r a m s h a c k l e i n d i e - p u n k s

the acoustic reverbcollecetive

embrace the freak

BLAM! was one of three names used for fanzines connected with The Forum from the venue's opening in 1993, and carried on for about 15 years. While I was chatting to Jason and Richard at The Forum back in 2013, it became apparent that print could still be useful to help reach a new audience. The idea was still to make a small, free fanzine type magazine, but to distribute around Tunbridge Wells cafes and shops, and possibly catch the eye of those who haven't paid The Forum a visit. Unfest14 seemed a good time to start, and we are now on issue 4. Blam! is putting forward four acts for the Sussex basement, all of whom have regularly played at The Forum in the past yearJACK LEON MACKEY is a singer songwriter from Tunbridge Wells, Kent. For

A healthy bit of competition in the basement of the Sussex Arms on Saturday 23rd May. Blam! was resurrected a year ago to write about The Forum and Tunbridge Wells, meanwhile down in Hastings, The Stinger magazine is praising all things Sussex. So, why not put some bands in a head to head all in a friendly sort of way! Each band gets half an hour, alternating with the Grom stage upstairs in the pub, starting at 3pm.

the past six he has been performing with bands as well as solo. The style of music he has adopted is a fusion between Jamie T and Alex Turner. THUNDERNAUTS offer surf rock. as well as selling old style cassettes (Trust me, I have one).HOWS HARRY are an energetic band offering dance-rock-pop. HOUSE ON FIRE have toured extensively, and been played on BBC Introducing, and will provide a lively end to the evening.While the town of Tunbridge Wells and Hastings are quite different, it's good to have built this musical link , and I enjoy reading The Stinger to see what's happening down the other end of the A21! Come and stop by The Sussex Arms on Saturday and see what you think.Carolyn GrayEditor Blam!

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We felt very strongly that the local music scene was something that should be shouted from the rooftops about and that it should be recognised, promoted, encouraged and supported. So a combination of the people behind both the Hastings Fat Tuesday festival and local music website Pierless Music, all passionate about the music created and played in the Hastings area, got together and decided to do something about that, and The Stinger was created. Our first issue was published in early 2014 and our seventh has recently hit the streets.To celebrate our first anniversary and with the help of some local funding, The Stinger launched a Mentoring Fund aimed at helping up and coming local acts, one of whom, KID KAPICHI, are playing at the Blam vs The Stinger gig. Another, MARIE WHITE, is already well known in Tunbridge Wells.The Stinger has been very well received locally and, because of demand, we now distribute the magazine further afield to towns such as Eastbourne, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells. Due to a mutual respect of what we are both trying to do, we have built up a good

relationship with the team at The Forum, in Tunbridge Wells, and even featured the venue in an earlier issue of the magazine. I also have personal connections to the area, having lived in Tonbridge for over 20 years and playing drums in local bands back in the day. So its nice to have good reasons to come back again.So who are these Hastings bands coming to invade your town? Well, the aforementioned KID KAPICHI - recently played several times by Steve Lamaqc, BOSCO ROGERS - another regular feature on 6 Music, DOREY THE WISE - played on BBC Introducing and Radio 2, and Follow - who recorded their new single at The Forums studio.Blam vs The Stinger is not a competition, more a celebration of the great original music coming from both towns. We are lucky to have two towns, with such vibrant music scenes and much to celebrate and shout about, so close to each other.Maybe this could be the start of a bigger and better collaboration between our two great musical towns? I certainly hope so.Andy Gunton,Editor of The Stinger magazineEmail: contact@thestinger.org.uk

The Stinger magazine was born out of a frustration that traditional media just didnt seem to care about the wonderful and vibrant music scene in the Hastings area (a common problem in many musical towns no doubt).

^^HOUSE ON FIRE ^^DOREY THE WISE 3

Starting on Friday night with GET INUIT, RORY INDIANA and BEST FOOT FORWARD DJs, The Forum will be the hub of Unfest weekend. FRIDAY is free, but tickets need to be reserved on twforum.co.uk. GET INUIT headline, before travelling to Norwich on Saturday to perform at

Q: As a now well established Tunbridge Wells band we have seen you play The Forum many times, including during Independent Venue Week. You also filmed the video for your latest single 'Keep you safe' in The Forum and around the Pantiles. How do you feel about having the 9pm Saturday night Forum main stage slot at Unfest? A:We're stoked! The Forum & the Local and Live Sessions have all been integral in making the Breretons what it is now, we used to go to the Forum as teenagers watching shows, and imagining what it would be like to be up there, so playing there is going full circle in a way. And as for playing the Independent Venue Week, venues such as the Forum sadly are a dying breed, and are essential for up and coming artists; with out them we'll be stuck with X factor, I'm not totally against manufactured music but if that's all we have, music will be dull! Q: The past year has been busy for you - what are The Breretons plans for the next 12 months?A: We've got an EP coming before the album launch in September, two more single releases and a national tour, books .t-shirts, key rings and action figures! Q: You are also regular concert goers at The Forum - is there anyone you are looking forward to seeing play in the near future? A: When ever The Standards Lamps play we're usually about. Cannot wait for the Cyrano come back! They need to get Charley Blue in there! Really looking forward to the Mannheim show yes indeedy, and fingers crossed they'll get First Aid Kit in before they get too big!Q: Any advice for the younger/newer bands, there's a few playing unfest for the first time?A: Keep it simple, play like your life depends upon it, and in the words of Rick James "enjoy your self!!!"(Thanks Marc Brereton and action figures... ? )

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BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend on. Stay late to catch some soul, disco. funk, latin, early hip hop, afrobeat, boogaloo and reggae from BEST FOOT FORWARD, the first of many nights they'll be playing at The Forum this summer.SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Unfest time is now here. The free music festival has been curated by the volunteers who work year round at the Forum, and hopes to showcase the best in regional music. All the musicians are playing for free, and the organisers giving their time for free. All set times are subject to change, due to the 'free' nature of everyone's time.

each day starts at 1pm with bands inside on the stage, and out in the garden; stop by and see what's on. We chatted to a couple of the bands who are playing in the evenings (see below).MONDAY will be our charity day with TARC, more details on page 11.

Q: Like The Breretons, you were one of the bands selected for Independent Venue Week at The Forum in January. Also like The Breretons, you often come along to The Forum to watch other bands - any special favourites from the past year?A: We try and get down to the Forum as much as possible. After all, if it wasn't for the Forum, Tunbridge Wells wouldn't have such a vast music scene and we would have never started playing in bands. Recently we had the pleasure of seeing Everything Everything, but more locally we always love to watch Lectures live. It was their set at last years Unfest which really caught our attention.Q: You'll be playing Unfest on The Forum main stage at 8pm on Sunday, do you have any new songs for us?A: We do have a couple of new songs and some slightly reworked songs, which we have recently been in the studio working on.Q: Also hopefully the foot-tapping favourites?A: Absolutely!Q: Although, because Unfest is a free music festival, for some people it might be the first time they have seen you. How important do you feel it is to showcase music in this way?A: Year on year Unfest attracts such a vast array of people from all over Tunbridge Wells and Kent. Some of these people might have never been to the Forum before, but Unfest provides a relaxed atmosphere for people to try something new. It puts people in front of bands who would have otherwise never heard them and with such a huge selection of Kent's finest acts there's something for everyone. We love playing Unfest and always stick around for the full weekend.Q: Have you got any plans for the rest of the summer?A: This summer we will be busy writing, but we will be taking a short break to play Secret Garden Party.(Thanks to Harry Pearce for words, and Pat Pope for photo)

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DEEP, DARK AND HEAVY!DELVE INTO THE SUSSEX ARM

S BASEMENT ON SUNDAY

AFTERNOON FOR:THE MOONSET - ethereal, atm

ospheric, intense, ambient

rock. WORD OF NOD - Dark, twisted

songs with catchy grooves,

inspired by introspective nightmares and deranged thoughts.

MECHANICAL MONKEY - the manic stop-start dynamics

of bands like Hero Of 100 Fights, And So I Watch You

From Afar and Medications, with a focus on frenzied and

memorable live shows.EVEREST - 5 piece metalcore b

and from the south of the

UK, influences from; Parkway Drive, August Burns Red,

Memphis May Fire, Woe, Is Me etc.

THE INCREDIBLE BERT

WANT MORE?Come to the Forum in June:Friday 5th June FELL OUT BOY (6.00 + booking fee)The full headline show from Fell Out Boy, a tribute to multi-platinum artist Fall Out Boy. The full set of their hit s from Sugar, Were Going Down, Thanks For The Memories, Dance, Dance, all the way through to The Phoenix, Alone Together and My Songs Know What You Did In The dark played to the highest quality identical to the record as you can hear.Wednesday 10th June FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (9.00 + booking fee)with support from Ugly Love and Mitch EmeryTo listen to most bands is to be briefly submerged into the scene theyre a part of. Thats not the case with Fearless Vampire Killers. No, this most willfully unconventional of rock bands have more ambitious plans in store. This five-piece cordially invite their listeners to Grandomina, the fictional world they chronicle in their music, providing what Rock Sound describes as: an instant antidote to everything predictable and mundane, in the process.

PROSPECTIVE LINE-UP1:00PM DAVID WARREN1:45PM THE PIERCINGS2:30PM NIAMH COSHAM ELAM3:15PM LUCY JARRETT4:00PM DICKY TICKER4:55PM BENJAMIN PARKHURST5:30PM ANDY WILKINSON6:15PM MCCREI7:05PM MILLY MCCARRON7:40PM SHEP SHEPERD8:15PM HABITCHLOE SANDS

by Mary Harris, Kent and Sussex Courier, October 7th 201418 year old Chloe, who had learning disabilities and was born weighing just 4lbs 8oz, only grew to 4ft 11in but her big personality more than made up for her small frame.She was in and out of her second home Hedgehog Ward at Tunbridge Wells Hospital because of her chronic lung disease or bronchiectasis which mum Fran Shead, 40, said was a messy name for a messy disease.Chloe proudly received a Kent County Council Try Angle award for bravery when she was aged 11 for her courage dealing with her health problems..Chloe also had a low immune system but in the last eight months of life she had enjoyed her best health.Her death after being in hospital for just 48 hours was sudden and unexpected. She had severe pneumonia and her immune system had failed and her heart stopped under anaesthetic on September 18.Mrs Shead said: People run down Tunbridge Wells Hospital but they need to know how amazing they are. We know first hand how amazing they are and we have had many years of experience.

Monday at The Forum will start at 1pm with David Warren, with music all the way through to 11pm. There will be a mix of soloists and bands, and some familiar locals will be amongst the performers.

Entry will be free, but all money collected in buckets will go towards buying equipment for the wards that helped Chloe during her illness.

The Acoustic Reverb Collective: Founded by Dan Littlechild in 2011 to provide a showcase for musicians and singer-songwriters within Kent & surrounding areas whilst raising money for local charities. Now performing at several venues around the area the project is proud to be working with acts from afar afield as Philadelphia, South Africa and Los Angeles as well as the Kent, Sussex, Dorset and Home Counties area.

MONDAY 25TH MAY IN THE FORUM, WITH THE ACOUSTIC REVERB COLLEC

TIVE

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The last copy of Blam was finalised in January on the day of the Charlie Hedbo massacre. We were spell checking and gathering final listings, as the story unfolded on TV. Three months later, and we start compiling the next Blam on a day of English April spring-sunshine, wondering just where that time went.

Looking back on the Forum listings of the past three months, and I make it a total of 12 sold-out shows. They have varied in musical content from SKINDRED to LUCY ROSE, and the audiences have been equally varied. THE BLOCKHEADS helped the venue celebrate 22 years of being open, KING CHARLES helped celebrate Independent Venue Week, and we helped SLAVES celebrate their national success. We have also welcomed PALMA VIOLETS, LOWER THAN ATLANTIS (for two nights) and EVERYTHING EVERYTHING, as 'warm up' nights before tours and festivals. Meanwhile THE SMYTHS, SLEAFORD MODS and LONELY THE BRAVE came as part of their tours, and we were able to watch their progress on twitter as the dates got nearer. It is always a shame when people say they didn't know these big names were on, but here is one place social media will win in getting information out straight away. So follow @twforum like facebook/twforum and also check the website twforum.co.uk. During and after the event there is always instagram too: twforumNot everything can be a sell-out, and some of my favourite evenings have been the 'other evenings'. It was great to see HIGGS AND THE BOSONS decide the only way they were likely to get to play on the Forum stage was by organising their own night to raise money for charity 'Dandelion Time'. The band had a great time, with a slightly staged encore... Word Up returned with the truly excellent performance poet ROB AUTON, and I discovered a band worthy of a tshirt purchase KAGOULE, who supported TIGER CUB, and it was great to hear them get some national radio play during the time of the tour.

Ah radio. The Forum keeps popping up on it. From Independent Venue Week onwards the name 'Tunbridge Wells Forum' has appeared on BBC6music, with both SLAVES and TOM WILLIAMS chatting with Liz Kerhaw and Tom Robinson, on Radio One with SLAVES, and just a few times on BBC Radio Kent with many local bands playing assorted shows, and Abbie McCarthy having a whole BBC Introducing hour talking with Jeremy Pritchard of EVERYTHING EVERYTHING. It's good to hear people recognise that small, independent music venues are an important part of local and national culture, and places to nurture future talent.

Enjoy Unfest, and don't forget to come back afterwards, the up and coming bands will feature in shows during the summer, and there are some great other bands coming up, as well as The Forum' involvement in Forgotten Fields festival at Eridge Deer Park .

See you around,CG

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While most of Unfest is centred on The Forum and The Sussex Arms, some of The Forum's friends around the town have activities going on. Offering diversity, from spoken word to graffiti art, from jazz lunches to ukuleles, from orchestras to DJ decks, go for a walk and see what you stumble upon. All these places have art or music during the rest of the year one way to check what's on is the website tunbridgewellsevents.co.uk

At the back of The Sussex Arms, Cosy Studios host the Shanty stage with ad-hoc interludes during afternoon and early evenings.

Take a wander to The Royal Oak in Prospect Road for a weekend of music hosted by The Harveys.

On Saturday 23rd May, The Bedford pub in the High Street has music from 2pm through to 10.30pm with The Acoustic Reverb Collective, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support . A variety of acts during the day, as well as an excellent range of ales. On Sunday, Ukelear Fallout host an evening of instrumental fun.

Join Paul Dunton and guests on Sunday night - starting at 8pm The Grey Lady plays host to: I Am Aquitaine, Paul Dunton Orchestra, Ricky and the Hats, and Creatures of Habit. Paul says its going to be one big Grey Lady party in keeping with the Unfest spirit!

Urban Soup on the Lower Pantiles will offer DJ open decks all weekend, as well as the chance to view their latest art exhibition Smiles and Upsidowns by Czee13 and Bunnyboiler, the first time either have exhibited in a gallery.

Both cafs offer you some quiet time, with a selection of local art on their walls to view (and buy) as well as excellent, friendly service. If spoken word is your thing, call into Javabean on Thursday 21st May for open mic night. This is a chance to practice your pieces ahead of Word Up! in The Forum on Wednesday 17th June - enter the slam competition there and get a reduced entry ticket (headline act Deanna Rodger).

WHAT'S ON NEXT:Highlights, as we look into the rest of May and June at The Forum Tunbridge Wells.

THE SAINTS formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1976. The original members included schoolmates Chris Bailey (singer-songwriter, later guitarist), Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter), and Ivor Hay (drummer).Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups. Contemporaneous with United States' RAMONES, THE SAINTS were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. With their debut single, "I'm Stranded", in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts including the SEX PISTOLS and THE CLASH.In early 1979, THE SAINTS had split, leaving Bailey to continue the band, with a variable line-up, as a pop punk group. In 1986, the band released their highest charting album All Fools Day - which peaked in the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Albums Chart in April 1986.THE SAINTS, despite going through numerous incarnations, were a part of rock & roll for more than 20 years, thanks mainly to their indefatigable leader (and founder), Chris Bailey. Their new album is King of The Sun. Support comes from WHEELS If NEIL YOUNG had ever written songs with the VELVET UNDERGROUND then that would probably be the closest to describing how Wheels sound.

Young five piece local band THE PARKAS return to The Forum as headline act. The band has slowly formed over the past three years, starting with lead singer Mark and guitarist Paul. Drummer Chris was a school friend of Mark's, and bassist Gary and lead guitarist Ben came from another band, THE MUSWELLS. Mark says: Mod style music has always been an interest of mine and Paul's, he writes all the songs but everyone has their own input to a new song. What works and what doesn't. We all decide when we learn it for the first time and then add bits in as we go along until we're really happy. We all have similar influences such as THE JAM, THE WHO, THE BEATLES, OASIS etc. and they all just combine to create something unique and that sounds great. It's just been announced that THE PARKAS will be playing at The Hipshaker Tent at The Isle of Wight Festival (11th 14th June) which is a great opportunity for them The Isle of Wight gig is a huge step up for us and one that will hopefully give us a platform to show people what we can do. We love our music so being given the opportunity to play at a huge established festival is a dream come true really, but it's just the start, says Mark. So come along to The Forum and see the band play their songs, they hinted that they save the cover versions for their encore so worth a big cheer to set them up for the Isle of Wight.

THE PARKASSATURDAY 30TH MAY

the saintsFRIDAY 29TH MAY

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HOMEBOY SANDMAN is a musician. His genre is hip hop. An emcee that prides himself on musical growth and evolution, he has adopted as his motto and creative mission statement, "Boy Sand like you've never seen him before. As usual."Raised in Queens, New York with academic stints in New Hampshire, Philadelphia, London, and Long Island. In December 2006 he decides to cut all that miscellaneous nonsense and follow his passion. 7 releases deep and counting. Before signing to Stones Throw he'd already been chosen as a coach on MTV's MADE, prominently featured in preeminent print hip hop rags XXL and The Source, and perpetually championed on foremost online hubs like Okayplayer and 2DopeBoyz. Since inking with the label his accolades have extended beyond the realm of the hip hop specific. Rolling Stone has noted his "skill for wordplay that keeps you hooked." NPR has highlighted his "artful, hysterical, disobedient hip-hop that you can dance to." Pitchfork has straightforwardly dubbed him "one of the best pure lyricists around." He writes regularly for The Huffington Post too. Done some stuff for Gawker.Support comes from Brighton band NORMANTON STREET - fusing soul, hip-hop and spoken word to moving and spiritual effect.... and wearing natty footwear.

Homeboy SandmanTHURSDAY 4TH JUNE

best foot forwardSATURDAY 6TH JUNEYou may recognise these guys from their DOWNTOWN MELTDOWN nights in The Forum and The Sussex Arms. Now planning on running Best Foot Forward parties over the summer (6 June, 11 July and 22 August), Roger says We want to invite other DJs to join us and help us create a real summer party/carnival/festival spirit this summer. Anyone who is interested in playing should get in touch on Twitter or Facebook. They will be playing soul, disco and funk with a bit of latin, early hip hop, afrobeat, boogaloo, reggae and some surprises thrown in. Put on your glad rags and come for a dance. @bfforward || facebook.com/bestfootforwardclub

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