World Vs World :Meet The Bands Taking Part In This Weeks Punks 4 Mental Health Mini Fest!

Playing at Crowleys Rock Bar in Swansea on night 1 of the minifest on Friday 12th May 2017 are the brilliant World Vs World !! Here's their band story and what playing the event means to them. With thanks to World Vs World drummer Damian Harris.

Can you tell us a bit about World Vs World? World Vs. World formed in 2007 and have consisted of the line-up of Kirk (vox/guitar), Krist (bass/vox) and Damian (drums) since late 2009. In the last 10 years we've been fortunate enough to tour the length (and half the breadth!) of the UK. We released our debut album, The Sentinel Paradox through Swansea Valley independent label, Death Monkey Records in 2015, along with 4 singles from the album - the lead single, Bohemian Groove being voted #1 and album track, Bang To Rights #29 in Internet radio station XRP Radio's Top 100 tracks of 2015. We're currently working on our follow-up album with DMR which will include the single The Beat Of The Alpha [featuring The Artist Taxi Driver] (released in 2016). We were also recently nominated in the Best Band category for the Jack Swan Community Awards 2017. You are playing at the Punks 4 Mental Health Mini Fest this weekend, what can people expect from the band on the night? Well we're currently hammering out a couple of brand new songs live at the minute, our next single - Sea Of Glass, and another destined for our next album A Thousand Victories, so people should expect some sort of version of those songs! Also, the usual sort of thing - all the familiars from The Sentinel Paradox, maybe a couple of oldies...possibly a curve ball cover...we got bored of setlists a long time ago, so we're kinda going through a period of set improvisation for some reason! It may come across live as a bit sporadic, but it feels more relaxed and a bit less formulaic on stage, for us, like! And Kirk is always funnier when he makes this up on the bounce! What does it mean to the band to be playing an event aimed at challenging stigma around mental health? It's very important to us personally. WVW have had our fair share of 'psychological ill health' in our personal lives, and still do. In many respects, it's what brought and gels the three of us together both socially and creatively. Even the band name, World Vs. World, on some levels, represents that constant internal battle we have with ourselves and our perceptions of reality. I'm even currently studying to become a Psychologist directly because of my personal psychological issues, and for a better understanding of mental health in general, in the hope to be able to help make a difference to others who suffer. So when we first heard of P4MH and what they were all about, we felt it was an organisation we needed to work closer with, but also represented a movement we already felt a part of, if that makes sense? Even though WVW gigs are not officially "P4MH" events, we are Punks and we support smashing the stigmas around mental health, so in effect, every WVW gig is a 'punks for mental health' gig in a way! So we've always supported P4MH and have played a P4MH event at The Mason's last year, so when we heard this event was happening we immediately gave Julian a shout and offered our participation at either venue at the event! We're all about getting people to think differently, and hopefully, P4MH can help society do that, even on a local level. People who hold negative bias towards mental health need to realise that holding such biases could in itself be a sign of psychological ill health and maladjusted thought processes, and people who suffer need to know that it's OK to feel the way they feel, it's perfectly natural, they are certainly not alone, they really are loved, and things CAN get better...you CAN take control! The three of us are living proof of that! It's not easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is! Have the strength to take that first step and the rest will, in time, fall in to place. Keep fighting. Check out World Vs World for more info on their Facebook page