Artist description Punk Rock Band crossover between old school and new school

Music Style Punk Rock Old School/New School Cross

Musical Influences Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, Offspring, Green Day, Blink 182, Ramones, The Clash

Similar Artists Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, Offspring, Green Day, Blink 182, Ramones, The Clash

Artist History see http://www.jesterpunkuk.co.uk JESTERPUNKUK aka JESTER formed in 1996. Please see our home website for more info.......

Group Members see http://www.jesterpunkuk.co.uk for biography's JESTER are: Ian Waller - Vocals Kelvin McCann - Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals Terry Vincent - Bass/Backing Vocals Neil Martin - Drums Stuart Kinnon - Rhythm Guitar

Instruments Jackson/Charvel and Gibson guitars

Albums Down With The Clown

Press Reviews JESTER - Down With The Clown (Jester Music JCD02) http://www.punkoiuk.co.uk As it happens this lot sent this cd in ages ago. So it's no wonder they've been chucking emails left right & centre wanting to know where the hell is the review. Well lads what would you say if I turned round & told the whole WWW world that...... It's shit, what a load of bollocks, I'd rather wipe my arse on broken glass, than listen to that. What would you say, eh, eh? I reckon you'd be well pissed, & with good reason. You see I put this on & played it all the way through, forgetting I had to review it, & I've done that time & time again, it's that good & I think you fella's knew it. It's not punk or oi, or indie. More a blend of all three. There's touches of Wonder Stuff, Carter, & even Billie Bragg, mixed with some real grit. Nice one lads. Jutters http://www.punkoiuk.co.uk JESTER Down With The Clown http://www.Punktastic.com Reviewed: 6th November 2003 With a name like this I was expecting some comedy circus punk, perhaps a few horns chucked in over some light-hearted upstrokes, all rounded off by summery vocals and lyrics about being drunk on cider. And you know what? That’s pretty much the antithesis of Jester, a punk rock band in the old sense of the term – they play fast and loud and they’re not into this whole subtlety lark. That, to me, is a good thing. Jester evoke the sound of bands like The Damned and The Descendents having a ruck with Roger Miret or Cock Sparrer, in the way they combine scratchy, imperfect vocals with punk sensibilities. The opening two tracks "This Life" and "Sucker" on the album sum them up perfectly in terms of sound, with simple melodies taking the foreground as the vocals and guitar work vie for superiority in such a way that is plain irresistible if you like your punk a bit dirty and rough around the edges. There is a palpable energy in each of the songs, even if any conscious listener will quickly ascertain that Jester aren’t exactly revolutionary. The momentum behind "Got No Time" augments its charm, and as a typical street punk song it has everything – bovver-inducing lyrics, shouty, singalong chorus and chunky riffs designed to facilitate the consumption of far too much alcohol. It’s worth noting that the above statement can equally be applied to many of the tracks on Down With The Clown, in the same way that Joe Strummer didn’t have much of a vocal range: perfectly alright if that’s what you’re into. "Best You Can Do" pushes the oft-fingered button marked "take the piss out of Pop Idol" and does begin to get a touch annoying with what seems like three minutes of stating the bleedin’ obvious. Matters aren’t helped much by the pedestrian "All Messed Up" which plods along at a predictable pace and the only thing that sets it aside from the majority of songs on this album is the fact that it is thoroughly dull and boring. Good thing that it leads into the storming "To Hell And Back" which could be The Misfits back when they weren’t a parody of themselves – this means that it is very good indeed. Understated yet strong melodies in the chorus feed into solid verse sections with a genuinely fantastic solo that is thrown into the mix with apparent disdain that just makes the song all the better. It does make you think that if there had been a few more of these moments, the album as a whole would have benefited greatly and this is a bit frustrating to tell the truth. The album is rounded off with a trio of covers, and they are the Dead Kennedys’ "Holiday In Cambodia", Stiff Little Fingers’ "Alternative Ulster" and "Aint No Feeble Bastard" by Discharge. They’re all fairly strong on their own, mainly because the quality of the originals is so high. I have no idea where these songs fit in for Jester, perhaps they are a mission statement of sorts but they’re pretty good for hearing the band stretch their legs and there’s enough evidence here to suggest that they’d be safe doing so. To be honest I’d have preferred another original or two, but you can’t have everything you asked for (a curry would be nice – cheers Mat). So what’s the verdict? Well it should be pretty obvious by now that if you like harsh, gritty street punk then Jester will be firmly up your alley, but I’m not sure how many new fans they’ll be able to convert with this. I think they’re a very strong band but they need a bit of a kick to get somewhere – a bit more variety and risks, even within their particular bracket and genre, and they’d reap the rewards. Ben www.mp3.com/jesterpunkuk

Additional Info http://www.jesterpunkuk.co.uk

Location Dover, Kent - United Kingdom

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