What an awful day! Any plans that we had of walking today have been well and truly scuppered. That’s no bad thing though in some ways, because it means I have the opportunity to do a bit of writing and to tell you about two, very exciting shows I’ve got coming up in November. These are they, read on to find out a bit more about them.
Stanmore // Learn To Drive // WestingWay
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22ND 7pm
The Chichester Inn, West Street, PO19 1RP
Tickets : https://wegottickets.com/event/636433
REMbrandt R.E.M. Tribute
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 30TH 7.30pm
Venue24, Bognor Pier, PO21 1SY
Friday November 22nd…
Several months back I went to an Open Mic night and there was this guy Matt playing. Both being baseball hat wearers we got chatting and, although he was performing solo that night, it turned out he had a band called ‘Stanmore’ that were in the process of releasing their first single.
I really enjoyed what Matt played that night. He was relaxed, engaging, the songs were poppy, poignant, a bit funny in places. It was a great performance. Fast forward to about a month back and whilst on the seafront checking out the ROX stage at this year’s SouthDowns Music Festival, I see Matt lurking on the other side of the road doing the exact same thing. Anyway, we got chatting again, and he said he thought we ought to play a show together. Buoyed by the idea I got thinking about how it might work….. Check out Stanmore's latest single 'Say My Name, Make My Day' here....
It occurred to me that a show of perhaps three relatively similar and complementary acts might form the basis of a good evening. Many of you will know Steve Twinley from my open mic nights. Steve actually wrote a guest blog for this page earlier this year about a book he’d been reading. He is a great bloke, with a wealth of home recording knowledge, seemingly limitless optimism, and a steadily growing back catalogue of spectacular recordings, all lovingly crafted in his shed. Steve’s original music project is called ‘Learn To Drive’....he has hopes it will become a band at a future date. Check out one of Steve's latest pieces, 'The Night Bus' here...
Read Steve's blog contribution here:
So I proposed a joint show at The Chichester Inn, we got some available dates together, and we’re going for it. I know original music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but these two guys are great, and my songs are….coming along ok ;-)
If you can support us by coming along that night, it would be awesome. The tickets are £5.50 inc booking fee in advance, or £8 cash on the door, but quite frankly if you want to come, or you feel I owe you a favour, just get in touch with me and we’ll sort it. We just want bums on seats. We want your bums.
The night will be predominantly acoustic based, but please take a moment to check out the following links for what you might expect if you turn up. Matt is pop, Steve is a bit rockier, I’m a bit more…me. It’s going to be great, hope to see you there!
Saturday November 30th...
Many long term residents of Bognor will probably be aware of ‘Sheiks’ the night club on the pier. Well ‘Sheiks’ is no more, and the building is having a massive makeover, which includes a new live music venue called VENUE24.
Vicki and I went to the launch party some weeks back. The aim of VENUE24 is to provide Bognor with a new, cost accessible live music venue. The conservatory bar and venue itself have been completely refitted, and are trying to provide a balanced programme of bands to suit all ages and tastes, not just the under 25s. That’s where we come in.
You might have seen REMbrandt at the SouthDowns Music Festival this year at the RAFA Club. That was very much, ‘the unplugged set’. R.E.M.s back catalogue contains many, beautiful acoustic pieces, but there’s also a great slab of stadium rock. The show we’ll be performing at VENUE24 will be a cross section of all the things R.E.M. - the quiet, the loud, we’re going to do it all in two 45 minute sets, and tickets are just £10.
For the completely uninitiated, R.E.M.s hits include 'Losing My Religion', 'The One I Love', 'Shiny Happy People', 'Everybody Hurts' and 'Imitation Of Life'. Get googling!
You can check out lots of our stuff at www.remgb.com, or check out this video from Hanger Farm filmed a few years back to see what you can expect.
If you can’t make it we understand - but in the event you can’t, I would just like to cast out a polite request to go to another one of their events, or indeed to go and see any live music when you can. The culture of music is changing, and it’s not for the better. Without venues who put on live music, whether it be clubs like this, or even just your local pub, bands and musicians don’t flourish. It’s like everything. You don’t have to make big changes, just lots of small ones. If people don’t go to see and listen to live music at the local level, it doesn’t happen.
Anyway - enough preaching! We hope to see you there. It’ll be our last show of 2024, the band’s tenth year! The picture below is the view from the stage in the newly refitted VENUE24. Chairs are available if that's more your speed ;-)
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