A step towards freedom for the Punks and People of Burma

Source SVT text, Translated in Google translater.

Suu Kyi proclaims the people's victory


 Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu
 Kyi called Sunday's election "a victory
 for the people "since her NLD party
 declared that she secured a place
 in Parliament.

 -But words, behavior and actions
 that may harm or make other parties
 sad or humans to be avoided
 altogether. I want everyone
 NLD members to ensure that people
 victory will be a worthy victory, she said.

 NLD said Monday that the party had
 won at least 43 of the 44 constituencies
 where it stood in the by-election
 to Parliament in Burma.




 Editors comment;
 Why I publish this will be a bit clearer to you later.

Review - The Lowlives and Knark at KGB and Knark at 44an

Stay tuned for the weekends reviews, will post later today.

Review - Mimikry at Debaser Slussen 29/3 12

A History lesson
To understand Mimikry to its full potential, one need to take a look at the area where they come from, or at least the people from there. And for that you need to learn a bit about Swedish medieval history. Where the province of Dalarna played an important part. It was from that province the resistance that freed Sweden from the occupying Danes in 1521-23 started. Once in a while the Dalarna came up with riots and were a political force in Swedish history back in the days. It’s an area with a great integrity and where tradition is strong. And that can be spotted all over the country, where the icehockey team Leksand* rarely play any away games because there are always a big crowd everywhere for them, especially in Stockholm. And the province is also known for its proud tradition of hard rock music. Sator, Sky high, the Hives and Mando Diao is a few of the bands from that area. And of course Mimikry.


The Crowd 

Mimikry wan´t alone from Dalarna gigging this Thursday night, The Hives also played at Kafe´44 . Possible that made the crowd a bit less populated than it could be. But there was people enough to make some noise. And these people were obvious Mimikry fans. They knew the lyrics and sung along though the concert. The crowd response, power up the band with a lot of energy, that then Mimikry pour back on the crowd.


The Sound 

As an established rock stage Debaser, Slussen have a competent sound for most band playing there. So the sound is over all good. Mia´s firm bass, Heavy´s tight drums and Åsberg and Anders guitars are tight and well sounding. It is punk but with a bit space for rock n roll as well.     

The Band and the Concert

Their decents from Dalarna is heard in Mimikrys music. They borrow some from the areas folkmusic that give them an unique sound even in the trall punk genre. But I´m not too impressed by that folksy stuff. In its worst moments they sound a bit like Nordman, when they are at their best I think they can challenge Bad Religion. But this particular thursday night there are a crowd willing to chant along in the chorus so it’s a bit of Sham 69 in it as well. The singer Hjalle is charismatic and got the crowd in a firm grip from the beginning. He never loses that grip. The singer with his stage diving, crowd surfing and the crowds rised fists is a “grand spectacle”. There is a connection and a bond between the band and the crowd that is notable. And in that, the singer introduce the new songs in a smart way to get them to pay attention to those new tunes as well. Any concertgoer know what that during those “new” songs people head off to the bathroom, hits the bar for a refill or phone mum or whatever. Not tonight. The crowd seems familiar with the new ones as well.

Finally
I can´t help myself thinking, that it would be fun to see how they should respond to a more neutral crowd. One they have to conquer. But overall it was a good concert well worth its entrance fee, 140 SKr (14 Euros). The songs ringed in my ears for a long time after, not because it was to high in decibels but that the tunes were catchy enough to stay in my head. Mimikry from the province of Dalarna is her for the throne and possible to de-throne The Hives as the Dalarnas finest.



*Lirarnas lag from the “Uppsamlingsheatet”CD is a tribute song to Leksands icehockey team.  

Ongoing Video Project - "Punk´s not dead" theme.

Ligisterna on stage 2011

I was invited or challenged (depends on how one look at it) by this young american media student, a punk rocker at the site Punkrockers.com to do a short video on the subject Punks Not Dead vs. Punk´s Dead.
An ever ongoing discussion. Punk hadn´t really started for real when I first heard it back in the days. So I decided to take a look on the subject. After scanning the swedish punkscene for a band to follow, my choise fell on Ligisterna, a realtive new band, but still with the right classic punk vibe to it. Also legends in the swedish punk scenes will appear along with new faces. But punk to me is a very global thing so I will try to get the international happenings right now as well.

Happy, Drummer in legendary Incest Brothers and Köttgrottorna as well as in KSMB for a while.

So this spring and summer I will be documenting venues, concerts and do intervjus. You might be the next one I film?

This blog is pretty much a result of that documentation.

Support Aceh Calling!

You might read about it a few month ago in the papers. About the Indonesian punks that got their rights violated.

This is our way to respond and help out. Listen, spread the word, download, and send money  to support.

Read more and listen to the compilation by clicking the banner.

The Following text is from Mike Virus taken from Punk Aid homepage

Why This Compilation Exists

Banda Aceh, Indonesia  is a strict Islamic Shariah region. Punks are forced to have their heads shaved, are forced to pray, clothes burned,  detained (64 were detained), and forced into “re-education” camps. Deputy mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal proudly claims that she personally supervised police raids in cafes and city parks. Djamal also has been quoted as saying “Punk is a new social disease” and also has been quoted as saying “Aceh is a Shariah region. Everyone should obey it and the punk community is clearly against Shariah”. These people are being jailed for being punk. They have not been charged with any crime. On Tuesday December 13, 2011 police took the 64 detainees to the Aceh State Police Camp and shaved their mohawks and dyed hair off and forced them into a lake. Punk is a worldwide movement, and this is our lifestyle. This is our culture. We are proud to be punks and we stick together.

This compilation is a necessity. This compilation is a message to the world that we demand
freedom and will not live in fear or ever change our lifestyle for anyone.
This compilation is also a message to the world that punk music is about a lot more than
drinking beer and partying. It is a way of life that is ingrained in the hearts and minds of all who decide
to be a part of it.

This compilation is an act of love - The love of punk rock and human rights. The minute I heard what was happening I knew something needed to be done. I just posted to the wall of my personal FaceBook page about what was happening in Banda Aceh and that I wanted to put together an international compilation to help raise money for the Aceh punks. Within a couple of hours I already had over 40 bands confirm that they wanted to submit a track to the compilation. In less than a week from the time of that original post I had 84 confirmed bands. Out of the 84 confirmed bands 73 actually submitted tracks.

When it comes to this compilation we really need people to help get the word out. Make posters. post online, set up benefit shows to help us get the CD version made. Get involved. This is OUR scene. This is a global effort. If you are a punk rocker then this is the time to stand up for your lifestyle. FROM THE PUNK SCENE TO THE PUNKS OF BANDA ACEH.

- Michael Rothstein “Mike Virus”
info@evacuaterecords.com

Räva (Rats)

On cortege up to "Studenternas", the Arena

Yesterdays bandy final between Sandvikens AIK and Villa-Lidköping BK ended up in a dissapointment.
For Villa who played its first final in 29years, the third in all, this was a special event. The Party and Joy before the game will stay with me for a long time. As a Villa fan since childhood it was something special. Sandvikens AIK who have played 18 finals and won 8 of them didnt even look glad after their victory. Possible did the best team win, but we, both the crowd and players did give them a hard time.

 

 

Notable Upcoming Punk Gigs in Sweden 2012

updated 25/11 -12


29/11 at Stampen, Sthlm 20:00   Ligisterna, the Krooked  (Apoteket Apan)

30/11 at Kafe 44, Sthlm, 19:00   Oi! night wuth Agent Bulldog, Antipati, Psykbryt  (Gatans Musik)

1/12 at Fryshuset Sthlm,  19:00  Troublemakers, Attentat, Alonzo & Fas 3, Bitch Boys, The Bristles (Gatans Musik)

15/12 at Henriksbergs Takterass, Gothenburg, 20:00  Civil Olydnad, Finnegan´s Hell, Ligisterna (Klubb Showdown)

Picture borrowed from TMs webpage to illustrate what to expect.

Pretty Shitty Kjell 3, Oi! the Event festival

Upcoming event in Stockholm.

As many said about it, its a hell of a line up.

The event is sold out, so I wont be there, was a bit slow this time.

Fucking Kiss Me! - Punk as Fetish

On my blog Fucking Kiss Me and the Photo Book with the same name I try to catch punk as a fetish. So many photographers have made photobooks and exhibitions about leather, rubber, pvc, nylon fetish etc. Sometimes there are punk into it, mostly not. With the Fucking Kiss Me! (The Punk Rock Edition) Book I put the Punk rock girls, the punkettes and a few guys as well as the fetish. 

Punk + Art = Trouble in Wonderland

In the beginning of the Punk era (70ies Early 80ies) there was a stronger conection beteween art and punk than today. As they more or less drifted apart during the eighties and nineties the conection were not as tight it used to be.
Im an artist myself and into punk, or a punk thats into art. And most artist I know have its roots in punk, whether they are international aclaimed art stars och just struggle on the local gallery circuit.

But there are people out there making their marks on the mix between the two. Art or blogs about art.

One blog that is worth whatching if you are into both things is Jeff Blind´s Trouble in Wonderland.