Wednesday, 7 December 2016

Planet #Rockstock 2016 - Trecco Bay, Porthcawl, South Wales

Yesterday I landed back in Manchester, after attending the fourth annual Planet #Rockstock Event, in Porthcawl, South Wales. To say I was impressed by the whole extended weekend, would be a major understatement.

The staff onsite, all the Planet Rock staff, DJ's, fans and bands were so fantastic. So well organised, and the events ran smoothly to the timings. No easy feat, I can tell you, after having had first hand expereince at organising my very first author event and gig in Manchester, in August this year. Herding cats is probably easier.

As I said, this is the fourth such event, and the third one at the venue itself. The radio station Planet Rock, wanted to bring their radio station to life, which they did in spades. To be able to mix with the fans, staff, DJ's and artists is a rare thing, and an amazing chance to chat and make new friends which we did.

Planet Rock have supported a number of bands over the years, such as big favourites of mine - Rival Sons, from  the US. Too many to mention really, have received similar support, with new and upcoming bands being played by their superb, and approachable DJ's. ( I apologise as I was quite probably a little drunk, when I chatted with some of them.)

The official charity of the event is CALM, Planet Rocks official charity that raises awareness of Men's mental health issues. Wyatt Wendell - DJ, raised an amazing amount of money by completing  a bike ride from   to   . Last I heard in the region of £70,000.

On Friday 25th November at approximately 3.30pm, after his show on Planet Rock, Wyatt left his Central London Studio to travel the 1,100 mile journey across the UK ending at Planet Rockstock in Porthcawl, South Wales. Wyatt's journey took him to Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and finally arriving in Porthcawl in time for day one of Rockstock.

You can still contribute to this very worthy charity here CALM - the JustGiving page for the charity.

Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the United Kingdom, and The Campaign Against Living Miserably, (or CALM) are trying to change that.


CALM keeps men alive by talking. Did you know that men are three times more likely than
women, to take their own lives.As an ex-nurse unfortunately I was well aware of these sad facts. All funds raised by Rockstock supports CALM's helpline 0800 58 58 58 and webchat service, open to all guys every day from 5pm 'til midnight. Find out more at thecalmzone.net.



I only arrived at Porthcawl on the Friday afternoon, so unfortunately missed all the bands that played on the Thursday. But, I can give you the line-up and some videos of the bands I missed.

You can find Planet Rock here on Facebook, Twitter, their website, and instagram.



THURSDAY 
Stage 2:


Doors opened at 18:00

18:55 The Mojo Sinners

20:00 Lazuli

21:10 Broken Witt Rebels


22:30 Tax The Heat

Mojo Sinners - The Traveller (Official Video) 





Biography

The Mojo Sinners are a heavy blues rock band formed in the South Wales valleys during early 2015. 
Rhondda, Cardiff, Ystrad Mynach. The band comprises Dave Williams (formerly of South Wales blues legends Blue Traffic) on guitar and vocals, Dane Campbell (also a member of rockers Straight Lines) on drums and Ross McInch on bass guitar. Between them they have shared stages with blues legends Robert Cray, Robin Trower, Walter Trout and Virgil And The Accelerators, as well as grunge rockers The Presidents Of The USA, Feeder and the mighty Mötörhead. The Mojo Sinners’ sound is a unique combination of heavy rock riffs and blues guitar solos, all played with the raw punk energy of early grunge.

Jimi Hendrix has always been a huge source of inspiration for Dave Williams, which can be heard in his guitar playing as well as his voodoo, gypsy-themed lyrics. Dave recently discoveredthat some of his ancestors were Romany Travellers, sparking a fascinationn that fuelled the concept of the trio’s debut EP, ‘The Carnival’, telling tales of old-fashioned travelling circus acts, fortune tellers, curses and the gypsy woman scorned, Belladonna.





Photo courtesy of Planet Rock taken by Darren Grifiths

Set List 

Melancholy Man 
The Traveller 
Nightshade 
Dead Roads 
Jester 
Sister Judy



You can find them on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube


Lazuli - Burg Herzberg 2016


Biography

Lazuli, a band from the south of France, was formed in 1998. Somewhere between rock, progressive rock and world music, poetry and travel, the remarkable music of Lazuli visit new territories with a rather unusual instrumentation: marimba, French Horn, drums, percussions, guitars, vocals... But also and especially a unique instrument created by Claude Leonetti: the Léode*. For Lazuli's musicians, songs are canvases on which they mix colors to paint their own world. The floating voice, playing with words, sings out ‘man’ in all of his facets. Lazuli brings atypical notes of originality to France's musical scene and carries them across it’s borders... On stage, Lazuli uplifts and bewitches... 






                                 Photos courtesy of Planet Rock taken by Darren Grifiths

Gédéric BYAR  - guitar, Romain THOREL - ­­keyboards & French horn, Vincent BARNAVOL  - drums, perc & marimba, Claude LEONETTI / Léode*, and finally, Dominique LEONETTI - vocals, guitars 12 and 6 strings.





You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter, website and YouTube




Broken Witt Rebels - GUNS (Official Video) 




BIOGRAPHY


New EP Georgia Pine out now!

"One of the best new live bands in the country, it's a matter of time before they explode onto the big stages" This Feeling

Birmingham quartet Broken Witt Rebels combine the power and intensity of indie rock with the finesse and delicacy of soulful blues. Heralded as one of the most exciting new live bands in the country, they have just released a new EP Georgia Pine which is out now. Listen to the full EP on Spotify.

The band from Birmingham describe themselves as being Indie/Alternative/Blues/Rock, on their Facebook page. The line-up being Danny Core - Vocals & Rhythm guitar, Luke Davis - Vocals & Bass, James Tranter - Vocals & Lead Guitar, and last but not least James Dudley - Drums & Percussion. I love that they like Rival Sons, one of my favourite bands, and being influenced by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, another firm favourite of mine. 

Lead single Low has been the featured track of the week on Radio X and playlisted on Planet Rock.

“There's something about this type of music that feels raw, Southern, and whiskey-soaked. I can't get enough” Indie Shuffle.

The arrangement of James Tranter’s dominant, layered guitar work, Danny Core’s strong and unique vocals, Luke Davis’s muddy harmonic bass playing and James Dudley's thunderous drumming are the framework of a band that’s enchanting and irresistible.





Photo courtesy of Planet Rock taken by Darren Grifiths


You can find the band here on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, their website, and finally YouTube.

The final band to play on Thursday evening was:

Tax The Heat





On their powerful debut  album ‘FED TO THE LIONS’ is  a sound inspired by  the  great bands  of the 60's – The Kinks , The Beatles, The Stones, The Yardbirds, and The Who – But, comparable  to  contemporary artists such as Jack White, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Black Keys.




Biography

Tax The Heat was born from a pure love of straight-ahead rhythm and blues music. With nods to many of their influences, calling back to a time when rock’n’roll was still new, vibrant and exciting while all the time keeping an energy-filled modern, alternative edge to the music they create.

Leading on from a chance meeting in a record store between two old school friends, Tax The Heat crafted the early rumblings of their retro-rock’n’roll sound in the late-night living room jam sessions. As a result, the 4-piece started recording their own demos using whatever suitable equipment and locations were available at the time.

The band have since found the ears of some of their most well respected contemporaries with Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy fame announcing Tax The Heat as his ‘Favourite New Band’ on VH1’s “That Metal Show” (USA). They also gained the interest of legendary producer Chris Goss (Masters of Reality, QOTSA, The Cult, BRMC) who, upon hearing the strength of the band’s self-recorded demos, immediately insisted upon coming to Bath, England at the end of his Masters of Reality tour to produce the E.P alongside engineer Tom Dalgety (Band of Skulls, Royal Blood, The Macabees). Tax The Heat’s début E.P was subsequently released in November 2013 on a limited run of 10” vinyl to coincide with a string of successful support slots including a UK Tour. The band’s music has gone on to receive airtime on UK radio at such stations as BBC Introducing and Kerrang! Radio, with their singles ‘Fed To The Lions’ and ‘Highway Home’ both being added to the Planet Rock Radio A-list (main playlist). 

Tax The Heat made a strong impression on the U.K’s live music scene in 2014 with performances at Download Festival (2nd Stage), Calling festival (w/ Aerosmith), Steelhouse Festival and Camden Rocks Festival as well as being invited to tour as support to Black Star Riders (ex-Thin Lizzy), The Graveltones, The Virginmarys and The Cadillac Three. 2015 has been an intense year for the band so far, having joined Thunder & Reef for 3 arena shows in March as well as continuing to build their live reputation for tight, energetic and exciting performances playing support to Masters of Reality, Black Star Riders, Europe, Reef and a main stage slot at this year’s 2000 Trees Festival. 

In September 2015 the band announced plans for their upcoming début album ‘Fed To The Lions’, which is set to be released in the Spring of 2016 after penning a deal with famed record label Nuclear Blast. The album will be mixed and produced by Evansson (Robert Plant, Siouxsie Sioux and Goldfrapp) who previously produced the band’s single “Highway Home”




Photo courtesy of Planet Rock taken by Darren Grifiths

  Set List

 STOOD ON THE PLATFORM
UNDER WATCHFUL EYE

HIT ME HARD 

LEARN TO DROWN
YOUR FOOL
HATRED NOT THE ENEMY 
SOME SYMPATHY
DEVIL’S DAUGHTER
SUMMER GIRL
LOST WOMAN
CAROLINE 
LOST OUR WAY
NOWHERE STREET
HIGHWAY HOME
PUPPET MAN
FED TO THE LIONS




You can find them here on Twitter, Facebook, instagram, their website and YouTube



All in all, it seems I missed a great evening of rock and roll entertainment, so maybe a clue to shop early this time for my Rockstock tickets and make the Thursday evening.

More information will be added to the blog as I receive pictures and set lists from the bands.


Love n stuff

Scarlett

xXx






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