Phinius Gage
Encyclopedia
Phinius Gage were an established UK
underground skate punk
band who started up in 2002. They have received regular airplay on national BBC
Radio 1's punk rock show The Lock Up - including a session at Maida Vale
studios - and are featured on MTV", and in magazines including Rock Sound, Big Cheese, Kerrang!
, Metal Hammer
, Rhythm and The Source. They play music in the vein of Pennywise, Rise Against, Strung Out and Ignite.
The band have not played a show since September 2007 when they played the Concorde2 in Brighton with The King Blues
, and on Mike Scott (English musician)
's solo music site, he reports they are currently on hiatus.
Mike has recently mentioned on his website they are planning some shows in the future.
based foursome have toured the UK, Germany
, France
, Austria, Luxembourg
and Holland with bands including[spunge]
, Ten Foot Pole
(U.S), Farse, Reuben
, Whitmore, Red Lights Flash
(Aus), The Anti-Nowhere League
, Rufio
, Pulley
(U.S.), Captain Everything!
, 4ft Fingers
, Antimaniax (Aus) and Streetlight Manifesto
(U.S) gaining fans over the period of 400 live shows in the last 4 years.
Phinius Gage have appeared at festivals across Europe, including Primsrock Germany, the National Adventure Sports Show UK, and Old Place New Sounds Festival in Heunburg, Austria
.
Phinius Gage have released two full length albums in the UK, the first, "The Feeling Something's Wrong" on UK independent label
Deck Cheese Records, which received positive reviews from the UK mainstream press including Kerrang!
and punktastic.com, and a second, "Seek Out Your Foes" on Small Town records released on 19 March 2007.
A music video
for their single "Broken Wings" is currently aired on Sky Digital's Redemption TV, and Luxembourg's national music channel, Tango TV. It had a brief airing on MTV2.
The band signed to European labels Fond of Life and Winged Skull Records in early 2006 to re-release an album of rare material and B-sides entitled Brighton Rock. Originally only distributed outside of the UK in Germany, Luxembourg and Japan, the record became available in the UK via Plastic Head Distribution on 29 January 2007.
The band has reported that the latest record was slightly delayed due to a change to a larger UK distribution company. It is also being licenced to Fond Of Life Records of Germany, Shattered Thought Records of Switzerland, in Australia on SameSameSound Records from March 2007.
The record was recorded in four separate sessions at Cambridge's Lock Up practice rooms from May-August2006. The band cited frustrations with traditional studios and producers not capturing the live sound they wanted on previous recordings as a reason for choosing to record the new album themselves. The decision was supported by reviews claiming Seek Out Your Foes is the best sounding Phinius Gage record to date, despite its relatively low budget and DIY ethic
, it received 4KKKK from Kerrang magazine, 8/10 from Metal Hammer magazine, and 7/10 from Rock Sound
.
The album has the following tracklisting:
, an 1840s railway worker who had an unfortunate incident with a sharp object and lost part of his brain. The story is often used in psychology lessons.
Master copies of The Feeling Something's Wrong album were printed with a photo of the band's Producer at 811 Studios, Sussex wielding a baseball bat called The Persuader in front of the mixing desk.
The studio space during the recordings of Seek Out Your Foes had only one chair in the entire building.
In the song Sick Mick (from More Haste More Speed), a can of warm beer was opened at the beginning and fully drunk by the end.
music in the style of Pennywise
, Strung Out
, Consumed, Rise Against
, and other bands of the SoCal
description from record labels including Fat Wreck Chords
and Epitaph
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
underground skate punk
Skate punk
Skate punk is a sub genre of punk rock, originally a derivative of the West Coast hardcore punk scene, that is named after its popularity among skateboarders and association with skateboarding culture. Skate punk most commonly describes the sound of melodic hardcore bands from the 1990s with an...
band who started up in 2002. They have received regular airplay on national BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 1's punk rock show The Lock Up - including a session at Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
studios - and are featured on MTV", and in magazines including Rock Sound, Big Cheese, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
, Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
, Rhythm and The Source. They play music in the vein of Pennywise, Rise Against, Strung Out and Ignite.
The band have not played a show since September 2007 when they played the Concorde2 in Brighton with The King Blues
The King Blues
The King Blues are a punk band from London, England, credited for fusing ska and folk together with influences from punk rock and hardcore punk. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as 'rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of this country. A new generation of musicians are...
, and on Mike Scott (English musician)
Mike Scott (English musician)
Mike Scott was bassist for melodic punk/hardcore band Phinius Gage from 2003-2007. He turned to acoustic music in 2007 when the band went on hiatus. His music, like much of the acoustic punk scene is based on liberal politics...
's solo music site, he reports they are currently on hiatus.
Mike has recently mentioned on his website they are planning some shows in the future.
History
The BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
based foursome have toured the UK, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Austria, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and Holland with bands including
Spunge
Spunge are a ska punk band from Tewkesbury, England...
, Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole is an American punk rock band, formerly on Epitaph Records.-History:Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared Straight.Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California...
(U.S), Farse, Reuben
Reuben (band)
Reuben were an English three-piece musical group from Camberley, Surrey. Their music was a fusion of alternative rock and heavy metal, as their songs cover a variety of styles, ranging from heavy and upbeat, such as their 2005 single "Blamethrower" to slower, more melodic songs such as their 2004...
, Whitmore, Red Lights Flash
Red Lights Flash
Red Lights Flash was a punk band from Graz in Austria.The band was formed in 1997. They have political lyrics and play melodic-punk. Red Lights Flash was the first European band that signed a contract with the punk label A-F Records...
(Aus), The Anti-Nowhere League
Anti-Nowhere League
Anti-Nowhere League is an English punk band, formed in 1980 by lead singer Animal , guitarist Magoo , Tony "Bones" Shaw on drums and Chris "Baggy" Elvy on bass.-Early days:...
, Rufio
Rufio
-History:Rufio was formed when bassist Jon Berry was a freshman in college and the other three members, Scott Sellers, Mike Jimenez, and Clark Domae were in their senior year of high school. Sellers and Domae had been acquainted for some time and found a shared talent in the guitar. Sellers met...
, Pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
(U.S.), Captain Everything!
Captain Everything!
Captain Everything! are a punk band from Watford, United Kingdom. They met at Parmiter's School. Formed in 1998, the band play high tempo pop-punk, which was branded "Bubblegum Thrash". Renowned for their heavy touring schedule, they have played all over the UK and Europe, touring with bands such...
, 4ft Fingers
4ft Fingers
4 ft Fingers are an English punk rock band from Cheltenham, United Kingdom, formed in 1996.-History:4 ft Fingers were formed in Cheltenham in 1996. The mid nineties was a time of a minor musical revolution in Cheltenham, spearheaded by bands such as Vicious Rumour and the Axiom centre...
, Antimaniax (Aus) and Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto is an American punk band with many influences from different genres including ska, from New Brunswick, New Jersey fronted by Tomas Kalnoky....
(U.S) gaining fans over the period of 400 live shows in the last 4 years.
Phinius Gage have appeared at festivals across Europe, including Primsrock Germany, the National Adventure Sports Show UK, and Old Place New Sounds Festival in Heunburg, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Phinius Gage have released two full length albums in the UK, the first, "The Feeling Something's Wrong" on UK independent label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Deck Cheese Records, which received positive reviews from the UK mainstream press including Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and punktastic.com, and a second, "Seek Out Your Foes" on Small Town records released on 19 March 2007.
A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for their single "Broken Wings" is currently aired on Sky Digital's Redemption TV, and Luxembourg's national music channel, Tango TV. It had a brief airing on MTV2.
The band signed to European labels Fond of Life and Winged Skull Records in early 2006 to re-release an album of rare material and B-sides entitled Brighton Rock. Originally only distributed outside of the UK in Germany, Luxembourg and Japan, the record became available in the UK via Plastic Head Distribution on 29 January 2007.
The band has reported that the latest record was slightly delayed due to a change to a larger UK distribution company. It is also being licenced to Fond Of Life Records of Germany, Shattered Thought Records of Switzerland, in Australia on SameSameSound Records from March 2007.
The record was recorded in four separate sessions at Cambridge's Lock Up practice rooms from May-August2006. The band cited frustrations with traditional studios and producers not capturing the live sound they wanted on previous recordings as a reason for choosing to record the new album themselves. The decision was supported by reviews claiming Seek Out Your Foes is the best sounding Phinius Gage record to date, despite its relatively low budget and DIY ethic
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
, it received 4KKKK from Kerrang magazine, 8/10 from Metal Hammer magazine, and 7/10 from Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
.
The album has the following tracklisting:
- Battered and Bruised - a song known to be about the UK punk scene
- Mary Kelly
- Seek Out Your Foes ... (And Make Them Sorry)
- Temptation
- This Song Is About You
- Stop Looking Up
- Behind Darkness You've No Light
- Traffic Lights Party
- The Young and the Restless
- Provocation Song (on the non-UK release, this track is "Got A Way With Words, Got Away With Murder")
- Why Don't You Ask Yourself Why
- My Eyes Bled Colours
Trivia
Phinius Gage are named after a science textbook case study called Phineas GagePhineas Gage
Phineas P. Gage was an American railroad construction foreman now remembered for his improbablesurvival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and...
, an 1840s railway worker who had an unfortunate incident with a sharp object and lost part of his brain. The story is often used in psychology lessons.
Master copies of The Feeling Something's Wrong album were printed with a photo of the band's Producer at 811 Studios, Sussex wielding a baseball bat called The Persuader in front of the mixing desk.
The studio space during the recordings of Seek Out Your Foes had only one chair in the entire building.
In the song Sick Mick (from More Haste More Speed), a can of warm beer was opened at the beginning and fully drunk by the end.
Influences
Phinius Gage plays fast, melodic hardcoreMelodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on vocal melody. The genre is commonly defined with fast hardcore drum beats, complex guitar riffs and melodic singing with occasional screaming and shouting.-History:...
music in the style of Pennywise
Pennywise (band)
Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title....
, Strung Out
Strung Out
Strung Out is a Californian punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1992. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of punk rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They have released seven albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appeared on numerous...
, Consumed, Rise Against
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
, and other bands of the SoCal
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
description from record labels including Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....
and Epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
.
Current members
- Carl "Karlos" Brown (guitar and vocals since 2005)
- Mike ScottMike Scott (English musician)Mike Scott was bassist for melodic punk/hardcore band Phinius Gage from 2003-2007. He turned to acoustic music in 2007 when the band went on hiatus. His music, like much of the acoustic punk scene is based on liberal politics...
(vocals and bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
since 2003) Acoustic pageMike Scott website - Matt Steele (drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and vocals since 2002) - Ade Holder (vocals and guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
since 2002)
Previous members 2002–2006
- Damo St George (vocals)
- Martyn Haigh (bass)
- Andy Bligh (guitar)
- Ben Ince (guitar)
- Paul Fields (guitar)
- Gary Yay (bass)
- Jamie Kirkpatrick (bass)
- Edward Higgs (bass)
- Chas Mataz (guitar)
- Kalem Buckham (drums)
- Keith Whitby (bass)
Discography
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | More Haste More Speed (mini-album) | Deck Cheese |
| 2005 | The Feeling Something's Wrong | Deck Cheese |
| 2006 (Europe) 2007 (UK) |
Brighton Rock | Fond of Life/Winged Skull (Europe) Fond of Life/Plastic Head (UK) |
| 2007 | Seek Out Your Foes... And Make Them Sorry | Fond of Life (Europe) Small Town Records (UK) |
Compilations
- Amped Up And Ready To Go (In At The Deep End Records, UK)
- Value Slices (Deck Cheese, UK)
- Cheese Supreme (free promo CD with Big Cheese Magazine, UK)
- Punktastic Unscene (Punktastic Recordings, UK)
- Punktastic Unscene 3 (Punktastic Recordings, UK)
- Ashcan Records 1 (Ashcan Records, Luxembourg)
- Change The Station II (White Russian Records, Netherlands)
- In Defense of Rock 2 (Fond of Life/Winged Skull, Germany)
- Quintisentially British (UK)
- Brighton Rocks (UK)
External links
- Phinius Gage Official MySpace page
- Review of Phinius Gage album "The Feeling Something's Wrong from national website Punktastic
- Phinius Gage tracks played on BBC Radio 1's Lock Up Punk Show
- http://www.mediafire.com/?9ar5dvznxaya8f5 Seek Out Your Foes mp3s
- Positive reviews for the Seek Out Your Foes album
- http://www.mikescott.me.ukMike Scott's website
- http://www.myspace.com/mikescottacousticMike Scott (English musician)Mike Scott (English musician)Mike Scott was bassist for melodic punk/hardcore band Phinius Gage from 2003-2007. He turned to acoustic music in 2007 when the band went on hiatus. His music, like much of the acoustic punk scene is based on liberal politics...
solo Myspace]