On Saturday 16 April, Speech Fewapy Records are putting some bands on in record shops as part of National Record Store Day. Swordfish Records, Temple Street, Birmingham – 1pm (Click here for map) Ali Forbes (Malpas)/The Traps/Tom Peel/Victories At Sea Polar Bear Records, York Road, Kings Heath – 3pm (Click here for map) The Traps/Vinny and The Curse/John Presley/Black … [Read more…]
Is Birmingham a city where it is easy to collaborate with others? I arrived in Birmingham in the summer of 2006, tasked with preparing Town Hall for its anticipated re-opening, due to happen 18 months later at the end of 2007. Although I had lived in the Midlands during my school years, I didn’t really … [Read more…]
The film below was shot at the St Patrick’s Parade in Digbeth earlier in the month. Due to the flickering in the timelapse photography technique used, it’s probably best avoided by anyone with photosensitive epilepsy. ————— By William Fallows William Fallows documents Birmingham through video and photography at vimeo.com/newfolder and flickr.com/newfolder.
On 26 March, Home of Metal are hosting their forth and final open day at The Public, “Think Antiques Roadshow for metal fans”. Metal fans of all ages are being invited to share their memorabilia and stories with the digital archive , further cementing West Midlands as the birthplace of Metal. Home of Metal celebrates … [Read more…]
Andrew Dubber, Jon Cotton, Robin Valk, John Mostyn and Lisa Meyer were all kind enough to share their perspective and ideas for this post – I’ll publish their comments in full on my blog so none are wasted. I also drew, with permission, on the Birmingham Music Network’s recent 10 Questions survey. Unparalleled Riches The comments on the current state of … [Read more…]
On April the 1st this year I will be embarking on a yearlong sabbatical from the company I co-run, Stereographic, in order to concentrate on my music and arts projects. I have my personal reasons for taking this step now but many of the broader reasons are valid for anyone deciding to undertake a sabbatical. … [Read more…]
Being a classical musician, I have often found that contemporary music is met with extreme unnecessary prejudice from most audiences, and even from the musicians themselves. However, we have come a long way since Arnold Schoenberg and his band of merry Serialist pranksters. We are lucky to live in city so diverse that there is … [Read more…]
As a musician, I love reading autobiographies and biographies of rock stars. As an unsigned musician, I’m always left disappointed that there isn’t more in these books about their time before they were famous. I don’t mean stuff like their Dad working in a factory and their cat being called Tiddles, or whatever. I mean … [Read more…]