Issue 60 / October 2015

22
Bido Lito! October 2015
The rituals of going to a gig – from trying to second-guess
the stage times of the support acts to timing your trip to
the toilet/bar perfectly so as not to miss your favourite
song – can be as addictive as the thrill of the show itself. But
for those hardened souls who’ve been to more gigs than they
care to remember, and want a bit more engagement from the
standard three-bands-and-home format, the opportunities
for what a night can be built around are a lot wider than first
imagined. Following on from the runaway success of their first
exhibition-cum-gig, the people behind NO HOMERS CLUB are
expanding on their format of making a pop-culture reference
the central theme for a night, into which the live acts fit. One of
the event’s founders, Michael Fowler, tells us how resurrecting
dinosaurs and serving d’ohnuts can be as central to your event
as the performances.
scene
stealers
Words:
Michael Fowler / @homersclub
Illustration: Ria Fell / riafell.co.uk
From Springfield To Isla Nublar With No Homers Club
I’d done some pretty outlandish events before
No Homers Club with my writing gang, The Wild
Writers. In our finest feat we managed to fit a
full-size wrestling ring into The Kazimier and
had professional wrestlers brawl for a literary
night called Sancho Panza. One of my closest
mates told me for months afterwards that I’d
never be able to top something like that, and
I was inclined to agree with him. No Homers
Club came about through a lifetime spent
with eyes glued to The Simpsons and the
feeling that we could celebrate its impact on
our lives in an art exhibition. So me and Ria
Fell, truly one of Liverpool’s most talented
artists and my best friend, set out on
organising our very own Simpsons-palooza.
We didn’t have any high expectations for the show – in fact, we
didn’t even realise so many people liked The Simpsons – but with
25 years of the sitcom preceding the event we could have
been a little more confident.
Before we had all the artists signed up, our
plans were for a much smaller exhibition, and we
had some venues in mind but they all started
closing down around us, meaning we had to
search a little further afield. When we first saw
Constellations we thought it was a massive
space and we weren’t sure if we’d be able fill it
with art, let alone people, but the guys there are so
unfathomably creative and enthusiastic that, before
I’d even finished talking about the idea with Becky, their
chief, she was riffing all these new ideas about doughnut
bars and Squishee machines. They were the perfect fit to help
create a real spectacle and bring a small part of Springfield to
the Baltic Triangle.
To find artists for the exhibition we stuck posters wherever
we could, shouted as loudly as possible on social media, and
approached artists that are currently making
some of the most incredible Simpsons
artwork in the world. Just over 30
artists in all got back to us, and we
were blown away by how good
they were. To namedrop a few: we
received work from the inimitable
Katie Craven, (who helped Ria with the
mural and did her own ink detail take on The
Simpsons’ animals); Martin Kirke, who crafted Ralph Wiggum’s
Star Wars Figures; Harrison Edwards, who made the James Deanlike
Thrillhouse piece; and Liverpool’s own PickWick, who did
perhaps the most iconic piece of the show, recreating Marge
Simpson’s Chanel dresses.
Getting a music act that would fit an event like No Homers
Club would have been a near impossible task if a band like Organ
Freeman didn’t exist. We had our hearts set on them playing
from the start and knew they’d deliver an unforgettable show.
I think they’re one of the most entertaining live acts that
Liverpool has, and their love for the Simpsons is as
deep rooted as my own. Once we had the artists
and live act signed on, we were starting to think
that we might have something pretty special on
our hands.
The week before the event was as stressful as
hell and most of our original worries were now
turned on their head. The event that was supposed
to have no expectations suddenly had a tonne
of them. We were now worrying that we had too
much work to fit in the exhibition, and, though we had
meticulously planned it, we only had the day of the launch
to put it together. All our mates, my girlfriend, and Ria’s family
mucked in to help put up the exhibition and put up with me and
Ria stressing-the-fuck-out. It was a finer deadline finish than I’d
have wanted. I was hammering in information placards seconds
before the first people were let in, but from then on I was in a
state of euphoria. I couldn’t believe we’d
finished it and it looked really good too. I
put that down to Ria’s creative direction
more than mine.
After No Homers Club, that friend
told me the exact same thing, “You’re
never going to top that.” And again, I’m totally
inclined to agree him. But we’re really going all-out to
try and prove him wrong. Ria had the idea for ISLA NUBLAR,
our Jurassic Park-inspired event the day after we launched
the Simpsons exhibition. I think we’ve seen the film
together three or four times and watched it separately
a countless amount, so it made complete sense to us to
start unearthing live Tyrannosaurs.
Katie Craven, Harrison Edwards and Martin Kirke are
back making pieces for the show, and we have over 20 new
artists, including QUAD Collective (a team of artists whose
values of participation and interaction with artwork
match our own), Laura-Kate Chapman (of Laura-Kate
Illustrations fame) and Sick Note (a local
street artist who’s also doing a speciallycommissioned
mural for us).
Isla Nublar will be a bit different to No Homers
Club: for a start, this time we have three bands
playing – Sex Hands, Silent Sleep and our trusty talismans,
Organ Freeman – and, though it’s still going to be a fun evening,
I think there might be a bit more suspense and excitement from
the prehistoric surprises we have in store. Constellations are
getting right behind it too, helping us to create the fictional
island where Jurassic Park is set. In fact, the last email I received
from Becky said, “Got an offer of two pygmy goats… but hanging
on for the classic full-sized”. That cracked me up. I mean it’s that
kind of detail that Jurassic Park fans are looking for, right?
Isla Nublar takes place at Constellations on 9th October, with live
music from Organ Freeman, Sex Hands and Silent Sleep.