My Mate's Hardcore Band Are Supporting Charlotte Church

Back in 2003 when hardcore was still feeling the ripples of that artsy Boston thing, I was in a not very good band with a guy called Jordan Chaos. Previously, he had been in a very good Brighton band called A New Way To Trust.

I haven’t spoken to Jordan in nearly a decade, but recently I found him on Facebook and it’s been fun catching up. Ten years, some neck and hand tattoos, a few tribal cover-ups and a little bit of weight gain (sorry bro) later, and - like all old hardcore kids around the 30-mark - he works in social media. He has also just got the old band back together for funzies. Good fuckin’ times.

Any other news to share? Well, he’s got a sprog on the way (literally a few days overdue at time of writing) with his fiancé Jess, which is very exciting, oh, and A New Way To Trust are supporting Charlotte Church when she plays in Brighton on August 2nd. Wait, whut?

That’s an actual thing that’s happening, and all because ANWTT’s guitarist Baggsy likes to troll the Brighton Source Facebook page. What larks, eh?

Hardcore has had no sense of humour since 1988, so it’ll probably go down like a stone through a wet paper bag among the tr00 and the faithful. But what’s really nice is that guys who get to 30 don’t feel like they need to prove themselves to forum nerds and grumpy vegan teens anymore, so they’re doing it because it’s going to be funny and weird. And for that, we should salute them.

Here are Baggsy and Jordan to explain the whole thing.

Noisey: You’re supporting Charlotte Church!? Tell me EVERYTHING.

Baggsy: I was on Facebook just after the gig was announced and I dropped a comment saying I'd give £100 to Cats Protection if A New Way To Trust could play the show. I've made jokes before and they usually don't turn out well, but this time everyone joined in. People piled in, offering money to Cats Protection, offering to adopt cats, or even to do community service. I posted a link to to it on Charlotte's Facebook page and in the days following we watched our name start to turn up in various bits of press. Then Charlotte hit me up asking to hear the band. Things went proper Fear And Loathing after that and somehow we're now supporting Charlotte Church.

Have you spoken to her personally?

Only on Twitter to far. She's been totally gold medal. You don't expect someone who's sold tens of millions of albums to spend their morning listening to a metal band, then offer them some banter and a gig. If this was 1999 I'd probably be wary that I'd not heard her on a phone or seen her on webcam, so it could turn out to be a fifty-year-old man with a crowbar and a white van. I think we're safe though.

Do you guys really care about cats?

I had a cat named Harry for twenty-something years and he was the best cat ever. He couldn't fly a plane or speak French, but he could do awesome things like climb ladders and get stuck at the top of them. We think all cats deserve love and respect. Cats Protection do great things and I'm going to hand-deliver an oversized cheque to their Worthing charity shop.

Do you think any of you stand a chance with Charlotte?

I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend, but on the other hand Jordan does have really soft hair. It's like angel biscuits. I think there's every chance we'll get to share some pre-gig snacks and a couple of cans of Ting with Charlotte and her band, and in some cultures that could be considered a group date, or maybe even a wedding banquet.

What's your favourite Charlotte Church song?

Either "Crazy Chick" - which at her request we will be playing on the night - or "Brave New World (The Opera Song)" because I love a good bit of trance. I've not heard much of her new stuff, but I have seen a picture of her performing with a Kaoss pad. I have a feeling the August 2nd gig is going to be memorable.

Do you think people aren't going to respect you after this? Do you care?

Jordan: I think if someone said “I really respect you” to me I’d really question their mental stability. What is there to respect? Who plays in a hardcore band past 30? Shit dude, if I was still really hardcore I‘d be dead. Short answer: it’s nicer to be hated, you know you’re getting somewhere, you know they are listening, it takes a lot of energy to hate, liking something is easy.

Has there been any backlash from hc kids in Brighton?

If it has been, it’s behind my back. More than anything it seems to be a big lark. I don’t actually think people believe me man, I’ve lied about so many things, why should they even believe this show is on? Some people were saying on forums that we had huge label backing and we are a new band that fabricated a back-story to give us credibility. Christ, not even I could make that up.

Can I have that sick ANWTT back patch I saw on Tumblr?

You want the truth? That was a t-shirt I used to fit in when I wasn’t quite as fat. My missus stitched it on a jacket so I could be cool and ‘down with the scene‘. I’ll sort one out for you tho, I’ll have to print some up. They look the shit, we were always better at merch than music; style over substance every time.

Thanks! Now, can you give Charlotte my number? Cos I totally would.

Yeah her boyfriend doesn’t look too tough, but he could be a grow-er not a show-er and spark me out. Worth a try though, in for a penny…

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