30|04|13 – Sound Control Manchester
Attack! Attack!
Gavin Butler (The Blackout) Acoustic
Through Colour
Landmarks

Welsh rockers Attack! Attack! have announced they are to split after their forthcoming tour. The decision was made after two members of the band, for personal reasons, reluctantly decided to call it a day. The remaining two members, Neil and Will, have taken the hard decision to put an end to the band.

Singer Neil said “Will and I have thought long and hard for months and months about what to do for the best. Ultimately we decided that we didn’t want to replace Mike and Ryan, it just didn’t seem the right thing to do.”

As this will now be Attack! Attack!’s final tour they decided they wanted a support act that would not only be a great entertainer but someone they have been friends with for along time. Attack! Attack! have played a tonne of shows over the years with fellow Welsh band The Blackout so they asked Gavin Butler who sings for the band to come out on tour with them. He will be playing his solo acoustic material with A!A! on most nights of the tour.

When asked about Gavin playing, singer Neil replied “It’ll be perfect to share the final tour with such a close friend. We want this final tour to be a celebration of all the great times we had and we hope it’ll be a send off to remember.“

Catch ths jazz pop duo on a couple of dates this month:

23/04/13
Castle Hotel, Manchester
with support from Kristyna Myles and Emma Wells

24/04/13
Surya, London
with support from Mojo Jojo and Xsara

When ex-Climax Blues Band member and producer Chris Bucknall received a call asking him to check out a young duo at Ryan’s Bar in Derby he was more than intrigued.

A trip to the venue in Derby during an open mic night (where Morrison himself was discovered) led to a meeting with Hannah Garner and David Amar with whom Bucknall was most impressed.

David Amar is a multi-instrumentalist who has been playing since he was a small child and beauty Hannah Garner had just formed a You Tube channel onto which she loaded tracks of herself singing acappella renditions of various covers into a web cam. So well received were these little amateur videos that not only had hundreds of thousands of fans viewed them but four thousand actually subscribed to the channel. And Hannah was only 17 years old at the time.

Bucknall, who is responsible for discovering and producing Sony / BMG’s Sam Beeton, signed them first to the Cubit Recordings label and then took them into his Nottingham-based “Nursery” studios and began recording an album for the talented duo together with co producer Robert de Fresnes and Miss 600 was born. Released in the summer 2011, the album entitled “Buying Time” showcases their talent around simple catchy pop tunes with more than a jazz twist. Buying Time also includes collaborations with Maxi Priest, Sam Beeton and Sonna Rele and is available to purchase from any good download store.

Miss 600 enjoyed massive exposure towards the end of 2011, with their debut single “Twist” making the BBC Radio2 A-list and remaining there for an incredible seven weeks. Their next single, “Missing You” also made playlists across the UK and live performances on “Dancing With the Stars” in Poland in front of millions, and Sir Terry Wogan’s BBC Radio2 show in the UK have further enhanced their growing reputation. Miss 600 made the BBC Radio2 playlist again with their third single, “Typically Me” and will be performing extensively around the country in 2012.

Matt Berry (of various TV fame) dons his musician hat once more and plays Liverpool and Manchester in May.

14th May The Kazimier Liverpool
15th May Ruby Lounge Manchester

support for both shows is from Pugwash.

Musical polymath MATT BERRY returns to the road with his band THE MAYPOLES to launch his brand new musical masterpiece KILL THE WOLF this spring. Following on from last year’s critically acclaimed progressive folk opus, WITCHAZEL, his most recent album sees BERRY exploring the darker side of agrarian folk and searching farther afield for his cultural references.

[quotebox] MATT BERRY, Brilliant – yes. Funny – no!!! [/quotebox]

Matt Berry is of course also an actor and writer of award winning comedy, but places his music high up on a pedestal. Expect songs from his early career (including the ‘theme from Snuffbox’), a host of familiar Witchazel classics and select slices of the new album. Matt has been known to throw in an unusual cover from time to time (the last being Ordinary Joe in tribute to the late Terry Callier, who passed away the day before Matt’s last show). This in not a comedy show but an uplifting musical experience.

Following tour supports with the likes of Russian superstars Mumiy Troll, Echotape are releasing their debut album, Collective, on 24th March, and touring the UK in April.

Thu 11 Apr, Manchester, Roadhouse
Fri 12 Apr, London, Barfly
Thu 18th Apr, Bristol, Thekla
Fri, 19th Apr, Birmingham, Rainbow

Find them on Facebook

Echotape are a 5 piece band, formed in 2011 in a small town in the south of England. Since the start of the year, the band has been attracting extensive attention from the underground tastemaker blogs and on-line and physical music press. Tipped by many as a “band to watch”, their music references post punk art rock, such as Echo and The Bunnymen and early New Order, krautrock and modern psychedelia. “Multi-layered industrial textures”. “Epic guitar lines and sweeping vocals”. Produced by the Killing Joke bassist and legendary producer Youth (Orb, the Verve, Futureheads, the View,), the band’s debut EP ” Sky Over Quarley Hill ” was released April 2012. The follow up single “Spinning”/”Awakening” is released during a series of club and festival appearances through the summer. The band’s debut album is due for release in January 2013.

Australian four-piece ME released their debut album Even The Odd Ones Out on Lizard King Records on 25th February 2013. The theatrical rockers spent 2012 in the UK touring with the likes of Kasabian, Twin Atlantic, Panic! at the Disco and King Charles in between numerous festival dates and their own headline shows at London’s Proud Galleries and The Sebright Arms.

“We are a little in the odd ones out category” says frontman Luke Ferris. “I love big rock bands with killer riffs and grooves, but I also love great vocals, harmonies, orchestral works and bad ass choirs. So we have just thrown loads of different ingredients into the pot because they are the flavours we enjoy.”

Me return to the UK this March for a headline tour:
March 3rd – The Leopard, Doncaster
March 4th – The Duchess, York
March 5th – Barfly, London
March 6th – King Tuts, Glasgow
March 7th – Think Tank, Newcastle
March 8th – Dry Bar, Manchester

Energetic synth-riffs and dreamy sequences: Germany’s #1 electronica-artist SCHILLER will perform his UK-premiere at London’s ‘KOKO’ on Friday April 26th 2013.

Over the last 12 years SCHILLER creator Christopher Von Deylen has released countless number-one albums worldwide. He has collaborated with a vast array of talent including guest-artists like Lang Lang, Mike Oldfield and Adam Young (Owl City).

After celebrated concerts all over Europe, in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Dubai, Von Deylen finished his most recent tour with a flamboyant audiovisual extravaganza at the sold-out O2 in Berlin.

SCHILLER’s first live-appearance in the UK promises to be a very special and exciting event. A never seen before live-setup with breathtaking visuals and an all-new sound-experience, will hit the prestigious ‘KOKO’ on Camden High Street this April.

SCHILLER LIVE IN LONDON – an eagerly anticipated night with SCHILLER’s classic anthems including: ‘Das Glockenspiel’ with which he pioneered the German wave of neo-electronica earlier this century and even hit the UK-charts in a top position. Von Deylen and his live-band will also play fresh material from the latest SCHILLER-album ‘Sun’.

schillermusic.com
facebook.com/schillermusic

Marmite-personalitied teen heartthrob and X Factor contestant Frankie Cocozza has announced UK tour dates following the release of his debut EP.

Inspired by his own experiences – including his dramatic exit from last year’s X Factor – Frankie has co-written all his own tracks.

The Motorcycle EP was available to download from iTunes from November 5th and contains four tracks – Frankie was also number one in the worldwide trending topics on Twitter.

Frankie said: “Music has always been what I’ve wanted to do and being given the chance to work with Jay and Sy at Long Island has been a dream, we just clicked instantly and I’m really proud of the tracks we’ve produced.

“Ironically the 5th of November was the date of my last X Factor performance last year so we decided to release the EP on the same day a year on.”

“I’ve had so many highs but also some real lows in the last 12 months which I’ve been able to put into my song writing and I am blessed to have the most amazing fan base who have supported me constantly and I really hope they like what they hear.”

March UK Tour Dates:
20th O2 Academy 2 Liverpool
21st Academy 3 Manchester
23rd O2 Academy 2 Newcastle
24th O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

April
1st Hendre Hall Bangor (Wales)

In an age when musicians either seem to be manufactured popstrels, media-trained to banality, or self-consciously blog-hyped ‘underground’, this 22 year old from Devon is a breath of fresh air. Cosmo speaks his mind and, musically, he’s a magpie who’ll go anywhere, regardless of ‘cool’, from hip hop to punk hoedown to gorgeous ensemble orchestration. His music and films have made him an online phenomenon. His YouTube shorts, usually observational comedy skits about small town life, have been viewed over two million times, his contagious shanty ‘Gay Pirates’, beloved of Stephen Fry, has almost a million Youtube hits, and he has tens of thousands of fans around the world, especially in Australia where his shows sell out fast.

Cosmo’s last two albums, 2009’s ’Humasyouhitch/Sonofabitch’ and 2011’s ‘Is The World Strange Or Am I Strange?’, have seen him hightail between almost too many musical styles, but with his new album, ‘Think Bigger’, he decided to adhere to a singer-songwriter template tinged with alt-country sensibilities. This is Cosmo Jarvis, though, so it’s never straightforward or predictable, everything is imprinted with his personality and effusive imagination.

“With ‘Think Bigger’ each individual part, each individual component of each individual song can be listened to with more scrutiny,” he says, then laughs, mischievously adding, “Some of these songs come from different periods in my life, but they’ve just been arranged and presented to give the illusion of a cohesive album.”

A down-to-earth, maverick talent, Cosmo Jarvis has bloomed into a word-of-mouth one-man industry who might just be about to receive the recognition he deserves. Cosmo’s work is unique, forthright, human and involving, he’s an artist, in other words, who’s proving truly exciting to follow – you never know quite what’s coming but can rest assured it will be filled with exciting ideas and contagious tunes.

UK Live Dates:
Thu 14th Feb
Soup Kitchen
Manchester

Fri 15th Feb
Mello Mello
Liverpool

Thu 28th Feb
The Rainbow Complex
Birmingham

If the past is a foreign country, then Exit Calm have a past worth exploring. After only two months together and one raw, visceral demo, the band were playing Tokyo’s Liquid Rooms; a gig that gave Stone Roses bassist Mani, cause to label them “proper fuckin’ music”. The band haven’t looked back since.

Incendiary live show followed incendiary live show as their uplifting, ethereal sound was honed across the UK and Europe. Sold out dates across the country have seen the band share the stage with groups as diverse as The Charlatans, Modest Mouse, Echo & The Bunnymen and Soulsavers, along the way developing a loyal fan base, which plays its own part in making exit calm gigs an epic experience.

With soaring, widescreen guitar layers, deep heady grooves and front-man Nicky Smith’s primal delivery, echoes of musical heroes such as Elbow, Doves, Unkle, The Verve and Spiritualized are undeniable, yet Exit Calm’s output is incomparably unique and in a class of its own. This is a band that once seen, leave no doubt in belief, coming alive on stage and evoking an atmosphere of epic proportions.

After three sold out vinyl singles, the release of their self-titled LP in 2010 was the culmination of three years hard work. Aggressive but not confrontational, focused but not myopic and melodic rather than pop, Exit Calm was an album that had to be made. The majestic beauty of ‘Don’t look down’, the massive attack-drive of ‘Forgiveness’ and the soaring call to arms of ‘Hearts and Minds’ all invoke the spirit of the band’s influences whilst at the same time standing alone as a unique statement of intent.

The album has garnered much praise. Upon hearing the album, Todd Eckhart (producer, ‘Control’) said “Pure Genius – the assembly of iron and wood because temples must be made. And the avoidance of all that whiny, sexless bullshit passing for rebellion at the moment” and his is not a lone voice. Huw Stephens (Radio 1) said the band is “Truly Epic”, Guitarist Magazine described the album as “a sonic and soulful masterpiece”, Inspiral Carpets/XFM’s Clint Boon declared “file under the greatest rock bands of all time”. Both Radio 1 (Zane Lowe) and Radio 2 (Janice Long) have supported the band’s releases, the latter giving the band a live session in 2011.

But it’s not all about the past with Exit Calm. Recent live shows have seen the debut of the modern- baggy-meets-grunge anthem blow out of ‘The Rapture’; the breakbeat-tinged fury of ‘Albion’ and the melodic, Bunnymen guitars and groove of ‘Fiction’. In the current era of disposable heroes, Exit Calm tread a different path, from a band who simply list their influences as three legendary record labels, the bands output invokes the same classic approach to music as Creation Records. They bring the euphoria and hedonism of Factory to the progressive, with the forward thinking ideals of Mo Wax, producing music with heart, style and integrity.

Exit Calm’s second album is due for release in 2013 on Club AC30, preceded by a limited edition vinyl only release – ‘The Rapture’ on 18th February 2013.

UK Tour Dates:
28 February 2013 – DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER

UNDER THE INFLUENCE, BURN THE FLEET, TEMPLETON PEK & BLACK DOGS ANNOUNCE SHOWCASE GIG AT SURYA 10th DECEMBER 2012

Kings Lynn Rap-Punks UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Southampton Alt-Rockers BURN THE FLEET, Birmingham punk-rockers TEMPLETON PEK and northern new-noise makers BLACK DOGS will appear at London’s Surya venue in Kings Cross for a night celebrating some of the UK’s most promising up and coming talent.

Four very different bands from across the country will show what an eclectic and creative scene the UK underground has right now, giving a taste of what 2013 holds in store for the exciting British Music scene.

The Noise Cartel Presents:
UNDER THE INFLUENCE – BURN THE FLEET – TEMPLETON PEK – BLACK DOGS
Thursday 10th December 2012 Surya London, Kings Cross

For more info: link

The Joy Formidable have announced a UK tour in support of the release of their second studio album, ‘Wolf’s Law’, due for release on 21st January 2013. The extensive dates see the band visit UK cities throughout January, February and March culminating in their largest London headline show to date at the Roundhouse.

The Joy Formidable have spent the closing months of 2012 playing high profile shows in Europe and the UK with Muse in addition to two very special sold out shows at Bangor’s Hedre Hall and London’s King’s College. Early responses to ‘Wolf’s Law’ have seen NME suggest that the album ‘could well see them become the next big British guitar band’ and Kerrang declare that ‘the uncompromising trio will be adding some serious numbers to their ever growing legion of believers’.

Dates are as follows, tickets are available from 9am on Friday 9th November.

January
Tuesday 22nd Liverpool, Kazimier
Wednesday 23rd Norwich, Waterfront
Friday 25th Belfast, The Limelight
Saturday 26th Dublin, Academy
Monday 28th Cardiff, Solus
Tuesday 29th Bristol, Fiddlers

February
Sunday 24th Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Monday 25th Leeds, Cockpit
Tuesday 26th Glasgow, Oran Mor
Thursday 28th Manchester, HMV Ritz

March
Friday 1st Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
Saturday 2nd Sheffield, Leadmill
Monday 4th Brighton, Concorde 2
Tuesday 5th Exeter, Phoenix
Wednesday 6th Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Friday 8th London, The Roundhouse

The album, ‘Wolf’s Law’ is released on January 21st 2013.

22/06/12

o2 Academy Liverpool

Guardians –
Harbor Season
The Blackhand
All Out Of Luck

Guardians, strive on giving their fans their 100% best at every show. 5 years together (formally as Hippys On The Hill) they have formed their own catchy, fiery brand of alternative, high voltage rock, as well as one of the best stage shows in the North West.

Having bagged support slots alongside The Blackout, The Automatic and Twenty Twenty, headlining HUB festival 2010 and being featured in Kerrang! and Classic Rock Magazine whilst still unsigned, Guardians are definitely aiming high.

Guardians are also releasing their third single “New World Order” on Friday June 22nd @ 02 Academy Liverpool for tickets head to: 02academyliverpool.co.uk

“A fiery brand of alternative, high voltage rock… We think our readers are gonna love them!” – Sian Llewellyn (Editor) – Classic Rock Magazine.

“They capture the spirit of the late 70s when – by attitude and charisma – the coolest bands bridged the crossover between metal, rock, punk and mainstream. – whilst keeping with a fresh, modern sound which places them ahead of the rest.” – JAR Music.

“The set was pure unadulterated belligerence, self assured rock. With memories of early Clash and The Alarm in their style” – Liverpool Students Website, Ian D Hall.

“They are hugely entertaining to watch, have come up with great, memorable (and in some cases kick-in-the-stomach) songs. Definitely a band to watch out for – and the great thing is they deserve every single bit of success they achieve.” – Dune FM.

LostAlone plus Mojo Fury
22nd May 2012 @ The Dry Br Manchester

ostAlone spent five weeks recording in Los Angeles during May 2010 with acclaimed producers, Jacknife Lee (Weezer, U2, REM, Bloc Party), Greg Wells (Mika, Deftones, Katy Perry), executive producer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) and mixers Mark Needham (Killers, Fleetwood Mac, MCR) and Alan Moulder (Smashing pumpkins, NIN, Foo Fighters).
Steven comments – “Recording with Jacknife Lee and Greg Wells opened up new ways of recording to us and enabled us to achieve the ambition I had always had for the band, being let loose in such amazing studios was our dream and we utilised everything they had to offer. I feel as though we’ve made a giant leap forward from our debut album and in terms of how I hear LostAlone in my head, we are now closer than ever. ”

Belleruche

22nd May @ The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool – Belleruche – Bird
23rd May @ The Roadhouse, Manchester – Belleruche – Pistols At Dawn

‘Rollerchain’ is the fourth album from Belleruche, out 7th May 2012 on Tru Thoughts records. Showcasing a stunning new progression in sound for the acclaimed London trio, the LP is preceded by the “Stormbird” single in March, which has already clocked up over 75,000 YouTube hits in just a few short weeks, as well as early radio support including Huey Morgan on BBC 6Music.

Combining a very modern aesthetic with classic song writing ability, the album is a collision of haunting vocals, tough analogue sounds and bleeding edge electronic production. Stranger rhythms and basslines inhabit this record; both in the studio and onstage, Belleruche have picked up new instruments and ideas to create a complexity and an attack that take the band's core elements – vocals (care of Kathrin deBoer), guitar (Ricky Fabulous) and turntables (DJ modest) – to a new level. Away from the distractions of their hectic touring schedule, they spent the last five months of 2011 writing and recording the album; taking sounds and twisting them, recording straight versions of songs with bass, drums and guitar and then tearing the idea apart to find a novel and captivating style. This unconventional approach to songwriting has resulted in a record which is introspective yet aggressive; the harmonies flit between menacing and angelic, and soulful siren deBoer is by turns endearingly candid and enticingly enigmatic.

As part of the Rollerchain album Belleruche will be providing exclusive music for the UK fans. At every date in every city of the UK tour, audience members will get a unique code to download an exclusive Belleruche track or remix, for that night only. So if you come to every date in the UK run, you could put together a whole new album…
link

The Black Belles,
Dirty Vagrants, The Possibles

5th May 2012 – Erics bar, Liverpool

The Black Belles capture a modern twist to a sound heavily rooted in the soul and garage rock of the 60’s. Discovered by Jack White and brought to Third Man Studios for their first recordings, “What Can I Do” and “Lies” are the band’s inaugural release and showcase their unique ability to pay homage to their roots while also pushing their music into new territories. There’s a lot of anticipation around this release and it definitely delivers.

Wallis Bird plus Samuel James Routledge

10th May 2012 – Jabez Clegg, Manchester

Wallis Bird is wild. Wallis Bird is unpredictable. And she is contradictory. The best way to sum-up an artist who combines so many different styles is with the person themselves – hence the reason for self-titling her new upcoming album.

A musical magpie whose mature, self-affirming songs display an unusual emotional breadth, Wallis defies categorization. The Irish artist has paid her dues, shredding her fingers and breaking string after string from the sheer force of playing on stages small and large across Europe, and throwing her entire soul into each performance with a level of energy that makes her an unassailable force of nature.

Twenty Twenty
Room 94
Futureproof

2nd May – Garage,London
3rd May – HMV Institute,Birmingham
5th May – Academy3, Manchester
7th May – Academy2, Newcastle
10th May – Academy2, Sheffield
11th May – Academy2, Liverpool
18th May – The Haunt, Brighton

2011 has been a whirlwind for Twenty Twenty. After a Top 40 debut album ('Small Talk'), appearances at Isle of Wight and V-Festival as well as supporting some of the biggest names in pop across the country, the boys are hitting the road in May 2012 for their first headline tour in over a year to show their ever growing fan-base exactly what they're made of!

30th April 2012
Coldside
Kapital KO
Thallie Ann Seenyen
Samuel James Routledge
Busker One
Academy 3 Manchester

So… you want to know who Coldside are?

I could sit here all day and talk about how they started, born and raised in Wythenshawe, Manchester, the UKs biggest council estate. I could talk about all the places they have performed, Salford’s Lowery Centre, Virgin Megastores, Manchester Academy and the City of Manchester Stadium three times. I could even talk about how Coldside won the 2011 CitySound award, ran by Key103 and Manchester City, being dubbed Manchester’s Best Unsigned Act, not only performing in front of a capacity crowd of over 42,000 people but judged by top industry professionals like…

Gary Stein(Key103 Program Director) who had this to say about the boys,
“they truly have created a unique sound that sounds experimental as it does accessible, definitely destined for big things.”

Lee Morrison(Sony/RCA Records Regional Radio Promoter)
“…they stormed onto the stage in front of our judging panel that day and basically blew all the other acts away”

Alex James(In Demand Key103/Q Radio)
“Coldside performed in front of me and three other people in May 2011. They might as well have been performing to an arena… they are able to be themselves without compromise – evident in how they look and most importantly how they sound.”

None of that is important, what is important is the music.
Coldside have mastered their craft and then some. Gone are the days when a band has to be confined by genres and put into categories. Coldside have no genre and have no category and thats how they want it. They take their sound from so many styles in the world and infuse them with hard hitting bass lines, cutting edge lyrics and hooks that you wont be able to stop singing for a week. They combine music from Hip Hop, Dubstep, Pop, Rock, Indie and Soul to name but a few.

Coldside are not here to co-exist, Coldside are here to lay their mark on any genre they touch and change the way music is created and portrayed.

Saturday 31st March 2012
Mad Dog Mcrea
The Fifth Movement
@ Mello Mello, Liverpool

With a fresh six piece and 3 albums, Mad Dog Mcrea blend a unique mixture of folk rock, pop, gypsy jazz, bluegrass and 'shake your ass' music. From self-penned songs of adventure, drinking, love and life to traditional songs of gypsies, fairies, legless pirates and black flies, Mad Dog never fail to capture their audience with their infectious songs.

With their increasingly lively and spontaneous performances the band are acclaimed, not only for their music but for the off stage antics that seems to surround them.

The band now embark on their first major UK tour to spread the Mad Dog word across the country, with an acclaimed recent album “The Whirling Dervish” with plays by Mike Harding on Radio 2, it’s time for the band to step up and meet their burgeoning fanbase.

“Musical magicians Mad Dog Mcrea are synonymous not only with a damn good party but also quality musicianship and the odd surprise” – Talk Torbay

“A sound mixed, mashed and finely honed through years of live gigs” – Rock ‘n Reel Magazine

Open to all age’s club night featuring the stars of TOWIE, Geordie Shore and Desperate Scousewives as well as exclusive live performance from Liverpool singing sensation Chelcee.

TOWIE star and reality TV favourite Joey Essex has been added to the line-up of the UKs hottest reality stars, freshest DJ and talented new artists appearing at The Big Time Ball at Liverpool’s O2 Academy on Saturday, February 18th.

Making special appearances on the night alongside the Essex charmer will be X Factor sensation, James Michael; Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan; Britain’s ‘most brutal blogger’ and star of Desperate Scousewives, Jaiden Michael, Radio City 96.7s Lee Butler as well as The Only Way is Essex star, Frankie Essex.

The celebs will be partying all night, introducing on stage and meeting and greeting those lucky enough to bag themselves special VIP tickets.

Performing live on the night will be Liverpool’s newest singing sensation, Chelcee and X Factor's James Michael. Signing to the same record label as US mega stars Beyonce and Britney Spears in 2011, Chelcee has worked with the likes of Chew Fu (Rihanna), Rob Fusari (Lady GaGa) and Wiley.

Also performing live will be local bands Those Meddling Kids, Strangers Parlour and Tokyo Track and Adam Lyons

DJ Illness (Chipmunks / CMAR official tour DJ) will bring the house down with neat urban beats, along with DJ Illness and other guest DJs who will ensure the party keeps on going all night.

Performance Details:
O2 Academy Liverpool
Saturday February 18th 2011
Doors 7.00pm
Tickets £10.00 Advance

Featuring:
Joey Essex (TOWIE)
Holly Hagan (Geordie Shore)
Frankie Essex (TOWIE)
Jaidan Michael (Desperate Scousewives)
Melissa Reeves (Signed By Katie Price)

Performing live
Chelcee
X Factors James Michael

Plus DJ's
Radio City 96.7's Lee Butler
Dee Jay Illness (Chipmunk/CMAR)
DJ Olabean

PAGE 44 ARE A POP PUNK BAND FROM BIRMINGHAM, UK, ALL ABOUT BIG HOOKS & HARMONIES

Dates:
6th March – London – The Garage (upstairs)
7th March – Liverpool – O2 Academy 2
10th March – Manchester – Moho Live

After taking 2011 by storm, winning the Red Bull Bedroom Jam by a landslide, supporting The Blackout, We Are The Ocean & Canterbury on a national tour and appearing at major UK festivals including Download, Sonisphere, T in the Park, Underage Festival & Hevy, Page 44 are kicking off 2012 with the digital release of their NEW EP, a BRAND NEW video & a long awaited UK headline tour.

‘Leave The Last Man Behind’ was recorded in October 2011 in Red Bull Studios, London, produced by John Mitchell & Ben Humphreys of Outhouse studios, the team responsible for You Me At Six’s 2011 smash, ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ and Engineered by Brendan Harding. The EP was featured on the front cover of Rocksound’s December issue for free & received a fantastic reaction from fans & national media.

January has seen the release of the video for ‘Watch Me Fade’ premiered by Kerrang.com, receiving over 1000 views in the first 24 hours. The video poignantly features footage from the Blackout tour & the EP recording process, capturing the highlights & featuring some of the people who’d made the high points of 2011 possible. The video has been playlisted by Scuzz TV & has had an amazing reaction from national press.

The NEW digital release of ‘Leave The Last Man Behind’ comes complete with brand new artwork, created by Steven Hill (Funeral For a Friend, The Xcerts, Flood of Red) & features an additional exclusive track. It is available privately here on iTunes for pre-order: link

Live, Page 44 pull off an energetic, passionate show, in the words of vocalist Adam Vygus: “We have a lot of energy, and we really enjoy what we do and that comes across by the bucket load – We always come off stage knowing we couldn't have given anymore, it's the best way to pick up new fans and change the minds of any doubters”

https://www.facebook.com/Page44official

ROWDY SUPERSTAR HOSTS CHRISTMAS PARTY!

Rowdy is taking time out from mixing his debut record to host a Christmas shindig at the Enterprise, right next door to Chalk Farm Tube Station!

No doubt he will play a few songs from his new long-play, which he had co-produced with Matthew Herbert (Bjork, Radiohead, Roisin Murphy) and is being released on Accidental Records.

Rowdy toured UK and Europe supporting Patrick Wolf earlier this year to rave response from blogs and press with Clash Magazine and i-D dubbing him as one to watch. Rowdy toured Europe again throughout October this time supporting Atari Teenage Riot. Some of his artist friends he has met on his travels will hopefully be joining him on stage.

He released an online single in April 'Get Ur Shizzit Riiiiight' and another just a few weeks ago before the album is released early next year.

It's going to be rowdy. Get down.

Tuesday 21st February 2012
Borderline, London
Doors 7pm, £10adv

YouTube sensation and pop princess Alexa Goddard makes her debut live concert at the Borderline, London on the 21st February 2012.

Having wowed audiences around the world with her video performances on YouTube (120,000+ subscribers, 22 Million+ views), plus driving live crowds crazy with PA appearances at various club nights around the country, it is now time for Alexa to put on her first full show.

Performing a full length set, with a mix of her most coveted cover versions and showcasing songs due to appear on her album in 2012, this is a chance to catch the starlet in an intimate setting.

More information on Alexa Goddard

Every once in a while, something unexpected comes out of nowhere and takes your breath away. With tom-boy Barbie looks coupled with a deceptively powerful and soulful voice, Alexa Goddard is without question that “something” as over 22 million people have discovered over the last year.

An urban pop princess, Alexa has grabbed the world’s attention through YouTube. Last year, she began uploading videos of her singing some of her favourite songs on her channel link – and she achieved a staggering 22 million + views in her first 12 months online. Currently Alexa is the 15th Most Subscribed Musician in UK YouTube history, receiving an average of 150,000 views per day across all of her videos.
Fuelled by this momentum, Alexa achieved the impossible last year and spent 3 weeks in the Official UK Chart, peaking in the top 20, with a version of “Turn My Swag On”, eventually selling over 120,000 copies worldwide without major label backing – purely with YouTube support.

Now working with some of the world’s best regarded songwriters and producers, Alexa is now transitioning from YouTube sensation into a bona fide recording artist.

www.youtube.com/AlexaMusicTV
link

Alice will perform dates across the UK with her new album Seven Rainbows

March
6 – Birmingham, Hare and Hounds
7- Liverpool, Mojo
8 –Manchester, Ruby Lounge
9 – Leeds, Empire
10 – London, Borderline

A powerful pull of both masculine and feminine, laced together with straight out Patti Smith punk spirit and a keen pop ear, Alice Gold channels a definite pop sound but with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. To celebrate the release of her debut album Seven Rainbows Alice Gold will be performing in the UK.

The album was completed in just 22 short days with the help of producer Dan Carey who has worked with some of the hottest artists of the last few years including Lily Allen, Kylie, La Roux, Franz Ferdinand and Hot Chip.

Gold by name and gold by nature, there is immense warmth in Alice’s sound and lyrics which is illustrated beautifully in her album Seven Rainbows that is made up of dense, complex atmospherics and an effortless melodic sophistication.

A deal with Fiction Records allowed Alice to put together the live band she had always dreamed of. Far from session musician blandness, the noise they make is a reflection of the records Alice admits she has always loved;

“I love artists like Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Jefferson Airplane; classic songwriting, energetic and rough-around-the-edges. I definitely write pop songs, but I'm inspired just as much by leftfield stuff, rock and roll and psychedelia. Basically, I love Janis Joplin but I've got a crush on Alicia Keys.”

Performance Details:

Birmingham
Hare And Hounds
Tuesday, 6th March 2012, 7.30pm
£7

Liverpool
Mojo
Wednesday, 7th March 2012, 7.30pm
£7

Manchester
Ruby Lounge
Thursday, 8th March 2012, 7.30pm
£7

Leeds
Empire
Friday, 9th March 2012, 7.30pm
£7

London
Borderline
Saturday, 10th March 2012, 7pm
£8

Alice Gold

Alice Gold (Alice McLaughlin) is an English singer-songwriter based in London, formerly signed to Sunday Best and currently signed to Fiction Records.

Her debut single “Orbiter” was released on 23 September 2010 through Pure Groove Records, with a single launch party at The Drop in Stoke Newington. The Guardian said it “showcases Gold's mighty voice through its power-pop chorus” and described her as “One to watch”

Her second single “Runaway Love”, released on Fiction Records, has received airplay on radio stations across the UK, entering the A-List on BBC Radio 2. On the official release date, 18 April 2011, an acoustic EP was recorded live at Toerag Studios where The White Stripes have previously recorded.

Gold's debut album Seven Rainbows, released on 4 July 2011, was produced by Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip, Lily Allen). In an interview with PopCultureMonster.com she said of the album “the main bass, drums and guitars rhythm tracks were all recorded live and on tape like the old 60s records. The over-dubs are mostly made up of one-takes, whether it be guitar or vocal takes. My producer Dan Carey and I decided that if a take felt good then we’d keep it, so it is complete with minor ‘mistakes’ and quirky sounds through doing that, which we both like. Its a very honest album, quite autobiographical. The songs were born from a lot of darkness and grief but the lyrics are drenched in hope because of that, which is why I imagine people connect to it.”

In October 2010, Gold was shortlisted for Q magazine's 'Next Big Thing' award.

In September 2011, Gold's cover of the Billy Fury song “Wondrous Place” was used in an advert for the British beer brand Carling.
She has toured with Eels, Athlete, Band Of Skulls, Noah And The Whale, The Twilight Singers and has upcoming tour support slots confirmed with The Dears and The Bookhouse Boys.

Gold also played festivals in 2011, including Glastonbury, V Festival, T in the Park, Harvest at Jimmy's Festival, Jodrell Bank Live, Kendal Calling, Cornbury Festival and Hull's Freedom Festival.

Monday 5th December 2012
Ruby Lounge Manchester
Doors 7.30m, £8adv

Steve Conte And The Crazy Truth
(ex New York Dolls)
plus
Mr Fist / The Fevers / The Zero Symphony

Named for a Charles Bukowski poem, The Crazy Truth began to unfold in 2005 when Steve ran into high school pal Lee “Leeko” Kostrinsky on the street in New York City. Leeko's punk, reggae & indie rock influences were a perfect foil for Conte's love of the blues, classic rock and 60's garage bands. Rounded out by Scarborough's own Phil Stewart on drums, the trio played their first show in NYC within a few months – a T Rex memorial concert where they performed a cover of Marc Bolan's classic “Rip Off” and 9 new S.C. originals.

Working between records & tours as lead guitarist/backing singer and co-songwriter with the legendary New York Dolls, Conte has produced his band's debut album, a scorching 11 song rock & roll disc called simply – “STEVE CONTE & THE CRAZY TRUTH”. It features guest performances by Dolls front man David Johansen on harmonica, the soulful voices of Nikki Richards (Tina Turner/Madonna) and Catherine Russell (Al Green) and horns by Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/ Johnny Thunders), Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) and Kiku Collins (Beyonce).

Sonically, The Crazy Truth lies somewhere between garage rock and punk blues with hints of Latin-soul in a dark, smoky lounge. It’s the Stooges and the Stones versus Morphine and Tom Waits. The overall vibe is best described by Conte as “classic roots with a modern twist.”

Steve Conte delivers the power, soul and raunch. He’s a runaway guitar hero on the edge of falling apart – with the voice of a derelict angel. Drummer Phil Stewart is equal parts Max Roach and Keith Moon while bassist Leeko was weaned on The Clash and old school reggae.

Says Conte, “This album sounds like a band playing live because it’s drums, bass and guitar together in one room, solos recorded live on the basic tracks, rough and tough. It was like doing a gig. I love playing live with this band because it’s all about interplay and the moment. We don’t just deliver the songs…we JAM!”

Lyrically, the songs reflect two decades of life and excess in New York City…the distractions troubled souls move toward to fill the emptiness. Dive bars, gambling, sex and drugs. It's all there, but not celebrated with the traditional macho rock attitude. It’s more about redemption.

On The Truth Ain’t Pretty, Conte sings, “I’m always putting the last things first, that’s why I’m starting out with the second verse,” while on The Goods Are Odd he croons “Drag queens, drama queens, future ex-porn stars, we’re all looking for lovers with beautiful scars.”

Whether he’s the morally bankrupt guy “coming downtown in a Gypsy Cab” (from the standout track Gypsy Cab) or riding a Busload of Hope to Atlantic City, Conte offers a sense of optimism in the song This Is The End – “In the end we transcend – we’re divine”.

Special guests on the album includes David Johansen (New York Dolls) on harmonica, Catherine Russell (David Bowie) and Nicki Richards (Madonna) on backing vocals, plus Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/Johnny Thunders), Kiku Collins (Beyonce) Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) on horns

The album was mixed by the legendary Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards) and mastered by Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, Green Day).

Wednesay 14th March
Ruby Lounge Manchester

Peter Grant
plus Guests

He’s been endorsed by Gary Barlow who called him “one to watch”, likened to Adele thanks to his soulful voice, and is already a firm favourite with Radio 2. Not bad for a 24 year-old from York who recorded most of his new album while sleeping on a floor.

If you think you’ve heard Peter Grant’s name before, it’s probably because you have. So let’s go right back to the beginning of his story and bring you properly up to speed….

Peter started singing at the tender age of seven, taking influence from his father who used to gig in local bars and clubs. “I loved watching my dad perform and I’d sometimes get up on stage and sing a couple of cheesy songs with him. People who were around my dad were singing big standards, Rat Pack and jazzy numbers, and I got hooked. From then on I started spending any money I got on vinyl. Music became everything to me and I decided to learn the piano. By the time I was 12 I was gigging in to old people’s homes, working men’s clubs – you name it.”

Word soon spread across the circuit about Peter’s incredible voice and some local agents picked him up. “By the time I hit my teens I was singing at weddings, funerals, clubs, corporate events – the lot. Then I moved to more credible venues like Jazz clubs. I wanted to get as much experience as possible. School became secondary, but thankfully my parents were really behind me and they could see how hard I was working at the music. I started writing my own songs and I had a mini studio set up at home and I would vibe stuff and try out different sounds. I also made a few extra quid making backing tracks for other artists who played in clubs. I devoted everything to music.”

A couple of years later – having made a name for himself on the club circuit – a 16 year-old Peter was offered several jobs singing on cruise ships. But with school yet to finish, it was a tough choice to make. After weighing up his options he decided to go for it, knowing that music mattered more to him than anything else.

When he returned with a wealth of experience behind him, he was ready to take the next step towards making and releasing an album. So, aged 17, he decided to try out for a pretty well known talent competition. “X Factor was coming to Leeds so I decided to try out. I performed for Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne and got put through, but when I was sent the contract to sign I realised that they would have basically owned me, so I didn’t take it any further. I was really torn because I knew it could have been my big chance, but I had to stay true to myself and trust my gut feeling.”

It was evident he’d made the right decision when he was spotted by Don Readman from Focus Music whilst playing a gig. He was swiftly signed to Universal Music, and two weeks later found himself recording in Abbey Road Studios. “It was mad. I was there with a full orchestra making my first album, which was released when I was 18. I was overwhelmed by all the attention I was getting. Three weeks before I’d been driving 300 miles to go to a gig and sleeping in my car because I couldn’t afford a hotel room, and here I was being put up in The Hilton.”

Peter’s debut album, New Vintage, went top ten and achieved gold status, selling over 200,000 copies. The second album, Traditional, followed soon after. “I wasn’t given the chance to be properly involved with the second album and I didn’t like the way I was styled. The record company were trying to make me something I wasn’t comfortable with it. I think it showed as my heart wasn’t in it.”

When the time came for Peter to record his third album, he had lost even more faith in his deal. So when a covers album was suggested, he knew it was time to walk away. “It was a nightmare and I spent the next six months in a legal battle which left me broke. I found myself at 21 at a total loss as to what I was going to do next. I was literally watching everything fall apart in front of my face.”

After taking some time out to work out his next move, he began working with a producer friend called Andy Wright (Simply Red, Imelda May) at Sphere Studios in Battersea. “Sphere Studios became my home – literally. I was so skint I ended up living in a spare room there. I had a rail for my clothes, my music equipment and a bed on the floor. It was ridiculous, but also the best place I’ve ever lived. I had no money but the local gym let me go there for free, and an amazing guy called Shane Mani owned a restaurant around the corner and would feed me for free every night. For 18 months I got wrecked, made great music and slept in a room with no windows. I learnt an incredible amount and got to play with all of the big boy toys. I started writing songs and making tracks again, and although it was the poorest time of my life, it was the best.”

18 months ago Peter moved into his own flat (complete with windows) and continued working at the studios with the likes of Peter Vitesse, Roachy, Gavin Goldberg and Andy Wright. Then along came the break he’d been waiting for. “I’d been creating my own tracks, but I had no money to put them out. Then through my manager Claire XXXX I got an investor. That money allowed me to make the album and I went to The Dog House in Henley to do some sessions with Mark Hudson (Aerosmith, Ringo Starr, Hanson) and various other writers. We came away with 70 songs, from which we selected 12. I got a band together and we recorded at Sphere, The Dog House and Abbey Road.”

The album, Too Close, is set for release next year, and two tracks have already been selected to feature in Noel Clarke’s latest film The Knot, which hits cinemas on Valentine’s Day. “The album is pop as in its popular music and contemporary. But the songs are still credible with big, dramatic sounds and classic production. My voice is naturally very croony, so it’s also got a jazzy feel to it. There are Arabic influences on there, hip-hop grooves, orchestral sounds – it’s a real mish-mash. I spent a lot of time travelling around India and Egypt and those experiences definitely shaped the album too. I finally feel like I’ve made the album I’ve always wanted to.”

Exit Ten / Fei Comodo / Never Means Maybe
On Tour Liverpool and Manchester

Tuesday 15th Nov @ The Masque Liverpool
tickets – link nLiv

Wednesday 16th Nov @ Moho Live Manchester
tickets – link nManc

facebook.com/exittenofficial

EXIT TEN RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM GIVE ME INFINITY Oct 10th 2011

‘A powerful and beautiful work 8/10’ – Metal Hammer
‘A lesson in how to craft epic rock. 4/5’ Big Cheese
‘Toweringly anthemic…shimmering…simply riveting’ Kerrang!
‘Give Me Infinity is an accomplished piece of work’ Ian Camfield, XFM

When Reading based five piece EXIT TEN released their debut album Remember The Day back in 2008, they quickly transformed from being hyped youngsters with bags of potential, to being real contenders to the crown of British guitar based music. Stellar reviews poured in from all sides (4/5 Kerrang, 8/10 Rock Sound, 4/5 Total Guitar, 5/5 Big Cheese) with the overall feeling that the UK had finally produced a band that were taking all of the best elements of metal and heavy music, removing the clichés, and offering their own original, passionate and uplifting take on the scene.

But all was not well behind the scenes. The band released their debut through their own label Deep Burn, distributed by the ill fated Pinnacle structure and when the latter went into liquidation, so too did EXIT TEN’s chances of breaking through from the British underground scene. When shops would sell out of their debut album, they were unable to order more stock. The band continued to tour
the UK & Europe on headline tours and supporting the likes of Deftones, picking up legions of dedicated fans and near perfect reviews for their “mesmerising” live shows. But in order for a band to truly succeed, albums must be on the shelves and readily available for both fans and newcomers to acquaint themselves with and purchase.

3 years later EXIT TEN return. Having holed themselves up in the studio for a few months at Outhouse Studios in their hometown of Reading, the band recorded their second album, due for release in October 2011. Moving away from the metalcore sound of old, the band return with a more anthemic rock sound, and have created a genuinely special album of earnest and uplifting songs, designed to empower and inspire.

Now more easily compared to the more epic or raw moments of Incubus and Pearl Jam, rather than Tool or Helmet, the band have focused more on textures and layers in their sound, even embracing the use of strings (see Suggest A Path), piano (see Drama) and mature instrumentation.

However the band have not ‘changed their sound’ as such; rather matured and grown as musicians and songwriters. Ryan Redman’s unique and distinct vocals continue to glide seamlessly over thunderous riffs and crashing percussion; the band have been unafraid to include slower, more intricate sections that build to epic conclusions (see Lion); their sound as a whole has branched out into truly unforeseen sonic territories.

The Chakras on Tour

22nd Oct @ Alter Ego Manchester
1st Nov @ The Bowery London

The Chakras release their debut album, ‘Build Me A Swan’ through Planet Function Records on the 26th September 2011.

This young Dublin born, London based five piece commenced their journey almost two years ago, with an early show supporting Ian Brown in Dublin. Brown immediately gave the wide-eyed but confident Irish chaps two enthusiastic thumbs up, and thus begins their story.

Led by brothers Rocky and Gordo Whittaker, but soul mates since their days at school, The Chakras were hell bent on writing music that evoked some sort of reaction. Raised on a diet of Soul In Heaven era Verve self-belief, and Jesus and Mary Chain’s wanton fuzz, the band took an early hazy blueprint of how they wanted to sound and immediately removed anything that might interfere with their creating of it. They killed off long-standing relationships, resigned from the day-jobs and cut local ties, moved to London and have here made a record that took those noisy, hissing 8-track bedroom demos and transformed the very same songs into swirling, guitar-heavy anthems.

Introduced in late 2010 with the skyscraping ‘Build Me A Swan’ single on limited 7”, The Chakras’ work with mixer Chris Potter (Urban Hymns) has given the band a freedom and license to reference those immediate shoegaze influences, but not mask the melodies with too much unnecessary noise. As friends who intrinsically trust each other’s judgment, The Chakras lent their trust in Potter’s experience (and producer Jaz Rogers’ ear for hooks and melody), and ‘Build Me A Swan’ is a telling first band statement.

So where ‘Beautiful Sorrow’ weaves incessantly with a mesmerizing, bass-heavy groove, ‘Slowdive’ is a Creation Records friendly long lost fuzzy ballad, in stark comparison to ‘We The People’ and it’s call to arms, psychedelic guitar licks, bobbing and weaving with a power and intent.

It’s 11 tracks that give further credence to a big return for the guitar band in 2011, but crucially, ‘Build Me A Swan’ is a record that stands up without any false sideshow competing for the limelight off stage.

Tracklisting: Movement/Build Me A Swan/Beautiful Sorrow/Slowdive/ Drifting (Take A Walk Inside)/We The People/Blinded/ Make It Tonight/Dark Horizon/Nothing Is Forgotten/End: Beginnings

The Chakras are: Rocky Whittaker (vocals), Gordo Whittaker (guitars/vocals), Richie McArdle (guitars), Bryan Pepper (keys, harmonium), Ian Kane (bass/vocals)

www.myspace.com/thechakras

Ruarri Joseph with Full Live Band

Saturday 1st Oct @ Mello Mello Liverpool
Sunday 2nd Oct @ Ruby Lounge Manchester
Monday 3rd Oct @ Milo Leeds

Ruarri’s rather peculiar music career began, in part, when his mother – a practicing witch – relocated her young family from Cornwall to New Zealand, away from his alcoholic father. A childhood was spent living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, where it was common practice to make explosives, drive at fourteen, swim in the ocean and shoot possums. When Ruarri’s family wanted to move to a bigger field, they simply sawed the house in half and took both bits with them.

With a growing love of music, Ruarri headed back to England. He met his wife–‐to–‐be at seventeen, and soon found himself a Teenage Dad, working as a nurse for the elderly and mentally ill. Joseph found musical solace gigging in a Jazz Cabaret band, and in 2007 – after buying ten Tom Waits albums to locate the one song he’d heard of – Ruarri stumbled into a solo career, and a Major Label deal. He was, he now concedes, completely unprepared for the music industry, having never really experienced one in his homes of New Zealand and Cornwall. One album and a good deal of critical acclaim later, following support slots with the likes of David Gray, Seth Lakeman and Paolo Nutini (with whom he remains close), Joseph quit his recording contract.

Ruarri returned to his roots, writing songs for the fun of it. His wife helped him found a record label and release a follow–‐up album, effectively acting as his A&R. Just as the record, ‘Both Sides of The Coin’, started to get going, the campaign was dealt a hammer blow: Ruarri’s son, Alfie, had to undergo emergency brain surgery, while his wife gave birth to their third–‐born, Harper. ‘Shoulder To The Wheel’, then, was written following the eventual (and full) recovery of Alfie. It is a hopeful record, somewhat unusually shaped by Gospel (or Joseph’s idea of gospel music: like Cobain’s introduction to Punk, Ruarri notes, he is more influenced by the attitudes than the aesthetics). Ruarri’s 4th album will be released in early 2012 and has released an EP ‘Til the luck runs dry’ with 2 new songs taken from the record, which is released through his web site.

link

Kevin Critchley Outfit
Featuring special guests Christoph Demetriou, Greta Svabo Bech, Kaya, Grethe Børsum, Deafen The Creatures, Shy & The Fight, Bird
Friday, October 21st
The Masque Theatre
90 Seel Street
Liverpool
L1 4BH

Kevin Critchley Outfit  will be performing with  Sense Of Sound Singers  and an extended string section in an ambitious live show on an unprecedented scale for an unsigned band.    The night will see  KCO  unveil their new band name and launch a limited edition EP containing live recordings and material from a forthcoming studio album. 
 
With a performance at  Chester Rocks  described as the “…highlight of the day…” (Liverpool Live) as the band “…stole the show…” (Radio City),  KCO have continued to up the ante with a support slot for  Sharon Corr  on the Liverpool leg of her UK tour.    Their line up – cello and violins alongside drums, piano, bass, guitar and vocals-    results in a truly original sound that blends film soundtrack, world music and energetic acoustic rock.    

Singing alongside  KCO  will be members of  Sense of Sound Singers.    The choir have been previously involved in performances with  Brian Eno, Damon Albarn  and  Massive Attack  in support of Greenpeace,  Seal  and  John Bon Jovi  at  The Royal Variety Show  and grand finalists for  BBC “Choir of the Year” competition.    

Amongst the special guests on stage with  KCO  are violinists  Christoph Demetriou  (Shrek 2/Counting Crows, Seal, Jessicas Ghost)  and  Greta Svabo Bech  (Picture Book),  as well as backing vocals from Norwegian singers  Kaya  and  Grethe  Børsum.
 
The night will also showcase three other diverse acts that KCO have chosen especially for this event. Deafen The Creatures  are an acoustic/electronic 4 piece whose singer Elle won  MOJO’s “New Voice Award 2011”. Shy & The Fight, from Chester and Wrexham, recently had airplay on  BBC Radio 1 and featured on the  Jack Wills  summer advertising campaign this year and whose more soulful nu-folk has made the band firm favourites with  BBC Radio Wales. Finally,  Bird  will be performing their unique brand of atmospheric folk, which fuses influences as broad as PJ Harvey, Portishead, Bat for Lashes and Kate Bush.
 
KCO  have also had the pleasure of supporting artists as diverse as  Seth Lakeman, Mark Morriss (Bluetones), Ian McNabb, Amsterdam  and  Mica Paris.     

Tickets are available now by following this link.

Jon Gomm
Plus Special Guests Richie Syrett, Jimmy Holland
Wednesday, September 14th
The Castle Hotel
66 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LE
£6 Advance, £8 on the door

Jon Gomm will be playing at The Castle Hotel, Oldham St, Manchester on Wednesday 14th September as part of his Domestic Science European tour.

With a once-seen-never-forgotten two-handed style, both physical and complex, Jon Gomm is an incredible guitar virtuoso, using one acoustic instrument to create drum sounds, bass lines and sparkling melodies all at the same time.

The son of a music critic, musicians would often stay at the Gomm household in Blackpool on the understanding Jon would get a guitar lesson, meaning he had one-to-one tuition from blues legends like Walter Trout and Bob Brozman.

International tours have generated a huge cult following and Jon is regarded by those ‘in the know’ as one of the world’s most talented and innovative guitarists. His videos are watched thousands of times within days of appearing on Youtube, and his home-recorded debut album ‘Hypertension’ sold over ten thousand copies with no industry backing. The next album, ‘Don't Panic’, sold out on Amazon within 5 days.

His new project is The Domestic Science Series, a sequence of home-recorded singles to be released over the coming Autumn/Winter, starting on September 28th 2011. Each song has an accompanying video, made by Jon's fans, and will be available only from jongomm.com and on a Pay What You Want basis, with 10% of the proceeds going to Jon's mum's charity, The Happy House orphanage in Watamu, Kenya.

“Sheer bloody genius… sublime, impassioned songwriting”
– Sandman Magazine
“We have seen the future of acoustic guitar playing, and it is called Jon Gomm”
– Blues Matters
“One of the world's most successful, gifted and inspirational guitar players”
– Acoustic Magazine
“Once you get over the jaw dropping manoeuvres and technique, you will be rewarded with some spectacularly beautiful songs.”
– Blues & Soul magazine
“Pushes the guitar's envelope, fitting small moments of genius into each and every song.”
– The Glasgow Herald
“This guy has it all – great heartfelt vocals, inspired and original songs, and guitar playing as good as you will ever hear. The new Hendrix.”
– ReviewCentre.com
“A one-man symphony, fusing so many different strands of music together and straddling the gulf between blues and drum’n’bass, western rock’n’roll and Asian influences to create something unique and captivating.”
– Isle Of Man Today

More information can be found by following this link.

They may have slipped out of the public conscious, they may have veered off the radar, but they never went away. Now they have resurfaced. Brace yourself for another abrasive onslaught from The Others.

It’s seven years now since Dominic Masters pioneered social networking in the most basic of ways – making his phone number available to all who wanted it, then answering any call he received, replying to every message. In The Others, Dominic offered a sanctuary for the disparate youth who weren’t at home in the mainstream. Still his favourite song to date, “This is For The Poor” was almost a call to arms for the disenfranchised. A more angry, darker “Mis-Shapes” by Pulp, if you will.

These were the days when guerrilla gigs were the epitome of DIY punk rather than corporate commercial endeavours and impromptu performances on the Underground, in the BBC reception, on The Dodgems and countless other places, set The Others apart and offered them national profile which Dominic Masters exploited fully and often controversially. No-one just “quite liked” The Others, they loved them or hated them.

Fast-forward to the present day and the drive behind the band is still as urgent as ever. The last 36 months have seen changes to the line-up (one out, two in), dozens of songs written, probably enough for a third AND fourth album, and meticulous rehearsals. Some of these songs will be aired in public for the very first time on Saturday September 24th when the band returns as a live unit, headlining The Lexington. Super Bok and Double Pernod are stand out tracks that show both a certain maturity of the band and the dynamism that can be achieved with 5 members rather than 4, yet maintain the snarling anger and viciousness that Masters can inject into his lyrics.

Brace yourselves. The Others, the band who never went away, are back.

Support comes from The Supernovas

Facebook event: link

Ellen and The Escapades
plus Emily and The Woods
Tuesday 4th October
The Bowery – 36-38 New Oxford Street London WC1A 1EP
Tickets £7 available from link

Ellen and The Escapades play in the intimate surroundings of The Bowery on Tuesday 4th October.

Delicate, bitter-sweet and soul searching are some of the words usually associated with the music of alt folk/rock quintet Ellen and the Escapades. Their upbeat and catchy debut single ‘Without You’, released on their own home grown label Branch Out Records, was lovingly packaged in hand stitched felt and greeted warmly by the likes of Steve Lamacq and Rough Trade in the summer of 2009.

Since then, Ellen’s dusky, captivating vocals and honest lyrics have helped push the band to new heights, including winning Q Magazine/Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition and playing a total of 5 stages at last years festival. Following that with more UK festival appearances including Larmer Tree and Summer Sundae, they then joined Paolo Nutini and Stornoway at the Pilton Party in September before selling out venues across the UK promoting their self-released EP ‘Of All The Times’.

Support comes from the brilliant Emily and The Woods. London born singer-songwriter Emily, brother Benedict, drummer Harry Mead and bass player John Parker (Nizlopi). Recent gigs include slots with artists such as Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran, Lucy Rose, The Treetop Flyers and Newton Faulkner. The summer has been a very busy one with perfomances from Emily and the band at Glastonbury (they were ‘Pick of The Day’ for Saturday’s Acoustic Stage performance), Blissfields, Knee Deep, and Grassroots Festivals. The latest Emily and The Woods EP, produced by Patrick Wood and featuring Ted Dwane (Mumford & Sons), Marcus Hamblett, (Sons of Noel and Adrian) and drummer Roy Dodds (Fairground Attraction) is available now on iTunes. With a string of dates already lined up for the autumn and airplay on Amazing Radio, BBC 6 Music and Xfm already under her belt, the future for looks very exciting for Emily and The Woods!

For more info go to: link

Fronted by former X Factor star Jamie Archer and backed by a band that includes his brother Stevo on drums and Anthony Reed on guitar, Archer are fast gaining a reputation for working the crowd with their electrifying shows.

Alongside performances at a string of major music events, festivals and radio stations this summer, you can catch Archer in September at the following shows:

September 8th: Borderline, London
September 14th: HMV Institute, Birmingham
September 15th: Ruby Lounge, Manchester
September 16th: Mojo, Liverpool

The Archer boys got their careers off to a bang, performing at the Epsom Derby in front of 100,000 people that included the Queen, Prince William, Prince Harry and Kate Middleton.

Above is a snippet of debut single “Insanity”, set for release this August.

MSD

Two Spot Gobi
plus special guests

Thursday 1st September – The 100 Club
100 Oxford Street, London W1D 1LL

Ticket link: link

From the stony beaches of Brighton, via the sunny shores of California, Two Spot Gobi create irresistibly laidback, summery anthems. Formed in 2005, the band have released their debut album, 'Everywhere You Should Have Been', with the follow up 'The Sun Will Rise' scheduled for release in 2011. Featuring the single 'You Make It Easy' and the forthcoming release 'Guiding Star' the album incorporates elements of pop, rock, reggae, jazz and funk to create their fresh and vital sound. TSG have shared a stage with the likes of Jason Mraz, Newton Faulkner, Bruno Mars, Lisa Hannigan, Michael Buble to name a few..

Rubylux at The Borderline, 17th November
Orange Yard, Off Manette Street, London, W1D 4JB

Tickets available from link

After months on the road, from L.A. to Singapore to Melbourne, Rubylux are back on home turf, and ready to make a further mark on their UK audience with 2nd single “What You Need’.

The past 12 months have been an exciting time for the young Brighton quartet, who’s contagious sound, and universal anthemics share similarities with Coldplay, and early Radiohead selling out shows UK wide.

The Debut album ‘Fake Control’ was Produced by James Sanger (Keane, Manics…), and soon caught the attention of BMG/Chrysalis, who signed a worldwide deal with the band last year. Tours of Asia as ‘Ambassadors Of Rock’ to the Hard Rock Café, and the presentation of hometown Brighton Music Awards “Best Band Award” by rock legends Jimmy Page and Roger Daltrey helped top off an already impressive 2010.

Their signature guerilla street gigs have helped build a loyal army of UK fans, and last summer, attracted the attention of the Guardian, who featured the band in a full page article with the likes of Q mag and BBC Radio 2 getting in on the action also.

Debut single, ‘The Boy Could Fly’ was introduced to a US audience through NBC’s “Being Human”, and propelled the lads into a string of busy LA shows earlier this year. Whilst here in the UK, numerous plays on BBC Radio 2, and incredible support/playlisting from regional radio stations, added to the already flourishing awareness of Rubylux and ensured a sell out show at London’s Proud Gallery.

“What You Need” is released on the 10th October, and will be available for iTunes Pre-Order along with an acoustic version, remixes, and an unheard bonus track. Music video will be available online at rubylux.net.

St. Spirit are a band of 19-year-olds from South London, a real band, with all the ballsy idealism and emotional sensitivity that entails. Fronted by songwriter and guitarist Myles McCabe, the band craft tunes from sweet melodies spun around choppy chords and wrung through a broad and bold lyrical palette.

The music sees them move from the tender and lilting harmonies of Brian Wilson to the feedback and angles of My Bloody Valentine and formed as a group after hearing their seminal album – Loveless.

With a set of recordings completed at co-songwriter and guitarist Sam Robson’s house, they release their first official video, an animated story of life and death for the beautiful and panoramic 'Build a Life' – which is available for viewing on their web site link

A free single download of ‘Build a Life’ is set to follow on September the 26th from the bands web site backed with new recordings and remixes.

Tuesday 6th September with Dead Read Sun link & Killington Fall link
Tickets: link FB: link

Monday 12th September with Special Guests

Tuesday 20th September with The Draytones link & Guile link
Tickets: link FB: link

Tuesday 27th September 'Build A Life' Single Launch with The Naturals link

The Bowery – 36-38 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1EP

All tickets available from Ticketwerk: link

The Violet May
Plus All Mankind

October 6th, 2011
Alter Ego, Manchester
105 – 107 Prinsess Street, Manchester, M1 6DD

October 7th, 2011
Mojo, Liverpool
Back Berry Street, Liverpool, L1 4BB

Fresh off the back of releasing their lauded debut EP “TV” in the summer and headline shows at London's Koko, Music Week's Breakout night, a German tour with The Chapman Family, and support to The Duke Spirit; Sheffield rockers The Violet May will be taking to the road for a national headline tour this October. The band play across the UK from October 1st with support from Aussie act All Mankind.

The Violet May have been creating havoc on the live scene since forming in 2009, and are seen by many as the remedy to the mass of twee indie acts currently on the scene. A debut video shot by Douglas Hart of Jesus & Mary Chain and support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, XFM, Clash, Guardian and Artrocker have been backed by performances at the likes of Leeds Festival, Secret Garden Party, Boardmasters Festival, and opening last year's Energy Sessions Festival for Band Of Skulls and The Boxer Rebellion.

Frontman of the band, Chris McClure, said of the tour: “We are like animals locked in a cage at the moment, we are on a mission to show people that guitar music still has a heartbeat, they don't need to settle for The Vaccines or Viva La Brother. Leave your pretences at home and come check us out.”

Following the tour, The Violet May are headed back into the studio to lay down the next set of tracks for their debut album. The band will also release the track “This Could Be Bad” in November as part of the legendary Club 60's new singles club. And we can't wait to get our ears around it!

Tickets available via the link above.

Misty's Big Adventure
Plus Special Guests
November 10th, 2011
Moho Live, Manchester
Tib Street, Manchester M4 1SH

Misty's Big Adventure are an 8 piece band from Birmingham led by Grandmaster Gareth, who John Peel once pronounced “The New God”. Since 2004, Misty's Big Adventure have released four studio albums to critical acclaim, with the NME calling their last album “a masterpiece”. They have toured all over the UK with The Zutons, The Guillemots, The Magic Numbers, Dodgy, The Bluetones, 50 Foot Wave and most recently with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. They've also made many festival appearances including End Of The Road, Green Man, Bestival, and Get Loaded in the UK and also in Germany, Holland, Poland and Lithuania. They have recorded radio sessions for Stuart Maconie, Gideon Coe, Tom Robinson, John Kennedy and Rob Da Bank, as well as being played by Don Letts, John Peel, Phill Jupitus, Huw Stephens, Janice Long, Chris Hawkins and Irwin Chusid amongst others. Dave Gorman is a big fan and asked them to write the theme music for his BBC2 show Genius. Their new album The Family Amusement Centre features a guest appearance by Sir Patrick Moore and will be out this year. Previous albums have featured a Noddy Holder voiceover and Gruff Rhys eating vegetables! Grandmaster Gareth has also collaborated with Broadcast, Jeffrey Lewis, Kimya Dawson, Pram and The Zutons.

Get your tickets now via the link above.

MSD

InMe
Plus Lost Alone and Mojo Fury
March 9th, 2012
Erics, Mathew St, Liverpool

InMe have announced that they are to release a new album entitled The Pride – their fifth studio offering.

Released February 2012, it coincides with a full UK tour. Catch them on March 9th at The Masque, Liverpool. Tickets are on sale via the link above.