[WAM] Magazine Spring 2020 - Issue 3

[WAM]MAGAZINE FACEBOO K.COM / WA R R I NGTO N M U S IC

WAR R IN GTON MU SIC. CO. U K

THE K’S

FOR EVERYTHING WARRINGTON MUSIC • Spring 2020 • f re e

MAN & THE ECHO’s

Divine intervention divine PLUS! • The return of Roughneck Riot We tell you why Spike Island is the one (again) Also, everything you need to know about Neighbourhood

Spr. 2020

It felt like it ended before it ever began for Live Bars.

We loved what they were doing and it’s a shame to see it close.

Man & The Echo

07

[WAM] Sessions

08

Filthy Tricks

09

Cameron Brown

10

Roughneck Riot

12

Rivfest

14 16

Joe Hatton Seagoth

17

The Zangwills

We’re very pleased to have Man & The Echo on the front cover. Amazing to see them appreciated so warmly on tour with The Divine Comedy.

18

Priestley College

19

Spike Island: The Resurrection

22

Crawlers

It’s going to be a great year for local artists breaking out of the town.

Remember where you heard them first because hindsight’s 20/20.

23

The A.V Club

24

Neighbourhood Weekender

25

Sea Girls

Lee Harman, Editor

26

[WAM] Exposure

27

The Lounge

29

Open Mics

30

[WAM] Introducing

31

The K’s

33

Review: Man & The Echo -

WELCOME

04

We’re a passionate bunch when it comes to music here and whilst it wasn’t meant to be, we’re sure there’s a viable business out there for somwhere that wants to embrace week in, week out gigs.

It’s a big year for live comebacks, be that our own Ian Brown or Roughneck Riot, who will no doubt have much to say about a country that has to putting it kindly, been divided for years now...

WArringtonMusic@gmail.com

10.

[WAM] Magazine would be impossible without the help of our advertisers. We don’t receive any external funding so every penny goes towards supporting local musicians Want to advertise in our next issue?

Get in touch now WArringtonMusic@gmail.com

CONTENTS

Live at The Auction Rooms 34

23.

25.

37.

facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

Review: Man & The Echo Men Of The Moment

37

Single Review roundup

38

Gig Guide

Editor: Lee Harman Contributors: Mike Massey, Joe Hatton, Teah Richardson, Scarlett New, James Little, Andrea Fox, John Storton, Mark Struthers & Greg Dixon.

Photographers: Jon Lingwood, Lee Harman & Matt Price.

Special thanks to: Mike Massey, Mike Grainger, Jon Lingwood & Andrea Fox. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of WArringtonMusic.co.uk. Any contrbutions expressed are the views of the contributor themselves and not those necessarily of the editor or any person. associated with WArrington Music [WAM].

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ECHO MAN & THE ECHI

DIVINE INTERVENTION In their latest music video ‘Give Me The Pomp’, the band went amongst the public, ridiculing a Little Englander mentality that we’ve seen so much of recently.

However it seemed that real life was so much stranger than fiction with similarities popping up everywhere in the weeks to follow.

“We thought it would be funny to see what their reaction would be but they were actually quite positive unfortunately. It seemed like the Brexit party was copying us by the end” laughs singer and guitarist, Gaz Roberts as we meet on the eve of last year’s General Election.

“They have as much contempt for people like us as we have for them, so it’s kinda playing to our crowd for silly laughs. It’s a fun tune, where much of the album isn’t that fun, so just an opportunity to be a bit daft.

Everything (politics) seems a little crazy, almost moving beyond satire.

The man who’s going to PM for next five years, is running off to hide in a fridge the day before the election its that wouldn’t be in The Thick Of It, too silly.”

The band’s latest album ‘Men Of The Moment’, was self released after the dissolution of their old label and partially funded by a National Lottery grant, meaning the band were able to have full control on the process. Early on, there was a

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conscious decision to go into the mind of these characters on the record. Some of whom are fairly unpleasant.

“I’ve written quite a bit of character driven songs in the past, and whilst writing, I was watching lots of musicals, mainly as I was unemployed at the time, and thought be nice to give some of these big choruses that sort of feeling. Take for example ‘A Capable Man’, no one would sum themselves up like that, but in a musical that’s how you introduce them. Thought be nice to do something like that in a pop song.”

Completed by Bassist Joe Forshaw, Drummer Joe Bennett and Keyboardist Chris Gallagher, the band might have been wondering how they were going to complete their 2nd album if it wasn’t for the Arts Council England grant the band received as they were hesitant to fund it via pre orders or a kickstarter model after their self titled album had a lot of investment in it “We weren’t particularly 100% happy with the first album, so we really seized the opportunity. Every single one of us took a lot of care in making their part of it as good as it could be.”

“We spoke to one or two labels but we decided not have anyone else

other than the producer we chose to work with and the band contribute to how things are going to sound, how it’s going to look. If you take funding from someone you invite them to be a part of your record and you invite their opinions on things when they are half formed.”

“It wasn’t easy to do for the budget we had, but we worked with really good people who believed in the project and were happy to put a lot of work in and get things done. If we didn’t get the funding or get picked up by someone who actually could invest, I don’t think we would have bothered. I kind of feel a bit differently now, having done that I feel I could do one without any money.”

“We took risks with the album, knowing we’re not going to hit the charts or make something huge so wouldn’t be any point in making something beige” as Gaz explains.

The album, with cover art courtesy of collage artist and satirist, Cold War Steve, would go on to be well received after its release in August 2019. Preparations were well underway for a UK headline tour planned in the Autumn. But after being put forward by their agent to tour with The Divine Comedy and hearing nothing back, a few months later they were asked if they would be available for a huge 7 week UK & European tour that would

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DIVINE INTERVENTION

TOP 5’S - ALBUMS

The band spent 7 weeks on tour with The Divine Comedy, ending in Portugal

include shows in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

“It was a very brief discussion in work, texting each other in middle of the day. Can we do this? We’ll work out how we we do it and worry about it another time.”

No matter where they went in Europe there was only one thing people wanted to talk about:

Joe Bennett tells us he always had faith things would go ahead: “We had then to wait a couple weeks more after that point but I was the only one who knew it would go through.”

“We did a whole interview on German TV about Brexit! In France we were talking to these young lads who were crying about it,“why do you hate us?”.

I was really drunk, trying to talk french and repeating “J’adore France.”

They’re really bothered by it and don’t get why we don’t want to be part of what is essentially a trade agreement and a few rules about movement.”

The band embraced the time on the road, taking time to explore each new city and felt part of each shows experience, and that was down to the audience.

“On Brexit day we planned to all wear Blue EU T-Shirts, instead we wore them as a celebration that we stayed, and the crowd were fantastic. Soon as we walked out they were going for it.”

“It’s bad for business for the promoters as well because a lot of the american bands who play the 700-800 capacity venues there get their visas sorted in the UK. Which is where most the music industry in Europe is based and if they can’t do that they’ll probably just play the UK and not bother playing in Europe. Which is not something that occurred to me.”

Feature photos: Jon Lingwood

Photo by Graziela Costa Festivais de Verão, Portugal

Gaz tells us: “I didn’t realise how black and white a european tour would be to shows in the UK. There was quite a distinct culture in each different country, France was fantastic they were like a theatre audience, applauding between tracks, quiet during songs. Germany were up for a good time but could still talk to them and they’d respond. Barcelona just talked all the way through so we learnt from that show to go big in Madrid, and it paid off for us playing all the fast heavy songs. We couldn’t give them a chance to talk!” facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

In 2020 we look to the future of the band with the rescheduled tour fast approaching, and wonder how they might bring together the concepts from the album and their experiences on the road in the huge theatres.

“There’s one or two things that I plan to do. The Divine Comedy did a version of it in their tour but don’t want to seem like we’re copying them!

We want it to feel like there’s a little bit of a thread running through it so the stuff we play from the earlier album and singles will be need tie with it.

But we have got to work that out yet.”

The band are on tour across the UK in February. Tickets & information can be found at ManAndTheEcho.net

GAZ ROBERTS

VOCALS & GUITAR To Pimp A Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar) Village Green Preservation Society (The Kinks) American Interior (Gruff Rhys) Bobby Timmons (Bobby Timmons) Trifle (Lone Taxidermist)

JOE FORSHAW BASS GUITAR

The Hour Of Bewilderbeast (Badly Drawn Boy) 2001 (Dr Dre) More Songs About Buildings and Food (Talking Heads) Rubber Soul (The Beatles) Divide and Exit Sleaford Mods [WAM] MAGazine| 5

[WAM] SESSIONS

September 2019 saw WArrington Music [WAM] make the long awaited launch into full band Live Lounge style sessions, filmed at Live Bars.

A simple premise . One original and a cover of a Warrington Music artist.

With five bands heading onto the stage, it was exciting to see what would come from the raw performances, especially as one of the track was to be a reinterpretation from an artist past or present from the area. It was a great way to show appreciation to the great local music scene.

This saw the rather exciting prospect of Crawlers coincidentally performing their own version of ‘Black Diamond Eyes’ by Filthy Tricks whilst the original performers of the track watched on.

Any apparent nerves were dispelled as soon as the band put out their version of the track, blowing everyone away. Mobile phones were soon pulled out of pockets of the small number present knowing they were capturing a special moment.

The track would go on to be premiered via [WAM] Exposure on Radio Warrington 1332am before going onto the bands socials, soon amassing over 1000 views.

Lee Harman, Editor of WArringtonMusic.co.uk says it’s been important to celebrate the old and new artists from the town. “It’s a great opportunity not to only capture something different on film, but to encourage bands to support each other.

What better way to show your appreciation for your peers than the honour of covering one of their own tracks.”

Clockwise from top: La Scala, Filthy Tricks & Kaleiders.

The next three bands to be featured amongst the two discussed were La Scala, who covered their Priestley tutors’ old band, Bill Davro, Kaleiders who covered the Stone Roses classic, ‘She Bangs The Drums’ and Uno Mas, who were performing for the first time in public. As well as their debut ‘Bored’ (reviewed on page 37), they channeled their inner Rick Astley for ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (from Newton-Le-Willows, they checked!)

Through [WAM] Lee said: “we have always tried to get the incredibly talented artists of the town to as wide an audience as possible, and whilst our acoustic sessions are fast approaching 50 different artists, we’ve never had an opportunity to give a suitably appropriate platform to full bands. We are incredibly indebted to Joe and Lindsay who opened the venue up for us and give the bands these opportunities.”

Now that Live Bar has closed its doors, [WAM] is exploring alternative locations and formats for future sessions. As the website does not receive funding we are currently unable to put money into developing the series in a recording studio but hope to have news in the new year about our next opportunities to take part in our Live Sessions.

[WAM] Live sessions followed an exciting first half of the year which saw every artist from [WAM] Festival be filmed and live streamed out online.

Watch every band in full at WArringtonMusic.co.uk/WAMfestival Bands and artists who are interested appearing in a future filmed session should send an email to WArringtonMusic@gmail.com [WAM] MAGazine| 7

FILTHY TRICKS

We’ve been working on our next single ‘Leah’ and another track called ‘Walk In Line’ in Manchester’s Red City Studios with producer David Radahd-Jones.

David produced our first EP ‘Run The River’ and he perfected the energy we give out on those tracks live so there was no doubt in our minds to go back to him.

It’s been great to finally get a recording of [Leah] we were happy with. Walk In Line was a last minute decision as we only finished it two weeks prior and it just goes up a whole new level, and the progression is clear.

In early stages I would bring a song to the table and take the helm with how I want the structure and certain part. It’s just what I love to do and there’s no one to tell me how to do it or to direct me, it’s the only thing I have complete freedom with and it’s ace! But writing as a band we’ve come up with some really great tracks and they have literally fell out the sky. There’s a buzz about it when you all create something together, we’re all in it together so why not utilise everyone’s talents?

“It’s quite common for a band to say “we’re all brothers in this band” and say it just for the sake of it, but I can honestly say that those who are in this line up, I couldn’t imagine any one else to be in a band with right now that could make as good music as we do together, we’ve all got a connection and we bounce off each other.”

In December 2018, I put it on record I wanted to support The Blinders and just short of a year later, I’m a man of my word. It was brilliant to join them on their ‘For The Many’ show in Blackpool. Nice group of lads, they were blown away by us and referred us to The Doors on steroids (I’ll take that). It was nice to finally be put on a bill with a band like The Blinders, first of many!

Another highlight of 2019 was playing on the pitch at Warrington Wolves before kick off, what a way to promote your latest EP in your home town!? It had been raining all week so we was worried it was gonna get pulled but ended up glorious sunshine.

We need to return the favour when it comes to Crawlers covering our song recently. What a band they are! For them to turn it up even louder than it is, just unreal. It felt a bit surreal actually watching another band cover your song. One day Filthy Crawlers will take to the stage!

In 2020 expect bigger and louder sounds that’s for sure. Our main aim is a tour, whether it be our own or supporting a well known band and to lead onto bigger things. We’ve got the tunes and the following, so watch out. - Gerard Van Den Hoek, Filthy Tricks Guitarist Follow the band at facebook.com/filthytricks [WAM] MAGazine| 8

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CAMERON BROWN THE K’S

If having a room of 25 people turning up to your art classes on a weekly basis isn’t validation enough for taking the plunge into a full time art career, then it could be the dozens of messagesCameron Brown woke up to the day after winning Warrington’s first ‘Art Battle’. Hosted in October 2019 under the ‘Museum of the Moon’ Exhibit in Parr Hall, there was just 30 minutes to create his piece, Michelangelo’s “David”, whilst being cheered on by friends and colleagues from across the Cultural Quarter.

Speaking to us in The Lounge where Cameron carried out his final warm up on the afternoon of the big night: “It was the worse of the two and was a little worried. I’ve never done a timed competition before. Five minutes into creating the actual piece I could already see it was looking much better and with ten minutes to go I could stand back and relax when I saw it was going well.”

When I asked if the presence of a crowd and DJ might have added to the pressure, it was quite the opposite. “It’s not something I thought I’d enjoy doing. Think it’s easier as you’ve got the adrenaline to go with it. I’ve never really been musically talented so was my opportunity to be on a stage. Hearing people react to each individual brush stroke its like me being in the crowd and reacting to a certain chord or solo.”

Photo: Molly Mansley

“My hands were made for different things.”

With potential commissions having to be turned down due to workload as bar manager at Hop Co, the decision to step down has been going well so far. With a mural being commissioned by Culture Warrington, which will involve Cameron creating pieces whilst people search the archives, it will be another body of work seen across the town which includes the artwork for Scott W Simpson’s debut facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

single ‘St Margaret’ and Scott’s next release.

“I’ve been friends with Scott for years and seeing what I did for The Bid Artwork (the single, ‘Don’t Wait’), approached me to do his.

After reading the lyrics and by chance walking down the Barbauld Street alleyway, it looked quite nice. Using a photo as a general shape and reference, was a case of elaborating the view with neon signs to make it timeless and putting the Patron Saint of the homeless in the stained glass window of the church.”

Also produced by Cameron recently was a T-Shirt design for Man & The Echo and numerous gigs posters for likes of Serratone and for Psyblings’ last show. “Alot of the propriety pieces I can manage to do a few each day. Whereas If I’m doing big commissions I’ll turn the bedroom into a pop up studio. Stick music on full blast for a good few days.”

As well as a year long residency at Priestley College after art school which included teaching foundation students, Cameron would go on to establish the classes at R’teapot in Padgate either side of bar employment. Hopes for the future include more commissions, his own studio and a solo charcoal and oil Exhibition.

“I made mistakes early on when it came to pigeon holing myself into a style, finding I was quite versatile with how I work, be that traditional materials or digitally, but I’d like to get to a point that people will know if they looked at anything I’ve done, they will reckon it’s one of mine. • Lee Harman [WAM] MAGazine| 9

The Folk-Punk sextet shocked many when in June 2018 they announced they would be taking a year off performing in 2019.

With shows planned until the end of the year, many wondered if this could be the last they saw of the band who for so long have been an important part of the north west punk scene.

“Winging it caught up with us in the end...We’re getting older and need to think about things a bit more” is the bands reason for taking a break says Accordion player Sam Bell when we went to catch up with half of the band in December. “It was a mutual decision in the end to have a rest before we destroy things” agrees Matty Humphries, lead vocalist and Mandolin player which forms such an an integral part of the bands sound.

Matt continued: “We were just stuck in a cycle of doing the same gigs, and routine and not getting anywhere. Ryan [Taylor, Bassist] hadn’t told me he was planning on travelling for much of 2019 but had told all the others. But by that point I was trying to tell everyone I needed a break or was going to explode, so worked out nicely.”

With a break announced, it immediately lifted the spirits in the camp after signs of being jaded being on the road for so much. Many feared that any hesitation in not exploring opportunities might reflect badly on the others.

“I don’t know whether you fear letting the other five down if you say you fancy a break, but the further we were vocal about it, you realise everyone is on the same page and knackered.” Where they had previously drove themselves around, they took the opportunity to hire a van and driver for the remaining dates so there was less responsibility and could enjoy the time together.

“You wonder if you’re going to miss it or not and when you start missing it, you’re thankful.”

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Guitarist Chris Green tells us he was always blindly optimistic and could never see a time where they stopped: “even if Matty himself didn’t want to do it anymore, I know for a fact he couldn’t go two years before wanting to play.”

So what did they do in their time away from Roughneck Riot? “I went to Blackpool!” says Sam. “I also did a tour a DIY with someone else around France and Germany only using public transport.

It’s cheap and it works. It was nice to be able to treat it like a holiday and be more relaxed”.

Chris went on to make a few appearances singing for Hardcore Thrash band Jenkem and Matty would be able to settle down as an accomplished Tattoo artist at Bold Street Tattoo.

“Ryan is looking forward to coming back” says Matty. “Means we’re technically better than the best time off your life!”

Reflecting back on the last few months and a tricky transition to a “normal life” Chris says that the second they stopped it was a relief.

“By then I was hating everyone in the band, now I only hate myself and Ryan [Laughs].

It’s massively psychological soon as we finished our last gig, yeah great, but whats happening next weekend? It was so boring. You realise just because you hated it doesn’t mean there’s anything better. Normality is terrifying and nobody ever mentioned that. We skipped all that for 15 years and now my life has shrunk massively. From travelling around Europe in a van, I don’t even walk past work and which is five minutes away from my house.”

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ROUGHNECK RIOT “Our lives have all changed and you don’t want to make certain compromises. End of day though it comes down to six mates. Do what you do. If you can only do a week in March, chill out and just enjoy it. How many Mondays have we played in a German town we can’t pronounce?”

“I actually enjoy my job” says Matty, “But I was sat there the other day and I hated not being stuck in traffic in a different country.”

Just over a year after announcing plans to take a break, they posted online details of a homecoming show in Warrington that would take place in March 2020. They would be joined at Live Bars joined by a number of bands they were friends with. An enforced move to Fat Cat Ballroom on Cairo Street would mean with 200 advanced tickets already sold, the great comeback would be sold out three months early.

There’s plenty of excitement from Chris, one of the founding members who formed the group over a shared passion of The Clash, Rancid and Stiff Little Fingers. “It’s a well good lineup. It’s sold out, just a shame we have to play. Fainted Idea, Crazy Arm, Pizza Tramp, ‘Bossmags, I don’t think we’ve ever had that line up together.”

Photos: Lee Harman (main), Nico M Photography (Insert)

It was clear that despite years of touring there were concerns that they were going to come back to a community that had moved onto the next thing.

For Roughneck, it gave them validation that they were making the right decision to return and towards the end of 2019 came together in their practise room for the first time in months, slipping back into things. “It was the the first time, we’d all met up together. Beforehand I sat with my acoustic guitar trying to remember the songs I was absolutely rubbish, proper stressing.

As as soon as we got into that same stinking room and had the guitar amps we just clicked and played really tight.”

2020 will bring a diverse new album, their first since 2014’s ‘Out of Anger’, which will contain the fastest track Roughneck have ever wrote and also their slowest! There’s also no coincidence that any perceived anxiety in how the band was doing might be reflected in some of the lyrics. Matty tells us these tracks are generally a bit more personal than the last one.

“A bit more about going mental.

Theres one about us going on hiatus. Shut up we’re still here”. facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

Chris tells us it’s been 98% done since 2018 but left to their own devices they have admittedly been slow to get things finished after changes to the dynamics in the group and getting a new drummer since the last album. “We’ve not got artwork yet, but almost decided on a name.

For a long time it was Boiled Egg In Ashtray or something serious like Burn It To The Ground... It’s been a year, nobody is going to come into the studio and say “Ey boys I’ve sorted it, why don’t we call it feathers”.

Sam suggest perhaps they could call it ‘Back in Anger’ in reference to the last album title.

Matty retorts: “Might sell a bit more in Merch!”

It is clear that in the future, the band members completed by Cait Costello on Banjo and backing vocals and John Dempsey on drums consider each other family and will be refreshed, with increased focused and determination.

“Nobody ever told us six people that we have to go and get in a van and drive around and be knackered and play songs” says Chris. “It’s mad to put that pressure on yourself but if we’re the only ones in charge, you have to make it work for you. Why could it ever be at a point where we’re getting sick of it. If you’re sick of doing 12 hour drives, book a better tour. You realise you realise have a lot more control than you think.”

“Your mental health is so important with stuff like this, its literally based on creativity and enthusiasm. If you’re feeling bad as an individual and band making is it worse then its a self fulfilling prophecy. We have to look after ourselves mentally.”

When I ask what they would consider a successful return in 2020, there’s no grand proclamations from Matty: “If we get this album together, not rush it, get it released do a tour and enjoy the next year, without regretting it then that would be a success.” • Lee Harman Roughneck Riot play Fat Cat Ball Room on Saturday 28th March. Tickets have sold out

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RIVFEST

SAYTR PLAY

In September 2019, the festival in its fourth year, set up by the River Reeves Foundation moved to its spiritual home in the Pyramid Arts centre

RivFest is an annual music festival that was set up to celebrate the life of Viola Beach guitarist River Reeves and raise money and awareness for the bursary scheme founded by The River Reeves Foundation.

The first two years were spent at Priestley College, featuring local artists such as Mo Jamil, 32 Tens and Slydigs sharing the stage alongside established artists such as Maximo Park and Billy Bragg.

2018 would see a change of format, utilising venues across the town centre and in 2019, taking over the Pyramid Arts Centre. Viola Beach had previously sold out the exhibition hall in the venue before their tragic deaths and so in its spiritual home, the building would be hosting thirty artists over three stages.

Partnering with Whispering Pines Collective who curated the 2nd stage, the festival would see a balance of artists from across Warrington, Manchester and Liverpool, reflecting the melting pot of music the north west is famous for. A family friendly safe experience was high on the organisers priority and ‘Safe Gigs For Women’, were also invited to raise awareness.

Highlights on the day would be numerous, but for many, it was when Manchester’s Saytr Play jumped off the stage and performed ‘Boys That Sing’ in the middle of the room. Having performed every year since 2017, they knew how important the festival was to many people, and keen to play their part.

More highlights from the day came from Winsford’s own Déjà Vega who were making their first appearance in Warrington, but left with the crowd in the palm of their hands after a blistering live performance full of frantic energy.

The night however belonged to The K’s. An exciting set headlining the Kintyre Stage saw them gain many new fans and show that they’re destined for the top.

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FERRIS & SYLVESTER

KULA BAY

DÉJÀ VEGA

The Earlestown quartet praised Rivfest as a fantastic Festival, not just for the talent on show and the the opportunities it gives to aspiring bands and artists, but what Rivfest stands for and the memories it keeps alive.

Rivfest will return to Pyramid Arts Centre in late September 2020. Look out for date and ticket details announcements via WArringtonMusic.co.uk. In case you missed out or just want to relive highlights from a fantastic day of live music, fear not. [WAM] was there to capture all the action so look out for lots of video highlights from the 2019 through the early months of the year.

• Lee Harman Find out more now at Facebook.com/OfficialRivFest WArringtonMusic.co.uk

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JOE HATTON Music venues are closing every week at an alarming rate. From noise pollution complaints to financial hardship; the reasons are a plenty and unfortunately there’s a lot more to come. Working previously as a full time musician, myself and wife Lindsay recently spent 3 months at, the now closed LIVE Bar in Warrington.

Situated on Barbauld Street in the town centre, it seemed the perfect venue space.

Ground floor entry, great stage, fantastic system, no neighbours and a lot of potential. The walls were bare, the courtyard was a mess and overall the place needed some TLC. A few weeks in seen all of these little problems fixed. However weekly trade still suffered. In all honesty it felt as if I had boarded a sinking ship. An seemingly irreversible amount of unread emails from bands and agents chasing up payment and gig enquires; left untouched.

But with a bit of perseverance and a lot of patience the email list grew shorter.

It was very important to build a community within the venue. It’s what turned the place from a building into a warm and welcoming space. Local artwork exhibited on the walls gave a great vibe for any visitors and little things like having complimentary filters, ear plugs and sweets on the bar for anyone to take.

We even brought our own Coffee Machine in from home for those cold nights.

The bands were fantastic. Acts from all over the UK and beyond flooded through the door every week, with eager energy, ready to take on the world.

However the crowd was nowhere to be seen.

With targeted advertising and flyer printing we set out to build an audience. Slowly but surely the numbers grew to an acceptable amount. The K’s were the first band to sell out the venue and Working Men’s Club were of course highlights as they packed out the place but unfortunately it was too little too late and the owners decided to cut their losses and shut the doors.

Personally two of my favourite gigs were from a band called The Banshees and another from Sarpa Salpa. Two amazing touring bands who blew our socks off when they played. We had a few gigs booked in that would of definitely made the highlight reel, but unfortunately time wasn’t on our side.

A few things you can do to support live music.

Keep up to date with what’s going on in your local area. Find listings on Facebook groups and pages as well as magazines like this one!

Buying advance tickets puts everyone’s mind at ease. If tickets have sold, then the promoter and venue have a bit more time to staff and prepare accordingly.

Don’t be scared of something new. If you see a band listed you’ve never heard of, go check them out. I found some of my latest favourite bands whilst working at LIVE. Go early and see the support bands and give them a decent crowd to play too, they probably worked their absolute socks off to get there.

Don’t move in next door. Unless you just love listening to music really loud through the walls. Probably best not moving in right on top of a 5k sound system. It’s an issue for venues that has being addressed in Parliment under the ‘Agent Of Change’ Principle.

Joe is working as a freelance promoter at Writers’ Block Promotions and back to performing across the north west as a full time musician. facebook.com/WritersBlockPromotions

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SEAGOTH

We were mesmersied by Georgia Ochoa’s self produced EP ‘House Party For Ghosts’ when we first heard it. Especially when we found out it was all recorded on a phone! So we wanted to know what her process was.

Being a bedroom pop artist is interesting, I’m a big fan of being fully in control of my creative projects and I enjoy having the freedom to experiment constantly. The bedroom pop genre is quite “in” at the moment, so there’s a lot of people trying to replicate Lo-Fi sounds in studios and it’s almost cool to record things badly. So it’s a good time to DIY! Being bedroom pop means I’m constantly improving my technical and production skills since it’s just me and I try to do everything down to mastering by myself. I released my first EP ‘Triangles’ almost 2 years ago, since then I have certainly come a long way when it comes to my production and writing process and I still have an even longer way to go.

Typically when I’m writing a song I won’t do it fully at home, I come up with little ideas when I’m commuting or when I’m outside and I end up stringing them all together, this really works for me. Since I have no real time limit on my personal studio, when I’m working on or writing lyrics for tracks I usually end up leaving them for a while and picking them up again at a later date. This is great for me because it means I can come back to them and improve where I left off, bringing brand new ideas and fresh ears.

My process for writing music will usually start with finding chords for the rhythm instrument, whether it’s for guitar or synth. Then I come up with lyrics. For me personally lyrics are the most important part of a song, so my lyric writing process usually takes a lot longer than anything else. I tend to do things a little bit backwards, most of the time I come up with the title of the song first, then I create a demo. Usually I’ll be working on the demo while I’m still writing the song - so I typically have no idea what direction the track is going to go in I just kind of go with what I think would sound cool.

I used to experiment with different sounds and drum machines, only recently finding what I was looking for.

Performing my songs live with a full band gave me a new perspective on how my music sounds and how I want it to be perceived. I adjusted the dynamics of my tracks to fit how they would be played live, my drum beats and guitar riffs are super simple in the songs - as I love simplicity, when it’s effective. But things are different live, when you go to see a performance you wanna feel the energy and hear something that isn’t repetitive or boring. With the help of some of my friends we adjusted the simple parts of my songs that are effective in the produced track, to make them sound a lot more powerful when played live.

[WAM] MAGazine| 16

‘House Party For Ghosts’, the eight-track EP is out now, on all reputable online stores

and streaming sites, as is the latest single ‘Ballad For the End Of the World.

WArringtonMusic.co.uk

THE ZANGWILLS

For the past few years indie bands seem to be reproducing faster than a Mogwai in water and it takes something pretty special to stand out amongst the masses. Very few bands have done it as well as the Zangwills have and 2019 feels like a deserved reward after two years of hard graft but luckily for the rest of us this is also just the beginning.

Jake, Ed and Sam all met at Northwich college in 2017 and when Adam joined to complete the 4 piece The Zangwills were born. It wasn’t long before their first single ‘New Heights’ gave us a flavour of what to expect and boy did it taste good (after all, a quarter of a million streams can’t be wrong). Such was the success of their debut single, 2018 saw a diary full of gigs and the release of their first EP. ‘It’s Really Up To You’, showcased their distinctive sound and also demonstrated an impressive versatility as all 4 tracks brought something different yet equally powerful.

Finishing off the year with a gig for [WAM] at Friars Court it was clear that 2019 would bring big things for the boys.

A string of gigs from London right the way up to Edinburgh, a flurry of festivals and a sold out headline gig at the Deaf Institute is what those big things turned out to be and 2019 was a huge year. If that wasn’t enough they also dropped their second EP ‘In Amongst The Glitter’ which yet again was a triumph. Jake’s powerful voice is ever present and there is no let up in the strength of the lyrics as they have produced another 4 tracks of brilliant, deep, relatable music with each track painting a vivid story but at a pace that’s certain to get all ages bouncing.

The Sold Out gig at the Deaf Institute was the highlight of a great year and has earned them their biggest headline gig to date at Manchester Academy 3 on the 8th February 2020.

This is a well deserved gig for an extremely hardworking and professional band who’s efforts go beyond the singles and gigs and spill over into promoting causes such as ‘Safe Gigs For Women’ and ‘Girls Against’ and producing extremely high quality videos for ‘Patio Paradise’ and ‘Sunlight At Midnight’. Each with a distinctive look that captures their personality.

In what has been a year of uncertainty in our country with probably much more to come, it’s comforting to know that we will start a new decade by tearing the roof off Manchester Academy with one of the most exciting, talented, refreshing and brightest young bands that our neck of the woods has produced.

I am excited to see what lies ahead for The Zangwills which can only be big things based on the trajectory of their last 2 EP’s but don’t just take my word for it find out for yourself.

Take an hour, escape from the madness of the world and lose yourself in amongst the glitter.

Photo: Trust A Fox

Tickets are on sale now for their headline show at Manchester Academy 3 on Saturday 8th February.

• Mike Massey

facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

[WAM] MAGazine| 17

PRIESTLEY COLLEGE

A huge number of upcoming bands and artists breaking through locally are current or former students of Priestley College.

We went in and asked why it was such a breeding ground for talent.

The tagline for music courses is Produce, Perform, Progress, for it’s not just about performing on stage.

As we discovered, it’s about creating a well rounded experience that taking not only chords and harmonies, but also exploring so much more behind the music.

Music tutor Mike Grainger explained to [WAM] Magazine: “Our BTEC music technology courses focus on the industry and real world scenarios. For example we wouldn’t just look at the equipment, instruments, song writing formulas associated with Motown, but we’d also look at the civil rights movement for the context which also fed into the lyrics”.

“It’s possibly why we help produce so many successful bands and artists in the area, we don’t just teach music, but give insight into the the industry itself, everything from contracts to logistics.”

Indeed with so much choice afford by the College, there is a significant number of different course combinations and due to the number of students studying at the Loushers Lane campus (almost 2000), there are multiple classes for popular courses to keep sizes small so students have enough time for individual feedback.

As well as studying either Music Performance or Technology course, students are also supported in taking on other disciplines and collaborate with others, be that in Electronics or Physics, or even things that are more contrasting such as Criminology or Geography.

Those who have even the small understanding of the modern music industry can appreciate a cross pollination between Media, Graphic design, app/web design, business studies and students are encouraged to make the most of the collaboration that is available.

“So we’d encourage a sound engineering to back up with electronics, or physics. When you think about the equipment in a recording studio, it all needs designing, building and on occasion, fixing.

People who design recording studios need to know about acoustics. You can go down a particular route or keep your options open.

[WAM] MAGazine| 18

The whole ethos is about the freedom to choose and to combine and give the pupil the variety if that’s what they want.”

For many students, there’s a desire to be on stage a nd to be a successful artist and that’s also where the music tutors flourish, between them having experience of publishing deals, performing to audiences of all sizes and meeting everyone from Lawyers to A&R staff, that help provide that real world experience to impart that onto their students.

Through links with Rivfest and [WAM], students are also able to gain a wide range of working experience as well opportunities to visit the world famous Rockfield Studios in Monmouth.

The Viola Beach Cafe on site is also fitted with a professional sound and lighting rig which rivals anything in Warrington and regularly used for events during College hours and as part of exam showcases.

There’s so many artists who have filled various pages in all three issues of this magazine who credit Priestley as having a significant impact on their potential ability. Young musicians such as Kim Jennett, Kula Bay, The Lotts and Hollow Vandals are making names for themselves but look out for business savvy people in and around Warrington who have gone into music management or journalism.

“All BTEC assessments will have a vocational context so instead of writing an essay for no purpose, it’ll be a piece for a journal or for a website. Instead of writing about putting a gig on, you’ll actually put a gig on preparing budgets/plans, managing cash flow and marketing. it’s not just about designing a poster.”

“We’re the step between school and university so not trying to make the finished product but help people made their own mind up about which direction they go down. We’ll give them the opportunities.”

Head to WArringtonMusic.co.uk to read more about the courses and hear from former and current students who credit studying at the College for their successes in their chosen fields. • Lee Harman WArringtonMusic.co.uk

SPIKE ISLAND: THE RESURRECTION

In honour of the 30th Anniversary of The Stone Roses’ era-defining gig at Spike Island, get ready for a celebration like no other.

On 16th May 2020, The Clone Roses will be following in the footsteps of their heroes as they headline: ‘Spike Island - The Resurrection.

Topping the bill, the UK’s No.1 tribute to The Stone Roses, will be putting in a headline performance that promises to emulate the Roses’ legendary set to a T, from the classic setlist, to the vintage apparel, and the euphoric atmosphere that made for an unforgettable moment in history.

The headliners will also be joined by a stellar bill of acts hand-picked to pay homage to the iconic Madchester years of which Spike Island was undoubtedly the pinnacle. With supporting sets from fellow top-tier tribute acts including: Oas-is, The Smiths Ltd, Happy Mondaze, The James Experience, and True Order, the essence of the era will be palpable and pumping throughout the day.

Photo: Jon Lingwood

Giving their blessings to the occasion, there will also see a number of original faces from the Madchester scene making an appearance at the 2020 event. With DJ sets from Inspiral Carpets man Clint Boon and Happy Mondays maverick Bez, It will be also case of pure deja vu for ANDY (808 STATE), Hacienda DJ legend Dave Booth, and Dust Junkys rapper MC TUNES, all of whom performed at the 1990 event.

Speaking about ‘Spike Island - The Resurrection’, Baggy, bassist for the Clones said: “The prospect of performing on the exact same site as The Stone Roses played their now legendary show is almost unbelievable. Growing up only a few miles from the original site on the Mersey estuary we were all brought up on the tales of that day. If you believe what folk say around here it appears there was closer to 330,000 rather than 30,000. We hope to give the veterans a nostalgic trip down memory lane as well as a chance for younger Roses fans to experience just some of the magic of that facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

day 30 years ago.”

Hailed by Stone Roses bassist Mani as “the second best Stone Roses in the world”, the Clones have earned an outstanding reputation for their attention to detail, from the amps and setlists, to the clothing to swagger; they were even selected as the official Roses tribute choice for Isle of Wight Festival and Kendal Calling festivals.

You may remember we covered Glastonferry in the Park, a brand new event for 2019 hosted in Bank Park for 5,000 people featuring by many of the bands playing in May but with over 6,000 tickets sold on just the very first day of Spike Island: The Resurrection being on sale, it’s destined to be memorable. They’ve followed in their idols footsteps playing at Parr Hall in Warrington and Winter Gardens in Blackpool over the years. However, in paying homage to all eras of The Stone Roses twisting career, it seems there is one defining moment that still eludes them...

Held on the Whitsun Bank Holiday in 1990 on a largely unused, man-made island in the Mersey estuary of Widnes, Cheshire, The Stone Roses at Spike Island is regarded as one of the most famous gigs the UK has ever seen. It was the peak of Roses-mania and the moment that would define a generation.

Headlined by The Stone Roses shortly after the release of their seminal debut album and at the pinnacle of their powers, the band performed to some 27,000 fans who had descended on the Island and is often cited as “Woodstock for the Baggy generation”, Spike Island is now written into the very mythology of UK music and a prominent footnote in The Stone Roses’ legacy.

A once in life-time event? Perhaps not.

Tickets onsale now priced from £27.50 spikeisland2020.com [WAM] MAGazine| 19

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CRAWLERS

They may have only formed in June 2018 but it was apparent in that first session that although each were skilled musicians, their chemistry as individuals and creators was too good of a match to ignore.

After guitarist Amy Woodall expressed her desire to write her own music to singer Holly Minto, who had the same goal, a jam session was quickly arranged with themselves, bassist Liv Kettle, and drummer Ben Mckeown.

Throughout Warrington, and even within the wider North-West music scene, female artists, especially in bands, are a rarity to find, yet Crawlers have three incredibly talented female artists, which is practically unseen. This not only gives them an edge as standing out between the male dominated bands, but offers an immediate support between the band members, which is shown on stage through their free expression, which they share with audiences.

Theres an individual sound that goes away from the indie-pop that is popular amongst modern music. Their rock influenced sound has a unique twist from their lead singer being a trained trumpet player, which Holly uses throughout their songs, both recorded and live performances.

Even from their first song, ‘So Tired’, Holly built this into their sound, which was released as their first single in March 2019, with a release show at The Lounge with fellow friends.

Only 2 months after this debut gig, at Warrington Music Festial they made their grand entrance to the largest audience they had played so far. Guitarist Amy gave an insight to the experience: “The festival was a huge deal to us as it was the biggest stage we’d [WAM] MAGazine| 22

played. Immensely nervous, as you can imagine, but we went on and gave it our all like we always do and it was incredible to receive such positive feedback from the audience. We’ve received a lot of gig offers since that day, so we’re really grateful for the opportunity and everything we’ve had from it.”

From one festival to another, the band also played at the tribute festival ‘Glastonferry’, as the only original band in the line up. Opening the afternoon with their originals, and performed first new songs since the debut in March. Though most of the audience had never seen the band play, they quickly built watchers and by the end of their set, received a well deserved reaction of cheers and whistles.

Continuing into 2020, the band are looking forward to further grow in the new year, as musicians and experience.

If you ever have the chance to see the band play a stage, it is not one to turn down.

Watching them as individuals, you can see how much they each love their instruments, and as a group you can see how they connect through their music and in character. With Spotify streams over 81,000 on just the one song in 2019, they’ve been back in the studio so expect new music very soon this year.

The band captured their passion for their music during a conversation with the group.

“If other people can have as much fun as we do, there’s no better feeling.” • Scarlett New WArringtonMusic.co.uk

THE K’S

facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

[WAM] MAGazine| 23

NEIGHBOURHOOD WEEKENDER Approaching its third year at Victoria Park, the festival will see the return of hometown hero Ian Brown to headline the event. But what else can you look forward to? heritage bands from the North West such The rumours were true! Headliners for Neighbourhood Weekender 2020 will be familiar to many of the town’s music fans as it’s a welcome return to Warrington for Orford born Ian Brown and Catfish and the Bottlemen, who performed several gigs at Friars Court in the town back in 2012-2014, cutting their teeth touring the country in the early days.

as The Coral and Shed Seven.

Occupying the second Bank Holiday weekend in May, the Victoria Park festival will also see a return for Pale Waves, Miles Kane and Brit Award winner, Sam Fender who will be hoping to make up for lost time after missing last years event through illness.

There’s guaranteed to be something for everyone with great value lower down the line-up too, with several set highlights in 2019 coming courtesy of the Viola Beach stage.

Thee smallest of the three, once again named after the boys that sing. A little bit closer to home, be sure catch The Mysterines and Red Rum Club who are both from Liverpool.

Ian Brown, who now lives in Lymm will close the first day in what is his first solo show announced since The Stone Rose split, and first in the town since 2007. His most recent album release, Ripples, was self produced and released in February 2019, with fans declaring it as being worth the nine year wait.

With three top ten albums, Sunday’s headliners, Catfish and the Bottlemen were once young men travelling around the country for petrol money, and are a great example of exciting british rock bands that have worked hard on their craft.

It’s an exciting line-up for the Latchford festival in 2020, bringing together many emerging British artists in fast ascent on the bill such as The Big Moon, Sundara Karma and The Sherlocks alongside well loved established-

[WAM] MAGazine| 24

There’s also a incredibly strong contingent of bands coming over from Dublin, Ireland to perform in the form of Inhaler, The Murder Capital and Fontaines DC, a post-punk rock band who were winners of Album of the Year 2019 from BBC 6Music.

You really don’t want to miss them.

It is an incredible opportunity the Weekender brings to the town as well as generating around £1.7 million for Warrington’s economy in 2019 and a reported £2.5m in 2018.

With a hometown icon and one of this generation’s most loved bands topping the bill on our doorstep, it is looking like it’ll be another sell out. Come and see what the event has to offer.

Tickets are on sale now via nbhdweekender.com, and gigsandtours.com.

Day Tickets start from £57.50 and £110 for a weekend ticket plus booking fees.

Limited VIP packages are also available.

Head to nbhdweekender.com for more details.

WArringtonMusic.co.uk

SEA GIRLS

They were the only band named on BBC’s Sound Of 2019 list and recently announced as one of MTV’s top ten to watch in 2020. They’re looking forward to returning to Neighbourhood Weekender for third consecutive year.

“Neighbourhood 2018 was the first field festival we played and we were blown away with how many people were there and we didn’t expect that at all.” Oli, Drummer of anthemic band Sea Girls told [WAM] Magazine: “To go back again a year later, opeing the festival on a main stage in front of more people, it is just great.”

Returning this year to play the second stage in a later time slot, it’s something that appeals to the band as an opportunity to get the best atmosphere. “When you’re crammed in, getting sweaty up close with the fans. It’s such a cool festival and it muse be awesome to have something like this in your town.”

“There’s loads of new bands coming up on the line up which is really good mix, just shows how good the indie/ rock scene at the moment.”

We caught Oli during a short period of time off in November before they head to the US for a short tour, having been non stop since March, to not only talk about the year ahead, but to reflect on what has been a hectic 2019 for the band. 2019 saw the band play over 25 festivals (from Community Festival in London to Reading + Leeds), supporting Foals around Eastern Europe and releasing tracks from the band’s forthcoming EP ‘Under Exit Light’.

“It was amazing to play Moscow in front of 6000 people, but because we’ve been touring so much we haven’t got as far as we wanted [in making an album], but we had all of these songs that we wanted to do something with and didn’t want to make people wait until the summer.”

As multi instrumentalist (in the very early days, facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

drummer Oli was the singer and current singer and guitarist, Henry was on bass), songwriting duties are often split between the band, who are completed by Rory on lead guitar and Andrew on bass, forming in London back in 2015.

“Now we have a lot more freedom in the studio, where we are able to expand our sound and try weird noises. We used to record a song in day now we’re spending months working on songs which changes the dynamics.

We wanted to get these out, combine them with a cheek tour to celebrate that.”

Radio airplay has been important to the bands swift rise, with debut single ‘Call Me Out’ being played in its first week of release by Annie Mac and Sea Girls have also had great support from Jack Saunders from BBC Radio 1’s Indie Show.

From speaking to Oli, it’s seen as a big reason for crowds growing at their shows who heard their music first this way.

Due to make waves once again in 2020, Oli is in a contemplative mood looking ahead: “I’ve been in bands for ten years and I’m only just getting here now. Small venues were important to us and it’s building nicely from playing in front of 100 of your fans wherever we could, to european tours next year.”

The band play four dates in April including Manchester’s O2 Ritz on the 17th and we wondered whether any extravagant items had started to appear on the bands rider?

“We’re pretty chilled, though at London’s Forum Kentish Town, we did get a Colin The Caterpillar cake, that was Henry’s request.”

• Lee Harman [WAM] MAGazine| 25

[WAM] EXPOSURE

December 2019 saw [WAM] Exposure celebrate its 30th week on Radio Warrington 1332am, which has seen the show give opportunities to a wide range of bands and artists for first airplays of track and exclusive interviews.

For Mike Massey, who set up the show back in March 2019 it’s been a pleasure to bring local music to a station at the heart of the community: “The talent in and around Warrington is immense and the hard work, time and money our artists put into their work needs to be acknowledged. It may not always be a perfectly polished show every Saturday but we like to think we show our appreciation by giving artists a platform to get their music out there and it is a genuine pleasure and a privilege to be able to do our little bit to help.”

Highlights for the show was a rather chaotic Rivfest Special in September of last year when four different artists from the event came in to perform and chat about the event, leaving producer James Little frantically rearranging cables live on air across the two studios.

Interested in advertising in a future issue? Have an idea on a collaboration? Send us an email.

WArringtonMusic@gmail.com

The show tries to alternate weeks, with one week featuring indepth interviews with musicians and exclusive acoustic tracks and the next a wider appreciation of great grassroots music.

Scheduled guests in the new year include The A.V Club and Syfta.

[WAM] Exposure can be found on the airwaves via the App, your favourite smart speaker or 1332am, Saturdays between 5-6pm. Local bands and artists are encouraged to get in touch with the show to get their music played and with a weekly gig guide to tell you what’s going on in the week ahead, it’s an essential listen for all lovers of music.

Submit your tracks now via bands@RadioWarrington.co.uk Broadcasting from within Warrington Market, the station which was founded in 2007 offers opportunites for anyone with an interest in Radio to get involved, learn skills and one day possibly present their own shows. Find out more at facebook.com/radiowarrington1332 [WAM] MAGazine| 26

KERRY FEENEY T H E " M A S T E R P I E C E T H A T K E E P S O N G R O W I N G " LISTEN ON SPOTIFY, ITUNES, APPLE MUSIC, DEEZER, GOOGLE MUSIC, AMAZON MUSIC AND MORE! Instagram @kerryfeeneymusic Twitter @iamkerryfeeney Facebook @kerryfeeneymusic

THE LOUNGE

Time has its own way of unveiling heroes, no less than in the wire wrapped and colourful bubble we call home. Warrington has its characters, surroundings memories, quirks and stories all over the place, but no place for these elements are more prominent than in our music scene... apart from maybe The Lounge.

For over a decade now, the Springfield Street Bar has forged itself a long and colourful story through Warrington’s music scene, from the days of Dropscience raves and pop-punk Sunday afternoons headlined by The Back Up Plan downstairs, to being the original home and workspace of Viola Beach. Festival afterparties, the infamous open mic night and most recently, the birth of Filthy Tricks, the bar has always managed to be the Forest Gump of the Warrington Music Scene, blissfully unaware of their involvement at the front line of artistic progression of our local artists since its inception...

However recently, whether it was as a reaction to the opening (and unfortunate eventual demise) of LIVE bar, the increasing numbr of shows at other bars in the town centre, or just a call to arms for those with short attention span, the downstairs area last summer faced a total (and needed) renovation.

Re-christened ‘Underground’ the bars downstairs is now a UV clad, blacked out mecca for the alternative to dwell, and with the launch of Lounge Fest, Warrington’s ultimate basement experience has erupted itself onto the scene in a very short space of time.

It started in July with the multi day ‘Lounge Fest’ hosting 30+ bands over a number of days including a number of established mainstays on the scene (Serratone, Scratch) and facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

newcomers who would eventually become part of the furniture including Nineties and Swamp Chicken, raking in almost record numbers in both attendance and success for the bar, as well as gaining notoriety for some of the best local young acts around on their bill.

Since then the bar has pulled in interest from a range of artists and arts, including Subrosa, Sam Cornes’ ‘Underground’ and DnB collective Nu:Reality, art exhibitions, created a vibe and welcome space for all walks of artist.

This even included a sold out theatre night for ‘No Words wasted’ last year, all to a fairly consistent level of success and praise from the community around it.

Filthy Tricks frontman Liam Rimmer says ‘Lounge underground gives music fans a place to see us bands up close and personal: “I love playing a venue where I can taste the sweat of the crowd and they mine! It’s superb!” in his regular trademark eloquence.

It can’t be said what the future holds for the bar and venue, but there are plans to expand what has already been done on the bar in 2020 with bigger bands, larger shows and more to be programmed for the year., As the face of the cultural quarter continues to evolve, it’s just another reminder of why we all need to create more space and opportunities for live music and independent art within the town.

• Greg Dixon [WAM] MAGazine| 27

LIVEBAR

[WAM] MAGazine| 28

WArringtonMusic.co.uk

Open Mics are some of the best places to develop your sound or find like minded peers.

We asked four of our favourites acoustic artists for the best places to start and where they most feel at home.

OPEN MIC

Scott Simpson Dylan Rodrigues

y

was m Warrington n.

Nerve tow The loungee in e th in playing

Effortlessly welcoming, and consistently hosts a wide range of truly incredible performers. Soak in the awe inspiring raw original talent.

At its centre is a man I am proud to call my friend, Junior Dayvis.

There at the first ever gig I played some 13/14 years ago, he showed a level of support that he still provides to young people brave enough to step behind the mic.It’s that support and the warmth of his nature that has made Stockton Heath’s The Mulberry Tree one of my favourite open mic nights.I just wish I could go more often!

first experienc lly scary to finally come racking and rea ows and stepping into the ad out from the sh made my first experience ey spotlight but th ing this for ages. do audience feel like, I was m the staff and The support fro d everything just fell into was amazing anHumorous story, I thought . place after that tions taking place at the di the X Factor au first step to stardom but y bar would be m ncelled, I was invited to ca after they were by The Lounge and thats ic play an open m It was my first step and I d. how I got starte there like it's my first. y will always pla

Rhys Hopkins

Jessica Luise The Studio, in Widnes, is an amazing up organisation that offer free service for and coming musicians of the local area.

The events they put on for the community to are truly terrific. From painting clubs s of free guitar lessons and more for group mer any age. They have hosted “Studio Sum stic” Sounds” and multiple “Authentic Acou nights that I have attended.

ed As well as this, The Studio have provid , for practice space for bands, including mine and free. This has enabled us to experiment provide recording booth so we can create chargMe.An facebook .com/WA usic extraordinary n norrington s. Agai demo . facility for up and coming musicians

by ic I ever went to The first open m coustic Cafe in A at s wa the myself I really enjoyed ul Warrington.lly ill, wonderf ch rea , ere atmosph drinks eat selection of talent and a gr . ld co hot and ere with both Joe I've performed th erton running it Eg e Le d high Hatton an d has remained and the standar pleasure to be their a en be really and it has twice now.They featured artist ort local talent, pp su to d their work hard are reviewed an featured artists notch for exposure top is ia like social med ghts and venues of artists.keep ni them ed ne this alive, we

Find a local open mic near you Tuesday:

Acoustic Cafe (Sankey St), Chapel House (Liverpool Rd, 2nd & Last weeks), Costellos (Stockton Heath, alternatve weeks).

Wednesday: e Firkin Tap (Buttermarket St), e Tavern (Widnes), e Wellington (Widnes).

Thursday: e Lounge (Springgeld St), Hideout (Sankey St) e Venue (Lymm, rst week), e Albion (Battersby Ln) Beechwood Community Centre (last ursday).

Friday: Saracens Head (Wilderspool Causeway,1st & 3rd weeks).

Saturday: e Hawthorne (Orford Ln, rst week).

Sunday:

Mulberry Tree (Grappenhall Rd).

Head to facebook.com/WArringtonMusic/Events for other monthly/ one off events.

Check venue for details. All weekly unless otherwise stated

[WAM] Introducing

Jack WOodward Indie Pop

UNo Mas Indie rock

A 26 year old Solo Artist from Lymm, Jack is supported by a full backing band on live shows. A multi instrumentalists who has already supported Rae Morris at a sold-out King Tuts Glasgow and last year played at Live at Leeds Festival, Warrington Music Festival and Manchester Academy amongst others.

Hot off recently winning a national competition to perform his song ‘Fly Away’ at The Brighton Centre to 4500 people, Jack releases his new EP ‘Every Night’ on Friday, 13th March 2020.

Jack’s previous EP ‘Higher’ was released in 2018 and received huge support from BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio, as well as being featured on ‘Fresh on the Net’ and ‘Gigslutz’.

Jack’s single ‘Rain’ was recently broadcast multiple times by BBC Introducing Merseyside in anticipation of his full band gig at The Cavern Club in Liverpool; which he played on the 27th of November 2019.

Facebook: /jackwoodwardmusic

Instagram: @ jackwoodwardmusic

For Fans Of: Tom Odell, George Ezra WHERE TO see the band: ‘Every Night’ Ep Launch at Factory Manchester on Saturday 14th March [WAM] MAGazine| 30

Olly Thornton (lead vocals/guitar), Dan Whitelegg (guitar), Tom Pearson (bass), and Lew Roberts (drums/ backing vocals).

Hailing out of Greater Manchester/ Warrington, they’re the latest addition to explode onto the ever-popular indie pop scene. The band fuses the talents of creating a contemporary sound with catchy lyrics and memorable melodies built on influences across multiple genres.

The bands charisma and stage presence bring their songs to life, creating an upbeat and bouncing atmosphere sure to leave any listener with a smile on their face, and songs stuck in their heads.

Recorded at Sugar House Studios, the debut single ‘Bored’ is turning heads and after performing at several sold out shows already around the North West, it’a glimpse into what is to come from this exciting new band.

Facebook: /theunomas

INstagram: @theunomas

For Fans of: Catfish and the bottlemen, Sundara Karma WHERE TO see the band: Headlining The Lounge, Warrington Saturday 21st March

WArringtonMusic.co.uk

THE K’S

say they’ve had There are few bands that in the north west that could to come in 2020. more much so have still yet as good a year as The K’s, They started 2019 right by selling out Manchester Academy 2 then kept going.

Combining headline shows with numerous Festival appearances. Towards the end of the year, they played several support shows in prestigious venues with The Bluetones, and Cast to name two. Summer would see them go on to play further than they have ever done before at two European Festivals.

It was also a year for firsts, with a national TV appearance on Soccer AM, a record deal with Creation23 that would see fan-favourite ‘Aurora’ released on green vinyl and a tour with gig promoter, This Feeling.

All signs would point to the Earlestown quartet once again progressing onto a bigger and more prestigious venue in Manchester, something they have done from back in the days of playing Jimmy’s and then Gorilla.

Photos: Jon Lingwood

What we couldn’t predict was after announcing im mid October they would be playing at the O2 Ritz in January, that all tickets would be snapped up, just over four weeks later leaving many disappointed.

For the fans, it’s an opportunity to come together to celebrate the quartet and support their rise, many coming from across the country to be part of a unforgettable event in the bands 2nd home. With the show already sold out, friends Narrow Margin from Manchester were once again invited to perform with them for a third show, as well as good friends in Syfta from Widnes.

Speaking to singer and guitarist Jamie Boyle, the band were always confident it would sell facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

out but surprised by the speed in which it did: “We know how many tickets we shift and we get to see how our fan base is growing every day. But I don’t think anyone expected it to be so quick. There is still hundreds asking for tickets on our social media pages.”

“To sell it out is class and to do it in such short time makes it even better, it’s what we do!” says guitarist Ryan Breslin.

The band will have numerous highlights in 2019, be they Neighbourhood Weekender in front of a hometown crowd or playing the iconic Roundhouse in London with The Rifles. During the autumn they were also road testing new tracks. Fan filmed videos of Over My Head and Landmines would later appear online within a matter of days.

“There’s been so many top shows this year,” Ryan tells us. “Obviously the likes of the Manchester Academy gig goes without saying, but the festivals in particular blew us away, the crowds that turned out for us we’re next level!”

It looks like 2020 is destined for more of the same in 2020 but on a bigger scale! They’ve already been announced as joining The Libertines on the main stage at Bingley Weekender in September, and there is no doubt many more will follow for the passionate fan base who see a bright future.

Be sure to catch The K’s on their Spring tour on the following dates Wed 11th March Nottingham Rough Trade Thu 12th March Leadmill 2 Fri 13th March Glasgow Attic Sat 14th March Liverpool Arts Club [WAM] MAGazine| 31

LIVE REVIEW

Man & the echo uno mas & Saytr Play W/

Auction rooms 14/12/19

ON A COLD WET DECEMBER NIGHT, WARRINGTON VOTED WITH THEIR FEET FOR ONE OF THE BANDS BEST EVER SETS. Making their way onto stage in destitute clothing to a soundtrack of Sergei Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé, Man & The Echo soon warm up the crowd and give the crowd enough pomp to blow the roof off a threatre many times the size of tonight’s venue.

New tracks have seemlessly blended into the set which sees the quartet play for over an hour with the encore requested duly delivered with a mighty one-two of ‘All Right’ and ‘I Don’t Give A F**k What You Reckon’ which sets off a huge swell of dancing to the right of the stage and boucing all way to the back of the packed out 1st floor venue.

Photo: Matt Price (composite)

It may only been their 3rd show, but for Uno Mas it was a welcome return to the venue for singer Olly Thornton who has found the perfect group of musicians to show off a talent for capturing a northern outlook on life. There was passing comparisons in the crowd to music from Paul Heaton.

It was not matter of when not if frontman Fred Farrell of Saytr Play would be climbing up on the furniture and he didn’t disappoint. With tracks sounding as good live as on record, they may have been the out-of-towners on tonight’s show but they walked off stage having converted the crowd.

This night belonged to the most capable, Man & The Echo. With a well articulated set full of little touches to make this more than just a performance of music but a public broadcast to those who are disaffected by modern life. As people walked out into the night, there are smiles back on faces.

• Lee Harman facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

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Man & the Echo men of the moment

[album] Still nill nil records While society has been divided and confused over the last year Man & The Echo have never been more relevant and have captured this throughout their second album.

This is wonderfully portrayed with an alternative lyrical viewpoint on life, love, stereotypes and politics.

The album draws you in straight away and you don’t have to wait long to capture all the above in one single track, the stand out track on the album for me ‘A Capable Man’. A true toe tapper!

The whole record is full of beautifully melodic haymakers to modern society and joyful ear worms that will stay with you for weeks along with an unexpected one sided conversation about “An Incident In Partington”.

Managing all the above and doing it in a non-repetitive way with each song offering a different sound and story makes the whole album an enjoyable listen and one in which you take something different from every time you hear it.

‘Give Me The Pomp’ has taken the limelight of late with it’s satirical political swipe but ‘On Safari’ has been covered locally it is that adored and ‘PR Masterpiece’ is itself a masterpiece when you hear it live, that frustration with modern life boiling on the brim of excitement. The whole album will strike a chord in one way or another whichever corner of society you occupy and with album artwork by the brilliant “Cold War Steve” what is not to love, get it bought now! • Mike Massey [WAM] MAGazine| 34

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MUSIC REVIEWS

The K’s

Aurora [Single]

Kicks off with an earworm of a guitar riff, grinding through the song in Ryan Breslin’s classic style. Echoing themes of love and lust, Jamie Boyle’s vocals are on the money, delivering each lyric with authenticity and passion.

For an already punchy track, it builds to an epic crescendo and a killer breakdown. Aurora is not just to be enjoyed on Spotify alone and I feel that live is where it will really blow up. For now though, whack it on, grab a beer and jump up and down in the kitchen. Classic K’s, sweet as honey! - Ross Ocego

Scott Simpson

st. margaret [Single]

kula bay

heart out [SINGLE] It’s an up lifting track that is a great listen, slowly inputting itself into you, making you involuntary sing along to it towards the end thanks to David’s vocals. It brings you into the fact that this song is really that friend that wants you to smile when you have suffered loss of some kind.

With its friendly style, the guitar from the start grabs you like a hot chocolate on a cold day. Warming you from within, as it is plucked at a fast but gentle pace. With the vocals catching you. it lets you know it is there for you. - James Little

Serratone

Dreams [Single]

Telling the story of a lonely homeless man, and his struggles with alcohol and his bitterness to the world, the lyrics get darker as the song prgresses, with 2 condensed chord progressions that ring true throughout.

The drums are innovative and grunge chords remind you to live loud. Just when you think you are rocking pretty hard, the track kicks back like a mule and reminds you that there is more in the tank.

The succinct melodic patterns allows for Scott to sing them with raw emotion, as well as adding variations. As he sings the chorus the volume gets louder portraying more emotion and and the ‘God’ that’s mistreated him. The following verses use the higher register of Scott’s vocal range building the aggression! - Lee Egerton

No lullaby, the idea of falling asleep is the antithesis of the singer’s desire. Half asleep? This track would jolt you back to life as would a defib and smelling salts followed by a shot of tequila and an adrenaline injection. The whole track brings to mind a scene of moshing lads wearing band shirts -a high-energy sweat-fest in a darkened club. - Andrea Fox

uno mas

bored [Single]

pink shirts for pale people Where’s Your Heart Been? [EP]

A smooth, harmonic sound with a patriotic Northern vocal. Sharing their home-grown whit and talent wholeheartedly with audiences at their shows. The debut features melodic guitar licks, a walking bass and just the right amount of finesse from the drummer to seal an indie pop number to stick in your head.

A wistful collection of songs powered by synths and guitar riffs. The band themselves have acknowledged having diverse influences and now that they’re incorporating more technology into their performances, it’s clear that for the next 13 minutes or so they want to keep us guessing.

The dreamy lyrics and up-tempo beat, give a ride of a track that can offer a sense of relaxation or something to move to. Summer barbeque vibes!

- Andrea Fox

The highlight is ‘Night Drives’. It’s clear from the lyrics that Will Hughes is in a reflective mood and the intro perfectly sets the tone for this before taking a moody turn. Verses that question a relationship on the rocks are interrupted by a more upbeat, catchy chorus. Overall it’s a relaxing, magical EP filed with five tracks of most excellent full of pop promise.

- John Storton

Abi Rose Kelly

James’ Corsa [Single] Pulse pounding a repeated single tom hit introduces the song. Melodically, she creates great vocal verse hooks of controlled raucous raw emotion that terminate in angelic falsetto, trembling with all the pain of a teenager’s first broken heart.

Tribal tom fills build up to a crescendo as the pre-chorus kicks in before exploding when the full chorus arrives. Wonderful stuff. One of the things I like about this track is it doesn’t remind me of anybody. That’s a good thing. It’s original, fresh and timeless. - Mark Struthers facebook.com/WArringtonMusic

We hope you enjoy the review excerpts on this page. Head over to WArringtonMusic.co.uk/reviews to read all of our reviews in full and hear the tracks.

Have a track you want us to hear? Send it to WArringtonMusic@gmail.com

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THE K’S

2020 GIG GUIDE Sat 11th January ABI ROSE KELLY, The Nineteens & Dylan Rodrigues The Lounge WA1 // 6:30pm // £3 Sat 18th January VIPER KINGS Griffin, Earlestown WA12 // 9:30pm // Free Sat 18th January THE TWENTY TWO and special guests The Lounge // 8pm // Free Fri 24th January FASTLOVE - A tribute to George Michael Parr Hall WA1 // 8pm // £25 Fri 31st January LIAR THIEF BANDIT (Sweden), Raised By Wolves, Soul Desire Royal Oak Branch // 8pm // Free Fri 31st January THE BOHEMIANS Parr Hall // 8pm // £22 Sat 1st February NINETIES plus special guests Friars Court, WA1 // 7pm // £5 Sat 8th February IN CAHOOTS The Bulls Head, WA1 // 9pm // Free Sat 15th February LED-INTO-ZEPPELIN The Auction Rooms WA1 // 8pm // £6 Sat 15th February THE SWILLERS Griffin, Earlestown // 9:30pm // Free Sat 22nd February HUMMER, Clayface & Bear Trap Royal Oak Branch // 8pm // Free Fri 28th February SOUNDS FAMILIAR MUSIC QUIZ Parr Hall // 7:30pm // £12 Sat 21st March DEFINITELY OASIS The Club, Burtonwood WA5 // 7:30pm // £10

Friday 27th March LUTHER Parr Hall // 7:30pm // £22.50 Sat 28th March ROUGHNECK RIOT, Faintest Idea, Pizza Tramp, The Mighty Bossmags & more Fat Cat Ball Room WA1 // 6pm // Sold Out Sat 4th April ALIGNERS & special guests Friars Court // 7pm // £5 Sat 18th April BROKEN 3 WAYS, The Crash Mats, Leftovers Royal Oak Branch // 8pm // Free Sat 25th April AN EVENING WITH SHAUN RYDER Parr Hall // 8pm // £25 Fri 1st May FOR ONE MIKE ONLY wt Kaleiders, Crawlers, Live Transmission & many more The Auction Rooms // 7pm // £5 Sat 16th May SPIKE ISLAND ‘THE RESURRECTION’ wt The Clone Roses & many more Spike Island, Widnes WA8 // 1pm // From £30 Sat 23-24th May NEIGHBOURHOOD WEEKENDER wt Ian Brown & Catfish and the Bottlemen Victoria Park, WA4 // 1pm // From £57.50 Sun 24th May MONKFEST 2020 OHASIS & many more Monk Sports Club, WA1 // 2pm // tbc Sat 30th May BASH UNDER THE BRIDGE wt Laid (James Tribute) & more tba The Snig Widnes, WA8 // tbc // £13 Sat 20th June FLEETWOOD BAC & A Foreigner‘s Journey Parr Hall // 7:30pm // £18

Find a Open mic via WArringtonMusic.co.uk/openmic

Sat 21st March UNO MAS, Aligners, Dakota Avenue & The Recreation The Lounge // 7pm // tbc

Sat 4th July SPIKE’d All Day Punk Fest wt The Racket, Zenbaseballbat, Ticnotoc & many more The Snig, Widnes // 1pm // tbc

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