{"id":58611,"date":"2020-01-06T08:52:52","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T08:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=58611"},"modified":"2020-01-06T08:59:19","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T08:59:19","slug":"fables-of-the-reconstruction-nycs-the-1865-evoke-the-past-to-shine-a-light-on-the-dark-underbelly-of-trumps-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/01\/fables-of-the-reconstruction-nycs-the-1865-evoke-the-past-to-shine-a-light-on-the-dark-underbelly-of-trumps-america\/","title":{"rendered":"FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION – NYC’s The 1865 Evoke The Past To Shine A Light On The Dark Underbelly Of Trump’s America"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s any succour for those feeling demoralised and disenfranchised by the current state of world politics, it\u2019s the revival of a fierce musical and artistic resistance.<\/h4>\n

New York city’s The 1865 <\/strong>are part of a new wave of punk bands bringing the politics of protest back to the frontline of American music.<\/h4>\n

Combining elements of hardcore, heavy rock and blues, with articulate, intelligent, lyrics, they\u2019re taking the fight to Donald Trump<\/strong> in his own backyard.<\/p>\n

Debut album Don\u2019t Tread On We! <\/em><\/strong>uses history to shed light on the violence, division and casual racism, the band say, are part of the everyday experience of black people in America.<\/p>\n

Named after the year slavery was officially outlawed in the US , The 1865 describe themselves as \u201cBad Brains<\/strong> meets Foo Fighters<\/strong> in a black woman\u2019s hair salon for a cup of tea\u201d.<\/p>\n

Vocalist\/lyricist Carolyn \u2018Honeychild\u2019 Coleman <\/strong>and founder and lead guitarist Sacha Jenkins <\/strong>caught up with EP\u2019s Matt Catchpole <\/strong>to discuss the state of the nation and their ambitions for the band.<\/p>\n

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From Left: Jason ‘Biz’ Lucas, Carolyn Honeychild Coleman, Flora Lucini and Sacha Jenkins – Picture by Ed Marshall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Formed by guitarist and filmmaker Jenkins in 2017, The 1865 have some serious antecedents.<\/p>\n

Sacha played with The White Mandingos <\/strong>and The Wilding Incident<\/strong>, while vocalist\/guitarist Honeychild featured in Apollo<\/strong> Heights<\/strong>, The Veldt<\/strong> and Badawi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Famed session multi-instrumentalist and skateboard pro Chuck Treece<\/strong>, whose credits include Bad Brains<\/strong>, Urge Overkill <\/strong>and McRad, <\/strong>played bass and drums on the album.<\/p>\n

The line-up also features Afro-Brazilian Flora Lucini <\/strong>(MAAFA<\/strong>) on bass and Jason ‘Biz’ Lucas <\/strong>(Dragonz of Zynth<\/strong>) on drums.<\/p>\n

Every song on the album features an aspect of life in post-emancipation America, Coleman\u2019s lyrics drawing connections between past and present.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set out to express some of the experiences and emotions in America during that time, Predominantly through the lens of African Americans yet not exclusively,\u201d Honeychild explains.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cI 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,\u201d Sacha adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you\u2019re not really plugged into what the lyrics are about or what the scene is all about, at the end of the day the music still rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

A case in point is band\u2019s blistering new single John Brown\u2019s Gat<\/em><\/strong> – which references 19th century abolitionist John Brown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brown sought to spark an armed insurrection against slavery and was hanged for treason after leading a raid on an armoury in Harper\u2019s Ferry, Virginia in 1859.<\/p>\n

John Brown\u2019s Gat <\/em>opens with the band singing an acapella version of John Brown\u2019s Body<\/em><\/strong> – the Civil War anthem that bears his name.<\/p>\n

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