Created in Birmingham

Following on from the Test Bed show, another Five Ways art event.

Intrigue is a group show by 8 artists taking place in the now largely vacant 1960s Shopping Centre at 5 ways island, Birmingham, UK. The group will be showing exciting and challenging contemporary art work in the ‘Curio City shop’ at the centre, in association with Friction Arts.

Launch is on May 10th in the evening and the show runs 1-6pm until Friday 18th May (except Sundays)

From Birmingham Words

The Lichfield Poetry Writers are one year old and celebrating. “It’s a very exciting time for poets and poetry in Lichfield,” said Stewart Derry, the group’s director. “We’ve had a fantastic first year and needed to mark our birthday with a really special event.”

The Big One will be a feast of poetry, food and drink on Friday 4th May 7.30pm at Wade Street Church, Lichfield. Tickets are £4 / £3 concessions and are available from Lichfield Library. Telephone: 01543 510700

Foillowing on from the Supersonic vids Chris Keenan has been uploading a shedload of moving images from last years Moseley Folk Festival.

23 are in this account so far including this one of Tunng, featured here because I like Tunng.

• Project X Presents talk about their efforts in getting funding on their news blog.
• Vote for Soweto Kinch in the BBC Jazz on 3 Innovation Award. via Podnosh
• D’log has a roundup of what the Sunday Times calls “downwardly-mobile upper-middle class professional graduates” with some interesting stats about earnings within the creative professions.
• Straightheads, the film by Dan Reed and starring Gillian Anderson that was made in the Midlands and part funded by Screen WM, is in cinemas.
• The minutes from the April Music Network meeting are online and worth a read if you’re in the music business. Lots of good info there.

Every week I’ll be presenting three local bands or musicians with a photo, song and, if available, video. I’m trying to keep my personal preferences out of this but occasionally fail so suggestions for future posts are very welcome.

– — –

Jazz Thrash Assassin
“Metal-Flavoured Funked-up Jazz-Spazical Eclectics”

Buttcheeks

The Beast with a Zillion Eyes

myspace.com/jazzthrashass
maggothouse.co.uk/jazzthrashassassin

– — –

Curzon Circle
“The sexiest band in Birmingham”

The Drought

curzoncircle.com
myspace.com/curzoncircle

– — –

alice{musics}
“tipsical tangents on the piano and elsewhere”

not in this kitchen

umble

myspace.com/alicehonor

– — –

Any bands who’d like to be featured on this blog please send an mp3 and photo (or a link to where I can download them) to peteashton [at] gmail.com. All genres and styles are welcome, especially if they’re under represented here.

A regular selection from the Birmingham Flickr Community.

from suselstahl

from Matt Murtagh

from Garry Corbett

from Nala Rewop

The TG Collective are a relatively new music outfit that emerged from the successful guitar trio Trio Gitano when one of them left. From their site:

The Collective follows similar musical paths that won much praise from critics earlier last year. Moving through jazz, gypsy, hotclub, flamenco, classical and even film influences, the Collective is based on two acoustic guitars, set alongside trumpets, violin, viola, flute, clarinet, tenor sax, double bass and percussion, with new and interchanging shapes and sizes of ensemble from gig to gig, and within a performance.

Touching on the influences and new arrangements of works by such luminaries as Paco de Lucia, Django Reinhardt, Ennio Morricone and Horace Silver, the Collective also perform self-penned compositions and arrangements, and music by longstanding TG guru Bryan Lester.

I like the idea of a core duo calling on their friends at random to do gigs. Worth noting that one of the collective is the ever-present Louis Robertson of The Destroyers. Other members with web presences are trumpeter Ray Butcher, flautist Holly Jones of Salvador 6 and violinist Joe Broughton.

They’re currently in the studio recording a new album but will be performing in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall for Rush Hour Blues on Friday 8th June at 5.30pm. (If you’ve not been before these concerts run by Birmingham Jazz are every Friday and free.)

As well as the obligatory MySpace they have an audio player on their site which has been keeping me very entertained for the last half hour.

Photo of Sam Slater by Sander Jurkiewicz

Birminghamusic.com brings news of the Breakin’ Convention 07 which is coming to the Hippodrome on the 15th and 16th May as part of a UK tour.

Witness the most incredible line up of poppers, lockers, house dancers, b-boys and b-girls, from the diverse world of Hip Hop dance. From pioneering artists to new skool visionaries, Breakin Convention brings you an line-up hard to match.

Judging by the websites this look to be heavy on the spectacle and more of a show than a convention but they are bringing in local “hip hop reps” on the tour. The West Mids rep is Marso.

Born in France, Marso (a.k.a Mickael Riviere) trained at the Rosella Hightower International Dance School from 1995-97. He then studied aerial circus skills & drama at the Circus Space and gained a certificate in theatre practice in 1999 from the London School of Speech & Drama. He has also graded and trained with the Northen school of Capoeira and Professor Tijolo since 2001. In 2000 he was employed as an Aerial and Ground artist performing on stilts, bungee and trapeze at the Millennium Dome as part of the New Millennium Experience Company. In 2002 he achieved an access certificate in Music Performance and Drama from South Birmingham College.

Marso is an established breakdance performer /teacher and teaches workshops internationally, he has also launched West Midlands first Urban Dance Agency, Bboys Attic.

In 2004 & 2005 he received funding from Arts Council England and was supported by DanceXchange to create his new work Decalage which was showcased as part of the New Vibes festival, British Dance Edition and Resolution! The Place, London (2006-2007). At the end of 2006 Marso launched Company Decalage and this is his first regional tour of a full evenings work “Decalage” and “See”.

Bboys Attic do a number of classes in the area at Aston Uni, the Hippodrome and the Custard Factory.

Update: BBC Birmingham has more details of the local acts appearing and covers more of the grass roots activity going on.

Victor Kills… Virginia are Abi Smith and Joe Whittle who run a photography and design studio based in the Custard Factory “aimed at actors, models, dancers, artist, etc [producing] industry standard photography portfilios and personal websites.”

They also do a neat line in cartooning though it’s not clear whether Abi or Joe is responsible for that.

via the Custard Factory reception counter.

A Slice Of The Pie has been running gig nights at the Rainbow and other venues in Birmingham for the last year and recently settled at the King Edward (aka Chapter 11, aka Ben Johnson, etc) in Aston which seems to be the venue du jour for fringe live nights.

The Slice Pie boys have a pretty vibrant web presence. Along with the obligatory MySpace where you’ll find out about upcoming nights they’ve started a blog to post up photos and reviews of nights past, hopefully including profiles of the bands who play. (The about page there is concise and handy.) Videos from their events are on YouTube and photographs by m’talented friend Matt Murtagh are on Flickr.

They’ve also started recording the shows and releasing them as a podcast. Here’s the podcast page where you can download the mp3 and Here’s the rss feed which you can drag into iTunes of similar to subscribe. The first show is the set by mechanimal & Kramer Vs Kramer Vs Godzilla.

The next ‘Pie is on May 6th and features dj McQueen, Los Crocadilos, Drunken Gypsies and BustMyFlex.

The newly refurbished Town Hall will be opening in October but details of the Re-opening Festival have been released which might give an indication of what sort of events the NEC Group plan to put on there.

Headline events include Brum Rocks Extra for The Children’s Hospital – a fundraising concert for the Children’s Hospital Red Balloon Appeal, telling the story of the golden era of rock’n’roll in Birmingham with an all-star line-up including Robert Plant, Bev Bevan, John Lodge, and Tony Iommi. A unique collaboration between band of the moment, the Guillemots, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, includes the world premiere of a new work by Guillemots frontman, Birmingham-born Fyfe Dangerfield. Multi-award-winning jazz saxophonist and hip-hop artist Soweto Kinch premieres The Midnight Hop, a specially-commissioned work inspired by the forgotten stories of 18th and 19th-century black musicians in England. He also leads a summer school for young musicians working on the themes and issues of the piece.

The Re-opening Concert sees an outstanding line-up of local and national musicians performing Quincy Jones’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, a pioneering gospel/soul re-imagination of Handel’s Messiah (which was a mainstay of the famous Birmingham Triennial Festivals, held at the Town Hall from 1834 to 1912). Dusting down the great work will be Ruby Turner, Cleveland Watkiss, Soweto Kinch, Black Voices, BBC Big Band, the Reggae Philharmonic, and the cream of local gospel talent.

And there’s a hell of a lot more. (I’m particularly intrigued by the collaboration between the Guillemots and the CBSO…)

The festival runs from 4th - 21st October and tickets go on sale in June.

Hat tip to BirminghamMusic.com.

Krankpod is Samantha McEwan’s ceramics company. Samantha “draws inspiration for her work by studying organic objects such as pods, leaves and seeds.

“Original drawings are then translated into the clay using a method unique to her. Colour themes range from subtle to deliciously rich and vibrant.

“The use of contrasting gloss, satin and matt glazes makes her work tactile and inviting to touch, bringing a fresh approach to handmade ceramic design.”

She’s based in the Custard Factory and her work is available to the trade and on private commission.

I picked up her business card from the counter in the Custard Factory reception. Take note of that.

Chris Keenan informs on his hidden-away Prime Objective blog that he’s in the process of uploading a bunch of videos from last year’s Supersonic festival to YouTube. Nine are up so far and can be found in this account. Here’s the Modified Toy Orchestra one to be going along with.

Brumcast #47 is an Iron Man Records special featuring bands who’ve released music through the 10 year old Birmingham label. Here’s the tracklisting:

1. Nightingales - Carry On Up The Ante
2. Damn Dirty Apes - Egg Eating Ants
3. P.A.I.N. - Rocking Cross De Borda
4. Dufus - A Having Party
5. Last Under The Sun - Bring me their Heads
6. Citizen Fish - Sink Or Swim
7. Pigfish - 50,000,000 Miles Away
8. I.O.D. - Injury Or Death - Transform
9. Rejestracja - Wokol Nas
10. G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S - The Prodigal Scum
11. Less - Only Users Lose Drugs
12. toby wainwirght johns - to kill a sailor
13. Police Bastard - Race Hate
14. Mocca - the last sucker
15. Sensa Yuma - War
16. Fuck Hate Propaganda - His Story In History
17. Legion Of Dynamic Dischord - Onwards To Oblivion
18. Sist - Chinese Whispers
19. Nightingales - The Chorus Is The Title
20. P.A.I.N - British Justice

I listened to it while on my morning walk and it’s a good one.

To download this particular show right-click on this link. To subscribe to the podcast drag this into iTunes or similar. Or just press play on this page:

Iron Man is run by Mark Badger and it would be remiss of me not to remind you of the long interview I did with him last year.

The above is scanned from a business card picked up off the counter in Jibbering Records. The art is by Stephanie Mill. I can’t find an online presence for her but her email is dizzybug_2@hotmail.com.

Every week I’ll be presenting three local bands or musicians with a photo, song and, if available, video. I’m trying to keep my personal preferences out of this but often fail so suggestions for future posts are very welcome.

– — –

Beestung Lips

Reverse Alchemy

myspace.com/beestunglips1

– — –

Kramer Vs. Kramer Vs. Godzilla

Disco Pistol

myspace.com/kvkvg

– — –

Nightingales

Use Your Loaf

thenightingales.org.uk
myspace.com/nightingalesmusic

– — –

Any bands who’d like to be featured on this blog please send an mp3 and photo (or a link to where I can download them) to peteashton [at] gmail.com. All genres and styles are welcome, especially if they’re under represented here.

A regular selection from the Birmingham Flickr Community.

from amortize

from thornj

from Matt Murtagh

from harri b

All copyright as applies - click on images for more details.

To suggest photos for this feature add them to the best of threads or leave a link in the comment here, and please do as I seem to be posting the same people over and over and than ain’t good.

A reminder that Test Bed, the multi-artist show at Five Ways, started yesterday and runs for the rest of this week.

The artists comissioned for Test Bed are: Pauline Bailey, Nelson Douglas, Darryl Georgiou, Sandra Hall, Julie M O’Neil, Harry Palmer, George Saxon and Mark Storor.

Each artist has been challenged to make a project, in, or within ten minutes walk of the Curio City Shop and must include local people in the research, making or execution of their project. Each artist has a very different practice and approach to the problem, click on their name to be taken to information on them and their Test Bed project.

The Curio City Shop is in the Five Ways Shopping Centre and is open from 1pm - 6pm (excluding Sundays).

Skanking Dub Beats are “an independent live soundsystem” who put on gigs and such upstairs at the Bear Tavern in Bearwood of a dub / ska / punk ilk on what looks like a monthly basis.

I’ve been hearing rumours about the cultural revitalization of Bearwood. Along with the Bear Tavern there’s the Atticus Bar around the corner where they have lots of interesting DJ sets and display local artist’s art on the walls. Kinda makes me wish I lived there again.

I picked up the above flyer from Ensemble Interakt in Jibbering today and thought it worth posting here. The details in text form:

New British Music with Live Electronics
Monday 30 April 2007, 6pm
Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire
tickets £3 on the door

Surface Tension (flute, guitar & live electronics) Jamie Bullock
Feeding the Addiction (four piccolos) Stephen Mark Barchan
New Work (piano, percussion & video) Tom Littlewood
sevens (autoharp, sensors & live electronics) Cormac Faulkner
Piece for PowerBook and Cello Jonathan Green

I don’t generally post concert and gig details on this blog for one reason. There are far too many of them and if I draw and arbitrary line the accusations of bias and favouritism will legitimately fly. That said, if I come across something that strikes me as genuinely interesting, that appears to be doing something different, then I’ll mention it here. As good as ours are, every city has guitar bands. Not every city has a performance by “autoharp, sensors & live electronics”

Worth noting that I do post info about gigs that pass through my bias filter over on the BrumBlog and would encourage everyone else to do the same on their own blogs.