LZxBACCHUS by leamingtonzine

local art.photography.writing.music

hello. welcome to LZxBACCHUS

this is a special edition of LZ, made in collaboration with BACCHUS. its innards feature some works shown at the latest Bacchus event held at LAMP on the 23rd Feb under the theme ‘ifs, maybe’s and unknowns’ , as well as some not yet exhibited.

we hope you enjoy, LZ & BACCHUS

I-A NIGHT BY MYSELF IN THE RIBBLE (EXCERPT FROM THE WOUNDS) Birthed Naked and bloody into the amber hours We cut our knees on the cobbles, Fumbling for something to hold Young lungs piled up were set alight for sacrifice, Burning in the back of the burnt out rooms, Bodies, sweating through seizures, seething a steady stench of doom Under the five hour flicker, young boys Crucified Emaciated Genitals throbbing and blue, snapping in the zone Screaming through a blood lust for another Another hold Another home And the pigeon breasted prince, Starved and shadowed, flicks pennies to the dark A starved shadow of

himself

Next door a virgin's vomit is being heated up on a spoon Served out in cups every week Good for the bones Good for the bones She's dried up by the river now Singing to a never never daddy on his two plank raft Fishing for stars 8

THE FALL AND RISE OF LEGENDS OF THE WHITNASH STATE CIRCUS The first coming of Legends of the Whitnash State Circus was, on paper, an inauspicious one. The Leamington-based, self-described

electro-pop-punk-cabaret

duo

formed

2005, played four shows in 2006, and disbanded, known only to a handful of people and with no music available in the public sphere. A very brief review by Café Create’s Steve Tilley would have been the only notice of their existence that you could have found from Silicon Valley’s best-known search engine. In my mind, they were the best band Leamington Spa has ever produced. This is my chapter in their story. As a naïve 17yr old playing solo for the first time at The Robbins’ Well as part of Leam ‘n’ Aid 2006, I sat in the basement (or as it was for one day, the “acoustic stage”) watching the duo of Samantha Tongue and Peter Ormerod as they bewitched me with their aforementioned electro-poppunk-cabaret.

Their

songs

were

melodic,

literate

and

thrillingly adult, which for a 17yr old was a big selling point. There weren’t many bands I was listening to at the time that could combine a chirpy waltz-time melody with lyrics about threatening beating someone up for a friend (“Flower of Southtown”), whilst retaining a quality and charm that wasn’t to be found in the town’s indie scene at the time. 9

We struck up a friendship and I became an apprentice in the ways of being a Legend, with a personal biography accorded to allies of the “State”. Two more Legends shows followed – a short, but glorious Cafe Create set, and a headline show in Hector’s House (The Talbot on Rushmore Street)…and then they are no more. A couple of lines announced their demise. It was a sudden and disappointing end to the first coming of the Whitnash State Circus. Fast forward to 2013. I write a Tumblr post on my memories of those three shows and the paths they’d taken since. It makes its way to Sam and Peter who, rather amazingly, reunite off the back of it. A demo is recorded with Andy Mort (Atlum Schema) and makes its way onto the web by the year’s end. A return to Cafe Create – still hosted by Steve, but now in the leafy confines of Nailsea, North Somerset – in January was their first live show in nearly eight years. From the ascending intro of “Fairground” to the stark beauty of “Clarendon Square”, it was well worth the wait. Legends of the Whitnash State Circus perform at the Picturehouse, Stratford-upon-Avon, on Sunday 16th March. They are the best Leamington band going. Don’t miss them this time around.

Robin Jax performs under the name RobinPlaysChords. Legends of the Whitnash State Circus’ demo can be heard at bit.ly/LSWC_SC

MIDLANDS MUSIC Our examination of local music continues with the dark and brooding art rock of Vana.

After existing for years under a variety of names, ranging from Triple Skeleton to Paris Syndrome, it’s only in the last 6 months that they have been re-born, re-christened and re-invigorated as Vana. Although it may be a slight stretch to bring this band under the Midlands Music banner, with two members currently residing in the capital, this is a band with strong roots in Leamington, having played shows supporting Jaws and Post War Glamour Girls at the Zephyr, and having recorded their recent material at the nearby 14 Records. And it’s this recent material that has been turning heads of late—a dark and inventive amalgamation of Joy Division’s taut basslines, The Cure’s vocals and the squalling guitars of Liars or early Radiohead. Literate and complex, the songs find their edge in the everyday anxiety of outsider twenty somethings, often brooding and claustrophic until the tension is relieved via a cacophonous breakdown and swirling feedback. With a host of art rock gems under their belt and new songs on the way they’re a band hitting their stride, amd are well worth checking out when they headline the Zephyr Lounge on the 28th February. soundcloud.com/vana-music facebook.com/thebandvana

LISTINGS A small selection of what’s on in the local area, check out individual venue websites for more. If you’d like to have your event featured please get in touch. 24th Feb Reckless Comedy – LAMP – 8pm 26th Feb Beats and Bars – Acoustic Music/Poetry – Zephyr Lounge 7.30pm 27th Feb Roots To Shoots – short film – LAMP 7.30pm LUC Film Bingo – The Cask and Bottle 7.30pm Fascinating Aida – comedy/cabaret – Warwick Arts Centre 8pm 28th Feb Vana + Mirrorhall – artrock/post punk – Zephyr Lounge 7.30pm 1st Mar Satsangi + Electric Spivs – psych/indie/funk – LAMP 8pm 2nd Mar The Second Episode Music Project – world/fusion – LAMP 7.30pm Andrew Lawrence – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre 7.30pm 4th Mar Barnstormers Comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm 12

5th Mar Batsch + Lucy Anne Sale – indie/jazz/ - LAMP 7.30pm 6th Mar The Magic Christian – film screening – LAMP 7.30pm 7th March Eli Stone + Shanade + Bunsen Hunny – acoustic/folk – LAMP 7.30pm Jimmy Carr – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 8pm David Baddiel – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre – 7.30pm 8th Mar Buzzcocks – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm Gary Delaney – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm 9th Mar Attila the Stockbroker – poetry – LAMP 2pm Drink and Draw – arts/creative – LAMP 8pm Wooden Horse + Midnight Bonfires – country/blues - Warwick Arts Centre 7.45pm 10th Mar Get The Blessing – jazz/electronica – Warwick Arts Centre 7.45pm 11th Mar Intermittent Listening – poetry/film – LAMP 8pm The Stranglers – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm 12th Mar Off The Record – indie/alt clubnight – Zephyr Lounge 10pm Wittank presents: The School – sketch comedy – Warwick Arts Centre 7.45pm 13

13th Mar John Bramwell (I Am Kloot) – singer/songwriter – Assembly Rooms – 7pm Rob Beckett – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm Tom Wrigglesworth – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre 7.45pm 14th Mar Official Receivers – soul/funk - Zephyr Lounge – 7.30pm Luke Concannon + Jimmy Davis – acoustic/folk – LAMP 8pm Billy Davies – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.30pm 15th Mar Clever Peter – sketch comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm 19th Mar UFO – heavy metal/hard rock – Assembly Rooms – 7pm 20th Mar The Selecter – 2 Tone/ska – Assembly Rooms – 7pm Jo Caulfield – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm 21st Mar The Young Knives – indie/rock – Zephyr Lounge – 7.30pm Two Man Ting + Jabba Cartel – world/electronica – LAMP 8pm 22nd Mar Dub Pistols – hiphop/dub – Assembly Rooms – 7pm Grass Routes + Electrik Custard – indie/rock – LAMP 7.30pm 23rd Mar Stiff Little Fingers – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm 14

contributors: Imogen frost (1/5) imogenfrost.com miri vogler (3) amelia ryan (4) jessica haynes (6) ali ceurvorst (7) tom crompton (8) robin jax (9/10) alex wells (11) lottie titcombe (15)

leamingtonzine@gmail.com: questions and contributions get sent here

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