Midlands Local Scene Pt1

This feature has been put together for one reason and one reason only... to try and bring to the masses a hive of local talent that is bubbling away under the bedrock of the Midlands and surrounding areas just about ripe enough to burst upward and grace the greater audiences they are worthy of playing to. So when you hear any of these bands blasting out of your premium sound system in your car while racing down the M1 you can think back and shout 'THANKS ROCKPULSE' because you heard it here first!

Firstly, Introducing....Vengeance.

Vengeance LIVE at the Glastonbudget Launch Party.

A band I've had the pleasure of seeing a few times of late, the last being on the Saddle Span Stage at this year's Glastonbudget, where they blew the crowd away with a really honest and professional set they can look back on and be very proud of. For a bunch of youngsters they have a certain swagger and confidence hard to find these days. They can work the crowd easily too and aren't frightened to venture out where they shouldn't which makes life all the more interesting for folk like me. It was very easy to add this line up to this feature of localness because they are the very essence of what young bands should be. They enjoy what they are doing and it shows in every song they turn out. Fronted by Rebecca, a new addition to the band, they get fired up right from the start and keep it going to the end of each brilliant breathtaking show. These are stars in the making. The photos in this feature were taken at Glastonbudget Festival 2012 and the Launch Party.

Live on stage at Glastonbudget 2012.

To get a little more into what makes them tick Yours Truly got the lowdown straight from the horse's mouth.......... 

We are a five piece band which consists of Rebecca Maurice, 15, Lead vocals, Will Hayter,16 and Harry Pentony,15, Guitarists, Kieran Langley, 16, Drums and Michael Wright, 19, Bass guitar.
Will, Harry and Kieran are the original band line up with Michael joining the band in April 2011 and Rebecca taking over the role of singer in January 2012.
We really enjoy writing our own music, although we also perform many covers as we recognised we needed to build up a fan base. We introduced our own music alongside popular songs of our preferred genre. Our influences have come from a whole variety of music from different musical eras, but mostly have come from Kings of Leon, Fall Out Boy, Paramore and You me at Six, to name a few.
A typical forty five minute set may include our own songs such as Livewires, Reality, All I need, Insomnia, and possibly covers of Coldplay’s Yellow, Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars and Sugar we’re going down by Fall Out Boy, for example.

Our greatest achievement was last year when we successfully auditioned to play at Glastonbudget 2011. We were the youngest band to have ever performed at Glastonbudget. We were successful again this year, where we not only earned a place to perform on the Saddle Span Stage but we were also asked to play as one of just 3 chosen bands at the GlastonBudget Launch party at the Harrow Inn. Here and on the Saddle span stage, Glastonbudget organiser Muz sang a guest vocal alongside Rebecca and with the band. We attracted a great crowd who really enjoyed the set. We can be seen on our videos having a total blast and loving every minute of it! In May, we supported Formal Warning at the O2 Academy in Leicester. This was a great gig and one which we really enjoyed. The crowd were brilliant, dancing and cheering us and singing along to our own music which was a great feeling!
 

At Glastonbudget 2011, we spotted 103FM The Eye radio station, and they spotted us! Since then, we are played regularly on Peter Treadwells Drive Time on Thursday Evenings, and Saturday morning show and also on Ian Botts Sunday Evening show which is also shown on Livestream. Ian interviewed us on his show back in March, at Studio 13, where we played a set of 7 acoustic versions of our songs. We have also had two live interviews with John Sinclair from Radio Leicester, one of which featured us straight after coming off the stage from Glastonbudget. Our excitement certainly showed during that interview!
We have also performed at The Shed, The Sumo Club, Broughton Astley Village Hall and Carnival for many years now. We have played at private parties and local pubs including The George and Dragon, The Red Admiral, both in Broughton Astley, Lutterworth Rugby Club supporting the Kilworth Challenge and further afield at The Gate Hangs Well and The Conservative Club in Sileby for Summer Jam.

Showing their stage presence at Glastonbudget

Upcoming gigs over the next few months include 16th June, Sileby conservative club, 30th June Broughton Astley Carnival, August 4th Red Admiral Broughton Astley, 25th August , Broughton Rocks and return to the O2 Academy in November.
We also have merchandise which can be purchased, such as hoodies and our EP showcasing 3 of our songs. We will be going back to the recording studios after we have finished writing our next set of songs which we are very excited about.
We have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vengeance/145920628779080a website http://www.vengeancelive.co.uk/The website is being updated and will soon feature all exciting information about the band.

Check back soon for part 2!  The whole of this feature can be found as a PDF download at http://www.davegoodwinimages.com/files/20120/rockpulsefeature.pdf

Words and Pictures - Dave Goodwin, Rockpulse