We have whizzed past the Rock and Roll Circus on Canal Road, Armley too many times to mention, loving the name, the colourful doors and signage and promising one day we will get along and experience it…Yes it’s one of those many places in Leeds that we hear great stuff about yet never quite step foot inside.
You don’t have to visit the building to get a flavour of what happens inside as Rob McNish explained when we asked them what they were up to!
Who are you then?
We are: Craig Penington (owner & ringmaster),Richard Hawkins (Manager),Ed Forth (bassist in Just Handshakes – we`re British)
Rob (me – Photo, Web, Remixes aka Lion Tamer/mighty southpaw)
Just what is The Rock & Roll Circus?
The Rock & Roll Circus rehearsal rooms are a far cry from your standard white light drenched concrete boxes, it’s a creative place for creative minds. Our unique decor, cool vibe and easy going staff ensure we earn our reputation as Leeds’ coolest psychedelic rehearsal space. We`ve been going for nearly 4 years now, as a rehearsal studio, but only recently started the blog, so it isnt as meaty as will be! The bands who come through our doors have let me take pictures during their rehearsals and can be found in the “Lion Tamers Tent” on the home page featuring music videos shot on our premises
We not only have bands rehearsing here, but we also teach under 16s at “Rock School”, where during the school holidays we get kids to learn an instrument, form a band, have a go at composing and then play a live gig (at The Wardrobe).
Frequently we change the studio into our own little nightclub on saturday nights. Cops n` Robbers host their Drag N` Drop parties here (there`s one this saturday – dunno what the line up of bands are as yet!) and we put on our own “freakouts” where Bands and DJ`s play – and as there`s no stage you really get a upfront in yer face experience as you`re face to face with the bands. (Oh it`s bring your own booze too!) All of this course will be stuck online – as soon as we recover!
Anything else that would whet our appetite to come visit?
The compilation is a selection of the bands who rehearse with us, and who`ve also become good mates along the way. But this isn`t an exhaustive list of all the bands who use the circus. “A Collection of Calamity” is something we will be doing frequently (there`s a wee rumour that Vol 2 could be a bit more heavier and dark – we`ll see!).
There`s a limited edition CD available (free) at Crash/Jumbo & Hyde Park records. We recently threw a 3 day residency at the Packhorse to celebrate the launch of the album, featuring all 18 bands on the CD. Every release will have a live gig to accompany it – so we`re not just burning CD`s and leaving it at that. Furthermore Dinosaur Pile Up recorded a an exclusive video to our blog to go with the album release.
And what about the undiscovered geniuses out there?
We’re not just aout running a space where bands jam, we want to support and shine a light on every (decent) bedroom songwriter or producer, we recently have put out a call for anyone who makes music in Leeds (and surround) to send their MP3`s to us at info {at} therockandrollcircus.co.uk (Fao Lizzy) Doesn`t matter what style it is – just no more than 7mb. And no uncleared samples obviously.
And if you were in any further doubt that these are the good guys…
We`ve just put up our first 5 songs for “Mad March selection 1” to download. And will be covering each artist over the weeks. these are separate from the “Calamity series” – there will be no gig or CD version – just a lunch packs worth of new music – for a limited time. We make no money out of this or the Calamity compilations or gigs. It`s all about doing something for the musicians who pay our bills (we`re all musicians too!) and looking locally, and around for new music – instead of looking to London or Manchester