SLAP Supporting Local Arts & Performers

F R E E

Issue 18

AUG 2012

Pull-out Guide!

Preview

LOADEDMusic Festival

Preview

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Aug 2012

As we end July chasing our tales like demented JackRussells, we look forward to an assiduous August,bookended by two local and free urban aall weekendfestivals, within anyones range familiar to thispublication.

In this issue we preview both events. Our centre spreadis dedicated to the first in the calendar, the inauguralMalvern Rocks, with a pull-out guide (mind the staples -disclaimer). It promises to be a bonanza of live and localtalent not to be missed. This can only whet our appetitesfor the forthcoming Worcester Music Festival which ison course to be the best yet. Slap have been asked to hostan event at each festival and for the first weekend of themonth we are guests of The Wyche Inn, Malvern, just oneof fifteen venues across town.

For the Bank Holiday weekend we play a small butexciting part in the Worcester Music Festival by hostinga full Sunday of live music at the Arts Workshop and CaféBliss. We have a mouth watering array of artists andbands brimming with festival credentials. There will be somuch going on around the city for ‘four’ whole days wewill all be spoilt for choice.

We also highlight this years Loaded Music Festivaltaking place on the second weekend of this month inKidderminster. Eleven hours, two stages - another freefeast of music to get your teeth in to. All three festivalsare all about raising money for their chosen charities soplease dig deep when you see the collection boxes. Andremember that all the artists and performers, not tomention the organisers are giving up their time for free.

The fun doesn’t stop there of course, in this issue you’llfind details for Swanfest in Kidderminster, B-Fest atTenbury, The Worcester Beer Festival, Freddy Just, and theMoseley Folk Festival - Good times!

So if I survive Nozstock, I’ll no doubt see you at one ofthese great events. Here’s to another hectic month!

- Slap Eds

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SLAP NEWS AUGUST 2012

After a mammoth effort getting enough on-linesupport to make it through the 'public voting' stage -This Wicked Tongue just clinched the last place at theplay-off final in Camden for the opportunity to open upon the main stage of the Green Man festival at GlanuskPark on August 17th - and then of course won it!!Managing Director Fiona Stewart said about theirdecision to choose This Wicked Tongue - 'Choosingpassion isn't a safe direction to take but where would be

the fun, the joy, the excitement and surprise of differenceif we played safe? That wouldn't be in the spirit of GreenMan as a supporter of emerging artists based on talentalone' - we couldn't agree more!!

Despite the horrible weather of the last few weeks - itheld off for a couple of days for this year's 13th UptonBlues Festival to be declared the 'best ever' by Ploughlandlord Rob Baker - many local acts like Slowburner,Dave Onions, Mumbo Jumbo, Will Killeen, Babajack, Vo

Fletcher, Virgil & The Accelerators and Bob Jones'Stripped Down Blues were among a host of acts drawnfrom across the UK playing at the three main stages bythe river and a host of other smaller venues - butamazing Upton's still got a couple more music festivalsto go before summer's out...

Sadly neither of the BBC H+W nominations ThisWicked Tongue or Hereford/Worcester supergroup GodSave The King made the final pick to play theIntroducing stages at Reading/Leeds over the bankholiday - with Leeds-based outfits unaccountablydominating the listings at both venues. It's now beenfive years without a local act appearing on an Intro stageat Reading, Leeds, T-In-The-Park, Big Weekend or Glasto- and we're starting to wonder why...

The new musicvenue Pavilions inCripplegate Parkseems to havetheir finger on thepulse with recentgigs featuringDroitwich rappersCase Closed, hip-hopping siblingsDone By Sunrise and the upwardly-mobile Jasper In TheCompany Of Others - well worth checking out!!

Worcester City FC Supporters Trust held their 2ndBeer, Cider & Music Festival at St. George's Lane withacts like theDelray Rockets,Bad Amber andS k e w w h i f fproviding thesounds to gowith theguzzling. This isthe last year forWCFC at theLane but theS u p p o r t e r shope to shoe-horn in another festival of quality local music and 8%proof cider towards Christmas!

On a similar theme - this year's 13th Worcester BeerFestival on Pitchcroft is expected to attract more than13,000 punters - with musical accompaniment fromblues merchants Stomp & Holler - and the current line-up of the legendary Move!!

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Green light for TWT

Best yet for Upton Blues

Still waiting Leeds breakthrough

New venue - new music

Beer & Music!

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Luckily the plug wasn't pulled when the outfit thatsupported Bruce Springsteen and Macca at Hard RockCalling droppedinto Keystone'sto headline a setfeaturing aprime selectionof local acts.Halfway ToNew York wereably supportedby the likes ofDone By Sunrise, The Aesthetics and Time Of TheMouth at this packed Monday night FM promotion -great call Fred!

B-Fest is back with agreat line up for 11thAugust. Tom Hingleywill be on stage at 2pm,Andy O'Hare will beintroducing some of thebands, families arewelcome.. and mostimportantly.. its FREE ...(the music that is.. notthe beer!!) This yearcamping is availableliterally a stones throw

from B-fest. If anyone wants to camp you can get theinfo at www.tenburywells.info/palmers-meadow/ and/orcontact Tenbury Town council.. its just £3 per night!! Getall the up and coming info on facebook Bfest TenburyWells.

Malvern Hills Amnesty International present the 12thannual exhibition andsale in support ofAmnesty Internationalat the Quaker meetingHouse, Orchard Road,Malvern WR14 3DAon Saturday 18thAugust to Monday27th August 201210am to 5pm,Sundays 2 pm to 5 pm. Official Opening by FelicityNorman – Green Party on Saturday 18th August at11.00am. General enquiries: Trevor Trueman : 01684573722

B-Fest is back

Custom Car show - line-up

ART for AMNESTY 2012

Worcs 2nd Custom Car show 31st Aug - 2 Sept - £10this is the second event after the great response theygot from last year’s show. All are welcome to attend,particularly those with custom cars, bikes, scooters,classic cars and military vehicles. People wishing toenter their vehicle in the show get free entry for thedriver/rider and the vehicle and only need to make adonation to the air ambulance fund on site, (passengerswill still need to pay entry to site). There is live music allweekend from Cause for Concern, First Offense, NobleSavage, Khaos Theory and Riff Raff with more acts tobe confirmed.

SnodFest 2012On Saturday 15th September, the fifth SnodFest will

be happening. SnodFest may be small, but the stunninglocation and attention to detail make the festival veryspecial. What other small festival has over 10 hours ofcontinuous live music? With 18 bands performingthere’s something that will be to everyone’s taste.

And if you want a break from all the fabulous music,there are free workshops, kids entertainment, food andof course, a real ale bar also serving local cider.

Introduced by Andrew Marston, BBC Hereford andWorcester ...... it’s the recipe for a perfect day.

This year the gates open at 11.45am and the line upis the best yet! Bands including Becky Rose, The CohenBrothers, Skewwhiff, Macaroni Penguins, Inca Hoots,The Chris Whiting Band, Tom Forbes, Hornswaggle,Hitchhiker and many many more.

Set in Upton Snodsbury Park, the festival promotes,encourages and showcases musicians, artists, andperformers from the local area.

New to SnodFestthis year, they areoffering you thechance to leave thecar at home and helpreduce our carbonfootprint by catchingthe SnodBus -provided and run by Dudleys Coaches, the SnodBus willoffer pick up from Worcester, Pershore and surroundingvillages or why not camp on Friday & Saturday to makea weekend of it?

As Andy O’Hare said: “A fantastic festival summerwound down with the wonderful SnodFest cornucopiaof the best of local talent at Upton Snodbury's playingfields - we've been closing off our summer programwith this heartwarming event for a few years now andit's never rained once!”

For more information and ticket purchases pleasevisit the website www.snodfest.com

Halfway to New York

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This years Loaded Music Festival takes place on August11th at The Royal Exchange in New Road, Kidderminster.This years benefiting local charities are Cords4Life andThe Georgia Basson Appeal.

The Loaded music festival is now 5 years old and thisyear promises to blow all previous efforts out of the water.With a main stage and acoustic tent, live music will beplaying constantly throughout the day from 12pm til11pm. This years headliners are none other than LibertyLies who have recently finished a European Toursupporting American Rock Giants Shinedown, andHalestorm.

Another coup for this years line up is the news thatformer Sons of Beaches singer Carl Wilkes & GuitaristDan Holloway will be performing with their new band,Rogue. Other Kidderminster acts include: Time of theMouth, Sister Shotgun, AKA Wyoming, The Dale VonMinaker Band, Charlie Davis, Gaz N Matt, James Matteyand The Damage. A total of 16 acts will be showcasingthe very best material from around the midlands.

Other attractions include BBQ, Stalls, outdoor barand raffle. Entry to the festival is completely free, allthe organisers ask is that everybody in attendancemakes a donation to the charities, whether its a poundor one hundred pounds, every little helps. Thay are alsoasking for donations for the raffle and for volunteerson the day.

Contact: carlwilkessob@hotmail.com

The Full line-up:Time Of The Mouth (Main Stage)

Charlie Davies (Main Stage)Luke Huntley (Acoustic Stage)

Khaos Theory (Main Stage)James Mattey (Acoustic Stage)

The Damage (Main Stage)I Am A Scary Monster (Acoustic Stage)

Vegas Assault (Main Stage)Stompin' on Spiders (Acoustic Stage)

AKA Wyoming (Main Stage)Matt Sheehan (Acoustic Stage)

Sister Shotgun (Main Stage)Gaz & Matt (Acoustic)Rogue (Main Stage)

Dale Von Minaker Band (Main Stage)Liberty Lies (Headline)

PREVIEW Loaded Music Festival - The Royal Exchange, Kidderminster Aug 11thAE

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Sister Shotgun

30 Songs fromIndie Band Ronda

We would like to say Thank Youto our Family, Friends & Fans

Special Thanks go out to, Johnat Rich Bitch Studios Birmingham,

Colton Halls, Jem Roberts,Hill Top Mini Club, Dave Draper.

This Album is dedicated to the Memory of Colin Arrowsmith

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ARTS NEWS

WORCESTER ARTS WORKSHOP21 Sansome Street, WorcesterWR1 1UH Tel: 01905 25053www.worcesterartsworkshop.org.uk

A big month lies ahead in our fair old Worcester City!The Worcester Music Festival is upon us with tonnes of

fab events and live music in store in the run up to andduring the August Bank Holiday weekend 24th til 27thAugust. The Workshop will be one of the many venueshosting the activities and we hope our yard will be full ofsunny faces during the daytime, afternoon and evening.The run up begins on the 5th Aug with free gigphotography workshop 1pm til 4pm at the Workshop. Fordetails see the WMF website.

August’s Lazy Sunday has been hijacked by the WorcesterMusic Festival on the 12th. With Wes Dance, Mark andBeanie (Skewwhiff), Humdrum Express, Shaun Sheldon(Crooked Empire), Stompin’ on Spiders, Black Cat Boneand The Brickshed. Throw in the usual Cafe Bliss treats,delicious food and drinks and friends and this is an eventnot to be missed! 12 til 5.

We have stacks of children’s activities for parents whoare wondering what to get up to with the kids during theschool hols... running every Wed and Sat and someTuesdays until September 1st. Including sketchbookmaking, drawing, upcycling, Indoor Olympics and a MadHatters Tea Party, check out the full listings on our websiteor call in. Please pre book as spaces are limited and goingfast!

Thinking of doingsomething new for theautumn? Then take a lookat our exciting newcourses for September.With digital photography,oil painting, ceramics,painting and drawing,Iyengar yoga, zumba,belly danicing, guitar,creative writing,ceramics, children’sclasses and much, muchmore, the workshopwelcomes you in for afresh learning experiencein your alternative, citycentre arts hub.

There is still chance to see A Fox’s Tale, Paul O’Leary’senchanted journey illustrated in the Cellar gallery andsurreal and angular prints by Worcester’s RogerWhitmore in Cafe Bliss, both on until 18th.

Then we are showing a collection of photographicprints by Mark Hoy focusing on band and gigphotography to tie in with the Music Festival. This willbe on show from 22nd August until 15th Sept. Therewill also be an exhibition of children’s images with amusical theme!

Come and take part in ‘Postcard Patchwork’, a hugepostcard art exhibition in November. All postcardswelcome! For details, see our website or call in.

To see what we are up to, please check out our newwebsite on: www.worcesterartsworkshop.org.uk

by Kate Cox

Wes Dance

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EXHIBITION - Mark Hoy - Worcester in Music 22nd Aug - 15th Sept

A collection of music themed photographic prints areon display this month by Mark Hoy, a web developer and‘part time’ photographer based in Worcester. His passionfor photography began with an old school film SLR manyyears ago, becoming serious in the last few years kickstarted by taking photos at the 2009 Worcester MusicFestival.

“I was persuaded to enter some of my photos into theWMF Photography Competition. I only attended the prizeceremony for the promise of a free beer and was amazedto win first prize.”

“Music photography in the smaller venues is often achallenge as the lighting is poor and using flash tends tokill the atmosphere that I'm trying to show in my photos.I use a mixture of ambient lighting and bouncing flashinto the faces of people stood behind me (sorry!) tocreate a photo that captures the energy, diversity andintimate nature of gigs in Worcester and I hope thesephotos reflect that feeling. Live music is thriving inWorcester and this is why I enjoy photography taken inour many venues within the City.”

Mark takes photos at WMF each year and hasexpanded into band photo shoots and the occasionalwedding. “My ‘proper’ job is a web developer so as you

might expect I haven't updated my website since2009...Oops!”

He can also be found co-hosting a gig photographyworkshop as part of the Worcester Music Festival withtwo other local photographers Joe Singh and SteveJohnston. It's FREE and takes place on August 5th 1-4pm at Worcester Arts Workshop - please emailphoto@worcestermusicfestival.co.uk or find detailson facebook.

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WORCESTER MUSIC FESTIVALON THE HORIZON 24-27th Aug

With just three weeks before Worcester MusicFestival turns the city into one, almighty explosion oflive, original music, organisers have confirmed that200 acts have, so far, been booked to play.

While the idea behind the event is to stand up andshout, “’Ere, look at what we’ve got” to the outsideworld, the city-wide festival is also a chance to inviteother, well, darn good musicians, to our neck of thewoods, from the mesmerising to the malevolent to thosewielding sheer mayhem.

As every good vampire flick shows us, pure bloodmixed with that of them there ‘outsiders’ can createsomething quite extraordinary and, at this year’s WMF,there’s plenty to get excited about. Four days, 30 venues,around 250 original bands and artists, a wealth ofwonderful workshops - what a way to spend the AugustBank Holiday weekend (24-27). And it’s all FREE.

With the WMF festival guide being printed as wespeak, all that’s left to do is get Tigger-like and startplanning your itinerary, which could mean listening to12 hours of back to back, live music if you fancy it. Hereare a few highlights of this year’s line-up:

Small Engine RepairAmericana / alternativeSwan with Two Nicks – Friday, August 24COUNTING Cerys Matthews of Catatonia and BBC 6

Music fame amongst their burgeoning bank of fans,Hereford’s Small Engine Repair come fresh from playingthe Louisiana in Bristol, the so-called place fordiscovering new international, national and local talentin the UK, following a gig for Princess Anne at St James’sPalace. Think heart-rending blues of Lead Belly, shiningguitars of Eels and the infectious sweep and groove ofTom Waits. With a debut album in the pipeline, theband’s current EP An Introduction to Small EngineRepair, is motoring along nicely.

Visit www.myspace.com/smallenginerepairmusic

Jasper In The Company Of OthersHappy vibe funkMarr’s Bar – Saturday, August 25‘GOT Soul, Got Vibe’, the first EP from Worcester’s Jasper

In The Company Of Others, pretty much sums up the band’smusic and the buzzing effect it has on audiences. Signed bySound Hub Records in March, they are now working ontheir debut album following a series of gigs throughout thesummer, including Barn On The Farm Festival, which theyplayed last year alongside Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard. AsSLAP went to print, they were competing in the Midlandssemi-final of Surface Festival, one of the biggest Europeanbattle of the bands.

Visit www.reverbnation.com/jasperinthecompanyofothers

Flesh Eating FoundationElectro-zombie punkWorcester Arts Workshop – Saturday, August 25SIGNED to Glory and Honour

Records (in fake blood andgrease), this band from Stafforddeclare themselves ‘chaotic anddisturbingly entertaining electro-punks’, with a live showthat’s nothing short of theatre. Made up of enigmatic,masked frontman The Juddaman, deaf-blind zombie John E.Smoke, uber-guitarist Mash and visual pranksterCrooknose, the band has just released their debut single,So Yeah, which is already going down like a member of thedecomposed at feeding time in nightclubs and on theairwaves, even with their speaker troubling sonics.

Visit www.flesheatingfoundation.co.uk

Jon GommSolo acoustic guitarMarr’s Bar – Sunday, August 26WMF is more than chuffed to welcome back Leeds’ Jon

Gomm, the virtuoso guitarist, who, wowing Stephen Frythis year, saw hits of one of his YouTube clips soar to twomillion within days. Jon, who first picked up a guitar at theage of two, uses his lovingly-battered instrument tosimultaneously create drum sounds, basslines and melodies,and is influenced by everyone from Robert Johnson toRadiohead. Just home from touring Europe, he is not onlygigging at WMF, he is also holding a free workshop forbudding guitarists. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Visit www.jongomm.com/music

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Lakota Sioux Alternative rockKeystones Café Bar

– Sunday, August 26LAKOTA Sioux were

signed to M.A.SRecords immediatelyafter their performance at WMF 2010, and, this year,they are back with a vengeance. Forged in the practicerooms of Worcester Sixth Form College, they played themain stage at this year's Nozstock Festival in July, aswell as landing the small coup of headlining the O2’sAcademy 3 in Birmingham twice. Sick of one-note,auto-tuned pop about homework and the like, and witha new guitarist to show off, Lakota Sioux pledges tobring a whole new, raw sound to this year’s WMF.

Visit www.myspace.com/lakotasiouxuk

The Manic ShineMulti-influenced modern rockThe Firefly – Sunday, August 26

IMPRESSING the likes of Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason,London’s The Manic Shine were told about WMF byWorcester’s Mansize, with this year’s festival one of theirstops on a second tour of the UK in 2012. In the businessof breaking moulds, entwining futuristic, electronicsounds with a raucous blend of progressive rock, theyare signed to independent label The Animal Farm ofAtaris, Blink 182 and Enter Shakari fame, and are writingan album, which they plan to record this Autumn. Withno less than 6,000 Twitter followers, there’s a fair tomiddling possibility it’ll be a hit.

Visit www.reverbnation.com/themanicshine

Columbus GiantAcoustic folk-popGuildhall- August 27COLUMBUS Giant

sort of appeared out ofnowhere at last year’sWMF, but did theLondon-based bandfrom New Zealandever make an impact

with their infectious, acoustic folk-pop set. And, they’recoming back this year. With guitarist and vocalist DarrenClark starting writing songs to ‘entice the fairer sex into hisevil clutches’, the Giant’s folky fare is certain to bring afoot-tapping, thigh-slapping, feel good factor to this year’sWMF, the enthusiastic pluckings of a double bass, cajon,cello and mandolin bringing something quite unique to theproceedings.

Visit www.myspace.com/columbusgiant

For full line-up for Worcester Music Festival 2012www.worcestermusicfestival.co.ukFollow the festival on Facebook and Twitter.

WMF workshopsWHATEVER your

age or ability, ifanything’s going toinspire you to pickup a guitar,consider drumlessons or just startsinging even moreenthusiastically in

the shower, it’s an awesome live gig. During WMF, why notseize the day and get along to one of the festival’s 30 freeworkshops?

As well as a whole raft of workshops for families, fromsing-alongs and concerts for little ones and a rock schooland pop choir for older children and teenagers, this year’sWMF includes a folk music workshop with flying fingeredScottish fiddler Claire King, a jazz jam, a piano accordiongroup workshop, a mixtape masterclass with DJ EdSteelefox and The Four Elements of Hip-Hop.

There is also world drumming, junk and Indian vocalpercussion, an acoustic guitar masterclass with theacclaimed Jon Gomm, a voice care for singers workshopand much, much more.

For more information and to book up in advance, visitwww.worcestermusicfestival.co.uk/whatson/workshops/

*During WMF, volunteers will be selling raffle tickets inaid of the festival’s charity of the year, New Hope, aninvaluable centre in Worcester which provides a fun, safeenvironment for children with disabilities and complexhealthcare needs, and a place which gives parents a much-needed break.

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It's that special WMF time of the year and when SLAPwas given the opportunity to host Sunday at the ArtsWorkshop/Cafe Bliss (our spiritual home) we simply had topounce on it. SLAP's inaugural outing at the fest last yearbrought exposure and inspiration in equal measure, andthe chance to negotiate our pick from the 800+applications this time around was mouthwatering.

Our line up for Sunday 26th August is as follows:Acoustic Afternoon at Cafe Bliss - WAWSophie FlynnSophie brings to her music a special blend of the bizarre

mixed with the normality of every day life, with songsranging from nursery rhyme fantasies mixed up in cleverlypenned lyricism to up beat foot tapping fun.

Sean SheldonThe Crooked Empire's main

man plays solo and acousticespecially for SLAP @ WMF.

Gary RolfeNorth London based singer, songwriter and slide guitarist

Gary Rolfe has established himself as a highly talentedcountry blues performer on the London gig circuit, deliveringraw, foot stomping, whisky soaked blues, inspired byAmerican roots music.

Jak RavenGogol Bordello meets

Flogging Molly with abumph of The Fylthe and aswig of Haggle-Bag, towhisk up a Tree-Frog soupand a Hedge Bumping ridethrough the jigs and reelsof Peaceful Pogue Mahoneattitude over ska-raggainfluences.

Flat StanleyPlaying live is

what life is allabout for FlatStanley, alwayspassionate, andalways a very livelyfootstompin affairwhether in a cozybooza or a festivalstage. “Like Neil Diamond on crack”.

Electric Evening at the Arts WorkshopThe MiffsA three piece garage rock band who play original

upbeat tunes with passion & a slice of tongue firmly incheek.

RubicavaKidderminster's Rubicava would like to let the music

do the talking for them. Not because they have nothingto say, but because they have loose tongues and don'twish to incriminate themselves.

StuntdogWMF stalwarts who will steer you on a noise journey

that will make you laugh, cry, jump, rock your pants offand shout really loud!

Sick Boys ClubMaking their SLAP and WMF debut, SBC are a bunch

of derranged, decrepit undead fools playing horrorcore/dub/ska/funk/swingjazz influenced crazy ass tunes.

Cracked ActorsSLAP favourites finally

add WMF to theirburgeoning roster offestivals (check themout on utube atGlastonbury 04 - funnyas!) with yet anothernew line up (how manyis that?), we welcomeour Brummie / Yam-Yam cousins with openhearts!

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At the centre of it all is Kowalski. Sideburned, guitarslung and with microphone at hand, he's quirky,understated and charismatic - think Tom Waits crossedwith the Great Gonzo himself, Hunter S Thompson. Soit's no wonder other musicians have been keen to geton the Sexy Weirdos bus, "For some reason, musiciansin particular seem to like the idea of being in the bandand always want to join, which is quite useful whenyou think about it."

Where such great musicians lead, audiences (I meanbig ones) are sure to follow. It'll hinge on Kowalskibeing able to translate the bonhomie garnered from

fellow musos to the (fickle - can i say that?) laylistener. No doubt assisting in this happening is thelong player 'Victory For The Monsters' recorded andreleased with the DIO (Do It Oneself!) ethic so belovedby roots musicians. High profile slots at influentialfestivals such as Boomtown, Nozstock and TheHorsedrawn Camp can only help.

The biggest winner though is the way the SexyWeirdos' music makes people feel. They could easily siton the same bill as Gogol Bordello & Madness but wecouldn't fit them in the Workshop!

Glazz

There really was only one local band we wanted to buildthe bill around and that band is Johnny Kowalski and theSexy Weirdos. After seeing them for the first time in RiseRecords almost a year ago, even an almighty hangover,several hairs of the dog and a distrust of anything vaguely'folky' could not dampen the infectious vibe that theseguys radiate.

The intervening buzz that carried the Sexy Weirdos tothe Hive back in April for the official WMF launch eventhas been tracked here at SLAP towers and we are big fans- as demonstrated by Craigus Barry's fervent review lastmonth.

Rumour has it that the band began as a result of a bustup in a music shop and you can sort of see why - they'remostly traditional in the sense of instrumentation in aKlezmer style but unique in the squat/punk, hi-octanedelivery. At one 'eyes closed' moment at the Hive I foundmyself thinking "what amazing bass" only to open my eyes& be reminded - there is no bass - it's tuba! Addingtrombone AND cornet, drums AND (idiosyncratic)percussion and vibrant violin produces a sound that is fulland playful.

Johnny Kowalski and the Sexy WeirdosHeadlining the SLAP Stage at WMF 2012

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After arriving a touch late per usual I was kindlygreeted by the powerful melodic vocals of ConnorMaher. It was nice to see some local talent supportingtonight and Connor was well up for it. With a mixtureof covers and his own songs, which I must say arepretty intricate at times as well as being powerful,Connor nailed it!

The Marr’s Bar by thispoint was full to thebrim of sausage andmod-style neck scarvesin honour of Craddockand Paul Wellar.Craddock was joinedtonight by somesplendid performers. Andy Bennett on Electric, AndyFlynn on a lefty acoustic and bass and Steve’s lovelywife Sal on keys and vocals. Best known for his role inOcean Colour Scene, Steve Craddock and his lovelyband supplied us with a most potent form of acid-folkin ‘It’s Transcendental’. A rose-tinted 60’s-esque affairwhich romps you through strawberry fields via themellotron sounds on the keys and the 12 string combo.

Craddock’s songs sound wizened from all his yearsof performing and ‘As It Was Before’ was a

shining example of great song-craftsmanship. With a

lovely riff

on the intro and adelicious array of 4part harmonies it wasclear these guys knewwhat they were doingand knew how to enjoythemselves as well.

We were treated to a couple of OCS classics. ‘100Mile High City’ was very well received. Seeing a classicstripped back to acoustic form really makes youmarvel at the true quality of a song and the guitarwork is impressive to say the least. The melody wasrepeated as a football chant even after the bandstopped which was quite laddish but very enjoyable.

‘On & On’ took us off to some imagined spinny greenpasture with very Roddy Frame style harmonies androunds of a looping vocal hook...‘ forever on it goesround again’. I caught a brilliant line from this tunetoo which was ‘Sharper than a tack my friend’. Nice!

The band span off into a seamless mash-up cover mixing a Chuck Berry tune

with ‘That’s Entertainment‘ byThe Jam which went down

a storm. With some newrecordings on the wayand talk of more OceanColour Scene actionSteve Craddock’s reallybeen busy. No rest forthe wicked though. Ithink everyone had abrilliant night and Salsaid the Marrs Barwas one of the nicestvenues she’d everplayed in! Let’s hopethey come backthen!

- RC

REVIEW STEVE CRADDOCK

FRIDAY 29TH JUNE @ THE MARRS BAR

“A rose-tinted 60’s-esque affairwhich romps you throughstrawberry fields!”

This Wicked Tongue have a new EP in pre-release now.‘Provinces’ available from the 20th August is inspired bythemes of conflict, adventure, madness, love and hate.Drawing freely from the classic Chinese literature “TheWater Margin”, the EP is a five-track masterpiece of loud,manic, contemporary rock with hooks and balls that drawyou in and tear you up. Leaving you struggling for breathas it careers between subtlety and drama; serenity andexplosion; life and death – so said Juanita McGowen(“Beatlebabe”) of This Wicked Tongue’s debut EP, early2011. “Wow” was Tom Robinson’s comment after playingRay Mears versus Bear Grylls from their follow-up EP earlythis year.

The band will be gigging extensively until the end of thisyear, and have just been confirmed to play at Green ManFestival after rallying their way through the unsignedcompetition.

Due for release online, they’ve come up with somethingaltogether more powerful and explosive than ever before,and are pushing the boat out to get the music to as manypeople as possible. We are asking you please to listen tothe music and to review it in your journal, blog or website.

Check the band’s websites and on-line presence and helpus to spread the word!

Provinces will be available at gigs and through independent record stores plus there will be videos toaccompany two singles from the EP available to view onyoutube!

www.thiswickedtongue.amazingtunes.comwww.youtube.com/wickedtonguemusic

PREVIEW THIS WICKED TONGUE - PROVINCES E.P

“If you like powerful, femalefronted rock bands then totallyget all over This Wicked Tongue”

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ANDY O’HARE

You might just have noticed that I'm just a tiny bitparochial in my choice of music - but I do genuinelybelieve that the music produced here in Hereford andWorcester really is something a little bit special - andhas been for some years now! And though I tend towardsthe indie/punk/metal formats - it's not really a matter ofwhat genre a song takes (with the possible exception ofstand-by-your-man country, woke-up-this-morningblues or any avant-garde jazz) - it's all about whether itpasses that 'old grey whistle test' for hummability.

And that's what I feel is astonishing about this part ofthe UK - there's so many great songs over the past fewyears that have fallen into the category of not-just-good-but-great numbers that I think would be sure-firechart successes if perhaps this region wasn't - well justa little bit off the beaten track!! Pete Adams ofAWWBLOT and so many other great acts is firmly of theopinion that if H+W was only 25 miles from London -then this region would be the darling of the UK musicscene - couldn't agree more with these wise words fromthe Sage of Evilwitch!!

But it's not justtotal jingoism forour area coupledwith blind prejudicethat leads me tothink like this - yes Ido listen to musicfrom outside H+W(obviously not veryoften!) and it'salmost always withthe feeling that 'how on earth did this act ever make it'or occasionally 'yeah ok but not half as good asDandelion Killers/ Robinson/This Wicked Tongue or<insert your own preferred band here> - this isreinforced even more over the summer when I check outbands from further afield at festivals - live and on thetelly - and don't get me started again on the precious

few emerging actsthat make it tomainstream TV!! Ioften wonder whatsome A&R personsaw or heard inmany outfits thatconvinced them togive them that bigbreak into the big-time...

Sad to say also that another usual source ofdisappointment is when what I rather patronisingly call'out-of-area acts' play local gigs - with the odd exceptionit mostly seems to be of a tired out-of-date format withsongs that just seem to lack that vital spark that's needed

for a classic number - which iswhat I'm always on the lookout for- aren't we all?

However - when I do come across these acts - nomatter how good/indifferent/hopeless (in my opinionof course) I will always try to point them towards theirown region's BBC Introducing programme - it alwaysamazes me how many of them don't even know ofprobably the best opportunity going at the moment foremerging bands - yes I know what you're thinking - butdon't just take my word for it!! I've mentioned it before- but the second best thing a new act can do is get acopy of Emma Scott's 'Break Your Band' book - andgetting hooked into the Intro scheme is her first tip!!

But despite all my little-Hereford-and-Worcestermisgivings - it's these gigsfeaturing 'out-of-areas'that I actually think areone of the best waysforward for acts topromote themselvesfurther and hopefully getspotted!! Local bands suchas This Wicked Tongueand Fights & Fires whoplay and promote this sortof gig will then play 'exchange' gigs elsewhere in theUK - where they make further contacts and build up anetwork of like-minded musicians and venues acrossthe country to play. And as I've mentioned a few times- sadly there ain't no A&R people round H+W - you'vegot to travel - and of course this means especiallyLondon - avoiding if possible the 'pay-to-plays' whichthe record companies know all about!!

Ok - this is justone angle on howto promote youract or band andwill involve a lotof legwork - thebiggest steppossibly is makingthose first fewcontacts furtherafield but that

shouldn't be too much of a problem - check out who'sliking your music online and get your network up-and-running!!

- AOHPS - should have mentioned it before now - but if you

want to let me know what you think of the drivel thelovely SLAP folk allow me to spout each month - thenplease give me a shout on so-sue-me@live.co.uk (don'tbe put off by the e-addy!!)

Off The Beaten Track? - Andy O’Hare

Andy Robinson

Pete Adams

This Wicked Tongue

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PREVIEWDay One - Friday June 29thDay one dished up an eclectic line up with early

birds being rewarded by Free School’s Balaeric housemeets Bladerunner soundtrack and Paper Tiger’schilled out inner city jazz hopbefore Introducing bought DJShadow’s Endtroducing to lifefor the very last time (thanksto Shadow’s agent...boo!).Brum’s Troumaca – finepurveyors of reggaecalia –prompted DJ Gilles Petersen

to offer to sign ‘em onthe spot then as duskfell and the ciderflowed RootsManuva’s mix of hiphop, dancehall andragga got the crowdbouncin’ along toearthquake inducinglevels.

Day Two – Saturday 30th JuneWith 6 Music’s Craig Charles in charge things were

about to get F U N K Y. Rotunda Of Wonder breathednew life into US funk legends Tower Of Power’s back

catalogue before The Bongolian made the festival feellike a particularly cool episode of Starsky & Hutch.

Native New Yoikers Odyssey got all disco on our ass with abooty shaking greatest hits set leaving Craig free to blowanother funk shaped hole in the ozone layer. Boom! Suitably

whipped up The Family Stone (sadly still lacking Sly)capped things off in fine style. Everyday People, Stand,Family Affair, Dance To The Music...each one a (Family) stonecold classic.

Day Three – Sunday 1st JulyFollowing a moving tribute set to the late, great

saxophonist Andy Hamilton by his band The BluenotesHusk’s experimental 30 minute death jazz opus left thecrowd shaken,stirred and takenroughly frombehind. That’s agood thing bythe way. FredWesley and theNew JB’s provedthey’re stillhorny, 40 yearsafter poweringthe Godfather’s finest moments, before The Mothershipdelivered George Clinton and crew to take things to

another planet. Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow sentthe crowd wild before One Nation Under a Groove summedup what this whole funkingly awesome weekend had feltlike.

Mostly Jazz Festival

Words: Daron BillingsPhotography: Richard Shakespeare

Gilles Petersen

Roots Manuva

Craig Charles

Odyssey

The Family Stone

FredWesley

George Clinton

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REVIEW Unrehearsed and Natural - Craigus Barry

Does Humour Belong In Music?Artist cross examination & EP review - Michael Knowles

Mikey Knowles is an English eccentric with an interestingmixed musical background of devout choir boy and metalhead.

An eccentric with two sides to his coin: this man actuallywrites simple effective reflective ditties and I can relatebecause like myself (yes I have the audacity to name dropmyself, whatyagonnado? Mirk me? You gonna take issuewith my photo at the top too, my dear pedantic reader?!)Mikey finds himself often shelving these introspective,sincere arrangements in favour of light heartedly playingoff an audience instead. (See what I did there? How postmodern!)

It is with this in mind,worth pointing out as with my own"music", his social commentary comedy is not for everyone.And that's putting it mildly.

I recall a chap at one of Mikey's gigs, starring menacinglyinto a jukebox with eyes glowing angrily and looking ratherat odds while Mikey reeled off a song about ermAuschwitz... I think that song’s been laid to rest now, atleast I hope so. I don't think Butlins has received such anunwanted juxtaposition with the S.S & massgenocide before, not even from SethMcfarlane, so we gotta give Knowles credit forthe originality.

But this article will focus on howmisunderstood Mikey can be to some or thecasual gig going observer.

Zappa once frankly asked "Does HumourBelong In Music?"... I would argue I do notthink there is enough of it in music. You needonly look to the lofty heights of Shoreditch,aka Barley Viceland, to witness a legion ofpreening over pretentious haircuts, sheaved inmonotone fashion... with instruments. Imagineif this article was about those cliché clones!You'd probably eat the page in disgust. I would!!

Canadian cult muzo DavidHeadon (formally of Green HeadMan), produces the proceedingshere to offer evidence from bothcamps of serious & silly.

The album begins with Sparrow - first haunting dronenotes lure you in, a simple acoustic guitar reminiscent ofNick Drake but with soundboard tapping thrown in for abeat and good measure. It sounds a bit like acid folk, thismay be more to do with the open tuning. A story ofheartfelt connection unfolds but before long, gentleharmonics bid this song a fond farewell subtly trailing offwith the residual memory of a friend recounted.

So Sad has tuning beforehand, which brings a live feelbut can be unsettling until the song begins proper. Thissort of "breaking the forth wall" field recording canindeed produce an interesting effect, as I have heardpreviously on Syd Barrett's mighty opus the Mad CapLaughs. However on Mad Cap it borders on harrowingwhen on If its in You, Barrett's mind unravels and iscaught on tape, thankfully here the tuning opens asarcastic cautious tale with a twist about a young man'sunlucky string of lovers and a rather obvious solution.Choir boy phrasing & vibrato comes to the fore here attimes, showing quite an eclectic range to the vocal.Mikey's wordplay is cutting and hilarious throughout thisnumber. It is a dry dark pastiche on the sort of clichédstaring-into-the-middle-distance landfill folk that isoften packaged into formulaic TV sit coms like Scrubs.Brrrrrr.. well observed none the less.

This is followed by the wistful Green Fields which takesus back to a more complacent, pastel side of life. Beforetrack six, which is a song about masturbation and lack ofsex sending the protagonist blind. Now I'm not about tosay Michael's a perverted fidget, but these jarring jumpsfrom serious to wry in the space of a song may causesimilar disorientation to some. How ironic. But this is thusfar an honest representation of this man's uncanny abilityto ad lib live.

Next is a folky tinged offering aboutthe mortality of over thinking amoment when you should be living init. Quite a contrast to what has comebefore. No pun intended.

"Its like I'm in my own universe"quips Michael at the start of a balladabout mulling over the limits ofknowledge and a change of attitudewith perspective. Perhaps this is anapt point to say the experiment ofperspective is a success of sorts. Inconclusion: as with the interpersonalworld of Madcap Laughs, or anynumber of Bright Eyes albums this isnot strictly a casual affair to put on

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at a party or as background music. This album commandsyour utmost attention from the off,plunges you head first intoan immersion of low-fiperformance and thenprovides a fleeting warpedglimpse into the multifaceted mind of this uniquelycracked artist.

Finally it is worth noting theconsiderate production on thisalbum from David Headon:applying a basic yet masterfulapproach of utilising APEXvariable-pattern condensers andAudio-Technica dynamic mics forenhanced ambient recording. Thisprovides a wide stereo image to sound, the end result ofthis little bit of studio geekery (although essentiallycontemporary emulation of stereo suing figure-8 patternmics), is reminiscent to that of Joe Boyd's producing with

Incredible String Band, basic tracking forBoyd would be purely live. There are nooverdubs here and the whole affair istracked down as it happens. So this isn'tstrictly note perfect, but it sounds uniquelypersonal and almost like Knowles' is in theroom reciting his accounts, rants andmusings with utmost confidence.Speaking of musings, elsewhere herethere is even a song about sandwichfillings... no really, you know me by now,I just observe the surreal, I'm beingserious here.

So "does humour belong in music"?I would ask “Why so serious?” You'll

understand why I did one day. Maybe! :0Michael Knowles' debut EP will be out shortly and

available both as a download and CD. facebook.com/pages/Michael-Knowles-Music

REVIEWOn Tuesday 17th, it looked like being cancelled. Usual

reason. Then, suddenly, it was back on. My spies tell me SLOWBURNER took the laurels at the

Swan, Friday 20 th. No surprise.JACK BLACKMAN did a sterling acoustic session at the

White Lion Saturday 21st. And I was particularlyimpressed by hiselectric guitar-set withthe CHICKEN BONEBLUES BAND,(Chicken-Bone John,Dave Smith, KenStratford superb onbass, and FreddiePerotti on keys) whenJack did his Carl Perkins

thang. A couple of Elvis’s: ‘Blue Moon Of Kentucky’ &‘That’s Alright Mama’ were particularly fine, and nice tosee this teenager doing the same stuff (if somewhatbetter) as I did at his age.

JOHN DENTON and hisband took the crown ofthe festival, for me. DaveSmith seethed on harp,and JD was at his best,superb singing andanguished guitar (John isa much better guitarist than many ‘official’ leads yousee, his solo on BBKing’s ‘How Blue Can You Get’ wasjaw-dropping). As was the harp-solo on ‘Me and MyWoman’, where Dave showed a mastery of every noteon the harp and one or two I swear mine don’t got.

THE CHICAGO BITES opened the Hobson’s acousticstage at the King’s Head Sunday 22nd. Followed by themajestic VO FLETCHER, who picks the way the rest of usdream.

CLARE FREE was the best of the day. Her percussiveguitar style reminds me of Adrian Byron Burns and theMississippi blueseuse Lisa Mills (who once told me I dotoo many slow ones : “3 jumpers, Bobbie, then a gusset-moistener every 4th toon.”) As a singer, she harks backto early Bonnie Raitt, but she is unique. Her version of‘The Thrill Is Gone’, was excellent, and her own songs evenbetter : from the boogie-shuffle ‘Small Miracles (aboutan unexpectedly successful pregnancy), and a recoveryfrom a state given only a 10% chance (“I ain’t religious ;but I sometimes pray for those I love.”)

She finished withthe harrowing‘Scars’, and ‘FunkyMama KitchenBlues’.

SEASICK STEVEfinished the after-noon with someh e a v y - h i t t i n gshithouse slideguitar boogie thatI would have lovedeven without the7% cider I’d beendrinking all day.

Bob Jones

UPTON BLUES FESTIVAL 2012 JULY ‘12

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On 11th July the Queen and Prince Philipcame to Worcester to officially open thenew Hive building. Containing books fromboth the public and university libraries,historical displays and artworks by variousartists connected to the university, TheHive opened its doors.

The Queen admired the children’s library where therewere many youngsters being taught, performed to andread to in various areas. Meanwhile Prince Philip wastaken to the third floor to see dancing and art byuniversity students. He is reported to have commented onthe advanced age of the students and asked when theywere going to get a real job!

Following the official opening of the building, on 13thJuly there was a private view of the exhibition introducingselected guests to the student artists at the Hive as wellas entertaining them with a fashion show at theGuildhall. Artists Battenberg-Cartwright presented aneco-fashion (right hand image) collection entitled ‘WhenKafka met Kahlo’, based around the imaginary meeting ofFranz Kafka and Frida Kahlo. This involved one-off piecesfrom recycled fabrics, more costumes than every-daywear, which the artists call “living art pieces” displayed bymodels made up in dark gothic colours poutingdramatically.

Guests were then guided to the Hive where they werejoined by the twenty-six recent graduates of theuniversity with an exhibition entitled “Flood Art. BePrepared”. Some of these artists the discerning SLAP

reader may spot from other articles: Dan Margetts(Centre image) featured last month in the I AM exhibitionat the university has since won the Francis LincolnIllustration Award, Rachel Blackwell was one of theexhibitors at the recent Fourth Plinth Project at the oldLibrary while Battenberg-Cartwright (featured earlier)showed still photographs from their film Tales FromPrague.

The tour of the exhibition in the Hive began with BrianCook who produced five untitled monolithic sculpturesin concrete, inspired by the twenty-four columns aroundthe cloisters at Worcester Cathedral, displayed on the waytoward the café.

In the business centre on level two, Holly Kuehn’spaintings Bridgewalker and Hutwere incorporated herreflections on daily life including aspects of youth culture,conversations, relationships and family life, combiningabstract and figurative imagery, along with Stuart Laytonwith two brightly coloured paintings and a filminfluenced by growing up in the Black Country.

Joanne Henderson’s series of paintings seen on levelthree, depicted imagined rooms in a house with distortedangles inspired by horror and gothic literature,particularly that of Edgar Allan Poe; Marisa Lewis’ DinnerWith the Bird’s (Left hand image) was awarded a FrancisLincoln publishing contract for her work in narrativeillustration in 2011 and Ellie Petrova from Bulgariaexhibited her comic anthropomorphic piece entitled MyDog as part of the Illustration show.

This exhibition finished on 22nd July.Words & Photos by Sarah Ganderton

ARTS FEATURE F L O O D A L E R T A T THE HIVE LIBRARY, WORCESTER

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With Worcester’s library moving to The Hive in TheButts, the old library building has been transformed intoan exhibition space. To celebrate this new platform forlocal artistic talent, the first display called the FourthPlinth Project ran from 25th June to 20th July 2012.Alongside three plinths holding the busts of famoushistorical Worcester figures, Charles Hastings EdwardEvans and Richard Padmore, contemporary artists usedthe fourth plinth to display a wide range of artistictalents, public engagement workshops and politicalcomments.

The art displayed on the fourth plinth involved a widerange of styles, involving a different artist in residence atthe old library each day, with a different artist each houron the opening day. This was open to the public andavailable to view online through live streamed video.

Some artists were inspired by the library itself such asDigital Dialogues creating a digital sculpture inspired bybooks; Quilos and the Windmill who created site-writingthroughout their day to produce a guide to the space andAlexandra G Gordon and Lynne Goodwin using examplesfrom the museum’s hidden insect collection to inspireartwork which discussed themes of rebirth and renewal.

Other artists were inspired by the world around themsuch as Andrew Robinson drawing on the symbolssprayed on the roads by workmen, while Jose Forrest-Tennant used photographs from Croome Court and Parkwhere she is artist in residence and Lisa Gardner due tobe featured in the Christmas Edition of Worcester LifeMagazine, displayed her brightly coloured retro styleprints.

Some used the space to display information aboutexisting projects in the local area, often involving thepublic. These included Discover History who produced amap of Worcester on which visitors were invited to addtheir own paper buildings and the Worcester RebelKnitters who are creating a knitted tree to be displayedat the Commandery museum in a record breaking

attempt. Along a similar vein, the Kidderminster Museumof Carpet, the George Marshall Medical Museum and newInfirmary Museum, each displayed their currentcollections.

Meanwhile, some groups and artists produced day-longperformances such as KAfCreatives who showed a “busyworker” singing away in a messy office to raise the profileof their campaign to save Kidderminster library, whileSimon Farid produced a miniature theatre with cut-outcharacters for a performance and Rachel Blackwellpainted three different ethereal watercolour paintings.

Although the fourth plinth exhibition is now over, thespace is still being used until 22nd September by Maudand the Dragon, which is the display created on the last

day of the fourth plinth exhibition by Kate Brookes andvisitors can pop along to Worcester’s old library buildingto enjoy this new exhibition for free.

Words & Photos by Sarah Ganderton

ARTS FEATURE Fourth Plinth Project at Worcester’s old Library

REVIEWA top superclub has opened on our doorstep with

world class DJs playing every Saturday. Decadence onBroad Street in Birmingham back in the early 90’s wasan amazing Wednesday night which was always packedwith quality names such as Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, PeteTong, Roger Sanchez and Graeme Park who I justhappened to have a drink with and ask a few questionsbefore his set kicked off on this opening night. The firstthing that surprised me about The Arena was the size,it holds nearly 1300 people! It boasts a stomping 18ksound system, a big dance floor with bars surroundingit and 2 VIP areas. Slap Magazine is looking forward tosome big nights ahead and we will be working closelywith Decadence over the coming months, if you want ataster of the talent that will be appearing check outwww.radiodecadence.com You can download somemixes from their own radio station for free.

After a few beers in the main VIP area I decided totake a wander round and met up with Dave Rowland,the brains behind Decadence and someone I had notseen for over 12 years. He introduced me to GraemePark and we swiftly moved to the upstairs VIP lounge.The story of DJ Graeme Park’s 28 year career reallymirrors the story of the evolution of dance music andclub culture itself. Back then there was no such thingas house music, all the records were motown, disco ,funk and early hip-hop and Graeme found himselfworking in a Nottingham record shop called Selectadisc.The very first house records began to filter through fromChicago, Detroit and New York. When the shop’s owneralso opened a nightclub, it was only natural he shouldturn to Graeme to select the discs. Determined toshowcase this new style of music, his reputation as ahouse pioneer soon brought him to the attention ofMike Pickering at the Haçienda in Manchester, whoasked him to cover for him whilst he went on holiday in1988. Simply put, there was no-one else in the countrywho could do the job. The Summer of Love followed, andGraeme quickly became one of the biggest names onthe emerging dance scene. Aside from his eight-year

residency at The Haçienda, he was one of the first BritishDJs to play places like Australia, South America, the USA,Asia and beyond as well as producing and remixing tracks.I quickly scribbled a few questions down:

What do you think of the new Decadence?I think it is a great venue, a lot of clubs nowadays scale

down the size so it’s good to see this is going to besomething big around here. It’s quite a dark venue whichI like.

Name some of your best places you have played.Australia, Dublin, Dubai, but most recently the Stone

Roses after party in Manchester at Sankeys Soap.The 90’s was a great time for clubbing around here, what

were you favourite venues?Decadence at Bakers in Birmingham Wednesday night,

The Fan Club in Leicester Thursday, The Hacienda everyFriday and The Garage in Nottingham on Saturdays.

What do you use nowadays to mix as vinyl seems to havebeen taken over my MP3?

I use Serato (This innovation makes it where 2 trackscan be mixed simultaneously using traditional DJ controls- scratch, nudge, pitch bend, EQ. Serato Sync locks trackstogether for seamless grooves) A Laptop, I also digitalizemy own 12” into Protools.

Biggest crowd you have played for?I supported New Order back in 1989 at a 60,000 seater

stadium in the US. The Americans just never got it backthen. I played after Public Image and I played an acidhouse set for a load of Goths. This went on for 8 days!

What is the funniest thing you have seen whilst DJing?Laughs after thinking for a minute, In 28 years of my

playing, I have never been asked that question. Nice one.What are your top 2 favourite tracks ever?The Daou – Surrender Yourself. 1992 ish. It’s an

amazing 10 min trackThe Brand New Heavies – Back to Love (Graeme Park

Mix)

Decadence Raw @ The Arena - Stourbridge 7th July 2012

For more info, please call: 01386 556 665or email us on: www.danceat8.com

'Dance at 8' has some Fun dance classes for peopleacross Worcestershire & Gloucestershire wanting toget out and do something different.

Beginners dance classes include:• Latin: Rumba, Samba• Ballroom: Modern Waltz, Modern Tango• Rock & Roll, Lindy Style Jive• Argentine Milonga,And also Workshops & Classes for Improvers forthose who know the basics.• Samba Variations• Argentine 'Milonga' Variations

Latin: Modern Ballroom Tango for beginners 7pm -8pm.Intermediate / Improvers Latin: Samba Variationsclass. 8pm til 9pm. Christopher Whitehead High School, WorcesterLearn More at: www.danceat8.com/worcesterStarting Monday, September 3rd, 2012 ~ 6 weeks. £5.Milonga Variations for those who know the basics.

PREVIEW Artrix, Bromsgrove

“Whitney Houston“- A Tribute by NyaNya King, originally from Zimbabwe, but settled now

in Redditch, has been singing on the U.K. Music Scenesince 1998, performing with “ Precious Wilson “, “Heatwave “ “ Odyssey “ and many other well knownnames.

She was raised on adiverse musical diet ofmany of the world’sgreatest female vocalstars, but her biggestinfluence andinspiration fromchildhood was WhitneyHouston.

In honour of theuntimely death of thegreat diva, Nya,supported by a fivepiece band and twobacking singers, has puttogether a tribute.

Saturday August 4th

Autumn in “The Studio at Artrix”Readers of SlapMag will know that we started

programming shows for “ The Studio at Artrix “ lastSeptember and it has been a very successful venture.

So now we are hard at work on this autumn’sprogramme. Broadly speaking, in every month we aim tohave a Spoken Word or Theatrical Performance, anAcoustic or Small Group Folk/Blues/Roots Music Evening,a Comedian and a Film.

As part of our commitment to the community we arekeen to continue to encourage local performers in thefirst two genres and people who would like to bring theirshow to Artrix should contact either Andy Woods, theArtrix Director, on artrixdir@ne-worcs.ac.uk or NickTaylor, Artrix Publicity Officer, on nhtaylor44@gmail.com

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7:30pm - 8:30pm Latin Rumba for Beginners. 8:30pm – 9:30pm.Gloucestershire dance classes with 'Dance at 8'Bredon Village HallLearn More at: www.danceat8.com/tewkesburyStarting Tuesday, August 21st, 2012 ~ 6 weeks

Samba Dance classes for Beginners. 7:30pm til 8:30pm.Beginners Ballroom: Waltz. We do it 'Strictly Style'.8:30pm til 9:30pm.Grove Primary School, MalvernLearn More, Learn More at: www.danceat8.com/malvernStarting Wednesday, August 15th 2012 ~ 6 weeks

Argentine Milonga for Beginners (The New Salsa!)7:30pm til 8:30pm.Beginners Jive (Lindy Style) 8:30pm til 9:30pm.University of Worcester Riverside Complex, WorcesterLearn More at: www.danceat8.com/worcesterStarting Thursday September 6th, 2012 ~ 6 weeks

1950's Rock n Roll for Beginners. 7:30pm.Wulstan Hall, PershoreLearn More at: www.danceat8.com/pershore.htmlStarting Friday, September 7th, 2012 ~ 6 weeks

WISBOM.COM

PREVIEW Kidderminster Town Hall

KIDDER’ SET FORSUMMER THREE NIGHTER!Gordon Giltrap, Dodgy, Luke Concannonand the House of the Rising Sun!- August 16th,17th & 18th

The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the likes haveall graced the stage at Kidderminster Town Hall. Witha wealth of musical heritage, the ground is wellploughed for the latest acts due to appear this August,as part of Kidderminster Arts Festival.

Freddy Just presents on Thursday 16th August one ofthe most critically acclaimed bands formed in the 90’s,DODGY, fresh from touring and the launch of their newalbum ‘Stand Upright In A Cool Place’, the band willrecreate their anthemic hits, with the brilliance of wherethey are today. Supporting is a man whose song about aJCB touched our hearts and topped the charts. LukeConcannon, one half of Nizlopi, has written some of themost original and prolific material of his generation.Scratch beneath the JCB song and you will discover a

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songwriter, credited with mentoring his friend, EdSheeran, and who recently supported Ed during his sell-out tour. Also supporting is Stourbridge artist AndyRichards, intense singer-songwriter with a future inwaiting.

Friday 17th sees a band with a back cataloguerecognised globally as including some of the mostinfluential material to come out of the 60’s. TheAnimals, forever synonymous with ‘The House of theRising Sun’ now present to you courtesy of original bandmembers, John Steel & Mickey Gallagher ‘Animals &Friends’, with Peter Barton (Boomtown Rats, TheMindbenders). Supporting on Friday is a young manfrom Shrewsbury whose snowball is growing rapidly.Dan Owen, aka Blues Boy Dan has the audacity to shinethe brilliance of a blues singer much, much older.

Freddy Just presents the final night on Saturday 18thAugust with an evening of acoustic royalty. GordonGiltrap is world renowned, honoured by hiscontemporaries and has released 25 studio albums, plusnumerous live compilations, most recently working withRick Wakeman on the superb ‘From Brush and Stone’.This final evening will introduce you to Kim Lowings,supporting Gordon for the first time. Kim is a genuinefolk princess, with songs and stories brought to lifethrough her Dulcimer and her gentle humility.

Tickets for each evening are a very reasonable £11 inadvance from www.wegottickets or from KidderminsterBox Office on 01562 732158

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REVIEW'Tickle tickle, jolly jolly' were

the first words uttered by RevGenghis Memphis (Gary Lewis)as he took to the stage frontingthe band Massive Head Traumawith Philman on bass, Evil Daveon guitar and Random Dave onthe drums. And so it began, thestrangest show I've ever seen.To categorise this performancewould seriously hinder ...myreview, for this was aperformance that encompassedeverything all at once and then some. It was theatrical,dramatic, comedic, and satirical; it was political,sociological, and post-modern; it was insane and yetintelligent; it was awful and yet curiously brilliant.

Gary does not claim to be the world's best singer, andhe is not, but the punkish delivery to the heavy metalsoundtrack spun together with a strange neo-realismthat the songs embodied and it didn't seem to matter.The songs were angry demanding revolution rather thancooperative social change. The songs were statementsrather than questions, seemingly saying, 'I am right, thisis the way the world is' and fair enough, I am a fan ofblack and white, a world without grey. The subjects

broached included the 2011 riots,the Vatican and the wars inAfghanistan and Iraq ('this is not asong about peace, this is a songabout war').

Each band member had theirface painted, the Reverend's facewas white with black lines paintedvertically, this was, according tothe Reverend, because he believedthat all Reverends belongedbehind bars, you see, even themake-up was a statement. I could

not help but think, however, during the performance, thathe looked like an angry Beetlejuice on acid. And theperformance did not stop at a make up and a musicaldiatribe, there were also props; a Barbie doll nailed to acrucifix, a 'blood spattered' cricket bat and a clubemblazoned with the words Massive Head TRAUMA,which he used to bonk the heads of the members of theaudience.

All in all this was entertainment with substance, in yourface, yes, but honest and forthright. It was noteverybody's cup of tea but as the Rev said, to be into ityou have to be out of it, and the audience were into it.Fair play. - Cakeman

Massive Head Trauma @ The Pig and Drum - 30th June

36

REVIEWIt came from a slip of the tongue at a ‘Mouth and

Music’ event, distorting the poetic male ideal, yetsurmounted the clichés such an event promises andbecame something utterly enjoyable and, ultimatelyempowering.

With any event centred on poetry and the spoken wordthe evening, hosted by a quartet of established femalepoets, opened with complimentary material from otherpoets in attendance. A fittingly saucy and virginperformance from Katy Wareham Morris opened theshow, popping her poetic cherry with a titillatingmetaphorical poem and concluding with a beat poeminspired by proto-feminist beat poets laced with sexualmetaphor. Jodie Lea Ford followed with a saucyperformance tangling food, sex and indulgence. Next upwas Amy Rainbow who, using clever audienceparticipation and the power of anticipation, hilariouslydissected the stigma of the infamous ‘C’ word beforeoffering a powerful and serious anecdotal poemregarding rape. The only man of the night, GaryLongdon—Amy Rainbow’s poetic partner—bravely tookthe stage next with a rather long set mixing severalthemes. A commentary on celebrity culture, an amusingadaptation of a John Cooper Clarke engaging with thegaudiness of the British package holiday, a faux-tragicanecdotal tale of his visit to the pub-toilet condommachine, an Ode to Rebecca Brookes—a woman of power,a hilarious poem inspired by the column of a footballmanager and a poem about a woman’s adulterous affairwith poetry readings before introducing the Vaginellasquartet with finesse! Part two of the open mic section ofthe evening involved more material supporting the proto-feminist theme with Myfanwy Fox offering silly yetsexual poets engaging with age and sexuality. DelphineNoir followed with her own unique brand of dark, sensualand decidedly gothic pieces. Sarah Tamar concluded theopen mic portion of the event with a complete change ofpace. In her own hilarious, dry and at times ironic way,she ponders the relationship between the Queen and herCorgis and two cynical love poems regarding how dullrelationships and sex can become. A conclusion came inthe form of a poem dedicated to her Granddaughter, apowerful and moving piece which evoked a tear.

To describe the Vaginellas, who performed in two partsbetween the open mic sets, would be difficult from poemto poem as there would be too many to describeindividually. So instead I bring you an essence of theVaginellas! Consisting of Jenny Hope, Jodie Lea Ford,Sarah Leavesley and Joanna Langton, the Vaginellas area series of poems, some funny, some serious and allcentring around the somewhat taboo subject of femininesexuality. There is mythology, metaphor and belly laughsgalore, yet beneath the fun there is the serious undertoneof oppression—of which exists to this day—and a rather

self conscious embarrassment that any frank discussionof the female sex seems to create. And to have itexplored so publicly, sometimes bluntly, sometimespoetically and obscurely, but never deviating from thetopic is something of an intense experience. Someborder on the overly explicit, and there are times whenthe audience appear to writhe with discomfort,eventually becoming desensitised to the onslaught.

However, there is a purpose to this. The Vaginellasappear to be completely aware of the impact of thisstrange journey of tethered feminist commentary. Arewe aware of the oppression women still suffer at thehands of the senseless embarrassment and outdatedtaboo? I certainly came away feeling ashamed of myselffor being unwittingly ashamed of my sex. It is stark,ballsy and ultimately empowering and certainly worthholding on for the ride… but probably not suitable forchildren, however open-minded they happen to be! I wasinformed, whilst gathering my bearings at the end of theperformance, that it was in fact a reading one of myvillanelles, my preferred formal form, that led to thefabled ‘slip of the tongue’ that birthed the Vaginelles. Iwent away gushing with pride that I could be soserendipitously (and completely passively!) responsiblefor such a powerful and thought provoking evening. Atip of the cap to the Vaginellas, women unashamed, andrightly not.

by Raven Brookes

‘Vaginellas’ - The BHG (The Boars Head Gallery) Kidderminster

25 College Street, Sidbury, Worcester wr1 2ls t 01905 612 154

Cocktails, fine wines, Continental beers,and real ales.

the Hand in Glove

38

In the last articlewe stated we were infor a quiet month -well we lied. July hasbeen a fantasticmonth for localmusic and events inour hometown. Inthe past few weeksHereford hasprovided more liveevents, more venuesand showcased awide array of talent.Exactly what ourcommunity needs.

Local venueMamma Jammas -a new place to pickyour copy of SLAP- has vowed toprovide as muchlive music aspossible. Withweekly live nightsbringing unsignedacts from afarand uniting localtalent to theirhometown scene.As the nights areweekly we insist you to keep on top of what theyare offering by regularly checking their facebook pagesimply search Mamma Jammas Hereford.

Our own facebook page and the website has beenfrantically pushing all of these events. With oneunmissable night in particular. Just a few short weeks agowhen it was announced, this line-up gracing Hereford justdidn't seem possible. However with a hardworking teamsurrounding the event, The Jailhouse was home tolegendary icon The GZA of The Wu Tang Clan Fame.Wednesday 18th July - another miserable day being helddown by the unpredictable weather seemed unimportantas the excitement prior to the evening possessed allattendees. A spectacular event, which pulled togetherthe city who eagerly awaited the evening. Leading up tothe night the positive praise proved this was going to beone hell of a night for Hereford. As crowds gathered tothe venue, in one of the busiest evenings, buzzing withanticipation. The venue was bustling- awaiting for one ofthe greatest hip hop stars to take to the stage in one ofthe most rare and intimate performances. Alongside GZAa special guest, who was only announced earlier in theday, DJ PREMIER from Gang STARR accompanied the act.Being the first to take to the stage and battling his waythrough the energetic audience- DJ Premier quicklywarmed up the room before introducing the icon to thestage. GZA’s set spanned through his courageous backcatalogue. Delivering both tracks from his own solo

repertoire and that of theWu. The crowd participationwas second to none aseverybody chanted, jumpedand held their fists high, all inawe of this figure. The entirenight was a phenomenalachievement for the venueand the town especially whenGZA declared he would return."The Jailhouse, what can Isay?” said GZA ending his set .“Believe the hype! I would loveto come back again."! - A fullphotography feature and livefilm of the evening can now befound on the website to relivethe momentous occasion.

Following Wednesdays'extraordinary event a few dayslater Hereford was home toCrush Music + Tug of War.Curated by the Crush project incollaboration with West MerciaWoman’s Aid - This day was abrilliant free event which againfeatured some local musicians.The event had a range ofactivities for the community fromTug of War, to tractor rides,dancing and face painting to

name a few. The afternoon focused on the live music asThe CRUSH Project hosted CRUSH Music. Artists including

GZA

Artw

ork

by A

lex

Amic

i

39

Red Room Therapy and Jake Gamble (who have bothfeatured on BBC Introducing in Wales, Hereford &Worcester and on Radio 1), Paper Dreams and George

Barnett (who hasenjoyed airplayon BBC 6 Musicand Radio 1)among all ofthis- DJs fromThe Jailhousewere alsopresent. GeorgeBarnett kickedoff the live musicproceedings withan upbeat setand set the barhigh for the actsfollowing. With

band after band making their mark into the lateafternoon/evening, it was young solo artist JakeGamble which really captivated our attention. Theacoustic act held the penultimate spot in the line up-and despite being mellower than previous actscertainly still held his own. Jake Gamble is anact we urge you to watch now. Charismatic,charming and talented- he’s about to go far.Following Jake and closing the evening wasWales/Hereford based 4 piece rock outfit RedRoom Therapy. These four closed the nighton a high; with hard hitting, impressivecompositions. Delving through a range ofcovers and tracks of their own, these four boyskept the crowd entertained, moving andimpressed. A great live act! The entire day wasa fantastic success and can be found in moredetail on our website alongside eventphotography. It was lovely to see so manyHerefordians uniting to support a cause andenjoying themselves at the same time.

In other local news here at Circuit Sweet we’dlike to congratulate Billy Kibble of Ross-On-Wyebased band The Phaze. Billy, the guitarist for thefour piece act, and at a tender age of just 12 - iscertainly impressing musicians twice the age for thetalent he conveys. Billy has just been endorsed by BerylGuitars.

We've had a very productive month on the website-following on from featuring our live interview withSargent House's Tera Melos - the response was sooverwhelming it crashed our site! - The film streamingonline received hundreds of views within minutes andwe were inundated with fantastic comments regardingthe film. Since then we've had a wave of new artistsinterested in the site. We've featured several new acts,featured written articles and interviews withinternational bands and featured plenty of upcomingevents in the area. We welcomed our now resident

artist Alex Amici - Alex now has her own tab on the sitewhere all of her fantastic artwork for us can be found. Alexwon a competition we held last year searching for an artistto create us a poster for our 'Live Nights'. We had dozens ofemails with people local and afar with their contributions,but it was Alex, who resides in Philadelphia, whose workwon our heart. We are now delighted to have her joinCircuit Sweet - since the amalgamation she's done a fewmore pieces of work which again you can find on our site.

Over the last month we've also been booking several dateswith local bands for photo-shoots. We offer kick starterservices such as budget photo-shoots, artist development,music videos and video shoots. These services are on yourdoorstep. If you want a band photo-shoot either live or onlocation, for budget gig photography and music shootsplease don't hesitate to get hold of us before we are fullybooked.

As for August plans, when we aren't busy at KJM Studios,we will be back at The Jailhouse with our own Aulosheadlining their first hometown show in over a year.Returning to Hereford for one night accompanied withRicha and The LGC on the first night of the newmonth. Following this

we will befollowing the noise duo as we cover

their gig in Bristol with instrumental band You Slut! - Thenit’s back to Worcester to celebrate talent, hard work and allthings local at Worcester Music Festival. As we will be atthe event too - expect September's article to cover thesuccess of WMF!

Finally we are calling out to you. We want you to beinvolved with us. If you have a label or a band with multipleflyers/posters/business cards and you would like us to giveyou free promotion and distribution then please get intouch. We would like to hand out your information withinour shop orders and at events. If you would like to knowmore then email naomi@circuitsweet.co.uk or visit us atwww.circuitsweet.co.uk or find us on facebook or twitter@circuitsweet.

Words: Naomi Preece - Images: Oli Montez..

Red Room Therapy

George Barnett

Phot

ogra

phy:

Joe

Sin

gh

The Kings HeadUpton upon Severn’s

Premier Riverside Venue

Great FoodGreat ServiceGreat Location

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42

REVIEWLedbury Choral Society at the Ledbury Community Centre

The Bluebird – Poetry set to musicAs Torrents in Summer was a piece whose title struck a chord

with the audience at this year's Ledbury Poetry Festival. They had come through torrential rain to attend a concert of

poetry set to music, performed by Ledbury Choral Society. Itwas one of two pieces set to music by Elgar, the other one,Cloud, having just as suitable a title.

The concert began with Henry VIIIth's Pastime with goodCompany. Henry Tudor , a Renaissance king who combinedmartial prowess with artistic talent. He also had more successwhen wooing the ladies than John Dowland, whose Come

Ledbury Poetry Festival, 6th JulyAgain tells of a poet who is getting nowhere pesteringan unenthusiastic damsel. Shakespeare's wordscheerfully celebrating the nonsense of love and Morley'smusical setting lightened the mood briefly beforereflections on mortality returned with Campian's NeverWeather Beaten Sail and Paxton's Breathe Soft yeWinds. Stanford's musical contribution started with anIrish tune for My Love's an Arbutus and continued withhis beautiful setting of Mary Coleridge's The Bluebird, inwhich the soloist floats on high pure notes while thechoir portrays the gorgeous stillness of the lake beneathand sky above.

The concert finished with conductor MalcolmMacleod's arrangement of The Lass of Richmond Hill -a jaunty piece that had the sections of the choirintertwining musically with obvious delight, and theaudience smiling too.

by Caroline Ferguson

FEATUREBlackwell Concert BandBlackwell Concert Band are enjoying another successful year,

performing at bandstands, local fetes and festivals across theWest Midlands. August sees the band performing as part of theever popular Bands in the Park series in Worcestershire, playingin Gheluvelt Park in Worcester on Sunday 5th August and LidoPark in Droitwich on 26th August.

The band was formed in 1998 and is open to all players ofboth wind and brass instruments who are keen and eager tolearn. In recent years, under the keen eye of musical directorTom Martin, the village band has continued to swell in numbersat their rehearsal venue in Catshill Methodist church hall.

They play a very wide range of music, catering for as manymusical tastes as possible, ensuring there will be something ofinterest for everyone who plays in the band and those that arelistening!

Favourite pieces have recently been recorded on a CDentitled ‘Take One’ which is on sale at all live events.

Always keen to find new friends and musicians moreinformation can be found at:

www.blackwellconcertband.co.ukAlternatively contact Kevin Pearson:- 07776170827 or email: kevin@kpearson2.wanadoo.co.uk orstock.vicky@yahoo.co.uk

43

Worcester Cathedral’s cloisters were once againtransformed into an art gallery this year. Childrenof various ages from schools all over Worcestershiredisplayed artwork throughout the month of June forpublic viewing. The work was an amazing standardand included sculptures, mosaics, paintings andtextiles by youngsters who will surely become greatand famous artists in the future! Featured here is justa small selection of the delights on offer at thisyear’s show.

ARTS FEATURE Voices & Visions

Life Drawing Sessions at

The Boars Head Gallery

39 Worcester Street

Kidderminster

DY10 1EW

Tel: 01562 861870

The Boars Head Gallery At The BHG we offer a unique Life Drawing Experience. The sessions are open to adults of all age and ability.

We pride our sessions on being informal and untutored where participants are welcome to enjoy a pint and listen to music whilst drawing together and offering

critiques to one another.

We have regular models that pose for our class.

Although limited materials are available, we recommend you bring your own. The gallery does

not charge for this class, but we ask that participants offer a minimum £3 donation to our

model.

Thursday 2nd August

Thursday 6th September

Thursday 4th October

Thursday 1st November

PREVIEWThree great bands are set to grace a specially built

stage in front of the Pump House Environment Centreon the afternoon of Saturday, August the 18th at thisyear's Flower Show, a week before the town explodeswith WMF festivities.

Proceedings arekick-started withthe incredible,invigorating anddizzy gypsy jazzguitars of theRemi Harris Trio,who will nodoubt truly wakeup all early-birdguests between

midday and 12.45pm.Later at 1.45pm,Johnny Kowalskiand the SexyWeirdos take to thestage with theirb a r n - s t o r m i n g ,moonshine-fuelledgypsy punk andbalkan ska sounds

which is bound to get heads bobbing and feet stompinguntil 2.30pm. Bringing the afternoon to a sweet,harmonious close is Richard Clarke and the Rafters from4.45pm to 5.30pm, whose beguiling and deeply lovablesongcraft has been freshly laid down on their recentalbum, and which tells affectionate tales of life and lovein the Faithful city. The local acts form part of a free

programme ofentertainmentorganised anddelivered bythe Friends ofG h e l u v e l l tPark between12pm middayand 5.30pm,which alsoi n c l u d e sZumba and

Line dancing alongside many other attractions andactivities throughout the park.

The whole event is free and family-friendly so bringpicnics as well as your dancing shoes and whatever theweather, it promises to be an exciting day in one ofWorcester's most special of spaces.

- Ed Steelfox

Pump House, Gheluvelt Park - Saturday 18th August

Rich Clarke and the Rafters by Mark Hoy

John-Joe from Sexy Weirdos

by Tish Jarrett

Remi Harris Trio by Joe Singh

Sheet Music sale now on!

Yamaha // Trevor James // Vincent Bach // Native Instruments & MANY OTHERS

BRANDS // Fender // Takamine // LAG // Freshman // Ibanez // Schecter // Gretsch

CD REVIEWRunaway - Single ReviewHit PLAY on East Of The Sun's new single "Runaway"

and you're instantly transported back to the Golden Eraof Classic Rock!

This choon blastsout like a mistakenlyleft-out track fromLed Zep's Presence,such is theexplosive playingon display here.

Drummer JamieMay does his bestBonham whereassinger Russ comeson like BadCompany era PaulRodgers.

Add to this the excellent interplay ofguitarist Matt Willis and bassman Alec Bond and youhave one powerful motherlovin', rockin' outfit.

However "Runaway" is no mere facsimile of past rockglories, there is a definite contemporary vibe to thisnumber and the modern world and all of it's ills arecommented on with conviction.

This four-piece are all great individual players but theirtrue strength lies in their cohesion as a whole.

On the evidence of this single EOTS are a band ofquality with energy and panache a-plenty.

Talking to folk who have seen them live they're anexciting proposition and well worth a view or two.

Unfortunately by the time SlapMag hits the newsstandsEOTC will have played their undoubtedly successful SinglePromo Event at Rise Records in Worcester on 29th July,but you catch them at Malvern Rocks, B-Fest, WorcesterBeer Festival and Worcester Music Festival.

Runaway is available now as a download fromIndaba.com (via EOTS website) and in physical form as aCD Single at Rise Records and upcoming gigs.

Words: Neville Thumbcatch Photography by: Katie Foulkes

East Of The Sun

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Inn VerseMonthly Poetry Readings3rd Wednesday of each monthNEXT EVENT: 15th August

Proud to be a venue for this year’sWorcester Music Festivalon Sat 25th August - Acoustic Evening withHitchiker, The Two Anna’s & Flag All Stars

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50

The Night Shift, Open Mic Night!The Crown Inn, St Johns, Worcester

Friday 3 August 2012Malvern Rocks, see pull out guide for details

The Delray RocketsThe Bluebell, Ryall, Upton Upon Severn

Babajack,Millers Arms, Pershore

ExilesBoars Head, KidderminsterTask In Hand Presents - Age, Mansize, The Broken Oak Door duet, TokamakMarrs Bar, Worcester

Boogie StreetDrummonds, WorcesterNotorious BrothersQueens Head, Wolverly

Buster ShuffleHop Pole Inn, BromsgroveHawkerThe Railway, EveshamTom Hingley, Ronin, Misers, Ancient Addicts, DoSThe Great Malvern Hotel, MalvernSam EdenThe Anchor Inn, EckingtonRisky BiznessOld Cock Inn, Droitwich

Wednesday 1 August 2012Marzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, Worcester

Rich GobleThe Mason's Arms, Castle Hill, Wichenford

Signal 6, ReinforcedMamma Jamma's, Hereford

Aulos, Richa, The Luscious GardenThe Jailhouse, Hereford

Accoustic Brew UKKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

MojohandThe Hop Pole, Bewdley

Nick Toon DJHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Thursday 2 August 2012Steve Gibbons BandHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Jules Benjamin and FriendsKeystones Cafe Bar, Worcester

Mike Mann & FriendsThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

River City PortraitKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Mudball, Electric RemedyThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

51

Monday 6 August 2012Open Mic with Gwyn AshtonBoars Head, Kidderminster

Tap Jam Open MicThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Tuesday 7 August 2012DrummingBoars Head, Kidderminster

Open Mic with Pete KellyQueens Head, Wolverly

Open Mic NightThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Open Mic NightMillers Arms, Pershore

Wednesday 8 August 2012Marzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, Worcester

KAF MeetingBoars Head, kidderminster

SoultownThe Hop Pole, Bewdley

Thursday 9 August 2012Ben SmithKatie Fitzgeralds, Stourbridge

Jules Benjamin and FriendsKeystones Cafe Bar, WorcesterFirebrandHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

The Whipjacks, tbcThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Friday 10 August 2012SubconBoars Head, Kidderminster

Trevor Burton BandQueens Head, WolverlyPlanet RockHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

KFO LaunchBoars Head, Kidderminster

In2Stella OverdriveThe Railway, Evesham

Punk’dKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

UnderdogsDrummonds, Worcester

Gordon Wood and Phil BirdThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

The ObserversOld Cock Inn, Droitwich

Matt WooseyMillers Arms, Pershore

Saturday 4 August 2012Malvern Rocks, see pull out guide for details

The Delray RocketsThe Kings Head, Brierley Hill

Nya King “Tribute to Whitney Houston”Artrix, Bromsgrove

Grumpy Old GuitaristsQueens Head, Wolverly

The QuikHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Hancoxx + DJ Ed SteelefoxKeystones, Worcester

Karpet Kickers, Fearfullfingers,Boars Head, Kidderminster

The QuikThe Hop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Dave OnionsThe Anchor, Fladbury

3 Blind MiceKatie FiTzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Burlesque NightTHe Jailhouse, Hereford

Live WyreCallow End Club, Worcester

Matt BateThe Railway, Evesham

Stripped down blues and jazzHolybush, Stourport

Sunday 5 August 2012Malvern Rocks, see pull out guide for details

The Delray RocketsThe City Tavern, Birmingham

JazzencoQueens Head, Wolverly

Lounge Toad, Phil Whitehead, Hennesea, Cohen BrothersThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Steve Banner DJ and friendsHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Thursday 16 August 2012Dodgy + Luke ConcannonKidderminster Town Hall

The Bushbury Mountain DevilsKatie Fitzgeralds, Stourbridge

Dan GreenawayKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Dodgy + Luke ConcannonKidderminster Town Hall

Kick OffBoars Head, Kidderminster

The Mary Hinge ExperienceThe Star, Upton Upon Severn

The Trevor Burton BandHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Mike Mann & FriendsThe Great Malvern Hotel, MalvernEast of The Sun, Host, Andre & The J-TonesWorcester Beerfest, Worcester RacecourseJules Benjamin and FriendsKeystones Cafe Bar, Worcester

Friday 17 August 2012BabajackOld Cock Inn Droitwich

The Carnage Clubkatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Dale Von Minaker Band,Boars Head, Kidderminster

The Ex-PresidentsThe Anchor, TewkesburyRon JeremyDrummonds, Worcester

BluestackThe Wishing Well, BromsgroveFustercluckThe Railway, EveshamThe Mary Hinge ExperienceThe Talbot, Pershore

Sax ‘n’ AxeMillers Arms, Pershore

FreewaterThe Anchor Inn, Eckington

Rich GobleThe Old Bushh Inn, Callow End, WorcesterStealthThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

The Animals & FriendsKidderminster Town HallDoctors OrdersHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Saturday 18 August 2012BabajackAlma Inn, Linton, Ross-On-Wye52

Saturday 11 August 2012Richard ClarkeHolybush, Stourport

Trevor BurtonKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Loaded Music Festival - See page 6 for detailsThe Royal Exchange, Kidderminster

Mother Popcorn + DJ Ed SteelefoxKeystones, Worcester

Will KilleenCalow End Club Worcester

Disorder & Trap DoorBoars Head, Kidderminster

SlowburnerHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Naked RemedyThe Wishing Well, Bromsgrove

Black Max & The PiratesThe Railway, Evesham

Tom Hingley (ex inspiral carpets), Skynt, Hoden Lane,This Wicked Tongue, East of the sun, The Misers, The kickstones, Answer backB-fest, The Bridge Inn, Tenbury Wells

Tom ForbesUnicorn, Malvern

The WrensThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Sunday 12 August 2012Jazz SundayQueens Head, Wolverly

Monday 13 August 2012Open Mic with Gwyn AshtonBoars Head, Kidderminster

Tap Jam Open MicThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Open mic with Dave Onions,Cock & Magpie, Bewdley

Tuesday 14 August 2012Mouth & Music,Boars Head, Kidderminster

Open Mic with Pete KellyQueens Head, Wolverly

Open Mic NightThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Wednesday 15 August 2012Marzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, Worcester

Chicago BytesThe Hop Pole, Bewdley

Steves JukeboxHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

53

Gordon GiltrapKidderminster Town HallSugar MamaKeystones, Worcester

The Rock HobbitsCallow End Club, Worcester

Case ClosedBoars Head, Kidderminster

The BarflysKatie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge

Above Boards-MarketBoars Head, Kidderminster

Mods & SodsHop Pole Inn, BromsgroveThe Crooked EmpireThe Railway, EveshamBluestackOak apple, Spetchley Road, Worcester

The Mary Hinge ExperienceThe Queens Arms, BromyardAquariusThe Talbot, Barboune Road, Worcester

Dave OnionsMillers Arms, Pershore

FlatworldThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Richard Clarke & The Rafters, Johnny Koalski & The Sexy Weirdos, Remi Harris TrioPump House, Gheluvelt Park, Worcester

Straight AcesUnicorn, Malvern

Sunday 19 AugustShow Your Teeth, Charon, Forever Grace, Artemis, SeallMarrs Bar, Worcester

Jazz SundayQueens Head, WolverlyLoz RathboneHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Monday 20 August 2012Open Mic with Gwyn AshtonBoars Head, Kidderminster

Film Addicts Boars Head, Kidderminster

Tap Jam Open MicThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Tuesday 21 August 2012Open Mic NightThe Great Malvern Hotel, MalvernOpen Mic with Pete KellyQueens Head, Wolverly

Wednesday 22 August 2012Marzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, Worcester

Spiritual DevBoars Head, KidderminsterMarzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, WorcesterSmile & Burn, This is Our Youth, The FearThe Firefly, Worcester

A little bit of BubléThe Hop Pole, BewdleyAquariusThe Bridge Inn, WorcesterHorizon LightsTudor House, Worcester

Thursday 23 August 2012Drum & BassBoars Head, Kidderminster

Jules Benjamin and FriendsKeystones Cafe Bar, Worcester

The Mary Hinge ExperienceThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Time EnoughHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Mike Mann & FriendsThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

The Mary Hinge Experience, tbcThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Friday 24 August 2012Worcester Music FestivalSee festival guide or website for details

The Delray RocketsThe Kings Head, UptonNorthern Soul NightBoars Head, Kidderminster

The Dark EyesHop Pole Inn, BromsgroveCracker & The WoodpeckersQueens Head, WolverlyCertain HorizonThe Railway, EveshamThe CommandmentsDrummonds, WorcesterAquariusPlough & Harrow, CatshilBarflysMillers Arms, PershoreFeird Wish, Heels, Ronin, Call Atlantis, Stillpoint, Dressing for Pleasure, Rising Struggle02 Academy 2, Birmingham

Saturday 25 August 2012Worcester Music FestivalSee festival guide or website for detailsThe Allstars Dub BandThe Cotswold Inn, CheltenhamThe Crush BandCallow End Club, Worcester

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Listings in conjunction with:

The SmegatronsUnicorn, Malvern

The Cunts + SupportThe Railway, Evesham

Meat Loaf & A Legend To RockThe Railway, Evesham

AquariusThe Austin Club, Tessall Lane, Longbridge

The MatchlessThe Bell, Worcester

The CapitalOld Cock Inn, Droitwich

Skewwhiff, Doctor Stanleys, Dogs of SantonriniThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Sunday 26 August 2012Worcester Music FestivalSee festival guide or website for detail

UmphffThe Plough, PershoreAndy Thomas (acoustic)Hop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Wooden HorseThe Barrels, Hereford

The Delray RocketsThe Cross Keys, AlcesterBabkackLichfield Vaults, Hereford

CoverJunkiesThe Bell, BroadheathRemy Harris TrioQueens Head, WolverlyHullaballo, tbc, freaky triggerThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Monday 27 August 2012Worcester Music FestivalSee festival guide or website for detailsOpen Mic with Gwyn AshtonBoars Head, Kidderminster‘Jamaica Day’ - Gabbidon Band and othersHop Pole Inn, BromsgroveTap Jam Open MicThe Brewery Tap, Worcester

Dave OnionsCock & Magpie, Bewdley

Tuesday 28 August 2012The Gastric BandThe White Bear, Tewkesbury

TurandotNumber 8 Community Arts Centre, Pershore

Open Mic with Pete KellyQueens Head, Wolverly

Open Mic NightThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

Wednesday 29 August 2012Spiritual DevBoars Head, Kidderminster

Marzys Jam NightThe Marrs Bar, Worcester

Daniel SethThe Hop Pole, Bewdley

Thursday 30 August 2012Jules Benjamin and FriendsKeystones Cafe Bar, Worcester

Bonnie LouHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

Naked RemedyThe Talbot, Bewdley

Ronin, DRAG, 11:11The Brewery Tap, Worcester

Mike Mann & FriendsThe Great Malvern Hotel, Malvern

The ReflectionsThe Wishing Well, Bromsgrove

AquariusThe Royal Oak, Kinnersley, Severn Stoke

Friday 31 August 2012The Delray RocketsThe New Inn, Bourneheath, Bromsgrove

Miss Hilton Presents - 3rd Marrs Bar Burlesque NightMarrs Bar, Worcester

Bordello’sBoars Head, Kidderminster

Midnight CityHop Pole Inn, Bromsgrove

The ExilesOld Cock Inn, Droitwich

Ex-PresidentsMillers Arms, Pershore

HancoxxQueens Head, Wolverly

www.notjustsauce.com

STEELEYE SPANROY HARPER

ECHO & THE BUNNYMENCARA DILLON • JULIAN COPE

JONATHAN WILSON • GUILLEMOTSSIMON FOWLER’S MERRYMOUTHBETH JEANS HOUGHTON & THE HOOVES OF DESTINY

GOODNIGHT LENIN • LANTERNS ON THE LAKEDARK DARK DARK • DEVON SPROULE • RICHARD JAMES

THE DESTROYERS • THE MAGNETIC NORTHJACKIE OATES BAND • SPIRO

ABIGAIL WASHBURN WITH KAI WELCH • PAUL MURPHY EMILY PORTMAN TRIO • THE LONG NOTES • TREETOP FLYERS

RACHEL SERMANNI • JONNY KEARNEY & LUCY FARRELLLAURA J MARTIN • ELLEN & THE ESCAPADES

THE FALSE BEARDS • TELLING THE BEES • MICKY GREANEY GENTLE GOOD • SUNJAY BRAYNE • RAPUNZEL & SEDAYNE

REVERE • THE TERRAPINS • GOLDEN GLASS

31ST AUGUST, 1ST & 2ND SEPTEMBER

MOSELEY PARK, BIRMINGHAM

www.marrsbar.co.uk01905 613336

Wednesdays - Jamming nightDates available for private hire

201 2AUG

John GommSun 26th August

Wednesday 1stMarzy’s Jamming NightFree Entry

Friday 3thTask in Hand Presents“More than just another gig” - Age, Mansize, The Broken OakDuet, Tokamak£3 ticket £5 on the door

Wednesday 8thMarzy’s Jamming NightFree Entry

Wednesday 15thMarzy’s Jamming NightFree Entry

Sunday 19thShow Your Teeth, Charon, ForeverGrace, Artemis, Seall£7 ticket £5 on the door

Wednesday 22ndMarzy’s Jamming NightFree Entry

Friday 24thWorcester Music FestivalFury, Fortress, Adamantium, Age Of AnarchyFree Entry

Saturday 25thWorcester Music FestivalJasper In The Company Of Others,The Whipjacks, Inca Hoots, Richard Clarke & The RaftersFree Entry

Sunday 26thWorcester Music Festival12.30 - WSRP Showcase8.30 - Jon Gomm, Jon SterckxFree Entry

Wednesday 29thMarzy’s Jamming NightFree Entry

Friday 31stMiss Hilton Presents3rd Marrs Bar Burlesque Night£10 on the door