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Riot grrl femme fatales

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laydiyfest

LaDIYfest 2017 takes over Bristol’s Southbank Club

5th November 2017 By Davidkmk Leave a Comment

Kiss Me, Killer were among a varied, ass-kicking lineup of bands at this year’s LaDIYFest, which took place at the Southville Club, Bristol.

LaDIYfest, if you didn’t already know, is a non-profit, DIY collective, celebrating the achievements of self-defining women and people of oppressed genders through a festival of music, arts and skill sharing. There’s an international movement of such festivals, stretching back to the first Ladyfest in Olympia, Washington in 2000.

During the daytime attendees could enjoy workshop on a range of themes or browse stalls from a wide range of activist groups and artists. Kiss Me, Killer’s Cat had been on hand all day among the volunteers and our drummer AJ produced the funky poster.

In the evening the festival moved from workshops to live music. The organisers had hired in a great PA and Kiss Me, Killer sorted cabs and amps for bands that needed to travel light.

First band on were local Bristol guitar’n’drums band Spunking Octochoke who served up a varied, manic set of songs that calumniated in the audience chanting along to signature tune, Power pussy!, which I now sing every time my cat wanders into the room. Anyway, the band really warmed up the crowd and got them ready for what was to come.

Next up, and many people’s ‘find’ of the night, was Dispute Settlement Mechanism who’d come all the way from Leamington Spa. The bass, drums and vox lineup served up pounding, primal beats, distorted basslines and searing vocals with lyrics exploring political themes. They really went down a storm.

We took to the stage next, our first live performance for over a month, but we were in pretty good shape, powering through all the songs on our forthcoming EP and more besides. Cheri, our photographer and merch grrrl extraordinaire, managed to capture some incredible shots, including some of Nat and Holly getting up close with the crowd – definitely one for the Kiss Me, Killer coffee table book.

Members of Drunken Butterfly were instrumental in creating LaDIYfest 2017 and took to the Southville Club stage with their folk-punk mix.There were furious bits, then softer bits, then more furious bits. A great, great set.

London band Screaming Toenail had to pull out due to ill health but, no matter, as Young Adventurers proved a brilliant headline act. If you thought Devon was all about taking your Nan for a cream tea, think again – Exeter is clearly a hotbed of incendiary new rock bands. The band met at an event called School of Frock, which encouraged women to pick up instruments and form bands. That was three years ago and the Young Adventurers are now a brilliant live act combining riotous rock with brilliant melodies. Singer/guitarist Catherine sported a beautiful Gordon Smith GS1.

With one band pulling out there was even time for an impromptu disco at the end. A great gig!

Catherine from Young Adventurers rockers her gorgeous Gordon Smith GS1
Catherine from Young Adventurers rocks her gorgeous Gordon Smith GS1
Young Adventurers proved a brilliant headline act
Young Adventurers proved a brilliant headline act
All the way from Devon...
All the way from Devon…
The audience loved Young Adventurers
The audience loved Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Can't beat a bit of Gordon Smith GS1 one through a dirty amp.
Can’t beat a bit of Gordon Smith GS1 one through a dirty amp.
Definitely a bassist in the tradition of Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Gail Greenwood
Definitely a bassist in the tradition of Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Gail Greenwood
Lemuria tee, Fender Jazz bass. Can't go wrong, really...
Lemuria tee, Fender Jazz bass. Can’t go wrong, really…
Young Adventurers take a breather
Young Adventurers take a breather
Spunking Otochoke's sing drummer
Spunking Otochoke’s sing drummer
Spunking Otochoke's singer/guitarists wasn't playing jazz despite the look of the axe...
Spunking Otochoke’s singer/guitarists wasn’t playing jazz despite the look of the axe…
Spunking Otochoke, Bristol two-piece combo
Spunking Otochoke, Bristol two-piece combo
And now for Romania's Eurovision entry...
And now for Romania’s Eurovision entry…
Spunking Octochoke hitting all the right notes
Spunking Octochoke hitting all the right notes
Loadsa sound from a mere 2-piece
Loadsa sound from this 2-piece
Gig portrait!
Gig portrait!
A moment of quiet punk rock reflection...
A moment of quiet punk rock reflection…
Lovely looking stage, isn't it?
Lovely looking stage, isn’t it?
Spunkingly ace band.
Spunkingly ace band.
Power Pussy!
Power Pussy! Power Pussy!Power Pussy! Power Pussy! Power Pussy! Power Pussy! Power Pussy!
Spunking Octochoke
Spunking Octochoke
Spunking Octochoke
Spunking Octochoke
The evening crowd were treated to a great opening band.
The evening crowd were treated to a great opening band.
Another singing drummer with headliners, Young Adventurers.
Another singing drummer with headliners, Young Adventurers.
Darcie Drunken Butterfly with effortless rock'n'roll poise.
Darcie Drunken Butterfly with effortless rock’n’roll poise.
Kiss Me, Killer's Nat with his leopard-print adorned Phantom Bass.
Kiss Me, Killer’s Nat with his leopard-print adorned Phantom Bass.
Catherine Adventurer
Catherine Adventurer
KMK's Cat, Holly and Nat rocking out.
KMK’s Cat, Holly and Nat rocking out.
Young Adventurers's bass player
Young Adventurers’s bass player
Nat's bass solo
Nat’s bass solo
Nat and Holly rocking out!
Nat and Holly KMK rocking out!
There's just not enough melodica in punk.
There’s just not enough melodica in punk.
Prolific gig-goer Richard films the action.
Prolific gig-goer Richard films the action.
They like each other really.
They like each other really.
David and AJ rocking out with joyful abandon.
David and AJ rocking out with joyful abandon.
Another classic bass stance.
Another classic bass stance.
Headliners reward the crowd with great song after great song.
Headliners reward the crowd with great song after great song.
Local riot grrrl legends, Drunken Butterfly
Local riot grrrl legends, Drunken Butterfly
Young adventurers check out the other bands.
Young Adventurers check out the other bands.
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
LayDIYFest 2017
LayDIYFest 2017
Kiss Me, Killer take to the pretty stage.
Kiss Me, Killer take to the pretty stage.
Superfan EEEEEEEENZ seems happy with the gig so far
Superfan EEEEEEEENZ seems happy with the gig so far
Kiss Me, Killer
Kiss Me, Killer
Bass and skirt co-ordination
Bass and skirt co-ordination
Kiss Me, Killer guitarists at high volume.
Kiss Me, Killer guitarists at high volume.
Bristol riot grrrl, Hols
Bristol riot grrrl, Hols
Bunch of misfits
Bunch of misfits
PUNK AS FUCK!!!!
PUNK AS FUCK!!!!
Bass!
Bass!
Grrrrrrr!
Grrrrrrr!
Great shot, Cheri!
Great shot, Cheri!
Beware! Beware!
Beware! Beware!
It's going down!
It’s going down!
Holly Kiss Me, Killer giving it with both lungs...
Holly Kiss Me, Killer giving it with both lungs…
The pink Gordon Smith GS1 guitar wailing away.
The pink Gordon Smith GS1 guitar wailing away.
David and his colourful Zilla cab
David and his colourful Zilla cab
Backing Vox by Cat
Backing Vox by Cat
Holly
Holly
Raging drum action!
Raging drum action!
AJ happy to be back behind the kit at a KMK gig!
AJ happy to be back behind the kit at a KMK gig!
David and Cat
David and Cat
Cat volunteered throughout the fest but still had energy to play a storming set
Cat volunteered throughout the fest but still had energy to play a storming set
Kiss Me, Killer setting up at the Southville Club
Kiss Me, Killer setting up at the Southville Club
KMK
KMK
Nat on the bass
Nat on the bass
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Riot grrrl awesomeness
Riot grrrl awesomeness
Holly, KMK
Holly, KMK
Alice Drunken Butterfly
Alice Drunken Butterfly
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers from Exeter, Devon
Young Adventurers from Exeter, Devon
This band was reminiscent of L7, Throwing Muses, Madder Rose, Die Cheerleader, all sorts of good stuff...
This band was reminiscent of L7, Throwing Muses, Madder Rose, Die Cheerleader, all sorts of good stuff…
Kiss Me, Killer
Kiss Me, Killer
Fender Jazz bass thumping away
Fender Jazz bass thumping away
Devon's finest
Devon’s finest
Young Adenturers
Young Adenturers
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly storm LaDIYFest 2017
Darcie and her pink bass
Darcie and her pink bass
Fans listen to Drunken Butterfly
Fans listen to Drunken Butterfly
Some song were riotous and loud, some more reflective.
Some songs were riotous and loud, some more reflective.
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
All smiles...
All smiles…
Alice turns up the volume
Alice Butterfly turns up the volume
Cheri filming DB
Cheri filming DB
Drunken Butterfly didn't just rock out but they played the leading role in organising the whole thing.
Drunken Butterfly didn’t just rock out but they played the leading role in organising the whole thing.
Alice Drunker Butterfly
Alice Drunker Butterfly
Drums!
Drums!
Darcie
Darcie
Bass!
Bass!
Alice and her guitar. She also plays Uke.
Alice and her guitar. She also plays Uke.
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
Richard, legendary Bristol gig-goer.
Richard, legendary Bristol gig-goer.
Alice of Drunken Butterfly
Alice of Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
Darcie on vocals
Darcie on vocals
Darcie on vocals
Darcie on vocals
LaDIYFest 2017!
LaDIYFest 2017!
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
Guitar!
Guitar!
Young Adventurers's wonderful drummer
Young Adventurers’s wonderful drummer
Dispute Settlement Mechanism storm the stage.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism storm the stage.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism offer furious politically-charged songs.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism offer furious politically-charged songs.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism are a drums/bass/vox combo
Dispute Settlement Mechanism are a drums/bass/vox combo
The band won a lot of new fans at LayDIYfest.
The band won a lot of new fans at LayDIYfest.
Raging punk action.
Raging punk action.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Drummer providing a forceful backing to the bass fuzz and vox.
Drummer providing a forceful backing to the bass fuzz and vox.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Pulsating fuzzed-up bass
Pulsating fuzzed-up bass
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Darcie DB
Darcie DB
The crowd loved the bands. Lots of dancing, shapes getting thrown....
The crowd loved the bands. Lots of dancing, shapes getting thrown….
The lovely audience.
The lovely audience.
Headliners.
Headliners.
Young Adventurers
Young Adventurers
Cheri filming
Cheri filming
Catherine Young Adventurer
Catherine Young Adventurer
Cat Kiss Me, Killer
Cat Kiss Me, Killer
Holly Kiss Me, Killer
Holly Kiss Me, Killer
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly
KMK
KMK
Drunken Butterfly
Drunken Butterfly

Filed Under: Gigs Tagged With: DIY, laydiyfest, punk

LaDIYFest Fundraiser blows minds at the Exchange

15th July 2017 By Davidkmk Leave a Comment

KMK, The Menstrual Cramps and Drunken Butterfly stormed The Exchange, Bristol with and explosive night of riot grrrl thrills to raise money for this year’s LaDIYfest event.

The gig took place in the venue’s bar area and was soon utterly rammed as people poured in for Bristol’s seminal all-female band, Drunken Butterfly. We soon spotted an unfeasibly prolific Bristol gig-goer, who goes by the moniker Ricardo Camembert on Instagram. If he was in the house this was clearly the gig to be at on Friday night.

The ‘Flys served up a mix of punk with folk touches and so melodic a melodica made an appearance. Lyrics covered a range of social and political issues including Tory austerity and street harassment. I hadn’t seen the band perform in a number of years and their sound has really expanded and evolved in that time. It’s a band not to be missed so follow them online for the next gig.

Clifton Suspension Bridge
AJ our drummer created this monstrous gig poster with a massive Godzilla-like lizard about to lay waste to Bristol’s Iconic Clifton Suspension bridge.

Next up came The Menstrual Cramps, a band who mix feminism with bags of irreverent fun. They are quickly amassing a large fanbase from gigging, social media and press attention. Some fans I talked to at the gig had found out about them through YouTube and were happy they’d made it to Briz. Live the band are far more riotous and heavy than you might think from online recordings, and their feminist anthems were delivered over snarling guitars and brutal bass lines that sounded just great on the venue’s classic Ampeg 8×10 cab.

The Menstrual Cramps’ lyrics cover topics like culling the Tories, unsolicited dick pics and fracking delivered with just the right mix of fury and humour. My favourite song was the one where they dissed indie boys in bands that think they’re all that – can’t stand those dudes.

Images of KMK by Cheri, others by David.

AJ reaches for a lost drumstick
A very nice portrait of Nat!
Cat take lead vocals on Och Aye!
Holly and David are really feelin’ it, man.
David goes for the big solo.
If we were a shoegaze band…
Nat checks tuning or something…
Everyone loves this images.
The Menstrual Cramps went down a storm
Alice of Drunken Butterfly plays the solo on a cover of PJ Harvey’s Dress.
Darcie, Drunken Butterfly’s singing bassist.
Holding a beat.
Alice framed by Cheri’s green hair.

DB’s Darcie helpfully stood in for our bassist Nat, who was arriving later, during Kiss Me, Killer’s sound check, instantly picking up the riff to The Nuns’ Do You Want Me on My Knees?

Following The Menstrual Cramps was going to be a tough task for Kiss Me, Killer as they’d really invigorated the crowd and we didn’t want to let them down with anything sub-par. After a verse of Narcisstic Tendencies we hit ‘em with Snakes, the title track to our forthcoming EP, and it went down well. As the set progressed the movement in the room increased and by the time we squeezed in a quick encore the crowd was really buzzing. The mostly young audience were probably our most receptive crowd yet and really seemed to ‘get’ the band. They were also graciously sympathetic when we had to restart one of our songs after it kinda fell apart… ooops.

KMK with @drunkenbutterflyband and @themenstrualcramps after our gig at @exchangebristol – what a show. #punk #punkrock #riotgrrrl #feminism #guerillafeminism #bs1 #bristol #bristolpunk

A post shared by Kiss Me, killer (@kissmekillerband) on Jul 14, 2017 at 4:39pm PDT

Monies raised from the night go towards this year’s big LaDIYFest Event, which takes place at the The Southville Centre, 4 November. Kiss Me, Killer are among the acts performing. You won’t want to miss it.

Filed Under: Gigs Tagged With: bristol, exchange bristol, gigs, laydiyfest, live music, menstrual cramps, punk, punkrock, riot grrrl

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KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol

KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol

29th May 2018 By Davidkmk Leave a Comment

The band will be supporting the incendiary MARTYRIALS at Bristol’s iconic Louisiana venue on 17 August. MARTYRIALS is a high energy psychedelic synth-punk outfit pumping out and explosive blend of punk, glam and Rock and Roll. Punk ethics meet space-delay driven psychedelia like if the Ramones had synthesizers or if System of a Down met […]

Kiss Me, Killer to make Devon debut

It’s taken us a while but we’re finally playing Exeter at the famous Cavern club on 15 May. The gig, entitled, All in Riot Grrrl, will feature some of the best in punk rock from the West Country, including Bristol legends Drunken Butterfly and Bath’s top feminist anti-folk exponent, Yonic. Tickets are available for a […]

Bristol’s NITELIFE Magazine covers Hell Hath No Fury’s Menstruals gig

Go into any of Bristol hipper cafes, haunts and night spots and you’re sure to have seen, or even picked up, a copy of Nitelife Magazine, which showcases the best is the city’s nightlife. Nitelife has clearly cottoned on to the now exploding new wave of punk bands emerging both in Bristol and across the […]

AJ drum depping for Drunken Butterfly at Bristol Dream Wife gig

KMK drummer AJ will by deputising on drums for seminal Bristol riot grrrl band, Drunken Butterfly who are supporting Dream Wife at the Exchange venue Dream Wife is a punk band from Brighton who released debut album Dream Wife in January and have really been blowing up big time in the UK. Go check ’em […]

AJ and Cheri star in new video by The Menstrual Cramps

Kiss Me, Killer’s drummer AJ and ‘sixth-member’ Cheri have featured in The Menstrual Cramps all-new video for their song ‘I like that Top’. It’s an amazing piece of work so go watch immediately.

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The Zine

Punk superstars of Instagram

Punk superstars of Instagram

Recently we hit the big 600 follower mark on Instagram, the social network for people who can’t be arsed with words and just what an eyeful of pictures and videos. To mark this achievement here are some of our high-rating videos from the last year. Enjoy! Playing our eponymous song, Kiss me, Killer at the […]

Holly’s lyric sheets

Holly’s lyric sheets

Holly never knows when inspiration may strike when it comes to a good song. Here are some of her hand-written lyrics.

David’s top punk tunes

David’s top punk tunes

Kiss Me, Killer guitarist David lists a few of his favourite punk tunes in no particular order. From the Cradle to the Grave – [SUB][HUM][ANS] After buying of those bumper punk compilations as a 13 year old for no money I was looking for more. Taunton’s Our Price offered up a cassette, which cost £3 […]

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Recent articles

  • Kiss me, KIller’s 2020 Vision mini album out now on Grow Your Own Records
  • Bristol Punx Picnic 2019 is a sell-out
  • Kiss Me, Killer interview with The B-Side Talks at Rebellion Festival
  • Rebellion 2019: Kiss Me, Killer hit Pavilion Stage
  • New Kiss Me, Killer lineup hit’s The Plough Inn, Easton
  • KMK to support the MARTYRIALS at The Louisiana, Bristol
  • Grow Your Own Records’ Birds of a Feather Vol II compilation features Kiss, Me Killer
  • See our new Cooper Rose-produced KMK trailer!
  • Kiss Me, Killer to make Devon debut
  • Kiss Me, Killer hit London for Umlaut Records’ Dugstock II

Built by Kiss Me, Killer Bristol, 2017