...Call Me Ishmael!

Six young guys from Glasgow. Loitering. Some wearing hoodies. You'd be forgiven for thinking they were up to no good. You would however, be wrong. Call Me Ishmael have been up to something very, very good indeed! I first came across them back in March when I tuned into their cracking Define Pop session. This week, their debut EP "Game Of Kings" is released, and its every bit as great.

Here's a bit more about the band and the EP...

Kowalskiy: Who are Call Me Ishmael?
Call Me Ishmael: Call Me Ishmael are a 6 piece Punk/Post Hardcore band from Glasgow. Ryan (vocals) and Aiden (guitar) had played a number of acoustic shows together under the title of `Toybox City` - deciding that they wanted to make their music/sound more expansive they sought out Ryans former school mates Marc (guitar) and Del (Bass) in order to start up the full band. After trying out several different drummers Rory gelled with us and played in a style that best suited the band dynamics. We then decided that to give the band some depth and further ambience we would require extra percussion and keys - Rorys brother Paddy was then drafted in and that is the line up of the band to date!

The name of the band was decided upon after some other terrible band names were thrown around, including 'Toybox City' :) On the way to the Leeds Festival Ryan was reading Moby Dick and suggested the opening line of 'Call me Ishmael' would be a good band name, and it has stuck from then on in.

Kowalskiy: What's the story behind your new EP "Game Of Kings"?

Call Me Ishmael: The E.P is 3 brand new songs (Blood and Ashes, We`re So Far From Daylight and Fire The Tank) and fan favourite I Am Stop, You Are Go - It was recorded with Neil Kennedy from the Ranch Production Studios in Southampton (he`s also recorded for Viva Sleep, Burn the Fleet and a host of other excellent bands) and is the first E.P we have recorded. The name Game Of Kings ties into your aspirations as a child when you would make believe you could be anything you wanted, so basically starting with everything and finishing with losing everything including your own beliefs and confidence in yourself, so yeah, death, doubt and youth are major themes of the e.p, happy bunch that we are! i.e. I Am Stop is a conflict in yourself, as in 'I am Stop' is your negative side, the one that lacks confidence and is always doubting and 'You are Go' is the positive side, the facade of always being upbeat so as not to disappoint....


The artwork of our E.P ties into that same idea, and as we`re all big into our comics/movies we played around with homages to film posters/imagery - the static background is our play on the Poltergeist poster, and the little kid with the cape plays into the superman/superhero theme, and the mask kinda references the slasher films that we all like, kind of representing the darker and angrier side of yourself - so we basically wanted all of the E.P to tie in as a whole in terms of imagery and music!

Kowalskiy: What can we expect from you guys in the future?

Call Me Ishmael: In the next few months we will be heading on a tour of Scotland (details below), finishing up with a headline slot at King Tuts for the Rock N Roll Damnation Festival - Glasgow's newest festival. As well as this we are currently in talks about supporting some bigger established acts. We are also aiming to release an acoustic E.P in the next few months as well as film our next video which will be done in one take and involve a risky stunt in Glasgow City Centre, so watch this space as it were!

The guys have been kind enough to offer up my favourite track "I Am Stop, You Are Go" for free download ahead of the digital release next week. Get it while you can!

mp3: Call Me Ishmael - I Am Stop, You Are Go

(limited-time only download: Expires 9^th August)

The EP is out this week and physical copies are available from the band's MySpace. If you want a digital copy, it should be up on iTunes on 9^th August.

Upcoming Gigs
6^th Aug - The Monkey Club, Kilmarnock
7^th Aug - Harleys, Bathgate
9^th Aug - Cafe Drummonds, Aberdeen
12^th Aug - Hunter Halls, Kircaldy
13^th Aug - The Cape, Stirling
27^th Aug - Rock N Roll Damnation @ King Tuts, Glasgow
9^th Sept - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
23^rd Sept - Buff Club, Glasgow (Freshers Week)