Timperley Rhapsodies: Music for Frank Sidebottom

"Timperley Rhapsodies", recorded live at the Chapel in the Garden, Bridport, April 2014.

TIMPERLEY RHAPSODIES - a celebration of Frank Sidebottom

Immediately after the screening of Jon Ronson & Lenny Abrahamson's FRANK at Bridport's From Page to Screen Festival, head to the Chapel in the Garden for an after party where unique, one off songwriters perform songs by and inspired by the unique, one off Frank Sidebottom. 

With performances from Ergo Phizmiz ("“We can't decide whether he's the new Viv Stanshall, a young Eno, a British Zappa, or a replacement for Frank Sidebottom (RIP)” - The Guardian), Oblivian Substanshall, and Elvis Herod, this is a one off, unmissable evening of outsider entertainment.

Also exhibiting will be the giant, fibreglass heads created by Martha Moopette for Ergo Phizmiz's productions of The Third Policeman and Gargantua an excessive entertainment by Ergo Phizmiz ....

Tickets just £4. Can you resist? Didn't think so.

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THE INTERNATIONAL BIRDIE SONG

Elvis Herod & Ergo Phizmiz Dance to the Bells - New performance for 2012

A 12 hour durational performance from Elvis Herod & Ergo Phizmiz, for performance festivals, social interjections, private amusements, and community events.

Elvis & Ergo will arrive in your town attired beautifully with a ramshackle formality and sartorial elegance, and from 6am until 6pm will stand in the vicinity of your local church, interpreting the ringing of the church bells through the art of rhythmic movement, a form in which Elvis & Ergo are both acknowledged masters.

(One only has to discover these two gentlemen tearing up a dance floor in the Slug & Lettuce throwing Cubist disco shapes to realise this.)

Performances may also include special guests....

This long feast of wizard-moves and fancy footwork is available for booking now.

Contact ergophizmiz at gmail dot com with details of your local town and local church.

And just to get you in the mood, here's Ergo Phizmiz, Oblivian Substanshall, and Martha Moopette dancing to ABBA.

Anything But The Third Policeman - Part One

In 2011 Ergo Phizmiz created an electronic opera on Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman, which toured the UK and into Rotterdam. For licensing reasons we are unable to present audio or video of the opera. This is the first in a series of "Anything But The Third Policeman" short films, featuring footage from the tour, backstage footage, footage of artists from the tour performing their own music, and little things that happened along the way. Featuring Ergo Phizmiz, Martha Moopette, Monkton Wylde, Oblivian Substanshall, Vulnavia Vanity, and Elvis Herod.

The Third Policeman - First shows and Times review

Well folks! We're back. "The Third Policeman" has premiered, much (very tired and rather intense) fun was had by all.

Audience so far have loved it and detested it, as indicated in the image above. Which is, of course, just the way we like it....

Today's issue of The Times featured a rather splendid review of the show, below...

This link will take you to a photo gallery of images taken by Claire Shovelton (the above image is taken from Claire's gallery).

The lovely Tom Ravenscroft has also been drumming up support for the show, via his 6Music show where he featured a ten minute mix of songs and music from The Third Policeman, and in his New Statesman column, where he writes:

"You should probably expect to be at first a little startled - the music will be wildly unpredictable as I suspect will be his actions. I would be almost concerned if you had witnessed anything like it before. He is a burst of imagination, colour and noise, which has in the past left me sitting jaw collapsed on the floor, speechless as to how someone can so beautifully map out such madness."



Read the full article here.

And finally, today's blog would not be complete without this image of the Gang of Rogues a few minutes before going our separate ways.

Many thanks to Caroline & Izzy, Bill, Anna, Nell and all the other lovelies of Tete-a-Tete...

And let's not forget thanks to the Third Policeman team Erik Bumbledonk, Vulnavia Vanity, Oblivian Substanshall, Martha Moopette, Mike Wade, Bryan Innes Parker, Lucinda Guy, Talulah Lotus & Autumn Poppy. See you for more shows from October to December......

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 6 - Fun With Shadows and Shapes

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 5 - Guest Post by Vulnavia Vanity

Reporting from the underneath of Grindia Studios, Bridport, is artist, actor, composer and raconteur Vulnavia Vanity, who plays the Protagonist in Ergo Phizmiz's "The Third Policeman".

Hello cheekies, it's Vulnavia here.

Is it about a bicycle?

  Of course it is. Why else would you be here were it not for the magnetic pull of the slender frame, the soft ring of the bell, the firm yet supple grip of the handlebars beneath your fingers, the hypnotic spin of the wheels?

Yes. The bicycle is truly a masterpiece crafted by the human hand, second only perhaps to the jam sandwich or the typewriter.
All this said, personally I have an irrational fear of riding a bicycle.

This stems from a traumatic experience in France when I was brave enough to mount a bicycle, only to discover that bicycle brakes are pretty damn strong, and when my little journey around the garden ceased to a halt, I fell onto the frame, crotch first.

My testicles bled.

It would give me copius amounts of pleasure to sail along the streets on a beautiful, vintage model with a little basket on the back to pick up bread from he boulangerie.

But I'm afraid this will never happen.

But at least The Third Policeman helps me live out my fantasies.

The rehearsal process has been very interesting thus far and has gone surprisingly smoothly, although we still have a terribly long way to go in four days. 

This is a role unlike I have ever played before, in the sense that a great percentage of the show I am interacting with other characters who are just recorded voices.

I've been exploring my characterzation quite extensively over the last week or so and have eventually discovered the Protagonist's physicality. In a style almost reminiscent of Bouffon Clown, the Protagonist has his deformity (the wooden leg) and this completely compromises how he moves, his stance and also his attitude. This yonder photograph captures it rather well:

To finish, we have also been playing with shadow behind the projection and have discovered taken some quite lovely images. Look at Grandma Vulnavia for example:

And Grampa:

Ergo & Oblivian dance:

And we say a tender hello to a newly dead friend.

Nanu-Nanu & all that, lovelies ♥

And here is Vulnavia Vanity in his prime, with his rather splendid single "Worse Things Happen at Sea"....

And resplendent in Ergo Phizmiz & Martha Moopette's "Barbette" from "Fulcanelli's Shoes"...

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 4

The Third Policeman rehearsals, Day 3, and Sounds From The Underground Chamber Podcast 2

The second instalment of the Sounds From the Underground Chamber podcast features Ergo, Erik & Vulnavia rehearsing the Finnucane section of The Third Policeman.

Autumn Poppy and Bubbles

Erik in flight

The coronation

Ergo throwing DeSelby shapes

I'm a robber with a knife

Oblivian & Ergo chat to Autumn, whilst Erik appears to piss up the wall

MacCruiskeen & MacCruiskeen

Sergeant MacCruiskeen throwing Freddie Mercury poses

Oblivian Substanshall arrives

Arguing over a manuscript

Talulah Lotus

Smiling Houmous

Terrified Vulnavia

New Oblivian Substanshall album produced by Ergo Phizmiz

The new album from Oblivian Substanshall, which is produced by Ergo Phizmiz, is available now on Ergo's netlabel Chinstrap. Go there and grrrrab it for freeeee.

Howtosayto

HOWTOSAYTO Saturday 12th March 2011 at Bridport Arts Centre.

Curated by Ergo Phizmiz & Martha Moopette

Ergo Phizmiz "The Mourning Show" starring Erik Bumbledonk as Chris Evans

Live music from:
Vulnavia Vanity
Eleanor Davis
Oblivian Substanshall
Robert Lee & Friends
Erik Bumbledonk
Amie Willingale
Ergo Phizmiz

DJ Courtley Love spins a bunch of badgoodbeauties

Films from
Martha Moopette
Phil Lane
Erik Bumbledonk
Maria Deegan
Carl Rosendahl
Alexander Jones

Howtosayto @ Bridport Arts Centre

Howtosayto? One would expect this query to have a simple, one-dimensional solution. Life is, however, rarely so straightforward, and set to wreak the freshly odoured havoc of uber simple anti-simplicity will be a flock of artists, writers, thieves, raconteurs, chefs, composers, charlatans and burlesque dancers taking over Bridport Arts Centre on 12th March, 2011.

Showcasing work by creatives existing outside the fairly contemptible rotten gammon stench of the art and music industry/world, Howtosayto will present an evening of delights for your aural-retinal palates to savour like strawberries with sugar on a Summer's morning.

Baked in an immense pan by internationally acclaimed Dadachefs Ergo Phizmiz & Martha Moopette, the evening is a luxurious casserole of ingredients from across the UK, set to sizzle with world spices and just a dash of arsenic.

The sartorial elegance of Vulnavia Vanity will present tasteful slices of ukulele uberpop. Master Professor of Surrealism Oblivian Substanshall will fill your wanting mouths with spoken-word odysseys from the depths of Edward Lear's oven. Future-anti-pop-supergroup Angela Valid present a wordless cookbook of shatters and rattles, like a heavenly kitchen hurtling through space. Eleanor Davis will put a viola and her mouth into a pan, let them gently simmer, and see what comes out. Ergo Phizmiz will perform his new piece "Fulcanelli's Shoes", which includes no cooking but plenty of time-travel and a picture of Simon Cowell looking like a murderer.

The evening will also showcase some of the cream of contemporary film-making, including music videos and installations by the multi-award winning Martha Moopette, "Process No 18" by Phil Lane, a Duckumentary by Alexander Jones, and the UK premiere screening of the film "Slitscan Carnival" by Carl Rosendahl, one of the founders of renowned animation studio Dreamworks.

Bringing out the extra spices will be burlesque dancer Amethyst Shivers, who is of course likely to heat up the proceedings, a human Cumin, if you like. The evening will be compered by a comedy legend so underground he's permanently hot from volcanic activity (hence his red hair, the colour of a Rogan Josh), the great Erik Bumbledonk, who was last seen as a suicidal, birdlike imitation of radio DJ Chris Evans, bare-bottomed and jumping out a window to his death.

At the miniscule cost of £3, which now constitutes approximately 3 and a half chocolate bars, or two bags of pasta, or half a bottle of wine, you can't really go wrong. So do come along, wear something dapper or trampsy, whatever is your wont, clean out your eyes and ears (but with something non-corrosive, of course), buy a drink, and learn Howtosayto.

ergophizmiz.net * marthamoopette.blogspot.com * bridportarts.com