NEWS
Sports Team are offering fans a chance to fire five shots of a web-controlled paintball gun at them – read on to find out how.
The Cambridge band are preparing to release their third studio album ‘Boys These Days’ on May 23 via Distiller Records/Bright Antenna, which you can pre-order/pre-save here. They have previewed the album with the singles ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’, ‘Condensation’, ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and ‘Maybe When We’re 30’.
Ahead of the release, they will be offering people who pre-order the album the opportunity to hurl paintballs at them.
In an Instagram post on Friday (May 9), they wrote: “On Tuesday we’ll be spending the day in a room doing live sales of the new album with what remains of our dignity and a 3000psi, web-controlled paintball gun. Buy the record. Get five shots.”
The post comes alongside a video of the band in the studio, showing the paintball gun in question aiming at a range of melons. “It’s ok to hate Sports Team,” reads a caption. “Six band members, four hours, one web-enabled fully remote paintball turret gun. Buy the album, get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 shots. 13th May.”
The band have also announced a series of in-store gigs to take place around the release of the album – tickets are on sale now and can be bought in participating stores or on the band’s site here.
MAY
21 – Banquet, Kingston
22 – Assai at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
23 – Assai, Glasgow
24 – Live at Leeds signing
25 – Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool
26 – Rough Trade, Nottingham
27 – Rough Trade, East London
28 – Resident, Brighton
29 – Rough Trade, Bristol
‘Boys These Days’ will be the follow-up to 2022’s ‘Gulp!’, which NME awarded four stars and noted was “a cocky, self-assured record that blends Sports Team’s chaotic energy with a smart, heartfelt understanding of the power of guitar music.”
“Through it all, Sports Team are just trying to have a good time. It’s a relatable sentiment given these times, and whether it’s the escapism of the live show or their communal spirit, ‘Gulp!’ sees the band continue to build something to believe in.”
Morrissey has written an emotional tribute to his former manager Peter Katsis, remembering him as “a very unusual star” and declaring that “a world has ended”.
Peter Katsis passed away last Thursday, August 6, aged 69. His death was reportedly caused by complications linked to congestive heart failure.
Born in Chicago, Katsis became a respected name within the music world, working as a manager for artists such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg and Jane’s Addiction. After news of his death emerged, the former Smiths singer initially responded by posting a picture of Katsis.
Morrissey has now published a more detailed remembrance, accompanied by an image showing Katsis dressed in drag while attending a New York Dolls concert in Chicago in 1973.
Looking back at the picture, Morrissey said: “He certainly got into the spirit of things. Given his bustling masculinity, he would roar with laughter to know that I have used this shot in summation of his life.”
“I am justifiably glum this week, and it has taken me several days to even face writing this because PK was a very unusual star: an adventurer who enjoyed biting off more than most people could collectively chew,” he continued. “He was very much liked – which was unusual in a music manager. In a way, a dreamy-eyed romantic, but when necessary, a trick octopus.”
Sharing more memories of Katsis and his larger than life personality, Morrissey added: “All liberties were taken; all fun encouraged and consumed. He knew how and when to give momentum another good shove. Sometimes his Chicagoan knuckle-district dialogue was slightly comic strip, but it was all part of his self-destructive charm… taunting an overdose of Dom Perignon because… well, why not?”
The singer also recalled how the pair viewed the music industry in much the same way. “We were similar in that we were both correct too early – on all predictions. He knew that most modern bands contained neither danger nor mystery, but he gritted his teeth and dealt with the platitudinous industry gabble of Los Angeles.”
Turning to a deeply personal moment in their friendship, Morrissey continued: “When my mother died in 2020, he raced to my side. He knew I couldn’t deal with it. He immediately introduced me to Andrew Watt and we recorded “Bonfire Of Teenagers” faster than the speed of sound – an undreamed-of rescue at a time when another day, for me, might not have come.”
Morrissey ended his message by writing: “The future is now merely the remainder of life. Dead brother buried. A world has ended.”
“Bonfire Of Teenagers” was created across 2020 and 2021 with Watt handling production. The record features appearances from Miley Cyrus, Iggy Pop and musicians from Red Hot Chili Peppers, although the album has still not received an official release.
Several other music figures have remembered Katsis since his passing, including Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan. Corgan described him as “a dear friend and extended member of our family” and praised his role in helping to “usher in the alternative revolution of the ’80s and ’90s and beyond”.
More messages honouring Katsis can be viewed here.
