Introduce yourself…
I am John the vocalist with Citizen Keyne and founder member, the bands current line up is Floyd on Guitar, Daz 2nd vocals, Tom on drums and Ryan on the bass, this is about the 4th line up with have had over the years but I would say the strongest and most "together
How did the band start?
I was at a popular commercial "punk" festival in Morecambe about 7 years ago with Daz and the way home we were saying that we had seen a lot of great bands but equally some really bad ones aswell and I said " we could do that lets start a band" so when we got home I put an advert in the local paper for a drummer and a guitarist ( at the time Daz was playing bass) well I say playing he picked it up and looked at it quite a lot and so the first incarnation of Citizen Keyne was born
How did you come up with the name?
Well the advert went into the local newspaper here in Milton Keynes, the Milton Keynes Citizen, being as I am also a lover of old classic movies like Citizen Kane it seemed to be a good play on words and the rest of the guys really liked the idea so we went with it. Citizen ( newsparer) Keyne (as in milton keynes)
Who would you say are your influences?
Well early on I would say the Pistols but over the years no one really we are happy making our own sound although we have been told we have a bit of Rejects, Sham and even SLF about us, I leave that up to the people buying the CD's to decide but as long as its enjoyed who cares !
What is the punk scene like in the UK?
Its become a bit of a circus really, there are hundreds of bands playing every week but no one gets off their arses to go and listen and watch, they prefer to save up all year for the 3 day festival in Balckpool where they can play at being punks for 3 days and then return to their middle class lifes for another 12 months. Sure there are those that are passionate about punk still but sadly they are a dying breed but whilst there are still underdogs on the scene its got a chance.
Describe the song writing process...
Floyds comes up with a basic riff for a song and I put some words to it, we then present that to the rest of the band and the songs are built from there. We then tart it up, Floyd builds on the riff he wrote and adds his tweaks and solos and there you have it a new CK song!
You guys released the 'Ungreat Britian' album, tell us about the album...
Its the first album we released and is very much the flagship for the band, all the songs are written about everyday life, the state of the Country as it was back then and sadly it hasnt improved in over 5 years since the CD was released. It still sells well here in the UK and we still play a lot of the songs from it in our live set. As a band we are very proud of the album and the reviews it recieved from people that matter.
How does 'Stand Proud' differ?
Stand Proud I would say is probably a more "grown up" CK sound it shows how much we progressed over the years between the two releases, we are certainly more confident in our sound and have tried a few things that we probably wouldnt have on the first album. Its all recorded and mixed by the same studio who we trust 100% so asisde from slightly more confidence about the tracks its the what we would have expected CK to be due to natural progression. The title track itself "Stand Proud" was hailed as a classic and was given the title of Song of the Year by a well repsected Punk website and reviwer.
What else have you released?
We are about to release our third album Unity on M.F.S.records its all recorded and should be available to buy probably by the time this gets published.
We have released and been featured on a number of CD's along with a CD single of our own which features Punk Not Fashion and Police State
Our own releases
Ungreat Britain
Stand Proud
CD Single
Unity ( any day now)
Compilations
Oi we still say fuck you ( one track)
Is This England ( 2 tracks)
Punk for the Homeless ( 1 track )
Spit and Sawdust Kicking Against the Pricks ( 1 track)
I am sure there are others around aswell ;-)
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
Cockney Rejects
Bad Manners
Vice Squad
Anti Nowhere League
Menace
The Business
The Crack
Last Resort
The Warriors
UK Subs
Condemned 84
TMF
Vicious Rumours
The Old Firm Casuals ( august 1st)
Plus a whole host of underdog bands who do it for the right reasons not the money - The Black Marias, Pressure 28, Insane Society, Mispelt, Born to Destruct the list goes on and these are the bands we love gigging with ............
Have you toured?
We have only played in the UK and due to work commitments a tour is not that easy plus finding promoters who don't want to rip you off is a problem but we try to play at least 2 shows a month all over the UK
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
More than one but I would say any night that has CK, Black Marias, Insance Society and The Warriors is always gonna be a good one
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
Not really ... anywhere that people make the effort to come and support the bands is a favourite but we do all enjoy our nights at Bedford Esquires where carnage is always guaranteed!
Do you see is the future of Citizen Keyne?
Well we will carry on doing what we do for as long as people want to hear it, we have no best before date so we will keep going as we enjoy what we do and if we pick up some new fans and friends along the way then thats even better for us.
How can people contact the band?
We can be contacted via our web page www.citizenkeyne.com or facebook obviously... we no longer use our myspace page because myspace is now shit!
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