My band HATEFUL ABANDON, life, music and other

Hateful Abandon are my favourite band. Not that I have a huge ego, or because I have a messiah complex (although I do), or even that I think we are better than anyone else, but because of the possibility of what comes next.




We can do anything with HA, something I've said before ad infinitum, but so what? It's a huge deal to me to have the freedom that we've blessed with to shape my thoughts and ideas. You're going to hear some great things from the band this year as the next album is shaping up to be something really special. The irony is that not that many people will hear it. Not because of any failure on the record company's part, nor because we haven't got a presence on the Internet or the media, it's because we are so hard to MARKET to any particular group of people and because we don't have a BAND together to raise hell on a stage.

The last album, Famine, was a great starting point and a pretty good record, more importantly it cemented my relationship with Swine and I could begin to see what we would become. If I had anything particularly bad to say about the debut album I would certainly pick out the less original tracks such as 'Painters Rope' and 'Riding the Blade'. I still like the songs, but they were derivative of a 'Post-punk' band and had the carbon copy bass lines to boot. I see this as a side-effect bought on by the freedom of breaking out of a certain 'mould'. Nevertheless, it won't happen on the new record.

The big problem I'm facing now is that I want people to re-evaluate their opinions and thoughts on HA because I know what we're doing now is so much more special. Alas, it's not finished...I have pre-second album depression. Brilliant.

Going back to the HA as a live band situation, even if we got a band together, who would we play to? Is there an audience? I don't think there is. We should have been born earlier, or at least I should, Swine's main band Salute, apart from being great, are doing very well and seemingly on their own terms. Can't think of anything to say about that other than heart bursting pride for the lads and an envy bordering on the psychotic.

So, what can you expect in 2010? New album 'Next Question' should be heading out this Summer and will be harder edged than anything that has come previously. That's not to say it will be 'heavy', if anything it's even further from the Metal stuff I used to record. Expect a sharp drop in the ever dwindling Myspace friends list (semi-serious/sarcastic). Also I will be doing some solo stuff as well, I have loads of ideas that wouldn't be suitable for HA. Just myself and an acoustic guitar. I don't know who will put this out but I've never been short of offers, just fans (again semi-serious).

I'm going to write a book about my life as well, it's been a pretty interesting one really. Mainly observing the way other people behave. I'll publish this myself if necessary.

To 2010 then. Raise a beer...

NEW MODEL ARMY and some stuff from my youth...

Get into this band. Now...

Utterly 'genre'-less stuff and HONEST music untouched by fashion and trends.

I first heard of them through my big sisters ex-boyfriend in 1989. Thinking back I kind of worshipped him at the time (it turned out years later that he was a violent idiot as well as a total poser, nevermind) as he was several years older than me, had his finger to the pulse of 'alternative music' and I was a 14 year old kid weened on Heavy Metal and was just developing a bigger sense of what was worthwhile music, the stuff he was listening to seemed 'grown up' and sophisticated (HA!), it fascinated me. He also introduced me to stuff like Killing Joke, The Cure, Joy Division, Sisters Of Mercy, The Smiths and tons more...but that's another story.

Anyways, he copied me 'Ghost of Cain' and 'Thunder and Consolation' and I pretty much wore out the tape. I shared New Model Army with friends at the time, my band-mates in Death Metal band 'Fratricide' (we were very 'special', only the drummer Gavin could really play well. We just used to jam a muted E chord whilst Rod and myself would grunt over the top. Sounded great to us though) and they loved it too. We used to have NMA listening sessions over bags of Chips and cans of coke (what do you expect? We were 14!). We quickly snapped up the rest of the discography including the (then) latest album 'Impurity'. Sadly over the exciting flourish of early 90's music (Black/Death Metal, Nirvana, Lo-fi, taping John Peel and listening to every track for that golden nugget) I somehow lost touch with the band.

Over the last 7 years or so, being with the same woman and marrying said soul mate, I've found a lot of time to relax and look back on the stuff I used to listen to and New Model Army have been the latest bit of buried treasure I've re-discovered. I've been carefully picking my way through their back catalogue and to my surprise they've remained pretty much untouched musically. Even their new stuff is great. I picked up the latest album 'Today Is A Good Day' and apart from the slightly clumsy proto-metal chugging on the title track, it's a great album.

I'm now fully booked in to see them live here in Bristol next month, and I'm fully expecting my eyes to be moist when they wheel out the old tracks.

So, here's to you New Model Army...really good to hear you again, I've missed ya. Salute!