'Yes, we write for The Informer student newspaper' , i replied.
'Oh great, because we need to do some publicity as part of our band project' said the guy.
That guy was Pad Wigmore, the lead singer of the student band Revert.
Now i don't generally walk around the University with my eyes closed, but i had never seen these people. I was asked to meet up with them in the music practice room- I have never even been in that part of the University before. Sad really.
Revert consists of Pad Wigmore as lead vocals and syths/keyboard, Alex Pearson on guitar, backing Vocals and keyboard, Stuart Kirby on drums and backing vocals, Chris Wishart on guitar and backing vocals and Katie Bradley on bass.
One thing i notice is the small space they have. It's very, well, basic. There are pipes that run right through all the rooms so the sound travels from each band practice. I start to feel sorry for these guys.
They aren't fazed by the resources they have, as they point out: ‘We waited weeks and weeks to get a whiteboard in here’, so they won’t be holding our breath with that one then.
As soon as they started practising, I forgot all about the lack of resources in the room. They were incredible. I was lucky enough to hear them play a cover of ‘I Predict a Riot’ by the Kaiser Chiefs and I, being a closet Kaiser fan, do not even hesitate in saying I prefer their version to the original.
It’s nice to see they have aspirations in life, with their music. As higher education has been through a change in recent years, with more people going in a different vocational road to a career, here we see these five people sitting here with me that clearly love what they are doing instead of sitting bored in a common room somewhere.
The music course seems to be very well run; they are encouraged to act like a real band by playing any gig they can and trying to set up a fan-base. And it’s not just cover versions they do- they also have to write and produce their very own album, which should be hopefully be out in March next year. Watch this space
Catch up with Revert at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117408&id=140478017157#/pages/Revert/140478017157?v=info&ref=ts
To listen to my interview with Revert click here:
On Bonfire night Revert performed in a gig called 'Firestarter' which was their first major project.
See my review below:
Music students put on a blazing performance on this years bonfire night. From Ash to Electric 6, there was music for everyone to enjoy. The bands could do anything they wanted as long as it made a reference to one thing: fire.
The gig was a collaboration of National Diploma second year music and music technology students, second year media students, and music students from Sunderland College. This huge collaboration was the idea of music lecturer, Leroy Johnson, along with media lecturer, Ed Cooper.
The media students were in charge of filming the gig in full, which was made into a DVD and sold to people who wanted to watch the magic over again.
‘We like to do two big shows a year and it tied in quite a lot of modules and completed a lot of projects in one go because it was on Bonfire night I thought of fire, so fire-related songs’ said Leroy
The first thing people noticed was how professional the stage was, with a handy trick of white cloth and orange light giving the illusion of fire on either side of the stage. Media students had four different cameras connected to three screens in the background enhancing the audience’s view.
The gig was kicked off by two Sunderland students giving an ace performance of The Prodigy’s Firestarter. Songs such as Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and Jimi Hendrix’s Fire were performed by UoC students; with Roxanne Scott giving a wonderful performance of Snow Patrol’s Set the Fire to the Third Bar. The Sunderland student’s performed a mix of songs from Ramstein’s Firefly to Paramore’s Let the Flames Begin.
Music students from Sunderland College teamed up with the University because Leroy is good friends with their lecturer:
‘We’d been over to Sunderland in April to do a little gig so we invited them back to repay the favour really’
