Brum Notes Magazine August issue

1August 2011

www.brumnotes.com free

August 2011

music and lifestyle for the west midlands

PLUS:The BeesBrontideChapel ClubEasy Star All-StarsThe CarpelsFree School

ALSO INSIDE: Moseley Folk Festival previewOff the Cuff Festival — the verdict, the sweat, the picturesAND your full guide to what’s on in August

GOLDIEThe master returns

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CONTENTSBrum Notes Magazine120 The GreenhouseThe Custard FactoryDigbethBirminghamB9 4AAContact:[email protected] 224 7363Advertising:Contact: 0121 224 7363 or [email protected]:StickupMedia! 0121 224 7364

Editor: Chris MoriartyContributorsWords: Tom Pell, Jon Pritchard, Daron Billings, Amy Sumner, Lauren Partridge, Cassie-Philomena Smyth, Gareth John, Lyle Bignon, Andy EnderbyPictures: Wayne Fox, Gobinder Jhitta, Katja Ogrin, Jade Sukiya, Andy Watson, Drw Images, Lee Allen, Emma Tullett, Roger SargentStyle editor: Jade [email protected]: Sleepy.me.uk, Andy Aitken

All content © Brum Notes Magazine. Views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Brum Notes Magazine. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of content, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses claimed to have been incurred by any errors. Advertising terms and conditions available on request. Twitter: @BrumNotesMagFacebook:www.facebook.com/BrumNotesMagazinewww.brumnotes.com

REGULARS:NEWSSTYLELIVE REVIEWSCLUB WATCHFOOD & DRINKWHAT’S ON - your comprehensive guide to music, clubs and comedy across the West Midlands this month

FEATURES:FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Moseley Folk FestivalFESTIVAL PREVIEW: The BeesMUSIC: BrontideMUSIC: Free SchoolMUSIC: GoldieMUSIC: Chapel ClubMUSIC: The CarpelsMUSIC: Easy Star All-Stars

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hOmE Of mETal A region-wide campaign celebrating the roots of heavy metal music continues this month, with new exhibitions launching in the Black Country. Home of Metal launched in June with exhibitions in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, while a new display has now been unveiled in Walsall. The New Art Gallery in Walsall hosts Be True To Your Oblivion by multi-discipline artist Mark Titchner until September 10. It includes a brand new film entitled N (I) B, based around a portrait video of musician and sound artist Nicholas Bullen, a founding member of grindcore heroes Napalm Death who became renowned for his ‘Death Grunt’ vocal style.You Should Be Living: The Visual Language of Heavy Metal (pictured below) also continues at Wolverhampton Art Gallery until September 17, a contemporary collection of work inspired by heavy metal including typography, vintage t-shirts and sculptures. It also includes a collaboration work by Bullen and French artist and grindcore fan Damien Deroubaix featuring sculptures, paintings and cinefilm footage. The Black Country Weekender, featuring events, films, live music and talks, takes place at various venues from September 1 to 4. Visit www.homeofmetal.com.

buddiNg COmEdiaNS gET ChaNCE TO hiT ThE COmEdy CirCuiTAspiring comics will get the chance to show off their talents at a unique showcase event in West Bromwich. The Public arts centre will host the open mic event with a £100 cash prize up for grabs for the winner who will also get a stepping stone onto the comedy circuit with the chance to earn support slots for touring comedy artists at the venue. The Starter for Ten event takes place in front of a panel of judges and a live audience on September 23 and will launch The Public’s autumn programme of comedy nights. Comics wishing to enter the competition should email a promo video or links to online content to [email protected], together with an application form available from www.thepublic.com. Deadline for entries is Friday, August 26. For terms and conditions and more information visit www.thepublic.com.

hip hOp gOSpEl SOuNdS TO bE ShOwCaSEd iN birmiNgham Mobo Award winner Jahaziel and New York rapper R-Swift lead an eclectic line-up of hip hop and gospel for two shows in Birmingham this month. Recognize: Presenting Future Gospel takes place at The Drum in Aston on August 4 followed by a special gospel showcase performance as part of Birmingham Carnival, a bi-annual celebration which returns to Handsworth Park on August 7.

Recognize has been programmed by Punch Records and MUZIC4LIFE with a trans-At-lantic bill which includes US artists R-Swift (pictured right) and Eshon Burgundy, along-side UK talents such as vocalist Melody from Nu Soul, emerging talent Ms Coco Dupree and Jahaziel, renowned for his combination of gospel music and hard-hitting rhymes. The events will blend rap, soul and RnB with a contemporary take on cuttting edge and traditional gospel music. Tickets for the first concert at The Drum in Potters Lane on August 4 are priced at £10. The artists return to Birmingham for a special showcase performance on the main stage in front of a 50,000-strong carnival crowd. The Caribbean-themed Birmingham Carni-val, including Mardi Gras-style parade, runs from 1pm to 8.30pm on August 7, taking place in its original home of Handsworth Park for the first time in 17 years.

Table tennis hopefuls will compete to become Brum’s ‘King of Ping’ before the city’s outdoor tables disappear.

More than 50 table tennis tables have been in place at various locations ranging from Victoria Square to Cadbury World and will remain in place until August 8.Challengers will take part in a huge public tournament to bring the Ping Brum project to a close with a bang between 2pm and 6pm on Sunday, August 7.

An abandoned shop in Corporation Street has also been turned into The Ping Pong Parlour with arts festival Fierce taking over the parlour on Fridays to add its own unique style. The final Fierce Friday takes place on August 5, with Fierce joining forces with arts collaboration Search Party to host a marathon game of ping pong between 5pm and 8pm. For more details including locations of tables and how to enter the King of Ping tourna-ment visit www.pingbrum.co.uk.

guErilla TablE TENNiS prOjECT SEarChES fOr brum’S KiNg Of piNg

Photo by Lee A

llen

5August 2011

lEgENdary fOrmEr muSiC VENuE TO rEOpEN An iconic live music venue in Birmingham city centre will reo-pen this autumn after plans to demolish it were shelved.

The Dale End venue, most recently known as the Carling Academy, will be relaunched in late September as the Birmingham Ballroom. It was also previously the site of legendary city nightspot the Hum-mingbird and was also known as the Top Rank Ballroom.

The venue closed in 2009 when the Academy moved to the former Dome nightclub site in Horsefair off Bristol Street, being rebranded as the O2 Academy. The Dale End complex, which includes three different sized music rooms, was expected to be flattened as part of a £550 redevelopment scheme known as the Martineau Gal-leries, but those plans have been put back until at least 2014 for economic reasons.

The venue is owned by live music specialists VMS Live, headed up by Steve Forster who was also behind its redevelopment a decade ago by the Academy Music Group.

The Birmingham Ballroom will offer a 3,100 capacity main concert hall, as well as The Other Room catering up to 600 people and The End with a 200-person capacity. The End, previously Bar Acade-my, will also operate as a late night music bar with a 6am licence.

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A brand new two-day mu-sic festival will take place in Shropshire next month. The Shrewsbury Fields Forev-er festival runs from September 17 to 18 just five minutes from Shrewsbury town centre.

Baggy indie icons The Charla-tans will headline the main stage on the opening day, alongside performances from the likes of Shropshire ex-pats The Sun-shine Underground and Mas-ters in France. Electro-popsters Fenech-Soler take to the stage on the Sunday, with more acts to be announced. Two dance arenas give the festival a clubber-friendly feel,

featuring Radio 1’s Kissy Sell Out, 90s dance heroes Utah Saints and breakbeat turntab-list Krafty Kuts, as well as a DJ set from current chart darlings Chase and Status.The festival will also feature two days of arts, crafts and mer-chandise stalls, a food and drink court and a fun fair, with camping - complete with main-tained showers and ‘proper’ toi-lets - available on or adjacent to the main 54-acre festival site at Shrewsbury Showground. Weekend, day, family and group tickets are available from £28. Weekend adult tickets with camping are £65. Visit www.shrewsburyfieldsforever.com.

ThE CharlaTaNS hEadliNE NEw midlaNdS muSiC fEST

O2 ACADEMY3BIRMINGHAM

THE SLADE ROOMSWOLVERHAMPTON

HARE & HOUNDSKING’S HEATH

04 AUG SLADE ROOMS everybody looks famous, calling, atlantis, bury the ladybird, crossfire

06 AUG O2 ACADEMY3 dethonator, cytotoxic, hurtseason, koss

11 AUG HARE & HOUNDS KHALIQ, DAKOTA BEATS, LITTLE HOLLYWOOD

12 AUG O2 ACADEMY3 BLOOM, ZERO AMIGO, LUNA KISS

13 AUG SLADE ROOMS MARTYR DE MONA, SYNOPSIS, TWISTED SPECIES, SWORN TO OATH

18 AUG HARE & HOUNDS THE KEV BAYLISS PROJECT, JESTER, THE WILD MERCURY SOUND, KANADA

19 AUG SLADE ROOMS FLATLINE STEREO, FALSE PRETENCE, ILLICIT DISCO, NEVER THE LAST BREATH

27 AUG o2 academy3 KING HERMIT, JUST MORALE, BUTTERFLY STONE, WEATHERBIRD

02 sep o2 academy3 death by disco, sunset on suburbia, stereo espionage, as worlds collide


MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL returns next month for its sixth year, bringing summer to a close in the serene surroundings of Moseley Park, bringing together the finest in folk and folk-influenced musicians from around the world. Saturday headliners, Malian desert blues troupe Tinariwen give 2011’s festival a truly global feel, while a host of other star names add to what is Moseley Folk Festival’s strongest line-up to date. Here are some of our highlights:

juNipJosé González melted the heart of many a Folk Festival-goer with his solo set in 2008 and returns to the scene this year with his long-standing band Junip. The Swed-ish three-piece deliver a fascinating and hauntingly serene concoction of psyche-delia, jazz-folk, afro-beat and soul - all of course underpinned by those trademark hyp-notic vocals.

Junip follow Willy Mason on the main stage on Saturday

willy maSONNew York-born Willy Mason was one of the men responsible for revitalising popu-lar acoustic music in recent years with hit 2005 single Oxygen crossing the divide from cult hit to mass market radio play. Having sloped back into the shadows after two ex-cellent albums, his love for songwriting has not waned and you can expect previews of his long-awaited third album.

Willy Mason is fourth on the bill on the main stage on Saturday

STOrNOwayOxford charmers Stornoway (pictured left) quietly delivered one of the albums of 2010 with their whimsical blend of indie-folk on debut LP Beachcomber’s Windowsill. Their awkwardly polite stage manner is endearing, their dreamy songwriting entrancing, while a penchant for experimenting with their live sets makes them well worth a watch while supping your final ciders.

Stornoway are second on the bill on the main stage on Sunday

OThEr highlighTSThe opening night kicks off in style with two indie big-hitters bringing Friday night to a close. Super Furry Animals frontman and musical oddball Gruff Rhys brings his third solo album Shamploo to the live stage followed by alt-acoustic icon Badly Drawn Boy (pictured left)

who headlines the opening night. Both will also be preceded by the Hectic Basque folk-dance fusionists Crystal Fighters keeping the after-work energy levels up. A strong contingent of local talent pervades the festival air throughout the weekend, largely congregating around the smaller Lunar Stage or inside the Bohemian Jukebox tent.

Electronica-fused multi-instrumentalists Malpas take to the Lunar Stage on Friday evening, followed by romantic folk collective Boat to Row. Handsworth’s Vijay Kishore boasts one of the most captivating vocal styles anywhere, let alone in Birmingham, and opens the main stage on Friday. Birmingham bluegrass trio The Toy Hearts will inject some sunshine spirit into Saturday on the Lunar Stage, while soundtrack experimentalists Pram present a somewhat darker but no less intriguing appearance later on the same stage. Ivor Novello-winning Wulfrunian and festival regular Scott Matthews returns to the main stage on the Sunday before socialist folk mainstay Billy Bragg closes proceedings on the Sunday night.

Moseley Folk Festival runs from September 2 to 4 at Mose-ley Park. Single day, two day and three day tickets are avail-able from £28.50-£79. For details visit www.moseleyfolk.co.uk

Festivals

VillagErS Velvet-voiced Irishman Conor J O’Brien, aka Villagers (pictured right), earned plaudits aplenty following last year’s debut album Becoming a Jackal culminating in a Mercury nomination. The record drips with a brood-ing intensity which belies his tender years, coupled with an accessible penchant for strong melodies, while his live performances, backed by a full band, are equally captivating.

Villagers is third on the bill on Friday, before Gruff Rhys and Badly Drawn Boy

7August 2011

It is nearly a decade since they first graced us with much-loved de-but album Sunshine Hit Me and in the meantime The Bees have quietly become elder statesmen of the UK’s alt-indie scene. Festival stalwarts as well, their sunny blend of reggae-tinged beats, rootsy folk-pop melodies and quirky songwriting is made for dancing in fields. Or in this case a park.

The Isle of Wight collective - swelled from a duo to a group of up to eight over the years - are making a very welcome return for their second appearance at the Moseley Folk Festival. And if their first in 2008 is anything to go by then 2011 will be something special. They are returning to the sundown slot on the Saturday night, shortly be-fore headliners Tinariwen. And if the festival is happy to have them back, then The Bees are equally happy to return. “We loved it last time, it’s a great spot,” says founding member and bassist Aaron Fletcher. “We’re a bit musically all over the place but Moseley Folk Festival seems to have the right audience that likes The Bees. We do quite a bit of folk style music and you can’t really play that stuff when you’re playing certain venues.

“I’ve got lots of friends in Brum and have spent a bit of time there so when Moseley Folk asked us to play we definitely wanted to do it. We couldn’t play last year as I was getting married so I’ll be play-ing on my wedding anniversary this time, but that can’t be helped - I love Moseley that much it’s worth it.”

“Birmingham always comes up when we’re touring and we seem to have a good reaction. But I gather now it’s the home of metal. I always thought Birmingham was the home of British reggae, but now apparently it’s the home of metal. We were playing there last month and there were posters everywhere.”

The Bees may be wizened these days when it comes to entertain-ing the crowds but Aaron insists they are still hungry to continue making new and exciting music. Not that they are old of course. “We played Latitude recently and we certainly felt like an old band, everyone else just looked so young and we just looked like a bunch of roadies. It’s part of our charm I guess,” he continues. “It’s 10 years now and we’re still managing to do what we were doing

when we started out. We’ve not become massive or anything but we’re really lucky to keep this comfortable existence. “Performing is all quite natural now, that’s developed and as for writ-ing, we’re always searching to make that song or make that record.”

Currently in the throes of making album number five, Aaron says some of their more diverse influences may come to the forefront - but not at the expense of the trademark Bees sound. “We’re always trying to keep people guessing. We’ve got a definite sound and a thread but we love our electronic music which hasn’t really come out yet in The Bees before. “I love lots of new music as well at the moment and I’m really into hip hop and beats. There’s no real ego with the group so no one’s afraid to throw an idea in - or to have an idea thrown out either.“We’ve been on two majors which is quite a rare thing to do. We don’t sell as many records as we used to but then I don’t think any-body does. But we’ve got a really good fanbase and there’s a lot of love in the industry for us as well which is nice. We don’t necessar-ily get on playlists because we’re not Lady Gaga or The Wanted, but we do still get played.

“It’s hard work but we’re all aware that this is one of the greatest things to do in the world, to make music for a living. And to play at festivals to people in the sunshine. Although it’s rained at every one so far, so hopefully that will change.”

The Bees are second on the bill on the Saturday night at Mo-seley Folk Festival, on September 3. www.moseleyfolk.co.uk

STillbuZZiNgThe Isle of Wight’s finest THE BEES are old hands when it comes to festivals these days and are sure to prove one of the highlights of next month’s Moseley Folk Festival once again. Founder member Aaron Fletcher tells Chris Moriarty why they can’t wait to return to Moseley.


TurNiNg ThE TidEIf there’s one thing music scribes love to do, it’s to write pithy de-scriptions of bands and their musical style. And then plucky up-starts like Brontide come along and make it as difficult as possible. “At times we’re quite heavy but then we can be poppy too. We try and get a mix of progressive stuff as well as quite catchy riffs that can get stuck in your head,” says drummer Will Bowerman - for-merly of synth-pop indie duo I Was a Cub Scout - as he attempts to sum up Brontide’s undisputed yet somewhat different appeal. “Obviously when we try to describe our sound we have to say in-strumental, as that is our main aspect. But at times we can be quite heavy and other times we try to keep it light and innocent and poppy.”

After a successful showing at last month’s Off the Cuff festival at The Flapper, the band return to the same venue on August 24 to put on a free show. “I think we sound a lot better live than on record,” insists bassist Nathan Fairweather, “although I am very happy with our recordings. I’m just more inclined to refer people to see us live.”“We like to do free shows as much as possible,” adds Will. “If we had enough money we would put them on all the time.”

Their shows are visual as well as moody and ethereal, and Brontide are confident their headline appearance this month will give them the chance to put on a real show on their return to the Second City.“We’ll be able to bring down all the lights and have a bit more time to play more songs and have a bit more fun [this time] as well. Hope-fully we’ll play some more new songs too,” says Will. “Our guitarist Tim is an absolute wizard on the pedals, so it’s always good to be able to see him. His feet are amazing.“Also, everything we do on record we do live too. Although it sounds quite epic, Tim uses a lot of loops and stuff to make sure it all sounds as great as possible.”

Think Foals’ bigger brother, with the intricate riffs and funky bass plumped up by the powerful drumming, giving their sound a harder edge. The band have been mellowing a little recently however, and admit they are listening to a lot more electronic music at the moment. Will explains: “We get labelled post-rock because we have atmos-pheric parts, but we don’t think we’re post-rock. We’ve been lis-tening to a lot of Surfer Blood. I’m really enjoying Stuart Warwick’s album at the moment. It’s the whole Jamie Woon/James Blake sort of music but it’s hands down the best album I’ve listened to for a while.”“His voice is just nuts. It’s incredible,” adds guitarist Nathan.

Back to Brontide themselves, despite their ‘new band’ status, it is now four years since they first got together, originally as a side project from their respective other bands. Now though, it is very much a priority, giving Brontide the chance to hone their own sound. “When we originally got together we were all really busy,” says Will. “I think we only played about four gigs throughout the whole of 2008.”“Some of our earlier demos were really poppy,” continues Nathan, “but then we’d do a heavy song to make up for that. I think over the years we’ve managed to get a mix of the two so there is a more all round feel to it.”

As for the name, Brontide actually means the low rumble of distant thunder, which is a match made in heaven for the band. However, the way they discovered it wasn’t exactly rock and roll.Will explains: “I wish we had a cool story to explain this but we don’t. Me and Tim were saying we needed a gnarly word, so we literally just Googled ‘gnarly words.’” And you wonder why they don’t have lyrics.

Brontide perform a free entry show at The Flapper, Birmingham, on August 24

Brighton’s instrumental three-piece

BRONTIDE’S dark atmospherics are

something of a shift from some of the

trio’s previous musical incarnations.

Jon Pritchard finds out more.

9August 2011

Brummie dance duo FREE SCHOOl claim to fuse “the sun-ny Balearic sounds of summer and the icy, kosmische sounds of winter.” With their debut EP out now and a headline home-town live show to follow, we thought it was time for a lesson on Free School...

So, first things first, what are Free School all about?We’re about making beautiful, timeless electronic dance music. We work on something until it turns into a piece we can listen to forever, it’s really important to us and we are our fiercest critics. We get so enthusiastic about our music because we love listening to it, rather than because we think it deserves praise. We’re not concerned with fashion or trends; you can stifle and sacrifice the things that you do best just to be on the cutting edge.

How would you describe yourselves and who would you name as your influences? We’ve been variously described as ‘Cosmic Disco’, ‘Synth-wave’, ‘Balearic’ and our current favourite ‘Synth Molesters’! Our music is lush, melodic and bewitching, epic in scale with a strong nod to the dancefloor. Among our influences are Lindstrom, Orbital, Fuck Buttons, Kelley Polar, Warp, the Orb, LCD Soundsystem and early Autechre, when they made tunes. There, I’ve said it. You’ve had some nice support slots , what’s been the highlight? We’ve been really lucky, our debut was with Fujiya & Miyagi, of whom we’re big fans, really, really lovely guys too, a real privilege. Mark E as well, such a talent - there may well be something further to report on that soon, watch this space! We DJ’d at the launch of the Out Of Bounds house label run by The Discomendments guys, they’re pedigree Birmingham house producers. The real highlight has been meeting the people who run the shows in Birmingham, there’s a lot of heart and integrity in what they’re doing, a real credit to the city.

Why should we come and see you this month?We’ve handpicked the acts for the show so it’ll be a fantastic night, Arc Vel creates beautiful, soulful electronica, like Flying Lotus being covered by Boards Of Canada. Greg Bird is Prince meets Ultravox and the wonderful Archmix DJs will be in support to glue it all together in their inimitable style. Free School genuinely are a sight to behold, live, and you don’t get a reputation as ‘synth-molestors’ for nothing!

Free School are live at The Rainbow on August 19 to mark the launch of their debut EP Ranting & Raving, out now on Tirk Records. Support on the night comes from Arc Vel, Greg Bird & Flamingo Flame and Archmix DJs

frEE SChOOl

THE ADAM & EVEAUGUST LISTINGS:

Friday 5th: Smoke Like a Fish + Big Stone Culture + Generic EricSaturday 6th: Big Balloon and The Afterparty present: Forloco + Ruberlaris + Charlotte Carpenter + Tom Roberts + Eamon LaveySunday 7th: SOCIAL CLUB SOUNDSYSTEM SUNDAY + KARAOKE!! Free entry, £1.50 drinks, live music plus Tom + Jimi will be Mixing acoustic guitar and beatboxing. 4pm start!Wednesday 3rd: Silent Filter presents: Pulse + Of Kings and Captains + Platypus Duck + Boxed Room Rebels Thursday 11th: Oxjam presents: Skies + Ask Alfie + Afro Kings + Black Russian + Daniel Hamer + Exodus CallingFriday 12th: The Jam DRCSaturday 13th: Birmingham Promoters present: Stray Soul Remedy + Tara + Joanna Briggs + Bethany Jean ConroySunday 14th: The Sunday Scene (4pm-8pm) presents: The Lemontops & David (DRC) live. Free entry, free nibbles!

Thursday 18th: Silent Filter presents: Bombers + Heathen Zoo + Scar the Crow + FarisleFriday 19th: Pub Tropicana!!! Moombathon, dancehall + funky 2step ft New City Jack + Skankboy.Saturday 20th: Birmingham Promoters present: Copious + JIA + Little Liam Sunday 21st: Silent FilterWednesday 24th: Jimmi Friction + Lost Gypsy DollsThursday 25th: Punks Alive presents..a night of raucous Punk- acts tbc.Friday 26th: ‘Come Together’ - A night of Britpop, indie and 60s.2.30am onwards: Shadow City AfterpartySaturday 27th: Mojo Hooker + more tbc.Sunday 28th: Sunday Xpress (4pm-7pm). Open poetry afternoon hosted by the infamous ‘Big Bren’ / Silent Filter presents: Mrs England + The Fakulty + Valhalla

Every Monday is ‘Broken Amp’. Breaking acoustic talent every Monday

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PURE GOLD

“Art is the avocation of a medium to a surface. Now, which one are we talking about? Am I melting gold, putting it into a mould? Am I putting it into a ring? Am I getting sound, putting it onto a disk? Am I taking paint and putting it onto a canvas? Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same thing to me.”

Clifford Joseph Price is a man of many talents. Graffiti artist, jeweller, DJ, actor, real-ity TV star. Oh, and he’s the Vito Corleone of drum & bass. Forgot about that. While he’s not hobnobbing with Prince Harry at Silverstone, he’s talking to Brum Notes about his new release mixtape for London

super-brand Fabric, Fabriclive 58, and all things musical. His scattergun answers on any topic come with unnerving conviction — this is a man who knows his crafts, and isn’t afraid to let you know either, with a penchant for a winding rant seemingly always locked and loaded.

He’s very local. Growing up in care in, “…Willenhall, Chasewater, Wolverhampton and back” amongst other local spots, he built up a reputation as a graffiti artist in his teens, terrorising the streets of Wolverhamp-ton and giving community service workers some cleaning to do.

“The council have tried to eradicate a lot of the pieces; I went back last month and there’s very few left to be fair. I think the piece at the bottom of Hawthorne House is still there, because people can’t use it, and it’s in the basement. You used to be able to walk through but I think it’s a store room or something now. But I saw it.”

It is there, and it’s massive. Later, Miami beckoned and took, but couldn’t keep him from our shores after tragedy hit home.

“I was in America to see my father, as I didn’t meet him till I was 21. And my stepfather

From graffiti to gold teeth, basslines to Big Brother, there are plenty of things with which Black Country musical visionary GOLDIE has become synonymous. But the drum & bass pioneer will be focused purely on his prime love of music when he returns to his native Midlands for an exclusive DJ set at Kings Heath’s Hare & Hounds this month. Tom Pell caught up with the Metalheadz mogul.

dying bought me back. I was working in flea markets and I’d go between there and the beach. I guess it’s like living in London but going to Brighton every day. I spent time in ‘the hood’, if you like, in Miami, working. Then I’d go to a place called Bayside on the weekend, and that sort of gave me a taste for the high life.”

He would work painting trucks and low riders, air brushing t-shirts, and shared a booth with a guy called Orlando Clean. “Orlando was the guy who taught me about gold, and the art of casting gold teeth. Miami’s around two hours from New York, so I was going there too, and then I got a call one day from my mother who said her husband was dying, and I needed to come back. That was it really. I had to help her out.”

Once home, the music started. Within six years he had taken over the drum & bass scene and set up his own record label, Metalheadz. His first album, Timeless, was released in 1995 to much critical acclaim, with his follow-up, 1998’s Saturnz Return, managing to attract the likes of Noal Gallagh-er and David Bowie to play on it. For more Bowie and Goldie, see Everybody Loves Sunshine a no doubt misleading-as-hell title for the 1999 film in which they played the two lead roles. Mental.

After acting stints in Eastenders, The World Is Not Enough and Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and turns on various celebrity reality shows (He can now Strictly Dance, Come Dine with us, and, erm, navigate his way round a small house with Les Dennis and Mark Owen) his attentions are fully back on the music.

“Fabriclive 58 is real cutting-edge music. I think there’s a lot of music out there that’s too commercial. I think too many people are working towards a formula, and how much money they can make by following this formula and how many units they’re going to sell. Whereas with me, if I didn’t think it was good I wouldn’t be here. There’s a differ-ence between making music that has integ-rity and making music to sell units. I think it’s the youth of a generation and the way that music and the internet has been compro-mised. It’s very difficult when you’ve got the internet which is useful for networking, but so easy to get hold of music. You’ve got the iPod generation where people’s attention spans are like a fish, really short, and people don’t listen to albums in their proper arrange-ment. I think that’s slowly dying. But I’d like to think that the music on the Fabriclive CD has more of a shelf life than the ‘festival’

music that’s just around for a minute. That’s my own personal views. It’s my view; it’s not everyone’s view.”

Today’s dubstep is yesterday’s drum & bass, yes? It’s a constant debate, one which Goldie is in a strong position to comment on. “I think dubstep came out of drum & bass, regardless of what anyone says. I think it has our blessing. It’s going through exact-ly the same growing pains as drum & bass did, you have the exposure of being the new trend, but also the saturation of over exploi-tation. I think it’s a lot more user friendly than when you talk about the complexities of drum & bass. Sometimes you need that bit of watering down. Drum & bass is a very complicated thing and that’s why it’s quite difficult for anyone to get into it. It goes out to a wider audience now, but is that wider audience as educated in music as we were? We grew up on music differently, and there were a lot of producers growing up in that generation. Whereas now, you’re just into

it because you like it. You don’t necessar-ily understand it. But I think that’s the same with every generation. I think it happened with rock music, reggae, a lot of things. It’s different, though, when you’ve grown up with that music for 18 years.”

“Whatever I do today, will make tomorrow,” is Goldie’s somewhat mantra. The undeni-able passion for what he is doing transcends just his music, and echoes into the way he seemingly thinks. He is for the now, and he’ll be damned if he feels someone is coming along for the ride, but taking a detour down easy street.

“If I’m doing art, and I’m doing something on a canvas it doesn’t make it any less cutting edge than me finding a wall to do it on. I’ve done that, I’ve got the t-shirt. If something’s shown in galleries around the world, does that person deserve to be there? Has that

person got a history? Someone coming out with some commercial shit that goes straight to number one, if they’ve come from the underground, or haven’t been in the under-ground long enough, does it justify it? I think you can justify DJ Fresh being at number one, because he made a tune that’s catchy and commercial. But if you look at his music, at something like Signal, or some of the stuff he’s done with Metalheadz, he’s got distilla-tion. And he’s gone through all those differ-ent connotations of making music, so I think you can’t take that away from someone. Whereas someone who just pops up on the block and does that, I think their agenda is different. That’s my own opinion; it makes a lot of sense to me.

“They’ll remix everything that’s out there at the minute — that’s how the scene works. People get signed, the A & R man decides he wants to make you flavour of the month, and then decides there’ll be a dubstep mix. It happens all the time. I think that the produc-ers respect a lot of the old drum & bass from the ground up. There won’t be a bad word said about it. Whereas a lot of the house scene dismissed us very quickly, saying drum & bass would only be around for two minutes. I think they take heed from what we’ve done, as we’re still here 20 years later.”

Twenty years later he will return all the way home, to play at the intimate Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath on August 6. There will be nowhere to hide in the small surroundings, just how a man who talks the talk, and walks the walk, likes it. “That’s what I love. I think music can only really be enjoyed when you can really pull all the stops out in a small club. If you play at festivals, the sounds not usually right, and the people who come to festivals aren’t necessarily into that one particular type of music. Nowadays, here’s a few beats, here’s a hook — formula. That can get exposed in a second, especially in a small environment.”

Exposure will not be attending, but you should be. A master of his art, a legend of his world, up close and personal. Who is Goldie? The man behind the music, behind the showbiz, behind those teeth. He laughs for the first time when we tell him how many people know him for so many different things. “I’m an alchemist. That’s me mate, that’s the bottom line.”

PROSpec presents Goldie takes place at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on August 6, from 9pm to 3am. Tickets are £10 adv. Fabriclive 58: Goldie is out now.

“A lot of the house scene dismissed us very quickly, saying drum & bass would only be around for two minutes. I think they take heed from what we’ve done, as we’re still here 20 years later.”

Words: Tom PellDesign: Sleepy.me.uk

11August 2011

PURE GOLD

“Art is the avocation of a medium to a surface. Now, which one are we talking about? Am I melting gold, putting it into a mould? Am I putting it into a ring? Am I getting sound, putting it onto a disk? Am I taking paint and putting it onto a canvas? Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same thing to me.”

Clifford Joseph Price is a man of many talents. Graffiti artist, jeweller, DJ, actor, real-ity TV star. Oh, and he’s the Vito Corleone of drum & bass. Forgot about that. While he’s not hobnobbing with Prince Harry at Silverstone, he’s talking to Brum Notes about his new release mixtape for London

super-brand Fabric, Fabriclive 58, and all things musical. His scattergun answers on any topic come with unnerving conviction — this is a man who knows his crafts, and isn’t afraid to let you know either, with a penchant for a winding rant seemingly always locked and loaded.

He’s very local. Growing up in care in, “…Willenhall, Chasewater, Wolverhampton and back” amongst other local spots, he built up a reputation as a graffiti artist in his teens, terrorising the streets of Wolverhamp-ton and giving community service workers some cleaning to do.

“The council have tried to eradicate a lot of the pieces; I went back last month and there’s very few left to be fair. I think the piece at the bottom of Hawthorne House is still there, because people can’t use it, and it’s in the basement. You used to be able to walk through but I think it’s a store room or something now. But I saw it.”

It is there, and it’s massive. Later, Miami beckoned and took, but couldn’t keep him from our shores after tragedy hit home.

“I was in America to see my father, as I didn’t meet him till I was 21. And my stepfather

From graffiti to gold teeth, basslines to Big Brother, there are plenty of things with which Black Country musical visionary GOLDIE has become synonymous. But the drum & bass pioneer will be focused purely on his prime love of music when he returns to his native Midlands for an exclusive DJ set at Kings Heath’s Hare & Hounds this month. Tom Pell caught up with the Metalheadz mogul.

dying bought me back. I was working in flea markets and I’d go between there and the beach. I guess it’s like living in London but going to Brighton every day. I spent time in ‘the hood’, if you like, in Miami, working. Then I’d go to a place called Bayside on the weekend, and that sort of gave me a taste for the high life.”

He would work painting trucks and low riders, air brushing t-shirts, and shared a booth with a guy called Orlando Clean. “Orlando was the guy who taught me about gold, and the art of casting gold teeth. Miami’s around two hours from New York, so I was going there too, and then I got a call one day from my mother who said her husband was dying, and I needed to come back. That was it really. I had to help her out.”

Once home, the music started. Within six years he had taken over the drum & bass scene and set up his own record label, Metalheadz. His first album, Timeless, was released in 1995 to much critical acclaim, with his follow-up, 1998’s Saturnz Return, managing to attract the likes of Noal Gallagh-er and David Bowie to play on it. For more Bowie and Goldie, see Everybody Loves Sunshine a no doubt misleading-as-hell title for the 1999 film in which they played the two lead roles. Mental.

After acting stints in Eastenders, The World Is Not Enough and Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and turns on various celebrity reality shows (He can now Strictly Dance, Come Dine with us, and, erm, navigate his way round a small house with Les Dennis and Mark Owen) his attentions are fully back on the music.

“Fabriclive 58 is real cutting-edge music. I think there’s a lot of music out there that’s too commercial. I think too many people are working towards a formula, and how much money they can make by following this formula and how many units they’re going to sell. Whereas with me, if I didn’t think it was good I wouldn’t be here. There’s a differ-ence between making music that has integ-rity and making music to sell units. I think it’s the youth of a generation and the way that music and the internet has been compro-mised. It’s very difficult when you’ve got the internet which is useful for networking, but so easy to get hold of music. You’ve got the iPod generation where people’s attention spans are like a fish, really short, and people don’t listen to albums in their proper arrange-ment. I think that’s slowly dying. But I’d like to think that the music on the Fabriclive CD has more of a shelf life than the ‘festival’

music that’s just around for a minute. That’s my own personal views. It’s my view; it’s not everyone’s view.”

Today’s dubstep is yesterday’s drum & bass, yes? It’s a constant debate, one which Goldie is in a strong position to comment on. “I think dubstep came out of drum & bass, regardless of what anyone says. I think it has our blessing. It’s going through exact-ly the same growing pains as drum & bass did, you have the exposure of being the new trend, but also the saturation of over exploi-tation. I think it’s a lot more user friendly than when you talk about the complexities of drum & bass. Sometimes you need that bit of watering down. Drum & bass is a very complicated thing and that’s why it’s quite difficult for anyone to get into it. It goes out to a wider audience now, but is that wider audience as educated in music as we were? We grew up on music differently, and there were a lot of producers growing up in that generation. Whereas now, you’re just into

it because you like it. You don’t necessar-ily understand it. But I think that’s the same with every generation. I think it happened with rock music, reggae, a lot of things. It’s different, though, when you’ve grown up with that music for 18 years.”

“Whatever I do today, will make tomorrow,” is Goldie’s somewhat mantra. The undeni-able passion for what he is doing transcends just his music, and echoes into the way he seemingly thinks. He is for the now, and he’ll be damned if he feels someone is coming along for the ride, but taking a detour down easy street.

“If I’m doing art, and I’m doing something on a canvas it doesn’t make it any less cutting edge than me finding a wall to do it on. I’ve done that, I’ve got the t-shirt. If something’s shown in galleries around the world, does that person deserve to be there? Has that

person got a history? Someone coming out with some commercial shit that goes straight to number one, if they’ve come from the underground, or haven’t been in the under-ground long enough, does it justify it? I think you can justify DJ Fresh being at number one, because he made a tune that’s catchy and commercial. But if you look at his music, at something like Signal, or some of the stuff he’s done with Metalheadz, he’s got distilla-tion. And he’s gone through all those differ-ent connotations of making music, so I think you can’t take that away from someone. Whereas someone who just pops up on the block and does that, I think their agenda is different. That’s my own opinion; it makes a lot of sense to me.

“They’ll remix everything that’s out there at the minute — that’s how the scene works. People get signed, the A & R man decides he wants to make you flavour of the month, and then decides there’ll be a dubstep mix. It happens all the time. I think that the produc-ers respect a lot of the old drum & bass from the ground up. There won’t be a bad word said about it. Whereas a lot of the house scene dismissed us very quickly, saying drum & bass would only be around for two minutes. I think they take heed from what we’ve done, as we’re still here 20 years later.”

Twenty years later he will return all the way home, to play at the intimate Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath on August 6. There will be nowhere to hide in the small surroundings, just how a man who talks the talk, and walks the walk, likes it. “That’s what I love. I think music can only really be enjoyed when you can really pull all the stops out in a small club. If you play at festivals, the sounds not usually right, and the people who come to festivals aren’t necessarily into that one particular type of music. Nowadays, here’s a few beats, here’s a hook — formula. That can get exposed in a second, especially in a small environment.”

Exposure will not be attending, but you should be. A master of his art, a legend of his world, up close and personal. Who is Goldie? The man behind the music, behind the showbiz, behind those teeth. He laughs for the first time when we tell him how many people know him for so many different things. “I’m an alchemist. That’s me mate, that’s the bottom line.”

PROSpec presents Goldie takes place at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on August 6, from 9pm to 3am. Tickets are £10 adv. Fabriclive 58: Goldie is out now.

“A lot of the house scene dismissed us very quickly, saying drum & bass would only be around for two minutes. I think they take heed from what we’ve done, as we’re still here 20 years later.”

Words: Tom PellDesign: Sleepy.me.uk


Back in 2007, guitarist Michael Hibbert was recently bandless. Enter bassist Liam Arklie, and integrally, frontman Lewis Bowman. Hib-bert and Arklie’s instrumentals were given to Bowman through a mutual friend for him to ‘have a go at writing lyrics’, and after also adding Alex Parry on guitar and Rich Mitchell on drums, Chapel Club were born.

“The demos were Machine Music,” says Bowman, “which I think was the first b-side we put out, and the other was After The Flood. It was in a slightly different form, but pretty much the same as the one on the album. They both survived. The other one didn’t make it. But those were the first things that I’d ever done, so I’m surprised it went ok.”

Four years on and a bumpy ride has been had, with an early record deal, controversial press and then a rushed first album shipped out in January of this year. Palace, the al-bum in question, has got the boys around the block a bit, but more served its purpose rather than being the work it could have been. “I’m not sure I know how well it’s done to be honest. It did well enough for our la-bel to say ‘well done, let’s do another’, so that’s pretty good.”

With the impending second record, Bowman and the rest of the group have already be-gun to spot their previous mistakes. “We’re not really on a deadline, so we’re not going to do anything final until we’re really happy with it. It will be different to last time [on Palace], where it was to get signed, and

then record the album straight away. Re-cord 12 songs, put 10 on the album. We’d only played about four gigs. It’s not the most ideal way to do things, but I didn’t know that then. We know it now.”

This early inexperience led to numerous forced situations, none more so than the video for O Maybe I, the instantly catchy, 80s influenced first single from the album. Bowman almost leers towards the camera, turtle neck attired, microphone whimsically in hand, singing, “Oh, Maybe I, should take

a bite while the fruit’s still ripe...”To say it was Morrissey-esque would put stars in Matthew Kelly’s eyes.

“I do love Morrissey, but it was never intend-ed. O Maybe I was the first video we ever did. And because we’d only played a few gigs, I didn’t know what to do when someone pointed a camera at me. I think I’ve maybe a couple of snippets here and then of him live, but I’ve not been rifling through the ar-chives on YouTube or anything! Maybe we both have a similar, flouncy way of acting or something.”

Unfortunately, it’s not the only likeness that has been shot at the group. They have quick-ly been lumped in with the Editors genre, and accusations abound have been thrown at Lewis himself for being, as they say, a bit up himself. Which is not the case. After speak-ing to him, he’s clearly a bright, talented, nice guy, just trying to find his feet.

“I think in England we got pegged very quickly as wanting to be a massive band. A ‘rock’ band. The kind of guys who play huge sta-diums, with me as this frontman being really arrogant and mouthy. Once you get pegged like that, it’s very hard to shake off. In Ameri-ca, we don’t have that. People see us more as we see ourselves. As, well, just an in-die band, trying to do something vaguely worthwhile!”

“I don’t mind what people think of us, I’d just like people to think it’s something may-be fresh, and surprising. But I do think we need to work harder if that’s something we want to happen.”Working hard they are, writing songs at their own pace and trying to “push the formula”, as no-one in the band wanted to do the same things again. They are looking to ex-periment, to expand.

“My view was that we could change the in-struments, change everything – but we’re still us, so it’ll still sound like us.”To see exactly how far said formula is be-ing pushed, Chapel Club are warming up for Reading and Leeds with a show at The Rainbow on August 25, so you can all go have a listen. And by the sounds of things, both parties are looking forward to it...

“One of the best gigs we’ve ever played was in Birmingham. It was at the Hare & Hounds, and we were just thinking, ‘Oh, it’s a little pub gig’ and then we got there and we loved it. It was just one of those gigs where everything goes right. I was really drunk. But I think that made it better.”

Chapel Club perform at The Rainbow in Digbeth on August 25

Brooding intelli-rockers CHAPEL CLUB have barely

let their dust settle on their debut album but they’re

already hungry for more. Frontman Lewis Bowman tells

Tom Pell why they’re ready to learn from their mistakes.

“One of the best gigs we’ve ever played was in Birming-

ham. It was at the Hare & Hounds and we loved it.”

NEW LIFE CHAPEL

13August 2011


Success is an attitude. It’s a confidence; it’s a drive; it’s a frame of mind. And it’s not letting anything stand in the way of what you want - especially the innocence of youth. And so it’s a testament to The Carpels that what they may lack in years, they more than make up for in having (a) some bloody good tunes and (b) the bollocks to do something with them.“The age thing has its good moments and its bad moments, I guess” explains frontman Dylan. “We don’t ever take our age into account because at the end of the day it’s all about the music. But people who have never heard our stuff before do look at us and think ‘they can’t be good, [they’re] just another teenage rock band’. This is the bad side, but when the same people then hear our music we seem to get more attention because of it. People say our music exceeds our years.”

And people would be right. Incorporating influences from LCD Soundsystem, to Talking Heads, to The Fall, The Carpels are defying genres and deftly sidestepping that annoying little habit reviewers have of trying to shoehorn bands into boxes. And given their record collections, it is unsurprising.“We all have the same love for Indie music and its roots. However we have our own interests in other kinds of music too. For example, Ewan [bass] loves his old man music! Tom [guitar] has interests in grime and dubstep and I love proper old school hip-hop. So we all listen to our own things really.”And thus it’s unsurprising that they’re creating such ripples. You see, The Carpels are like the band that every boy with a guitar and a synth in his bedroom (or in his head) fantasises about being. But they’re actually doing it, and they’re doing it now. And the sound that’s coming out of them is exciting. It’s new and it’s fresh and it’s inextricably a product of its environment, the electronic-dubstep blood of Birmingham coursing through its veins.“The city is definitely an important part of our music,” explains Dylan. “As kids we were brought up on the obvious kinds of rock music; bands like Blur, Oasis, and The Verve, but it wasn’t until we were about 14 that we went to the old Mob Monday nights at The Rain-bow pub in Digbeth. It was different to the live music we had expe-rienced before as it had a grungy more underground feel to it with bands like Scarlet Harlots, Tantrums and Yelps playing. But it wasn’t just this intense modern twist on indie music that we loved so much, it was the madness and the unity of all the bands on show. It made it feel like there was a real Birmingham movement happening, and from then on we wanted to be a part of this movement.”

And part of this movement they are unquestionably becoming. In fact the whole thing rather feels like being stood at the cusp of a storm. A storm that has energy and has had a build up and is biding its

time, brooding and waiting for the opportune moment before it ex-plodes. And you can’t help but wonder whether this might be what it’s been waiting for. They’ve had a whirlwind of a year but Dylan has no doubts about the highlight so far. “It has to be recording our first three singles at Big Mushroom studios [The Charlatans’ secret studio] up in Cheshire. That was a mad week, especially working with the magician that is James Spencer who produced our tracks, and a guy called Tom who did our Handshakes remix which is the second track on our single that is out very soon. “Another highlight has to be from a couple of Saturdays back when we did a gig at the Queen Of Hoxton in East London [see review P21]. It was a club night called This Feeling and it was just packed out and crazy. We all really enjoyed it...probably our best ever gig.“

All of which begs the question that, with one single under their belt and the next ready to launch, could there be an EP in the pipeline?“We are due back in the studio at some point and we already have a third single recorded and ready to go out as well. We have about eight and a half songs that we are really happy with so I don’t see why not. If things are going well, I’m pretty sure we will get an EP out.”And so the term ‘watch this space’ springs to mind. Except it isn’t a space. It’s fun and it’s frolics and it’s gigs. So watch those instead. Because if success is an attitude, if it is a confidence and a drive and a frame of mind, then The Carpels are set to be very success-ful indeed.Words by Amy SumnerPhotos by Roger Sargent

New single Handshakes is out August 22. The Carpels head-line a free launch party at The Rainbow, Digbeth on August 24

Kings Heaths’s teenage punk-pop

outfit THE CARPElS have never

let their age stand in the way of their

music. And after a storming London

debut, radio airplay and with a new

single and hometown headline show

to come, Amy Sumner finds out

why it’s time to take notice. TEENAGE KICKS

15August 2011

Friendly Fire Soundsystem covering Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde? Serocee recording a dancehall version of Hall and Oat-es’ Private Eyes? Or how about Jam Jah artists taking on Black Sabbath’s self-titled album from 1970?

After listening to the back catalogue of one particular US reggae collective, you might not discount such ideas so quickly – it is ap-parent that in the right hands, the merging of two very distinct mu-sic genres on record or live can produce the most incredible sonic experiences in the vein of Imagined Village, Electric Proms, Paul Simon’s Graceland, Basement Jaxx vs Metropole Orkest and so on.

Part of the reason for the success of Easy Star All-Stars lies in the re-lease of recordings which covered albums by musical heavyweights Pink Floyd, Radiohead and The Beatles. One-off tribute albums with style, charisma and an independent stamp of their own are a rare commodity, let alone three by one band, namely Dub Side Of The Moon, Radiodread and Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band.

Originally born as a studio ensemble, the NY-based group quickly grew in size and status to become a creative entity with a purpose. Now featuring a rotating cast drawn from a talented pool of play-ers, the band went on to break into the US Billboard Top 200 twice in over two years, gain praise from Radiohead and receive critical acclaim from critics worldwide.It all begs the question, how on earth do they decide on such ambi-tious choices? Lem Oppenheimer, co-founder of Easy Star Records, co-manager of the band and the man behind the idea of Dub Side of the Moon, explains: “We’ve been through so many discussions of potential targets – from Marvin Gaye to Nirvana, David Bowie to Oasis, The Smiths to the Allman Brothers Band to Metallica. We also always talk about The Clash, because we are such big fans, but it doesn’t make much sense because so much of it is already reggae, so it feels like it wouldn’t be as interesting.”

So whilst we can’t expect a dub-heavy version of Combat Rock or Sandinista! any time soon from the band, another big project is on the horizon. “We’ve begun working secretly in the lab on the ar-rangements for the next tribute album, due in 2012,” confides Lem. “Because we cover entire albums and not just songs, it limits us more as to who we can tackle, since it needs to be someone who has produced a timeless, classic album that can stand up to an en-tire reggae makeover.”

Music from the Caribbean, particularly Jamaica, such as ska, reg-gae, rocksteady, bluebeat, lovers rock, raga, dancehall, dub, jungle, calypso or soca, will be eternally linked with Birmingham thanks to

the work of artists like Steel Pulse, Beshara, UB40, Musical Youth and The Beat. And the influence of such bands on Lem and the Easy Star All-Stars is immeasurable. “For many of us, the reggae and ska that came out of the UK, especially in Birmingham, is part of the canon that forms our understanding of the genre,” Lem ex-plains. “Honestly, when I was much younger, I don’t think I fully un-derstood the difference between UK reggae and Jamaican – to me, Steel Pulse and The Beat were as important as Bob Marley and Toots & The Maytals. I would put Handsworth Revolution [Steel Pulse] and I Just Can’t Stop It [The Beat] among my 20 or 40 fa-vourite albums of all time.”

The last time the Easy Star All-Stars visited the city, The Beat front-man Ranking Roger met the band, even joining them on stage. “Bir-mingham is a very special place for us to come. I have to admit I don’t know the next generation bands as well, ensconced here in the States, but I now feel like I have to chase these bands’ music down and start listening.”

More recently, artists like Serocee and LionArt, sound systems like Friendly Fire, Silver Dollar and Overproof continue to fly the flag for reggae music with support from clubs like PST, while festivals such as Reggae City, Simmer Down and Jamaica Live! further affirm the Birmingham’s love for Caribbean music and culture.

With the Easy Star All-Stars now, Lem insists they have to get it right and promises a mixture of original songs and the crowd-pleas-ing covers. “You know we have to bring it correct for Birmingham!”

Easy Star All-Stars are live at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on August 10

EaSy ridErS

They have become known for putting

a reggae stamp on everything from

Radiohead to Pink Floyd. But as they

prepare for a headline appearance in

Birmingham, lyle Bignon finds out

why there is more to US collective

EASY STAR All-STARS than just

novelty cover versions.


Damian Marquez is the designer who just doesn’t stop giving. After providing us with cutting edge, forward thinking fashion previously in the form of men’s jump suits, interesting fabric patterns and tailored gentlemen’s trousers he has just launched an Autumn Winter mens-wear collection which has left us in awe.

Born in Mexico he studied tailoring and pattern making and went on to work for fashion designer Miguel Garcia. Upon moving to the UK he went on to set up his own business making bespoke items and in 2009 was invited to Costa Rica fashion week to launch his own menswear fashion label and the rest is history. Since then he has released four different seasonal collections each bringing an innovative and interesting look at menswear. With an abundance of different colours, patterns and textures amongst his collections this designer is definitely one to watch...and to buy from.

Visit Damian’s website at www.damianmarquez.com,

“I have always been excited by clothes..”

CR

EA

TUR

E C

OM

FO

RTS

STylE

Elephant necklaceTopshop £12.50

Fox wrap ringTopshop £7.50

Ram ringTopshop £12.50

Long owl chainMango £17.90

Fish necklaceMango £17.90

Wing ringH&M £3.99

Horse ringH&M £1.99

Bug necklaceH&M £2.99

6-pack ringsH&M £1.99

Peacock ringMiss Selfridge £13

Stone set owl ringMiss Selfridge £10

Owl necklaceRiver Island £10

Black fly ringRiver Island £10

On Trend

17August 2011

VERSACE FOR H&M

TRIWA Beirut BazaarFor the new spring 2011 collection TRIWA harks back to another period to illus-

trate its lineage of influence. The new collection Beirut Bazaar is inspired by a city which earned its legendary status in the 1960s as a

meeting point for intellectuals of varying backgrounds to discuss culture and politics in its coffee shops and bars late into the night. Ras Beirut was the area

that enjoyed an atmosphere of social permissiveness not seen in most Arab cities, most particular evident in part by the mixing of the sexes.

TRIWA’s designs have been inspired by a social movement and freedom displayed in Beirut during the 60s and have completed a unique and eye-catching

collection in conjunction with Nada Debs of water resistant watches that are made in hand cut acetate, stainless steel, mineral glass with a Citizen Miyota movement.

In November H&M will release its autumn designer collaboration with one of the world’s most legendary fashion brands, Versace. Creative director Donatella Versace has designed a collection that reflects the heritage of the iconic brand that revolutionised fashion when founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. She has taken her inspiration from the vast archives of Ver-sace to reinterpret some of their classic designs so there will be an abundance of flamboyant leather, print and colour in exclusive materials at affordable prices.

The womenswear will be dominated by on trend dress-es, high heels and costume jewellery, while the men’s col-lection will focus on sharp tailoring, belts

and jewellery. For the first time in a designer collaboration with H&M the collection will also include homeware pieces such as cushions and bedspreads. The collection launches on November 12 in around 300 stores worldwide and online. Donatella Versace has also designed a pre-spring collection for H&M, launching next January.

Images provided by H&M

www.triwa.com

“I am thrilled to be collaborating with H&M and to have the opportunity of reach-ing their wide audience. The collection will be quintessential Versace, perfect for H&M and Versace fans everywhere” Donatella Versace

“Versace is one of the most important brands of recent times and their collection for H&M will be glamorous and flamboyant, which is everything Versace stands for” Margareta van den Bosch, H&M

Style profile


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OFF THE CUFF FESTIVALThe Flapper, BirminghamJuly 22-24

FridayIn the basement of legendary Birmingham boozer The Flapper Off The Cuff 2011 burst into life with Pandas and People’s set full of alt-pop hits in waiting. Not even a bust laptop could dampen the appeal of Jokes That Aren’t Jokes with its impossible to re-

sist sing-along chorus and simple but infec-tious stop start guitar riffs. Former Meet Me In St Louis frontman Toby Hayes, now trading as Shoes and Socks Off, is the lovechild of Kurt Cobain and Arab Strap’s Aiden Moffat. Fact. The deeply per-sonal lyrics and pain soaked performance

might make for uncomfortable viewing at times but since when has great music been all about the laughs, eh? Kingston Upon Thames’s finest, Tube-lord, won over the room with their At Their Drive In-meets-Los Campesinos! mix of meaty riffs and disarmingly sweet vocals. As the sweat dripped from the ceiling the band dedicated their last song to “the guys who’ve come all the way from California”. If you’re in any doubt of the growing importance of this festival, there’s your proof. Last up, the triumphant return of local heroes Johnny Foreigner. Tonight’s gig was a wild celebration of songs that still mean so much to their fans who responded with the kind of fervour you rarely see these days. They played the ‘hits’ and classics like Feels Like Summer, Tru Punx and Sometimes In The

Bullring together with new single Electric-ity vs The Dead, which wisely keeps to their template of shouty post-punk pop. As the faithful whipped themselves into a frenzy the encore saw band and audience become one gloriously sweaty mess with the stage dis-appearing beneath a heaving mass of deliri-ous humanity. Some hours later lead singer Alexei posted a message saying it was the gig of their lives. There can’t have been many there who’d disagree. Daron Billings

Pictures: (this page clockwise from top) Johnny Foreigner frontman Alexei joins the crowd; two thirds of JoFo back on stage; Shoes and Socks Off; Tubelord (all by Andy Watson, Drw-Images)

19August 2011

SaturdayOff The Cuff continued to live up to all expectations as Romans kicked off the middle day in the Birmingham summer sun. The canalside venue lends itself perfectly to a festival; Romans and then Blacklisters shook the foundations of The Flapper to the core, giving the daytime drinkers up-stairs something to listen to as the sound exploded from the basement.OK Pilot kept the hard-riffing theme going and The James Cleaver Quintet bounced around the stage as they unveiled their ener-getic punk-influenced thrash metal. Shapes and &U&I filled the room up as the venue got busier throughout the day and the tem-perature soared as the barbeque was fired up outside.Turbowolf were excellent as they warmed the crowd up for the main acts as the night wore on, before Hawkeyes took to the stage to exhibit their more melodic and moody tunes which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Donnie Darko soundtrack.With the times running slightly late, Bron-tide went toe-to-toe with the heavier bands by incorporating slightly more poppy riffs into their instrumental set, which was truly atmospheric.Headliners, the curiously titled DD/MM/YYYY, inspired as they closed the night off with the room packed to the rafters, their mix of punk and rock with shouting vocals made sure it was worth the wait and eve-ryone went home sweating and satisfied knowing they had seen a great day of music.Jon Pritchard

SundayAnyone expecting to be gently rocked into Sunday afternoon following the previous night’s carnage should have gone home as self-proclaimed festival virgins Death Ohh Eff launched the proceedings for day three.Continuing the onslaught, Pharaohs had enough pelt to stir the ancients with their explosively charged indie whilst Peace with their buy one get two free haircuts, gave a haunting performance rippled with melancholy. Birmingham’s own Victories at Sea were the harbingers of doom as their atmospheric synths echoed through the venue. Outside on the sun-drenched patio, those

whose heads weren’t quite

ready for the turbo-attack of Venice Ahoy were treated to ‘The James Day’, otherwise known as the sublime acoustic talents of several musicians named James. Bringing a spot of sunshine into the dark room, Tall Ships’ euphoric cerebral rock created Sunday’s first magical moment as they wandered into the audience, switch-ing instruments for musical good measure. Hereford’s instrumental rock group Talons explained why Beethoven became hard of hearing as the six-piece make it acceptable to rock out with air-violin.Proceeding with more lyrically based bands, the most outstanding vocals of the day went to Sam Johnston of Flashguns whose raw energy paved the way for the evening’s headliners.An addition to the line-up, Youves ensured their swan song made a lasting impres-sion, as tops came off and things got a little sweaty.Renegades in white, The Computers, assaulted ears with their riotous punk sound and bodies flew as The Flapper became a mosh pit. Already stirred into a frenzy, the audi-ence were chanting for Danananana-ykroyd long before our fight-pop heroes

bounded onto the stage. With aggressive guitars, pounding drums and powerhouse vocals, the Scottish outfit dared anyone not to get involved in their chaotic fun. As the final chords sounded the end for OTC 2011, the crowd left the building bleary-eyed but fully satisfied.Lauren Partridge

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MOSTLY JAZZ FESTIVALMoseley Park, MoseleyJuly 1-3

FridayFor the second annual Mostly Jazz, organ-isers well and truly pulled out all the stops...quite literally in the case of festival closer Booker T. But before that, three days of eclectic jazz, soul and funk that made the first one such a groovy treat. Day one saw The Mouse Outfit play funk, hip hop and soul’s greatest hits before Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra got asses shaking with the Schifrin style funk of Dirty Birdy. Local collective Alternative Dub Orchestra popped dub, brass, dhol drumming, tabla, ska and reggae into a magical musical melt-ing pot leaving the path clear for German trio Brandt Brauer Frick’s mix of electronic beats and jazz rhythms. Jazzwerk anyone? Alice Russell staked her claim as one of the best voices in soul right now with a belting set of self penned classics, setting up The Cinematic Orchestra to blend jazz, soul and lush orchestration into a beautiful soundtrack that closed an equally beautiful day.

SaturdayDay two kicked off in fine style with one of the oldest names in jazz, sax legend Andy Hamilton, before the baton passed to some of the newest players around, from Bir-mingham Jazz Youth Ensemble to Chris Young (featuring some fine improv melo-dies from vocalist Lottie Hodgson). Mile-stones served up a faithful reproduction of the Miles Davies classic Kind Of Blue leav-ing afrobeat legend Dele Sosemi and gypsy jazzers Manouche to raise the crowd from something of a sun and cider fuelled chilled out reverie. Finally twitchy scientist of sound Matthew Herbert and his big band tore up the rule book (and a dozen or so copies of The Sun) in a deliciously deranged set that mixed in samples of everything from deflat-ing balloons (yes...really) to the sounds of his son’s life support machine (for set highlight, the anti-war anthem One Life).SundayDay three and openers The Paris 1940s’ re-imagining of pop tunes as jazz standards was huge fun. Their Lady Gaga medley was worth the ticket price on its own. Local po-etry star Jodi Ann Bickley shone a light on the splendid spoken word revival, before a

samba takeover of the entire site (seriously...there’s about a million of ‘em) by Oya Bata-cuda. Next up, “from the toon” Smoove and Turrell. A funky take on Yazoo’s Don’t Go was one of the more original covers of the weekend and recession anthem Money saw the band cleverly tapping into funk’s herit-age as music of the masses. The spirit of James Brown is alive and well and living in Newcastle, eh? Brassroots may be one of a dozen or so funked up brass bands around but they’re also one of the best. During their version of Luther’s Never Too Much one guy danced so hard he screwed himself into the ground. How do you top that? After Craig Charles blew a funk shaped hole in the sky with his awesome DJ set there was only one man for the job: Booker T Jones. In between choice picks from new album The Road To Memphis he lay down one clas-sic after another with mod anthem Green Onions, Soul Limbo, the Staple Singers’ I’ll Take You There and Sam and Dave’s Hold On I’m Coming. Hammond ecstasy. Words by Daron Billings

Images courtesy of Wayne FoxClockwise from left: Booker T; The Cinematic

Orchestra; Craig Charles; Pigbag; Matthew Herbert

21August 2011

What do you get when you cross one of London’s most prominent indie club nights with those responsible for creating arguably Bir-mingham’s past equivalent? A blooming marvellous affair, apparently. One Beat Records (an up-and-coming Birmingham record label kick-started by The Charlatans’ drummer Jon Brookes and ex-Virgin Records man Ian Light, and responsible for eponymous local club night Syndicate) is currently nurturing home grown talents The Ar-cadian Kicks and The Carpels (pictured right). And tonight is about showcasing this talent.Encouraging the night off to a toe tapping start, the sets of Dead-beat Echoes and Missing Andy are greeted favourably. However it’s the second that One Beat’s latest signings The Carpels step on stage, that the night remodels itself into a far more interesting instal-ment. Incorporating an irresistible mixture of influences from Foals to recently reconfigured Brummie punk-steppers Scarlet Harlots, with backup vocals akin to the brooding tones of Editors, The Car-pels are The Enemy on speed...and not rubbish. Tearing their way through a crescendo of a set which pinnacles with recent single Sand, the youngsters are a life lesson in having a bloody good time.

Fellow Brummies Tantrums follow suit, looping and thrashing and collecting the under garments flung on stage by their adoring fans along the way. Well, one pair of Topman boxers anyway.But it’s this energy and these bands bouncing - quite literally - off the walls of the stage that provokes a tingling of excitement through the room. When Stuart Boyd-Crosby of Tantrums asks, “is anyone

here to see us from London?” he’s met with one single man shout-ing “yeah!” from the back of the room. But the same question di-rected at Birmingham, and the response is rapturous. Strange that it should be in a basement club in East London that (for the first time since the erm, unfortunate waning of the likes of The Twang) the Birmingham music scene seems to be finding a sound for itself that sounds like, well, Birmingham. And yet it’s incredibly exciting. And as the Charlatans’ DJs take to the decks to drop The Smiths and Happy Mondays and all the bands who once created a thriving Manchester scene, it’s beginning to feel as though per-haps One Beat Records could be on the cusp of initiating some-thing unprecedented – something that may finally allow Birmingham to punch at a musical weight relative to its geographical one and ensure that for the first time in a very long time it has something to shout about worth listening to.Words by Amy Sumner Photo by Roger Sargent

ONE BEAT RECORDS LAUNCH NIGHTThis Feeling @ Queen of Hoxton, London July 9

It would be easy to dismiss Judas Priest, to write them off as cheesy, clichéd, outmoded and irrelevant in an age of supposedly more fashionable acts. Thankfully Priest and their audience take a different view. The Civic Hall is packed as the headliners take the stage. The curtain falls, their stage set is revealed and Priest thunder into life with Rapid Fire.Any doubts of Priest’s capability to entertain are immediately blown away. A tight guitar twosome, Tipton and Faulkner, thrill with athletic solos and monster riffage, Ian Hill on bass seems set to shake the building to destruction, and drummer Scott Travis de-livers a display of precision drumming that astounds in its speed and intensity. Rob Hal-ford may once have had even wider vocal range, but if he’s missing anything you’d be hard pressed to spot it. Musically alone Judas Priest still deliver, but this is only a part of the attraction. We have the theatricality. Halford changing out-fits seemingly for every song, the stage set, enough pyros to chill the heart of any self respecting Health and Safety inspector, the motor cycle, the lasers....This is raw, old

school heavy metal. Not modern or sanitised; this is the real deal. Most importantly, these entertainers, do their job, they entertain, something that many younger bands would do well to learn from. Long may it continue.Words by Andy EnderbyPhoto by Gobinder Jhitta

JUDAS PRIESTThe Civic Hall, Wolverhampton July 21

The inexorable but thoroughly justified rise of Goodnight Lenin continues with this, their biggest hometown show to date, slap bang in the middle of a summer that’ll see them play over a dozen of the UK’s best festivals. Like a fine wine they just seem to be getting better, tighter and more polished but without losing the playful sense of fun that lifts them high above so many other folk-tinged bands. After coming on stage to Three Lions (see, there’s that playfulness) they whipped through a dozen or so self-penned tracks covering all bases from the joys of youth (Wenceslas Square) to “fictional tales about real people we know nothing about” (Edward Colby). Whether debut single Crook In The Creek actually reached number 37 in the Bolivian charts as the band claimed this evening is up for debate. What’s beyond dispute is that there are few acts around right now who’ll break your heart one minute then have you chuckling the next. Strong contender for gig of the year. Words by Daron Billings

GOODNIGHT LENINMAC, BirminghamJuly 23


Leaving your house to go to a club night? Pssh, forget about it. In this age of technology, you can find a date, find a curry and now you can find one of the most forward thinking clubs on the internet too.

Of course if you’re a bit old school and you like dancing and drinking in the company of others you could always get your-selves down to the Bull’s Head every Wednesday for Elixir So-cial. Broadcasting live from their website www.elixirsocial.tv, this is the place to hear music from Jamie XX, Girl Unit, Dark Sky and other purveyors of the new wave of forward-thinking, electronic beats.

As well as their stable of up-and-coming regular DJs such as Assaults Suits, Pascal Wray and New Jack City, they also wel-comed their MHVH brethren Troumaca (pictured right) for a live set as well as pioneers of the internet live stream, Boiler Room, keeping the quality especially high for a weekly mid-week club night.

Check www.elixirsocial.tv or www.mhvh.co.uk for details of up-coming events.

Who: People who enjoy the best in new music, socialising - or both.

When: Every WednesdayWhere: Bull’s Head, Moseley/www.elixirsocial.tv

Price: The future for free!!

Words by Cassie-Philomena SmythPhotos by Jade Sukiya

ELIXIR SOCIALBull’s Head, MoseleyJuly 13

ClubS

23August 2011

fOOd+

driNKlET’S play liquid jENga...Instead of your next cheeky tequila, sambuca or Jagerbomb, or if you’re feeling a little bit flush try a layered shooter, says Carl Hawkins, cocktail chemist and general manager of The Jekyll & Hyde.

Layered cocktails come from a style of drink from New Orleans in the 19th Century called a Pousse Café, which is French for “push down the coffee”. It’s made by layering differing liquids with different tastes and densities perfectly on top of each other (think oil on top of water) to be consumed after a meal; the tastes of each sipped one after the other would offer a perfectly satisfactory end to the evening.

Now for the physics bit: as a rule, ingredients with a higher alcohol percentage (abv) are lighter and will float - and, if really high strength, will set on fire. If your liqueur has a lower strength it will contain sugars and will sink; think grenadine in your Tequila Sunrise - drop it in last and, voilà, instant sunset. The best tip is follow a density guide for the spe-cific gravities of spirits according to weight and colour (you can find a guide at www.goodcocktails.com).

Here are a few tips:• Use a small diameter glass, it’s easier.• Slowly pour alcohol along a long stemmed spoon making sure it touches the side of the glass.• Pousse Cafes can be prepared in ad-vance and kept for up to one hour when refrigerated.• Remember density guides are not per-fect because density will vary from brand to brand. Use the same brand of alcohol to ensure consistent results.

Here are two layered cocktails to end the summer in style:

recipe: pOuSSE CafEIngredients:Quarter shot grenadineQuarter shot Kahlua coffee liqueurQuarter shot Green crème de mentheQuarter shot CointreauQuarter shot Makers Mark BourbonQuarter shot Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum By Carl Hawkins, general manager of The Jekyll & Hyde in

Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham city centre

Carl hosts Cocktail Chemistry sessions at the venue. Call 0121 2360345 or visit

www.thejekyllandhyde.co.uk for more details

recipe: b52Ingredients:One third shot Kahlua or Tia Maria One third shot Baileys One third shot Grand Marnier


25August 2011


27August 2011

whaT’S ONIt’s all about quality not quantity this month with the gig circuits quiet as festival season rolls on and bands ready themselves for the autumnal touring onslaught. Uber-cool New York indie duo Cults (pictured below) are one of the undoubted highlights. Having already soundtracked the summer with their acclaimed eponymous debut album, they will be injecting some of that sunshine spirit into the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath on August 24. Kiwi rockers The Datsuns will be showing they can still deliver an electric live set when they headline The Rainbow on August 3, while Chapel Club return to the city following a recent sell-out with nothing to prove but plenty to enjoy when they headline the same venue on August 25. They say you can’t get something for nothing, but there are plenty of free gigs across the city this month to prove that little saying wrong. Brummie folk cult hero Ben Calvert and his band The Swifts will headline an evening of acoustic tuneage for free at The Yardbird Jazz Cafe on August 17, while turning the volume up a notch, hotly-tipped teenage upstarts The Carpels unleash their latest single with a free launch party - including free food and cheap drinks - at The Rainbow on August 24. Competing for the free gig-going crowd are experimental Brighton instrumental three-piece Brontide, who make a welcome return to The Flapper for a free gig also on August 24. Speaking of free nights out, you can continue to catch the finest emerging artists playing stripped back and acoustic, or even take to the stage yourself, at the Brum Notes Magazine Fresh Talent open mic night, weekly Tuesdays at the Bull’s Head in Moseley.

gigS

If clubbing in August should be all about summer sounds and Balearic spirit, then the weather is certain to let us down on that front. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pretend. Weekly club night FACE will be doing a good job to keep the spirit of the White Isle alive throughout August, not least when they join up with Cream Ibiza Classics for a takeover party across the whole Rainbow complex for The Rainbow Street Carnival on August 6, with road closures in place to keep the party going inside and out from 7pm until 6am the next morning. As if that won’t be enough then you’ll be able to carry on the party when Below stage one of their legendary daytime Sunday parties in The Rainbow Garden from 3pm on August 7.Secret party specialists Below then sign off for the summer in style with a secret daytime party at an underground car park in Birmingham on August 28. Plus it has an even-more-secret after party. But that’s a secret too. Dubstep fans will be well served for summer debauchery too when Hype take over The Rainbow Warehouse and Garden to showcase more than 20 of their favourite dubstep talents on August 12. Expect beatboxers, scratch artists, three and four deck sets and more. If bass is your thing then you won’t want to miss Goldie performing an exclusive DJ set of classic and future sounds at the Hare & Hounds on August 6, courtesy of promoters PROSpec. When it comes to summer raves on a big scale, few do it better than Hardcore Til I Die who present their Summer Gathering at The Custard Factory on August 27, with an outdoor stage and two indoor arenas boasting the most exciting names in hardcore and old skool. For more intimate affairs try the eclectic, soulful funk sounds of local favourite Quantic & his Combo Barbaro (below) with a unique live dance show at the Hare & Hounds on August 5.

ClubbiNg


Want your gig or club night listed in our monthly guide? Send

details to:

[email protected]

All details correct at time of going to press. Check with venues before setting out. While every effort will be made to ensure the accuracy of listings, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses incurred from errors which may materialise.

BIRMINGHAM: O2 Academy, Horsefair, Bristol St B1, 0844 4772000; HMV Institute, High St, Digbeth B5, 0844 2485037; NIA, King Edwards Rd B1, 0121 7804141; lG Arena, NEC, Solihull B40, 0121 7804141; The Flapper, Kingston Row B1, 0121 2362421; The Victoria, John Bright St B1, 0121 6339439; Hare & Hounds, High St, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4442081; The Actress & Bishop, Ludgate Hill B3, 0121 2367426; The Sunflower lounge, Smallbrook Queensway B5, 0121 6327656; Symphony Hall, Broad St B1, 0121 7803333; Town Hall, Victoria Sq B3, 0121 7803333; Kitchen Garden Cafe, York Road, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4434725; Alexandra Theatre, Station St B1, 0844 8472302; Bulls Head, St Marys Row, Moseley B13, 0121 2567777; Island Bar, Suffolk St B1, 0121 6325296; The Jam House, St Pauls Sq B3, 0121 2003030; The Asylum, Hampton St, Hockley B19, 0121 2331109; The Rainbow, High St, Digbeth B12, 0121 7728174; Adam & Eve, Bradford St, Digbeth B12, 0121 6931500; The Rose Villa Tavern, Warstone Lane, B18, 0121 2367910; The Yardbird, Paradise Place B3, 0121 2122524; The Glee Club, The Arcadian, Hurst St B5, 0871 4720400; MAC, Cannon Hill Park B12, 0121 4463232; Vudu, Corporation St B5, 0121 643 0859 ; The Crown, Station St B5, 0121 643 4265; Scruffy Murphys, The Priory Queensway B4, 0121 2362035; The Wagon & Horses, Adderley St, Digbeth B9, 0121 7721403; Highlight, Broad St B1, 08700 111 960; The Bristol Pear, Bristol Rd, Selly Oak B29, 0121 414 9980; WOlVERHAMPTON: Civic Hall/Wulfrun Hall, North St WV1, 0870 320 7000; The Slade Rooms, Broad St WV1, 0870 320 7000; Robin 2, Mount Pleasant, Bilston WV14, 01902 401211; WEST BROMWICH: The Public, New St B70, 0121 5337161; COVENTRY: Kasbah, Primrose Hill St, CV1, 024 76554473; Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, CV4, 024 7652 4524

Monday, Aug 1

M Broken Amp Adam & Eve Birmingham

Tuesday, Aug 2

M Eli Paperboy Reed O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M The Jayhawks The Library @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

M Fresh Talent Bull’s Head Moseley

Wednesday, Aug 3

M Pulse Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Raghu Dixit HMV Institute Birmingham

M Silent Filter Island Bar Birmingham

M The Datsuns The Rainbow Birmingham

M Lucy Rose The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

CN MHVH The Victoria Birmingham

Thursday, Aug 4

M Sienna O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Imogen’s Kiss Scruffy Murphys Birmingham

M Action Replay The Crown Birmingham

M Elysium The Flapper Birmingham

M Simply Open Mic The Station Kings Heath

M Stinky Wizzleteat Bull’s Head Moseley

M Everybody Looks Famous

The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

C John Fothergill The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Aug 5

M Jello Biafra O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Meatfeast Scruffy Murphys Birmingham

M The Middle Ones The Victoria Birmingham

M Treetop Flyers Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Tiki Friday Island Bar Birmingham

CN Discographic with Kaminski

The Rose Villa Tavern

Birmingham

CN Quantic & his Combo Barbaro

Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Freestyle Bull’s Head Moseley


Saturday, Aug 6

M Jameson Raid O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M The Emissaries The Actress & Bishop

Birmingham

M Marc Malone The Flapper Birmingham

M Caduga The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

M The Rimes The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

CN Panic! HMV Institute Birmingham

CN Dr Jekyll’s Potion Jekyll & Hyde Birmingham

CN Ink O2 Academy Birmingham

CN Street Carnival The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Juqebox with Maria Rodriguez


Birmingham

CN Funk Fusion The Victoria Birmingham

CN Goldie Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Reverb Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Aug 7

M Social Club Soundsystem

Adam & Eve Birmingham

VENuE dirECTOry

KEY TO LISTINGS:M = LIVE MUSICCN = CLUB NIGHTC = COMEDY

29August 2011

M Karma To Burn The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

M The Free Love Club The Yardbird Birmingham

M Simply Open Mic Cherry Reds Kings Heath

CN Below Daytime Party

The Rainbow Garden

Birmingham

Monday, Aug 8


Tuesday, Aug 9

M Fresh Talent open mic

Bull’s Head Moseley

CN 8Bit Lounge Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Wednesday, Aug 10


M Eddie Spaghetti O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Birmingham Skeptics

The Victoria Birmingham

M Easy Star All-Stars Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Thursday, Aug 11

M Skies + Ask Alfie Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Conduit O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Simple Situation The Crown Birmingham

M Gay for Johnny Depp

The Flapper Birmingham

M Fishbone The Library @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

M Khaliq Hare & Hounds Kings Heath


M Heavy Metal Kids Robin 2 Bilston

CN Fantastic Damage Bull’s Head Moseley

C Gary Delaney The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Aug 12

M Eradikator Asylum 2 Birmingham

M Mantis Defeats The Flapper Birmingham

M The White Room The Sunflower Lounge

Birmingham

M Shatter Effect The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

CN Liquid Sessions Club PST Birmingham

CN Tiki Friday: Down by Law

Island Bar Birmingham

CN Gin’ll Fix It Jekyll & Hyde Birmingham

CN Lucha Libre with DJ Disgrace

Sugarloaf @ Bodega

Birmingham

CN Hype The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Discographic with Hot Wax


Birmingham

CN M4TP The Victoria Birmingham

CN Balkanic Eruption Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Pilgrim Hare & Hounds Kings Heath


CN Klub Kerrang! The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton


Saturday, Aug 13

M Stray Soul Remedy Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Random Hand O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Bolshie The Flapper Birmingham

M Martyr De Mona The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

CN Takin Care of Business




CN FACE feat Mr C The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Juqebox with Steve Jones


Birmingham

CN Lovejoy The Victoria Birmingham

CN High Fidelity Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Together Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Aug 14

M The Sunday Scene Adam & Eve Birmingham


M Simply Open Mic Cherry Reds Kings Heath

M The Rezillos Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Bohemian Jukebox Bull’s Head Moseley

Monday, Aug 15


M Bury Your Dead The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

Tuesday, Aug 16

M Kids In Glass Houses

The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham


Wednesday, Aug 17

M The Low Anthem Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Sparrow And The Workshop

The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

Thursday, Aug 18

M Bombers Adam & Eve Birmingham

HIGHBURYS T U D I O

Vintage 16 track analogue recording and rehearsal studio in the heart of Kings Heath.

Check us out at highburystudio.com or call John Mostyn on 07772 293325 for more info.


M Bruno Mars O2 Academy Birmingham

M Loungetree Scruffy Murphys Birmingham

M The Unknown The Crown Birmingham

M The Kev Bayliss Project



M Speak Up Sessions (spoken word)


C Sean Collins The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Aug 19

M Captain Wilberforce The Sunflower Lounge

Birmingham

M Give Chase The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

M Drunk in Hell The Wagon & Horses

Birmingham

M Horror Show Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Flatline Stereo The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

CN Pub Tropicana Adam & Eve Birmingham

CN Atta Girl Island Bar Birmingham

CN Discographic with Steve Jones


Birmingham

CN Beats By Numbers The Victoria Birmingham



Saturday, Aug 20

M Copious Adam & Eve Birmingham

M The Great Western O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M This Elegant Chaos The Actress & Bishop

Birmingham

M Second State The Flapper Birmingham

M Mona’s Got a Gun Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Panic! HMV Institute Birmingham



CN FACE presents Mulletover

The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Juqebox with Maxwell 45


Birmingham

CN Sweat The Victoria Birmingham

CN Wreck n Roll Circus The Wagon & Horses

Birmingham

CN Habit Summer Sessions



Sunday, Aug 21

M Silent Filter Adam & Eve Birmingham

M New Found Glory O2 Academy 2 Birmingham


Monday, Aug 22


M Otway And Barrett Hare & Hounds Birmingham

Tuesday, Aug 23

M Sharon Corr O2 Academy 2 Birmingham


Wednesday, Aug 24

M Jimmi Friction Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Cults Hare & Hounds Birmingham


M Css O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Brontide The Flapper Birmingham

C Mark Thomas The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton

Thursday, Aug 25

M Punks Alive Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Black Russian O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Tyburn Drop Scruffy Murphys Birmingham

M Chapel Club The Rainbow Birmingham

M The Brute Chorus Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Average White Band

The Civic Hall Wolverhampton

M Steve Cropper Robin 2 Bilston


Friday, Aug 26

M SLAB The Flapper Birmingham

M The Paraffin Brothers

The Sunflower Lounge

Birmingham

M Martyr de Mona The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham

CN Come Together Adam & Eve Birmingham

CN Tiki Friday: Club Primative


CN Gin’ll Fix It Jekyll & Hyde Birmingham

CN Out of Bounds The Victoria Birmingham

CN Mr Scruff Hare & Hounds Kings Heath



Saturday, Aug 27

M Mojo Hooker Adam & Eve Birmingham

M Grooverider HMV Institute Birmingham

M Disciples of Tone The Actress & Bishop

Birmingham

M Brothers Juneau Hare & Hounds Kings Heath



CN Hardcore Til I Die Summer Gathering

The Custard Factory

Birmingham

CN Jocko Homo The Victoria Birmingham

CN Thought Forms Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN This is Tmrw Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Aug 28

M Mrs England Adam & Eve Birmingham


CN Below Summer Closing Party

Secret location Birmingham

CN THC Techno Free Party Mashup


CN Soulful Bull’s Head Moseley

Monday, Aug 29


CN Discographic Bank Holiday Special


Birmingham

Tuesday, Aug 30

M Gordon Gano & The Ryans

The Temple @ HMV Institute

Birmingham


CN Juqebox Bank Holiday Special


Birmingham

Wednesday, Aug 31

M Cage The Elephant Kasbah Coventry

31August 2011


Music Technology & Music Performance courses:Enrolling now!Sign up now for Access to Music’s great range of music courses which are now run from Heath Mill Studios in Digbeth. Choose from Digital Musician or Performing Musician. Courses are ideal for 16-18s looking to get into the music industry. Apply now:www.accesstomusic.co.uk

Heath Mill Studios68 Heath Mill LaneDigbethBirmingham, B9 4ART: 0330 123 3155

acce

ss to music.co.ukac

cess to music

RESULTS ADVICE DAYS>Our A/AS Level Advice Day is on Thursday 16 August between 10.00-16.00.>Our GCSE Advice Day is on Thursday 25 August between 13.00-16.00.

OPEN DAYs>Access to Music Birmingham has Open Days every Wednesday during August 10.00-16.00.>We have a special Welcome Open Day on Friday 26 August between 10.00-14.00 for newcomers and all applicants.>We also have a final Open Evening on Wednesday 31 August between 17.00-19.00.

Upcoming Events

Documents

Brum Notes Magazine August issue