From 7th – 16th of August in Duisburg and Calais!
Euro Rock 2011 - Calaisby Vicky Halliday
The bands ventured to Calais for the final leg of Euro Rock. Three gigs and a recording session was ahead of them and the tiredness was beginning to show! By day, the acts were recording the new material and by night they could showcase this at the venues around Calais.
The first night was at the Centre Culturel Gerard Philipe, which was like a giant sports hall - complete with family members and plastic chairs. Every band had increased in confidence so filled the huge stage and the Euro Rock bands were sounding like old pros. Sunday saw the guys play at Le Bacchus, a small bar with plenty of character, where most band members spilled out into the street - no doubt, surprising passers-by.
The final night was at L'Hovercraft and it was here where everyone got involved, everyone sang along, eveyone jammed and there was an overall party atmosphere. There was a special appearance by last year's French band, Povav, and from Peter Bursch for a blues jamming session, which saw Robert (from Label Jane) on guitar and Sam (from Lucky One Dies First) on drums. This truly was an amazing and chaotic end to an amazing and chaotic ten days.
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The one downside is that this had to end. Still, there's always next year...
Pictures
Euro Rock 2011 - 12th of August
by Vicky Halliday
Early moring on Friday 12th August, Euro Rock participants were bundled into their respective tour vans and we started the short trip to Oberhausen. Olgas Rock is a free, open-air festival which takes place every year and each year, the Euro Rock bands take part. Unfortunately, due to illness, Label Jane were unable to be involved, so, with a band down the boys forged onwards...
The weather was stunning, the crowds were enthusiastic and the Euro Rock guys were kicking some serious butt. All Euro Rock bands had really gelled and the new tracks were barely distinguishable from songs they had played for several years. Clearly, the language of music was doing the trick!
The Her Boyfriends (from Perm) were the first of the national bands. They built up their set slowly until they got to their cover of "Rock n Roll Queen" by The Subways. At this point the crowd had begun a mini mosh pit at the front, which was enough to put a smile on the face of singer, Roman. Next, the French band - Sons of Division, a hybrid of Calais bands After Fall and Calm Before Chaos - took to the stage. The songs are catchy but with enough balls for a proper wigfest, should you feel the urge. You would never know they are two bands, such is the tightness of the performance. Finally, English boys Lucky Ones Die First were up. They made enough noise to be heard back home in Portsmouth, the crowd formed a circle pit and the poor crocodile mascot was lost during its crowdsurfing experience. This was an amazing climax to an amazing day for the Euro Rockers and, to finish, many of the particpants took to the mic for a screeching rendition of "Hit The Wall".
Pictures
Euro Rock 2011 - 9th of August
by Vicky Halliday
Based on the twinning of Duisbu rg with cities from France, Russia and England Euro Rock takes place every year and new groups are formed from the participating cities, which results in an eclectic resulting band! Usually, these countries will only meet over football matches but Euro Rock aims to break down even more cultural and geographical barriers.
From day one, the individual band members have formed a strong bond with their new bandmates, over their love of music and their enjoyment of performing. Several songs have already been completed, despite the short timescale and within a matter of hours, they will be ready for airing.
This project is a fantastic way to get young people more involved in cultural activities and is a great example of European integration. There have been a few language barriers to overcome but this has be solved using the international methods of swearing, riffing and wild gesticulation :)
The groups taking part: Label Jane (Duisburg); Lucky One Dies First (Portsmouth); The Her Boyfriends (Perm) and Sons of Division (Calais) are currently beavering away at lyrics with their new bands, having written one, if not two, songs. We are heading off to Arcen (in the Netherlands) this afternoon and on Friday the existing bands, and the newbies, get to perform at the legendary Olgas Rock Festival in Oberhausen.
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Perhaps having them all live together in a small dorm was a bad idea. I am sure the locals are not fans of the constant racket but ask any partcipant how they are finding their experience and the resounding response is „brilliant“ A bit of noise is a small price to pay for such an exciting and worthwhile opportunity.
Whilst some of England has taken to the streets in widespread riots, the English boys are flying the flag over in Germany in a far more positive way! Building on the relationships that have been formed here, it is likely that these friendships will last a lifetime and who knows what these young musicians will achieve. Watch this space...
Very soon, in August 2011 the traditional Euro Rock Festival takes place in the city of Duisburg in cooperation with the music-educator Peter Bursch, also supported by Peavey.
Once again the City of Duisburg has invited three bands from their partner cities Portsmouth (Great Britain), Calais (France) and Perm (Russia). The groups will be completed by a young band from Duisburg (host).
For one week these bands will be working and playing together, also mixing the groups to create new international songs. For example, the drummer of Duisburg meets the guitarist from Portsmouth, the bassist plays with the singer from Perm.
Riffs and song-ideas will be tested and new compositions are developped. The lecturers Peter Bursch, Micki Meuser, Jan Rohlfing and the coach of singing Anja Lerch are available for the bands.
All participating Bands are from:
Duisburg: Label Jane
Portsmouth: Lucky One Dies First
Calais: After Around Chaos
Perm: The Her Boyfriends
Infos of the Bands can be found on 2011!
The Concerts are at:
- Tuesday, 9. August, at 8 a.m.: Graanbranderij “De Ijsvogel”, Arcen, Netherlands
- Wednesday, 10. August, at 8 a.m.: Parkhaus Meiderich, Duisburg
- Thursday, 11. August, at 8 a.m.: SOL Kulturbar, Mühlheim an der Ruhr
- Friday, 12. August, at 2 a.m.: Olgas Rock Festival, Oberhausen
- Saturday, 13. August: we travel to France and have a few concerts in and around Calais!!!
In the year of the European Capital of Culture 2010 EURO-ROCK took place in a specific manner:
In August 2010 ambitious young rock bands from the Ruhr Metropolis and talented new formations from Duisburg and its twin towns Portsmouth, Vilnius, Calais and Perm took apart. In an intensive 11 day workshop the original formations had dissolved and remixed into an All-European Band.
The "School of (Euro) Rock" has been set up in the Duisburg sports school in the suburb of Wedau, a venue used by the German football team to develop their team spirit. The young musicians will be sweating it out under the demands of a group of top teachers based around the musician and producer Micki Meuser (he has worked with bands like "Die Ärzte"), Anja Lerch and Jan Rohlfing. They will be joined by teachers from the other participating towns and countries. The artistic head of EURO ROCK is the legendary Peter Bursch, who has passed on his musical skills to at least three generations of guitarists. The international rock laboratory will not only be stirring things up in the sports school and in a number of clubs in the region. In order to ensure that the young musicians do not only spend the whole time working on rock music, they will also be given the opportunity to experience and think about European questions whilst exploring the rich cultural life of the Ruhr Metropolis in private.
Euro Rock 2010 was again an amazing event for all. Photos, Reports and the new EURO-Rock Songs you can find soon on 2010.
