Shady Bard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shady Bard | |
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| Origin | Birmingham, UK |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Genres | Indie |
| Labels | Static Caravan (UK) |
| Members | Lawrence Becko (right) Jasmin Hollingum (left) Alex Housden (centre) Aidan Murphy James Dey |
Shady Bard is an indie band based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The band take their name from the nickname of a childhood friend of now-departed founder member Tom Rogers, Bard, and notably eschew studio recording in favour of a home-based do-it-yourself approach.
The band consists of:
- Lawrence Becko: Lead Vocals, Piano, Guitar
- Jasmin Hollingum: Backing Vocals, Casiotone Synthesiser, Violin, French Horn, Glockenspiel
- Alex Housden: Cello, Backing Vocals, Auxiliary Piano
- Aidan Murphy: Guitar, E-Bow, Harmonica
- James Dey: Drums
The sound of the band is often compared to the fragile melodies of Britpop-era band Spiritualized, while the band themselves claim to be influenced by the likes of The Flaming Lips, Welsh indie bands Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros.
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[edit] History
The foundation of the band is the songwriting of Lawrence Becko and Tom Rogers, who grew up together in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where they spent their youth experimenting with music. However, the pair were split up by their academic ambitions, with Rogers moving to the University of Leeds, and Becko to the University of Birmingham.
During this period, Becko performed the songs he had written with Rogers in local Birmingham venues on a solo basis, and also as part of Bearwood Country, a collaboration with local singer-songwriter Dan Hartland.
[edit] Formation
By 2004, following the duo's graduations, he and Rogers reunited for a gig at The Atrium in Leeds on June 10th, with Olly Forrester recruited from the University of Birmingham's Indie Society as percussionist.
Following Rogers' move to Birmingham, the band began to tour the local circuit, gaining the attention of locally based BBC Radio 2 presenter Janice Long, who gave the band their radio debut on October 14th 2004 when she played "Bobby" from one of the band's early demos.
Later that month, Jasmin Hollingum, a music student at the University of Birmingham, was invited to join the band as multi-instrumentalist, playing the Casiotone, violin, French horn, and performing backing vocals, making her debut at a gig on 5th November 2004. The band's line-up was eventually completed in spring 2005 with the addition of University of Leeds graduate Alex Housden as cellist, backing vocalist, and auxiliary pianist, who made his debut on June 11th 2005 for the band's appearance at the University of Birmingham's Graduation Ball, where they shared a bill with well-known British band Embrace.
[edit] Treeology EP and Tour
Towards the end of 2005, with the band's fanbase growing, they embarked on a mini-tour of the UK, taking in Oxford and Leeds, where they shared the bill with friends and collaborators iLiKETRAiNS. Members of the band featured on both the A and B sides of iLiKETRAiNS' October 2005 single "A Rook House For Bobby". They were also named "Unsigned Band Of The Week" by popular Teletext magazine Planet Sound in the UK. The same magazine would later name them as one of their "New Faces For 2006", predicting future success.
Following on from this success, the band released their debut set of recordings, the six-song "Treeology EP", on February 6th 2006 through independent Birmingham label Static Caravan Records. Limited to 100 copies, the EP sold out on pre-orders alone, leaving many long-time fans of the band without a copy, and creating a thriving market on internet auction house eBay, where copies have sold for up to £80. A tour to coincide with the release included the band's first gigs in London, Manchester, and Bristol.
[edit] Departures of Band Members and Penguins Single
Following the success of the Treeology EP and tour, tensions within the band led to the departure of founder members Tom Rogers and long-standing drummer Olly Forrester. Cellist Alex Housden took temporary leave of the band too for personal reasons. Despite these tensions, the band continued to fulfil touring and promotional obligations as a duo of Becko and Hollingum, including a session with BBC Radio 2, and the band's largest headline appearance to date at Birmingham's Glee Club in March 2006. By June, Housden had rejoined the band on a full time basis, ready for the band's second national tour, the 'Weekends At The Ice Park' tour. A replacement guitarist and drummer were sought to complete the line-up, with former Leeds University student Aidan Murphy recruited on guitar, and James Dey on drums. The pair are due to make their debuts in Birmingham on August 6th 2006.
The band will shortly release a DVD companion to the Treeology EP, and released their debut single, "Penguins", through Static Caravan Records, in October. They also appeared at the prestigious Green Man Festival in Brecon, Wales in August.
[edit] Line-Up Variations
[edit] Former Members
The following have at one time been full-time members of the band but are no longer:
- Olly Forrester: Drums (Last appearance: 18th February 2006)
- Tom Rogers: Guitar, Bass (Last appearance: 18th February 2006)
[edit] Guest Appearances and Temporary Members
The following have at one time appeared live with the band as guest musicians:
- Ashley Dean of Leeds band iLiKETRAiNS: Cornet (At An Evening with Shady Bard at the Glee Club, Birmingham, 31st March 2006)
- Andrew Trevers: Guitar (At An Evening with Shady Bard at the Glee Club, Birmingham, 31st March 2006)
- Sam Fox: Harp (At An Evening with Shady Bard at the Glee Club, Birmingham, 31st March 2006)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Demos
- "shady bard" on Fuzzy Birdsongs (self-released) (demo was revised twice between its original issue in March 2004 and its deletion in December 2005; different versions available. In total roughly 1000 were made and distributed.)
- "Three Songs" on Fuzzy Birdsongs (self-released) (available in Brown, Pink and Green versions; limited edition, size of edition unknown)
[edit] EPs
- "Treeology EP" on Static Caravan Records (27th February 2006; limited to 100 copies)
[edit] Singles
- "Penguins\Dust" on Static Caravan Records (30th October 2006; limited to 500 copies on clear vinyl)
