Do It Together 2020 is just one week away and we wanted to help you get to know some of the amazing acts that are playing the weekend. Thanks to Jak from Just Say Nay, Callum from Toodles & The Hectic Pity and Katie from Katie MF for answering our questions.
Callum from Toodles & The Hectic Pity
Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Hey! I am Callum and I played in Toodles & the Hectic Pity.
Toodles are a three-piece folk punk band from Bristol, taking influences from bands like AJJ, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Mountain Goats. Honestly, it’s mostly pretty up-beat stuff but the themes are very much not and I think some of the songs we’ve been writing recently owe an awful lot to emo and pop punk as well – which is a fun space to be in, sat in between a lot of interesting genres.
The three of us have known each other since we were teenagers and started a band when we were leaving school, but because we went to different unis it was a bit of a slow-burning start and for the most part I was sending demos that I recorded on my phone over to the other two. We got to practice maybe once every few months and then I went to Canada for six months – but we very slowly wrote the songs that would be part of our first record, Call In Sick, which our close friend and indispensable collaborator Iwan of Invisible Llama Music released for us in 2017. We have a new release due from Specialist Subject Records in February which is called Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents. Hopefully we will have copies in time for Do It Together!
How was your 2019?
We started off 2019 by playing a rare Bristol show with Chewing on Tinfoil, then touring around the UK with my brother’s band, (then Jake & the Jellyfish, now known as Sunliner) which was super fun. We played a whole bunch of places we’d never been before. Then we also got the chance to play with Spanish Love Songs and Microwave, and we did two shows with Jeffrey Lewis in Bristol and London, which was nuts – and then got to play Specialist Subject’s birthday all-dayer to celebrate 2 years in Bristol, which was honestly such a fantastic show with the likes of ONSIND, Garden Centre, Grand Pop and Me Rex.
To be honest, we’ve been laying low a little bit since then and working on writing and recording the new EP, Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents. We recorded with Tim Rowing-Parker of WOAHNOWS and Dogeyed fame over the summer and had an absolutely lovely time with it, too. Since then we’ve been working with Specialist Subject on planning this release and focusing more on 2020 – which is going to be a busy one.
What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
To be honest my first exposure was my brother’s band, Sunliner (formerly Jake & the Jellyfish). Jake is about five years older than me and was, naturally, involved in DIY punk music way before I was – organising gigs for himself and other bands at The Croft in Bristol and around the country – and introducing me (through the fact he was simply playing them in the car or wherever else) to a whole bunch of bands.
Also, weirdly enough, it came from the other direction too. My sister who is two years younger than me is an avid music-discoverer in a way that I am definitely not. When I hear something that I love, I’m into it and I’ll listen to it to death. I go to gigs a lot too but I don’t spend time browsing Bandcamp or Spotify in search of new things. But my sister really does spend a lot of time discovering new music and, to be honest, most bands I’ve ever liked have come through her recommending them to me. From late in school and then at uni, I started to attend DIY shows more regularly in Cardiff and Bristol – most formatively at the Deadpunk Alldayers. I think that’s when we all realised that we wanted to make music but also that, unlike some young musicians, we didn’t have our eyes on stardom or anything: we really did have our vision of success as being part of the DIY scene. So in that sense, we’ve essentially achieved our dreams.
What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
To me, it’s really about the fact that the DIY scene really is about collaboration. It’s not just “Do It Yourself” in an individualistic sense, it is about “Do It Yourselves” – plural. Essentially it’s an anti-gatekeeper, anti-industry-insider, anti-fame-and-fortune approach to creativity. DIY punk is, or should be, a real fuck you to certain ideas about musicianship and creativity – who’s allowed to do it and what that means. It should attempt to break down fan/artist divides and accept that people making and organising are part of the same project as people who are participating. And basically, a fuck you to the marketisation of everything in our lives including music. In fact, bands, musicians, creators, consumers, participators – we’re not in competition with each other and we’re not trying to get ahead. We’re trying to build shit together and promote solidarity and community.
Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
Bristol has a thriving music scene and DIY scene – which goes without saying. But that’s not to say that everything’s ok and everything’s easy. Venues are still closing down, for one thing. For another, DIY promoting is a pretty thankless task. We could do with more smaller DIY spaces for cheaper, smaller shows. We’ve got a lot of mid-size venues in Bristol which can be a daunting prospect for most bands. Plus, promoters are taking big financial risks putting on shows and have more bands looking for shows than they can reasonably organise. It’s a rough game! I wouldn’t want to do it, but I’m thankful for those hardworking people who spend time and energy doing it.
We’ve gotta find a better model for supporting DIY shows all over the UK, because right now the weight falls heavily on the shoulders of those with real drive and passion and there’s always a danger of burnout and financial trouble. In Bristol, I’ve got massive respect in particular for Eat Up and Eat Up For Starters who are doing some of the best, most inclusive, most radical work carving out room for feminist, queer, trans and non-binary friendly spaces in the DIY music scene. But it’s also on us, the music-lovers, to cherish what we have and go out and participate and pay in and buy merch and support bands and promoters. Otherwise there’s a decent chance we could lose them. People give up every day and even more decide not to get involved to begin with. And that’s a real shame.
How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
I think that Do It Together seems like a real labour of love. There’s plenty of all-dayers and weekenders and gigs going on but, again, it’s really worth supporting the people who are putting the love into it. Be Sharp, Lockjaw Records, Colin’s Punk Rock World and Shout Louder are all projects born out of enthusiasm for live music. They’re not soulless profit making agencies looking for the next band to blow up. Otherwise they wouldn’t have booked us! Not saying this to sound up ourselves, but I know that we were put on this bill because the people involved really like us. And I think sometimes as a gig-goer you’ve got to put your faith in the hands of the mega-enthusiasts and say “Hey I’m going to trust your recommendation and see where it takes me.” And that’s rarely something you regret.
What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Triple Sundae. But also, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to see any of the other bands on the line-up live before – so I’m really excited for that. Just a bunch of lovely new faces and new music to enjoy.
What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
Pollution by Triple Sundae. It’s just a perfect punk song, start to finish. And what a riff!
What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
So, us and Triple Sundae are playing some shows either side of Do It Together Fest – in Cardiff on the Friday and Oxford on the Sunday. Then February 7th sees us put out our second EP, Ghosts, Guilt & Grandparents, which is out from Specialist Subject Records. Really stoked for that! We should be doing a Bristol launch show in February, and then a UK tour in March on the week leading up to Chris Fishlock’s annual all-dayer at the Exchange in Bristol, “Fishstock”, which is on the 28th of March. That tour is almost fully booked now – playing a whole bunch of places we haven’t been before which is really fun. Then it’s a bit of an open book. We’re hoping to get over the Europe, too. But right now we’re just focusing on the immediate shows around the release.
As I said, we had a fairly quiet 2019 but I think 2020 is going to be a big year for us.
Speaking of Europe – we’ve never been over as a band so if you are reading this and you want us to play your town or have any recommendations please send us a message!
Jak from Just Say Nay
Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Hello, I’m Jak and I sing and prance around in Just Say Nay.
Nonsense. It’s all just complete sugary, head bopping, tongue twisting nonsense.
How was your 2019?
For the most part it was pretty bloody amazing. JSN finally got our album out and for a while we all felt like nothing bad was ever going to happen again in the world ever.
What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
My first experience was when there use to be local gigs in Dartford town. This was around 2003 perhaps. A band called My Dad Is Big. Amazing fun they were. Paul Smith will know, he was there.
What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
Everyone’s stronger together right?
“It’s dangerous to go alone.”
Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
JSN are based right in the heart of Be Sharp country. The scene we’re in is the best. Other bands don’t believe me when I tell them about how good we have it.
How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
You mean there would be people on the fence about coming?
I’d say, you can walk in knowing nobody and leave knowing the finest humans you can ever wish to know.
What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Lightyear always. Our boyfriends in Call Me Malcolm and Triple Sundae. And Our Lives In Cinema too, their bass player is so mysterious and moody it just makes me go all giddy.
What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
That’s easy, For years and years I have always wished that I had written “Life Jacket Water Wings” by Lightyear.
What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
Playing this album to death everywhere we can. I can’t imagine it’d be too long before you start hearing a bit of new music from us either, I say, I say.
Katie from Katie MF
Hello, who are you and what band do you play in?
Oh hey. I’m Katie MF and I play in, erm, Katie MF. We’re working on the name…
We are beyond description – a folk/punk reckoning for our times; an explosive force of nature, a… god sorry, I’ve had a coffee. We play poppy/folky/punky/angry stuff and have a bit of fun with it – think break-ups and Brexit. And dancing. Bad dancing.
How was your 2019?
Pretty great to be honest. We went on our first tour (3 nights counts) and started to feel really solid as a band – we don’t get to play full band shows that often (I do a lot of acoustic stuff), so it’s taken a little while to really gel but I think we’re there now and it feels GOOD. Ben (bass) and Tobias (drums) are infinitely better musicians than I am so it’s a consistent pleasure to play with them.
Plus we/I supported a few personal heroes, released another EP and, importantly, made a bunch of new friends.
What was your first exposure to DIY punk rock?
That is a difficult question. Probably when I was 16/17 – my friends ran a few (mostly metal) nights at The White Horse in Wycombe (where I grew up) and I’d hang around not really knowing what was going on but hoping someone else did. Then my punk side lay dormant until about 3 years ago when I starting ‘doing the music thing properly’ – my songs got faster and louder then, as a band, we got booked to support Wolves & Wolves & Wolves & Wolves at New Cross Inn, got written up on CPRW and found a whole new community. So thanks CPRW!
What does “Do It Together” mean to you?
I could write an essay on this, but in sum: family, community and sharing equally in the disappointments and successes. The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts. It’s taken me too many years to really appreciate that.
Tell us about the DIY scene where you’re based?
In a nutshell, it’s about being able to go down to NXI (or anywhere else putting on a punk show) and always seeing a friendly face or five – whether they’re on stage or in the crowd. It’s supportive and inclusive, and holy shit there’s a lot of talent.
How would you sell Do It Together to someone who’s on the fence about coming?
You’ll meet some of the best people there are and have a chance to see a few bands who are unlikely to still be playing local shows this time next year. It’ll be a guaranteed tonic to all the shit that’s going on in the world right now. Plus, Lightyear.
What other act are you most looking forward to seeing at Do It Together?
Eat Defeat. Always and forever. And Call Me Malcolm because, somewhat unbelievably, it’ll be my first time. And Goodbye Blue Monday. And Uniforms.
What song from another band on the line-up do you wish you had written?
Shortcuts [by Eat Defeat] – it’s in my head at least 5 times a week.
What does the band have planned for the rest of 2020?
More of the same, but better. I’m going to be announcing a little solo run with some pals soon and have a few louder and longer things in the works…
Check out the Facebook event page for Do It Together here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1260074194165046/
You can buy tickets here: https://newcrossinn.com/tickets/events/do-it-together-fest
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