MORDRED - THE BAND

A couple of cool 'In This Life' reviews

2011-08-10T20:44:00.002Z

Check 'em HERE

Mordred Metal Forces interview

2011-07-20T18:33:00.000Z

Metal Forces review of 'Fools Game'

2011-04-02T16:18:00.000Z

METAL FORCES magazine was the best on the market. From the June 1989 issue (Number 40) I found this cool review of 'Fools Game'.:

Scott Holderby Interviewed...

2011-03-25T21:48:00.000Z

...at Room Thirteen. Check the link HERE

Signed Hi-Nobles CD

2010-09-11T10:54:00.006Z

A big thanks and much respect to Scotty and the boys for the signed Hi-Nobles 'Shake' cd.

The Hi-Nobles 'Shake' cd release party

2010-09-11T10:39:00.000Z

...can be viewed HERE at You Tube.

Two Mordred items...

2010-02-21T15:19:00.003Z

I received the following items from a chap called Kai, which he gave me permission to put on the site. Thanks Kai.

Fire Note review of 'Shake'.

2009-10-09T17:01:00.000Z

Fire Drill Review:
This is probably one of the most bizarre meshings of previous bands but The Hi-Nobles are made up of Bay Area musicians from '70s punks The Avengers and the metal group Mordred to release Shake's 60's inspired garage & soul rock n roll. The record brings 100% energy and dips into bluesy undertones, which keeps the album grounded and from overreaching into a straightforward garage sound. The Hi-Nobles don't have any new cards up their sleeves when it comes to this style but the group totally makes up for it with song substance, energy and keeping your foot tapping throughout the entire record.

3.5 /5

Harsh review of 'Shake'...

2009-10-09T16:58:00.000Z

From Ventvox

Interview with The Hi-Nobles

2009-10-09T16:56:00.001Z

Read it HERE at Banned Promotions

'Shake' review at Frantikmag.

2009-10-09T16:52:00.001Z

You got that 60’s soul in you? Well, no worries, The Hi-Nobles will kick your soul into high gear and get your soul shakin’ like you were back in the glory days of 60’s garage soul funk! Shake! is the Hi-Nobles debut from Zaentz Records which involves the unlikely pairing of metal/punk/thrash vets Scott Holderby of Mordred and Greg Ingraham of Avengers.

The band is rounded out by Henry Austin on bass, Guy Alvarez on drums and Jeff Hashfield on keys who adds that signature, organ-drenched, sound of The Hi-Nobles. Fusing a very potent form of mod/garage/soul rock with enthusiastic vocals and up-tempo jaunts, The Hi-Nobles are taking you back to a time when garage soul music was the only thing that mattered. “Soul Sister” gets the party underway and blasts off with a raucous romp, fit to get any booties shakin’. Garage rockin’ “Ain’t No Sin” brings the rock out of the garage and into the dance floor with a super groovy take on garage soul. “Stings A Bit” sees the band performing a funked out jam led by an organ riff that grooves with a capital G. Title track “Shake!” will definitely set your souls on fire and will most likely have you shakin’ up a storm before you know it. Radio ready “International Playboys” blows up with Scott’s soul-testifying lyrics and vocals coupled by the band’s fantastic arrangement. “Miss Addy” is all about Greg’s fantastic guitar work and Henry’s drop dead bass noodling which really makes the song come alive. The Hi-Nobles have definitely hit a high note with this record. A few people may dismiss the record because of the musical style but garage soul music will never go out of date just as long as there’s band’s like The Hi-Nobles, who do it right. The musical attainability and substance of Shake! is most genuine and spells out good times, track-per-track. Shake!, as the album title suggests, will shake your soul to the core and get your two left feet dancing in no time. There’s enough high energy soul and funk on this album for a whole generation. So what are you waiting for? Revive your soul and get Shake!-in!

Rating:3/5

By: Gian Erguiza

Hi-Nobles album review.

2009-10-09T16:41:00.002Z

The Hi-Noble's eagerly awaited debut record, 'Shake', received the following review at Snobmusic:

'September 29th is the new release date for Shake, the new studio album from The Hi-Nobles. The band is comprised of veteran musicians from the Bay Area scene, who bring backgrounds ranging from punk to metal to straight up rock.
The album not surprisingly sounds nothing like those styles. Sure a punk rock bassline can be heard on tracks like "Miss Addy", but the influences are subtle. Rather, the inspiration for Shake seems to be pub rock and blues rock.
A song like "International Playboys" (I guess Morrissey wasn't the last of the famous ones after all) has more in common with the Blues Brothers Revue than they do with The Avengers. Moreover, both in sound and theme "Big Black Car" will have you drawing comparisons to the Cream classic "Politician".
It may not be groundbreaking, but for balls-to-the-wall rock, The Hi-Nobles strike all the right chords.
Best tracks: "Miss Addy", "Soul Sister"
Track listing for Shake:
Soul Sister
Ain't No Sin
Big Black Car
Stings a Bit
Shake
International Playboys
Red Eye
Shelter
Love Don't Come Around
Miss Addy
Don't Go
Gold Tipped Rhino

Rating: 7.0/10

Hi-Nobles album and show news...

2009-10-09T16:38:00.001Z

Read it HERE at Blabbermouth

The Hi-Nobles at the Java Lounge

2009-10-09T16:34:00.001Z

The band rockin' Sacramento, watch it HERE

Bullet Labor Day Weekender

2009-10-09T16:30:00.001Z

The Hi-Nobles and more cool, garage/soul/hammond bands HERE

Underground Empire article...

2009-10-09T16:22:00.001Z

A Stefan Glas sent a Mordred article via email from UNDERGROUND EMPIRE

Interview with Gannon Hall

2009-07-27T12:45:00.002Z

Check out this brand new interview I conducted with Gannon in July 2009.

1) Firstly, since Mordred split, what have you been up to ?

After Mordred, I switched gears and become involved in technology and interactive marketing. I'd always been into computers and programming so it was a pretty natural transition for me. I founded an interactive agency '97 that i ran until 2003, at which point I teamed up with a larger marketing communications agency, where i worked until 2007. Now I'm working as chief operating officer for a new media tech start-up here in SF. I was living in NYC for a few years and moved back to SF about a year and a half ago.

2) How do you recall the Mordred days ?

Mostly great memories. A big part of my youth. I was 17 years old when I joined the band. Just a kid. I learned a lot that I still put in practice today. I also learned that life as a musician ultimately wasn't for me, and so I chose a different path.

3) For me 'In This Life' is one of the greatest records ever made, how do you rate the albums the band made ?

I would rate them in this order:In This Life, Vision, Next Room, Fool's Game

4) For me, Mordred without Scott was too hard to accept, what were the band attempting with 'The Next Room' and why did you eventually split up ?

I agree, Mordred without Scott just wasn't Mordred. That was the biggest mistake we made, although at the time Scott's departure was probably inevitable. Scott was a total original and probably a huge contributor to our unique sound. Somehow we lost sight of that. That was a long time ago and I haven't spent much time thinking about it since then. But if I remember correctly, at the time we wanted to make a heavier, more cohesive album, and Scott was becoming increasingly less interested in heavy music. The bottom line is that the record company simply wouldn't release the album Scott wanted to make-- they absolutely hated the demos we sent them. In some ways they were right, the new songs had fragments of good ideas, but didn't totally work. They were unfinished sketches and lacked focus. Scott however was uncompromising and would have none of the label's feedback. The other guys in the band, we wanted to continue as Mordred and didn't see how we could do that without capitulating to at least some of the label's feedback. In retrospect though, Scott was right. We should have figured out a way to continue, even without a label. We should have ignored everyone's opinions other than our own. Not sure how much longer I would have lasted personally, but regardless of my involvement, if Mordred had continued with Scott I'm sure some good music would have come of it.

5) Mordred were always ahead of their time, but they got lumped in with the sickly 'funk metal' trend. How well/bad did that affect the band ?

Of course today that would never happen, as audiences are more comfortable with musical diversity. In the late 80s and early 90s all music was labeled. Even so called alternative bands had a very specific "alternative" sound. We hated being labeled funk metal, but we were also (at least I was), equally embarrassed to be labeled just a metal band.

6) Having a DJ was monumental, but how hard was it getting the band accepted in metal circles ?

We didn't identify with that scene at all. I thought it was ridiculous actually. The music we were creating was honest. We were playing exactly what we wanted to play without regard for trends or scenes. This was very much a reflection of who we were and where we came from. We were a diverse band from a diverse city. Our influences ranged from Joy Division to Iron Maiden to Bad Brains to The Police. Our intro tape to live performances was a William Burroughs monologue! We had very little in common with most of the metal bands and felt a closer affinity to the more experimental bands of the time.

7)I saw Mordred 4 times at The Marquee, how well do you recall those days and recording 'In This Live' ?

We were at the top of our game. I remember those shows very well. Incredibly exciting time.

8) What are the chances of Mordred getting back together for real ?

For me personally there is no chance of doing anything even somewhat serious. But, I'm only the drummer :) I'd love to see the line-up with Scott and Danny back together.

9) Do you have any Mordred photo's to share ?

I don't unfortunately. I wasn't a good record keeper.

10) How much do you hear the sound of Mordred in today's bands ?

I definitely hear it in bands like Linkin Park and a few others. Although I doubt those guys ever heard Mordred. Most likely they simply share a similar philosophy and set of influences.

11) What stuff are you listening to nowadays ?

My music taste continues to be eclectic but I suppose I mostly listen to what the kids these days are calling "indie rock." Bands like Band of Horses, MGMT, M83, Cut Copy, Bon Iver, etc. The only heavy bands I listen to are NIN and Tool.http://www.last.fm/user/gannonh

12) Are you still in touch with ex-Mordred members ?

Not very often, but like a close family, years can go by and when you see each other again it's like no time has past at all. I have tremendous love and respect for everyone in the band.

13)I have a letter from you from around 1994, do you recall sending it ? ha!

I don't. I hope I was nice.

14) What are your thoughts on the Mordred website ?

It's great! Thanks for keeping the memories alive.

15)Any messages for Mordred fans ?

Thanks for all the support over the years.

MANY THANKS TO GANNON FOR AGREEING TO DO THE INTERVIEW.

Mordred members on Facebook.

2009-07-10T19:35:00.003Z

Scotty, Gannon, Pause and Danny White have Facebook profiles. I took these two photo's from Gannon's photo collection ha! (Thanks Gannon!)

Hi-Nobles album update.

2009-07-10T19:34:00.001Z

Scotty mentioned that the album should be out in September...can't wait.

Interview with Scott Holderby

2009-02-22T14:42:00.002Z

Scott Holderby has been in touch to talk about all things Hi-Nobles, check out the interview:

1) Scott, the last time we spoke you mentioned that The Hi-Nobles have a record deal. Tell me more.

Scotty: We recently signed a deal with Zaentz Records,and are in the process of mixing the new record...It will be released in 4 months after proper promotion..I'll get an advanced copy for you..

2) How many tracks can we expect on the record and do you have any song titles ?

Scotty: 12 songs on the record, 13 in Japan - 1) Soul Sister 2) Ain't No Sin 3) Big Black Car 4) Stings A Bit 5) Shake Shake Shake 6) International Playboys 7) Red Eye 8) Shelter 9) Love Don't Come Around 10) Miss Addy 11) Don't Go 12) Gold Tipped Rhino

3) Which bands have influenced the Hi-Nobles the most ?

Scotty: The Kinks, The Animals, The Who, Them Otis, Ray Charles, Stax, soul, rare groove, Northern Soul.

4) You've come along way from the days of Mordred. When did you first get into the garage sound ?

Scotty: I first got into it with The Stooges first record...still one of my favourite records. I grew up listening to The Animals, The Kinks, ? & The Mysterians ('60s psych group), Dave Clark 5, Association, and the Zombies with my pops...can I add the Zombies to my forementioned favourites !?

5) Is there a good following for The Hi-Nobles in the US ?

Scotty: Huge....Oh you were being serious ? We're working on it!

6) Are there any plans for you guys to come to the UK ?

Scotty: We plan to come over after this record has been released.

7) How are things going with your other groups HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS and BORSTAL HOLIDAY ?

Scotty: Borstal Holiday record will be finished soon..

8) Do you look back at the Mordred days and wish you were still part of that scene ?

Scotty: I am still part of that scene...Sanguinetti is on his way over right now...!

9) Do you think The Hi-Nobles will get good promotion over here in the UK, as there's quite a psych/garage scene ?

Scotty: I certainly hope so...personally, it's the most important territory. Holderby, I am English...just add alcohol, and you can hear it!

This just in from Scotty!!!!

2008-12-28T14:24:00.001Z

Happy Holidays Neil the Mod,
Soon ,with all going as planned, we shall be having that drink...or two...you know depends how large the glasses are...In your homeland..Jolly old you know where.......
Hi-Nobles signed deal with Zaentz Records,Sony distribution..Record to be released mid March...Tour to follow...
Can't believe it..But it's true...

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES.

CONGRATULATIONS TO SCOTTY AND THE BAND, SEE YA SOON ON THESE SHORES.

And more Mordred memories...

2008-11-28T20:24:00.001Z

This time from the Rockin' Rabbi:

"A Mordred gig at the Marquee was truly an event. As the clouds of dry ice cleared and Pause's revolving beer can became visible on the turntable, the night would ignite with Scott Holderby leaping in the air, covered head to toe with face paint. Danny's killer riffs would send us all into a frenzy and I remember the stage-diving beginning within moments. Scott whipped us up into truly an ecstatic state. His leaps, his characteristic sideways glances and Ancient-Egyptian posing made him a truly memorable frontman. How fortunate we were to be a part of their original, trailblazing musical genius and to experience their true energy first hand! There is no doubt about it, that thinking back to those days gives me that telling warm fuzzy-feeling inside! Roll on the good old days!"

Someone hates Mordred...

2008-11-28T20:20:00.003Z

Now, I'm not one to post negative stuff about the band, past or present, but I've recently been sent a link from Mordred fan Ian Crocker, and am hoping that all Mordred fans will bombard the idiot's who printed the pointless article. Basically, it's a complete slag-off of Mordred, lacking understanding of the music and also tends to get a little personal, so if anyone out there in Mordred land wants to email these bunch of time-wasting cocks, get on board. I've been open to posting bads reviews etc, but this is just a joke:

http://metalinquisition.blogspot.com/2008/11/ultimate-turkey-mordred.html

New album from Careless Hearts.

2008-11-24T14:15:00.003Z

Paul Kimball, who fronted Mordred on 'The Next Room' record, has a new album out with his current band Careless Hearts. The album is called 'Heart's Delight' and more can be found out about it at: http://carelesshearts.com

Paul would also like to thank the Mordred fans who posted kind comments on his band's website.

Check out Foodstamp!

2008-10-13T20:33:00.002Z

Foodstamp featured the talents of Art Liboon and Gannon Hall and can be seen HERE at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1996 gettin' down with some funkiness.

Latest Mordred You Tube post

2008-10-13T20:29:00.001Z

Check out Mordred doing 'Falling Away' live in Alst in Belgium from April 1992 HERE at You Tube

Check out Gannon Hall at Last Fm

2008-10-06T18:50:00.003Z

Link HERE

Tel's Mordred memories...

2008-10-06T18:32:00.004Z

One of my best homeboys Terry 'Dred' Cameron shares with us his most notable Mordred memory, and also check out the signed poster which Tel won from Ebay, with the bands signatures alongside Ignorance.

"Thought i'd share my memories from a Mordred gig at Londons Marquee. Chilling outside watching the band members casualy chatting in the light rain, excited, anticipaiting the gig.Amazing gig with The Organization supporting...and coming on with mordred to do 'Sweat Leaf' as a finale. Great stuff!The set featured all the usual stuff and some of the tracks from the 'Vision' album, which I feel honoured to have seen live. Scott was his usual slick self, I think he even came on with a cane! Pause was bobbing about with his beer can spinning on his turntable decks!!!The room was so full of energy and it was getting so hot in the backroom of the club.I was wearing a white Ice-T 'Original Gangster' t-shirt, it must have stuck out a mile in the dark room that was about to burst into life.Scott points it out to Pause. The vibe in the whole place is amazing, Mordred seem the only Metal band to have been able to bring together so much versatlity and various genres of music and still make a venue feel so alive with electricity."

More Mordred memories...

2008-10-04T11:07:00.000Z

Stephane from France added, "hi neil, i would like to thanks you for your site about mordred , remember me these fantastics years of funk metal , i have seen mordred in the gibus ( paris) and is the one of the best gig of my life"

Mordred memories....

2008-09-25T19:51:00.008Z

Okay people, updates have been a while, I want to hear all the memories you have of Mordred gigs, and to send along any photographs or signed pictures etc.

First off is Roger Bose from Cheshire who got in touch and sent me the following amazing signed lp covers etc, and one very interesting photo of a signed promo cassette of 'In This Life'.

Roger said this of the band, "I was a huge Mordred fan back in the day and have several old tape recordings of their gigs - 2 from support slots in the Astoria (London) in 1990, 2 full gigs from Edwards No 8 in Birmingham in 1990 and The the Marquee on 28.9.91. I also remember seeing them supporting (I think Celtic Frost ! of all people) in the Bristol Bierkeller - Scotty claimed to be jet lagged having just got off a plane and that was the reason he vomited on stage half way through the set! I also remember arriving early at one of the Edwards No 8 gigs on my new bike - a GSXR1100L - Art and Gannon were both bike fans and had a quick spin round Birmingham on my bike - glad to get it back in one piece - Great Memories of a great band."

Many thanks to Roger; here are the photos:

Borstal Holiday update

2008-07-23T17:39:00.003Z

Check out the band's Myspace page for some cool entertainment via You Tube, inlcuding track recordings and two stage performances, check it out ya'll at Myspace, just type in Borstal Holiday in the Music search section.

Signed records...

2008-07-23T17:27:00.007Z

No new updates at the moment people, but have a look at these three prized possessions of mine, being 'Falling Away', 'Fools Game' and 'In This Life' signed by most of the band from 1991...you won't come across many of these!

Signed Mordred ticket.

2008-07-06T20:23:00.003Z

With thanks to the Rockin' Rabbi for this ticket which Pause signed in the early '90s.

Check out the new Borstal Holiday EP

2008-06-30T11:35:00.003Z

....some seriously smokin' Oakland Rock 'n' Roll Soul... http://www.myspace.com/borstalholiday personal favourite track being the amazing 'Drag', check it out.

Scott Holderby Interview (June 2008) Part Two

2008-06-30T11:16:00.004Z

9) Regarding Mordred, at the moment, especially in the UK there is a big thrash revival going on, and alot of bands such as Forbidden, are having their albums re-released. Have the members of Mordred been approached or thought of a re-union, full or part-time ?

10) What are your opinions of the Mordred with Steve Scates fronting the band ?

11) Did you ever hear THE NEXT ROOM ?

12) What are the other Mordred guys doing now and have you spoke to them recently ?

13) Outside of music, what else do you get up to/ are interested in ?

14) When was the last time you listened to a Mordred record ?

15) The IN THIS LIVE video, it was the best gigof my life, how much do you remember of that night ?

Scotty's answers...

9) No

10) They should have fun..I know how it is,I love to play music too...

11) Sorry, no

12) Pause still DJs all over and produces hip-hop acts like Shagg Nasty,Art and Sven play in the 1985 Mordred,Gannon and Jim aren't playing these days,Danny works in a studio in New York and plays /composes jingles and such...

13) Lambretta scooters,60s horror movies,youtube all sorts of old vids,bar-b-q

14) Jim S and I watched the video with our kids awhile back.

15) I remember the Marquee shows quite well..It was one of my favorite places to play..I had some really excellent times there,and at the Columbia Hotel bar after hours..The night of the recording,we were feeling great,getting along well and all that..We went out to the pub and grabbed some food before the gig..I ran into several people who were going to the gig and chatted..People got such a kick out of the way we hung out with the people in line out front.I used to get my drinks at the bar etc..I liked meeting people...

With many thanks to Scotty.

Old picture!

2008-06-10T18:52:00.003Z

Here's a rare, old photo from 1990 advertising Jackson guitars, and featuring James Sanguinetti and Danny White plus musicians from Exodus, Forbidden and Violence. Thanks to Ken Duffy for the picture.

Old school Hard 'n' Heavy interview with the band

2008-06-05T12:12:00.000Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4un03x0d7mk&feature=related Possibly from around '89.

MORDRED GIGS/PROMO'S AVAILABLE

2008-06-05T10:54:00.002Z

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED I HAVE A LIST OF MORDRED GIGS ETC AVAILABLE. GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS AT: neilthemod1@blueyonder.co.uk

Scott Holderby Interview (May 2008) Part 1

2008-05-31T16:48:00.004Z

I recently caught up with Scott Holderby, and interviewed him regarding latest projects etc. Here is part one of the interview, my questions are listed first, Scott's answers are underneath:

The Questions-:

1) Firstly, you're in three bands at the moment, THE HI-NOBLES, BORSTAL HOLIDAY and HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS. How would you describe the sounds of these bands ?

2) Are you committed to one band more than any other, or is it equal in the sense of touring, laying down tracks. With whom are you most busy ?

3) How did THE HI-NOBLES get together ?

4) In the past, fans of you would have known you were into hip-hop, soul, funk, but with the NOBLES it's a very '60s garage sound. How long have you been into that ?

5) Are you planning on touring with any of the bands you are in, outside of the U.S.A. ?

6) What kind of places do you play with the bands you are in ?

7) Any plans for record releases ?

8) You recently played with one my heroes, Clem Burke of Blondie, how was that for you ?

The Answers-:

1. I would say Borstal Holiday sounds like 60s Garage-Punk..The Hi-Nobles are 60s Garage-Soul..High Society Angels sound like some Soul-Jazz, more of a modern sound

2. High Soc Angels just reformed (with some new and some of the old players) only a month or so ago.So we haven't played out yet with the new lineup.Can't wait for that..
They are all fun groups to play in and I like them all....But...Borstal Holiday is the easiest to get anything done, cause it's a trio..

3. Our first guitarist put an ad on craigslist, Seeking asshole singer who's not a total prick..I called him back and said I was auditioning a band and I would consider them..He thought that was funny and said ok..So the night of the big audition(first band rehearsal) I get the call "practice is delayed for a couple hours"..I'm already in SF so I stopped by a friends house and that friend was making cocktails,and I had a few..I was a bit pissed when I showed up,and I had white Russians in to go coffee cups..I was a bit of a mess but I was able to sing alright..Those guys loved it..I loved it..Good times..

4. I did get caught up in old soul music for many years,but have always loved the Stooges,Animals,Kinks and Who,and that garage psyche 60s sound but kind of forgot about it..It was really Otis the big O with that super fast soul that gave me the idea for the garage soul thing..Hi-Nobles had a 70s Garage sound and it was easy to put the sound together into a Garage-Soul sound..And so much fun to play....

5. As soon as there is a record the Hi-Nobles want to head over..Same goes for Borstal Holiday..We are about to press a 3 song vinyl 45,you can hear it on our myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/borstalholiday

6. Small hip dive bars and seedy clubs.We are starting to get bigger shows like our gig at Slim's with the Detroit Cobras..We also played a weekender with the Untouchables,Love me nots etc. in Las vegas..We have some gigs coming up in Seattle Portland,Salem,Los Angeles,San Diego..All west coast stuff...

7. Yes,first the 7" with Borstal Holiday,we are about halfway finished with the full length LP..
Hi-Nobles are set to record our LP in July and a H S A record is only half written so probably a few months out on that one..

8. Clem is a great guy..I got him to autograph my Blondie record for my son,and i was a bit pissed,I put it into it's protective sleeve and smudged it..He looked at and said,"shall I do it again",it was amusing..I liked all of those Magic Christians..Eddie from the Plimsoles..Prairie Prince (one of Gannon's drum teachers)used to be the drummer..Clem was a real nice fella...

HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS

2008-05-27T19:40:00.005Z

Scotty's HIGH SOCIETY ANGELS, a joining of HARLEY'S ANGELS and HIGH SOCIETY, have a Myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/highsocietyangels

Check out the chilled tunes, perfect for any loungebar.

Late Nite Sinner's Links

2008-05-27T19:33:00.002Z

Check out this link for several interviews/live clips etc, involving Scotty and his bands at the great Late Nite Sinner's page.

'In This Live' DVD availability

2008-05-06T08:27:00.004Z

Hi people.

Okay, I've had numerous emails regarding the availability of the elusive MORDRED 'In This Live' video which was filmed at London's Marquee Club in '91.

I am able to put copies of the video onto DVD, perfect quality. I know that on Alan's old 'Everydays A Mordred Day' site there was talk of copies flying around, but I think a few of the guys were trying to use Torrent etc. I also have a few live gigs and the promo's so if you're interested....I just want to get the video out there to the fans, so I'll happily copy it to dvd because it remains one of the best rock video's around. I was at the gig and it smoked...

My contact email is: neilthemod1@blueyonder.co.uk

Just drop me your address. It's about time the video got the exposure it deserves, it was a special night.

Why Mordred should reform.

2008-05-03T18:08:00.002Z

Hey ya'll...yeah, it's been quiet for a long time, that's cos' Mordred members do their own thang nowadays, but just wanted t comment that if the band were to get back together full-time, then now's the time. I've been shocked at the amount of band's reuniting for one last glimpse of fame, and even more so at the fact that the thrash scene is burning right back, unfortunately, much of it is pretty sterile and just wanting to sound like the '80s, but it's still great that bands such as Death Angel and Testament have stuck to their guns, but I've seen a lot of vinyl re-issues around. Being a big collector of vinyl I'm always on the look-out for stuff from the '80s, but I like to play it and not have it just sitting there in the cupboard gathering dust, but I can say that I own several copies of 'In This Life' and a few 'Fools Game' too, ya can never have enough, but I've also seen recent re-issues of albums by fellow Bay Area thrasher Exodus and Forbidden so there must be some kind of demand out there.

Thrash has always been with us but only bands such as Sadus have really stuck at it as so many other genres of metal have passed by, but if Mordred are havin' any thoughts about getting back together then it's gotta be now or never...if thrash is coming back then Mordred could still fill the clubs, but I don't mean Mordred with Steve Scates, I mean the real Mordred, with Scotty, Aaron etc.

The problem is, many bands who come back have a risk of embarrassing themselves, but I know, and you know that Mordred wouldn't show themselves up, they still got the soul but would it be worth just reforming for a world tour ? Probably not. However, do Mordred fans want a new record ? Are Mordred still relevant ? Well, Mordred have a sound that will never date, it's not got that cheesy thrash feel but instead spans several styles of music and the band had a big cult following in Europe, but whether another record should come out is a difficult one to answer. the problem with the nostalgia tours is that it's kinda the band's way of sayin' "Bye bye", but surely in today's climate, there is still room for the originals and the innovators, we're tired of the Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit crap, real metal fans want the late '80s back, because it only really died out when grunge came along, but grunge was faceless, metal always lives on, and nowadays there are so many corny bands tryin' on the streetwise funky crossover sound, but Mordred were, and are more than that so like I say, if they have a future, now's the time...but don't hold your breath...let's just pray...even if deep down we'll always know that Mordred will never happen again.

This just in...

2008-03-04T11:11:00.000Z

Hi,
The Hi-Nobles are very, very excited to be playing with super-group
Magic Christian on Wednesday! Check out this lineup:
Cyril Jordan: Flamin' Groovies guitarist (legendary 60s-80s SF band)
Clem Burke: Blondie drummer (you've probably heard of Blondie)
Eddie Munoz: The Plimsouls bassist (check the "Valley Girl" soundtrack)
Paul Kopf: singer who hasn't been in a famous band
Wow! Bring your records and get some autographs! Also, they'll be
doing an interview Tuesday with Carolyn on KUSF, starting around
12:30PM. 90.3 on your FM dial!
The Barbary Coasters will be opening the show, and they've got Johnny
Bartlett from The Phantom Surfers on guitar and Dr. Pat Phelan on
organ. And The Hi-Nobles still have our own celebrity guitarist, Greg
Ingraham from The Avengers!
Wed March 5
Annie's Social Club, 9:00PM
Magic Christian
The Hi-Nobles
The Barbary Coasters
See you there!
http://www.myspace.com/magicchristian1
http://www.myspace.com/thehinobles
http://www.myspace.com/thebarbarycoasters
http://www.anniessocialclub.com
Jeff

Scott Hi-Nobles update.

2008-01-25T18:53:00.000Z

Hey You'all,
It's Harley $cott Holderby here, and I have teamed up with Bay Area bass legend,House...Guitarist, Greg Ingrahm from the Avengers, Jeff Hashfield vintage organ, and Guy Alverez drums....

Appearing LIVE:
Friday, January 25th at the Hemlock, Polk St.@ Post In San Francisco....
Saturday, January 26th at the Stork Club, Telegraph Ave.@ 24th in Oakland...

Come check out the live clip and songs...
http://www.myspace.com/thehinobles

I won't be sending out blanket emails like this in the future, so if you like the group and would like to know when we are playing, you can check out the myspace page...Or reply and be put on our proper email list...

Hope to see you at the gigs............
Cheers,
$cotty

The Mad - are they a Mordred rip-off ?

2008-01-12T17:57:00.001Z

A great friend of mine, Terry Cameron, recently introduced me to a band called THE MAD, and their album 'Songs For The Ugly'. They seem pretty obscure but when you lend an ear to it, it sounds an awful lot like 'Fools Game', from the soulful chug riffs, even to the vocal delivery.
Personally, the tracks are cool, but I've yet to find anything about the band so try and check them out if you can because these guys are certainly hung up on the old Mordred sound big style. The record is from '93 so they may have been aware of Mordred, but there's no picture of the band inside.

Late Nite Sinner's Mordred photo's

2008-01-08T23:13:00.000Z

Check out the link, http://www.latenitesinners.com/rock-photos7.shtml for some cool old, and newer pictures of Pause, Danny, Art and Gannon, plus many other musicians.

I.J. Smith 'Troubled'- check it out!

2008-01-08T23:04:00.000Z

I.J. Smith and his cool 'Frisco trip-out record 'Troubled' should be checked out by everyone. The guy worked with Gannon Hall, and Foodstamp which was the band Art and Gannon formed after Mordred.

The music itself is very chilled but anyone with track titles such as 'The Jester', 'Downtown Trip' and 'Frisco Fog Eclypse' deserves a mention!!

Watch The Hi-Nobles here!

2008-01-08T22:52:00.001Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0A2KVVM5VE

Update November 2007

2007-11-01T21:00:00.000Z

For any of you wondering if there's going to be a permanent Mordred reunion it seems highly unlikely. I recently chatted to Scott Holderby who said that he only see's the band doing shows every four to five years. It's also only likely the band would come over to the UK if, naturally, the offer was right, but as far as new material, a new band etc, don't hold your breath.

The guys have their own lives now, all still pretty much involved with music, but I guess Mordred, as a full-time band, will always remain as a wonderful memory for all those concerned, but we should be thankful for what the guys left behind, because to this day their albums remain so innovative and ahead of their time.

Mordred Marquee Ad 1992

2007-10-28T22:45:00.001Z

Thanks to Terry (Dred) Cameron for the flyer!

When Kerrang! Magazine hated Mordred!

2007-10-28T22:30:00.001Z

Extra special thanks to Terry (Dred) Cameron for these two reviews from the old days from Kerrang! magazine. Bizarrely, Kerrang! were once huge fans of Mordred until 1992. I'd heard several rumours as to why the metal magazine and the band had stared to not get on, but as you can see from the reviews of 'Vision' and 'The Next Room', the mag' had turned on the Bay Area boys.

'Vision' received a disastrous 2 K rating out of 5, whilst 'The Next Room' also took a battering by critics who claimed the band were history.

H0wever, the tragedy of all this is the fact that Kerrang! happens to now

be one of the worst, most lightweight rock mags around, featuring scores of bands who have imitated the Mordred sound and yet countless dumb reviewers believe such modern crap to be original. Forget it. It's ridiculous to see just how many great bands from the late '80s and early '90s metal scene were misunderstood and slagged off by reviewers who were too narrow-minded to look beyond the classic metal sound that hadn't moved on for some twenty years, and yet when terrible music such as Korn, and Limp Bizkit emerged, the mags were quick to praise such 'innovation'!! The metal scene was once full of hypcocrites, and not alot has changed today, sadly. Even sadder, if you read the 'Vision' review, is the fact that so-called reviewer, who I'm sure got paid for writing such crap, claims that Scott sings on 'Closeminded'!! What an ignorant twat...and then goes on to bleat at how the 'rich kids' of Mordred shouldn't be writing about homeless people...where did they get these reviewers from ?

(Left) Photo shoot for 'The Next Room'. One of the only photo's to feature Paul Kimball, Scott Holderby's replacement.

Mordred coverage

2007-10-27T02:32:00.000Z

http://www.last.fm/music/Mordred - decent little page on the band listing favourite songs and comments.

Gannon Hall worked with...

2007-10-27T02:28:00.001Z

http://www.tommyguerrero.com/

Another of Scott's bands! The Hi Nobles.

2007-10-27T01:38:00.001Z

Now listen here people, this is some serious soul-shaking hammond-garage, check out http://www.myspace.com/thehinobles fronted by Scott. Playin' dates Winter and through to 2008.

One of Scott's new bands! Borstal Holiday.

2007-10-27T01:28:00.000Z

Check out http://www.myspace.com/borstalholiday , this is an Oakland band fronted by Scott playing some super-cool '60s garage style street lounge, great stuff, two wicked tunes to hear on the page. Support them, they are playing a couple of Winter shows in SF, and they sound great.

The site gets a mention...

2007-10-27T01:23:00.000Z

Thanks to the following website http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=72612 for a mention of my page.

Mordred - Haigh St Fair , Masonic Stage, SF, June 2006

2007-06-18T20:54:00.000Z

Unsure which line-up actually turned up for the gig, heard that Danny White was coming from New York to play with the guys.
If anyone has any details on set-lists/ members, please post in comments.

Interview With Paul Kimball

2007-06-18T19:39:00.000Z

During June 2007, Paul Kimball, who sang on Mordred's 'The Next Room' got in touch, and I interviewed him.

Here's the interview (thanks Paul) -

1) What did you do before Mordred ?
Paul: I was lead singer for several bands prior to Mordred up in Washingtonstate, the most prominent of which during the pre-grunge heyday ofthat area's scene (Helltrout and Lansdat Blister). It was a great time to be gigging, and we got to share bills with quite a few of theseminal bands from that period

2) Had you heard, or even heard of Mordred before you joined ?
PK: Nope, had never heard of them.

3) Can you explain how you got the Mordred job ?
PK: They were having auditions, and I sent in a tape of my previous stuff.They called me back, sent me a tape of some of their songs, and I showed up and sang 'em. I remember thinking they had the nicest gear of any band I'd ever played with, and that the rehearsal space wasawfully nice too. They were obviously very "pro", and when they said they were trying out close to a hundred singers my competitive nature kicked in and I decided I really wanted to get the gig. Felt quite stoked when I did, I gotta say!

4) Was material for 'The Next Room' already writen when you joined, or did you have input ?
PK: I had lots of input actually. They had written several of the songs already, but the band gave me free reign on the lyrics and melodies for those. The rest we worked out as a band. There was even one that Scott Holderby had originally written words and melody for, but at that time the relationship between the band and him was strained, so they asked me to rewrite it. Originally there was some question as to whether Dj Pause was going to be in the "reformed" group, and before meeting him and hearing him play I was definitely not into the idea. It seemed really corny to have a DJ, but man... when he showed up and played with us the first time I was completely sold that we needed him, and was glad that my input on that point too was respected. Pause is not just a great musician, he's a helluva good guy to hang around with.

5) The album had a very 'grunge' and heavier feel to it which disappointed alot of fans. Was this change of direction for sommercial reasons ?
PK: No, not at all. It certainly was a conscious move toward heavier material, and I was culpable as a catalyst for that, but the drive among the group was a generous one, largely. It was more "Hey, we got this new guy, and he is bringing a different set of things to the group than our old guy brought, so let's see where it leads us if we all try to bend toward one another." In retrospect, the myriad meanings and implications of the word "compromise" were all appropriate, both good and bad.

6) How long were you in the band ?
PK: Amazingly, only about eight months. To this day, it was the hardest eight months of creative effort I have spent.

7) Did you leave the band before they split or was it mutual for the whole band to go separate ways ?
PK: Mordred just died when our European tour fell through. Everything fell apart really quickly after that.

8) What did you think of 'The Next Room' as a record ?
PK: I think it got a bad rap, really. I think if folks had had a chance to see us play those songs, they would have felt quite differently about it. But I also think it's fair to say that it somehow lacks the sparkle of newness that some of Mordred's earlier tracks had. It's the sound of a band racing to find itself, and at times I think it really succeeds, but our (quite conscious) musical schizophrenia didn't make it an easy one for other folks to penetrate. Still, I have had several people tell me that they think it'll hold up better to the ravages of time than the other Mordred records.

9) What are your fondest memories of being in the band ?
PK: • The first time we nailed "Lo-Cal Hi-Fiber" in practice• Working on an acoustic tune called "Shaggy" with Jim Sanguinetti in the stairwell of our studio• The first night of tracking the record at Gish Studio• Partying in Dortmund, Berlin, Paris, and London, on our press tour• More than anything else, the few live gigs we got to do. The band was really good, and criminally unheard.

10) What did you do once Mordred split ?
PK: I walked away from music completely for a while. Then I picked up a guitar and decided I really needed to be able to make some music on my own, completely of my own choosing.

11) You are now in Careless Hearts. Can you give us a little insight into the band.
PK: For the first time I'm playing an instrument while singing, which makes the entire experience feel new, and the majority of the songs are my compositions. The band I have is just awesome, solid players with lots of feel, and no attitude or BS whatsoever. The music is rootsy rock, with lots of folk and country influences, sorta like 'Exile...'-era Rolling Stones or Creedence, but pretty contemporary sounding, too. We are in many ways the anti-Mordred: kinda sloppy and lacking in ambition, but uniformly happy. (We are also staunchly DIY,so I'd like to ask anyone reading this to please buy our self-titled CD: it's good, I promise!)

12) What did you make of the interest in Mordred a few years ago, with the website coverage as I believe you posted on one of them (being the Every Day's A Mordred Day site) ?
PK: I was excited to see that the guys were playing again, and that the audience for Mordred still existed. And I thought it was great that they had mended fences with Scott.

13) How well was 'The Next Room' received ?
PK: Poorly, overall, was the impression that I got. People didn't know what to make of it, most notably the record label, who treated it like it was smeared with feces. They did an abominable remix of one of the songs, which stands as a gleaming example of the one of the worst pussification jobs in the history of the audio arts. The first time anybody in the band (outside Gannon Hall, who, despite his best intentions, was way over his head as acting manager) heard the remixed version it was on the finished CD-single, and by then it was way too late! I was mortified, and as you can tell, still am.

14) How did you find my blogspot ?
PK: You sent traffic to my band's website, which showed up in our usage reports. (Thanks, by the way!)

15) Do you still keep in touch with any of the Mordred guys ?
PK: Not really. In past years I've exchanged brief emails with Art and Pause, but that's it. Last time I saw all those guys was at my wedding, waaaaay back in 1995.

16) Compared to the first three records, can you see why 'The Next Room' was received so badly ?
PK: My main theory: if we'd not released it as a "Mordred"-branded product we might have done a lot better. It wasn't bad music, it was just not what the fans of Mordred wanted to hear. Had we freed ourselves from the weight of history we might have been able to take the music even farther than we did, because some creative choices were made in attempts to NOT alienate fans. I think that would have made it a better album overall. Considering how few copies it sold I think we could have done just as well, and maybe generated more buzz, as a new band.

17) Can you tell me roughly what each song on 'The next Room' was about, because there were some dodgy song titles in there, such as 'Murray The Mover' ?
PK: I'm sorry, I don't want to get too far into that. I'll say this, though:"Murray The Mover" was meant to be pure camp, based on a dumb band in-joke. It was me writing from the point of view of a really obnoxious, Lothario-type guy.It wasn't a song to be taken seriously at all, unlike some of the other tunes,which I poured a lot into. (If you have specific questions I don't mind addressing them, but jeez, there's a lot to go over if I tried to open-endedly address them all.)

18) Did you ever meet Scott Holderby ?
PK: Nope!

19) Do you think Mordred suffered due to the lack of effort from the record label, being Noise Records ?
PK: At the end, absolutely. They promised us tour support, then renegged in a way that basically bankrupted us. Then, when we were flailing, they took advantage of the situation and swooped in on all our publishing rights like opportunistic vultures. Stupid parasites, killing the thing that feeds them...

20) Do you have any old photo's of you and the band ?
PK: I wish I did. We did one photo shoot as a band, and it was less-than-stellar. If you come across any, especially live shots, I'd love to see them.

21) Anything else you'd like to say ?
PK: I'll say this: carrying on in the absence of somebody fans really like isn't easy, and I'm proud of the way Morderd took on the challenge of evolving during the writing of "The Next Room". It was clear throughout the process that the fit between me and the band wasn't perfect, but it was one of the best musical educations I've ever had, as much in terms of what not to do as anything else.

Old school Mordred have a website

2007-06-18T19:38:00.001Z

http://www.mordredsf.com

Mordred - Falling Away Live 2007

2007-05-25T22:16:00.001Z

April 2007.Filmed for the Curtis Grant tribute night at the Bottom Of The Hill,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98UfbqpVC0k

An update from Scott Holderby

2007-05-09T17:11:00.000Z

In April of 2007 I got in contact with Scott Holderby and managed to ask a few question regarding updates on the band and his personal diversions. Here's an extract of the interview:

1) So Scotty, around 2005 there was meant to be a reunion show in New York, but it never materialised. What happened ?
Scotty: There were to be two shows in NYC but sadly all the people in the group couldn't make it and we wanted everybody there. We could probably pull it off now.

2) Since we last spoke around two years ago, what have you been up to musically ?
Scotty: I have the High Society Angels (organic electric soul) - six-piece with drums, bass, guitar, keys, trumpet and me singing and writing the songs. Hi-Nobles also, (mod-garage-soul) - six-piece with sax, and also Blue Sun (psychedelic garage blues) three-piece, with an English guitarist, drums and me singing and playing bass. Those are bands I have rolling at the moment.

3) The main Mordred websites seemed to become inactive around 2004, has there still been a strong interest in the band ?
Scotty: There has been some interest in releasing the 'In This Live' Dvd. We'' see if it pans out.

4) Are there any plans for a Mordred reunion on a permanent basis ? If not, why ?
Scotty: I would love to make my living and my own way with Mordred. I'm pretty sure we have enough past members to make two complete bands. Gannon and Danny live in NYC now so practicing would be difficult. I think if anyone wanted to fly us anywhere exotic to play we'd be right there. Hasn't anyone got an inheritance and needs Mordred for their wedding-bar mitzva in Monte Carlo ? I have a nice tux...!

More to come....!

Footage from Curtis Grant benefit gig

2007-05-06T23:15:00.001Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e67KznEKzIM

Sever & Splice live at Benefit Gig

2007-05-06T23:11:00.000Z

Steve Skates on vocals at the Curtis Grant benefit gig April 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7dAFmp6Fnc

Mordred bootlegs

2007-04-15T19:46:00.000Z

Such treasures are few and far between unfortunately, but back in the '80s when tape trading was a serious and fun business, thousands of fans of heavy metal traded cassetess of live shows and demo's across the world. Demo's and bootlegs of Mordred are pretty scarce, but I do own a few which would certainly be of interest to the band, they are as follows:

OPEN AIR - band name spelt 'MORDERED' on the side of the cd!

17 tracks, running time 77 mins over two nights, recorded 1992 to 30,000 people.

Track listing: 1) The Strain 2) Every Day's A Holiday 3) Esse Quam Videri 4) Johnny The Fox 5) Queen Of A Broken Throne - then breaks into Reach ( different lyrics) 6) Falling Away 7) Spectacle Of Fear 8) Numb 9) Progress 10) Death Or Glory 11) In This Life 12) Close Minded 13) Reach 14) High Potency 15) West County Hospital 16) State Of Mind 17) I Know

Unfortunately, the track listing on the back of the case is extremely confusing!

VOSSELAR, BELGIUM - 6/11/91

Tracks: 1) State Of Mind 2) The Strain 3) Killing Time 4) Every Day's A Holiday 5) Crash 6) The Artist 7) Spectacle Of Fear 8) M.A.S.H. Theme 9) Falling Away 10) Downtown 11) Esse Quam Videri 12) High Potency 13) Larger Than Life 14) The Vagrant 15) The Money Will Roll Right In 16) Johnny The Fox 17) In This Life

Rosetta Bar, Belfast, Northern Ireland - 1/10/91

Tracks: 1) High Potency 2) Every Day's A Holiday 3) The Strain 4) Killing Time 5) State Of Mind 6) Esse Quam Videri 7) The Artist 8) Larger Than Life 9) Crash 10) Lion's Den 11) M.A.S.H. Theme 12) Falling Away 13) Downtown 14) Fragrance Of Vagrance 15) The Money Will Roll Right in 16) Johnny The Fox 17) In This Life

Newcastle, England, 25/9/91

Tracks: 1) High Potency 2) Every Day's A Holiday 3) The Strain 4) Killing Time 5) State Of Mind 6) Esse Quam Videri 7) The Artist 8) Larger Than Life 9) Crash 10) Window 11) Lion's Den 12) M.A.S.H. Theme 13) Falling Away 14) Downtown 15) The vagrant 16) The Money Will Roll Right In 17) Johnny The Fox 18) In This Life

The Pound, San Francisco USA - 25/10/01

Tracks: 1) State Of Mind 2) The Strain 3) Killing Time 4) The Vagrant 5) The Baroness 6) In Time 7) Falling Away 8) Johnny The Fox 9) Reach 10) Close Minded 11) Unload 12) Crash 13) Young Lust 14) Esse Quam Videri 15) She Watch Channel Zero 16) In This Life

There are also bootlegs out there of the Milwaukee Metal fest' and I'm sure numerous other shows.

Mordred at The Marquee, London 1992

2007-04-15T19:36:00.000Z

(THE LEGENDARY MARQUEE CLUB, LONDON)

In 1992 Mordred played The Marquee (sadly, no longer on the Charing Cross Rd). In support were the fantastic The Organization, who featured ex-members of Death Angel.

Mordred (Scott, with lyric sheet in hand at times!) were previewing a few songs off the forthcoming 'Vision' album, and ended the night with a stroming cover of Black Sabbath's 'Sweet Leaf', with The Organization. (left, The Organization)

(Mordred)
All photo's copyright of the publisher.

Mordred 1989 tour advert

2007-04-15T19:18:00.000Z

Mordred Marquee (London) advert 1991?

2007-04-15T19:17:00.000Z

Mordred Liverpool Gig Review

2007-04-15T19:08:00.000Z

FROM RAW MAGAZINE:
20.9.91

'In Mordred's case, they don't so much defy description so much as cover just about every base you could possibly imagine. Shambling onstage, the San Franciscans journey through cataclysmic crescendos of scratching Rap meets Funk meets Metal, with some Thrash thrown in. Absolute crazy-assed lunacy! James Sanguinetti hammers out the huge, grungy riffs, Gannon Hall beats the living daylights out of his tortured skins and Scott Holderby spits out the lyrics in a manner that's so indecipherable as to make Mordred sound like any other thrash metal band you could name. However, underneath all this mayhem Aaron Vaughn mixes, scratches and raps in a way that'd make any other DJ hang their head in shame. As if to enforce their unpredictability, the band even slotted in a little of country & western and a shambolic rendition of the theme to 'Mash'! All this plus album faves 'High Potency', 'Killing Time' and 'Falling Away', and a couple of new numbers. And the icing on the cake was an almost note for note stab at Thin Lizzy's classic 'Johnny The Fox' - complete with scratching 'n' rapping of the title! - that must surely have prompted the Ace of Spades himself to look down from the Heavenly Bar & grill and nod approvingly.'

Review by Kevin McDempster (who probably wasn't even at the gig considering some of his bizarre descriptions of the band!!)

Mordred In This Life advert 'Metal Forces'

2007-04-15T19:06:00.000Z

Mordred In This Life Tour promotion advert

2007-04-15T19:05:00.000Z

Mordred Kerrang! Poster 1991

2007-04-15T19:01:00.000Z

MORDRED LYRICS

2007-04-09T21:21:00.000Z

http://www.darklyrics.com/m/mordred.html

A majority of the band's lyrics here.

Mordred to play benefit gig.

2007-04-09T20:50:00.000Z

On April 12th 2007 an old school Mordred line-up will play at the Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco, in memory of Curtis Grant, who was a musician with bands such as Black Cherry and American Heartbreak. Curtis died on March 20th 2007 of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Mordred's line-up will consist of:

Art Liboon (bass) Eric Lannon (drums) Steve Skates (Vox) James Sanguinetti (Guitars) Steve Soderlund (Guitars)

Mordred members and their Myspace pages

2007-03-18T12:36:00.000Z

Art Liboon and Pause have Myspace pages, and there is also a fan page devoted to Mordred.

Art's page:

http://www.myspace.com/cardboardmansions

DJ Pause:

http://www.myspace.com/21564257

DJ Pause's MCM & THE MONSTER page:

http://www.myspace.com/mcmandthemonster

Fan page:

http://www.myspace.com/mordredmetal

Mercenary page, feat' ex-Mordred members:

http://www.myspace.com/mercenarysf

Paul Kimball's band.

2007-03-18T12:14:00.000Z

For anyone interested here is a link, provided by martyn Corf, to Mr Kimball's band CARELESS HEARTS. Hard to believe this guy once sang for Mordred!!

http://www.carelesshearts.com/

Watch the video's...

2007-03-15T21:22:00.000Z

Video's such as 'Esse Quam Videri' and 'Everydays A Holiday' were available but have been removed by You Tube.

Falling Away promo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep94iPgLPow

Spectacle Of Fear live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uFF-dxWfh8

Scott Holderby and his band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-n0qh6VZQE

Mordred interview in Snakepit

2007-03-14T19:48:00.000Z

Check this out people, one of the most in-depth interviews with the band on record, alot of details concerning the past, present and future of MORDRED.

http://truemetal.org/snakepit/interviews/mordred.htm (if this link doesn't take you directly to the page, go to 'Interviews' and then 'Mordred', obviously!

Thanks to Martyn Corf for the link.

MORDRED IN THE METAL PRESS

2007-02-05T20:33:00.000Z

During their time, Mordred were featured in the press reasonably often. The buzz around Fool's Game culminating in an excellent video showing Pause and his skills, which must have intrigued many at the time. However, In This Life certainly gave them the exposure they thoroughly deserved, with Kerrang magazine in the UK giving the album a five K! out of five rating, whilst other magazines such as Metal Forces, Metal Hammer, Raw et al were certainly in praise of the band. Fortunately, I kept most of my Mordred clippings in the hope that some day they would become useful, so here are a good selection for you to look at.

THE SCOTT HOLDERBY INTERVIEW JULY 2004

2007-02-04T22:56:00.000Z

1) What have you been up to since Mordred?

Since Mordred I have played in several bands, DEMAG, UNGODLY, CHURCH OF THE GRAND FUNK, HEAT, BLUE SUN, HARLEY SCOTT HOLDERBY, and HIGH SOCIETY, oh yeah,MORDRED in 02.........
Recording I have worked with, SANTANA,THE DONNAS, CEE-LO, JIMMY MCCRACKLIN, DISCO BISCUITS, RICKY WATTERS(of SF 49ers)and many more.
I have recently married my long time girlfriend,Stacy.We have a little shorty and life is good.I could go on and on...............

2) Why did you leave the band ?

Hey man they asked me to go. I think the songs we were working on at the time kinda sucked, and the record co said to fire me. They hated me. The record co always wanted us to sound like our first album, HEAVY.They didn't get why we would have Pause on the tables or why we wanted to funk up the hardcore. I do think it was difficult to replace the bands singer, not cause I'm so fuckin great or anything, just cause people were used to me and my blueness. I don't have any hard feelings toward Paul K. or any of my Mordred bros.I wasn't having any fun anyway.........So it was all good.........

3) Do you think Mordred were ahead of their time ?

I do think it was ahead of it's time. Time has kind of caught up now, lots of new bands hittin on what we were hittin then. I simply had fun with it at the time. We spent alot of loot to do it in style, tour buses, Dutch coffee shops and such. I am happy I was a part of it all

4) What were your best times in the band ?

How long do you want me to go on.....I have had the pleasure of meeting alot of really quality people along the way. Some I still am in contact with. I grew up on the road with Mordred, lived the lifestyle, it was all good, well mostly. The Dynamo fests we played, the Berlin wall, the many flavors of herb, the Italian shows, the Run DMC shows, all of the travel..I really can't complain.

5) What were your favourite Mordred tracks/recordings ?

Vision was my favorite, and Esse Quam, the white album (single) with the Pause re-mix...
Favorite songs, In This Life, The Vagrant,In Time, Unload, Close minded, Strain, Young Lust, W.C.H.....The Vagrant is still my favorite......

6) How well were Mordred received in the United States ?

We did well in parts of U.S.....NYC, DC, all over east coast....Europe was ready for our sound and we really liked playing there . Our label was in Germany so that is why we came over so much. Better support...The last couple of years we only played over seas. (I think,don't quote that).

7) Were there many arguments within the band ?

We had little internal struggles, alliances..I spent alot of my time off the bus, they stayed close to the bus. I went home with people, we cooked, I took showers, I really experienced where we were at the time..There were times when I was the only English speaker (you know when you have a few sometimes it's hard to remember your Eng.) I rode on trains from gig to gig and would show up around sound check. So being that I was gone alot, the Mordreds were happy to see me when I was around. And I wasn't a beer drinker, so they could drink all of mine..There might have been a few explosions over the years. But not many....And we are all cool now.....

8) Why did the band reform for one-off gigs ?

There was a benefit for Chuck Billy (Testament vocalist), when he had cancer,we got together to play that but the bill filled up so fast, we were too late..So we decided to play a show on my birthday, a blowout party..And if you play one show why not three..and why not record something, just for fun..

9) Any chance of a real Mordred reunion ?

I don' know if anything will come of it, but ,we would like to play some dates overseas next summer (2005). If we do I'm pretty sure all original heads will be making it, Danny included. As far as a change in direction, the new songs sound like good old Mordred songs, some heavy, less funky, a little more hip-hop-core. I like them, you have to judge for yourself when you hear it. I don't know about the legal reasons to use or not the name Mordred, we will see what Sanctuary Records has to say.

10) Mordred had such a diverse sound. What were you guys listening to at the time ?

We all listened to such a wide variety of music, all that old hip-hop stuff, old school funk, rare groove, acid, jazz, Hendrix, Bowie, Iggy, English punk rock, Joy Division, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, skate rock, Jim Carroll, Sly Stone, Agent Orange, Bad Brains. We never listened to metal on the bus (unless it was someones new record)or some 70's Judas Priest. I think we would have explored more stylecrossing if we had stayed together, we only touched upon a few. Personally I liked the direction we were going with Vision. Doing some different songs that all tied together, I guess our other records were like that to a certain extent as well..

11) What gigs did you enjoy most ?

I loved almost every night. I'm sure I looked like I was havin fun. Whatever bullshit was happening between us never came up on stage with us. We all got along pretty well most of the time, there's alot of shit on the road you know....We are all like family even now, and sometimes we bickered like brothers.
I liked the second Dynamo fest, the first one was great also, when I painted myself like Krishna.The Italian shows, all the UK shows (after touring Europe it is nice to be among English speaking peeps) I loved all the DC shows at the 930 club, off the hook....The old Ritz in NYC. The Astoria, The Marquee, London was like my homebase for awhile. I had a girlfriend I lived with on and off, SF to London. I would stay over there between tours.
Oh yeah the Tijuana gigs were off the hook, New Years in TJ.....The Warfield in SF.......I can go on...

12) What stuff are you listening to now ?

I do listen to some hip hop but not the white boy metal stuff. Jurassic 5, Black Eyed Peas, The Roots......Right now I'm listening to Ralphi Pagan/Joe Bataan..............I like Thievery Corp. Naked Music, Ben Watt, you know the old soul stuff. I worked on alot of Stax records when I worked at Fantasy Studios. I like Brazilian music, Cuban, Latin funk, like El Chicano, Malo, Cymande, and much Dub, Soul of Rasta.....

13) I always wondered where you got the 'REAL' t-shirts you used to wear ?

Our homeboy Tommy Guererro, had just left Powell/Peralta, to start his own company, REAL Skateboards. I still have an old T.G. board from back then..

14) Were you surprised that Mordred still create a lot of interest ?

It definitely feels good to know some people out there really like Mordred. The sites are very cool I think, and now that I know they are there, I can send them more stuff. People have written alot of nice things about us..How could that suck....And yes I am surprised there was any interest. We just got together to play awhile back because we thought it would be a good time....And it was. Not knowing who might care...It seems some people still do......It was alot of fun...

15) Any regrets ?

Nope, IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED.............

The questions above were just a select few I chose to publish here although I stayed in touch with Scott for a long time and he sent me some amazing music to hear. I'd love to get back in touch with him, I had a lot of PC problems and lost contact with him. I also had emails from Danny White and a couple from Pause, the various websites that were being dedicated to the band certainly let the guys know there were alot of fans still out there.

MORDRED REFORMED

2007-02-04T22:16:00.000Z

In 2001 on the 27th October, Mordred played at The Pound, SF with the following set-list:

1. State Of Mind 2. The Strain 3. Killing Time 4. The Vagrant 5. The Baroness 6. In Time 7. Falling Away 8. Johnny The Fox 9. Reach 10. Close Minded 11. Unload 12. Crash 13. Young Lust (Pink Floyd Cover) 14. Esse Quam Videri 15. She Watch Channel Zero 16. In This Life

The line-up was bereft of Danny White, replaced by Chris Powell.

On march 8th 2002 Mordred played at Bourbon St, CA, see pictures.

Review of Mordred gig at The Pound, 29.3.02, by Mario Perotti:

"The final band of the night was the once popular Mordred who cam out of hiding to perform a short list of reunion dates before the band embarks on a new path with the same line-up but under a different name and a much different sound. By this time, the Pound was about half full with the majority of the people on hand there for Mordred as evident by the large amounts of audience participation during selected tunes. Mordred, for the uneducated, utilize a heavy funked out flavor in their music while folding in some technically oriented thrash metal (although their older tunes seemed to have more of the 'metal' flavor).
On stage, the pumped through a smattering of tunes from their history, almost performing a "greatest hits" package including tunes from their debut disc, 1989's "Fool's Game", 1991's "In This Life", 1992's "Vision" and 1995's "The Next Room". Some of the tunes included in their long set were "State of Mind", "The Strain", "The Vagrant", "Falling Away", "Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed", "Reach", "Close Minded", and their popular tune "In This Life".
As far as reunions go (and lately there have been quite a few, many of the Bay Area bands reuniting after last August's Thrash of the Titans jump started the movement), Mordred seemed to have a differing path ahead with this batch of reunion shows. First off, the band was kicking through their material at top notch speed and precision, giving those who know the music just about everything possibly wanted in a hour-plus set of reunion tunes. However, Mordred seems destined for something else and this show was the jump start into their next musical direction as the band will be sticking together but creating much different music under a different name (no word as to what it will be yet). So, Mordred basically took this opportunity to slam through some old favorites (and they pumped through "In This Life" VERY well) as well as introduce some of their new material their collective new project will be performing. Their new tunes still had the heavy funked out flavor and highly precise music ability, but they seemed to have traded any kind of metallic edge for more of a streamlined, dare-say accessible style, making songs that rely more on the vibe and presence than their inadvertent bite and delivery. This show was both classic Mordred and something more as these guys gave closure to their 'metallic' sound of years past and opened the door to their new future. Killer show from a once killer band."

There were many rumours (see later interview with Scott Holderby) that Mordred would reform permanently and possibly record new material. Discussions were taking place regarding a name change and also the band taking on a different style but at the time of writing nothing has materialised on any front.

Although each individual is very much into their own thing now, there is surely still a place for the unique sound of Mordred. New tracks I heard suggested a more slower approach, but unlike the Vision material, but heavy-ish but with a more hip-hop style of vocal. The previously mentioned tracks such as The Baroness and Can't Help certainly have a streetwise feel, but it's still very much Mordred down to a tee.

Much of what was once rumoured can be read about in my Scott Holderby interview which I conducted in 2004, but not much has happened since then to suggest that Mordred will be with us again.

AFTER MORDRED...

2007-02-04T21:23:00.000Z

Although the band members continued to work in musical circles, much of their activity wasn't really spoken of after Mordred split.

However, when I managed to track down Scott Holderby in 2004 (see blog), he kept me briefly updated as to who was workin' on what, here's a brief run-down.

Scott Holderby - did a vast amount of studio work, producing, working with the likes of Santana, Cee-Lo, The Donnas, The Organization and featured in various bands including Heat, Demag, Blue Sun, Church of the Grand Funk, High Society, Harley's Angels.

Scott's most impressive work, in my eyes, is the amazing Ungodly Blue Sun opus he released in 1998 under the name Harley Scott Holderby, his real name, after his grandfather and father. the album, on Smokin' Jacket Records is a nine-track laid-back classic, with occasional hints of Mordred in the superb Another Way, but this is deep, soulful jazz-fused genius, with Scott's vocals becoming far more rich than in his Mordred days. Cadillac Rolling slow-tempo cruise, as is the moving The Way You Look Now, and emotional Ride The Raincloud. This is stirring stuff, moody, mesmeric, sometimes psychedelic, with a sweeping blues edge, at times like an even mellower cosmic Vision.

His work with High Society is more of a trip-hop adventure, combining lounge-beats with his dark-edged smooth vocal. Whilst Harley's Angels and their Harley's Angel's Hard Luck Hustle is more of a jazz-funk affair, perfect for any smokey lounge with its wispy, smoothness and Scott's sensuous soul tone which punctuates the relaxing, Santana-esque latin funk. Amazing stuff.

DJ Pause is still up to his producing and mixing as well as working with various rap artists. In 2004, according to Scott, James was workin' on acoustic material, Danny White was making latin jazz, Gannon was doing some trip-hop stuff, but not sure about Art although a while ago I heard he was in a band called Foodstamp or something, but if anyone knows any wiser let me know.

THE LOST TRACKS....

2007-02-04T20:43:00.000Z

By the time Mordred split there had been so many tracks either unheard or never to appear on record. In 1992 they were recorded at the Dynamo Open Air Festival (classic line-up) and previewed a couple of new tracks. One, was the short and quirky Queen Of A Broken Throne which could have sat comfortably on the Vision record, and I Know was similar, a laid-back smokin' groove with text-book scratching from Pause, complete with a, "I know you gonna dig this..." sample and extremely soulful vocals from Mr. Holderby. There was also the original Crash, which sounded like something straight from In This Life, and would have no doubt become a Mordred classic.

Previous to In This Life there was rumour of a track called Nowhere Fast which I have on a demo cd sent to me by Scott Holderby, and originates from around Fool's Game and is a thrashy number whilst Death or Glory (Halacaust or Holocaust cover) and The Money Will Roll Right In (Fang song), as well as the theme from M.A.S.H. and The Stooges 1969 were classic covers.

Other lost tracks are Unload, a fantastic cover of Public Enemy's She Watch Channel Zero, The Baroness, The Empress, Air-Conditioned Dream and Can't Help. Hopefully these will appear some day...I've heard the cuts and they rock, just like they've never been away...they are a slower temp, kinda bereft of the cutting-edge thrash side of things, but have the melodic choruses which graced Vision.

GRAND SUMMIT & SPLINTER DOWN 12"s (1994) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T20:18:00.000Z

Line-up's: As The Next Room

GRAND SUMMIT

Tracks: 1) Grand Summit (club mix) 2) Lo-Cal, Hi-Fiber (edit mix) 3) Acrophobia 4) The Pause (public domain)

SPLINTER DOWN

Tracks: 1) Splinter Down (radio) 2) The Next Room Over 3) The Pause 4) Splinter Down (LP version)

THE NEXT ROOM (1994) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T20:05:00.000Z

Line-up:

Paul Kimball - Vocals

Danny White - Guitars

Art Liboon - Bass

James Sanguinetti - Guitars

Gannon Hall - Drums

Aaron (Pause) Vaughn - Turntables

Tracks: 1) Lo-Cal, Hi-Fiber 2) Skid 3) Crash 4) Splinter Down 5) Shut 6) Pauper's Wine 7) Acrophobia 8) Murray The Mover 9) In A Turn 10) The Trellis 11) The Next Room Over 12) Rubber Crutch

When I heard that Scott Holderby had left the band, it was as if someone had died. When you’re a teenager wrapped up so heavily in music, and in certain bands that you take on as if they are your own, band changes effect you also…it’s bizarre. I rang the London Noise offices who kind of smirked at the split. I received a letter from drummer Gannon Hall who claimed that Scott had been involved in fisticuffs with one magazine reporter, but worst of all was when I heard that they were carrying on without him. Now, don’t get me wrong here, but bands can remain cool with new members but Scott’s style was very much what Mordred were about in the same way Pauses had become part of the furniture as such. And when you release three records with that person it’s not easy to replace them, especially when that person had a real originality about them, and stamped themselves so effectively upon the career of the band.
I heard the Acrophobia ‘single’ and threw it up the wall! Sure, this is all about opinion and I’m sure the sound on The Next Room may well have gained the band a few more fans, because in a nutshell, this opus is power-metal, something akin to Corrosion Of Conformity’s mighty Blind and and also Alice In Chains records…only nowhere near as good, and that hurts to say that. So, in came new vocalist Paul Kimball, a throaty mover of some power which is great if you like Pantera and the nu-metal breed of vocalist, but this just doesn’t work. This wasn’t Mordred, despite Gannon Hall saying this was his best drumming performance or whatever. I’m not sure what Scott did immediately after he left, but judging by his already mentioned solo record, he was still Mordred without the heavier side. Mordred meanwhile had become stream-lined, more metal, less thrash, and far less cool, with any kind of experimentation sounding almost awkward next to power metal riffs. Was this a way of attracting a metal audience ? Whose idea was this ? Yet, for over almost an hour I had to sit there thinking, “…what the hell is this all about ?”. The Next Room is bland, despite some decent lyrics and experimentalism, but Kimball’s vocals are extremely dull despite their power, Pauses’ scratches mundane and predictable and the tracks are forgettable, despite such ridiculous titles such as Rubber Crutch and Murray The Mover. Are you serious ? Tracks such as Lo-Cal, Hi-Fiber and Skid skip by without effect, at times Kimball seems to slip into a Holderby mode, it doesn’t work. There’s even a track called Crash, yet it has nothing to do with the original the band recorded. It seems to have a hangover from Vision in its slo-mo approach and it’s pointless, and by this time you’re left wondering what direction they are taking. Splinter Down is run-of-the-mill metal, nothing more, a mediocre six-minute ramble that never changes pace, and then we have Aaron’s contribution, a jazz-club special called Shut that doesn’t fit onto a record bereft of coolness. It’s actually better than Close Minded, sewn together by a wailing sax but ruined by Kimball’s non-descript vocal yell, which pretty much drowns the whole record, as well as the samey riffs of mundanity. Shall I go on ? Pauper’s Wine sounds like the hideous mess that is Nickleback, suggesting an almost polished grunge feel, Acrophobia is okay…for another band, at times catchy, with a chorus that suits Kimball’s voice, but it’s regular stuff, the same formula through-out, and on Murray The Mover things get a little embarrassing, Kimball’s gravelled voice just not accustomed to singing what are an attempt at ‘groovy’ lyrics, enough said. In A Turn is another soulful cut naked without Holderby’s execution, The Trellis is bland, The Next Room Over a drab instrumental affair, splashed with the almost now predictable scratching and the final track, Rubber Crutch begins like some ‘80s metal anthem and never shifts gears from its tiresome routine.
Even if you judge this as a separate rock record, The Next Room is a tired affair, lacking most of Mordred’s unpredictability, class and soulful innovation. And even the band must have known this, which is why this opus was the last record, but one which most certainly disassociates itself from the others like some ugly sister.

4/10

VISION (1992) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T19:49:00.000Z

This is my review how it originally appeared on the Everyday's A Mordred Day website.

Line-up, as In This Life

Tracks: 1) In Time 2) West County Hospital 3) The Vagrant 4) Reach 5) Close Minded 6) Vision

The final time I saw Mordred, at London’s legendary Marquee Club, they were previewing new material, to the extent that at times Scott Holderby had the lyric sheet at hand for tunes such as Reach and In Time. In 1992 Vision, a mini-lp of sorts, hit the racks, and for some reason it didn’t get great press at all. One magazine said it was ‘average’ and was more Queensryche influenced than anything else!! For me, Vision was a great step forward for the band, branching out into vast soundscapes as well as the usual fusion of funk-drenched guitars, superb scratching and samples, and the usual metal soul. Holderby seemed more involved, having written three of the six songs on this mini-platter, and yet this record was to be Scott’s last outing, and for me, the funeral of this great, underrated band.
Vision is a laid-back slab, cosmically mixed, soulfully tweaked and something akin in stature to Voivod’s magnificent, darkly-tinged Angel Rat opus although that particular opus being more Pink Floyd-esque. If anything, Vision is Mordred moving away from the thrash and becoming a heavy rock act. By 1992 death metal and 'grunge' was taking over, the Bay Area thrash scene was dying, rock was also dying, and it would take quite a few years to re-emerge albeit in regurgitated form, because 1992 was all about so-called grunge, although that scene was mainly late ‘80s, and an underground scene at that, but by 1992 bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden had taken over, they were accessible to the masses, maybe there was no more room for Mordred.

In Time kicks in, casually too. It could have fitted perfectly onto In This Life as a companion to Downtown, with its quirky guitars, Scott’s loose tones and the street-wise lyrics, the track, like so many other Mordred tracks, beefed by a solid, memorable chorus and shining percussion. West County Hospital is once again laid-back, no hint of a crunchy riff as such, but this is one of their greatest moments, Holderby’s lyrics hitting the heart, a personal story by the sounds of it, of young desperation, an urge to break free from the strains of society, only this time the chorus is incredibly mellow, highly infectious and very soulful, a sound one would become accustomed to on Holderby’s solo effort Ungodly Blue Sun. West County Hospital is a cool moment, proof that Mordred were keen to expand, to become accessible yet still distinctive, but certainly more mellowed from the previous two efforts, and The Vagrant, previously known as Fragrance Of Vagrance, elaborates on the usual street-wise subjects, this is another track that could have appeared on In This Life yet once again is of a laid-back nature, more of Pauses’ injections, the scatty breaks and the funk-fuelled guitar works, and once again that infectious chorus of, “…can you tell me why, I’m left with no means to survive”, something so predominant on cuts like Lion’s Den, Falling Away etc, that soaring, perfectly rhymed bellow. However, Reach is far different, a spaced out cosmic exercise spruced up with White’s far-reaching lyrical content of the planets, the solar system and all things solarised, this is an immense track, complex in nature that slides with cool scratch bursts and ascends on a chorus straight to the zenith. Lyrically this is once again class, and despite all the great musicianship of the band, as well as the eclectic ideas, lyrically they had always been spot-on, moving between a variety of subjects yet always saying something even if at times unclear, yet clearly psychedelic in content.
Close Minded is probably one of the most predictable Mordred songs. This may sound harsh, but for me it’s the EP’s weakest track, despite still blowing all the opposition away. This is true rap-metal crossover, a pummelling, juggernaut of a riff replacing a hip-hop beat and Pause takes to the mic, he raps as cool as any rapper or other MC, but this is almost too predictable for a band of this quality, with a lyrical content that literally questions why people should be so narrow-minded about this style of music, but it’s a common theme by 1992, and lesser bands such as Body Count, early Anthrax, Beastie Boys, The Hard Corps (to a lesser extent), and a whole host of latter bands, i.e. Rage Against The Machine, Biohazard, Korn etc, were doing it in the same almost shoddy, commercial manner. Don’t get me wrong, Close Minded is a cool track, but it’s too obvious, as if to say, “…hey, we fuse metal and rap so let’s do a rap over some riffs”, and if anything it’s too simple for this great band, and for me it wasn’t a track trying to be different and it wasn’t a track where people were going to take note because it was common ground by this point even if Vaughn’s lyrics are excellent.
Vision wraps up the platter, a vibrant, buzzing cut awash with colour, Scott’s delivery hazed, the scratching splashing and sprinkling, a mish-mash of cosmic rock and dazed and confused abandon rested upon a mellow chorus, and before you know it this brief EP is over, leaving you begging for more, yet at the time little did this listener know that such dreams were short-coming, this would be the last of the real Mordred, who, by this time had also released three excellent records, a brilliant live video filmed at one of the 1991 London Marquee shows, entitled, In This Live, and three singles. The next record, their worst, The Next Room, an awkward, Holderby-bereft slab of power metal would be the end, although such an end had obviously reared its ugly head long before.
Vision, at the time of its release, didn’t seem to be promoted very well, and it wasn’t received as ecstatically, rumours of ill spates with the press abounded, true or not, but spin this record again and you’ll be swept up in the whirlwind, and the album remains a fitting last word in that it should be called Vision, a word that sums up the world in which Mordred lived…and created, yet which many obscenely ignored. Their loss.

9/10

IN THIS LIVE VIDEO (1991)

2007-02-04T19:37:00.000Z

Line-up, as In This Life.

Mordred were the finest band I ever saw live, four times in all at The Marquee in London. The first three occasions were in support of In This Life and I believe the third of those gigs was filmed for the In This Live video, featuring all the greatest Mordred cuts. Live, they were a one-off, at times Holderby became a multi-coloured breakdancing contortionist, fluttering between the strobes, often painted colours such as white or blue, and with pegs in his hair, and often dressed in anything from a trilby hat to what looked like his pyjama's, whilst the band behind him were alarmingly tight, Pauses' scratches interwoven between the crunching guitars and spiralling sol's, whilst Hall's drumming, especially on the video, was a privilege to watch. And Liboon's bass one of the band's trademark ingredients.

In This Live is exceptionally difficult to trace, but I did hear that a few guys on the Everyday's A Mordred Day website had managed to get it down onto DVD. Something worth seeing.

Mordred loved playing in London, the final time I saw them around '92 they were supported by the superb The Organization. They often fitted in a few remarkable gems, i.e. a cover of Pink Floyd's Young Lust plus stuff like The Money Will Roll Right In and a few tracks that never made the records, such as Crash (not the version that made The Next Room record) and also what was then known as Fragrance Of Vagrance, but would simply become known as The Vagrant.

Try and track down In This Live.

ESSE QUAM VIDERI 12" (1991) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T19:13:00.000Z

Line-up, as In This Life.

Tracks:

1) Esse Quam Videri (Radio Mix) A far more, hip-hop, beat orientated remix with various samples, more effects and less weight, but amazing, and possibly better than the LP version.

2) Intro/Killing Time (live at London's Marquee Club 1991)

3) Everyday's A Holiday (live at London's Marquee Club 1991)

FALLING AWAY 12" (1991) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T19:09:00.000Z

Line-up, as In This Life.

Tracks:

Falling Away

Lion's Den

Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed (Thin Lizzy)

IN THIS LIFE (1991) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T18:35:00.000Z

This review of mine also originally appeared on the EVERYDAY'S A MORDRED DAY website.

Line-up:

Scott Holderby - Vocals

Danny White - Guitars

James Sanguinetti - Guitars

Art Liboon - Bass

Gannon Hall - Drums

Aaron (Pause) Vaughn - Turntables

Tracks: 1) InThis Life 2) The Strain 3) High Potency 4) Window 5) Esse Quam Videri 5) A Beginning 6) Falling Away 7) Killing Time 8) Downtown 9) Progress 10) Larger Than Life

It was a weird time, like a whole new era. From the risky business and slight diversity of Fool’s Game, the metal scene had all of a sudden become soaked in the sweat of band-wagon jumpers, trend followers and sickly, sweet rip-off’s. Fool’s Game seemed almost ‘years ago’ and yet in two years Mordred had become one of the leaders of a pack fronted by giants such as Faith No More, bands who’d taken metal to new extremes, still providing aggression, and yet somehow letting it walk hand-in-hand alongside soul, industrial smash-up’s, death metal growls, country ‘n’ western twangs and avant-garde ramblings. Anthrax had tried it, the Beastie Boys were moving into it, Chilli Peppers and Fishbone were now serious leaders instead of cartoon tamperers, French-Canadian thrashers Voivod took it beyond psychedelia and Mordred were all of a sudden in the Top 75 of the U.K. charts, it was bizarre, fresh and yet so intoxicating.
DJ Pause was permanent, James Sanguinetti now responsible for the crunchy, sharp riffs, and the band on the whole had escaped from the Bay Area thrash assault that other acts were still stuck in, or what they called ‘sticking to their guns’, but the innovation of Mordred was immense, people started to get it, others were irritated that it spawned horrific spin-off’s such as the UK’s Ignorance and Scat Opera, the German outfit Freaky Fukin’ Weirdoz, and U.S. atrocities such as Scatterbrain and Psychefunkupus. Some called it a new scene, others labelled it ‘funk metal’, that name alone killed it, tarred it and cursed it, because any band around 1991 that meddled with something different was bogged down by the comparisons and corniness. Mordred were still far removed from that scene despite Liboon’s bass-lines taking on a funky twist, the grooves in general becoming far more melody based, even with the thrashier outings, and now Pause was very much involved, sprinkling even the most furious of tracks with rap samples, spasticated scratches and keyboard quirks. For me, it was one of the most eagerly anticipated records of all time, and to this day it hasn’t left the turntable. Wrapped in a green-tinged industrial sleeve, complete with some of the finest, gritty, smoke-filled lyrics, this album astonished, perplexed and writhed in its own psychedelic crunchiness, revelled in its ghetto groove and was just too damn cool for my friends! The title cut bubbled in on a cool bass strut and Holderby took to the mic, a rap-style flow injected with a deep, chanted chorus of, “…make your own way, in this life, have to find a way to rise above the pain and strife”. The Strain fluently cuts in, Pause becomes evident, big time jerks in the thrash department, a cutting edge, heavy rhythm based upon a topic more akin to something off a rap album, lyrics of the street, the social despair, gunshot wounds and drugs. This was not funk metal, and neither was it thrash, and whilst other cool bands such as Last Crack, Mindfunk, I Love You and Love/Hate were mixing styles, In This Life was something else, up there with Faith No More’s The Real Thing as a cauldron of styles, somehow accessible, yet oh so complex in its volume of diversity. High Potency and Window keeping the riffs real, but it was the immense quirkiness of Esse Quam Videri that did it, the one track, like a more stylish sequel to Everyday’s A Holiday drenched in jingly, funk guitars, slap bass, Scott’s flittering tones and cosmic lyrics interwoven by an almost hip-hop backing made even more street-wise by Pauses’ rapping, yes, rapping, something so common now amongst the ‘nu-metal’ crowd and yet so commercial, but back then it was a rare sound, something used by only a handful of bands such as 24-7-Spyz, Anthrax etc. Esse Quam Videri (meaning, ‘to be rather than to seem’), is one of the band’s finest moments, a sweaty, orgasmic, flippant, epileptic circus of atmosphere, sexual innuendo and strobe light ecstasy. It remains one of the album’s greatest moments, and yet the album has no weak moments. (This track was also brilliantly remixed as a single, backed with two live cuts, and was promoted on late night t.v. with a superb, psychedelic video).
Side Two kicks off with an acoustic intro, entitled A Beginning, to the might that is Falling Away, a pounding, black and white vision of street life, possessing some of the most chilling, searing melodies, Holderby’s most spiteful delivery and a general groove that shudders and sends icy shivers down the spine. It was a single for the band, backed with the brilliant cover of Thin Lizzy’s Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed and cool, horn-based new cut Lion’s Den, and the promotional video was as equally cool, an urban short movie where t.v.’s fall from high windows, played out like some gritty, downtown cop movie. Killing Time is as equally industrial in its outlook, an echoing stride beyond the realms of thrash, fusing complex melodic rock with biting thrash fusion, and then we are back to the red-light coolness that only Mordred can create, the ska-influenced Downtown, like something from 'Starsky & Hutch', this slow-tempo number is straight from the San Francisco gutter, Holderby’s lyrics (even though the band often stated that Holderby wasn’t involved enough on the records!) a laid-back drool so cool that they wear shades. Downtown walks casually through a sound reminiscent of English band The Police (fronted by Sting), a strutting, smoking joint of a number shattered suddenly by the battering ram that is Progress, the true thrash number on the album, a spiteful attack on mankind’s harsh treatment of the Earth, and a number which sounds like a more modernised of say Fool’s Game’s faster numbers. The album ends with another laid-back, scratch-spliced injection, the arrogant Larger Than Life which would soon be echoed by the Vision EP title cut, Scott’s vocal buzz soaring from the debris of Pauses’ eccentric scratches and the chanted words of , “..stand my ground, won’t back down”, before the record finally stomps to its end, the needle lifts and there is silence. However, anyone in their right mind will reach for the needle immediately afterwards, just like I did, and once again sit through this black cauldron of a record, to pick out the stunning chords, the streetwise vocals, the trickling bass-lines, the complex drums and the variety of cool samples which a few years before the metal world would never of dreamed of having alongside thrash guitars.
In This Life is one of the finest, most inventive and original rock records ever made, for it’s time it is a milestone, an ignored landmark, but for this brief period, Mordred were selling out shows across Europe, the metal press ranted and raved about their style (the album received a five-K rating in Kerrang! Magazine) and their live shows, and bands from all over the world began to incorporate such styles into their own sound. However, the scene became a suffocating, sickly mess where quantity outweighed the quality. The main bands within the scene, i.e. Mordred, Faith No More, et al had to either move on or suffer tragically and go from cult stars to non-existent, and in the case of bands such as Mindfunk, that’s exactly what happened.

In This Life is a classic. Simply as that. A timeless record that puts today's so-called innovative artists to shame.

10/10

EVERYDAY'S A HOLIDAY 12" (1989) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T18:28:00.000Z

Backed with Superfreak.

Line-up the same as Fool's Game.

FOOL'S GAME (1989) NOISE RECORDS

2007-02-04T18:14:00.000Z

This is my original review which appeared on the EVERYDAY'S A MORDRED DAY website:

Line-up:

Scott Holderby - Vocals

Danny White - Guitars

Jim Taffer - Guitars

Art Liboon - Bass

Gannon Hall - Drums

Aaron (Pause) Vaughn - Turntables

Tracks: 1) State Of Mind 2) Spectacle Of Fear 3) Everyday's A Holiday 4) Spellbound 5) Sever & Splice 6) The Artist 7) Shatter 8) Reckless Abandon 9) Super Freak 10) Numb

When Mordred burst onto the scene, via Noise Records, with their debut record Fool’s Game, many people in the underground scene, whether press or fans, probably expected just another Bay Area ‘thrash’ record. This wouldn’t have been a bad thing, as during the late 1980’s, the San Francisco thrash scene was blossoming. Bands from New York to L.A. such as Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament and Exodus had already broken the heavy metal rules by playing a fast-paced, aggressive style of ‘metal’ that opposed all the ‘poser’ disguises, and relied on a furious, raw barrage of crunchy riffs, growled, seething vocals and vigorous drum blasts. To be a ‘thrasher’ was cool, during a time when metal was either sleazy, ‘glammy’ and leathery, or ‘devil’-induced but almost as corny as many artists waffled on about the dark side, drinking beer and girls, all the while being backed up by a plodding sound that was made world famous by artists such as Ozzy Ozbourne, Motley Crue and Kiss. Thrash was different. But so were Mordred.

The Mordred sound was fresh and exciting, despite lacking the true originality of their next effort, 1991’s In This Life. This defining quality was mostly down to the soulful, clear vocal delivery of Scott Holderby, and as time went by he would be put within a bracket of metal singers which ‘cool’ as a description, would be an understatement. Fool’s Game had the vital ingredient for the time; crunch. Riffs supplied by Danny White and Jim Taffer, skin-pounding from Gannon Hall and a grooved bass bellow from Art Liboon, and it certainly was an album of grooves despite having the usual thrash relation, which other bands such as Forbidden, Violence and Defiance took on board. And then there was the DJ! Aaron ‘Pause’ Vaughn who was to eventually become a full-time member of the band when they realised his street-wise scratchings were vital to their downtown atmospheres and industrial raps. On Fool’s Game it was the cover of Rick James’ Super Freak and the colourful Everyday’s A Holiday that set the standard for something very different. At the time ‘funkier’ rock acts such as Fishbone and Red Hot Chili Peppers were only just beginning to get noticed, their ‘sound’ perceived as far too different to melt into the world of heavy metal, so at the time this showed an almost ignorance within the scene and the press who said that ‘crossover’ was a risky business, because at the time, ‘metallers’ didn’t want any kind of rap, funk or soulful influence, but just straight down the line head-melting metal. Mordred suggested otherwise, despite the album’s classic moments coming from the thrash groove of State Of Mind and typical thrash chant of Shatter.
Lyrically here was a band shifting from political topics to random fun, all given that extra bite from the surging crunch sound, and Scott’s effortless, soulful croons which could at one moment become spiteful spits and the next, soothing, elasticated funky drools. Fool’s Game wasn’t really a hint as to what was to come, but Mordred had obviously found their niche early simply by risking the inclusion of a DJ, and giving their thrash crunch an interesting groove. It was now a matter of time before the crunch of Spellbound, or the pounding of Reckless Abandon would be tweaked into a cutting edge, self-styled groove way ahead of its time. But would the world be ready for Mordred ? Would metal be too restricted, too stale even for a band clearly light years ahead, yet risking being left behind due to lack of conformity ? No-one quite knew, but Fool’s Game was certainly one of the records that began a trend, that made ‘metal’ what it is today.

It's difficult to say as to whether a majority of today's crossover acts would exist if it were not for the Mordred sound, but what is certain is that the 'moment' which Mordred represented is most definitely a period of time within the metal genre that was far more important than many at the time realised, and Fool's Game remains one of the most important 'thrash' records of its era, and still sounds excitingly fresh today.

9/10

Demo's...

2007-02-04T17:47:00.000Z

Two demo's emerged around 1986-1987, with several line-up alterations.

In 1984 Mordred were formed by bassist Art Liboon and guitarist James Sanguinetti. In '86 Sanguinetti quit the band to join Mercenary whilst Mercenary axeman Steve Soderlund joined the Mordred camp. At the time the band were fronted by Steve Skates with the subject matter of the band mainly focusing on issues of fantasy, like most metal bands of that time, whether inspired by the works of Tolkien or the dark side, although many of the Bay Area thrash acts often concentrated on local issues such as crime and politics.

Both demo outings were self-titled, although Soderlund left the act after only two gigs. The demo's also featured guitarist Alex Gerould and drummer Eric Lannon. Skates was eventually replaced by vocalist Chris Whitney and then Scott Holderby. Danny White (guitars) and Gannon Hall (drums) eventually joined the band, and Sanguinetti was to return later, although after the debut '89 opus Fool's Game which featured guitarist Jim Taffer.

So, Demo I, with a line-up of :

Steve Skates - Vocals

Art Liboon - Bass

James Sanguinetti - Guitars

Alex Gerould - Guitars

Eric Lannon - Drums

And featured 4 tracks:

1) Sever & Splice (which would go on to feature on Fool's Game)

2) Mordred

3) The Chains Are Gone But The Scars Remain

4) Spellbound (also to feature on Fool's...)

Demo II, line-up :

Scott Holderby - Vox

Art Liboon - Bass

Danny White - Guitars

Alex Gerould - Guitars

Eric Lannon - Drums

1) Reckless Abandon (another Fool's Game inclusion)

2) In Cold Blood

3) The Scars Remain

Both demo's were raw thrashy affairs, with that Bay Area crunch that would come to the fore on the debut album.

Demo II line-up.

A BEGINNING....

2007-02-02T23:19:00.000Z

For Mordred it began around 1984, but for me, and most fans, the introduction came via the musical term known as 'thrash' and the Bay Area of San Francisco had plenty of it. Heavy metal was big in the '80s, a time when it was actually cool to rebel in the name of Satan, cool to wear denim 'n' leather with patches, and record shops actually sold all the obscure vinyl you were after. Local stores sold all the 'metal' magazines, it was a genre feared by political groups, teachers and parents, and it was fresh, dark and exciting.

Originally, 'metal' was pretty bog-standard, many bands inspired by the pounding doom-laden riffs of Black Sabbath and boogie rock of Led Zeppelin, but by the mid-'80s 'thrash' metal was something bursting out from all over the world. The big boys at the time were Slayer, known for their blood-drenched lyrics from Hell, Anthrax, and their punky mosh stomp, Metallica, with their classical yet monstrous riffs, and Megadeth, intricate and complete with Dave Mustaine's sneer. In Europe bands such as Celtic Frost, Kreator and Voivod were branching out, their sound something harsher and more diverse, and snapping at the heels of the American giants were other crunching U.S. thrash acts such as Testament, Overkill and Exodus and the up and coming younger bands such as the impressive Death Angel, the frantic Violence and slower Forbidden. Thrash was big business, a huge part of the underground metal scene which was pretty much swamped by the death metal scene of the late '80s and early '90s, and eventually killed by the coming of 'grunge', although through all this many bands have been remembered, and some reformed.

Mordred, were unlike anyone else. Whilst other bands experimented, no-one, with the exception of Anthrax touched upon a hybrid, streetwise sound that mixed heavy soul with cutting edge metal, in turn blending hip-hop with technical thrash. And this kind of sound, tragically, and yet somehow triumphantly at the same time, came to the fore in the early '90s when 'heavy metal' became a place for experimental bands who became part of what was to become known as 'funk metal' which at the time meant anything with a funky bass, or in general, any band who jumped on a colourful bandwagon that simply meant creating a silly image instead of quality music. Whilst rock bands such as Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and to a lesser extent, Fishbone, Bad Brains, came to the fore, hundreds of other, more artificial bands swamped the better artists, making the whole brief genre something akin to a pile of technicolour vomit. Average, bog-standard metal bands, as well as thrash acts were getting in on the act, slapping the bass, wearing daft clothes and singing about what they considered to be quirky subjects, but the reality was, 'funk metal' was fake, and unfortunately for Mordred, in 1991, they were lumped in with hordes of bogus bands such as Ignorance, Scatterbrain, Scat Opera, Heads Up, FFW, despite creating their own soulful sound years previous, and although the moment allowed metal to spread its wings and offer us some excellent groups such as Mindfunk, I Love You, Saigon Kick, Liquid Jesus, Last Crack, some of these bands were simply way ahead of the genre, and tragically faded, leaving behind a handful of records now difficult to find, yet oh so precious.

Thankfully, Mordred's records are still out there, and also evidence that despite the intoxicating scenes they waded through, they were one of the greatest bands you never heard or saw, and those that were privileged to experience the band, can now relive such treasures via this blog.

Anyone who stashed their Mordred vinyl away should be ashamed of themselves, because the band and their records are timeless, and made all the more relevant when we continue to hear nowadays awful hip-hop/rock renditions which owe oh so much to the band that was Mordred.

It seems that some interest in the band has resurfaced, members of the band past, and more present, have come forward, reunions have taken place, and the word on the street is MORDRED, a band that eclipsed so many styles in two main records and an EP, yet which awfully stalled in its last throe, that being 'The Next Room' opus, but put that aside, and let us delve into the magic and innovation of a band that should never be forgotten, and hopefully this blog, dedicated to the band and all its members, should stand as a testimony to what was a great time, a great career, and once over, a great loss. There will always be a place in music for Mordred because they have no ties, no boundaries to restrict them, or trend to follow. They were originators. And still are. Just listen to those records and hear the sound of something new....

This blog would not have been made possible for it not for the following people:

Obviously, the band, particularly Scott Holderby, Danny White, Aaron Vaughn, Art Liboon, James Sanguinetti and Gannon Hall.

Also, I would like to thank Jez, for everything, plus, the zines, tape traders, magazines, venues etc, at the time for supporting the band, and also Terry and Alan who constructed the EVERYDAY'S A MORDRED DAY website which enabled the band to realise how much of a fanbase they will always have, and Jemma for support X