Posted by Rebecca Hatch on Monday 14th November 2011 03.46pm
The Blanks are better-known world wide as "The Worthless Peons" or "Ted's band from Scrubs". What many people don't realise however, is that before The Blanks were those singers from the telly, they were a real life group, and still are.
On hearing that one small section of my all time favourite medical comedy were coming to town, I called in the troops and off we popped. The venue was 53 degrees in Preston, large enough to demonstrate the popularity of The Blanks and yet reassuringly intimate feeling at the same time. Naturally I elbowed my way to the very front, dragging with me my slightly shyer companion. To me, no gig is worth your pennies if you don't get a bit of nose hair, or in the case of the mostly shiny headed Blanks: no hair. Especially when dealing with the legend that is Theadore Buckland (Swoon).
One question that occurred to me was how does a group, famous for appearing in a handful of episodes of a hit TV show, translate into an a capella stage act that has to entertain sold out venues for a few hours at a time? It’s a tough one. On the one hand, they have to entertain the majority of their audience, who are inevitably Scrubs fans. On the other, they have to appear credible enough to warrant any kind of musical respect and longevity. I found the balance tipped a little too far over to the former. Only slightly though, but you can't really blame them for that. The truth is, no matter how good they are if it weren’t for Scrubs I wouldn’t be likely to take three trains to see a middle aged quartet of a cappella singers. That's just, as The Blanks might sing, "The Facts of Life".
On baritone we have Sam Lloyd and George Miserlis, bass is Paul F. Perry, and tenor is Phillip McNiven. I'm pleased to say the show doesn't fixate on Lloyd (Ted in Scrubs). Each member gets equal time in the spotlight, which is terrific, because every Blank is a talented showman, with valuable offerings to bring to the performance. It was easy to imagine The Blanks in red and white stripes and straw hats, as they regaled us with tales of shoe polish and donned Santa hats in late February. Despite everything else, they are in their purest form an a cappella band. And they are unquestionably good. Forgetting for a moment what made them famous, there is something quite beautiful about the naked human voice. Comedy or not, I could listen to these guys crooning on for hours; in fact I'd have no qualms about inviting them to play at my wedding.
The show itself was an odd and eclectic mix of songs. Some featured in Scrubs (Including Over the Rainbow and an interesting take on Lazlo Bane's theme tune) but there were also comedy intervals, seventies medleys and some original tunes. As with all great a capella acts, they included the help of a few children's toys. If it wasn't wishing us a Happy Halloween with a talking pumpkin, it was pouring water over a (electric) dancing Mrs Claus to "Maniac". At one point they teased that a certain Mr Braff had made the effort to appear, much to the excitement and consequently dismay of the female audience members.
It is very clear that The Blanks have enough talent and charisma to hold their own outside of the Scrubs bandwagon. Having made the discovery that, actually a capella is pretty cool; it's apparent that there is far more to The Blanks then just being "Ted’s band". They deserve to be merited all on their own for their creativity, talent and comedic value. From their touching rendition of "Over the Rainbow" to their hilarious version of "Hey Ya", The Blanks do not disappoint. And the show doesn't stop when the singing has finished. After each performance they spend up to three hours meeting with every single person who cares enough to stay behind. Pretty generous considering their packed schedule, they must be knackered.
With three trains to catch and much to my chagrin, I was unable to stay for the meet 'n' greet. No matter though, I dropped them an e-mail the next day to which I received a personal and very witty response from the band expressing their disappointment about not having "met and gret" me. Talented, famous and friendly? A full package from The Blanks, ten out of ten from me, and I shall definitely be returning next time.
archive link
| read/add comments
Posted by Michael on Thursday 16th June 2011 08.43am
Glasswerk.co.uk has been bringing you the latest music news, reviews, video & opinion since 2003, whilst also promoting gigs and tours in the UK and Ireland.
Covering indie, rock, pop, dance and metal - it's your go-to guide for the latest in new and established acts.
archive link
| read/add comments
Posted by Glen Byford on Wednesday 11th May 2011 01.55pm
It seems to be getting quite cramped here in this music industry with all this hype surrounding Odd Future taking up so much room.
Things have been bubbling up for quite a while now, and it must have been the middle of last year as they were dropping their second mixtape that the words Odd Future first connected with me.
But in the past month or two everything seems to have come to a head for the hip-hop collective as talk of their name and of their members appears to be absolutely everywhere, everyone wants a piece of them, and in the last two weeks alone Odd Future seem to have cemented their current reputation with an NME cover piece and a riotously recieved showcasing slot at Camden Crawl.
And as a person in tune with current trends and eager to latch onto the newest and most exciting music before it is embraced by the wider world, it may surprise you to know (as it sure surprised me) that I have never even heard any music by Odd Future.
I'm pretty sure I should like them, purely the fact that the groups full given name is Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and that among their members are the fascinating and ridiculous monikers Tyler the Creator, Hodgy Beats and Earl Sweatshirt is enough to light the blue touch paper for me.
Yes, I've read the reviews, they've been hard to avoid, and I'm even aware of the bizarre little news story that Earl Sweatshirt had gone missing from the line-up for months, only to be traced to a 'therepeutic centre' on a Samoan island.
I even decided to scroll through my generic mp3 player, and it turns out that I do have Odd Future's Radical mixtape downloaded from last year, as well as tracks from Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt and the whole mixtape 'Nostalgia, Ultra' by Frank Ocean that dropped in February this year, yet I have still never knowingly listened to any of these tracks.
But it isn't just the hype-mongering NME that are flying the flag for Odd Future, an innordinate amount of hipster blogs and even America's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon are more up on things than I am.
so, with the possible exception of my girlfriend, who listens to Geoff Lloyd on Absolute, am I really one of the last people on the planet to tune into Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All?
I think it's about time that I popped in my headphones to rectify this glaring oversight and see if I believe the hype.
archive link
| read/add comments
Posted by Glen Byford on Thursday 31st March 2011 11.02am
My local newspaper has often featured campaigns of local, and sometimes national interest.
Still raging on is the fight to save Chase Farm Hospital from closure by NHS bosses, as are controversial court cases against Enfield residents Andrew Symeou, accused of murder and held awaiting trial in Greece, and autistic computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who infiltrated the FBI and upset an awful lot of high powered Americans and is now facing extradition.
But one campaign that has been fought more recently has been within The Enfield Advertiser itself, as its own arts and entertainment section has seen its prescence within the paper drastically cut over the past couple of months.
Now, of course I have a vested interest in this, as well as writing for glasswerk and my own music blogs, I have also been a regular music contributor to The Enfield Advertiser since 2009.
I have always strived to be active within my local music scene, since back when me and a few friends put on our own club nights with ourselves DJing, as we wanted something to go to on our own doorsteps without venturing to Camden or beyond.
Since then, me and my close friends continued to DJ when a new promoter (and former Enfield Advertiser music columnist) breathed new life into the scene by putting on regular live music nights, becoming friends and fans of many local bands that graced the stage during these halcyon days of our local scene.
I have continued to follow those bands and how they have grown and splintered over the years, and when I began volunteering at a local council funded youth music project I was exposed to a whole new wave of exciting bands and artists, and met many more people, some of whom have remained good friends, along the way.
Being given the chance to write for my local paper and cover the bands I know and love was an ideal opportunity, not just for me to have my work published in a physical form but also to show support and spread awareness of a local scene, getting news of our plight, our hard work and our achievements into the homes of around 90,000 households across the borough of Enfield.
But now, just as is the case with music venues across the country, the entire entertainment section of The Enfield Advertiser is under threat, which may seem a stretch of an analogy, but I honestly believe that both have an impact on local music scenes and in turn the UK's future of music.
Sure, in this digital age we still have blogs, webzines and countless social networks, but as a medium it can become somewhat diluted and ultimately hit and miss in the grand scheme of things. And for those that still respond to a physical product, those that still read the liner notes of an album or cherish their collection of 7" singles, a printed article in a widely distributed periodical is something to be proud of, to clip out and keep, for their parents and grandparents, and even for when they themselves become parents or grandparents.
So it is a fight, not for myself, my role is purely voluntary (although jobs would be lost and strike action has been discussed), but for a local voice and for a local scene that I am extremely fond of and overwhelmingly proud of.
Mine may only be a small voice, from a small North London suburb, but I'm sure it is a voice that may be applicable and representative of small towns across the country, each with scenes that are just itching to be noticed by peers and a wider audience alike.
I was writing about music long before I become active within the Enfield Advertiser, and will continue to do so no matter what the outcome, but coming from a town that still has no real music venue despite it's ever-evolving vibrant scene and various campaigns and movements, to not lose an important aspect of our community seems to be something worth fighting for.
for more info visit [link] or [link]
archive link
| read/add comments
Posted by Jonathan Nicholson on Monday 21st March 2011 08.19pm
There is a fairly famous anti-war record called ‘Mrs McGrath’ which has not only been sung by Irish folk bands, like The Dubliners, but also by currently performing artists like Bruce Springsteen being perhaps the most notable. However, I do not really want to talk about music in this circumstance, but to use the record as a way to peg the debate on. Music is not my main worry at this time.
The most telling line from the tune is: “All foreign wars I do proclaim/Leave only blood and a mother’s pain” and my gut instinct that this war is wrong. Some of my friends are claiming that the conflict with Libya is for two reasons: to divert attention from the public spending cuts being made in the UK and to get their hands on the oil which Libya possesses. I somehow doubt this.
One role of the media to keep people informed about what is going on in the world and in a recent tweet Ed Miliband has announced his support for the military intervention. This means that it is not just the government who are against the brutality of Qaddafi. Also, as regards the oil theory, this seems to have less weight further still. Look at the facts, China, Germany, Spain and Greece (two of these nations abstained from the vote on the evening of 17/03/2011 and all of whom are abstaining from the conflict) all import more oil from Libya than France, the UK and the USA, the latter two only import a 7% combined total and are oil producing nations themselves. Also, there is no UN resolution to invade Libya, but to stop a backlash by the authorities and for regime change to come from the Libyan people. We do not know who the next regime will be and who they will sell their oil too – it is a problem for the next regime to decide.
So why is the war being fought? Well I heard on the news on Saturday night/Sunday morning that Qaddafi’s forces are shelling hospitals, also he has been given the opportunity to back down and withdraw his troops from the rebel controlled areas and stop the violence. It would seem the coalition is no longer tolerant of his practices.
I am aware that all battles takes two to tango, but I support the rebels who want freedom and democracy, which are concepts which the majority of the world enjoys at some level. The pre-intervention situation was that the rebels were using AK47s whilst facing government tanks, planes and missiles. Also, this is one case where the rebels have asked for help in fighting the Colonel, this is not like Egypt where Mubarak stood aside because the army decided to not enforced their president’s will. Another reason we have decided to do something is because of the case when we left the fighting in post-war Iraq. The rebels who tried to remove Saddam Hussein who were put were put down with the viciousness that only dictators know.
We should not forget that there is trouble brewing in other areas of the World. I have seen unconfirmed reports that there is a civil war developing in the Ivory Coast and Yemen. There is a UN presence already in Ivory Coast keeping an eye on proceedings and keeping Alassane Ouattara, the internationally accepted head of state, safe. There are other examples of military interventions, for example, Bosnia and Kosovo where there was just cause too.
It would be wrong to intervene in a country where no help has been asked for and there is not international support for action. There are pro-war songs, but no-one should think that war is the greater good. War can be used as a means to an end and stopping oppression is one of those ends and war can be seen as a lesser evil.
It would seem that Qaddafi is a presence, but one whom wants to go against the progress of history.
archive link
| read/add comments
|
