PRIDEBOWL’s vocalist Aaron left for home on December 29:th. Just before PRIDEBOWL split up many labels received a demo-tape. Lost & Found Records from Germany was soon to take interest and promised a seven-inch of the PRIDEBOWL demo and scattered exposure. This never happened though and Lost and Found had once again proved that they can never be trusted.
Through Satanic Surfers (who Pridebowl had played with just before Christmas) a demo found its way to the Bad Taste headquarters where everyone was very impressed with this young quintet. In March Aaron was flown back to Sweden to start rehearsing and later on recording the first Pridebowl EP “Long-Distance” (btr 4).
The sound of PRIDEBOWL can be said to be speedy, melodic punk-rock with serious, explosive lyrics and catchy rhythms. PRIDEBOWL simply means to roll with your pride, no matter what tries to bring you down. Basically, ”keep your chin up, the bad never lasts as long as the good” and ”value yourself or no one else will.”
A number of compilations and surf/bodyboarding videos followed and in January –96 the band was back in the studio again. This time they recorded at Studio Underground (where Satanic Surfers and No Fun At All had previously recorded) and the 12 tracks were released as “Dripping of the Past” late February the same year. This was followed by a CD-single in March and a video of the title track, “The Soft Song” in May. The video was shot by Apollon Bild & Film who had previously made videos by Millencolin, Roxette and E-Type to name but a few.
In June/July PRIDEBOWL played nine shows in California with bands like Strung Out, Good Riddance, Diesel Boy, Home Grown and Falling Sickness. In September/October they’re toured Sweden with Adhesive followed by Europe in February together with labelmates Intensity and Astream. Before leaving on this tour though they once again went to Västerås to record their second full length, “Where You Put Your Trust”, an album that still stands out as one of the best Swedish punk releases ever! The sales of the album quickly exceeded “Drippings…” and it was also licensed to Shock Records in Australia.
In the last week of March the band embarked on the first (and only) Canadian tour. It was the third annual Sno Jam tour and Pridebowl played approx. a dozen amazing shows together with Snfu, Good Riddance, Satanic Surfers & Diesel Boy. People went crazy when Pridebowl played and Canada has ever since been one of Pridebowl’s strongest territories.
During the remainder of the spring Pridebowl played a few shows in Sweden on their own or supporting bigger bands such as the Misfits for example. Late June they went out on a one week tour, playing three shows in France, a skate festival in Italy and a couple of shows in Belgium. Summer ended with them performing at a festival in Emmaboda.
Henrik and Stefan quit the band shortly hereafter and Patrik and Mattias took their places. The first recording they did together was in September when six tracks where recorded at the studio in Varberg, Recordia. Three of these tracks ended up the Adhesive split “No Better, No Worse” released in November –97 and the other three are available on the final album “Yesterday’s End”.
In October they went on a full European tour together with Turtlehead and this was immediately followed by a tour of Asia and Australia in Nov/Dec! The first show was in Hong Kong and the band went from here up to Beijing where another couple of shows were played. After touring China (as the first foreign punk band ever) and basically risking their lives considering the contents of their lyrics, they played four shows in Japan and then flew over to Australia for the last two weeks on this tour. In Australia they played with Frenzal Rhomb which is one of the biggest punk bands around attracting up to 5 thousand (people) at their shows!! Needless to say, Pridebowl played some incredible shows!
They returned from Australia at the end of 1997 and when Aaron went to the US for a month in January, the other members more or less decided to put an end to the band. Things had gotten worse and worse between them during the different tours and they all felt (Aaron included) that they couldn’t go on anymore. Three final songs were recorded before Aaron went back to the U.S. for good and “Yesterday’s End” (containing mostly unreleased, but also some out of print material) was released late September this year and can be seen as the band’s farewell album to all their fans.
Memories Of You
Pridebowl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And where the hell were you when i was young
Well i bet you were out drinkin' at the bar
While mom was givin' birth to me in the car
There once was a time when i was in need
But i think you were out sniffin' speed
And i bet now that you're old and weak
You wish you had your son to speak
I've bottled them all up in a jar
So that one may see your wasteful time
Yet never contract your piece of mind
I don't think you'll ever understand
How much you were in demand
Strangely enough, i love you
And i don't think you'll ever understand
How much you were in demand
If you knew and couldn't tell
I hope you burn in hell
Wherever were you when time begun
And were the hell were you when i was young
I can almost imagine those days with you
Playin' baseball and shootin' some hoop
I can almost picture the way you looked
As i remember the time you read my book
A time when i never missed you
The time when i had much trust in you
But as i clear my hazy eyes
Remember all your bullshit lies
And how you walked all over mom
And now you're gone
The Pridebowl's song Memories Of You is a profound reflection upon the relationship and absence of the singer's father. The lyrics pay homage to the memories of the past, both good and bad, but also display the pain and resentment the singer has towards his estranged father. The song begins with a questioning tone, with the singer wondering where his father was when he needed him the most, during his childhood. The lyrics "Well, I bet you were out drinkin' at the bar, while mom was givin' birth to me in the car" reflect a sense of abandonment and neglect.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on some of the good times he had with his father. He remembers playing baseball and shooting hoops with his dad and the time his father read his book. However, these memories are tarnished by the recollection of how his father walked over his mother and the fact that he was never there when his son needed him.
The lyrics are raw and poignant, conveying a sense of longing and disappointment. The singer's love for his father is evident, but his hurt and anger overshadow everything else. The line "Strangely enough, I love you" captures the complexity of the singer's emotions towards his father.
Overall, the song is a beautiful and heartbreaking portrayal of a son's search for his father's love and affection.
Line by Line Meaning
Wherever were you when time begun
I wonder where you were when the world was created
And where the hell were you when i was young
And where were you when I needed you as a child
Well i bet you were out drinkin' at the bar
I assume you were drinking at a bar instead of being there for me
While mom was givin' birth to me in the car
And when I was being born in a car, mom was the only one who was there for me
There once was a time when i was in need
There was a time when I needed you but you were never there for me
But i think you were out sniffin' speed
I believe you were using drugs instead of being a father to me
And i bet now that you're old and weak
I'm sure that now you are old and frail
You wish you had your son to speak
You wish that you could have a relationship with your son
The memories of you are so far
My memories of you are distant and unclear
I've bottled them all up in a jar
I have kept my memories of you hidden away
So that one may see your wasteful time
So others can see what a waste of time you were
Yet never contract your piece of mind
Without compromising my own peace of mind
I don't think you'll ever understand
I doubt that you will ever comprehend
How much you were in demand
How much I needed you to be there for me
Strangely enough, i love you
Oddly, I still have feelings of love for you
And i don't think you'll ever understand
And I don't think you will ever comprehend
How much you were in demand
How much I needed you to be there for me
If you knew and couldn't tell
If you knew what I needed from you but couldn't provide it
I hope you burn in hell
I hope you suffer the consequences of your inaction
I can almost imagine those days with you
I can almost picture what it would be like to have had a father figure in my life
Playin' baseball and shootin' some hoop
Playing sports and having fun together
I can almost picture the way you looked
I can almost remember what you looked like
As i remember the time you read my book
I recall the time when you read a book to me
A time when i never missed you
There was a time when I didn't feel your absence
The time when i had much trust in you
A time when I trusted you completely
But as i clear my hazy eyes
But as I come to my senses
Remember all your bullshit lies
Remember all the lies you told me
And how you walked all over mom
And how you mistreated my mother
And now you're gone
And now you are no longer in my life
Contributed by Allison K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Raphaky 7
Awesome band!!!