Two album launches in Two weeks!

Afternoon All

Plenty happening over on the Discography page, with two albums I've recorded brass on being released this month.

First up is Big 10 with 'Smashed it!' - the first live album in a few years, and it's sounding marvellous. With something for everyone, with Specials, Madness, Bad Manners & even Dexys Midnight Runners getting a look in.

Our launch gig is 9th May in Cambridge, at The Med. Some tickets are still available from the pub on 01223 240808

The following Friday is the release of 'To The Moon' by Popes of Chillitown. This is a fantastic London Ska punk band that I was a member of for several years & depped on brass for several more. I was pleased to be asked to return to record this their 2nd album - and it's an absolute powerhouse of sound.

Check out the promo video for the album, featuring the song 'Wisdom Teeth'



The launch gig is in Islington at The Garage - tickets here :)

See you down the front?

Lx

Sorry sorry sorry....

I've just noticed it's been 3 months since I blogged - and such a lot has happened. So many gigs, such a lot of ska, and a sad farewell.

Lets get the sad bit out of the way first. I was called up as Emergency Pope with Popes of Chillitown in May to celebrate Ginglik's 11th Birthday Party. Ginglik as you know is one of the best venues in London, certainly the best in West London. A basement club built in an old public toilet, I've played some great gigs there with PoC, VTQ and Ruth Theodore.

I'm sad to say though, that Ginglik is no more. The club was sold and dropped it's last beats on 15th June, and I shall miss it terribly. Here's PoC first video, shot in that wonderful club a few years back.

Anyhoo...on to happier things.

This month I joined the very small club of 'Ska Birds Who've Performed on stage with Bad Manners'

An honour, a privilege and a workout - is how I can best describe the experience. I know a lot of the Bad Manners set from work with Big 10 & Ska Wars, and it was a great buzz with lots of energy from the band and the crowd. I know as a girl I was probably a last resort - but I'm quite sure I impressed the man himself - fingers crossed for another booking.

Here are some pics from the gig at Clapham Grand - in my PoC tshirt!

I promise I'll update more from now on. Mostly ska, ska, sax and ska. I've got some thoughts on the imminent Glastonbury Festival - I'll post before I'll leave for Pilton next Tuesday.

Skank on.

x

A Word to the Wise

As regular readers of my blog will know, I used to be a member of London Ska Punk dubbers Popes of Chillitown. From the mid noughties to 2011 I honked and squealed, skanked and drank  with these wonderful people, and now the debut album from PoC is here.

Nearly.

The mixing and mastering are done, but the final copy & distribution is being put together through Pledge Music.

Pledge Music is where the fans help the band they love to produce the album they're longing to here. In return 'pledgees' get access to exclusive mixes and videos.

The PoC album is nearly there - but needs a little more help. If you ever came, saw and skanked with me and the Popes, do give a little. It will help a lot, and finally make 'A Word to the Wise' a reality.

Here's the Muppets with more information.

Happy New Year!

Bit late, I know :)

I hope you all had a great festive time and are now staring down the new year, ready for anything it may throw at you.

2013 promises to be full of ska, with bookings for Big 10, Ska Wars & UK Ska Club already piling in.

2013 is the year that Popes of Chillitown debut album will be released. Be ready for 'A Word to the Wise'

2013 is another single from Voodoo Trombone Quartet 'Dress Down Friday'

2013 is Glasto Year!!!

2013 is a new year of teaching students everything from Ave Maria to Zoot Suit Riot.

I'll be updating my gigs page in the next few days, and also posting more info on the new Popes of Chillitown order, and how you can help to get it released.

And of course you can always find me on twitter @saxylizbeth

In the meantime, sit back and let the Monday of the year just breeze by. Listen to some of this - it will help :)

A sad farewell...

...to the Little Red Tardis.

My car, a little City Rover run-around, has been retired as it is now too expensive for me to maintain. It became known as the Little Red Tardis because I managed to fit drumkit, backline, saxes and band members into a small vehicle designed for nipping to the shops.

A veteran of 3 Glasto's, 2 Chagstocks, a national tour with Popes of Chillitown, countless trips to Survival Studio in West London, a mercy dash to the Lake District with the Truebeat merchandise tub, and a 90mph burn down the M20 to a wedding gig in Kent. 99% of the time, I arrived at my gigs/rehearsals on time, because of the Little Red Tardis.

It was not your fault, little car, that you were made in India under the Rover brand, just as they went bust. It is not your fault that replacement parts cost an arm and a leg to ship over (scrapyard did well..but you can't have a 2nd hand timing belt). It is not your fault, little car, that the government placed you in a stupid tax bracket, meaning you cost twice as much as cars twice your size. But as cute as you are, you are a money pit.

Ok, so we always broke down after Glasto cos the damp and mud ruined your spark plugs, and your speakers just couldn't handle dub. But you were a faithful servant to The Voodoo Trombone Quartet, Popes of Chillitown, The Scissors, Jacqui & Geoff and lots of others, and I will miss you.

Goodbye, my little car, and thank you.



*sniff*

End of an Era

This time last week Cambridge was covered in white, there was a 4 foot pile of snow next to the house where I'd dug my car out, and I spent my last day as a Pope, finishing the recording of the Popes of Chillitown debut album.

Eight songs in two days with two saxophones, many cups of tea, a blizzard, and the cutest kitten on the planet. With PoC drummer Jack and Paul Jones handling the mic fiddling and knob twiddling, I played the songs I hadn't played for months one last time.

Here are some pics from the recording session. It's been a pleasure, guys. I am proud to have been involved.

Last Chance to Dance

The time is nearly on us.

It's my last Popes of Chillitown gig this Friday 21st October, at Ginglik, Shepherds Bush. The home of some of the maddest PoC gigs ever, it seems fitting to play my last one there.

All the who/where/what info is here .

You always thought you'd be able to catch me perform with PoC at the next gig. For me, there won't be one.
This really will be the last chance to dance.

See you down the front.

x

Ultrazang

Last Friday I gigged with PoC at one of my favourite nights in the country. The fantastic Ultrazang began a year ago when Chris Hollands got fed up with the same old club nights in Ipswich, and so decided to start one of his own. A night about real music for people who didn't conform to the cliche Friday night heels, fake tan and t-shirts with arrogant slogans.

Chris took over the back room at PJ McGintys and Ultrazang was born. PoC played it early on and we've been back several times since. We can't get enough. It has a great atmosphere, the crowd dance round like mad things, the sound is excellent and they have Giant Dancing Top Hats. What more could you want?

The greatest thing about the 'Zang is there really is no night in the East of England to rival it. It's unique. And Chris, being a music promoter genuinely in it for the music, is pretty unique too. Check out the facebook group for news of the next one.

Here is a video of PoC at Fridays gig, performing Dalking Man. Enjoy.

All good things...

...must come to an end. And that time has come.

I've made the decision to leave Popes of Chillitown. PoC have big things ahead in the next year, touring with the new album and getting out there, and will need more time from me than I've got to give. Some of you know, myself and PoC have been in a long distance relationship for the past two years, and in end all the travelling and expense take their toll.

Like all bands, there have been ups and downs.  A 6 hour round trip for a 45 minute set, wandering through Brighton on Easter Bank Holiday in the snow looking for a Djembe, swatting wasps on an outdoor stage with whatever instrument you happened to be holding, and seeing an inane grin appear on the faces of young and old when the chorus to Bad Man gets going. Good and bad times, but that's banding for you. And I'll miss it. And them.

I'll be gigging with PoC for a few more weeks, and my last gig will be at Ginglik on 21st October, supporting Dub Pistols. It will be massive and you should all be there for the last hurrah. The album recording will carry on unabated, as we started it together, and we'll bloody well finish it together too. I'm so very proud of the songs we've made and the album will be an amazing legacy.

Musically I feel like I'm heading in a new direction, and ready for change, so it's slightly scary but exciting times ahead.

Upcoming Gigs

Popes of Chillitown have taken August off to get a shed load of recording done, and finish 4, yes FOUR new songs to be debuted in September. Eyes left everyone, and you'll see where.

PoC are heading to Reading on 2nd September to The Blagrave Arms and we hope to see a lot of the regular crowd there, especially as its FREE ENTRY. (Here's the link) So yeah, are you going to stay at home and watch Big Brother, or bounce round like a nutter?

Yep. Right Answer. See you down the front.

See you down the (sea) front?

Popes of Chillitown are going to the seaside! This Thursday (4th August) PoC are heading to the Guava Bar in Southampton for 'Reggae In the South'

Here's the event link for more details! Its only a fiver entry and its PoC only August gig so it would be great to see the place packed!

Next London Show

Attached is the flyer for my next London gig, at Worlds End, with Popes of Chillitown.

Up til today I thought this was at the Worlds End in Camden, but noooooooo, its The Worlds End in Finsbury Park. That could have been embarrassing!

It's free entry so bring yourselves along and check out the live sound of PoC. And maybe even by a t-shirt!

PoC T-shirts

... in case your eyesight isn't that brilliant, you may have noticed the huge Popes of Chillitown banner at the bottom of the page.

Our new range of t-shirts are now available, and with some great offers with our previous CD releases.

Click the banner and check it out! They look great on people as well as on jpgs :-)

New Page

So I've finally got round to expanding the website a little, by adding my recording history.
On the Discography page, are details of all my recording experience (released) and links to various places around the internet.

If you like what you find and wish to book me for recording, drop me a line on info@saxylizbeth.co.uk

Happy Birthday Ginglik

In London, in Shepherds Bush, in an old underground public toilet, there is a club called Ginglik. I must have gigged there 10 times with various bands over the years, and I'm chuffed to say Popes of Chillitown have been invited to their 9th Birthday celebrations. We have to earn our keep, mind, and we'll be main support for the The Cuban Brothers.

She-Bu's best kept secret, a stones throw from the shopping-mecca monstrosity that is Westfields, Ginglik has a great vibe, awesome decor and one of the best sound systems around. And a broken pedal organ. We shot the video to 'I See Dub People' there, and they've been very good to PoC over the years, and we're proud to perform at their birthday celebrations.

The link to the facebook event is on my gig page, we'll see you down the front. Get there early, it's going to be a big one

Ginglik Pics

The photos from the Popes of Chillitown gig are now available online, thanks to the marvellous work of Joe Brady. Check them out here, there are some great shots of us, and The Skanx and Truebeat.

Follow Joe on twitter @BradyJoe

Popes of Chillitown Spring Tour - Dates Confirmed!

Popes of Chillitown and Truebeat - Spring 2011

Free song!

Ok, so don't say I never give you anything in return for reading my musings and post-gig brain emptying.
Popes of Chillitown are now under the wing of Strummerville, the fantastic music organisation that champions new music, in the memory of Joe Strummer from The Clash.

One thing they do is host us on their site and we can offer a free download! So here it is:

http://www.strummerville.com/popes-of-chillitown/

The free song to download is 'Dalking Man' one of our big crowd pleasers, and our set opener for the 2010 Ten Tone Tour. If you like what you hear, do let us know here or on twitter @popesofctown and @saxylizbeth

Bafe.

Been a while...

It's been ages since I last posted on here, lifes got a bit crazy all of a sudden. I've got loads of news, which I'm trying to sort into some sensible order then I'll post up bits at a time.

You will see the new ribbon under the banner on the website, yes, The Voodoo Trombone Quartet finally have a youtube channel. There are previews of the videos here, and more will be added to The VTQ channel shortly. Thanks to Milton for sorting that out x

I've also updated the gigs page. Loads of PoC stuff coming up in the next two months, including a few mini tours with the lovely Truebeat (our tour buddies from last year). We're playing all over the place so do come and check us out.

More news soon, don't forget to follow me on twitter for the instant gossip! @saxylizbeth

Footprints on the ceiling...

...now thats the sign of a great gig!

PoC played at The Wildman in Norwich last night, and wild it was. A great crowd, all ages, all up for the punk. When driving into town I was a bit worried what reception we'd get, seeing people with dresses up to here and down to there. This crowd were in all in their punk/rudeboy finery, and bounced like a mad thing. Going into the bridge of 'Brave' the whole crowd were up and down in unison, it was very Reading.

This is the sort of atmosphere you can achieve with free entry gigs, and I wish more people did them. We can't wait to play there again!