BPREVIEW: MeMe Detroit @ Actress & Bishop 28.07.17

BPREVIEW: MeMe Detroit @ Actress & Bishop 28.07.17

Words by Damien Russell

On Friday 28th July, MeMe Detroit is hosting and headlining at the Actress & Bishop – releasing her new single, ‘How She Runs’. Detroit is joined by Coventry rockers Vamoosery, the mysterious and ‘brutally delicate… entity’ The Holy Men, alongside Worcestershire based singer/songwriter Chloe Mogg.

Brought to us jointly by SoulRock Central Records (MeMe Detroit’s own imprint) and Birmingham Promoters the doors are set to open at 19:30 – the advance ticket price is £6 plus booking fee. For direct event information and online ticket sales, click here.

Bringing in elements of rock and the more accessible areas of grunge, running them through a radio-friendly pop filter and firing that mix straight into your ears, are MeMe Detroit and her band – Lewis Smith (Bass) and Barney Such (Drums). If you haven’t heard MeMe Detroit before she has an intriguing fusion of influences ranging from Radiohead, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters on the heavy side to Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and even Tina Turner on the lighter pop side.

In an interview in May 2015 with Counteract, Detroit herself explains that “one problem I’ve been having is falling in-between indie and rock. I’m not heavy as rock, but heavier than indie. Live people have said we sound quite grungey, and there definitely is a grunge influence, there’s a new genre I suppose, grunge indie, it’s kind of poppy too maybe grindie?! Grop!? Grindie-grop, haha.”

But this isn’t just a straight up Meme Detroit gig, it’s more than that. It’s the launch party for her new single, ‘How She Runs’, and even coming from a band fitting the description ‘different’ this new release is something else.

Managing to give off an impression of being simultaneously driving and mellow, ‘How She Runs’ was a commission by up and coming director Steven Murphy who asked specifically for a song with an ‘eighties feel’ to be added to the soundtrack of his new feature film My Saviour. As someone whose Facebook page states is ‘an indie/grunge wave of sultry sublimity’, I can’t help but think that capturing that ‘eighties feel’ must have been a challenge.

‘How She Runs’ has already received significant media coverage, and is a bit of a radio darling in particular with BBC Introducing, Brum Radio, SRB Radio and even Valley FM in Australia.

And it’s not just radio popularity. MeMe Detroit’s recent pre-release Pledgemusic campaign received 129% of its initial target. To say this record is hotly anticipated may not be overstating things. And why would it not be? Kicking off 2017 with a Bowie tribute night at The Night Owl and following that with sets at Dares Bar and The Roadhouse, MeMe Detroit has hardly had a quiet year even if the new single has been a fair time in the making.

The first announcement ‘How She Runs’ was in the pipeline was on the 27th January, but it wasn’t until the 12th March before the first day of recording took place. Then add another month, taking us to April 17th, for the official release date. We’re now a further three months on, and while that does seem like a long wait to me in these times of digital recording there seems to have been little slowing of support both online and at Detroit’s live shows.

So, how will this new 80’s element fit in with the pop, rock and grunge influences that have driven MeMe Detroit this far? Get yourself down to the Actress & Bishop on the 28th July to find out. Or check out the official video below:

‘How She Runs’ – MeMe Detroit

MeMe Detroit launches her new single, ‘How She Runs’, at the Actress & Bishop on Friday 28th July with support from Vamoosery, The Holy Men, Chloe Mogg – as presented by SoulRock Central Records and Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here or on the Birmingham Promoter’s logo below.

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For more on MeMe Detroit, visit www.memedetroit.com

For more on Vamoosery, visit www.soundcloud.com/vamoosery

For more on Chloe Mogg, visit www.chloemogg.wixsite.com/chloemoggmusic

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For more from the Actress & Bishop, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop

For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

 

BPREVIEW: Brothers of the Moment @ The Flapper 15.07.17

Words by Damien Russell

**This gig has been moved from the Actress & Bishop (14th July) to The Flapper (15th July) – original tickets are still valid**

On Saturday 15th July, Brothers of the Moment are bring their brand of alternative rock to The Flapper – with support from post-hardcore rock band Now We Run, plus Wolverhampton’s punk rockers Mistrusted.

Doors open at 19:30 with tickets priced at £6.00 plus booking fee – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online tickets sales, click here.

Brothers of the Moment are a band I struggle to categorise; they have a timeless guitar driven sound that seems to mix grunge, classic rock, classic metal and more modern alternative rock/metal sounds. Their listed influences include Linkin’ Park, Black Stone Cherry, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Nirvana and Mastodon and I can hear elements of all of these bands in the melting pot, with a side order of Rise Against and Alice in Chains to boot.

Formed of two brothers (Adam/Ryan Liggins) and two friends (Ryan Merrett/Jordan Allen) in 2014, Brothers of the Moment are still making their mark on the music scene but it’s fair to say they haven’t exactly hung around waiting. Under their original name, The Divine, their first Facebook post back in July 2015 was to promote the release of their first single, appropriately named ‘We’re Here’. A quick name change followed and along with it their debut at the Star and Garter’s Garterfest in Stafford

Following this swift start 2016 saw the band perform their first headline show in April at the O2 Academy 3, make it to the semi-finals of the Unreal Festival battle of the bands, and appear on Wolverhampton’s WCR FM in June – returning to the station in July, that time for an interview.

But Brothers of the Moment didn’t stop there and at the start of 2017 the band were featured on Made in Birmingham TV with a live performance and interview. They released their next major music video ‘Forever from Heaven’ shortly after, and now, after dutifully filling their time with more live performances, Brothers of the Moment are bringing their energy to The Flapper.

Musically, Brothers of the Moment are an accessible brand of hard rock/metal, bringing a heavy sound that isn’t too aggressive or overbearing. Their songs have a solid structure and the guitar work is the stuff earworms are made of.

Listening to their recordings I find myself satisfied by the catchy, upbeat nature of the songs but also curious to know what their live performance brings. While the recordings are good (and I have found myself humming bits of ‘Forever from Heaven’ throughout the day) I get the feeling Brothers of the Moment are holding something back; not quite giving us their all. Not uncommon under the pressures of recording and the sterile studio environment; I’m hoping they save that little bit extra for their live shows. I guess Birmingham will find out at The Flapper on Saturday.

‘Forever from Heaven’ – Brothers of the Moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwI0VpyK5cM&feature=youtu.be

Brothers of the Moment play at the Actress & Bishop on Saturday 15th July, with support from Now We Run + Mistrusted – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here. 

For more on Brothers of the Moment, click here.

For more on Now We Run, click here.

For more on Mistrusted, click here.

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For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

For more from The Flapper, visit www.theflapper.co.uk