Click here for home page

Click here



Contact Us | Customer Information | Privacy Policy | Audio Help

Explore
Main Menu
Submit a review
Forums
Sign up for newsletter
Album Reviews
Gig reviews
Interviews
Special features
Get Your EMail Address
Links
Submit your website
Gig Reviews...

Just witnessed your best live gig?.. send us a review!

WARRIOR SOUL, Camden Underworld, London
22 September 2011

Warrior Soul, photo by Noel Buckley

The thing that amazes me about Warrior Soul is the band's ability to re-invent themselves.

Many of tonight's packed crowd are too young to remember the classic Warrior Soul line up of Kory Clarke, Johnny Ricco, Mark Evans and Pete McLanahan.

In Kory Clarke they have one of rock's best front men.  A man who has stood by his beliefs and whose lyrics are as real now as they were 20 years ago.

 

A conversation between GRTR!'s Noel Buckley and Kory Clarke...

NB You are in the middle of a UK tour, how's the tour been going so far.

KC: So far Noel I only fucked up one gig, so, if I only fuck up one gig that's cool. It wasn't a huge fuck up...

NB: But it's been going well generally.

KC: More than that, I mean, playing all these songs that I haven't played in years. It's been great because to be able to play a lot of stuff on the third album, stuff that Mark Evans was on.

NB: What I have noticed with the band over the years, you attract a lot of new fans as you go along who won't remember, as you say, Salutations From The Ghetto Nation, they won't remember that band.

KC: It's very funny to watch a mosh pit

NB: There seems to be a lot of energy in the band now. There are gigs every 6 months, does that keep you fresh?

KC: Yes, but the thing is the old rock industry would churn out a record every year. It takes 6 months to make a record and then churn out another.

NB: It sounds like more pressure on you.

KC: Now I have to do 2 or 3 records a year. I would love to tour a million times but it's really difficult in this market.  All I can do is my art and I am moving more into painting and the spoken word.

Warrior Soul, photo by Noel Buckley

NB: A lot of that is on your new album, Opium Hotel 2.

KC: Opium Hotel 2 is a collaboration of all my artistic friends and the whole cover and everything is designed and painted by me.

NB: I mean I heard it for the first time today and I've got to say that my first impression is that it's a great album.

'Kiss On This', I thought was very back to the 'Space Age Playboys' album. But the one that really hit me was 'Masquerade Party'. I just thought that this was a great lovely song.

KC: The thing is, it is a beautiful song and Gary wanted to leave it in the dust. I mean he totally forgot about it. I had to call him and, I think it was last year, I gave him a ring and I go "Dude I'm going to use the song"...

NB: Gary?

KC: Gary Hood came up with the song Opium Hotel. I am the one who turned an album into a cottage industry. The people who bought Opium Hotel are now following my art and Gary's work and my spoken word.

Now I got a place to put my spoken word and all that stuff. Now I have an actual place, a storefront to put this art in and you can either like my art that way or you can like Warrior Soul for the aggressive hard rock.  Or both.

Here I am in a new rock band and it is creating such a new sense of rock sensitivity for our music.

NB: Getting back to Opium Hotel 2 are you going to promote that. Will you be playing the songs from the album on tour.

KC: We are starting to work everything in.

NB: Moving on very quickly as we are running out of time. 20 years down the line what do you think now about the whole Geffen thing. How do you feel now. Do you regret things? How do you feel about what happened with the band at that time?  Warrior Soul should have been massive.

KC: I can always equate it to this: Watching a man masturbating in a Little Chef on a tiled floor and releasing giant wads against the sky.

NB: Does that answer my question? Right one last question. You've lived in Europe for some time now...Have you got into soccer?

KC: Please do me a favour and do not wank in the Little Chef.

NB: Kory Clarke, thank you.

 


With an intro of 'The Forth Reich' being played over the PA chants of Kory-Kory started to echo around the hall.  "Fuck the Pigs", "No No No" and "Rotten Soul" set the tone for the night.

Warrior Soul, photo by Noel Buckley

The band's third album "Salutations From The Ghetto Nation" had a good airing. Classic tracks such as "Song In Your Mind", "Blown" and "Shine Like This" showed just how good this band are, even though the tempo of these songs is slow, they were received with great enthusiasm. 'Love Destruction' on the other hand created a massive mosh pit...not a place for the faint hearted.

Problems with the monitors were dealt with in a unique way, Kory banished the guy to the back of the hall.

If you get a chance, do yourself a favour and go and see this band.

Set List...The Fourth Reich/ Fuck the Pigs /No No No/  /Rotten Soul/ Song in your Mind./ Shock Um Down/ Love Destruction/ Blown/ Shine/ Like It/ The Party/ Intro/ Interzone/ The Drug/ Downtown/ Hero/ Wasteland


Review and photos by Noel Buckley

Photo Gallery


Print this page in printer friendly format

Print this page in printer-friendly format

Tell a friend about this page

Tell a friend about this page



Featured Artists
Artist Archive
Featured Labels
Label Archive
Do you want to appear here?

get ready to rock is a division of hotdigitsnewmedia group