Displaying items by tag: The March Violets

Tuesday, 01 November 2016 14:01

2012 - The March Violets - the year in review

'MADE GLORIOUS': THE MARCH VIOLETS RECORD THEIR FIRST FULL ALBUM AND ANNOUNCE A 5 DATE UK TOUR

Legendary 80s Leeds Drum Machine Band THE MARCH VIOLETS return in the 21st Century with their original Post Punk energy intact. In 2011 founder members Si, Rosie and Tom, with new bassist Jo, headlined various European festival stages to critical acclaim, signifying the start of a New Era for THE MARCH VIOLETS. They received some perceptive and very positive reviews.

“Snakedance has been a guaranteed club floor-filler for over twenty years, and more than any other factor it's probably the reason why THE MARCH VIOLETS can stage a comeback now, in the twenty-first century, and find an audience waiting for them. Anything is possible, everything is to play for, and the omens are good.” – Nemesis To Go

“The imagery is pierced with the first burst of sound from the drum machine, guitar and bass.... With dual vocals from Si’s deep, masculine tones and Rosie’s eerie soaring voice the band had certainly retained their Gothic credentials but it was the quirky and dark punk attitude that made the gig.” – Dominion Magazine

“The unmistakable Violets sound and energy had not been lost and had tapped into a scene experiencing a rebirth with a whole new generation to perform to.” – Lenore Gwyn, NEP

In 2012 THE MARCH VIOLETS recorded their first Album financed solely by fans through Pledge Music. To accompany its release to these special fans the Violets played some of the new material as well as old classics at the following venues:

8th June 2012 – Eddie’s Rock Club Birmingham
9th June 2012 – Manchester Academy
10th June 2012 – Classic Grand Glasgow
16th June 2012 – O2 Academy Brixton/Slimelight Aftershow London
1st July 2012 – DV8 Festival York

Garnering a great review from John Robb in ‘Louder than War’

Manchester Academy: 9.11.2012
“Reformed a few years ago the March Violets are still built around three original members- Ashton - fantastic, post punk shrapnel guitar from founder member Tom Ashton, the bearded and sonorous frontman Simon Denbigh and the strikingly, scarey, esoteric beauty of Rosie Garland- whose operatic tones contrast perfectly with Denbigh’s gutters growl. The songs clatter and grind around the drum machine and their powerful fug fills the rooms.

Tonight they coax a great reaction from the audience with a mixture of their own standards and newbies- all driven by the sweating drum machine which could have done, like the whole band, with being a bit louder and more incessant. Their relentless assault and the swooping vocals of self styled ‘lesbian vampire poet’ Rosie set the atmopshere, an atmosphere that the band very successfully deal in. Simon strokes his beard looking like one of the great rock eccentrics, his eyes twinkle with the dark humour of it all and the band’s timeless sound echoes through the decades.

After their initial success they changed line ups into a sleeker more pop version that sold records but lost the original following. Now back to where they started they are enjoying their weirdness and off the wall kooky behaviour and two releases in are becoming staples on the dark side circuit with age suiting them and their oddly timeless sound very well indeed.

This is a successful comeback, a reaffirmation of what made them good in the first place, a twisted eccentricity that the late, great John Peel loved about them and as the set ends the band float out of the building having tickled the erroneous pleasure zones of the rather black clad audience.”
http://louderthanwar.com/march-violets-manchester-academy-live-review/

Published in 2012
Friday, 28 October 2016 15:45

As In Judy

Now available!
Rosie Garland’s new collection of poems, ‘As In Judy’.

Flapjack Press, 2016

I wish to express heartfelt gratitude to Char March for her generous editorial input, without which this collection would be far weaker.
And to Ruth Fainlight, for her inspiring suggestion that ‘As In Judy’ would make a great title.

‘The reason I love Rosie’s work so much is that she provides food for thought. She addresses issues that need addressing, and imagines the inner and outer landscapes we all inhabit with eloquence and grace. Shed your light, Rosie.’ David Hoyle 2016

 

 

  A poem from the collection:

 
 
When You Grow Up

At night, she leaps and does not land. Spreads her arms and soars
above the fenced and neatly weeded garden. Her dreams
are practice sessions where she lifts cars, sees through walls, fights

dragons. She is a pirate captain, a queen, a horse. She is neither girl
nor boy: the distinctions are irrelevant when her small body encompasses
male and female; human, beast. A turbulent child figure-heading

the prow of her beaked ship, she buckles on armour, rescues
princesses from charming princes and spinning wheels,
fearless of the shapes beneath the bed. Too soon

she hears the summons: Breakfast! Now!
Blinks this world into focus. Hushes battle cries,
sheathes her sword between the pages of her book.

Every bedtime her mother tucks in
the sheet of marriage, husband, children: tucks it in tight.

© Rosie Garland 2016

 

Published in Poetry
Wednesday, 15 June 2016 13:39

2013

The March Violets 2013

2013 saw the Made Glorious tour of the UK and Europe – to celebrate the successful PledgeMusic album 'Made Glorious'.
In 2012 THE MARCH VIOLETS recorded their first Album financed solely by fans through Pledge Music. To accompany its release we played some of the new material as well as old classics at the following venues:

26.10.2013 Hebden Bridge – The Trades Club, headlining the Ted Hughes Festival

27.10.2013 Preston - The Continental, as part of John Peel week / Un-Peeled & Dark Peel. With Special Guests: Flesh For Lulu, John Hyatt (Three Johns), The Inca Babies.

1.11.2013 London – Club Antichrist at Club Colosseum, Halloween Party http://clubantichrist.com/ac/

3.11.2013 Whitby Goth Weekend / DV8 - The Coliseum
Special Guests: Partly Faithful, Luxury Stranger.

8.11.2013 Corallo Rock Club, Scandiano, Italy: with many thanks to Grotesque productions & Ascension magazine!

10.11.2013 Newcastle – Trillians. With special guests Berlin Black and Jordan Reyne.

15.11.2013 Nottingham – Spanky Van Dykes. Thanks to DV8 promotions! Special Guests: Simon York (from Luxury Stranger), Jordan Reyne, Witch Hunt. Batronic Aftershow till 2am with DJ Heathen and DJ GlitterHawk

17.11.2013 Edinburgh – Bannermans. Special Guests: Dead Eyes Opened.

22.11.2013 02 Academy, London. Special Guests: The Last Cry

24.11.2013 The Brudenell, Leeds – with very special guests Chameleons Vox plus + Witch Hunt + Free Aftershow

Published in 2013
Wednesday, 09 November 2016 11:27

The March Violets, Chicago 2015 - by Bobby Talamine

A selection of images taken by the amazing Bobby Talamine, Rock and Roll Photographer.

The March Violets - Rosie Garland, Tom Ashton, Si Denbigh & William Faith.
- Appearing on JBTV Chicago, November 2015.
JBTV, 318 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
- Backstage at The Abbey, Chicago
3420 W Grace St, Chicago, IL 60618, USA
- Gig shots of Rosie singing with The March Violets, Halloween at The Abbey, 2015. The final gig of The March Violets’ Mortality tour 2015

- and in Decade Music Studio, Chicago, laying down vocal tracks for the Mortality album

All enquiries should be directed straight to Bobby Talamine. He’s a great guy.

http://www.bobbytalamine.com/

http://blog.bobbytalamine.com/

http://jbtvmusic.com/

Published in Gallery

A selection of images taken by the amazing Bobby Talamine, Rock and Roll Photographer.

The March Violets – headlining at Convergence XX, Chicago, April 2014.

Rosie Garland with Si Denbigh, Tom Ashton & William Faith.
Shots include soundcheck, backstage (with Mars Williams of the Psychedelic Furs, guest sax) and concert shots of Rosie singing with The March Violets. The Bottom Lounge, Chicago.


All enquiries should be sent directly to Bobby Talamine. He’s a great guy.

http://www.bobbytalamine.com/

http://blog.bobbytalamine.com/

Published in Gallery
Tuesday, 01 November 2016 13:54

2014 - The March Violets

The March Violets review – 2014

2014 saw The March Violets tour the UK, Europe AND the West Coast of the USA with the ‘Into The Sun’ tour. The first time the Violets played the USA since the 1980s. And what a return it was. Read on…

We started off in York.
5.4.2014 - A Little Purple Do, The Fulford Arms, York.
Convivial and intimate. We decided to do a thing where we rehearsed, maybe a new Song, definitely a full set, then screened the Dan E Falicki film 'An Anti American' that Tom did the score for. With Free Popcorn!
We will be providing general chitchat, and some other stuff. Unholy Racket will have an exhibition of his prints. There'll be a raffle for something good, some Psydwr, Si's Caipirinha Cocktails, probably some gourmet food available from the chefs. A bit of a disco afterwards. Who knows what may turn up.

Then we headed to the Netherlands…
10.4.2014 - Poppodium Nieuwe NOR, Heerlen, Netherlands as part of the Graukunst festival.

And then Germany, where we headlined Resurrection.
12.4.2014 - Resurrection, Kaiserslautern Germany. With special guest support Vidi Aquam (Italy), Arts of Erebus (DE/FR) Plus After party "Dance Dead Rhythms" (Gothic - Post Punk - Batcave - Death Rock - Wave: DJ Iconoclast - Resurrection - DJ Wahni - Gotham Sounds)

And in April we headed to the USA, where we were honoured to headline Convergence XX in Chicago!
26.4.2014 - Convergence XX Chicago - Bottom Lounge
http://www.altgothic.com/c20chi/

Then in June we returned to the USA for ‘Into The Sun’ – a purple-tinted wander down the West Coast…

June 21 Sat - Seattle – El Corazon

June 22 Sun - Portland - The Hive @ Star Theater

June 25 Wed - San Francisco - Death Guild @ DNA Lounge

June 27 Friday – Las Vegas - Scarlet @ LVCS with DJs Morpheus Blak & Style.

June 28 - Saturday - San Diego, The Soda Bar plus Guests - Black Tango & Prayers

June 29 - Sunday - Los Angeles - Part Time Punks @ The Echo plus Support - Vaniish & Deathday

Plus we got a great album review from Mick Mercer!
THE MARCH VIOLETS - MADE GLORIOUS - Cavorting Curmudgeons Go Nuclear!
MADE GLORIOUS
You don’t need me to tell you that the return of The March Violets has been fabulous, or if you do I will do it discreetly, respectfully, for here we have a band who have aged subtly without losing their irascible nature and musical daring. Si apparently went through three producers before running out of space to bury anymore and finally did the job himself. Simon Denbigh and Rosie Garland handle the vocals, Tom Ashton the guitar and Jo Violet everything else, there was a nice illustrated lyric booklet sent with the 2CD copy I bought (to get the bonus remix disc) and all is well with the world.

‘Made Glorious’ kicks brightly as it bubbles with vocal chirpiness and fluid guitar making for a cute opener, then they slither sleekly during ‘Billion3’, both creepily ironic and cinematically atmospheric. ‘A Room With No View’ is blissfully moody and blessedly bleak. ‘You want love and fear – in a single room, in a single pill, in a single bed, at a single stroke.’ The tangle tingles. ‘Of Roses’ is lighter, for all the dark story unfolding, with a wisp of Bowie involved somehow. Then we cut abruptly to the fidgeting of ‘Tokyo Flow’ which is impressively devious, muted and invitingly slo-mo. ‘Ramming Speed’ is almost nautical Steampunk. (Sailpunk!) ‘Little Punk Thing’ is like a scaly form of glam, strangely bouncy and whimsically deadpan in tone. A palpable hit!

‘Dandelion King’ hauls out some acoustic as the song soars with a robust rhythm and nagging guitar, with the lyrics on this and following songs almost suggesting there’s a novel in them, like a modern Gormenghast, or maybe that’s just my mind on the blink? ‘2024’ finds the whispering rabble revolting and ‘London's Drowning’ ricochets with ribald good humour as the imagery comes out of modern history. ‘We Are All Gods III’ weaves a merry sprawl with naughty vocals, haughty violin and a fuller rumbustious nature for the questioning weirdness and chunkier sound.

‘Road Of Bones’ is off on its bass-driven opening with a hot vocal flush developing, quietly majestic.‘Discoboy Must Die’ plods heroically with juicy twinges as our halfwit hero prepares to meets his maker, ‘Dress 4 U’ has hot turbulence aplenty, ‘Bottle Of Poison’ teems and teeters with life and husky horrors, while ‘My Demons’ flounces off raw and rousing, the culmination of a life lived in livid style.

The extra CD is mostly remixes, with one being a touch different. ‘Dandelion King’ by Mark GT (that's Mark Thwaite) is a calm calamity, ‘Liam Hits Seven’ by these very March Violets is an extended happy birthday done as a result of a pledge. It’s also rather good, not cobbled together bollocks. Then on they go - ‘We Are All Gods’ (Skin Job), ‘Black Heart’ (Latexxx Teens feat. Rosie), ‘Road Of Bones’ (Kitty Lectro), ‘We Are All Gods’ (Frank Heiss) and a lovely ‘London's Drowning’ by old Batfish Boy Dangerously Close. ‘Billion3’ (Kitty Lectro), ‘Discoboy Must Die’ (DBF), ‘Road Of Bones’ (Scant Regard), ‘We Are All Gods’ (Eskil Covenant) and ‘Little Punk Thing’ (Monica Richards). As they’ve been given great songs to play with it’s not like they can really fuck them up.

It’s a long, comprehensively absorbing collection and delivers more the more you listen, the sign of a modern classic. You won’t find much better.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/mick-mercer/the-march-violets-made-glorious-cavorting-curmudgeons-go-nuclear/10152121007834039

Published in 2014
Saturday, 16 December 2023 10:32

26.10.2023: The March Violets, Reading

The March Violets play Reading!

Thursday 26th October
The Face Bar
Ambrose Place,
Reading RG1 7JE

The March Violets come to The Face Bar for a night of gothic rock and post-punk on Thursday 26th October 2023! Don’t miss your chance to see this pioneering band perform their classic hits and new material live on stage. The March Violets are known for their dark and brooding sound, combining elements of gothic rock, post-punk, and new wave to create a unique and captivating musical experience. This is a must-see event for fans of gothic rock and post-punk, with guests Go Go Cult.

Published in Gig List