A Vision Production

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Prod. Editor: Steph Powell

Sub Editor: Ollie Brown

Photo Editor:Jenny Gates

Film Editor: Kieran Cregg

Editor’s Note:Since October, three other mentors and I have been visiting colleges involved in the media arm of Solent University’s ‘Solent Sound and Vision Festival’. This programme was constructed on the first day of the event by media students from BCoT, Fareham College and Avonbourne School and is the result of hard-work and admirable enthusiasm. It has been a pleasure to work with such bright young talent.

Steph

Contributors

+ Ollie Brown

+ Jemima Cox-Crowley

+Tamzin Cradick

+ Shannon Griffiths

+ Ashleigh Hall

+ Claudia Hodgeson

+ Nick Mason

+ Nkech Nwokolo

+ Khushboo Ramnikkumar

+ Jennifer West Partners

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Before She Wakes | Itchen

Vocals: Abbie WillisGuitar: Sam Byres

Guitar & Bass: Josh SkerryGuitar & Bass: Craig Prince

Drums: Sam Scott Keyboards: Jamie Kwong

TRAUMA | Barton Peveril

Lead Vox/Bass: Lewis Cassar Guitar/Vox: Luke Durnford

Guitar: Mark Webster Drums: Sam Barret

Underarmy | The College

Guitar/Vox: Andy L Smooth

Bass: Matt GraingerDrums: Ross Timms

Headhunters | Fareham

Lead Vox: Frankie Seabrook Lead Vox: Jess WescottLead Guitar: Liam BarhamRhythm Guitar: Matt Bialas

Bass Guitar: Truk BowthorpeDrums: Tom Stirling

The Banned | BCoT

Vocals: Leah CarterVocals: Michelle SymonsVocals: Jordan LangleyGuitar: Jonathan Cotter

Guitar: Stuart Curtis Bass: Alex HintonDrums: Paul Esplin

The bands in Solent Sound & Vision were all college students. They were competing to win prizes donated by SoCo Music Project, The Joiners & The Ranch Production House.

I thought Itchen College were pretty good. They had a tight set in that I felt they were mostly in time, and they had a pretty enthusiastic singer and guitarist. Unfortunately for them –and anyone else who’s ever start-ed up a gig- the crowd wasn’t into it yet, and weren’t really responding as much as the band deserved. It was clear that they’d put a lot of effort into it, and they should be proud of themselves.

They had an element of metal going on in there, but they included a piano which introduced classical elements as well. All together it was all a little mixed up, quite like the personalities of each of the band members, but it actually worked.

Words: Nkech Nwokolo

itchen college // Southampton

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Before She Wakes performed ‘Bring Me to Life’ by Evanescence first including a couple of their own, an All Time Low track (‘Lost in Stereo’) and more. Their All Time Low cover was great. It’s had a brilliant start, and showed a real improvement to their first performance which showed how much they’d grown in confidence. They were really getting into it, and so was I. At one point they were even doing the whole “synchronised jumping” thing, but unfortunately the crowd weren’t as psyched by this as I was. Shame on them.

Of course, the most important opinions that matter are those of the judges. A number of things were mentioned, like the guitarists epic hair, their epic stage presence and diverse personalities. The word “epic” was pulled out quite a lot with Before She Waits, and I couldn’t disagree. That they’d managed to join their very different tastes in music (ranging from Blues, to Metal, to Classical) and create a sound that turned out surprisingly impressive. In fact, their only improvements were timing and to make their ‘epic-ness’ even more epic, which is pretty good feedback, if you ask me.

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Words: Ollie Brown

Barton peveril // Southampton

Second on stage for the Solent Sound music Festival was the four piece band Trauma. With pounding drums, ferocious bass lines, and dangerously familiar guitar riffs (make sure you listen to ‘Danger Zone’ by Kenny Loggins lads ) the band had a heavy presence.With a nod to the garage punk and grunge of the past, Trauma’s influences can easily be found. Full of Black Flag and early Nirvana flavour, the vocals shared Cobain’s angsty slur. Standing their ground, there was a lack of movement, suitable to the punk ethos of their predecessor bands. The sound was full of bite and determination, dragged straight from the garage onto the stage, force feeding the audience a slice of raw talent.Even though the genre predates the age of the band, the delivery and performance was high-quality and

professional, especially when taking into account this was their third live gig. It’s refreshing to see the genre come back to life, so for that alone I salute you Trauma.

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The Banned, from BCOT College showed great musical talent at playing, considering the technical difficulties they faced at the start of their set. I felt they could have had more stage presence and crowed participation, they were very stationary and didn’t really put on a ‘performance’ but this may have been due to the technical difficulties at the start. The backing singer looked as if she was trying to add movement to the performance but this was not reflected by

Basingstoke college of technology // Basingstoke

Words: Tamzin Cradickthe rest of the band. The individual musicians were very good particularly the vocals and drums, however they didn’t look like a band; everyone was too individual.

Comments received by the judges were positive overall however they felt that “the guitars didn’t really show through” but they “worked well considering technical difficulties”. Overall The Banned is a collection of talented musicians that need to find their confidence on stage.

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Words: Amy Diggle & Nkech Nwokolo

How did you find your Solent Sound gig and experience?

Yeah it has been fun, we really enjoyed it.

What did you think of the audience reaction?

People seemed to enjoy it, they were dancing so that’s good.

Would you change anything about your performance?

Practise a bit more! Get a couple more songs down may-be, but that’s about it.

What song did you enjoy playing most?

We enjoy playing the Muse cover. The vocals are fun to deliver and we think it goes down well.

Do you have any pre-gig rituals? This was our first gig. We’ve got together for this competition so we’ve never played to a lot of people before or anything.

You perform covers. Do you have any particular music influences when you write or perform?

We all have different tastes ranging from the mellow stuff like Maverick Sabrea to hardcore drum and bass.

What’s the future of The Banned? Would you do Solent Sound again and are you going to stay together as a band?

We’d definitely do Solent Sound again, yeah. Stay together? I think we work really well. We’d need a bit more fine tuning perhaps but it’s a possibility.

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Words: Khushboo RamnikkumarI think that the Headhunters were really good and likely to win. It’s really clever how they all connect and work really well together. The different types of music complement each other and the rapper sounds like devlin and professor green.

They can actually sing and rap compared to the other bands. The music sounds like proper music and not just noise. We also felt like the rapper was rapping honestly and about his own experience, he also sounds like a professional. He is sick at spitting. They have good communication skills with the crowd. There image is really good because they don’t seem too ‘rocky’ or too ‘chavvy’ which is a mixture of both. This also means that the crowd won’t pre judge. There cover was amazing, it all

worked really well. I think that they look and sound like they are in the music industry and are professionals.

FAREHAM COllege // Fareham

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How do you think the performance went? Really well, one of the best we’ve ever done. Fun, exhilarating.

What do you find so good about performing?The buzz you get from being on stage and if you do well, it’s great.

What about if no one likes you? Then you play harder, you win some you lose some.

What or who are your musical Influences? Everything. It’s hard to pick just one. We grew up listening to all the music in the world and because we all enjoy different music, it’s good. Our chords, I would say, are jazz and

they’re all structured.

Which song did you enjoy performing the most?

‘Stay Too Long’ definitely! So much energy in that! ‘Monopoly’ too.

Are these your own songs?We had 2 covers and 3 originals. We started off with 1 cover, the next 3 were originals and the last one was a cover. Like a sandwich!

Which band do you see as your main rivals?Trauma or Underarmy, they seemed really good. They’re all really good so it’s hard to make a judgement and choose.

Words: Claudia Hodgson & Shannon Griffiths

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Words: Amy Diggle & Nkech Nwokolo

You’ve just come off stage, how did you find it?

Yeah we enjoyed it, it was a good laugh

Was there anything you’d change about your performance?

Only techy things, like fold back levels. Nothing performance wise though.

What did you think of the audience reaction?

The audience were good! Our guys down the front were great, but even the guys past them were good.

Are there any songs you enjoy playing in particular?

‘18’ is one I really enjoyed playing then. I got really into it.

What did you think of the judges comments?

Good, although I’m keeping the mirror shades regardless!

Are you going to keep playing as Underarmy?

We’d like to. We’ve got more to give and we love playing together.

What did you think of Solent Sound Festival?

I think it’s been really well organised. The production team and the guys are doing a really good job. It’s been a really good day.

Underarmy are a three piece band from Poole and Bournemouth College, they rocked ‘Chickenstock’, a battle of the bands type of event, winning them a place in Southampton Solent sound and vision festival but how did they do?

Underarmy had a good build up to their first song; they had a nice drum beat building up to a great start. Not only did they have a sweet opening they got the crowd going straight away getting them to clap along to the beat. Stage presence came naturally to the trio, bassist, Matt, had some epic stage moves similar to Pete Wentz. Lead vocalist and guitarist, Andy, got involved with the crowd and fronted the band awesomely, Billy

Words: Amy Diggle

The College // Bournemouth & Poole

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Joe Armstrong style. Although drummers can’t really have the same stage presence, their drummer, Ross, made up for it by his immense drumming and perfect timing.

They all seemed well practiced and knew exactly what they were doing. They had a great sound and you would have thought they had been together for years rather than the 4 months they have been actually been together. The audience were really into it and a mini mosh pit was even started. They played a great cover of ‘Plug in Baby’ by Muse which really did them justice. They also did an amazing cover of ‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran and really made it their own by rocking it up.

Their original songs also got people moving!

The judges had some positive comments saying “The drummer was magnificent, the sound was flawless, they had a Dave Grohl tightness with sweet fills and they had two representations of covers ‘The A Team’ being their own style and ‘Plug In Baby’ more of a tribute to Muse.” The judges even complimented their unique lighting. The only criticism the judges could find was that the guitar needed to be turned up for the solo.

I caught up with the band after their performance; they seemed happy and really enjoyed it.

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