From the mind of..

So as per tradition here is my official Wrestlemania 34 Review. Match by match I will give my opinions (for whatever they're worth), remember though, this is strictly my opinion and nothing more. With that, let us begin.. Pre-Show: We descend upon the Superdome and are greeted with the 5th annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal . As per usual, the poor unfortunate ones who haven't found themselves in a featured match on the card, begin slowly filling up the ring. The Battle Royal has always felt somewhat like an anticlimactic event, the winner gets a trophy but doesn't gain much else from the win. Being honest I wasn't bothered too much by who would win. Sad really. HOWEVER.. What actually transpired was something 'wonderful'. A highlight of sorts came from 'Woken' Matt Hardy bumping into Tye Dillinger and comically exclaiming 'Who are you?' before Tye showed him '10' and the crowd chanted, which in turn led to Matt ...

Its funny how the past still influences the future, and in that vein its safe to say it's funny how my past musical loves can influence me still today. Anyone who knows me will attest that I have been a pop punk fan since they first met me, be it a year ago or 20 years ago. Back in the summer of 2006 I discovered an EP entitled 'Talk is Cheap', it was released through Drive Thru Records (a label that housed some of my favourite bands) and was by a singer songwriter called Dave Melillo. The EP was an enriched blend of acoustic guitar and piano laden melodies, all drenching a mix of forlorn and optimistic lyrics. The reason the EP stuck with me was simply because the songs are so accessable, especially as lyrically its easy to relate to everything Dave sang. Comparisons will be made to the likes of Dashboard Confessional or The Rocket Summer, and whilst the acoustic singer songwriter aspect is the same, Dave very much has his own voice and take on the genre. One las...

So as usual I'm doing my year in review summery. 2017 has been an interesting year for me, in terms of growth, challenges and learning more about myself. Its been a year that at times has been difficult, but I feel like the things have been difficult in order to provide me with a stronger outlook and resolve heading into 2018. Life does have a interesting way of balancing itself, although bad happens eventually good will always rise up to equal it. I've met some amazing new people this year too. People that although I haven't known long, I am very grateful for their presence in my life. I feel very happy to have each and every person who has spent time with me or talking to me this year. You all know who you are and we all have great times to come. I broke straight edge after 10 years, something that was a big thing for me, an evolution of sorts. I've also added more tattoos to my body, which will continue next year too I have taken in some amazing gigs thi...

My spotlight series returns, this time to introduce you to one of UK's brightest new stars, Candyfloss. Candyfloss is one of my favourite new talents here in the UK. The London native is a regular on the UK independent scene, plying her trade up and down the country and making new fans wherever she goes. Debuting a mere year ago, she has grown in leaps and bounds already having great showings against Dahlia Black, Jinny and Little Miss Roxxy. By all means don't let her happy go lucky attitude and sweet name fool you, this girl can go in the ring, happily mixing up her style to utilise high flying, solid ground work or her Candy Cane cross arm breaker submission. Candyfloss was trained through one of the UK's finest companies, PROGRESS, whom she also works for. Her time at the ProJo shows, she is excelling rapidly and is turning more than a few heads and I think that international talent will start to look to Candyfloss for matches shortly. At a time where womens w...

[The following review may contain spoilers] So reviewing a film is difficult, gush and risk overdoing it, but under do it and it leads to indifference. Let me start this review by saying, IT is absolutely 100% fantastic. Currently for me, my film of the year. Growing up, my mum read a lot of Stephen King books, and so I found the book IT at a younger age. Upon reading i was immersed in this dark cloud covered Derry community, plagued by a recurring shapeshifting nightmare. The book became one of my favourites. This however lead to a problem, the miniseries version of IT starring Tim Curry.. I didn't like it at all. Although Tim Curry and Co did a great job with the tools at their disposal, this version did not fit with the Derry and Pennywise I had in my head. Skip forward to 2017 and welcome to Derry, Maine.. A picture esque quaint town with a terrible millenia old evil living benethe it. Director Andy Muschietti breathes new life into a horror classic creating somethi...

It's that time, yes another of my introducing series, this time welcome South Jersey/Philadelphia 3-piece Goalkeeper. Summer is the apt time for pop punk, the hot days, a cold beer as you gather to hang out with friends, and that time always requires a soundtrack to accompany it, say hello to Goalkeeper. With a sound that blends 'Blue Skies..' era Ataris, with 'Enema of the State' era Blink 182, the band are very energetic, and lazy comparisons from me aside they are great song writers in there own right. Their latest single 'Pong Partners' is a slice of killer pop punk, upbeat, great chorus, crunchy guitars and melodic gruff vocals. The band have been together a relatively short amount of time but already have an EP 'Gut Feeling' doing the rounds, and being very well received. Goalkeeper have also been plying their trade live, gigging regularly and playing with some awesome bands including one of my favs Eternal Boy. I personally cannot wa...

Here is my track by track review of Neck Deep's latest album 'The Peace and The Panic' Motion Sickness What an excellent opener, a quick choppy pop punk song that welcomes the listener with open arms. It conveys a chest pounding salute to the familiar fans and newcomers alike. Bags of charm and character in this track, it builds up well and has an infectious quality to it. Will certainly remain on my playlist and I cant wait to feel its energy in a live setting. Sample Lyric: 'He said life is the great unknown, Better jump, better run and...' Happy Judgement Day One of the first tracks showcased from the album by the band, easy to see why, compliments of huge truly anthemic chorus. Its a fantastic song to prove that Neck Deep are writing songs that not only sound great but fill the bigger venues they're now playing. An awesome key change on the final chorus will remind anyone why they love pop punk. An instant live classic that will be a welcome par...

Place your hand over your heart, and repeat after me.. I believe in melody, I believe in energy, I believe in pop punk. I am a man who is nearly 32 years old, and I do believe in melody and energy and its why I love pop punk. Some bands have this innate ability to make you flashback to moments in life. Woes are one of those bands. The Scottish quartet have invaded my ears and my mind over these past few months and in doing so, have used there slick powerful pop punk to remind me of lost summers with my friends. Those endless summers of pop punk and Drive-Thru Records, where we chased *unsuccessfully* girls, partied, talked to early hours, made mistakes but more importantly made memories. Woes have that killer throwback quality, but sound as relevent and new as other amazing bands like Wstr or Neck Deep. The band are super DIY too, interacting with their fans, handling production and recording duties aswell as writing huge songs like 'Worst Friend' and 'Be Alone...

So I wanted to write about something else personal to me. For most who know me, they will have known that for the last 10 years or so, I have been straight edge. For people who don't know what that means, basically straight edge is a practice originally started by the hardcore punk scene that sees purveyors abstain from drinking, smoking or drug use, in its most basic form. I was straight edge for quite a long time, up until recently, when I decided to break my edge and partake in alcohol. It has not been something I've taken lightly, I'd built a large chunk of my adult life on being straight edge and living clean. I realised just recently though that you can remain who you want to be, regardless of whether you subscribe to a lifestyle or not. Personally I was never the biggest drinker and probably never will be, truth is though that you do miss out on many social interactions and experiences by somewhat standing on the sidelines. My brother was particularly h...

Do you ever feel empty? I do. Do you ever laugh and joke with room full of people, yet inside you're screaming for help? I do. Depression is something i've battled with since my mid teens, and when I say battled, I do mean battled. No matter how often I slay the beast, it comes back.. sometimes larger than before. It's an awful thing, to be scared of your own thought process, there will of course be those who know this side of me, some however will find these truths shocking. I've been dragged to the edge and back again, had moments I regret and moments that help define me as a person, but every single day I wake up and try to adjust my focus to get on with my day as best I can. I forever play the clown, the good friend, the recounter of many stories, the sentimental guy, the music guy and although they are all parts of me, they sometimes mask how I'm really feeling. I've forever had an outsider complex, never truely feeling like I'd found my place in...

The title of this one is fairly self explainatory, but I will tell you exactly what the title means. During our life we become exposed to all kinds of music, some of us avid fans, some not so much. We hear thousands upon thousands of songs and yet, some songs become special, synonymous with people, places or events in our lives. I am going to break down the amount of sentimental songs I love into just 10, no particular order, just 10 songs that for one reason or another have changed my life. Strap in, lets begin.. 1) Green Day - '2000 Light Years Away' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0KlnDwNqIp8 Anyone that knows me knows I am a huge pop punk/punk rock fan. Obviously there needed to be an origin point and as best I recall this was it. 6 or 7 years old and given a cassette tape *google it if you are too young to know what that is lol* of Green Day's Kerplunk album, the opening track literally grabbed me and refused to let go, '2000 Light Years Away'. I fe...

Caught Live: There Is No Dana @ Chinnerys, Southend, 05/05/17 Chinnerys is a venue local to me, I've been there hundreds of times, seen some amazing bands and this particular time was no different. Essex 4 piece There Is No Dana are a pop punk band, they are energetic, slick and with 3 capable vocalists who unite to provide us with soaring 3 way harmonies, they sit somewhere style-wise between Midtown and The Starting Line. Now we all know pop punk is a lost art here in the UK, bands like There Is No Dana reaffirm my faith in that we in the UK can provide amazing sun laden melody rich bands. From their excellent Ghostbusters led intro soundbite (Bill Murray pleading with Sigourney Weaver 'I'd like to speak to Dana' met with 'There is no Dana'...genius) leading into high octane opener 'Song 8'. There Is No Dana are the kind of pop punk band that remind me of summers past, when I spent my time hanging out with my friends, chasing girls we'd ...

The next edition of my spotlight series and I prepare to tread on hallowed ground, by writing about one of the members of THE wrestling dynasty here in the UK, The Knights. Now let me precursor this by saying the Knight family rightly have full respect of professional wrestling, from the heads of the family Ricky Knight (Wrestler and Owner of WAW) and Sweet Saraya Knight (Wrestler and Owner of Bellatrix) to their children Roy and Zak (The Hooligans) and Paige (former NXT/WWE Womens Champion). I could and should spend hours gushing and paying tribute to each of these individual talents, however today im looking at the future.. the 3rd generation, I present the outstanding Ricky Knight jr. Lets just start by saying that RKJ is 17 years old, but at 17 and he already had a wealth of knowledge and experience, he constantly performs at an incredible level and is without doubt one of the future stars of the UK wrestling scene. Having been watching him perform over the last year, I mu...

My spotlight series continues and its current subject may be one of the best kept secrets in UK wrestling. I present to you all Alexander Roth. In the UK scene it can be difficult to stand out, sometimes being a great wrestler is all well and good but if you dont carry yourself correctly you wont get over. Roth is a hell of an in ring talent mixing brawling, technical prowess and aerial skills, but more important is Roth's charisma, and he has it spilling over. 'The Wolf of Brawl Street' has been tearing it up all over the UK and has begun venturing into europe. Personally I was a fan after the first match I watched him compete in. Roth has the ability to adapt to his opponants style and excel, having also performed in various last man standing and ladder matches. Each time coming up with unique and innovative attacks, as well as his usual arsenal, which includes his fantastic Nightfall DDT. Having watched him in the ring I can attest to being impressed with th...

My Spotlight series continues, this time, Nixon Newell. I want to begin by saying, just simply, Nixon Newell is fucking awesome. Let me elaborate a little, Nixon is a welsh girl who is an amazing wrestler, persistantly putting on excellent matches and gaining an ever growing fan base.. and rightly so. I am a huge fan of Nixon, she has impressed me massively, I'd go so far as to say that she is my favourite female worker in the entire industry today. To my knowledge Nixon has been competing for 3-4 years and already has a wealth of experience, crossing paths with many of the top female names in wrestling, notable opponants include current Impact Knockouts Champion Rosemary, Candice LeRae and Kimber Lee. She has also teamed with and fought many male wrestlers too including Pete Dunne, El Ligero, Mark Andrews and WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate. Personally I recommend you check her (forever) fued with Chris Brookes out, its utterly fantastic. Nixon currently employs a front flip p...

Spotlight: CCK Im an advocate for british wrestling. I love wrestling in general, but am especially proud of our home grown talent. Now UK wrestling is steeped in tradition from the days of Les Kellett and Mark 'Rollerball' Rocco to The British Bulldogs, Robbie Brookside and William Regal, we have a proud history of producing some amazing workers. With all due respect to those that competed, the WWE UK tournament didnt show the vastness of what we have, and while the guys involved have rightly used it to springboard themselves, I want to talk about the unsung, unknown or upcoming UK talents. Today you get 3 for 1 as I spotlight a tag team (s) - CCK Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos and Travis Banks. I will start simply by saying I love this group, they are innovative and exciting and could break out to much bigger things in 2017, but what they also possess is the ability to be likable, whether portraying heels or not, and that is impressive. I first encountered Chris Brookes...

The first of my new live reviews begins down in New Cross, London. Essex based rock band Different People are playing tonight and I intended to tell you all how they did. Firstly let me say that Different People aren't just a rock band, they play music that is rocky sure, but its a lazy classification. They blend rock with a punk spirit, heavier moments akin to the early 90's grunge scene and with massive soaring melodies, so in a word they traverse genres. The band, who are playing their first proper gig with this new line up, take to the stage and without hesitation delve straight into their opening song and the crowd are sucked in immediately. Frontman Matthew switches his vocals from strong and melodius to harsh and screams and shouts blending the latter effortlessly into the bands mixed repertoire. The band are incredibly tight across the board, killer riffs, strong basslines and pounding drums. The stand out moments come in the form of forthcoming single 'Best Be...