A Day Out With The Rough Kutz

Well what can I say about The Rough Kutz? If you've not had the chance to catch Stoke-On-Trent's finest Ska band or heard their debut CD "A Bit O' Rough" then I recommend that you either get to see them gigging or get hold of a their cd,honest you won't be disappointed!! Influenced from the early 2-Tone and reggae,this is a band that kicks ass… with Brigga on main vocals singing his own brand of Ska with the likes of :- Friday Night- Supergrass - What Goes around - Skinhead Symphony and a few others thrown in like Rough Rider,Longshot,skinhead Moonstomp.Then you get the more laid back Jai singing his brand of  reggae in between,Crazy about you - Hurt Again - Loving You - Johnny Too Bad , which I think sounds better by the 'Roughs' than The Slickers & UB40 (sorry Slickers & UB40 fans).Surprisingly one that also goes down well seems to be 'Runaround Sue',live and on cd.These are a bunch of lads that like doing what they do best - playing music with attitude and giving the public what they want to hear.

Over the months I've been going to a few gigs with The Rough Kutz and the more that I see them the better they get - just like a good bottle of Newkie..!They are attracting their own following from Skinheads to Scooter Boys,Punks and the like..(no bikers yet though!)Travelling with the 'Roughs' can prove to be an eye opener :- cramped in the back of a Transit van,instruments and bodies are strewn everywhere,beer flows freely.. In one end,stop on the hard shoulder and out the other!!Although it has it's bad sides too - long journeys and then the sing a long,anything from Abba to bloody Agadoo!!,but what a laugh,there's also the bickering,all light hearted stuff though … but as the bodies start sweating and the van fills up with condensation beer now being poured down throats out comes the belching and farting - everybody burying their heads trying not to breath in.Singing gets louder and we all seem oblivious at some of the shit we are singing!!

When the van pulls up at the venue,bodies climb out yawning,stretching and taking in much needed air and eyes trying to focus.Out comes the instruments and they are taken inside ready to be set up and get the warm up underway,the tuning and making sure everything sounds alright, Hazza ,Boots,Rat,Dan (hairy),Red,Lee,Graham,Brigga and Jai making up The Rough Kutz sort everything ready for the big off!

While the rest of us make the way to the bar - more beer - or a look around for some grub.People start arriving,some familiar faces start to come in and some new faces,looking promising for a good night.Sometimes there's three or four bands on,foot starts tapping,the odd few start to skank to get ready for The Rough Kutz,more people arrive,things starting to look lively.Then before you know it The Rough Kutz appear and the dance floor fills and people start skanking,skins,lasses,ordinary folk giving it their all … So if you want a really good night out get to see the Rough Kutz because believe me once you've seen 'em you'll be hooked……..

So keep it going boys and see you at the next gig

                    Steve Hancock, Stoke-on-Trent