Blakfish

Blakfish are a Deathpop band from Birmingham. Billy and Noah have been listening to them for a while. They came to play in Bristol, Autumn 08.

Blakfish have got this great underground publicity thing going on, where fans volunteer to Spam Their City ahead of a gig. Bill and Noah volunteered and were sent a load of stickers, posters and badges which they circulated at venues and gigs they went to. Turns out Bill and Noah were the only Bristol people to spam for Blakfish so the band offered them free entry to the gig (there’s a story here about earning gigs by doing chores which I’ll come to another time).

So B&N trundled down to The Thekla pre-gig to meet the band, and I settled in for a quite Saturday night with Pop Idol. Then I get a phone call from Billy: “Can Blakfish stay at our house tonight? Please please, its my teenage-boy-fantasy.” With the proviso that they didn’t turn up smashed and wreck the house, how could I say No?

So about 11.30 that night two of Blakfish turned up. The other two had said they wouldn’t come – one because he was a bit pissed and might accidentally break something, the other because he was so rock n roll he might be unable to resist throwing things around. What self-awareness! They popped their heads round the front room door when they arrived, said hello and politely offered me a can of Stella, which I accepted. Such good boys – when they wanted a roll-up they went and sat in the garden. At about 1am Noah popped his head round the door and said “This is amazing. Blakfish!!” I felt a warm glow inside. The next morning, after a breakfast of Lidl pain au chocolat, and indulging me by having their photo taken with me at the front door for proof, half of Blakfish and B&N trundled back to The Thekla to meet the others, pick up the band van and make their way back to Birmingham.

So I’m just settling in for a nice game of solitaire on the computer when I get a phone call from Billy: “The van’s dead, can you come and jump-start Blakfish?” So me and Jess (Billy’s girlfriend who had just arrived) jumped in the car, drove down to The Thekla and jump-started the band van. I feel I am Hero Mum at this point.

Of course I’d never heard of Blakfish and they seemed lovely young men to me, but this is what the papers say:

“Bring your earplugs and don’t bring your parents! Blakfish are here and they want you to know it too. Here is something dynamic, explosive, aggresive and intense. With time signatures bouncing around like drunken teenagers on a trampoline, and vocals to make even your own throat hurt. This band will change your life.” Birminghamusic.com

“Blakfish’s set goes swimmingly. The energetic punk-rockers reel in the crowd by fusing a range of interchanging melodies and rhythms, before the lead singer casts himself off the stage halfway through their final song.” Sandman Magazine

“Blakfish’s blowtorch-to-the-face – of – Mclusky hardcore ended up scaring every attendee. Proving Blakfish are certainly worth as much as any of their showmates, and this group should be watched, preferably up close and in the middle of a riot.” Play Music – Pickup

http://blakfish.com/
myspace.com/blakfish
more about Blakfish and their Spam Your City teams: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=8904206&blogID=443439363
http://www.theklabristol.co.uk/

Musicians Union

This week Billy has been in touch with the Musicians Union. I like to think it’s because I’ve instilled in him some of my pinko-leftie values about solidarity, collective voice and worker’s rights but in reality it’s because a band called Blakfish told him about the MU. www.musiciansunion.org.uk

He’s been emailing them, asking them about contracts, rates of pay and entitlement to payment, etc. They’ve been extremely good, answering his queries very quickly, clearly and respectfully.

Billy met Blakfish last autumn. I’ll post the Blakfish story now..