Friday 16 October 2015

RUDOLF ROCKER AT THE WAITING ROOM, EAGLESCLIFFE 25:10:15

This is a picture of the anarcho-syndicalist Rudolf Rocker. He has a
splendid beard, a pair of nice glasses and some interesting ideas about political rights, the freedom of mankind and nationalism. However this post is not about him. His thoughts are available to anyone via the anarchy of Google.

This is about the Whitby band of the same name. As Rudolf Rocker are playing at the fantastic Waiting Room next to Eaglescliffe station on Sunday 25th October with John Peel favourites The Hepburns (swathes of jangly Smiths guitars swamped in expansive, almost Morricone-esque arrangements, all providing the unlikely musical setting for happy/sad songs about milkmen, Charlie Cairoli and even a jaunty tribute to their original drummer Les Mun :‘You’re A Queer One, Les Mun’) it seems a good time to introduce Rudolf Rocker to Popwatch readers.

The Waiting Room is a splendid venue and also a highly rated vegetarian restaurant. Popwatch favourites Nocturnal Dictionary and the now defunct The Pier have both played there.

Anyway, the band released a CD a couple of years ago on the Postgate Records label, but I think it's fair to say they have a low level web presence and have slipped under the radar of most people who follow the local scene. Rudolf Rocker's songs are grounded deeply in Whitby's folklore without being folk songs, and we should be putting this band on at The Rifle Club and The Friendship Club because they don't sound like anyone else around here at the moment.

I interviewed singer and guitarist Mark Goodall one night in the appropriate surroundings of The Black Horse to delve into his relationship with the folklore and history of the district that informs the songwriting. A quick glance at the track listing shows the subject matter we're dealing with here. Some of the songs are unashamedly boisterous knees-ups, but the ones I'm interested in have a haunting, arcane quality to them.

During our conversation, which was recorded for presentation on this blog, the pub gradually filled up with drinkers, so there is a bit of incidental conversation. Also fans of the glam rock outfit The Sweet will notice their hit tune Ballroom Blitz forming a slightly incongruous backdrop to our talk of ancient artifacts. Postmodernism of the highest order.

I must apologise for the occasional rumbling sound picked up by the microphone. I suspect its caused by a slightly unsteady table. In these extracts we discuss four of the thirteen tracks. 

SHOWERBATH OF THE PATRIARCHS
I knew nothing of this, but apparently around 1934 a local man had the idea of building a swimming pool and a boating pond in Litllebeck. By 1945 due to disuse it became silted up and was populated only by hundreds of frogs. A film exists in the Yorkshire Film Archives showing boys bathing in the pool.



MAIDEN'S GARLANDS
In Old St Stephen's Church, Fylingdales hang four maiden's garlands. They were made to commemorate the tragic death of a young girl, and would be carried along at the funeral procession.



CRETEBLOCK
The wreck of this concrete ship stands forlorn on Whitby Scar. The subject of these strange vessels was covered more extensively on OUT ON YE! here.


HAND OF GLORY
The mummified, severed hand kept in a cabinet in Whitby Museum is purportedly the only surviving Hand of Glory. It was found hidden in the wall of a thatched cottage in Castleton.




Rudolf Rocker interesting fact: Fans of BBC TV's "The League Of Gentlemen" series may already be (unwittingly) familiar with Rudolf Rocker: their song "Voodoo Lady" featured in the episode in which the legendary Creme Brulee stage their reunion gig.

So there.

Maiden's Garlands, Old St Stephen's Church, Fylingdales

Monday 21 September 2015

NOCTURNAL DICTIONARY: INTERVIEW (PART 1)



Nocturnal Dictionary are a young Whitby band that I first saw supporting Moonwreck at The Starms. They've appeared on Bob Fischer's BBC Tees Introducing radio programme and they gig seemingly relentlessly on the local, and not so local, circuit.

On a sunny, late afternoon in early September I met three of Nocturnal Dictionary in the beer garden of The Plough on Baxtergate. Surely it's the cheapest pint you can get in Whitby? The lager was £2 and one of the bitters (Sovereign I think) was £1.80.

The core of the band (because they have been known to use guest musicians for various roles) comprises four members. Dave Magson, the bass player, was unfortunately absent because he lives in Filey. However drummer Niamh, sax player Max and singer and guitarist George were all present and correct.
.....

ORIGIN
 (noun) the point or place where something begins


Max         I've known George and Niamh for years.

George    We went to primary school together at St. Hilda's.

Niamh     Never did I imagine we'd be in a band together.

George    We didn't see each other for years afterwards.

Niamh      I only played the recorder back then.

George     At our primary school they had recorders, and at the end of the music lesson the teacher would dip them upside down in a bucket of bleach, and the week after they'd still be in that bucket of bleach. She'd just pass them out and you could taste bleach from inside the recorder.

PW          Is that where the song title 'Blunt Bleach' comes from?

Max         Oooh! That's a good idea! Now, for the record, yes it is.

George     Niamh used to laugh at anything when she was younger. We'd just be sitting at a dinner table, and I'd say just anything. She'd start laughing.

Niamh      I don't know what it was, it just happened. I'm still like that now. It's just a band.

PW            My daughter Iris, she played with you all in that schools big band. You played Happy, 
the Farrell Williams song. She's nine and she played clarinet.

George       I'd like a clarinet in the band.

Niamh        It's good fun playing in a big band.

Max           The choir seemed to ruin it a bit.

PW            So who's the teacher in charge of that then?

Max           Bob Butterfield.

PW            He's a legend, isn't he?

Max           He's a fucking legend. Oh man. Oh, he's my man. I love Bob.

George       I guess I'm the outsider compared to you two 'cos like I never did music at school on an instrument. I don't like the philosophy of it. When you're doing it at school, you just link it to school and it becomes something you have to do like homework, and I just don't agree with it.

I think when you make kids read at school it becomes a chore, but they should enjoy reading. It's the same for instruments as well. I think it's good that you can do music at school, but I don't agree with the way it's taught. It's too rigid.

PW              You think it should be more freeform?

George        Definitely. I can't read music, It's good to read music, but I don't think you need to necessarily.

Max            Niamh can read fucking drum tabs.

George       I think the best way of learning an instrument is by playing other band's songs.

PW             How did you learn to play? Just by picking it up and teaching yourself?

George       I had lessons for a bit. I think you have to try and write songs that are similar to your idols' and then slowly figure out your own style.

Suddenly an extremely noisy plane passes over the pub beer garden and there's some debate about whether this has any significance. George suggests the possibility of a rogue paparazzi drone. Max seems convinced it's been sent by Nick from The Pier to sabotage the interview.

PW              It's been a lot quieter though than that last interview with The Pier at The Little A, hasn't it Max? I had to wade my way through the sound files on that one. There were all these drunken people gobbing off in the background.

Max             That was hilarious. Nocturnal Dictionary are a better band than The Pier, and that's on record. We've got our last gig tomorrow as The Pier.
.....

CORPORATE IDENTITY
 (noun) the way an organisation is perceived by its members and the public

Niamh, Max and Dave with George at the front
We go on to discuss how the band coped with a gig at The Rifle Club, a Chamomile Records Showcase, despite drummer Niamh having an injured hand.

George        Our bass player Dave covered, and then we got our friend to play bass.

Niamh         He did a really good job on it.

George        But he's not really one of us, he was good, but it didn't fit really.

PW              He did his best?

Niamh         Yeah. He did well. I was proud.

George         He fitted musically, but not personality wise.

Max             You had tears in your eyes at one point.

Niamh          Yes. It was very emotional.

Max             Niamh got emotional.

Niamh          Yeah, just watching you play. I felt like I'd died or something.

PW              There was a photograph of you watching.

Max             Was it you that took it?

PW              No it was Jon, Jon Horne.

George        Who wrote that review?

PW              Yes. It was a good review. He's a good writer.

George        Oh, that weird review, where he's like "There should be more t-shirts and CDs".

PW              He's got a point though, hasn't he?

George        I don't know. I don't think he has. He discussed about us not introducing bands, but it's more like just friends, so we all knew each other. It's not like we're trying to be... we're just like a community playing for each other. We didn't need to introduce each other.

PW              It was a showcase though, a public gig so anybody could have gone?

Max             I was at Leedsfest and they had an MC during the day and, I don't know, I don't think it 
fits. It gets a bit formal, I like a chilled out gig.

George         It's too formal and corporate having an MC.

Max             Chamomile Records isn't exactly like this big record label thing is it?

PW              What exactly is Chamomile Records then?

Niamh          It's just this thing

George         We put a compilation out on it of our friends. Tom Found and stuff, but it's just a moniker to have gigs under. We don't want to have headliners.

Niamh          It's quite a cool name.

Max             Yeah, Chamomile Records. I like that

George         But when we release our album, because we're going to record it soon, it's a label to put it out under instead of self releasing it I guess.

PW               But you'll still be releasing it on your own label?

Max             Yes. Unless we get signed, which would be nice George.

George         It would be lovely.

PW              Where are you going to make it?

George         We haven't decided. We might be going to Leeds to record it.

Max             Shall we go to Manchester? Shall we go to Salford? Shall we record in the same place The Smiths recorded?

George         Pretty much any studio's 25 quid an hour. Got to do it all live though.

Max             The full band, we'll just play it.

Niamh         That's how it works.

George         Because we're a tight group, we can do it.

Rare ND tapes
Max             I wish we could get signed. There's been talk. I mean somebody told me at The Rifle Club gig that they were talking to Bob Fischer, the Radio Tees guy...

George        We're lucky that he likes us.

PW              He likes everyone (laughs). No I didn't mean it like that. He likes Whitby bands.

Niamh         He's a good egg.

George        He's putting us on this Sunday. He's a promoter for this venue in Eaglescliff called The
Waiting Room. In the Middlesborough Evening Gazette last week there was like a full page of gigs there. There were pictures of the bands playing, and we were the biggest picture.

PW              Is that because you're an interesting band to look at? You look a bit different to the rest who are all clutching guitars and that. A saxophone and Niamh on drums. You just look so different. At the last gig I saw you play, did you not use a French horn or something?

George        That was a one off, that. [Nocturnal Dictionary]started off as me, Niamh, French horn and violin. We played slower, folky stuff. Even though Niamh and me are still in it, it is a different group now.

Max             I always think we're like psychedelic surf jazz. That's a good way of explaining it. I'm wearing the Hawaiian shirt. We've got to be surf. George's lyrics sort of imitate the lyrics of Jim Morrison and The Doors. Obviously he was talking complete gobbledygook half the time, because he was on acid, but George, he doesn't need the acid. He's just got an acidy mind.

You know the lead singer of alt-J? He took mushrooms, went to bed on his own, he was like "Oh, I'm just feeling a bit ill", the mushrooms kicked in and he had a bad trip. He had to take time off uni for like three weeks, he just was fucked.

George        Apparently after he took these mushrooms the way he approached song-writing was different. He said before that all his songs had been too clean, but after this trip it obviously worked out for him. Not that we've done any psychedelic drugs like that.

Max             Not yet.

George        Any bands, or any artist that relies on drugs to make art is a bit sad. I think it's just a shortcut to what you'd make anyway.

I was speaking to Jon Horne (who loves the band) at a Whitby Town match a few days ago about their contradictory thinking. It seems decidedly odd that a group so desperate to get signed by a label can consider selling CDs and t-shirts, or having an MC at gigs too corporate.

Jon and I grew up going to Rock Against Racism gigs and the like, where band merchandise was sold for distinctly non-corporate reasons. Maybe it's a generational thing?

Whitby lost 5 - 0 to Salford City by the way. Unlike Nocturnal Dictionary they had a poor backline.

.....
THE SCENE
(noun) a specified area of activity or interest


PW              Do you get on well with the other bands in Whitby that you gig with?

Niamh         Everyone's so nice.

George        Ten Foot Tom are really nice.

Max             I'm surprised that they'd support us, because when I was playing in The Pier, we always thought that they were big. Big in Whitby. They were pretty well established.

PW              I think you're quite different to other bands. You approach it in a different way.

George        We do respect [the other bands] though. It's always good to have a diverse mix. In 
Whitby it's hard. I read on your blog, when you interviewed Moonwreck and you asked 'why do you think lots of bands have appeared?', and they were like 'I think there are loads of places to play', but I disagree with that. I don't think there are a lot of places to play.

PW              But if you'd been around in the nineties, there was hardly anywhere to play. Nobody in Whitby appeared to be playing original music. There were loads of bands doing covers in pubs.

George        Well all pubs want is covers, which is difficult because of where we live. If we were in a city we'd get lots of attention.

Max             Middlesbrough's good. We get lots of gigs in Middlesbrough.

Niamh         They like us in Middlesbrough.

Max             What do they call that street? Linthorpe Road? That has a lot of venues on it. Indie venues which accept our music.

Niamh         TS1 was good.

Max             Yes. TS1, Whirling Dervish. That's the place to be.

George        A lot of touring bands go to Middlesbrough.

PW              Have you played in Scarborough?

George        Well at first we were just playing wherever we could, and mostly for free.

Niamh         We were desperate, weren't we?


George        I hate how people exploit bands and just expect them to play for free. The thing is with bands, we do want to play as much as possible. They know that, and they just take advantage of that and don't pay us anything.

Max             What I want is to make a living from this band.

George        Not even a living, just being able to tour.

PW              You can get signed up too quickly though, can't you?

Niamh         I think we'd be better off not being signed. The way we do it now, with George getting all the gigs and things.

Max             The good thing about us is we can get songs, literally in just minutes.

Niamh         I don't know how. It just happens.   

PW              There's obviously a chemistry. Is it between you three then?

Max             And Dave. Dave is just amazing.

George        He's phenomenal. Dave's probably the most gifted in our group as a musician. We're lucky to have met him.

Max             We have a solid backline with Dave, and she's a fantastic drummer (pointing to Niamh).

George        That's it. A good bass and drummer, then me and Max can do what we like.

Niamh         You guys are bloody brilliant though, to be fair. 

George        It's not arrogance or snobbery. It's just being self-confident. If you don't believe in yourself there's no point.

Max             That was the problem with The Pier: Nick just wasn't confident, I wasn't a drummer and Mat Glaisher can't play guitar.

PW              A few drawbacks there then?

Niamh         You're proper slagging them off.

Max             I slag them off all the time.

PW              This interview's going to cause mayhem. I'm going to get another drink now, but I'll turn this recorder off first (click!).

PART 2 of this interview will be along in a couple of weeks' time. Expect more controversy, an insight into song writing and Devil's Lettuce.

Thursday 13 August 2015

VIDEOS FROM THE RIFLE CLUB: 24.07.15

Wednesday 12 August 2015

MADE IN WHITBY

WHITBY FRIENDSHIP ROWING CLUB

PICTURES BY SHEPTON (and there's a lovely slideshow at the end)


07: 08: 15

All the bands playing at this gig have been reviewed lovingly on this blog in the past, so rather than a forensic examination of their songcraft and sonic qualities, this review is more of a paean to the joys of local gig going from a personal point of view. Expect name dropping and pointless detail.

.....

Dave, Jason and Rob: The John Does
Today was the day my mate from Saltburn, Gavin Parry, would be launched headlong into the Whitby local music scene. I got a bit of a flyer from work, so as soon as Gavin arrived bearing gifts of bottled beers and a book of Scottish folklore, we set off walking into town. After some deliberation about the climate and whether it would be chilly on the walk home, we plumped for taking jackets.

I'd had no tea, so a quick visit to the chippy on Silver Street ensued. It wasn't particularly busy, and I only ordered chips and peas open, yet the lady who took my order wrote it meticulously down on a bit of paper, passed it to the server at the side of her, who looked at it, put it with some similar bits of paper and then prepared the chips and peas. Were these two not on speaking terms I wondered, or was it just an over-elaborate ritual that's been carried on since time immemorial, like the Penny Hedge?

Outside the Friendship Club, Tom, Chris Corner, Emma and Rich Locker and various others were taking in the night air and some nicotine. Emma and Rich knew Gavin from his blog posts and other internet communications, so they could now put a face to the words and pictures. Everyone got on splendidly, as like minded people usually do.

Emma wore a dress with a volume knob that went up to eleven!

.....

Emily, Keeley and Steve: Genetix UK
Even though we got there as soon as we could, we still sadly missed The John Does. In his review of
the Rifle Club gig on the 24th of July, Jon Horne made two recommendations: Firstly gigs with a number of bands should employ a compere, more about that later. Secondly seven o'clock is too early to start, and this gig did start at seven, so consequently we arrived halfway through the second band's set.

The second band was Genetix UK, and as usual they radiated joy and energy via punky pop and unpretentious directness. Gav was impressed as we purchased drinks and settled down for more fun. It's a good job we brought our jackets, because it was bloody freezing on those chairs. It did warm up later though, luckily.

Rob Savage and Jason from The Jon Does both seperately explained how good the sound was tonight, and how much sweeter it sounded than the previous gig at The Starms (which I thought was great anyway), and I was sad to have missed them. Next time let's hope they're placed further up the running order and get a fair crack of the whip.
.....


Seeing Shepton with a huge and very technical camera round his neck seemed like an opportunity not to be sniffed at, so I asked if any of his pictures could be donated to Whitby Popwatch in the interest of documenting the event. He agreed, and the fruits of his labours are here on this blog page for all to see.

As if that wasn't enough, Shepton also compered for the evening. Having an MC makes a huge difference because it adds structure, also introducing each band is always helpful, after all not everyone knows who's who. Consequently there were no major gaps between acts and the whole thing flowed relatively smoothly, like the Esk passing the Gasworks at high tide on a Spring afternoon.

Niamh, George and ?: Nocturnal Dictionary
Nocturnal Dictionary had yet another line-up. It seems only singer George and drummer Niamh (when she hasn't got a broken hand) are constant members. This time a violinist and a French horn player were drafted in. The sound is fragile, spacey and always compelling. TFT and John Doe's drummer Alan Boyes for one was impressed by Niamh's delicate, well timed stick and brush work.

It's amazing who turns up to these events. I chatted with Andy Brown who helped us with the financial headache of getting my parents into Peregrine House last year. Author Chris Firth was there with his mate, the chap who busks sea shanties with a scary dancing doll on a stick too.

Tantalisingly Chris Firth is organising an electronic noise/music/drone/bleep free-for-all at the Cranberry Swamp cafe on Skinner Street shortly, probably later this month, although that isn't set in stone. Anyone with anything that makes a noise of some sort is welcome I think, as well as intrigued listeners. Stay tuned for further details as they emerge.
.....

Marc and Rick: Moonwreck
Moonwreck took a few songs to get into their stride, and then they took off. The frequencies probably
needed to accumulate one on top of the other, like layer cake, like strata. Anyway Gavin and I looked after Emma's beautiful, pink handbag while she went to the powder room, or whatever. We bought more beer. We had a chat to Steve Scott of Genetix UK, and by now the room was a bit warmer. As the great Phil Collins once said, no jacket required.

The Friendship is a nice, convenient venue, with lots of chairs and tables, and at £3 for five bands no one could complain that they weren't getting their money's worth. We all got stylish Made In Whitby wristbands from the members of Moonwreck manning the door, which meant going out for fresh air and then coming back in was no problem. Nicely thought through.
.....

Alan, Tom and Chris: Ten Foot Tom and The Leprosy Crooks
Up to now all the acts played in front of floor length curtains decorated with pictures of shells, but Ten Foot Tom threw the curtains open and let the lights of night time Whitby sparkle through the window. Nice touch. I must admit, I thought Tom might be a tiny bit drunk and unable to hit the heights tonight, but I'm glad to say I was proved wrong. A fantastic set to end a top evening's entertainment, and this time Tom's guitar survived relatively unscathed.

Gavin, Chris Corner and myself wandered home up Upgang lane. A car pulled up with Keeley from Genetix UK and her dog ensconced within. She offered Chris and his bass guitar a lift home, but he politely decided to accompany us. At Popwatch HQ we drank a good quantity of tea, formulated plans for upcoming projects and played some proper vinyl records. Can't remember which ones though. A great end to one of those wonderful nights that just seem to come together out of nothing.

Thanks to everyone involved.


Tuesday 4 August 2015

MADE IN WHITBY: 07: 08: 15 AT THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB


Moonwreck
Ten Foot Tom and The Leprosy Crooks
Nocturnal Dictionary
Genetix UK
The John Does

That's all your favourite bands under one roof for £3

That's 60p a band

Approximately the price of a Twix bar (prices may vary depending on which retail facility you purchase from)

Sunday 2 August 2015

CHAMOMILE RECORDS SHOWCASE

WHITBY RIFLE CLUB

24: 07: 15

WORDS AND PICTURES BY JON HORNE


Seven o’clock. Seven o’clock?! In my day, that was lunchtime.

If I were Tom Found I’d be furious. Actually I’d be delighted because then I’d be skinny, young, and talented - but I’d still be pissed off at having to play to a mostly empty room because no one arrives at a gig at seven o’clock.

Jumper-clad and unhappy, Tom Found’s swooping melodies and impressionistic lyrics were swamped by his own rudimentary and ill-mixed guitar. Given the right support - decent sound and perhaps a band - he will be a compelling performer in the future. On the evidence of demos, he has a good, idiosyncratic voice with a warble resembling a more grounded Marc Bolan, and the rare ability to write songs that keep your interest as they ramble intriguingly. The last song, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea was trippy in the literal sense, and I look forward one day to hearing it, as opposed to trying to make it out through murky sound.

.....

Figmennt are a band who like to hide their tunes under a duvet of white noise. Indistinct snatches of lyric (“Honesty these days never ends,” or was it “pleurisy”?) appear from behind tribal drums and cleverly-played feedback counter-melodies. Songs are reminiscent of the Teenage Fanclub, but the sound is all My Bloody Valentine. The slow interlude Secrets is interestingly creepy before it disappears under yet more white noise - from whence tunes emerge once more. Credit must go to the guitarist who kept the tunes coming every time they got buried under the wash of random sound.


The best song of the short set was She’s In My Head, with its Stone Roses feel and don’t-touch-the-brown-acid lyric. I wasn’t wearing my best shoes, so why would I want to gaze at them? I’d like to hear this group again though, especially if they decide to follow their more melodic instincts.

.....

Ten Foot Tom and the Leprosy Crooks need no introduction, which is a good job because no one got an introduction at this gig. Tom Found told me who Figmennt were, I’ve known Ten Foot Tom for ages, the Warhol Superstars had to be who they were, what with the name and the hair, and that left Nocturnal Dictionary by a process of elimination. Soundchecks were carried out before each set, so no one knew whether a band was actually starting. Where was the MC? Nor was there a table with CDs. There were no leaflets or little business cards for you to stick in the slot in your mobile phone case and later to pull out absent-mindedly whilst trying to pay for petrol. This was a showcase for local talent in which everyone frantically avoided showcasing anything.

I was going to do that bit at the end. I probably will again, just to ram the point home.

Ten Foot Tom and band were in fine form. Eschewing a soundcheck, levels were turned to approximate, and the unmistakeable riff of Saturday Night kicked off a rollicking set. Some of the band’s endearing randomness has been lost since the departure of guitarist Kyle - Tom can’t throw himself around the stage when he’s covering all the guitar parts - but it has been replaced by an in-your-face commitment to the material that reminds me of Wilko Johnson. Gone too are the between-song retunings and detunings, leaving a punk-blues half-hour of relentless energy, with a busy rhythm section providing bedrock for unhinged vocals and cheese-slicer guitar.

Old favourites Liar and 1000 Wolves cut through the messy sound to connect with a crowd that was filing in after between-set cigarettes; both songs about ‘escaping’ small-town pettiness (the latter an escape to death row, the former to hell itself because “there’s nothing going on in heaven”. Cheery stuff.)
.....

After wearying delays, Warhol Superstars emerged with a hell of a name to live up to. I’ll come to the sound in a minute, but give them their due, they look really good. The singer wears a hooped jumper and hides curly hair under a hat that makes him look like a cross between Dennis The Menace and See-You-Jimmy. He is backed by a corkscrew-haired grin in a red jacket and a flailing drummer who was probably great - he had the look of someone who knew what he was doing - if only anyone could have heard him over the ridiculously loud bass.

This band might one day get it together to the extent that they play a set that is as much fun to listen to as it must be to play. They mix good originals with a leaning toward the Libertines with substandard covers - Metal Guru, Boys Don’t Cry, which if they played them properly would be great. Really, it was impossible to hear anything over the bass, so forgive the negativity, but it got on my nerves.

The best song, by a mile, was apparently a new one, Spider, introduced promisingly with “if you don’t like it, fuck off.” Don’t know what it was about - the bass and all that - maybe spiders. Anyway it lived up to the snotty introduction and for three minutes the band lived up to their name. More of this please.
   .....

Nocturnal Dictionary took to the stage in a changed format with the bass-player on drums and a fill-in on bass after the drummer broke her hand - which makes it all the more impressive that they played a coherent, entertaining set that lifted an appreciative audience from its drunken dozing. By now, well over three hours of the concert had gone by, and you wouldn’t expect the crowd to be woken up by twisty art-rock with tempo changes and saxophone solos. Nonetheless that is what happened. Volcano and the clappy instrumental Tate Hill were greeted with stifled cheers. The latter is becoming a little local classic, the sort of tune that the audience are going to remember when they’re recalling bands they used to go and see. A new song, Devil’s Letters, was excellent, a rare foray into simplicity.

The over-riding impression is of a band who have not only the ability to play anything they want to, but the imagination to use that ability and not just show it off. During technical problems, they are happy to improvise - the singer/guitarist knocked off a serviceable Sunshine Of Your Love while the sax player wrestled with microphones - and they have no problem switching from a summery rocksteady tune with bible-referencing lyrics to something slow and sleazy, to a jerky, artsy song about “a door off its hinges - it floats away...”

If you haven’t heard this band, the closest reference points are probably Vampire Weekend and Sparks, to name two groups thirty years apart. However their main inspiration comes from their own imagination, and that is a rare thing in pop music.
 .....


Wounded drummer dances to her own band shock
This was a good gig, no doubt, and was much enjoyed. It could have been something great though. I’ve lived here long enough to know that to want to put on a show is deeply uncool. But there is a lot of talent about at the moment, a lot of people around the same age - 18, 19 - who are having a burst of creativity. It needs showcasing properly - posters, CDs, t-shirts, not just tweets and blog entries. It needs putting into a show, one that lasts two hours, not four and a half, with the same amount of songs - no soundchecks, much reduced mucking around between sets, and find some local smartarse to introduce the bands. Then it’ll be great.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

THE PIER EXTENSION


PART 2 OF AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PIER

IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST PART, CLICK HERE














We sat in the beer garden of the Little Angel one afternoon, Nick to the right of me, Max on the left, next to him Grace (psychological support), then on the other side of the table Jack and Mat. At one point Max asked if there was anything specific I needed to know?

Well no, not really. It wasn't necessary to do much more than throw in the odd question, stand back and watch the ripples spread. That's the beauty of a real time interview recorded as it happens. As well as interacting with the interviewer, the band interact with each other and the dynamics within the group become apparent. Egos are laid bare.
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LOST IN A RADIO LABYRINTH
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Bob Fischer
On Saturday 6th of June, The Pier performed on Bob Fischer's Saturday night BBC Radio Tees show. Having never seen them live, I was impressed by the way they played and interacted with each other. So how was it broadcasting to the nation (well the north east bit of it at least)?

Nick: Oddly chilled.

Max: There's three mics and not much room or anything.

Nick: You can't play anything too loud. The mics can't really cope with it.

Max: He's a nice guy Bob. I like Bob.

PW: He certainly champions Whitby bands.

Max: It's dead easy to talk to him.

   
An early incarnation: Jack, Nick, Max and Mat
PW: Is he there on his own? I like it when he puts a record on and goes down to answer the door. I've been past BBC Radio Tees on the bus and it's a fairly big building.

Nick: When we turned up we just pressed this button by this tiny door round the side and there was this huge studio all empty, with just Bob in the entire place.

Jack: Then Mat set all the alarms off.

Mat: It's like a labyrinth. Like the BBC in London. That's impossible to find your way round.

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BONDAGE NIGHT
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The Pier attract a young audience
Why do you think there's a recent upsurge in the Whitby music scene? Is it that there are suddenly more venues to play?

Max: The Starms, that's good. We should play there.

PW: There's the Captain Cook in Staithes.

Jack: Avalanche Party are a good live band. We saw them at The Captain Cook. They were great. That's a good venue for them.

Mat: We played there last year supporting Friends of Dorothy I think. It was bondage night.

PW: Why was it Bondage Night?

Jack: There was this bloke in bondage on the poster, or something like that.

Mat: It was the owner.

PW: Who? Heath Waterfield? Kyle and Kane's dad? He's in Friends of Dorothy you know.

Jack: I saw them play. I thought they were great. I got a Friends of Dorothy t-shirt. It's really weird.

Mat: Doesn't James have a Clawmarks t-shirt? He doesn't like the band but he loved that shirt.

Jack: Clawmarks are like weird, really weird. We saw them in Middlesbrough supporting The Fat White Family, and halfway through the set, the guitarist went 'If any of you have got somewhere we could sleep tonight it would be really great, because we haven't got anywhere to go'.

Nick; That's what we should do. Go on tour without any gigs booked, just turn up at pubs and go 'We're the band'.

Mat: Yeah

Nick: Clawmarks, are they still alive, or did they die of dysentry?

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THE END OF THE PIER?
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All bands go through an inevitable evolution sound wise, and I was keen to find out how The Pier got to where they are today?



 
Kirk
Max: We got through some guitarists and keyboardists.

Jack: We listened to Psychedelic Music for Psychedelic People.

Mat: No. It was Acid Music for Acid People.

Jack: If you look on YouTube for Acid Music for Acid people, there are loads of full albums on there. I mean instrumental albums like Goat and stuff. We listened to loads of that.

Nick: I just wanted stuff that was, you know, saxophone. Saxophone music.

 Max: Yeah, because Nick is off in September to the Guildhall              Consevatoire of Drama and Music.
Coltrane

   PW: What's going to come out of that?

   Nick: A degree in saxophone.

  Max: ...and work in Starbucks.

  Nick: I'll be working in Starbucks, but I'll have a degree in                 saxophone.

  PW: Which saxophonists do you admire?

  Nick: Roland Kirk, he can play three saxophones at once.             Coltrane's   pretty good. A Love Supreme, you've got to sit in the                                                          dark with some candles and listen to A Love Supreme.
 
Coleman

 PW:Ornette Coleman died the other day, didn't he?

 Nick: I never really listened to him until he died. Just started  listening a couple of days ago. I'd never really heard of him before.  Coleman's an alto sax player. Coltrane's more of a tenor, or soprano  guy.
 Tenors are wrong, because it doesn't make sense in the harmonic  sequence to have an instrument in B flat.

 Max: But it sounds good.

Nick: No. That's why you get all those weird growls and stuff. That's why it sounds a bit jaggedy.

Jack: You were doing wah-wah saxophone on something, weren't you?

Nick: Yeah, that works. I felt like Hendrix.

Mat: We try to experiment with sound.

Jack: It's because we listened to Frank Zappa.

Nick: Wah-wah bass clarinet. Brilliant. Kind of.

We talked about other things too, for instance an odd incident in a cave, a foggy drive home from a gig, sleeping with Yoko Ono and Mat steering the car into a ditch. Then we filed off home. I have no idea what this band will do next, or what will happen when Nick leaves, but in the meantime let's console ourselves with this rather splendid Whitbydelic video of the song Ocean.

And no, it's not about the Chinese chip shop near the Stakesby Arms.