Just me, on my own, on the acoustic guitar. But I am practicing with a cellist and a drummer at the moment...
Influences
I just went out for lunch and saw a man briefly put down his four pack of fosters so that he could urinate onto the side of the building I work in. It's seeing stuff like this that can drive someone to write little depressing songs in his spare time, don't you think? I'm surprised Croydon isn't full of aspiring wordsmiths considering the amount of mildly depressing material that is constantly on hand.
What else? Oh, when I was a child I remember a couple of teenagers having a spitting competition as they walked down the road parrallel with our garden - somehow one of them managed, unwittingly, to spit straight over the fence and onto the top of my head.
I like Bonny Prince Billy / WIll Oldham / Palace Brothers quite a lot. Appendix out, possibly even more (just for the first record which is, in places, great - after that it's a bit hit or miss until Alistair Roberts came out with a record under his own name, which is, erm, magical). I've seen the Fall a fair few times, so I'll have to add them here. And Leatherface, believe it or not, have produced two records that I love - I sometimes like to think of them as the perfect pop band in a funny sort of way. And what about 'It's a Shame about Ray' by the Lemonheads - My Drug Buddy is very nice indeed. Sonic Youth as well. And Dinosaur Jr and the Afghan Whigs certainly have a place in my musical past. But one of the best songs is 'The Only Living Boy in New York' by Simon and Garfunkal - I don't much like most of their other songs, but this one is a gem. Belle and Sebastian were great for two records then threw it all away, or ran out of new songs to sing, or something. There are other songs, albums, people, and maybe I'll return and write them out one day...
Sounds Like
A bloke from Croydon playing an acoustic guitar and singing a bit.
Superman Revenge Squad is one bloke from Croydon, called Ben, and an acoustic guitar.
I started writing this stuff at the beginning of 2007. Since then I've gone from playing a load of open mic nights to playing gigs supporting people like Jeff Lewis, the Wave Pictures and Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences.
I've got another 11-track CD available! It's £2.50, plus 50p postage, and is called "We're Here for Duration... We Hope" and can be ordered through my website ...the track listing is:
1. A Good Idea
2. Super Sad Morgan
3. We're Here For The Duration
4. I'm Afraid Of Flying
5. Losing Yourself To Stadium Rock
6. When Everyone's Dead
7. The Access Self-Storage Means Were Nearly Home
8. I've Been Listening To The Rollins Band
9. Broken Stuff
10. A Happy Slapping Incident I Brought Upon Myself
11. Get Yourself Into The Arms Of Drunken People
To order it, go to my wesbite: supermanrevengesquad dot com
You can also still order the first 11-track CD available now for £2.50 and a bit of postage - it's called "This is my own personal way of dealing with it all" and can be ordered through paypal by clicking on the button below...the track listing is:
1. idiot food
2. i’m gonna go to bed and when i wake up i’m gonna be someone else
3. the angriest dog in the world
4. captain non-entity
5. will oldham sang to me
6. kevin rowland
7. woman hating internet pornography
8. pupkin
9. this is a happy song
10. you be a friend, i’ll be a friend to you
11. joe concedes ultimate defeat by blowing his face skywards with a shotgun
“A very sharp lyricist indeed… Absolute genius!” – Tom Robinson on Radio6 Music
"Stirring aggit-folk, with the fragility of Bright Eyes & some hilarious lyrics" -subba-cultcha.com
"Like Brooklyn's Jeffrey Lewis, Superman Revenge Squad is taking folk music in exciting new directions - accessible, inventive and painfully funny, taking shots at pop culture but never straying too far from endearing self-deprecation. An artist who deserves much more press" - Indiefolkforever.
"A one man attack on Croydon and all within it" - Put it On promotions in Brighton.
"A man with an acoustic guitar and really great line in songs" - ishotthedeputy.com.
Cheers for the album - me and Mario had a listen as we went about our spring clean the other day (If that's not the kind of listening environment you hoped for when you recorded it - fret not, we paused it while we hoovered).
Thanks a lot for coming down and playing thought you were fantastic! Half tempted to see if Paul has a spare space in the car for the Cardiff gig and jump in for a laugh! x Anthony
heyyyyy, just thanking you for accepting my add. your music is great by the way, i really like your lyrics, and your voice really fits them. hope you like my music as much as i like yours. have a nice new year.
Good afternoon Ben, I used to play in a band with Sam P. I'm running a couple of music nights in and around town, I was hoping youd come can play. Dave
Rather last minute but I should be at Windmill to film Extradition Order and bring them some singles so hope to see you there Ben. Would you mind if I filmed you for my YouTube (I'll send you a copy if it's ok)?
Alright mate, been listening to some of your tracks, some influential lyrics you've got going there. Guitar playing is cool too. Any gigs planned for the midlands?
Check Out Me Tunes Influences The Beatles, The Doors, The Kinks, Nirvana, Blur, Beach Boys, The Hollies, The La's, The Rolling Stones and many more
Friday 19th - Sunday 21st September Here Be Dragons Too A weekend of diverse live music featuring punk, metal, alternative, acoustic, jazz and classical acts.
