Band of the month - March 2010

Our band of the month is IzIggy and Some Weird Sinners

In a break from tradition, we feature our first tribute band. Not only because they are one of our finest tribute bands locally but also because they are an incredibly good rock and roll band in their own right.

IzIggy is Brian

Some Weired Sinners are

Lead guitar: Will
Bass: Luke
Keys: Mikey
Drums: Clemo

Artsin: Tell us about Iziggy & Some Weird Sinners

Iziggy: Well, for myself playing the role of Iziggy, it all started a couple of years ago now. I started to have people come up to me saying how much I looked like Iggy Pop. I didn’t really take much notice to begin with, and it wasn’t really until people started asking for photos with me that I decided to do something about it. I started by having a photo shoot done, and then entered and won a couple of lookalike competitions. I then had some singing lessons as I’d never sung in a band before, and then started to put a band together with the view of starting an Iggy Pop Tribute Band. Two years later and here we are!

Artsin: So how did you guys get together and when did you start playing?

Iziggy: Well Some Weird Sinners are actually my second band. My first band were a bunch of friends of mine who I rounded up, and we started rehearsing a selection of Iggy’s tracks. We were very much based on The Stooges, but after a while it became apparent that the line up wasn’t working and a couple of people left. I then came across Will, the guitarist from Some Weird Sinners, and he initially joined to play bass. After a couple of rehearsals with Will, things really started to change very quickly. Basically, Will took over on guitar, brought in Clemo on the drums and we found another bass player. The only person who made it from the original band was Mike on keyboards! This was the start of Some Weird Sinners, and with both Clemo and Will having experience as producers, things started to move along very quickly. The band took a different direction to the first, so rather than basing the show on The Stooges, they were based on Iggy Pops other band, The Trolls. I think it was a good decision by the guys, it really works well with our live show.

Artsin: Have the band members played in other bands?

Iziggy: Too many to mention! The current line up of Will, Clemo and Luke (bass) are basically session musicians, and they have at least 2 or 3 other bands (tribute and original) on the go at present, as well as other session work. They’re a solid unit, and their experience has really helped. Mike on the keyboard has also done a few bits in the past.

Artsin: When did the band first perform and how did the first gig go?

Iziggy: Our first gig was actually at my birthday party last year. It went well considering it was pretty soon after the new line up was confirmed, although we had different bass player back then in Rob Miller. Our first gig with this line up was in January 2010 at the Keeping It Live conference at the Horseshoe Theatre in Blackpool. It went well, although we did have a couple of technical issues and we were very different to most of the other acts. We got a lot of positive feedback from various agents though which was encouraging.

Artsin: What kind of places do you usually play?

Iziggy: Well, the show has been produced to work in any size of venue. Really it has been put together as a theatre show, and the guys are more than capable of filling a large theatre stage. That said though, it isn’t such a big production that it won’t fit in a smaller venue. Last month we played The Shed and Barley Mow in Leicester, and it was nice to be up close and personal. At the end of the day it’s a high energy, rock and roll show.

Artsin: Does the band perform only Iggy Pop songs or do you also perform other numbers occassionally?

Iziggy: Well, yes and no! We don’t tend to put covers into the set unless it is a cover that Iggy Pop has done himself. For example, Iggy Pop does a cover of Louie Louie by Richard Berry, so that’s on our list. There are no rules really. If we do decide to throw in a cover then we pretty much do a version of how we think Iggy Pop would do it, so as not to take away from the Iggy Pop Experience.

Artsin: You have made a showreel DVD. How did that come about?

Iziggy: Again this was the influence of Will and Clemo. Right from the start they were aware that agents and promoters needed to see the show, rather than just hear a demo, as they said the thing that makes the show work is my likeness to Iggy Pop. Between them they knew what they wanted, so they went ahead and booked a theatre, camera crew, lighting technician, mobile recording studio, stage hands, the lot! They then made sure it was produced to a professional standard, and after the DVD sleeve was designed, we got it manufactured. It cost me an arm and a leg! I’m really pleased with how it has turned out though. The point of it is to send out to agents and promoters, and we are getting a lot of positive feedback, so it was worth the investment.

Artsin: Have you ever met Iggy Pop?

Iziggy: No, not yet! Iggy is touring this year so we’ve all got tickets to go and see him in London in May. We’re gonna try and blag our way backstage hoping that the security mistake me for Iggy!

Artsin: I see the band has been selected to play at the Glastonbudget Festival this year. Are you looking forward to that?

Iziggy: Yeah, it should be amazing. We’ve not been before but we’ve seen the videos on their website and heard a lot of good things from people who have been before, so we’re really looking forward to it.

Artsin: Are there any other tribute bands you have performed with or would like to?

Iziggy:

There are loads of really good tribute bands out there at the moment, so it’s a tough question. I think that we’d like to perform with The Sex Pistols Experience – It would be one hell of a show! Other than that, if it works on the same bill as us, then lets give it go!

Check out the IzIggy web site.

Find out more about the real Iggy Pop.

You can see IzIggy at the Glastonbudget Festival in May.

Previous Bands of the Month

The Manhattan Project, Backline, Messini Assault, Beat Club, The Utopians, Breek, Subdude, Full Circle, Forty More Autumns, Razmataz, Smoking the Profit, The Heroes, The Truth, The Chairmen (Oct 08), Kids in Cars (Nov 08), Formal Warning (Dec 08), The Steptoos (January 09), The Pennyhangers (February 09), Project Notion (March 09). Skam# (April 09), Shortwave Fade (May 09), The Waits (June 09), Kill The Batman (July 09), The Fazed (August 09), Autohype (Sept 09), Weekend Schemers (Oct 09), AstroManiacs (Nov 09), Azidify (Dec 09), Kicking Habits (Jan 10), Drive by Disco (Feb 10), The Stiggz (Feb 10)