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THE
ISSUE #3 FREE
PULP IT
Chapel FM — the firstever dedicated arts centre
in East Leeds
Community Newsletter
October 2014
Please recycle or dispose of responsibly
“It looks like it’s designed to make work
happen—open, practical and welcoming
but physical and sturdy—like it’s there
to stay, part of the local landscape.”
A visitor to Chapel FM
LAUNCH EDITION
SPECIAL
LAWLESS POSTER INSIDE
Fold out to get your special souvenir poster.
We asked photographer Betty Lawless to cast her eye over
the inside of the Chapel FM and give you a special sneak
preview of what’s inside. There’s something missing though!…
LET’S GET THIS
SHOW ON THE
ROAD!
Adrian Sinclair
Creative Director
Heads Together Productions
Audience attends a preview
performance at Chapel FM
in the summer
W
e’ve managed to save the Old
Seacroft Chapel and create a
state-of-the-art facility in the middle
of Seacroft. On Thursday October 9th
2014 we will have the official opening
of Chapel FM and this special edition
of THE PULP IT launches our first programme of events and activities.
From our many conversations and
completed questionnaires — we know
that people want the place to be a fully
functioning centre for the arts — with
a wide range of performances, broadcasts, films, training and events on
offer; to support local groups of all
ages — but also — to entice artists from
across Yorkshire and beyond to this
unique venue.
We’ve tried to create that broad mix
right from the off. There are lots of ways
to get involved, from our Next Generation courses for teenagers to our
new Have a Go team for aspiring broadcasters of any age. We are Live at the
Chapel every Friday night and Wakefield songsters, The Housekeeping Society, will be our first artists-in-residence
planning to create and record an album
about the Chapel, in the Chapel, in a
week. We host the launch of the Yorkshire Dance Youth project (15th October) and nationally acclaimed poet John
Hegley returns to the Chapel as part of
the Seacroft Literature & Art Festival for
his latest show New and Selected Potatoes (24th October).
We end the month with a Halloween
special featuring the Carnabells — one
of our own Associate Bands who have
enjoyed massive success this summer,
playing Glastonbury, Reading and
Leeds Festivals.
And that’s just the start — in November
and December we’ll continue our collaboration with the Seacroft Literature
& Art Festival and we’ve also got events
planned with Leeds International Film
Festival and Opera North. As well as our
first FM broadcast in December ending
with one of our ELFM Musicathons — 24
hours of music; all live, all local.
We’ve built Chapel FM — so will you
come?!…
Page 2 • The Pulp It Issue 3 • Chapel FM Newsletter • October 2014
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS FOR OCTOBER
THURSDAY 9TH OCTOBER
LAUNCH DAY
A full day of events to get things
going…including:
12 midday
Official launch
with Leeds City Council Chief
Executive — Tom Riordan
and Councillor Katherine Mitchell
— Support Executive Member for
Digital & Creative Technology, Culture
& Skills. Join us at midday for a buffet
lunch and short performance by
some of the young people who have
been part of the ELFM project.
By invite only—please email
[email protected]
if you would like to be there.
1.30pm Schools performance
& broadcast
Our opening live broadcast
featuring words and
music from schools within the Seacroft
& Manston Cluster.
5pm Communitication live
Some of our young broadcasters
host a programme telling the
story of the Chapel FM development;
with interviews and more…
7.30pm Live@Chapel
A first taste of radio
theatre Chapel FM style!
With words provided by our Deli
team. Contributions from our young
Associate Writers and Bands and
headlined by our friends at Gin House
Records — Yorkshire-based roots
music at it’s best.
EVENT ICONS
For these events you can book in
person at Chapel FM or on Eventbrite at
http://chapelfm.eventbrite.co.uk
— part of Seacroft Literature & Arts
Festival. For more information about
all the Festival events go to
http://seacroftliteratureandart.
wordpress.com
— broadcast events available live via
www.elfm.co.uk
FRIDAY 10TH OCTOBER
9am-4pm
Leeds Music Education Partnership
“Ten Pieces” training day
A training day for music teachers involved in the BBC’s flagship classical
music education initiative. Organised
by Artforms. For more details contact
[email protected]
7.30pm
Friday Night Live@Chapel
The first in our series of
Radio Theatre Variety
Nights… this time featuring
acclaimed poet and playwright
Zodwa Nyoni as well as the Leeds
Youth Concert Band.
SATURDAY 11TH OCTOBER
8pm onwards
The Warm Up Sessions
present the best from the local
dance music scene.
TUESDAY 14TH OCTOBER
Broadcast from 6pm
Our regular Tuesday Night
Takeaways begin with broadcasting from the Deli team at 6pm.
This month they’re taking the theme
of ‘Birds’ — expect a smorgasbord of
delights including sketches, poems,
readings and more…
Followed at 7.15pm
by Jazz Hot Flavours — jazz
cuts and writings about jazz
— and then at 8pm Leeds in Music,
bringing you the best new music,
up-and-coming gigs, and live sets
from local bands.
WEDNESDAY 15TH OCTOBER
5–7pm
Yorkshire Dance Youth Launch
Dance performance, film screenings
and networking to celebrate the
launch of Yorkshire Dance Youth’s
new programme of work in East
Leeds. For more information contact
[email protected]
FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER
7.30pm Live at the Chapel
More from the Radio
Theatre… This time
the fabulous Housekeeping Society kick
off their residency in style with
support from Firm of Poets — expect an
‘evening’s entertainment full of charm,
warmth and humour in equal measure’
TUESDAY 21ST OCTOBER
Broadcast from 6pm
In our monthly Love the
Words programme,
East Leeds Writing Group celebrate
the opening of Chapel FM with stories
on the theme of ‘new starts’. Jimmy
Andrex presents a prog0ramme on the
art of writing sports journalism; and
Ian Harker gives us his third WordSurf, a plushy mix of words and music.
All followed up with as much blues
as you could want from the Blind
Dead McRadio show.
FRIDAY 24TH OCTOBER
7.30pm Live@Chapel
John Hegley
New and Selected Potatoes
Poet, comic, singer,
songwriter and now
champion of the potato, John Hegley
has captivated audiences all over the
country, with numerous appearances
on radio and television. His second
visit to the Old Seacroft Chapel — we
hope he likes the changes we’ve made!
TUESDAY 28TH OCTOBER
Broadcast from 6pm
Two Sevens Party
Our two selectors from Leeds
who are making a name for
themselves DJing reggae, ska, and dub
around the UK.
FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER
7.30pm Live@Chapel
Our Halloween Special
featuring stories to chill
the air from Vickie Orton
and Matthew Bellwood followed by
spine tingling rock and roll from the
fabulous Carnabells —for one night
only… The CarnaHells!
October 2014 • ChapELFM Newsletter • Issue 3 The Pulp It • Page 3
TRAINING AND RESIDENCY
TRAINING
If you want to book any of the courses
or just want a chat about which is
the right opportunity for you then
have a chat with Centre Manager,
Alison Chandler. You can pop in to
Chapel FM, call on 0113 22 55 944 or
email [email protected]
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
YOUNG PEOPLE
Our Next Generation courses run
for six months, one night a week
and are aimed at young people aged
13–18 years old.
Next Gen Foundation — This group
is for young people who are just
starting out with ELFM and want
to experience a range of different
opportunities — journalism, music,
writing for radio, and all aspects
of broadcasting. The sessions run
every Wednesday evening 5–7pm
and the taster session will be on
Wednesday 29th October.
Next Gen Music — ideal for young
musicians and singers who can play
to performance standard and are
looking to collaborate and perform
with others. The sessions run every
Tuesday evenings 5–7pm and the
taster session will be on Tuesday
28th October.
ELFM Associate Bands and
Associate Writers — Our Associate
programmes are for teenagers who are
looking to develop careers as singers,
musicians and writers. Meeting
monthly they get mentoring, performance opportunities and access to
a range of industry professionals.
If you are interested contact Alison
for more details.
Find Your Frequency — A new initiative for young people aged 19–24
who are not in employment or on any
training or education. Find Your Frequency is an intensive 50-hour course
which will give you the combination
of technical and presentation skills you
need to make great radio and to develop skills that will be useful for a whole
range of career opportunities. We are
running one FYF course from the beginning of October and have another
one planned to start in November and
lead up to our FM broadcast.
ADULT AND OPEN
OPPORTUNITIES
Have a Go Radio — For anyone who
would like to get involved in making
radio, we are starting our Have a Go
group. No experience necessary,
it’s the perfect place if you want to
take your first steps into making radio
programmes or if you have some
experience but just want to work as
part of a team towards our FM
broadcasting week in December.
There will be a taster session at 7pm
on Thursday 30th October.
Writers on Air — A group for writers
who really want to develop their
skills in the broadcast field. The group
meets occasionally for discussions
and training and allows each person
to develop their own ideas towards
broadcast.
East Leeds Writing Group — An open
group for aspiring writers who want
to develop their skills in a friendly
atmosphere. The group meets at 3pm
on the third Wednesday of the month.
Next meeting on 15th October.
ELFM Techies — A monthly
session for those people interested
in all things technical — developing
skills in the broadcast studios, mixing
music, live film, theatre lighting,
editing etc. Next session is 5.30pm
on Friday 31st October.
John Hegley
Performance 24th Oct
Workshop 25th Oct
ONE-OFF OPPORTUNITIES
SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER
3.30PM
Leeds Organists’ Association
invite you to come and play
the organ at Chapel FM.
Keyboard skills an advantage but
no understanding of stops and
pedals necessary!
SATURDAY 25TH OCTOBER
12–3PM
John Hegley open workshop —
‘Writing, drawing and drawing out the
creative’. No experience required.
RESIDENCY
17TH–24TH OCTOBER
The Housekeeping Society
Opening performance
Friday 17th 7.30pm
Group recording session
Wednesday 22nd 5pm
Presentation/work in progress
Thursday 23rd 5pm
We intend to create an album in a
week that is inspired by the history
of the building and it’s immediate
surrounding area. In the past we have
created concept albums where we’ve
recorded elements of an environment
(doors slamming, machines whirring
etc) and carved them into grooves
and soundscapes that underpin more
traditional songwriting elements such
as storytelling and melody. We’re really looking forward to bringing this
experience to Seacroft Chapel and
hopefully creating something that can
embody the excitement that we feel
about the building and the organisation as a whole.
Ric Neale
The Housekeeping Society
The Housekeeping Society
Residency
17th–24th October
Page 4 • The Pulp It Issue 3 • Chapel FM Newsletter • October 2014
October 2014 • ChapELFM Newsletter • Issue 3 The Pulp It • Page 3
WHAT
DOES IT
ALL COST?
GET
INVOLVED
You are welcome to pop in
and have a look round
Chapel FM on any Thursday.
There will always be
someone there between
10am–4pm every
Thursday, and if it is more
convenient for you to come
along in the early evening,
then just get in touch with
Alison Chandler, Centre
Manager, to arrange a time.
Alison will be happy to show
you round and talk about
what interests you and
how you could get involved;
whether that is simply
making sure you find out
about our events;
getting involved in training
to make your own radio
programmes, or becoming
an ELFM volunteer where
you might help on reception
from time to time or
deliver some copies of
THE PULP IT to your
neighbours.
Chapel FM
Old Seacroft Chapel
York Road
Leeds LS14
[email protected]
Tel: 0113 22 55 944
www.elfm.co.uk
Heads Together
Productions
Registered Office
The Barn
Honley Junior School
Jaggar Lane
Honley HD9 6BT
Tel: 01484 311 182
On our Open Days we have been
talking to people about our desire
to promote all events at Chapel FM
on a ‘Pay what you can’ basis.
The feedback has been very positive—as one person noted on their
questionnaire “Good ethos; makes this
unique venue truly accessible to the local community”. A number of people
pointed out that it can be a bit intimidating deciding what is a reasonable
amount to pay… “could you just suggest a price” they said — so we will.
For example on our Friday Night at
the Chapel events we are suggesting
£4 would be a fair price. But that still
means it is ok if you can only afford
£1…and if you want to give more,
be assured that we will only use the
ticket money towards bringing more
performers, musicians, artists to the
Centre in the future.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
ELLIOTT
BACKGROUND TO
THE PROJECT?
So, here’s a quick run down of the
story so far… Community arts organisation, Heads Together Productions, started working in East Leeds
in 1998, initially in partnership with
John Smeaton High School.
In 2003, East Leeds FM was
launched with a group of Year 8 pupils
at the school—the original plan was
a one-off, two-week broadcast out of a
back room in Tescos.
In eleven years of activities since
then, over 7,000 local people have been
involved in our broadcasting, music
and spoken word activities and some
32,000 people tuned in to listen last
year. We run training sessions 4 nights
a week and have outgrown the old
rent office we currently occupy above
Ramshead Hill shops.
For the last few years we’ve been
making plans to re-develop the Old
Seacroft Chapel: to save a beautiful
old building and to create the firstever dedicated arts venue in the East
Leeds area. And now we have!
My name is Elliott Scholey. I first came
across ELFM in 2006 when I was just
13 years old and they came to do some
work in my school, Temple Moor.
I got involved, particularly with the
technical side of broadcasting, taking
on a range of roles over the years and
even dabbling in a spot of presenting.
I’ve worked on the 24 hour musicathons,
broadcasted in the old premises at Boggart Hill and taken part in lots of outside
broadcasts from the fabulous Caravan
of Love. I’m now working hard as an
Operational Management Apprentice
at DB Schenker Rail (UK) but I’ve still
kept up with ELFM, even undertaking
a consultancy role to develop the IT network at Chapel FM.
It’s been great to offer my skills to help
ELFM, just as they helped me to develop
my abilities and confidence as a teenager. And I am proud to be joining the
Board of Heads Together Productions,
the arts company behind ELFM, as they
open Chapel FM for future generations
of local people to use.
The funding for the development of ChapelFM has come from the following sources:
Jimbo’s Fund, The Scurrah Wainwright Charity, Mills and Reeve Solicitors, Tudor Trust, WREN Community Fund,
Monument Trust, Caird Bardon Community Programme, Leeds City Council, Clothworkers Foundation, the Arts Council
of England, a private donation for the stained glass art and all those who have joined the Friends of Chapel FM scheme.
Funding to support our opening programme of work comes from Leeds Inspired.
Chapel FM Old Seacroft Chapel, York Road, Leeds LS14
Tel: 0113 22 55 944
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
OCTOBER 2014
[email protected]
www.elfm.co.uk
Photos: Betty Lawless
Design: Made Upstairs