“ I've got a pocket full of tricks and a fix that'll save the day... ”
Not to go on and on and on, but if you’ve downloaded the Curse Of The Mirror Wicked EP and enjoyed the songs, please consider making a donation to YoungMinds. These people are doing good work for our fucked up society. Go sign the petition as well!
Thanks to everyone who has donated so far.
xxx
To Nunhead…
click on each image to view full size, a huge thank-you to the crooked family for a great weekend and a very merry unbirthday to hg,
x
Love Underground, as performed live last night at The Ivy House in Nunhead. A curious, cosy and crooked little venue, all the more special for its off-the-beaten track location.
The gig tonight at Proud Gallery has been reshuffled slightly by the organisers. Bands are now playing in a different order. Not sure exactly who’s on when, so best get there early.
Yo, Anyone around this weekend?
We have two gigs in London, and we will also be celebrating Hg’s birthday… he dont look a day over 70… that man’s having a good gig!!!
Come join in the fun.
Ivy House, Nunhead – Saturday 21st Nov (on stage approx 9pm)
Supporting our friends and fellow Med-ites Up-C Down-C. £3 entry. I know what you’re all thinking, Nunhead’s not even a real place. It is! Check out all this info – only 15 minutes by train from London Victoria to Nunhead station, then a 15-20 min walk to the pub (map here). You can also take the train from London Bridge to Honor Oak Park, then it’s a 25 min walk (map here). Use the National Rail journey planner for train times.
Some other useful shit…
Last train back to Victoria is 23:20 (arriving 23:38). Last train back to London Bridge is 23:40 (arriving 23:52). Otherwise, the N343 night bus runs from Cheltenham Road. Turn left out of the pub and walk to the end of Stuart Road, bus stop EK is directly opposite. It goes direct to Trafalgar Square every 30 mins from 00:27 onwards and takes about half an hour.
Proud Gallery, Camden – Sunday 22nd Nov (on stage approx 10pm 9pm?)
A Fellini-inspired night… I’m embarrased that I don’t know much about this guy, a very interesting film maker.
Proud Gallery is about half-way between Camden Town and Chalk Farm tube stations (map here). More information in the flyer above.
Bob’s been away on tour with Motorhead for what feels like ages now but we’re hoping he’ll be back for this one, banging his box loud and proud.
Show Yourself.
Tom x
A very important part of the work of YoungMinds is the support it provides to the parents of children and young people with mental health issues. One of the often forgotten aspects of any illness is the situation of the carers whose own lives are impacted by the responsibility that they take on in looking after someone else.
In our two-part interview last week, Lupen Crook mentioned his partner, Sam. She was the person who first suggested that the band should lend its support to a charitable cause. With the EP now released, I was interested to get her perspective on the project, as well as her relationship with Mr Crook and his musical output in general.
As Lupen Crook’s partner of several years, what’s it like being involved both emotionally and domestically with someone with schizoaffective disorder?
I always think of it as living in a shadow. My life is dictated by an overpowering force I cannot control, touch or see. Some days are amazing, some are bearable and some are sheer moments of hell. It is hard to know what day to expect, how long it will last and whether we will both come out of it together. Emotionally it is a battle we will never win, which is made more difficult by the fact we were never aware we were even signing up to it. Nonetheless, he’s my best friend, child, husband and enemy all rolled into one. With that combination, why would I ever give up? I guess the answer is that it is bloody hard work.
Mr Crook’s lyrics are brutally honest, if sometimes tangentially expressed. How do you feel about the songs that cover you and/or your relationship?
They are the things he can never say in ‘real’ life, which makes me sad but it gives me the chance to understand his thoughts for that moment of time. I have to appreciate some people never get that insight, whether their partner is mentally ill or not. However, there are some songs I will never voluntarily listen to. I would rather not be reminded of some of the events that have happened, let alone having all my friends and family listening to them too. On the other hand it’s quite nice having a running record of my life.
You were the inspiration behind the band getting involved with YoungMinds. Why did you think their involvement in this type of cause was important?
Because of the misconception of young people and artists: if a young person is mentally ill, they’re attention seeking; if an artist, he’s an alcoholic or drug addict. I am supportive of third world charities etc, but I also think what of your child sitting in their bedroom slicing themselves with a pair of scissors while you absently cook dinner? What of your friend who cries themself to sleep, sure the devil is stalking them? What of a neighbour too scared to leave the house and you just call them anti-social and “weird”? What of those people? If you have a voice, use it, and under the circumstances there is no better voice than Lupen.
What’s your advice for anyone living with, caring for or otherwise supporting a friend, family member or loved one with mental health issues?
Do not judge, as no one knows the judgment of God. I cannot really offer any advice apart from that, but also to take one day at a time and never forget about your own life. The brain can be a strong and wonderful tool, but it can also be fragile. Make sure you take care of yourself too.
–
The band has chosen to direct any EP-related donations made by fans towards the YoungMinds parents’ helpline service. We’ll be telling you more about this service on the website next week.
You can download the Curse Of The Mirror Wicked EP here.
Whisperin And Hollerin published a lengthy feature on the Curse of the Mirror Wicked EP yesterday. Part review, part interview, part editorial, it’s a detailed response to this release in particular and the band’s overall ethos in general.
“Whilst it may initially feel like a comedown from the adventure of previous releases, about five listens in these songs get into you, and they stay, putting this up there with some of the best songs they have ever written. Having had this EP for about a week, my I-pod is starting to sigh with my predictability. It’s a compulsive listen that grows. Few bands are worthy of the near sycophantism. It’s a new dimension to what they do, these self-referential confessions told with elements of remorse. The context of this release makes each track poignant, with the themes never sounding more explicit than on ‘Devil’s Son.’”
As a semi-objective assessment of both what the band has been up to this year and the ideas behind this latest project, we think you might enjoy it. It’s a great summary to read alongside our own two-part interview published last week.
Free MP3 download: Curse Of The Mirror Wicked
Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds are proud to unveil their latest release, Curse Of The Mirror Wicked. This EP is released in support of YoungMinds. There’s more information on the mini-site explaining why. If you enjoy the music, please consider making a donation to the charity.
Here’s one of the songs from the EP, performed last night at The Flowerpot in Kentish Town. A slightly more acoustic set than normal, with Bob away and Tom filling in on percussion duty. Check out that high-tech, rice-filled salt shaker and borrowed tambourine… no expense spared!
Download the EP here… let us know what you think x
The curse of Friday 13th… two gigs in one night, Mr Crook unexpectedly solo, caught first in the beacon’s spotlight at Gillingham, then winching up the stakes and burning The Heretic in style at Maidstone an hour and a half later.
The band will be playing at The Flowerpot in Kentish Town tomorrow evening. Stage time approximately 9pm 8:30pm, no entry fee. Advance access to the download site for the new EP if you grab a flyer. Hope to see you there x
Due to unforeseen circumstances the gigs tonight have had to be rearranged. Sickness has befallen certain members of the Murderbirds. Both gigs tonight, the Beacon Court and Style and Winch, are now to be performed solo.
For those who are coming along, make sure you grab the flyer that will allow advance access to the Curse Of The Mirror Wicked EP.
In the second part of this feature (first installment here), Lupen Crook talks about the broader concept behind the forthcoming EP and outlines some of the ideas that inspired its songs. He also explains the reasons for choosing to support YoungMinds and why the charity’s work deserves your attention.
The new EP is called Curse Of The Mirror Wicked. What does this title symbolise?
Cats, mirrors, magpies, and triangles are all images that have both assisted and resisted my development over the years. It once struck me that paranoia is merely a heightened kind of vanity. In our day and age, for me the mirror represents vanity and in turn represents paranoia, which in turn leads us straight into the lobby of lunacy. I wonder whether, when the ego is provided for too much – or in fact the ‘animal self’ is too weak to keep the ego in line – dangerous and uncontrollable states of mind can arise.
Humans are so utterly concerned with the relationship between themselves and everything else around them. Eyes looking into a mirror that in turn are looking back. Thoughts that trace lines, refracting and reflecting back into the mind. People believing, feeling, and knowing, that certain things are afoot when in fact the only evidence for their belief exists within their mind… these are very frustrating experiences. Such scenarios panic the senses, fray the edges of nerves and are often the beginning of a spiral into all sorts of psychological mayhem.
I guess that’s where this title comes from: thoughts like these, silly ideas. Because of the mind’s ability to be so irrational, ultimately, for me, the greatest human mystery is our mysterious relationship with ourselves. Deludedly, I like to believe mental illness is a symptom of our evolution – growing pains of the mind.
Tell us about the songs on the EP. What subjects do they cover and what was their inspiration?
Sunshine Devils is about being human. I have recently dreamed of Death Valley – oh, the wonder of living life in that hot heat and inescapable surroundings, to see if I were able to survive in those conditions, as only few animals can. It was written as a vocal line after I’d slept the night in an internet cafe in Oxford Circus. I had staggered half-awake into the crossroads at 8am, to witness the beautiful and insane rush past me on their way to work. Hardly a desert setting, yet I felt so separate from all else around me, this song seemed to encapsulate that mood of being in a desert perfectly.
Just before the release of The Lost Belongings EP on July 4th I lost my voice due to a bout of laryngitis. The thought occurred that this could well be a curse laid upon me for my ill actions and cruel methodical practices: karma. As I’ve said, this kick-started the beginning of a relapse, so Love Underground was initially a song about that, and embracing the almost certain fact that this band and our music are destined to spend their life lost to obscurity. Boy That Won’t Be Told is simply about the terrible treatment of my partner Sam, who bears the brunt of my awful psychosis and ill-tempered pokes to the side.
Devil’s Son was written whilst wandering the streets of London, mad as I can be, at a time when I was completely hell-bent, moon-drunk and beastly; ill at ease with everything around me, looking forward to the prospect of disappearing forever. Of Lovers And Lost Children is the last song written in this chapter of songs (and that includes the forthcoming album), simply about a man admitting to himself and his love what he has become, a man seeking forgiveness. Dead Girls And Daggers always was and remains a simple ‘throwaway’ song: a drunken dance number, pure pop, a bit of fun with sinister subject matter pinning it to the ground.
The EP’s release supports the YoungMinds mental health charity. What do you think is the importance of this organisation in particular?
In discussions over the summer, there was talk of focusing the new album around a project like this, on the subject of mental illness. However, it became clear that this was inappropriate and slightly unjust. We didn’t want this to appear as a marketing ploy, so the decision was made quite hastily to record a live session and release it as a charitable EP before the album. We used the fee from our most recent gig to go back into Ranscombe Studios for one day. Jim Riley contributed to the cause with a very kind discounted session. We recorded, mixed and mastered these six tracks in seven hours. As for the choice of charity, it goes without saying that my recent episode was a definite factor. As myself and Bob Murderbird are parents, it felt even more appropriate to select this charity in particular.
I don’t believe we can cure a mental illness. I’m not entirely sure I would want to if it was possible. Nevertheless, understanding mental illness is an absolute necessity if we are serious about pushing forth and succeeding as a society. YoungMinds deals with children, teenagers and the parents of those who may be suffering from mental illness. A parent will naturally suffer awful pangs of guilt, sometimes leading to a dangerous denial of their child’s deteriorating behaviour and mind. Mental illnesses remain an awkward subject and I have been keen to tackle that. Awareness can only lead to further understanding, and understanding is paramount to our survival. If we don’t survive ourselves, we are working towards a blank future. Children are the future, so YoungMinds was the charity I wanted to focus this release upon.
As 2009 draws to a close and a shiny new decade is only a few weeks away, how do you feel about the future?
Terrified, but in bloody good company. So goes the Crooked Family.
–
The download link for the Curse Of The Mirror Wicked mini-site will appear on this site on Monday morning. In the meantime, any questions or comments are welcome. If you can make it to any of the band’s gigs in Gillingham, Maidstone or Kentish Town this weekend, we’ll see you there.
