Most of these dates are now sold out! Check the feature anyways!
CW
Nine at The Salty Dog – The Charlatans support band lowdown preview.
Northwich is in for a treat come this May due to Tim
Burgess taking over the town for 11 days of arts and music. He picked The Salty
Dog as the main venue for his array of support bands so I set to the task of
speaking to each band about the event. Tim explains himself why the bands are
playing.
“We picked some of our favourite bands to play at The
Salty Dog. All of them have supported us in the last couple of years apart from
Deja Vega. They’re a band that Martin introduced to us and they come from up
the road so we asked them if they’d like to play. We’ll be nipping over the
road to catch them. Average Sex just supported us in Paris and Amsterdam so
it’s good to introduce them to the glamour of Northwich. It’ll be good to see
Yucatan again, they supported us in Cardiff but have been through a tough time
as Iwan their drummer died earlier this year. It will be hugely emotional for
them to play again. BMX Bandits are always a pleasure to watch and it’s been a
while since we caught up with Riding The Low. The Blinders are finishing things
off on the Sunday and it’s safe to say they will put on a fitting performance.
One of the best new bands around”
Chris
Mundie who runs The Dog and books all the gigs answers the questions that I set
to the bands.
How
did you get involved in CW9?
Completely out of the blue I had an e-mail from TIM,
nothing was set in stone and he was simply checking the availability of the
venue for the week with a view to putting on some bands. It wasn’t until a few
weeks later I got a call from Nick (PR) explaining the full scale of the
project. Needless to say we jumped at the chance to be involved.
Smaller
venues like yours seem to be making a difference for up and coming bands.
What’s your stance on this?
There are a few venues popping up around the country at
the minute, Redrum in Stafford is a great example. We have a very similar
approach to them. I was very much influenced by Dan at The Owl Sanctuary in
Norwich. There has also been a growth in independent promoters and people
looking to do things away from the mainstream. There are great independent
labels popping up and there is a real feeling of community building up across
multiple scenes and genres. Independent press like LTW also makes a big
difference. The mainstream has always been dominant and always will be but the
underground has never been better armed than it is now, we have the tools, we
have the technology!
What’s
your favourite Charlatans song?
I have to confess although I grew up in Cheshire I was a
teenage punk rocker so I didn’t really get into the band first time round. I
really love the concept of Sproston Green though. It put a place on the map
that was always my junction of the M6. Whenever I was heading anywhere I would
go through it and it has always been a milestone on my way home.
What
can we expect from you during these gigs?
Stress, panic and eventually adulation.
Describe
your venue in a quick quote.
Small but perfectly formed.
I
next got the chance to speak to all six bands playing over the course of the
week to get a taster of the week ahead.
Deja
Vega
Deja
Vega are vocalist and guitarist Jack Fearon, drummer Tom Webster and bassist
Mike Newton. After forming in Cheshire they made a short journey to Manchester,
a fitting backdrop to their gritty, guitar led psychedelia. Rhythmic and rage
fuelled and boasting surging riffs, Fearon’s hypnotic slurring lyrics lurch in
and out of poetic chants, battling over chaotic drums and the razor sharp bass
lines underneath. Live, Deja Vega demonstrate they’re a force to be reckoned
with… I speak to Jack the lead singer.
How
did you get involved in CW Nine?
Our manager used to take photos of The Charlatans back in
the day, so from back then he grew a friendship with Martin Blunt. He’s been a
fan of the band for some time now so when he offered us a slot we couldn’t turn
down the opportunity.
Smaller
venues like the Dog seem to be making a difference for up and coming bands.
What’s your stance on this?
I’m personally a big fan of the smaller venue gigs. It’s
the intimacy of the crowd and their reaction as well as witnessing a working
bands starting point. I’ve watched many bands start from small and go to big
and when it comes to the likes of seeing bands grow and live sound quality, I
definitely prefer the smaller venue.
Small
towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the
larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
I would love to do a small town tour. We’ve played cities
for some time now and our following, and the reaction we get, is always
brilliant. But when we’ve played some towns we’ve had reactions that are just
as good if not better. There’s a more welcoming feel as well.
What’s
your favourite Charlatans song?
That’s a hard question to answer. Can I pick a few? My
Beautiful Friend, Forever, Feel Flows or Bullet Comes. I really can’t pick
sorry haha.
What
can we expect from you during these gigs?
A loud and intense energetic start to your CW9 festival.
Describe
your band in a quick quote!
Fast and bulbous.
Yucutan
This
band are made up of itinerant multi instrumentalists Dilwyn Llwyd, Alex
Morrison, Gwyn Llewelyn and Osian Howells, is led by Llwyd’s profound, quiet
artistry on the edges of Wales’ Snowdonia National Park. Uwch Gopa’r Mynydd (Above The Mountain
Summit) has sweeping instrumentation which achieves cinematic emotional weight
with the most delicate of touches. Equally a people’s band and musician’s band,
Yucatan receives the continued support of Tim Burgess, having supported the
legendary band on their UK tour in 2015. Tim is effusive when asked about their
album “Such a good recording. There’s a magic to Yucatan’s music. A kind of
uplifting melancholy that takes you to beautiful places”. I speak to Dilywn
from the band.
How
did you get involved in CW Nine?
We are involved in a load of stuff with Tim Peaks and
have supported The Charlatans a couple of times. It feels like we’re part of
the family.
Smaller
venues like the Dog seem to be making a difference for up and coming bands.
What’s your stance on this?
When you’re starting off the smaller venue the better.
It’s way better to fill a small venue than play a big venue that’s empty. And
very often smaller venues have a great friendly vibe and have real music loving
types.
Small
towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the
larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
As a band we live in villages and put gigs on in
villages. Agents miss a trick with not touring in smaller places. Very often
you can get a much better crowd for a band as there is less competition. It
seems really boring that bands only tour big cities. I’ve always liked when
bands tour smaller places like when Echo & The Bunnymen toured the Outer
Hebrides in the 80’s. So yes we would.
What’s
your favourite Charlatans song?
Polar Bear. Great dance track that’s so deep and
mysterious. It’s been in my head for half my life. That first album was
something really special.
What
can we expect from you during these gigs?
We are working on some new stuff so we are looking to
play something fresh. We don’t do much showmanship. The focus is on the songs
and we get lost in them ans suck some people in with us.
Describe
your band in a quick quote!
Sort of soft rock with bells! No idea really.
Average
Sex
2017 was a fantastic
break through year for London band Average Sex - Having played sold out shows
for the likes of Fortuna Pop and Art Is Hard, releasing their debut single on
limited edition pink cassette (which sold out almost straight away) and
finishing the year with the release of their debut EP ‘Ice Cream’ on 1st
December through Tim Burgess’ O Genesis Recordings, as well as joining The
Charlatans on a 9 date U.K tour. How did they catch Tim’s ear? Well, after
being sent a link to the band’s work from drummer Finnigan Kidd, Burgess just
couldn’t get enough. “They have the pop sensibilities and the hooks and
melodies that never leave your head”, he says. Sam O Donovan gives me the answers.
How did you get involved in CW Nine?
We
were on tour with The Charlatans back in December and Tim and Nick
asked us if we'd like to take part.
Smaller venues like The Salty Dog seem to be making a difference for up
and coming bands. What's your stance on this?
I think
smaller venues have always been hugely important for new bands, it's
vital for people to support small venues as they're the ones
giving exciting new bands a chance to perform.
Small towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally
favour the larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
We'd
definitely like to do a small town tour if the opportunity arose
What's your favourite Charlatans
song?
Difficult
question as they have so many great songs, we got to know their latest record
really well from being on tour with them and it's fantastic, "Different
Days" "Plastic Machinery" really
stood out
What can we expect from you during these gigs?
We've been
doing lots of writing and we're going in the studio with Tim in March
to record our next EP so we'll have be playing our new material for
the first time.
Describe your band in a quick quote!
Well Art
is Hard called us "Bad ass power-pop champs sucking on
ice cream and the tears of their ex's."
BMX Bandits
BMX Bandits were formed in the ex-industrial town of
Bellshill by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T Stewart out of the ashes of
The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside Frances McKee (The
Vaselines), Sean Dickson (The Soup Dragons) and Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub).
BMX Bandits' songs mix melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and
heartbreaking pathos. Duglas describes their songs as being his world put to
music. Starting with the exuberant 'E102' in 1986 BMX Bandits released a series
of singles on Stephen's Pastels' 53rd & 3rd label. Later they joined
Creation Records, home of Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream
and many others. The group's most celebrated song is the autobiographical
'Serious Drugs', banned by Radio 1 as its release coincided with their
antidrugs week. The band have had ever changing line ups with Duglas as the one
constant as chief songwriter and eternal “troubled teenager” at its heart.
Duglas says the personnel changes are because BMX Bandits aren’t a conventional
group but rather an extended musical family. Stewart’s writing has been
compared to Brian Wilson, Ennio Morricone, Michel Legrand and even Alan
Bennett. In 2017 they released the album BMX Bandits Forever on Elefant
Records. The new album features the band's newest member, multi-instrumentalist
and singer Chloe Philip. Chloe brings an extra exuberance to BMX Bandits live
shows and is the perfect partner in crime for chief Bandito Duglas, the Bonnie
to his Clyde. Forever also features a brand new collaboration between Duglas
and Brian Jonestown Massacre leader Anton Newcombe. Duglas does me the honours.
How did you get involved in CW
Nine?
Tim has been very supportive of BMX Bandits. We've played his Tim Peaks
stage at festivals a few times and opened for The Charlatans. Tim and Nick
contacted me and told me about the event and asked if we wanted to be part of
it. I didn't need any time to think. We said "yes" without
hesitatation.
Smaller
venues like The Salty Dog seem to be making a difference for up and coming
bands. What's your stance on this?
Of course there's something pleasing about playing bigger stages in
front of large numbers of people but usually the gigs that are most fun abd
feel the best are venues like this. I like top be close to the people we're
playing for. It feels more organic. When we started out 33 years ago it there
were more smaller venues putting on exciting gigs and it feels like that's
gradually coming back again. That's a good thing.
Small
towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the
larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
We have played small towns and remote areas and we are very up for that.
I came from a small town outside Glasgow and so I appreciate the idea of
playing these places.
What's
your favourite Charlatans song?
Come Home Baby. Tim always dedicates it to me when he knows I'm at a
show. It was a song that saved my life. It gave me hope and kept me hanging on
when I was going through a very difficult time in my life.
What
can we expect from you during these gigs?
At our shows we want to make a real connection with the people who have
come to see us. We want people to feel better after the show than they did
before. Hopefully there will be smiles, laughter, a few tears and dancing (from
us and the audience).
Describe
your band in a quick quote!
BMX Bandits are an extended musical family out to make new friends
through music.
Photo
credit: Neil Johnson LTW
Riding The Low
Riding the Low hail from Burton on Trent. Look it up. They play
rock and roll. Look that up.
They have released their second album 'Riding the Low are Here to Help the Neighbourhood'. Listen to it. Listen to all of their shit. It's good. They have guitars and drums and stuff. They make noise. Sweet noise. I chat with Chris Baldwin about their upcoming date.
They have released their second album 'Riding the Low are Here to Help the Neighbourhood'. Listen to it. Listen to all of their shit. It's good. They have guitars and drums and stuff. They make noise. Sweet noise. I chat with Chris Baldwin about their upcoming date.
How did you get
involved in CW Nine?
Through Tim Burgess and Nick Fraser. Tim and
the Charlatans were kind enough to let us support them on a couple of dates a
few years back. We’ve played Tim Peaks at a few different festivals and Tim and
Nick have always been incredibly supportive of the band. I think what they do
with Tim Peaks is fantastic and it’s becoming the place to be at a lot of
festivals.
Smaller venues like
The Salty Dog seem to be making a difference for up and coming bands. What's
your stance on this?
I think it’s important we keep music
alive in these kind of venues. We cannot let it die. The desire to see new
bands and find new music is still out there. Music has to be accessible to
everyone.
Small towns usually
suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the larger places.
Would you do a small town tour?
We’d play anywhere! Any old toilet! Whatever
you’ve got.
What's your
favourite Charlatans song?
(Paddy) It’s a battle between ‘Crashin’
In’ and ‘Just Lookin’) for me. But I could pick loads. So many great memories
of grooving to ‘Jesus Hairdo’ in the Basement in Brighton back in the day.
(Chris) ‘The Only One I Know’ has a lot of heady memories attached to it also!
(Rich) I love Tellin’ Stories!
What can we expect from you during these gigs?
Just doing what we strive to do best. Bring it.
Bring an all out rock and roll assault and have the craic. What else should we
do?
Describe your band in a quick quote!
Riding the Low are tall, wide, hairy and
loud.
Image credit: Nasty Man Creations.
The Blinders
Punky and psychedelic, The Blinders are partly inspired by
poetry and literature. Their live show is a charismatic, theatrical live
experience of intensity, possessed by the spirits of musical
greatness.
Amidst a myriad of widely varying comparisons, their energy pulses with a unique, punkadelic sound. In turn, the music is building a movement. The Blinders bring with them a youthful, vibrant collective of friends and believers.
Musical maverick peers, creators, performers and dreamers, outsiders and insiders, united in support of something new and very now. The band respond to my questions.
Amidst a myriad of widely varying comparisons, their energy pulses with a unique, punkadelic sound. In turn, the music is building a movement. The Blinders bring with them a youthful, vibrant collective of friends and believers.
Musical maverick peers, creators, performers and dreamers, outsiders and insiders, united in support of something new and very now. The band respond to my questions.
How did you get involved in CW Nine?
"We were a part of the Charlatans last album launch with their Oldham Street take. It was a great experience which also lead to us being given the opportunity to support The Charlatans in Leeds and Nottingham on their previous tour. We’re not too sure how it all happened, I think a lot of it comes down to the simple fact that Tim is a fan of the band. Any event with them feels like an honour."
"We were a part of the Charlatans last album launch with their Oldham Street take. It was a great experience which also lead to us being given the opportunity to support The Charlatans in Leeds and Nottingham on their previous tour. We’re not too sure how it all happened, I think a lot of it comes down to the simple fact that Tim is a fan of the band. Any event with them feels like an honour."
Smaller venues like The Salty Dog seem to be making a
difference for up and coming bands. What's your stance on this?
"Such venues are imperative to the music scene. It’s where bands like ourselves cut their teeth, it’s where you learn to play and grow as performers. The constant attack on small venues is really an attack on culture or indeed sub-culture. It seems designed to prevent such movements from rearing their heads."
Small towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
"We understand it completely. We’re from Doncaster, it may not be the smallest of towns, but bands are hardly queuing up to play. The problem is, of course, bands have got to play where the crowds are, but we’d have no protests against playing a ‘small town tour’."
What's your favourite Charlatans song?
'Sproston Green'
What can we expect from you during these gigs?
"Buckfast fuelled rage."
Describe your band in a quick quote!
"A tempest raging across a schizophrenic desert, or something along those lines."
"Such venues are imperative to the music scene. It’s where bands like ourselves cut their teeth, it’s where you learn to play and grow as performers. The constant attack on small venues is really an attack on culture or indeed sub-culture. It seems designed to prevent such movements from rearing their heads."
Small towns usually suffer when it comes to bands touring, who normally favour the larger places. Would you do a small town tour?
"We understand it completely. We’re from Doncaster, it may not be the smallest of towns, but bands are hardly queuing up to play. The problem is, of course, bands have got to play where the crowds are, but we’d have no protests against playing a ‘small town tour’."
What's your favourite Charlatans song?
'Sproston Green'
What can we expect from you during these gigs?
"Buckfast fuelled rage."
Describe your band in a quick quote!
"A tempest raging across a schizophrenic desert, or something along those lines."
This will be an interesting week
of music for Northwich and an eye opener
for music fans with the diverse range of sound on offer. See you there!
Tickets for all gigs available on
Saturday 3rd March through DICE or venue.
Monday 14th May – Deja
Vega.
Tuesday 15th May –
Charlatans Quiz with Chris Hawkins plus very special guests.
Wednesday 16th May –
Yucatan.
Thursday 17th May –
Average Sex.
Friday 18th May – BMX
Bandits.
Saturday 19th May –
Riding The Low.
Sunday 20th May – The
Blinders.
www.salty-dog.co.uk
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