Wizard Rock Show in Birmingham on Saturday 30th May 2009

I meant to mention this before but with a brain like a sieve I completely forgot, so apologies for the short notice!

For anyone at a loose end on Saturday evening there's a Wizard Rock gig being held at Birmingham Library's Centre for the Child, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3HQ, starting at 7pm. Expect an evening of top class entertainment from some of the UK's best wrock bands. The line up is as follows:

Siriusly Hazza P
RiddleTM
Split Seven Ways
The Lost Diadems

I am hoping to be there but I've got a poorly car at the moment and I don't finish work until 4pm. With a three hour drive it'll be cutting it fine, but hopefully I'll make it without missing too much of the concert. Maybe I'll see you there.

Fair Fortune: A Wrock Opera

One of the things I was really gutted about missing at Leaky Con was the live performance of Lena Gabrielle's (The Butterbeer Experience) wrock opera called Fair Fortune. This was featured on her fabulous CD Songs from Beedle the Bard and featured the vocal talents of a range of wrockers.

Fortunately, although having seen it I'm even more gutted at not having been there, someone at the performance videoed it and uploaded it onto You Tube. Obviously, I need to share this with everyone (if you haven't yet bought the CD go get it now!) so below are parts one and two of what would have been for me, a highlight of Leaky Con.

Cast:
Narrator - Christie Mowery (Hawthorn and Holly)
Asha - Kristina Horner (The Parselmouths)
Altheda - Erin Pyne (The House of Black)
Amata - Lena Gabrielle (The Butterbeer Experience)
Sir Luckless - Jason Munday (Ministry of Magic)

Wrock Bargain of the Week

Obviously Leaky Con was the perfect place for many of the Wizard Rock bands who were performing to release new albums and the fabulous Draco and the Malfoys were no different.

In fact, they've just released two albums - It's a Slytherin World and An Anthology of Slytherin Folk Music.

Brilliant news at any time, I'm sure you'd agree. But, to make things even better, for a limited time they are offering both albums at the special price of $20, regardless of where in the World you live.

Better still they have also added clips of each of their songs, not only for the two new albums but for their two previous (and totally must-have) albums, Draco and the Malfoys and Party Like You're Evil.

While you're there add yourself to their mailing list and follow them on twitter.

Go on, do yourself a favour and check them out. You definitely won't regret it!

Wizard Rock People's Choice Awards 2009 Results

Okay, so the WRPCA's have finally been announced at Leaky Con and on Wizrocklopedia.

I will admit to being a little disappointed that most of them were won by the bigger names in the Wrock world, although I suppose that will always be the case. After all, the older established and better known bands like The Remus Lupins and Ministry of Magic will have a much larger fan base than bands like Split Seven Ways, and are therefore going to get more of the votes.

It was also clear that the results were dominated by bands from the US. Hopefully, with the amount of good quality bands that the rest of the world are producing, international bands might have a better showing in future years' awards (with the help of things like the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club), although the US bands still have a huge advantage in gaining fans with being able to tour the US, which many of the international bands can't afford to do.

There was some good news for the UK Wrock scene, with RiddleTM winning four awards, including best female singer, but this left the talent of such great bands as Peeved, Split Seven Ways and Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office unrewarded.

Anyway, without further ado here are the results of the Wizard Rock People's Choice Awards 2009:

Best Male Vocals: Ministry of Magic

Best Female Vocals: RiddleTM

Best New Artist: Madam Pince and the Librarians

Best Full Length Album: Goodbye Privet Drive by Ministry of Magic

Best EP: A War Amidst Pop Songs by The Mudbloods

Best Album Art: Frankie Franco III for Goodbye Privet Drive by Ministry of Magic

Best Song: Seven Potters by The Remus Lupins

Best Solo Artist: Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

Best Duo: The Moaning Myrtles

Best Group Effort: Minstry of Magic

Best Band From Beyond The Grave: The Remus Lupins

Best Band Featuring a Magical Creature: The Basilisk in Your Pasta

Best Hufflepuff Band: Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

Best Gryffindor Band: The Remus Lupins

Best Slytherin Band: Draco and the Malfoys

Best Ravenclaw Band: The Moaning Myrtles

Best Non Hogwarts Band: The Whomping Willows

Best Kept Secret Award: RiddleTM

Best Youth Effort: The Hungarian Horntails

Band of the Year: Ministry of Magic

Best Music Video: Covah Yr Junk by Jace MacDonald

Best Live Act: Ministry of Magic

Band Using the Most Exotic Instrument: The Parselmouth's for the use of Eia's tap shoes

Best Collaboration: Goodbye Privet Drive by Ministry of Magic with Kristina Horner

Best Dance Song: Seven Potters by The Remus Lupins

Best Holiday Song: Nargles in the Misletoe by The Moaning Myrtles

Best Comedy Song: Covah Yr Junk by Big Whompy

Best Folk/Country/Blues Song: A Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love by The Mudbloods

Best Techno/Electronica Song: The Bravest Man I Ever Knew by Ministry of Magic

Best Punk Song: I Believe in Nargles by The Whomping Willows

Best Rap/Hip Hop Song: In Which Moaning Myrtle Moans by The Moaning Myrtles

Best Memorial Song: The Bravest Man I Ever Knew by Ministry of Magic

Best remixed Song: It's Still Snowing, Danny Dementor's remix of Catchlove's It's Snowing

Best Metawizard Song: For Jo by RiddleTM

International Awards: Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls and RiddleTM

Finally, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to The Remus Lupins

It might seem that I was being a bit negative about the awards, but I didn't mean to be. All the artists who won strongly deserved it; after all I own almost all the albums by these bands and would love to see them all live one day (yes, I know, I should have been at Leaky Con where most of them have been playing this weekend!)

I just feel that with the wealth of talent in the Wrock world these days I'm not sure that these awards do justice to the hard work put in by some of the lesser known bands who have produced albums that are at least as good as, if not better than the better known bands. After all if you only have 700 friends on your Myspace, you can't possibly hope to reach the same amount of people as a band with over 20,000 friends on theirs!

Leaky Con!!!

So everyone knows that this weekend is Leakycon, the Leaky Cauldron's Harry Potter Conference being held in Boston.

I am really gutted to not be there. The conference itself looks fun enough, with round tables and workshops by the Pottercast staff and others and a healthy dose of social issues by the Harry Potter Alliance, without taking into account the truly awesome amount of entertainment being laid on. There will be live podcasts, and keynote dinners and, of course, Wizard Rock...lots of Wizard Rock.

This evening kicks off with Evil Night! which features Draco and the Malfoys, The Parselmouths, Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills and Swish and Flick. Tomorrow continues with Rock Night featuring Harry and the Potters, The Whomping Willows, Gred and Forge, and Tonks and the Aurors. Saturday afternoon has Wrock Afternoon - featuring The Remus Lupins, The Moaning Myrtles, The Mudbloods and RiddleTM and then there is the Rocking Charity Ball to end Saturday evening in style.

Add to this The Butterbeer Experience (and friends) one-off staging of her wrock opera - Fountain of Fair Fortune and a performance by the ever-popular Potter Puppet Pals, not to mention after-show parties with performances by people like Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons and you get an idea of exactly what I’m missing. It will also be during the conference that the Wizrocklopedia’s Wizard Rock People’s Choice Awards will be announced.

If I wasn’t already aware, excitement by friends who are going and a live concert (which I watched via blog.tv and didn’t finish until 5.30am this morning my time) at the Sidewalk cafe last night featuring Witherwings, Snidget, The Butterbeer Experience, Swish and Flick and The House of Black have helped to really rub in what I’m missing.

In retrospect I really wish I had just borrowed the money and gone. I know that I'm missing something truly momentous and listening to it on Pottercast or whatever just doesn't make up for it. Although in one way not being there is a good thing. With so many brilliant bands releasing new albums this weekend, along with t shirts and other HP goodies I’d probably need as much in spending money as it would have cost to get there!

Wizard Rock People's Choice Awards

I’m a little late in reporting this, but the final Wizard Rock People’s Choice Awards nominations are up on Wizrocklopedia. Voting is open until May 15th so get on over there if you haven't already. I was please at how many of my original nominations ended up on there – and dismayed at how much good stuff I’d completely missed thinking about. As ever the final choices were hard to make, but I’ve managed to cast my vote, although I desperately wish there had been four places for international band and more for best kept secret.

Dawlish and the Archies and the Terrible Fan Fic

Anyone who was lucky enough to be around yesterday evening could have had the opportunity to join me and a select few others in the live performance, by Dawlish & the Archies, of the worst Harry Potter fan fiction of all time 'My Immortal'.

I have to admit I initially tuned in curious to see what the fuss was about, but soon Dawlish's excellent performance had me laughing so hard that I settled down to watch the complete thing and even managed to get Mrs H3 to join me (and yes she enjoyed it just as much).

Fortunately as it was shown on UStream, the video is still there for anyone to watch in two fantastic parts.

If you get time you really should check it out (although obviously without the live interaction it might lose a little something). Anyway, still worth a watch in my opinion.

Oh and you, like the rest of us, might need the written version of the story to refer to when you can't understand what the hell Dawlish is talking about because of the abbreviations! *LOL*

My Immortal - Part One

My Immortal - Part Two

Harry Potter Podcasts

Last night I listened to Accio-Potter Wizard Radio’s first live podcast. Now I love listening to Harry Potter related podcasts, be it the informative and entertaining Pottercast and Mugglecast or the truly wonderful Snapecast (which isn’t produced anywhere near regularly enough for my liking – of course I’m not at all biased about that), however I’ve never really got into the Wizard Rock podcasts. Mainly this is due to a lack of time – after all listening to all these podcasts takes a great deal of time and I just don’t have enough, but also because I already have plenty of Wizard Rock (over three thousand tracks at the last count) to listen to and of course then I have to find time for my Muggle music too.

Now I know other Wrock podcasts do exist. When I first found Wizard Rock I used to listen to Atriumcast and I have listened to a few episodes of WZRD and the Harry Potter Wizard Rock Radio, but finding myself unexpectedly at home with nothing much on at a time that was actually compatible (no mean feat when you’re living in the UK and most HP-related things are from the US with their inconvenient early morning timings) I decided to log on and listen to the live show.

And I really enjoyed it. Of course being old I had trouble getting connected and I never did manage to work out where the polls and the chat they kept mentioning on the show was going on (if anyone can point me in the right direction for the future I would be grateful), but I thought the music was excellent, the hosts did a pretty good job and it was nice to hear an interview with Jarrod from Gred and Forge about what he's up to.

Of course I was especially happy as they played The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and RiddleTM amongst others and a song that I really want to get hold of (so someone please tell me where I can get it) Wizards Who Died by The Remus Lupins. This is of course a cover of the classic Jim Carroll song People Who Died from his wonderful album Catholic Boy and was for me one of the highlights of the evening.

I guess the live podcast was a success because there’s another one on 16th May and if I find myself at home again I will definitely be tuning in and would urge you to do the same.

All You Need Is (Wizard) Love

Okay, so I wanted to post about this awesome new compilation album that was created to help fund Wrockstock Staffer Rose's trip to Zambia. She’s volunteering there for 4-6 months, teaching kids how to read and working with AIDS relief. The money raised from the album (and let’s face it, it’s not expensive - a minimum donation of $10) will go towards things like flights, vaccinations, and living expenses whilst there.

The album contains 14 songs originally by The Beatles, but transfigured into wizard rock by some of the best bands on the scene, mastered by Christian of Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls.

The track listing is as follows:
Grindylows's Garden - Draco and the Malfoys
All Together Now - The Nifflers w/ Alex Carpenter
Millicent - Justin Finch-Fletchley
I've Just Seen A Witch - Madame Pince and the Librarians
Stubby Raccoon - DJ Luna Lovegood
The Weasley Family - The Holyhead Harpies w/ Catchlove and Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
Black Family Tree - Hawthorn and Holly
I'll Follow Their Son - The Remus Lupins
Sybill Trelawney - Catchlove
A Hog's Head Night - The Blood Traitors
All My Magic - Creevey Crisis
Why Don't We Do It In The Burrow? - Tonks and the Aurors
House Elves - Dreary Inferi
Mean Mr. Filch/ Lavender Brown/ She Died In An Upstairs Bathroom - Gred and Forge

Now I love the Beatles and I was really impressed at the great reworking of these classic songs in wizard rock style. An excellent compilation in my opinion and, as is often the case with Wizard Rock, for a very worthy cause.

If you want to buy a copy of the album please click on this link and it will take you to the order page. The album is in download format to cut down on production costs.