The band is fronted by Peter Stebbing & he has the pleasure of being joined by Helen Michaelides on piano, Chris Prior on bass and Andy Dunn on drums.
Former band members have included: Dave Hyde (drums, now in The Futureheads), Allison Clough (bass, once in Comatose and Mavis, now a teacher), Richard Amundsen (guitar, now in This Ain't Vegas), David "Jaff" Craig (bass, piano, guitar, attitude, now in The Futureheads), Nick Jackson (drums, now working in London), Sarah McKeown (bass and piano, once in Rosita, now a teacher), Peter Brewis (drums, now, in Field Music) and Dave Brewis (bass, class, style, now in Field Music).
Influences
Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, The Pixies, Bob Dylan, The Band, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, The Velvet Underground, Third Planetarium, The Futureheads (!), Field Music (!), The Golden Virgins, AC/DC, Robert Johnson, The Sonics, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Greil Marcus, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Animal Collective, Bruce Springsteen...this list could go on forever!
Sounds Like
"Tender, bittersweet sentiments are delivered with ferocity and passion... These guys aren't acting. This shit is lifeblood." Great comments yet again from the NME in our first live review, September 2006
"A triumphant homecoming...from the top 10 hit in waiting Television to Silent Movie Curse, it was like a greatest hits set." The Crackenjoys our first shows in the cold North for over a year, September 2006
"Peter Stebbing is a fantastic songwriter, and sings songs about characters as varied as sound engineers, silent movie stars and trapeze artists." NMEnames drops while mentioning notable highlights of the Sunderland scene, August 2006
"Sempre liderats per Peter Stebbing, practiquen una barreja de pop-folk i post-punk. De Johnny Cash a The Velvet Underground, per exemple." Nos Envía Farelli Produccionson our Barcelona shows - we don't know what it means but we love them, July 2006
"Watching their considered, intellectual pop is like getting stoned with the school nerd; awkward, revealing and brilliant because of it." www.new-noise.netconstructs beautifulcompliments, July 2006
"Radar demo of the year (so far) - this is Chuck Berry singing Leonard Cohen songs, or Johnny Cash if he'd been bullied at school." NME raves about Silent Movie Curse EP, April 2006
"Brilliant nerd-pop from Sunderland, with reference points as diverse as proto Boston punkers The Modern Lovers, NY art stars Talking Heads and spoke word grump Alan Bennet. Needless to say, the end result is both whimsically idiosyncratic and ever so slightly special." NME loving Television EP, February 2006
"In an ecletic line up, The Amateur Dramatics are of a pop sensibility and they play songs of an irrepressibly catchy nature...The band appear to be on the way up." The Crack again giving us a great review, May 2005
"[Television] begins as something of a Velvet Underground pastiche and becomes yet more kooky and irrepressibly catchy", Repeat Review loves "Television" on the Twice The Town You'll Ever Be compilation, March 2005
"It's the sound of Mark E Smith and Justine Frischmann's illegitimate love child throwing Elvis Shapes before a dusty mirror...they simply couldn't be more alluring if they tried." The Crack tells it how it is way back when, February 2003
After a years absence, The Amateur Dramatics have returned to dazzle the UK music scene with their twisted combination of lo-fi indie rock, punk-fuelled folk and über-cool cabaret. The overall effect is a disturbing mix of The Velvet Underground and Bright Eyes, with quirky lyrics spat out in a vicious Mackem accent. Rave reviews for 2005's Television EP ('whimsically idiosyncratic and ever so slightly special'-NME, 'kooky and irrepressibly catchy'-Repeat Review) have been followed by loud cries of appreciation for 2006's Silent Movie Curse EP (Radar demo of the year NME), garnering local and national airplay. With a new line up replacing members of The Futureheads and Field Music, the band have enjoyed a busy summer, treating London and Barcelona to electric performances, while their first North East shows for more than a year were nothing short of a triumph ('Tender, bittersweet sentiments are delivered with ferocity and passion'-NME, 'a triumphant home coming'-The Crack). They head back to the studio to start work on new material, before heading off on some sort of European jaunt next year.
"blending low-level hip-hop beats with Scorn-esque bass and elonated guitar riffs to remarkable effect. . . it's that awesome. . . the music is superb, the artwork and packaging equally good. . . [it's] warped shuffling genius. 300% necro, foo'! (5/5)" (Zero Tolerance magazine).
Necro Deathmort's This Beat Is Necrotronic is released on Distraction Records on August 31st, but you can get your hands on it for FREE (on a 'if you like it, why not buy the CD?' basis) in all of its 320kps mp3 glory at distractionrecords.com!
KEVIN BLECHDOM - NEW ALBUM !!! OUT NOW !!!! OMG !!!
GENTLEMANIA!! GENTLEMANIA!! GENTLEMANIA!! GENTLEMANIA!!
An acoustic album chock full of palpitating love songs.
Kevin Blechdom plays piano and sings.
Available NOW on Sonig and on iTunes.
www.itunes.com/kevinblechdom/gentlemania
The Best Indie and Unsigned Talent on the planet is at flashrock.com 100% free community services for Bands and their Fans! Hope you'll stop in and see us soon ;)
Activities begin at 1pm at The Place, in Athenaeum St, Sunniside, with Maximo Park’s Duncan Lloyd's 'Songwriting Masterclass'.
Jim Mawdsley, CEO of Generator and Director of The Evolution Festival leads a 'Live Music Promoter Workshop' from 3pm.
Then, from 6pm, an A&R panel session will take place featuring reps from 1965 Records, EMI, Universal and XL Records.
The SMF AGM will directly precede the A&R session.
If your music requires attention, bring along a CD to receive individual feedback on a first come-first served basis!!!!
Following the day’s events at The Place, The White Room in Holmeside will host the evening’s live show, featuring Frankie & The Heartstrings, U-U, The Wooden Spoons and Widows. Doors open at 8pm.
Admission for all events is free but limited and subject to advance booking. For more information contact joe@generator.org.uk or call 0191 2450099 ext 4 or The Sunderland Music Forum on 01915671777.
Activities begin at 1pm at The Place, in Athenaeum St, Sunniside, with Maximo Park’s Duncan Lloyd's 'Songwriting Masterclass'.
Jim Mawdsley, CEO of Generator and Director of The Evolution Festival leads a 'Live Music Promoter Workshop' from 3pm.
Then, from 6pm, an A&R panel session will take place featuring reps from 1965 Records, EMI, Universal and XL Records.
The SMF AGM will directly precede the A&R session.
If your music requires attention, bring along a CD to receive individual feedback on a first come-first served basis!!!!
Following the day’s events at The Place, The White Room in Holmeside will host the evening’s live show, featuring Frankie & The Heartstrings, U-U, The Wooden Spoons and Widows. Doors open at 8pm.
Admission for all events is free but limited and subject to advance booking. For more information contact joe@generator.org.uk or call 0191 2450099 ext 4 or The Sunderland Music Forum on 01915671777.
Just letting you know I have uploaded some tracks from my debut album "Ambivalence" now avaliable for PRE- ORDER
So if you get a chance swing by to check them out.
You can also check out my now live official Todd Robinson website where you can pre-order the "Ambivalence" album, check tour dates,watch videos, learn my songs with full tab, check out my bio and gear and much much more
Are you coming to the Sunderland Music Forum meeting tonight at 'The Place', in Sunniside? It starts at 6pm, and give us all a chance to discuss what's going on musically in Sunderland. There will also be a chance to network over a bite of buffet and a drink afterwards.
After that, there is a great gig on at The White Room. It's The Chapman Family, The Angloform, plus Billy Bloodaxe, at The White Room from 8pm.
