Winning Sperm Party Xmas Downloads

WSP goes from strength to strength - as well as having a recent website overhaul, they've just put out a new batch of releases as a Christmas gift to the public. There are 5 releases by 6 bands, repping the best in underground art-rock from the Glasgow scene, including FUCKNO act Blue Sabbath Black Fiji. Also featured are Triple School, North American War, Phat Trophies, Gropetown and the amazingly named Pro Life. Here they are:



Blue Sabbath Black Fifi "French Cuisine" EP



North American War "Me And MY GI Joes" EP



Pro Life "Pro Life" EP




Triple School "Triple Sick" EP




Gropetown / Phat Trophies split tape

Cry Parrot Minterview & Compilation #3

Local DIY gig promoting legends Cry Parrot have just released their third compilaiton album through Winning Sperm Party (more on that below). I thought that would be a good excuse to send main Parrot Mr Fielding Hope our usual set of 10 questions to get his chops aboot.




What made you start putting on gigs?

I got really into the whole thing after seeing loads of my friends bands being exploited by promoters. Seeing them sell 20-30 tickets, play in front of no one then not being paid a penny totally broke my heart. People like Nuts and Seeds and This Is Our Battlefield really inspired me to cut the crap and refuse to put up with all the bullshit that was - and still is - going on.

I always thought of it as quite a rewarding thing, too. The idea that you can support music that you love was always an appealing idea to me.

"Cry Parrot" - how did you come up with the name?

It was my good friend Ewan - who used to be involved in Cry Parrot - who came up with it. I think it had some really deep meaning at the time, but i've completely forgotten. Whats quite funny now is realizing its uncanny similarity to 70's Scottish cult band 'Chou Pahrot'.

Pieces of eight or would you rather have a cracker?

Piece of eight as in CHOCOLATE pieces of eight? If so, pieces of eight...

What's the best gig you've put on so far?

Theres quite a lot that are really memorable: Sic Alps playing in front of the biggest, most enthusiastic crowd ever at the Glasgow Social Centre, the first New Year fest (Ultimate Thrush's first ever gig) or the time when O'Henrys were threatening to call the police during a Action Beat / Destructo Swarmbots / Vars of Litchi & Remember Remember gig. I've loved all our gigs this year, too.

And the worst (come on be honest!)?

Haha, theres a few that come to mind, but i'd say Tickley Feather at the V Club sticks out. None of the venue monitors were working and most of the band's equipment was fucking up really bad. I think it was received in good spirit by the crowd, but jeez - embarrassing stuff.

Anyone you'd like to put on you haven't?

I think i've been really lucky that most of the smaller acts I love i've been able to put on. Because Cry Parrot is independent or 'DIY', we get offered acts of a specific size and commercial outlook, while bigger promoters deal with everyone else. Right now i'd love to organize a gig for Oneohtrix Point Never, Lucky Dragons or Forest Swords.

BBC 4 or Radio 4?

I'm not much of a radio or TV man to be honest! Pretty sure i've seen some good programmes on BBC 4 but my mind fails me.

How did the albums come about?

Winning Sperm Party is such a perfect platform for new, independent music, so it just made sense. I think its helped a lot in giving people a taster of our nights and some music they might have not heard before.

What have you got coming up in the next few months?

Loads! Full listings can be seen at www.cryparrot.co.uk. Really chuffed we got Grouper, who I absolutely love. It'll be great having The Ex, Sun Araw and Gary War back, too.

Megan Fox or Optimus Prime?

100% Optimus Prime. Megan Fox can git tay.


And there you have it - proof that Fielding is more attracted to robots than he is to human beings. Of course, there is an ulterior motive to this interview, and that of course is to pimp the latest Cry Parrot compilation. Featuring 14 acts who have all played at CP at some point, the album is available as a free download from Winning Sperm Party, at this address: http://winningspermparty.com/node/759

And if our recomendation is not enough, have a look at the very impressive tracklist:

1. Adam Stafford - Shot Down You Summer Wannebees
2. Prayer Rug - A Ritual
3. Gummy Stumps - Gumbo
4. Small Scale Collisions - Goodbye To All That
5. Fur Hood - Know The Letter Know The Language
6. Galoshins - Sprayed with Blood
7. Ben Butler & Mousepad - Avocado Dream Triangle
8. Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Contact High
9. Ultimate Thrush - Ladyfingers
10. Wounded Knee - Oatcakes Oatcakes
11. Streets of Rage - Paris
12. Tangles - Sunday (afternoon)
13. Cheer - Memory Circle
14. Eternal Fags - Street Juice

So what you waiting for?

Blood Of The Bull Minterview

We have featured Blood Of The Bull on both the FUCKNO album and EP, and talked about their debut EP on Winning Sperm Party before. Information on the band has been scarce though, so we've got chief Bull Hillary to answer some questions picked from our random generator.

Who or what is BotB?

Blood of the Bull is me and my very good pal Rory McIntyre. I play guitar and things with keys. Rory plays drums and guitar sometimes. 

"Blood Of The Bull" - explain your name...

I can't do that. I'd have to kill you. 

Do you wear leather shoes?

I have 1 pair. I bought them in France because they looked like something Scott Walker would have had in 1966. Other than that, not really. And they so didn't make me look like Scott Walker.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Elliott Smith (we liked him way before he was deceased) I 'spose, Mary Timony/Helium; I really love Broadcast as well. And the person I mentioned in the previous question.

Any releases in the pipeline?

Wait for Early 2011. We're both putting a lot of time into other bands at the moment. When it happens it'll very likely be on the winning sperm party site...

How's Divorce going?

Good, good. They were all here in the room with me about 45 minutes ago. I'm not shitting you. We're on tour in September. We're all still as ugly and unwashed as you remember us. 

How does BotB differ from your other bands?

Well, none of them share the same members.  Phat Trophies is carnival/funeral music, Divorce sounds like a divorce. If BotB sounded like a divorce at a funeral that would be really exciting but I don't think we do...

If you could be in any band in the history of music, who would it be?

I would be in Scott Walker. 

Have you seen "Matador"?

Is that a film? *

Have you ever thought of joining PETA?

I dunno. What would Scott Walker do?

[* Ed's Note: Matador is 1986 film by Spanish auteur Pedro Almodover, a pitch black comedy about people who find death sexy, and who fight bulls for a living. It's fucked up and awesome.]

Good Gig Tonight

If you're in Glasgow tonight and looking for something to do, this gig should be great:



Winning Sperm Party presents Guilty Parents, Blood Of The Bull and Streets of Rage.

Countdown to FUCKNO Part 15 WEENLIZ

Typical Weenliz live carnage - photo by Follow The Waves.

Weenliz don't exist anymore, but in their short and glittering career they brought Glasgow's music scene to a stand still. After Tayside Mental Health, they are perhaps THE Norave band, but don't tell them that or their heads will swell. Legend has it that they were banned from every live venue in Glasgow. This may have had to do with Willy the singer's attempts to kiss male audience members (bearing in mind he's about 6' 3 and built like a brick shithouse) or it may have been down to their abrasive, improvised sound. Either way they rocked. I still remember playing with them at Head Surgery when they did a set that consisted of screaming, playing a bass with a knife and sounds from a Kaoscilator. At the end of the set I realised that me, them and the promoters were the only people left in the building. ROCK AND FUCKING ROLL BABY.

Weenliz only made one record, which is available as a free download from the mighty Winning Sperm Party, and we have been waiting for about two years to get their live recordings from the Halt Bar Hijack to release. It will probably never happen. But in the name of FUCKNO, Weenliz we salute you!

Countdown to FUCKNO: Part 14 Blood of The Bull

We've blogged about Blood of the Bull once before, and just to recap, Divorce guitarist Hillary Vanscoy makes alt-rock darkness that's so beautiful.

I just came across a review I never got round to publishing previously of her EP Four Small Bodies (Winning Sperm Party) so thought I'd post it as part of the lead up. If you dig, go check the Winning Sperm Party site out and stick around for her contribution to FUCKNO at the end of the month.

Blood of the Bull - Four Small Bodies.

Lofi recordings, mini-albums, seriously dark music. These are all things that have little place within the commercial distribution sphere, and coincidentally, they’re also three of the main characteristics of the Winning Sperm Party ‘net label / music blog‘s releases. In the past, we’ve been given Ultimate Thrush’s 16 minute, ten track album, Weenliz’ home-recorded, circuit-bending noise-core, and Plaaydoh. ‘Nuff Said.

Their latest release, Blood of the Bull’s “Four Small Bodies” is a raw and introspective lost highway into the mind of Divorce guitarist Hillary VanScoy. Basically, it’s everything you‘d expect not to sell; Slow-grinding, alt-rock headfucks combined with a dark lyrical bent, sludgy riffs and serial-killer atmospherics. For those who don’t know Divorce; Ten-tons-heavy NoWave punk, tight as fuck, lyrically brutal, signed to Optimo, lethal live. Blood of the Bull kicks off with Flick, a lofi grinder that combines super fuzzed guitars, vocals tenuously circling melody and a stooges-esque raw drum sound. Repeating this incessantly would get boring, but two more of the same sit comfortably and are potent enough to keep the listener interested.

It’s the final track, Be Mine, that really kicks in though; it’s slow-grinding, minor key, and as dark as it’s precursors. The off-time, spoken word vocals drag the listener in though, slowly recounting a partner waking up and describing his dream. It’s as deep or as meaningless as whatever you choose to invest in it, but the melody and drive make for compelling listening.

It’s not a world-shattering EP, but to contextualise the brutality of Divorce, or simply to give you something to trip to in the dark hours, Four Small Bodies’ well worth the bandwidth.