The Masonics play the Masonic
Plus a Morally Grey Bookshelf, getting fit with Medway Fit, we review The Kiki, our weekly events guide, and more
The Masonics are a legendary Medway band who now rarely perform in Medway, but later this month, in a lovely bit of nominative determinism, they’ll play at the Rochester Masonic Hall. We talk to drummer Bruce Brand to find out more. Further down, we have new of a new bookish pop-up in Rochester, a free chance to get fit with Medway Fit, we review the burgers at The Kiki, our weekly events guide, and more.
The Masonics play the Masonic
The Masonics are “the finest rhythm and beat combo since The Milkshakes,” drummer Bruce Brand tells me, “and that's probably because we contain two Milkshakes: Myself and Mick.” The Masonics formed in 1989 when they released an LP record written by Mickey Hampshire. “We recorded about three or four albums before we actually played live.”
At this point, Bruce was in Thee Headcoats. During their final gig at the Dome in Tufnell Park, they were approached by Liam Watson, a friend who ran Toe-Rag Studios. “He offered his services to Mick and said, ‘Don't you play live? I'll play bass for you.’” The Masonics had been recording for about ten years before they played their first live gig. When Liam left the band to focus on the studio, they were joined by John Gibbs, formerly of The Kaisers, “who recently migrated down to the Big Smoke from Edinburgh.”
Bruce had been a guitar player who had little interest in drums. “I just thought they were a necessary evil,” he says. Finding them far too loud in the heavy rock that he had heard them in, it was when he started listening to old R&B records that he noticed the drums in the background, “doing all this interesting, quite jazzy stuff. I thought no one plays drums like that anymore. I might give it a go.”
Having been in a number of bands, Bruce puts The Masonics’ longevity down to “being bloody good” and that “Mick writes really good songs.” Bruce talks about the band's progress, and that the material hasn’t all been the same, but mostly, “we just like doing it, and other people seem to like us.”
Their upcoming gig is their first Medway appearance in a year at the Rochester Masonic Hall. Was there something about that particular venue? “It was available,” Bruce replies, lamenting that there are not many venues left to perform in Medway. “In the old halcyon days of punk rock and stuff, there was no shortage of pubs with live music going on.” Recalling the loss of the Royal Function Rooms, Bruce notes that “there's a dearth of venues basically,” though he does highlight Poco Loco as a good option despite its size. “The Masonic Hall is a nice size,” says Bruce. “It hasn't got a stage, but it makes up for it by being accommodating and affordable.” The choice of venue is not because of the name, which is purely a coincidence.
Asked about their latest album, Bruce temporarily cannot remember the name of it. “I know roughly what it's called. I don't want to get it wrong,” he says. It was ‘Sursum Tibiam Vestram,’ which roughly translates as “‘Up your pipe’. After a deep search of the dark web and various Latin pronunciations, that's what came out.”
The Masonics have also released a brace of rock and roll EPs featuring all the covers of the rock and roll songs they play live in their sets. Two more are due for release shortly, ‘Nothin’ Shakin’ But…’ and ‘Some Other Guys’. “Hopefully, they should be out for that gig because it's advertised as an EP launch party.”
The launch party is being supported by The High Span, with Rob Flood DJing. There is also a ‘Top Secret Guest’ yet to be announced. Can Bruce offer us any clues? “They're a Medway-based group, but they're not as... what's the word? They haven't spread themselves thin yet.”
The Masonics play Rochester Masonic Hall on 31 May. You can explore their latest release via Spinout Nuggets.
The Morally Grey Bookshelf
The Morally Grey Bookshelf is a new pop-up coming to Rochester High Street through the Sweeps weekend, ahead of its website launch. We caught up with Hollie Harrison-Brooks to find out what people can expect to find on the bookshelf and just how morally grey it all is.
The Morally Grey Bookshelf is a new online ‘bookish’ store, rather than a more traditional bookshop. “I'm saying bookish because we're not just going to sell books. It's going to be book-themed,” with a focus on the romance and fantasy genres. “Those are the stories and tropes that we are going with.” Hollie will be focusing on special editions of classical romances, as well as contemporary books with sprayed edges editions.
Hollie is looking forward to supporting independent authors as well as popular titles. “We've got some signed copies coming. That's really exciting, but it's not just going to be books.” They are also going to be selling “anything that a reader would love to buy,” including iPad covers and book-related jewellery. “We've got some lovely lockets that you can write your own favourite book quote inside.” They will also have bags that look like books, and t-shirts with book quotes on them.
The intent is to create a reader's heaven within the romantic fantasy bubble. However, what is it that makes it morally grey? “Morally grey is a trope that's really popular, referring to a character, usually a male, but it can be a female as well.” It is usually one of the main male characters who would do anything for the person that they love, and sometimes those things are immoral. “’Touch her and die’ would be one action that you would put under morally grey.” For fans of romantic books, this is a theme they can get behind.
Hollie has been a lifelong reader but admits that she lost the time to do it when she had a baby. However, in more recent years she started making time again for her passion, especially this genre. Wanting to start a business and do something that she loves, she decided to “throw caution to the wind” and self-fund this project to “see if I can get this off the ground, because the book community is lovely and there are many wonderful events.” Hollie is so invested in this world that she recently went to a book-themed fantasy ball and met people from all over the world who travel to these events to dress up and, well, have a ball.
“I just knew the business that I wanted to start had to be involved with this,” Hollie says, though she is not doing this completely alone. “I've basically dragged my husband and some friends in to help me.” Whilst the venture is mainly Hollie, “they've had no choice, this is what we're doing.” she says with a smile. Whilst the venture will initially be selling books and related items, she has started to invest in being able to produce special editions herself. “That's a separate journey that I'm on at the moment, to try and figure out how to do these sprayed edges myself.”
Hollie has curated a collection that she loved enough to put in the shop, that she felt was special and “that I think will really resonate.”
Hollie’s pop-up will be in the former Get Ready Comics shop on Rochester High Street during Sweeps weekend from tomorrow (3 May), with the online store going live on Monday.
For those thinking, didn’t we already write about a pop-up at the former Get Ready Comics store? The Get Ready Artists will take a brief hiatus to make room for this venture. Hollie didn’t mean to kick them out but she had “already booked the date” for her pop-up. “Come down and meet me,” Hollie says. “I want to meet people that have a love for this genre within Medway, and there's free Prosecco and chocolates”. There will also be American author Sienna Judd, author of the romance novel ’Thirteen Candles’, at the pop-up on Sunday for an author signing.
Getting fit with Medway Fit
Running and fitness community Medway Fit are offering a free couch to 5K programme starting next week. We previously chatted to Medway Fit coach Richard Pemberton about Couch to 5K and parkrun back in 2023. Having successfully gone through the programme himself, Steven reached out to Richard to talk about what is being offered for any jog curious Medway residents. Richard was unavailable, most likely running in some muddy part of the world, so Steven spoke to coach Ian Knight instead.
Medway Fit are a running group that has run leaders for all levels within Medway, from the 5k sprinters to the enthusiastic walkers. “We started up social running fitness for the local area,” says Ian, “helping people get into exercise not only for physical health but for mental health as well.” Medway Fit classifies itself as a social group. “When people come, we make everybody feel welcome from all walks of life.”
Medway Fit do social runs as well as training runs. “We try to structure it to make you a better runner,” notes Ian. The group works to help prevent injury, as well as improve running ability. “It also opens up the world of running to people.” By providing a friendly, supportive framework, Medway Fit is focused on supporting people to get off the couch and not be intimidated by others’ experience or athleticism.
Ian was 21 and a half stone when he started walking daily for a year, “not that you want to make this about me,” he suggests. He started jogging, despite never thinking he would be a jogger himself. It was then that he looked into Medway Fit and started running with them. “They helped me immensely, Richard and all the coaches and run leaders.” To give back to the club, Ian became a run leader before getting his British Athletics coaching qualification.
Couch to 5K is a programme of physical activity that builds up a system of walks and runs. “As the weeks progress, we go further and further into getting a completion of 5K.” The course culminates with ‘Graduation’ at Great Lines Parkrun, where the coaches can support you to run the whole distance. “You get the support. Parkrun in itself is a great advocate for running for people of all abilities.” Upon completion of Couch to 5K, many find that they continue to run at Parkrun, as it’s “somewhere where they can go, and not judged at whatever pace they run.”
Medway Fit offers their Couch to 5K scheme for free, and it is free to participate in Parkrun. “You just sign on and turn up. We're a non-profit club. We just want to get people involved. As I said, not just for fitness, it is for fitness, but mental health as well.”
Out to Dinner: The Kiki
In which Steven Keevil assesses the dinner options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down The Kiki in Chatham…
A long time ago, Rob Flood, occasionally of this parish, recommended Kinki Burger as a great place to eat in Medway. Sadly, before we had the chance, the venue closed. In its place is The Kiki. Is it the same or very different? We sadly cannot say. However, we ventured into what may or may not be Chatham Intra to find out if they are indeed selling the best burgers in Medway as they advertised in what has become quite a competitive field.
The Kiki is a small establishment, a slender set of tables with a walkway up to the main bar. There is a weird vortex that occurs when the kitchen is cooking, meaning that the door to the establishment never really closes, and there is a slight draft throughout the meal. They also have a beautiful metallic flower on the table to set the scene when you are having a meal with somebody who isn’t your partner.
I ordered a starter of chicken tenders, a side order of fries and a smash burger, which came with bacon and cheese. I just looked online to ensure I got that right, but their website is listed as The Kinki, so now I don’t know what to believe. This feeling was exacerbated by receiving my chicken tenders as an additional burger rather than a starter.
The fries were very good, and the chicken tenders were a delight, crispy and chunky like any good fried chicken. The brioche bun the burger came in was firm and held together well, with crisp bacon and cheese that complemented the burger well. All in all, the food was a delight from beginning to end. They might not quite be the best burgers in Medway, but the food is still excellent and well worth trying if you have the chance.
Events this week
🎹 Until 5 May - Rainham Piano Festival // Internationally acclaimed jazz and classical pianists play Rainham, headed by Curtis Stigers. St Margaret’s Church, Rainham. Tickets from £15.
📷 Until 14 May - Medway ‘77 // Exhibition of photos in and around Rochester and Chatham from 1977. Halpern Gallery, Chatham. Free.
📽️ Tue 6 May - Screen Unseen // Mystery screening of an upcoming film, usually something quite good. Odeon, Chatham. Tickets £5.
📝 7 - 20 May - Paper Places // Exhibition by Nicola Chatten, where simple sheets of paper are transformed into lasting works of art depicting the natural world. Halpern Pop, Rochester. Free.
More Authority
For our midweek feature, we spoke to Reverend Nathan Ward at St Margaret’s Church in Rainham, who is on a mission to turn the historic place of worship into the arts and culture heart of the town.
Beyond the Sunday service
St. Margaret's Church is one of the most recognisable sights in Rainham, the 800-year-old building centrally located in the town. Now, the church reverend is spearheading a significant cultural initiative to combat what he perceives as 'cultural deprivation' in the area.
Footnotes
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