September 18, 2000 – Coming off three week's worth of dates on this summer's Vans Warped Tour, the politically incorrect English foursome Grand Theft Audio debut October 3 with their hard-hitting London-Sire album Blame Everyone. Consisting of singer Jay Butler, bassist/keyboardist Ralph Jezzard (co-writer of EMF's worldwide smash, "Unbelievable"), guitarist Chris McCormack and drummer Ritch Battersby, Grand Theft Audio fuse punk, electronica and hip-hop for a sound with the subtlety of incoming mortar fire. The band's unforgettable first single "Stoopid Ass" ships to radio in October.

As evidenced by tongue-in-cheek song titles like "Drugs and Girls" and "Death to the Infidels," Blame Everyone combine self-deprecating humor with pyrotechnic punk, with just enough pop hooks to piss off rock purists.

As Butler attests, Grand Theft Audio are not a band for elitists. "In England at the moment, there's a big divide between rock bands, metal bands and electronica bands. It's like you can't have a song that's catchy if you're a rock band, and you're not supposed to rock if you're an electronica band. But we don't look at music that way."

Grand Theft Audio revive the underground glory of seminal punk. Their sneering stance is reminiscent of classic English bands like the Kinks and the Sex Pistols, while their predilection for sirenlike electronic sounds places them at the cutting edge of contemporary music. They also toss in chain gang choruses that recall classic AC/DC. "We didn't want to make an album that makes people say, 'Oh, that's alright'," says Butler. "We wanted to make a record that either completely inspires people, or makes them never want to hear it again. We wanted to make a record that's gonna bug the shit out of people, but in the best possible way."

The band came together out of friendship and musical rapport that developed while their four members were in separate bands. Guitarist Chris McCormack was a member of 3 Colors Red, while drummer Ritch Battersby and bassist/keyboardist Ralph Jezzard supplied the backbeat for the Wildhearts. As producer and co-writer of EMF's worldwide smash, "Unbelievable," Jezzard is uniquely qualified to mount GTA's techno-punk assault.

Blame Everyone is the seismic recording jaded rock fans have been asking for. Says Butler: "Our bottom line is: Does it rock? Does it sound good, and does it make you want to go out and do something? We don't have any interest in being this week's flavor of the month."

Look for Grand Theft Audio to tour the U.S. in October. Dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Vocalist Jay Butler says Grand Theft Audio anticipate bringing their pub-perfected modern rock to the live stage once again in the U.S. "I think the live show will be very intense and exciting visually," says Butler. "We want to give people a show, rather than just playing the album."