My Alamo?
All mine:My, but the possessive adjective is becoming a very popular element of band nomenclature these days. Just off the top of my head, I can think of such covetous band names as My Computer, My Life Story, My Vitriol, My Chemical Romance and the daddy and mammy of them all, My Bloody Valentine. Even the web is getting all grabby, what with MySpace, but at least it's willing to share, as seen on YouTube. The latest band with a Gollum-like sense of ownership is My Alamo, who actually hail from south Wales and the Birmingham suburb of Moseley, birthplace of Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and spiritual home of Ocean Colour Scene. "If Birmingham has a 'bohemian' area, it would be Moseley," claims Dijg Simpson's the band's bassist. "It's like Wonderland Avenue, beneath grey Birmingham skies," adds singer and guitarist Jamie Rigby. "It inspires us."
Louder than bombs:If it's ear-bleeding, head-crushing, gunpowder-keg noise you're after, you've come to the right historic battleground. My Alamo are making a last stand against simpering, soft-bellied pop/rock. They don't believe in half decibel-measures, but like to turn their amps all the way past 11 in the style of such heroes as Nirvana, Pixies and The Who, creating an almighty roar of guitar- shredding noise that has had Kerrang! magazine writers drooling all over their Metallica T-shirts. The band's debut album was recorded at Mighty Atom studios in Swansea, with Jane's Addiction producer Joe Gibb in the (loud) sound booth. What sets My Alamo apart from other lumpen noiseniks is the band's innate sense of melody and passion, and their ability to wring handkerchief-squeezing emotion out of huge, screaming riffola.
Closet metalheads:My Alamo's story began 10 years ago, when Jamie and guitarist Zach Beckett were playing together in various bands, and dreaming of becoming big noises on the rock circuit. They found bassist Dijg sleeping in a cupboard at a friend's flat, and discovered drummer Nick Hobbis in - where else? - a drum shop. Gig-goers were impressed by the band's mature, world-wise brand of noisy catharsis; venue owners with decibel meters looked on with dismay. They opened on the third stage of last year's Download festival and braved stormy seas to play at Oxegen. Towards the end of 2006 they released a single, 1994, a crunching anthem that evoked the 1990s sounds of Sugar and Alice in Chains. They're on tour shortly, starting with a gig in Limerick next Friday (the 23rd) and including a gig at Whelan's in Dublin on February 27th.
Playing for keeps:"It's a powerful word, with lots of different connotations," says Jamie, explaining the band's choice of name. "And My Alamo, well, it's like you're taking control of it, taking something negative and making something positive."
