Resurrection Men

The local band including singer-guitarist Brendan Casey who have spent years achieving a perfect balance, though reluctantly totalitarianism has been lost somewhere along the way...

It’s almost as though Resurrection Men float on the dirtiest side of the river Styx- or at least of Coventry canal. They’re the city’s filthiest rock band who, with one EP under their belts released by the band themselves earlier this year, have much more to prove.

It all started about seven or eight years ago when musician Brendan Casey, and ‘Brother’ Parge formed a band called Tawt. This outfit ran for about three years but was all becoming a bit too much of a democracy (it seems that a fascist regime is a far better system for running a band), and so Brendan and Parge set out to start something new.

“Resurrection Men” was a name devised by the parent of an ex-girlfriend; a title which comes from a book by Ian Rankin. But the band, it seems, has little connection with the literature and instead just liked the idea behind the name. “I thought it sounded like a Christian band at first. But I’ve got over that” voices Brendan.

So then with a variety of ‘bitches’ all pinched from other bands- Brendan also being the first drummer in the Sequins, and now bassist in photographer Steve Gullick’s brainchild Tenebrous Liar- the line-up was set to thump and grind. Andy Whitehead, the band’s third guitarist, was playing mainly with local musician Wes Finch in the Dirty Band; as well as working with Tin Angel artist Devon Sproule prior to Resurrection Men- and now he gets on with all three. Then drummer Peej Treehorn is of the Treehorns and bassist ‘Majik’ Alex Miles also plays in Invitation to Love- an alternative, slightly psychedelic congregation which also features: Brendan Casey. Keeping up with the cov-cest?

Much to the Casey-Parge dictatorship’s outrage; Resurrection Men turned into yet another democracy, and they were forced to accept ideas from other members of the band which developed a somewhat avant-garde style. “Alex is young so he’s got lots of ambition. Whereas I’m a bit jaded now, a bit tired” admits Brendan.

With the settled and current line-up, the band’s sound is most noticeably akin to a fusion of Beefheart, the Meat Puppets and The Damned- but there are many many more influences coming into play the more you listen, and the longer you listen. A song called ‘Still Remains’ is glaringly Nirvana-esque, but it is ‘Hole in the Road’ and ‘Fits’ which strike out most prominently, and these two tracks admittedly touch upon the band’s identity.

Currently you can catch them almost on a weekly basis playing in and around Coventry, using the city as a sort of training ground until they release their next CD toward the end of the year. But despite feeling fairly content with sticking around to build up a local following at the moment; Brendan believes that “bands can get a bit stuck in their comfort zone”, and also that “it would do a lot of Coventry bands good by playing out more”. The Resurrection Men are taking their time to branch out in reach for their potential, and to develop their structure into something of a more diverse nature. It is Brendan’s not-so-distant dream that “after a little while longer it would be nice to challenge the people we play to a bit. Once we’ve got people that come and see us, then we can start pissing them off” – the fascist undertones remain practically undeniable...

But seriously, Brendan and the other Men love the tightness of the Coventry music scene and feel that it’s a sad state of affairs that the London media paint a negative picture of it. It’s all ‘destitute working class’ and ‘lines at the job centre’ since The Enemy broke out and told them that’s how it is here in Coventry; and Brendan personally resents the fact that the city is often labelled as “everyone being so poor they can’t afford to do anything. And everyone loves Oasis”.

Resurrection Men however, land on the other side of the horizon to Oasis. You can instead imagine a troop of marching zombies in the desert, rising out of the Wild West like alternative gypsies- riffing and licking blues-rock in the dirt. It’s far closer to the ideal.

Godiva Rocks!

So you spent your Glasto savings getting through the recession... Or perhaps they rejected your photograph because it looked like a prison mug shot. What choice does this leave? Well it may not have showcased the hottest acts you wanted to see, but at least Coventry’s Godiva Festival was a free local event. And it has proven once again to be the perfect opportunity to unite hoards of people in the name of bands in the sun- and otherwise in sweaty tents.

Taking place in the War Memorial Park from the 2nd to the 4th of July, this years’ Festival spread its appeal across Leicester and Birmingham with an array of talent from all over the Midlands.

With entry at the price of a bag and body search, it was instead the beverages which drained your bank account for a few sips of pimms out of what can best be described as a shot glass stuffed with fruit. The cider seemed to be the best option to get into the festival spirit, lowest in price and strong enough to keep the approval ratings up for the variety of performances between the tents and main stage.

Combating the uproar this year regarding the lack of Coventry bands allowed to play on the main stage; it was the Whatever Stage of the Rhythm Tent which housed most of the local talent. With thanks to Inspire Cafe Bar, bands such as The Pockets as well as local favourites the Shackletons were awarded a place in the spotlight. And then the highlight of Saturday came from experimental band Black Carrot; broadcasting from the Whatever Stage with a rhino sax and basshum recorder amongst other unheard of instruments- and vocals almost as aboriginal as a didgeridoo.

The very same tent hosted the comedy stage on Friday night, and also became a platform for folk on the Sunday afternoon. The main stage took us back to the 1980s on Friday with performances from Hazel O’Connor as well as The Christians, and then became the rock stage on Saturday for headliners including Detroit Soul Club, Badly Drawn Boy (featured on the About a Boy soundtrack), and Ash at the top of the bill. Though it was perhaps earlier bands such as The Primitives and Senser which gave the most enjoyable performances- largely due to better crowd control and lower hostility.

Then Sunday was by far the most relaxed day... A time to wind down, peruse through the stalls at ease, and sample the various cuisines on offer with less chance of a hyperactive kid trampling your selection into the field. It was a day well spent at the Millsy’s stage watching singer-songwriters such as Scott Parkes and Matt Fisher (of local prog/rock enthusiasts Haunted by Humans) along with a wider list of acoustics artists.

With so many performances to pick and choose from, a circus tent, a fair ground and a row of stalls selling hippy clothing and jewellery etc; Godiva Festival 2010 was well worth a visit. Next to look forward to in the Coventry War Memorial Park, is the Caribbean Festival on the 31st of July. So prepare for a buffet of jerk-this-and-that, goat curry, stacks of fried plantain, and outlets for West Indian inspired music and attire. Keep the culture coming I say...