The City Consumes Us

So, in April, Rhubarb Bomb reaches the ripe old age of five. That kinda works; I’d say we have the attention span and grammatical skills of a five year old. And we are going to have a party too.

This is the three part plan to our celebrations, centred around a Pledge campaign. Pay attention!

Compilation Album

We have collected tracks from a range of Wakefield bands past and present. Bands that we have supported over our five years. Looking back over the old issues, it wasn’t hard to pick out certain recurring names and in many cases the bands have developed alongside us, growing as we have into something approaching respectability.

All the tracks on the album are exclusive to this compilation, for which we heartily thank all the bands. It will feature tracks by The Cribs, The Research, Pylon, Lapels, The Old House, Piskies Sits, The Spills, St Gregory Orange, Skint & Demoralised, Mi Mye, Middleman, Runaround Kids, The Whippets, Tiny Planets, Protectors, Imp, One Day After School… & The Passing Fancy.

The album will be available as a download or as part of a deluxe package, which leads us to part two…

Limited Edition Book

How could we package this record? Do people want CDs anymore? How about inside a book?

The second part of our celebration is a 200 page paperback, which comes with a CD version of the album. It’s the most ambitious thing we have ever done.

In part, it is the story of Rhubarb Bomb; how it began, how it grew and what it learnt. Naturally, it is also the story of the bands it has worked with, told through re-edited, reordered old articles. It isn’t the story of ‘Wakefield Music’ but of a group of people making things happen in their city and also follows the story of certain institutions close to us, including Philophobia Records, Louder Than Bombs Records, Greenmount Studios and former venue Escobar.

But it also expands further than that. New interviews and articles touch upon Rhubarb Bomb’s place within a wider Indie community, what a zine has to offer in the 21^st century and the importance of DIY ideals. These ideas are explored further through interviews with legendary Indie figures such as Mark E Smith, Malcolm Middleton, Luke Haines, Emma Pollock, Eddie Argos, David Gedge, Emmy The Great, Russell Senior and of course, The Cribs.

The book features brand new designs throughout. It’s not just pages of text; there are over 100 pictures, many previously unseen, to help us tell our story.

Launch Night

The book is being funded through a Pledge Campaign which is active NOW. The album download, which will feature further exclusive content, is available there, as is the book. There are also some other special and exclusive items to hopefully tempt you.

The launch event for The City Consumes Us will take place on April 21^st at The Orangery, Wakefield. It is a beautiful 18^th Century Grade II listed building in the very centre of Wakefield; a literal stones throw from Westgate Train Station.

There will be numerous bands from the compilation performing, including The Spills, Piskie Sits, Runaround Kids, Mi Mye, Imp, One Day After School…, St Gregory Orange and The Passing Fancy with more TBA. Some will perform inside the grand building itself, others in its gardens, viaducts and secret corners.

We’ve got other ideas up our sleeves too. Compilation Exchanges. One off merchandise. Art Displays. We’ve also asked each band playing to perform a cover of a track by any other Wakefield band. It’s going to be a memorable night.

It kicks of at 3pm. Entry to this event is £5 on the door. However, it is free as part of one of the Pledges if you download the album.

And that is where we are at. If you can spread the word in any way, please do. This is a tiny bit of history right here and we want to preserve it for future generations of zine writers, bands and music lovers. Thanks for your support.