The MP3 playing is "Blackbird" by Alter Bridge:

A dedication to the little sods who use my car for target practice.

http://www.justgiving.com/stevelally  RotN to the Core Page RotN to the Core website

Updated 28th May 2009

After several requests Rock Of The North now has Myspace!!! Add us @ HTTP://www.myspace.com/rockofthenorth

California Dreamin'...In Leeds Tonight

Ex Byrds and Mamas and Papas and Lovin' Spoonful members Barry McGuire with John York breeze into the new Roscoe on tonight the 28th May. Billed at Trippin' the Sixties this should be a brilliant evening for those who remember the great music of the era. Those who dont remember it will also be in for a treat. Great music, treat yourself to some laid back stress-bustin' music.

Twin Lizzy At Birdwell

The excellent Thin Lizzy tribute band are performing at Birdwell Club this Saturday so make a date of it Lizzy fans. Rodger and the lads have had a holiday and are all fired up ready to go so see them at Birdwell on the 30th May.

Matty's Dublin Pilgrimage

Quite a lot of you will have caught Matthew Wright guesting with bands on guitar or bass since he was a very young lad. Well Matty and sister Jess went with their parents to Dublin recently to accept a long standing invitation by Philomena, Phil Lynnott's mother. The pictures above show Jess , Philomena, and Matty, the cultural house plate, and Matty in Phil's bedroom, a shrine to the late lamented Thin Lizzy legend. During their stay they had a dedicated taxi driver called Ian who wishes to have his services known to Lizzy fans making a pilgrimage. Ian's number is 0035 3872 573 323.

Raw Gallagher Reformed

We have just been informed that Steve White will be joined by ex Stormbringer rhythm section Ratty and Tony Race, and will be playing the normal Rory Gallagher songs plus they will be expanding the repertoire with a few blues/rock numbers. This is good news, the band were always a favourite of ours.

Rock and Bike Show Tickets On Sale

Tickets for the Yorkshire Rock and Bike Show are just £10 and available from the Lion in Castleford. As always the weekend will have loads of great bands on. The bike element is always good, where some superb bikes are entered. Camping is included.

Cobras Venom Rally

It's the Pudsey Cobras Venom Rally this weekend. The rally is open to all and there are some good bands on. The rally is being held at The Manor, formerly Mick Brittons in Farsley. One Fat Spider, Time Machine, Resurgence and Shield of Steel will be performing on Friday and Saturday nights but Tantrum the old Leeds band will play on Saturday afternoon. The picture above sees Phoenix Rising's Stevie Fingers presenting one of World Superbike star Tom Sykes own shirts for auction to Steve Saville of The Thornhill Arms. This shirt will be auctioned at the Venom Rally. Tom who is related to Stevie Fingers, is now a works Yamaha rider. This shirt was one he wore as a member of the Rizla Suzuki British Superbike team last year.

Gig Going For Saturday at O'D's

O'Donaghues in Wakey have been let down this Saturday the 30th so Ian and Kim need a band. The number is 07877 533 103.

Steve's Question

Thornhill Arms landlord Steve Saville is wanting contact numbers for Big Fish Band and Precinct 13. If you can furnish these numbers, Steve's number is 07729 305 171.Steve is also having to curtail Saturday gigs due to the amount of punters coming in...i.e...not enough. It's not rocket science to work out that the pub cannot sustain gigs on a Saturday.

Aarren Mowle's Guiseley Stationfest In Pictures

Van Hooligan Back

More great news from the weekend as far as we are concerned is the comeback of  Van Hooligan, those noisy boys from Doncaster. Our mate Carl Morley sends the following: Van Hooligan have found a new singer in Graham Terry ex Royal Orleans/Impossible Dream, also got original drummer Kev Tonge back who is still with Crimes of Passion touring with White Lion, Tyketto Bonfire and various other bands. Pete Eccles is still going to sing the odd gig when not out with Livewire too, so were looking for gigs only available on Sats I'm afraid. Oh were at Roman Bath York Thursday night 28th May with Pete, and Snafu Rotherham on Sat 30th May Grahams debut.

What a Great Weekend of Rocking Fund Raising

What a weekend! Saturday and Sunday have seen some unprecedented feats of raising money for charity. The Pink Rock fest has been well documented in the comments section of RotN and I'm hoping that I hear about a similar figure from The Station in Guiseley from Sunday. I would also like to thank the fabulous Flyz for a single handed fund raising effort at The Gardeners Arms in Robin Hood on Saturday night in which £200 was raised for the RotN to the Core Campaign. Thanks lads, top band!

Nice Day For Music

It's a nice day to get out to see a band or take in a festival like the one at Guiseley. I've been to see my parents in Leeds and had a nice cruise in the RotNmobile listening to Planet Rock. I shocked Chantel McGregor by telling her I had DAB radio in the car yesterday and mine is an Acoustic Solutions converter which is hard wired into the car. You can buy Pure Highway receivers (look on the net) which are removable like a sat nav and they pick up DAB signals using your own stereo to play the signal. I was listening to Kid Jenson...yes that kid Jenson , and he plays some great music. I was listening to AC/DC's Ride On on my way home and was amazed at the very BB King style guitar playing from Angus. Kid Jenson plays some great music, he's a proper rock fan.

Pink Rock Is Massive Success

 Cross Keys festival for Pink Rock organised by Sue Spider of One Fat Spider has been a massive success raising about £2800. It is in aid of Breast Cancer Haven based near Crown Point Bridge in Leeds. This centre is about giving care and comfort to those ladies who've had the trauma of breast cancer. We have had reports that hundreds of people turned up for a great day of music.

The Enjoyable CD Recording

Whilst Pink Rock was in full swing, others on the scene were busy recording "Hope" the Gav Coulson penned rocker for the RotN to the Core Campaign CD. Danny Firth, Gav Coulson, Johnny Crossland, Shane Haigh, and Chantel McGregor laid some awesome guitar down, then Chantel, Matt Black Cooper, and Matt Duggan sang their hearts out. It was a very nice day and it was nice to see them all applauding and congratulating each other. Mick Norbury, Pete Goodfellow, Coz Kommando and Andy Kommando will be contributing to the song and Tim Gillespie will be doing the massive task of splicing the lot together. Can't wait to hear the finished product.

Very Important

In the next couple of days at some point our webmaster will be changing our web address to www.rockofthenorth.com as it used to be when we started out. We are changing to another server so although the present address www.rockofthenorthf2s.com will work, it will go to the old server where the files will not be updated anymore. If you have us in your favourites you will need to change it. I'll put notification out on Myspace and Facebook.

RotN Signs Cancer Research UK Agreement

This afternoon has been one of some productive activity. Firstly we  signed a licensing agreement with Cancer Research UK so we can officially use their logo. We also prepared a press release regarding our RotN to the Core Campaign which will be fed to the media. Things are doing well and CRUK say we are an interesting and important supporter. When I say "WE" I mean the community of musicians and fans and venues who have supported us. Thanks very much.

Scooby Lee Joins Idols

In addition to his legendary drumming with the equally legendary band Scooby, Lee is joining original material band Invisible Idols. Lee's powerful style will compliment Joe Lally's bass giving singer/guitarist Matt Black an enviable and formidable rhythm section. I apologise for this but I cant help but feel slightly smug as I am a big fan of Lee's and he was the first choice for a band I tried to get off the ground a couple of years ago. The debut gig for the Invisible Idols is at The Lucorum in Barnsley next month for Cancer Research UK. http://www.myspace.com/invisibleidols

Duck and Drake and The Ringway

Not sure what's going on here but two of our favourite bands have had their gigs cancelled at short notice at The Duck and Drake in Leeds. Fin of Roxyrama also alerted us about an anomaly with The Ringway at Horsforth who are rumoured to be stopping bands from June. There is a rumour or two circulating about The Sturdy Lads in Monk Bretton also. More than one source has hinted that a change of ownership is in the offing which might affect bookings.

Best Website In The World?

Sorry to be pretentious with the title of this paragraph but Julie the manger of Mr Chief was approached by Nigel Round, an agent in Lancashire. She asked how he found out about Mr Chief and he said, "I found you through the best website in the world, Rock of the North!" That's made me feel humble but thanks Nigel! It's a big compliment to live up to, but we do try our best to nurture the live music scene...because we love live music.

New Barrack Tavern Success

Nice to see one of our favourite pubs have a successful gig for the Childrens Hospital at Sheffield. The festival held partly outdoors raised £720 which is a great figure for a rainy day. Rockett 88/Billy Martin Jnr/the Dudley's/Hellhound and the tremendous DO$CH provided the entertainment. Nice one boys and girls! A good cause too, we need to look after the little'uns.

Admiral Duncan Gig Swells The Fund

The Admiral Duncan Wakefield hosted a fantastic day of RotN to the Core fund raising on Sunday which will raise over £1500 when all monies are in. Ticket sales, t shirt sales and the raffle, plus a sponsored slim and a sponsored haircut will raise more as the money comes in. This gig was organised by John McSevenney and Gavin Coulson and what a great job they did. More thanks go to the fabulous efforts of Tim Gillespie who played drums in 4 different bands! To the bands...and what a treat was in store! Plan B got the ball rolling with a typical rock blues set but with some memorable highlights. They did a fab version of The Doors Roadhouse Blues with strong vocals and superb musicianship. Great band, fairly new and wanting gigs, I was impressed with the excellent repertoire! The quality continued with Rooster, a six piece band of veteran musicians and with great vocals again. Their repertoire was wide and varied from Queen to The Proclaimers and with a favourite, Shakin' All Over hitting the spot with audience participation! John and Tom came on next to calm things down with a double bass and acoustic guitar who ripped out some excellent chill zone songs. After an 18 month break Baron Greenback reformed to play 70's cheese with a twist! They played it with a heavy rock style! Gav Coulson was ripping up the fretboard and Tim and Liz and Gav all sang lead and harmony vocals. A brilliant set! Rocked up Abba anyone? Tim and Gavin stayed on stage to bring back the late lamented Beer Engine. This was yet another great set and Johnny Mac was also on guitar. A lady in the room said to me that this band were the best and should never have split up! On today's showing I tend to agree! Into the evening and John and Tom gave us more quality acoustic material before Doghouse took us through the heavier side of music. The band played a few regular metal songs and added such as Jethro Tull and a Led Zeppelin medley into the mix. When this band were gigging regularly about 6 years ago they were one of my very favourites. Tonight's performance reminded me why. This ended Tim Gillespie's third set on drums! How does he do it? It wasn't to be his last either as he soon was drumming for the fantastic but ever so slightly camp Telegram Sam. What a fabulous set of 70's glam rock did they perform! Sweet, T Rex, Sparks and even Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky was performed superbly with Johnny Mac's black Gretch contrasting with a pink feather boa! Very nice John. Great band who disbanded but are reforming. Get 'em booked, they're different and totally excellent. The night's entertainment was still not over as the still enthusiastic crowd welcomed Nate and the Dogs to the stage. Nate is a bonny young woman with a cheeky smile and a massive character to go with her superb voice. The band around her backed her perfectly as they together performed girl rock from many pop divas notably Pink's You and Your Hand, and Blondie's Telephone amongst many others. The band did a great job of closing a very long and very successful day at this very impressive pub in Wakefield. It was a long day, but an enjoyable day where we met new friends and old and my thanks go again to the bands and the supporters and to landlord Dave for making this happen. What a great result! Those who didn't make the effort...you missed a treat! Nice to see Mr T from the Wakefield Guardian in attendance. A report will be in the issue on the 22nd May. Below is a picture of the Admiral Duncan, a brilliant pub on Thornes Lane, host of the Wakefield RotN to the Core event.

Jefferson Starship at DNE

I've often played heck about there being no venue for big artists in the greater Leeds area. Sheffield has City Hall and the Arena and other big venues. Harrogate has The Conference Centre, York has The Barbican. Leeds does have Rios and The Irish Centre to be be fair, great venues too. Now there is a major player in Wakefield and that's DNE on Smyth Street. The venue have promoted good acts so far but in July they have booked one of Americas most notable supergroups and that is Jefferson Starship formerly Jefferson Airplane. This band are legendary, more used to arenas and didn't they play at Woodstock? DNE-Music and Myspace

Chewing The Cud With RotN

The past week has brought many comments into the "Back of the Bog Door" page. Many have been about the superb Lionfest we had last Sunday, and in the past day we've had the discussion about Steve Saville's decision to cancel bands who are playing at other venues on his doorstep within a few weeks of their booking at the Thornhill. RotN would normally condemn this but after considering the circumstances, we think it's a brave and wise decision. Steve has twice stepped in to save the pub from closure. To be truthful, many would say Steve is mad to run the pub on the basis he does. He works during the week to subsidise the bands that he promotes in the pub. Punters' money over the bar is essential to keep the brewery interested and to pay the  bills. Bands know Steve's as generous as they come, they all like him and just look at the bands who have offered their services for nothing for his weekend charity festival in June. The Blueflies and Jed Thomas Band, class acts from the past, you wouldn't get those without having a good reputation. So to bands we say use some discretion before accepting gigs at nearby pubs, which is OK in itself, but make sure there is a good gap between playing at the Thornhill .To music fans we say support the Thornhill Arms especially on band nights. 

More Festivals This Weekend

Sheffield and Wakefield hold charity festivals this weekend with the New Barrack Tavern in Hillsborough holding one in aid if Sheffield Children's Hospital. Check the gig guide and events page for details. The RotN to the Core  campaign thunders on with a gig at The Admiral Duncan on Sunday. Please support both events if you can, it's better than looking out of the window and saying " Bl**dy weather!". Get yourselves down to a gig!

Shane's Latest Project

This used to be an Engl Screamer combo when it left the factory. Then our artist in wood, Wakefield luthier Shane Haigh decided that better tone could be had by splitting the amp and the speaker by making enclosures for both in "real" wood. Shane said that it has transformed the amp giving warm top instead of harsh treble. Real wood rules says Shane and he finishes his e-mail with a simple "Shaneism"...Rock On! Rock On Shane!

Another Fest on Sunday

Hot on the heels of the very successful Lionfest for RotN to the Core last Sunday comes the Wakefield event at The Admiral Duncan on Sunday the 17th May. This time there's 8 bands playing! The bands playing are not household names to most RotNers but there are quite a few familiar faces such as Gav Coulson, who is playing in at least three bands on the day. Nate and the Dogs close the show. This is an official Rock of the North Event so your support is more than welcome. The Duncan is on Thornes Lane, Wakefield. Food is available during the day. There is a one-off entrance fee of £3 plus raffles etc. Check the events page for details.

Rock At The Lodge

Final details are now published regarding the Rock at the Lodge RotN To The Core event at New Lodge Club, Barnsley. The date is the 16th July and has A Foreigners Journey, Coyote and Here's Jonny appearing. In anyone's eyes that is a great line up of clubland talent. Our thanks go to Helen-Marie for the brilliant organisational skills and promotion of this event. See the event page for details.

Lionfest Winning Raffle Ticket

The rugby ball signed by Cas Tigers is unclaimed and the winning ticket is on the yellow paper and the strip is 406 to 410 inclusive.

Aitch Does The Job

Riff Raff bassist "Aitch" was a rock hero on Sunday, playing a great set, then by Monday he was in Pontefract town when some nutter attacked two security guards in the building. A former doorman Aitch was a bit offended by all the violence going on around him so he sorted the offender out, before the nutter ran off, and into hiding!He said to me on Tuesday with a tone of irony in his voice, "We had a full pub on Sunday with no trouble, then I go into Ponty on a Monday and end up scrappin' on the floor!"

Chantel Plugs the DNE

Our intrepid young heroine Chantel McGregor offers the following advice to us regarding the Wakefield venue and having been to the venue we totally agree: Shameless plug time, not for a band, a venue!!!!!!!! Played with Nik Turner’s Space Ritual at DNE in Wakefield lSaturday night, a great band and lovely people by the way, but what a venue!!!!!!!! Easy to find, just go down Smyth Street, exactly opposite Wakefield Theatre, and it’s on the left hand side, brilliantly thought out and organised from start to finish. So a 1000, yes a thousand, capacity venue, right in the centre of Wakefield, set up as it should be, the stage, the audience, the bar, then the toilets/entrance in that order, with everything done to create the perfect venue. If you’ve seen any dvd’s or videos from Rockpalast, think of the people who have played there, (if you haven’t, look on Youtube), Wakefield could have it’s own Rockpalast, that’s what it’s like, and yes, it’s that good. The venue’s right, it’s got major league bands coming, so to create our own Rockpalast, here in the heart of Yorkshire, all it needs is supporting, spread the word!!!!!!!!

Drinks and PA's

I have noticed that at many a pub do people use the PA stacks for a table. I had to tell a fellow at the Lion to move his drink, he didn't like it but I wont back down if I think I'm right. He shifted it. Many PA's nowadays are active, like the one being used in the Lion yesterday, so a spilt drink could ruin the inbuilt amp, at great cost to replace and there might be a risk of electrocution ,so the danger is apparent. Well it is to people with any sense.

Amusing Memories and Alcoholic Tales

Some amusing memories have had me laughing to myself today following our successful festival yesterday. One was when I offered to follow Howard Gibson home to leave his car so he could have a drink or two. He was going to walk back. Tony of Cas rushed out of the Lion and asked if I'd run him home to change into his RotN to the Core T shirt. I duly did, then continued to Howard's to pick him up to bring him back to the Lionfest! Imagine us three old buggers in my car, Castleford bound, like the scene from Wayne's World. All we needed was the Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo playing for a spot of impromptu head banging! Then we went into the Lion one at once with the "corporate image" shirt. With a combined age of about 170 years we proved old rockers never die, they just get more deaf! Also seeing Scooby Lee, one of my very favourite drummers, and one of HM's Constabulary, jumping about with his arms in the air, lubricated with a glass or two of Jack Daniels, he was a contemporary for Jay of the JD Band similarly inebriated or "sh*tfaced" as he admitted on our comments page! Wormy of Monkey Dust was also gushing at the end of the night, making me chuckle with his very nice compliments about the community we are part of. Big Sexy Dave and I also had a good conversation about band mates, nothing remotely nasty at all, but having an amusing look at idiosyncrasies that make us all individuals. What a great day, a fun way of meeting a serious challenge. Our most grateful thanks go out to the people who made this a fantastic day.

Another Day To Remember

RotN to the Core Campaign got off to a great start in Castleford at The Lion on Sunday afternoon. Many thanks are needed to be given for raising £620 on the day through a raffle and bucket collections,the services of four great bands, and a number of special people. Very special thanks to those great lads from Doncaster, Monkey Dust forfeiting their paid gig to play alongside The Rakkiteers, Riff Raff, and Top Gun. All the bands, and Phil Munt and Joe Lally all did their bit for nothing. As the bands played, members of staff went round with a bucket for a generous collection by the packed house. It was full from the start and got fuller and fuller as the day went on. In this full room were local stars supporting their fellow musicians plus ordinary rock fans who had a ball as firstly The Rakkiteers played their customary eclectic set, with old and new songs but one I loved, and this was Get Off of My Cloud, which sounded great through the solid Top Gun PA. This excellent show set the pace and Monkey Dust took up the challenge and met it full on with a set of more up-to-date rock which was played so professionally and with some humour, but they were as tight as could be. They did wander from their more modern repertoire to do a great version of All Right Now. This was the first time I'd seen the band and I was mega impressed. We were pleased to welcome the band into the RotN fold as they are great lads and excellent musicians who fit straight into our army of fund raisers. Monkey Dust also provided the guitar amps for the day. Nice one lads. Our reliable "old guard" Riff Raff took to the stage next and knocked off an hour of Bon Scott era AC/DC  classics! They always deliver the goods and did again this Sunday night! Overdose on You , Downpayment Blues, Highway to Hell, they were all there and superbly delivered by this great band. The interlude was quite lengthy to change around equipment before Top Gun came on, but the wait was worth it! This band come to Castleford, but it's like an Royal Albert Hall performance every time they play a Lionfest. Tonight's performance was what legends are made from. The band were simply fantastic. The repertoire is wide ranging, Bowie to Pink Floyd, and Mott the Hoople to UFO. Their UFO wasn't a common or garden Doctor Doctor, oh no not this band. ....this band played a truly superb Love to Love. I was mouthing the words and marvelling at how well it was being performed, fabulous quality in a West Yorkshire pub! Towards the end of the set the band played Bat Out of Hell, then two great Bon Jovi songs, Bed of Roses being a total epic! Ok I've said it before and now I'm saying it again , TOP GUN...TOP BAND ! Many thanks go to the bands, the patrons of the pub, Julie and H and staff of the Lion and Phil and Joe on the desk, the sound through the Top Gun PA was beyond reproach. Pictures courtesy of Tony of Cas.

5150 Means Crazy

A little lower down the page is the picture of James Brown the Kustom Amps designer who worked for Peavey previously and designed the famous 5150.I've always wondered what it means but apparently, according to Rick Wakeman, it's the code for American policemen when something crazy is going on!

Julie Missing Out

This morning's comments saddened me a little bit as we had one from Julie Coley from Doncaster. She organised a bus to come to the Lion on Sunday, then the poor lass was told that she had to go in hospital on that same day.Lets all raise a glass to Julie tomorrow.

Tomorrow Is "R Day"

Tomorrow is the start of the RotN to the Core Campaign with an all day gig at The Lion in Castleford. When evil forces were spreading across Europe like a cancer in the 1940's, the forces of good joined together in the late spring to make an assault on this "cancer" It was on "D-Day". Sunday the 10th is "R-Day" and you good people will begin our campaign to help rid the planet of this horrible disease. Let's have a lot of fun whilst doing it and with four super bands playing during the day, it's certainly gonna be! A couple of quid in the bucket and loose change makes a difference, so chuck it in those buckets!  

Do Us A Favour

We've been helping bands for a few years now, and bands have helped us make money for charities and we have always appreciated it. We put your gigs on for free, put your classified ads on for free, and host your links for free. We help bands get gigs and venues get bands too. We don't ask for much in return. Now we are asking for something. We have embarked on this Rotn to the Core Campaign to benefit Cancer Research UK. If you'd be so kind, can you link the Just Giving site and the RotN to the Core site (at the top of the this page) to your own websites and Myspace pages please to raise awareness of the campaign. If our classifieds section works for you, how about putting a small donation on the Just Giving site. Gav Coulson coined the phrase in his lyrics of the soon to be recorded RotN song, and that lyric is "Together we can find a way". Individuals can struggle, but groups of people can make things happen.  Tell your friends, tell your local newspaper or radio station too. We have a ready-made community, so lets make it happen between us. There are a few things you can do as a band, perhaps donate part of your fee to the charity or your bucket money maybe. Not every gig, but once during the campaign wouldn't go amiss and would be appreciated. The Erics have been doing this for various charities throughout their career together! Top lads. In the meantime get down to the Lion in Castleford on Sunday from mid afternoon and watch four great bands do what they're good at. They're all veteran charity fund raisers and my thanks and great respect goes to them all. Remember this, cancer affects one in three people, pretty poor odds for the human race really, so lets give the scientists the weapons to beat it. RotN is a registered supporter of Cancer Research UK.

Any EVH Fans Need a T Shirt

Meet James Brown, the guy who designed and built the Peavey 5150 and Satriani heads. James now designs for Kustom amplifiers and here he is at the Kustom distribution centre in Hebron, Kentucky, USA wearing a familiar T shirt! He is standing in front of the new Kustom Double Cross USA all tube head that he's just developed. Should be awesome...and affordable. Picture courtesy of our roving guitaring reporter, Gav Coulson!

Invisible Idols Need A Drummer

Matt Black sent the following passage due to Shane's unfortunate withdrawal from the band due to work commitments. ROTN are keen to see this band achieve it's true potential. Our webmaster plays bass in the band so we have a vested interest but this band are producing great songs, there is no posturing for superiority, and no bitching. They are just a highly productive and very friendly band with a professional and ambitious attitude. This is Matt's message:  Original band Invisible Idols are looking for a replacement drummer as the current drummer has given the heads up that work commitments and the band's plans for 2010 are going to make his future with the band impossible. The band are looking for a drummer aged 18-28, good gear, pro attitude, sense of humour a must, own transport essential, backing vocals an advantage. Band is influenced by AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Queen, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, Def Leppard etc. Big gigs coming up from June onwards including Sheffield's O2 Academy in August. For further information contact in strict confidence matt_black@rock.com

RotN To The Core Just Giving It Full Throttle

At the top of the page above the date there are two hyperlinks. One is the Just Giving site for RotN To The Core campaign which directly pays your donations to Cancer Research UK.The other is an info page but will soon be another website for the cause as Helen-Marie the club diva has set one up for us (hyperlinked in blue). More to come is a fantastic club event that Helen is organising for us and this will star A Foreigners Journey, Coyote, and we think Guitar Heroes too. Details will be published soon. The event is in July in Barnsley.

Castleford Alive on Sunday

It was back to the glory days in Castleford on Sunday evening as both The Lion and The Crimea Tavern had great turnouts for firstly Phoenix Rising and later JD Band as they played great sets to packed houses. It makes you feel good when you hear of this kind of thing. It might be a bank holiday weekend but people are coming out and enjoying themselves. Just look at Jimmy Duggan's face, he's a happy bunny!

Remedy For Everything

I'm just listening to a CD by Remedy the North Eastern band. Joe returned from the MAG Into the Valley bike rally where this superb band were playing on Saturday night. Joe and Graham Hollings of Broken Angel were providing stage lights for the rally. He brought the CD home with him and it's excellent. Entitled Strange Fast Now, the tracks are superbly sang by Jenn Cherene, what a great voice this young lady has! Musically they are a fabulous band too and it's small wonder the band are favourites of MAG, having played at The Farmyard rally in the past. Watch out for this band, they're the business. www.myspace.com/remedyrocks

One Week To Kick Off

In seven days time the RotN to the Core events of 2009 begin at The Lion in Castleford with four great bands. Originally the date was Monkey Dust's, but they have made it into a mini festival with the help of The Lion management, and Top Gun, The Rakkiteers and Riff Raff. The event starts in mid afternoon but wont be a very late night as it's a Sunday. It will however be a classic mini Lionfest, so get down there to help make funds for Cancer Research UK. We will have some more news on the fund raising efforts soon courtesy of Ian of On-Site PC Repairs. Other RotN against cancer gigs are the one at the Admiral Duncan Wakefield May 17th, RotN to the Core on the 5th 6th and 7th June at The Thornhill Arms, Stanningley. Then there's a gap, unless we get something going in July, for the August festivals, then the New Barrack Tavern and Baildon Bridge  RotN gigs in September. In October we will have the RotN Convention at DNE in Wakefield with the regions great bands playing. DNE are interested in hosting the Frock of the North 2 gig as well.

Strange Weekend

Saturday was a bad night in Sheffield as the band at The New Barrack Tavern had to pull out at the last minute due to illness. This meant the pub had no live music for the first time in five years. These things happen though. The Cross Keys was luckier as the JD Band stepped in due to the scheduled band pulling out again due to illness, and had a great night as reported by the Old Git Mav. JD Band will be rocking the Lion Castleford this Sunday evening. Friday was better for the NBT as Laughing Gravy, a superb band, highly thought of by us,played a great gig at the Hillsborough venue. Friday was also a success at the Thornhill Tavern, Stanningley, Leeds when the superb Wild Hogs with Stu Page on guitar played another great set of classic rock and roll. Nice to hear new band Empress did the biz at The Barge in Brighouse. Jon of Angel of Sin commented on the gig where he could enthusiastically see a lot of potential in the band.

Heck Of A Debate

The comments page has been very lively over the past 24 hours as the subject of band's fees has been discussed. Both sides of the argument have been aired and it's been common knowledge that I have argued quite vigorously for decent fees for bands as expenses are high, especially for drummers who pay a lot for sticks, skins and cymbals. It's also known that RotN support pubs and clubs who have live music. There no easy answer to the age old problem of fees but some venues have more punters than others. Therefore as it's not rocket science, some venues can afford a decent fee, and some have to be less generous or they will go out of business. So bands will have to decide themselves if the fee is enough then decide if they want to play at that venue...or not. If a pub has a bucket collection then if it was me, I'd do it every time because the audience are rewarding you for entertaining them...they'd probably chuck rotten tomatoes at me but for you excellent musicians out there, and I mean all of you, the bucket collection must be a nice thing to have as a bonus. Main thing is to keep music live, lets not go through the doldrums again, for although we are in a recession, the music scene at the moment is alive and kicking. Let's keep it that way.  

Idols Tracks On Myspace

Matt Black has asked me to tell you that their 3 downloadable studio tracks are on their Myspace

www.myspace.com/invisibleidols

Iron Grape Reformed

Friend of RotN Alan Jarvis has reformed the past local band Iron Grape. We're more used to dealing with Alan in a concert sec kind of guise for the B&S Club in Featherstone and his enthusiasm comes shining through. It's many a year since the band were watched by such as Les Thompson of the Boot and Shoe, and they will be again as he's promised the band a gig at The Boot. Original and legendary guitarist Rob Thornton has come out of retirement at last coaxed by John Hannon on bass and Alan Jarvis on drums.The band have gigs at The Hope and Anchor in Pontefract on the 9th May and one at Hark to Mopsey, Normanton on the 15th May.

Zhain On Tour Again

Yorkshire band Zhain have sent a press release. It goes as follows:

  ZHAIN are undertaking a world tour in support of the Crash Landing album. The tour takes them throughout the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe and Japan.
Raw, aggressive, exciting rock’n’roll loaded with hooks, big choruses and melodies that will pound your brain for weeks. These guys are the real deal, the guys your parents warned you about. No excuses, no compromises, in your face and ready to rock.
Crash Landing was recorded live, no overdubs, no doctoring what was played. This is ZHAIN live and rocking, mean and nasty, the way rock music was meant to be played.
When these guys hit town get ready to party, they take no prisoners so be warned. Get ready for a booze fuelled bout of rock’n’roll mayhem, the like of which you will not experience again until the next time you catch ZHAIN live.
ARE YOU READY TO ROCK

Joe On Form

Sheffield City Hall rocked on Tuesday night as Joe Bonamassa gave a great show of rocking blues. It was Sheffield on Tuesday but Joe is playing The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday which we understand he is thrilled about! I don't wonder as he's following the footsteps of some great artists notably Eric Clapton. Joe is an incredible player, with such feel and tone, there's very few who play like this. Pictures courtesy of Baz Ex-Skella.

RotN and DNE

 The meetings today have been very fruitful.We met the regional organiser for Cancer Research UK this morning, and he is happy about our enthusiasm and commitment to the cause, and will be in touch again later. He was pleased about our proposed banking arrangements and trustees too. In the early afternoon I went to Wakefield to meet Pete Goodfellow of Shield of Steel and we had a very friendly meeting with the proprietors of DNE, the new venue in Wakefield. This venue rivals Rios in Leeds or The Boardwalk and Corporation in Sheffield. Wakefield has been short of a venue like this for years and we must support it at all costs. Some of the artist that are lined up will have to be kept secret till they are booked but I can tell you that the management are looking at big stars. In the meantime I can tell you that the one and only Jefferson Starship are booked at the venue. Hawkwind's Nik Turner is booked for the 9th May with support from our own Chantel McGregor. This Friday Nine Below Zero play the venue. Top stuff! In October we will hold the RotN "Convention Gold" at the DNE so watch this space.

RotN To The Club Core

Showtec's PA and lights have been offered by the company for the Club version of RotN to the Core. Our thanks go to Dave Bamford of Jagged Edge, the proprietor of Showtec, and to Phil Munt who has offered his services free for the event. This event is thought to be on June 18th provisionally and club diva Helen-Marie is contacting bands for the event.

Comments Take Up Time

The comments page became time consuming yesterday as a comment by a lady called Belinda caused a few reactions. The lady is a straight talker but the person in one of the bands took the criticism on the chin. Everyone has a right to reply and some retorts were published but in the end it was like a witch hunt and I stopped a few comments being published before it became boring. This is rare, I have only stopped maybe 5 comments in all the time we've been publishing.

Wellington Not Lost

We'd heard that gigs at The Wellington in Leeds City had stopped putting bands on but Craig of Firey Biscuits says that their gig on Friday at the venue was still on. That'll do for me.

Lessons In Rock'n'Roll Poise

Just a gratuitous offering of a bit of rock and roll posture captured by my Nikon. It features Andy Kommando, a cowboy hat, a nice Ibanez geetar, some Trilite trussing and a mixture of Showtec and Graham Holling's lights and a slight rearward lean. I can justify this inclusion as Andy is one of the area's top guitar players.

Paul Back With Broken Angel

We've just received this message from Paul, "Keeper of the Low Notes" with Broken Angel who will soon resume his duties with the band after a short break courtesy of Her Majesty. It'll be great to see Paul back.Here's Paul's message:

Thought I'd drop you a line to say I'm officially back in the saddle with Broken Angel. We had a practice on Saturday and it's like I've never been away, I bloody love these guys! My 1st part gig is May 3rd at Old Bank Club where I will be doing the 1st set, as Her Majesty wants me back for her pleasure by 7pm. Daz Dodds will be covering the 2nd set for me. However my 1st full return gig will be The Lockwood in Huddersfield on 27th June and I can't bleedin well wait. The band are back on steam rehearsing new material (which was delayed due to my "holiday" ) and this will be brought into the set as we go on. I and the band want to say a massive massive thank you to Daz Dodds, Joe Lally and Colin Maughn for continuing to keep Broken Angel's bottom end nice and tight during this time. The band's schedule was largely uninterrupted due to their help and we couldn't have continued without them. This support and the great people involved is what the ROTN community is all about. Cheers again and see you all soon. Paul of Broken Angel

Good Company Bad Company

As reported yesterday it was my old mates birthday and we went over to his house with some presents which included the Bad Company DVD Merchants of Cool. We have this DVD ourselves, I originally wrote a review for Blues Matters Magazine and I really liked it. We watched it last night and it made me realise what a fantastic performer/songwriter Paul Rodgers is.  Dave "Bucket" Colwell is the guitar player on that tour and he really is a lovely player, so melodic and so underrated. It's a great live performance DVD recording and I thoroughly recommend it.

The Campaign Moves Up a Gear

Windy Corner has many visitors and today is no exception as Broken Angel's Graham Hollings is here and club diva the lovely Helen-Marie has just left. Helen-Marie came for a T shirt to support the cause but also to begin plans for a club gig for the RotN to the Core campaign. RotN supports both clubs and pubs and their artists and we receive the same support from them. As Helen-Marie, the designer of the RotN logos on the pages, is a good organiser and no stranger to charity concerts in clubland, we are excited that she wants to get something together for the cause. Watch this space, but I will tell you that the gig will be a beauty with some famous club stalwarts doing their thing...so don't stop believing folks!

Steve and Angie Inducted

We've inducted Steve and Angie Saville to the Hall of Fame for saving a good rock pub from extinction. It's a well deserved induction, check it out!

Positives Vibes This Weekend

It seems like this weekend has be a cracker for live music in the district. Positive comments all round about Go Kommando, Mr Chief, Razorbach, JD Band, Emerald, Shield of Steel and Top Gun have backed up my thoughts about just how good our semi pro business is. Pete from Shield of Steel this week told me of a punter in Middlesbrough who remarked on how good the rock scene was "down there" meaning the West and South Yorkshire scene, and how right he is. We are very fortunate. Serving the community can be a hard job for me but when you hear about musicians being set up with other bands, two this week actually, and venues thanking us, and the friendship from genuine people in bands it makes it all worthwhile. Pubs like the Lion and Crimea, Snafu, The New Barrack Tavern and The Brewery Tap steadfastly support the scene and newer venues like The Thornhill Arms, DNE, Golden Lion, Bar St, The Tarn, and Blues Cafe are prospering from good support of the live music they promote. Well done to all.

Brown Bottle CD

I'm in possession of Brown Bottle Band's CD  Redistilled Classics and it's an impressive recording by a local band. We reported on how well done Go Kommando's fine effort was at the beginning of the year and now we can also say this is another impressive collection of great songs by a band on the circuit. With inclusions such as Kashmir, Empty Rooms, a great version of Black Crowes' Remedy, and a rare Deep Purple song very well covered, I Feel Like Screaming, I was very nicely entertained. Some great guitar is on the Purple song. If you go see ''em get a CD, you'll enjoy it.

Registered With CRUK

We had a phone call from the local rep for Cancer Research UK this afternoon and we will be meeting up next week to see how they can help us with our campaign. Ian Harding of The Cardinals and Helen Taylor of Resurgence will be trustees of the fund. Both work for a large "firm" and will bank with HSBC.

Big Concerts

This week we pulled the plug on a big concert in Castleford planned for July as we think it's too close to the date to get it together. By contrast today we received news from both Kev and Andy of Styckleback that they are to organise a big concert at Roundhay Park, Leeds for the 30th May. Bands are not yet fully sorted but there will be a 25K PA rig and big stage and 5000 people are expected! This will be held on the Soldiers Field, not the arena as I previously said, and good luck to the lads for this. The Red Arrows will be flying over on the day, The Red Devils parachute team will be dropping in and Yorkshire Cancer Research are co organisers. Put this date in your diary.

Message From Brum

We had a phone call at 4:15pm from "Kaiser" of The Cardinals direct from Birmingham where AC/DC play tonight. He spotted H in Manchester with the RotN shirt on but tonight Ian (sorry Kaiser) will be that shirt! He's taken a week off from the job to follow AC/DC on tour. Ian has some interesting news about The Wellington in Leeds as the partnership appears to have broken up and it seems that gigs there are cancelled.

Paul Gilbert Ibanez Still For Sale

Aarren of Angel of Sin still has the signed Paul Gilbert Ibanez for sale. This is the very guitar that Paul Gilbert played and signed in Leeds last year. It is less than the price of a new one as Aarren has reduced it in price. A new one is sterile and doesn't have the real DNA included! This is a must for a Paul Gilbert fan and a great guitar, well Ibanez are great guitars anyway. This model is a bit special and looks great in white and comes with authenticity photos.

Nice You Tube Interlude

Jon of Angel of Sin mailed me yesterday and recommended this really mellow video of Europe doing UFO's Love to Love, one of my favourite songs that incidentally Top Gun are now playing in their set much to my great satisfaction. Have a peek at this and although Phil Mogg's vocals aren't there it's still very nice. Mute the RotN song on the side menu first. Click here for the video.

Gear Magazine Needs You

Gav Coulson sends the following :Hello Just a quick reminder that the next issue of our magazine, GEAR, is currently being compiled, and will be going to the printers in four weeks time. Gear is distributed FOC to every music store in the country, has a print run of almost 200,000 and a estimated, unaudited readership of around 250,000. It is a fantastic FREE publicity vehicle for bands and artists. If you would like yourself, or any represented artiste/band to be included in the next issue, please could you ensure that you have provided us with the following WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!
1) Good quality hi-res photographs (300 dpi, posed or live) of the band/artiste with the product. 2) An up to date biography, with quotes regarding the product.3) Any interesting gigs or shows, either recently played, or upcoming. (gig-lists will not be printed although we will include any relevant website links)
Remember, we need angle that somehow includes one or more of our distributed brands - Fret-King®, Vintage®, Danelectro, Dunlop, Kustom, HK Audio etc.........go to http://www.jhs.co.uk to see the full range of our various products. As always, I am happy to discuss any potential sponsorship/endorsement opportunities with any of our brands.Priority will of course be given to those haven't already appeared in the magazine, but nevertheless please let me know if there is any big news that we haven't as yet reported.
We are also quite happy to run interviews, please get in touch to organise asap.
If you have already provided us with all the relevant information, or it is not applicable to you, sorry, please ignore this.
Many thanks  Gavin Coulson JHS Artiste Liaison Manager/National Product Demonstrator

Roxy Feature In YEP

Apologies for the poor graphics especially on the type, as it's a big file but the gist of it is there. Monday night, the band were featured in the Yorkshire Evening Post. Well done lads!

Angel of Sin Strikes Again

The Thornhill Arms saw another triumphant fund raiser on Saturday as Angel of Sin made another 500 quid for McMillan Nurses. Judging by these pictures, if they were still making Carry On films, Vikki would have ousted Barbara Windsor by now and that's a fact! Well done to the band ,Steve Saville and the Thornhill regulars.

Interesting Insight At Audio Cooker

I was privileged to be present whilst Invisible Idols were recording some tracks this Sunday at the Leeds studio, Audio Cooker. Watching how it was done by the very impressive engineer Steve Eaton (centre of picture) was a great experience. Idols songs aren't straight forward, and they're pretty long ones but it didn't phase Steve one bit and as a master of his craft, Steve made a great job of the recording. Nothing was too much trouble. Check out the AC tab on our menu for great value. Picture by the very lovely Helen McCulloch of Metal Monkey Photography www.metalmonkeyphotography.com .

Steady Bass Player

Our pal at Galaxy Music Steve Lloyd wants a bass player to suit a fifties/sixties band. Steve prefers a member with no ties as the band will have high profile gigs, some midweek, and the money should be good. Steve has good contacts at holiday camps etc, so the position certainly is a desirable one. The number is 01977 520101 or mail stevegalaxymusic@hotmail.co.uk

Highlights of Saturday

Three good things on Saturday among many good things are The Angel of Sin Charity Gig at The Thornhill Arms Stanningley, Top Notch played their first solo gig at The Bold Privateer, Wrose and Resurgence played The Cross Keys in Morley by popular demand.

Highlights of Friday

Highlights from Friday night are probably The Rakkiteers at The Thornhill Arms, Styckleback at The Cross Keys, and Flashback at The Lion. New band Firey Biscuits also did the biz up at The Bold Privateer in Wrose, so well done them all for this.

The Idols In The Studio

Invisible Idols hit the studio this weekend to tidy up their songs that were posted on their Myspace. The songs themselves are really catchy and with good mixing and producing I can see something good coming of the band.

The Answer

A band I'm really impressed with at the moment is The Answer. The best thing to come out of Ireland for years,I really hope they make it big. Their songs are great. They're supporting AC/DC right now.Listen out for them -they're brill!

Good Drummer Seeks Band

If an established band out there are looking for a drummer, then a mate of mine is looking for a position. He's a versatile drummer who plays in an original band but has depped in an AC/DC tribute and played in a covers band as well. Mail us if you need a good drummer.

T Rex At Birdwell Next Week

The original T Rex play at The Birdwell Venue on the 25th April. We've seen this band three times and they're excellent, we thoroughly recommend them. Saxon's Graham Oliver plays guitar with the excellent Rob Benson vocals, Tony Alday on bass and Paul Fenton on drums. I have a Classic Rock magazine with a picture of Paul with Marc Bolan and he's hardly changed! What is quite amusing is that entrance fees for this band usually undercut the T Rextacy tribute band!

Angel of Sin Charity Gig

The Thornhill Arms supports a charity gig by Angel of Sin on Saturday in aid of McMillan Nurses. No strangers to raising big monies for charity, the band will be giving it their all to entertain and if you can support this with a few pounds in the bucket it would be very much appreciated.

DNE Invites You To See The Blockheads For Free

New venue DNE in Wakefield cordially invite you to a free gig with the Blockheads on Friday the 17th April. This is THE Blockheads who were part of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. As a band they have a fantastic reputation and have done for many years. I remember when I wrote for the magazines everyone raved about them. The DNE is a venue where a lot of investment has been spent and it's a venue wishing to bring top bands to Wakefield. RotN fully endorse the efforts of Charlie and Tommy, and hope you will also support the Smythe Street rock bar with your presence.

Busy Again After Fantastic Show

I'm trying to catch up with things after a very busy time over the Easter weekend. The Lions Rally was fabulous, but it's taken it's toll on my well being! I'm exhausted, and have a load of gigs and links to catch up with as well as a lot of other stuff that goes with the territory. So just be patient and I'll catch up with it all quite soon. The gig guide resolved itself and shows plenty of performances to satisfy the ardent rock fan. The next month or so will see the start of the RotN Against Cancer mini fests, and these will be great ways to spend your time. The Lion Castleford kicks it all off on May 10th a Sunday All Dayer with Top Gun, Rakkiteers, Monkey Dust and Riff Raff.

Day Three Simply Awesome

The final day of the ELL Rally came to a huge climax with two of the areas most popular bands, and with good reason. Angabart and Go Kommando were quite simply awesome. They seriously were, no hype, no bull, they rocked. You'd have thought after all the talent that went before them we'd have become a little blasé about more bands but I can tell you that the crowds still at the rally were completely rocked by two great sets, firstly by Angabart, fronted by the fabulous Pauline Miles. Accompanied by husband Ian and Riff Raff partner Steve Todd on drums, and our webmaster standing in on bass, this band played a very different repertoire than had gone before them. With songs from Pat Benatar, Robert Palmer, and even Golden Earring, they really entertained and were really appreciated by the crowd who asked for an encore and got one! Even a normally humble Ian Miles thought his band were "sh*t-hot"...he asked me to put that! So onwards to the climax of the Easter Rally and East Coast's best kept secret hit the stage. Go Kommando who are Coz, Andy, Ben and Sparky turned on the talent tap and left it running for over an hour of high quality classic ,fast and furious rock. The only slow one was Sandman! Highlights of this great set were Living on a Prayer,a superb and slightly different rendition, Jump, and Hard to Handle, but the set had so many good songs. Although the humour and friendliness comes bursting through, the band are seriously a highly skilled set of musicians and their act has a touch of class about it. This band could have headlined any of the days, their performance was equal to any other band who played and the last third of the set had the crowd riveted to the crowd barrier, they were loving it. The band were loving it too and went home very happy musicians. This rally has been a real triumph for the club, and from a rock concert perspective, it will take some beating. It was just so professional. My thanks go to the club for their very warm hospitality.

RotN To The Core CD

As mentioned previously we are producing a charity CD by the grace of some of  our talented musicians in the RotN area. Gav Coulson has written a great song which will feature some of the best talent in the area including Mick Norbury, Chantel McGregor, Matt Black, Pete Goodfellow, Shane Haigh, Tony Parkin, Johnny Crossland, Marcus Ward, John Hardman, Matt Duggan ,Coz Kommando, and maybe some other notables! Also on the CD will be Invisible Idols with Chantel McGregor, and we have been promised original songs by Motus and Flyz, two of our most hallowed original bands. The idea is to pay no royalties so to maximise charity raising funds. We have a rich seam of talent running through our Northern strata, and I think it can be put to good use. I feel confident our community will back this to the hilt.

Jimjam In Barnsley Chronicle

The Rakkiteers bassist Jamie "Jimjam" Whittaker was featured recently in the newspaper receiving her bravery award from BBC TV's The One Show's Christine Bleakley. Many thanks for the cutting to Jimjam's brother in law Daz Dodds and sister Angie. What a great rock'n'roll family.

Day Two As The Lions Roar

It's was a late night back to Windy Corner after an fantastic day at Arthington for day two of the East Leeds Lions Easter Rally. It was one of those days to remember for eternity. I just managed to catch the start of Twist of Fate's opening set and I'm really pleased I did catch them as they played a great set of classic rock standards, very well performed by the lads to a number of rock fans and rallyists in the marquee. Rik's guitar tone was excellent and with a foundation-like solid rhythm section and really pleasing vocals, I truly thought the band rocked! A little while later Girl Kills Boy took to the stage to show why they are the takings record holders at a famous pub in Cas Vegas! With a very much more modern set than Twist of Fate , the band sounded excellent through the powerful and well mixed Showtec PA. Their eclectic mix of songs seemed to hit the spot with the quickly expanding audience, but totally knocked everybody dead with a brilliant rendition of War Pigs, which was performed as well as I've ever heard them. It really was top stuff. By the end of their set the marquee started filling up rapidly as The Chantel McGregor Band's appearance was eagerly anticipated. After a very quick sound check which received applause, the band, bathed in the light of many coloured par cans ripped into a classy set of post blues boom classic and modern rock. From Jimi Hendrix to Joe Satriani, and Jethro Tull to Joe Bonamassa, this band were well appreciated by a massive audience. So big that Chantel was quite giddy saying it was like a Jo-gig. Someone asked, "what's a Jo-gig?" and by that Chantel meant a Joe Bonamassa gig, cos it was wall to wall people! It was absolutely superb! Your webmaster Joe engineered this set and yes we are going to blow our own trumpet because the sound was excellent! To finish the evening's entertainment the South Yorks legends of classic rock, Top Gun took to the superb looking stage. With smoke swirling under the myriad of coloured lights, the band put on a show to remember for the massed throng of revellers. The lights, sound and performance were of a professional quality without a doubt. I must thank the band for performing UFO's Love to Love, and what a truly nice rendition they did and especially for me and I thank you most kindly. It's a fabulous song which fit in well with the likes of Stairway to Heaven, 'Numb, Wishing Well, Radar Love, and a brilliant version of Gary Moore's Empty Rooms. I like this band as they added the likes of Mott the Hoople and David Bowie, and Faith No More into the set! Top Gun...Top band! What a great day it's been, and at 3:50am I'm reporting this to you as I want you to know that this was a very special gig, a day of quality. After Top Gun retired from the stage I had a cuppa tea with my old mate Dave in 6 degrees C in a great atmosphere in this rock'n'roll village in the middle of a field. Talking to RotN people till the early hours was great. Dave and Mick from Broken Angel, Chantel with mum and dad Janet and Alan, Coz Ben and Sparky from Go Kommando, Rik from Twist of Fate, and the curly boy Joe, and partner in crime this weekend Phil "Monty" Munt, Dale from GKB, and Tony of Cas...it was surreal but highly enjoyable but I think I'll pay for it when I have to get up in the morning! Yes it was another great day courtesy of East Leeds Lions bike club, I cant praise them enough, it's been totally awesome, a day of great quality.

Voodoo Van Boogie Rock Squires

I called to Squires for the Easter Rock and Bike Show on Saturday early afternoon with a specific task of checking out Voodoo Van Boogie. What a great power trio these lads are. Great vocals and great musicianship, a full sound and a great rock blues repertoire. It was well worth the trip to hear the band through the Splash Alley PA in the car park. With the Splash Alley crew and Mick Smith of Red 13 PA, it was odds on the sound would be spot on...and it was. Excellent couple of hours before I mosey along to the ELL Lions Rally!

Gig Guide Being Silly

Somehow I have cocked up the gig guide from Sunday but don't worry, it covers Sunday and we should have it sorted after the weekend. Apologies for this. Saturday and Sunday gigs are are view and there's plenty of them.

Anarchy In Ackworth

Punk is alive and kicking and Last Gang In Town rocked the Boot and Shoe on Friday. The band continue in The Lion in Castleford Saturday night.

First Day A Success

I've sneaked away a bit early from the first day of the Easter Rally cos I'm shattered! What a fantastically organised gig this is! As I left Riff Raff were getting towards the end of another great set from the Cas and Ponty legends, but they had an hard act to follow as Broken Angel played an absolutely cracking set to a packed marquee. I'd been pushed into lighting desk duties so I had a good view, and Sir Phillip Munt of Showtec had the sound spot on. Ace of bass Daz Dodds stood in tonight and he was awesome with this excellent band. The Rakkiteers preceded Broken Angel and played a typically enjoyable lively and varied set as rallyists were still streaming through the entrance gates. It was a shame many of the rallyists were still pitching their tents because this band always deliver the goods and Friday early evening was no exception. They should have had a bigger audience if there was any justice but that's what happens on the Friday of rallies. The opening band were The GDI Band (pictured above) and their repertoire was right up my street! This was the swansong performance of "El Bangero" who sang so well it has made me want to start looking for a new band to back him. I was particularly impressed with Rock Candy by Montrose, superbly played by the band! Voodoo Chile was another good rock blues rendition on Friday afternoon and it was nice to see the band on a big stage. Phew.....and it was also nice to see loads of regular rock fans from the pubs in the RotN area. A great day.

DNE Opens in Wakefield

It gives us the greatest pleasure to announce a new  venue in Wakefield which opened Friday night with Legend, the Bob Marley tribute. Better still is the proprietor wants to work with Rock of the North and this will be the future venue for Rock of the North Conventions. On Smyth Street in the shadow of the distinguished Unity Hall the venue will offer bands such as The Blockheads, The Hamsters, Eddie and the Hotrods, and Chantel McGregor. Check this out: DNE-Music This venue is 1000 capacity and has an impressive lights and PA package...rock on DNE!

The Long Good Friday Live

Well it's here, and as Leon Russell once said on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour, "Don't get hung up about Easter!"...whatever that meant...but I just want to wish you a great time over this holiday period! There's some great things happening what with the Easter Rally at Leeds and the Squires Bike Cafe do. It should be a great weekend of rock! Just found out that Go Kommando are getting to the Lions rally a day earlier than their gig day to "party"! Great stuff, the RotN spirit is alive and kicking and coming from Bridlington! Our webmaster apart from engineering for three bands, is standing in on bass with Angabart on Sunday whilst we think it will be Daz Dodds standing in with Broken Angel on Friday. The RotN/Sound PA is powering the Trance Tent at the rally so 10K of sound will be giving the boom boom enthusiasts something to keep the head on their lager due to Joe taking 3K of extra bass bins! If you look on the gig guide there's plenty to see around the pubs, the Erics are making a debut at The Thornhill Arms, and a double hit of punk is at The Lion this weekend. Enjoy!

Bit of a Do At Squires

There's a bit of a do on at Squires this weekend, and Voodoo Van Boogie will be performing there with 4 sets over the 11th and 12th April. We do believe the "Don" of the music mafia, Mr Brian Glover will be involved in PA matters there!

Revival Short Notice Gig

Revival play at Snafu on Friday night. It's a late notice gig but the band wanted to take it.Enjoy!

Angel of Sin Evolve 

Was it last week I was speaking of bands evolving? Members come and go from numerous bands and some bands suffer, and others improve as chemistry stabilises. One such band whose chemistry has stabilised is Angel of Sin. Always a band I've personally favoured because I like the people, I was pleased to watch a new video of the band performing Rain, the Cult song. I like The Cult and on AoS's face-lifted website there is some updated videos with new guitarist Aarren, and fairly new member Ian on drums with original members Vikki and Jon on bass.  Vikki's unique phrasing and quite rich vocals are a pleasure to hear. On the bands media page check out Rain, it's really rather good. http://www.angelofsin.co.uk/

Rallying To The Cause

Further to the paragraph below regarding the East Leeds Lions Easter Rally, I ventured over to the rally site on Wednesday night to watch progress being made for this weekends big happening. This rally is about having a good time in the motorbike rally style, but also to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. It's a big money thing that the club should be very proud of. It's so well organised and although I'm a life-long bike enthusiast, it's the rock and roll I am wanting to report on. The club already had a good sized stage constructed in the fantastic marquee which incidentally cost 4 grand to hire! As the lights and trussing went up I was quite thrilled at the thought of a great weekend of rock. There was a surreal aspect to this as I talked to an old junior school mate from 45 years ago, club photographer Pete Lightowler, as my son was setting up the trussing with my rock and roll mate Graham Hollings, drummer with Broken Angel and the organiser on the entertainment for the rally! If you can make it to one of the evenings, it will be well worth the money.You will be able to go for days without the camping, and of course you will be supporting the air ambulance. Cars are £20 but I think this is for 4 passengers. Check this out http://www.eastleedslions.co.uk/rally.php

Curtains Twitching As Rally Approaches

Curtains were twitching on Monday night as the webmaster, plus Graham Hollings and moi started building some stage trussing in the front garden at Windy Corner! The Trilight even impressed the Head Cook, and will be used at the East Leeds Lions Easter Rally this weekend. Although not a RotN flagged event, the rally does bring together many of the RotN Community, from the bands themselves to the magnificence of Showtec's lights and PA, and the grass roots rock fans and bike rally enthusiasts. One of the top gigs of the year without question!

Brown Bottle Band Album Launch

The South Yorks band are using their Polish Club gig as a CD Launch on April 11th. The CD entitled "Redistilled Classics" will feature some favourites of the classic rock era, including Kashmir, Waiting For An Alibi, Fool For Your Loving, New Day Yesterday, and a version of Remedy, plus many others. Sounds pretty good to us.

Good Hearted

Snack Attack in Normanton, the home of great butties on the Cas/Wakey road, are donating a bottle of whisky to the raffle at the Lion RotN Against Cancer gig in May. Top stuff! Local businesses are invited to donate to all the RotN gigs around the area, so that's those in Castleford/Wakefield/Pudsey/Barnsley.

Registering With CRUK

I must admit that I've been very slow off the mark in registering Rock of the North with Cancer Research UK, but due to my own ongoing "maintenance" treatment for that nasty disease, I've been slightly pre-occupied. Today I have taken steps to register with the organisation and this should help us with our campaign. To recap what is going on this year we have a number of concerts already organised. These are the ones at The Lion May 10th,Admiral Duncan May 17th,Thornhill Arms June 5th 6th 7th, and an outdoor one in Castleford on July 18th. Invisible Idols also have a Cancer Research UK gig at The Lucorum in Barnsley on June 26th.Another outdoor gig is planned at Baildon Bridge WMC on August Bank Holiday Saturday. Also in the pipeline is a Band Aid style CD, with a really excellent Gavin Coulson penned rocker .The song is already written and it's a cracker, both musically and with great lyrics that are totally in tune with the RotN Against Cancer campaign, indeed the lyrics are poignant and mean a lot. We will make sure this is professionally presented but a sponsor would be well received at this point. So put the word out. I'd just like to give Tim Gillespie a big chunk of toffee for his input into the song, well done Tim, you're a star!

Red Mosquito Rock Whitby

Red Mosquito were spreading the word about RotN To The Core on Saturday when they played the Whitby RUFC.We need to spread the word because the fund raising will benefit the whole of the the UK. Great to see individual bands showing a united front and putting the logo into peoples minds. Well done lads!

Enlightening Facts

Last week I was advising Jay of the JD Band to make sure the LED's in some par cans were 10mm in size to ensure of good illumination, and that I was expecting some "high power" LED par 64 cans. Well they arrived. That's one of them on the left, you can compare them to my others which one of them is on the right. Now you would think after paying a premium for the larger LED's that they would be brighter. Not so, I'm absolutely mega disappointed, and they'll be going back. They were bought from the same dealer in Germany and all this hype about high power is crap. They actually have less output than the cheaper ones.

True Brit Generate Good Hope

Popular brit rock band True Brit played the Halfway House at Robin Hood last night and reported on a packed pub. Guitarist Mark says "Credit crunch? -what credit crunch?"...and this is good to hear. The band are popular in South and East Leeds in all fairness but I've observed a regeneration of interest in live music in that area over the past six months. One Fat Spider are another band who are reaping the benefits of this having played at The Queens at Stourton and are performing at The Parnaby Tavern today. It's all good news to me.

Two Hundred Gigs Up

I'd have been mad with myself if I'd have forgotten to  post this to the newspage but our friends Resurgence clocked up their 200th gig since forming at The Duck and Drake, Leeds last night. Great band, great people....and they REALLY are great people.... they do a great job entertaining and helping out on the rock and bike rally scene and they have some of the best legs on the scene- and that's just Dave Taylor!

Weekend Off To A Good Start

We've only had the report from The Cross Keys so far this Saturday morning at 07:11am and The Old Git Mav reports on a good gig by Twist of Fate at The Cross Keys, Morley on Friday night. Check the gig guide for another great evenings entertainment around the region.

Tommy Hunt Comments On RotN

Probably the biggest star to comment on RotN has got to be Tommy Hunt who was thrilled by the warm welcome at The Lion last night. Quite unusual really, considering RotN is a rock website, he's not a rock star, but a star of soul. Complimented by Elvis Presley for his dancing, a close friend of Otis Redding, and the only artist to have his portrait in the foyer of the Apollo in Harlem twice, just how good is it that Tommy has graced the stage of the brilliant Lion. I think it's wonderful that the man with the creamy rich voice has performed in this great pub. Picture courtesy of Tony of Cas.

GDI Sport New Line Up Tonight

The New Barrack Tavern sees the GDI Band in their new form tonight. Great beer, a superb repertoire and good company will provide a great night out at the Sheffield premier hostelry. Another of RotN's favourite venues, it's great to see RotN allied bands making good music there.

Mr Chief Give It Five

Mr Chief reverted to a five piece Friday night at The Bridge in Huddersfield. Stevie returned with guitar and backing vocals to bolster this great band's reputation. I always liked the Chief line up way before our webmaster was part of the band, and my only negative about the band is that they don't gig enough.

Tommy Turtlegigs

New Inn Walton entrepreneur and music fan Tommy Turtle is starting folk nights from the 8th April, which will feature Wakefield's wonderful Rosie Doonan and the first Wednesday of each month will feature a band at this South Wakefield beer palace. Tommy keeps lovely beer! This music night is in addition to Tommy's normal Tuesdays.

Lion Supports Cancer Charity Fund

My son and heir Joe handed over a tenner from the management of The Lion Castleford as part of the support for the RotN Against Cancer Fund. The money is generated by renting out the rehearsal room above the pub. Much gratitude is felt at our end. Money is trickling in now and even my nurse at Pinderfields Hospital bought a RotN To The CoreT shirt. Can those who have received a shirt by post please send their money in if they haven't already....thank you! The Lion, The Thornhill Arms and The New Barrack Tavern have been great so far in their support.

Snatch Back On Stage

Tony Marchant's band The Snatch were at it again at the weekend, nice to see Dave singing again too,and with Tony himself on bass and backing vocals. This is good to see at The George the IV on Friday. Picture courtesy of Tony of Cas.

Commemorative Beer

Take a close look at the beer pump clip and you might see the words Andrew Hinkler and Do$ch. This special beer was commissioned by Steph (pictured above) and Kev of The New Barrack Tavern, Hillsborough in honour of Andy's 60th birthday. What a great honour!

Roxyrama Impress Hollywood

Leeds band Roxyrama are to be recorded for the forthcoming Hollywood production starring Ricky Gervais. Bass player Fin Keating offers the following: We've entered into an agreement with a Los Angeles production company whereby our version of the Roxy Music song 'Virginia Plain' will feature in the forthcoming Warner Brothers film 'This Side Of The Truth' which is written by and stars the comedian Ricky Gervais. The track will be used as background music during a dialogue scene. The film is scheduled for release in September this year. Naturally we are thrilled to bits regarding this! From Hollywood to Whitby now and the band have a preview in the Whitby Gazette regarding their gig there on Friday. It's good to see a local band do well for themselves don't you think?

JD Band Success

It's been a good morning here at RotN HQ recieving news of the debut of the JD Band, and more so the successful debut. This band played at The Cross Keys Morley in front of many of the local area's musos and were very well received it seems. I've been confident of the bands success since I heard of the personnel involved so it's been very pleasing to hear the ingredients have made a successful recipe! When Jay left Styckleback I was saddened as Jay was "born to perform" to quote my curly son....and then Bad Penny split, personal differences but that happens a lot, no big deal, leaving Snoopy doing not much at all. Bad Penny reformed as Phoenix Rising and have gone on to great success, then Jay and Snoopy got Col Challinor and Matt as a rock solid rhythm section and the rest will become history. It will be a distinguished history too! As a footnote to this paragraph, every band mentioned here have gone on to great success after personnel changes which proves to me there is some kind of evolution going on.

The Cardinals In Wakefield Inquisition

The Cardinals played at a new venue this weekend. This is Bar St on Westgate. It seems like a lot of money has been ploughed into the place so naturally we'd like to see the venue get a return. The proprietor is looking for suitable bands at the moment.

2009 -A Classic Year?

I'm deep in thought this Sunday morning, and it's a strange thought pattern. It's all revolving around music though both past and future. Prompted by my pals 56th birthday in April and I've known him since he was 16, I remembered 1969.It was quite a good year. Woodstock was held in '69 and I remember the artists and going to see the film of it at the cinema. Indeed my friend Walter Trout attended as an 18 year old spectator. Forty years ago! So to the present and locally what do we have? The re-birth of Piston Broke for one thing, the JD Band, Phoenix Rising, and Invisible Idols. Look at other great things too, Chantel McGregor, Top Gun, Flyz, Shameless, Rakkiteers and many many more talented and entertaining individuals and bands. We might be in the clutches of the worst recession in the modern era but it's not all doom and gloom by a long chalk!

Shield of Steel In The Wakey Express

KT's Oxfam Mini Fest Today

Sunday has three bands on at Harry's Bar in Wakefield from 5 till 9:30 approx. It's free entry with a donation to Oxfam. Phone 298721 for details. Bands appearing are Rise, Peculiar Blue, and The Wires.

Andy Needs A Band

Andy of Charlie Don't Surf here! One of the venues I get bands for in Sheffield is looking for a quality Rock covers band on April 11th, anyone free drop me a line with contact number to charlie@charliedontsurf.ukfsn.org

The Lion Continues To Please

It often annoys me when people say we are biased towards Castleford's venues. This is rubbish. We try to cover venues far and wide, but we do love Castleford, my old grandad was born a stone's throw from The Crimea, right opposite the River Aire. That's neither here nor there either. I've just been uploading The Lion's gigs for April and what a great variety of acts Julie is putting on there. From Northern Soul superstar Tommy Hunt, punk with Whitewash, classic rock with Suite Zero, up and coming Irish band In The Name Of, comedy contemporary rock with One Fat Spider and The Erics of course, Sixties favourites Flashback, and a touch of the Blues Brothers with Chicago Joe and the Soul Divas! It's like a variety club! Viva Cas Vegas!

Good News On A Saturday

We hear this morning that The Yorkshire Vic in Huddersfield will be maintaining music nights in the future. You'll have to confirm your booking with the new landlady, so do that when you can. Probably best to call in.

Together We Will Find A Way

As I type this Saturday morning I'm listening to the Rock of the North Against Cancer draught for the heavy rock track which will be released this year in aid of charity. A number of the areas vocalists and guitarists will be invited to record the song over a pre-recorded track already laid down by Gavin Coulson and Tim Gillespie. I'd love to invite you all of course but it's not practical so would you please spare me any embarrassment by not asking me. This was written by Gav and Tim in the vogue of the We Are Stars 1986 recording. The working title of this song is All We Need Is Hope but it's no dirge at 120bpm! The lyrics are poignant however  and we are fighting a killer disease here so your support as always is needed, and as always is appreciated greatly. The finished product will be manufactured and distributed professionally.

Jimjam Not On TV But At The Lion

Bass playing babe and Barnsley postie Jamie (Jimjam) Whittaker of The Rakkiteers had her interview cancelled within one hour of going to the TV studios today Thursday. It's their loss! They had become too busy apparently. Jimjam phoned me today as I was glued to watching Calendar! No matter, our heroine will be playing at The Lion with The Rakkiteers on Friday night where you can be assured of a great time.

Carl Wragg Sounding Good

Our pal from Red Mosquito and Helvis and the Dead Famous sent me an MP3 today with a song from his original material band. He asked me to criticise it...but I cant. There's nowt to criticise. I was listening mostly to Carl's guitar playing and it's good as were the vocals by Meltdown's Liam Maden. It's very good actually. Carl has great feel for the guitar and for a young lad, he impresses the hell out of me.

Gig Canceller

Fin from Roxyrama let us know that their gig at Whitby is still on despite some low life trying to cancel their gig by telephone. The telephone message was recorded and passed on to Fin and Fin is happy to send this to anyone who wants to listen in an effort to pinpoint the caller.

Dodgy Venues

This morning has brought two possible notices of gigs lost. The Duck and Drake, Leeds, Friday gigs are thought to be in jeopardy and The Stafford Arms in Halifax has new management from Friday and the word on the street is that all gigs are cancelled.

Our Mascot Passes Away

Anyone who has visited us at Windy Corner will have been greeted by Pepsi our beloved poodle. I'm afraid we lost Pepsi on Monday night due to lung cancer of all things. She was an old lady of almost 13 years and to say she will be missed is an understatement. It's been an emotional few hours where I've considered the irony of her fate considering our war on cancer this year and it makes me determined to make a difference in the human field of cancer medicine via Cancer Research UK. I hope you'll all come on board to make a success of our campaign. The Wakefield Express also ran an article on the RotN to the Core endeavour last weekend and apparently the reporter says I'm 65 and a guitar hero. I don't know which of those facts are more inaccurate or most hilarious!

Two Charity Slots Available

The Shipley RotN Against Cancer gig on the 29th August has two slots available. One is the 5:30 slot on the outside stage for 45 minutes, and the other is an hour long end of gig slot inside the club. Brian Glover is doing his usual great job of organising and he expressed a wish for RotN bands to fill these spots. Brian is at info@splashalley.com  Brian has recruited Top Notch, Splash Alley, Voodoo Van Boogie, Rock Solid, Suicide Blonde and The Trees so far.

Idols Sounding Good

Rock of the North HQ "Windy Corner" was turned into an impromptu recording studio on Sunday afternoon with the Invisible Idols laying down four rough cut tracks for their Myspace. I've been impressed with their rehearsals and although the recordings aren't professional quality, they're pretty good they do give a good idea of what this power trio are capable of. The four songs have different styles but it's all dynamic riffy song writing so check out http://www.myspace.com/invisibleidols  to hear the tracks. In semi pro rock we've unfortunately come across undesirables, quite honestly there's more egocentric posers than you could imagine in this game. One of the best things about this band is none of them are that. The band will soon be booking into Audio Cooker Studios in Leeds to record the tracks professionally. The band brought their very personable partners and the Head Cook said it was the best Sunday she'd had for years!

Angel of Sin In Living Colour

Angel of Sin performed at Acklam Steelies Club on Saturday night and I have to say the colours of the light show look great...and a laser too! An extra bit of effort goes a long way. Thanks to Jon bassist of AoS for this picture. Jon added to his mail that the audience were on top form and he couldn't wait to go back.

Broken Angel Action

A superb action packed picture from Stevie Fingers as he watched Broken Angel deliver the goods to the members of Roberttown WMC on Friday night. "Lord of the Ginge" Mick Norbury was giving it large in his RotN T shirt! Good to see Graham Hollings on the drums in this pic, although it might be Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit...not sure! The band played a private biker do on Saturday and play The Crimea on Sunday late afternoon.

Mr Chief Welcome Back Stevie

Mr Chief have recruited Stevie Lodge to the band after a short absence. Stevie will add both guitar and backing vocals to the band, and perhaps the odd lead vocals as he used to do. Mr Chief made their name as a five piece and I think Stevie's return will add to the mix substantially.

Shane Manufacturing A Batch

A visit to The String Surgeon aka Shane Haigh the Piston Broke guitarist  saw us looking at a short production run of his original shaped guitars. The one pictured above is a battle scarred version that Shane says is part of him, but illustrates the shape, and in it's long history has been many colours! These guitars can be custom made to suit you as far as pick-ups, hardware and finish are concerned. These guitars are like a cross between a Wolfgang and a Tele in shape and I tried a finished one that Shane has kept for himself. Shane's a clever bloke, the string tension was what I'd call easy or normal really yet the strings were 11 gauge! Upper fret access is also very easy. These guitars are available in different woods and if for instance you have a bad shoulder and a light guitar is needed, then one or two are available in a less dense wood, yet Shane assures me they will still sound great. If you'd like one of these rare guitars then contact Shane on 01924 277930. If it's an ansaphone leave your number. Shane's guitars play sound and look great.

Tiger Bay Play To The Masses

Friday 13th March saw Tiger Bay, Dave Mountain – guitar, Phil Bedford – bass, Mark Todd - drums and Nick Gill – vocals (ageing old rockers!!) play their first gig in 5 years, since reforming late last year, the first gig was actually scheduled for Easter Sunday 12th April at the Commercial Hotel – Pudsey, however being voted to take part in the Leeds Rhinos battle of the bands competition, their first appearance took place last Friday at Headingley Carnegie Stadium!! Performing one song, “Swords of a Thousand Men” the old Tenpole Tudor classic, pre match before Rhinos home game versus Wigan Warriors in the middle of the pitch in front of a 17,500 crowd the “Tigers” were voted through to the final by supporters texts. Commenting somewhat nervously and rather tongue in cheek prior to the show, Nick said “Well we thought we had better have a nice little warm up gig in front of a select few before our homecoming gig at the Commercial you know.” The band are now looking forward to the homecoming at the “Commy” and of course are awaiting further news of the final back at the stadium scheduled for Friday 24th April at Rhinos home match versus Harlequins. The band are hoping to be giggin proper around the summer and onwards and are now looking at lining up a number of shows. The set featuring numbers by, Clash, Pistols, Green Day, Simple Plan, Therapy, Ramones and the Damned to name just a few should be a fun, noisy and upbeat show with the emphasis on fun, something we all need a bit of in this current economical climate!
For the full story, information and a complete history on the band visit www.thetigaz.co.uk

The Cavern Comes To York Gig

I mailed Kev Benson the vocals/bassist of York retro band Flashback regarding the charity fest they are having in York, named "The Cavern Comes To York". Kev kindly replied ,telling us that by kind permission of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, they are allowed to use the name when Flashback and Merseybeat bands of the past will perform the gig this year. A coach to bring the Liverpool bands to York has been organised. The catalyst for this was when we abruptly learned that Flashback drummer Phil had been diagnosed with oesophagus cancer. Indeed this was the catalyst for our own RotN Against Cancer campaign as Phil is well known to us ,having been the drummer at my 40th birthday party many moons ago. As more details come in I'll keep information flowing.

Own This Guitar

Paul Gilbert played this actual guitar at Leeds Rios. This guitar is for sale on our classifieds section. Check  the classifieds, it's still there. There are more photos to go with this Ibanez.

Red Mosquito Models

Below are Lee and Steve from Red Mosquito at The Little 'Un during Harry Coffey's gig there on Sunday night. Steve was a prime mover in getting the RotN Against Cancer movement going so it's particularly nice to see him sporting the shirt. Drummer Lee is wearing the 2007 Convention shirt.

Aspects of Club Life

Above are two pictures of different aspects of club life. On the left is genial Acklam concert secretary Barry Wooley who is accounting for the bingo ticket sales on Saturday night. In the meantime, having already played one set, Mr Chief's Joe and Girl Kills Boy's Johnno sit in the dressing room scoffing junk food, the staple diet of gigging musicians. These young artists always eat a third or maybe half of the food, then chuck it back in the trays and say this phrase: "That was f*****g sh*te!" Performing on the club scene is hard work, but it's strangely habit forming. Barry was on form by taking the mickey out of the band on Saturday night but to his credit he could also take it as he received a barrage of counter mickey taking from the Mr Chief young lads! Barry we salute you!

Gunlaw/Broken Angel Swap

Next week at The Crimea, Castleford, Sunday to be precise, Gunlaw have had to postpone their gig and have asked Broken Angel to be subs, which they have kindly agreed to do.

More T Shirt Manifestations!

The two pictures below from Saturday show left The Cardinals' Ian and Andy (yet to get his new RotN to the Core T-shirt) and on the right Phoenix Rising show a united front at The Queens in Stourton!

A Revival of Revival

We had a mail from Dan of Revival who have recently reformed and they enjoyed a good gig at Middlecliffe WMC. Dan says the following: "Just to say Revival was certainly Revived last night it was a brill night for me and the lads. We really had a blast and enjoyed it. Great audience which pretty much filled the club. Hope to see you all at our other gigs. Once again thanks." Revival play The Travellers at Stanley on the 28th of March.

A Busy Weekend

I've had loads of correspondence today (Sunday) and had visitors, and had to do a visit myself, so I'm a bit behind with RotN business. Please bear with me and I'll hopefully catch up with it all. In the meantime don't forget to send your April gigs to us.

Some Good Performances This Weekend

I'm pleased to say that there's been reports of some great performances and happy bands and landlords/ladies weekend. Steve Saville of The Thornhill Arms phoned to tell me of both The Carnival, a truly great band from South Yorks, and Reckless who played at the Thornhill on Saturday. Steve said he was knocked out by Reckless, saying they played a great gig and brought a warehouse full of equipment into the pub. It's great to see commitment to entertainment and I think Reckless deserve a special pat on the back. Meanwhile One Fat Spider continue to receive deserved praise via our comments page, and this pleases me greatly as I've supported the band from the outset. Phoenix Rising and The Cardinals are two more new bands who put great enthusiasm into the scene and are receiving their deserved bouquets. Nice to see The Cadillaxe also getting out there and having their share of toffee, well done lads. I heard a recording of Girl Kills Boy from the Lion gig on Friday and it was proof indeed that they are now more than just a fledgling band, and they did ram the Lion with fans and broke the bar takings record at the pub on Friday. Red Mosquito's Steve Pickles guested with Harry Coffey and said he also enjoyed a good gig with the band, and had a great compliment paid that his Voodoo Child was the best ever! Of course there will have been many more great performances around the district ,not just those that have been fed back to RotN, as Saturday's gig guide was high in number and with some great bands playing. It just all goes to show that the live music scene is still alive and kicking despite the recession.

Acklam Trip

Joe, GKB-Johnno, and myself made the trip to Acklam Steelies Club in Middlesborough to help Mr Chief do another successful gig at the club. The band played well considering Marcus was not 100% health wise. I'd been let loose with the RotN "Events" recently enhanced lighting rig and I enjoyed illuminating the band as they played some great renditions of classic rock as Girl Kills Boy's Johnno tweaked the sound. It's now 2:45am as I type this paragraph, but it's been a good and satisfying day. I hope you all enjoyed your Saturday night and it was nice to read that One Fat Spider had a great gig at The Cross Keys in Morley.

The Wind of Change Has Arrived Maybe

Our comments page is often a barometer of the thoughts of the people who have opinions and report on mostly good things on the scene. During the past week we have had some discussion about bingo and clubs and the way forward. Nobody has a robust "Marshall Plan" for clubs' survival but when you  read comments like the one from "Baz Ex Skella" -someone who I trust completely in his judgement of quality bands, then my ears pick up. Baz watched another brilliant performance from Razorbach, the Huddersfield wonders, at Westminster Club at Intake Doncaster last night and reports on their set, with a repertoire that you would have thought would have had members leaving in droves. Not so! In fact the members "were up begging, clapping, shouting and whistling for more" to quote Baz. With a repertoire which included material by Alter Bridge, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and System of a Down, plus Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, and even The Who, the band obviously hit the right vein! Maybe we "Don't Stop Believing" that a staple of American AOR will never end in clubs but it's a very pleasant change to hear a repertoire like the one Razorbach so ably perform.

Pink Rock

Sue Spider has informed us of her charity festival at The Cross Keys Morley on the 23rd May. Featuring some excellent local bands as always, it promises to be a cracking festival. Sue has set up two Just Giving websites for online donations and these are they: www.justgiving.com/suegettings and www.justgiving.com/suegettings1 The recipients are explained on the hyperlinked sites and it certainly is a good cause. On this type of online donation method you can claim back tax for the charity if you are working and pay income tax. It's very simple.

Admiral Duncan All Dayer Looking Good

May the 17th will be the scene of another RotN Against Cancer charity event and this will be at The Admiral Duncan at Thornes in Wakefield. There will be six bands playing and so far confirmed are Telegram Sam (Headliners) Doghouse, Beer Engine, Arena, Baron Greenback, Rooster, and possibly a couple of others . Top stuff, but it looks like Gav Coulson will be busy....he's in four of those bands!!!!

JimJam Wins Award

The Rakkiteers bass player Jamie (JimJam) Whittaker has won a First Class Peoples Award by the Royal Mail. Jamie saved an old ladies life from a fire whilst on her post round last year. Jamie was short-listed for the award but has been informed that she will be taken to London on an all-expenses-paid stay, and to be presented on the 30th March. We've known that Jamie is a First Class Person for a long time, and she's a great girl, more than worthy of  receiving this bravery award.

Brewery Tap Win Camra Award

The Brewery Tap in Idle, one of the top live music pubs in the North, has won a Camra Award. Well deserved for keeping and serving fine ales, our congratulations go to Raymond and Gary!

Do$ch Need Support With Wilco

One of RotN's most loyal and friendly bands Do$ch, those great rhythm and blusers have secured a support slot at The Boardwalk with Wilco Johnson on the 7th May. Andy would be grateful of your support by getting your tickets through him as this adds more kudos to the band in the eyes of the promoter...plus the band are on a percentage of the ticket sales!!! Support this gig cos it's gonna be a beauty with Do$ch and Wilco,  real rhythm and blues at it's best. Check this website for details of the band.

End to End Stuff

Although we've mentioned the Ancient Borough Arms closing, another venue might be in jeopardy as the manager at the Moon and Sixpence in Glossop has moved on and there might be a chance of gigs lost. Check it out if you've a gig there. Better news to counter this is that The Golden Lion at Pudsey is wanting to put bands on there regularly. We've seen a lot of this win some ,lose some ,to-ing and fro-ing but I think the live scene is still buoyant.

GDI Band Statement

GDI would like to announce that as from today they have two new members of the band. Firstly on drums, filling the seat which has been taken by various dep drummers over the last few months is Mr Paul Flemming. GDI would like to thank those that have filled in for us in this role in Particular Mr Richard Hunter and Mr Michael Hodgson. Secondly, taking over vocals is Mr Bryan Langford. Bryan is taking over from Alan (Banger) Child. Alan has been an inspiration to us all and he has brought to the band a wealth of knowledge plus we have had some cracking times and laughs along the way. GDI would like to publicly thank Alan for all he has done with us and he will be a sad loss to the band but it is now time for all to move on. Alan will however, perform one last gig with GDI at the EAST LEEDS LIONS MOTORCYCLE CLUB RALLY on Friday the 10th of April. Be there. Details are on the web site www.gdiband.co.uk . Also on the web site eventually will be further details regarding the new band members.

Resurgence RotN To The Core

From the left to the right Mic, Dave, Helen, Graeme, Kerrie and Mad Dog showing a RotN front at The Bold Privateer in Wrose on Friday night. Great favourites on the bike rally scene this band have gone from strength to strength over the past three years but have consolidated a great reputation in the past 12 months. On a personal level we have always found the band ready and willing to help out at the drop of a hat. From lights and PA to performance or a bit of help with the logistics, members of this band are valued by more than just us at Windy Corner, and by the way, they're a great band on stage as well!

More On Ladies Night

The two pictures shown above were taken on Friday the 6th March. Picture on the left courtesy of Tony of Cas is Angabart with Pauline Miles giving it her all in the Lion Castleford, but unusually Steve Todd playing acoustic guitar rather than playing drums that he is legendary for. On the right Helen and Kerrie of Resurgence were obviously mistaking the editor of RotN for Richard Gearbox, star of An Orrofice and a Gentleman. What was that Kylie Minogue song? Lucky Lucky Lucky!!!

Breed At The Cross Keys

Our correspondent and all round good guy The Old Git Mav reports on the new band Breed who rocked the Cross Keys Morley on Friday night. Playing some great material, the band not only thrilled the keys regulars with the mega classic Comfortably Numb, the band also did material less frequently heard on the pub circuit and this included songs from The Hives, Muse, Queens of the Stone Age and the wonderful Pearl Jam. It's good to have new names on this page, especially when they are reported on as being potential "premier league players" on this high quality live music scene in Yorkshire. Sometimes I get a push in the back and realise just what we have here so lets keep it alive and kicking.

Ladies Night

I had a bit of a run around Friday night from Wrose to Cas and Pudsey too. I was delivering some T shirts to Helen and Dave of Resurgence who were playing at The Bold Privateer on Friday night. I had to leave earlier than the time they went on for their first set but it was not before team pictures were taken in their new strip...pictures later! I travelled the few miles to The Thornhill Tavern in Pudsey as Motus were just starting their first set and I have to say the band were at their awesome best. I watched with The Erics bassist Big Sexy Dave and The Cadillaxe drummer Woody, two great lads and their lovely wives and we certainly enjoyed a fine set. I was going to rave about Graham's superb guitar solo but the whole band were truly excellent. Thanks to Mine Host Steve Saville for a very nice pint of shandy too! It was back on the road and down to Castleford to see and hear another very nice set of songs so well played in the Lion by Angabart. Another female lead band and a great repertoire. All these bands are very different but also very very good and who help keep the spirit of live music up where it belongs. A good night was certainly had even with a few miles in between.

Tommy Hunt Tickets From Lion

Julie at The Lion is Castleford now has tickets for the very special Tommy Hunt Night. These are available at the bar. Tommy in Northern Soul circles is a star and if you'd like to see him, get down to the pub to secure your place.

Wishbone Ash For Wakefield

Andy Powell's Wishbone Ash and Aynsley Lyster are coming to the Theatre Royal on Westgate, Wakefield on April the 30th. What a show this will be! This is a great little theatre that the Head Cook and I go to frequently (being the culture vultures that we are), and we love it, so we may well see you there.

Limehouse Lizzy Back Soon

I often say Boys Are Back In Town is an overplayed song but I heard a live version on Planet Rock last Saturday and it was excellent! If you like Lizzy then take a look at Limehouse Lizzy at Birdwell Club, South side of Barnsley on March 14th. It's a great club, a great band, and you'll have a great time.

O2 Academy Tickets Available

Invisible Idols tickets are now available for the o2 gig Thursday 27th august. They can get them online at www.o2academysheffield.co.uk or from the band. Support from Sheffield duo "Acoustic Child" . 

Shock Horror At Acklam

Proof that beer is brewed stronger for Steelworks personnel, the picture above sees genial Acklam Steelies Club concert sec Baz Wooley, a noted Journey lover and Metalworks/Mr Chief singer and noted Journey hater Marcus Ward dancing to a Journey song last Saturday at the club! Stranger than fiction! Mr Chief return to the Steelies on the 14th of this month.

Support The Local Promoters

Try to support local promoters whenever possible. Thursday sees Rebel Truce at Wakefield's Strafford Arms. This should suit all you Clash fans as that is the bands speciality. Fans of punk will also be interested to know that The Lurkers play No 10 Dickens Bar in Rotherham on Saturday.

South Yorkshire Bonanza This Saturday

The Boardwalk in Sheffield has the wonderful Kyla Brox appearing on Saturday. She's fantastic, a great singer and one I recommend everyone should see at least once in their lives. She's popular on both sides of the Atlantic and in Europe as well. On the other side of the M1 the original Achtung Baby with Luke Pepper play at The Blues Cafe in Rotherham. Also in the vicinity there's The New Barrack Tavern in Hillsborough with RotN faves Motus,famous Seventies punks The Lurkers are at No 10 Dickens Bar in Rotherham and club rock band Whizz Kid play at Bellhouse Road Club in Shire Green. Spoilt for choice? I think so.

DMX Wonderful For Young Minds

I was so impressed with Phoenix Rising's new LED  FX lights I decided to buy a couple to add to the RotN arsenal. They're great for behind the band, no good for illuminating the band, but they add to the whole entertainment package. As they are DMX-able (although this isn't necessary) I decided to set up some scenes with my other gear. XLR Cables plugged in and oh dear, I couldn't remember how to programme the flippin' controller. Luckily the fresh young mind of our webmaster showed me how to do it after he explained about 30 times, some of it sank in and have to say, the results were very impressive. Digital Multiplexing!!! Fantastic! I have a very special laser on order and another hazer to compliment our high performance smoke machines will be arriving this week so we don't set fire alarms off, although we were warned by the company that it is a very "capable" piece of kit! Putting a good show on makes one band better than another of equal musicianship. This is why Styckleback, Phoenix Rising and Splash Alley all have my respect. It's hard work to do all this but what great shows these bands put on.

Keep Up The Pressure

Well it's been another good weekend for most and we need to move on and keep up the pressure on the RotN Against Cancer Campaign. I've had a few hours off from the PC this morning to spend some time getting my naughty motorbike fired up, successfully I'm please to say. I've not done any major mechanic work for 30 years and these modern bikes need hands like a gynae to work on them ...sadly I could only be a gynae for an elephant with my fat hands so it was hard work putting the motor back in! I'll be back at it soon but I'd just like to remind you all of our T shirts which should be available this week. Proceeds go to Cancer Research UK. It's a very rock and roll design if you count Pirates of the Caribbean/Grim Reaper as rock and roll...I do, and it has the message "RotN To The Core" for all you RotNers to wear with pride.

Metallica Thrill RotNers

Red Mosquito's Carl Wragg sent a lot of pictures to us from last nights Metallica gig at Sheffield and says the gig was absolutely fantastic with a revolving stage, incredible lights and pyro and also fantastic sound, the best he's ever experienced at The Hallam Arena. Our webmaster was also there with a number of celebs from the local rock scene. Carl enthuses that the two hour set was full of spine tingling moments including audience participation on The Memory Remains! Nice one Carl, I wish I had room for all the pics!

Piston Broke Pack The Crimea

We've just had word that Piston Broke rocked the Crimea Tavern on Saturday night despite Tony Parkin wanting to keep it a low key affair. The reason was that they considered themselves to be under-rehearsed but in reality the band rocked and the pub was packed. So the band will be chasing gigs now and we fully endorse this band, who will become a supergroup in RotNland...well they are already in my eyes! Gerrem booked landlords and landladies!

Motus and Broken Angel Shine

Last night Broken Angel played to a packed house in Mirfield, so packed that a speaker tower was pushed over. The band rectified things quickly and drummer Graham Hollings said the gig was so good he was still buzzing at 2:45 in the morning! Not many miles away towards Leeds, Motus played a great set at The Cross Keys in Morley, but to a slightly less crowded but enthusiastic venue. Two top bands worth seeing if you've never seen them before. Good vocalists don't grow on trees and these bands have two of the best.

Malicious Rumours

This morning I opened up the PC to receive news that malicious rumours from as far as Spain had filtered through regarding the Cross Keys at Morley. The rumours were that the venue was to close. This is complete tosh, totally untrue, and the Keys will continue to support live music on Friday and Saturday nights as usual.At the Lion in Castleford there was a mix up as both Flatliners and 3 Daze Lost turned up. Apparently the rumour mill had got through to landlady Julie that 3 Daze Lost had split up, which they definitely haven't. In fact there is a spin-off band coming called Green Daze Lost who will be a Green Day trubute!

First Day of March

I cant believe it's March! Where do the weeks go to? It's exactly one year since we held Frock of the North....ah well! It looks like we will be postponing Frock 2 till 2010 due to the RotN Against Cancer campaign taking up so much time. Helen Taylor of Resurgence, my co-conspirator, originally planned having a Frock gig every two years anyway so hold on to your bloomers ladies. I have not been winding RotN gigs down and in fact last night I was ordering more gear to make our RotN gigs more attractive....so that's another 500 quid I owe the head cook! Well the equipment was a bargain wasn't it????

The Theory Deliver Results

Nice to receive a refreshing couple of communications regarding bands we've not reviewed before. The passage below has Mange 2 reviewed, but we received a comment regarding The Theory who appeared in Barnsley at The Citrus Rooms. The thing that is a puzzle is the fact that we don't know if it was the Washington Tyne and Wear band or the Hastings based band. Either way our correspondent was mega impressed so well done all round!

Mange 2 Review

Paul Bailey sent in a review of Mange 2 's gig at Cookies Bar in Halifax. It was nice to receive a review rather than a comment. Read what what had to say here.

Friday Night Of Note

 Castleford has had a fantastic show of rock with Top Gun and Mr Chief but around the region it looks like it's been fabulous with Go Kommando at The Thornhill Arms, Emerald at The Cross Keys, Resurgence and Do$ch in Leeds, Styckleback in Stanley, Shield of Steel in Stocksbridge and even The Hamsters and Adam Bomb in Rotherham. A top night wherever you go in the area. I got a bit carried away maintaining my motorbike tonight so I missed the lot. Still it has to be done and I feel satisfied for a change. Hope you enjoyed your evening, but take a look at our gig guide for Saturday night, there's 30 odd gigs to go watch!

Leeds Rock School On Track

Andy Jackson is well on track with his Leeds Rock School project. Two of RotN characters are signed up as tutors. That's Stu Lockwood (percussion) and Lincoln J Roth (bass). If you go to our home page and click on the logo you will be able to find out much more.

More Recordings Due

The passage below about the recording of our heavy rock musicians was Gav Coulson's idea and I really like it. However before Gav put his idea to me I had already been arranging a CD recording of two of our young and talented members of the RotN community. It's not a secret but I'll reveal the details later. We are presently awaiting a response from the media regarding the whole RotN Against Cancer shebang.

Hear'N'Aid-You'll Need One

Older RotN Rollers who are into the heavier rock might remember 1985 when Ronnie James Dio arranged his contribution to the Band Aid/Live Aid movement. Well the result was a brilliant song called Stars or We Are Stars. Many of the worlds top vocalists and guitarists played on this record and it was magic. Ronnie James and Geoff Tate of Queensrhyche were two highlights but Don Docken, Rob Halford, Kevin Dubrow and others also sang on it. What we are proposing to help the RotN Against Cancer campaign, is that Gav Coulson assisted by Tim Gillespie will record an original song and invite RotN bands heavy rock guitarists and vocalists to play over a drums/bass backing track. The resulting CD/DVD will then be sold for Cancer Research UK. You'll be getting your invites soon so buy some new strings, and clear your throats.

Dusty Miller Regular Venue

The Dusty Miller at Barlborough is putting gigs on every Friday and the odd Saturday with quite special bands plus many RotN associated bands. I wrongly wrote that the pub is attached to the motel near McDonalds but the Dusty is actually in Barlborough itself on Sheffield Road.

Community Comments

You all know I make a big thing about RotN being a community, and that's because it is! On the comments page just today people asked for help or advice and like a community, members of it helped each other out. Ben Lockwood needed lights, Graham of Broken Angel was there with an offer, then Adrian of Hard Shoulder wanted a wah pedal and Rich of Top Gun was there with an offer of a Joe Satriani model. Selfless not selfish is the order of the day for true RotNers.

Joe Bonamassa New CD

The 24th was the release of Joe B's new CD The Ballad of John Henry. I've just heard the whole album on Planet Rock and wow, it is fabulous. We have ours on order having listened to the odd track over the past month on the radio, but the album is stunning. I cant wait to receive the CD and blast it out on my best music system.

Lion Rammed

Marcus of Mr Chief who did the sound for Gunlaw on Saturday night reports that Gunlaw played to a completely rammed house. It was so busy that the bar ran out of glasses at one point. In our experience only Scooby and Flashback and perhaps Riff Raff come near to Gunlaw in filling the pub to this extent. All these bands are massively popular in Castleford....and for very good reason, they're superb.

Girl Kills Boy Liverpool Final

Sadly Girl Kills Boy failed in their attempt to win Red Battle in Liverpool. The band were philosophical before the event but they must've been disappointed when the decision came through. Our webmaster was part of their entourage and he texted us early Saturday evening to say the band played a superb set in the competition, as good as they've ever played. Congratulations are in order because at least the band reached the final. Well done lads.

Networking On a Saturday Night

Saturday the 21st was a big dilemma. Gun Law playing at The Lion....Splash Alley's Jerry retiring from the band....what shall I do? Well I fulfilled a promise to visit the New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield after landlady and landlord Steph and Kev invited us to Chantel McGregor's gig there. It was a great night, Chantel impressed as usual, she was at her devastating best, gaining even more fans of quality music. DJ Rossi from Hoyland was there, Tony of Cas was there, Andy from Dosch was there, and I managed a few words with each of them. Two bike rally goers and RotN readers were pleased they looked on RotN's gig guide last night to see that Chantel was on at the pub, and they rushed there to see her. What a great community we have built up. Remember that RotN isn't just me, Joe and Tracey....it's all of you, or should I say it's all of US !

Send In Your March Gigs

Don't forget to send in your March dates to us, preferably as a "notepad" document attached to your e-mail. Remember we don't surf the websites for gigs now, it's up to you to send 'em in.

Good Start To The Weekend

It's been a good start to the weekend judging by the comments page which is becoming a barometer for what's going on in the RotN region. Angel of Sin, Broken Angel, Red Mosquito, Quilla Drive and Rebel Truce all seem to have had good gigs and there will have been plenty more that's not been commented upon. Tonight has a great selection of gigs on offer all around the region so take a look at the guide and make your choice.

Jerry Leaves Splash Alley

This weekend sees Jerry Smith play his last gig with Bradford band Splash Alley. Due to his work commitments on the West Coast it has become an untenable position playing in a band in West Yorks. We'd like to wish Jerry all the best and thank him for some great entertaining guitar playing over the past few years. Jerry is an excellent player, so understated, and underrated too, yet he plays some really tasty guitar licks. Not the type for showing off, yet his solid and melodic playing put him high in the league of top players on the semi pro scene. We're sorry to see you go Jerry, good luck in the future and we hope you wont retire permanently.

The Power of Rock

I'm reeling from some texts I received on this anniversary of the death of Bon Scott. Is it 29 years ago? Sad loss that was. Well happier news is here as our RotN Against Cancer campaign is gathering momentum day by day. Last night we heard that the fabulous Rakkiteers had joined up and will add to the power of the Lion RotN festival on the 10th May. Another awesome text from Steve Saville of The Thornhill Arms has rivetted me to the floor! One month after the Lion gig, on the 5th June Friday, 6th Saturday, and 7th Sunday, the following bands will perform: Jed Thomas Band, Red Mosquito, Phoenix Rising, Blueflies, Left hand Drive, Reckless, Gunlaw, ZZ Elliminator, GDI Band, Dropout Dogs, Suicide Blonde, Mojo, and JD Band! The Thornhill's calling this "RotN To The Core" which is the legend taken from the 2009 RotN T shirt.

Dusty Miller Rock Nights

Junction 30 of the M1 has many musical connotations for RotN as there's many rock pubs and clubs within a couple of miles of there, Renishaw, Clowne, Staveley and even Chesterfield.  Bands such as Charlie Dont Surf and Laughing Gravy play there so the quality is good, and the manager Adrian appreciates live music. Adrian suggested to RotNers that they come to see bands there on Fridays, book a room, get blathered, and have a great time watching a band! What a great idea!

No Noise Meters

Jay from the JD Band and a mailshot from 10 Downing Street have confirmed that the government has no intention of introducing compulsory noise cut off meters. Good. I might be deaf but I didn't want noise meters. Looks like the help we gave the campaign has helped. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18339

Rehearsals For I.I.

Invisible Idols invited me to have a listen to their songs Wednesday night and I have to say they really had my feet tapping to the beat. The songs are crackers, great riffs, the mark of a successful song, and great vocals. The songs are also very well structured and dynamic and in a classic rock but original style. I accept the fact that I'm biased but the songs stand up to any scrutiny. Matt Black sings with A Foreigners Journey but in this band he sings with his own vocal style. It's a good style too. It was interesting to see the band bounce ideas off each other to build up the quality. The first demo CD will be very interesting.

Mark Drake T Shirts or Babies Delivered

We are at present in the process of ordering our 2009 RotN T shirts. We always but always get great service from Pickersgill Drake in Leeds. Rod and Mark Drake are great supporters of RotN and have been for a few years now. When I e-mailed Mark today he told me that he'd been busy but not in the normal sense of the word. His wife decided to have their baby in the bathroom at home, and guess who delivered it...yes it was Mark, the bloke who printed your RotN T shirt! Well done Mark, mother and baby are doing well! If you need T shirts for your band and the absolute best price ring Mark on 01132 441521. If you need advice on designs suitable for printing, mail me and I'll always be willing to help for no charge as always. If you need a RotN T shirt they will be available in the next week or two and I think everyone will like the design. I haven't asked for sponsorship on this occasion, RotN are fully funding the production due to the help of Pickersgill Drake, a great service. If your partner's due....well...

Chantel Interviewed

Prior to her debut at The New Barrack Tavern on Saturday, Chantel McGregor was interviewed by The Sheffield Star today as interest in her mounts in the city. As a very blues rock oriented town and home to the legendary Frank White, there is no doubt that Chantel will enchant the Sheffield fans who make the pilgrimage to the Hillsborough venue on Saturday.

Bag and Barrow Closes

The Head Cook and I were out in the car at lunchtime on Tuesday and we were sad to pass the Bag and Barrow in Allerton Bywater just as the windows were being boarded up. This was quite sad for us as we ran Frock of the North from that venue, and we also did the Bagstock fest there. The venue was excellent. Clean and roomy and a good stage. What a shame. I do know that one particular publican had his eye on this venue and it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that.

Splash Alley Crew Throw Weight Behind the Campaign

News just in following the Thornhill Arms fest is that of The Woodbottom WMC at Baildon Bridge, Shipley will be putting on an all afternoon and evening festival for THE CAUSE. Splash Alley will provide the quality sound and lights, will play a set, as will protege's Top Notch, plus three or four other bands. Brian Glover will be organising this so we've every confidence, and Brian asks for bands to contact him regarding the festival on August Bank Holiday Saturday.

More News From The Thornhill Arms

We've just had a call from Steve Saville of The Thornhill Arms and he said the response from bands wishing to play at the June 6th RotN's war on cancer festival has been overwhelming. So much so that it might have to be Friday Saturday and Sunday as well! Bands pledged so far are Phoenix Rising, The Blueflies, The Carnival, Red Mosquito and ZZ Elliminator! Steve has just sent in a comment about this and bands wishing to participate please ring 07729305171.

Invisible Idols On Track

Those three musky dears The Invisible Idols have given notice of their Lucorum gig in Barnsley in aid of Cancer Research UK. This is the poster below:

Thornhill Arms Joins The Battle Group

RotN Against Cancer has another date for the diaries and that's the 6th June at The Thornhill Arms Pudsey, Leeds. Steve Saville landlord of the pub has just let us know and will be organising four or maybe five bands for the day!PA is taken care of by Dave Taylor and lovely wife Helen of Resurgence. Joe at The Blues Cafe in Rotherham said he will be looking into doing a contributory mini fest as soon as he gets past the Oakwood Beer Fest PA work.

Oakwood Beer Festival

Rotherham holds another beer and rock festival on Wednesday to Saturday, four nights of having a great time, getting blathered on superb ales and watching some great bands. The venue is the High School and if you check our gig guide we have a sat nav postcode and a directions link. I've been there twice and got lost both times...but we didn't have RotN then. Funniest thing is, when our Joe jammed with Walter Trout the first time I asked a police patrol in the middle of Rotherham, they told us to follow them , and they took us to the wrong place!

Girl Kills Boy Boot and Shoe Sunday

The band had a good gig at The Boot and Shoe on Sunday early evening. They were quite happy with their first visit there and went down well. In the absence of landlord Les due to being press ganged into taking Marie out for a Valentine's treat, our webmaster Joe did the sound. Drummer Andy was telling me that as soon as the band offered the Boot regulars War Pigs, they were on a winner! The band will compete in the National final of Red Battle next Saturday and later in the week we'll tell you how to help them get more votes.

Lion Confirm Charity Gig

Great news for us is that of The Lion in Castleford who have confirmed a mini-fest as part of  the RotN Against Cancer campaign. What a great three band line up for May 10th...which is Top Gun, Monkey Dust, and the mighty Riff Raff! Our respect to Monkey Dust for sacrificing their own gig at The Lion to allow this. Naturally our thanks go to Top Gun and Riff Raff and Julie and H of the Lion. Proceeds from August's Lionfest will go to the fund too. Brian Glover is also deep in negotiations for an August Bank Holiday Saturday event at Baildon Bridge and we'll be keeping tabs on that. Keep the buzz going as we need favours, publicity and as much media coverage as possible and we mean all around the greater area.

A Rockin Good Saturday Night

I've waited till Sunday afternoon to get reports in from Saturday evening and it seems like it's been a good one. Monkey Dust played a good set, used their own PA and kept plenty of fans in the Lion in Castleford. Over in Morley Twist of Fate did their thing at The Cross Keys, where they are one of the favourites of the pub, and with Lincoln now as a permanent member, the band go from strength to strength. In Leeds my brother witnessed another good set of rock standards with Phoenix Rising providing the entertainment. He enjoyed the band who made their debut at The New Roscoe. The Thornhill Tavern having enjoyed a great Friday night with One Fat Spider repeated this with King Bz, a quality band if there ever was one, who made the new Thornhill Tavern Saturday rock nights a big success. In Wakefield, No Quarter, the legendary heavy rockers pleased the crowd with their fantastic mix of classic rock with brilliant versions of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and UFO's back catalogue. So all in all, a great night out and a very encouraging one for the region!

Leeds Rock School

News just in as a comment but it's worth far more than a comment is Andy of Styckleback's venture, Leeds Rock School! This is Andy's comment: Hi Guys, EXCITING opportunity! I am in need of instructors to start regular Master Classes/ Workshops for Leeds Rock School. Whatever the discipline I need you!!. I would like people with live experience as well as tutoring experience. You will also be given a full check up so you can work with kids! LOL. Please Please Please this is a major dream of mine and I'm looking for dedicated people that can commit. Drummer/ Bass/ Vocal/ Guitar. Premises Sorted and we are looking at a MAY start. TV and Newspapers are involved with this and the website is nearly complete!! Call me 07794928780 Thanks Andy. Website

Happy Valentine's Day

On this fine Saturday morning I'd like to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day! The Head Cook and I don't subscribe to this one day a year lovey-dovey crap, as we've always said it's a year round partnership, but what do we know, we've only been together 28 years! We are a bit romantic though...what's "our song" ??? -Don't Break My Heart Again" by Whitesnake!

Rock Revival Revived

We've had news from Dan of Rock Revival saying how pleased he was that the band have reformed. Good to hear news like this, it makes a nice change from bands breaking up. The band are from the Sheffield area.

Have a Great Weekend

Not a lot of news today but I'd just like to wish you all a great weekend of rock. Take a look on the gig guide, choose who you want to see and go see some great bands! Heart warming news is the amount of people who are offering their services for helping after our declaration of war against cancer. The Lion in Cas Vegas and The New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield have pledged their help with indoor festivals and the Splash Alley old boys have an outdoor fest planned to the West. There'll be much more to come in the next month or two as we rope in more venues.

Read The Label

I'm laughing this morning about my previous ramblings about the AC/DC CD called Black Ice. I was asking which band would cover their excellent song "Runaway Train"....only it's called "Rock and Roll Train". My embarrassment serves me right, I should read the CD cover before spouting off about it! I wouldn't mind but I've been listening to it for months, so I must be more deaf than I thought...pardon????

Metalworks Latest Incarnation Pleases

I've been a fan of Barnsley band Metalworks for many a year, from the days when Pete Goodfellow of Shield of Steel was the vocalist. The band morphed over the years and we've just seen Gaz retire. Since then Marcus Ward of Mr Chief has offered his services on the microphone and the first gig at the Lion in Castleford last weekend was a success. Marcus says after the first two slightly shaky songs they were away with a repertoire that stretched from the aggressive sounding  "Seek and Destroy" to the very mellow "All Right Now" which had the entire pub singing the choruses! Who said this song was overplayed? Nice one Metalworks!

Cross Keys Morley Live and Dangerous

Lynn the landlady of the Cross Keys commented today that a band had rang to see if their gig was still on as they had heard the pub was stopping live bands. This untrue, and all gigs are safe, the pub has no intention of stopping bands at all. To the contrary, this pub attracts many music fans every week and rivals anywhere. If you did a head count you'd realise that there are just as many in there on Saturdays than the popular Castleford or Leeds pubs. What about the dangerous bit??? Well you might get your bum pinched by a lady called Diane or twanged by Bev's brassiere, you never know!

Things Moving On

Well RotN rolls on and both serious and comic subjects frequent our comments page. I am very serious about our cancer charity endeavour with the help of the RotN community. I have a number of ideas about fund raising and this will need favours from a number of sources. One is publicity, and the help of the media. I might have to ask you all to get your writing pads out to bombard certain media channels to take our movement seriously. We also might be scrounging for studio time.....which brings me nicely round to the fact that I received my Go Kommando CD this morning which I am very grateful for. This CD has 17 tracks, all well recorded and the content is what you'd expect to hear when you go for a bit of pub rock with the likes of Lizzy, Metallica, DC, Free and even bonus acoustic tracks including Nothing Else Matters would you believe! Top band, and you can listen to them at home for three quid plus p&p.

Planet Rock Rocks Addendum...

Morning DJ Rob Birnie is sending me some Planet Rock stickers so if anybody would like one I'll give you one. Chantel McGregor rang me last night as she'd had a mention on the DAB radio station and consequently her website suddenly got an extra 400 hits! I have a DAB radio converter in my car and I have a couple of DAB radios at home. They've been one of the best investments ever. I campaigned to get a local radio station to play classic rock to no avail but it doesn't bother me, for the past four years I've had Planet Rock as my preferred station, playing my favourite music. With Alice Cooper, Joe Bonamassa, Rick Wakeman and Fish amongst the celebrity DJ's you couldn't ask for more.

Planet Rock Rocks

 As I sit doing my thing on this PC I'm listening to Planet Rock the DAB radio station, I'm being impressed by AC/DC's Runaway Train from the latest album (we have the album). Which of our RotN bands is going to cover it first? It's a great song! Also on the same subject of Planet Rock, Matt Black the A Foreigners Journey vocalist mailed to say that some fans at their Sheldon Marquee gig came over to tell him they'd heard about them on Planet Rock! Good stuff, only three gigs into the bands career and fans had heard of them on the radio!

Go Kommando CD Available

Coz of Go Kommando has mailed us this morning to let us know more of their gigs for the gig guide and to tell us of their great quality CD that is available at gigs and their on-line facility.If you remember, we featured Jump the Van Halen track as our MP3 choice in December. Coz adds: "Our new CD is now available at our gig and online at www.gokommando.co.uk in our MEDIA section.  It has 14 live track plus 3 bonus tracks from our rare acoustic gigs.  The CD's are priced at £3 at our live shows and £4 inc P&P from our little online store http://www.gokommando.co.uk/store.html and you need a paypal account."

Joe Bonamassa CD Released Soon

February 24th is the release date for the new and highly acclaimed Joe Bonamassa album The Ballad of John Henry. I've heard some tracks from it and it's excellent, widely thought to be the best yet from the American guitar superstar, a good friend of our own local guitar superstar, Chantel McGregor.

Aarren Rocks With AoS _ Spiders Rock the Ship

The Lion in Castleford was treated to some great guitar playing according to our webmaster on Sunday night. New recruit Aarren played with Angel of Sin again but we think this is only his third appearance with the band. Well done to all the band. Sue Spider commented that their gig at The Ship was "a tidy gathering" but thanked outgoing manageress Julie for her commitment keeping the Ship going. Sadly The Ship closes next Sunday.

Bands Available Database

Webmaster Joe gives his apologies for a problem with the Bands Available database. It was a fault that occurred during the transfer between old and new servers. Please do use the service because it helps venues get bands and it helps bands get gigs.

Contraband Impress

As I was finishing the paragraph below I received a comment from Dave Brook who went to see Contraband at Sunset Strip's Crimea Tavern last night. Contraband made many friends in the packed house as they performed a high energy set. We're fans of the band and obviously we are delighted to hear this report!

Saturday Low on Reports

We have only one report from Saturday night and that's from the New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield where Fade2Black rescued live music due to illness in the GDI Band. This is a good example of how our rock community  has developed. Marcus Ward of Mr Chief sang with Metalworks last night and since regular singer Gaz's retirement, Marcus will be depping on a semi permanent basis. Mr Chief/Invisible Idols bass player Joe (our webmaster) also played at a belated Christmas party last night with Broken Angel on a depping basis during regular bassist Paul White's sabbatical. It's nice to see this kind of interaction with bands to keep everything in motion. 

Wheels Already In Motion

Wheels are already in motion regarding the cancer charity gig and Satans Slaves Yorkshire Chapter have kindly offered their services with security. We're very grateful for this. Ziggy Marsh of Gunlaw is also beginning talks with a venue. We'll be looking into ways of securing a big name act to headline on the Saturday night.

Fine Set By Warrior Last Night

Webmaster Joe reports on a fine set by Warrior on Friday night in The Lion in Castleford. Joe says their song choice and performance was excellent. I can easily believe this as I know both Russ on guitar and Mark on bass are good guys and excellent musicians. Joe's choice from the set was Pink Floyd's Hey You, and Holy Diver which was through the band's own 8 box Carlsboro PA system.

Link to The Biker Guide

We are linked to a great biker site The Biker Guide and it's a natural progression as biking and rock music have always been linked...right from the late 1950's. Much of this marriage of interests is nurtured at bike rallies. Bike rallies are brilliant things. When a few pints have been consumed and the band strikes up you often think that life cant get any better. Many of RotN's bands have biking members, Riff Raff, Gun Law, Twist of Fate, Mr Chief, Hard Shoulder, Broken Angel...etc etc. Many other bands have performed at bike events and most will tell you it's a riot! Check the link if you're interested in bikes as the website is a really good one.

Big Response To Charity Fest

From a seedling of an idea a great charity fest could grow this year. Since Flashback's Kev told us of drummer Phil's illness it seems to have made people realise how many of their friends and relations have been blighted by cancer. So the idea to organise a very big festival has been mooted. I doubt if it will be quite on the scale of Live Aid but unless we give it a push we'll never know just how big a scale we actually can make it. The idea is to make money for Cancer Research. There's lots of small fests in pubs and clubs and they often exceed £1000 with their efforts but we need to surpass that amount many times if possible. Personally, I think we need to adopt the mindset as a way of life. Rock Against Cancer, Cancer Rock Action, whatever we call it, let's hype it up, get some interest and get bands on stage and fans in the hall!

Rob Birnie Interested

The Planet Rock morning DJ Rob Birnie has shown interest in the Northern scene lately. A Northerner himself, Rob has been interested in Chantel McGregor and A Foreigners Journey, and it's pleasing that our Northern artists are being taken notice of. If you haven't got a DAB radio, then you should get one. They're dirt cheap at Argos and if you like rock, you wont know what you're missing till you listen. Alternatively you can listen through your PC by clicking on this link. Cold shivers are currently running up and down my back as I listen to Jeremy by Pearl Jam! (I love that song!)

Bands Available Good For Barry

Genial concert sec Barry Wooley of Acklam "Steelies" Club phoned this morning as he had a short notice cancellation and was going to use our bands available database. He did use it and Rock Solid will play the Steelies on Saturday. Two happy customers today and all for free.

Good Times Bad Times

Those words were sang so well by Robert Plant but life is made up of good times and bad times. It's been a day or two of bad times this week unfortunately. The news of Flashback drummer Phil Calvert's serious illness was very bad news but the condition is operable and it has prompted some good feedback about making endeavours to have some charity events to raise research funds. Helen of Resurgence also sent in the bad news that the inimitable The Cramps frontman Lux Interior had passed away. It's another rock and roll casualty unfortunately and always saddening for true fans.

Malt Shovel In Doubt

Harry Coffey sent in a comment saying the landlady of the Malt Shovel in Driglington, South West of Leeds, has gone and the gigs there are in doubt. If you have a gig there, you'd best check it out.

Rocking in Sunny Climes

As the snow falls outside,warmer news is here as Paul Flanaghan of A Foreigners Journey informs us that the band have been included in the RhodesRock 09 festival in Lindos. Here's Paul's AFJ news: A Foreigners Journey have just been added to the line up for this years Rhodes Rock 09 festival on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes this June, playing alongside some of the best tribute bands in the country such as Limehouse Lizzy and Letz Zep.
Interest in the band continues to grow here in the UK and now in Europe.
ROM (Rock on Music) in Germany now represents the band throughout Europe and are currently looking at a German tour and various festival appearances in 2010.
The next local dates you can catch AFJ are Rawmarsh Old Cricket Club on Sat 28th March and Sheffield Boardwalk on Fri 17th April all tickets are now available from both venues and online for the Boardwalk show.

Contraband Head East

One of the Bradford areas top bands venture east on Saturday night. Contraband will play on the famous Sunset Strip in Castleford. These lads are a quality trio and endorsed by none other that the Scooby boys which is a high recommendation indeed. The venue is The Crimea Tavern.

Help Maiden Win at The Brits!

We are under the impression that Iron Maiden are nominated to the Brits awards. Planet Rock is backing them so if you want to vote for them, look at this link. I'm gonna vote for 'em.

Uppers and Downers

Good news and bad often comes together. The good news is that Steve at The Thornhill Arms has told us that the slots for bands at the pub on Saturdays is now full till after April. To ensure the venue has two live music nights for the foreseeable future, don't forget to pay the pub a visit. Bad news is The Ship in Royston is closing down a week on Sunday with a big jam session, free beer for bands, no fee, but free beer! It will be a nice send off for Julie who has fought tooth and nail to keep the pub running, only to be let down by Royston's punters. We hope Julie can get into another pub and get the support she deserves.

Busy Day At RotN HQ

It's been hard work so far today at Windy Corner! Between 1pm and 2pm I had 12 e-mails, all comments, ads, general inquiries etc. At least I had Planet Rock to listen to! I still have some Maryport blues fest gigs to put on. This is a battle of the bands up at the North Western frontier! The winners get a slot at the big festival in the summer. I've also been designing the 2009 RotN t shirt and I might ask pubs if they want to sponsor this years shirt. The shirt this year will have a Pirates of the Caribbean twist to it!

Rock School Is Coming

We'll soon be able to give details of a local rock school. The idea is to future-proof the live scene and RotN will be backing this with all means available. The principle has good credentials and he means business!

Two Hours Left

As I type this passage there's still two hours left of the weekend. Bands will still be playing. It's been a tiring weekend for me after two late nights, but I've seen some fantastic musicianship on Friday and Saturday. Mr Chief, Derrin Nauendauf, and Chantel McGregor have all been reported upon. Our regular correspondents have all sent positive comments in. Some great bands whose names appear regularly have been doing what they're good at, Go Kommando,The Erics, Angel of Sin, Red Mosquito, Scooby, Creme Brulee, Anything But Cute, Ska'd Rats, Broken Angel etc etc. Lets keep going to see them all and put a few quid over the bar to try to ward off the credit crunch. What would life be like without live music....CRAP.

Chantel and Derrin Rock Howden

A double bill of Derrin Nauendauf and Chantel McGregor filled the Shire Hall on Saturday night in Howden, East Yorks. Derrin is still producing the fantastic rhythmic acoustic sets and some say he's an Australian latter day Bob Dylan. With great humour and a fantastic guitar technique, he played a tremendous set. His CD's on the Ruf Records label were flying out after the set! With a minimum delay between artists, the lovely and highly capable Chantel McGregor was back to her truly awesome best after almost a month's sabbatical. It gave her a chance to ease new bass player Alex into the band and he complimented the excellent Martin Rushworth on drums perfectly. A perfect rhythm section and one which suited Chantel perfectly. New boy Alex is a music college friend of Chantel's and the "classroom humour" between them was obvious, bringing Chantel's formidable but charming humour to the fore. So to the playing....well she was incredible, the big stage/big crowd environment suited her perfectly. The repertoire is special and the performance certainly is more than that. The band were on top of their game. I often use superlatives to describe great musicians but nobody deserves them more than this band! This is world class quality played in a small East Yorks town. It really doesn't get any better than this.

Big Tech Probs

It will be pretty plain to see to regular RotNers but we haven't been updating today. It's 7pm as I upload this and were only just rolling again. I'll get the comments gigs and reports sorted this Sunday evening.

Piston Broke Mended

I'm very happy....no I'm bloody delighted, to announce that Piston Broke are now back with none other that Mr Rock and Roll himself, Mr Tony Parkin of Cudworth who is now leading the chorus and verse with Piston Broke. This will elevate the band to super-group status, with a great rhythm section, the fantastic Shane Haigh on guitar, and ex Massacre/Bizzy Lizzy/Optic Nerve vocals rock god Tony Parkin! The band are keen to appear at a RotN gig this year and their offer will certainly be taken up. The first gig is scheduled for April but of course the band are looking for bookings.

Mr Chief Make Friends

Friday night saw Mr Chief play a great second set after a few sound problems at The Brewery Tap in Idle on Friday night. They played a great first set too and it included some very special arrangements. How about U2's Vertigo which morphed into Michael Jackson's Beat It complete with the tapping guitar solo a la EVH...and a superb rocked up version of Whiter Shade of Pale anyone? Some tweaking and some feedback from Brian Glover sorted the second half sound,the set produced some great audience reactions and the band made a great many friends through brilliant medleys such as Bohemian Rhapsody/Tie Your Mother Down plus all the normal Chiefy special arrangement stuff  like Hotel California, I Just Wanna Make Love To You, Enter Sandman which had a middle section which was a riff fest from other bands, and Freebird. The highlights of the gig were a totally stunning version of Crying In the Rain, utterly superb, and the encore of Comfortably Numb. Numb is played very very well by other bands but nobody does it as good as Chief. Good gig and one I was pleased to watch with Vikki Lea and fiancé Peter of Angel of Sin.

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