Riding Seatless

Flicking through a bit of international news today I found something that at first made me laugh, then made me a little sad, but then made me laugh again... and consequently the hunt for evidence made me sad again.

We all know that the world has changed; no longer can you walk around with toy guns and a dishevelled appearance outside daycare centres, nor can you joke about blowing up someones house simply because they wont let you on a plane until you explain why your shoes are ticking and you keep twitching. In Memphis this week or last, something as simple as a STICKER for a BAND has created havoc.

"This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb" (which is a shit name anyway if you ask me) were at the centre of focus as someone left a bike with said band stuck across it. Someone saw the bike sitting out the front of the terminal at Memphis airport and alerted police. The terminal and baggage claim were entirely evacuated, a Canine unit (which every damn article seems to be spelling K-9) was sent to sniff around but the bike was clear from explosives. The owner of the bike was taken into custody but released shortly after because, come on, thats just silly.

Whats even sillier, however, is the fact that this isnt the first time that this has happened. In Ohio and Philly similar things have occurred. Apparently when told that it had happened again the singer expressed remorse and frustration. Pfft. First of all you dont give your band a name like that unless you've got a plan to get it into peoples heads. Second of all if you gave a shit you would have changed your name after the FIRST time. I went to try and chase down some of the bands music which was easy. Reading their bio it turns out the bands first relase was in 97, far before 9/11 so they're clear there, but does that mean, if anything, their image is heightened in the shadow of post 2001 terrorism? Maybe they knew something about it? Maybe its them we should be asking questions to, maybe it was all just a marketing ploy. Anyway I wasnt sure what to expect from the music as I heard newspaper articles describe it as 'anarcho-punk' (yawn) but it turned out even more bland. The bio says: but their punk roots were evident enough in their music that they became one of the premiere bands at the forefront of the folk-punk genre. Thats horseshit. If you were any good you wouldnt need a self-description as flattering as that and you wouldnt need a name like that to get you global publicity. Anyway, decide for yourself.


Or you can always check out their myspace - http://www.myspace.com/tbiapb - or dont, I could care less

In summary - a band with a pretty stupid name is receiving a hell of a lot of attention, because of stickers. Oh the power of mechandising. Its a good thing my new band "I hate western civilisation, currently have live grenades strapped to my chest and am headed for Central Station" went with t-shirts first!