Homework: 30 January 2003

The Warlords of Pez premiered three tracks on the Dave Fanning and Jay Ahern shows last week entitled ‘Clippoty Clop’, a new longer version of ‘Do the Zombie’ and ‘Donald Duck Death Metal’. What’s more, if you text “Zombie” to 087 6506085 you’ll receive your very own Warlords ring tone. Nifty.

Not to be outdone, the special offer The Tycho Brahe announced for their first headliner was that the first 50 punters would be able to sit near the front. How generous.

The twelfth Road Relish Singles Club release will combine the poptastic talents of The Chalets and NeoSuperVital.

Gregor57 ended a three years plus spell in the wilderness with the unveiling of new member and Folkrum recording artist Peter Maybury at The Ballroom of Romance which will have its own web site soon.

The debut Settler album, Life Upstream, is available on the wonderfully named Fairview House Records on these shores and on Brown Star in the USA. Maybe they should join forces with Bright Star Recordings. Barry Phipps of The Coctails helped mix the album and Nora O’Connor, who has sung with the Handsome Family and the New Pornographers, amongst others, helped out on backing vocals.

Adrian Crowley (pictured) is planning to record a third album this year. In the meantime, there will be a double-sided single on Jonathon Whiskey this spring and maybe a split single with Nad Navillus.

As you may know, in addition to The Frames and Woodstar, The Redneck Manifesto, The Jimmy Cake, Daemien Frost, Joan Of Arse, The Connect 4 Orchestra and Estel have all been invited to play the South by South West music Festival in Austin, Texas in March as part of an Alpha Relish showcase.

To raise a few funds to make it to Texas, Alpha Relish held a few fundraising bashes in the Sugar Club under the Sugar & Spikes banner. The Connect 4 Orchestra, Formika, Manitoba, and Giraffe Running – a new project featuring Hag from Daemien Frost and Greg from Joan of Arse – all mucked in. Greg Barrett has also joined Daemien Frost to give them a devastating two-pronged bass attack mechanism. The Frost hope to do a two-week tour of France, Switzerland and Italy in March and record their new album in Lyon.

Sugar Club regulars The Camembert Quartet have released their debut album Music is War. Estel will record their new album with Stephen Shannon in his brand new studio at the start of February. Stephen is one third of HalfSet and involved in Audiodelic and has recorded Jeff Martin and Large Mound in addition to the Estel debut.

The artist formerly known as Schroeder’s Cat, henceforth known as Schroedersound, releases a two track ten-inch on Martha Digs, ‘Brailowsky’/‘Lavendermist.’ Schroeder man Simon Kenny also produced the Headgear album.

Everyone’s favourite Mungret boys Woodstar will have two tracks on the forthcoming Embrace album which is being compiled by Jon Richards of Galway Bay FM. The Texan-bound dream poppers also got not just one but two tracks into Tom Dunne’s Witnness Rising countdown of 2002 as voted by the listeners. First single ‘Time to Bleed’ was number six while ‘Dumb Punk Song’ made it to number two.