goodbye

emo indie rock fans of the world reach for your hankies; supporters of underachieving groups of 20-something wimps hush your gasps; fanciers of unprofessional, weedy, irrelevant guitar bands raise your feeble fists to the skies and give the heavens a non-committal grunt of semi-anguish; the rumours are true:

SYS ist tot

(that’s german for “SYS is dead”)

(SYS being our band, sir yes sir)

yes, we’re packing it in. genuine thanx to everbody who’s helped us along the way, we’ve had some good times:

maida vale
sowerby bridge pizza
marc riley
some concerts

and some frustrating, underwhelming, and/or bullshit times:

stolen belongings
melted masters
most other parts

we play our last show THIS WEDNESDAY at manchester’s SOUP KITCHEN.  it’s a free show; eastenders isn’t on on wednesdays; it’s warm in soup kitchen.  fill an egg cup with tears and receive a complimentary pin badge; marvel at our illustrious 5-yr back catalogue (one tape and one cd and one cdr), brought together in one place for the first (and last) time in a touching tribute to ‘commerce’. some of our friends (and yours?) will be playing too, good ones (look at our twitter, or posters around manchester if you live there, for more ‘details’).  we will play the cream of our impressive catalogue, including (but not limited to):

SEX ON FIRE (aka hit 3)
I PREDICT A RIOT (aka not excited)
PRETTY FLY (FOR A WHITE GUY) (aka have i hell)

…and many more (some with the drum machine. do you remember the drum machine? that was WILD!). it will be fun, if you’ve ever liked us, or we’ve ever liked you, please do come and say hi (bye).

whilst this journey comes to an end, the dream (get signed to DGC! play at lollapalooza in 1994! etc) lives on and  perhaps you’ll hear something new from us (a different us) in 2K11?

lots of love,

Joseph, Daniel and Samuel

22 November 2010 (a.k.a. the day the  music died)

Note to editors

1. We feel that our comprehensive (not to mention critically acclaimed) back catalogue is defining WHO WE ARE and HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES.  We don’t want to think like LOSERS any more; LOSERS being the foundation on which we’ve built our image, career and, ultimately, life-view.

2. We feel the name (“SIR YES SIR”) prevents us from ever reaching the top table of the music industry.  How can we be offered (or deserve?) that elusive recording contract whilst burdened with a moniker which, when anagagramised, spells “ERR, I SISSY”?

3. We feel that, in light of the successes over the years of fellow travellers down the road labelled “CREDIBLE CAREER AS ALT. MUSICIAN (AND SOMETIME CELEBRITY COLLABORATOR, JOOLS HOLLAND STAR, STYLE ICON ETC)”, the “SYS vehicle” has too many miles on the clock to prick up the ears of the all-important public any more than they’ve already been pricked.  “Sir Yes Sir?  Yes, I believe I saw them at Jabez Clegg back in 2007.  They were ok; no more, no less.  I have no desire to invest any MORE time in their output” (is our feeling on what the likely reaction to the question “Sir Yes Sir?” would be, were it posed to “Joe Bloggs”)

DC’s picks o’ the Punk-o-Rama compilations

I don’t know much about punk of the 90s and early 2000s.  I really like Blink 182 but not enough to have any of their records. I avoided the Warped Tour stage at Reading festival.  Lately though, I’ve started to think maybe it’s about time I listened to a bunch.  But where to start?  I read about the Punk-o-Rama compilations, and thought that might be a good introduction.  CORRECTO!  I don’t really download music, but made an exception (it’s ok if it’s for research); some of my preconceptions were confirmed (Rancid SUCK), but I found loads of stuff on there which actually got me really excited; it’s so nice listening to music without any idea of if what you’re hearing is hip or not, or if the people playing it are super ugly, or fratty, or whatever.  Here’s my favourites (there’s a lot of em, but then there were like 200 songs to pick from):

All - World’s On Heroin
This reminds me of Let’s Wrestle in a way (I think it’s the basslines).  I love the idea, which seems to be everyone’s an idiot slacker (apart from us), and therefore on heroin.  And the end, when they say “he-ro-in”, like Harry Hill does at the end of songs.

Bouncing Souls - Say Anything / True Believers
Yeah!  This is fun!  “Positive vibes”, lads. True Believers has the same chords (almost) as Umbrella by Rhianna, which is a good thing.  I’m not sure about this guy’s voice, it sounds a bit fake British, but I can live with that.

Descendents - Coffee Mug
I can’t make much of it out, I think he likes his coffee mug?  I especially like the bit where he goes “Mug Mug Mug!” at the start.  I hope that isn’t slang I don’t understand, and he’s actually talking about hard drugs or something.

The Distillers - I Am A Revenant
I suppose the Distillers are kind of famous amongst people who don’t necessarily like punk rock?  I hadn’t heard this song before, only really the song that was on the soundtrack to a Tony Hawk game I played over christmas a few years ago (Papa Roach were also on there, with a song about killing everybody, which was pretty rad), but my Distillers knowledge probably trumps that of all the other Punk-o-Rama bands put together (the singer was married to (or maybe just going out with?) the guy from Rancid (who was/is a bastard), and then the guy from Queens of the Stone Age (is she still?), and they had an album called Coral Fang (was it slightly ‘experimental’???) and maybe they don’t exist any more, or at least the singer (Brody (Dalle ???)) is or was doing something vaguely electronic).

Down By Law - Gruesome Gary / No Equalizer
I love Gruesome Gary.  When it goes from the chorus to the verse, via that little bridge, and then the verse goes chuggy then there’s another little bridge… Really good!  And they lyrics are great, we all know someone like Gary. No Equalizer too, really great.

Dwarves - Everybodies Girl / Better Be Women
Are Dwarves sexist?  Do I feel uncomfortable listening to this because it’s kinda wrong, or because I’m a wimp?  And do I like it because it’s kind of bawdy, or because it’s actually good?  Does it matter?  Hmm.  Let’s go with “It’s fun, stop being such a wimp and loosen up”!

Guttermouth - Secure Horizons
Much about this song is a bit boring, but that chorus is totally rad, even if it only comes around twice.

Heiderroosjes - PCPOS
I like the line “You kill fun in music, just get out of the pit”, but some of the lyrics are a bit weird… are they Dutch?  I’m not sure which side of the argument I fall on this one.  I agree, people can be stuck-up assholes, but “A funny joke about gays or white-trash? To me that’s fine” , not so sure I go for that.  Thought provoking!  (And catchy).

I Against I - Ordinary Fight
I really like the verse, and the guys voice too.  The chorus is a bit of a bummer, musically.  It’s nice to have a bit of contrast between the major key verse and the bummed out chorus, but y’ know, I like major keys!

Ikara Colt - Sink Venice
Not sure how this got on to Punk-o-Rama. I wonder if the typical consumer liked it, or skipped past to listen to Voodoo Glow Skulls (or whatever)?  Pretty sure I really liked this on the Evening Session, and still sounds important (and fun).

Matchbook Romance - Lovers and Liars
THIS IS SO EMO!  I KIND OF LIKE IT!  I wish they’d stop worrying about dames, but it’s pretty catchy, and shiny. Maybe they should get Dwarves to write their lyrics, and toughen up a bit?  I bet they’ve got loads of tattoos and scowl in press shots, and are dead skinny, with really neat fringes, and those stupid earrings.

Millencolin - Lozin Must
I’m sure this was on the Evening Session a lot, or someone played it to me a few times years ago… anyway, it’s got many of my favourite ingredients - chugging guitars, slightly wimpy lyrics, catchy chorus, rudimentary guitar solo.  The guy’s voice is a bit weird when he shouts, but he mostly sings so that’s ok.

Motion City Soundtrack - Throw Down
This sounds a bit emo too.  Is it? Or is it just more recent, and sounds emo because it’s well recorded?  Th bit where it goes half-speed reminds me of Sum 41 when they go half speed, but without the rapping.  I like Sum 41, so this is ok by me.  I’ve got a feeling this band suck, but this song, I like.

NOFX - Don’t Call Me White / Bath of Least Resistance / Olympia, WA / No Fun in Fundamentalism
So it turns out NOFX are really good!  I spent the last ten or fifteen years thinking they were basically the same as Reel Big Fish, Bowling for Soup etc. Did I have them confused with MXPX? Are they like that? Do I have Bowling for Soup wrong too?  (Reel Big Fish are definitely the pits).

Osker - Strangled
This would have sounded great at Club XS’s rock night.  If you’re ever in Scarborough, and Club XS still exists (it was near the shop which has pedal bins full of prok scratchings, washing powder, flour etc, and the post office), go in on a Wednesday and ask for it.

Pennywise - We’re Desperate
These are another one which I thought were totally lame, but aren’t.  I like the lady they’ve got singing on this one.  The rest of the songs they have on Punk-o-Rama (I think they’re on like every volume) are ok, but this is really fun.

Pulley - The Ocean Song
I love it when songs start with a guitar solo of sorts, then goes chuggy, then repeats the solo, then back to the chuggy verse, then the chorus, then the guitar solo again (which may or may not be the same as the vocal melody as the chorus)… I wish a proper guitar solo didn’t start half way through, the type I like are like the ones Blink 182 do (4 or 5 notes max, certainly NO fancy effect pedals).  But still, good effort lads!

Randy - Addicts of Communications
I saw these with the International Noise Conspiracy and the Hives on a Kerrang tour a few years ago (2001?) and wasn’t impressed. They sounded a bit too pub rock for my young ears.  I wonder if they played this?  I think I was too busy moaning to my friend about the fact that it was £3 for a can of beer.  The memories!

Refused - Coup D’etat / Summerholiday vs Punkroutine
I know Liberation Frequency is the one you’re meant to like, but for me it’s these two.  That guy (Dennis? Something like Dennis Blixen?  That sounds weird) really means what he’s singing about, which I assume is something ‘lefty’.  I never listened to these before.  I liked Int’l Nois Conspiracy for a bit, the first record or two.  This was around the same time as my accidental membership of the Socialist Worker Party.  Coincidence???

So in conclusion:

• Rancid absolutely stink
• Voodoo Glow Skulls are a band, and they absolutely stink too
• NOFX are pretty great
• Fake British accents are weird
• Double-time drums are ok (like they have in hardcore), but I prefer it when the drummer just plays normally, but fast
• Best structure involves a rudimentary guitar solo (or some kind of lead guitar anyway) followed by a verse which chugs and a chorus which is loud

sys fuzz out its claws

i watched a film called l’ enfer this evening.  it was pretty darned boring (essentially it teaches us french dames are fond of getting their knickers in a twist, and french fellers are loverats).  however, i still believe our gallic chums are good eggs, to wit i draw your attention to www.soundofviolence.net where you can find the following review of our album (except in french, naturellement).  (i’m glad i stopped doing languages when i hit 16 - what a waste of time when the internet can do it for you):

****

We know next to nothing about Sir Yes Sir, except that it is a power trio formed in Manchester, author of an EP limited to 200 copies released in March on tape, underground up at your fingertips. Suffice to say that the group comes out of nowhere, and except for the first few parties noticed Johnny Foreigner (with whom he shares a producer), the CV is almost blank. However, this first (mini) album is a nice surprise.

Sir yes sir have obviously been raised on the 90s. They invariably think to Pavement, it is not surprising to see included Stephen Malkmus top of their Myspace, and many other groups of the era (The Wedding Present or even occasionally Sonic Youth), the blame sound saturated guitar and spent acid. The fuzz out its claws and mangles the melody of the veil lo-fi. More curiously, the music reminds Cribs circa 2004, well before they are joined by ex-Smiths, especially Run Walk Jog Wheel and Hell Have I, whose voice intonations are virtually identical to those of the brothers Jarman .

But make no mistake, like the above-mentioned groups, the treatment of her in any way distorts the heart of the music of Sir Yes Sir: the melodies. Here they are well balanced and the disc includes some great songs like Not Excited or Sideways. Obviously, we are here marked trail, we would feel almost like home either. So often we want to be pushed around by hard, you do not mind a drive that speaks the same language as ours and Sir Yes Sir has fully integrated grammar and vocabulary.

Despite their short CV, Sir Yes Sir fared admirably. Reigning Over Silence is full, successful, certainly too referenced, but we do not want them. Compared to other decades, the (good) 90s are often undervalued, so that their legacy has many treasures, the evidence.

new axe

i got a new axe today, here’s a photo of me enjoying it:

not really, this is me:

not really, this is me:

not really, THIS is me!

i wish. actually, this is me:

good lord i’m a cool guy.  joe’s getting a new guitar too, this is him trying it out in the shop:

whaddaya think?  does it suit him?  yeah, i agree!  now we just need sam to replace his ride cymbal that’s been broken since 2008 (preferably with one of those gross little splash ones that actually sound like a splash, a “bathroom splash”) and we’re ready to hit the bigtime!

Maida Vale.

Sir Yes Sir will be recording a live session for Huw Stephens in March, broadcast date TBC!

The ‘Not Excited’ EP is released tomorrow (March 1st) and you can get your copy from here.

Become a fan of SYS on facebook here. Add SYS on twitter here.

SYS play:

March 17th w/ Artefacts For Space Travel @ 93ft East, London.

April 2nd @ Lovers Unite, Camden Barfly, London.

May 8th @ Brixton Windmill, London.

artwork, £

the good folk at rough trade have very kindly taken stewardship of our tape, which goes by the name of “not excited”.  it comes out on le 1st of march, and has a very generous 6 songs on it.  they are:

not excited
bass hit
hit 3
horse walking (alt version)
sk1 (alt swing version)
have i hell (alt version)

“ok, that sounds promising, but how much do i have to drop you filthy animal?”

calm down, it’s only four quid.  good value that.

“but what de inlay card look like?”

well, i’ll tell (show) you!

yeah, pretty sweet!  each one is lovingly (i can’t verify there was love involved, but he didn’t complain too much) hand screened by (as you can tell if you look at the bit on the left) savage wolf, for which we thank him very much.

pre-order the little beauty here, unless yr chicken!!!

(oh, ps - if you don’t have a cassette player, worry not - we’re doing some kind of download code so you can spend you four pounds, get your tape download the tracks off the internet and then record them onto your minidisc player.  that way you get a nice physical object which yr pals will admire and you can show to your grandchildren (being a bit presumptuous there, aplgz), but you can still listen to, whether on the move or beside your hearth.  NEAT!  and all for four pounds, well, that’s GOT to be worth it right?)

radio, or internet

we were on the radio last nite, radio 1 to be precise.  sam stayed up and listened to it, this is a photo he sent me of his mum enjoying it:

wow, she looks satisfied, proud, and pretty fresh-faced for 1 in the morning!  i went to bed and listened to it on iplayer this morning, you can follow my lead here.  good work huw stephens for showing taste, class and sophistication.

our next media ambition is to get fearne “fucking” cotton to piss right off. (does she have a radio show any more, or is she devoting her shit of a life to other worthwhile causes like trying to be friends with other empty vessels (yeah that’s right geldof, sys called you out!) for itv 2?  either way she can “take a long walk off a short pier” as far as team sys are concerned.  HA!).

anyway, it feels good to be “on the airwaves”, maybe there’ll be some more to come???

how the future looks 2k10

our tapes got delivered this week, don’t they look snazzy?  a friend of ours called john (http://www.myspace.com/savage_wolf) is doing the inlays for them, which is tres exciting, i’m hoping it will turn out something like this,



, complete with glitter.  that would be fucking great.

i wonder where hmv will rack up the tapes?  they used to have some wierd shelves above the cds where minidiscs went, maybe they could dust them off?

gr8 interview

hi guys,

we did an interview with ping pong radio, who are a greek internet radio station, it can be found here.  for those of you who don’t speak greek (lord knows mine is rustier than ol’ poseidon’s trident) here is the text translated back into english:

***

1. Our initially, explain what your roles in our Assembly?  Describe the steps you in the production of songs you.

Step 1: O Joe and Dan have an idea for some parts of song (THIS POINT sounds like Bob Marley)
Step 2: The DAN AND O Joe work to create something not reminiscent Bob Marley (this normally takes months)
Step 3: O Joe writes some verses (μιάζουν shortly with those of My Chemical Romance)
Step 4: O Joe and the key words Dan change for not reminding My Chemical Romance.
Step 5: Since there is nothing reminiscent nor Bob Marley nor My Chemical Romance the ingredients with Dan, who plays drums.at this point the Joe during and plays κιθάρα while the Dan μπάσο and some during minimum (somewhat thus playing and live).
Step 6: We continue with the fifth step for little until to complete the song to ηχογραφηθεί.
Step 7:  ηχογραφούμε in his house DAN AND μιξάρουμε possible.
Step 8:  εχουμε A χρυσο hit to κανουμε the world to ζαλιζεται ακουγοντασ.

2. What are the Sir yes Sir? When and how you started;

I think that we started before 4 years having some late songs and one drummer also, The SAM who unless I am mistaken came before 2 years.when we were trying to consider a name a friend of ours κρυφάκουγε and thought that we said Sir Yes Sir… We liked the fact that it sounds trendy as is customary, plus that it is not ‘the’ symbol in front and there is also μονολεκτικό [is prevalent way now ονομάζεις the Banda you with a word, such as Editors or Wavves (wonderful!)] And also does not follow the mold adjective-subject (Crystal Castles, White Lies, Black Wire, Dirty Projectors etc.). So indicates something not and will continue this for always without we have a super good or bad trendy name.

3. Who sound you attracts more? The analog or digital? By equipment what ÷ñçóéìïðïéaassôaa?

Are both ways attractive, such as Pamela Anderson and Cindy Crawford and we would have liked to we well with both the analogue and digital sound. The Joe has a τετρακάναλο myself a computer, whenever that view. βινύλια also is wonderful.

Joe: a they AMP, κιθάρα Danelectro too the big muff πετάλι of εlectro ηarmonix.
Dan: a big muff.
SAM: some drums.

4. What assemblies you have influenced? Give us some titles songs I dislike from these μπάντες.

Dan: pavement = slanted enchanted, sebadoh = bakesale, as cash = folsom prison, super furry animals = radiator, grandaddy = under the Western freight

Joe: pavement = slanted & enchanted, dinosaur Jr = you’re living AII over me, Neil young = Zuma, sonic youth = daydream nation, smog = red apple he

SAM: as cash = San Quentin, fugazi = the argument, wiley = treading on thin ice, ramones = ramones, pavement = terror twilight.

5. How is life in London for a new group?what assemblies result from the local scene;

Generally, but not πολυκυκλοφορούμε above what we know most μπάντες is “an rubbish’ and tiresome even if write them subsequently. Us likes the Wet Paint and Let’s Wrestle as it is not as and have F’ αλήθει fine songs. Half the members of sys living in Manchester and most μπάντες say there is also, but two very good are Former Bullies and Egyptian AS-hop (we share with them and the προβάδικο).

6. The relationship you with the online radio what is;

None of us πολυχρησιμοποιεί Internet, whenever we hear quite online radio (we are somewhat indifferent to φουτουριστικά things such as the Internet). However, it is important that a chain between people listening to us other people to play discs in radio with songs which other people have defined.

7. No plans for the future??

We will lose the our fun at around 4 months and will try and with new μπάντες which is a thousand times worse or may be can a mini-album toward the end of summer that we will all be very! Any plan does not exist, even if the world is insensitive we will become rich.

WOTCHER

hi internet, this is the sir yes sir blog where us guys put things for you guys to look at or listen to.  PUT IT IN YR BOOKMARKS !!!

lots of love,

sir yes surr