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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW WITH BEN DLUGOKECKI
 This
month sees popular Southampton tunesmiths Dlugokecki head to America to play the
hugely popular South By South West festival where they will be supporting
everyone’s favourite bespectacled Scotsmen, The Proclaimers as well as playing
two shows in New York. This is a huge step forward for the band and one that
singer/songwriter and all round nice guy, Ben Dlugokecki is hugely looking
forward to. But how did this massive opportunity for the band come about?
“We were spotted by the festival organisers whilst supporting Starsailor at
Shepherds Bush Empire” explains Ben. “They approached us and asked us if we’d
like to play the festival and, seeing as I’ve never even been to America before,
I immediately told them yes! We are absolutely thrilled to be asked to be a part
of this.” The shows with The Proclaimers will take place in Austin, Texas. Ben
readily admits that he is an admirer of their work. “You have to respect them.
They’ve written two anthems (“Letter From America” and “(I’m Gonna Be) 500
Miles”) which everyone knows. They are kind of weird, but in a good way!”
Dlugokecki were formed 4 years ago and have gone on to enjoy success after
success. The band has already achieved many things that most bands can only
dream about at this stage of their career. They are one of only 4 bands in the
world to have played at Stonehenge, had their music played on Channel 4’s
Hollyoaks programme and they have also played on the ferry across The Mersey.
“We had to play songs in between the commentary,” says Ben. “It was quite an odd
experience but a lot of fun. People seemed to enjoy us!”
Dlugokecki’s first gig was at a showcase at The Barfly in London - “We were
terrible!” – before Ben met keyboard player Andy Wild and put together the
current Dlugokecki line up which features Ben, Andy Wild, Aidan Hampson on bass,
Boyd on drums and Marie Kitchen on cello.”We wanted cello to add warmth and
depth to our sound” he explains. “This line up has been together for around a
year and a half now.”
Ben went on to talk about some of his songs. “’Heaven To Believe In’ (taken from
the band’s most recent mini album “Let This Be Right”) is about a friend of a
friend who died of cancer. It’s based around seeing my friends so upset and
their feelings at that time.” Other songs have had a profound effect on people
too. “I once had a family come up to me at a show and hugging me like a long
lost friend,” he says, clearly humbled. “I’d never met these people before but
the lady told me that her husband was terminally ill yet our song ‘Hope Song’
had helped them through it and they wanted to say ‘thank you’. When people say
things like that, it means a hell of a lot. When you write songs, you want to
make a difference in some way.”
When asked about what got him into music, Ben recalls “My dad was a DJ whilst my
brother had all of The Beatles albums and they were on all the time. I guess
that’s how it started really.” So what made him want to write songs? “I wanted
to impress girls! I wrote a song for a girl once and she liked it so I thought
‘I could do this!’ and I just wrote and wrote.”
If there is one writer that Ben wants to emulate, it is Paul Simon. “He is the
best lyricist of all time.” Ben enthuses. “He has crossed every genre and is
consistently brilliant. ‘Gracelands’ is the best album ever!” Ben is also a fan
of David Gray. “He was the first singer/songwriter of our generation to have a
big hit (“Babylon” in 2000) really. When I saw him play at Guilfest, I thought
to myself ‘I’ve got to have a go at this.’” The band later supported Gray on a
UK tour. “When I met him, I realised I’d got somewhere.”
Ben proudly plays a big part in the recent resurgence in the Southampton music
scene. With hotly tipped bands like Thomas Tantrum, The Revs and Fearne coming
out of the city, these are exciting times to be around the South Coast. “The
Southampton scene is really starting to build up. The competition is tough yet
there’s a real spirit amongst the bands. Everyone wants to play live with each
other, help each other out. There’s a real loyalty between the bands.” Ben plays
a big part in this by arranging his “Jurassic Mark” nights, giving local bands a
chance to showcase their talents.
Most recently was the “Jurassic Mark” CD launch night at Talking Heads which
featured Southampton bands The Queue, The Vision, Strange Without Medicine and
Today’s Eden. The night was a resounding success. “Every band was great on the
night, it was a lot of fun!” smiles Ben. “Jurassic Mark is a way of me trying to
build up relationships with other bands and thankfully its working.”
So with the band’s US shows coming up along with their debut full length album
following hot on the heels on most recent mini album “Let This Be Right”, what
are Ben’s hopes for Dlugokecki in 2009? “As long as we keep enjoying it and
people still want to see us, then that’ll do for me!” A typically humble
response from a man who has enough timeless songs up his sleeve to ensure that
Dlugokecki is one name we have not heard the last of this year.
Interview by Paul Lane.
KILL HENRY SUGAR – RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER – SATURDAY
APRIL 11
 This
is a gig I can heartily recommend after seeing this great American duo play at
this venue early last year. Vocally and musically brilliant, the duo also had an
excellent humorous rapport with their audience.
Kill Henry Sugar is the name drum/dobro duo Erik Della Penna and Dean Sharenow
perform under. Both bred in New York City, they create modern folk music from
the roots of Gotham. They met while performing around town and discovered a
shared obsession with the city’s corrupt beginnings and the frenzied ambitions
of its inhabitants. Kill Henry Sugar became the minimalist, streamlined vehicle
for this ongoing discourse – think “Gangs Of New York” (book, not movie) meets
“Metropolis” (movie, not book) for some idea of their approach.
The pair’s last album “Swing Back And Down” which I reviewed on this website
last year was one of my favourite albums of 2008. Recording took place in the
basement of Erik’s grandmother’s Bronx apartment to the backdrop of sepia
photographs of generations past, and the songs are snapshots of New York life
captured in stark, vivid tones.
A preview copy of the CD impressed folk icon Joan Baez who was inspired to add
two of the album’s songs to her repertoire. Shortly after seeing Kill Henry
Sugar perform she asked them to be her backing band for her 2007 tour, which led
to a series of UK gigs for the duo, including a packed show at London’s Green
Note venue. The CD has impressed reviewers in the USA with New York’s Time Out
magazine describing it as “effortlessly beguiling” and The Washington Post
declaring it as “masterful low-fi storytelling.”
On this tour, Kill Henry Sugar will feature a preview of tracks from their
latest album “Hot Messiah.”
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, WEDGEWOOD
ROOMS, PORTSMOUTH – TUES APRIL 14
 And
You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (often abbreviated as Trail of Dead) is an
American art rock band from Austin, Texas. According to the band's website,
their name is taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant which shows a striking
similarity to an ancient Egyptian chant. However, this explanation is said to be
merely an ongoing joke. The chief creative elements of the band are Jason Reece
and Conrad Keely. The two switch between drumming and lead vocals and guitar,
both on their records and during their shows. The band have released six albums
so far, the latest of which “The Century of Self” was released in February of
this year.
Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in
Hawaii. They each formed their first band in 1993, soon after moving to Olympia,
Washington where Keely studied at The Evergreen State College. Keely started a
band called Benedict Gehlen that only lasted a year. Nancyville was Keely's next
project, though it also was short-lived. Reece played drums with Honeybucket and
then queercore band Mukilteo Fairies while living in Olympia. The two moved to
Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, You Will Know Us
by the Trail of Dead. The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and
bassist Neil Busch. They then officially lengthened their name to ...And You
Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
Their first release was a cassette-only compilation called “Austin Live Houses”
in 1995, and over the next ten years the band went on to numerous tours of the
USA and Europe, with several personnel changes along the way. They built up a
huge reputation as a live act playing heavy, yet anthemic rock, and became
infamous for destroying their equipment at the end of their act, as The Who had
done many years before.
KIMMIE RHODES, THE TIVOLI THEATRE,
WIMBORNE – WEDNESDAY APRIL 29
 Singer-songwriter
Kimmie Rhodes is a native Texan who calls Austin home. Kimmie’s multi-platinum
selling songs have been recorded by such stellar acts as Willie Nelson, Wynonna
Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, Joe Ely, John Farnham, Waylon
Jennings, Peter Frampton, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. A creative and
prolific artist, she has recorded and released a total of twelve solo CDs,
written and produced three musical plays and a catalogue of hundreds of songs,
and published a book.
In support of her newest CD release, “Walls Fall Down”, Kimmie recently toured
ten European countries, including some guest appearances with her friend and
writing partner Emmylou Harris. “Walls Fall Down” was recorded with an
international cast of musicians including John Gardner (percussion), Glen
Fukunaga (bass), Gabe Rhodes (guitars, keyboards), Brian Standefer (cello) and
Kieran Goss and Ann Kinsella on backing vocals. The CD, co-produced by Kimmie
and Gabe, was recorded, mixed and mastered by Joe Gracey in Kimmie’s studio in
Austin. Kimmie and Joe released the record on their own independent label,
Sunbird.
Kimmie grew up in Lubbock, Texas and began her singing career at the age of six
with her family gospel trio. She moved to Austin in 1979, where she met DJ and
producer Joe Gracey, an instrumental figure in the Austin progressive country
scene, who she eventually married. In 1981 she recorded her first album, “Kimmie
Rhodes and the Jackalope Brothers” when Willie Nelson invited her to use his
studio. In 1985 she recorded her second album, “Man In the Moon.” Her third
album “Angels Get The Blues,” recorded at the original Sun Studio in Memphis,
was released in 1989. These records led to a series of British and European
tours which received rave reviews.
Her promotional tours created a solid fan base in the U.K., Ireland and Europe.
She has headlined with her band at festivals all over the world and has appeared
on many European and American TV and radio broadcasts. She has also appeared at
many of Willie’s Farm Aid concerts and July 4th Picnics. Willie dubbed Kimmie
“an undiscovered superstar” and together they recorded two of her originals for
his album “Just One Love” and a duet CD, “Picture in a Frame.”
In 2003 she released a compilation of duets with Willie Nelson titled “Picture
In A Frame”. It’s their first duet CD, featuring the Tom Waits-penned title
track, a new Willie song (“It Always Will Be”), five original Kimmie tunes, and
classics from Rodney Crowell and Willie. Recorded at Willie’s World Headquarters
in Luck, Texas with a small acoustic group, this CD captures Willie and Kimmie
at their most intimate and relaxed.
In 2005 Sunbird released “Ten Summers”, a compilation CD reprising ten years of
Kimmie’s favorite recordings from 1995 to 2005.
PAM TILLIS, THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE –
TUESDAY APRIL 28
 An
American country singer who has charted with over thirty singles on the US
Billboard country charts pays a visit to The Anvil later this month. Pam Tillis,
daughter of country music legend Mel Tillis
Pam was born Pamela Yvonne Tillis on July 24 1957 in Plant City, Florida, and
was originally a demo singer in Nashville, Tennessee. She was signed to Warner
Brothers Records in 1981 and released nine singles and a studio album with the
label during the 1980s. She later found work as a staff songwriter for Tree
Publishing. By 1991, she had signed to Arista Records and in that year, she
reached Top 5 on the Billboard country charts with "Don't Tell Me What to Do",
the first of five singles from her second album, “Put Yourself In My Place”
which was certified gold by the RIAA.
Between 1991 and the present, Tillis has charted more than thirty singles on the
U.S. Billboard country charts, including her only Number One single, 1995's “Mi
Vida Loca (My Crazy Life).” She has also released ten albums overall (nine
studio albums plus a Greatest Hits compilation), with three platinum and two
gold certifications. She has also founded her own label, Stellar Cat Records.
Pam also found time to combine an acting career with her singing from the late
1980s onwards. She appeared in back-to-back crossover episodes of “Promised
Land” and “Diagnosis Murder on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). "My
interest in acting started in 1989 when I starred in Tennessee Repertory's
'Jesus Christ Superstar' as Mary Magdalene," explained Tillis, who has also
appeared on “LA Law” and hosted Live at the Ryman
CHRIS WOOD, QUAY ARTS CENTRE, NEWPORT,
ISLE OF WIGHT – SUNDAY APRIL 26
 Chris
Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the unofficial
history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the
tradition with his own contemporary parables, his writing has been said to share
the same timeless quality as Richard Thompson at his best. Chris's latest
projects are his new album, “Trespasser” which has been widely critically
acclaimed. It was recorded at his R.U.F Records / English Acoustic Collective
base in Kent and includes the vocals of Karine Polwart.
A master of understatement, the full import of this remarkable album is easily
overlooked. From the acerbic, almost punk – “Cottager's Reply” to his 'atheist
spiritual' –“ Come Down Jehovah,” Wood's ear for melody and gift for
storytelling is peerless. Ever since the days of Richard Thompson the English
folk tradition has looked to all four corners of the Anglo isles for a talisman
to fly the flag for home-grown roots . With integrity and narrative building
like this, it may have found one, for with Trespasser Chris Wood has well and
truly ripped Excalibur from the stone.
Since his first solo release “The Lark Descending” in 2005 he has concentrated
on solo output and “Trespasser” was launched at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in
March. He's about to begin a short writing spell at Peter Gabriel's Real World
studios and is already signed up to a writing residency in 2009 tied in with the
British Library and the bi=centenary of Darwin's birth. He is currently working
on a commission for next year's Bath Festival and is set for a busy festival
season this summer including Cambridge, Glastonbury, Big Chill.
He is also part of Simon Emmerson's project, The Imagined Village which won a
2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Track for “Cold Haily Rainy Night.” The
project also features artists such as Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Jonny Kalsi
and Benjamin Zephaniah. Wood's appeal has now gone way beyond English folk
music. He was invited to sing at last year's WOMEX where he garnered much praise
and found many new followers. Likewise, his spot at the WOMAD 2008 festival was
testament to his widening appeal.
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Ben Dlugokecki
The Orange Rooms, Southampton
Friday April 24
KILL HENRY SUGAR RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER
SAT APRIL 11
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
WEDGEWOOD ROOMS, PORTSMOUTH
TUES APRIL 14
KIMMIE RHODES
THE TIVOLI THEATRE, WIMBORNE
WED APRIL 29
PAM TILLIS
THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE TUESDAY APRIL 28
CHRIS WOOD
QUAY ARTS CENTRE,
NEWPORT,
ISLE OF WIGHT SUNDAY APRIL 26 |
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