Cazz Blase

Glory Guitars: Memoirs Of A ‘90s Teenage Punk Rock Grrrl by Gogo Germaine – book review

Glory Guitars: Memoirs Of A ‘90s Teenage Punk Rock Grrrl by Gogo Germaine Published by University of Hell Press Release date: 11/10/22 An exhilarating, if chaotic, ride through Teenageland by a refined-not-reformed teen degenerate At first glance,…

Revolution On The Rock by Karren Ablaze! – book review

Revolution On The Rock by Karren Ablaze! Published by Mittens On Publishing Release date: 27/9/22 Legendary Leeds fanzine writer pens her first novel. Taking place in the weeks before and after the EU Referendum of 2016, Revolution On The Rock is a…

A love letter to BBC Radio 4Extra

The BBC launched its digital radio station BBC7, later 4Extra, in 2002. Now it plans to close it When I first heard in late May that BBC Director General Tim Davie planned to scrap 4Extra, I was not exactly surprised (to my mind, the BBC have never…

Florence + The Machine: Dance Fever – review – ALBUM OF THE WEEK!

Florence + The Machine Dance Fever (Polydor) Vinyl | CD | DL Available at Sister Ray The festival queen Florence returns with an album of fierce and poignant songs inspired by plagues past and present As a songwriter and performer, Florence Welch…

“Why are there so few women producers?”

Cazz Blase salutes Helen Reddington’s book She’s at the Controls, a forensic examination of the gendered power play in the music sound engineering and production industry In her newest book, She’s at the Controls, Helen Reddington reflects on her own…

The UK bus revolution begins, not ends, in Manchester

A lot of people in the UK don’t know who runs their bus network. This was an issue that came up regularly when Pascale Robinson, activist and central organiser of the Better Buses For Greater Manchester (BB4GM) campaign, began talking to local people…

Bring back live music but don’t bring back sexual harassment at gigs

Cazz Blase Apr 2·22 min read Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic incidents of sexual harassment and violence at live music events were regularly flagged up by music fans and artists. What happens when venues re-open? ‘The extra price of a gig ticket’ gig…

She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop and soul

Book review by Cazz Blase Lucy O’Brien: She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul (Jawbone Press) One thing I always feel the need to explain whenever I’m reviewing the latest edition of Lucy O’Brien’s classic text is that,…

Save Our Ladies

Cazz Blase Jan 31·6 min read Photo of Edinburgh by on Unsplash Scotland, 1996: Teenage girls dancing to Edwyn Collins’ ‘A Girl Like You’. The same girls dancing into a takeaway, mucking about in a fast food outlet. Stop. A scene of calm. Five girls…

Skin with Lucy O’Brien: It Takes Blood And Guts – book review

It Takes Blood And Guts Skin (with Lucy O’Brien) Simon & Schuster Cazz Blase finds Skin’s memoir of her life in and out of Skunk Anansie to be a refreshing and entertaining read The 1990s, a decade that began with grunge and riot grrrl on one hand…

The coronavirus lockdown has changed my relationship to walking

Before the UK went into lockdown on the evening of the 23 March, I wasn’t really someone who walked for pleasure. For me, walking was a means to an end, not a thing in itself, and it was frequently boring and unpleasant. I live in Greater…

Nasty Cherry: Manchester Academy 3 – live review

Nasty Cherry | Noisy MancesterAcademy 29th February 2020 Cazz Blase and Melanie Smith witness Nasty Cherry’s turbocharged Manchester debut. A far cry from the howling wind and rain outside, the Academy 3 is a veritable sweatpit tonight. You can feel…

Sleater Kinney: Manchester Academy – live review

Manchester Academy 27th February 2020 Cazz Blase and Melanie Smith witness an exceedingly on form Sleater-Kinney on their The Center Won’t Hold Tour, with strong support from Katie Harkin. There aren’t as many people gathered to watch Katie Harkin…

Angel Olsen: O2 Ritz, Manchester – live review

Angel Olsen O2 Ritz, Manchester 13th February 20202 Cazz Blase and Melanie Smith watch a terrifically on form Angel Olsen weave a spell around the 02 Ritz audience at her sold out show as part of the All Mirrors Tour. The gritters are out on the…

Dead, Dying, Or Evolving? Making It In The Changing World Of Music Journalism

Perhaps you’ve seen Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous, in which a 15-year-old boy goes on the road with rising band Stillwater for Rolling Stone magazine. Yes, it’s realistic, we know. While based on Crowe’s own experience of being a teenage…

Could tram-trains finally connect Stockport to Manchester’s Metrolink network?

On the January 22, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, announced plans to extend Manchester’s Metrolink to Stockport. The extension relies on the success of the trials of tram-trains, which local Tories have previously signalled…

Bloomberg employees work ‘on purpose’ but what does that really mean?

If you look at pictures of Bloomberg’s offices what comes to mind is the use of space. Located between the Bank of England and St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bloomberg office provides approximately 1.1 million square feet of sustainable office space. This…

Florence + The Punk Women

Cazz Blase Jan 1, 2020·20 min read Photo of multi coloured roses by on Unsplash It was Saturday 13th July 2019: British Summer Time day. I gave the small pile of luggage by the door a once over: Sun block? Check, gig bag and overnight bag? Check,…

You do have the power

Cazz Blase Dec 20, 2019·5 min read Photo by on Unsplash Shawna Potter, founding member of US activist group Hollaback! Baltimore and singer in feminist hardcore punk band War On Women gets asked about sexual harassment a lot. She’s lost count of the…

The Japanese House: O2 Ritz, Manchester – live review

The Japanese House | Fake Laugh 02 Ritz, Manchester December 18th 2019 Cazz Blase is a happy bystander at a Big Student Night Out in Manchester. Manchester’s O2 Ritz is full of students. Given that the venue regularly holds club nights that…