| Gary 'Gash' Brown - Barse |
| GARY 'GASH' BROWN Gary "Gash" Brown was born 7/1/1971 He died on 20/12/2006 Barse's front man Gash passed away 4 days before Christmas. Trev Howarth (the man behind Barse's debut full length "Negative Reaction") was supposed to write a bio for Barse, but before he had finished it, the bad news reached us and he ended up writing a tribute. I can't find right words now, so just read on. - Vesku - Hells Tone Records www.myspace.com/barsefilth BARSE TRIBUTE BY TREV Very little of note happened for the next few years after the release of "Better Be Ready" 7". Line up problems often saw the band at a standstill. Jeff left in a row over money (it was never "musical differences in Barse; always rows over money) , Rick had rejoined then left again. And bass players, oh fuck, don't mention bass players. It was like a Pop Idol revolving door of contenders and it only ever got settled when Davey joined. Hence nothing was recorded between 2003 and 2005 and the only thing to keep us amused was controversy generated in MRR. A Leeds PC fanzine slagged the band off and branded them childish, taunting Gash that Barse "couldn't possibly be offensive". He proved otherwise by calling the editor a child molester in the world's biggest punk mag. The ensuing furore, particularly in MRR's letters pages, gave the band months of free publicity. Earlier they'd played with the ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE in South Shields but the moment of glory was spoilt by a disappearing PA man (The League insisted on a light show so he'd had to go out looking for one. When it arrived it blew the fuses so Animal and Co ended up with an even worse sound than Barse. That's what ya get for being rock perfectionists!). They also did a couple of slots with the SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE. One of the gigs, in Newcastle Trillians, was on the night of a Newcastle match and by the time BARSE finished their set, hundreds of Newcastle football hooligans had filled the place. After the band played their last song, Gash announced through the mic "You've been a great crowd - thank you SUNDERLAND!" !!! Oddly enough SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE went on to be bigger than many of the original 1977 bands. Funny old world. Or should that be "sad"? Fast forward to 2006 where things started happening again. Despair at attracting a reliable drummer resulted in Gash reverting back to the drumstool with Wayne and Davey completing the 3 piece line up. They played a big LPR Hardcore Summerfest in Finland and managed to get an excellent tape of their set, spoilt largely by the lack of a second guitar ; hence the odd weak sounding lead break (but otherwise a cracking recording, with hilarious inbetween song banter). Arthur from THE LURKERS became a big fan, and in Oct 06 his other band 999 played Gateshead 3 Tuns . It was a typical nuts gig, with the usual hilarious banter from Gash , but one thing distinctively lacking was the visual aspect. Gash needed to be back up front on guitar/vocals. A young drummer, Tony from Blyth band FORGOTTEN ROOTS (a GREEN DAY sort of band), was recruited and finally it looked as if the band were going somewhere. In just a few practices a great sounding short set was put together, including a fantastic cover of THE NOW's "You Student". Gash seemed in positive mood and the new album - "If You Can't Fuck Em Cut Em Up" (for maximum offence!) - was recorded in less than 2 days. He had finally mastered the art of the 8 track, and the recording was superb, as were the songs. I am not exaggerating when I say it is right up there with the first albums by BLITZ, MACC LADS, SLOPPY SECONDS, COCK SPARRER and OXYMORON. It really is THAT good. Me, Dawn and my 9 yr old son Lewis (aka Son of Oi) visited Gash on Sat 16th Dec 2006. Lewis worshipped him and begged for a guitar for his birthday (the next day). Gash, despite being responsible for many a hell-raising anthem, was a great family man, not just with his own kids; he often got the guitar out and sung mad acoustic songs to keep Son of Oi pacified. He was simply a musical genius and didn't need to hide behind walls of guitars and echo. He had lost his keys that night, so our final sight of him was looking back at him laughing as we struggled to climb out the bedroom window. By Wednesday 20th Dec however, he was dead. Found dead in the flat by Helen his girlfriend. All who knew him kept asking the question - WHY? Why, when Xmas with the kids (Liam and Alex) was just around the corner; Why, when there was the release of one of the best albums made to look forward to; why, when the band line up finally was settled and looked sure to be going somewhere? Gash suffered from depression. Things which the rest of us would get over in a day or two would linger and grow deeper. He could never be at peace until now. It was a comforting explanation but we all still wish it was all a dream. The world has lost one of it's best guitarists, drummers, singers and songwriters. Thankfully he left us with a final batch of true punk anthems that I can guarantee no band will ever equal. RIP Gary "Gash" Brown 7/1/1971 - 20/12/2006 ; musical genius. Any tributes can be emailed to Helen his girlfriend at helenbarker1985@aol.com TREV HAGL (PS) The Barse album 'If You Can't Fuck Em Cut Em Up" is out now on CD for $6 ppd paypal. There is also a full tribute in the next issue of our zine NEGATIVE REACTION (named after the debut BARSE CD of course) which came out in Feb 07. And the zine is £2 ppd each issue (or £3 for two if you review them) trevhagl@hotmail.com |
