Here’s one for those out there that shake their fists in the air and proclaim “They don’t make music like they used to!” Well apparently, God has answered your appeals in the form of a West Midlands outfit called The Fores.
This band certainly has made the rounds getting radio play and column inches in various underground media from our little Midlands to the blues capital of Chicago-town with their modern take on classic rock.
I spoke to Liam Hopkins, rhythm guitar, and he said that they on the road back to the studio and hope to lay down some new tracks in a few months time. But meanwhile, they have an album called Unknown Destination which is available by contacting the band direct.
The first track, Roll of the Dice, really lays the foundation for the rest of the album. It’s truly rock gospel, testifying the thrills and spills of living life on the edge. It’s the type of song that makes you just want to get out on the open road and put your foot down – especially during the last minute and half that opens with a mournful harmonica and leads into a total breakdown of distortion, drums and slide guitar.
The next track, It Took Me Years, starts to hint at this group’s varied influences that they aren’t ashamed of paying tribute. The intro of this song mimics the beginning of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again but not with an organ or synth, rather purely guitar driven. It also incorporates some killer guitar solos and more cowbell!
By the time I reach the middle tracks of this album, I realise that this is saturated with references to classic rock acts – from the title song, Unknown Destination’s Proud Mary intro to the underlining beat of the Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand in the track called Outta Town as well as a tinge of 80s metal in Don’t Try and Fool Me and AC/DC’s A Love Hungry Man theme in the seventh track, I’m Nobody.
But don’t get me wrong, it isn’t an album of copy cat riffs and transparent knock offs. The Fores do manage to integrate their own sound with gravelly vocals from its lead singer and bassist, Guy Snowdon and a proficient ability to write blues lyrics.
The album rounds out with a southern-fried acoustic song, Bad Karma, which would sound at home in any Confederate flag-flying bar in the States. Believe me; I’ve been to a few.
Thumbs up on this one and I’ll be eagerly waiting to hear The Fores’ next offering.
Something saved me from the monotonous journey to work the other day and that was a new album from a Birmingham comedic music group called (get ready for this because it’s a tongue twister) Graham Parsnip Liquidiser Torture Think-tank (Revival).
After popping in the CD, I was greeted with over the top 70’s funk and a narration telling me that my money and time would have been better spent on taking my kids to McDonald’s or tucking in to Britain’s iconic meal of fish and chips. And then proceeded to sing an entire song telling me all the wonderful things about said meal in an aptly titled, Fish & Chips.
From a 50’s doowap track singing the praises of the Birmingham Sealife Centreto a ska meets metal campaign against compulsive cleaning on International Non-vacuuming Day, this band had me in limbo between laughing my head off to thinking these guys are music geniuses.
When I asked band member, Kirk Allen, where these musical influences come from he responded with, “Well, there are seven of us in the band and it’s very democratic so it all blends in. Hopefully, we don’t suffer too much from the Scottish single malt issue ~ we don’t want to end up tasting like bells!
“The drummer is in a metal band called Infractor, Keys is in a funk band called Fistfull of Dynamite, Lead guitar and bass are in a acousticy thing called Gurdan Thomas so it all mixes up. Most of the songs are written as jams around a central idea and it’s whoever takes the lead tends to shape the sound!
“I was thinking about what ties the songs together the other day and in a nutshell, they are mostly all stories about eccentric people becoming obsessed by something.”
Obsessions with cheese, trouts, a brand new dog or even botulism – all set against a background of competently performed genres of music…rock-n-roll, blues, lounge, jazz, death metal, R-n-B etc…
Other notable features on this album is the satirical acoustic track about that guy that wanted to pay his utility bill with a drawing of a spider and a bonus track à la Barry White called Sleepy Time that well how can I put this diplomatically…the extreme manual pleasuring of a female.
So if you relish in the guilty pleasures of artists like Weird Al, Tenacious D or Adam Sandler but still don’t want to compromise on the quality of music, I highly suggest buying this album. And I dare you not to smile when you listen to it!
Here’s where you can catch this astonishingly odd group live…
19 Mar - Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
3 Apr - Adam & Eve, Birmingham
10 Apr - Moseley Arms Digbeth, Birmingham
From the days of the Frenzy Festival teen nights to the tribute acts of Woodford Rocks, now Daventry’s Saxon Suite is in the hands of an unsigned champion, promoter and local music teacher. I spoke to Patrick Guy of Welton Music to find out what his plans are for this superb live music venue.
“Last year, I put on four open air festivals in Welton. It was the first time I never had to worry about the sound because of the engineer was quality but a few months ago, he calls me up to say that he may be out of a job as Woodford Rocks wasn’t going to be doing the Saxon Suite gigs anymore.”
Guy runs the Fox Hill Music School and saw taking on booking acts at the Saxon Suite as a way to extend his campaign for unsigned musicians in the area - both in terms of giving us a decent place to see live music but also pad the coffers with funds to keep his projects afloat.
“After many years in the music industry, I opened a music school in Northamptonshire. I always knew that my approach was different, even unique, but I was unaware of the profound effect it had on children with serious learning difficulties.
“So many parents began telling me how their children had not been doing so well at school, either because of diagnosed learning difficulties or some other circumstance, until they came for music lessons at the school.
“The recession has hit the music school hard as parents struggle to afford basic living costs, let alone the cost of extracurricular activities, hence the concerts in the Saxon Suite.”
The next gig will be on March 27th when a Kings of Leon tribute act will take stage with local boys, Celeriac opening which Guy tells me is a “shit hot funk band”.
But this is just the beginning for Guy and his plans for the local music scene. He assures me that the future involves putting on quality local bands and deliberately flying in the face of the corporate music industry that “treats artists poorly and rips off the consumers”.
Midland’s band MyOnlyChance had a stellar EP release party last Saturday at the Racehorse in Northampton. You can get your copy via iTunes or Amazon Music On Demand.
I see a lot of bands – sometimes three or four performances in a week. I don’t often waste my time or yours by writing about many of them. But two weeks ago, I ventured to Birmingham to take in some local talent as a part of the Midlands’ Surface Unsigned Competition. The unlucky band to go on first and then ultimately unfortunate to only get the sparse, early crowd vote was a Derby group called The Maffa Kings. They didn’t make it through the next round but looking back, I think they were head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.
I managed to get hold of the group’s second EP, Every Black Cloud, which has been playing almost non-stop in my car stereo. It features four tracks that range from southern blues, reggae roots, an emotional ballad and sexy rock.
This five-piece really uses the two guitar effect to their advantage on this EP, producing evocative harmony in songs like Haunted; and then again guitarists Craig Johnson and Rich Wosik join forces with some rich riffs on Vehicle Jam over the top of the charismatic Lee Moran’s tormented vocals.
The second track, The Volunteer, is a reggae song with a funky Chili Peppers-esque thread weaving in and out of sympathetic lyrics for a dead IRA fighter and ending with a mega guitar outro that just swirls and builds with intensity – a very rockin’ reel.
The EP ends with a sexy rock song, Lust to Licks, (very Kings of Leon) with a good hook, complementary backing vocals and the return of a profound guitar duet.
In my review of them for midlandsrocks.co.uk, I mentioned the band was “less than animated” in a live performance. I stay true to that statement but after conversations with the band, they prefer to consider themselves as “intense”. Call it what you will, I did only have 20 minutes with them and I hope to catch one of their headline gigs coming up in Leicester this month.
And finally I leave with you Lust to Licks, a video of the Maffa Kings performing late in 2009.
Written on February 28th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
No I’m not kidding but never fear it’s not an apocalyptic invasion of the undead, more like 750 horror and music fans queuing up to witness Gorefest.
Dean Boor of GoreZone magazine
I spoke with the organiser of Gorefest, Dean Boor of GoreZone magazine, to find out just what the hell is going on in Northampton on April 9th.
“Horror movies and metal/punk/rock-n-roll have always gone hand in hand. So many bands nowadays take their inspiration from the horror movie genre. I wanted to create something from that idea and make it into an event. And so we have Gorefest.
This is GoreZone Magazine’s first music event. It already hosts an annual film festival in London and they hope this musical event will be an ongoing feature to its schedule.
“The hope is that this music event will be equally as successful as our film festival so that it can grow into something bigger for 2011.
“All the bands booked have some tie in with the horror movie genre, whether it be The Defiled who have release their first EP containing lyrics based on Jack the Ripper or Zombina and the Skeletones who create songs based on horror B movies.”
Gorefest's headliners, Die So Fluid. Courtesy of Paul Harries
The drummer from Nemhain is the ex-drummer for Cradle of Filth. And the lead singer and bassist of Die So Fluid, Grog, is a queen of all things gothic, sexy and rock-n-roll.
Boor said that Gorefest will “essentially create a living, breathing horror movie soundtrack”.
And yes, the rumours are true. There is a dress code for the event. “As a fan of all things horror, I want to see 750 zombies queueing up outside the venue. It’s all in good fun though and you won’t be turned away if you haven’t transformed into a fleesh-eating member of the undead.”
So break out the Halloween make up, go rent some bloody B movies and go as the undead for this concert.
Gorefest is April 9th at the Roadmender in Northampton. Tickets are £15 for a standard entry pass. There are limited numbers of VIP passes for £20. You can snag your tickets by visiting www.gorezone.co.uk or by calling the box office number 0844 800 2885.
The event is part of GoreZone Magazine, which is a worldwide horror entertainment magazine sold in high street stores and published in Northampton.
Written on February 25th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
The Flapper wasn’t the easiest venue to get to even with my driver that apparently “knows Birmingham like the back of his hand”. So I was a little late in catching the first song played at this particular night’s heat of the Midlands’ Surface Unsigned Festival but early enough to catch the drama that transpired later in the series of performances.
The Surface Unsigned Festival is really a massive battle of the bands where every group competing has a 20 minute set to win the hearts and minds of fans attending the performance, text votes and the nod from an industry professional on the night.
There are South, North, West and Midlands versions that will culminate in a massive concert at London’s O2 in August.
According to Leon Van Den Brocke, the organiser of the Midlands region events, each 2010 band has been vetted personally with the hope that he can repeat his successes from last year where a Midlands band that played in the 2009 contest secured a deal with Sony. Apparently, there is also an unseen competition between each of the regional organisers of Surface Unsigned to get their acts to the final in London.
First up was a Derby rock act called The Maffa Kings. When I entered the venue, they were well into their second song called Lust to Licks – a sexy rock song with twinkling chimes and guitar solos that builds with intensity as the song comes to an end. The band was less than animated on stage with most of the vibe coming from its front man, Lee Moran who reminded me of a Morrison/Astbury type.
They followed up with a new song and if memory serves me right was called Flat Line Beat which was dominated with the heartbeat thump of the bass drum highlighted with the scraping of a Mexican guiro.
The Maffa Kings concluded with a Marley-inspired, reggae tune called The Volunteer. Moran said that this song is about an IRA member that “fights for freedom and fights against your queen” – but he also tacked on a disclaimer that this is about as political as they get.
Next up was a trio that hails from Birmingham called Sence. They had a certain Kinks feel to their music which was predominantly down to the lead singer Dave Goss’ vocals. The first song was Same Mistake – a happy go lucky song that started with an animalistic drum intro and staccato bridge.
Sence chose another Kinks-inspired song titled Elle as its third offering… relying on simplistic “I met this girl” lyrics, guitar effects and a Gallagher-esque vocal twang.
They ended with Soldier in Disguise – They Might Be Giants vocals with a Jessie’s Girl intro overlaid with urban warrior taking on the frustrations of daily life prose.
And the award for most animated on stage goes to the Black Country’s Battle of the Bands winners, Captain Horizon, which was dripping with Rainbow and post-grunge influences. “A” for effort in warming up the crowd and they didn’t do half bad on the songs either.
Vocalist, Steven Whittington had a crazed look on his face for most of the songs that ranged from up-tempo, screaming rock to melancholy ballads like its third song, Tears from the Eye. The transitions within the songs were sometimes clunky but that’s me being nitpicky. Those blemishes can definitely be overlooked by concentrating more on the range of vocals from Whittington that reminded me of another post-grunge band that is dominating charts in the UK and US called Shinedown.
Representing Northampton on the night was The Dave Vegas Project. I’ve been privy to this duo a couple of times when doing the rounds in my local area but this time they have added a third member on bass.
First song was its newest track Mosquito Girl. Just imagine the raunchiest rock with blues undertones and a raspy vocal and you’ve got these guys sussed. A false start on the second song but they nailed it in the end.
It was a bad choice for its third song. They slowed it down for Another World but judging from the mumblings behind me in the crowd, it didn’t please. This wasn’t helped by the newbie bassist getting the finger positions wrong and producing a nerve shattering, off key melody.
Chris of The Dave Vegas Project (Courtesy of Woody Tripp)
The fourth song, Cure a Whore, saw the return of front man Chris Watkins’ crunchy guitar. Whilst not a strong song, it combined a garage rock meets Rage Against the Machine theme.
Here’s where the drama took place. You know that saying that the show must go on? Well, the concept seems to have been lost on this Leicester group, Glass Onion. As they settled in to their allotted set of ska, Northern soul songs, technical difficulties struck and the drummer’s mic didn’t work. It was obvious that the band was distressed as event staff tried on multiple occasions to rectify the issue but the song ended up being an instrumental only.
The band finished one more song but then the front man, Jacob, decided to finish the set. A public disagreement ensued with declarations from the drummer, Sean saying “we can do one more song, it’s not our fault” etc…but the front man was having none of it, took his guitar off his shoulder and signalled the end.
Written on February 25th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
No sooner do I announce that Abbey Road has averted closure, but I get a press release to say another crucial landmark in British music is facing a threat.
UK Music Chief Executive, Feargal Sharkey: “Ministry of Sound is a London landmark, a UK success story and a globally recognised brand. Any threat to such a core part of its business should be considered very carefully.”
Ministry of Sound is a flagship for British youth culture; an iconic brand that includes a club, the world’s largest independent record label, and a multimedia entertainment business, all directed from the company’s South London home.
Following a significant threat to its future from a proposed residential development opposite the Gaunt Street building, the club has launched a petition to safeguard the future of the Ministry of Sound venue.
For 18 years the beating heart of Ministry of Sound has been the Southwark venue at 103 Gaunt Street that in addition to the legendary nightclub, also houses its main offices and 200 staff (a further 300 staff are employed worldwide in offices in New York, Sydney, and Berlin).
The club holds over 200 events a year, with an annual attendance in excess of 300,000. The future of the SE1 venue has been put in doubt following a planning application by property developer Oakmayne. The company has submitted plans for a residential building on the site of the old Eileen House, which, if built, could pose a significant threat to the club’s entertainment license. Oakmayne’s attitude towards preserving the longevity of the club is perhaps best summed up by a comment from its chairman, Christopher Allen, who when questioned gave his opinion that “nightclubs come and go”.
A leading light for regeneration in the Southwark area since 1991, Ministry of Sound has played a strong role in the local community from the start, employing local residents, providing an event space for the people of Southwark, and championing local causes.
It has housed conferences ranging from the UK’s Youth Parliament to Mothers Against Guns, Urban Mission, and many more. On 14th April Ministry of Sound will host a Crime Stoppers awareness day for local under 18’s; 25th August will see ‘Put It Down’, an anti-gun and knife crime event featuring 400 young people, live performances, and workshops.
Ministry of Sound Group CEO Lohan Presencer said: “Thousands of clubbers head to Elephant and Castle every week. We need to do everything possible to secure the long-term future of Ministry of Sound, one of this country’s cultural icons.”
This will come to a great relief to many in the music industry. Last year, I wrote an article on the death of recording studios. But I never would have believed that it would affect the greatest recording studio of our time.
Written on February 18th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
Anyone with some musical talent may be keen to develop it or simply enjoy seeing others engage with the artistic medium.
For those who like seeking out local music events, the Chippington Norton Music Festival could be the perfect way to spend a day or two soaking in some more classical forms of music.
This year, the event kicks off on March 5th and will run until March 20th.
In addition to offering a number of professional concerts over the two weeks, there are also regular classes that anyone is allowed to join in.
These range from vocal and voice lessons to instruction in musical instruments, such as the piano.
The festival is one of the longest running with over 100 years of celebrating song and prose.
Jacqui Dankworth
Some of the musicians playing in this year’s shows include Jacqui Dankworth and Charlie Wood in one of the debut performances of their joint project celebrating the legendary 1961 duo collaboration between Ray Charles and Betty Carter.
As well as Diabolus in Musica, who perform historical music in period costumes. One of the featured instruments is the hurdy gurdy – not restricted to medieval music but often used by more contemporary bands like Metallica, Led Zeppelin and German metallers, In Extremo.
President, Anthony Williams said of the event, “As a passionate teacher and a musician who has a special interest in nurturing young talent I have watched the festival flourish and grow over the past few years, providing performing opportunities and constructive feedback to musicians as well as giving enormous pleasure to audience and performer alike. In my experience it is one of the most welcoming and friendly music festivals around and organised by a committee who share the same vision of enthusing and encouraging young (and not so young!) performers in the most supportive environment.”
Tickets for the concerts and workshops cost between £2 and £15 depending on the event.
Written on February 17th, 2010 by Beatlebabeone shout
But only 19% of those actually think they have any worthy talent.
It’s just like the Lily Allen song…
I`ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
`Cuz everyone knows that`s how you get famous
I`ll look at the sun and I`ll look in the mirror
I`m on the right track yeah I`m on to a winner
Boy oh boy do these X-Factor-a-like talent shows have something to answer for.
New research released today says that 54% of 16 year olds only want to be famous when they are older, rather than opting for a more traditional career.
This study of over 1000 16-year-old conducted by www.intotheblue.co.uk came after the site noticed an increase in the number of people searching for and buying the “Superstar Singer” experience days and dance lessons.
When asked ‘what would you like to be when you are older?’ over half said famous, compared to just 9% of the young people who wanted a legal career. 13% wanted a job in the media and 15% said they would like a career in medicine.
Despite a large proportion of the young people wanting a lifestyle to match the rich and famous, 68% said they wouldn’t know how to go about becoming a celebrity. 21% said they would try to become nationally recognised through a reality TV show such as X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent.
Of the 54% who wanted to be a celebrity in the future, only 19% felt they had enough talent to make them worthy of fame. Shock and dismay!
Written on February 15th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
Garfield Mayor, now an independent singer from Coventry, announced yesterday that for a limited time, fans of his can download When Stars Collide from his Reverbnation page.
It’s a quintessential love song that will remind you of classics from the 70s AM radio but Mayor can hold his own against any modern romance singer.
Written on February 14th, 2010 by Beatlebabeno shouts
Someone asked me the other day…”Beatle, how many bands have you seen since you started your website? And out of those, how many would you consider good enough to make it?”
I paused. Although I found it difficult to pinpoint exactly how many bands I have seen in the last 12 months, I knew that I could really only count on one hand the bands that I thought showed true potential and drive to make it in the cutthroat , “new” music industry.
But I thought it worth actually counting and giving you a quick run down of the numbers.
Since February 2009, I have been witness to about 60 performances from over 50 separate acts - 3 Tribute, 5 major signed acts and 44 local acts (of which 4 were cover bands). I have reviewed approximately 39 songs/EPs/albums.
But those are my personal preferences…other acts that I have seen or reviewed that probably have the talent and/or potential to make it are again in the region of 15/1 odds.
So you are probably thinking to yourself, if the odds are so bad, then why do I support independent music?? Well, fine peoples, for many reasons.
Mainly, I just love music. I have a great respect for people who have the nerve to get on stage and open themselves up to criticism or acclaim for their talent. It’s usually a really good, cheap night out. And well, it’s my job.
So I encourage everyone out there to peel yourselves away from mind-numbing TV on a Friday night. Expand your musical horizons away from the force fed, Simon Cowell endorsed, regurgitated pop. And embrace your local music scene. Long odds can give you a massive payout.
I see a lot of bands – sometimes three or four performances in a week. I don’t often waste my time or yours by writing about many of them. But two weeks ago, I ventured to Birmingham to take in some local talent as a part of the Midlands’ Surface Unsigned Competition. The unlucky band to go on first and then ultimately unfortunate to only get the sparse, early crowd vote was a Derby group called 
UK Music Chief Executive, Feargal Sharkey: “Ministry of Sound is a London landmark, a UK success story and a globally recognised brand. Any threat to such a core part of its business should be considered very carefully.”
