We didn't write 'em. Someone else did. How 'bout that!!
SAS, The Thatched House 11/04/2008
"And so onto The Kirkz... Now despite being distracted here and there with more arriving punters and bands, plus a few chinwags, I did see enough of the Kirkz to realise this was a thumping performance that set the place alight. They had in truth the best crowd of the night and really played it for all it was worth and frontman Max is a rejuvenated leader that never once strayed into that mystic land of Bell-Endus! I say this with tongue in cheek but this chirpy chap can occasionally be the said 'Dicketh Dometh' but lately has learnt a new found delivery and stays remarkably fun and interactive without becoming phallically idiotic! I have been watching these 'erberts for some time now and at this point in time they are really at their best. Highly recommended viewing and these guys need to fly the local nest and drop the musical eggs in other starved areas. On this evidence I can't think of anywhere they wouldn't go down well except for the local nursing home for those of a nervous disposition. 'State of Fear' was the pick from the night's bowl of cherries. Ta lads!"
TNS, JOSHUA BROOKES 03/02/2008
"Next up and headliners The Kirkz take to the stage. With the time ticking on past 11 the lads don’t mess around and after a quick sound check they blast into their set intro song in front of the expectant crowd.
Another professional and tight set from the Macc Lads follows as they storm through 30 minutes of American influenced punk. Songs like The Revenge, State Of Emergency and Braindead get the place going and with a set ending with Ratz, Ace of Spades and Over The Top they leave the stage leaving the punters wanting more and wondering where the last half an hour had gone.
G-Man, Caesar and Ian produce the soundtrack and front man Max entertains with his “in yer face” approach which drives the show forward at pace. His connection with the audience makes you feel that you’re part of the gig and not just propping up the bar and his vocal technique fits in well with the overall sound although it was a little loud in the mix on this occasion.
The Rancid and Op Ivy influences filter through which might not be everyone's cup of tea but you can’t deny the energy and quality of this outfit. New recordings are needed to take this band forward which are planned for the end of this Month and as Max would say “you can’t beat us, so you might as well join us”. The Kirkz march on........"
PUNK GLOBE, Jackson's Pit, Oldham, 24/01/2008
I'd not been to Jackson's Pit before, so when I noticed that The Kirkz were playing support to One Man Stand last Thursday, I jumped at the chance of doing a review...
Enter, The Kirkz! Hailing from Macclesfield [ yep, where the Macc Lad's come from ] they took to the stage and blitzed the building for thirty minutes of sheer punk rock power! Singer Max is a real showman and his 'this guy doesn't give a fuck' attitude is something else! The guys in the band all look like they love doing this, they rock it out like there's no fucking tomorrow!!!
The small crowd were rocking to their sounds, which are inspired by the likes of Rancid - Op Ivy - Antiflag - Dropkicks to name a few. The banter in between the songs was also funny, as Max has a natural ability to take the piss out of everything and everybody around, all in good nature though...I found them to be more than interesting and it won't be very long before they start doing bigger and better shows. Their set list was like a Ramones show on speed, if you can imagine that?...
I'd definately check them out if you're a fan of fast, abrasive punk rock.
PUNK4LIFE, Jackson's Pit, Oldham, 24/01/2008
Next up were The Kirkz whose overall approach is more high energy and heavy riffs and with a recent upsurge in quality this was again a grand do. Frontman Max is always on the cusp of making a real faux pas but somehow just manages to remain in control and deliver a damn fine entertaining show. It should not be forgotten though that this mischevious 'erberts stage antics are only attainable because he is backed by a band currently driving on all power packed cylinders and the dedication to the task over the years is now paying dividends. There are a couple of tunes that still I find slightly messy and over fussy but overall The Kirkz are ramming forth some quality fuckin' tunes and 'Rats', 'Over The Top' and 'State Of Fear' are 3 to savour. 'Ace Of Spades' is always a crowd pleaser and this lot, I must admit, do it justice. Very pleasing indeed and more to come methinks from a band growing in stature all the time.
KIRKZ MEDIA
Tomfoolery..
A few shots of The Kirkz "on location"..
MJ performing future hit "Electro-Spider"; and yes, he is wearing a bin bag..
Rancid - Op Ivy - Antiflag - Dropkicks - Sickers - Pennywise - Caddies - Strike Anywhere - Rise Against - Refused - The Dead Pets - Send More Paramedics - Most of HHNR - Freaks Union - SB6 - Agnostic Front - Avail - 59 Times the Pain - Loads of people weve played with - Old Offspring n Green day - Our Macc-mates Monkey Shuffle, Kreosote n P.I.G (these three probably didnt influence us but thought we'd put em down anyway) - One Man Stand - a bunch more we've forgotten about and Filaments and 5 Knuckle, Poppers, Guiness, Snakebite and black, Rum, John Smiths, San Miguel, Biff, B-I-F-E-O, Mischief, a need to cause mischief, a lack of sleep and some wayward partying.
Sounds Like
Depends who’s won the battle to turn themselves up the loudest.
Get yer mits on these...
OVER THE TOP - First full-length album - DIY - 16 tracks - full-colour inlay with lyrics.... £4 ono.
"This is the type of release that earns hype and very much deservedly so... a great release by a great band." - punknews.co.uk
"You only have to listen to this to see that they’re one of those bands who really put 110% into their music." - Punk & Oi in the UK
RATZ EP - 4 tracks - studio recordings.... £1
GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN - Christmas album - 4 festive tunes plus yuletide tale.... £1
Limited edition "Panic Earth" promotional CD.
Compilations...
MUSIC BY PEOPLE WHO DRINK CIDER IN THE GUTTER - TNS compilation.... £4
SLIT RECORDS - PUNK VOL 1 - compilation - 21 bands.
For those unaware of the significance of July it is the month that The Kirkz turn 10. July 16th 1998 was the date that, aged 16, we rolled up with a couple of hastily learnt Nirvana & Green Day covers and promptly butchered them with vigour in round one of Macclesfield Battle of the bands. We never saw round two and the sound guy almost battered me for dropping the mic at the end of the show in a fledgling act of rock stardom. No-one liked us but we enjoyed ourselves and a decade on that’s still really the point.
And The Kirkz are not one these franchise bands whereby members come and go but the brand lives on. This is the same four original lads from Tythy School that by some dumb luck actually turned out quite good at what they do. Now I’m tempted at this point to write some sort of history for us but I might save that for sleeve notes on the greatest hits album In another 10 years. The 1st four years were hampered by us being spread around the country at Uni and the general lack of any musical ability at all. In recent times useful stuff like Facebook and Myspace and the actual internet have appeared helping bands do loads more which is good. Not that we can work computers, back in ’98 people didn’t even have mobile phones!
So to mark the occasion we’re throwing a party!!!!!! We’d be pretty chuffed if you could all make it. Expect heroic acts of drinking, a cornerstone of The Kirkz longevity, and musical accompaniment from fine bands and friends Revenge Of The Pyschtronic Man, Kreosote and The Shadowcops. This is before finally The Kirkz take to the stage to christen 10 years. Will we demonstrate how far we’ve come in 10 years? Doubtful, we’ll be leathered.
When & where??????
The Swan With Two Necks, Chestergate, Macclesfield. Saturday July 12th from about 7. And it’s nowt get in, making money has never been our strong point!
So in a rare blip of modesty I thought I’d make a thanks list now. As an exercise this will just about scratch the surface of people that need a shout over the last 10 years so huge apologies to anyone missed out. Also it’s not in order either but everyone on here has given us a foot-up without asking for anything in return.
Steve Lillis (legend) @ Ageless Chaps / Dean @ Slit records (revered) / The Dead Pets (are missed) / Ben Cooper / Sodge / Daz & Jenny @ Rebellion / Wasted festivals / Big Ivan, Sam and all @ Nice N Sleazy – Morecambe / Sib and everyone @ THE GEORGE/UNDERGROUD (RIP) in Macc / Wendy & Andy @ The Swan with Two Necks Macclesfield / Tilly / Diesel, Shaun and the entire Mincher family / Fungalpunk / ROTPM & TNS Records MCR / Em @ Bomb Ibiza MCR / Alaister @ Knights Bar Macc / Andy Dazzler @ Substance Studio’s Blackburn / Kerry Hughes @ Grubby Nun studio’s Huddersfield / Geoff Wolfenden @ Wolf Studio’s for the amazing video / Iain Weatherall @ Premier Studios / Donny I, Donny II & Donny III (D3) / Merseyrock Mike / Tim @ Punk4life / Weab, Mr Badaxe & all @ Hard Drive the Vic Coalville / Wordy, Dave, Alex and all @ Corrupted Blackburn / Julie & Andy @ Noize Annoize / TBSOCB / Dave Warburton & all at Pigtown records North Wales / Bob Mince of Buxton and formerly chairman of Aberystwyth Uni PunkSoc / Monkey Shuffle / The Shuffle / Steph & The Yorkshire House lot / All @ Banned Network in Northwich / Eddie Swirv / One Man Stand / Noz, Banjo and anyone associated with the Thatched House Stockport / Hockey & Instant Agony / Sick 56 guy for doing our sound at Rebellion and always lending equipment /The mighty Kreosote (haven’t you been going for almost as long as us now?) / Stu up at the farm / Stu & Alan Bailey @ Trackside Studio’s Macclesfield / Greg for sorting gigs in Birmingham / The entire city of Nottingham / Tim Hunt / Jonny Russell / Loz Lees / Global Bob, Ambush UK / Trev & Louise for Macc Battle of the bands / the Queens for letting us practice / Paul Carter / Keyside Strike & Daz / The Distrakted / Dale Stringer / Splat / Col’s dad / Aneequa in Streatham / Big Jim the doorman / Big Fish Promotions / The Sportsman / Whiz-Kid / Dave Stagg.
And finally anyone who’s ever come to our shows, gave our cd a spin, lent us some equipment or booked us.
Right, now that’s over let normal service now resume. Why are we still here after all this time? Cos turns out we’re fuckin mint that’s why and won’t stop getting better and rocking harder. God help the future.
Max
THE KIRKZ.
You really wanna get one of these bought. £5 at a show.
west coast cafe blackpool 7.30 soundcheck bass amp and drum shells provided. we have cymbal stands, but we are on short(stolen). 10pm doors.... bands get door money minus first 25 quid. ur slot is 11.30pm
Thanks a lot for the add. EletriKa is complitly different of every Metal band you already know. Please, when you have a minute, just check EletriKa out, ok?
Hello and thank you for accepting my friendship, fantastic songs you have,very good indeed. i do hope my myspace will be of interest to you, thank you, mr n,p.
He were reet proppa pudding, coz he drank like a bird! Max Macclesfield......... Spilt more than he supped, and he liked his bottom filled! Max Macclesfield......... Then he thought he'd made it big, we he sneaked on me stage! But He cocked up, because he got, the stage hands all in rage!!!!!!!!!!! lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN - Christmas album - 4 festive tunes plus yuletide tale.... £1
Limited edition "Panic Earth" promotional CD.
MUSIC BY PEOPLE WHO DRINK CIDER IN THE GUTTER - TNS compilation.... £4
SLIT RECORDS - PUNK VOL 1 - compilation - 21 bands.
Online Now!
