Home Of Metal are delighted to be launching our digital archive out at SXSW in Austin Texas. To help us get this off with a bang the legendary frontman of Motorhead Lemmy will be doing a Q & A with Johnny Doom from Kerrang! Radio in front of loads of music industry folk. Fused Magazine will be doing a podcast of the event and so will Kerrang! Radio so you’ll get the chance to hear all about it.
Lemmy will be a very busy man during his time at SXSW as he is there to help launch a film all about him entitled ‘Lemmy“.
We’re pretty excited that phase two of our Home Of Metal archive is now up and running, a huge thanks to the Tak! Team for doing such an amazing job. Feel free to have a look and get involved. www.homeofmetal.com
For those of you not familiar with the project here is some info: Home of Metal is a celebration of the music that was created in the West Midlands, its legacy and influence across the world. Bringing people together to share their passion for the music by creating a digital archive, heritage tours, exhibitions and ultimately a permanent collection dedicated to telling the story of Metal and its unique birthplace.
The Home of Metal digital archive is an opportunity for fans from all corners of the globe to share their passion for Heavy Metal music and contribute stories and memorabilia by uploading images, sound files & film footage to www.homeofmetal.com
In the summer of 2011 Capsule will be producing and curating a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated programme under the banner of Home of Metal taking place throughout The Black Country and Birmingham UK. To include exhibitions at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery & The New Art Gallery Walsall throughout June – September 2011, plus a conference, concerts and film programme to take place in The Black Country early September 2011.
VBS travels into Australia’s outback in search of the aboriginal youth gangs of Wadeye, all of which have taken their name, dress, and overall attitude from the 1980’s and 90’s golden age of heavy metal.
Capsule has made it through to the first round for the SXSWi panel in Austin, Texas – we’ve proposed a panel around the Home Of Metal project, but to be considered for the final submission we need you folks to comment & vote on our idea, most importantly are your comments – to create a discussion and to show it’s a topic of relevance.
You’ll need to sign up to the link below – there have been 2200 proposed panels but only room for 300 panels.
Please feel free to help us spread the word, if you know other people that attend SXSW or folks that would find this subject of interest. This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of the Home Of Metal project and of work going on in the West Midlands. The voting closes on September 4th.
Description:
How does Web 2.0 make us rethink the notion of collecting? Bedroom enthusiasts now have tools that enable them to interact with global audiences. They can work at the same level as professional archivists, and amateurs may have more virtual visits than some physical museums. This session will explore the Home of Metal Digital Archive as a case study focusing on music collections and illustrating successful 21st century collecting strategies.
There is a strong metal presence at this year’s festival as Supersonic embraces Birmingham’s musical heritage.
Home of Metal is a project that has been raising the profile of the West Midlands region as the birthplace of Heavy Metal, citing Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Napalm Death and Godflesh as key players within this genre who all came out the area.
Festival goers will witness the torturous Japanese ‘funeral doom’ band Corrupted who have embraced their heavy metal influence while twisting the genre to a parallel universe where guttural roars follow extensive harp pieces and atmospheric doom accompanies all out head banging sludge. It is fitting that the first UK show for this now cult band will be in the place where Black Sabbath originally discovered their dark ominous sound which still resonates in the haunting heaviness of Corrupted.
The reformation of Head of David is another reminder of the diverse interpretations that can be born out of Heavy Metal. This Black Country band were one of the first industrial metal bands, the tempo is slowed down and distorted. They create a heavy haze that subsequently poured into the sounds of Godflesh and Ministry.
Ex Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris will be playing the festival as industrial dub act Scorn. The sounds of Scorn take those dark, heavy sounds of Heavy Metal and strip them bare, creating a uniquely mucky minimal sound.
The influence of West Midlands’ Heavy Metal can be made out through the thrashing and pummelling of Kylie Minoise. His hectic bursts of noise a reminder of the early Napalm Death tracks that pound into submission. Kylie Minoise’s reinterpretation of the one second long Napalm Death track ‘You Suffer’ was released in 2007 – it’s over an hour long.
Other Heavy Metal influenced performances at Supersonic 2009 will include grunge doom from Thorr’s Hammer, thrashcore from The Accused, power grind from Iron Lung and a wealth of bands embracing dark, psychedelic and experimental sounds – whether they linger gloomily for eternity or smash into you briefly as a burst of noise.
In addition to these crushing sounds, a number of Home of Metal events will be taking place over the weekend. Catch Kerrang! Radio DJ Johnny Doom in discussion with Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley of Sunn0))), discussing the influence of West Midlands’ Heavy Metal. Dr Niall Scott of the University of Central Lancashire will be lecturing on the ‘monstrous male figure’ with Heavy Metal and their will be a screening of the Vice film ‘True Norwegian Black Metal’.
Following on from the dogs in clothes theme our friend Matt Taylor (one of the film crew for Home Of Metal) sent us this incredible film footage…had us laughing out loud! Watch out Frank, its Hollywood for you, just as well he has already packed his bags.
Our Home Of Metal project was featured in +1 magazine after editor David Hopkins came up for our last open day at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery…some amusing thoughts of possible future souvenirs and branding Birmingham and the Black Country as the birth place of Metal
“Though the The Home Of Metal is a tailor made vehicle for fanboys’ adoration for all things Page, Plant, Butler, Broadrick and Halford the project ultimately aims to repackage Birmingham in musical, tourist-friendly wrapping paper. Just like Manchester and Liverpool have so successfully done with Madchester/The Smiths and The Beatles respectively. But the Black Country’s considerable musical pedigree is arguably going to be harder to sell to their local authority as a potential money spinner. As even with the best will in the world Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Napalm Death and Godflesh aren’t quite as brochure friendly as the fab four. ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ souvenir pencil case anyone?” By David Hopkins
Great use of an iphone app developed by NIN, could be applied to Home Of Metal project phase (2), particularly where fans are able to talk to each other and upload photos and comments. My my technology is moving fast!
A selection of photos of fans from our last Home Of Metal open day at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery were featured in last weekends Guardian Magazine. The photos were taken by photographerBarry Lewis. As you can see there was a real cross section of fans in attendance old and young, Sabbath to Napalm fans coming together to share their passion for Birmingham & The Black Country. As a result of the last open day Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery have committed to a large scale exhibition in Gas Hall for 2011, as have Wolverhampton Art Gallery and New Art Gallery Walsall – keep watching this space for further news.
Just wanted to high light the amazing work of Bunny she describes herself as ARTIST, ILLUSTRATOR, COLLECTOR, FANATIC, COSTUMIER, STYLIST, PROP MAKER, ART DIRECTOR, ZINE & COMIC BOOK AUTHOR, HOSTESS, GO GO DANCER, MODEL, ACTRESS, VOICE ACTOR, MUSICIAN, AGONY AUNT, ESCORT, SPECIAL GUEST, CAKE DECORATOR, VINTAGE CLOTHES DEALER, 21ST CENTURY ANTIQUES EXPERT, DOG SITTER, WRITER, SHOP OWNER, LECTURER, FILM THEORIST, HAIRSTYLIST AND ASPIRING MAGICIAN’S ASSISTANT AND WRESTLING VALET. Most recently Bunny produced a doodle which we are using for our fancy new business cards. Previously we have commissioned her to produce an illustrated diagram linking members of the 5 bands which we are focusing on for Home Of Metal (we hope at some point to turn this into a teatowel).
Of course we were inspired to commission Bunny after we saw her incredible map of hair metal (which you can purchase as a print from her shop)
This map charts the movements of band members between groups in the hair metal genre and beyond. As the disclaimer states: “Hair metal may include or be known as: glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock, glam rock, shock rock, nwobhm, flash metal, speed metal, thrash metal, classic metal, classic rock, power metal or just metal”
Its well worth checking out her website and work as other treats include her costumes:
Under the Wonderleague name Bunny has a stall where she sells a fantastic selection of kitsch treasures & baked goods , you might have seen her at Supersonic last year. Of course we love her not just because shes extremely talented by for her cupcakes and fondness of the small dogs too.
As part of Flat Pack Festival in collaboration with Home Of Metal
Screening of: The Song Remains the Same & talk by Chris Phipps
@ South Birmingham College
Saturday 14th 16:00pm
£4 Tickets
Dir. Peter Clifton & Joe Massot
UK/USA 1976, 137 mins
Feat. Robert Plant; Jimmy Page; John Bonham; John Paul Jones
Back in the day when psychedelic concept movies were compulsory for any self-respecting rock band, Led Zeppelin took the plunge with this patchy but often entertaining document of their 1973 Houses of the Holy tour. The meat of the film is a performance at Madison Square Gardens shot over three nights in which the group steam through ‘Stairway’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and the rest to thunderous effect. Also scattered through the movie are fantasy sequences which Spinal Tap might have cringed at, including Plant rescuing a fair maiden and Page meeting a hermit up a mountain. The simplest and most touching is John Bonham’s, shot on his farm near Droitwich.
The making-of story is an epic in its own right, and today’s special screening will include a talk by Birmingham-born documentary maker and music historian Chris Phipps. Combining personal anecdotes with music fact and urban fiction, Phipps will provide a unique decoding of a band and film which often defy description. As he says, “you may leave with more questions than answers, but that’s Zeppelin.”
A selection of photos of fans from our last Home Of Metal open day at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery were featured in last weekends Guardian Magazine. The photos were taken by photographer
