A very observant man from Watford...

Dear Scratchers,

Here's an interview Andy conducted with Neil Skinner of The Watford Observer just before Christmas.

The Scratch - an itch you just can't...scratch

5:46pm Thursday 29th January 2009"Independent and unrepentant”- a more succinct introduction to St Albans act The Scratch you’d struggle to find.

Formed some seven years ago the lads have, by the standard of most
comparable acts, enjoyed huge success: releasing two studio albums,
clocking up hours of national radio play and appearing alongside the
likes of the Charlatans and Paul Weller – nice work if you can get it.

So why aren’t they better known? Why hadn’t they crossed my radar until some kind soul had a word in my ear?

“Good question,” replies jovial front man Andy Thomson “I wish I knew.”

Allow me, then, to fill in the blanks. Formed by a group of
“middlingly successful" but disillusioned musicians in the early
naughties The Scratch are an irresistibly catchy punk/pop outfit with a
growing fan base across the UK.

In 2007 they played in front of more than 20,000 people at the MEN
Arena after winning an XFM backed competition to support a charity gig
supported by a veritable who’s who of the Brit Pop scene.

Other notable festival slots have seen them appear at the Tony
Wilson memorial In the City gig, and alongside idols the Buzzcocks in
the muddy fields of Dorset.

Blending raw Buzzcocks era punk with edgier, catchier influences
such as TRex and (even) Adam and the Ants, the guys are planning (and
may have the talent for) national recognition but, for the time being
at least, are happy to keep doing what their doing.

Chatting after the much anticipated lauch of new single Against the
Grain Andy reflected on past achievements and spoke philosophically
about the uture.

“We’re a group of guys of a certain age,” he adds, craftily dodging the routine ‘who old are you’ question with aplomb.

“We take our influences from the 90s and even earlier so, yes, we
sound a lot different to a lot of the younger acts out there.

“We’ve had what you could call a career spike in some of the bigger gigs we played but we don’t see it as a bad thing.

“We didn’t set out on a quest for world domination – we are just a
group of guys who love music; it’s so much a part of our lives that we
could never leave it behind.

“If there’s even one person that gets what we’re doing then that’s great by us.”

It’s an attitude in keeping with the band’s “DIY until we die” ethos.

Never wishing to be dictated to, their albums to date, Night Bus
and the Milk Train (2006) and DIY (2004), have been released on their
own label Pony Land.

“Like I say – we’re happy doing what we’re doing,” adds Andy. We
don’t want to be lectured; to be told what to wear, what to say, and
what tracks to release. We can only be who we are.”

Here here.

The guys won’t be back in St Albans until late March.

I advise, however, that you check out thescratch.co.uk in the meantime. Fill your ears and open your minds.
Big Thanks Neil
x

Whittaker debut at 'secret' show!

Dear Scratchers,

The rumours that have echoed the halls of Scratch towers and reverberated incessantly through the entire music industry since Christmas came to a raucous clarity on Sunday night at a 'secret' Scratch gig at St.Albans Bar 62... where the band 'rockin' rolled out it's famous 24 track set, to a joyous leaping throng of party goers!!! Resplendent in 1980's Grange Hill uniform the boy Whittaker slashed/yelped and mockneyed his way through (including a 2 hour rehearsal) 4 hours of big Scratch power!!! to firmly stamp his diminutive mark on the band, raising temperatures and lowering the average age by well over half! Welcome to the Whitster... come see the Freashow's next performance at the Dublin Castle!!!

Hope you had a great Birthday Sian...

Gawd bless ya!
xx

Against the Grain... the ONLY review you need read!

Dear Scratchers, Please find below the only review you need to read of Against the Grain, from the amazingly inciteful losingtoday.com

The Scratch ‘against the grain’ (pony land). The return of one of our favourite turntable obsessions of recent years, the Scratch have on more than one occasion flattened us into states of jaw dropped fondness within these pages. Despatching a high end pedigree of pop grooved new wave the Scratch sound like renegades from another pop age time tunnelled into the present and brandishing an impeccable arsenal of hook laden nuggets and whistle-able sub three minute anthems whose prime directive it would seem - aside that is wearing your stylus blunt - is to drive you to the limits of distraction. Both ’against the grain’ and its flip cut ’cool in an uncool way’ bristle with the trademark class of Scratch releases of yore, the former seductively swooning ’n’ swaggering and proving to be a hitherto instantaneously shot of delirious radio friendly new wave buzz laced power pop over-turing that catches light with the same acutely knowing melodic symmetry of the much missed Motors from yesteryear albeit here found peaking over the shoulder of the Flamin’ Groovies and comparing notes whilst shoehorning into the mix some neatly drilled strut riffed ear candy and MOR harmonies.

In sharp contrast the hot rod boogie of ’cool in an uncool way’ yelps, coos, pouts and preens its way in to your psyche and burns the grooves in the process to sound not unlike a preened, primed n’ stripped to the bone early career Reverend Horton Heat who aside sounding like some 50’s wet dream homage sublimely manages to not only veer into the same retro glazed avenues similarly occupied by Pirroni’s much admired Wolfmen but craftily echoes of the ghost of Bators former charges the Dead Boys and the Lords of the New Church while happily showing off its Vanian like Damned / Phantom Chords implants. In short devilishly cool stuff from the practitioners of perfect pop. www. thescratch. co. uk

Huge thanks to Mark

Amateur Hour with Huge Davenport!

Dear Scratchers, hope you had the chance to catch Andy and John last night on CRMK radio, where the chaps too over the Hugh Davenport show... despite plenty of pontification and general jovialilty no less than 26 faves, tips and influences were squeezed into a great fun two hours... Hugh was given a couple of exclusives along the way, namely the announcement of Steve Whittaker a great friend of the band, who is officially joining the fold on 25th Jan and also a live London appearance at Camden's Dublin Castle on the Fierce Panda Club Fandango night on Tuesday Feb 17th... there were also dedications to the late great Ron Asheton of The Stooges and fellow CRMK DJ 'The Groover', the stations resident T.Rex guru (it's rumoured he could rival Andy in the fan stakes!) Here's the full track listing of the show...

Commando - The Ramones...

Love you More - Buzzcocks...

Remake Remodel - Roxy Music...

Swastika Eyes - Primal Scream...

Set me free - The Kinks...

Every Second Counts - Switches...

Hello Sunshine - Super Furry Animals...

Free not free - Clinic...

The Bomb - New Young Pony Club...

Girls and Boys - Blur...

In the Heat of the morning - David Bowie...

Jigsaw Feeling - Siouxsie and the Banshees...

In one ear - Cage the Elephant...

Quiet life - Japan...

Against the Grain - The Scratch...

Cartrouble - Adam and the Ants...

Rip off - T.Rex...

A letter to Dominique - Louis XIV...

Slow Death - Flaming Groovies...

Candy Skin - Fire Engines...

Aisha - Death in Vegas...

Search and Destroy - The Stooges...

Amateur Hour - Sparks...

Out Faking the Fakers - The Scratch...

Serve the Servants - Nirvana...

Sunday Morning - Velvet Underground...

Once again great big thanks to Hugh, we look forward to the next one. See you at the Golblade gig, where we aim to furnish you with a copy of DIY and of course an extra extra large t-shirt! Hugh has made forthcoming single Against the Grain, his single of the month 'gawd bless im!'x