SpideWriter

Gavin Bowers' debut album imminent Our Flame, the first single from 'cheap therapy' out 6th March 2026 There's always good music streaming out of Catch-21 Records.  Producer Gavin Bowers has been investing in supporting some of the best new acts working in Norwich and East Anglia for the best part of six years now. Operating out of his studios along Magdalen Street, rock, psyche-rock, country, folk and blues musicians have been nursed through their first singles and album recordings with sensitivity, patience and genuine concern to capture the authenticity of their music. I am not going to name these acts because this post is about the musicianship of Bowers and Bowers alone. I first became aware of Gavin's guitar work when he was playing locally with WAXX! Seeing them play at the Wild Fields Festival post-lockdown was an eye-opener.  There was an accomplished authority to the band's performance. The sound was full, the blend of rocking guitars, bass and drums w...

Same Song Different Words A lot of music in Norwich takes place underground.     The Holloway   on St Laurence Steps and   Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom   below London Street, being the most heavily frequently spaces, with   The Bicycle Shop  on St Benedict’s being an occasional performance space, better known for being the home of the monthly   Poets in The Cellar   gathering.    Ben Street   even organised a performance by   Zamani Fitra   in   The Secret Street , below Castle Meadow during last year’s   Wild Paths Festival .     Then there is the monthly   electronic music open mic night   held in the basement of the   Rumsey Wells .   Run by Barry , who has been curating this get-together for a few years now, this open mic attracts accomplished performers, like Mark C. Sargeant, as well as dabblers in synthetic sound music, like, well like me.  Barry is an enthusiastic ...

The Ice House Is Cool Again The Ice House in Great Yarmouth was once the most important building in the port, home to an immense herring fleet.  The Ice House enabled a voracious fishing fleet to operate.  It would have been the grease in the axle of a wheel of the industry, providing the ice for packing for fresh fish, enabling the catch to be transported to London and eastern Europe, where herring was much in demand.  Once a port serving close to a thousand boats, with all the ancillary work that thrived in its wake, Great Yarmouth was a prosperous town, employing all of its men, women and most of the able children in employment.  The critical importance of this ice house, prior to the invention of electric-powered freezers, must not be under-estimated.   Located on the seaward side of Haven Bridge, the Ice House was accessible to all boats, unrestricted by the ancient river crossing.  The building is just a brisk five-minute wa...

  Mama Oh No, Yer Blooze and Decent Wrestlers, Norwich 23 Jan 2026 I arrived at Voodoo Daddy’s in good time for the Mama Oh No set, while thankfully managing to catch Yer Blooze’s from the middle of their opening number.     Having missed the opening act, Decent Wrestlers , I heard from others that their debut gig went well.  I can report that a couple on my bus home were chatting enthusiastically about the Decent Wrestlers’ set.  With the encouragement of the Norwich scene, I hope that they keep working at their music, as their set went down well with the early evening Voodoo people. Yer Blooze play it wide at Voodoo Daddy's Showroom     Yer Blooze is the stage name of multi-instrumentalist Dylan Clarke , who frequently performs solo sets in small venues around the city.  However, Yer Blooze also performs as a band featuring  Harry Fisher  on viola, Rueben Claybourn  on guitar,  Matthew Walker  on key...

Hindustani Classical Psychedelic Rockers heading to SXSW March 2026 Dare you take yourself back to the immediate post-pandemic period?  The emotional toll, the losses, the systemic shock of lockdown, everyone doing what they knew was for the best for everyone?  I don’t want to drag it all back up, but what I do want to remind you about is how life returned and moments when you felt that first hug from a friend, shook hands, (or maybe fist-bumped) someone you were being introduced to, maybe a hug of welcome or on parting? I remember being close to tears, or tears spilling many times over as social contacts were re-established and I became acquainted with new faces within arms’ reach, not just blinking through an online video conference network.  I remember going to the Walnut Tree Shades , which is squeezed into the alleyway that is Old Post Office Court in Norwich and the elation of being in a crowded pub relishing live music.  The Norfolk Blues S...