After performing in front of a capacity crowd at the Globe in Cardiff , Welsh proto-punk band Sicknote will be releasing an album containing a live unedited recording of the event this Monday (6 February 2012).
Despite having been together for a number of years and having played most of the major festivals including Glastonbury it looks like 2012 will be the year of Sicknote – with an American tour lined up for this summer.
The new album ‘UNZIPPED’ with be available to download from today (Monday 6 February). In a move that is becoming increasing common in the industry, the album is available in two formats: A ‘Pay What You Want’ download and a limited edition CD (limited 100 copies) complete with cover artwork and booklet (both from www.sicknote.tv).
Tuan Duong, Head of Promotions at The Globe, Cardiff was initially wary about putting the band on at the venue. He told us:
“When I was approached by Jason from the Sicknote team to stage their ‘Phone in Sick Mega Party’ event, I was very concerned to how he would be able to pull in the 330+ crowd, taking into account that we only had just over 2 weeks to stage the concert.
“As soon as the announcement was made, we had a massive response flooding in from all the major Internet Channels, it created an Amazing Buzz! As this was the first time that I heard of Sicknote, I really didn’t understand much about this crowd of party goers, I had heard ‘fairy tales’ about their wild reputation which turned out to be nonsense.”
He continued:
“To my delight, the crowd was absolutely peaceful and were just happy going party lovers! Some of them had a wonderful sense of fashion. Both Sicknote and the crowd, super-charged the cold January night at The Globe and produced an awesome night with an electrifying atmosphere.
“It was an amazing sight to watch, the crowd and the band merged as one entity, dancing to the rhythm of the powerful vibes and beats. It was a pleasure to have come into contact with Sicknote and to have such wonderful people gracing the dance floor of The Globe.”
Band member and man behind the bleeps Jason Flapsandwich explained:
“This album signifies the start of a 10 week break after 5 years of spreading the sickness all over Europe . The album is as close to a live show as you are going to get, totally unedited. A straight recording from The Globe in January and mixed and mastered by Jake Tilley at Butterhill studio.
“You get the screams of the crowd, all the mistakes, all the atmosphere… and you can sense the tension with the new drummer (who had never ever played with us before as our regular drummer (The Filth) phoned in sick last minute).
He added:
“The CD feels like a night out with us. We hope you enjoy and with the ‘pay what you want’ thing we imagine it will spread far and wide and bridge the gap until we come back in April at Freekwency Festival in Portugal .”
Shortly after the concert the band were contacted by American promoter Ceri Shaw and asked if they would be interested in playing the West Coast of America this summer.
Mr Shaw of Americymru said:
“AmeriCymru and the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation are pleased and proud to be welcoming Sicknote to the Great Northwest later this year.
“We are arranging a tour taking in the cities of Seattle , Portland and Eugene .
He continued:
“We are sure that Sicknote’s radical and innovative sound and stage performances will be welcomed here. Portland is the home of legendary US punk band, The Dead Kennedys and Seattle was the epicentre of the 90’s grunge phenomenon. We are hoping that the tour will coincide with this year’s West Coast Eisteddfod.”
