If you were passing through Camden Town on a Saturday night between about '03 & '07 you might've seen small crowds of curious looking people disappearing through some painted iron gates just down from the Hawley Arms... The venue was a actually a rehearsal studio by day, but on a few magical nights it became host to some of the best parties there ever were...
The band AUGUST more or less came into being because of them. Those rehearsal rooms were the band's nursery, trying out band members & crazy ideas... It was only when one of the studio staff asked them innocently if they'd like to play at his party that the group actually came to play to an audience... They protested at first that they didn't actually have any songs yet... "just play what you've been playing in rehearsal" was the answer; and so they did; and that was the catalyst for a voyage of adventure - over the course of the first few parties, completely improvised sets of ever-changing mutant grooves gradually coalesced into compositions, and with the arrival of vocalist Vedina Mosé & guitarist (as he was then) Earl Grey, the seeds were sown that eventually became the album "It's Not The Wand, It's The Magic"...
Musical friends were invited to play...which is how the AUGUST rhythm section also became the core of ART TERRY's latest band...and how DAVID GARSIDE came to make the journey down to London from his home in Birmingham to also become part of the family...
There was magic in the air...
The parties brought a unique mix of people together, and gave the musicians involved an opportunity to be truly adventurous, and freely creative in front of an audience that could appreciate what they were doing...or at least be prepared to try... Something that's much too rare in today's corporate live music world...
Somewhere along the line the name PARADE was coined, to give the events an identity...
Which is why we're giving this history lesson...
As all good things do, the Camden parties eventually came to an end, but the people that they'd brought together became the core of the FRiZZ RECORDS family, records were released, tours were embarked on...
And now PARADE is back!
For a little while now we've been searching for a suitable home to launch a regular event in the spirit of those magical nights...with FRiZZ acts playing alongside an eclectic selection of special guests in a party atmosphere... And we've finally found it...
So August 4th we had our LAUNCH PARTY at the wonderful & also wonderfully named SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS in Dalston (East London)
FRiZZ regulars ART TERRY & DAVID GARSIDE played, alongside ex-AUGUST singer VEDINA MOSÉ (who also joined Art for the end of his set to truly invoke the spirit!), Japanese singer-songwriter KAORU NODA, NOW frontman JUSTIN PATON (in solo acid house electronic mode), & guest DJ-ing from ALOOSH...and a wonderful time was had by all...
For those that couldn't make it this time, here are some little tastes of what went down...
And we'll be back at the SJQ on the first Thursday of every month...next stop September 1st...
(all the details you need are here)
See you there!
KAORU NODA (with Raphael Mann on bass) - Aki no Otozure (Coming of Autumn)
VEDINA MOSÉ - Rye Lane
DAVID GARSIDE - Clockwatching
ART TERRY - (Can't Get No) Pussy
