Newsflash Brainiac: Jesus was a Jew!

I've finished writing a new song for the first time in a while, and it's pretty different from anything I've done before. In theory it's the first fully piano based song I've written, but the amount of piano that will be incorporated when we've worked on it as a band remains to be seen. Either way it's a slower, more epic tune that's lyrically different from what Megan calls "the same old subjects"! It's about organised religion. It's about my journey from growing up in a religious family and going to church every week, to completely disassociating myself from all religion and being a firm believer that organised religion and it's outdated traditions are holding us back from progression. Religious means are clearly manipulated for political ends. The powers that be have used this trick for centuries, but by now we should really be seeing past it. Reading Richard Dawkins amongst other things has lead me to break my silence on a subject we all seem to keep too quiet about and tread too carefully around. Obviously everyone is entitled to their own spiritual beliefs, but these shouldn't be constrained within the boundaries of organised religion, which is really just a bunch of stories and rules written by men a long time ago. Spirituality should be a realm in itself, and the idea of there being an omnipotent being who demands us to follow certain man made rules, else we burn for all eternity for our "sins" is ludicrous. Anyway rant over, I'm happy that I've been able to put into words how I feel on the subject, and hopefully jolt a few people in to thinking about their views. The song probably won't make it on to the next CD anyway, because we've already got "Figment of the Imagination", another lyrically drug fuelled epic that's been in the pipeline for years. They're both CD enders, can't really have two of those on one EP! Working title: "Newsflash Brainiac: Jesus was a Jew!", though I think the comedy element of the Louis Theroux reference will pass most people by and possibly detract from the seriousness of the song, so we'll see if that sticks!

Jam Scones

It is with huge regret that I write the following words. Sam Jones is leaving Overthrow. For the last couple of years he's been juggling Overthrow, The JB Conspiracy, his own hip hop project and a job, and has come to the decision that as we all get busier, there is no longer time for him to put 100% into everything, and has therefore decided he's no longer going to continue with Overthrow. His decision has come as somewhat of a shock, whilst at the same time being understandable, and after three years of playing with Sam I will miss him and his drumming sorely. We have one final gig with him on 16th Dec @ The Fighting Cocks w/ Over and Out & A Man Down, check our myspace for details. I wish him all the best.

We are trying out a new drummer, Adam Rains. Adam is the singer/guitarist in All the Other Humans, but also plays the drums (same as me but the other way round!) We've had one practise with him and he's a great drummer and a really safe guy, the only issue is making it work as he lives in Brighton. But hopefully we can bitch slap that hurdle and get back on track!

Me and Will went to see Propagandhi supported by Protest the Hero and Strike Anywhere. Strike Anywhere were on first, and because we had panini sized holes in our stomachs, we ended up only catching the last 3 songs, which is a shame, because I love them! Protest the Hero were on next, and while their technical prowess shone through, their passion and stage presence lacked somewhat, and the songwriting's just not there for me. There's a lot of technical because they can, and a lot of repetition, so while they are absolutely ridiculously good, it was average!
I had wondered how Propagandhi would fare after Protest the Hero, but they fucking owned it in comparison! Amazing again. Cained thorugh a blistering set of most of the best songs Will prefers the hardcore songs that the bassist sings, and they never seem to play those live, not sure why, I heard maybe it's because he fucked his voice, but don't know if that's the reason. Shockingly, they messed up! Crazy to see a big band mess up a song, especially when they were so on it for the whole gig. It's cool I guess to see that they're human. For their encore they came on and played the secret track from the new album, shocking but hilarious, and accompanied by a demented all man who apparently wrote the song... It was random to say the least. But they then busted out Dear Coaches Corner and Anti Manifesto and ended on a high. I fucking love Propagandhi.