A Word From The Editor
A word from the Editor Pg 1 Cheltenham’s MND Pg 2 Benin City Review PG 2 Record Store Day Review Pg 3 Fabio Thomas Pg 4 Fausto EP Review PG 4 What’s On Listings Pg 5-10
I had the pleasure of going to watch the Missy Malone & Friends Burlesque Revue in April and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. It isn’t my first visit to the Missy Malone show and it certainly won’t be my last and I urge you all next time the show is in Cheltenham to get yourself tickets, you will not be disappointed. I know every month I say how much is going on in the county, but really May’s listings are HUGE there is so much going on. Not only are we full swing into Festival season with The Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Wychwood Festival both happening this month, but also the sheer amount of gigs happening across Gloucestershire is amazing! There is no excuse for you to be stuck for going out. Not only do we have a massive 5 pages worth of listings in this month’s issue we also have some pretty awesome reviews too. Dan Gutteridge returns for his annual Record Store Day diary entry which sees him running between Badlands and Rise for the best part of the day. Fabio Thomas reviews Peace at the Gloucester Guildhall while our 10 Minute Review is of Benin City’s return to the Frog and Fiddle courtesy of The Cheltenham Underground. Finally we also have an EP review of one of Cheltenham’s finest bands Fausto.
Don’t forget that we are always on the look out for contributors, so if you fancy yourself as a bit MAG Needs You! of a music journalist then email us musicatgWe are always looking for los@gmail.com You also can follow us on Twitnews and reviews for MAG ter, like us on Facebook and visit our website from lovely people like you! www.musicatglos.wordpress.com. Being a non-profit initiative we don’t pay but can get you Take advantage of all of the awesome gigs and into gigs and publish your festivals going on this month and enjoy May’s work. Please contact Amelia issue of MAG! if you want to contribute anything to this fanzine: musicatglos@gmail.com
Cheltenham’s Music Network Developer
10 Minute Review Words: Tom Brunsdon | Picture: Dean Toad Benin City, Emmett Brown, KSH & The Going Goods @ The Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham (12.04.13)
May I?
There’s probably close to 100 people here tonight at the Frog. It’s certainly over 50 (I’m not going to count every single one of them so let’s call it 75). That’s about 53 more people than you used to get watching live bands in Cheltenham ten years ago in pubs. Something’s going right. KSH & The Going Goods don’t look like they sound
After last months’ announcement in this column, I’d like to start this one by saying a big thank you for the unexpected messages of kindness about my time as a music network developer - you know who you are : ) This was especially appreciated as I’ve really felt things have wound down over the last twelve months so I’m just glad I’ve at least been able to help a few people in some small way. With thanks out of the way, we’re walking into a month that is bookended by Cheltenham Jazz & Wychwood festivals. Lechlade & Rene:gade festivals also continue to make their mark on the county’s programming this month - with numerous other considerations for arts and crafts continuing to grow year on year. Not to mention some little gathering about chasing cheese down a hill or something! It turns out that the realisation in this month’s column is that it just keeps getting easier to write. The cultural landscape of this fine county has never been so rich and highlighting what I think is good is the only hard part about writing each month. But that decision doesn’t (and shouldn’t) lie with me - it’s with you. As always, my advice remains the same: go out and see a gig this month. The commerciality of music sales has Record Store Day to celebrate another year’s survival - bands don’t get to have a “Live Music Day” - so perhaps it’s worth going out with friend and seeing if you can’t find something that’s not just worth listening too, but worth seeing as well. A
(in the nicest possible way). I guess this is what you could call acoustic hip-hop. The guy who beatboxes his way through the set is a relentless machine – his mouth must be absolutely shattered by the end of it. The two singers are contrasting figures – one fronts the band confidently and jokes and raps, then jokes some more, whilst the other nervously holds a bottle of beer in one hand and sings all of the parts that need to be sung beautifully. It’s a good mix. Perhaps this is how Sublime would have ended up sounding if Bradley Knowell hadn’t overdosed in 1996. Emmett Brown, on the other hand, are a ramshackle mix of ska and punk - I thought everyone stopped playing ska in 2003, but I must be wrong. They have an attitude you can’t buy, like an early King Blues mixed with King Prawn’s more eclectic moments. Their set is a little loose and they snap some strings, but that’s what local bands do. Onward and upwards for them. And finally, Benin City from London (city) round of this evening’s entertainment with a soulful, atmospheric performance backed by sax and drums. They are all about frontman Joshua Idehen as he grabs the microphone, bounces around and spits out carefully written 21st Century prose.
Record Store Day 2013 Words: Dan Gutteridge There’s Birthdays, there’s Christmases, there’s the first day of the football season or the opening of the January sales but no other day makes me want to get up bright and early (seriously early, we’re talking 6am here) and no other day makes me smile as much as Record Store Day does. Now in its 7th year Record Store Day was started across the pond, with the premise of promoting independent record stores through bands putting out limited releases and plying live in stores. The day quickly spread across to the UK and through to other countries and is now a force to be reckoned with in the music world.
My day started at just before 6, as I got up, showered, breakfasted and made my way to join the queues down at Badlands. This is my third year of RSD in Cheltenham and the queues have got bigger every time, which shows just how much this day has upped the interest in independents and vinyl’s. I picked myself up a beautiful White Stripes re-issue, the kind of record that makes you shake at the knees. After heading home to let it spin from start to finish, it was straight back out for the day to truly begin. Were incredibly blessed in Gloucestershire, and more specifically Cheltenham, in that there are some wonderful record shops. Rise and Badlands both had some incredible and well-known local acts playing throughout the day.
The first band I checked out was Welcome To Marathon, a band that I’ve been reviewing lots in MAG as of late. A band that I truly do believe is the best band in Cheltenham, and quite possibly the whole of the county. Rise positioned all of their bands towards the
back of the shop, and I don’t know whether it was planned or a lucky coincidence but the acoustics made for a simply wonderful sound. Not just for Marathon but for everyone playing in Rise that day. Once Marathon had finished it was off to Badlands to catch the afternoon acts there. The staff had opened up the shop to the whole road and turned it into and absolute street party. The place was buzzing with paella stands, cake stands, people walking around playing ukuleles. Jeremy from Zen Elephant was playing as I walked up to the store. Standing slightly above everybody else on the pavement strumming away. Zen Elephant are band I greatly admire, and Jeremy’s set was no different. I strongly recommend checking them out if you haven’t done so already. After it was the outstanding Jim Lockey. He, again, performed on his own, just him and his guitar. It felt like quite a privilege to be in that small crowd watching Jim. As the rate he’s growing at, whose to say where he’ll be in the next few years. So it was definately a performance to savour, even with the odd forgotten lyric. I must also pull up the fact that Jim clashed horribly with Andy Oliveri. If anyone from Rise or Badlands is reading this, promise me and the rest of Cheltenham you’ll never do that again!!!
Once Jim had finished it was over to Rise to catch the last few acts of the day. Young Kato and Crooks, are two bands I admire greatly. Both however weren’t meant for playing in-store shows. But both bands adapted really well, and put on a great show. They finished the day of in magnificent style. Shouting away to Crooks, was just the icing on cake of what had be an excellent day. Record Store Day truly is my favorite all dayer of the year. Unlike Christmases and Birthdays or the football and the first day shopping in the sales, there’s no down points. There’s no quiet hour after the turkey or half times. The day starts at 8am and steam rolls all the way through to the evening. Well done to Rise and Badlands for both putting on excellent days with great bands, great record and great paella. And now the countdown to next year begins. Only 365 days to go…
Fabio Thomas On...Peace Words: Fabio Thomas | Picture: Louis Gill iEye Media On April 21st I crammed into Gloucester Guildhall with 399 other fans who were keen to experience what NME are calling one of Britain’s “best live bands”. Peace, who have just come off the NME tour opening for Palma Violets, Miles Kane and Django Django, were tonight supported by Superfood. Only moments after I saw Superfood stagger through the small art gallery in the guildhall, they were taking to the stage. My slight apprehension was dismissed as soon as they began. Their brand of 90s rock, which stood somewhere in between grunge and Britpop, sounded much like Primal Scream’s first album. A highlight of the set was the band’s final track ‘Superfood’, which is up as a free download via their Facebook page. The straight up groove and edgy guitar is reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock’s backing band The Venus Three, whilst echoing the harmonies of Viva Brother – but without all the bravado bullshit.
Twenty minutes passed between the sets, before a surprisingly funk driven track played and a velvet-clad Koisser strode on with the rest of the gang. After a brief “Hello”, the coconut jive of ‘Delicious’ was triggered and the band ran through ‘Waste of Paint’, ‘Toxic’ and ‘Sugerstone’ before “taking things down a level” to ‘Float Forever’. What was most impressive was how such a young, new band could create music that energetic and alive whilst looking so relaxed. It appeared as if they had been playing these songs together for years on end – when in reality this debut (stunning as it is) is just shy of a month old. ‘Higher than the Sun’ saw the band again raise the stakes with the chorus causing the crowd to reach another level (literally and metaphorically). The track was followed by ‘Wraith’, ‘Follow Baby’ and ‘Scumbag’. As the crowd screamed back every word that left Koisser’s mouth, it felt as if the band were playing a run of singles that they had accumulated over decades. The strength of each standalone track shows the enormous achievement that is ‘In Love’. The album holds nothing back, giving its all on every track, literally pouring its heart out
into each song. Peace describe it as “music that fucks you in the heart”, but I am beginning to prefer “music that fucks you in the ears”. The set closed with ‘1998’, a track that was left off ‘In Love’. As the band built up and brought down the ten minute epic I think I began to understand why the song was left off the album – it is an out and out live track. Its peaks and troughs captivated and controlled the audience leaving them screaming for more when the band departed from the stage. After a couple of minutes of desperation in the eyes of the fans, Peace finally delivered, returning to play ‘California Daze’ and ‘Bloodshake’. After seeing the group in Birmingham on the NME tour, I was not 100% sold on their live performance. However, seeing this extended set, which included the majority of the tracks from their debut, I think I am in love with ‘In Love’.
Fausto EP Review Words: Andrew Hammond | Picture: Liam Evans Suffice it to say that it’s unusual to see a record that has more tracks on it than minutes of play. However, Cheltenham’s newest devil may care punk outfit, Fausto, have produced one of the most unique and refreshing albums to emerge from the local music scene in quite some time. Fausto contains the usual ingredients for a loud and intrusive punk band, but they take a step away from the norm by writing music for nothing else but fun. There’s no underlying message to be found in their lyrics, examples of which include: “Ow, you punched me in the shin. Why’d you punch me there?” Their nonsensical words add to the undeniably entertaining character of Fausto, where the decision to make short, good songs in abundance, has paid off brilliantly. The band are unrelenting both on record, and on stage. You may barely notice a song close before another begins, making their debut release an exhausting pleasure to listen to. The full Fausto experience can only be discovered upon seeing them live though, so I implore you to support a local outfit as they continue to redefine what it means to be a punk band, regardless of their own insistence that Fausto suck.
May GIG LISTINGS
Cheltenham
01/05/2013 01/05/2013
The Bayshill Art Gallery
Gordon Wood Triple Sec
20:30 20:00
02/05/2013 02/05/2013
ZiZi Montpellier Brasserie
Peter Nemesvari Swing From Paris
19:00 TBC
03/05/2013 03/05/2013 03/05/2013 03/05/2013 03/05/2013
2pigs The London Inn The United Services The Royal The Cotswold
JUDDER! The Bridge Tubby Blues Club Kim Cypher Quartet Stressechoes
22:00 21:00 20:00 21:00 21:00
04/05/2013 04/05/2013 04/05/2013 04/05/2013 04/05/2013
2pigs The Daffodil Montpellier Gardens The Bayshill Albion House
Cynotia & I The Lion Alex Hutton Trio Steve Franks Trio Over The Hill Echoes
20:00 12:30 13:30 21:00 20:45
05/05/2013 05/05/2013 05/05/2013
Montpellier Gardens Albion House The Exmouth
Indigo Kings Phat and Funky JB2
13:30 14:30 12:00
06/05/2013 The Wheatsheaf 06/05/2013 Montpellier Gardens 06/05/2013 Royal Union 06/05/2013 The Daffodil
Profoundly Blue Roving Crows Steve Franks John Paul Gard Hammond Trio
All Day 18:30 20:00 20:00
07/05/2013
Royal Union
Steve Franks
20:00
09/05/2013
ZiZi
Peter Nemesvari
19:00
10/05/2013 10/05/2013 10/05/2013
The Exmouth London Inn Beaufort Arms
The Revue Mike Maddams Cheltenham Folk Club
21:00 21:00 20:00
11/05/2013 The Daffodil 11/05/2013 Charlton Kings Club 11/05/2013 The Bayshill 11/05/2013 Albion House 11/05/2013 2pigs
Dom Franks Steamroller Otis Mack & The Tubby Bluesters So 80’s Me! Me! Me’s?
12:30 21:00 21:00
12/05/2013
Paul Jeyes
14:00
Albion House
20:00 20:00
May GIG LISTINGS 13/05/2013 13/05/2013
Royal Union The Daffodil
Steve Franks Roy Forbes Quartet
20:00 20:00
14/05/2013
Royal Union
Steve Franks
20:00
15/05/2013 15/05/2013
Food & Drink Festival The Bayshill
Indigo Kings Bayshill Jam
TBC 21:00
16/05/2013
ZiZi
Peter Nemesvari
19:00
17/05/2013 17/05/2013 17/05/2013 17/05/2013
London Inn SoundMusicVenue Tithe Barn 2pigs
Cody Allstars Dub Band Ramrods Wasted
21:00 21:00 20:00 20:00
18/05/2013 18/05/2013 18/05/2013 18/05/2013 18/05/2013
The Cotswold The Exmouth Arms Albion House The Daffodil 2pigs
Steamroller Soul Remedy Ramrods Feliks Tabis Trio Broken Jaw
21:00 21:00 20:00 12:30 20:00
19/05/2013
Albion House
Them Two
14:30
20/05/2013 Royal Union 20/05/2013 The Daffodil
Steve Franks Tori Handsleys Jazz Harp Experience
20:00 20:00
21/05/2013
Royal Union
Steve Franks
20:00
22/05/2013
The Bayshill
Bayshill Jam
21:00
23/05/2013
ZiZi
Peter Nemesvari
19:00
24/05/2013 24/05/2013
The Bayshill Beaufort Arms
Kim Cypher Quartet Cheltenham Folk Club
21:00 20:00
25/05/2013 25/05/2013 25/05/2013 25/05/2013 25/05/2013
Albion House Beaufort Arms The Daffodil The Exmouth Arms 2pigs
Over The Hill Live Music Steve Franks Trio John D’Ambrosio Carmen
20:45 21:00 12:30 21:00 20:00
26/05/2013 26/05/2013 26/05/2013
The Playhouse Silverstar Albion House David Clifford Reddings Community Centre Bohemia & Jo Silver
19:00 14:30 20:00
27/05/2013 27/05/2013
Royal Union The Daffodil
20:00 20:00
Steve Franks Josephine Arthur Quartet
May GIG LISTINGS 28/05/2013 Norwood Arms 28/05/2013 Royal Union 28/05/2013 The Exmouth
Norwood Jam Steve Franks Bex & Franks Latin Salsa Night
20:30 20:00 20:00
30/05/2013 30/05/2013
ZiZi The Wheatsheaf
Peter Nemesvari Wheatsheaf Jam Night
19:00 20:00
31/05/2013
The Greatfield
Over The Hill
21:00
Gaz Brookfield
21:00
Gloucester
01/05/2013
Café Rene
03/05/2013 Guildhall 03/05/2013 Café Rene 03/05/2013 Wotton Hall 03/05/2013 The Brunswick
Larry Miller Band 19:30 The Worried Men 23:00 The Former Members 19:30 present Monterey Festival 1967 Revisited Venus Mountains 20:00
04/05/2013 04/05/2013 04/05/2013
The Brunswick Walls Club Music Lounge
Me! Me! Me’s? T.Rextasy Stereo Influence
20:00 20:30 20:00
08/05/2013
Café Rene
Hannah Faulkner
21:00
10/05/2013 10/05/2013
Café Rene The Brunswick
Rickshaw Bride St Pierre Snake Invasion
23:00 20:00
11/05/2013 11/05/2013
The Brunswick Music Lounge
Hellbound Guy Challenger
20:00 20:00
12/05/2013 Guildhall 12/05/2013 The Docks
Canary Swing Emily J Mew, Peter N & Paul Newman
19:00 12:00
13/05/2013
Guildhall
Folk Unplugged
20:00
15/05/2013
Café Rene
The Richard O’Brien Project 21:00
17/05/2013 17/05/2013
Guildhall Café Rene
Teenage Cancer Trust Fest 18:00 Demob 23:00
18/05/2013 18/05/2013 18/05/2013
The Brunswick Robinswood Hill Club Music Lounge
Isolation Rockology Former Friends
20:00 21:00 20:00
21/05/2013
Guildhall
Musiclab
19:30
May GIG LISTINGS 22/05/2013
Café Rene
Funkie & The Two Tone Baby 21:00
24/05/2013
Café Rene
Missin Rosie
23:00
25/05/2013 25/05/2013 25/05/2013
The Brunswick Ridge & Furrow Music Lounge
Goldsboro Rockology The Drawing of the Three
20:00 21:00 20:00
26/05/2013
Guildhall
Scott Ian
19:30
28/05/2013
Guildhall
The Skints
19:30
29/05/2013
Café Rene
Dan Hartland
21:00
Tewkesbury
03/05/2013
Cross Keys
Junction 7
21:00
05/05/2013
Croft Farm
Roving Crows
20:00
08/05/2013
Theoc House
Indigo Kings
20:30
10/05/2013
Croft Farm
Reloaded
21:00
12/05/2013
White Bear
Rick Chase
16:00
18/05/2013
Croft Farm
Occassionally Big Band
21:00
19/05/2013
White Bear
Sax Appeal
16:00
29/05/2013
Theoc House
Jo Silver & Café Boho
20:00
Cinderford
04/05/2013
Miners Hall
The Banned
21:00
05/05/2013
Miners Hall
Steve Marsden
21:00
10/05/2013
Miners Hall
Kenny James
21:00
11/05/2013
Miners Hall
Guitarman 56
21:00
19/05/2013
Miners Hall
Phil Denton
21:00
25/05/2013
Soldiers & Sailors
Sax Appeal
21:15
26/05/2013
May GIG LISTINGS Miiners Hall
John Dale
21:00
10/05/2013
Queen Vic
Kickback
21:00
16/05/2013 18/05/2013
Brunel Goods Yard Building Jazz Jam
21:00
Sub Rooms
Lady Sings the Blues
19:30
25/05/2013
Sub Rooms
The Blockheads
19:30
25/05/2013
Crown & Sceptre
Allstars Dub Band
21:00
31/05/2013
Sub Rooms
Friday Night Live
20:00
03/05/2013
Royal George
Aiden Moore
21:00
17/05/2013
Royal George
Greg Winters
21:00
24/05/2013
Royal George
Scott Vallance
21:00
31/05/2013
Royal George
Damsons Sky Duo
21:00
Stroud
Birdlip
Winchcombe
07/05/2013 07/05/2013
White Hart Corner Cupboard
Folk Club Bluegrass Session
20:00 21:00
23/05/2013
Corner Cupboard
Song Session
21:00
Whitecroft
03/05/2013
Royal Oak
Kickback
21:00
06/05/2013
Miners Arms
Club Django
20:00
Sax N Axe
17:00
Conderton
24/05/2013
Yew Tree
May GIG LISTINGS Festivals 1st-6th
Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Cheltenham Town Hall
5th
Angelfest
The Angel Coleford
24th-26th
Lechlade Music Festival
Lechlade
25th
Rene:Gade Festival
Café Rene Gloucester
26th
Tall Ships Festivals
Gloucester Docks
31st-2nd
Wychwood Festival
Racecourse Cheltenham
Open Mic Nights
Tuesday Tuesday
St Paul’s Tavern, Cheltenham Salisbury Inn, Cheltenham
Wednesday Cross Keys, Gloucester Wednesday Norwood Arms, Cheltenham
If you want your gig in MAG email us: musicatglos@gmail.com
Thursday Thursday Thursday
The Strand Bar, Cheltenham Hogs Head, Cheltenham The Restoration, Cheltenham
Friday Friday
Royal George Hotel, Cheltenham Gardners Arms, Tewkesbury
Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday
Royal Union, Cheltenham The Cotswold Inn, Cheltenham Under the Edge Arts, Wotton Under Edge Walls Country & Western Club, Gloucester Fat Tony’s Jam Session, Somerset Arms, Cheltenham Sound Music Venue, Cheltenham
W
ant to contribute? We like listings, reviews, editorial, previews, pictures, art, cartoons and would like to fill these pages with things you care about. We‘d love to hear about anything to do with live music in the county really and can help with anything from promoting you here to getting you reviewed, played on student and local radio, putting you in touch with venues, musicians and artists across the county and just about anything else you can think of! Want to advertise? Put your gig posters in with the MAG for distribution? Ask what our favourite kind of ham is? You can contact Amelia – musicatglos@gmail.com MAG Editor Amelia Scognamiglio | Cover Design Robbie Pert | Listings Contributor Ollie West | Staff Writers Fabio Thomas, Andrew Hammond, Tom of 10 Minute Reviews & Dan Gutteridge| Thanks to all the people who contributed to issue TWENTY EIGHT of MAG, special thanks (again) goes to Robbie Pert for designing the awesome covers and to Andrew Lansley for continuing to support MAG and everything musical in Gloucestershire| All work remains property of the original owner, used with permission. Reproduction in whole or any part (especially the listings) of this fanzine would be awesome as it’s great to spread the word people, just make sure you credit the fanzine.