, commenting on the tour. Catch The Lion and the Wolf with support from Heart of Oak at one of the dates below... Solo Headline EU tour w/ Heart of Oak May 08, 2016  Jeugdhuis Tijl - Diest, BE May 09, 2016  Bla - Bonn, DE May 10, 2016  Bouwplaats - Tilburg, NL May 11, 2016  The Tube - Düsseldorf, DE May 12, 2016  Café Livres - Essen, DE May 13, 2016  House Show - Habbelrath,  DE May 14, 2016  House Show - Lambsborn, DE May 15, 2016  Werkstatt - Chur, CH May 16, 2016  Escholz 54 - Freiburg, DE May 17, 2016  House Show - Mainz, DE May 18, 2016  Zucker - Osnabrück, DE May 19, 2016  Weltempfänger - Cologne, DE May 20, 2016  Superbude - Hamburg, DE May 21, 2016  Ramones Museum - Berlin, DE May 23, 2016  House Show - Windershusun, DE May 24, 2016  House Show - Hannover, DE May 25, 2016  Lolita Bar - Kassel, DE May 26, 2016  I Am Love - Bochum, DE May 27, 2016  Grenswerk - Venlo, NL May 28, 2016  Café Bonaparte - Lokeren, BE Solo UK Headline Tour June 1, 2016 JT Soar - Nottingham , UK June 2, 2016 Percy’s - Whitchurch, UK June 3, 2016 Live Rooms - Chester, UK June 4, 2016 Gullivers, Manchester, UK June 6, 2016 The Junction - Plymouth, UK June 7, 2016 The Islington - London, UK June 8, 2016 The Sanctuary, Basingstoke, UK June 9, 2016 Pavillion Tavern - Brighton, UK Social links:

https://www.facebook.com/thelionandthewolf

https://twitter.com/TLATWuk

http://www.thelionandthewolf.bandcamp.com/

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Brighton punks Harker share new track 'Sometimes Dead Is Better'

Brighton based punk rock quartet Harker have revealed a new song from their upcoming split EP 'The Great Thieves Escape II' which is set for release this spring via No Panic / Flix Records. 

The split EP see's Harker team up with Such Gold (USA), No Fun (DE) and Walk The Plank (USA) with each band contributing a song. Harker's track 'Sometimes Dead Is Better' features Plymouth singer / songwriter, Kelly Kemp on backing vocals and carries a positive message about DIY culture & in particular the open platform it provides. Vocalist / guitarist, Mark Boniface explains: “A lot of what we do, and how we do it comes from attending shows from a young age, and finding so many like minded souls within such a small community. There’s a real change in attitude in punk rock at the moment, and sometimes we need to remind ourselves we all have something to say, and there is enough room for everyone to achieve on whatever level they wish to. Dream big, support those who do, and leave your animosity at the door.” Harker are currently midway through their tour with German punks Casually Dressed. Check out the remaining dates below: April 9th || Holzminden (DE) - JuZe April 10th || Hamburg (DE) - Pooca Bar April 11th || Prague (CZ) - Cafe Na Pul Cesty April 12th || Graz (AT) - Sub April 14th || St. Georgen (AT) - Fabios April 15th || Heidelberg (DE) - Villa Nachttanz April 16th || Castricum (NL) - De Bakkerij Pre-order "The Great Thieves Escape II" here: http://bit.ly/22hf0qz

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The Decomposers reveal video for 'Blood Runs Cold'

Lincoln based alt-rockers The Decomposers have revealed the music video for their latest single 'Blood Runs Cold' a second track taken from their forthcoming débutante EP 'Born Out Of Silence'. 'Blood Runs Cold' is the second music video to be released by The Decomposers following on from 'Therapy' which was released last month. Filmed by Mighty Vision Entertainment the video flips between dry live shots of the band performing and scenes of shamen-like dancing around glowing fires. Speaking to Punktastic, Matthew Belton (vocals / guitar) commented on the story that lies behind the song: “Blood Runs Cold is about how humans can react to each other when relationships turn sour. Before we went to record the EP none of actually liked this song that much and so we scrapped the lyrics completely, revisiting some old lyrics which totally transformed the song.” 'Born Out Of Silence' is set for digital release on Friday 6th May which an EP release party at Liquor, Lincoln alongside indie punk heavyweights Tellison, Bad Ideas & Real Talk. Tickets can be purchased here: http://bit.ly/1UK6Yrg.

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FIERCE MORGAN - 'MISANTHROPY' OUT TODAY

The new EP 'Misanthropy' from Sheffield based pop-punk band FIERCE MORGAN is out today. It can be streamed in full and purchased, both physically and digitally, here: http://fiercemorgan.bandcamp.com/. ABOUT "MISANTHROPY": Once the beating heart of the industrial revolution, Sheffield is a city synonymous with metal production, which years ago earned it the moniker "steel city", a name it is still known by today. However, over the past few decades Sheffield has been transformed and the towering steel mills have been replaced by office blocks and huge retail units altering (at least on the exterior) what was once said to be "the most proletarian city in England." Of course, if you're willing to dig a just a little further under the façade it's quite easy to see that Sheffield is a city full of desperate people. People suffering from unprecedented cuts to welfare, public services and a real lack of opportunities. And it's only natural then that a band made up of Sheffield inhabitants is going to have plenty to say about what's going on. FIERCE MORGAN are four 20-something's who have been trading their brand of snotty pop-punk for just over three years, releasing 2 EP's and playing shows with the likes of NECK DEEP, SONIC BOOM SIX and RANDOM HAND. Despite being tagged as a 'pop-punk' band FIERCE MORGAN are proud to know their roots and cite bands like NOFX, AFI AND ALKALINE TRIO as major influences on their music. Yet they also enjoy plenty of contemporary artists like THE STORY SO FAR, KNUCKLE PUCK AND GNARWOLVES who are all regulars on their van stereo. Lyrically, FIERCE MORGAN are a band with plenty to get off their chest and their latest EP 'Misanthropy' which literally means a 'hatred of mankind' pulls no punches. Explaining the lyrics for 'Sweat + Tears' the lead single of their EP, Owen Cousins said: "Sweat and Tears is pretty much an anthem for most people in their early twenties in the current state of the world. You're told to go to school, do the work, get good grades, go to Uni, get a good degree - and for what? At the end of it, you're stuck at the job you started when you were 16. Some measly minimum wage (or just above) part time work where you're just a tiny little cog in a massive machine. You get told constantly "oh you have this degree, why aren't you doing anything with it?", but it's not that simple. Then comes the worst bit. You look back at all the people who dossed about at school, and they're all successful, with houses and flashy cars, because of some job they got from their cousin's hamster's ex-owner's friend. Sort of makes you think that maybe you shouldn't have worked so hard in the first place." 'Elders' the second single to be released of 'Misanthropy' was coupled with a music video and is perhaps the most brooding musically. Incorporating fast skate punk rhythms with emo-revival esque vocal melodies, not dissimilar to bands like Title Fight and You Blew It.   "Elders is that feeling of disapproval, that feeling of disdain you get from the generation above us. That ""looking down your nose"" thing you experience when you tell them you're just working part-time or you're house-sharing with a friend cos it's much cheaper or that you haven't quite found that graduate job they think you should be working by now. We're in a land of opportunity completely saturated by people a similar age who are all equally as qualified with nothing to make them stand out, and yet the older generation can't understand why we aren't living life the same way they did when they were younger " explains singer / guitarist, Owen Cousins. FIERCE MORGAN will play a special release show at The Corporation, Sheffield on Friday 18th March alongside Taxi for Bob, Cadavers, The Summer War and Bad Blood, before heading out a 9 day European tour with Cast Ashore. Click here for further information. ‘Misanthropy’ is out Friday 18th March and can be pre-ordered here: http://bit.ly/1gRvOgj Fierce Morgan is: Owen Hope Tom JT You can catch Fierce Morgan in action at these shows: 18.03.16 - The Corporation, Sheffield (EP Release show) 22.03.16 - The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham 23.03.16 - The Hope & Ruin, Brighton 24.03.16 - AZ, Aachen 25.03.16 - Cul De Sac, Tilburg 26.03.16 - Flatertheek, Naaldwijk 27.03.16 - Steinkestrasse, Hamburg 28.03.16 - My-Rocket Club, Havirov 29.03.16 - Sub, Graz 31.03.16 - The Bridge Inn, Rotherham For more information please visit: fiercemorgan.bandcamp.com facebook.com/fiercemorgan   twitter.com/fiercemorgan       If you have any questions, or would like to review the EP please contact: [email protected]

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ALL IN VINYL ANNOUNCE NEW SPLIT 7" VINYL SERIES

All In Vinyl Split Series Volume 4 will feature SIX 7" records each featuring one band from the UK and one from further afield. This year's split series features punk rock bands from the USA, Canada and Japan teaming up with counterparts in Liverpool, Glasgow and Cardiff, UK.

ALL IN VINYL have so far revealed eight of the twelve bands set to be included in the collection these are Does It Float (Tokyo, Japan), Stay Clean Jolene (Manchester, UK), Future Virgins (Chatanooga, US), Good Grief (Liverpool, UK), Dead Bars (Seattle, US), The Kimberly Steaks (Glasgow, US), The Creeps (Ottawa, Canada) and The No Marks (Liverpool, UK). With four more bands set to be revealed in the summer.

The first split brings together the emo tinged punk rock of Tokyo's DOES IT FLOAT with the melodic gruff punk of Manchester's STAY CLEAN JOLENE who feature members of The Leif Ericsson and The Great St. Louis.

While the second EP of the series features the scratchy pop jams of FUTURE VIRGINS (Chatanooga, US) with their first new songs for two years, and Liverpool based fuzz punks GOOD GRIEF. Head over to Punknews.org right now to stream both!

https://www.punknews.org/…/listen-to-the-all-in-vinyl-split…

The full collection of splits will be available both individually and as an entire collection on colour vinyl with instant downloads and artwork by Jamie Morrison (Pale Angels / The Arteries).

Head over to ALLINVINYL.COM and get your orders in!

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Patrick Craig announces new album 'True Story' and reveals music video for title track

Patrick Craig claims he holds the record for playing 'Wonderwall' more times than Oasis did.However, if drum lessons were allowed in the Craig household then this record might not stand. After taking classical guitar lessons, getting into Green Day and then ditching his unbranded electric guitar and fledgling school band, it was the Irish folk music that his father played in the house which inspired Patrick to take things into his own two hands.

'I’d be standing in the corner of a room at a house party, playing whatever songs people shouted out' says Craig (and now the Wonderwall record suddenly makes sense). But then Patrick started to place his own songs in between the many covers. Patrick started writing about his life 'like holding up a mirror' he says, taking from his heroes to write about what he knows and still believes that 'honesty is the best policy.'

Fast forward to the present day and the Patrick who sat in the corner playing Wonderwall is now having successful support slots with the likes of ALLISON WEISS, LONELY THE BRAVE and ROB LYNCH. It's this well-seasoned version of Patrick Craig that is about to join his contemporaries as he announces his debut album 'True Story.'

'The album was made quite quickly' states Craig, with only one day in a "proper" recording studio and most of the album being recorded in bedrooms, practice rooms and closets with Patrick taking the lead on most of the instruments. Whilst the lyrics heard cover the overall theme of coming to terms with feeling like a different person, depending on what's happening around you. 'True Story' by Patrick Craig is released on the 29th April via Under The Bridge Records. Delving deeper into the tides that crash in his mind, Patrick explains that 'there’s a lot of reference to water, and that could be symbolic of cleansing, like baptismal fonts, but I think it might be more that I really like swimming and thats just seeped into my subconscious'.

Patrick's songs all come from the same point of view; an insight into Patrick's life, although some songs are more personal than others 'The main thing I wanted this album to be, is true. There are elements that are heightened and exaggerated using artistic licence, but all of the emotions and sentiment is all based of true experience'. Patrick still to this day writes with the belief that 'honesty is the best policy.'

This honesty is immediately noticeable with album opener 'True Story' which is, quite simply, a true story; a night Patrick and his friends got drunk on Brighton Beach. 'I wrote this in one go while the chaos was happening around me. I wish I could go into depth about symbolism or debate the meaning behind this song, but it is simply as the title suggests, a true story.'

You can view the video for title track 'True Story' here (http://bit.ly/1MiUnTn), which itself is a self shot/edited video of true stories from tours, live shows and everything in between over the past 3 years.

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Bad Ideas share live session of brand new song 'Here Comes Trouble' 

Attempting to fill the void left by The Weakerthans and the soon to be defunct Motion City Soundtrack, Lincoln indie punks BAD IDEAS have revealed a live session of a brand new track titled 'Here Comes Trouble'.  Guitarist and vocalist, Sam Cook explained the origins of the track: “Here Comes Trouble was the first of a new batch of songs that we penned for our next album. Often a song can take a long time to take shape but this one just felt great off the bat. If you’ve been to see us live recently then you’ll have probably heard at, it’s a really fun song to play.” The indie rock quartet are showcasing the live videos in anticipation of their spring tour with THE LION & THE WOLF with dates in Germany, Belgium & the Netherlands.  The video is the second of a trio of videos promised, with ‘Lighting Fires & Making Mess’ premiering in February, along with new studio single ‘Give Up’ which launched via Noisey late last month and received airplay on Kerrang Radio last week via Alex Baker's 'Fresh Blood' show. 

Click here to watch ‘Here Comes Trouble’ live in session: http://bit.ly/1SMrTZ1

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Introducing: The Decomposers - debut EP out Friday 6th May

Lincoln based alt-rockers THE DECOMPOSERS are delighted to reveal details of their debut release ‘Born Out of Silence’ which will be out on Friday 6th May.   With a van playlist that includes everything from FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES and BRAND NEW to FIRST AID KIT and JOHN MAYER, THE DECOMPOSERS are a band who value the quality of songs more than the genre boundaries which they fall into. This might explain why the bands first ever EP, to be released in April, took quite so long to perfect, as singer / guitarist Matt Belton explains:

“We had a pool of around 20 songs that we worked on over a period of a year.  We've all been really excited about sharing the tracks but we knew the most important thing was to write the best songs we could possibly write. So we held tight until now.” 

THE DECOMPOSERS announced their existence with a self-made video released via Facebook to their steadily growing fan base. The track titled ‘Therapy’ is an ode to mental health and the struggle that undiagnosed sufferer's undergo, something which is reflected in the video. 

‘Born Out Of Silence’ will be released on Friday 6th May with a special release show scheduled at Liquor in Lincoln alongside REAL TALK, BAD IDEAS and indie rock heavyweights TELLISON. 

Click here to watch the video for ‘Therapy’ (http://bit.ly/1RbBt1W) or visit http://thedecomposers.co.uk for further information.

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Introducing BICYCLE THIEVES (This is Bicycle Thieves) - debut EP out 29th April on No Panic records

BICYCLE THIEVES will release their debut EP via No Panic Records on 29th April.  The Cardiff based four piece have revealed details of their sophomore release, a four track EP which highlights them as a band who should be on every punk rock fans radar. 

Having only been a band a matter of months, BICYCLE THIEVES, have already received critical praise from the likes of Punktastic and BBC Radio Wales' DJ Adam Walton who championed their track 'We'll Be The Ones (You're Afraid To Be)' a song which "invokes the fearless spirt of The Replacements and rich melody of the Gaslight Anthem."

The EP which is now available for pre-order features fantastic artwork by JAMES ALEX of BEACH SLANG and will be released both digitally & physically on 7" coloured vinyl with  limited Pink & Pink w/ Green Splatter variations. "It feels great to have some wildly talented people involved in making this record, I really can't thank them enough commented Neil Doran, guitarist and vocalist, speaking about the release. 

Visit No Panic Records to pre-order the EP now: http://nopanicrecords.limitedrun.com/products/568890-bicycle-thieves-bicycle-thieves

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Harker announce EU tour dates // split EP with Such Gold, No Fun and Walk The Plank

Brighton indie punks Harker have announced a run of headline shows in April with German punk rockers and No-Panic Records label mates, Casually Dressed.  'Excited to be once again heading over the pond in support of our new split record, this time touching a couple of places we weren't able to reach before. Double that up with some UK shows and joining our friends Casually Dressed and we've got a monster of a tour. See you on the road!' said HARKER singer / guitarist, Mark Boniface, commenting on the tour. April 5th || Plymouth (UK) - Underground April 6th || Brighton (UK) - Sticky Mike's  April 7th || Folkestone (UK) - The Harp Restrung April 9th || Holzminden (DE) - JuZe April 10th || Hamburg (DE) - Pooca Bar April 11th || Prague (CZ) - Cafe Na Pul Cesty April 12th || Graz (AT) - Sub April 14th || St. Georgen (AT) - Fabios April 15th || Heidelberg (DE) - Villa Nachttanz April 16th || Castricum (NL) - De Bakkerij The tour will coincide with the vinyl release of 'The Great Thieves Escape II' a 4-way split EP which will feature songs from Harker, Such Gold, No Fun and Walk The Plank. The EP will be released on 7" vinyl by German punk rock label No Panic Records and will be available in 3 different colours including 'Cyan Blue', 'Blood Red' & 'Milky Clear with Blue / Red Splatter'.  Harker's latest EP 'A Lifetime Apart'  was released on 30th November and is available now through Paper + Plastick / No Panic Records. Click here to watch the music video for their lead single, 23: http://bit.ly/21MqDr3.