local art.photography.writing.music

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hello.

welcome to LZxBACCHUS

this is a special edition of LZ,

made in collaboration with BACCHUS.

its innards feature some works shown

at the latest Bacchus event held at

LAMP on the 23rd Feb under the theme

‘ifs, maybe’s and unknowns’, as well

as some not yet exhibited.

we hope you enjoy,

LZ & BACCHUS

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Birthed

Naked and bloody into the amber hours

We cut our knees on the cobbles,

Fumbling for something to hold

Young lungs piled up were set alight for sacrifice,

Burning in the back of the burnt out rooms,

Bodies, sweating through seizures, seething a steady stench of doom

Under the five hour flicker, young boys

Crucified

Emaciated

Genitals throbbing and blue, snapping in the zone

Screaming through a blood lust for another

Another hold

Another home

And the pigeon breasted prince,

Starved and shadowed, flicks pennies to the dark

A starved shadow of himself

Next door a virgin's vomit is being heated up on a spoon

Served out in cups every week

Good for the bones

Good for the bones

She's dried up by the river now

Singing to a never never daddy on his two plank raft

Fishing for stars

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I-A NIGHT BY MYSELF IN THE RIBBLE (EXCERPT FROM THE WOUNDS)

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THE FALL AND RISE OF LEGENDS OF THE

WHITNASH STATE CIRCUS

The first coming of Legends of the Whitnash State Circus

was, on paper, an inauspicious one. The Leamington-based,

self-described electro-pop-punk-cabaret duo formed in

2005, played four shows in 2006, and disbanded, known only

to a handful of people and with no music available in the

public sphere. A very brief review by Café Create’s Steve

Tilley would have been the only notice of their existence

that you could have found from Silicon Valley’s best-known

search engine.

In my mind, they were the best band Leamington Spa has ev-

er produced. This is my chapter in their story.

As a naïve 17yr old playing solo for the first time at The

Robbins’ Well as part of Leam ‘n’ Aid 2006, I sat in the

basement (or as it was for one day, the “acoustic stage”)

watching the duo of Samantha Tongue and Peter Ormerod as

they bewitched me with their aforementioned electro-pop-

punk-cabaret. Their songs were melodic, literate and

thrillingly adult, which for a 17yr old was a big selling

point.

There weren’t many bands I was listening to at the time

that could combine a chirpy waltz-time melody with lyrics

about threatening beating someone up for a friend (“Flower

of Southtown”), whilst retaining a quality and charm that

wasn’t to be found in the town’s indie scene at the time.

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We struck up a friendship and I became an apprentice in

the ways of being a Legend, with a personal biography ac-

corded to allies of the “State”.

Two more Legends shows followed – a short, but glorious

Cafe Create set, and a headline show in Hector’s House

(The Talbot on Rushmore Street)…and then they are no more.

A couple of lines announced their demise. It was a sudden

and disappointing end to the first coming of the Whitnash

State Circus.

Fast forward to 2013. I write a Tumblr post on my memories

of those three shows and the paths they’d taken since. It

makes its way to Sam and Peter who, rather amazingly, reu-

nite off the back of it. A demo is recorded with Andy Mort

(Atlum Schema) and makes its way onto the web by the

year’s end. A return to Cafe Create – still hosted by Ste-

ve, but now in the leafy confines of Nailsea, North Somer-

set – in January was their first live show in nearly eight

years. From the ascending intro of “Fairground” to the

stark beauty of “Clarendon Square”, it was well worth the

wait.

Legends of the Whitnash State Circus perform at the Pic-

turehouse, Stratford-upon-Avon, on Sunday 16th March. They

are the best Leamington band going. Don’t miss them this

time around.

Robin Jax performs under the name RobinPlaysChords. Leg-

ends of the Whitnash State Circus’ demo can be heard at

bit.ly/LSWC_SC

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MIDLANDS MUSIC

Our examination of local music continues with the dark

and brooding art rock of Vana.

After existing for years under a variety of names,

ranging from Triple Skeleton to Paris Syndrome, it’s

only in the last 6 months that they have been re-born,

re-christened and re-invigorated as Vana. Although it

may be a slight stretch to bring this band under the

Midlands Music banner, with two members currently re-

siding in the capital, this is a band with strong roots

in Leamington, having played shows supporting Jaws and

Post War Glamour Girls at the Zephyr, and having rec-

orded their recent material at the nearby 14 Records.

And it’s this recent material that has been turning

heads of late—a dark and inventive amalgamation of Joy

Division’s taut basslines, The Cure’s vocals and the

squalling guitars of Liars or early Radiohead. Lit-

erate and complex, the songs find their edge in the

everyday anxiety of outsider twenty somethings, often

brooding and claustrophic until the tension is relieved

via a cacophonous breakdown and swirling feedback.

With a host of art rock gems under their belt and new

songs on the way they’re a band hitting their stride,

amd are well worth checking out when they headline the

Zephyr Lounge on the 28th February.

soundcloud.com/vana-music

facebook.com/thebandvana

A small selection of what’s on in the local area, check

out individual venue websites for more. If you’d like to

have your event featured please get in touch.

24th Feb

Reckless Comedy – LAMP – 8pm

26th Feb

Beats and Bars – Acoustic Music/Poetry – Zephyr Lounge

7.30pm

27th Feb

Roots To Shoots – short film – LAMP 7.30pm

LUC Film Bingo – The Cask and Bottle 7.30pm

Fascinating Aida – comedy/cabaret – Warwick Arts Centre

8pm

28th Feb

Vana + Mirrorhall – artrock/post punk – Zephyr Lounge

7.30pm

1st Mar

Satsangi + Electric Spivs – psych/indie/funk – LAMP 8pm

2nd Mar

The Second Episode Music Project – world/fusion – LAMP

7.30pm

Andrew Lawrence – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre 7.30pm

4th Mar

Barnstormers Comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm

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LISTINGS

5th Mar

Batsch + Lucy Anne Sale – indie/jazz/ - LAMP 7.30pm

6th Mar

The Magic Christian – film screening – LAMP 7.30pm

7th March

Eli Stone + Shanade + Bunsen Hunny – acoustic/folk – LAMP

7.30pm

Jimmy Carr – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 8pm

David Baddiel – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre – 7.30pm

8th Mar

Buzzcocks – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

Gary Delaney – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm

9th Mar

Attila the Stockbroker – poetry – LAMP 2pm

Drink and Draw – arts/creative – LAMP 8pm

Wooden Horse + Midnight Bonfires – country/blues - Warwick

Arts Centre 7.45pm

10th Mar

Get The Blessing – jazz/electronica – Warwick Arts Centre

7.45pm

11th Mar

Intermittent Listening – poetry/film – LAMP 8pm

The Stranglers – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

12th Mar

Off The Record – indie/alt clubnight – Zephyr Lounge 10pm

Wittank presents: The School – sketch comedy – Warwick

Arts Centre 7.45pm 13

13th Mar

John Bramwell (I Am Kloot) – singer/songwriter – Assembly

Rooms – 7pm

Rob Beckett – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm

Tom Wrigglesworth – comedy – Warwick Arts Centre 7.45pm

14th Mar

Official Receivers – soul/funk - Zephyr Lounge – 7.30pm

Luke Concannon + Jimmy Davis – acoustic/folk – LAMP 8pm

Billy Davies – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.30pm

15th Mar

Clever Peter – sketch comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm

19th Mar

UFO – heavy metal/hard rock – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

20th Mar

The Selecter – 2 Tone/ska – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

Jo Caulfield – comedy – Royal Spa Centre – 7.45pm

21st Mar

The Young Knives – indie/rock – Zephyr Lounge – 7.30pm

Two Man Ting + Jabba Cartel – world/electronica – LAMP 8pm

22nd Mar

Dub Pistols – hiphop/dub – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

Grass Routes + Electrik Custard – indie/rock – LAMP 7.30pm

23rd Mar

Stiff Little Fingers – punk – Assembly Rooms – 7pm

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contributors:

Imogen frost (1/5) imogenfrost.com

miri vogler (3)

amelia ryan (4)

jessica haynes (6)

ali ceurvorst (7)

tom crompton (8)

robin jax (9/10)

alex wells (11)

lottie titcombe (15)

leamingtonzine@gmail.com:

questions and contributions get sent

here

facebook.com/leamingtonzine

facebook.com/bacchus.leam

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