Tuesday, 18 September 2012

Pete & Terry Give A Sh*t

After years of waiting, Pete Fij & Terry Bickers have finally broken cover and have released the first fruits of their labours in the studio, in the shape of a free download of the radio un-friendly track "I Don't Give A Shit About You".

"Once you look beyond the cussing, it's a tender lost-love song" says Pete "I used to always steer away from swearing in songs in my younger days, but in this song it feels justified and essential. There's a tension I like with the actual words & Terry's lovely harmonies - we're like a foul-mouthed Simon & Garfunkel".


" It was my least favorite song out of all the candidates for our album in rehearsals" confesses Mr Bickers "but during the recording process it evolved way beyond my expectations. After the initial backing was recorded a lot of extra ideas came along and it was a really enjoyable process adding these and developing the song into what it is now. This experience reminded me that if we keep open to things, give them our best what we encounter may surprise us! The song is in part a homage to the Velvet Underground with a bit of Dr John's 'Gris Gris' thrown in and for me that's part of it's appeal."

The track is the first official release from the duos forthcoming album, which is slated for a release in Spring 2013. It can be downloaded here at Pete & Terry's Soundcloud page, although those who are swear-averse might want to give this one a miss due to the explicit nature of the lyrics as suggested by the title - but as you're already reading this, we've probably already offended you - sorry.

Don't forget you can keep abreast of all of Pete & Terry's activities by liking their facebook page.

Photography by Tiya Ivy.

Monday, 25 June 2012

Pete finds himself at Latitude

Pete will be appearing at this year's Latitude Festival (Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th July) giving a talk called 'Things I Have Found In Books' as part of the Lavish programme on the 'In The Woods' stage during the festival weekend. Here is the official spiel:

By night Pete Fij(alkowski) is a singer-songwriter formerly with Adorable (Creation Records) & Polak (One Little Indian) who is  currently working with House of Love / Levitation guitarist Terry Bickers  on an album set for release in Spring 2013. By day he sells second-hand books . In 'Things I Have Found In Books' he talks about some of the forgotten objects that he has discovered amongst the pages of the paperbacks that he sells on Brighton beach - lost photos, shopping lists and letters. Using slides he guides us through the sometimes funny, and sometimes poignant flotsam & jetsam of these forgotten atrtifacts.


Pete will be onstage as part of the Speaky Spokey programme at 6.30-8.30pm on Friday 13th July, and at  2-4pm on Saturday 14th July. Sadly Mr Bickers will be on another continent, but Pete will be with his trusty sidekick Electricty Board, the teddy bear he found in the street when he was 6, and will be performing his song 'Lost & Found' inspired by all these misplaced objects.


You can visit the Pete Fij / Terry Bickers Facebook page, where Pete will be taking advice of what else he should go and see whilst he's at Latitude..



Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Lost & Found

On Wednesday 16th May, Pete will be appearing at the Speaky Spokey literary cabaret night at the Latest Music Bar, Manchester St, Brighton, where he will be doing a show & tell about some of the items he has found left behind within the pages of the second-hand books he sells when he is not out making music with Mr Bickers.                                                                               
He will also be playing a song inspired by these forgotten objects, aided onstage by his teddy bear that he found in the street when he was 6 (photo by Michael Ocker) . Full details of the night & full line-up can be found here.

Don't forget to keep up-to-date on future events by liking the Pete Fij / Terry Bickers Facebook page

Friday, 20 April 2012

Would you let this man write a song about you?

Pete Fij will be playing a special one-off event on Thursday 26th April at Coast Cafe on Worthing seafront as part of the Special Treat night (tickets £3 on the door), where he will be playing a selection of his songs and discussing the song-writing process & the stories behind them. He will be asking members of the audience to chat to him about stories and incidents in their life, and he plans to pick on one of those tales and turn it into a song which he will reveal at the end of the night.

Pete says "I've never done this before, so it's a bit of a leap into the unknown - it all depends on 2 crucial things; firstly if people are prepared to open up to me and tell me about personal stories from their life, and secondly if I am able to then sit down and turn those experiences into a song within a strict 2 hour time limit" 

 If you would like to have a song written about you by Pete, then get close to opening time, as the night starts at 7.30pm and Pete will be first on at around 8pm, before returning to the stage towards the end of the night to hopefully reveal the new song (or alternatively explain where it all went wrong).

Full details of the night can be found here. You can also keep up to date with all things Bickers & Fij-shaped on the dedicated Pete Fij / Terry Bickers  Facebook site.


Saturday, 14 April 2012

UK & German Live Reviews

After Pete & Terry's recent gigs in the UK & Germany, here are a couple of bits and pieces that have appeared on the net.

First up is Pennyblack's review of Bickers & Fij's recent London gig which can be read here.

Next, is an in depth report of our Europe-trotting duo's debut in the beautiful town of Regensburg (review in German only, but with some nice photos to look at if your foreign language skills aren't up to scratch).

Finally is a lovely  poster designed by our new friend Jochen, posted on the Sublime facebook page, featuring Pete's teddy bear Electricity Board. For those who have yet to meet him at our gigs, there's a longer story  about him, and even a song,  that we will tell you about at a later date.


Wednesday, 28 March 2012

German Sublime Interview

Our friends at Sublime have posted an interview with Pete, in the run up to the forthcoming gig in Regensburg in Germany on April 7th ,  where he reveals some of the influences on the forthcoming Bickers & Fij album, as well as his tips from the underworld of the Brighton music scene, as well as memories of Creation, Adorable, Polak, and what he gets up to in his spare time when he isn't playing melancholic music with Mr Bickers.

The interview is in both English & German and can be seen here

Click here for full details of Pete & Terry's German dates in April.

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Short notice Brighton show

The special Pete Fij / Terry Bickers hotline has rung and our two intrepid downbeat superheroes have been invited at short notice to appear as support for The Sleep Room this Wednesday 14th March at the Albert, Trafalgar St, Brighton.

Tickets are £5, and messers Bickers & Fij will be onstage at 8.15pm.

For those of a Facebook persuasion, you can visit  the event page here.