Band submissions for Indietracks now open!

Applications are now open for bands interested in playing at Indietracks next year. To apply, please send your email address, a short biography and a link to your music to indietracksbands@gmail.com We prefer to receive links rather than mp3s where possible.

The deadline for applications is midnight on February 13, 2011. Thanks to everyone who has applied so far - we're now looking at your emails and we'll respond to successful applicants after the submission deadline has closed. Best of luck!

Next year's Indietracks takes place on July 29-31. For further information about the festival, visit http://www.indietracks.co.uk/

Midland Railway in the snow

Hopefully the recent snow has had you feeling all excited and festive! Of course, it's made running a steam railway an interesting challenge, as these photos demonstrate. They were taken on 1 December, at the height of the snow, so it's possibly all melted by now. Still, it all looks very Christmassy! 

The railway has sent us a quick update following the recent appeal we held to help finish the Swanwick station building. Work is continuing at the station, with some more internal work done to the station office and wood panelling put up around the booking hall. The railway have told us it looks great, so we can't wait to see it next year! They're hoping to be able use the booking office as part office/part shop in the spring, which will be a great addition to the part of the site where we hold the festival.

If you've come along to Indietracks over the last few years, you'll have seen this station building growing gradually, and it'll be fantastic when it's finished. Thanks again for your contributions!

Have a great Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you next year!

xxx

UK Festival Awards:

 (Photo: matteb83)

7/10/10 - UPDATE:  Sadly Indietracks didn't reach the shortlists for the UK Festival Awards, but a big "thank" you anyway to everyone who voted!

**********************************************************************************
Thanks once again for your amazing generosity in donating to our appeal for the Midland Railway centre. If you haven't seen it already, you raised nearly £2,000 which will help the charity finish the station building at Swanwick.

We're just posting to ask you for another favour, which doesn't involve donations this time, but instead just a minute of your internet time. Indietracks has once again been nominated in the UK Festival awards, and it would be fantastic if you would like to vote for the festival again this year.

Indietracks has been nominated in the following categories:
* Best small festival
* Best grassroots festival
* Best family festival
* Best toilets

To vote, you just need to visit http://www.festivalawards.com/, fill in the quick sign-up form and tick the boxes. It literally just takes two minutes and is dead easy. Voting stays open until 6 October.

Thanks to everyone's votes, Indietracks has been shortlisted as best small festival for the last two years. La Casa Azul even won an award last year for their Indietracks 2009 headline slot, seeing off competition from the likes of The Prodigy, ZZ Top and The Specials.

We think getting nominated or winning can help the festival in a few ways: it's a cost-free way to help new people find out about the festival; and it's a useful thing for us to be able to say to potential bands, the local council, the Midland Railway trustees etc. to help show that the festival is a good thing.

Hope you can help!

Thank you!

(Photo: camano10)

We'd like to say a massive 'thank you' to everyone who contributed to our recent appeal to help the Midland Railway Centre!

You raised an amazing £1,942.92 (including Gift Aid) for the charity, which will really help them finish the Swanwick station building.

The appeal is now closed. However, if you missed out and would like to help the railway, you can make a general donation on the Midland Railway Charity Giving page.

Or for just £16 a year you can become a member of the Midland Railway. Members are able to travel on Midland Railway Centre trains at reduced fares and can become involved in the development of the Centre. They also receive a regular magazine, `The Wyvern'.

Thanks so much again for your help! It's brilliant that the railway supports this festival and we're delighted that you've been able to help them out in such a generous way.

xxx

Last chance to help our Midland Railway appeal!

(Photo: Dave W Clarke)

There's just three days left to help our charity appeal to raise money to finish the Swanwick station building at the Indietracks festival site. The appeal finishes on Friday 10 September.

We'd like to say a massive thanks so much to everyone who's contributed so far. The appeal has raised well over £1,300 for the Midland Railway charity. If you haven't had a chance to contribute yet, it would be fantastic if you could help us push the total a bit higher before Friday.

We've launched this appeal to help the charity finish their Swanwick station building (pictured here). If you came along to the festival in 2007 you'll have seen the foundations were already laid for the station building (pictured above). Four years later, it's progressing gradually, and the shell of the station is virtually complete. We'd love to help them finish it completely!

If you'd like to contribute something, please visit www.charitygiving.co.uk/indietracks2010 by Friday 10 September.

Thanks again to everyone who's contributed!!

xxx

Radio Nowhere at Indietracks!

Those lovely folks over at Radio Nowhere have now put up their special Indietracks edition of the Christopher Laird show. Featuring interviews with and music from the likes of The Primitives, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Slow Club, Eddie Argos, Allo Darlin' and Slow Club, the show provides a fantastic round-up of the festival and has made us go a bit misty-eyed and nostalgic all over again.

You can download the show as a free MP3 from Radio Nowhere's website (August 9 show) or from iTunes.

As well as reading Indietracks reviews over the past few weeks, we've also been busy fundraising to help complete the new Swanwick station building at the festival site. The Midland Railway have been building the station gradually since 2007, and while it's nearly complete they still need a bit more money to finish the internal and external building. So far, the campaign has already raised over £1,200! We've been absolutely staggered by your generosity and want to say a massive "thank you" to everyone who has donated so far.

If you would like to donate, please visit our Charity Giving page - the campaign runs until September 10!

Please help the Midland Railway!

(Photo: Martin Arrand)

We're launching an appeal to raise money to finish the Swanwick station building at the festival site.

We're amazed and really grateful that the Midland Railway makes it possible for an indiepop festival to take place on their steam railway each year. It's a beautiful, perfect location for our festival and the railway staff and volunteers have always been incredibly welcoming, friendly and supportive.

As you can imagine, it takes a lot to keep the railway going each year, so we'd like to try and help out. We asked the charity how we might help and they said they'd love some help in raising money to finish their Swanwick station building (pictured above).

They've been building the station gradually since 2007 and while it's nearly complete they need a bit more money to finish the internal and external building and furnishing.

If you'd like to contribute something, please visit www.charitygiving.co.uk/indietracks2010 by Friday 10 September.

Thanks so much, and hopefully see you next year!

xxx

Indietracks reviews!

We've been keeping an eye on all you busy bees writing for fanzines, blogs and magazines, and have rounded up a selection of our favourite Indietracks reviews for you to check out. We've picked out some of our fave quotes and provided links to the full reviews where possible. We know there's still more reviews and podcasts to be posted, so we'll keep updating this as the coverage is put online. Happy reading!

“Indietracks' relaxed atmosphere and unique choice of stages - a church, a steam train, indoor barn stage and an outdoor one that literally did fall off the back of a lorry - as well as a wide selection of affordable real ales make it one of the most prominent events on the summer's music calendar”
Drowned in Sound

“Once again Indietracks festival provided a warm, friendly, entertaining event, where the bands and punters all mingle together without the over inflated egos that you get at some other bigger festivals....Indietracks will always be a special festival that is worth making the effort to come to, it is one of the few festivals where you know that regardless of who is playing you are guaranteed to have a great weekend.”
Efestivals

"Now in its fourth year Indietracks is indie-pop’s mecca, its Nirvana – a festival borne from all things C86 it is the place to be for indie music with heart."
The National Student

"With its tiny capacity and eccentric setting, Indietracks is a one-of-a-kind festival where you can spend as much time hanging out with bands as watching them perform."
The Fly

“You should really get yourself along to Indietracks for a truly unique festival experience.... Although it threatened to rain for much of the weekend it thankfully stayed away. Not that it mattered to the legions of indie fans who had fallen upon the Midlands Railway - there wasn't a single person without a smile to be seen.”
BBC Derby

"It is difficult to pinpoint one single thing that made the Indietracks Festival such tremendous fun....Derbyshire should be very proud of its own, little-known, but ever-expanding festival. Roll on next year."
Derby Evening Telegraph

“It was very friendly and everyone was helpful. I was chatting away to people in queues and it felt very safe and very friendly. I would definitely recommend it and I’ll be going again hopefully next year.” BBC6 Music (Steve Lamacq’s Festival Spy)

"Drawing on the same wellspring of C86 pop that fuels most of the bands and all of the fans at the festival, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart take down that wall between performers and fans, summing up the sense of common purpose and shared belief you feel everywhere you walk around this weekend."
Sounds XP

"Set in the glorious countryside of rural Derbyshire, Indietracks is a unique festival that showcases the best of new and upcoming indie music talent.....Indietracks is that rarity of a festival, a trailblazer that is something different and isn’t afraid to come out of the box."
Winkball

"[POBPAH’s] set is the perfect send-off, and as the last steam trains leave the site and the last cries of "We will never die" echo out into nothingness, they confirm unequivocally both their status as one of the planets most exciting bands and the weekend’s status as one of the friendliest, most enjoyable, nay best, independent festivals."
Contact Music

"Indietracks is such a perfect festival that I almost want to keep it a secret. But as the profits go to keeping the wonderful Midland Railway Centre running, I guess I ought to start forcing everyone I know to come and join in the indie fun."
247 magazine

"Back from a fine weekend among like minded people amid the glorious infrastructure of Indietracks.....In summary: wonderful weekend by the abandoned stock, once again.”
Sweeping the Nation

“Indietracks still remains my favourite festival on the musical calendar. I’ve mostly written about the bands in these posts, but there’s so much more that makes it what it is. Primarily how friendly just about every single person you meet is. Bands wander the site and mingle with everyone else...and even the volunteers who work on the railway. Of course, discussions about just who should play next year are already in full swing, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter. If the Indietracks team came up with a list of 50 bands I’d never heard of before, I’d still go, perfectly trusting in their abilities to select ideal bands and put on a perfect weekend.”
Another Form of Relief

“....words can’t really relay how I feel about this precious festival.....I don’t go to any other festivals any more....mainly because nothing will compare to Indietracks, alright?”
A Layer of Chips

"It's so hard to write succinctly about Indietracks when it's so much that makes it special, the bands, the venue, the fantastic food, the organisers and volunteers who do such a great job and the trains. But, and it's a cliche, I guess what really makes the festival each year is the people...It's a moment where turning around to see someone dancing behind you can lift your heart 'til you're feeling giddy or someone you haven't seen in forever gives you a hug, and suddenly you remember that, yes, this is what Indietracks is all about. Roll on next year."
Beer and Bands

"There are trains to drink on, indie discos to dance at, new friends to meet ... Indietracks is like being a member of the best social club you'll ever find. And yes, there are badges.
Morning Star

"The location is stunning, the campsite clean, and the festival-goers (on the whole) loved-up and well-behaved. And where else can you see your favourite band members looking rough in the shower queue, mere hours before they go onstage?"
For Folk's Sake

"Indietracks 2010 proved to be the most successful Indietracks festival to date, and by successfully drawing together the older generation of indie bands with more recently established acts and truly up and coming groups, it has reaffirmed its status as one of, if not the best of the UK’s smaller festivals."
God Is In The TV


We'll be adding to this list over the next few weeks, so please drop us a line if we've missed anything interesting!

More Indietracks on film

Following yesterday's quick video round-up, here's another amazing Indietracks video, this time from Lucy Dawkins, who's making the Story of Sarah Records documentary.

The video has bundles of interviews with bands and festival-goers about the festival, including Kip and Peggy from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Orchids, Pete, Marianthi, Ian and, of course, Fortuna Pop!'s Sean Price! There's also some great footage of the railway and the festival site, as well as music from the Pooh Sticks and Betty and The Werewolves. It's a really lovely video and comes highly recommended!



Link: Story of Sarah Records: Indietracks interviews 2010

Also, if you're looking for a video of your favourite band from the festival, Ill and Ancient is compiling an easy-to-use alphabetised list of all the clips on Youtube from this year's festival. There's dozens and dozens of videos there - from Allo Darlin' to Veronica Falls and everyone inbetween, so make a cup of tea and then  pop over and have a look: Indietracks 2010 videos

There's been lots of lovely reviews of the festival so far, and we'll post links to some of them soon. If you've done a review, write up or blog about the festival, please let us know and we'll include it.

Indietracks on film!

Wow, so many of you were out and about with your video cameras at Indietracks this weekend - we've had a fine old time sifting through all of your offerings!

First up is a short film by the super-friendly Winkball team, who spent most of the festival interviewing bands and festival-goers about their Indietracks experiences and favourite music. Here's their short video round-up, featuring an interview with our very own Emma from Team Indietracks!



They've also uploaded four pages of individual interviews with you lot to their website. We haven't had time to watch them all but, out of the ones we did watch, we discovered that Stefan from Northern Portrait had to be treated by the Red Cross last year after suffering a tambourine-based injury! What a star! Type "indietracks" into the search box in the Entertainment section of their website - have a look and see if you can spot yourself in the talking heads videos!

Next up, we're particularly loving this video of All Darlin's Polaroid Song....the sun was starting to set so perfectly behind the outdoor stage at this point:



And this next film of Ballboy's Weekend Adventure is taken from a pretty strange angle, but we love it just the same:



But...(drum roll) our overall favourite video today is the wonderful Indietracks animation video made by enthusiastic workshoppers Stop Motion Commotion, and soundtracked by Allo Darlin'. We were lucky enough to see the little plasticine version of Indietracks that they made, complete with blue dinosaurs! I'm sure if they'd had more time they would have made a full-on Indietracks epic....

Thanks for coming!

(Photo: Photojonny)

Wow! Wasn't the weekend FANTASTIC? We can't believe another year has come and gone already - it seems like only a couple of minutes since we were sipping Crabbies' ginger ale and getting ready to watch Friday's excellent line-up... how did it go so quickly?

First off, we want to say thank you to all the bands, DJs, workshoppers and merchandise tent volunteers who worked over the weekend - you did such a brilliant job! Secondly, we want to say a huge, huge thank you to all the Midland Railway volunteers who worked so tirelessly over the weekend to make the festival so fantastic. We really can't thank you enough for all of your work - you're amazing! And, most of all, we want to say a massive thanks to YOU for coming. We really appreciate all the support that you continue to give us year after year, and also for all the helpful suggestions and feedback that you continue to give us. We couldn't do it without you!

We're currently sifting through the huge amount of photos, videos and reviews currenntly being uploaded, and we'll bring you a selection of some of our favourites over the next few days. Do keep popping back here over the next week or so.

In the meantime, do share your Indietracks photos with the Indietracks Flickr pool. And if you'd like discuss your thoughts and memories, why not visit the Anorak forum and tell everyone about your personal highlights?

We really hope you enjoyed the weekend!  If you would like to keep up-to-date with future news about thew festival, please follow us on Twitter or MySpace or join our Facebook page. Alternatively, please sign up to our newsletter by e-mailing indietracksmailinglist2@gmail.com

Hopefully see you next year!

Last minute reminders!

(Photo: tasteinclothes)

It’s finally here! We’re hope you’re looking forward to the festival this weekend! Here's our top ten last-minute pieces of information:


1. Tickets: weekend tickets and day tickets (Saturday or Sunday) will be available on the gates. They’ll also be on sale online until at least Friday lunchtime from the Indietracks ticket page.

2. Line-up changes: We’re sad to say that Love Is All and Burning Hearts have had to withdraw from the festival for personal reasons. However, we’re delighted that Tender Trap and The Parallelograms have stepped in to take their respective places on the bill.

3. Schedule: the timeslots for the bands, DJs and workshops will be printed in the festival programme and are also listed on the Indietracks schedule page. For iPhone users, there's also now an exciting, free-to-download Indietracks iPhone App with a full guide to the festival.

4. Weather: the BBC five day forecast currently says ‘sunny intervals’ on Friday and Sunday and ‘white cloud’ on Saturday. So we guess it could rain or shine - please come prepared for sunshine on a rainy day or vice versa.

5. Getting to the site: You’ve hopefully sussed out how to get there by now, but just in case, there’s some advice on bus, rail, taxi and car-sharing options on our travel page.

6. Mixtape swap: don't forget to bring your mix CDs for the Pic’n’mixx mixtape swap.

7. Cash: There isn’t a cash machine on site, so please stock up on money beforehand. There will be real ale, fine foods and the Indietracks 2010 compilation CD all available and we wouldn’t want you to miss out!

8. Sunday quiz: If you’d like to take part in the ‘Never Mind The Pooh Sticks’ quiz at 1pm on Sunday in the workshop tent, start swotting up now, get a team together and remember to sign up in the merchandise tent before it starts.

9. Follow the festival on Twitter: we'll be tweeting during the festival @indietracksfest, so please come and follow us! If you're also tweeting from the festival, put '#indietracks' at the end of your tweet so everyone can see what you’re chatting about!

10. Enjoy yourselves and have fun! Choo choo!

xxx

Indietracks interview #27: Antarctica Takes It!

Today’s interview is with Antarctica Takes It! who are coming over to Indietracks all the way from California.

Before that however, we’d just like to tell you quickly about one last Indietracks podcast, put together again by Josh from Radio Cardiff. It features an exclusive live track from Gordon from Ballboy, as well as interviews with Be Like Pablo and Indietracks maestro Stuart Mackay. You can download it from the following link: Indietracks podcast #3 

Josh will be interviewing people at the festival this weekend so if there's anything you'd like to contribute, do let Josh know: josh dot owen dot morris at gmail dot com.

Okay, let’s kick on with today’s interview!

Antarctica Takes It! write romantic, magical songs in the vein of Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists and Belle & Sebastian. Dylan McKeever recorded the debut album ‘The Penguin League’, directly into the internal mic of his laptop, creating a clattering, charming lo-fi masterpiece in the process.

With his second album, ‘Constellations’ – released in August on How Does It Feel To Be Loved? (but they’re sending mail copies out now) – he has now taken the lo-fi spirit of the first record and introduces it to all the clarity and beauty and sparkling perfection that the modern recording process can offer. The indie folk of the debut is now joined by soaring Aislers Set-style pop, gorgeous Beach Boys-esque harmonising, the kind of stumbling, good-hearted folk that Bright Eyes might have produced in recent years, and a joyous, wild-eyed, creatively-ablaze energy.

This week, the band are playing their first ever UK shows at two Indietracks warm-ups in London:
Wednesday 21 July @ The Luminaire, with Allo Darlin' and The Smittens.
Thursday 22 July @ Jamm, Brixton, with Tender Trap, Shrag, Betty And The Werewolves and Pocketbooks.

Hi, tell us a little bit about yourselves

Hello, this is Dylan from "Antarctica Takes It!" We're an indie pop band from Oakland, CA.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

Laura Nyro, 'It's Gonna Take a Miracle' Dirty Projectors, 'Bitte Orca', The Dream, 'Love King', Lou Reed's 'Street Hassle'

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past

In Santa Cruz, we played at the Veteran's Hall in Santa Cruz. Maria and Vanessa couldn't make it to the gig, so Tyler and I played several instruments at the same time, BLINDFOLDED, for the entire set.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

Maybe I'm going to move to New York. Writing new songs, thinking about a new album.

Do any band members have any particular skills, hobbies or claims to fame you wish to share?

Maria is an artist, Tyler is in a band called James Rabbit, Brian is in a band called Winnie Byrd.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?

Maria will be listening to Joanna Newsom, 'Have One on me', and the Fruit Bats, 'The Ruminant Band', Kurt Vile, 'Childish Prodigy'

What do you most look forward to seeing in England?

The Eye of London!

Great – see you this weekend!

Indietracks 2010 quiz!

(Sunset dancing at Indietracks 2009. Photo: rainonthelens)

Okay, so we're all sitting and waiting patiently for the festival to arrive. It’s only a couple of days away but it feels like forever! So to fill the gaping void, here’s a quick Indietracks 2010 quiz!

This year we have a series of prizes, as follows:

a) the fact that if you win you will be the Indietracks 2010 Quiz Winner. Forever. Impress your friends. Find love. Join the immortals.

b) A copy of the Indietracks 2010 compilation CD. A double CD in fact, with 44 sizzling indiepop tunes.

c) A couple of Indietracks-related promos which we have lying around. (And by a couple we mean literally two.)

d) Um… we’ll try and find something else good, we promise. Some chocolate, maybe. Look it’s not really about the prizes, it’s the taking part. Plus we’ve been busy the last few weeks - 26 band interviews!

Anyway, if you’d like to take part, please email your answers by 2pm on Thursday 22 July to indietrackspress@gmail.com with the word ‘Quiz!’ in the subject title. We’ll stick the answers up sometime next week. Okay, here goes...

1. Which band claims to have a copy of Falling and Laughing (the original Postcard version) on tape?

a) The Pooh Sticks
b) Lime Chalks
c) Veronica Falls

2. Name three Indietracks 2010 bands with animals in their name

3. Match these four bands – The Loves, Standard Fare, Allo Darlin, MJ Hibbett and the Validators - to their lyrics

a) “Global warming is getting me down”
b) “It’s not a star, it’s a satellite!”
c) “My friend the dentist tells me time after time, water’s better for me”
d) “I was heading down to Balham when someone said let’s go to Clapham”

4. What’s the name of the refreshment buffet on the site (you know, the one just opposite the railway shop near the outdoor stage)?

a) Corrigan’s buffet
b) Jeremy’s buffet
c) Johnson’s buffet

5. Which of these songs is a hit song for Slow Club?

a) Giving Up On Love
b) Baby, Don’t You know?
c) Virgin Lips

6. Which indiepop legend did Darren Hayman compare to a “heartfelt, streamlined and robust” Diesel Multiple Unit steam train on the Indietracks blog?

a) Amelia Fletcher (Tender Trap)
b) Gordon McIntyre (Ballboy)
c) Tracy Tracy (The Primitives)

7. The documentary for the legendary Sarah Records label will be filming YOU! at Indietracks this year. But in which year did the label announce it was coming to an end?

a) 1991
b) 1993
c) 1995

8. How many pairs of shorts does Kip from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart own?

a) Two
b) Twelve
c) None

9. Name this Indietracks 2010 band


10. This year, Indietracks will welcome two artists with songs that have reached the top five in the UK singles chart – who are they?

11. Where’s the best place to park if you’re driving to Indietracks?

a) Butterley Station, where there is ample free parking
b) Alfreton town centre, a brisk hour walk away!
c) In front of the outdoor stage, for a true drive-in experience!

12. Which one of the following events will not take place at the Midland Railway Centre this year?

a) All Aboard With Ivor The Engine - visiting from the Merioneth and Llantisili Railway
b) Halloween Fright Night – haunted stations, ghostly train rides and a real ale bar
c) Whooverville 2 – a Doctor Who fan convention
d) Do The Locomotion! – an evening of dancing to 80s pop hits
d) Shunters – a celebration of diesel shunting locomotives

13. Which band won a UK Festival Award for their set at Indietracks last year, seeing off competition from The Prodigy, ZZ Top and The Specials?

a) Emmy The Great
b) La Casa Azul
c) Art Brut

14. Based on our minimal research and geography knowledge, which band are based the furthest distance away from Indietracks?

a) The Smittens
b) Red Shoe Diaries
c) Urbantramper

15. When's the last train from the festival site back to Butterley Station each night?

a) 8.30pm, meaning you’ll have to miss all the headliners
b) 12.15am, shortly after the last disco finishes at midnight
c) 3.00am, several hours after the site closes and we switch all the lights off.

16. Which Indietracks band wanted their recently-released album to sound “a bit like a tea party with a mad aunt who serves teacups of gin in her loveliest china set whilst surrounded by cats, books and cakes”

a) Betty and The Werewolves
b) Paisley and Charlie
c) Stars in Coma

17. What name were Antarctica Takes It! called before they decided to call themselves Antarctica Takes It!?

a) The Forestry Commission
b) Rhode Island
c) Penguin League

18. Caroline and Darren from The Blanche Hudson Weekend used to be in which band?

a) The Brooklyn Hate Massacre
b) The Manhattan Love Suicides
c) The Staten Island Apathy Wake

19. What’s the name of the tin church on the festival site where some of the bands play?

a) St Martin’s Church
b) St Saviours Church
c) St Peter’s Church

20. What’s the name of the pop quiz taking place on the Sunday afternoon in the workshop tent?

a) Who Wants Be A Millipede?
b) Never Mind the Pooh Sticks
c) A Question of Sportique
d) Kim Deal Or No Kim Deal
e) Don’t Try This Mexican Kids At Home
f) Wheel of Fortuna Pop!
g) Sean Price Is Right
h) They Think It’s Pullover
i) Fifteen-(nothing happened)-to-one

Tiebreaker: please come up with your own fun name for the pop quiz in question 20 – in the unlikely event that two or more people enter this quiz and score the same, we’ll pick the person with the best unique name as the winner!

Remember, entries to indietrackspress@gmail.com by 2pm on Thursday 22 July please.

Good luck!!

-------------------------------------------------------
Update - 2 August: This competition is now closed - thanks so much to everyone that entered! We received about a dozen entrants - okay, eight - all of whom scored an impressive 17/20 or above. Two people got 20/20 and the winning tiebreaker answer was 'Shooting Stars Of Track And Field'. Congratulations to the winner David Forbes - prizes are on their way!

The answers are available here: http://www.box.net/shared/a93k4d59m6

xxx

Tender Trap added, Love Is All cancel

We’re sad to say that Love Is All have withdrawn from the Indietracks festival this weekend for person reasons.

However, we’re pleased to announce that the fantastic Tender Trap (pictured above) have kindly agreed at the last minute to fill their slot on the indoor stage on the Saturday night.

Tender Trap are, of course, familiar faces at Indietracks having wowed our outdoor stage last year, and we’re really pleased to welcome them back. The band have just released their third album, ‘Dansette Dansette’, which includes the BBC 6music smash single ‘Do You Want A Boyfriend?’

Before Tender Trap, Rob, Amelia and John all played in Marine Research, and before that, Rob and Amelia played in Heavenly. And even before that, Amelia (and for a very short period also Rob) were in Talulah Gosh. So we’ll be in the company of some true indiepop legends!

Workshop interview #7: Indiepop Guess Who

One of this year’s most anticipated workshops is Baby Honey’s Indiepop Guess Who. So let’s meet the people responsible and find out how they’re going to get this to work!

Hi, please tell us a little bit about you?

Baby Honey is a monthly indiepop clubnight with a residency at Buffalo Bar in London. We put on gigs by the bands we adore and play records that make kids go silly on a crowded dance floor. We're putting on a warm-up gig on July 22nd – the Thursday before Indietracks with five bands! So pop by and prepare yourself for the weekend:

Please tell us about the workshop

One fine day an idea dawned on me to combine the two things I love: board games and indiepop. Indiepop Guess Who? will feature our favourite indiepop celebs from Amelia Fletcher to Jimmy McGee to Edwyn Collins to melodicas and ukuleles. Faces on the cards change but the rules stay the same. Although, my favourite way of playing is to base the guessing on knowledge of these characters (i.e. things they've done, personality, year of glory, etc.).

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

Colin Clary's laugh. It never gets old.

Do you have any camping tips?

Tents tend to look alike. Especially after a day of real ale. Proceed with caution.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

Of course! It's the highlight of the year! So many great stories: singing Talulah Gosh songs with Amelia and her daughters, learning Spanish with La Casa Azul, chasing sheep on a drunken walk to the campsite, having a llama eat my hair, waking up in strangers' tents, and being dropped on my back whilst dancing by Jimmy McGee…..list goes on and on.

Bring on the sunshine!

Workshop interview #6: Something from nothing: making useful stuff from rubbish

Okay, we’ve just a couple more of the workshops to tell you about, including, very shortly, the answer to this year’s most asked question – “how is the Indiepop Guess Who workshop actually going to work?”

Today’s featured workshop is for those of you who have ever wanted to learn how to make a handy wallet from an old tetrapak carton, or whose kids are keen to get involved in some junk modelling!

Hi, please tell us a little bit about you?

I'm a community volunteer and activist in Glasgow, working with grassroots organisations to inspire change locally, and with a national environmental campaigning organisation to challenge convention on a larger scale. I fix bicycles, yarn bomb and recycle clothes into more clothes.

Please describe how the workshop will work?

I've got a mountain of tetrapaks that are crying out to be used at least one more time. Instructions will be supplied on how to transform a simple drinks carton into a handy wallet and I'll be on hand to answer any questions. There will be junk modeling for the child in you (or real-life children), and suggestions and examples of ways to transform more trash to treasure.

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

Oh, so much! If I had to pick just one band, though, it would be the fabulously talented Foxes! We lived in Oxford at the same time but I haven't seen them since they moved to Brighton.

Do you have any camping tips?

"Your hair looks great, you smell lovely, and bare-faced is the future." I try to remind myself that a dress and hiking boots is still heaps cuter than inappropriate footwear and soggy toes.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

This will be my second Indietracks but I don't think I have anything tasty from 2009. Although, the sheer man-love Gordon McIntyre received from the back pews of the Tin Tabernacle will remain with me until my last days!

http://www.dudenotbird.co.uk/

Video exclusive from Red Shoe Diaries

It’s less than a week until the festival starts!

No doubt you’ve sorted out how you’re getting there, how you’re getting in, which bands and DJs you’re going to see, which workshops you’re going to take part in when you get there and where you’re going to sleep when the discos finish each evening.

In which case, congratulations, grab a cup of tea and settle down for another video made exclusively for the Indietracks blog!

Red Shoe Diaries formed in Nottingham in spring 2008. They write lyrical, catchy pop songs with occasional forays into dreamy grandeur and sounds that their five fragile hearts can’t contain. Influenced by The Magnetic Fields, Hefner, Belle and Sebastian, Tindersticks, Jens Lekman, The Smiths, The National and many more, don’t be surprised if they dance, and don’t be surprised if you do too!

They’ve made a teaser video especially for the blog, with extended clips from two unreleased songs. ‘Fossil Fuels’ and ‘Ice & Snow’. Enjoy!



Red Shoe Diaries - Indietracks 2010 Teaser from Red Shoe Diaries on Vimeo.

Indietracks interview #26: MJ Hibbett and the Validators

MJ Hibbett and The Validators are, of course, familiar faces at Indietracks. We think this might be the fifth time Mark has played at the festival in some form, and we’re delighted to welcome them back this year.

The band came to widespread online notice in 2000 with they releaesd the first ever internet single, Hey Hey 16K, an ode to the ZX Spectrum and other home microcomputers of the 1980s. Two million people downloaded the video in the first week. Since then they’ve performed live on Radio One, had a Record Of The Year in Rolling Stone, an Album Of The Day on 6Music, toured up and down the UK, featured in an Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, and are currently recording a Rock Opera!

Hi Mark, what music are you enjoying at the moment*?

I'm currently a little bit obsessed by the Allo Darlin' album, and have listened to not much else for the past fortnight. It's exciting and funny and packed with tunes and all round wonderful - every time I listen to it a new line pops out and makes me smile, or Look A Bit Sad, or think "Bloody hell, I wish I'd thought of that." When I've not got that on then it's mostly Standard Fare, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing both of them!

(*We should confess at this point that we did this interview back in March, and Mark may be listening to something else now.)

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past?

Last year I played in a forest clearing at the back of an allotment in Brighton to an audience of troubled teenagers and their social workers. They threw sticks at me and I gave them a stern telling off! Other than that the past year has been the usual mix of train carriages, boats, bowling alleys, industrial museums and people's back gardens.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

Yes, - Dinosaur Planet! This is going to be our fifth album, a proper concept album about the return of the Dinosaurs from Space, the reason they disappeared, and what happens next. I cannot emphasis enough that this IS a PROPER concept album - it's not some namby pamby bunch of loosely connected songs about the same thing, and it's definitely not one of those bloody awful "music from a imaginary film" loads of nonsense, it's a proper story with a large cast of characters, talky bits between the songs, and a LOT of explosions. It's basically "War Of The Worlds" but with more Dinosaurs. We've just finished the basic tracks and are about to have a big session recording the dialogue, it's very very exciting indeed!

Do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?

We're planning on doing a song or two from "Dinosaur Planet", which will hopefully surprise the people who seem to think I'm making it up! This is going to be the only MJ Hibbett & The Validators gig for the whole of 2010, as half the band are working abroad until the end of the year, so we've been having a Heated Debate about the setlist since February, so whatever we end up doing will have been thoroughly vetted by all concerned!

Thanks Mark! You might remember that Mark also did an amazing ‘seeing double’ cover of Dreaming by fellow Indietracks stars Allo Darlin’ for the blog earlier this year. If you missed it, here it is again!

Workshop interview #5: Craft Guerrilla

On Sunday at 5pm at Indietracks you’re cordially invited to come along to ‘A Crafternoon with Craft Guerrilla’ in our workshop tent. It’s ‘a chance to sit and craft with fellow crafty people’, and Craft Guerrilla are designing a limited edition music related craft kit especially for Indietracks.

Hi, tell us a little bit about you?

The Craft Guerrilla is a group set up to work with independent Crafts People, Artists and Designers Makers of quality hand made goods. The aim of The Craft Guerrilla is to join forces with other creative individuals and set up craft events in vacant or unused venues, associate with "friendly" businesses, provide a community to link and cross promote independent designer makers, sister armies in other cities, share web traffic, and provide helpful information to other designer maker groups as well as individual designer makers. The Craft Guerrilla have been putting on various DIY Craft Events in London and beyond since 2008.

What’ll the workshop be like?

A chance to sit and craft with fellow crafty people. Craft Guerrilla will be selling a variety of ready-to-make craft kits for a small fee which will include everything you need to make one small craft project. We are also designing a limited edition music related craft kit especially for Indietracks 2010! Feel free to also bring your own projects to work on in a crafty environment. Our community craft kit (containing scissors, needles, glue and other crafty necessities) and our the expertise of our tutors will be at your disposal!

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

Topping the amount of fun that we had at last year's indietracks and taking more of an advantage of the late night indie discos!

Do you have any camping tips?

Put everything in plastic bags - it will rain. Super noodles can sustain your food needs for an entire weekend. Remember where you pitched your tent - or find a way of marking it out as yours in a field of identical ones.

Ah, it might not rain! Let's stay positive :-) Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

At Indietracks 2009 two of the Craft Guerrilla's were very taken with Disaster Radio. After seeing him play at Indietracks they started chatting to him rather drunkenly about how much they'd enjoyed his set. He seemed pleased if a little wary of the drunk, enthusiastic people. On getting back to London we discovered that Disaster Radio was playing a show in Islington. So the same two new Disaster Radio enthusiasts went along to see the gig. Again, they drunkenly cornered him after the show, raving about how fantastic they thought he'd been and did he remember them from Indietracks etc etc? Poor Disaster Radio, he was polite but cautious, eyeing up the Craft Guerrilla's to see if they were potential stalkers. Seven months later while traveling in New Zealand, one of the stalker Craft Guerrilla's walked into a bookshop to see... yes, you've guessed it, Disaster Radio! She decided not to approach him though for fear of a restraining order.

Website links:
http://www.craftguerrilla.com/
http://eastlondoncraftguerrilla.blogspot.com/

Indietracks interview #25: Stars of Aviation

We’re very excited that Stars of Aviation will be playing at Indietracks this year. They're a pop group from Brighton and London. Numbering around seven, eight and sometimes nine, they play pop music with trumpet, guitars, drums, accordion, violin, keyboards and bassoon.

The band released their new single – their first release since 2006! - on 24th June. It's called By The Shore, and is available from the wonderful WeePOP! record label. It's the form of a limited run of 3" cdr complete with beautiful artwork, as well as on iTunes and other online shops.

Hi, tell us a little bit about yourselves

Jonny and Andy from the band met in a Russian class at Cambridge University and formed the band with Nathan and Tim. Other band members have joined over the years so now we have added trumpet, bassoon and accordion to our line-up.

We once had a keyboard/stylophone side project called Dungeness which only lasted for one gig. Fortunately we decided that was the wrong direction to go down. We've been playing for 10 years but only just recorded our first album, which we're hugely excited about (the first single's out this week).

Tell us about an unusual place you've played a gig in the past

We played on the back of a moving pickup truck once, in Cambridge. It was driving around on a circuit through the town. It was a very cold day and halfway through our set it started to snow! Our hands were freezing so we had to keep moving by playing our fastest songs, but at the time we only had about two fast songs so we just played them over and over again. Fortunately the pickup truck and noisy enough so nobody could hear what we were playing anyway. That was probably our best ever show.

What are you getting up to this year?

We're putting out a single this month on WeePOP! records. It's called "By the Shore" and it's our first record for 4 years. We're launching it on Thursday 24 June with a free gig at JAMM in Brixton hosted by How does it feel to be loved?

(Gah! Sorry, we did this interview a few weeks ago and are just posting it up now, which is obviously too late for the gig. It was a fantastic gig by all accounts, but it's okay, if you missed it you can see them at Indietracks! Sorry again...)

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?

Particularly the Just Joans, the Smittens, Allo Darling, Give It Ups, Ballboy and White Town. But Indietracks is really good for discovering new bands to love as well so we're looking forward to that! Then we'll have loads more to look forward to next time.

Thanks guys!

Arrange a car share to/from Indietracks!

For those of you who can't make it by bus or who are coming from further afield, there is a solution: www.gocarshare.com.

Car sharing will allow you to find people to share the journey with whilst sharing the cost of travel and hopefully making a difference to the environment.

Simply go onto the website and log on via facebook; if you are planning on driving, just post a car share request to Ripley, home of the Indietracks Festival. In the message box you can outline any specifics such as the contribution you need for petrol money, and then sit back and wait for someone to contact you about sharing a lift. If you are a passenger wanting a lift type in Ripley and see which drivers are going there. Simple!

Workshop interview #4: Sugar Paper's 20 Things To Make And Do

On Indietracks Saturday at 4pm, why not come along to Sugar Paper’s 20 Things to Make and Do workshop? The bi-annual craft zine peeps will show you 20 of their favourite things to make and do, including making a knitted headband, origami and much more! Kandy and Seleena have stopped by to tell us a bit more about it…

Please tell us a little bit about you?

We are a bi-annual craft zine, packed with things to make and do, from knitting to colouring in, baking to learning a dance move.

What can we expect from the workshop?

We are 20 things to make and do, so we bring you 20 of our favourite things to make and do, most can be done in short space of time, so you have something to take home (back to your tent!) with you, including knitted headbands, colouring in, quizzes, crochet, origami and more!

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

We like equations so:

steams trains + bands + crafts x hopefully sun=GOOD TIMES!!!

Do you have any camping tips?

Kandy: If you love cereal like me, freeze your milk before you go and keep it in your cool bag - it will defrost gradually over the weekend, without it turning into cheese!

Seleena : Having only camped in an RV, my only tip is to save water in your toilet by using the amenities in a nearby Walmart - may not be useful at Indietracks, but a tip nonetheless.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

No, but we are hoping for some gossip to take home this year!

Website links:
http://sugarpapergang.blogspot.com/
http://sugarpaper.bigcartel.com/

Video exclusives from The Smittens and Winston Echo!

What’s really impressed us this year with the Indietracks blog is just how much effort some of the bands have made with their blog contributions, particularly videos! Earlier on here we featured smashing videos from the likes of Paisley and Charlie and MJ Hibbett, and today it’s the turn of the ever-excitable Smittens and train fan Winston Echo.

The Smittens have made a “fun lil’ video about indietracks enthusiasm and tips and looking forward to things and stuff”. They reveal their favourite Indietracks food, bands they’re looking forward to seeing, but we have to warn you some of the performances are a bit ‘two-dimensional’. You’ll have to watch it to see what we mean!



The Smittens have a new remix album coming out on July 19th on Oddbox records. There’s details and a player where you can stream all the tracks on the Oddbox website. They also have a bunch of shows pre- and post- indietracks – check out their last.fm events page for full details.

Winston Echo has also made a train-related especially for our blog, which has made us all nostalgic for previous festivals and longing for this year’s to arrive. The video’s below and you can also download the MP3 free here: Train Song

Indietracks interview #24: The Millipedes

Sheffield garage rock super-group The Millipedes formed in 2007, originally featuring a singer called Milly. The singer didn’t stick around but the name did. The Millipedes boast pseudonymous members of bands including The Long Blondes, Smokers Die Younger and Velodrome 2000.

Playing music that sounds like the raw punk of The Sonics mixed with the sleazy rhythm & blues of Andre Williams, The Millipedes can do super-stupid horror themed punk trash and seedily beautiful blues, sometimes at the same time. The Millipedes debut album Shake Your Bones is being released by Odd Box Records.

Chris has joined us for an interview and supplied a fiendishly impossible quiz.

Hi Chris, tell us a bit about the Millipedes

We are the Millipedes, we like garage rock'n'roll music. No subject is too dumb to be tackled in one of our two and a half minute epics. In fact the dumber the better. There's a fine line between clever and stupid and we're searching hard for it each and every day.

Do you have any special skills or hobbies you wish to share?

Our singer, Rockin' Oliver D'World, is a top cartoon illustrator and he drew all the artwork for our boxed set album/badges/T shirts etc. with only his hand and some pens.

What will be on your mixtapes as you travel to Indietracks?

I'll be listening to music from Balamory and Yo Gabba Gabba on the way to Indietracks with my little family. I'll be hoping to get in a bit of Urusei Yatsura and the Vaselines as well.

Do you have anything special planned for the festival?

We're planning to do a 'singer handover' gig, where first we have one singer, then we have 2 singers, then we have our new singer round off the set. Let's hope it's a peaceful transition!

Quiz time!

If you’d like to win a Millpedes t-shirt, please attempt this Millipedes logic puzzle and email your entries to indietrackspress@gmail.com by Friday 16 July – we’ve had a look and we’re not sure we even understand the rules, but we know you’re a smart bunch!

Indietracks warm-up shows

Hello! Can you believe Indietracks is only two weeks away now? If you haven't bought your ticket yet, they're still available to buy online at the Indietracks website. It's not that long to wait but, if you're anything like us, you want a slice of Indietracks action now!

If that's the case then you're in luck, as some of the country's finest indiepop promoters are putting on Indietracks warm-up shows in the next couple of weeks. We've provided a list below, and we're keeping this information updated on the Warm-up Shows page of the Indietracks website, so if you'd like your gig to appear on that page just e-mail indietracksonline@gmail.com with the details!

Friday 9 July 2010
The Haymakers, 54 High Street, Chesterton, Cambridge CB4 1NG
Crushing Death
Bands: Betty & The Werewolves + The Mai 68s + The Give It Ups

Friday 9 July 2010
The Library, Leeds
Idiot Brother
Bands: Tender Trap, Standard Fare and LookImakemusic!

Saturday 10 July 2010
The Flying Duck, Glasgow
Half My Heart Beats
Bands: Standard Fare + Kid Canaveral + Water Wolves

Tuesday 13 July 2010
Saki Bar, Wilmslow Road, Manchester
Postcards From Manchester
Bands: The Lovely Eggs + Hotpants Romance + This Many Boyfriends

Tuesday 13 July 2010
The Wheatsheaf, Oxford
Swiss Concrete
Bands: Tender Trap + Les Clochards + Shrag

Saturday 17 July 2010
RoTa, Notting Hill Arts Club, London (Free admission)
Oddbox Records
Bands: The Monorals + The Hillfields + Sock Puppets + The Sequins

Monday 19 July 2010
The Flying Duck, Glasgow
Half My Heart Beats
Bands: The Smittens + Boy Genius + Gordon McIntyre + Springfactory

Tuesday 20 July 2010
The Autumn Store
The Victoria, Birmingham
Bands: The Smittens + Lime Chalks + Jam on Bread

Tuesday 20th July
Oddbox Records
The Wilmington Arms, London
Bands: The Blanche Hudson Weekend + Boy Genius + Insect Guide + Micktravis

Wednesday 21 July 2010
Fortuna Pop!
The Luminaire, Kilburn, London
Allo Darlin' + The Smittens + Antarctica Takes It

Thursday 22 July 2010
2nd Floor Cafe, London Fields, London
Baby Honey "Indietrash - An Indietracks warm-up in that London!"
Bands: Burning Hearts + The Felt Tips + Onwards Chariots + The Give It Ups + The Sock Puppets

Thursday 22 July 2010
The Musician, Leicester
Sweeping The Nation
Bands: MJ Hibbett & The Validators + Standard Fare + Lime Chalks

Thursday 22 July 2010
The Redhouse, Sheffield
Invisible Guitar Solo and Pop-o-matic!
Bands: The Smittens + Springfactory + The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut + The 10p Mixes

Thursday 22 July 2010
Brixton Jamm
How Does it Feel to be Loved?
Bands: Tender Trap + Shrag + Betty and the Werewolves + Antarctica Takes It + Pocketbooks

Tuesday 27 July 2010
Pivo Pivo, Glasgow
Bubblegum Records
Bands: Onward Chariots + The Felt Tips + Always Me Me Me

Workshop interview #3: How to build the perfect pop song

At midday on Sunday at Indietracks, Ben from Onward Chariots will be running a workshop on how to make – and add pop loveliness to – a great pop song. Ben's popped by the blog to tell us more about it.

Hi, tell us a bit about yourselves

Ben has spent much time feverishly studying the great songs of the last fifty years, from the Beatles to Camera Obscura and even Phil Collins. He may or may not also have studied classical music at a university or two, and yet he is still full of passionate ideas about what makes great pop songs, well, great pop songs. Once he played a bit with Cake. Presently he leads the band Onward Chariots, is writing a musical about anarchists, and is attempting to prove his twee credentials by writing a musical about Angelina Ballerina.

What will the workshop be like?

We will chat about what makes a great pop song and how to add pop loveliness into any song. We'll talk about how to make a melody catch the ear, how to create tunes of aching beauty, what makes a hook, how to give a song shape and drama... and how to develop an idea into a complete song. Depending on how the conversation goes, we might even talk about lyrics - how to craft meaningful words in a world already filled with hundreds of thousands of songs. We will discuss existing songs and write one or two songs together. Please bring in your own songs for discussion!

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

There are so many bands I've never seen that I'm looking forward to seeing... but mostly I'm looking forward to finally meeting face-to-face the fascinating people from around the world with whom I have been corresponding since starting this band!

Do you have any camping tips?

Bring long, bad jokes with pointless endings to tell around the fire. And marshmallows. And a rake to kill venomous snakes. On second thought, you'll find me at the hotel.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

I'm excited to be making my first trip to Indietracks! But I do dearly love gossip, so please share with me any you might have.

Will do! But possibly not on here, we'll save it for the campfire!

Onward Chariots Links: Myspace / Facebook

Indietracks interview #23: The Pooh Sticks

Sixteen days until the festival starts! Today we're interviewing Swansea pop mavericks The Pooh Sticks, who have reformed exclusively for the Indietracks festival.

Forming in the late 80s, the Swansea band started out by using ramshackle pop charm to lighten up the indie scene. They were notable for their jangly melodiousness and lyrics gently mocking the indie scene of the time such as on “On Tape”, “Indie-pop Ain’t Noise Pollution” and “I Know Someone who Knows Someone who knows Alan McGee Quite Well”.

The band changed direction on their 1991 US breakthrough The Great White Wonder, eschewing the indie pop sound for a more American-styled Power Pop sound. Subsequent albums Million Seller and Optimistic Fool followed in this style. We're joined by Huw Williams for a few questions.

Hi Hue, over the last few years there have been various retrospectives and fond rememberings of the 80s indie scene. Do you find people reflect the period accurately or is there a temptation to romanticise or reinvent history?

Well as much as I enjoyed bagging all those Sea Urchins flexis, I also remember grabbing early Def Jam 12''s and hopping out to Big Black and Sonic Youth shows.

The group started out quite jangly and poppy and then took a power pop direction for the later albums – which are you most pleased with?

We were always a pop group whether it involved a bit of jangle or a spot of power.

Apparently you used to make up overblown stories, fictional line-ups and other fun ways to market the band – which were your favourite?

I have no idea what you're talking about. I think you've mixed us up with another group. The only fib I can recall is that we pretended that Amelia from Tallulah Gosh was on some of the records.

Okaaay. Is there anything you regret doing as a band or wish you’d done differently?

Turning down a support slot on Nils Lofgren's European tour in 1991.

What have you been up to since the band was last together?

I've been staying in with my memories!

Why did you decide to get back together for Indietracks? Simon from The Loves claims it was his idea…

Yes it was all Simon's idea. Malkmus was telling me the other day it was also Simon's call to get Pavement back on the road. So if you want your fav band to reform, suggestions on a postcard to Si Love!

What can we expect from the band’s Indietracks performance? Will you be playing a career-spanning hits set?

We'll be giving it 110 % and it'll be a show of two halves.

Will you be playing or recording any new songs?

Is that a dare!

Yes, a double dare in fact! Are there plans for the band to do anything else together after the festival?

I'm gonna jump into the Pooh Sticks jalopy and jam in my 'Owl Service' DVD.

Great! See you at the festival!

An Indietracks Wedding!

We’re thrilled to say that this year’s Indietracks will be hosting a wedding! Gary Morgan, who plays drums for Ballboy, will be marrying his fiancée Sarah on the Sunday morning, with the ceremony taking place in the signal box on the Swanwick festival site. Gary’s popped by to tell us all about it…

Sarah and I met at the Brunton Theatre Musselburgh back in 1997 where we were both working. She is a primary school teacher and was working there part time as part of the Front of House team and I was Stage Manager. We used to get together after work as a team at a nearby pub and that is where it all started between us.

The band were booked to play at Indietracks on the Saturday night, we as a family (we have two sons), were making plans to come down anyway and Sarah noticed that the signal box had a license to conduct civil marriages. We had been talking and thinking about getting spliced for a while, but we had not found a place, or a time, or a way to do it that clicked. It tickled us both the idea of getting married in the signal box, there would be the opportunity to combine our celebration with wonderful atmosphere at Indietracks. It just feels right.

We are getting married in the signal box on Sunday morning at 10am. We are keeping the arrangements fairly loose, but we will celebrate there for as long as is appropriate and as we are camping, we plan to put on a “reception” barbeque sometime in the afternoon at the campsite. It is very informal and we want to catch a lot of bands of course. And if people want to come along and join us, that would be just fine.

Friends and family are pretty excited by it all. It is a bit of an adventure to up sticks and head for Derbyshire for a bit of a do, so these are the logistics we have been sorting out. The biggest surprise in all of this was that in order to get married in England as non residents (living in Scotland), we have to stay in England eight days and eight nights before we can register the marriage. That was a bit of a surprise.

I like to imagine as we are wed, as in a story of Thomas the Tank Engine, all the locomotives blow their whistles and people throw their hats in the air and shout hurrah! I think the boys would like that.

We look forward to seeing you all around and about!

Gary

Indietracks interview #22: Jam On Bread

Jam On Bread makes lo-fi ukulele pop songs about sea creatures, Swedish indie-pop labels and 80s pop singers. Since Christmas 2007 he's played about seventy gigs, performed live sessions on Resonance FM, Oxide Radio and Fuse FM and popped up on Dandelion Radio and Tom Robinson's 6Music show.

He'll be playing on the steam train as it speeds through the countryside on the Saturday afternoon of Indietracks.

Hi, tell us a little bit about Jam On Bread

My name is Steve, I'm 23 years old, and I've been doing this Jam on Bread stuff for about two years now, which is nice. I make kind of poppy folk, I suppose you might call it, with my ukulele. I've played a lot of gigs and met some wonderful people over the last couple of years as a result of being a pretend musician. I'd definitely recommend becoming a pop star*. It's ace.

*in the loosest possible sense of the word.

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

The new Radio Dept LP 'Clinging to a Scheme' is really great. It might even be their best! Other than that, the Mat Riviere album 'Follow Your Heart', the Middle Ones 'Things Grow There EP' and the Empty Set's album 'As Neat as a New Pin' (Which was released last year) are all on constant rotation. I've been listening to a lot of the Housemartins recently as well.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

I've recorded an album called 'A Railcard Adventure' that was supposed to be getting released very soon, but I'm not sure what's happening anymore. If anyone reading this wants to release a Jam on Bread album, get in touch! It's features Chris from Internet Forever, Grace from the Middle Ones and Will from Stairs to Korea in my superstar backing band and I think it sounds alright.

Also, I'm in a new band with Grace from the Middle Ones and Mat Riviere. We're called Lynx Africa and we've only played two gigs, but we've played with Trash Kit and Internet Forever already so we've been dead lucky! I put my ukuele through a distortion pedal in Lynx Africa and it sounds amazing! I think we're probably going to make some more songs and play some more gigs together over the summer, which'll be fun.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the Indietracks festival, and why?

The Middle Ones! Internet Forever! Winston Echo! I've managed to avoid seeing the Pains of Being Pure at Heart thus far, so I'm excited that I'll finally get to see them. I'm dead excited about getting to see Springfactory as well. I love Springfactory. Ooh, MJ Hibbett too! He was one of the highlights of last year's festival for me, even though some idiot woman shouted at me for 'blocking the air' on the train. Where else was I supposed to stand?!

Thanks Steve!

Workshop interview #2: Knit a Neuron

Ever wanted to find out about the wonders of the human brain while knitting or crocheting a neuron? Yes! Then come along to the Indietracks workshop tent at 3pm on the Saturday. We've caught up with the workshop organisers to find out more!

Hi, tell us a bit about Knit a Neuron?

Anne and Helen are the brains behind Knit a Neuron. We're both scientists by training, science communicators and avid yarners. Anne knits, while Helen prefers the hook. In an attempt to combine our love of science and yarn we came up with Knit a Neuron project. We hope that by garnering the support of hundreds of knitters and crocheters we can create a beautiful artwork which illustrates what happens to the brain when it is injured by a stroke.

How will the workshop work?

Drop by for some woolly fun. Find out about the wonders of the human brain while knitting or crocheting a natty neuron. Add your brainy creation to the rest, help create a wonderful work of art and support a charity too. Bring your own yarn/needles/hooks if you wish - but we have plenty to share. And don't worry if you can't knit or crochet, come along for the chat anyway.

What are you looking forward to the most at Indietracks?

Seeing lots of bands, hearing new music and meeting lots of lovely folk.

Do you have any camping tips?

Take your own toilet roll packed in a plastic bag. Never underestimate how cold it gets at night.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any Indietracks stories/gossip you'd care to divulge?

We're Indietracks virgins.

We're sure you'll have a fantastic first Indietracks - see you there!

Indietracks interview #21: Sarandon

Sarandon are three men who like pop to be short and sharp and spiky and infectious. The band formed in 2003 with a mission to make exciting, snappy, itchy, uncontrollable pop music

Their 2004 seven track album, 'The Miniest Album' received radio play on the John Peel show, and turned Everett True into a fan. Three further seven track albums followed, with a full length album 'Kill Twee Pop' released on Slumberland Records in 2008.

The band are playing with fellow Indietracks 2010 stars The Cannanes in London tonight  (Friday 2 July) and in Nottingham tomorrow (Saturday 3 July) so do pop along if you can.

Hiya, tell us a little bit about Sarandon

Sarandon currently consist of Crayola, Alan Brown and Tom Greenhalgh. They play together very rarely as they live in different parts of the UK and have far better things to do with their time.

What are the band up to at the moment?

The band are currently working on the follow up to "Kill Twee Pop!" which looks set to be something of a concept album with the title "Sarandon's Age Of Reason". It will be released later in the year on Slumberland (USA) and Oddbox (UK). As with KTP! it looks like there are some interesting people lined up to make guest appearances. Over the years Sarandon have never really been a three piece as they've always had extra people helping out. There's been Phil Wilson and Rhodri Marsden, John Robb and Ian Masters to name but a few. The people who will join the band for the new recordings are currently being kept tip top secret.

What do you get up to when you're not being Sarandon?

Outside of the band Crayola spends much of his time being irritating in various online journals and generally being grumpy about things, Alan can usually be found supporting Doncaster Rovers and complaining about how he always ends up in bands with a guitar player that can't tune his own instrument, and Tom is still young and full of beans and has far too much energy for his own good, which is why he hits the drums so hard.

Crayola and Alan plan to knock some sense into him.

Do any band members have any interesting hobbies or claims to fame?

Alan has perfect pitch.

Tom shares his name with a member of The Mekons and is very muscley.

Crayola doesn't have perfect pitch and isn't very muscley.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?

As Crayola will be doing the driving for Indietracks and the UK tour with The Cannanes it'll be his car and his iPod. That means plenty of the following:

Genesis (circa Peter Gabriel), Dr. Feelgood, bIG fLAME (much to Alan's embarrassment), Wolfhounds, Marillion, Sparks, Eno, The Creepers, The Fall, Julian Cope, Napalm Death, Membranes, Dawson, Age Of Chance, Adam And The Ants, Jethro Tull, Beat Happening, Iron Maiden, Thinking Fellers, Gary Numan, Bauhaus, Tubeway Army, PIL, Killing joke, Nightingales, Dire Straits, and various bits of 60's garage punk.

And finally, what attracted you to play the Indietracks festival?

In all honesty we were surprised to be asked considering the stance the band takes regarding The New Millenium of Indie Pap. How could we possibly say no?

Thanks guys - see you at the festival!