Punk’s Not Dead: The young Hull bands keeping the flame alive
Ketamine Kow
The Crow’s Nest, a music column by Russ Litten
The inclusive Hull music scene that is packing The Adelphi
I was too young to be a proper punk, which was a shame, because to a nine-year-old in mid-seventies Hull, punk rock looked and sounded like the most exciting thing on planet Earth. That particular cultural ethos has stayed with me throughout my entire life, so it’s no surprise that I have been struck by the noises coming from the more raucous elements of the new crop of young Hull bands. Ketamine Kow, Candid Faces and Bedsit are but three of this vital new breed, so I decided to interview each of them.
Ketamine Kow are Adam on vocals, Harvey on guitar, Lewis on bass, and Charlie on drums. I sat down with them and a few of their mates, a week after they become the youngest ever local band to sell out The Adelphi.
How did the band start?
Adam: “Me and Charlie met at a college open evening and decided we wanted to be in a band. We got Harvey involved, but he left because we were called The Cocks. We got another guitarist, but they got Corona, so Harvey came back.”
Harvey: “I just didn’t want to be represented by The Cocks. It was just too silly. And then they were like, oh yeah, we could play gigs and get big. So I said, oh, that’s it, I’m out. But then I played the first gig with them as Ketamine Kow and I thought, yeah, this is sick.”
Adam: “Then we got Lewis, who joined two months ago.”
How do you go about writing the songs?
Adam: “We don’t really have a system. Harvey has written a couple, Charlie has written the majority … we tend to write the lyrics and bring them to the band and Harvey and Lewis will come up with a part … but they all start with lyrics.”
What do you write about?
Charlie: “We’ve got some serious songs, political stuff, but we’ve also got things like P*** Chisel. Just whatever comes into our heads. We wrote a song today about the abortion laws that have just happened in America.”
I was intrigued by your song You Call Your Girlfriend Babe, I Call My Girlfriend Boyfriend
Adam: “That was something I said about four years ago to a mate, and it just stuck as a note in my phone. Charlie saw it made a song about it. It’s happened with a few lyrics, things from conversations that have turned into songs.”
So what kind of meaning becomes attached to those songs when you’ve got a hundred people singing those words back to you?
Adam: “When I said it, it didn’t really have a meaning, it was just a joke. Charlie turned it into a song about inclusivity.”
Charlie: “I think our audience is quite diverse. And I think a lot of our songs are open to interpretation. A song like that means different things to different people.”
You stopped the gig the other night and insisted everyone look for a hearing aid…
Charlie: “We found it in the end.”
Adam: “It’s really important we make our gigs a safe space for everyone. Everyone who comes should be able to enjoy it. So if someone loses something, we’re gonna help them.”
Lewis: “There was your idea with the all-female mosh-pit.”
Adam: “Yeah, that was quite successful, the all-woman mosh-pit. It’s the kind of thing we wanna have in our shows.”
What do you want to do with your music?
Harvey: “Go as far as we can get. I hope we get big and successful, but I’m not setting any certain targets. It’s the experience I like the most, and just playing with the band. Live is a good vibe, with everyone shouting the words. I like rehearsal too, cos if you mess up you can just go again. It’s just fun.”
Adam: “I think next year is gonna get a bit messy, cos that’s when we’re all gonna to go to uni, to different places. I’m going to Manchester. But for now I just want to push on, keep on gigging, see where it gets us.”
Charlie: “I wanna travel. Go to another country and play a gig. I want the experience of piling into a sweaty van and going on an eight-hour trip. I just think that’s class. Making it for me is just if I can p*** off to Japan and play a gig. Like [Hull band] Life, they get a show in France and you’re like, wow, no way. That’s what I wanna do. To think that people in other countries could be listening to our tunes. It’s wild.”
What’s it like being a teenager in the UK right now?
Charlie: “I don’t know, I’ve got nothing to compare it to.”
What’s your opinion of Hull?
Charlie: “When I was growing up, before I started playing music I thought it was a proper dump. But then I got into the creative scene and the music scene in Hull and now I love it, I think it’s class. I don’t wanna leave Hull, it’s become one of my favourite places. You just start to understand it more when you meet like-minded people.”
What about the Hull music scene?
Adam: “I think it’s changed a lot. It’s always had the venues, but not the crowds. What we saw at our headline gig was a lot of people who wouldn’t normally go out. I think you have to create your own scene.”
Charlie: “It’s growing. It’s not there yet, but if we keep at it… You can feel it’s on the edge of something special.”
Ketamine Kow - that’s quite a confrontational name
Adam: “It was meant to be Ketamine Koalas.”
Charlie: “We got banned from college for making stickers saying KETAMINE KOW. People were putting them on their lanyards. They said we were encouraging people to take drugs.”
Adam: “We’re not, by the way.”
Charlie: “So we printed a load more up. You can’t get rid of the Kow.”
Would you call yourselves a punk band?
All of them: “Yeah.”
Charlie: “I don’t see Ketamine Kow as a band. I see it as an experience. It’s a concept. It’s a vibe. It’s not just the music. The people who come and support us are massive to us. They’re just as much a part of Ketamine Kow as we are. Like, y’know, the herd.”
Harvey: “That’s what makes the gigs for us, when the crowd get involved. We’re very intimate with our audience. Adam likes to get among them. We like to get them up on stage.”
The conversation meanders on. We discuss creative tension, band democracy vs band dictatorships, the joy of comb-overs. My dog jumps up and head-butts Adam, which is very punk rock. Eventually, the band head off to Princes Avenue in search of further adventure.
Ketamine Kow have got something very special. They could last another six years, six months or six seconds. It doesn’t matter. What really matters is right now. Seize the moment. Go and see Ketamine Kow. Go and see all these bands. You’ll never be this young again.
Ketamine Kow - links: Instagram / TikTok / Twitter / Facebook / Bandcamp / Spotify
Bedsit
I posed a few questions to Bedsit singer and guitarist Tom over email.
Who’s in the band? Who does what?
Tom: Tom Hockney – Vocals / Guitar, Casey Stead – Guitar, Ciaran Hall – Bass, George Garnett – Drums.
How did the band start?
Tom: “I wrote Bedsit’s debut EP Pocket Toy in 2020. It was released just a few weeks before lockdown, but that didn’t stop me searching for bandmates to take the project to the next step. Now, Bedsit consists of four seasoned veterans from Hull’s live music scene, and I couldn’t be happier with the line-up.”
What kind of things do you write about?
Tom: “Lyrics are very important to me. Even if a listener cannot hear the lyrics, or if they’re not paying attention to them, their meaning should be felt in their delivery. I absolutely adore it when people quote my lyrics or sing them back to me, because I put a lot of love and attention into those words. I take inspiration from everywhere: personal experiences, philosophical thoughts, social commentary. I am as honest and vulnerable in my songwriting as possible because I want to connect with the audience. Music is a powerful healing tool – I think we take that for granted. How many times have you listened to a song which reflects your mood when you’re angry, or depressed, or full of joy, and have felt validated? Songs have shaped me. Songs shape society. I want to be a part of that.”
What are your non-musical influences?
Tom: “I am influenced by film and literature. I’m obsessed with the themes in art such as The Lord of the Rings and the Terminator. We’re all fans of comedy, and I particularly love Bill Hicks.”
What do you want to do with your music?
Tom: “We want to tour. We want to push Bedsit as far as the merits of the music can take it, not to be tied down by menial, uncreative necessities of self-managing a band. I’m a hopeless optimist, so I think we can take it all the way to arena-level tours in just a few years’ time. But I’m also a cynic, so I just as equally think that we don’t stand a chance.”
How would you define the current music scene in Hull?
Tom: “It’s boiling over. A new generation of kids who grew up during lockdown are getting into the scene, playing open mics, and as of Wednesday, selling-out their own shows! Even before lockdown, Hull was struggling. We’re an isolated city, with little to no industry or management agencies for local bands. There are pros and cons to this: Hull bands often get the time to mature and grow into a unique sound without being picked up by the industry too quickly and modelled into a financially viable gimmick. But it also means that many musicians become disheartened by their lack of success and financial difficulties. Many brilliant bands die before they make it ‘out’ of Hull on a proper national tour. We want a better future for ourselves, and for the new breed such as Candid Faces and Ketamine Kow. Together, I’m certain we can make it happen.”
Where in the world would you most like to play?
Tom: “Bristol, The Exchange. Also, Seattle, USA.”
Where’s the best place to be when listening to Bedsit?
Tom: “A crowded, sweaty room full of grinning faces.”
Where do dead bands go when they die?
Tom: “Some are immortalised, some disappear. Some, you might find hidden deep on the web while you’re stuck inside with your own thoughts. A collection of songs, passions, lives, dreams, bled onto compact disk. Forgotten, but for those involved. Yet, if you sit and listen, a dead band will become revived for the moment. Echoes of a lost feeling reverberate inside you. It’s a healing power. A communion. A stream of consciousness. Their gift to give: blessed release.”
Upcoming gigs: July 21 - Dive Bar, Hull - Bedsit / Covent / Jackals. Free Entry.
Bedsit - links: Facebook / Instagram / Website / YouTube / Bandcamp / Spotify / Soundcloud
Candid Faces
I asked Candid Faces a few questions by email.
Who’s in the band? Who does what?
CF: “Taro - Guitar, Ben - Bass, Joe - Guitar, Liz - Vocal, Max - Drums. We all do a bit of everything on the business side as well - we’re very DIY.”
How did the band start?
CF: “The band started out in May/June last year with Max and Liz jamming some covers at college with our old drummer Charlie. Max originally played bass whilst Liz played guitar and sung. We did a couple of Nirvana covers and a cover of the Buzzcocks Ever Fallen in Love. Shortly after, Taro joined, which was when we wrote our first original, Not Like Me. After a change of name, a change of roles and the addition of Ben and Joe, we had Candid Faces.”
What kind of things do you write about?
CF: “Sometimes we write a mix of songs that carry messages we believe in, whether it's political or social issues. Sometimes we just write songs about fist-fights and cougars.”
What are your non-musical influences?
Max: “I don’t really have non-musical influences, a lot of my influence comes from other musicians, be that famous ones or people I know on a personal level, but if I had to come up with one I’d probably say Eric Andre. I just think he’s a cool dude and quite funny.”
Joe: “One person I think of is Richard Feynman because he didn't care about how people saw him, he kinda knew who he was, he was a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist who was known for being unorthodox. He had an office in a strip club just because he wanted to learn how to draw human figures, and then also spent his time playing the bongos just because it was something he wanted out of life. But even though he was super wacky for a scientist, he was still a genius.”
Taro: “Joseph Beeks.”
Ben: “I'd definitely have to say my non-musical influence is some of the artwork by Edward Hopper, specifically the painting An Office In A Small City. It feels bright and empty, is the easiest way to describe it. I reflect this in my bass tone by having high treble, but low bass. I love the twanginess of it without the lower tones.”
Liz: “Papa Shaw.”
What do you want to do with your music?
Joe: “I want to be in a place where I can play the music I love for a living, without making it too much of a strict duty or to the point where it becomes a chore. As long as I can eat and have fun with it, I am happy.”
Taro: “With our music I wanna make people boogie, bounce about, run into each other. I want our music to inspire physical movement.”
Max: “I want to write music I enjoy above anything else. If I don’t enjoy playing it and listening to it then how could I be happy with the music we produce? But past that I want to find people that can connect to the music and appreciate it for what it is.”
Ben: “I just want to be able to live off it. Obviously stardom is the dream for everyone, but as long as I can just do music and have enough to eat and live, I’ll be content.”
Liz: “I want our music to not only be enjoyed by people, but also allow them to consider the lyrics and how the things we make music about affects their lives. But mostly boogie to it.”
How would you define the current music scene in Hull?
CF: “The current music scene in Hull is insane. It’s like a living, breathing existence of like-minded individuals who are incredibly supportive and actively interested in whatever people are doing. It’s a really beautiful thing to see and be a part of. It makes us incredibly proud to be from Hull and very grateful that we’re a part of such a supportive and loving music scene.”
Where in the world would you most like to play?
Joe: “I'd like to play our City Hall, or the Bonus Arena. I feel like it would be a cool accomplishment to have sort of ‘finished’ our hometown by finally conquering it's biggest venues, where I've gone to see some of the bands I really love play.”
Max: “This answer is a more of a fantasy then a real answer, but if we ever got to the level, I’d love to play a stage at Reading Festival. I wouldn’t care which stage. But it’d be a dream come true for me.”
Taro: “I'd probably have to say the Houses of Parliament, simply down to the irony of it all.”
Ben: “The venue doesn't matter to me at all, as long as its a sellout and the crowd is good, I'm happy.”
What’s the best time of day to listen to Candid Faces?
Joe: “You should listen to Candid Faces three times a day as part of a balanced diet.”
Taro: “You should listen to Candid Faces at exactly 7:46pm.”
Max: “When you’re on the bog. The raw punk energy helps the process.”
Liz: “During a Tory scandal. So basically always.”
Ben: “Every chance you get.”
If Candid Faces was a building, what sort of building would it be?
Joe: “Candid Faces would be an aquarium.”
Taro: “Candid Faces would be a factory that mass produces faces.”
Max: “A mud hut or a hobbit hole, either is fine with me.”
Liz: £The jelly house thing in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.”
Ben: “A joke shop, for sure.”
Candid Faces - links: Instagram / Twitter / YouTube / Bandcamp