Medictation - Warm Places
Leading into
this review / interview, the punk rock world is still coming to terms with the
recent news about both Dickie Hammond and Tut, both part of the Sunderland and
world wide punk rock music scene.
Just
recently I wrote a piece about Richard Eric Hammond (Dickie), following his
departure from this world. This will be published at a later date.
The
following piece was actually written before this tragic event, and it is only
now that I can publish it. Dickie had worked on a new project, which is just
being announced on this day, which would have seen him turn 50 years of age.
December the 15th 2015.
The release
would have happened earlier, however it was agreed to push it back, due to the
unforeseen circumstances and with the approval of the other band members and
his Mother and Son Jo, it will become a reality.
It is something
that had to be done and Dickie himself would have been so passionate about it.
Having it announced on his 50th birthday is a mark of respect to
him. “We are both Sagittarians, he had a big thing about this, so he would have
loved it”. Graeme tells me.
Medictation
Anyone with a
passionate interest in punk rock knows about the pedigree of bands that have
emerged out of Sunderland over the years; producing the likes of Leatherface,
HDQ, and Former Cell Mates. During 2008, the world was in the midst of a global
financial crisis, ‘the Chicago school, treating us like fools’, causing
economic shock waves throughout the worlds economies, making politicians the
world over to seek some form of Medication. In parallel, the last incarnation
of Leatherface were at their peak, touring the world, and in particular the USA
and Canada with Yesterdays Ring, a rag tag of Montreal mongrel punks headed by
the charismatic lead singer, Hugo Mudie, who also was the lead singer of
another well-known punk-rock band, The Sainte Catherines. The Stormy Petrel
world tour was in full sail, and was looking as invincible as the Titanic.
Years later,
‘the boat’, as they are colloquially known, faced a crisis of their own. Dickie
Hammond quit the band whilst they were on tour in Spain, and with Frankie
Stubbs having a broken collarbone, led to the band having no guitarist. Bassist
Graeme, and drummer Skruff faced no option but to fly home, leaving Frankie and
Dickie to try and go it alone for the rest of the tour. Inevitably, the band
failed to recover from such an implosion, and back at their peak best,
Leatherface was no more.
This left a
huge void in Sunderland, and left only the Former Cell Mates to fly the flag,
headed up by David Lee Burdon, who also played in Leatherface during a period
when Dickie Hammond was not in the band. A little bit of light, and a little
bit of hope emerged in 2013, when Dave Golledge reunited with Dickie Hammond to
reform HDQ, whom existed prior to Leatherface. They joined forces with Skruff
and Mick Jones, who played as a touring stand in guitarist for Leatherface when
Frankie Stubbs had a broken collarbone. They released a 7” and a critically
acclaimed 12” on Boss Tuneage Records, entitled ‘Lost in Translation’, which
although sought a different sound and direction to their previous output, was
instantly recognisable to fans of all the bands mentioned hitherto. The
Sunderland flag was now raised to half-mast.
And that is
what took me back to Sunderland after 10 years of absence. I was there to see
HDQ making a rare hometown appearance, as well as to spend some time drinking
wine with Graeme Philliskirk of Leatherface and Bull Taco / Rugrat to find out
what on earth had the others been up to during this time. Graeme took me along
to his new studio at the legendary ‘Bunker’, the heartbeat and focal point for
Sunderland punk rock over the years. On the way through the corridors, he
explained the diagnostics of how the classic album ‘Minx’ by Leatherface was
recorded, and upon entering the upstairs area, I was able to peruse framed
flyers of classic Sunderland shows, as well as front covers of all the fanzines
that were produced there.
As we sit
down to talk over a bottle of wine, he tells me that Frankie Stubbs has been
having a sabbatical from music, and concentrating on work and his personal
life. He is doing well, and taking a more sensible approach to life, compared
to others in these circles. “Frankie and I meet regularly, to chat about life,
politics”, Graeme tells me. Even Frankie himself recently wrote on his facebook
page “Been listening to some unfinished Hammond guitar part song shit tonight.
The musicians of Sunderland will finish these tunes off. I promise!” There may
be more to come.
 |
| Graeme in Studio 13 at The Bunker, Sunderland |
Those who
have born witness to Dickie Hammond’s solo appearance at Rebellion Festival and
his performance at the Sunderland gig will know that his personal struggles are
coming into the public eye. Many people close to him are becoming increasingly
frustrated that their advice is falling on deaf ears, yet his lifestyle is so
ingrained in his psyche that it is difficult to convince him to have it any
other way. Graeme himself has taken some time to focus on his home life, yet
the itchy feet have kicked in again, and this caused him to re-establish contact
with Hugo Mudie, whose band, The Saint Catherines, had also fallen by the
wayside.
During the successful
Leaftherface / Yesterdays Ring USA/Canada tour, which saw a mutual appreciation
of each others music and DIY ethic, the pair hit it off so well that on one
inebriated night, they promised to work together again in the future. It wasn’t
until 2012 that they reconvened, and in that time Graeme had been back in touch
with Dickie, and on the flipside, Hugo had been back in touch with Fred Jacques
and Julien Blais who had also played in the Saint Catherines, and thus the line
up for the project was complete.
The project
came to fruition in October 2014, when Graeme and Dickie made the journey
across the Atlantic, to join forces with the others at the remotely situated
Wild Studios, two hours drive from Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The pre-production
had already taken place at the Bunker, Studio 13, by Graeme, with a little help
from Paul Reed. Both Graeme and Dickie worked and demoed most of the tracks, to
produce a 10-song album and a bonus track. And it was on this visit to the
Bunker myself that Ont Road Fanzine, on a staple diet of red wine, was able to
have an exclusive listen to the album, titled ‘Warm Places’. Those that know Sunderland well will be aware
of the pockets of Warm Places that exist amongst the harsh realities of working
class existence.
The Review of ‘Medictation – Warm Places’
The record
kicks off with ‘Memories of Youth’, which Graeme assures me is about an old
friend who was stabbed to death in ‘Plains Farm’, an estate he grew up on.
After the build up, and the riff for the first verse kicking in, the melodies
are instantly recognisable as Hammond-esque, and the vocals familiarly raspy.
It’s a beautiful number that eases the listener in by the 3-minute mark.
‘Secret of
the Marlins’ is up next, and the alienation / self-introspection is felt with
the chorus lines of ‘Don’t talk to no-one’. This is one of the songs written by
the Canadians, and has a punk style Talking Heads feel to it, interjected with
some familiar Leatherface mini-riffs. By track three, it becomes apparent that
no songs are going to sound the same, something in which Leatherface were
synonymous for. ‘Gods and Glory’ is a slower number, and the mellow sounds are
reflective of a bunch of punk rockers who have seen it all and still content
with their existence.
Track four
is ‘Fishing’, and with the opening reel, it sounds like they are fishing indeed.
There is a more straight up punk rock sound to this one, I can agree with
Vinnie Fiorello (Drummer of Less Than Jake & Proprietor of Paper &
Plastic who is releasing the record), when he said some of the tracks remind
him of “Stiff Little Fingers”. A major influence on Dickie and Graeme!
At the end
of Side A, it starts to mellow out further. This is probably due to the Canadian
influence; as the guys have recently gone on to be successful Punk folk
artists, with their side project ‘Miracles’. ‘The Last Rainfall’ is mooted as
the potential single, and one feels at ease when the word ‘Son’, which is a
common term of affection in Sunderland, is used in the first line. There’s a
slight bluesy element to this song, which I like to call ‘Sunday Punk’, punk
rock mixed in with Bruce Springsteen, even U2 ‘Boy’ era. You can definitely
start to notice the folk influence of ‘Miracles’ and the sounds of Dickie
Hammond’s old band ‘Dr. Bison’.
Side B
starts of with a classic whirlwind punk-rock song ‘Saptor Raptor’, opening with
the lines ‘Do you wanna change the world with me tonight?’ I can already see
images in my head of a crowd full of punks at Fest, joining in on an epic group
sing-along to the chorus. This song has Gainesville written all over it. It’s
fantastic.
‘Sweet and
Sour’ is up next, which persistently teases more from the music, and is quite
left-field for the album, almost verging on the edge of an indie track. The
standout lyric is “I’m not gonna ask for help anymore…I’m not going to hurt you
anymore”. Then ‘My Friends Will Call’, kicks in, throughout the album you can
hear threads of Leatherface, in fact it would be ridiculous if you couldn’t
hear the influences and some more singalong lyrics abound with ‘It’s gonna be
fine, it’s gonna be sweet…we’re gonna be free’.
Track Nine
reminds me somewhat of ‘Broken’; it’s a slow chugger of a song, with some
lovely guitar solos piercing through. It’s almost reminiscent of Bob Mould’s
‘Sugar’ era in places. And then comes the curtain raiser ‘Stalingrad’, with
Hammond stepping up onto vocals, and having a ‘Jonny Cash’ moment. I don’t know
whether to laugh or cry when I hear this. It’s clearly something that has come
deep from the heart, and very personal about his life. There’s a line in the
first bridge that says ‘now my world is empty, and my glass is always full’,
the chorus comes in with ‘A catalogue of mistakes’ and the second verse
finishes with ‘pour me another drink’. It’s hard to tell if he’s being deadly
serious, or extremely light-hearted. Whatever the case, it’s a bold and
striking end to a diverse and powerful punk-rock album.
Graeme told
me how Dickie didn’t want to sing the track but he kicked Dickie out of bed one
morning and asked him to sing it. “At
least give Hugo a chance of hearing you sing it”. The rest of the band then
told Dickie his vocal had to stay and thankfully Dickie agreed.
The
finishing touches to the album were put together by Ryan Battistuz, who did the
recording and engineering, and Ryan Morey (who works with Arcade Fire) doing
the final mastering.
Medication
are:
Hugo Mudie (The
Sainte Catherines, Miracles, Yesterdays Ring) - Vocals
Dickie Hammond
(HDQ, Leatherface) - Guitar
Fred Jaques (The
Sainte Catherines, Miracles, Yesterdays Ring) - Guitar
Graeme
Philliskirk (Leatherafce, Bultaco/Rugrat) - Bass
Julien Blais
(The Sainte Catherines, Miracles, The Stills, XLarg) – Drums
Their debut
album ‘Warm Places’ will be available in early 2016, on Paper & Plastic
Records, in the formats of CD, MP3, and vinyl. A big thanks goes out to
Dickie’s Mum, Val, Son Jo and Evan. Mark Vincent Bussey
for all his work and Vinnie Fiorello for making this happen.
Order here: http://paperplastickeu.limitedrun.com/products/567025-medictation-warm-places-12
Order here: http://paperplastickeu.limitedrun.com/products/567025-medictation-warm-places-12
@Schwarzbrennen
