TTO at Endorse it 2005



Endorse It 2005 – Grae J. Wall One of the festival highlights of 2004 for me was playing at a little one day event called Endorse it in Dorset put together by the guys from stalwart punk-a-billys Pronghorn (aka LGO Festivals), the day featured a cool mix of warped country, psychobilly, alt-roots and punked up vibes, with not a whiff of a commercial headliner to be found. A good day was of course had by all and so, enthused by this success, the team have taken the chance on a 3 dayer with an enlarged site for 2005. My band The Trailer Trash Orchestra have been booked once again and I'm going to give you a bands-eye view of the coolest new festival in Britain. Hold on to your hats and let's take a ride... First up Bournemouth 6 piece The Hat create a theatrical alter world where the Sergeant at Arms leads his men over the top to do battle with the very idea of musical classification – kind of Art Brut meets The Fall and New Order in no-mans-land for a Christmas kick around...nice! As well as their elegant military styled chanteur, full marks to the bouncy Bez-with-talent sidekick who plays mean melodica and frantic maracas. South London's Steranko are part Stooges part ASBO-Darkness, blaggard ‘n' bluster lank-haired rock ‘n' Roll replete with gaffer taped nipples. Frontman Lee Managan is a greebo Freddie Mercury flouncing in a groove-metal wonderland, every show is Wembley Stadium and he does a cool trick of catching his own high flung gob - truly impressive and definitely worth checking out, ideally tanked up on snakebite and black. Straight out of Dublin with a swamped up garage-psychobilly-fuzz thang come The Things. These guys have drawn hometown supports with everyone from Babyshambles to Peaches and now they're out to conquer a city near you. The vintage Farfissa growl and hip-shake voodoo beats drive things along like a '57 pink Caddy on amyl nitrate, out camping The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster by a good mile – think Screaming Lord Sutch meeting The Cramps in Amittyville. I coincidentally booked these guys to play my local haunt a few weeks back, and they're equally impressive in a smaller sweatier environment, and dead nice guys to boot. You gotta love Desmond Dekker (despite reports of somewhat diva like behaviour) – the king of ska. Pretty much everyone on site crams around the stage for a Saturday night skank. To be pernickety, I'd have preferred some real horns to the Bontempi style keyboard player, but apart from that it's about as crowd pleasing as it comes – non-stop up-tempo party sounds of the 1 st degree. Whilst every off-beat gem goes down a storm, everyone is of course waiting for one song, and don't he know it – theatrically leaving the stage after delivering just the intro, only to return to rapturous applause to continue. It's impossible to deny the power and influence of a song like The Israelites – thankfully rescued from the hands of margarine advertising to set alight the happy hoards tonight. That quavering angelic vocal tone is still intact and capable of sending the odd shiver up the spine whilst carrying off a look that's part Blazing Saddles, part subway vigilante. Reverend Hotfoot Jackson are Boscombe's answer to The Cramps, complete with covers of Goo Goo Muck and Blue Moon Baby. Playing first on Sunday morning means a lot of people are still in their tents, which is a shame as these guys and gal (Lucille Deville on big-reverb geetaw) offer up a fine slice of swamp-blues ‘n' roll. The Reverend does a good job of waking up the attendant crowd with swagger, stomp and pulpit holler. There's a cool quirky pop sensibility to Betika that lies somewhere between The Smiths and Maximo Park with touches of Belle and Sebastian lo-fi dreamadelica interspersed. Like the first beer of the day it leaves you feeling all fuzzy inside. I like the fact that this 8 piece ensemble have released a cassette only e.p. and plan to do the same again. Caught a few songs by The Accolade which sounded great – nice melodic country with a sting in the tail - a suave take on the Gram Parsons school of roughing things up whilst remaining plaintive. We're up next, and the sound and stage crew are on the ball getting us line checked smoothly. There's a good sized crowd and plenty of smiling faces, tapping feet and even a sudden outburst of barn dancing. One of the things I love about playing festivals like this is that you play to such a mixed age group, from babies to old ‘uns, which I always really enjoy. The set flies by, and we even get an encore – sweaty but beaming we finally leave the stage – and I didn't even break a string. Doing a fine take on bubbegum fizz-pop-punk Ciccone have to be one of the most underrated bands of the East London Rhythm Factory scene despite having a much finer grasp on contagious hooks and melodies than most of their much hyped peers. There are echoes of Elastica, Kenickie and The Rezzilos, just right for that second beer of the afternoon. Ladykiller is a standout caustic adrenaline rush and the bass player looks like a ‘70's porn star – what more do you want? I've seen these guys a few times, and booked them once – every time I see them they sound better and better, genuinely effervescent. Psycho barn dance outfit The Dead Plants shuffle their way through The Clash's Hateful with true aplomb as a duo of double bass and acoustic before bringing on fiddle, sax, washboard, harp and stand up drummer to create a sound akin to The Stray Cats having a rumble with The Levellers at Lonnie Donnegan's pad – bleedin' marvellous! This ramshackle collective have travelled the world spreading their genre-hopping message of positivity, rebellion and pure joy. They sound wonderfully thrown together, but these guys are all dynamic and importantly sensitive musicians that allow room for each other to flourish ad breathe. Truly an inspirational bunch, and almost a microcosm of the festival as a whole. Bands that I didn't catch personally but of whom I heard great things include wonderful hosts Pronghorn, who delivered a typically rousing set of deranged bluegrass anthems, The Highliners – one of the UK's most enduring psychobilly outfits who's nutty classic Henry the wasp is but one of a repertoire of buzzsaw swamp-noir, The Ukrainians offered fine Russian folk style versions of Venus in Furs and Anarchy in the UK whilst Zion Train produced a suitably bouncy alt-dub party vibe, car crazy eccentrics Hot Rod Jesus were both weird and infectious and Chikenshed Zeppelin offered alt-Appalachian with enchanting energy. Endorse It is a great festival to play not only because it is run both professionally and with care, but also because one gets to see so many other like minded acts from all over the UK. As well as meeting these compadres, we chatted to the Hogbitch T-shirts guy about getting our next range done, another guy who offered us a great deal on badges and several promoters who may book us later in the year. We sold a bunch of CD's and a few T-shirts as well as signing more people up to the mailing list and giving out plenty of free badges. Most importantly though we had a great time! What's perhaps most amazing about Endorse It is that in just 2 years it has managed to develop a distinct character of it's own, that makes it feel like no other festival around, and an essential addition to the summer schedule. This I think is due to the clear vision of it's organisers (and I think there's no coincidence that they are great musicians themselves). Despite an eclectic flavour, there is a cohesive feel to the programme that somehow makes sense, and to many will make it an attractive alternative to many of the increasingly corporate led dinosaurs of the season. Like my other festival highlight this year – Truck – the fact that Endorse It sold out well in advance and obviously attracted punters and artists from far afield offers a clear sign that many are looking for just such alternatives, and long may they thrive. Roll on Endorse It 2006. Website details of all bands mentioned can be found at www.lgofestivals.com

Endorse It 2005 – Grae J. Wall

One of the festival highlights of 2004 for me was playing at a little one day event called Endorse it in Dorset put together by the guys from stalwart punk-a-billys Pronghorn (aka LGO Festivals), the day featured a cool mix of warped country, psychobilly, alt-roots and punked up vibes, with not a whiff of a commercial headliner to be found. A good day was of course had by all and so, enthused by this success, the team have taken the chance on a 3 dayer with an enlarged site for 2005. My band The Trailer Trash Orchestra have been booked once again and I'm going to give you a bands-eye view of the coolest new festival in Britain. Hold on to your hats and let's take a ride...

First up Bournemouth 6 piece The Hat create a theatrical alter world where the Sergeant at Arms leads his men over the top to do battle with the very idea of musical classification – kind of Art Brut meets The Fall and New Order in no-mans-land for a Christmas kick around...nice! As well as their elegant military styled chanteur, full marks to the bouncy Bez-with-talent sidekick who plays mean melodica and frantic maracas.

South London's Steranko are part Stooges part ASBO-Darkness, blaggard ‘n' bluster lank-haired rock ‘n' Roll replete with gaffer taped nipples. Frontman Lee Managan is a greebo Freddie Mercury flouncing in a groove-metal wonderland, every show is Wembley Stadium and he does a cool trick of catching his own high flung gob - truly impressive and definitely worth checking out, ideally tanked up on snakebite and black.

Straight out of Dublin with a swamped up garage-psychobilly-fuzz thang come The Things. These guys have drawn hometown supports with everyone from Babyshambles to Peaches and now they're out to conquer a city near you. The vintage Farfissa growl and hip-shake voodoo beats drive things along like a '57 pink Caddy on amyl nitrate, out camping The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster by a good mile – think Screaming Lord Sutch meeting The Cramps in Amittyville. I coincidentally booked these guys to play my local haunt a few weeks back, and they're equally impressive in a smaller sweatier environment, and dead nice guys to boot.

You gotta love Desmond Dekker (despite reports of somewhat diva like behaviour) – the king of ska. Pretty much everyone on site crams around the stage for a Saturday night skank. To be pernickety, I'd have preferred some real horns to the Bontempi style keyboard player, but apart from that it's about as crowd pleasing as it comes – non-stop up-tempo party sounds of the 1 st degree. Whilst every off-beat gem goes down a storm, everyone is of course waiting for one song, and don't he know it – theatrically leaving the stage after delivering just the intro, only to return to rapturous applause to continue. It's impossible to deny the power and influence of a song like The Israelites – thankfully rescued from the hands of margarine advertising to set alight the happy hoards tonight. That quavering angelic vocal tone is still intact and capable of sending the odd shiver up the spine whilst carrying off a look that's part Blazing Saddles, part subway vigilante.

Reverend Hotfoot Jackson are Boscombe's answer to The Cramps, complete with covers of Goo Goo Muck and Blue Moon Baby. Playing first on Sunday morning means a lot of people are still in their tents, which is a shame as these guys and gal (Lucille Deville on big-reverb geetaw) offer up a fine slice of swamp-blues ‘n' roll. The Reverend does a good job of waking up the attendant crowd with swagger, stomp and pulpit holler.

There's a cool quirky pop sensibility to Betika that lies somewhere between The Smiths and Maximo Park with touches of Belle and Sebastian lo-fi dreamadelica interspersed. Like the first beer of the day it leaves you feeling all fuzzy inside. I like the fact that this 8 piece ensemble have released a cassette only e.p. and plan to do the same again.

Caught a few songs by The Accolade which sounded great – nice melodic country with a sting in the tail - a suave take on the Gram Parsons school of roughing things up whilst remaining plaintive.

We're up next, and the sound and stage crew are on the ball getting us line checked smoothly. There's a good sized crowd and plenty of smiling faces, tapping feet and even a sudden outburst of barn dancing. One of the things I love about playing festivals like this is that you play to such a mixed age group, from babies to old ‘uns, which I always really enjoy. The set flies by, and we even get an encore – sweaty but beaming we finally leave the stage – and I didn't even break a string.

Doing a fine take on bubbegum fizz-pop-punk Ciccone have to be one of the most underrated bands of the East London Rhythm Factory scene despite having a much finer grasp on contagious hooks and melodies than most of their much hyped peers. There are echoes of Elastica, Kenickie and The Rezzilos, just right for that second beer of the afternoon. Ladykiller is a standout caustic adrenaline rush and the bass player looks like a ‘70's porn star – what more do you want? I've seen these guys a few times, and booked them once – every time I see them they sound better and better, genuinely effervescent.

Psycho barn dance outfit The Dead Plants shuffle their way through The Clash's Hateful with true aplomb as a duo of double bass and acoustic before bringing on fiddle, sax, washboard, harp and stand up drummer to create a sound akin to The Stray Cats having a rumble with The Levellers at Lonnie Donnegan's pad – bleedin' marvellous! This ramshackle collective have travelled the world spreading their genre-hopping message of positivity, rebellion and pure joy. They sound wonderfully thrown together, but these guys are all dynamic and importantly sensitive musicians that allow room for each other to flourish ad breathe. Truly an inspirational bunch, and almost a microcosm of the festival as a whole.

Bands that I didn't catch personally but of whom I heard great things include wonderful hosts Pronghorn, who delivered a typically rousing set of deranged bluegrass anthems, The Highliners – one of the UK's most enduring psychobilly outfits who's nutty classic Henry the wasp is but one of a repertoire of buzzsaw swamp-noir, The Ukrainians offered fine Russian folk style versions of Venus in Furs and Anarchy in the UK whilst Zion Train produced a suitably bouncy alt-dub party vibe, car crazy eccentrics Hot Rod Jesus were both weird and infectious and Chikenshed Zeppelin offered alt-Appalachian with enchanting energy.

Endorse It is a great festival to play not only because it is run both professionally and with care, but also because one gets to see so many other like minded acts from all over the UK. As well as meeting these compadres, we chatted to the Hogbitch T-shirts guy about getting our next range done, another guy who offered us a great deal on badges and several promoters who may book us later in the year. We sold a bunch of CD's and a few T-shirts as well as signing more people up to the mailing list and giving out plenty of free badges. Most importantly though we had a great time!

What's perhaps most amazing about Endorse It is that in just 2 years it has managed to develop a distinct character of it's own, that makes it feel like no other festival around, and an essential addition to the summer schedule. This I think is due to the clear vision of it's organisers (and I think there's no coincidence that they are great musicians themselves). Despite an eclectic flavour, there is a cohesive feel to the programme that somehow makes sense, and to many will make it an attractive alternative to many of the increasingly corporate led dinosaurs of the season.

Like my other festival highlight this year – Truck – the fact that Endorse It sold out well in advance and obviously attracted punters and artists from far afield offers a clear sign that many are looking for just such alternatives, and long may they thrive. Roll on Endorse It 2006.

Website details of all bands mentioned can be found at www.lgofestivals.com