CityLife

Soundtrack for the revolution

WHEN you name your rock band after the infamous Paris riots of May '68, you're clearly going to have one thing in mind - the sound of revolution.

"We called ourselves The Paris Riots because it conjures up lots of different meanings," explains the band's drummer Scott McKnight over a pint of cider in a city centre bar.

"Obviously, you think of the '68 riots. But we don't want to pigeon hole ourselves as a political, left-wing band who pretend to know everything about political history.

"But the name Paris Riots does give off a sense of rebellion, anger and violence. It's about standing up for yourself and making sure you have a voice. There are no radical voices in music anymore.

"And besides, it's better than giving yourself a band name which is completely meaningless."

There's nothing about The Paris Riots that is meaningless. But despite their evocative name, thankfully, they are not suggesting we all go out onto the streets and start chucking bricks at the nearest Starbucks/McDonalds/Vodafone shop window.

The band's riot weapon of choice is good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, but given an insurrectionary twist on behalf of the oppressed, prole underdog. Aligning Springsteen anthemics with White Stripes skewed blues rock, they are the sound of riot rock revolution with brains and bluster in perfect measure.

If you've not heard their DIY-released debut EP (then why ever not?), you'll most probably have heard their live performances - frankly, you can't fail to hear them. With guitar amplifiers programmed to 11 notches, and ear levels tuned to 'deafening', the sound of this sonic riot is so LOUD that it could probably be heard from outer space.

"I'd say we're the loudest band in Manchester by far," exclaims guitarist and main songwriter Guy Connor. "When we come on stage, it's like a proper explosion going off. We've seen so many guitar bands who are so timid on-stage, it's almost like background music. With us, it literally is like the sound of a massive riot going off."

Scott adds: "Even the songs that we call our ballads are louder than most band's heavy songs! That's how we make our mark... with volume."

Paris Riots' story begins two years ago when Connor moved from Preston, where he was studying at university, to Manchester in order to form a band. Since his late teens, he'd been stockpiling a collection of brilliant songs, influenced by the rousing rock of The Who, Springsteen and The White Stripes, but he'd never been able to locate the right musicians - in particular, a decent singer.

Then one day, literally out of the blue, his younger brother, Toby, sent Guy a video tape of him singing at an open mic night. The song he was performing was the Stereophonics' Mr Writer. Not the greatest selection, but within moments, Guy realised that his own brother was the vocal genius he'd be waiting for.

Sport

"It was a total revelation to me," recalls Guy. "I never knew Toby could sing so well. He's my younger brother of four years, and I'd never really discussed playing music with him. He was always into sport when we were younger. But when I saw him sing that Stereophonics song, it blew me away. I knew he was the singer I wanted for the band."

Thankfully, Paris Riots eschewed the path of Stereophonics cover versions to pursue their own revolutionary rock path. With the line-up completed by drummer Scott, and bassist Kevin Martin, the band's sonic masterplan was simple - back up their keening intelligence and everyman politics with the sort of blues rock dynamics designed to rip people's ears off.

So, for every socially-conscious lyric about the underclass and oppression, they also have the tunes (think The White Stripes-meets-Springsteen-but powered by 50 juggernauts) to steamroller your brains as well as your ears.

In a refreshing change from toff rock 'n' rollers patronising the working classes (hello Damon Albarn), Paris Riots are a true blue collar band for the people.

"We're not overly political," insists Guy. "We're not telling people to literally go out and riot. We're more about inspiring people with our music and lyrics. Everyone should have a voice and not be afraid to speak their opinions.

Springsteen

"People's sense of expression is crushed these days. I'm inspired by everyone from Springsteen to what I hear on the news. I've recently written a song about the oppression and struggles of Native American Indians. It's a song about standing up for what you believe in. That's what this band are all about."

In less than a year since they first gigged, there's no shortage of converts to the Paris Riots' revolution rhetoric. A rowdy fan army makes its presence felt at all their gigs (Guy smiles: "Mostly alcoholics. We're the sort of band who seem to attract drunks") while producer/engineer Tim Thomas at Salford's Blueprint Studios was so enamoured with some demos he produced for them, he urged the band to release the songs as an EP (which they eventually did last month).

They've also been confirmed to perform at Embrace singer Danny McNamara's new Aftershow club night in September.

There remains one key question still to be asked though: have the band thought about what will happen when they actually DO play a gig in Paris? Aren't they worried about provoking, erm, an actual Paris riot?

Scott ponders: "We are a bit. But we love the idea of going to Paris and seeing all these posters saying The Paris Riots. To be honest, I can imagine all the Parisians wanting to lynch us."

The Paris Riots play Night and Day on Sunday, August 5. For more information visit myspace.com/theparisriotsmusic.