At last, a decent set of recordings from Gertrude. They’re excellent live with their anarchic cross fertilisation and it’s impossible not to bounce and smile and be happy at a Gertrude gig however bleak and angry their subject matter may be – it’s because they smile so much, its because they’re attitude is so positive and they’re as punk as a skunk, its because they thrash hell out of their cellos and guitars…. Thing is they’ve never captured it in recorded state and we’ve always struggled to say good things when we’ve really really wanted to. They’ve got it now, it’s still scratchy and lo-fi and D.I.Y and its real punk rock but now it’s in the most positive of ways where as before it was a little too messy. The Wrong Tree is like some kind of Disney musical Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music only its directed by Crass… indeed think Crass, think Poison Girls, think Gong, think Mother Gong meet Seven Year Bitch – anyone out there remember Evil Edna’s Horror Toilet? Part of the Stonehenge free festival punk rock scene of the 80’s – alright then, how about a grrrl powered Oroonies – yeah, we had to mention that Gertrude are all girls at some point in the review, it really really shouldn’t matter in 2003, it still does though, girls still have to fight for attention. This is the real spirit of RiotGrrl meets free festi anarcho punk – it’s a perfect mix led by three interweaving multi instrumentalist lead vocalists. Actually there’s massive amounts of classic Gong in Gertrude – HERE WE GO, IT’S FLOATING ANARCHY! Hey, let me quote from the piece of paper they sent with their album –

“Who are Gertrude? A Jagged, power-cello mutant orchestra, offset by lyrical clarinet madness”. They’re a four piece, a collective doing things totally their own way both musically, politically, creatively and in every other way – so refreshing when even the so called punk rock bands seem to want to follow the rules and ape the big labels and big bands with their identikit glossy big cheeses and household name pr marketing campaigns (get the free stickers for your skateboards now kids). Gertrude are refreshing in every sense, they have the right attitude and they deal out so much rich musical adventure - let’s smash the state, it’s never too late – Gertrude are real punk rock, you can never ever really kill the spirit, here it is alive and well. Gertrude are yours to celebrate, this is brilliant, don’t miss out, we’ve got a million albums in here in Organland, very few become treasured possessions like this will.

NME review of She Bang, She Boom now follows (Urban Missfits)

The got an agenda! They got a manifesto! Oh no! They're Riot Grrrls! Quick lads, cover yer cocks and run for the hills! If we mention Huggy Bear, Kleenex, The Slits or Delta 5, you'll probably guess what we're talking about. The only thing that stops this being an absolutely brilliant record is the fact that it fucking JUMPS all over the place. Unless it's not jumping and it's meant to sound like this. In which case it's amazing. Stephen Wells.

Interview with Zoe. Read it here

Teenage kicks Alva's tour Diary. Germany 2003. One fans view of life on the road with gertrude.

Photo of Jamie Driver letting go on the Germany tour, August 2003

The following article is written by a woman who saw Gertrude on the US 'Beg, Borrow and Steel' tour. It is taken from the Voice is Venom web site and is written by L. Hayle.

It was my distinct pleasure to catch the London Based group GERTRUDE, on April 13th at the Covered Wagon Saloon in San Fransico for the first gig of their West Coast tour. The electric cello waiting on stage excited me before I even heard them. Quirky would not even begin to describe the stage presence and music of this cast of characters.

A partner in odd for the cello was the clarinet, played by Iona Tanguay, a Pippi Longstocking looking girl who also played the guitar and sang. This group makes an unusual first impression but the listener is soon charmed by the sweet scruffy vocals of lead singer Zoe Gilmour, that stretch unbelievably well over the broad dynamic range of the music. Zoe is also the cellist in the group - and yes - sometimes she does both at once! GERTRUDE's drummer, Dawn Rose, manages to nail down driving beats as well as do more random and spiced percussion that is the foundation for the poetic and angry coming from the other musicians. Ayesha Taylor makes her distorted guitar scream its passionate angst, giving the songs a rhythmic accessibility.

Audiences have the tendency to feel the bass, rather than actually listen to it - but Debbie Vanozzi's bass playing is impossibly good. Her command of the instrument both physically and technically gives the music an irresistible groove and power. Few bass players have impressed me as this woman has.

GERTRUDE amazes not just because of the individual talents of its members - but because together these women evoke a musical carnival. The songs come to life because of their energy on stage. This ensemble's inspiration is infectious. Inside one of their CD's they have written: We are committed to writing songs and music collectively. We send out a shout to all girls playing guitars and banging drums in bedrooms.