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What the papers had to say!!
Heap Big Change
Fans of local Band Trash Heap Heroes were stunned by rumours that the band had called it a day, but they need not despair - the trio will be back.
The Teenagers will return to the pub scene in April with a new member, new tunes and a new name , LOST BREED.
The popular punk band who had their last gig at the Woodkirk vValley Country Club drew an audience of more than 200, have decided to have a complete change of direction.
Scrapping their 16 song playlist which was inspired by the likes of Green Day, Nirvana and Blink 182 they are looking to create a more mature rock sound.
Lead singer Nathan Snowden, 18, said "We are going for a different, more professional sound, more rock and more melodic, a sound we know people will like"
The decision was not taken lightly as it involves writting new music and songs and risking their established fan base.
Nath said "We were pleased with what we achieved with Trash Heap Heroes but before we got more serious we sat down and talked and decided we had taken it as far as it could go"
And their acheivements since they formed two years agoare not to be sneezed at. They have played 60 gigs, can be heard regularly on local radio, have been reviewed in national music publications LMS and Random, established their own independant label and produced a CD called Let's Go which sold 300 copies in just three months.
But Nath added that they wanted to lose their reputation as a band with very young fans and expand out to new venues reluctant to stage punk bands.
"But we are not changing to meet the market" Paul Heppenstall, 19, hastilyt added "That is totaly what we are against. We want to play the music we want to play and which will be popular with the people we want to play for"
Before making their decision they had found themselves playing more rock in practices and they believe this will attract a broader audience and enable them to appear at new venues across the region.
Now Brothers Mark and Paul Heppenstall and Nath Snowden have been joined by guitarist Richard Thornton foormerly of Dub City have penned three new songs and are looking forward to a bright future. They will be appearing at the Albion Pub on Bridge Street on April 19th.
By Erica Madelin, Morley Observer. 9th January 2003.
Last weekend saw the first Morley Battle of the Bands and proved to all that attended that this was not a one off event and that the future of the Morley Battle of the bands is secure. Over 300 people turned out over a period of two days to watch sixteen bands compete for the ultimate prize in the local music scene. The event was opened with a speech from the Mayor, who as shown great support for this event, and appreciated the great array of talent that was shown on display.
The bands for the event were: (Saturday) Landslide - Who Shot Jerry? - The Good, the Bad, the Fat and the Ugly - Awkward Silence - Eborsisk - Mizkarrage Of Justice - Saw Throat - Dub City (Sunday) Esclavage - Fifth Goodbye - Trash Heap Heroes - Sibling - Stroodle - Porcelin - The Blueskins - Misled Vision.
This event was full of talent and potential. Saw Throat produced the highlight of Saturday's entertainment, with a superb performance. They opened with an excellent rock version of Tubular Bells. A solid performance with superb vocals from frontman, Carl Thomson, this band not only has a great sound but great potential, their cover songs seem to be the bands main songs, however apart from those, they played some excellent original material, which needs to come to the forefront of the band if they're to move to the next step. Saw Throat are all excellent at what they do and deservedly took home the trophy for best band.
In second place, came the much hyped-up Porcelin, their commercial rock style gets much support locally. Frontman Egen, is a very talented singer and has the presence on stage of an early Liam Gallagher. The band has many excellent original songs, however they lacked the solidity of Saw Throat to take home the ultimate prize, although, Porcelin did more original songs and to were very unlucky not to beat Saw Throat on the grounds that Porcelin's best songs were originals. A magnificent performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd's old classic, 'Sweet Home Alabama' brought the house to the ground and pleased the judges. Porcelin are one of the top local bands and won second place for their all round excellent performance.
Who Shot Jerry? were the surprise band of the event taking third place in the competition. This ska band were the only band of that genre to play the event. With a solid sound and good melodies, this band impressed the judges. Coming third, this band has great potential, but is not yet ready for the kind of credentials that this award brings. A band for the future, watch this space.Awkward Silence are one of Morley's more established bands and showed their quality in this performance. They have taken time of over the last few months to write new material and integrate a new guitarist into the band. Awkward Silence now look hungrier to play than ever, and a rip roaring spectacle so early on in the event was one of the performances of the weekend which was rewarded by their coming fourth.
All the bands who performed had a certain amount of quality and we have seen so much skill and good music on display this weekend. It proves to everyone that Morley has a thriving music scene. Sixteen bands over days in one place, this was a magnificent weekend, and shall be the first of many annual Morley Battle of the Bands.
After a hard weekend of rocking, the event was chilled by Chapel Allerton Battle of the Bands winner, Dr Strangemoose. This superb band were a folk and blues band, it was an excellent gig and we thank Dr Strangemoose for their performance. Although the female singer diverted much of the male section of the audience's attention, everyone appreciated the quality of this band.
The Mayor came to the stage one last time for the presentation, the prizes were as follow:
1. Saw Throat 2. Porcelin 3. Who Shot Jerry? 4. Awkward Silence
Carl Thomson - Saw Throat (Best Vocalist) / Jamie Goodhall - Eborsisk (Best Guitarist) / James 'Doz' Dorree - Porcelin (Best Bassist) / Chris - Awkward Silence (Best Drummer)
Morley Council would like to pay special thanks to everybody's support over the weekend, and would also like to thank the audience for their attendance and donating so superbly to next years' event.
We want Morley to be the centre of the Leeds Music Scene, and this weekend has certainly shown that Morley has more quality in music than just your average local town. Let's make next year's event bigger and better... KEEP ON ROCKIN'!
Article also posted on the Leeds Music Scene website by (c)Micheal Starkey 2002 check out www.leedsmusicscene.com
Town Hall rocks to sound of Battle..
Article from Morley Observer dated Thursday November 14th written by Sarah Carey.
Morley Town Hall was rocking as war commenced between 16 local bands over the two day battle of the bands.
Saw Throat were the stars of the weekend, carrying off the trophy for best band and singer Karl Thompson also awarded the title of best vocalist.
The Morley four piece also walked away with prizes including 200 pounds, a weekends recording with The House of Mook and a headlining gig at Woodkirk Valley. This catagory was sponsored by Morley Chamber of Trade, Morley Lions, The House of Mook and Inspirations.
The trophy for best vocalist was sponsored by Happy Saks with a 25 pounds prize from Morley Town Council,
Valley Road Studios provided prizes for the runners up which included Porcelin [2nd], Who Shot Jerry in third place and Awkward Silence in fourth place.
The Observer and Purple Haze sponsored Best Drummer which was awarded to Chris from Awkward Silence by Sarah Carey from the Morley Observer, with the Queen Street News trophy for Best Bassist going to James Dorree [Doz] from Porcelin. James also recieved a bassist pack from Morley Town Council.
Jamie Goodall of Eborsisk carried of the Music Ground and KYRO award for best guitarist and for his unusual role as a dancer with STROODLE, Jason Skeet was presented with the Chalies Joint Trophy for best performer.
A special trophy for Community support was also presented by Morley Chamber of trade to the five young organisers of the contest- Sam Matthews, Joe Arnott, Chris Slinn, Jamie Goodall and Jason Skeet- who between them secured 7,050 pounds from the Millenium Commission and 500 pounds from Morley Town Council to fund the event.
Coun Jane Arnott [Lab, Topcliffe] who helped with the organisation, said "It's been a brilliant weekend. we had a massive turn out throughout the weekend" " I want to thank Coun Judith Elliott, all the judges, Chris Bertram who did the sound, the sponsors, the bands and their families who supported us, but most of all the 100's of young people who came along and gave their support" She added that all the bands {Landslide, Who Shot Jerry, The Good, The Bad, The Fat and The Ugly; Awkward Silence; Eborsisk; Mizkarrage of Justice; saw Throat; Dub City; Esclavage; Fifth Goodbye;Trash Heap Heroes; Sibling; Stroodle; Porcelin; The Blueskins; and Misled Vision] were all winners and should be very proud of the performances they had given.
The Mayor of Morley, Coun Judith Elliott- who opened the event also presented the awards and called in throughout the the event - said " I was very pleased to have been at the event. It was a very special occasion for Morley, which brought together people of all ages. The audience and musicians were marvellous and it was wonderful to see such talented young people being able to put all their hard work to good use and perform to their peers and friends"
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Saw Throat set to Soar.
By Sarah Carey. Morley Observer- 14.11.02.
The Winners of Morley's Battle of the Bands have shown they are cutting edge- after being asked to perform at next years Leeds Festival.
Four peice alternative group, Saw Throat, said they were 'buzzing' when they heard the news that they were being given the chance to perform on the back of their win, as one of the area's best new bands.
Made up of singer/ guitarist Karl Thompson, 21 of Drighlington, bassist Steve Ramsden, 21 of Morley, lead guitarist Craig Johnston, 21, of Morley and drummer Ant Medd of Weaverthorpe nr York, the band have dominated the local scene for the last five years.
The band say that though they are influenced by and could be compared to Muse, The Deftones. The Foo Fighters and Nirvana, they sound nothing like any of them.
Seven months ago they narrowly missed being signed by Mushroon Records, after their former drummer left just two weeks before the showcase.
But now, complete with Ant, who has been with the band for six months- they are being given another chance and hope to be signed within the next few months.
plans are also well underway for a four month tour of America which they hope will take place early next year.
Karl, who alos picked up the trophy for best vocalist, said: "To be honest between now and then we are hoping to have got to the point where we are moving on. We don't always want to be a local band and we have been going long enough to have developed enough to do something more with ourselves"
That said, the four were ecstatic with their 'Battle' win, particularly since it was only their second full gig since Ant joined them.
Karl said: "There was a lot of pressure on us before the competition, because we had loads of people coming up to us and telling us that there was no way we were not going to win. It bothered us quite a lot that they thought we were automatically going to win, because it was only our second full real gig in months and we were up against really good bands. We really put a lot of work into Saturday and it pais off. We were nervous all day but once we got up there we loved it".
Saw Throat were also full of praise for their competitors, saying they had all given each other their full support throughout the event.
Craig said:"It was nice to be backed up by the people we were meant to be in 'competition' with. We have all been in bands and are all aiming for the same thing. We particilarly want to thank Awkward Silence and Esclavage for their support"
The lads are now making full use of their prize- which was sponsored by Morley Chamber of Trade, Morley Lions, House of Mook and Inspirations.- and heading for the House of Mook to record their fourth EP.
They will also be headlining a gig at Woodkirk Valley- the details of which have yet to be confirmed- and putting their 200 pounds prize money to good use.
Fans can catch up with the band at The Cross Keys, morley, on November 30; as headliners of a charity gig at Bruntcliffe High School to raise funds for a minibus for special needs children on December 10th: The Hayworth, Hull, on December 20th and Rio's in Bradford on December 27th.
They have also been invited by Leeds Festival Promoters, Mean Fiddler, to play at The Garage in London.
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