Code 1
East Coast Oi! Fest
May 2008
By Jillian Abbene
(SugarBuzz FWash DC/Richmond)
SugarBuzz Magazine
Hailing all the way from the UK, Code 1 is a new outfit with something to prove. Despite their serious demeanor, these guys are ready for their debut in this crazy-land that the East Coast Oi Fest births from.
The first song, ‘Don’t Discriminate,’ the crowd is astonished. Studying their sound, the crowd has all eyes on them, taking it all in. Jase, the lead vocalist, shouts the lyrics like a snarled incinerator. You definitely know he means what he says. His sharp piercings, along with hard-pounding drums, and driving rhythms set the cadence. The crowd seems to open with readily acceptance—they get it.
‘Oi Invasion,’ a faster number with stacattoed scratch-chords snares in the three-chorded melody through Jase’s vocal lashings. Lining up in the faster beat, Glenn’s deeper bass keeps up in the under belly as the gang vocals become the sole backbone of the song.
‘Code 1,’ with its changes in cadence, drives the rhythms, taking over to carry the melody in fury. The slow-down with the huddle of 3 in camaraderie, is a beat-down boot stomp embedded in the chorus. The syncopated beat in the bridge breaks up the song before the second verse…making this a catchy song.
Cherry drums in the interchanging tribal beats, pounding out the beginning of, ‘Blow A Fuse,’ before the signature driving rhythms that rips the solstice intro to shreds. Jase’s chorus-shouts in between the gang-chorus syncopates in one-half time, runs along the beat perks. Now the circle pit is in full swing.
Before, ‘Gangsta Culture,’ could crack, humorously, a set of red-laced panties sails through the air and onto the stage, landing between Jase and Dave’s (guitarist also for The Straps) feet. Jase delicately places them onto the neck of Dave’s guitar—all in punk rock mock. It is now Dave’s trophy—a souvenir he can take back to the UK. Soon the chuckles from the stage stops, making room for those tribal drum-thuds I love so much. In slower cadence, purposefully, longer chords take on a monster gang-vocal. The middle slows off Dave’s intricate riffs, and by the time the riff runs out, Dave has collected 3 panties, proudly displaying them (like a peacock!) ending the song in three hard-chorded smack-downs.
The closing set, ‘Telling It Like It Is,’ is a slight rock ‘n roll layer. From their new CD, self-entitled, a two-chord guitar strum somberly lets out as Jase’s vocals are clearer. The chorus spits a poignant chorus: “Telling It Like It is/We ain’t taken no piss/we’re telling it like it is,” as the screaming high-noted guitar piercings add a sense of urgency. The ending chorus accapellas with gang vocals and drums singularly stamping the boots of oi back into the “oi oi oi’s,” in the ending as the chorus ends the set.
So there you have it--a band with a statement. I would like to extend a big thank you to Dave and Glenn for their likeable approach and camaraderie. Sorry we didn’t get to really hang out, which means a great excuse to come back to the USA for another visit!
www.myspace.com/eastcoastoifest