IRREGULAR INTERVIEW: KEV FENTON (CATS? AYE! RECORDS).
Kev Fenton is partially responsible for Cats? Aye! Records, a label that puts out music and occasionally makes beer. They did that Hop Water Music thing, and the Gnarwolves Bru Cru beer too, and they were both amazing. But I first met him because he puts on shows in Huddersfield, where I live, and Leeds, where I often find myself, and hangs out in all the same real ale pubs as me. He's the man behind a lot of great stuff that goes on up here, basically, and over the past couple of years he's gone from being a familiar face to a welcome one, so he's probably the kind of guy you should get to know a bit better.
IRREGULAR: The three things I really want to talk to you about are punk, beers, and Huddersfield, as these are basically the three things I connect with you. Can't decide which one to start with, so how about you tell me what got you in to all three?
KEV: I kinda wish I had a cool little story about how I got into punk, but I was just one of many fitfteen/sixteen year-olds who fell for the charm of the Green Day/Offspring rock of '94. But we quickly found other, better, bands through a TV show that was on in the middle of the night, mid-week, called Noisy Mothers. My mum used to tape it and, through that, bands like No use For A Name, Rancid, and Samiam were discovered
Born and raised in Huddersfield, 35 years (lived in Luton for a year in '95, went to my first DIY hardcore show). Huddersfield has a healthy alternative scene, but its struggled for many years with the DIY punk side of things. Shows have trickled through, some have worked, some didn't. Places have tried, but you always find yourself leaving town to see the good shows, people rarely come to us.
Best thing about Huddersfield is the beer! Its a great town to live in for drinking real/craft ale. We have some great pubs and some even better breweries. Its been good in the sense that it has introduced to me new people, people who I have become friends with, new conversations are been had that don't involve bands or shows, its been refreshing getting involved with the beer scene. Brewing came about after getting drunk with my buddies, who also happen to brew (Hand Drawn Monkey Brewing Co), that was a fun thing to do.
I: Teaming up with Hand Drawn Monkey is what's let a lot of people combine their love of punk and beer in a way other than drinking imported PBR out of a Throwing Stuff koozie. The first beer you did was Hop Water Music which combined my love of Hot Water Music, IPAs, and puns, so it was pretty much a slam dunk as far as I'm concerned. What was the reaction to it like? I really hope you got some angry emails from edge kids.
K: The ever opinionated internet seemed to react quite well towards HWM, it was a fun thing to watch. From a drunken pun/idea to seeing it on the bar, people seemed excited about it. It helped that we managed to brew a tasty beer, which was obviously down to the dudes at HDM, they know how to brew.
I think it brought the brewery a good bit of attention from people who wouldn't have normally checked them out, it peaked peoples interest in both them and us at Cats? Aye!.It also started many a conversation between folks to see who could come up with the best music/beer pun. Some truly awful one were spoken aloud.
I: Yeah I spent ages trying to come up with good ones and failing miserably. Lemuri-ale. I.P.Apologies, I Have None. I'm not proud of it. Barlow came up with Larry And His Cask, which has its merits, I guess. At the risk of letting beer overshadow the label, though (we can come back to it later, I'm sure), let's change the subject - what was the inspiration behind starting Cats Aye? To me, people either seem to have a long term dream to start a label or just stumble in to it accidentally because their mate needs a 7" pressing.
K: I've dreamed about being in a band for many a year, plenty of things put me off the idea though, touring, performing, etc. Never thought about starting a label, not once, not until my good buddies (Paul and Kerry) were up from Southampton one Christmas. We obliged the season and got drunk, when we woke up in the morning we had started Cats? Aye! - Not sure where the name came from, but we were surrounded by cats, so I think it speaks for itself
We had an idea of a band/record we wanted to release, that was the only reason for starting up, it didn't work out in the end, which was a shame because the band in question are making a name for themselves now.
Luckily some of our buddies had recorded some songs for a split, it needed releasing, we were looking for our first release, and thats where the Wegrowbeards / Young Attenborough split CD came from. We've only worked with people we know, it makes things a lot easier. Even if it's just people you know through the internet, the relationship gets built and you get personally involved in what they do, it makes for a more fun process.
I: I think the PV Undercover series you've done is a pretty good testament to how easy both the internet and a shared interest in punk rock makes it to create links and to get to know people - the amount of people you've had involved is really impressive and it has provided some great covers. I think Dave Calvinball's Mumford & Sons cover and the recording of Franz Nicolay doing Rainbow Connection are probably my favourites. What started it off, and are there any tracks that stand out as favourites for you?
K: Cats? Aye! Paul started it off by accident, really. He posted a list of songs on Facebook hoping some of his musician buddies would cover them for him. PV stands for 'Paul's Vanity'. People started snapping the list up and we decided to drop one a week until we ran out.
Series One ended up running for 38 weeks, which is crazy when you think about it. All the songs were recorded and mixed just for us, within a few weeks (sometimes days) of being asked. It's as DIY as you can get. And to get people from the Menzingers, Red City Radio, The Flatliners, Franz Nicolay and Cheap Girls along side some of the UKs fave songwriters made for a pretty pleasing end item.
My fave track is the cover of Banner Pilots 'Greenwood' by Arliss Nancy frontman Cory Call. It such a heartfelt little thing, could listen to it all day long. Keep you eyes and ears peeled for PV Volume 3 coming at some point in the future. I'd also like to do something with the best tracks, maybe a vinyl or something, some of the tracks deserve more.
I: There's definitely some ragers in there and I think people would be really receptive to a wider release. You've got a couple of the Menzingers doing songs on there, for example, and I'm sure people that usually eat up everything they do are totally unaware of it, so I think a physical release would get a lot of interest. Another series you've started is Darlington Sessions, though we've only had one of those so far (featuring Giles from Great Cynics, Roo from Bangers, and Kelly Kemp) - are there any plans for any more?
K: I've heard things in passing, rumours of certain names, about another Darlington Session, but nothing is set in stone. The concept brings some freshness to the acoustic scene. At first being asked about releasing I was a little hesitant to get involved in an acoustic record, but once I'd heard the tracks I was soon on board. The chemistry on the songs, man, amazing.
And of course it spawned the 'Survival Tour'. We've done 2 dates and both have been magical, it'd be nice to see both that and the Darlington Sessions progress. There is a crazy amount of talent in the UK at the minute, putting a few together and seeing what they come up with is always gonna be exciting.
I: You always seem to be pretty on it in terms of finding that talent - is there anyone you think people are missing out on at the moment?
K: Not been excited about a band in a long time like I have about a band from Dewsbury called Adore//Repel. Mainly instrumental, post-rock meets post-hardcore, very modern, very epic, big things are coming their way. Gruff melodic punk, done right, from Birmingham way called Guerrilla Monsoon, those guys are great songwriters and should make a name for themselves. And finally keep your ears peeled for an Australian band called Laura Palmer, epic melodies, like Iron Chic, The Slow Death etc. They may, or may not, be joining the Cats? Aye! Family, we'll see....
I: I think my favourite record you've put out now is Mark McCabe's second album, A Good Way To Bury Bad News, but my favourite Cats Aye associated thing that has come in to existence is definitely Bru Cru, which was the second beer you did with Hand Drawn Monkey. Easily one of my favourite beers I've ever drank, and responsible for a couple of the worst hangovers of my entire life! Even with the buzz around the associated band at the moment, it didn't really get picked up on in the same way as Hop Water Music did, so can you fill everyone in on what the hell it is and how such an incredible creation came to be?
K: It was crazy how quick Bru Cru turned from a drunken idea, Tom (HDM Brewing Co) and I had one night, into a real life thing. I'd approached Gnarwolves about putting the CRU EP out on tape, and after mentioning this to the brewery the idea to pair it with a beer was born.
We basically gave the guys from Gnarwolves free reign on the recipe, what style etc, as we wanted to create something that, not only would they drink, but had a big part of themselves in it. After a few back and forths and a few bum ideas (cider beer was the first idea that was quickly dismissed) we somehow stumbled on the topic of Rubicon Mango, and that was the clincher. We brewed it to 7% in honour of the CRUs favourite tipple, K Cider.
The boys came up to the brewery one Saturday to help brew the beer, played a crazy show in Huddersfield to celebrate the launch, it was crazy fun. But yeah, people didn't seem to get quite as excited about it as they did with HWM, which was strange, it was by far the better beer. Maybe we were aiming at different markets, maybe Gnarwolves fans aren't ready for craft beer yet?
I: It's possible, I guess their fans are a bit younger, and still hitting the cheap cider that the band favour themselves. But yeah, I love the beer, and the launch show was ridiculous, probably the best show I've seen in Huddersfield in my almost six years of living here - most of the competition is pretty much just Random Hand again and again. It was amazing to see a place in Huddersfield packed out with kids getting stoked and singing along and tearing the place up, just goes to show that if you get the right bands in to the town then people will actually come out. Acoustic shows that you put on at Hand Drawn always go well as well - even if they're not rammed every time, there's a good crowd and a really good community feel. How are your experiences putting on bands in a small town right in between two major cities generally, though? Is it hard to get people to come out, and do you ever regret putting on a band in Huddersfield when you maybe could have got a better crowd in Leeds? I feel especially bad asking this question after I didn't come to the Doe show last night. I'm sorry. I forgot and made other plans. I feel terrible.
K: I have a love/hate relationship with putting on shows in Huddersfield. Putting on shows in general I think. I worry to much about how the bands feel when they play, what they take away from the show. Huddersfield is a bit of struggle due to its close proximity to Leeds and Manchester, the bigger bands are always going to want to play one of the cities rather than our little town.
When you do bring bands in, it's always a gamble as to whether folks will come down to see a handful of bands they probably haven't heard of. Sometimes it pays off and you get a good turn out and everyone has a great time, other times you are left cold after two people came, they are the hardest thing to deal with. Bands will always tell you that they are just happy playing, doesn't matter how many people come! I can't help think they are kidding themselves a bit. And because of the gamble I decided to take the 'bigger' shows to Leeds. Which isn't helping the scene here in Huddersfield, really, but its one those scenes that doesn't really help itself.
I don't think I would put acoustic shows on at all if I couldn't use HDM. Its the perfect size which creates a great atmosphere. And, yeah, the turnouts are not massive, but the people that do come down appreciate it and get involved, and like you say they have a real community feel about them. When A Great Notion played he managed to get everyone singing a long to his songs, songs that they had never heard before, it was epic, and a perfect example of why putting on shows can be so rewarding.
I: That Great Notion show was brilliant, I love how he played in the middle of the room and just wandered around drawing everyone in, a great example of a performer using the space they're given to its full effect - I never understand why more bands don't take the chance on doing stuff like that because I can't remember a single time when it's put me off someone! You got any particularly fond memories from doing shows in Hfield other than Gnarwolves and the HDM shows?
K: I once put A Page Of Punk on accidentally in 2006, turned into one of the best. I had Frankie Stubbs (Leatherface) booked to play The West, day of the gig the supports dropped out so Frankie put me in touch with The Leif Ericsson. They said they would play but were unsure when they would arrive as they were picking a Japanese band up from the airport - both bands were starting a tour the day after. Turns out the band was A Page of Punk, who asked if they could play. Frankie let them headline, it was insane. The West (literally) went crazy for them, spent most of the night signing all the merch they had sold. Never seen a band look so happy. And straight after getting of a flight from Japan. Lads.
Had a few great shows when The West was alive. 2005-2006. Gallows, Frank Turner, The Ocean, Milloy... It was a good venue, good size, the right amount of grime.
Recently thought, Adore//Repel playing Baby Hop Fest was amazing! One of the best sets I've ever seen by any band. So excited by them dudes
I: Holy shit, I had no idea A Page Of Punk had ever played in Huddersfield, that must have been incredible. That's way before my time here though. I think small towns always have to sort of rely on catching newer bands on the way up, everywhere pretty much has that Gallows/Frank Turner/Enter Shikari story because, whatever you think of them, they got where they are now by literally playing everywhere. I kind of feel like there's less and less bands willing to do that now, put in the small town shows, but I guess you don't have to anymore - Facebook makes it easier to network your way in to support slots for bigger touring bands (much easier than MySpace, too), and it seems to me like Enter Shikari were one of the last bands to really pull themselves up and make a huge name for themselves in that way. Maybe I'm just looking back on it in a rose-tinted way, but I remember so many bands playing my hometown of Northampton when I was a teenager, and just loads more shows in Huddersfield when I first moved here, that you wouldn't see anymore in either town. I don't know. What do you reckon to all that, as someone who's been putting shows on for a good few years now? Have you noticed a change?
K: There has been a big shift in the last few years, yeah, I think rising costs doesn't help. If a smaller, new band want to get out there and get noticed they need to do it on the cheap, focusing on the bigger cities would surely make more sense for them. But I also think that it stills goes on, to some degree, but it's a different scene and different bands, so maybe because we've grown up and moved on, we just don't notice it as much? Or maybe it's a different calibre of band? Your Gallows and your Enter Shikari's had something different about them, hard work helped, but so did the sound they made, people took notice. Who are the big names today? Lower Than Atlantis, Deaf Havana? Hard working bands, uninteresting sounds. As a promoter you find your scene, your niche, and you stick to it. You know what you are dealing with, what kind of people to expect, it makes things run more smoothly, you know the 25-30 people that will come to your show. Your not so much helping bands reach the big time, but you are helping your scene continue, just doing your little bit, because someone has too, right?
I: Well, exactly. I guess i'm talking about bands getting bigger when I'm the first to complain about them doing so! I often feel like punk rock is more an outlet for me to complain than anything else, and I'm probably not alone in that. What you're saying is right though, what really matters is keeping a scene going for all involved to enjoy, and I think you're definitely one of a few up here in West Yorkshire who things wouldn't be the same without. At least in my small corner anyway.
Anyway, couple more questions and we'll wrap this up eh? What's coming up on the Cats Aye front? The Leagues Apart album is next, right? Is there anything else in the pipeline you can tease us with?
K: I have got my eye on someone for the next Cats? Aye! release, Australian band, may have mentioned them earlier! Nothing is set in stone yet though, so I am gonna focus on a new little off-shoot label me and Tom from HDM have started, called Just Another Cliché Records. We are going to focus on the heavier side of music, mainly on tape. Got a few bands lined up: Bad Ice + Extract (both Canadian) and we are going to be doing the demo tape from Charlie Gnarwolves' new band ILL, which I am pretty excited about. But Cats? Aye! has built up a little name for itself over the last couple of years, through both putting out music and putting shows on, its cool for us to have little place in this scene of ours and I hope we can continue working with the high calibre of talent we have been.
I: Oh yeah, I finally checked out the ILL demo recently. Definitely worthy of a release. What's the appeal of a tape for you? I mean they lose out on sound but I'm starting to come round to them as a nice compact physical object that's cheaper than vinyl. As long as they come with a download code of course.
K: Yeah, I don't think many people actually listen to tapes, but they bring something fun to this whole musical map. They are just another form of merch that I think get a bad press, unfairly. I also think, as a format, it suits the hardcore genre a little better, they are also pretty cheap to manufacturer and ship to people. When we did the Gnarwolves tapes we didn't bother with a download code for two reasons, one: most people would have it already and 2: fuck em, buy a Walkman. I had to dig out my Walkman to give the test tapes a listen, I thought they sounded fun, a little rough, but that's what punk/hardcore needs, a little bit of rough. We have to think of something interesting and unique for future releases, we are all competing for a small share of a very small market, we need to deliver music to people in a fun and novel way, whilst keeping costs down for everyone. It;s going to be hard, but it should be fun trying.
I: If it's getting money in to the deserving hands of bands and labels then I guess format's irrelevant at the end of the day, and if tapes make people wanna buy music then turning your nose up at tapes would be shortsighted. So more power to the tape revival!
Final question then man, and it's a biggie: favourite breweries and beers at the moment? What should we be drinking?
K: First answer is gonna be an obvious choice for me, but Hand Drawn Monkey really are a brewery to keep an eye on, they can only go up. They have the ideas and the skills and with what they have planned for expansion I think we are all in for a treat. They do 2 beers (amongst many), Smaller and Bigger, two of the best beers I've ever drunk. And local.
Also you should be checking out the wares of Buxton, Dark Star, Kernel, Hawkshead...Too many to mention. We are pretty blessed in the UK, we have some of the worlds finest bands and THE worlds finest breweries, I can live with that.
I: Thanks so much for your time mate, it's been a pleasure. See you soon!
Check out the Cats? Aye! Catalogue at http://catsayerecords.bandcamp.com/ and learn more about Hand Drawn Monkey at http://www.hdmbeer.com/.