A 'slam-up knees-up' for all ages

I ask Beth Chequers to describe Tongue & Groove, the Lewes-based band she sings with. Her answer is packed with the enthusiasm of a fan. “A crazy, fun, function party band who are up for anything”, she says. “Great musicians with a really good front man.” And the type of music? “We have disco, funk, soul, a little bit of chart and a little bit of ‘dad rock’ in there. If you want to have a good slam-up knees-up party, everyone's going to sing along – whether they're 11 or 104.”

Anyone who’s seen Tongue & Groove is likely to echo Beth’s passion. Led by Phil ‘The Fox’ Rhodes, the band is renowned for more than just its music. “We dress up the stage as well as ourselves”, explains Beth. “Phil likes to vomit rainbow everywhere, wherever he goes.”

The band had already been together for a few years when Beth joined. She’d known Phil as one of the lecturers from her course at Sussex Downs College in Lewes – “a crazy guy with a ginger afro who made incredible stuff” – when one of her other tutors told her Phil’s band needed a backing singer.

“It was New Year's Eve four years ago when I was 18. I went there with no rehearsal and felt really out of place but everyone was so warm and welcoming. After the gig Phil said ‘Right, you're in the band, I'll email you when the next gig is’ and paid me. It was lovely.”

Having completed her college course at Lewes, Beth’s currently studying for a degree at Brighton Institute of Modern Music. She also teaches performing arts at two schools, runs a choir, is in another band called Retro Ladies and is a professional session singer as well. “All of that has helped pay for Uni, which is pretty good. Every single job I do is fun – most of the time. I think I'm very lucky and very blessed to have that.”

Teaching is particularly close to her heart. “I love the confidence that children can get from singing. I have a child in my class who didn’t ever speak outside home and now speaks in my class. I got her to sing before she would talk. Singing's a magical thing.”

The next opportunity to hear Tongue & Groove in action is at the annual Midsummer Pool Party at Pells Pool this month. “It's crazy”, promises Beth. “Fire, light, explosions. Every year Phil is like ‘What else can I do?’ I'm convinced one year he'll somehow make himself fly, just for Pells Pool. He will achieve it. He's a health and safety nightmare."

What about Beth’s longer-term plans? “Whatever I do, it will be in music forever – and I definitely want to utilise teaching because I love doing it. I want to be my own boss and make my own rules. If I want to walk away from it I can… and if I want to stick to it and make it something magical, I will.”

Midsummer Pool Party, Pells Pool, Sat 21. Music from 5pm, main event from 7.30pm. Tickets £6/£3, £15 family of four, from Pells kiosk or Union Music.

First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 93 June 2014.

Four years of jazz at The Snowdrop

Pub jazz on a Monday night. I’d anticipated a few middle-aged men sipping their pints and nodding sagely, but instead The Snowdrop Inn was packed with drinkers, diners and a couple of dancers. They were enjoying the syncopated stylings of Quinto, a trio with Terry Seabrook playing keyboards, Tristan Banks on drums and the irrepressible Raul D’Olivera taking care of trumpet, vocals and some extra percussion.

What's so special about this type of music?  "It goes back to Dizzy Gillespie, who played with Charlie Parker", explained Terry. "They sort-of founded 'bebop' in the 1940s. Dizzy Gillespie also developed something that's become known as 'cubop', which is Cuban/bebop fusion jazz. It’s very rhythmic, it's great fun to play and of course it's great to dance to."

Terry Seabrook has been organising weekly jazz sessions at The Snowdrop for the past four years, which means he's been there almost as long as owners Tony Leonard and Dominic McCarten. Born in London, he didn’t consider a musical career until he moved to Brighton. "I went to the University of Sussex to study science in the late 70s but found myself playing music all the time so I switched course". As part of his new curriculum he spent a year in New York where he gained a "jazz education" at the acclaimed Eastman School of Music. "When I came back and finished my music degree, I became a piano tuner and got into professional playing quite slowly. Along the way I've had a lot of good breaks. I started working with a great American jazz singer called Joe Lee Wilson and we did US State Department tours. We went to Iraq before the Americans fell out with Saddam, and we went to Romania just before Ceausescu fell. He had a theory that we were covers for spy operations!"

Terry's talents have also seen him composing for television programmes and TV commercials, although these days he's spending more time teaching and playing. There's his work with Quinto - "I've worked with these guys for years" - there's a six-piece Latin group named Cubana Bop currently touring the UK, plus there's a tribute to Miles Davis called Milestones. "We play the music from Kind of Blue, which is the iconic jazz album of all time, and we also do original music inspired by Miles Davis."

Much like the jazz he plays, Terry has no time for standing still. His Monday nights at The Snowdrop are attracting bigger and bigger names. "The last year we've started having guests from the national jazz scene. We've had people like Alan Barnes, Jim Mullen, guitarist Nigel Price and Dick Pearce, a trumpet player who used to play with Ronnie Scott. As well as this, Tony and Dominic have recently agreed to run The Roebuck Inn in Laughton, so I’m hoping we can arrange a jazz weekend there during the summer."

Alongside those plans, Terry’s busy at home too. "I've just acquired a new grand piano, so I'm enjoying playing that. It sounds brilliant but I can't take it out on gigs!"

First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 90 March 2014.

The Damned's pioneer of punk

The guitarist who wrote the UK’s first punk rock single isn’t showing any signs of stopping. “Nah. Why? There’s always songs buzzing round your head. You just wanna get them out and then more songs come along. It’s like breathing.”

Back in 1976, Brian James got together with drummer Rat Scabies to form The Damned with Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian. Later came a variety of projects, including a world tour with Iggy Pop and the creation of supergroup The Lords of the New Church as well as recording with Stuart Copeland and Clem Burke.

I asked whether all this change had been a deliberate choice. “It just works out that way. Like with the punk thing, each band had their own style. But when anything starts becoming popular, business starts taking it over. You have other bands coming along, just copying the first bands. Once the clothes become a uniform, I wanna do something different.”

“I can’t be stuck with the same four people because there comes a time when you’ve used things up. I’m not opposed to having a regular line-up but I’ll always drift off to play with players who I think are going to inspire me.”

Brian’s current band is simply called The Brian James Gang. Does this mean he’s now the boss?

“I write the songs. I call the shots. I take the blame. I’ve got to the age now where I’m not willing to give into other people’s demands too much. For instance, I’m recording an album at the moment and there are three drummers on it. I like to use the right musician for the job, really.”

A few years ago Brian moved to the south coast, thanks in part to the enthusiasm of former bandmate and Brighton resident Captain Sensible. Is he a fan of any local bands?

“There are some interesting players about. There’s no particular bands I’d say ‘That band is fantastic’ except for the Prinzhorn Dance School, who are playing with us in Lewes. I found myself being a kind-of mentor to singer Tobin Prinz. He met Suzi Horn and they’ve gone from strength to strength. You can’t really describe any music — it’s in the ear of the beholder — but they’re something different. That’s the reason they’re playing with us.”

So what should we expect in Lewes?

“A bit of fun, a bit of rock ‘n’ roll. I’m going to do a few acoustic numbers with pianist Mark Taylor. After that, the Prinzhorn Dance School are going to come on and play some songs. Then I’m going to come on with The Brian James Gang and make one hell of a row.”

Definitely no sign of stopping.

The Brian James Gang and Prinzhorn Dance School play Lewes Con Club at 8pm on November 22, 2013. Promoted by Lewes Musical Express.

First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 86 November 2013.

Singing in Waldshut-Tiengen

"Most stereotypes about Germany are true. We eat Black Forest gateau at every rehearsal. And in our new video we're all wearing moustaches."

Bass guitarist Christian ‘Rombini’ Rombach from German pop/rock group Der Joshi und Seine Crew doesn't always take interviews seriously. The four-piece band - Joshi, Rombini, Mag and Tomtom - are playing a special gig at the All Saints Centre this month. They're from Waldshut-Tiengen, which is twinned with Lewes, and will be performing with local musicians The Ouse Valley Collective on Fri 4. They’ve also been involved in the WTpur multimedia show that’ll present a cinematic look around Lewes and its German sibling on the following night.

But Rombini becomes much more earnest when he starts to describe his home. "It's a beautiful little town in the very south of Germany", he tells me. "There's no Autobahn and you have to drive really slowly through the Black Forest". While we have Harveys beer, he sings the praises of the nearby Rothaus brewery and Schwarzwälder Schnäpse (think 'fruit brandy' and you won't be far wrong). And although there's nothing quite like Bonfire Night, locals enjoy a festival known as Chilbi in the old city of Waldshut during August and another called Schwyzertag in the Tiengen area during July. "Both celebrate not being destroyed by the Swiss in medieval times" is my brief history lesson from Rombini.

Having talked about German delights, I wondered what Rombini expected from English cuisine. "Well, I googled 'Englisches Essen' and the first article was about English food being greasy and boring. That sounded great because it reminded me of our band."

Ah yes, the band - which is far from greasy or boring in reality, as various online videos demonstrate. They've been together since 2008, which makes this a 5th anniversary tour. The account of their initial meeting (according to Rombini) is prosaic to the point of unbelievability. "Der Joshi is a guy from Waldshut-Tiengen who was wandering around with his guitar and his really big nose. He was playing solo and found himself a new backing band for every gig... but got tired of looking for musicians and now he's stuck with us. Or we're stuck with him." I imagine Joshi tells a very different story.

On the subject of talking, I can't help but notice Rombini has a considerably better grasp of English than my command of his native language. "I learned English at school and try to improve it by watching movies and TV series in English", he explains. So if you want to return the favour by brushing up on your German or simply fancy dancing the night away, I can suggest no better opportunity than Friday evening with Joshi and his Crew. Alles klar?

Der Joshi und Seine Crew and The Ouse Valley Collective, All Saints Centre, Fri 4, 7.30pm. facebook.com/djusc

First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 85 October 2013.