He’s a Flower Archives -

September 28, 2018

BPREVIEW: NOT NORMAL – NOT OK fundraising drinks reception & live music showcase from The Taboo Club + Liquid Cheeks, Lilac Noise @ The Victoria 29.09.18

Words by Ed King

**Final tickets remaining – to book your ticket for The Taboo Club live music showcase and NOT NORMAL – NOT OK drinks reception, click here for the special See Tickets link**

On Saturday 29^th September, The Taboo Club will be headlining a live music showcase with Birmingham Review at The Victoria on John Bright St – with support from Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise.

As part of the fundraising and awareness around the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK campaign, ‘to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room’, there will be a special drinks reception held at The Victoria before the gig.

Doors to the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK drinks reception open at 7/7:15pm, with tickets priced at £7 including entry to the gig afterwards. At the time of writing there are only a handful of tickets left available, but you can still buy online through a special See Tickets link by clicking here.

If you have already purchased a ticket to the gig and would like entry into the drinks reception, please contact ed@birminghamreview.net – or the band that you bought the ticket though.

The Taboo Club are a newly formed ensemble of longstanding local musicians, delivering a ‘heartbreakingly cathartic’ amalgamation of genres and influences. Led by rising waves of rhythm guitar, over an identifiable bass backbone, their sounds also embraces strong elements of saxophone and keys – all tinged with the sultry, low lit vibes of a ‘bourbon lit Harlem dive bar’. Read Sam Lambeth’s interview with The Taboo Club here.

On the bill as local support will be Liquid Cheeks, playing their first live set as the newly formed electro/garage two piece. Liquid Cheeks are made up of Ben Ollis Gibbs and Greg Christopher, from the erstwhile Byron Hare, and will be showcasing their current singles ‘He’s a Flower’ and ‘Serendipity’. Read Emily Doyle’s interview with Liquid Cheeks here.

Also appearing will be Lilac Noise, Stoke’s electro melodic four piece who have been building a maelstrom of momentum since May this year – coming to Birmingham for their first show in the city, and promoting their soon to be released debut single ‘Paradox’.

NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to challenge sexual assault in live music venues that was set up in June 2018, by a collective of people who work within the local music scene. Many venues and gig goers across the city have already been supporting the campaign, wearing the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK stickers when they promote or attend live music events.

Later this year, NOT NORMAL – NOT OK will be increasing its outreach – working with regional support agencies, West Midlands Police, and venue operators across Birmingham to establish a stronger presence in live music venues – as well as providing further and clear avenues of support for the gig going public, and helping the venues deliver their existing duties of care.

All money raised from the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK drinks reception will be put directly back into the ongoing campaign. For more information on NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, visit www.notnormalnotok.com

Doors open upstairs at The Victoria for the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK drinks reception from 7/15pm, with entrance to The Taboo Club live music showcase from 8pm – on Saturday 29^th September.

Tickets are priced at £7 (adv) and £10 (otd), as presented by Birmingham Review – to buy online visit the special See Tickets link by clicking here.

For more information on The Taboo Club live music showcase, check out the Facebook Event Page by clicking here.

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For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

For more on Liquid Cheeks, visit www.facebook.com/liquidcheeks

For more on Lilac Noise, visit www.facebook.com/lilacnoiseuk

For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

September 26, 2018September 26, 2018

INTERVIEW: Liquid Cheeks

Words & by pic by Emily Doyle / Pics by Danny Holden

*Liquid Cheeks support The Taboo Club at The Victoria (John Bright St) on Saturday 29^th September – alongside Lilac Noise, as part of Birmingham Review’s live music showcase. For more direct info visit the Facebook event page here, or for online ticket sales click here*

Inside The Night Owl, the monthly art and music showcase Kaleidoscope is in full swing. Outside in the smoking area, Ben Ollis Gibbs and Greg Clarke of Liquid Cheeks are perched on one of the picnic tables. They’re big fans of the night – it’s where they chose to debut their latest single, ‘Serendipity’.

“I think the concept of art upstairs, music downstairs… it’s wicked,” says Ben. “I mean obviously, I sell my art as well.”

“It shows that Birmingham, it’s so much more than just the whole B-town thing,” he muses. “We’re not in the state of being hungover from a corporate explosion anymore, there’s far more to it and these people have always been around. I mean, coming from Redditch we haven’t always known that crowd, so getting to really see what’s going on is excellent.”

“There’s a lot of great bands as well,” Greg interjects, “so it’s just nice that they’re all together and everyone gets to know each other.”

Ben and Greg are no strangers to the Midland’s live music scene. Most would recognise them from the now defunct Byron Hare, who were championed by BBC Introducing and played Birmingham Town Hall in their final months. They’ve brought the Byron Hare song ‘Serendipity’ with them into Liquid Cheeks. I ask the boys else how they’re carrying on the narrative.

“It takes it back to the start really,” Ben explains. “It was me, Greg and Jodie, and we’d go to the pub over the road to Greg’s Dad’s house, then we’d go back to Greg’s Dad’s house after he’d gone to work, and we’d just write music. That’s kind of what Byron Hare always was, until we realised that Jodie’s voice was far more than that in terms of a presence. That’s why we became a rock band. So it’s nice to go back to just writing and kind of not having any inhibitions about it.”

This ethos is evident in Liquid Cheek’s first release, ‘He’s A Flower’; three minutes of softly spoken indie rock, it rails against toxic masculinity. BBC WM Introducing gave it a spin, describing the band as ‘very pink’.

“With a lot of our imagery we want to be kind of touchy feely, and a little bit provocative in that sense,” tells Ben. “We’re men, we’re heterosexual men – but it’s fine to be a bit effeminate. Especially coming from a town like Redditch, all of my life I’ve had to deal with people throwing shit at me like, ‘So what are you, gay?’ and it’s like firstly, that’s not an insult, and secondly…no? So we wanna push that a little bit. What is it to be a man? Is there a place for this kind of alpha anymore?”

Greg nods along. Liquid Cheeks will be making their live debut alongside The Taboo Club and Lilac Noise at The Victoria (John Bright St) on Saturday 29^th September . I ask them how preparations are going.

“It’s all been very slapdash ’cause we were offered the gig before we even thought we could do a gig,” admits Greg. “Like, way before we thought we could do a gig.”

“It was the last Kaleidoscope!” Ben remembers suddenly. “We were here when we were offered the gig, and we went to The Crown and we had a drink and we said ‘I don’t think we can do it. It’s a shame because we really want to but I don’t think we’re gonna be able to,’ and then we finished the drink and then by the end we were on the phone to Ed at Birmingham Review and we were saying ‘yeah yeah no we’re happy to do it. Yeah, we’ll play it,’ and then we hung up and we were like ‘ah fuck…shall we book a practice next week?’”

“It’s good though,” adds Greg, “because when you’ve got stuff like that it forces you to fucking get on with it because as a writer or whatever you can just dwindle on things and be like, ‘Ah it’s not good enough yet,’ but when it has to be ready it fucking is.”

“Yeah definitely it’s good to have the boost up your bottom,” Ben agrees. It seems Liquid Cheeks like to work under pressure, as he goes on to tell of the band’s origin.

“In all honesty, we were at The Dark Horse, and we’d had a miscommunication, me and Greg. And Greg was telling people we were releasing music on Monday and I was like ‘…are we?’ This was on like a fucking Friday. And we didn’t have a band name, we didn’t have anything.”

“It was going to be Wet Face Society, wasn’t it?” Greg interjects.

“Wet Face Society after David Bowie in ‘Five Years’, he ‘cried so much his was wet,’” quotes Ben, “I liked that that painted such a graphic picture, but it also kind of touches on our generation just being sad about life because of how fucked we are. That’s something I can definitely relate to. So we wanted to go along that kind of graphic sort of line, but yeah Liquid Cheeks just ended up being what it was.”

Greg grins to himself, goes to speak, then hesitates. “Because… no, I shouldn’t… it sounds like diarrhea do you not think?” I’m glad someone said it. Moving swiftly on, I ask the pair what their audience can expect from their set at The Victoria on Saturday 29th September.

“Karaoke!” laughs Ben. Greg concurs. “It is glorified karaoke – for now anyway. It’s gonna become an actual band, but now it’s just glorified karaoke.”

“We want to put a show on,” says Ben. “We wanna really make it quite personal, quite one-to-one. It’s just going to be just us on the stage, so there’s not that backbone of support of musicians. It’s just me, Greg, and a room of people.”

‘Serendipity’ – Liquid Cheeks

Liquid Cheeks will be supporting The Taboo Club at The Victoria on Saturday 29th September, as part of Birmingham Review’s live music showcase. Joining them on the bill will also be Stoke’s melodic electro four piece, Lilac Noise – playing their debut Birmingham gig.

For more direct event info visit the Facebook event page here, or for online ticket sales click here.

For more on Liquid Cheeks, visit www.facebook.com/liquidcheeks

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

September 1, 2018September 1, 2018

INTERVIEW: The Taboo Club

Words by Sam Lambeth / Pics by Paul Reynolds

**On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next Birmingham Review live music showcase at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with support from Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise. Doors open upstairs at The Victoria from 7pm, with tickets price at £7 (adv) and £10 (otd) – as presented by Birmingham Review.

At the time of writing this event has a third sold out. To buy any of the remaining General Admission advance tickets click here, or to buy tickets direct from The Taboo Club click here. Join the Facebook Event Page by clicking here**

January 2018. If you happened to have frequented one of Birmingham’s more dimly-lit dive bars, you might have seen him there. A man with hair like a raven’s nest, dark and dishevelled, his waiflike physique squeezed into a squalid suit and his hands bulging violently out of his pockets. Josh Rochelle-Bates had a lot on his mind. He had spent several years as the bassist and main creative force behind mercurial Midland miserablists Semantics. Now an uncertain world lay ahead of him. Like OJ Simpson post-trial, he was alone, aloof, and alienated in a world that seemed foreign and unforgiving. The band had announced an indefinite hiatus, and Rochelle-Bates felt adrift as the adulation of the Second City gave way to silence.

Miles away from Birmingham, fellow Semantics stalwart Rob Lilley was feeling similarly sombre. Despite the occasional accusation that Semantics were nothing but ‘Interpoor’, they had a brooding beauty and glacial gracefulness that separated them from the Harborne herd. For Rochelle-Bates and Lilley, they knew they’d return to music, and one word stuck in their heads.

“Collaboration,” says Rochelle-Bates in the July afternoon sun, sipping a bold glass of claret in a Paris eatery. “I think for once I actually suspended expectation and let myself be open to a much wider spectrum of ideas, emotions and ways of articulating them. My hope was to find people who were passionate about creating and expressing themselves, and would be open to working in a collaborative environment.”

As Rochelle-Bates tilts his chair in self-satisfaction, expensive plonk in one hand and a forkful of French fancy in the other, you realise Paris is the perfect place to personify his new band’s sound. They are The Taboo Club, a phenomenal five-piece that are the musical manifestation of buzzing neon signs, decadent derails down depraved alleys, and a sharp eye for smart fashion. Their recent single, ‘Strangers’, exudes gratuitous sax and senseless violins (well, more of the former), brass bursting out of the hi-fi over muscular guitar gristle, Rochelle-Bates’ creamy bass licks and Lilley’s warped howl.

Yes, Lilley is the one who has enjoyed perhaps the biggest transformation. In Semantics, he was quiet, charismatic and concerned. Now he’s gradually turning into a real frontman, coquettishly waving his tambourine and tantalisingly twitching his hedonistic hips. For him, joining The Taboo Club was a revelation. “I immediately wanted to be a part of it,” he says. “The creative freedom and experimentation was one of the first things that stood out to me. I love the fact that it’s enabled me to pull from a wide array of influences, but everyone’s suggestions remain on the table – that’s an enticing draw for any artist.”

Enough about Semantics now. That chapter is closed. The Taboo Club is open for business and the five band members couldn’t be happier. With his tousled and slightly untamed mane, flamboyant shirts and overall quiet demeanour, guitarist Jack Ingaglia is the James May of the gang. “We have a shared goal of creative freedom, but I don’t think we’ve always been on the same page – that’s what makes writing exciting,” he says. “We all pull in slightly different directions.” For ‘Strangers’, Ingaglia’s role was more textural. “There are some jagged guitar chords tucked away in there, which come from my love of funk and soul,” he says. “I also did a lot of guitar doodling in the verses.”

‘Strangers’ has enjoyed considerable success, but The Taboo Club are fast becoming known for their overall aesthetic, which seems to be that of a gang of gangly male models enjoying a snifter of scotch after a long day of posing. “I certainly think it’s accurate based on what we have allowed people to see so far,” nods drummer Aiden Price, slayer of snare and sharp of cheekbone. “The music is, of course, our top priority but we want to give people the complete package – great songs, distinct image and personality. The lot.”

There are many exciting things around the corner. The next single, ‘Bible John’, will be released in the autumn, with the band once again using the services of a certain Ryan Pinson for production (“He has such a good ear and an innate attention to detail,” gushes the band’s multi-instrumentalist Ben Oerton). ‘Bible John’, according to Oerton, is the soundtrack to a “Quentin Tarantino film about a serial killer,” which feels like a very accurate description.

Also coming soon is the band’s big showcase gig at The Victoria in Birmingham, taking place on the 29^th of September. As always, Rochelle-Bates-Kennedy-Onassis advises us to expect the unexpected. “We wanted to do something unique, different and immersive instead of just a headline show,” he reveals. “Expect for it to be really strange.”

Strange it will be, but no doubt like everything The Taboo Club has offered its loyal members so far, it’ll be unforgettable, debauched, and damn right delightful.

On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next live music showcase with Birmingham Review at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise in support. For more information visit the Facebook Event Page by clicking here – or click on See Tickets the logo for a direct link to online sales.

For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 14, 2018August 14, 2018

BPREVIEW: The Taboo Club + Liquid Cheeks, Lilac Noise @ The Victoria 29.09.18

Words by Ed King

On Saturday 29^th September, The Taboo Club headline the next Birmingham Review live music showcase – at The Victoria on John Bright Street.

Joining The Taboo Club will be Liquid Cheeks, playing their first live set as the newly formed electro/garage two piece – showcasing their current singles ‘He’s a Flower’ and ‘Serendipity’, alongside never before heard new music.

Also appearing will be Lilac Noise, Stoke’s electro melodic four piece who have been building a maelstrom of momentum since May this year – coming to Birmingham for their first show in the city, and riding the trail of their soon to be released debut single ‘Paradox’.

Doors open upstairs at The Victoria from 7pm, with tickets price at £7 (adv) and £10 (otd) – as presented by Birmingham Review. To stay up to day with announcements on our next live music showcase, keep reading Birmingham Review or join the Facebook Event Page by clicking here.

** At the time of writing this event has quarter sold out, to buy any of the remaining General Admission advance tickets click here. Advance tickets are also available through each of the artists performing: to buy tickets from The Taboo Club, click here. To buy tickets from Liquid Cheeks, click here. To buy tickets from Lilac Noise, click here**

The Taboo Club are a newly formed ensemble of longstanding local musicians, delivering a ‘heartbreakingly cathartic’ amalgamation of genres and influences – all tinged with the sultry, low lit vibes of a ‘bourbon lit Harlem dive bar’. Led by rising waves of rhythm guitar, over an identifiable bass backbone, their sounds also embraces strong elements of saxophone and keys, with Rob Lilley’s brooding vocals firmly at the helm.

The Taboo Club released their debut single ‘Strangers’ on 20^th July – an impressive ‘layer cake of crescendos’ produced by Ryan Pinson, and available to stream for free through the band’s Spotify account. You can also read our Birmingham Review of ‘Strangers’ here. But save some pocket money as more releases are set to come from the ensemble in Autumn, with the Birmingham Review live music showcase being the first chance to hear The Taboo Club’s newest material.

Performing as the evening’s local support, Liquid Cheeks will be joining The Taboo Club at The Victoria on Saturday 29^th September. The new project from Ben Ollis Gibbs and Greg Clarke – two core members of the now disbanded Byron Hare – Liquid Cheeks are a glorious mix of electro, indie, and garage rock, delivering absurdly addictive melodies and a confident swagger.

With series of introductory singles in production or the pipeline, Liquid Cheeks have already got two new releases ‘on shelf’ – launching with ‘He’s a Flower’ in July. To read our Birmingham Review of their latest single, ‘Serendipity’, click here. Liquid Cheeks will be showcasing new material at The Victoria on Saturday 29^th September, in the debut live set from this impressive new two piece.

Launched in Stoke earlier this year, Lilac Noise are an electro melodic four piece who have picked up the mantle of bands such as London Grammar – delivering a guitar and keys led sound with husky vocals and classically trained melodies at its heart.

Already creating an avalanche of excitement around The Midlands, Lilac Noise will join the live music showcase bill to play their debut Birmingham show at The Victoria on Saturday 29^th September. Watch out for Lilac Noise’s debut single too, ‘Pardaox’, which is set for release in the next few weeks.

On Saturday 29^th September, The Taboo Club headline the next live music showcase with Birmingham Review at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise in support. For more information visit the Facebook Event Page by clicking here – or click on See Tickets the logo for a direct link to online sales.

For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

For more on Liquid Cheeks, visit www.facebook.com/liquidcheeks

For more on Lilac Noise, visit www.facebook.com/lilacnoiseuk

For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

August 13, 2018

SINGLE: ‘Serendipity’ – Liquid Cheeks 13.08.18

Words by Ed King / Pic courtesy of Liquid Cheeks

On Monday 13^th August Liquid Cheeks release their second single – ‘Serendipity’. Available to stream for free though Spotify, click here to listen.

Liquid Cheeks is name you’ll read on our pages again in the coming weeks, as they will be supporting The Taboo Club at our next live music showcase – at The Victoria on Saturday 29^th September. And it’s a name you should remember, as the fledgling project from Ben Ollis Gibbs and Greg Clarke is one of the most promising new musical corners of the Midlands this year.

Releasing a series of introductory singles, Liquid Cheeks launched themselves with ‘He’s a Flower’ in July – a guitar twanging stab at machismo, delivered through gritted teeth and absurd amounts of swagger, burrowing into your brain like a good earworm should. It was a solid start for the new band from two core members of the erstwhile Byron Hare – grabbing us by enough short and curlies to book them for our September showcase, where they will play their debut live set as Liquid Cheeks. Something we’re more than a little excited about. But have you got any more material I could listen to? Yeah, sure, we’ll send it over… ‘Serendipity’ is being released in August.

Remember the first time you heard Foals, or The XX. Or any band who manage to deliver something with that ineffable… whatever it is. That’s Liquid Cheeks. Self-described as ‘electro garage’, their sophomore single, ‘Serendipity’, is a masterclass in effective restraint – opening with an almost twee keyboard riff from Ben Ollis Gibbs, before a gut punch guitar and Greg Clarke’s vocals hook you into the heart of this track within seconds.

This formula stays true until a little six string tweak at around the two minute mark, giving slightly a tougher middle eight, before bringing it back with a sprinkle of the aforementioned keys and the repeated chorus – a simple two line signature that had me singing it around my kitchen after the second play. But ‘Serendipity’ is solid song writing to it’s core – a track that, just, simply, works. And there’s a deep confidence to it all, with a simple chord progression underpinning a major to minor melody that makes me feel like I’m living through the Drive soundtrack. Although not the lift scene.

Liquid Cheeks seem quite laid back about the whole thing too, which is probably where their song writing gets its confidence and strength. I guess when you’ve been working within an ensemble for a while then move into a more self-governed and directed arena, you can take a welcome deep breath.

But with two strong singles on the table and a cluster making their way through the production process, I am anything but relaxed about it all. Birmingham is due another portfolio to be proud of with Liquid Cheeks looking like a solid part of any new attention the Midlands may get. And if there’s an album of this standard in the offing… Jesus, somebody better make up a new acronym because these boys came to play.

On Monday 13^th August Liquid Cheeks release their latest single, ‘Serendipity’, through Default Man Records – available to stream for free through Spotify, click here.

For more on Liquid Cheeks, visit www.facebook.com/liquidcheeks

Liquid Cheeks will be supporting The Taboo Club at The Victoria on Saturday 29th September, as part of the next Birmingham Review live music showcase. Joining them on the bill will also be Stoke’s melodic electro four piece, Lilac Noise – playing their debut Birmingham gig. For direct event information, including links to online ticket sales, click here.

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.