Saturday 1 December 2012

Band applications 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 Please send a link rather than mp3s where possible, preferably Soundcloud or Bandcamp.

The deadline for applications is February 1, 2013. 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 26 to 28. For further information about the festival, visit http://www.indietracks.co.uk

Thursday 1 November 2012

Arson attack on the Midland Railway - Your help needed!

 
(Photo: BBC News)

We're very sad to report that the Midland Railway has again been attacked by arsonists, with two wooden buildings owned by the Swanwick Junction Club being set alight at the Midland Railway Centre in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Both buildings were destroyed, as well as a selection of model trains, controllers and tracks built up over the past 20 years, which were one of the railway's top attractions for tourists. The nearby Allports shop also caught alight, but the fire was put out quickly before too much damage was caused.

The Midland Railway Centre has now offered the Swanwick Junction Club a temporary home while it raises money to build a new brick base for them. Alan Calladine, Midland Railway Trust Development Officer, has also said that security will be stepped up at the site while investigations continue. Police are treating the fire as suspicious, although no-one has been arrested as of yet.

As you know, Indietracks couldn't happen without the Midland Railway and the hard work all of its amazing volunteers, so we are now making an appeal for donations from anyone wishing to help repair the damage and build a new home for the Swanwick Junction Club.

If you would like to donate money towards the railway, please visit their railway donation page at https://midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk/donationsform.html to make a contribution, using the "general donation" button.

Or, as an alternative way of donating, why not become a member of the Midland Railway or even give a gift of annual membership to a friend or family member for Christmas?  It costs just £19 for adults, or £8.50 for children, and as part of your membership you receive the regular Wyvern magazine. You are also able to travel on the Midland Railway - Butterley trains at reduced fares, as well as being involved in the future development of the railway.

Visit http://www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk/membershipform.html to apply for your membership now, and help raise money for the railway!

Thursday 13 September 2012

Indietracks dates for 2013



Next year's Indietracks festival will take place on the weekend of 26-28 July 2013.

We're returning to our usual slot of the last weekend in July, following a slight bump forward this year due to the Olympics.

If you're an artist looking to play next year, or interested in volunteering at the festival, we'll let you know all the details for applications shortly. To stay in touch with all the latest news, please subscribe to this blog, follow us on Twitter @indietracksfest, join our Facebook group or join our mailing list by emailing: indietracksmailinglist2@gmail.com

Finally, congratulations and thanks very much to the winning bidders for the signed Indietracks 2012 canvas bags (as mentioned in the previous post). You raised an amazing £224 for the Midland Railway charity. Enjoy the goodies!

See you next year!

(Photo: Georgina Rodgers)



Wednesday 22 August 2012

Official Indietracks 2012 goodie bags - signed by the artists!


While everyone was going about their stuff at this year's festival, the staff at The Midland Railway were sneakily rounding up pop stars and getting them to sign/draw pretty pictures on two fabulous Indietracks 2012 cotton canvas bags, stuffed full of goodies generously donated by the bands themselves, the festival, and the Midland Railway! 

The goodie bags have just gone up for auction on eBay, here and here.

What better way to recreate the festival in the comfort of your own home, AND feel good in the knowledge that all the proceeds go to the railway and will help to keep it and the festival running!

The bags themselves were limited edition this year and sold out quickly, so here's your chance to own one if you didn't manage to snap one up. They boast the lovely artwork drawn for us by the very talented Claire Goldthorp.

Happy bidding!

Saturday 14 July 2012

Indietracks video round-up!

If you're anything like us, you will have been trawling through videos and photos of Indietracks for the past week, trying to recreate last weekend and stave off the withdrawal symptoms!

Here is a selection of some of our favourite videos that we've found so far.....enjoy!

John Kell's Indietracks mini-montage of Indietracks:






The Just Joans covering Kenickie's Come Out 2 Nite:






Go Sailor bringing out the sunshine on the Outdoor Stage:





And, finally, Elizabeth from Allo Darlin' singing Tallulah to a hushed audience:


Tuesday 10 July 2012

Thanks for coming!


Wow - what a weekend! It seemed to fly past even quicker this year. Okay, there were a couple of showers and a bit of mud, but there was also a surprising amount of sunshine and blue skies! 

Thanks so much to all the fantastic bands, DJs, workshop organisers, caterers and merchandise tent volunteers who took part over the weekend. Thanks also to Audio Xcite and Magnet Hire for doing the stages and sound, including setting up in some difficult conditions! And of course, we want to say a massive thank you to the Midland Railway staff and volunteers who worked so hard over the weekend to make the festival so brilliant!  

Finally, we want to say a huge thanks to YOU for coming and supporting Indietracks and the railway - we couldn't do it without you! 

We're sorting through stacks of photos, videos and reviews, and we'll share our favourites over the next week or so. Do keep popping back here over the next week or so, and feel free to send your contributions to indietrackspress@gmail.com - we want to hear from you! Don't forget - you can also share your photos with the Indietracks Flickr pool and your personal highlights and memories on the Anorak forum

During the course of the weekend you will have hopefully noticed the new windows in the church, which were funded by your generous donations last year, following vandalism at the site. If you would like to continue to support the Midland Railway, the best way is to make a donation when you download the Indietracks 2012 compilation, which features 52 fantastic songs by artists who played this year's festival. All proceeds from the compilation go to the railway charity.

We've received a long list of weird and wonderful lost property. If you've lost something over the weekend and would like to see if we've found it, please e-mail indietracksfestival@gmail.com

And finally, if you'd like to stay up-to-date with future Indietracks news, please follow us on Twitter or Facebook, or subscribe to our e-newsletter by emailing indietracksmailinglist2@gmail.com  

Hopefully see you next year!!

Thursday 5 July 2012

Last minute reminders!



We hope you’re looking forward to the festival this weekend! Here's some last-minute information.

Getting In!

When to arrive: The gates will open at 5pm on the Friday and at midday on Saturday and Sunday.

Online tickets: weekend tickets and day tickets (Saturday or Sunday) will be on sale online until at least Friday lunchtime from the Indietracks ticket page. Tickets are not sent out by post. You’ll receive a confirmation email which will contain a link to print your tickets at home.

Tickets on the gate: weekend tickets and day tickets will be available on the gates, including £15 tickets for the Friday only. 

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. If you’re coming by car, please park at Butterley station and catch the train to the festival site (unless you’re in a band or crew, in which case you can park at Swanwick station). Equally, please ask any taxis to pick you up and drop you at Butterley.

Advance preparation!

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.

iPhone and Android apps: For iPhone and Android mobile phone users, there are exciting, free-to-download Indietracks apps with a guide to the festival. Download them here iPhone / Android.

Indietracks 2012 compilation: If you’re planning your music for the journey to Indietracks, don’t forget to download this year’s compilation. There’s 52 fantastic tracks featuring bands playing at this year's festival. All proceeds go to the Midland Railway charity: Indietracks 2012 compilation

Weather: It’s sunny on the site at the moment! However, it has been raining this week and sadly it’s forecast to rain during the weekend. Please come prepared for sunshine on a rainy day or vice versa.

Cash: There isn’t a cash machine on site, so please stock up on money beforehand. There will be real ale, fine foods and inevitably tons of band merchandise and we wouldn’t want you to miss out!

Follow us on Twitter: we'll be tweeting during the festival @indietracksfest, so please come and follow us and please use the hashtag #Indietracks.

See you at the weekend!

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Download the Android and iPhone apps!


We're very happy to tell you that our Android and iPhone apps are now ready, just in the nick of time! These nifty little things will tell you in real time which bands are coming up on which stages, so you'll never miss a band. They also contain valuable information about the bands and DJs themselves, the workshops, and even local taxi numbers and directions.

Download them now, completely free!

Android app
iPhone app

Huge thanks to Andrew and Matloob for all their hard work putting these together!

Due to the apps being created prior to certain changes to the schedule, some info is currently being updated. You'll be notified of updates automatically once completed.

Indietracks interview #19: The Smittens



Here’s our final band interview of 2012, and what better way to round things off than with familiar Indietracks faces, The Smittens! The Smittens are a hard-working globe-trotting independent American twee pop band from Burlington, Vermont who like to think of themselves as friends first and open-hearted indiepop revolutionaries after that. Max Andrucki, Colin Clary, Dana Kaplan, Holly Chagnon, and David Zacharis switch up instruments, song-writing, and singing to create brilliantly lyrical and hyper-catchy pop songs of all shapes and sizes.

Hi, we hear you've got a new album coming out on Fika in July - can you tell us a little bit more about that?

We've been recording songs for a few years. We actually record as we write and arrange, so it has been a long time coming. For a while we weren't settled on its home. We are really proud of it and wanted to make sure it had a proper release. We were overjoyed to begin a relationship with Tom at Fika and he has been a phenomenal person to work with. Since a lot of our following is UK-based it just makes sense. It's fitting that we're debuting the album at Indietracks given the artwork. We have just heard that the LPs will in fact be available for sale at Indietracks! We think it's our best album yet, but we always think that...

You're an Indietracks stalwarts now - what's your favourite thing about the festival, and what's your top Indietracks tip for anyone who hasn't been before?

Bring hardboiled eggs. A cheap protein boost for pop kids on the go. Also some kind of fruit and/or vegetable to keep things movin'. We also like to play I spy the queers. There's usually at least two others. It's a great chance to be a part of the largest indiepop gathering on earth. It's like Burning Man or Gathering of the Juggalos but more polyester and with cuter boys. Make sure to get there early to catch a show in the church. Bring a *lot* of cash so you can buy all the merch and junk food you want. Keep an eye out for the pop-up acoustic shows in the tents. That's where Tallulah Gosh had a brief reunion; you never know what you can catch. The worst part is when the beer all sells out and then the bathrooms close. We have no advice about how to deal with this situation. For non-British readers: the beer is sold by percentage of alcohol, so start high and work your way down.

You've been on a pretty big American tour in May and June in places ranging from Los Angeles to Seattle. Do you have any funny tour stories to share?

That was what we did last year instead of Indietracks. It was fun and odd to tour the US again. Such long distances between shows... We travelled with Mark Monnone from the Lucksmiths and that was a trip. Colin and Mark had an adventure of their own in Portland. We got a lot of hot tub time with our pals Sean and Cori from Tullycraft on what was apparently the only sunny day in Seattle in 2011. For the last leg of the tour we had our own personal yoga trainer. Our chi was off the hook. As they say, namaste.

You recently celebrated your tenth birthday as a band - what have you got planned for the next ten years? :)

God, ten years. Longer than any of our longest relationships. But we're on the brink of a new Smittens era. Dana has shed the "she" pronoun and is now "The Smitten Formerly Known as 'Lady'". We've added a new vocalist called Missy Bly. In the coming years we'd like to hit more new countries with pop scenes - Spain, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong. And maybe actually get to the middle of our own country. Texas?? We're in it for the long haul. Or, who knows. Maybe babies and more cats will come along too. We're constantly re-arranging. I mean, isn't anything? The bigger question is, will Indietracks still be happening?

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

We await to see the set up in our rental van. Thank you for asking this question. It's giving us the opportunity to bicker about who actually listens to what. We are currently way into Cats On Fire, The European, Burning Hearts, Architecture in Helsinki, Standard Fare, Magnetic Fields, The Beets, The Indigo Girls, and "The Risk" podcasts

Do you have any surprises in store for Indietracks?

Colin bought a new pair of jeans!! And, see above.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Who's behind the Indietracks Festival Guide?


"Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution" available at Etsy
Ever wondered who writes the Indietracks Festival Guide each year? 

Claire Goldthorp has been responsible for assembling the guide for the last four years. Last year's guide also started to show some of her illustration work, and this year the whole guide was illustrated and created by her!

Claire tells us:

I started out by making a zine to go with my clubnight Atta Girl (all female vocalist genre hopping night in Birmingham). The illustrations in the zines then flowed over into the posters for each clubnight which you can see on the Atta Girl website. These posters started catching peoples' eyes so I started making other peoples' posters and artwork!

Last year I broke my ankle in a freak roller derby accident and suddenly had so much time on my hands. So I set up officially and got my website going with an influx of commissions! I now design album covers, t-shirt designs, posters, website headers and logos. These seem to be predominantly for the indiepop community! My fees are seriously low as I only do work that I love and for bands that I enjoy. Having promoted band nights in my past I know that most bands aren't exactly rolling in cash so helping out a band I love makes it all worthwhile.

Claire has designed for Ace Bushy Striptease, Evans The Death, Fever Fever to name a few. She also created the end of tour party poster for Shrag (below), and her "Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution" poster, inspired by Indietracks 2010 (above), is for sale on Etsy

You can find Claire on Twitter and like her on Facebook, and of course visit her website.

We've seen this year's Indietracks Programme, and it's superb. You can pick one up on the ticket gates for a small fee. Huge thanks to Claire for her hard work!


Shrag end of tour poster


Monday 2 July 2012

Warm-up gigs!




In case you really can’t wait for Indietracks, or if you just want to continue the party afterwards, we’ve done a little round-up of gigs featuring Indietracks bands during the weeks either side of the festival. It’s a good opportunity to see some bands who won’t be in the UK for long, and also get a taste for what’s in store!

Tuesday 3 July

Brighton: The Green Door Store
Orca Team + Joanna Gruesome + Edible Arrangements
https://www.facebook.com/events/202556573197497/


Wednesday 4 July

London: The Windmill
Orca Team + The Rosie Taylor Project + Young Romance + The Tuts
http://www.anorakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5705

London: The George Tavern
Tender Trap + September Girls + Cosines
https://www.facebook.com/events/226178824166701/

Manchester: The Castle
Standard Fare + Tigercats + The Birthday Kiss
https://www.facebook.com/events/313432042078239/


Thursday 5 July

Nottingham: The Chameleon
Orca Team + Joanna Gruesome + Sea Lions + September Girls
http://www.anorakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5608


Friday 6 July

Cardiff: Buffalo Bar
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrls
http://www.buffalocardiff.com/


Monday 9 July

Sheffield: The Redhouse
Go Sailor + Rose Melberg + Markie Plays Girlpop!
https://www.facebook.com/events/305432549534277/

Manchester: The Castle Hotel
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrls + Sex Hands + Former Bullies
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/173927


Tuesday 10 July

London: The Lexington
Go Sailor + Gold-Bears + The Pines
https://www.facebook.com/events/399014186815815/

Nottingham: The Chameleon
Standard Fare + The Smittens + August Actually
https://www.facebook.com/events/452588524754686/

Newcastle: Head of Steam
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrls + Girl Afraid
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/173943


Wednesday 11 July


Brighton: Green Door Store
Go Sailor, The Smittens, A Fine Day For Sailing, Fulhäst
http://www.songkick.com/concerts/12657243

Glasgow: Mono
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrls + Aggi Doom
http://www.facebook.com/pages/monorail-music/103373653035306


Thursday 12 July

Bristol: The Croft
Orca Team + Joanna Gruesome + Mouse Deer
http://www.last.fm/event/3299211

London: The Old Queens Head
Tigercats + The Smittens + Fulhäst
https://www.facebook.com/events/452588524754686/

Leeds: Wharf Chambers
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrls
http://www.wharfchambers.org/?p=238

Saturday 14 July 

London: The Shacklewell Arms
Shrag + Orca Team + Joanna Gruesome + Playlounge
https://www.facebook.com/events/415042101849146/

London: Power Lunches Arts Cafe
Sea Lions + Golden Grrrrls
http://www.songkick.com/concerts/13264184


If you are promoting or playing a gig that is not listed here, just drop us a line at indietracksfestival@gmail.com and we’ll add it to the list!



Sunday 1 July 2012

Workshop interview #10: Indie Record Label Roundtable




Want to learn what it takes to run a record label? Or already run a label and want to get the chance to probe these seasoned veterans on how they do things? Discussions about marketing, distribution and pressing and everything else about running a label that you need to know.

This year’s Indie Record Label Roundtable will feature Mike Slumberland, Trev Odd Box, Tom Fika, John WIAIWYA and potentially a very special guest. Trev, Tom and John dropped by for a chatette.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves!

John Jervis – Where it’s at is Where You Are – I started the label in August '95 (although the first release was a year later), named after a lyric in a Huggy Bear song and I also run Hangover Lounge records: / named after the club.

Tom Fika - Fika Recordings is a diy indiepop label. I started the label 18 months ago, handmaking cassette tapes. Since then, there have been a few records from Tigercats and Moustache Of Insanity, and an epic 60 track advent calendar curated by Darren Hayman. You're supposed to listen to our releases drinking tea and eating cake - that's the "fika" bit.

Trev Oddbox - I'm Trev. I work for a living and I use my credit card to run Odd Box Records in my spare time. I started Odd Box in 2009 as a solo thing after my previous label Lostmusic (run by 2 then 3 then 2 pals) came to an end. Lord knows. I have no interesting facts. So here are a couple of dull ones instead; I've been a vegetarian for 25 years. I wrote a fanzine in the early 90s called WireMesh and I reckon none are still in existence. I can't clap in time.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any stories you’d like to divulge with us?

John WIAIWYA - yup... stories?... hmm... get down boner sticks in my mind, but I won't tell you any more than that...

Tom Fika - I've been to the festival as a punter for several years, but last year was my first as a record label. Fika threw a tea party and then got drunk in the merch tent. Interesting stories? Plenty. That I'm going to divulge? Not a chance... (come and ask me if you really want to know).

Trev Oddbox - I'm something of an Indietracks veteran and I've been every year since it started. I've graduated from camping to hotels the last few years (I'm getting old, y'know). Stories? Not that I can actually remember. Indietracks usually falls on (or near) my birthday (but not this year!) so it's impossible not to get drunk. Best memory; moshing with Ian from Horowitz to a Spanish band (I forget their name) doing a Buzzcocks cover in the pouring rain on the Elefant stage a few years ago. (I've got a picture of this somewhere).

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?

John WIAIWYA - Rose Melberg, naturally... and whoever we can get to do an acoustic turn in the merch tent... breakfast with Michael Zakes is always a pleasure, as is an early morning drink in the campsite bar listening to Queen and Elvis on the jukebox... and shifting UNITS... it's all about shifting units...

Tom Fika - The line up this year is cracking and there are plenty of bands I'm looking forward to seeing, but more than anything, I'll be looking forward to some nice ales, riding the train and catching up with folks I've not seen since the last Indietracks.

Trev Oddbox - Not doing anything on the merch stall for a change! Are The Give It Ups playing? I'm looking forward to them. Oh, they're not playing...... Ummmm, I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends, drinking good beer and seeing some cracking bands.

Do you have any festival going tips?

Trev Oddbox - My tip for everyone is to catch Young Romance. They're ace. Non music tips - buy your veggie burgers early just in case they run out. Same goes for real ale on the Sunday! And be nice to all the volunteers, they're ace and make the whole festival the smilefest that it is. I hope the cheery barman is there again this year. He always makes me smile.

John WIAIWYA - buy more units...

Workshop interview #9: Friends or Knot?


At 5pm on the Sunday, come along to Annette’s friendship bracelet knitting workshop!

Hi Annette, please tell us about the workshop?
It's your chance to learn the art of making friendship bracelets for you to share with your friends and family. They look tricky to make but you'll soon get the hang of tying the basic knot and progressing to more intricate patterns. I'll bring along a whole selection of coloured yarns to experiment with.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I have always been creative- my late Polish grandmother taught me yarn crafts when I was a little girl (knitting, crochet, sewing). I have no recollection of how or when I learnt to make friendship bracelets- it would have been the early 90's I guess. I am now a big girl with a sensible job but I still like to be creative.

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any stories you’d like to divulge with us?
Last year was my first time at Indietracks and I loved the relaxed atmosphere. I took part in Emily's owl-knit-you workshop (http://www.owlknityou.com/) which re-kindled my childhood passion for knitting and inspired me to run a workshop of my own this year!

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
For me, it’s all about the tambourines.

Do you have any festival going tips?
Don't clash. Download your clash finder (nearer the time): http://www.triv.org.uk/~mavit/clashfinder/

Oh and bring a blanket. Blankets are snuggly.

Saturday 30 June 2012

Workshop interview #8: Magical Musical Album Cover Making Machine




At 3pm on the Sunday at Indietracks you’ll be able to join Ellie & Sarah's Magical Musical Album Cover Making Machine. Here’s a quick interview with all the details!

Please tell us a bit about the workshop?
Come and make record covers with us! Along with blank and old LP sleeves, we'll be bringing along pre-printed words (designed by Ellie) for you to select at random to make your band name and album title. We'll accompany these with some super stylish pre-printed drawings (by Sarah) for you to choose, and we'll help you put them all together to design a super-arty album cover.

There'll also be accompanying suitable colouring devices, an assortment of added sticky extras, and a whole heap of drawing, cutting and sticking things to make sure everyone leaves with an awesome piece of art.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves
We are Ellie (a graphic designer) and Sarah (an illustrator). We became friends through blurry chatting about music and design and illustration and things and thought this would be a good chance to put all our experience and loves together.

Ellie works as a graphic designer (http://www.elliekilburn.co.uk/) and has done graphics for lots of different areas including: film, artists, architects, charities and publishers. She collects old printed things and posts them here: ekilburn.tumblr.com. Sarah is one half of illustration duo Crayonlegs (http://www.crayonlegs.com/), and has had her work published in the Guardian, the New York Times, The Radio Times and Time Out to name a few. Having designed record covers for a few fancy bands including indie poppers Los Campesinos! so she is particularly qualified for the workshop! She has most recently been collaborating with Emma Gaston on ceramic pieces. She is also one-third of underused shoe-gaze band Fever Dream (soundcloud.com/fever-dream).

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any stories you'd like to divulge with us?
Ellie is fresh to Indietracks and very excited. Sarah went to the very first Indietracks (which happened to be a boiling hot weekend) where her boyfriend’s old band Esiotrot played in a roasting hot tin church with no ventilation. As she watched as she almost got stuck to one of the benches as it was that sticky from the heat...

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
Paul Rains? - Can we say that?! Or should we say Tigercats...!

Do you have any festival going tips?
Err... Napping! So you can fit everything in - not got a band to watch? Have a nap. Not making record sleeves with us? Catch 40 winks. It's a marathon not a sprint (apparently...).

Friday 29 June 2012

Workshop interview #7: Postcards from Indietracks


At 2pm on the Sunday at Indietracks you’ll be able to join Sugar Paper Zine’s postcard making workshop. Kandy and Seleena are here to tell us all about it…

Please tell us a bit about the workshop?
Having a great time at Indietracks? Thinking of your friends and family back home who aren't here having fun? Send them a postcard! Craft yourself an Indietracks postcard, from colouring one in, to stitching one, to printing one and collage!

Tell us a little bit about yourselves!
We are two ladies who love to craft and therefore made the bi-annual craft zine Sugar Paper! Kandy loves to knit, Seleena loves to sew we both love eating, dancing, collect tat and obsessing over things. Then we shove all that into our zine!

Have you been to the festival before? Do you have any stories you’d like to divulge with us?
Yes we have and we bloody loved it. It was super sunny and so Seleena's eyebrow pencil melted from the heat, so she had comedy eyebrows on her face all weekend!

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
Making stuff, eating 'tent' proof snacks, riding trains and GO SAILOR!!!!!

Do you have any festival going tips?
Don't forget your pillow. Voices of experience, trust us, take a pillow!

Thursday 28 June 2012

Indietracks interview #18: 14 Iced Bears




By Stuart Huggett

14 Iced Bears formed in Brighton in 1985, and were initially associated with the UK indiepop/fanzine scene. Their first three years together saw the release an assortment of singles and flexis for various labels, with Rob Sekula (vocals, guitar) and Kevin Canham (guitar) at the centre of a fluctuating line-up.

The band released their self-titled debut LP in 1988, with ‘Precision’ (a compilation of their consistently sought-after singles) arriving in 1990. By the time of their second and final album, ‘Wonder’ (1991), 14 Iced Bears’ sound had become notably more psychedelic, the band drawing deeper on their 60s influences. The group split the following year.

This year’s Indietracks partners, Slumberland Records, reissued some of 14 Iced Bears’ early material on the album ‘In The Beginning’, and the band eventually reformed in 2010, touring the US twice. Rob, with occasional interjections from drummer Graham Durrant, shared his memories with us.

It seemed like a lot of people were in 14 Iced Bears over the years, but who’s in the band now?

Rob: Yes, I think we ended up having 14 band members overall. The group’s name was obviously prophetic. At the moment, apart from me, it's Graham, who was on both albums and all the singles from the Sarah stuff onwards, and Tim (White, bass), who was on the second album and our last single, ‘Hold On’. Sometimes Kev joins us when he can, but he lives out in Devon. He was in the band from the beginning up until the first split.

What inspired you to form a group originally? Which bands were you listening to?

I'd been in bands with mates since about the sixth form. Originally it was probably from watching The Monkees on telly when I was about six. When the Bears formed it was the time of C86. I was listening to the Velvets, Burt Bacharach, Jesus And Mary Chain, Nick Drake, The Byrds, Echo And The Bunnymen, The Pastels and Primal Scream. Later we were more into things like the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Big Star and the 13th Floor Elevators.

What was Brighton’s music scene like when you started out?

We formed in Brighton when some of us were at Sussex Uni, and were mates with most of the other Brighton bands. There were quite a few around, including Whirl, The Milk Sisters, Ten Million Quentins, The Popguns, Bobby Scarlet and Spitfire, and some of the Bears were in Blow Up. We'd all go to the same nights – The Big Twang and The Sunshine Playroom were the seminal places. A few of us hung out in the same cafes in the North Laine too. Primal Scream and Alan McGee had moved down to Brighton, so they'd be around. You could even spot Genesis P-Orridge in a cafe. It was a good scene.

How did your first singles (‘Inside’ and ‘Balloon Song’) for the Frank label come about?

Frank was Mark Flunder from the Television Personalities’ label. He saw one of our first gigs and wanted to put a single out with us. I think he wanted ‘Jumped In A Puddle’ (he thought it was a mod classic!) but we never ended up recording it. Luckily John Peel heard ‘Inside’ and liked it and gave us a session. The rest is purgatory.

As well as John Peel, who else in the media supported 14 Iced Bears?

John Peel was the only person in the national media that was into us it seemed. He was great and very encouraging, and even tried to help get us a drummer on one of his shows. ‘Turn It Up’ on BBC Radio Sussex were kind to us. We played their Christmas party one year – it was recorded for the radio and a flexi of us doing a drunken version of ‘Balloon Song’ (re-titled ‘Salloon Bong’) was released. I remember singing “Don't call me Harry Secombe again” during ‘Cut’. Oh dear. We had nice coverage in fanzines but the major music papers didn't seem too interested at the time. Everett True came down to interview us for one of them but it didn't get printed, and Johnny Dee wrote good things about us for Record Mirror. We got some good reviews though. My personal highpoint of being in the Bears was when we supported Alex Chilton in ‘91 or ‘92 in Brighton. We came off stage and it was just him and me in the dressing room. He said, "You guys were great. Sophisticated stuff." I didn't care what anyone else thought about us after that!

How did Sarah Records get involved for the 14 Iced Bears single ‘Come Get Me’?

I can't really remember how we hooked with Sarah actually, it was a while back. It was great at the time but then we wanted to make an album and that was against the label philosophy. Also our music by then was going more psychedelic-y.

How much truth is there in the rumour that Geffen were interested in the band?

After our first album came out, it started doing really, really well on US college radio. That must have pricked Geffen’s attention. It's all a bit hazy now, but nothing came of it. They probably listened to Nirvana instead. Whatever happened to them? We would have been much bigger!

How did the band’s sound change between the first and second albums?

The only thing that changed between the two was that Tim replaced Will (Taylor) on bass. Getting someone new in can often influence the way the sound goes and that's what happened. It wasn't a conscious move. It also had a different, bigger production because we used a different studio.

How well did 14 Iced Bears do internationally?

The first time round, we toured as far as Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. We had to do two tours of Switzerland because the first van, owned by one of Stump, broke down while we were out there. It was left on a garage forecourt. We had to go back again, get it fixed and collect it, so we thought we'd play some more gigs too. Things got a bit mental sometimes.

What were the reasons for 14 Iced Bears splitting up?

I'm not really sure. It just seemed the natural thing to do at the time. There was no massive falling out or anything. I decided to move back to London so that changed things. I thought I'd form a new band there but ended up having too good a time in pre-Britpop Camden.

With hindsight, what would you like to have done differently?

There's no point thinking about what could have been done differently as it was a result of us as people at the time. I'm proud of a lot of the songs we did.

What made you decide to get back together?

Friends of mine on Facebook who lived on the East Coast of the US were asking if we'd like to play over there, so I thought I'd give it a go and started asking former band members. We hadn't really thought about getting back together as we all live in different places. It was nice to end up standing on the stage in front of a crowd in LA! If you'd told me two years earlier that would be happening, I would have called you an idiot and followed you round town all day laughing at you. Then I would have gone swimming. Now we’ve done two US tours, of the East and West Coasts. It was a dream come true. The gigs were great, I loved playing all of them. Tim made a video of the East Coast tour: it’s called ‘Dust Remains’ and is in two parts (part one / part two) on YouTube. I suppose the best attended gigs were in New York, San Francisco and LA. People travelled thousands of miles to see us, in some cases by plane. It was very touching, and so nice to meet people who were so excited to see us after all this time and from so far away. Due to the internet, there seems to be a well-connected army of people into indie/psych-pop or whatever it's called. Touring-wise we're on a 'see what gigs we're offered' basis at the moment. There's no strategy for world domination.

What had you been doing in the interim?

We've been doing jobs and arty stuff. Musically, I've got a new band called Easter Sun that's based in London and Kev has one called Blackthorn Crescent. Graham's a graphic designer (Graham: “I did the artwork for the ‘Hold On’ 12” and my brother Gavin took all the groovy photos for the first LP.” Rob: “Hang on, my brother Denis did the artwork for ‘Hold On’. You’ve gone mad!”) and Tim's a photographer.

Are 14 Iced Bears writing and performing new music?

There's no intention at the moment of recording any new songs. That all depends on Geffen eventually getting back to us… You never know, if it felt right and the songs started coming then we'd do it, but we’ve no plans right now. I'm concentrating on Easter Sun.

What are your thoughts on the revival of interest in indiepop?

It's great that people are still interested in this sort of stuff. We were really into the 60s during the 80s, so it's great that our era is still making people happy. I think the internet has made a big difference, and Slumberland releasing our compilation in the US helped a lot.

Apart from your namecheck in Tullycraft's 'Twee', has anyone else cited you as an influence?

I don't remember when I first heard about the Tullycraft song. It's nice to get a mention, although I'm not sure about all this twee business. When we first started out no one called it twee, I think. It was more of a reaction to all the goth darkness around. I remember getting excited by the fact that the Mary Chain, Pastels, June Brides and Primal Scream had great pop melodies more than anything. I think we deviated from the twee side because we ended up taking too many drugs! Hey, if you can remember the 80s, 90s and 00s you weren't really there, to paraphrase Mother Teresa. The only cover versions of our songs I know of are by The Aislers Set (‘Balloon Song’) and Pam Berry from Black Tambourine (‘Cut’). Not really sure who, if anyone, cites us as an influence, although ‘Lucky Man’ by The Verve sounds a bit like ‘Hold On’. Just sayin’...

How much 14 Iced Bears music is still available?

I think our stuff's hard to find physically but you can get us online at http://14icedbears.spinshop.com/ or iTunes or Spotify. I think Slumberland may have some CDs to sell at Indietracks as they've just found some old ones or something. I've got a few 'Mother Sleep' 12”s hanging around my room too, but I don't know if I'll be able to bring them up.

Finally, is there anyone on the Indietracks bill you're looking forward to seeing live, or catching up with socially?

I'm just hoping to catch loads of bands and get very social with everyone! I’ve never been before and really looking forward to it. It's our first proper festival too. Cheers!

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Echo Lake



Echo Lake will no longer be performing at this year's Indietracks festival following the sad death of their drummer Peter Hayes. Our thoughts are with Peter's friends and family. There's further information on the Echo Lake website, and if you would like to make a donation to the British Heart Foundation in Peter's memory, please visit the following Just Giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/echolake

We can announce that The Spook School will be joining the bill for Indietracks. They will play on the outdoor stage at 1.40pm on the Sunday afternoon.




Tuesday 26 June 2012

Indietracks 2012 Quiz!!



 (Photo: matteb83)  

It’s less than two weeks until Indietracks begins. Hopefully, you've sorted out all your travel, accommodation and tickets (aah - tickets!), in which case you can relax and have a go at our Indietracks 2012 quiz!

The winner will receive a fantastic vintage steam railways 2013 calendar plus any random CDs we find lying around! Please send your entries to indietracksfestival@gmail.com by 2pm on Wednesday 4 July. We'll stick up the answers and announce the winner shortly after. Okay, here goes:

1. Name three floral related artists at this year’s Indietracks?

2. Which magazine did Pam Berry help to start, later inspiring a Belle and Sebastian song? 

3. Which of the following workshop activities is not available at Indietracks 2012? 
a) Making a superhero costume
b) Cake decorating
c) Fanzine making
d) Postcard designing

4. Why didn’t Jimmy from The Bobby McGees attend Indietracks 2010? 
a) He dropped his ukulele in the sea
b) He went to WOMAD by mistake
c) He accidentally set fire to his shoes
d) He was performing on a Mediterranean cruise ship

5. If you’re a visitor and ordering a taxi after the festival, where should it pick you up?
a) At Swanwick Junction at the top of the very narrow lane
b) At Butterley station, where there is an accessible car park and handy pick up point
c) Outside the disco marquee – just beep the horn a few times!
d) Ha, taxis are for wimps, I’m crashing under the stars all night

6. Which band has the shortest track on the Indietracks 2012 compilation? 
a) Bart and Friends
b) Gold-Bears
c) Sea Lions
d) Veronica Falls

7. Anagrams! Identify the following jumbled up Indietracks 2012 bands:
a) As gremlins
b) Over-the-top cleaning
c) To camera  
d) Strategic

8. Name this Indietracks 2012 band


9. Which type of train is Darren Hayman a fan of?
a) Steam trains
b) Heritage diesel trains
c) Virgin pendolinos
d) The love train, love train

10. Which of this year's Indietracks bands filmed a pop video at the festival last year?
a) The Vaselines
b) White Town
c) The Monochrome Set
d) The Just Joans

11. Which anniversary are Language of Flowers celebrating at Indietracks? 
a) 20 years since their first gig
b) 8 years since their debut album
c) 5 years since they split up
d) 2 weeks since their comeback show in Belfast

12. Summer Camp's debut album was co-produced by which 90s' Britpop star?
a) John Power
b) Steve Mackey
c) Louise Wener
c) Bernard Butler

13. Doggy or Dodgy? Which band is this fact about?

In 2000, they visited the island of Taransay to entertain the participants of BBC’s Castaway.

14. Which 90s film soundtrack did Go Sailor provide a song for?

a) But I'm a Cheerleader
b) Legally Blonde
c) Clueless
d) Mean Girls

15. Girls Names are playing at this year's Indietracks. But can you name three bands at this year's festival which have girls' names in them? (excluding female solo artists, natch!)

16. Here's four sets of lyrics and four bands - which lyric belongs to which band? 
Bands: Allo Darlin, Summer Camp, Standard Fare, Darren Hayman 
a) Dawn broke out the window / The glass filled up with pink
b) You crossed the dance floor to me / Stepped upon my toes
c) Can you ever understand how you ended up here? / Any friend you've ever had has disappeared
d) I don't know what train we're on / And I don't care where we're going

17. What is Stevie Jackson’s unofficial middle name?
a) Stevie ‘Overdrive’ Jackson
b) Stevie ‘Reverb’ Jackson
c) Stevie ‘Wah-wah’ Jackson

18. The June Brides are playing at Indietracks 2012, but which one of the following brides did not get married in June 2011:
a) Rachel Weisz
b) Lily Allen
c) Kate Moss
d) Abbey Clancy

19. Joanna Newsom or Joanna Gruesome? Which band is this fact about?
They’ve released an EP on the BBC Radio One-endorsed Art is Hard label.

20. Liechtenstein are playing this year’s festival, but which of these is a painting by seminal pop artist Roy Lichenstein?
a) Whaam
b) Kazam
c) Pow

21. Tender Trap or the Temper Trap? Which band is this fact about?
They formed in 2001 in London with the idea to record two-minute songs without middle 8s or excessive choruses.

22. Velodrome 2000 are playing at this year’s Indietracks, but what is the distance of the Velodrome built at the new Olympic Park?
a) 250 metres
b) 300 metres
c) 350 metres

Tiebreaker: we’d love to have some themed food and drinks at Indietracks one day. For example, Microfisch and Chips, Veronica Falafels or Summer Campari. Please come up with your own fun name or idea for an Indietracks refreshment – 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, please send your answers to indietracksfestival@gmail.com by 2pm on Wednesday 4 July.

Good luck!!

Sunday 24 June 2012

Workshop interview #6: Come & Have A Go If You Think You're Indiepop Enough Popquiz



At 1pm on the Sunday at Indietracks you're cordially invited to take part in our annual quiz! We caught up with Gordon and Katey to find out more about their 'Come & Have A Go If You Think You're Indiepop Enough Popquiz'. 

Hi, tell us a bit about the quiz: 
It's an examination of your indie knowledge - this is where being an indiepop nerd finally pays off.  Bring your competitive spirit.

How much does it cost?   
Blood, tears and a little hangover perspiration

Please tell us a bit about yourselves: 
Gordon from ballboy and Katey from Music for Girls/Spiral Scratch will be putting you through your paces.

Any Indietracks stories you’d like to divulge with us?  
Yes we have.  Too many stories - Garyballboy's wedding, Mike Mystery's midnight disco in room 204 of the Premier Inn, eating flumps whilst watching Teenage Fanclub in the rain, Stereo Total stage invasion, dancing to the train disko in the early days, etc, etc....

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks? 
Playing in the Church, catching as many lovely bands as we can, seeing our pals, steam trains and getting steaming!

Do you have any festival going tips?  
Yes!  Stay in a hotel.  Form a band and get to play.

Saturday 23 June 2012

Workshop interview #5: Super Duper Super Heroes!


At midday on the Sunday, there's a chance to create your own super hero outfit! We chatted to the organisers, Bex and George, to find out a bit more... 

Hi, please tell us about the workshop? 
Find your inner Super Duper Super Hero! A chance to make your very own super hero costume (a mask and cape) and hone those special super Indietracks powers!

And tell us a little bit about yourselves...
We're Indietracks arty, crafty veterans!This will be our fourth year at the festival. We're a bit geeky, and we love going on the trains! Oh and we're especially looking forward to seeing Ballboy's Gordan McIntyre!

Do you have any festival going tips? 
Airbeds! And a Kigu will keep you warm in the evening...

Friday 22 June 2012

Workshop interview #4: Indie-Pop-Lindy-Hop-Workshop



At 5pm on the Saturday at Indietracks, The Bobby McGees & Jimmy's Lindy Hoppers will be running their Indie-Pop-Lindy-Hop-Workshop!  

Hi, what’s the workshop all about?
Swing dancing and indie-pop music are two of the greatest things ever....we are going to take the revolutionary step of combining the two! You'll be jiving to joy division, Tripple stepping to Tigercats, hoofing to Heffner....but 1st of all you'll be learning to Charleston to Allo Darlin!

Please tell us a little bit about yourselves:
Jimmy & El have been "The Bobby McGees" for 10 years this year! Our first album was described by music critic Everett True as "inventing a new genre: Twee Jazz"...we kinda ran with that, learned trumpet, got into swing music and started lindy-hopping! Our first experiments with Indie-pop-lindy-hop were carried out at famous Brighton club "Another Sunny Day" and things blossomed and bloomed... now at Indietracks 2012 we are bringing it to "the kids”! We expect some pretty amazing videos!

Have you been to the festival before?
We've been to every single one... except the third one... Jimmy was at WOMAD by mistake!!!!

Do you have any Indietracks stories you’d like to divulge with us?
Ehhh....we have stories, maybe we shouldn't divulge them? 

Playing on the train....having my fave' band anounce (several times!) from the main stage that he'd just seen the Bobby McGees and loved them...Watching M J Hibbett on a huge stage....Crying when The Just Joans played "One last kiss from Bellshill station" and having the entire audience attempt to take my picture (what's so funny about a gruff looking beardy Scotsman with no teeth crying to a sad song????)...Getting drunk on Champagne at 11am at Gary Ballboy drummers wedding....Oh, and appearing on the main stage as Jesus with The Loves.

The drunk Scottish guy who got threatened with eviction by the campsite security for playing ukulele loudly at 4 in the morning?....as I told them, "It must have been someone who looked like me!" (Oh...and having a certain Ms Alice Hubley tell me we could dance "If I behaved myself.")

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
As always, seeing new bands and meeting old friends!

Do you have any festival going tips?
Take ear plugs....there may be a drunk Scottish idiot playing ukulele at 4 in the morning!

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Indietracks interview #17: Language of Flowers



Language of Flowers were a 5-piece indie-pop band originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland signed to San Francisco indie label Shelflife Records. As of 2006 its members are located in London, Manchester and Belfast. The band’s sound is characteristic of the British C86 movement with heavy use of jangling 12-string guitars, airy female vocals and bright pop melodies.

The band signed to Shelflife and released their debut album Songs About You in 2004. The album was well received by international fanzines with reviews noting the band’s classic indie pop influences from the aforementioned bands Field Mice and Heavenly as well as The Smiths, Comet Gain, The Go-Betweens and Lush. The band spent 2005-2006 playing across the UK with other indie pop bands Camera Obscura, Trembling Blue Stars, Malcolm Middleton and Pipas as well as touring around Northern Europe.

Language of Flowers went on hiatus in 2007 but are back for a special Indietracks performance. They’re also playing at The Menagerie in Belfast on Saturday 23 June.

Hi Colm, Indietracks is the fist show you've announced since you disbanded in 2007. Why have you decided to reform now?

Marc and I played the first gig as Language Of Flowers back in August 1992 with Heavenly in Derry so it seemed a nice thing to do 20 years on. Marc has been my best friend all that time and it's funny to be practicing again in his bedroom 20 years on.

Who will be playing in the 2012 Language of Flowers line-up? Is it all the same members from five years ago?
No. There is still me, Tara and Marc. We've taken Ben Ambridge and Louise Winfield from the ashes of Help Stamp Out Loneliness, which is good as they are possibly the nicest couple I know and are also great to play with in a band. It's always reassuring to have a drummer in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. We've also brought Stuart Watson in on rhythm guitar, as David is concentrating on his gardening. I spend most evenings with Stuart when I go to Belfast, drinking morosely, then dancing and falling over to his DJ sets.

How long are you reforming for - is it just this summer or a longer reunion?

It'll probably just be for this unless we really enjoy it and others do too & we are asked to do more gigs.

Will you be playing new songs at Indietracks or recording any new songs this year?

No. We live in Belfast, Manchester and London, so it's pretty hard to even rehearse the old songs. There's a couple of old unfinished ones knocking around though.

Have you started rehearsing yet? What will/does it feel like playing the old songs again?

We have had two days in Belfast, not with all six of us at once yet. It was surprising how quickly it all came back and nice now to have keyboards and female backing vocals. Marc even smiled for a second.

Lots of people will recognise some of you from Help Stamp Out Loneliness. How would you describe Language of Flowers to a HSOL fan?

It's pretty different, though 'Record Shop' and 'Sola & C' were both originally for Language Of Flowers. We recorded two versions of Sola, but it was never right. On Last FM it says we sound like The Cranberries. That's pretty damning. It's definitely more Indie Pop.

You originally formed in 1992, played a single gig and then split up for 10 years. What happened?

We used to sit listening to Sonic Flower Groove and Sarah stuff in Marc's house and so formed a band to try and reproduce that, as all the bands in Belfast were punk bands at the time. Unfortunately we weren't very good at it. We played the one gig with Heavenly and were so bad that we never did anything else for 12 years. Amelia said that we sounded like Huggy Bear, which was great. Unfortunately we were trying to sound like The Field Mice. I moved to Leicester after that and Marc descended further into the Goth world after that.

How has the world of indiepop changed since 1992? Do you think it's easier for new bands nowadays what with the internet and all that?

It's incredibly easier. We used to have to write letters to people and through that move onto ringing them and arranging. We were pretty cut off, which is why we arranged Heavenly to come over for the Irish tour. You can find everything on the internet now and find out about stuff or listen to manic ramblings of people on Anorak and stuff. By the time of trying to find a label for our album, we were able to use these kind of forums to find out about lots of different labels. Before that, it was just by writing to the bands, or tracking down fanzines. I remember being pleasantly surprised by the turnouts for the Heavenly gigs, as we had no real idea if anyone would be interested.

Any favourite memories from your trips to Indietracks over the years?

All my best memories involve Dan from Pocketbooks. I'm sure everyone remembers being shown his saucy playing cards several times last year, but I still enjoy the night I wouldn't let him leave my hotel room until he'd drank all the remaining vodka with me. It was also nice to play the main stage in the sunshine last year as the hot air balloon came down over the stage. Then the sound system blew up.

Let’s hope the hot air balloons come back again this year! See you in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Appear in the new White Town video at Indietracks

Jyoti from White Town is asking for your help in making a new video at this year’s Indietracks. Here’s Jyoti explaining the idea and how to take part:


“Please you help me make another pop vid at this year's Indietracks? I've got one happy song left on the album and I think the Indietracks vibe will fit in beautifully with it.

“I'd like people to make signs (probs no smaller than 18 inches x 12 inches to be legible) with their names and how long they've been together written on. Plus any other adornment they feel like adding. Then I'll just take a quick four or five seconds while they pose/ smile / kiss etc. The whole song is soppy and about love so I think it'd be cool.

“If people are interested in taking part, what do they need to do? Well, I'm pretty easy to spot so I'd say to collar me at any time. If they want to get in touch now about it, the easiest way is via the White Town facebook page.”


Last year Jyoti filmed a beautiful video for his song ‘She’s a lot like you’, which we’d highly recommend:



Sunday 17 June 2012

Workshop interview #3: Super Spinners


At 4pm on the Saturday at Indietracks, Gareth and Jeanie will be running an ace Victorian-themed toy-making workshop... 

Hi, please tell us about the workshop?
In our workshops, we'll be making Zoetropes, ace Victorian style animation toys. Zoetropes are an early form of animation, consisting of a set of drawings inside a round barrel - by spinning the barrel and looking through the slits in the side, your drawings appear to come to life! We'll be providing kits to make your own Zoetrope, and showing you how to make tiny cartoons to play in them. There will be ready made animations to colour in and use, as well as blank sheets for you to make your own. At the end of the workshop, your Zoetrope is yours to keep!

See a zoetrope in action here:



We'll provide all the stuff you'll need to build your Zoetrope, as well as paper, pens and crayons. The workshop is open to everyone, although much younger participants might want to bring an adult along to help with the fiddly bits!

Tell us about yourselves
We are film-maker Jeanie Finlay and animator/web-designer Gareth Howell. We have, together and separately, run many workshops in the past, including workshops at Indietracks, making cartoons and rubberband-powered cars. The Zoetrope workshop was originally run at Nottingham Hackspace, a community space for arts and technology. We love coming back to Indietracks as it is the perfect, most friendly festival!

This year's festival line-up looks the best yet, and we're particularly looking forward to Allo Darlin, The School and The Just Joans, as well as waving from the tiny train and the curry shack.

Saturday 16 June 2012

Workshop interview #2: Cake Club's Sugar Fuelled Cake Decorating Party!




The Cake Club's Sugar Fuelled Cake Decorating Party takes place at 3pm on the Saturday at Indietracks. We caught up with Verity and Andy to find out a bit more about it... 

Tell us a little bit about yourself!
We're Verity and Andy from Bristol and we love cake perhaps a little bit too much. We're two friends who divulge in a large amount of competitive baking as part of Cake Club. We meet every month and ruthlessly tear apart everyone's attempts at perfection. The rest of the time, I (Verity) obsess over indiepop and food, and DJ at Pop Off!, Bristol's super indie disco. Andy enjoys building things out of gingerbread and dancing.

I occasionally blog my cake efforts here: http://cakemakes.tumblr.com/

What's it all about?
It's a simple premise - we will provide scrummy home-made cakes in an array of flavours, and masses of decorating paraphernalia and icing - the rest is up to you! Go crazy and decorate your cake! See who can cram the most jelly beans onto one cake, or arrange chocolate buttons into the shape of a cat, we don't mind! Just feel smug about your artistic creation, and then eat it.

We will also have some other sweet treats for people who are less enthusiastic about cake decorating, including the return of the legendary Monster Square, which contains enough sugar to power a jet. Possibly.

Do you have any Indietracks stories you’d like to divulge with us?
Cake Club was at Indietracks last year and it was spectacular! We both ate over 300% of an adult's RDA of sugar, ran round in circles, rode the train and danced to all the bands. We didn't realise how many children come to Indietracks until they all turned up at our workshop! Hopefully we'll see them again.

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
GO SAILOR GO SAILOR GO SAILOR (and everything else - it's going to be amazing!)

Do you have any festival going tips?
Make sure you eat lots of cake to soak up the beer. It works, honest! 

Friday 15 June 2012

Workshop interview #1: Eco Bunting: Printing with Nature




We’ve chatted to each of this year’s workshop organisers to help you find out a bit more about the art, craft and musical treats in store. Here’s our first interview with Amy and Melanie of the LS10 Ladies Good Time Collective, whose workshop, 'Eco Bunting: Printing With Nature (Hapa Zome)', takes place at 2pm on the Saturday at Indietracks.  

Hi, please tell us a bit about the workshop
Eco Bunting! Come and join us to have a go at printing on (ready made) bunting using the natural Hapa Zome technique. We will be pounding out the colour pigments of plants using mini hammers to create your own designs on fabric bunting that you can take away at the end of the workshop to make your tent look pretty. This is a very child friendly workshop! All materials will be provided and it’s completely free!

Please tell us a little bit about yourselves
We’re from the ‘LS10 Ladies Good Time Collective’ in Leeds. The group is an informal collective of friends, living in South Leeds, who get together on a semi-regular basis to craft, drink tea and plan local charity events. Most of our events involve live bands, tea stalls, making things and jumble sales.

Amy also runs environmental education and play workshops for children and families, mainly in Leeds, but sometimes in other places. She currently works at the very lovely Skelton Grange Environment Centre

Melanie has run many Zine Making workshops at events such as Ladyfest, based on her own knowledge of making (art based) zines for many years (http://remember-who-u-are.blogspot.co.uk)

Any Indietracks stories you’d like to divulge?
We once tried to get an early night and were tucked up in bed (not asleep) in our tent while the kickass campsite marquee was blaring out THE BEST INDIE DISCO WE HAVE NEVER
BEEN TO!! Full on regret. Learn from our mistake everyone: get your big sleeps before going to the festival, you snooze you lose!

What are you looking forward to most this Indietracks?
Melanie: Go Sailor (I can’t believe I’m finally getting to see them play live after years of hoping
and wishing they’d reform), the sun shining (if I put this request in early enough, it’ll happen all
weekend, right!?)
Amy: Allo Darlin’ (always), running our workshop, and the epic beer selection in the train
shed.

Do you have any festival going tips?
Melanie: I’m a bit of a hygiene freak, so I recommend WET WIPES!!!!! (Plus some spending
money for ice lollies)
Amy: I’m highly practical and therefore recommend: a mallet for bashing in those tent pegs, a
headtorch for nightime wees, a cropped trouser, and saving enough money for the merch!

Thursday 14 June 2012

Workshops revealed!



As well as steam trains and lots of fantastic indiepop bands, this year's Indietracks festival will once again feature a wide range of art and craft workshops for all the family! Today we can reveal the full schedule. The workshops are free of charge, except where stated below.

Saturday 7 July

2pm: Eco Bunting: Printing With Nature 
Have a go at printing on ready-made bunting using the natural Hapa Zome technique. Create your own designs that you can take away.

3pm: Cake Club's Sugar Fuelled Cake Decorating Party!
Decorate scrummy home-made cakes with a wide range of decorating paraphernalia and icing (as pictured above!).
Cost: £2

4pm: Super Spinners
Make a Zoetrope, a Victorian style animation toy consisting of drawings inside a round barrel - by spinning the barrel and looking through the slits in the side, your drawings come to life.

5pm: Indie-Pop-Lindy-Hop-Workshop
The Bobby McGees & Jimmy's Lindy Hoppers will be combining swing dancing and indie-pop music. Come along and triple-step to Tigercats, hoof to Hefner and Charleston to Allo Darlin’!


Sunday 8 July

Midday: Super Duper Super Heroes!
A chance to make your very own super hero costume complete with mask and cape!
Cost: £4.00

1pm: Come & Have A Go If You Think You're Indiepop Enough Popquiz
Gordon from ballboy and Katey from Music for Girls/Spiral Scratch host a quiz to test your indie knowledge.

2pm: Sugar Paper Presents.... Postcards from Indietracks
Craft yourself an Indietracks postcard, from colouring one in, to stitching one, to printing one and collage.

3pm: Ellie & Sarah's Magical Musical Album Cover Making Machine
Make your own awesome album cover from blank and old LP sleeves, pre-printed words, stylish pre-printed drawings and a heap of other crafty materials.

4pm: Indie Record Label Round table 
Find out everything you ever wanted to know about running an indie label. Featuring Mike Slumberland, Trev Oddbox, Tom Fika and John WIAIWYA.

5pm: Friends or Knot?
Learn the art of making friendship bracelets for you to share with your friends and family with a whole selection of coloured yarns.

See you in a few weeks!