Hello from Mike Peters.
I am writing to you from our tour bus which is currently parked outside the venue in Chicago. Today has been another busy day on the ‘Rockin’ The Colonies’ tour. I have appeared live and performed three songs on the WGN Chicago TV this morning (7.00 am!), and also recorded an acoustic session for Q101 (the biggest rock station here). I’m pleased to report that the new album ‘Guerila Tactics’ has been receiving great reviews as have all the live shows, and the ‘gueriila’ style concerts I spontaneously performed in Times Square and Atlantic City have already become the stuff of legend!!!!!.
We have another two weeks out here in the US, but we are already focusing on the U.K. and with home in mind, I hope you will all be able to join myself and the band for our homecoming concert party at ‘Punk’ in Soho, London on Monday 4th August.
The concert will be the first time The Alarm have appeared in the U.K. since The Gathering and we are looking forward to seeing all of you that make the journey to London. The event will also mark the official launch of ‘Guerilla Tactics In The U.K.’ with media from all over Europe in attendance. There will also be a special unique collectors item given to each fan who comes through the door……. this special gift is being donated by The Bizmo who are the power behind our new secure digital store (which I’m pleased to say many of you from around the world have made use of to get digital copies of ‘Guerilla Tactics’).
Tickets for the event are priced 15 and are limited to 200 and are available in the digital store @ www.thealarm.com. Once purchased you will receive a digital ticket in .pdf form which you will then print out and bring to the show. Each ticket has a unique barcode that will be scanned at the door. This form of ticket sale will allow us and our concert promoters to keep the cost of booking fees down to a minimum (something which I know is an issue for every concert goer these days!).
As well as performing a full set of songs (on stage time 8.30), we will also be sticking around and partying the night away to celebrate our arrival back in the U.K. Everyone who comes to The Alarm @ Punk is welcome to join us!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love, Hope and Strength,
Mike Peters
The Alarm | Guerilla Tactics (The Twenty First Century Recording Company)
Written by Laura Hamlett
Throughout the disc’s 15 tracks, there is no letting up, no turning back.
Indeed, this is that Alarm from the ’80s and early ’90s “The Opening” feeds into “Three Sevens Clash,” hard hitting and instantly recognizable as Mike Peters and Co. For v.2 of the band, Peters has recruited a veritable who’s who of the punk/wave scene from two decades ago: James Stevenson (Generation X) on guitar, Craig Adams (Sisters of Mercy) on bass and Steve Grantley (Stiff Little Fingers) on drums. Yes, boys and girls, this is your father’s Alarm…and now yours, as well.
Throughout the disc’s 15 tracks, there is no letting up, no turning back. Frontman/founder Peters, fresh off his second recovery from cancer (12 years ago lymphoma, two years ago leukemia; how unlucky can one man be?), sounds stronger than ever, fully confident (and why wouldn’t he be? He’s kicked cancer’s ass twice) and in command of his band. The songs are intensely personal, written during his battle with the beast: “I’m going through hell and I can’t speak/ I’m going through hell and I can’t breathe” (“Situation Under Control”); “I survived the ’90s” (“Kill to Get What You Want (Die for What You Believe In”); “Past deserted dreams to the end of night/ Past the click click click click click of the killing machines” (“Love Hope and Strength”).
He’s even gone on to form a foundation (Love Hope Strength) to both acknowledge the center which treated him and provide necessary diagnosis and recovery equipment to poorer nations where there is none. Hell, he organized the highest concert ever on Mt. Everest, a benefit that garnered crucial machinery for the non-westernized nation of Nepal.
“Rat Trap” seems poised to become a classic Alarm song alongside such gems as “Strength” and “The Stand.” From its early notes, “Fightback” could stand alongside early M??y Cre. Still these aren’t your typical edgy rock songs; they’re anthems, really, odes to recovery and being alive. But don’t worry, kids; they’re not at all preachy, and they still rock.
“War Cry” features Peters’ signature harmonica and anguished yowl; both are also featured on “Love Hope and Strength.” The solid “State of Emergency,” has an infectious, cautious to all-out drumbeat and guitar line that will insinuate itself into your subconscious; another classic track, perhaps? Another powerful track, “Right Now,” could be an alt-rock single with its straight-ahead guitar work and Peters’ soaring vocals.
In fact, the disc is full of classic riffs and grooves, solid from first to last. Guerilla Tactics is the sound of a band in full control of its faculties, playing off their strong pasts to create a satisfyingly contemporary offering to the gods of rock. Kudos to Mike Peters and Co. for neither reinventing themselves nor resting on their laurels, but rather giving listeners of all ages something to hold on to. Let’s hope for more instant classics from the Alarm in years to come.
‘Guerilla Tactics’, the brand new album by The Alarm is available now @ www.thealarm.com
