Hi all, we're celebrating the release of our Gate Custard CD with a full (hopefully) performance on the 28th Jan at Escape Bar West, 174 Goldhawk Rd, W12 8HJ (10 minutes walk from Shepherds Bush Green) for the first of what we're hoping will be a series of Gate hosted gig nights. Open to all. If you wanna stream (or buy) the CD beforehand head here. See you there?
Jamaica at the Robyn’s Rocket-EFG Jazz Festival 2019
Last Thursday 21st November, the Gate’s improvised group, Jamaica, took part in Robyn’s Rocket-EFG Jazz Festival Edition at Café Oto. This is a prestigious music venue, London’s melting pot of avant-garde and experimental music where great jazz musicians and improvisers such as Sun Ra Arkestra, Peter Brotzmann, Evan Parker and Art Ensemble of Chicago play regularly.
It was a special night, the cosmic atmosphere full of outer space decorations were crowned by the projections of Rucksak Cinema and live drawings by the Heart N Soul’s artist Ariel. This intergalactic environment inspired the bands to play a combination of cyber- funky space music and terrestrial free-heavy jazz.
The Hairdressers with Robyn (trumpet) and Kathy Hulme ( cello), played a classical sound, while Bassheads with Ned Smith (percussion, loops and ipad), Dean Rodney jnr (voice), Mark Williams (bass) ,Robyn Steward (trumpet + fx) and the final act Steve Pretty were more closed to a kind of cyber jazz- funk music with loops.
Our guys Jamaica with Josh on drums; Duane, bass; Jason, tenor sax; Leon, electronic devises, Richie on vocals and home-made strings, travelled to East London though to rock it!!! and their explosive- tectonic-trance music liberated the audience which stand up asking for more after they have finished their set.
It was a great night, a very different gig in relation to what Robyn said that night “the snobbish jazz scene.”
“I like the gig, I enjoyed when I was on the mic it was good and the people like it this a lot. We rock East London with Josh on the drums, Duane on the bass, Jason on tenor sax, Leon (LM Dubs) on the electronic sounds, I was on the mic and home-made strings.” Richie
“I like the café.” Jason
“It was my first time performing at Café Oto, It was fun and I enjoyed it. I saw other bands performing that night, it was wicked.” Duane
“Good jass music with beats and sax that we came in, it was good sound, I enjoyed it… yeah.
Robyn trumpet player with Fish Police vocalist (Dean), with free choc drinks.” LM Dubs
Last Thursday myself and John (everyone else being busy at Cafe OTO - More on that later) went to the Hammersmith & Fulham awards having been shortlisted in the best arts or cultural business catagory expecting nothing more than a free feed and a ligging opportunity and guess what...
Many thanks to the Judges for choosing us, we're all extremely chuffed to have been recognised in this way.
The Gate's improvised group, Jamaica, is going to play this week at the prestigious music venue Cafe Oto, on Thursday 21st November. This event is curated by the trumpet player Robyn's Rocket Steward as part of the EFG Jazz Festival. This is an inclusive music event that everyone can feel at home regardless of gender, sexuality, race, language spoken, disability, etc.
The music will be provided by different jazz and avantgarde oriented musicians such as:
The Hairdresses, Bassheads, Steve Pretty and Jamaica. The tickets costs are £8.00 advance; £10.00 at the door; and £6.00 Cafe Oto's members.
Stay Up Late’s big annual fundraiser for our Gig Buddies project enabling people with learning disabilities to have active social lives. This will be a night of awesome live music featuring acts with and without learning disabilities.
Optional 'bedtime' fancy dress to help us promote the launch of our #nobedtimes campaign.
Italia 90 - "Very much rate this, and certainly don’t think that Wire, Alternative TV, Sauna Youth and Institute’s Catharsis LP are excessively flattering reference points." - The Quietus
Asbo Derek - Asbo Derek get annoyed about things they shouldn’t really get annoyed about and then turn their annoyance into great art.
2 Decks – lo-fi hip hop bangers from London to get you jumping.
The Golgis - Quirky foot tapping acoustic absurdist pantomime rock from a band unafraid to celebrate the eccentricities of everyday life?
No funds raised will go to any marketing executives!
Yesterday (26.10.19) the Gate Kicks crew headed off to the Tate Modern to do a live broadcast as part of Resonance FM's week long series of broadcasts from the gallery. Much of the show was concerned with the current Nam Yung Paik exhibition which is being held there which the Tate kindly gave us free tickets to attend. You can hear an archive of the broadcast and see some pics of the day below.
Many thanks to Resonance FM and the TATE for hosting us.
Duane played guitar and I played saxophone and stick like a violin, Diane was singing, Leon played sounds and Josh played the drums. I enjoyed it. Here is a video of the band called Jamaica in Brighton with a introduction bit from Leon - Jason.
Pics by Dave from Carousel. Thanks to everyone at The Rock House / Green Door Store for having us.
Next Gate related show is JAMAICA!!'s debut at the always wonderful Carousel's Rock House event in Brighton. Should be a banger, we've been playing with some new instruments and have some new faces on board and are really looking forward to this.
We went to see Cressida Dick at New Scotland Yard. We took
the train from Hammersmith to Westminster; it was quick. We all met at
Hammersmith to take the District Line. When we left the tube station there was
a man playing the steal drums.
It was near the river in Westminster – there was a
good view, we could see Big Ben, parliament, the army, Downing Street and the
river boats, and the London Eye. When we arrived we were early so we sat by the
river and looked at the London Eye and the Westminster Pier.
Cressida Dick is the commissioner of the Metropolitan
Police, she told us that there were 40,000 people in the Met police.
When we first got to the place we had to go through
security. We had to put all our bags, walking sticks, change, keys, mobiles in
a tray and they went through an x-ray scanner, everything went through the
scanner except us. Then they gave us some nice cups of tea and coffee but no
biscuits.
When she came in the room we stood up and she told us to sit
down. We all introduced ourselves and she was talking to the police officers
that we trained. Cressida Dick asked them how the training course was and what
work they did with us at The Gate. We were invited because they wanted to know
more about our police training. We train the police to know how to be better at
interviewing people with learning disabilities and giving them the right
support.
The officers said that the training with us was useful and
interesting – they said they learned a lot in the days with us. When we have
our interviews we give them feedback on what they did well and what they could
do better.
Darren ended up talking about a dog being rude. We told her
about what happens at The Gate. Labake sung a song about ending knife crime
which Cressida Dick thought was very good.
We looked around the building a lot and took some
photographs on the balcony. All the tall people stood at the back and the rest
of us at the front. After that she said thank you and she disappeared. I wonder
where she went. Later she said she was being a judge at the Pride of Britain
awards. We talked about a film we made about the Fiona Pilkington case and the
fact that we’ve been training the police since 2006. After we took pictures on
the balcony they showed us some of the empty rooms and then we sat down again.
The lifts were very cool.
My name is Labake Anisere and I made this video to put an end to knife cime. I made this because; knife crime is not a good thing. It is cruel, disgusting and it is not acceptable. I'm hoping to reach out to all the vulnerable families and hopefully reach out to them. And, maybe people can relate to my views and let me know how they feel. I made some props; a shovel, a coffin and a headstone. On the headstone it says: RIP Knife crime. And these all feature in the video. When I made the video it made me feel upset and anxious because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. It was a very stressful process. Hope you like it.
Recently Yarrow board member Prod ran a marathon to raise funds for the Gate and pulled in an amazing £4,062 - The vid below is the guys here playing with some of the much needed gear we were able to buy as a result. A big thank you from all of us here Prod, really is much appreciated.
Below are three fashion showreels of clothing made by designers from the Gate for the Wilds Rents fashion show that took place on May 26th 2019 at Wilds Rents, London SE1. Enjoy.
Models - Gate attendees and staff
Music - 1&3 - John, Josh & Lindsay / 2 - Duane, Francis, Ritchie, Leon
On 28th Feb the Gate headed to the ICA for our big clash with the lads from Sly & the Family Drone and our good friend Alan Courtis (of Reynols whose recent retrospective box set can be heard here) - 'twas an awesome night so big thanks from all of us here to everyone involved and to all who came. Here are some thoughts from some of the participants:
"My thought's and opinion about Jamaica, also experiencing the vibe that comes from the group and beside as well the family drone which i've been playing drums aside to and to be clearly honest it was a lot of fun and I had a blast banging time with them playing rhythmic tempos and beats all the way to the end, and as for everyone else the vibe was spectacular we we're all in it together including making a rhythm out of the noise plus we've managed to give the audience a good time and with my band 2decks it was great as well feeling the energy everywhere the room was nice and by the way the art work poster we've created to show what we really do in our spare time in daily activity with our own art gifts we bring to the table and if anyone see this and hopes to give a thumbs up and please do so you will really enjoy it because without our team work none of this would've happen'd anyway." Josh (2Decks/Jamaica!!)
"I really did enjoy doing the Jamaica!! collaboration gig with Sly & the Family Drone at the I.C.A. It is first time we have ever done a gig this big with all of my friends from The Gate. I give massive respect to Morag for letting us perform at her exhibition and big up to my homeboys Sly & the Family Drone." Darren (2Decks/Jamaica!!)
"I enjoy myself the band we played with was really amazing
i have a lot of fun it will do it again if the chance come again the night went well thanks to sly & the family drone." Ritchie (Jamaica!!)
"We took a taxi to Buckingham Palace of St. James. When we got there we had to sit down 'til we got called up. We did the sound before we started. Later they tried the drums and it sounded good. "Are there any more biscuits" i said for a joke. Then the time was getting near and the people were coming one by one. Then it started and people were dancing and a little girl came and joined us. It was loud when Sly & the Family Drone did their good sounds - smash up the sax was the main smash. Then we came on with the taps and drums so we played together with Sly band and it sounds good, it sounds like space sounds. I enjoy it, good night out." Leon (2Decks/Jamaica!!)
"It's good playing the drums with those people. I like it, I wanna go again." Mary (Jamaica!!)
Coming very soon to the ICA London is our collaboration with the good folk of Sly & the Family Drone with support from 2Decks and his band. We're hoping to raise the roof a little bit but for sensitive ears will be bringing ear plugs. For an indication of what to expect check out the vids below. Oh and bring your pennies as we'll have some very special merch on sale.
One of Yarrow's Board members Prodromos Sarigianis is running the Edinburgh marathon in May so we've done the song song to cheer him on and let him know how much we appreciate his taking this on. Prod has set himself the target of £5000 which of course will be much welcome and well used by us lot. He's more than halfway towards his target already but if you'd like to sponsor him you can do so by heading to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ProdromosSarigianis Many thanks Prod from all of us here and the best of luck on the day. Oh and apologies to Vangelis.
We went to see Cressida Dick at New Scotland Yard. We took
the train from Hammersmith to Westminster; it was quick. We all met at
Hammersmith to take the District Line. When we left the tube station there was
a man playing the steal drums. 
When we first got to the place we had to go through
security. We had to put all our bags, walking sticks, change, keys, mobiles in
a tray and they went through an x-ray scanner, everything went through the
scanner except us. Then they gave us some nice cups of tea and coffee but no
biscuits. 
We looked around the building a lot and took some
photographs on the balcony. All the tall people stood at the back and the rest
of us at the front. After that she said thank you and she disappeared. I wonder
where she went. Later she said she was being a judge at the Pride of Britain
awards. We talked about a film we made about the Fiona Pilkington case and the
fact that we’ve been training the police since 2006. After we took pictures on
the balcony they showed us some of the empty rooms and then we sat down again.
The lifts were very cool. 
"My thought's and opinion about Jamaica, also experiencing the vibe that comes from the group and beside as well the family drone which i've been playing drums aside to and to be clearly honest it was a lot of fun and I had a blast banging time with them playing rhythmic tempos and beats all the way to the end, and as for everyone else the vibe was spectacular we we're all in it together including making a rhythm out of the noise plus we've managed to give the audience a good time and with my band 2decks it was great as well feeling the energy everywhere the room was nice and by the way the art work poster we've created to show what we really do in our spare time in daily activity with our own art gifts we bring to the table and if anyone see this and hopes to give a thumbs up and please do so you will really enjoy it because without our team work none of this would've happen'd anyway." Josh (2Decks/Jamaica!!)
"I really did enjoy doing the Jamaica!! collaboration gig with Sly & the Family Drone at the I.C.A. It is first time we have ever done a gig this big with all of my friends from The Gate. I give massive respect to Morag for letting us perform at her exhibition and big up to my homeboys Sly & the Family Drone." Darren (2Decks/Jamaica!!)
