RADAR REVIEWS: Drunkalots by Cal Ellis
Welcome to Radar Reviews: a new instalment where we, the good boys at Radar Mag, show you some good shit from Cardiff and beyond that you should know about. What better place to start this voyage than with Drunkalots – a new book brought to you by Cal Ellis. You may know Cal as the Pope flailing frontman of Shackles of Shame, or the event-hosting afficionado at Razzed Up, or maybe even as the other half of the now-stateside Cal and Jake Show. The boy’s got his finger in a many a creative pie, basically, but this is his first foray into the publication world and it’s a banger, set to put you right through the emotional ringer.
The book is a collection of short stories covering addiction and mental health. It’s a true warts and all portrayal of the problems that increasingly blight modern Britain. “For a young person, I hope the book is a wake-up call to the realities of alcoholism and addiction in our age group.” Cal told us over a hot cup of the good stuff at Café Barkers. “You don’t have to be a forty-year-old bloke who’s lost the wife and kids to be an alcoholic. A lot of different people have read it so far and resonated with it. I wanted it to collate stories that weren’t just randomly thrown together. They’ve got a purpose and an order that connects to the overall message.”
It's to be expected with a book of this nature that there’s some truly raw elements – drink, drugs, toxic masculinity, even suicide at points – covering times where the unnamed central character really hits rock bottom. But coursing throughout is a dark humour that is to be expected from anyone who’s come across Cal’s work elsewhere. Stories of burrito wanks, piss cakes and mould-infested flabby bosses will genuinely have you on the brink of tears one moment and in fits of laughter the next – sometimes even in the same sentence. There are few writers who can blend the macabre with the outright hilarious quite like Cal does.
The stories are brought to life by the illustrations of Liam Barrett. For Cal, when choosing a collaborator for the book there was only ever one person up to the job. “For me, the book was made when me and Liam first met because the vision was there from the beginning. Me and Liam have a connection when it comes to drinking, Liam is 3 years sober so we’ve been through a lot together. It was really nice to work with him because there’s this level of trust that I felt I could leave him with these words, and he’ll just get it completely. Seeing it in the flesh for the first time was mind-blowing; there’s not many people I’d do that with now looking back on it.”
Radar challenges anyone who picks up a copy not to be genuinely moved by the stories lying within. A truly Five Star, Radar-Endorsed product if ever there was one.
Grab a copy of Drunkalots by Cal Ellis through the link below:
https://calum1l.bigcartel.com/
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FIRSTS: Louis Jugessur
Pigeon Wigs may just hold the unique title of Cardiff’s hottest newcomers, before releasing any actual music.
In a short history the band’s gathered plenty of firsts: they’ve written an album (albeit one that’s unavailable to the public yet), signed their first deal with Clwb Music for a string of upcoming singles; played their first official gig in Cardiff Market and even got shortlisted for this year's Greenman Rising tent – not bad, if you're asking us.
In the build up to Saturday’s Razzed Up Refugee Fundraiser, Radar Mag caught up with Pigeon Wigs’ guitarist Louis Jugessur to delve a little deeper…
First Record...
I’d like to say a Strokes album to sound cool but it’s probably a Linkin Park album or something. I never listened to it really, just liked the bloke on the front cover with the flame tattoos. I must have been like 6 or 7, and at the time Linkin Park were like popping off, all that mosher shit was great. Don’t even know the name of the album.
First gig...
Tom Jones at Ponty Park – in hindsight it was amazing, but at the time I didn’t appreciate it at all because I was so young. My whole family went with my nan and her mates.
First school memory...
You know in primary school; you get the pegs that run all the way across the classroom with everyone’s bags? I remember getting into loads of trouble and felt terrible after me and my friend, we must have only been about 4 or 5, just ran round chucking everyone’s bags and coats on the floor. We got into loads of trouble for that…
First artist you fell in love with...
The Strokes were the first band that I properly got into who made me want to play their bits on guitar. I remember buying a tab book of their albums and just learnt every single guitar part, repeated it for hours on end like a fucking weirdo.
The other big one was The Rolling Stones, they’re the band I was obsessed with. Obviously they’re pretty shit now, just ignore them from the eighties onwards.
First job...
I’ve done some pretty shit jobs; I think my first job was either TK Maxx which was just hell on earth or lifeguarding at this outdoor pool in Ton Pentre one summer. Pretty easy job because it got shut down whenever it rained.
But first day I got there it was boiling hot, and this incredibly drunk man thought the pool was way deeper than it was. Dived in the head-first. Smashed his nose up. Blood squirting everywhere. I just thought fuck, here we go.
First time on stage...
First gig was with the Cherry Rebels, a cover band still going strong today. I’d only practiced once with them, and they rang me up asking if I would play this gig up Treorchy rugby club after their guitarist dropped out last minute. They have this festival there every year with a big crowd and I was shitting it, but it went alright in the end.
First banger…
The first song me and Harry wrote together was a song called Near the Knuckle. He just sent over a rough vocal and I put a load of guitar layers over it using this little Tascam multitrack recorder I had knocking about.
Funnily enough that’s the first one Clwb Music want to release with us, just fate I suppose. We’re having a release party on October 6th to celebrate, come along and have a good old piss up with us.
First thing you’ll do stepping off stage…
Umm… usually just have a drink and a hug with the gang. Nothing too exciting.
First refugee fundraiser…
Funny you should say that, because this Saturday (Sept. 11th), we’re headlining Razzed Up Productions’ refugee fundraiser at Clwb Ifor Bach. All the money raised is going to the Welsh Refugee Council - a great a charity with over 30 years’ experience working with asylum seekers and refugees in Wales.
TJ Roberts is opening with an acoustic set on a cassette player. I’ve never seen that before and I bet it’ll be mad.
Between sets we’ll be auctioning some class artwork from Myths N Tits, Liam Barrett, Liuing Presence, Bean Head (Amber) and Jacob Taylor. Shoutout to Jon Safari for the sick event poster too. Don’t just fuck off without having a look around.
Then to close the show we’ve got Shackles of Shame doing some covers you’ll all love. You won’t know what’s hit you. We’re just gunna have some fun – we’re not trying to change the world or nothing – we’re not fucking Bob Geldof.
That’s why I want people to come really, just have some fun and put some money in the bucket when it comes round.
Get your tickets to Saturday’s Razzed Up Refugee Fundraiser here and follow everything Pigeon Wigs over on their Instagram.
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INTRODUCING: Sister Sister
Sister Sister are just what you need right now. After something of a lockdown-induced hiatus, the indie four-piece are back with two new singles SONNY & FLICKER. Their mix of calm woozy vocals and neon-tinted instrumentals will leave you in a warm fuzzy daze, oblivious to the complete shitstorm whirling on all around us.
Radar sat down with Alex Campbell (Vocals), Max Baynham (Lead Guitar), Dan Williams (Drums), and Phil Steavenson (Bass, who joined us on a rocky outcrop in a Geordie Park) - to find out more.
How did you all meet?
Alex: I guess it all starts with me and Max living together in halls [at Liverpool Uni]. I’d always written stuff, but then me and max started writing and putting a demo together, which is where Dan and Phil slot in quite nicely…
Dan: I met Phil right at the start of first year at a band society. It was basically like speed dating for musicians but once me and Phil found eachother we refused to talk to anyone else.
Then in second year I bumped into Alex and Max in the Big ASDA. They’d made a demo in first year and I was like ‘alright, I’m going to play drums for you, and my mate Phil is on bass.’
Phil: I just slotted right in there, like magic.
How do you produce your music? How has it evolved since Uni halls days?
Max: It’s not all that different to what it was like in the early days. Essentially me and Alex will come up with a riff or a loop and will flesh out a song off the back of that. Then Dan and Phil are drafted in later on to add their own bits of finesse and beauty.
Alex: We work with a guy called Tom Bulger who helps us polish the tunes and masters them. A lot of the sound quality is down to him really.
Tell me a bit more about your new singles Sonny & Flicker they’re bangers.
Alex: Lyrically they’re both about growing up and what’s expected of us at the current stage of life we’re in – the changes associated with going from being a teenager to a supposedly ‘responsible’ adult.
What are your favourite memories as a band to date?
Dan: For me it’s got to be when we played Newcastle. We’ve played some class gigs in the past, but in third year of uni we hired a venue in Newcastle and basically like 50 of Phil’s mates rocked up and we just had the sickest party.
Max: Newcastle world tour, just class.
Alex: We got propositioned to play a sex party once…
Dan: Yeah, someone offered us like 2 grand to come and play if Alex tickled their feet. It was definitely just one of our mates taking the piss, but it was going on for weeks.
Picked up any new skills over lockdown?
Dan: I went through a Dualingo phase which didn’t last long. I’m shit at Welsh, but I make a fucking banging banana bread.
Alex: I started painting in lockdown which I didn’t really do before. Little bits here and there, painting shoes mostly.
[Radar – painting shoes?]
Alex: Painting pictures of shoes, not painting directly onto shoes. I should’ve clarified.
Which Olympic sport would you happily ban?
Phil: [lifelong skater] Ban skateboarding! It’s not a sport!
Max: Shotput’s pretty shit innit. Who the fuck’s spending 60 quid to watch shot putting?
Dan: Get rid of all the running bar the shortest and the longest events – everything else is pointless.
In a battle of the presenters, who’s winning in a fight between Sue Barker and Claire Balding?
Alex: My money’s on Balding.
Dan: I’ve just Googled who Sue Barker is, and she’s getting filled in by Claire Balding.
Max: I’d back Sue Barker, underrated.
Where are the most weird and wonderful places you’ve seen people listening to Sister Sister on Spotify?
Alex: I love seeing Sister Siter being banged out in mad places like Mexico and Argentina.
Max: Melbourne, Australia was a weird one. There was a song called Garments off the EP [2019’s Grillin’] that me and Alex really liked. We both thought it was one of the best songs we’d written, but it was one of the least played on the EP for the analytics and then literally like a year later it just suddenly started getting hundreds of plays in Australia?
Alex: It was really fucking bizarre – like it was a something of an underground hit in Melbourne for like 3 weeks. Some guy must have just found our tune and shared it round with his mates.
Would Australia be your dream place to tour then?
Dan: Nah, Newcastle…
Phil: Every bar in Newcastle. All five of them.
Max: South America man, the crowds are meant to be insane. I’d love to go to Japan too, Japan would be class. I don’t know why we’d go there though, there’d be no interest (yet).
Alex: In answer to your question we’d go anywhere.
What should we expect from Sister Sister as lockdown ends?
Max: The big thing for the year getting our new double EP out. It’s been ages since we’ve released a proper collection of music, so expect more music and some gigs towards the end of the year. We’d love to play Cardiff; Dan keeps telling us to come down.
Dan: Maybe go and complete in the Olympics if we’ve got time.
And finally… What you all got planned for the rest of the evening?
Alex: [Me and Max] are on the last day of our isolation. We’ve been cooped up for days now, running dangerously low on food so it’s going to be leftover pasta for us tonight.
Dan: I’ve been smashing that Atypical on Netflix. If anyone’s not aware of it, it’s class.
Alex: I think me and Max might watch Pirates of the Caribbean, you know the one with Penelope Cruise? She’s so funny.
Phil – I’m just about to meet some mates for a pint, hence why I’m in a park drinking a bottle of Stella, very on brand [see merch].
[Max – What are you having for dinner, Phil?]
Phil – You know what, I’m just going to eat some grass and drink more Stella in the park – fuck my mates.
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As Phil chews the fresh Newcastle cud, check out Sister Sister’s new tracks Sonny & Flicker, out now.