showing out (1)

HOT ON THE HEELS of a hugely successful Show held in London at the tail end of 1988 (some of the stands are shown in the picture), PHAZE 1's sister magazine 'Guitarist' has announced plans to do it all again in May - but this time "up north", or Manchester to be precise.

Called, with stunning originality, 'The Northern Guitarist Show', this sparkling multi-media event is sure to attract all the major manufacturers and distributors from the guitar world - and probably a host of smaller companies, too.

Venue for the Show is the Renold Building, part of the UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology) campus - an unmistakable landmark in the heart of Manchester city centre. The Building provides over 13,000 square feet of exhibition space, so even with the scores of companies in attendance, it shouldn't get too crowded. It also offers a 300-seat soundproof theatre, where a motley assortment of 'Guitarist' contributors and special guests will be giving regular concerts and seminars for those axe-thrashers not versed in the ways of "fingerstyle jazz", "active equalisation", and going "widdly-widdly" at something greater than the speed of light.

The Show is due to take place over the weekend of May 13-14, so pencil the dates in the Filofax now. More information (admission price, opening times) as soon as we get it. Meanwhile, anyone interested in exhibiting at the Show should contact Alan Goodes or Elaine West on the number printed at the front of this magazine. But don't all ring at once.

showing out (2)

THIS NEAT LITTLE COLLAGE of images is taken from the scene at Haydock Park Racecourse, St Helens, a couple of months back, when more than 4000 people swarmed across the hallowed grass to the Northern Music Fair.

A total of 26 companies exhibited at the show, which was organised by local retail chain Dawsons Music (branches in Altrincham, Burnley, Chester, St Helens, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan). Among them were "hi-tech" manufacturers like Yamaha, Roland and Technics, and more traditional rock suppliers such as Marshall, Gibson and Pearl.

The show was judged a tremendous success by all concerned - except perhaps the horses - and there's every possibility something similar will be organised for '89.

Who said the pop industry stopped somewhere south of Watford?

spot the difference

QUESTION: WHAT HAVE this group of cheery, chuffed-looking youngsters got in common? Answer: they are all members of Sport My Woody, winners of the Tri-ac School Band of the Year award. With a scintillating soul sound and a posse of five funky sax players, the nine-strong Woodies staved off competition from five other acts to take first place at last month's final, held at London's Duke of York Theatre.

In total, over 60 upcoming bands entered the competition, which was open to all schools in the London area, and was co-sponsored by Tri-ac (makers of a new range of spot treatment and medicated skin care products for teenagers) and Capital Radio.

As overall winners, Sport That Woody made off with £1000 worth of musical equipment for their school (Holland Park) and £250 worth for themselves. None of the band members were available for comment at press time, but PHAZE 1 understands that none of the prize money will be spent on spot cream. After all, why worry about acne when you've got a saxophone to hide behind?

address axed

LAST MONTH'S FRONTLINES contained a fascinating, appetite-whetting piece about a complete guitar package for silly money. It said the package comprised an electric guitar, an amp, a carrying bag, a strap, a lead, and a plectrum. It said that there was a choice of heavy metal, chart rock, reggae, and soul/funk tutoring packages to go with it. It said that the whole shooting match would set you back the princely sum of £81. And it said that the company behind the deal was called Axe Limited. And it was all true.

Problem was, the package was (and is) only available through mail order and... someone, somewhere forgot to include Axe Limited's address. So nobody could order anything from them, or even make a tentative enquiry.

Happily someone, somewhere else has spotted the error and found the address, so here it is: Axe Limited, (Contact Details). The person responsible for the original omission has been given a season ticket for Charlton Athletic.

small is beautiful

ARE YOU IN a small group? If so, does it comprise an unusual line-up of instrumentalists? Does it play a rare or "esoteric" repertoire of material? And are you reasonably well-established in your chosen field?

If the answer to all the above questions is "yes" (or even a muffled "maybe"), you're in with a chance of conning some financial assistance out of the Arts Council, which is seeking to promote unusual music made by small ensembles, and is putting its money where its mouth is by offering a number of Music For Small Groups project awards.

According to the Council, the music your small group makes can be early, classical, Afro-Caribbean, South Asian, contemporary or jazz (or, in all likelihood, any combination of these). But note that projects which might conceivably qualify for electro-acoustic or jazz bursaries - which are entirely separate awards - will not be considered.

The precise amount of money involved here is not stated, but you never know. This could be the moment when giving up the paper round, day job, or bank raids suddenly becomes a feasible proposition, and you can concentrate on the one thing that really gets you going in the morning: playing classical South Asian music in a group comprising six percussionists, two turntables and a dishwasher...

INFO: Hilary Pugh, Music Officer, (Contact Details)

you be chillin

THE SUBJECT OF CRYOGENICS does not get into the music press very often. But, as the spotty oik who sat at the front of the class at every junior school Science lesson would tell you, the process of cryogenics - or subjecting things to very low temperatures - is used throughout industry every day.

Now, cryogenics' main claim to fame is that it can be used to "freeze" human beings in a kind of suspended animation for as long as they like. They can thereby stave off the Angel of Death until a cure for their previously incurable disease is found, at which point they can be safely woken (heated) up and, er, cured. This is what has happened to Walt Disney, for example, who is currently as frozen as a still from 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'

But cryogenics is also applied to non-human materials, like steel. Subject steel to very low temperatures, and it lasts longer. Bring it down to 320 degrees Fahrenheit, then slowly return it to its original temperature, and you've got what American string makers Dean Markley believe is the ideal material for guitar strings.

It is precisely this process that goes into the making of Dean Markley's new Blue Steel range of bass guitar strings. When the poor things have been frozen and heated up again, they are cleansed with hydrogen and sealed in special airtight packaging to safeguard them. The resulting product is said to possess a brighter tone and to last longer than any other bass guitar string currently available.

Terence Trent D'Arby's bassist, Cass Lewis, is one of the first pro players to be converted to the merits of Blue Steels, while Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd) and Carmine Rojas (David Bowie) have also been road-testing them. And although Blue Steels are currently only available for bass, electric and acoustic sets are in preparation and should be in the shops soon.

Meanwhile, for the hottest bass sound around, try keeping your cool.

INFO: Hohner, (Contact Details)

hear comes summer

IT'S BEEN A WHILE coming. Guitarists, bass players, drummers and even singers get plenty of opportunity to take part in residential courses. They while away a few balmy summer days in the company of fellow musicians, picking up a few tips from The Professionals, exchanging ideas, and generally having a thoroughly creative time. Alas, fans of hi-tech equipment haven't traditionally been as well catered for by these "seminars". But at last, the first "comprehensive learning forum for contemporary music technology" has been announced, and will take place at the University of East Anglia this summer.

The course goes by the umbrella title of Soundscape (pretentious? nah!), and lasts for five days from August 26 to 30. It's intended to help musicians of all kinds get to grips with new technology, find out more about how it's used, and experience the extent to which it can inspire creativity.

Soundscape will be "streamed" into two levels, basic and advanced, so that the novices won't hold back the boffins, and vice versa. It's aimed at a wide range of people: synthesists and other musicians already using hi-tech gear; sound and broadcast engineers; composers; music teachers; even "acoustic" musicians who want to develop their technological literacy in sympathetic, non-daunting surroundings.

Whether having such a wide range of people taking part in Soundscape will benefit the course is hard to tell, but director Mike Steer (who happens to be Head of 20th Century Music at the Royal College of Music's Junior Dept), has certainly gathered together an impressive line-up of lecturers and demonstrators.

There's man-with-beard Dave Bristow, for many years a hi-tech "guru" for Yamaha (who are co-sponsoring Soundscape with the Composers' Foundation, incidentally) and one of the few men capable of describing how synthesizers work without sending his audience to sleep; award-winning "experimental" composers Denis Smalley and Javier Alvarez; pro rock musicians Dave Mattacks (drums) and Adrian Lee (keys); and leading film/TV composer Roger Jackson.

To ensure that these people have time to talk to everybody, and to make sure there are as many "hands on" the gear for as long as possible, the number of people attending Soundscape has been limited to around 100. About a quarter of these will be allowed to stay on at the UEA campus for a further four days once the Soundscape Forum has finished; these will be called Creative Days, the idea being that delegates can put into practice all the theoretical advice they've been given and make some utterly incredible music, in exchange for a nominal amount of extra dosh.

Speaking of which, the course fee is £250, or £195 if you can prove you're a student. An extra £80 covers bed, breakfast and lunch for the four nights August 26-29, while the Creative Days will be charged at £40 a day including bed and breakfast. If all this sounds a bit steep, you may be lucky enough to get discounts through the University, the PRS, the Michael Tippett Foundation or the Musicians' Union - but apply early for any of these, and make sure your music cuts it.

INFO: Jane Thorp, Short Course Development Officer, (Contact Details)