GBH/KRUM BUMS

CITY BABY'S RETURN...
Britain's G.B.H. finds their way back to the States

Grievous Bodily Harm: (UK Law) serious physical injury, or the fact of causing such injury.

In the streets of Birmingham, four blokes came together in 1979 during the punk explosion in England to form one of the most influential bands in the scene's movement. Originally started for "fun and merely something to do," it became their way of expressing rebellious individuality, unwavering nonconformity, and disgust towards the system around them. Now after an almost thirty-year run, the band in which they were satisfied in just playing their local pub, has taken them around the world numerous times and produced nine studio albums along with countless other releases.

G.B.H. is one of the pioneer bands of the hardcore street punk movement and is kicking off their U.S. tour in Florida. Begun in those early days by the core trio of Colin "Col" Abrahall on vocals, Ross Lomas on bass, and Colin "Jock" Blyth on guitar, G.B.H. percussion is now pounded out by their fourth drummer since inception, Scott Preece, a former member of Bomb Disneyland.
Col professed that people who have gravitated to the punk and hardcore scenes over the past three decades have found their ways by different means. In an interview with underground critic Mark Prindle, he explained how as much as people's ideals vary, the root beliefs of the movement still remain the same.

"My definiton of punk would not be the same as anyone else's 'cos in my opinion it's different for everyone," he said. "But sure, there would be points on which everyone agreed. I think it's a mixture of political and social issues as well as love for good, honest music."

In the fledgling days of punk's evolution in England, G.B.H. stood out from most other bands with a blistering, unrelenting sound. Like many of the bands of the day, such as the Exploited, Broken Bones, and Discharge, they were focused on sociopolitical commentary, but they did it faster, heavier, and harder, as shown on their two groundbreaking, hardcore-defining releases: "City Baby Attacked by Rats" and "City Baby's Revenge."

"Lyrically, I try to paint a picture of what's going on in my head in a way that another person can understand," said Col. "I also like double meanings, and if I can get some cheesy rhymes in too, all the better."
Col said his inspiration didn't come from traditional sources, classical training, nor popular music, but moreover what was going on in the streets, in the pubs, outside people's doors and windows, and in London in general.

"I didn't have much interest in any kind of music before punk," he said. "But as soon as I heard the early stuff on the radio by the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, I was hooked and had to find out as much as I could about it."

G.B.H. will be hitting the road with Austin's Krum Bums in tow. The Bums have been together since 2000 and guitarist Trae Dog says their roots come from a similar background of adversity and disgust with what was going on around them.

“David Tejas, our lead singer, and I met at the local community college,” Trae Dog said. “We would go to shows and just be disgusted with the scene here at the time. Not enough debauchery and attitude for us, so we started our own band.”

Trae Dog said the band is excited to be touring with the veterans in GBH, but this won’t be their first time with the guys from Birmingham.

“We played with them once a few years ago here in Austin with Poison Idea and Verbal Abuse,” he said. “Yeah, that was one hell of a show. It was someone’s bright idea to put us on after all those bands. I’m not fucking kidding. It actually turned out all right though. I think people were so wasted and pumped up from the other bands it didn’t matter who played.”

The Krum Bums just finished a six-song EP called S.O.S., which is coming out on TKO Records. Trae Dog says their working on a full length which will be out next summer. He encourages all the punk maniacs to come hit the show when it comes to a city near them.

“There’s free beer!” he screamed. “Just kidding, slow down. Come out though. Don’t be lazy. GBH never comes around and who knows when again. Whole Wheat Bread is bad ass and Dave Krum Bum said that he will play in a thong if enough people show up. Help us, help you!”