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Southern Tenant - Folk Union:- 'The Chuck Norris Project' is
heading to Southport
THE Atkinson -
Studio, in Southport, Merseyside, is playing host to Southern Tenant
Folk Union on 22 January 2015, as they start their "6th Album
Launch Tour" of the UK.
The band's 6th Southern Tenant Folk Union album is called:-
'The Chuck Norris Project', and it was the band's most
ambitious album to date. Conceptually the tracks are all named after
different movies from the actor's career (though have nothing to do
with the plots and contain no reference to car chases, explosions or
karate chops) with each song taking the title as a starting point to
discuss political ideas. Band leader Pat McGarvey came upon the idea
in autumn 2012 during the last US presidential election when Mr
Norris and his wife released a campaign video urging voters to come
out for Mitt Romney saying that a vote for Obama would lead to
"a thousand years of darkness", a statement he felt
unhelpful to the debate. Musically eclectic the album remains an all
acoustic affair but takes in influences like 70's disco, folk and
soundtrack music mixing elements of composers like John Carpenter,
Gene Clark and Fabio Frizzi. The album also features guest vocals
from cult Americana songwriter Mike Ferrio (from the bands
'Tandy' and 'Good Luck Mountain').
With this idea McGarvey and the band began to write and demo
material to see if it would work not only as a concept, but also as
something musically interesting. Subsequently most of the album was
written during 2013, but delays to recording meant the sessions
didn't take place until summer 2014. Featuring an expanded sound
with orchestrated fiddle, clarinet and cello on top of the band's
regular 5 string banjo, double bass, cajon, mandolin and acoustic
guitars the songs each explore different subjects that expand upon
the original movie title in unexpected ways. Also influential was
the work of 70's soul composer/arrangers such as Isaac Hayes, J.J.
Johnson and Barry White on songs like the epic Martial Law or the
relentless folk disco of Walker, both tracks using those big
soundtrack stylings to emphasise and reflect the emotion of the
lyrical content.
The subjects of the songs are diverse but have subtle and common
threads linking them outside of the framing device. A few
songs touch on the gun laws in USA and their consequences, one being
the continuing horror of school shootings (in Slaughter In San
Francisco) written from the point of view of a young girl trapped in
time beneath her desk. Equality is another thread linking the songs
with zero hour contracts and the need to organise labour the basis
for the song Delta Force (referencing Aldous Huxley's Brave New
World caste system) and the forces ranged against it in The Octagon.
And even as the songs discuss issues of social conscience it's
always done with beauty, space and clarity. Leading each piece of
music are the compelling vocals from Rory Butler, a voice powerful
and fragile, soulful and honest. He is accompanied by the thrilling
dexterity of Adam Bulley on Mandolin and the innovative fiddle
playing of Katherine Stewart who manages to effortlessly combine
elements of her backgrounds in Scottish traditional music and
classical training into a sometimes beautiful and often disturbing
sound.
Chris Purcell whose sublime songwriting contributions have been
highlights of the last 4 STFU albums has composed 'The
Wrecking Crew' - Parts 1 and 2 - ('Eyes Right and Eyes
Left'), a song suite noting the parallels of paranoia on
both the extreme right and left. On the left Utopian ideals that end
in disappointment and on the right the fear of losing power via
equality and social progress. Other tracks on the album include a
dissonant string based riff on a possibly future homosexual or
female occupant of the White House where it's just business as usual
('The President's Man') and appropriately for a band
named for a union they present in Expendable Too a scenario where
workers decide to reverse the norm and outsource their Managing
Director's job.
Once again recording and mixing, on his fourth consecutive album
with the band, is Lau sound engineer Tim Matthew. Tim's expertise in
sound techniques has produced this most fully realised album where
each song's tone reflects the subject matter. It contains atmosphere
and subtlety but when a groove needs to be hard the full force of
the big acoustic band sound is deployed. Album artwork comes again
from Irish designer Jonathan McClean and this time he's devised a
set of bold, eye catching and memorable images reminiscent of 70's
action movie posters.
The band have once again taken another leap in sound, structure and
tone as they marry social conscience and comment on the world around
them with songs, melodies and performances that engage. This album
has achieved what it set out to and now on release STFU invite all
to listen for themselves, although maybe it would be for the best if
Chuck Norris never got to hear it.
An essay with more detailed information about the concept and
thinking behind the album can be found on the STFU
website.
This album is also being released in a 10 track version on 12" Vinyl
(catalogue number JOROCK 020)
The Chuck Norris Electronic Project album, a synth based spin off
album by The Southern Tenant, will be released later in 2015
To here them live at the The Atkinson - Studio, call:- 01704 533333
or go
online. The gig starts at:-
7.30pm and tickets cost £10 adv/£12 door.
For more information and tour updates go to:-
SoutherntenantFolkUnion.com.
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Young baker Ethan crowned Best Biscuit Maker by top celebrity chef
ETHAN White, 11, from Greasby in
the Wirral, received the award:- 'Best Biscuit Maker'
from gastro king Dai Chef at the Cookery School at Bodnant Welsh
Food, the centre of excellence for Welsh food in the Conwy Valley.
Ethan, who is a pupil at Hillbury School, took part in a year long
course at the Young Cooks Academy at Bodnant's Cookery School which
was attended by 60 cookery mad youngsters. Ethan said:-
"I loved making the food and taking part and I'm grateful that I got
to make biscuits. Dai Chef is a good teacher. He takes his food
seriously and is a good chef to cook with. I like cooking because
it's fun. I don't usually cook at home, but I did make an omelette
once. I've learned to cook a lot of different things at Bodnant. I
like to make any type of food. I like sweet and savoury food. I
really like spaghetti bolognaise. I've had a fantastic day."
Other prize winners included Ben Garbutt,
12, from Prestatyn, who was named as Young Masterchef, as well as
Best Chocolate Maker; Spice Queen, Nellie Salmon, 9, from Conwy;
Best Italian Chef Ella Warren Roberts, 9, from Dinas Dinlle; Pasta
King Gruff Clayton, 9, from Denbigh and Best Bread Maker Eleanna
Daminaou 15, Manchester. They were taught by Dai to cook sea
bass, which was served with wild mushrooms and golden apple rings.
Ben helped Dai, who is executive chef at Bodnant's acclaimed Hayloft
Restaurant, to create a unique recipe for a mouth watering panettone.
The Italian sweet bread, filled with fruit and chocolate will go on
sale at the Hayloft, with half of the proceeds going to Ty Gobaith
children's hospice in Conwy.
Dai Chef was blown away by the high
standard of the cooking. He said:- "They have all done so
well. They have cooked to a really high standard. Everyone here
today is a winner in their own right. Ty Gobaith is a charity that
is really close to my heart and I've been working with them for
years fundraising."
Bodnant Cookery School consultant Eira Roche explained what was in
store for the youngsters in 2015. She said:- "Over the next
year at the academy they're going to be learning all of the
fundamental cooking skills. Things like bread making, pasta making,
and biscuit making, all sorts of things. They're going to be leaning
to make Japanese dishes like sushi next year. We decided to support
Ty Gobaith because it's very important to us at Bodnant that we're
part of the community."
Pam Messham, a technician at the cookery school, has a personal
reason for supporting Ty Gobaith. Her granddaughter Amara Messham
Jones, 18, who is blind, has epilepsy, and is in a wheelchair, has
been going to Ty Gobaith for respite care since
she was a baby. Pam said:- "It's fantastic for Amara to go
there. They have a sensory room, and she gets to play instruments
the harp. Ty Gobaith has made a huge difference to my family."
Eluned Yaxley, Senior Area Fundraiser for Ty Gobaith added:-
"We are delighted to be supported by the cookery school at Bodnant
Welsh Food Centre. Christmas is a special time of year for everyone,
but all the more important for families with a life-limited and life
threatened child. Like all of our work, respite care by our
specialist nursing staff can only happen thanks the support of the
Community of North Wales and beyond. This is also true for our
outreach care and professional counselling for families who use our
hospices, and for families in the wider community who have lost a
child too."
For more details on courses at the Cookery School visit:-
Bodnant-Welshfood.co.uk
or call:- 01492 651100. |
