The 1865 release their new video for the track titled ‘John Brown’s Gat’. For those who do not know, John Brown was a man living in the 19th Century who believed that no one should be enslaved. He believed in this simple truth so much that he turned to the gun. And he paid for it with his life. So it is of special importance that The 1865 to shed light on such a figure, especially in today’s age of conflicting stories.
The track and video are simple and to-the-point. Which is how it should be. The truth is the same way. It cannot be denied. If you watch the impeachment hearings you can see this. The obstructors tend to speak more, and louder because the truth is hard to fight. John Brown would be a fan of The 1865 if he were alive today.
The album ‘Don’t Tread On We!’ is out now, available digitally via Apple Music, Spotify and directly from the band via Bandcamp, as well as numerous other online stores. It is also available on black and red vinyl in a vintage style jacket with a lyric/coloring book.
About The 1865
The 1865 was formed in 2017 by musician/filmmaker Sacha Jenkins (The White Mandingos, The Wilding Incident), who also directed the new Wu-Tang docu-series acquired by Showtime. The band came to life when joined by Carolyn “Honeychild” Coleman (Apollo Heights / The Veldt, Badawi) on lead vocals/baritone guitar and famed session musician pro-skateboarder Chuck Treece on drums. The band later added Afro-Brazilian bassist Flora Lucini (Maafa) and drummer Jason “Biz” Lucas (Dragonz of Zynth) to the mix.
The 1865’s music is influenced by Bad Brains, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Minor Threat, but also such artists as Neil Young, Betty Davis, and X-Ray Spex. Punk, metal and new wave dipped in blues barbecue sauce. Open your mouth and dive right in – it tastes great. Machine gun and dissonant guitars, bass deeper than the Bayou, and revolutionary drums lifted straight out of tools in the field.
‘John Brown’s Gat’ and the entire album, was recorded at Applehead Recording Studio in Woodstock, New York by Chris Bittner and Michael Birnbaum, who have worked with everyone from Bad Brains to Living Colour to Coheed and Cambria.
“John Brown was a white man who believed that African Americans should not be enslaved; he was willing to bust his gun (aka his “Gat”) to contribute to the emancipation/liberation effort. The kids today would simply describe him as an “ally”. He was willing to put his life on the line and eventually he lost his life on behalf of his Nubian brothers and sisters. We crafted a tune to honor the man. RIP my brother. You were on the right side of history. Donald Trump is a chump,” says Sacha Jenkins.
@the1865band [rotatingtweets screen_name=’the1865band’]On ‘Don’t Tread On We!’, the band takes inspiration from 1865 America, post the Emancipation. Each song from the LP features different explorations of life in 1865 America, a land living in the shadows of the fallen Confederacy. That year, the Civil War came to an end, thus igniting what was known as America’s Reconstruction era. And while newly freed slaves were slowly adapting to a post-Confederate society, the battle had truly just begun.
There are still so many parallels with modern American history, The 1865 chose their name as to signify that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This debut album punctuates that sentiment, with real stories, told through the prism of hardcore punk. The result is a band, whose lyrics are just as powerful as their bone-shaking sound.
In this current climate, message music is absolutely vital. Enter The 1865 with their mission to inform of the past while simultaneously highlighting some painful realities about the present. Each song is a carefully constructed history lesson, with a supercharged soundscape
“I think Carolyn did a really great job of telling a really broad range of perspectives. All of these songs can be looked at as stories. But if you’re not really plugged in to what the lyrics are about or what the scene is all about, at the end of the day the music still rocks,” says Sacha Jenkins.
Featured image by C.P. Krenkler.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/the1865band
https://the1865.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/the1865band
https://www.instagram.com/the1865band
https://soundcloud.com/massappealrecs/sets/1865-dont-tread-on-we
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0V0ykZPvAxhUYzvTRu25dU?si=OfnMJODwRW2O8reeyhjEcA
https://music.apple.com/us/album/dont-tread-on-we/1448751051
