Southampton
surf punks are the latest to submerge the South-Coast music scene.
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| Image Source: The Gentry Underground Facebook |
“Yeah, we stick those posters up using wheat
paste”, explains frontman Zac, “It’s a stinking mix of wheat and flour”. “It
works though” chirps in drummer Dan.
Dan
and Zac started the band a year ago “in a cellar” although the boys had been
“jamming together for years before” after knowing each other from school. The
band didn’t properly start until bassist Barge ‘barged’ in and pretty much
damned to be the bassist. “It was great” admits Barge “It took about two hours and
we were roaring to some garage punk”.
The
band’s sound is as raw and dirty as a Cramps B-side which is not surprising as
it was recorded on a 4-track in ‘the cellar’. The record itself, Don’t Touch
Me, is described by Dan as ‘A mellow A-Side’ and the accompanying track, which
is conveniently named ‘Screaming’ is interpreted as a ‘foot stompin’ 60’s beat
B-side’.
The
knowledge of musical history that the trio possess, that is made blatant by
their influences such as Frank Zappa and The Velvet Underground, as well as the
championing of classic music formats such as vinyl, Zac even goes far enough to
say that “If you don’t have a record player…..That’s not the way”, it may come as
a surprise that all three members of the band are only 17 years old.
Maybe
a young band that embodies the teenage trash phenomenon like The Gruesomes did
in the mid-80s is just what the Southampton music scene needs. “Why should
people buy the single? Because it’s the best thing out there right now!” raves
Dan with a certain teenage swagger with Barge adding that “I can’t even listen
to the B-side without freakin’ out.”
It
may appear that The Gentry Underground appear to be a bit over-confident, but
admittedly it is a confidence that they are more than entitled to. Not only do
they write, record and mix their own songs they also release them on their own
label. “I started Skinbag last year” says Dan “It’s easier to put records out
yourself than trying to please a label”. How many other 17 year olds can claim
to have done that?
The
Gentry Underground’s next play as part of “Kit Harwood Presents” on the 29th
of December at The Railway, Winchester. ‘Don’t Touch Me’ is available to buy
for £3.99 through Skinbag Norman and Piccadilly records.
Critical Analysis
This piece, contrary to the rest of the work on my blog, is a news feature on the band The Gentry Underground, and more specifically, their single ‘Don’t Touch Me’.
This piece, contrary to the rest of the work on my blog, is a news feature on the band The Gentry Underground, and more specifically, their single ‘Don’t Touch Me’.
Something
that is mentioned a lot in this feature is the age of the band members, it has
been suggested by theorists that “younger people are generally stereotyped in a
negative way” in journalism and that if there is an individual in a news story “who
is either a juvenile or over the age of 50, their age may be predominately referenced
in the article.”(Mariero, M. 2009) As the members of The Gentry Underground
were all 17 at the time of writing, it is inevitable that their age is
mentioned a lot in my feature, but, contrary to theorists, I mention the band
members age in a positive manner, presumably, as my feature on the band is
positive.
Another
reason why I mention the age of the band a lot in my feature is because of the
music that they make, which is somewhat reminiscent of the garage-rock revival “teenage
trash evolution” of the 1980s, therefore connecting the band to a subculture
and giving the reader a more accurate representation of the bands sound and attitudes.
Maiero, M (2009). Stereotyping in Contemporary
Journalism . Minneapolis:
n/a. n/a.
