Pete Simonelli / Felix / Insect Ark / Rattle - Feb 25 2012

DAMN YOU! & GRINGO RECORDS PRESENTS:

A lot of people we've spoken to have said that Enablers at Chameleon was their gig of 2011. Can't disagree with that. They enjoyed themselves so much that vocalist Pete is coming all the way back again for this solo show with a stellar supporting cast...

PETE SIMONELLI

"In addition to being the vocalist and co-founder of the San Francisco-based band, Enablers, Simonelli is a published poet, writer, and playwright. A native Californian, Simonelli spent eighteen formative years in San Francisco, documenting, observing, drinking, reading, loving, betraying, working, and writing--- attributes and setbacks that, over the years, have led to many a Second Chance, for which he is very grateful. And call it birthright, boon, or bane, but as one who too often veered in westerly directions (much to the amusement of his friends and bandmates), Simonelli moved east in 2008 and now makes his home in Brooklyn, New York. These shows will see Pete reading from his past book 'One Brittle Nerve' and he will also have new material on offer."

If you saw his spoken-word performance at Lee Rosy's just over a year ago you'll know you're in for a rare treat.

www.lancashireandsomerset.co.uk


FELIX

Felix is the musical pseudonym for Lucinda Chua, joined now (in classic power trio style) by Neil Turpin (Yann Tiersen, Bilge Pump, Quack Quack, Enablers) on drums and long-time collaborator Chris Summerlin (Lords, Kogumaza) on electric guitar.
This 3 piece line-up has just recorded the second Felix record, entitled Oh Holy Molar to be released on the Kranky label in April 2012 after which the band embarks on a US tour with Yann Tiersen.

www.felixtheband.com


INSECT ARK

"INSECT ARK (NYC) is the brand-new solo project from Dana Schechter (Bee and Flower, Angels
of Light, American Music Club). Drawing from her decidedly more aggressive and experimental
musical side, INSECT ARK is composed and performed as an analog-electronic hybrid: one
woman, a sampler, a bass, a lap steel, and a keyboard. Just off a Fall 2011 European tour with
Enablers, she is currently recording her first EP"

http://insectark.tumblr.com/


RATTLE

If the idea of a band consisting of just 2 drummers brings to mind a hippy bongo nightmare then you've obviously never heard Rattle. Comprising of 2 of Nottingham's most unique and recognisable drummers (Theresa Wrigley of Fists and Katharine Brown of Kogumaza) and aided by Kogumaza's Mark Spivey they create a hypnotic and danceable music form that recalls This Heat or ESG even whilst remaining completely their own.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rattle/196974100379051?v=info


What a line up eh? We're going to decide on running order on the night. The thinking is to perhaps have Pete's spoken word going on throughout the evening between bands or to somehow mix it up differently to a normal gig. We'll keep you posted on that one.

As usual, we're keeping this cheap and cheerful so it's FIVE POUNDS ON THE DOOR.

DOORS ARE AT 8.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Shield Yr Eyes / I'm Being Good / Grey Hairs - Jan 20 2012

Damn You! & Gringo Records present a true winter warmer to kick off 2012 with

SHIELD YR EYES

With a tireless workrate that sees albums flying out seemingly by the week and constant touring, SYE have built up a deserved reputation as one of the UK's most remarkable bands. Centred around the dizzying interplay between the scattershot rhythms of drummer Henri and the bizarre, unique guitar style of Stef the results are truly impossible to classify. Yeah, their rhythms are crazy and yeah this is hard to play but it's never math rock. Underneath the complexities beats a heart of genuine beauty that infuses the urgency and clatter with a sense of epic-ness (in the original sense of the world) that recalls Neil Young.
True story - first time I saw these guys was at The Chameleon. I went down the front figuring I'd last a few mins, it'd be OK but it'd probably not be my thing. They blew my mind. Afterwards I pestered Stef to tell me how he did certain tricks on his guitar like a nervous kid. I've never seen anything like it before or since. I have every confidence they'll blow you away the same way too.

http://functionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/volume-4

I'M BEING GOOD

A welcome return to Nottingham for Brighton's premier noise rock outfit, now celebrating their 408th year in the business. IBG are most frequently compared to contemporaries like Trumans Water or Polvo but recent LP Mountain Language (Gringo) sees them draw out their addictive riffing and make time elastic. If you dig it when Harvey Milk tease out the greatest songs at glacial pace then you'll dig I'm Being Good in their current 2 guitar and drums formation. Not just heavy but HEAVY. Man.

http://imbeinggood.bandcamp.com/album/mountain-language

GREY HAIRS

Ex-members of Pissy Leg, Skulltanker, Harvey Half Devoured, Nerve Bomb and Reynolds (and Fists, Cult Of Dom Keller, Fonda 500, Lords) play slightly-too-loud, slightly-too-fuzzy rock music that steals riffs from Skull Kontrol, Nirvana and Status Quo. They should probably know better.

http://vimeo.com/31950012

All this starts usual time on a Friday at Chameleon so we're looking at 8pm for doors, maybe 8.40 for first band? You know the drill. It's a mere £5 on the door. Get there early.

Damn You! Christmas Covers Party 2011

It's that time of year again when bands in Nottingham scurry to secret practise rooms to heatedly discuss which pop classics they're going to murder in front of a paying audience in the name of good tidings. Yep, the 10th Annual Damn You! Christmas Covers Party is happening at The Bodega in Nottingham on December 17th.
If you socially network you can read all about it here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153536504743034
And if you don't then the local paper The Evening Post grilled me about it last year here:
http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/nottingham-evening-post/mi_8158/is_20101217/gig-damn-christmas-covers-party/ai_n56509476/
All proceeds from this year's event go to Nottinghamshire Hospice as if all the tomfoolery wasn't reason enough to attend. See you there...

And if you're too young to understand why Santa is eating a piece of salmon from his beard then catch up here:

Nathan Bell - 26 Oct

DAMN YOU! PROUDLY PRESENTS; FROM BALTIMORE MD:

NATHAN BELL

Nathan Scott Bell is a banjo player hailing from Baltimore, Maryland via Brazil.

You may have seen Nathan play in Nottingham before as ½ of Human Bell with Bonnie Prince Billy sidekick (and now Arboreteum frontman) Dave Heumann, who we had the pleasure of putting on a few years back.

We tried to put him on last year but UK border control weren't so keen though they did enjoy his impromptu gig in the holding cell at Heathrow.
Now he's back at the invitation of Capsule for the Supersonic Festival and we've asked him back to Nottingham.

Nathan is perhaps best known for his bass playing in legendary Dischord Records band Lungfish. He manned the low-end from 1996 to 2003, meaning when you put on Artificial Horizon or The Unanimous Hour and find yourself transported to alien, subquatic lands where your balance has been flipped upside down and you get the feeling of “I-should-probably-just-lay-back-down-here-that’s-better” it’s this man you should be thanking.

That this ability to alter perception should continue will come as no surprise if you’ve heard the music Nathan makes on his own and as part of the Brassa Bell ensemble.
Those same transformative qualities are richly abundant but now, instead of the bass, Nathan uses the banjo.
Whereas former Lungfish bandmate Daniel Higgs uses his own banjo as a grounding point for his vocals or as a raga-like instrument that always insists upon the moment, Nathan uses it’s spectral tones to explore melodic possibilities that hang in the air and bury into the brain.
Whether picked, bowed, sung into, scraped or drummed-on, he uses the banjo to somehow dislocate you from the present.
But this is no flashback or nostalgia trip. He might use tools from a past century but it’s the future you’ll be hearing.
Don’t be afraid.

http://www.myspace.com/osmodiusbell
http://nathanscottbell.bandcamp.com/


THE HORSE LOOM

Where to start to describe The Horse Loom?
The best acoustic guitar player in the country? Maybe.
The most unique marriage between British folk music, avant garde guitar playing and punk rock spirit? Certainly.
Wonderful? Definitely.
Under-rated?
You’ll have to ask him about that.

Northumbrian guitarist and singer Steve Malley would doubtless be extremely embarrassed to read any of these things. That says a lot. Steve played guitar in Crane in the early 90s, whose post-Husker Du take on The Byrds-meets-DC hardcore earned them a deserving reputation as one of the UK's finest live bands. He would go on to play in Kodiak, Four Frame and then most notably The Unit Ama.
The Unit Ama existed in direct contrast to their (musical) peers from America. Whereas a cold and cool approach was favoured by the bands from across the pond, The Ama dropped any of this façade and opened themselves and their music to possibilities of accident and misfortune creating a live experience that was truly inspiring. I say with total sincerity that they changed a lot of people’s musical outlook forever.

The Horse Loom sees Steve take this approach and apply it to his love of folk music. Combining folk structures and melodies with his incredible guitar playing has made The Horse Loom something truly unique. Getting Steve (a fireman by day) to play gigs these days is next to impossible so don’t miss this rare adventure to Nottingham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWUcdN-2-MI


BLACK OCTAGON

Black Octagon brings together musicians from the same bubbling underground music world in Liverpool that brought you bands like Mugstar and Kling Klang. Take that sense of unravelling psychedelia and export it to the wilds of the countryside and you might start to imagine what sounds would occur. 2 guitars intertwine over bobbing drum patterns recalling something somewhere between the Neil Young “Dead Man” soundtrackisms of later Earth and the beautiful, layered melodies of Aerial M. But always sounding distinctly British and distinctly rural.

http://blackoctagon.bandcamp.com/



This is all happening at Lee Rosy’s Tea Room. We’ll open at 8pm and kick it off at 8.30 and try and bring things to a close at 11. Lee Rosy’s will be serving teas, coffees and the usual waistband-disaster that is their cake display. There will be a full Lancashire & Somerset record stall with limited vinyl releases, books and artwork: http://www.lancashireandsomerset.co.uk/

It’s a fiver.

Enablers - Oct 13

DAMN YOU! AND GRINGO RECORDS VERY PROUDLY PRESENTS; FROM SAN FRANCISCO:

ENABLERS

ENABLERS are from San Fransisco, CA and are without doubt one of the most powerful and amazing live bands on the planet right now and one of only a tiny handful of bands that we all agree on as being truly something special.
They combine a sinister tautness (somewhat akin to Slint maybe - and by that I mean dark, heavy, dry, bare, economical and not the dreaded "post rock" tag) with a love of heaviosity and weird riffery that sits them somewhere between the ritualistic displays of the mighty Lungfish and the more cathartic explosions of Nottingham's own Bob Tilton .
They employ a 2 guitars and drums set up to maximum effect whilst vocalist Pete Simonelli delivers spoken-word beat monologues and moods that either whisper below the surface or fight hard to be heard over the band's righteous racket.
The addition of drummer Doug Scharin (Codeine, June Of 44, HiM etc) and an increase in activity culminating in the new LP "Blown Realms And Stalled Explosions" (on Exile On Mainstream/Lancashire & Somerset) and a genuinely triumphant final-night set at the Pavement-curated ATP has seen Enablers hone and perfect their already considerable skills to the point where they are truly unstoppable.

http://enablers.bandcamp.com/


KOGUMAZA

Kogumaza formed in Nottingham in 2009. They use primitive rhythms, patterns and riffs to create dense and mesmeric song-cycles. The band’s live sound is manipulated through dub delays and echoes, allowing what is basically a heavy rock trio to expand and willingly lose control of the sound they make as they make it.

The resulting music marries fuzzed-out psychedelia to an ambient aesthetic, placing the band somewhere between the infinite repetition of Moondog and the thick gloop of Master Of Reality-era Sabbath.
They have recently released their first LP on the Low Point label and toured Europe with Zomes. A split 7" with Hookworms is in the pipeline and October sees shows with Nathan Bell, Enablers and an appearance at the Supersonic Festival.

“At times Kogumaza sounds like the future or the strange murmurings of the universe; at others, the cyclical pounding of drums conjures ghosts of ancient rituals, as if drawn from the very centre of the earth” Fluid Radio

http://kogumaza.bandcamp.com/


WITHOUT MAPS

"Without Maps hail from Nottingham, they consist of four people who sing, play guitars and drum. They came about through a desire to create music that was as direct as it was engaging. Initial practices began in late 2010 with three mutual friends mapping out their first creations. A decision was made after these first sessions that these songs needed to sound as big as possible and a fourth member was subsequently added. Late January this year saw the band making their first trip to the studio to record their first audio offering “The Cellar Tapes EP” and February marked the bands first live appearances. In the coming months the band hope to see themselves playing many more shows and write and record as much as possible whilst holding down low paid jobs"

http://withoutmaps.bandcamp.com/


All this excellence starts with the doors to Chameleon opening at 8.00 and the first band on at 8.30.

£5 ADVANCE FROM : http://www.wegottickets.com/event/132541

£6 DOOR. Buy a ticket as this will be busy...

DO NOT MISS!

Abandoned House

Now showing on Flickr

Kogumaza Upcoming

Apologies for lack of updates if anyone cares. Been doing lots of music-related things. More of which to follow but here's a load of upcoming shows for KGMZ:

AUGUST
19 OXFORD WHEATSHEAF w/Dive Dive, Richard Walters, Seabuckthorn

OCTOBER
13 NOTTINGHAM CHAMELEON w/Enablers
14 BIRMINGHAM HARE & HOUNDS w/Enablers, Backwards
15 LONDON POWER LUNCHES w/TBC
16 BRIGHTON HOPE w/Enablers, Sweet Williams
22 SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL at The Custard Factory, Birmingham w/Turbonegro, Bardo Pond, Tony Conrad, Nathan Bell, Part Chimp, Skull Defekts and more

Here's an interview on the Supersonic website: http://www.supersonicfestival.com/news/kogumaza-qa/2011/

There are tentative plans for a split single in the pipeline with Leeds friends Hookworms as well.

Picore Posters

2 new posters for shows in Derby and Nottingham for the mighty Picore from Zaragoza.
Both are of the very slight in-joke variety but hopefully still look nice to those of you who haven't seen this Spanish gas commercial and who also know Michael Cross and those of you unfamiliar with this review of Picore's last show in Nottingham that makes particular reference to some of their facial foliage...





Go to both!

Zomes & Kogumaza European Tour May 2011

ZOMES & KOGUMAZA in Europe, May 2011

WEDNESDAY MAY 11 PARIS ESPACE B

THURSDAY MAY 12 BORDEAUX LE NOVO LOCALE

FRIDAY MAY 13 ZARAGOZA ARREBATO

SATURDAY MAY 14 MADRID ROCK & POP

SUNDAY MAY 15 BARCELONA MOOG

MONDAY MAY 16 TBC

TUESDAY MAY 17 BOLOGNA LAZZARETTO

WEDNESDAY MAY 18 VIENNA RHIZ

THURSDAY MAY 19 PRAGUE A STUDIO RUBIN also w/DANIEL HIGGS

FRIDAY MAY 20 LEIPZIG KAFIC

SATURDAY MAY 21 ANTWERP SCHELD'APEN

SUNDAY MAY 22 LONDON FIRE STATION COMMUNITY NURSERY



CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE LP "EARTH GRIDS" BY ZOMES.
(You should, it's fantastic)

Come along, say hi.

(Tour poster by David Hand)

Felix / Poppy Seed - Nov 18

"Come and enjoy a rare show in the old gallery space upstairs at The Hand and Heart pub, which will be transformed into a haven of comfort and entertainment.

FELIX
Sharp pianist and cellist Lucinda Chua leads a star ensemble through playful and brooding musical fantasies on dancing, heartbreak and rebellion.
Playing songs from the Kranky release "You Are the One I Pick" and more...

http://doublesixclub.tv/session/13/felix
http://www.brainwashed.com/kranky/
http://www.myspace.com/mybeautifulfelix

POPPY SEED
"Gone electric"
Hold on to your pants and hold on to your wives. 2-piece now 5-piece band from Nottingham with influences from Chris Isaak to Etta James.

http://poppyseed.bandcamp.com/

Thursday 18th November
Hand & Heart Gallery, Derby Rd, Nottingham
£4 on the door"

Kogumaza / Gareth Hardwick - Nov 11

Originally planned to be NATHAN BELL (of Lungfish) with Kogumaza and Dusty Bible, we found out this morning that Nathan was refused entry to the UK at immigration and sent home.
This is something of a colossal downer.

Let us not wallow in this bad news though. Kogumaza will be unrestricted by a 30 min opening slot for the first time ever for their last Nottingham show before hibernating to make an LP, Low Point's Gareth Hardwick has been coaxed out of gig hiatus, Dusty Bible got through immigration about 15 years ago, Chameleon is booked, the door price is lowered, Nick's got a load of booze in from Lidl and we demand your attendance.

Here's the blurb:

DAMN YOU! in association with RAMMEL CLUB presents...

► KOGUMAZA
Kogumaza is people from Bob Tilton, Lords, Wolves Of Greece and more making thick, shimmering riff cycles pitched somewhere between a budget Black Sabbath and Spacemen 3 on half speed playing forever. Frequencies are shifted, drums are echoed to infinity and beautiful patterns emerge from the fuzz and stay trapped in your brain for weeks.
http://www.myspace.com/oogamaza
http://www.honeyisfunny.com/kogumaza/

► GARETH HARDWICK
Low Point Records (Machinefabriek, Strategy etc) owner Gareth Hardwick returns to the live arena at long last. "While many experimental artists tend to shy away from intimacy...the cliched presumption of instrumental music being incapable of dealing with private issues in a specific way was effectively disproved by suggestive soundscapes which burned with joy, pain, elation and desire – even if they hardly ever rose above a whisper"
www.low-point.com

► DUSTY BIBLE
Hoarse blues with a whiff of sulphur and three day oldbooze.

THURSDAY 11th NOVEMBER
The CHAMELEON Arts Cafe, Nottingham
(Old Market sq / alleyway next to the Bell Inn, above Clinton Cards)
8pm doors
£3 on the door

We'll send the proceeds onto to Nathan Bell to help pay for a little of the wasted airfare so be sure to come down.

Pete Simonelli - Nov 21

Goddamn it! We said NO MORE GIGS.
We said it loads. We basked in the glorious glow of just turning up to other people's shows, paying the money to get in, drinking 3 or 4 continental lagers and then just going home again feeling good.
But sometime earlier this year, the-former-team-Damn-You had the immense good fortune to witness San Francisco (via Brooklyn) band ENABLERS absolutely amaze a crowd of people at the Pavement ATP like few bands we've ever seen before. Seriously, it was almost religious.
We felt re-energised. Afterwards, bonds were forged over continental lagers and we decided that we would always put a show on for any of these men should they ever pass through our fair town.
It was like the Goonies but everyone was way, way older.

When vocalist Pete Simonelli said he was planning a spoken-word tour we couldn't resist. Pete's unique vocal delivery (part spoken, part shouted, always utterly compelling) and winding tales of the noir-ish underbelly of the city and it's characters make Enablers so special and we're as intrigued and excited as you should be that he's doing this short spoken word tour and that it's coming to everyone's favourite tea shop. Here's the blurb for you:

"In addition to being the vocalist and co-founder of the San Francisco-based band, Enablers, Simonelli is a published poet, writer, and playwright. A native Californian, Simonelli spent eighteen formative years in San Francisco, documenting, observing, drinking, reading, loving, betraying, working, and writing--- attributes and setbacks that, over the years, have led to many a Second Chance, for which he is very grateful. And call it birthright, boon, or bane, but as one who too often veered in westerly directions (much to the amusement of his friends and bandmates), Simonelli moved east in 2008 and now makes his home in Brooklyn, New York. These shows will see Pete reading from his new book 'One Brittle Nerve' and he will also have a new record that will be a 3 way split between pete / McWatt and Black Octagon."

www.myspace.com/enablers
http://www.myspace.com/petesimonelli
www.lancashireandsomerset.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHBG0IrcDZY

In addition to Pete (and continuing our totally-acoustic-with-no-PA evening) we have one of our favourite bands: MCWATT.
You may have seen them at Lee Rosys before or witnessed their beautiful set supporting A Hawk & A Hacksaw at the Malt Cross a few years back.
We once saw the playing in a crypt a few feet from an entombed corpse. That was a fun night.
Here's what they say about themselves:

"We are a duo. We play double bass, flute and several accordions. We are D.I.Y., and we love playing gigs. We smell good and are polite, even when drunk. Whenever the size of the room and the raucousness of the audience allows, we prefer to play completely acoustically, i.e. not even through the p.a. We like Debussy, Satie, Sea Shanties, British folk music, Charlie Haden, Arvo Part, things of that ilk. People say our songs are really sad, but we do not think so. Maybe we are really depressed"

http://www.myspace.com/mcwattband

In addition we have Nottingham's own NICK JONAH DAVIS playing solo guitar. Nick's guitar skills are incredible but unlike some of his peers he never lets them get in the way of the music he writes and performs. While the rest of the fingerpicking brigade disappear into a folk vortex parallel to the speed competitions of 1980s post-Eddie Van Halen excess, Nick just gets on with it. We dig that. You will too.

http://www.myspace.com/nickdavisguitar
http://www.tompkinssquare.com/

This is happening on SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21 and we're opening the doors to Lee Rosys at the thoroughly sensible 7.30pm, giving you 30 mins to buy cake before the entertainment starts and it's all done with at a last-bus friendly 10.30
All this for £4 too.

Kogumaza Activity

(Chinchillafest, May 7 2010)

The L&S014 7" has it's own ordering page at the L&S website here: http://lancashireandsomerset.co.uk/index2.html
Head to the Bands link for info on other L&S artists like Enablers, Nathan Bell, Mugstar and more...

Some recent linkage:
http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/2821
http://www.textura.org/reviews/kogumaza.htm
http://still-single.tumblr.com/post/557520858/kogumaza-sevens-b-w-mara-7-low-point
http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/3047

Upcoming:
September 4: Hired Geeks all-dayer at The Victoria in London
Truly mindmelting line-up with Part Chimp, That Fucking Tank, Please and a load more including us.
October 24: Nottingham Rescue Rooms with The Ex
Getting to support one of our favourite bands. What's more our friends Bellini are playing Nottingham the night before (fingers crossed).

An LP is in the works as well.

Felix Activity

No posts for a while. Post-World Cup comedown and an enormous illustration job (more of which soon) have taken up my time so some catching up is in order.
Firstly, Felix are playing the Sunday of the Green Man Festival (Aug 20-22) on the Pub Stage at some lunch-style hour I believe. Here's the blurb: http://www.greenman.net/artist2010/felix/2793
It'll see the debut of The Kevin Smith on drums, fresh from 18 months in Ethiopia and standing in for Elvis while he teaches kids to surf.
To entice festival goers away from a bacon sandwich on the Sunday lunchtime, here is some film of a new song from the last gig on the tour at the start of the year in Cambridge:



There is also a tour diary set of photos from back in Jan/Feb over at Flickr

Silver Mt Zion + Kogumaza on Weds

Katy did this beauty...
Doors 7.30, KGMZ 8pm at a guess. Except it's 24th March not 24th February.
www.rescuerooms.com

Kogumaza 7" Released Today

The first of two Kogumaza 7 inches is released today by the lovely Low Point label. It has two songs on it, you can listen to both here: http://www.low-point.com/LP032.html
It's limited to 300 copies and comes on transparent red vinyl in a yellow paper sleeve. Why not buy one when we play this: http://www.rescuerooms.com/index.php?option=com_dhpevents&Itemid=71&eventid=347 ?

D.I.V.O.R.C.E Poster

Going to hell...

Brokaw / Farina Poster

Italian Car Photos

Now showing at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumlin/sets/72157623398758364/

Savoy Grand Tour Poster

A2 sized poster for the upcoming Savoy Grand European dates. They're listed here: http://www.myspace.com/savoygrand
Savoy Grand are in the midst of what rock biographers will retrospectively call their "Pig Period": Glitterhouse Records.