Birmingham Promoters

After catching up with two of Imperial Leisure’s members, drummer Scott Vining and vocalist Denis Smith, Jennifer Isles found out a little more about what is behind the music and vibe of the band. Their sound is one that will not be forgotten too soon, whether your kegs remain intact or not is a different matter.

Imperial Leisure by Grove Watson

“Listening to us is like having your underwear ripped off – hurts a little, but you like it,” says Denis when pressed on what to expect when you listen to Imperial Leisure. The band’s music is always changing and of late they have been expanding sonically with their collection of horns and moving from; “the fast lunatic energy of Ska and Punk adding in larger sounds, electronic wizardry and meaningful melodies to take us into the next album and beyond.”

Playing some brand new tracks from their upcoming release as well as mixing up a lot from their current LP; The Art Of Saying Nothing, fans will not want to miss the gig at The Flapper on Thursday 11th March. So, how did Imperial Leisure start out and where did it all begin?

“It began at a happy place in our memories,” quips Scott. “A few years ago, when a bunch of mates decided music was being too serious and people needed a band that would allow them to let loose and have fun.”

“I blame the parents,” says Denis. “Most of us met at school, we used to have a band but got bored of that and started Imperial Leisure, got some horns involved and gigged our asses off, most of the time outside in parks and on the street!”

Describe yourselves in three words

Scott: “Damn, bloody, good or fast, hard, fun or sex, horns, rock and roll.”
Denis: “Musical melting pot.”

The horns are a massive feature in your music, how did this come about, it works so well in your songs?

Scott: “We started using them to create the in-your-face party sound that we wanted, and it gave us some unique performance opportunities for solos and improvising. ”

Denis: “The Art of Saying Nothing featured a two man brass section Mark Rudland and Rob O’Neale, we were really lucky to happen upon them, they can both play like gods but they understood the big picture and how they could fit into it.”

Where’s the best place you guys have performed at?

Scott: “Glastonbury 2008, because of the response we got from over two thousand soon-to-be-fans!”

Denis: “In a carpark in Camden, and Glastonbury weren’t too shabby either!”

Scott:”The last time we played Birmingham the gig was the best on the tour thanks to a load of our own fans and going back there solely for our own supporters is going to be great.”

“London is a good laugh but we need to get out more,” admits Denis. “There’s something special about rocking up to a place you ain’t from and ripping it up.”

Your album ‘The Art Of Saying Nothing’ is out now, what can people expect from it?

Scott: “The Art Of Saying Nothing is about having a good time – that’s it. However you want to do it; going out, getting drunk, chasing girls or staying in and dancing in your bedroom. Either way, this album lets you take that Imperial Leisure gig that you remember home with you.”

Denis: “If you are depressed, get a cheap bottle of Cava, stick us on nice and loud and expect to have a laugh.”

The Art of Saying Nothing – out now

What are your plans for 2010?

Scott: “That’s where our new album comes in. Due out later this year, it shows the next evolution of Imperial Leisure without losing our trademark energy. We also don’t have an album title yet, so any suggestions….?”

Denis: “To vote for the first time, release new Album and ask my ex to marry me…….again. ”

Get down to The Flapper this Thursday evening (11th March) to see Imperial Leisure perform along with the excellent Tempting Rosie and Fistful of Dynamite. Advance tickets £7 from here.

Jennifer Isles

FREE ACOUSTIC SESSION WITH EVERY 10 HOURS BOOKED AT BLUE WHALE

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Imperial Leisure will be playing the Flapper and Firkin on 11th March 2010 (along with Tempting Rosie and Fistful of Dynamite)

Tickets here …

Our girl Rhiannon caught up with Dennis from Imperial Leisure, via the power of Skype, for a quick chat about the show, their new material and what’s coming up for 2010!

Ahead of their show at the Hare and Hounds on March 10th 2010, local boys Rogue States stopped by the Birmingham Promoters HQ, where we quizzed them about the gig, recording and lots of other nonsense …

Get your tickets for the show here

The 24th of March brings the Birmingham Flapper one of the most exciting line ups of the year so far, A gig worth coming to even if you haven’t even heard of the bands, It will blow you away!

For fans of Blakfish, A Ghost of a Thousand, Everytime I Die and The Hives

The Computers are a four-piece blues / punk / hardcore band from Exeter and one of the most explosive live bands you will see! They will leave you walking out on such a high, itching to start running up walls and thrashing your air guitars about the streets.

So, here’s the deal – THE COMPUTERS consist of Alex (guitar / main vocals), Sonny (guitar / vocals), Nic (bass / vocals) and Aiden (drums).

Born and Bred in Exeter, they fuse garage rock’n’roll with 80’s hardcore. Think Black Flag playing Chuck Berry or The Nerve Agents covering Elvis Costello and you’re getting the picture. It is a act NOT to be missed.

Click here to listen to The Computers

Main Support comes from Outcry Collective.
Recently back from the triple threat tour with Blakfish and Gay for Johnny Depp,

Perhaps not the most obvious collective of people that you’d expect to create one of the finest British rock bands to immerge in recent times, but then again, Outcry Collective are no ordinary band…

… a mutual admiration of everything that is good about rock music – utilising the intensity, heaviness and positivity of the music to act as their blueprint; a blueprint which still holds true to this day.

Outcry Collective’s own brand of fast, energetic punk ‘n’ fuckin’ roll quickly began to shine through. The band rapidly built up a passionate and loyal regional fanbase courtesy of their explosive live shows – a unique mix of positivity fuelled rock chaos coupled with an undoubted charm…

Click here to listen to Outcry Collective

Opening up this superb night are Chickenhawk …formed in Leeds during a random jam one lazy Sunday afternoon in late 2004. Songs were written …

A mix of Avant-garde prog ideals and chaotic, balls out, rock and metal taking influences from such luminaries as: The Melvins, Metallica, Oxes, Mike Patton, Dream Theater, Danny Elfman, Buckethead, and Dillinger Escape Plan.

…the antithesis of commercial metal…an alternative to the next inevitable slice of franchise-culture…Chickenhawk are an awesome force, every last millisecond of their songs is completely submerged in rock, giving them an intensity and forcefulness that’s a rare find in modern music

Click here to listen to Chickenhawk

Get your £7.50 tickets quick for this Sexy, Sweaty night of Pure Rock’n'Roll

Peace and Rock Out

x

Tommorow at the Hare and Hounds we have Nick Harper with support from Vijay Kishore

Grab a free download on us of one of Nick Harpers Tunes on us,

Despite being destined to be forever known as the son of the legendary folk/blues singer-songwriter Roy Harper, Nick Harper has forged his own way ahead to have become recognised as one of Britain’s finest acoustic singer/guitarists.

Having played the guitar from the age of 10 and surrounded by the likes of Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Dave Gilmour as he grew up, it was no surprise when Nick made his recording debut on his father’s Whatever Happened to Jugula? in 1985.

A meeting with Squeeze frontman and songwriter Glenn Tilbrook in 1996 led to his offering Nick a job playing with and supporting Squeeze; he also promptly signed Nick to his own label, Quixotic Records.

To call him a superlative singer/songwriter could put his highly lauded guitar talent in the shade, and to call him a guitarist’s guitarist might slight his distinctive, soulful voice and passionate songs. Not forgetting the wild ride that is one of his live shows – from personal introspection to biting political satire via a charmingly caustic wit that would make Groucho Marx proud.
http://www.myspace.com/harperspace

Vijay Kishore – Born and raised in the Handsworth district of Birmingham of Indian parentage singer songwriter Vijay Kishore has quietly been causing something of a stir musically with his ambiguous folk-tinged fusion of his anglo asian heritage .Bringing favourable comparisons from listeners to everything from the sufi infused tones of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Thom Yorke,Jeff Buckley or even Nina Simone and PJ Harvey.

A guerilla gig in a clothes store in Manchester around the time of the In The City festival of 2005 is where industry interest in Vijay began (after being spotted by his now manager Rob Mckenzie playing at a friends party in Birmingham earlier in the year),word spread from the lucky few that witnessed this performance, and his off schedule show the next day had curious label scouts in attendance.
http://www.myspace.com/vijaykishore

Here are some of the photos by the brilliant Eliot Day from Sunday the 28th Feb at The Acd 3 With Futures, I Spy Strangers, Kyoto Drive, hINGE and Outspoken

Rogue States – Lights from Rogue States on Vimeo.

Rogue States @ the Hare & Hounds , Kings Heath next wednesday (March 10th)

Hello all,

apologies to those that have already received info about this show!

LIGHTS is ‘officially’ out on monday 8th March (although in reality.. it’s been out for about 4 and a half months!!)

We’ve had some good support over the past month.
The video has been play listed on the Q channel. We’ve had plays on XFM and regional stations around the country and we also had video of the week on the A&R worldwide network as well as some decent online reviews.
It’s a good start and it’s nice to finally have something out that we can now look to build up on.

So… we are playing this show as a bit of a Lights RELEASE event.
We will also be playing brand new songs from our recent recording session in Brighton LIVE for the first time.
The main support East Strikes West are a great band… well worth seeing!

Doors: 7.30pm and we’ll be on about 9.30pm!

Hope you can make it. Will be a good night!

See you in the bar xx

Steve

Ahead of tonights gig here’s a little treat for you all!!!

Girls

This is the line-up for tonight and a little bit about our headline band …

Girls / Spectrals / Circus Town + This Is Tomorrow Dj’s –

Girls is a band from San Francisco. The band’s lead singer, Christopher Owens, is a former member of the Children of God cult. Named “the year’s best new artist” 2009 Spin Magazine + The New York Times compared the band’s sound to Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly, and the Beach Boys.

This is what NME thought of them!

http://www.nme.com/reviews/girls/10844

We’ve sold out on seetickets.com but we’ve still got a few tickets left on http://www.birminghampromoters.com and there should be some left on the door!

Hopefully see you guys at the Hare & Hounds tonight!!

X

Birmingham based band, The Crimes are a larger than life six-piece who have an awe inspiring instrumental talent. Each song boasting unique individual virtuosity to really show what they are capable of, producing their funk rock sound.

Forming in the early part of 2008, their progress has developed considerably enough to earn them a headline slot  at The Hare and Hounds in Birmingham on Sunday 7th March along with Club Smith and This Love Affair. Jennifer Isles sat down with the band to find out a little more about what they have been up to recently.

Can you tell me a little bit about how The Crimes started out?

“Well me and my brother Nick have grown up writing music together,” explains vocalist Seb Tree. “I was introduced to the drummer Tom by our manager Duncan quite a few years back. We started a band together but it wasn’t really going in the right direction so we met up with Duncan for a drink one day and he mentioned he knew quite a few lads who were in a similar position, looking for a band that had the same musical tastes and ambitions as me, Tom and Nick.

“He then introduced us to Sidders, Paul and Flynn and we hooked up for a jam just to see if it would work. Luckily it was clear straight away we were all on the same page and it has progressed really to the point where we now have a clear direction with our sound.”

Influenced heavily by 

Prince, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, E.L.O., Queen, Jamiroquai and Led Zeppelin as well as current acts such as Phoenix, Paolo Nutin and The XX the resulting amalgamation of sounds is a soulful, funk edged pop that according to Seb, takes a hell of a lot of battling to create: “(There’s) lots of arguing, disagreements, changes, blood, sweat and tears but we get there in the end!”

“We’re really looking forwarding to playing The Hare and Hounds as Club Smith and This Love Affair are both fantastic bands and it’s our first gig in Birmingham for a while, we can’t wait! We’ll give you 

an entertaining and uplifting show, plenty of brand new material as we have been focusing on writing for the last six months, oh and a mental percussionist!”

“For the rest of the year we’ll keep writing, get in the studio as often as possible, play some gigs outside of the Midlands and start spreading our music. We are all really excited about this year as we feel after a lot of hard work we have got our own sound and we really want as many people to hear us as possible!

The Crimes will be airing their new music at The Hare and Hounds on Sunday 7th March, tickets £4 advance from Birmingham Promoters here.

Jennifer Isles

FREE ACOUSTIC RECORDING WITH EVERY 10 HOUR SESSION BOOKED AT BLUE WHALE

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click here for online tickets
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MR HUDSON LIVE @ THE RAINBOW WAREHOUSE!

Mr Hudson (formerly Mr Hudson & The Library before going solo) is an English R&B/alternative rock hybrid band based in London, England. Mr Hudson is signed to music producer Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label & Mercury Records.

Mr. Hudson featured on Paranoid on Kanye West’s fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak. He also co-produced Street Lights as well as supplied additional vocals on Say You Will and Amazing. Kanye West has stated: “I believe Mr Hudson has the potential to be bigger than me, to be one of the most important artists of his generation”. In the autumn of 2009 Mr Hudson will support Calvin Harris on his UK tour.

Straight No Chaser is the latest album from British artist Mr Hudson, a follow up to the last album released under the name Mr Hudson & The Library. It was released on October 19, 2009.

www.mrhudson.com
www.myspace.com/mrhudson

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