A month of getting out there and supporting the Punk community 🤘
Well, that’s Season 2 done and dusted – and somehow, in the middle of all the chaos, Punk Rock Creatives Podcast has turned one year old! Not bad for a podcast largely recorded in a box room, with a mic, a laptop and a head full of creative punk nonsense…
To round off the season, there were five final episodes of the podcast before I downed tools for a bit to take a breather over the summer. Punk Rock Creatives Podcast will be back on 25th August with more guests, more stories, more Punk chaos and probably a few surprises along the way. But before that, there’s Rebellion Festival and other festivals, there are band reunions on the horizon (all being well), recordings, and the general mayhem that always seems to come with summer in Punk rock land.
If you have any suggestions for guests, stories, weirdos, lifers, legends or unsung creatives I should be chatting to, send them my way at punkrockcreatives@gmail.com or contact me via our social media pages.
Out and About: June in Punk
June wasn’t just about podcasting – it was also about getting out there and actually being in the thick of things! Brighton Carnival Against Fascism was brilliantly attended, with punks, activists and decent human beings all taking to the streets to stand firmly against the far right’s attempted march through Brighton. It was good to see many familiar faces out in force too, including Karen from Hagar the Womb, Cherry B, and Del and Lou from Family of Strangers – all previous Punk Rock Creatives Podcast guests, all exactly where they should be.
There was also Welly Fest, where Cherry B read poetry with Attila the Stockbroker and Family of Strangers played their best set ever, and Punx for the Homeless at the Cavendish Arms, for Bullshit Boy on tour from Germany supported by Operation Julie and Marie and the Meltdownz, which only added to what has been a pretty packed month of Punk-related goodness.
One of my musical highlights of the month was getting to see Bullitz 23, the Punk musical brainchild of Andrew Ray Keys, who long-time listeners will remember from Season 1. Andy was also a longtime member of Ex-Catherdra. The band also features Trystan O’Connell – one of this month’s guests, former Lost Cherrees bandmate of mine, and now owner of Inferno Recording Studios in London as well as Shea, another ex-Lost Cherrees face, also a bass player for Neck, the London-Irish punk outfit once led by the sadly missed Leeson O’Keeffe, who also played with Shane MacGowan and the Popes.
They played The Hope and Anchor, and I’m telling you now; if you’re heading to Rebellion, put Bullitz 23 on your list. No messing about. Andrew Ray Keys is the real deal – one of those proper Punk musicians who lives and breathes it – and they were easily one of the best bands I saw this month!
One Year of Punk Rock Creatives
Huge thanks to everyone who’s supported Punk Rock Creatives Podcast through Season 2 – whether you’ve listened, shared, guested, recommended the show, shouted about it online, or just quietly stuck an episode on while doing the washing up.
This little DIY beast is now one year old, and over the past twelve months I’ve put out 40 episodes featuring many of the best Punk and Punk-adjacent creatives around. The podcast has grown into exactly what I hoped it would be; a place for stories, honesty, politics, creativity, laughter, graft, weirdness and community.
Right now, the Punk world is gearing up for Rebellion and all the fringe festivals around it, so everyone is understandably flat out. If they’re not playing a festival, they’re touring. If they’re not touring, they’re recording. If they’re not recording, they’re probably trying to scrape enough sleep together to function. So yes – a short break from the digital airwaves feels very fair.
And if you’ve somehow missed some episodes along the way, now’s your chance to catch up, because Punk Rock Creatives Podcast is now on YouTube too.
This Month on the Podcast…
Trystan O’Connell
First up in June was Trystan O’Connell, and this one was a proper catch-up. We’ve known each other for around 15 years and spent about nine of those in a band together, so there was no chance this was going to be a neat, tidy, professional little interview! We recorded the episode at Trystan’s studio in South London and ended up talking, laughing and getting sidetracked so much that I didn’t get home until somewhere between 1 and 2am…
A lot of what was said absolutely could NOT go on the podcast – because what happens on tour stays on tour, obviously – but what did make it into the episode is a brilliant snapshot of Trystan’s life in music and his depth of experience, both as a musician and now as a recording engineer.
We covered everything from Trystan’s life going right back to the 1970s, to the joys of being strip-searched at an airport because the authorities took offence to his Punk clothes and tattoos, to the finer points of what definitely NOT to pack when you’re flying off on tour. We also talked about the newly released Active Slaughter album, which is out now on Bandcamp via Grow Your Own Records. It’s true Anarcho-punk in every sense of the word; they say it AND mean it.
Rita Lynch
Then came Rita Lynch, who was an absolute joy to talk to and one of those guests who leaves you feeling both inspired and slightly like you need to go and sort your life out.
We talked about community, SEND, women in punk, music, fundraising for Gaza and other humanitarian causes, and the kind of creativity that isn’t about ego or clout but about actually trying to make the world a bit better while making art in it. Rita also spoke about Black Triangle Films, the London-based production company behind her video for ‘Killing Us’, who also create visuals for events such as Convoy Cabaret at Bearded Theory.
What really came across was how much Rita is driven by love – love for creativity, love for people, love for her son, and love for doing something useful with the platform she has. As someone who has been writing and performing for over five decades, Rita reflects on just how much has changed for women in music but also reminds us not to get too comfortable. In many parts of the world, women are still denied the freedom to perform, work, create or even live independently. It was a timely reminder not to take our freedoms for granted – and to make sure we use them.
Jo-Jo O’Donoghue
Next up was Jo-Jo O’Donoghue from Jo-Jo & The Teeth, bringing the kind of energy, honesty and no-nonsense humour you’d expect from someone who’s put the years in and properly grafted for it.
We talked about how Jo-Jo & The Teeth first came together, how the band became part of Andy Blade’s Eater, and the reality of writing, recording, gigging and trying to keep a band moving. It’s easy enough to look at the polished promo shots and assume it all falls into place, but behind every so-called “overnight success” is usually a lot of driving, blagging, rehearsing, stressing, hauling gear and wondering how the hell you’re going to afford the petrol.
Naturally, the conversation didn’t stay sensible for long. We also got onto eye poo, dog rescue, and how Jo-Jo unexpectedly found herself turning into a full-blown dog person. There are stories from the road, tales from the stage, and proof that not every gig goes to plan – especially when gravity decides to get involved and you end up falling over in front of a crowd.
Gemima Gallier
Then there’s Gemima Gallier from Boom Boom Womb, whose episode is packed with humour, honesty and the kind of DIY spirit that sits right at the heart of what Punk Rock Creatives is all about.
Gemima talks about walking out of an admin job at lunchtime and never looking back, about finding her place in music and creativity, and about building a life that makes sense on her own terms rather than squeezing herself into something soul-destroying for the sake of looking respectable.
We chatted about Panic Shack, Kathleen Riot from Street Voice, the importance of representation and community in Riot Grrrl, and all the little weird tangents that make a conversation memorable – including pink wafer biscuits and singing on House music tracks.
Alongside all of that, Gemima also talks about the less glamorous side of being in a band: the reality of recording, songwriting, gigging and keeping momentum going when you’re trying to do things the DIY way. It’s a conversation about finding your voice, backing yourself, making art on your own terms and not waiting for permission!
Roman Jugg
And finally, to close the month and the season, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting to Roman Jugg – guitarist, keyboard player, accordionist, songwriter and all-round Punk legend!
Roman’s story stretches from growing up in South Wales in an immigrant family through to becoming one of punk’s most respected musicians, and this episode covers a huge amount of ground without ever feeling dry or “rock history lesson” about it.
We talk about his time in The Damned, memories from one of punk’s most important bands, and his appearance in the iconic Young Ones episode Nasty – including how he wrote the song around the episode title and script, and what Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer were like off camera…
From there we move through Roman’s wider musical life with The Phantom Chords, The Roman Jugg Band, Dirty Waters and Victimised, looking at how each project gave him room to evolve as a musician and songwriter.
There are also stories from the rougher edges of Punk: being spat at on stage, the notorious days of bottles of piss being thrown at Hagar the Womb, and Roman’s thoughts on how audiences, scenes and Punk itself have changed over the decades. It’s honest, funny, thoughtful and full of the details you only get from someone who has actually lived it.
And, because this is Punk Rock Creatives, we don’t stop at music. We also veer into the state of the nation, the strange hobbies and interests that keep life interesting, and why creativity still matters when the world feels like it’s trying its hardest to grind people down…
See You in August..!
So that’s it for June, and for Season 2!
Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and thanks for continuing to support Punk Rock Creatives Podcast. Whether you’ve been here from the start or you’ve only just stumbled across the show, it genuinely means a lot.
Have an amazing summer, enjoy Rebellion if you’re heading there, support live music, buy records from bands directly, and keep backing the grafters and lifers who make this scene what it is. Please buy Punkuation! Magazine a coffee (make mine a black coffee 😁).
Sending positive punky vibes to you all.
We were Punk Rock Creatives Podcast… see you next time!
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