30/06/08 - BRASS NOT BOMBS TOUR!
Good news – our first UK tour starts this Thursday, it's all fully booked now so check out our poster to see if we’re playing at a venue near you! We look forward to meeting lots of new faces :-)
We’ve also got some new merchandise for tour including our first run of t-shirts:
These shirts are unisex and available in small, medium & large sizes. You'll be able to order them online when we get back from tour, stay tuned!
Finally, we’ve written a new tune to play on our travels, it’s called Don’t Grow Up and the lyrics go like this:
Don’t grow up, it takes too long
Just sit back and sing along
I hate to think that when you’re old
You’ll lie there with you’re heart gone cold
Forgetting when we sang that song
And no one cared if you were wrong
I felt an insight last night
That told me it was alright
To care so much when they ignore
What it is we’re striving for
Forgetting when we danced all night
When no one cared, it just felt right
I’ll miss the days when consequence ignored
When we were young and stupid, poor but free
And nothing really mattered, only being there
Being there together, laughing til the end
This song goes out to friends you won’t forget
This song goes out to nights you don’t regret
For no tomorrows or yesterdays
For drunk stories and memories
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08/05/08
Hello! We’ve got our first gig in a month or so next Thursday (the 15th) at The Tunnels with none other than UK Subs!! Crashdown will also be gracing the stage, and it’s the night before Grandpa Gerold’s birthday, so it should be an ace night. We’ll be “premiering” our new song, which has the working title of Apathy. The lyrics for it are below, a bit more tongue in cheek than usual. We’ve also included a nice review for our EP from cool online zine Punk or Nothing?...
The Hijacks: "Free Your Mind"
Ska Is Dead was the name of a recent compilation and, despite the people behind this trying to prove the opposite, I couldn’t help agreeing with this sentiment. I hadn’t bothered hearing the said compilation or much else ska-related as I had become sort of disillusioned with the ska-punk scene as a whole. The fervent ska-punk scene of the nineties (which produced gems such as ‘Hello Rockview’) seemed a long time ago by two-thousand and seven, but in the early months of ’08, I have heard a few bands that have completely changed my opinion of where this genre is heading. Most of these seem to be from the UK, and one in particular that stands out is Scottish skankers, the Hijacks. They are a really recent, up-and-coming band, hailing from Aberdeen, Scotland. This is an area not exactly known for being a punk rock hotspot, but they exhibit a high level of aggression in their songs that’s been missing from ska-punk in recent years. This is their debut EP, released at the end of two-thousand and seven, and certainly marks its intent in just four short songs. They roll back the years with ease. “Free Your Mind” is one of the best EP’s I have heard in a long time, perhaps on a par with last year’s fantastic Way Out of Control (For Science). Horns collide here with outwardly aggressive vocals, creating a very pure form of ska-punk. They often sound like what Rise Against or the Lawrence Arms would sound like to me, if they adopted any ska elements. “Love Thy Labour” clearly stands out as the best song on here, the potential of where they can go from here. The vocals fit almost perfectly alongside the music and if all else had failed, they still would have had that sweet guitar intro that is just crying to be air-guitared along to. However, that’s not to stay the EP doesn’t work as a whole; each track is just cool in its own way. I particularly like the slow-loud theme running throughout “Slow Down”. I’m predicting big things for the Hijacks: they have a formula for success here - they just need to more of it. He says: “no, silly, ska isn’t Dead”.
Cheers to ‘Skankin D’ for that!
APATHY
Bury our heads in the sand and don’t make a masterplan
Cross our lucky fingers and hope to understand.
Pray to gods, in the sky, and await our destiny
Don’t let awkward questions, stand in our way
Cos we’re generation x,
Generation xxx
Rather watch a porno,
Only clean up our own mess.
Watch paint dry, on TV, and enjoy the misery
Stare like plastic zombies at dull lives we replay
Sandcastles, on the beach, built on apathy
It’s not that important, it can wait another day
Cos we’re generation y,
Generation y y why
Why should we bother
When there’s crap to buy?
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30/03/08
A week today we’re playing a gig at Tunnels to raise funds and awareness for the Aberdeen Campaign Against Climate Change group. It should be a really good night – also performing are Rapunzel Wizard, Dave and Fred Wilkinson, and Escape to Victory (so Steve will be busy!) – and it’s also for a really good cause. You can check out some of the work that the group do at climatechangecampaign.blogspot.com/
The gig will also be your first chance to get your hands on the 4th issue of GFN? Zine – how exciting. Below is a review of the Arbroath gig we did last week – you’ll have to buy the zine for the full version (what an incentive!). The zine also features interviews with the JB Conspiracy, The Fractions, No Sweat UK, Brewdog, and the arrival of two exciting new features: the Nerdsearch and a Dot-to-Dot.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
Make It Better Later, Cole Appleyard, The Hijacks and Maxwell’s Dead@ The Waterfront, Arbroath – review by Claire and Mikaela
Maxwell’s Dead - If I had a £1 for every Ramones t-shirt or hoodie here then we wouldn’t have to worry about petrol money. We only managed to catch the last 2 or so songs of the first band as we were stuffing our faces with Arbroath’s delicacies. I’m not sure if they were supposed to be a Rancid cover band or not, but that’s what they sounded like. I’m sure once they come into their own and get older they will be a promising band.
The Hijacks – A very good set which got some interesting punters dancing. I’ve seen these guys many times now and I can’t help but smile whilst watching them, Slow Down and Rich Man’s Trick are my personal faves. [They are our friends so a favourable review is kinda to be expected!]
Cole Appleyard – The banter was rubbish!! They had some good punchy drum beats and anthemic choruses. Loved the use of the echo in the last song…and Kieran’s facial hair. I definitely think they saved the best till last. And with an album coming out it’s clear that they have drive. Totally worth checking out.
Make it Better Later – Good, upbeat tunes and the violin was a nice edge, like a ska band with a string section instead of brass. They had a good mix of fast jig type songs like The Pirate Song and The Ninja Song interspersed with some chilled out ones and a good reggae tune which I can’t remember the name of. They were well worth seeing and I’d definitely go and see them again.
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19/03/08 - New song finished
We finished up a new song at practise last night and shall be debuting it at our gigs on Friday (The Waterfront, Arbroath) and Saturday (The East Neuk, Aberdeen). It’s called Darkened Streets and is inspired by the moments of clarity you sometimes get walking along the street at night when it’s kinda eerie and quiet…anyway, the lyrics are below so you can sing along the very first time you hear it!
Ok so we’ve decided to start keeping this page more up-to-date, so keep checking back for more crazy hijacking news. Also, it would be cool to put reviews of our gigs on here so if anyone’s interested in writing one please get in touch or speak to us at the gig.
Cheers,
The Hijacks
DARKENED STREETS
One more walk down a darkened street
To the beat of the drum on the soles of your feet
One last walk down a darkened street
With a nod to the stranger that you'll never meet
And you realise, this is what you wanted to do
When you turned round the corner searching for something new
A reclaimed memory in the twilight of night
Of a time that you thought you'd never stop this fight
A dawning realisation in an unlikely location
A revised belief system coming close to "revelation"
A secret sunrise glimpsing a new wave of motion
A turning point, epiphany, unpredicted explosion
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Ok, so while we’re at it, here’s our previous new song’s lyrics as well:
EPILOGUE
Is this the end of history, or just another page?
Are we reaching boiling point, or repeating yesterday?
We proudly talk of progress and social evolution
Grasp on firmly to the myths of self-serving illusion.
Humanity starts another year, with no talk of resolutions.
Again we just continue blindly, with no prospect of solutions.
No promises or apologies; only righteous indignation
No fighting back or revolution, and no imagination.
Another year is ending, another year of tears.
Bombs, wars and killing, another year of fun.
Another year is ending, another year of tears.
A little more 'globalised', 'imperialised'in disguise
One hundred years from now, this story is completed
Human history on a shelf, with dust and pictures.
It's final chapter almost done; the epilogue is white,
Reclaim stolen narratives, shine humanity in light.
