Schmod

September 1996 In a flat above a kebab shop in Levenshulme, two (grown ?) men were dancing to Japanese pop. One was wearing a papier mache fish head and the other was streaking. This was not an initiation ceremony for a bizarre cult (so they'll have us believe !) but the birth of schmod a delicious blend of pop deriving such influences as Funkadelic, The Rutles, James Brown, Talking Heads, U2 and of course the omnipresent Rolf Harris ! Founder members & life long buddies - John A.Stewart (one of the most talented bassists around !) and Mr Lee Jay Taylor, THE quintessential blues maestro and all round geetah man, having been in countless different bands decided it was time to combine their creative prowess and in doing so formed the bedrock of THE super group for the new Millennium.... schmod ! After several months writing new material the duo recorded their first collaborative demo - "Let there be schmod" working both day and night at Star Trak Studios, Manchester to complete what was to be the first of many a milestone to come. To promote their new mini album the duo hit the stage and before long other musicians were begging to join. Countless auditions followed but without success and luckily so .... for, was it pure coincidence or divine intervention that whilst driving to the rehearsal studio the car in which Lee and John were travelling was rear ended at a set of traffic lights? It was only when exchanging details that the two schmodsters noticed the drum kit in the back of the car which had crashed into them. Shortly afterwards Richard 'Morph' Mortimer demonstrated that his powerful drumming prowess made him a worthy member of schmod. schmod were now three !! The 1997 line up was to be soon completed with the addition of 'Mr Techno Head' Brendan Berney supplying soaring strings, loops and samples. Longshoot, Wigan, the site where Oliver Cromwell had previously shot his load was to bear Witness to yet another highly charged historic event. schmod's debut performance saw them supported by one of Wigans most accomplished and long standing bands - the legendary Tansads. Those with a keen eye on the crowd and a finger on the pulse would have recognised that grooving to the quirky popsters were those hotly tipped and newly signed fellow Wigan Pie Eaters and friends - Witness! Countless gigs followed - most notably, Battle of The Bands at Lancaster University where schmod were voted 2nd by the judges and 1st by the audience. schmod then targetted the Manchester scene with a number of recalls to The Boardwalk and The Manchester Roadhouse demonstrating their popularity and showmanship. The lads were given the opportunity to re-affirm their reigning title when at the last minute they were asked to perform at a second Battle of The Bands at Lancaster University. Unfortunately, by this time other commitments meant that Brendan was proving increasingly more difficult to get hold of and with only a days notice it looked more and more like schmod would have to perform as a three piece. On the day of the gig with only 30 minutes to 'curtain', Morph rang to inform the guys that he had been involved in yet another crash - certainly did look like curtains!!!. However, rather than make a drama out of a crisis, the two linchpins, Lee & John went on to wow the audience & judges with a superb acoustic set which stole the show and earned them a deserved first place. Oh yeah, Morph was ok too and took solace in the fact that his driving exploits provided the inspiration for the schmod classic CRASH !! The band were soon in great demand with gigs arranged at the Dome in Morecambe (with The Tansads in support) and further recalls to The Boardwalk and Manchester Roadhouse. The 1997 Adlington Carnival - officially the second largest organised UK carnival after Notting Hill, provided the back-drop for an intimate schmod performance in the front room of Radio 4 presenter Glyn Hughes. The new year saw the guys working hard to write and rehearse new material. The Crash/Breezy Street demo was to follow shortly and was recorded at The Tansads very own Wayward Studios, Wigan with Paul Bibby from The Volunteers assisting with the engineering. Shortly afterward the guys cut a video for CRASH and set about getting new gigs. Unfortunately, Brendan became more and more elusive and with his departure imminent, the guys decided to take the bold step of recruiting a second guitarist. And so was it by chance or divine .... that returning home to his beloved Wigan (and proper pies !!) after a sojourn in South Wales* (see footnote), ex Worldhead/Frantik guitarist and long time school chum of John & Lee, Jim Smith joined. Thrown in at the deep end - Jim was to perform his schmod debut in a slimmed down line up with John providing lead vocals due to Lee having to fulfill session recording commitments in the Big Smoke. August 1998 saw the boys back at the Adlington Carnival only this time on the same bill as Jimmy Cricket and Les Battersby (recognition at last !!!). In true rock star style and in schmod tradition Lee rang to say he was stuck in London after an all night recording session (he'd slept through his wake up !). It was with only two minutes to spare that Lee was seen being escorted through the barriers by security staff. The adrenalin only served to fuel the guys' shownmanship resulting in a blazing stage presence that left the audience dazed, confused and baying for more !! September saw the lads return to the Manchester scene with performances at Mick Hucknells BARCA and at their old favourites - you've guessed it - The Boardwalk and Manchester Roadhouse promoting their "Pea Soup EP" CD. 1999 Saw the band record and release their "Who Loves Yer Babee?" CD (came with free lollipop!) playing The Copperfield in Stockport, Buckingham School in Buckingham, The Railway in Adlington and Lancaster University. In 2000 the gigs got fewer and further apart, The band's final gig was at Aspull Rugby Club in September. The last word of the mighty Schmod was talk of a reunion gig at a festival in Glossop to take place in the Summer of 2007. Morph intends to dust off his drums in the near future. Brendan, as far as the rest of the band knows, has been abducted by Aliens, Lee has been living in Buckinghamshire and performing with a blues band called Monkeechekbook. Jim & John are currently writing, recording, releasing and performing around the North West as Superlux.