Mazes

On tour with Veronica Falls Pt2 Follow Jack on Instagram and...

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:21:00 -0400

On tour with Veronica Falls Pt2

Follow Jack on Instagram and Conan on Instagram

On tour with Veronica Falls Part 1

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:14:34 -0400

On tour with Veronica Falls Part 1

EUROPE

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:15:00 -0400

So we’re heading out on tour tomorrow to mainland Europe with some of the nicest people around; Veronica Falls. We have a couple of our own shows at the very end as well. If you have any friends in the towns below, let them know, maybe we can hook them up. Always open to recommendations as well… vegetarian food, good bars, karaoke spots, book shops, record shops etc etc. mazesmazesmazes at gmail dot com

See you soon!

24TH APRIL 2013
La Piniche w/Veronica Falls
Lille FR

25TH APRIL 2013
Nouveau Casino w/Veronica Falls
Paris FR

26TH APRIL 2013
Noumatrouff w/Veronica Falls
Mullhouse FR

27TH APRIL 2013
Le Sonic w/Veronica Falls
Lyon FR

28TH APRIL 2013
Bad Bonn w/Veronica Falls
Dudingen SZ

30TH APRIL 2013
Mascotte w/Veronica Falls
Zurich SZ

2ND MAY 2013
Arena w/Veronica Falls
Vienna AU

3RD MAY 2013
Orangehouse w/Veronica Falls
Munich DL

4TH MAY 2013
Merlin w/Veronica Falls
Stuttgart DL

5TH MAY 2013
Beatpol w/Veronica Falls
Dresden DL

6TH MAY 2013
Festsaal w/Veronica Falls
Berlin DL

7TH MAY 2013
Roter Salon w/Veronica Falls
Kiel DL

8TH MAY 2013
Molotow w/Veronica Falls
Hamburg DL

10TH MAY 2013
Ekko
Utrecht NL

11th MAY 2013
013
Tilburg NL

By Tsouni (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohmissmoss/)

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:25:01 -0400

By Tsouni (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohmissmoss/)

LET THE DEAD IN...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:36:00 -0400

(above: Greg Ginn/Black Flag)

To any Americans reading this or anyone who gets it, me writing something about Grateful Dead, something that’s trying to draw attention to them, will probably seem superfluous. They’re a massive band, they’ve sold tens of millions of records and were undoubtedly the biggest live draw in the world for a long long time. But, growing up in England, even among friends who were into psychedelic music and the counter culture, I was alone in liking the Dead. And for my teenage years, that was it – I liked them. The early recordings had enough in common with bands like 13th Floor Elevators and Quicksilver for me to respond to it but the natural cynicism I had as a teenage reacted badly to the Dead’s polarized hippiness.

As a teenager, my family visited America a lot – every year. Most of my Dad’s family emigrated to the US at some point between the fifties and eighties. My holidays there were amazing but I left every summer with an all consuming sense of injustice at the seemingly idyllic lives my cousins lived. My days in Blackpool were school and then in the evenings I watched TV. That was pretty much it. My cousins made music in their garages with friends, fished and went to the beach. I was jealous. I’d cry. Around the age of 13 I began to immerse myself in American music from the sixties. My first CD was a Beach Boys compilation that my mum had bought me and I’d listen to it every single night on my headphones, under my sheets… I’d dream of being true to my school and the girls on the beach. Through The Stone Roses and reading their interviews I discovered things like Love and The Byrds’ Notorious Byrds Brothers. I was hooked and each night I’d transcend my bedroom and I’d be on the west coast of America… The incredibly visceral and visual feel to that music, the hum and haze of it made it easy.

Being into The Byrds can lead you down an incredible musical path… the vast majority of records that sprouted from that band are wonderful. From CSNY and my Mum’s copy of Deja Vu I found Neil Young and then eventually Grateful Dead… As I said earlier, I liked them. I’d liked them for a while. Their first record was very accessible for a Jefferson Airplane fan. As my early teenage cynicism disappeared and a new found optimism set in… an openness… something clicked with the Dead and in particular American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead. To me, the unguarded joyful life that bleeds from those records was completely captivating… I pored over them… they thrilled me. Lyrically, it was hard to relate to the majority of it… tales of hustles, mining and fast women. I wanted to, though. I still listen to one of these records every week. They’re perfect.

Consuming the Dead as I did made me love them all the more… patchy, chaotic, inconsistent, hypocritical, beautiful and ugly… all human life was here. And then as punk and DIY music set in during my late teens, the Dead seemed to sit perfectly… the first punk band, DIY to the end - a cottage industry. Their ethics don’t sit too far away from a band like Fugazi.

So I made this podcast for you to listen to… the Dead’s later stuff and the Dick’s Picks bootleg series are minefields… but the Dead can be hokey and transcendent during one song… traditional 12-bar structures will morph into beautiful freedom and you won’t have even noticed. Sickly sweet and then mean as fuck… They’re having your heart broken and falling in love. The ultimate American band in every way. I hope this is an interesting introduction. Peace on you! jack

1. The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion (The Grateful Dead)

2. Cumberland Blues (Europe ‘72)

3. Excerpt from Phil Lesh’s ‘Searching For The Sound’

4. Don’t Ease Me In (Dick’s Picks Vol. 8)

5. St. Stephen (Aoxomoxoa)

6. Dire Wolf (Workingman’s Dead)

7. Born Cross Eyed (Anthem Of The Sun)

8. China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider (Europe ‘72)

9. Excerpt from Phil Lesh’s ‘Searching For The Sound’

10. Box Of Rain (American Beauty)

http://www.mediafire.com/?nn2b7i4fi74hnq4

PS: If you like this, please pass it on and more than anything - buy the records.

Conan shot this footage at the Vision Fortune album launch on...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:19:00 -0400

Conan shot this footage at the Vision Fortune album launch on Saturday

I like music. It’s a great thing but nowadays we’re bombarded with music and it’s various satellites relentlessly. Promotion is at fever pitch. Billboards advertise sold out shows in 150 capacity venues… bands boast and fib their way around Twitter… one upping each other, humble bragging themselves into comas… everyone’s at it.

There’s a lot of great British bands around at the moment but the best of them aren’t necessarily shouting. Vision Fortune are one of them… Cerebral, pretentious, grandiose and hypnotic…A firm grasp of rhythm and it’s currency… devil may care when it comes to hooks - striding down the tightrope.

Their album out on Faux Discs/Gringo is a killer, by no means the finished product and the sleeve is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever seen. Jack

BUY

feelinggooey: rainforest room at london zoo

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:08:20 -0400

feelinggooey:

rainforest room at london zoo

MORE SHOWS

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:05:04 -0400

We have a few more shows to announce over the next few months starting with one in Reading for Record Store Day on 20th April, a headline show in Utrecht Holland at the end of our tour with Veronica Falls and The Great Escape in Brighton. Fans in Amsterdam and London should also keep their eyes peeled over the next couple of days. Cool.

20th April // Reading UK // Oakford Social Club // FREE - Info

10th May // Utrecht NL // Ekko // Info

18th May // Brighton UK // The Great Escape // Info

BUY DIRECT FROM US!

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:16:20 -0400

You can buy tees, CDs, LPs and tote bags direct from the band at http://mazes.bigcartel.com/ it’s easy

We kick back into life in a few weeks with a run of shows in...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:35:16 -0400

We kick back into life in a few weeks with a run of shows in western Europe with Veronica Falls. The dates are above and over there —» If you go on ‘Google’ and type in the town you want, the date and the two bands, you should find a ticket link. As ever we’re completely open to playing instores, DJing or house parties, so get in touch.

Fun week with house guests PQC… Like being on tour without...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:39:00 -0400

Fun week with house guests PQC… Like being on tour without playing

AUSTIN'S CASTING COUCH...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:21:23 -0400

Our friend Austin is making a video… “Casting call for couples of all ages to be in the new Mazes music video. You will need to be able to sit still for long periods of time. Shooting will take place evenings/weekends early April in London. Please send a photo to austincharleswilliams at gmail dot com”

altsounds: Review & Photos: Mazes @ Birthdays, London...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:04:04 -0400

altsounds:

Review & Photos: Mazes @ Birthdays, London [Live]

28th February, Birthdays London

mmmsimpsons: Lenny drunk.

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:46:02 -0500

mmmsimpsons:

Lenny drunk.

Here’s our second session for Marc Riley that we recorded...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:06:59 -0500

Here’s our second session for Marc Riley that we recorded a couple of weeks ago whilst on tour. Do it

we-are-samizdat:

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:44:38 -0500

we-are-samizdat:

Broken down… Iain from Novella’s broken...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:36:49 -0500

Broken down… Iain from Novella’s broken van… Leeds haircut selfie… Tone… Conan at the BBC… TM… Sleaze… Best venue on earth… Best litte friend Astrid… Product

THANKS!

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:28:46 -0500

Thank you to everyone who bought the record and made the effort to come out to see us on our recent tour… the turn outs were generally insane… the best shows we’ve done. After the London show, I felt as good as I did after playing Blackpool’s West Coast Rock Cafe for the first time aged 17… so thanks for giving so much back London. The record’s out and is doing well… you can see reviews and stuff online but it’s much better to make up your own mind. It all feels a little anti-climactic now Conan’s gone on holiday to the states and we’re quiet for a month or so but we’ll be back in April with a substantial tour with our old buddies from Veronica Falls and we haven’t ruled out a third US tour. But yeah, it feels great to have put out a record we’d all listen to at home and for a lot of people to be digging it. Jack x

Photo

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:55:52 -0500

TOUR!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:00:38 -0500

Heading out on tour this week. You can see all the dates over there »»> We’re going to be doing a few sessions along the way starting with one for 6Music and Marc Riley on Tuesday night at 7pm… our first show follows that at The Soup Kitchen in Manchester. We have the new record on vinyl and CD, the last one on vinyl and CD, two new t-shirts and a handful of rare stuff we’ve dug up. Oh and a ton of tote bags.

Here’s links to facebook events where you can get venue info and ticket links etc. Manchester, York, Glasgow, Liverpool, Dublin, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, London