Winston's Zen

BRUCE AND THE BOYS ON THE JOHN PEEL STAGE

I normally try and be a bit more wordy in my posts than this but I'm not sure I've got the vocabulary for this one.

You might remember we mentioned Springsteen inspired The Gaslight Anthem some time ago. Well, last week at Glastonbury, in full view of Winston's Zen...... this happened;

WEDNESDAY - THE ARRIVAL

Ok, ok. So setting off in the hire car without a map, might have been an ill-advised way to kick off my first ever Glastonbury experience. But nonetheless, that’s what we did, and yes we might have found ourselves flying past the Cerne Abbas Giant, a full 40 miles from the Worthy Farm site, convinced we were heading in the direction of Pilton before the unnecessary detour we’d taken fully sank in, but somehow getting totally lost turned out to be a massive bonus. Although we’d spent the last hour or so listening to Radio Somerset interview punters stuck in six hour traffic jams near the site, and received text messages from friends who’d left London eleven hours earlier and were still on the road, we ended up approaching the site from what turned out to be the only free flowing road into the festival. We hit the carpark entrance just after 8pm and were unloading the car by 9. Total travelling time from North London: five hours. According to the people we spoke to on site, this would appear to constitute some kind of Glastonbury record. One in the eye for Sat Nav then.

Beaten only by the return trip, to be endured in a few days time by tired legs, hungover brains and sleep deprived minds, carpark to campsite is always the second worst journey of any festival. At Glastonbury, even after a day blessed by the kind of sunshine that makes you forget what mud looks like, that journey is a hundred times harder than any similar trip I’ve ever made before. With the light fading rapidly and our faithful trolley assembled and fully loaded we are ushered along a dirt track running alongside the giant steel walls that mark the perimeter of the daddy of all festivals. The walls, fifteen feet high if they’re an inch and bent back at the top (presumably to prevent members of the SAS and those equipped with grappling hooks gaining free access) look more like the kind that might circle the site of a concentration camp rather than the hedonistic utopia we’ve been told lies within. As thousands of people, old and young, drag, push and heave their weekend’s essentials along the six-foot wide track, the darkness exaggerated by these imposing barriers it would be easy to feel like prisoners of war being made march to their meagre quarters, forced to carry the guards possessions as a further hardship. That feeling is compounded maybe thirty minutes later as sweating and heaving, we pass through the entrance turnstiles and receive our papers.“You MUST keep the tickets with you ALL weekend” the stewards bellow to anyone within earshot, “and DON’T attempt to remove your armband” they add helpfully after securing it using a huge rusty vice.

The Campsite Crew (not a travelling hip-hop act, it turns out) inform us that they’ve never seen so many people arrive on the Wednesday and the campsite we’re supposed to meet our friends in was reported as 95% full over an hour ago. We’re told our best hope is to head for the Park area which demoralisingly is a forty minute walk away. Morale takes a further battering forty minutes later, when we’re told by another steward that the Park is still an hour away and that it too is starting to fill up. Nice to know that some of the people working here are as lost as us. And lost is exactly what we are. Already shattered from our exertions and daunted by the sheer volume of people milling around outside what we later learn is the Queens Head Stage, with a trolley full of bedding and food, and two rucksacks full of clothes and camping equipment weighing us down, we set ourselves down to take stock of the situation. The campsite close to us is so full, it seems futile to try and find a space for our tent there but the idea of carrying our things to another is about as welcome as and MPs expense claim. And then an angel of common sense comes skipping over to our aid. “I’ve been all round the site” she tells me, smiling the inane grin that we’ll see again and again as the weekend goes on, “everywhere is already as busy as everywhere else. You might as well find a spot in here.”

That, and the prospect of not having to carry our things any further are all the encouragement we need and we set about the business of squeezing our three manner in the tiniest of gaps in a campsite that turns out to be bang in the middle of the festival, with the Pyramid stage and the Queens Head competing to drown each other out during the day, and a Mowtown / Guilty Pleasures disco on hand to keep us awake over night.

Thankfully, considering it’s now 10:30pm, our tent happens to be a doddle to erect, and after introducing ourselves to our closest neighbours (there’s probably 40 tents within a ten metre radius of ours) one of whom informs us that we’ve pitched right in the middle of her group of friends tents, as if you get to reserve a space at Glasto to act as your communal garden. “You haven’t been to a festival before have you?” I reply pointing to a six foot by three foot gap in which she’s opened up a few camping chairs. “We’re the least of your worries; they’ll be a tent there by the time you wake up.” I promise her.

We spend the next few hours wandering around the site, attempting without much success to acquaint ourselves with the frankly mind-bending layout. Eventually we give up and head back to our tent. Maximo Park kick the whole thing off at 4pm tomorrow, and as we settle down for the best nights sleep we can possibly muster the realisation of where we are kicks in and the excitement becomes almost too much too bear.

Funniest T-shirt slogan seen today: "Sex, Drugs & Sausage Rolls".

Back soon,
Winston

9TH JULY 2009 - THE NORTH LONDON TAVERN, NW6

It's happened. Winston's Zen just got tangible, and the reason for my recent radio silence now becomes apparent. The site may have been slow, but Zen Avenue has been a flurry of activity in the last few weeks. Here's the full story....

Whilst Winston slept soundly after a hard nights work at the ether factory, a magnificently eye-browed Noel Gallagher appeared to him in a dream. Bathed in light and carrying a guitar made of soul, the Oasis frontman cut an angel like figure as he whispered the immortal words "Go ferrit arr kid. If you book them, they will come", and disappeared into a champagne supernova in the sky.

Taking the words of Noel as the gospel he'd always suspected they might be, Winston set about contacting the best new artists he could find with a view to putting on the greatest show North London ever saw. To his delight, each and every one did exactly as Archangel Noel preditcted and came to the party.

Now it's YOUR turn!

ZEN-TRIFUGE: The North London Tavern, Kilburn High Road, 9th July 2009..... Noel said you'd come.

NO BRANDING, NO SPONSORS - JUST MUSIC AND PUNTERS

Vince Power is a man who knows a thing or two about what makes a good shindig. In 1982 he establishekd the Mean Fiddler club and watched it quickly grow into the all encompassing music empire we now know and love. Along the way, Power has hand a hand in organising some of the biggest knees-ups on the planet (Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Homelands and the Spanish behemoth Benicassim as well as last years Mighty Boosh festival all spring rapidly to mind)

Now the brains behind the Hop Farm Festival, which this year grows into a two day multi-staged affair for the first time, Mr Power has decided to offer the average fest-lover something a little bit different. Hop Farm comes about after an extensive survey suggested that many UK festival goers silently suffer the twin complaints of marketing burn-out and wristband envy in order to secure their summer fix of live music. Amazingly, it appears that for many of us, pitching tents under a giant Coca Cola banner, at the back of the Red Bull campsite in order spend all day drinking nothing but warm pints of Tuborg and cursing as hundreds of VIP-wristband-wielders ignore the crash barriers and congregate in front of the co-sponsored Duracell/Mastercard stage, ensuring themselves a better view of the every single artist you’ve shelled out two-hundred sheets for and spent three hours on a cramped coach to see, isn’t exactly our idea of a fabulous weekend in the sun.

Thank the heavens for Hop Farm, then.

Laid out across ninety acres of unspoilt Kent countryside Hop Farm promises a festival with no sponsorship, no branding and no VIP areas. That’s right, none at all. No T4 stage, no JJB arena, no L’Oreal adverts in-between gigs, no Superdrug bus offloading suncream, Anadin and morning after pills. Now, you might assume that would mean a no-frills line-up of pub bands and no-hopers. You’d be wrong. Highlights for this year include established names like Paul Weller, Doves, Editors, The Rifles and The Fratellis alongside some of our favourite new and upcoming acts such as Florence and the Machine, The Joy Formidable, Fight Like Apes, The Chapman Family and Dananananaykroyd. Can’t knock that for a line-up, right?

Those of you who are looking for a less commercial festival alternative, within easy reach of the capital might as well stop looking now.

Hop Farm 2009 takes place on 4th and 5th July. Weekend tickets cost £125 including camping and parking, day tickets are £65. For more information, or to purchase tickets head directly for The Hop Farm website.

Back soon
Winston

LETTING EMERGING ACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

London trio Bleech boast a winning combination of hardwork, killer tunes, and good looks that seem set to help them clean up on the UK indie scene.

Managed by Andy Ross, the brains behind 90’s brit-pop legends Blur, Bleech are fronted by sisters Katherine and Jenifer O’Neil, both talented guitarist and on-stage visions of rock-chick perfection. Sticksman Matt Bick may be the only male presence but he provides enough bare-chested testosterone to provide an undercurrent of masculinity to their grunge tinged indie.

Their female-to-male ratio inevitably draws comparisons to Elastica and The Pixies, but Bleech’s real sound draws influences from altogether more male sources. Adrenalin Junkie is a salacious Verve meets Libertines affair, and the gorgeous Flowerhands at times nods towards an early Radiohead. Impressive stuff indeed, and impressively consistent too. Recent well received shows at both Camden Crawl and Great Escape, and enthusiastic mentions in the mainstream press (NME called them ‘hard to resist’) will have done the bands chances no harm at all.

The girls and boy took a small detour on their route to fame and riches, stopping on the way to answer a few questions from Winston's Zen.


What’s the least accurate description of your music that you’ve ever seen or heard in the media?
Katherine: Well we get compared to Elastica a lot but we don’t think we sound like them!

Jennifer: Yeah, we haven’t ever had any drastic descriptions that aren’t like us but we do get the obvious girl band references because they can’t be bothered to actually listen to the music!!

Set the record straight. How should journalists be describing Bleech?
Jennifer: Well we have got that 90’s sound as that’s when we all grew up and what we listened to, but we are influenced by a lot of modern bands and older bands too that bring different qualities to the songs.

Katherine: Amazing! Haha, I don’t know. Its good to hear how other people perceive our music, but only if its good!

Matt: We are just writing honest pop songs but with a raw edge!

What has being in Bleech given you that you wouldn’t otherwise have?
Jennifer: The opportunity to actually do what I have always wanted to do! Be in a band and write and play songs that we all want to play, we have also made some really close friends....(Turning Worm) who make it even more enjoyable!

Katherine: We have had the opportunity to meet the most weird and wonderful people, and have supported some of our favourite bands.

Matt: My new Gretsch drumkit!

What’s a Bleech gig like?
Katherine: Sweaty

Jennifer: A bungee jump with hob nail boots on eating manuka honey

Tell us how you got together with Bleech.
Katherine: Well it all started when Jen and I needed a new drummer, Matt who was then a guitarist said “Yeah i’ll give it a go for a while”...and now we can’t get rid of him!

I sneak a look through your mobile while you nip to the bar. What’s the most famous name I find in the phonebook?
Jennifer: Yonah from Cleopatra

Katherine: Ed from The Darkness

Matt: Mark from Feeder

Put your iPod / MP3 player on random. What are the first five tracks?
Katherine: Klaxons – Golden Skans / Chris Brown – Gimme That / NERD – Jump / Feeder – Buck Rodgers / Bob and Marcia – Pied Piper

Jennifer: Foo Fighters – In Your Honour / Foo Fighters – Still / Dandy Warhols – Shakin' / QOTSA - Regular John / Coldplay – Everything’s Not Lost (Live)

Matt: Dimmu Borgir – Prophicies of the Apocalypse / Mars Volta – Eritarka / Send More Paramedics – Bokor / The Vines – Animal Machine / Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees

Tell us about the greatest album of all time.
Katherine: Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare...Pure genius

Jennifer: Thats a hard one...any Beatles Album, Nirvana – Nevermind, QOTSA – Songs for the deaf, Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Joni Mitchell – Blue, Kings of Leon – Only By The Night, Rage Against The Machine – RATM, U2....you see i could go on and on!

Matt:Back in Black by ACDC

And the best gig you ever saw.
Jennifer: Paul McCartney at Anfield stadium! Yes i can say i have seen a ‘Beatle’! Rage Against the Machine, Reading Festival 2008

Katherine: Yup the same as Jen’s, Rage...I even have a memorable scar on my leg from that gig

Matt: Muse at Reading Festival...I actually fainted at the end cos my legs gave way

What was the last record that made you stop in your tracks?
Katherine: Prodigy – Thunder

Jennifer: U2 – Get On Your Boots

Matt: Same as Katherine!

And the last one that made wish you were deaf?
Katherine: She’s So loverrrrrlyyy

Matt: The Ting Tings – Thats Not My Name

Jennifer: The Hoosiers – Goodbye Mr Ray

Debut single Is It True That Boys Don't Cry is available now through Pure Groove and comes highly recommended by everyone here on Zen Avenue. If you're in the South of England for five minutes at any point between now and November you should find that Bleech are playing somewhere nearby. Seriously, go check out the most expansive MySpace giglisting you ever saw, and head for a gig. You will not be dissapointed.

Back soon,
Winston

Bleech links:
MySpace | Last.fm
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TORRENTS NEW VIDEO: HE'S A VICTIM

Regular Zen readers will already be aware of Torrents. And no, I don't mean those files you download and convince yourself are "sort-of-legal, really". No, round these parts when we mention Torrents, we're talking about the five piece indie-rock whirlwind hailing from deepest darkest Blackburn. Torrents "meaty and emotive indie" saw them register on the Zendar 2009 shortlist, and the excellent These Things to Bring You Down opened the very first Zenlist way back in November.

Well now the boys are back with fresh demos, better haircuts and a shiny new video to boot. Check out He's a Victim below, and hit up the bands MySpace blog for free downloads.



Torrents are booked to play Clint Boon's Boon Army night in Stockport next month and are also confirmed for this years Wickerman festival near Dumfries in Scotland.

Back soon,
Winston

Torrents Links:
Zendar | MySpace | Last.fm

LETTING NEW ARTISTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

Minnesotan five-piece Sing It Loud scored a deal with legendary punk label Epitaph after playing just seven shows together. Weighing in a darn site poppier than the majority of the labels roster they've toured with the likes of We The Kings, The Proivdence and Cobra Starship. Debut album Come Around sees the light of day on the 1st June, so now seems like the ideal time to bring you the bands Q&A. If you like your punk of the Blink 182 meets Panic! At The Disco variety, you might want to listen up.

Kieran Smith provides the As;

What’s the least accurate description of your music that you’ve ever seen or heard in the media?
We have been compared to metro station. I love that band but we are nothing like them!

Set the record straight. How should journalists be describing Sing It Loud?
Arena pop rock. The new age Def Leppard.

Tell us how the band got together.
We all were in separate bands in Minneapolis. I convinced Pat and Nate to quit their bands. They joined me. We then sought out Ben for keys and Chris joined because he was the drummer in my old band. We just wanted to be with people that were all on the same page.

What has being in Sing It Loud given you that you wouldn’t otherwise have?
A chance to travel the world and meet famous people. It's like a giant vacation but also work at the same time.

If Sing It Loud had a motto what would it be?
Work now. Play later.

Describe the average Sing It Loud fan.
Anyone with really good taste in music and men.

What can a punter expect from a Sing It Loud gig?
To have their face melted.

I sneak a look through your mobile while you nip to the bar. What’s the most famous name I find in the phonebook?
Hillary Duff.

When did they last call you and what for?
We had dinner the other day and I wasn't feeling it. She called to ask why. She just isn't my type.

Put your iPod / MP3 player on random. What are the first five tracks?
Photograph by Def Leppard
Dream On by Aerosmith
First Date by Blink 182
Gangstas Paradise by Coolio
Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional

Tell us about the greatest album ever made.
Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie. Just listen to it. I could put it on repeat until I died and be content. It is timeless.

And the best gig you ever saw.
Kiss/Aerosmith. Best live shows of all time on the same stage...

What was the last record that made you stop in your tracks?
Never Better by POS. Hometown hero. His lyrics are some of the best out there right now. He will be huge.

And the last one that made wish you were deaf?
Taylor Swift. I just don't get it. Love her but her music doesn't do it for me.

Finally, what’s going on for the Sing It Loud right now?
We've just finished out first UK tour, playing with Cobra Starship during May. Our debut UK single No One Can Touch Us was released on May 25th and is followed by our album release Come Around on June 1st. We’re also on the full Vans Warped tour this summer.



Back soon,
Winston

Sing It Loud links:
MySpace | Last.fm | Spotify
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DROP THE TOUGH: FEATURING SAINT SAVIOUR OF THE RGBs

You don't get where Messers Cato and Findlay are today without knowing a thing or two about making asses shake. Released via the Bacardi B-share website, Groove Aramda's latest EP might not have been the creative pinnacle of their illustrious twelve year career, but it did produce this wiggle inducing colaboration with former Zenlist act The RGBs. Saint Saviour provides the machine gun vocals and infectious beats lift it head and shoulders above the rest of the dance giants first free release.

And the video's fantastic.

TWISTED WHEEL – THE LEADMILL, SHEFFIELD 13/05/09

Anyone who’s been around here these last few months will have noticed my admiration for a certain punk rocking Oldham trio knows few boundarys. I’ve been singing their praises all over the interweb. Back in March the Zen ran an interview with front man Johnny Brown, and as a result we were contacted by Jane from the excellent fansite TwistedWheelStoleTheSun. After exchanging a few emails Jane agreed to keep Zen readers informed on the current Twisted Wheel headline tour.

They kicked off on Wednesday in a venue I haven’t been to since my youth. Jane very kindly brings us this summary of events and some fantastic photos of the action.

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