Beer & Records Zine Issue 2 / November 2021

RDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS

A View From Overseas with Proper.

Meet Merakai Brewing Co Take A Sip with Jamie Lenman Get To Know Tree River Discover Oxford’s Tasty Eats!

ORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS

BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & REC

BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECORDS BEER & RECO

#issue 2 | 2021

Four months have absolutely flown by and so many things have happened since the last issue!

On the label side we’ve had a string of new signing announcements - welcome Creeper guitarist Ian Miles, Portland, Maine’s Weakened Friends, indie/ punks Church Girls and Brooklyn’s Tree River to the BSM Family - and new albums from the first two plus We Were Promised Jetpacks.

EDITOR & DESIGNER Josie Faulkner COVER PHOTO BY Kev Douch (mural by Ill Wookie) CONTRIBUTORS Erik Garlington, Lucy Evers

Back in September we opened the doors to our Brighton Popup and a lovely time was had by all.

We definitely lucked out with the weather and even managed to take a dip in the sea, while instores from Delta Sleep, ME REX, Orchards, Katie Malco, The Xcerts and Lakes kept us entertained throughout the week.

HUGE THANKS TO Charlene Hegarty, Awesome Merch, Tree River, Merakai Brewing Co, Jamie Lenman, Orchards, Erik Garlington, Proper., Ffin Colley, Gemma Hefferon-Douch, Kev Douch, Unbarred Brewery ADVERTISING To find out how Beer & Records zine could work for your brand or to enquire about advertising contact josie@bsmrocks.com

At the Social Club in Oxford we’ve had a bit of a re-model, including a fabulous mural added to the walls by our good friend Ill Wookie. We’re gearing up for a spooktacular Halloween party at the shop, as well as some festive things happening towards the end of the year.

BIG SCARY MONSTERS IS: Kev Douch, Dave Owen, Connor Laws, Josie Faulkner, Katie Malcolmson

In this issue Jamie Lenman visits the BSM Social Club and picks his fave non-alcoholic drinks and records, we chat to Merakai Brewing Co who are doing beer a little differently, and we take a look behind the scenes of the music business with New Pagans manager Charlene Hegarty.

@bsmrocks / bsmrocks.com BIG SCARY MONSTERS SOCIAL CLUB IS: Kev Douch, Gemma Hefferon-Douch, Ffin Colley, Leigh Shorter, Holly Chadwick, Will Smith @bsmsocialclub / bsmsocialclub.com

Don’t forget to check out our In The Spotlight playlist and our Beer & Records series on YouTube.

Printed by Awesome Merchandise

Enjoy!

Our new mural by Ill Wookie

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Tree River

In This Issue 6. A View From Overseas

Erik from Brooklyn punks Proper. takes us through his favourite breweries and tunes from the United States.

9. Merkai Brewing Co.

Take a look at one of the south coasts newest breweries with a difference - striving to bring equality and diversity to the arts and beer!

Jamie Lenman Photo: Helen Messenger

12. Getting To Know Tree River Meet BSMs newest signing Tree River!

14. Take A Sip

Jamie Lenman pairs beers & records in the BSM Social Club.

17. Oxford’s Indie Eats

Have a look at some of the socials clubs recommendations for some local grub around Oxford.

18. Get These In Your Ears Top new vinyl variants for the rest of year in 2021.

Merakai Brewing Co.

20. Behind The Scenes

Charlene Hegarty shares how she got into the industry, managing bands and Northern Ireland scene.

23. One For The Road

Lucy Evers from Brighton’s Orchards tells us her fave tour stories.

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Charlene Hegarty Photo: Rachel McCarthy

A View From Overseas

Erik Garlington - Proper.

Vocalist and guitar extraordinaire of Brooklyn punks Proper., Erik Garlington, takes us on a short stop tour of his favourite beers and breweries from the big ole US of A. It seems Erik has a palette for the sours and damn right knows his stuff about beers - he could give the Social Club a run for their money!

but especially something sour preferably in the summer months.

Honorable Mention: Extra Dry, a sake inspired saison ale. If you can get the opportunity to try this beer, you’re in for a treat.

The next spot on my list is Brooklyn Brewery, a local favorite that you can find “I’m going to start this column off by just about everywhere in the city. saying something controversial: I don’t Because sometimes you don’t need like IPAs or dark beers. I know, I know. a bougie beer, ya know? This is a I was raised to be very unlikeable. Let’s good one for when you want a good, just move past it. You good? Okay, middle of the road beer, so you don’t good. Today I’m going to write about have time to be in the middle of a my favorite sour beers because, well, Whole Foods frantically googling, that’s the best kind of beer.

“What is a muscrat grape?” in front

My favorite brewery of all of your beer snob friends. Their Bel Levadura by Stillwater Artisanal time is this great spot out of Baltimore, Air Sour is so good and tart that MD called Stillwater Artisanal. As you just might fuck around and end the name suggests, they get creative with it, up with a whole six pack to yourself when your concocting an insane variety of beer with fun friends/bandmates (Looking at you specifically, ingredients you don’t often see in your run of the Elijah) don’t like it. They probably won’t let you mill grocery store or bodega. There’s this amazing pick the beer next time but, hey, little victories sour called Levadura, brewed with sea salt and right? lime that sparked my interest in sours. It’s that Pair with: good! I’d originally heard of the company when Just Married by Glocca Morra pairs well when Action Bronson, an amazing chef turned rapper, drinking this one in the winter, on the beach at released a limited edition sour ale brewed with 2AM. It just hits different. muscrat grapes.

Honorable Mention: Brooklyn Lager. It’s just the Pair with: Brooklyn Brewery beer that every bar has. Many Prince Charming by Bronson is the perfect track great nights have started with a Brooklyn Lager to pair with just about any beer on their roster, and a shot of tequila.

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In The Spotlight Ffin Colley

Brooklyn Lager & Bel Air Sour by Brooklyn Brewery

“It’s a great kick off to the world of beer and learning that there’s more to it than overpriced Budweiser at a baseball game with your dad.”

BEERS! We love ‘em, we love all of them. Every single last delicious drop, but some delicious drops linger in my big blonde barnet longer than others. The most recent of which is the motherfuckin RAVE

by Abyss. Mango & Raspberry sour, bloody delicious. It’s sweet, it’s juicy it lets ya get loosey.

All of my favourite things.

And for my final brewery, we’re going all the way to the beginning for me, where I turned 21 and took my first brewery tour: Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, MO. I hadn’t begun drinking sours back then, but recently I discovered their Show Me Sour Ale, their take on a Whiskey sour, but in beer form. They go the extra mile for this beer with dehusked Boulevard Wheat from Boulevard Brewery black malts and even aging the beer in whiskey barrels. If you find yourself traveling through Kansas City, I can’t recommend getting a brewery tour enough.

Pair with: This one right here is good for rooftop hangs.

There’s probably some ignorant trap shit playing, maybe some grimey R&B thrown in there for good measure. Thursday by The Weeknd is definitely on rotation while I’m drinking this one.

Honorable Mention: Boulevard Show Me Sour Ale from Boulevard Brewery Wheat. This is the OG beer for me personally. It’s a great kick off to the world of beer and learning that there’s more to it than overpriced Budweiser at a baseball game with your dad.

I think one of my favourite new bands I’ve come across from our stock is Other Half. Their record BIG TWENTY is so bloody hard, pulls together all my favourite elements of post hardcore, shoe gaze and punk into one great big screamy soup. It rocks and I love them and I can’t wait to see it live.

Check out our In The Spotlight playlist - perfect to accompany your favourite tipple

That’s it for me, I hope you found this column enjoyable and didn’t tune out the second I slandered IPAs. As always, drink responsibly and preferably with people you at least half way like.

It’s been real!

Want to try Abyss?

We’ve got you. Head to bsmsocialclub.com or visit in store!

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Merakai Brewing Co. Bringing collective equality to brewing

Merakai Brewing Co. are making beers with a little bit of a difference. With a focus just as much on what’s on the outside of the can as inside, Merakai built themselves from the ground up on the foundations of equality and taste — working alongside artists and local charities to really make a difference within the community. We had a chat with owner Emma O’Neill-Parsons and Olly Parsons to find out more about their collective.

Tell me a little about why you started Merakai?

(Emma) We started Merakai out of a need to create something with meaning and we wanted to put a bit of good out into the world. I had a dream 10 years ago that we’d do our own thing, I just didn’t know it would be owning a brewery and making beer. Olly’s progression from home brewer to professional brewer was really quick. He homebrewed for a few years, approached our local brewery asking for work, Arundel hired him for work experience and brought him on full time soon after. I saw what he could do and the reaction to his beers and then it clicked, and here we are.

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What does Merakai do (aside from brewing beers)?

(Olly) “We promote inclusion and diversity and try in our own way to highlight human issues that affect our community. We also like to support artists by giving them the opportunity to express themselves by using our label as a canvas.”

(Emma) “Merakai Brewing CO. is built on the foundations of Community, Equality and Taste.

It’s really important to us that we are being active and supporting causes we believe in, using the platforms we have to promote others’ work and support antiracism, LGBTQ+ organisations and stigma surrounding mental health.”

Who are some of your favourite collaborations with and why?

(Olly) “Our first and only collab (to date) has been the Strawberry Frose with the Strawracha Hop’T Sauce. Hop’T sauces are amazing and Sammi Marwan (owner) is just a lovely human.”

(Emma) “We did a non-beer

related collab for the release of our Helles ‘How’s Your Head Hun?’ the beer was created as a conversation starter, and a reminder to check in. We did a month-long mental health campaign that featured activities, fundraising and conversations with some amazing people in our community, we also raised a great amount for our local mental health charity Worthing Mind too.”

How have you overcome those challenges to now growing to a brewery with multiple beers out there?

(Emma) “By building relationships with amazing retailers (thanks BSM), we know the beer is excellent, it was just a case of getting into people’s hands as quickly as possible.”

(Olly) “We have the brewery space by pure luck. We bought a second hand 10BBL kit in What challenges did you face September (2020 before we when you first started the launched) with the hope that brewery? we’d find a place. We spent (Emma) “There were a few, months looking and nothing came starting during a pandemic (we up, the brewery I was working launched at the end of November for moved out of their rented 2020). Olly decided to launch industrial unit and we chanced it, with a DIPA (which cost us a they accepted us, and here we fortune as we did contract are. Where we are now comes brewing). We had a couple of down to a combination of hard local retail contacts, but that was work and luck.” it, it was a giant leap of faith, and we hit the ground running. As I What are your favourite kind of said, I’d been preparing for us to beers to make and why? do this for a couple of years, we (Olly) “Our latest fruited gose, had an understanding of what the Strawberry Frose - We Like we needed to do but sales were You Berry Much - I’d not made looking scary when pubs and the style of beer before, but it shops were shutting daily.” turned out pretty good!”

What are your top two beers in your collection at the moment?

(Emma) “I enjoyed the Helles ‘How’s Your Head Hun?’, and the Frose ‘We Like You Berry Much’ which is unusual for me, as I normally like stouts, imps and belgian style beer.”

(Olly) “Agree, the Frose ‘We Like You Berry Much’ and our NE IPA ‘We’re Connected Aren’t We?’ because they are styles I like to drink personally.”

You’ve also released a hot sauce!

Why did you pick a hot sauce?

(Olly) “Sammi (owner of Hop’T sauce) came to us with the idea that he wanted to do his first beer and sauce collab. Of course we said yes as I mentioned before his sauce is great and we 10

“

We also seemed to get in ahead of the crowd too, we’re seeing a lot of brewery and hot sauce collabs at the moment, which is great...” love hot sauce. You can have it on anything! We also seemed to get in ahead of the crowd too, we’re seeing a lot of brewery and hot sauce collabs at the moment, which is great.”

We hear on the grapevine that you’re also in the process of building your brewery site. Tell us more about that.

(Emma) “Yep, we already did.

We’ve been in our location since May, and will be opening up for intimate brewery tours and tastings that we’re super excited about!”

(Olly) “It’s great, my kit is in, I did the Frose in this brewery.

We’re really happy to be here.

Come down and see us if you’re in the area! Check out our site to book and stuff.”

(Emma) “As it’s our first year we’re focussed on putting out great beers and getting to know and grow our community (shout out to the Merakai Collective). If the past two years have taught What other exciting plans do you us anything, you can have plans have in the works that you can and they can change overnight so tell me about? we’re trying to keep it simple and (Olly) “Only that we’ve got some do the best we can.” amazing collabs coming up towards the end of the year that Want to find out more we can’t talk about but they are about Marakai Brewing Co? really exciting and we can’t wait Check them out online at for you to see what is coming.” merakaibrewing.com.

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Getting to know

tree river

Get to know the newest additions to the BSM roster, Brooklyn’s Tree River.

Brooklyn four-piece Tree River have been a band for over a decade, but their name is criminally only just reaching our shores. Unsurprising really when they admit to writing songs for themselves and never trying to promote themselves. With a knack for big, bright, rollicking hooks, if it’s gargantuan pop-rock songs you’re after, then look no further.

ever heard over my songs and increasingly we started writing together. Then in 2012, I moved back to DC with another girl (who also dumped me a year later) and reunited with Phil who still lived there. We turned Tree River into a real band with Phil as the other main member and made a record called Inward which was mainly based on those songs. We moved to New York a couple years after that and the rest is history.

Tree River has been a band since 2010 - tell us how you first started?

Trevor Friedman (vocals/guitar): Phil (Cohen, vocals/guitar) and I met on Facebook in Summer 2006 before starting at the same university in Washington, DC. We bonded over music and started sending each other every single shitty little song we’d ever made. But I moved to LA two years later to chase a girl (who dumped me a year after that) so our musical collaboration kind of went on hiatus for a bit. Around 2010, I started making psychedelic, escapist folk songs under the name Tree River, which was a play on the name Trevor. Phil started writing the coolest leads I’d

How would you describe your music to someone that has never listened to you before?

Phil: Generally speaking, we’re shooting for colorful, loud, and super polished songs that try to evoke and synthesize elements from all our favorite rock music of the past 30 years, whether that’s a really technical, satisfying guitar lead or a hooky chorus melody that sounds weirdly familiar in some deep crevice of the listener’s subconscious. There’s a lot of dynamic range and variety in our sound, so we’ll go from heavy to mathy to tender to enormous. We love an over-the-top, massive, epic outro. But we 12

a band. We love pretty much every single musician they’ve worked with and even just sitting alongside them on the website’s roster of acts is super surreal and exciting.

How has your musical style evolved over the years?

Trevor: Our producer Kevin Dye once told us that he thought our stylistic arc is different than a lot of other bands. Their records usually start out poppy and super accessible, and as they get older and more established, they begin to make music that is weirder and less user-friendly. For us, our older albums were definitely more shaggy and cerebral and as time’s gone on, our lyrics have gotten pretty emotionally streamlined, our melodies are more memorable, and our sound, in large part because of working with Kevin, has gotten bigger and more refined.

try to prevent our albums from sounding like straight up mixtapes by having a very consistent authorial voice, of which the main hallmarks are warmth, emotional honesty, and really intricately constructed lyrics.

What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced since starting the band?

Trevor: Basically, we’ve always sucked at marketing and promoting ourselves. It just wasn’t ever our forté or something we enjoyed and, as a result, we never had many fans outside of friends and friends of friends. We spent a lot of time writing and recording our first 2 records but at that time, we viewed the band as more of a studio project without many expectations so when it came time to actually get people to listen, we probably didn’t do as much as we could have.

Starting with our EP Garden, it started to feel like we were really doing a disservice to the music by not hustling for listeners, which is why it’s been great to work with our beloved manager/publicist Jamie Colletta and Big Scary Monsters, who are all about (and quite good at) getting us in front of as many people as possible.

What has been a pivotal or most memorial moment for Tree River’s career so far?

Phil: Honestly, hearing that Big Scary Monsters, a label we’ve been huge fans of for years and years, liked our music and wanted to sign us was just about the biggest “whoa!” moment we’ve had as

What are some of your influences?

Phil: We love bands that can put out records that simultaneously feel really specific and kind of sonically all over the place, like Say Anything and Weatherbox. We’re also constantly chasing the absolutely massive production style of bands like Jimmy Eat World and blink-182, which becomes a fun and sometimes maddening exercise when we realize we have 1/20th of their studio budgets to try and do it. And also the Van Wilder soundtrack.

You’ve got quite a lot of nature related themes on your re-released EP ‘Garden’. Can you tell me more about what drew you to these themes?

Trevor: Nature-related themes have always been a huge part of our songs. Our first album Inward literally starts and ends with the sounds of a campfire and has song titles that feel very much rooted in the earth, like Riverbed and Rose.

Whereas a lot of the lyrics on our second album Dark Matter dealt with space and the sky, so we ended up with songs like Skybound and Sunrise.

And the EP is called Garden because it’s all about growth and coming of age. Even the name Tree River is itself a nature-based metaphor. I’ve also done a lot of psychedelics in forests and deserts so I’m sure that’s played a part.

What’s next for Tree River?

Phil: We have lots of new music that Big Scary Monsters is going to start rolling out in a few weeks that we’re really excited to get out into the world. We’re also looking forward to playing shows again, now that that seems to be something bands are actually doing. We’ve been performing for piles of stuffed animals for the last year and a half and it isn’t quite the same.

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Take A Sip Photo by Helen Messenger

with Jamie Lenman

Having been busy putting together his Separation Event back in May of this year - and glorious Audiotree live stream that saw Jamie Lenman perform hits new and old alongside pals from Ithaca, False Advertising and Black Peaks, we managed to knuckle down the man himself to pay the BSM Social Club a visit back in May to pick out his favourite records and pair them with drinks from the non-alcoholic range!

“There’s lots of my buddies in here! What you sayin?” he exclaims pulling out Weezer’s Green album, “I mean at the time we were disappointed, we didn’t know how good we had it did we?

Obviously strong love. Now this is a beautiful record so it’s the first one I’ll pick, Delta Sleep’s Ghost City. [It’s] beautiful and look at that artwork as well!

“I went to see At The Drive In and Jim, I think, the guitarist was like “Go out, have fun, and buy a 14

record just coz you like the cover” and I was like “yeah!” And I went out and I bought a record by a band called Fur because the cover looked great.

And the album was not so good. So thanks Jim from At The Drive In for nothing. You did play a sick show though!” Lenman muses while flicking through the record boxes. “...You know what, I never got into Thrice. John Pierce from Reuben is always telling me about Thrice and how much he loves them and I should give them a go. Now Tigercub? They’re my boys! I’m gonna pick this one for my records as well, yes indeedy.

“This record!” he shouts, picking up The Offspring’s album, “Americana meant you got beaten up slightly less at school coz now rock and roll was in the charts. Like the day before Pretty White Guy comes out I was getting noogied and swirlied and shit, then the next day they were giving me the old man’s chair.” he says quizzicaly expecting everyone to know what an old man’s

going to take this sombrero gentle person (Club Mate).

- The Taste Test “So my first record here is Evolve or Die by Tigercub. This hit me like a tonne of bricks back in the day. I love that main track and in fact I did go and sing it with them at their show. It was weird I met them down in Brighton anyway or at least I’d met Jimmy they’re all called Jimmy right? There’s Jim, Jimmy and James and then I’m Jim aswell (Jamie): they said do you want to come and sing it at one of our shows and I was like “yes please.” To pair Tigercub I’m gonna go with Club Mate because they are my mates, Club Mate with club mates. So that’s these guys.

Get them together.

“Americana meant you got beaten up slightly less at school coz now rock and roll was in the charts”

“And then for Delta Sleep... I think I met these guys once upon a time. I saw them at ATG (ArcTanGent Festival), they were brilliant and then Kev gave me a copy of this record.

Beautiful! [A] beautiful record and I’ve mentioned the artwork as well because you know I make all the artwork for my records and it means, well apart from that really good one...” he points to the record shelves behind him, “Someone else did that one, but it’s a great opportunity. Look at all this space. You have all this space to fill, what are you gonna do with it? Great. I think it’s beautiful and I’m gonna pair this with the cherry soda because of the colours.

chair is. “It sounded like a sexual disease but it’s actually pretty pleasant. Here we go, this is what I’m talking about, The Last Splash (by The Breeders).” he kisses cover of the LP. “What a shame, now you can’t sell it and you’ll have to give it to me haha! Right let’s get some beers.

I tell you what, these are colourful beers. What I like is a beer specifically marketed towards children. I don’t drink but if I did I’d probably go for one with a cartoon on right. I like rhymes as well. Cartoons and rhymes and bright colours, that’s how to get me to start a serious habit. But for a dude that makes a living drawing cartoons that makes a lot of sense right? I don’t think I’ve ever drawn a beer label. I must have at some point but I drew a beer tankard.

And then let’s talk about The Last Splash.

This record blew my mind. When you’re a kid everyone gets into Nirvana right? And everyone listens to all the bands that Kurt Cobain likes.” he laughs. “But The Breeders actually did not disappoint and you heard Cannonball? You go into this record thinking “ah it’s all gonna be like Cannonball”, but no

“I like a bit of cherry (Soda Folk Cherry Soda) and this person looks appealing and I do like a cola (Soda Folk Cola) so I’m going to take that and I’m 15

In The Spotlight

Gemma Hefferon-Douch

We are very excited to be stocking Only With Love - lemon kombucha. Founded in 2020 ( in lockdown #1 & #2), all of their products are vegan and organic, as well as being ethically sourced and sustainably produced. If you’ve ever tried kombucha you know they’re not all made equal - it’s a bit like beer in that respect, everyone makes it differently. So if you’ve tried one and didn’t like it - that doesn’t mean you don’t like kombucha. It just means you didn’t like that one :)

“Cartoons and rhymes and bright colours, that’s how to get me to start a serious habit.” it is not. It is a weird trip and I listen to this on repeat. I had to do some GCSE coursework and I had to stay up from 8am to 8am the next day and I developed a large migraine and I listened to The Breeders The Last Splash on repeat and that created a bonding experience for me and The Last Splash and I was also drinking cola. So that’s why I’m gonna pair the cola with The Last Splash. Big love for all these records particularly this one, me and this record go back a long long way.

“So that’s what I’m gonna be slurping whilst I listen to these records. You can come down to BSM Social Club, you might buy the copy that I’ve cuddled. Can we get a bigger price on that? This ain’t even got a price. Ratchet it up!”

Over to the records... Well, this time I have to give Martha a shout out. I can’t even pick one album - they’re all amazing! They’re a pop band from Durham, full of great riffs and brilliant lyrics which will get you instantly hooked and before long you’ll be singing along. So I would recommend giving them a listen for sure!

Check out our In The Spotlight playlist - perfect to accompany your favourite tipple Want to try Only With Love?

We’ve got you. Head to bsmsocialclub.com or visit in store!

Watch the full video on Big Scary Monsters YouTube channel!

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Oxford’s Indie Eats

Discover some delicious eats from around Oxford

Instagram: @phillysburgeruk

Instagram: @tastetibet

Taste Tibet

Philly’s Burger

109 Magdalen Rd, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1RQ

71 St Clement’s St, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1AH

Taste Tibet offer up a delicious experience of Himalayan cuisine in Cowley. They have also teamed up with Oxford Mutual Aid’s Kitchen Collective serving cooked meals to those in need.

With vegan options available, this place is the perfect quick eat if you’re off to a show or just visiting!

Who doesn’t love a burger? If it’s beef, chicken or vegan patties you’re after then Philly’s Burger has you covered. Located in St Clements, just a short walk from Cowley Road, this place is a great treat and exactly what you need to cure a sore head!

Instagram: @ greenroutescafe

Instagram: @bigsociety

Green Routes

Big Society

39 Magdalen Rd, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1RB

95 Cowley Rd, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1HR

Green Routes is a delightful cafe serving up locally roasted coffee, a plant based brunch menu (by Greenbox Food Co.) and has a great selection of craft beer and wines. Brunch is served seven days a week, but we particularly love this place on a Saturday morning, and the prices are pretty decent too for some vegan grub!

Situated across the road from the BSM Social Club, Big Society, or Big Soc as the locals call it, is a great place for drinks and food. With an American diner style menu - the mac and cheese is to die for) and lots of craft beers on tap, we definitely recommend a stop here if you’re in town!

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Get These In Your Ears Upcoming Releases & Variants

October November December 2021

The year is drawing to a close but that doesn’t mean that the new releases stop coming! There’s so much good stuff out in Autumn 2021, or yet to be released, and we’ve hand-picked a few of our favourites that we’ve managed to get our hands on in the Big Scary Monsters Social Club. Choice cuts come from our old pals Minus The Bear, Pet Symmetry, illuminati hotties, Explosions In The Sky and Spiritbox, and our very own Orchards, Church Girls, Weakened Friends and Ian Miles.

Visit bsmsocialclub.com for more info.

Explosions In The Sky - Big Bend Explosions In The Sky Music Variant: Sky Blue

We Were Promised Jetpacks Enjoy The View Big Scary Monsters Variant: Black

Pet Symmetry - Future Suits Storm Chasers Variant: Clear

Spiritbox - Eternal Blue Rise Records Variant: White/Blue Splatter

Quicksand - Distant Populations Epitaph Variant:Red/Yellow Splatter

Church Girls - Still Blooms Big Scary Monsters Variant: Frosted Clear

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes-Sticky Superchunk - Here’s To Shutting Up AWAL Merge Records Variant: Blue/Red Splatter Variant: Orange 18

Courtney Barnett Things Take Time, Take Time Milk! Records Variant: Blue

Skindred - Roots Rock Riot Earache Records Variant: Yello/Black Splatter

Orchards - Trust Issues Big Scary Monsters Variant: Eco Mix

Biffy Clyro- The Myth of The Happily Ever After Variant: Red

AA Williams - arco Bella Union Variant: White/Purple

Weakened Friends - Quitter Big Scary Monsters Variant: Green

Mogwai - As The Love Continues Rock Action Records Variant: Gold

Every Time I Die - Radical Epitaph Variant: Neon Violet

Ian Miles - Degradation, Death, Decay Big Scary Monsters Variant: White/Black Galaxy

Minus The Bear - Farewell Suicide Squeeze Records Variant: Grey

Thrice - Horizons / East Epitaph Variant: Neon Yellow / Neon Violet

IlluminatiHotties-LetMeDoOneMore Snack Shack Tracks Variant: Neon Yellow

Delta Sleep - Spring Island Sofa Boy Records Variant: Pink

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Behind The Scenes Photos by Rachel McCarthy

Managing bands with Charlene Hegarty We asked music management extraordinaire Kinch show to a Machine Head show to a P!NK Charlene Hegarty to take us behind the scenes show. I got my first official opportunity to ‘work’ of her experience of the music industry. Starting in the industry by accident - my mum had been out at 17, she has worked on some impressive overheard talking about me and her concerns projects in Northern Ireland, smashing a PR that my music interest was going nowhere as I campaign for Tom Waits and now wasn’t a musician myself. The guy “The feeling you get who overheard her ran a company works with some of the best bands coming out of the scene, including as a music fan at a live who did PR in Ireland for Anti, New Pagans! and Curb Records. He show, it’s like nothing Epitaph was a maverick so got me onboard else. I think that’s Take us back to the beginning…. and I worked my ass off on every my drug.” how did your career start in the random project he would throw at music industry? me including doing PR for the Tom “I got started when I was 17. I had been going to Waits Real Gone record in 2004. That one was gigs regularly ahead of that - I was obsessed with mad, but only upon reflection, at the time I just live music and I would cascade from a Soweto took it and ran and thankfully it worked out and 20

Tom was on the cover of everything and on the radio good and plenty. It was a buzz.”

are our own cottage industry, DIY or die - it’s cool.”

What do you love about the music business?

“The feeling you get as a music fan at a live show, it’s like nothing else. I think that’s my drug.”

What are some of your favourite projects you’ve worked on?

“I am so proud to have released Human by Kitt Philippa, The Seed, The Vessel, The Roots and All

by New Pagans and Ancestor by The Darkling Air - I work with each of these artists because of the profound effect their music has on me as a music fan above all else.”

What frustrates you the most about it?

“It breaks hearts.”

In 2017 you started your artist management and talent development company zero myth. What made you want to start your own business?

“I’d reached a point where I had collected enough knowledge and was starting to get frustrated by good music not getting heard. I had also fallen in love with a bunch of demos by Kitt Philippa and I needed to be a part of that project and management felt like the next natural step.”

“A lot is required from artists now - the industry and world operates at a certain speed and it can be challenging for artists to feel like they are keeping up.”

What are the challenges you’ve faced since starting Zero Myth?

“Many, that’s par for the course - we are trading on art and sometimes people don’t ‘get it’. I have got better over the years of accepting that but pushing on in spite of it. Sometimes projects take off at the point where everyone is ready to give it all up. A lot is required from artists now - the industry and world operates at a certain speed and it can be challenging for artists to feel like they are keeping up. As a manager it’s important to me that the people in the projects are protected as much as our aims and that can be challenging in a real world context.”

You predominantly work with artists from Northern Ireland. What is the music scene like over there?

“It’s a tight unit and deeply supportive. When I arrived on the scene it felt like dance music and rock music were the given choices, which was exciting but limited. Now there are punk musicians forming alt-country bands, there are folk artists pumping out dance remixes, there are collaborations to great effect, we have the rawest singer songwriters and the rock scene is in rude health. We’ve always done the punk thing well but now the girls are running that scene, so it’s entered a new expansive era. There are more managers than there ever was, agents starting to pop up and affordable PR - we

I was the music supervisor on Puffin Rock - it’s a beautiful animated series on Netflix and kids channels across the globe. It was a first of its kind project so it took lots of people believing in our mad idea to make it work. I got to commission the entire Ulster Orchestra to help perform the music and the music was written by my dear friend Einar Tonsberg. That project was different for me and challenging on a whole new level but I am so proud of it.”

Obviously 2020/2021 has thrown in some huge obstacles for the music industry. What are you hoping to happen, either with Zero Myth or for the artists you work with once the world opens up again?

“New Pagans are one of the best live bands on the planet. I will stand by that. We need to get them out on the road as anyone who sees them will join me in echoing that sentiment.

Live music is so important to the health and wellbeing of so many, including the artists I work with. I hope live music will return at full capacity soon. In Northern Ireland we are still some way off that, which in practical terms, means bands like New Pagans have been legally banned from performing live to audiences for 17 months. How mad is that?”

What is your proudest achievement so far?

“I’m still here and I still feel motivated. Honestly, that is enough for me.”

You’ve been in the industry for 17 years now.

Looking back, what would you tell your younger self starting out knowing what you know now?

“Go be a vet. Younger Charlene would bin that advice.”

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In The Spotlight Kev Douch

We’re extremely lucky that a lot of our beers sell very quickly so by the time you read this there’s a chance it’ll no longer be available.

But if it IS, you need to try Solero by Brew By Numbers. An ice cream inspired gose with mango, passionfruit and guava make this a perfect summer drink. And I’m gonna suggest you pair that with Four Minute Mile by The Get Up Kids.

The debut album from factually the best band ever is a snotty, fast-paced banger of a record and if Don’t Hate Me doesn’t stick in your head for a week after listening, you’re doing it wrong.

Check out our In The Spotlight playlist - perfect to accompany your favourite tipple

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ONE ROAD FOR THE

“

“...this guy was following us down the Autobahn on his motorbike, it was like something out of The Terminator, we couldn’t lose him.”

Orchards regale an awkward journey down the Autobahn in Germany, love in Paris and touring as a menstruator.

Imagine the scene, stand still traffic just outside of Cardiff after travelling all day from Brighton.

There had been a major incident just outside of the city centre and we were due for load in literally 30 mins. Lucy was on her period (which honestly happens every time we have to travel, it’s like it knows) and it had got to the point where she desperately needed to change her pad. So, all the lads got out the van and covered as much of every window as they possibly could. Holding coats up so the stationary cars around us couldn’t see in. There’s often close calls when you’re on tour as a menstruator but that was for sure a unique moment and hopefully one she doesn’t have to re-live! We finally got to the venue just in time to load in. The venue was an old bus drivers’ social club. To say the locals drinking in the bar weren’t the most savoury of characters is understatement, after our show and a couple of disagreements later we left for Brighton. Heavy journey.

When we were on tour in Europe in 2018 we stopped at a service station on our way to Hamburg. We ended up talking to a motorcyclist who was asking if we were in a band etc. Ended up letting him know we were on our way to

Hamburg to play a show to which he said “Ahhh I have no plans, I’ll come to Hamburg with you for the rock n roll show”. We all thought he was joking, so we jumped back in the van, got back on the motorway and thought nothing more of it.

Then, 10 minutes later our tour manager alerted us to the fact this guy was following us down the Autobahn on his motorbike, it was like something out of The Terminator, we couldn’t lose him.

Finally after a swift manoeuvre from our tour manager Jon, we took the quickest of turns into this tiny German town and hid in a McDonalds car park. We got to the venue and were all looking over our shoulders thinking he was going to pop out somewhere and terminate us all.

On a more positive note, we first played in Europe in 2017. We played a sold out show in Paris and met some lovely people after the show at the merch table. When we played in Paris again a year later a couple came up to us at the merch table again, they said they had both met whilst watching our set a year before, they were now a couple and were expecting a baby. The smallest Orchards fan ever! We were hoping they would have said they called their kid Peggy, but no dice.

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