NEWS
Greg Genre
COMEDY
PREQUEL SEQUEL REQUEL LIVESTREAMED SHOWS
Words: Eugenie Johnson Ever watched a movie and thought to yourself that it really needs a sequel, or found yourself pondering why a classic movie has never had the remake treatment? If the answer is no then, let’s be honest, you’re probably not alone. Yet the comedy potential for thinking up these imaginary blockbusters is huge. That’s probably why Chris Lumb from Shoe Cake Comedy Club (who ordinarily run a monthly show at Stockton’s Georgian Theatre) created Prequel Sequel Requel, a panel show alongside Discount Comedy Checkout pals Eddie French, Natalie Smeaton and Phil Smith, that dares to go where no film producers have gone before (and probably with good reason). Prequel, Sequel, Requel is accessible through its Facebook page during restrictions and throughout the next couple of months the team have a varied bunch of movies lined up, promising something to suit everyone’s movie taste: sci-fi adventure Flight of the Navigator (31st May); Martin Scorsese’s iconic Taxi Driver (7th June); 80s cult classic The Lost Boys (14th June); action-packed crime flick Point Break (21st June); and beloved fantasy romance Edward Scissorhands (28th June). As well as getting the opportunity to laugh at the concepts that never were, audience members can also chip in, voting for their favourite idea from the panel and getting the chance to posit their own titles too. Future events will focus on Pretty
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Woman (5th July), Scarface (12th July), Mannequin (19th July), Super Mario Bros (26th July), Weird Science (2nd Aug) and The Princess Bride (9th Aug), ensuring that silver screenbased shenanigans continue throughout the summer, no matter where you happen to be. www.facebook.com/preserequel
MUSIC
GREG GENRE RELEASES NEW ALBUM
Words: Laura Doyle Newcastle multi-instrumentalist Greg Genre knows only too well the creativity possible thanks to looping techniques, and he’s poised to release a whole album based on it this month. When it got tough to communicate with an entire band, Greg turned to looping to achieve that multi-instrumental sound all on his own. Now that everyone’s in the same boat being stuck indoors by ourselves, Mr Genre has taken to constructing a few songs for us to enjoy which will be released weekly as lockdown progresses, with the aim of releasing the whole project as a video playlist via YouTube, coinciding with a performance on Facebook, on 26th June. Themes for the release have spanned nature, history and consciousness; Dose of Happiness includes samples of the dawn chorus recorded from his garden and is inspired by Greg’s love of birdwatching; Little Dot explores our miniscule place in an infinite universe; while Spells echoes its mystical name with reverb-heavy, pounding loops adding to the ethereal experience. Looping creates snowflakes of sound: no two are exactly alike, so if you’re looking for a tracklist with diversity and range, look no further than
Greg Genre’s genre-busting project. Greg Genre releases his new album via YouTube and Facebook on 26th June www.facebook.com/greggenremusic
MUSIC
PIT PONY RELEASE NEW SINGLE
Words: Caitlin Disken Rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the North East’s finest garage rock bands, Pit Pony are back with their latest exceptional offering, Sulk. Masters of complimenting Jackie Purver’s defiant yet melodic vocals with their vigorous guitar textures, Sulk is the Newcastle-based quintet’s most audacious single yet. Available digitally across all platforms from 12th June, the track’s “I wanna go out tonight” refrain will undoubtedly resonate with many of us in lockdown. Yet according to the band Sulk was penned pre-lockdown: “It was actually written before it started. Luckily we’d recorded it and two other tracks in Blank Studios the week before lockdown was enforced. I suppose it has a lockdown nod in the sense that we’ve all realised how much we miss one another and have been reaching out to friends and family,” the band acknowledge. Brilliant and intense, Sulk ultimately deals with love/hate relationships and being stubborn: “It’s a bit like a ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’ relationship, where you want to be independent but underneath you realise you need other people.” Pit Pony release Sulk on 12th June www.pitponyband.bandcamp.com
