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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
GIG OF THE MONTH
THE POPES, TALKING HEADS, SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY DECEMBER
21.
 Shane
McGowan won’t be with The Popes for this gig – apparently he’s on a national
tour with the original lineup of The Pogues. But this gig in the intimate
setting of The Talking Heads should be a rewarding one as each of The Popes is a
former member of The Pogues or recruited by Shane.
The Popes were formed in 1993 by Shane after he was sacked from The Pogues. They
developed a blend of Irish folk and punk sometimes referred to as Paddy beat.
The Popes released three albums with MacGowan as well as a variety of EP's and
singles. The Popes recorded one studio album,
“Holloway Boulevard,” one live album, “Release The Beast,” one EP, “Are You
Looking At Me?” and several singles as a solo group. The line up has changed
over the years but lead vocalist and principle songwriter Paul McGuinness, aka
Mad Dog, has remained throughout.
The line up chained again recently after the tragic death of their formidable
instrumentalist and banjo player Tom MacMannomen who was a major contributer to
the band's unique sound.
The current line up consists of Paul McGuinness, guitar and vocals, Will
Morrison, drums, Charlie Hoskyns, guitar and vocals, Gerry Diver, fiddle, banjo,
accordion, and Laurie Norwood, bass. The band are in the studio at present,
recording a new album tentatively titled “Somewhere Between Heaven and
Woolworths.” They intend to release a new single from it called “Raw” to promote
on their current tour.
THE MODS, THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON,
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28.
 This
gig, slotted in between Christmas and New Year should be the perfect party night
out. The Mods have been described as “the best 60s cover band in the world” so
if you feel like getting along to The Brook to sing and dance along with songs
by The Who, The Kinks, The Yardbirds and many more 60s icons this gig should be
brilliant.
Fresh from last years headlining at the Isle of Wight Scooter rally and the
Small Faces Convention and Butlins 60s weekenders plus countless gigs, The Mods
are composed by a bunch of musicians with years of experience at the highest
level.
Guitarist Steve Byrd started as a young 18 year old protege in Zzebra in the mid
70s before joining Gillan, Holly Johnstone and Kim Wilde and is still one of the
top session guitarists in this country.
Bass guitarist Steve Barnacle has played in Rick Wakeman’s band, Spear Of
Destiny, Visage, in Tina Turner’s band and with Queen in New York at the Rock n
Roll Hall of Fame depping for John Deacon.
Drummer Johnny Marter actually met Jimi Hendrix as a very young lad in a band
signed to Chas Chandler before joining and having big success with Mr Big, then
Voyager, Micky Moody, a spell with Marillion and then tours with Fish and is the
resident SAS Band drummer.
Keyboarder Mickey Simmonds, another child virtuoso, joined Mike Oldfield's band
for almost 10 years, and then had successful tours with Joan Armatrading, Paul
Young's band, Camel and most recently MD for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
Vocalist Johnny Warman started The Mods five years ago to pay homage to the
music he grew up with. He has worked with Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Ringo Starr,
Peter Gabriel, Asia, Cheap Trick, House Of Lords, Humble Pie and many more top
names.
Tickets for the gig are available at £10 through
www.the-brook.com , and
support on the night comes from Timebomb.
ROY AYERS, THE VENUE AT RYDE THEATRE,
ISLE OF WIGHT, SUNDAY DECEMBER 23.
 Roy
Ayers, often referred to as “the Godfather of Acid Jazz,” plays at gig on the
Isle of Wight just before Christmas. Roy, a master of the vibraphone will be
playing at Ryde Theatre on Sunday, December 23.
Growing up in a musical family - his father played trombone, his mother taught
him the piano - the five-year-old Ayers was given a set of vibe mallets by
Lionel Hampton, but didn't start on the instrument until he was 17. He got
involved in the West Coast jazz scene in his early twenties, recording with
Curtis Amy (1962), Jack Wilson (1963-1967), and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra
(1965-1966); and playing with Teddy Edwards, Chico Hamilton, Hampton Hawes and
Phineas Newborn. A session with Herbie Mann at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach
led to a four-year gig with the versatile flutist (1966-1970), an experience
that gave Ayers tremendous exposure and opened his ears to styles of music other
than the bebop that he had grown up with.
After being featured prominently on Mann's hit “Memphis Underground” album and
recording three solo albums for Atlantic under Mann's supervision, Ayers left
the group in 1970 to form the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which recorded several albums
for Polydor and featured such players as Sonny Fortune, Billy Cobham, Omar
Hakim, and Alphonse Mouzon. An R&B-jazz-rock band influenced by electric Miles
Davis and the Herbie Hancock Sextet at first, the Ubiquity gradually shed its
jazz component in favor of R&B/funk and disco.
In the 1980s, besides leading his bands and recording, Ayers collaborated with
Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, formed Uno Melodic Records, and produced
and/or co-wrote several recordings for various artists. As the merger of hip-hop
and jazz took hold in the early '90s, Ayers made a guest appearance on Guru's
seminal Jazzmatazz album in 1993 and played at New York clubs with Guru and
Donald Byrd.
In the late 1990s, Ayers had an ongoing arrangement to play at Ronnie Scott's
Jazz Club in London. He recorded a CD there, called “Live at Ronnie Scott's” in
2001. His shows at Ronnie Scott's were extremely successful and almost always
sold out. Paul McCartney often came to see him. "He's an ex-Beatle, extremely
rich, and he comes to see Roy Ayers," Ayers was quoted as saying in the Metro.
"Something like that can make you want to cry." Now in his late sixties, Roy is
generally condsidered to have been years ahead of his time, and is still a huge
influence on modern soul, jazz and hip-hop styles.
EMMA POLLOCK, THE JOINERS, SOUTHAMPTON,
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4.
 Fans
of The Delgados who split up a couple of years ago may be interested in a gig at
The Joiners in Southampton on Tuesday December 4. Playing solo that night is
former Delgados singer, songwritger and guitarist, Emma Pollock who has recently
released her first solo album.
Emma was with The Delgados along with her husband and two of her best friends
for ten years before their amicable split in 2005. The Glasgow outfit had built
up a strong national following with their innovative style, and had released
five albums, and their friendly demise left Emma in a bit of a quandary. But
after a bit of soul searching she decided to stay in the music business, and
signed with 4AD Records. She decided to concentrate on her songwriting, and the
results can be heard on her new album, “Watch The Fireworks” released in
September.
The album has been well received, as has the single from it, “Adrenaline.” Apart
from a few BBC Radio shows, Emma has not aired many of the tracks from the
album, but her tour, with a full band, kicked off at the 100 Club in London last
month, and Emma has a string of gigs lined up in the UK to promote the album.
She will also be appearing at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow in
January 2008.
Tickets for The Joiners gig are £8 advance via
www.joinerslive.com
or £10 on the door.
AYNSLEY LISTER, FARNHAM MALTINGS,
THURSDAY, DEC 14 & THE LIGHTS, ANDOVER, FRIDAY, DEC 14.
 Aynsley
Lister first picked up the guitar at 8 and played his first gig at 13. One year
later on a family trip to San Francisco, he was jamming at ‘Lou’s Bar’ on Pier
49. Brought up on his father’s record collection, he had learned to play by ear
and would sit for hours in his bedroom playing along to old 45s of Freddie King,
John Mayall and Eric Clapton. He spent the next few years honing his craft and
would play with anyone, anywhere.
By the time he was 18, he had worked his way through various bands and decided
to form his own. The band recorded two albums, but it was the second of these
two that started things happening. Aynsley had begun writing and it was the
three original numbers of this album that attracted the attention of Ruf
Records’ head honcho Thomas Ruf. In the summer of 1998, they signed a deal.
Armed with an album worth of original songs and a handful of cover’s, Aynsley
went into the studio with Producer Jim Gaines and set to work of his first major
album. It would prove to be the start of a long and fruitful career taking him
over the next few years all over Europe ,and working with some of the top names
on the circuit.
Aynsley has never been an artist to reheat the music of yesteryear. Influenced
from an early age by the 60’s RnB era, Lister takes these key elements and mixes
them with a more current and melodic lyrical approach. He is one of very few
artists playing rocking blues with a modern edge - tangible, heartfelt, soul
searching and full of fine songwriting; played with passion and vitality. His
hard hitting rhythms and guitar work are reminiscent of a young Clapton.
Since signing to Ruf Records, Lister has recorded four solo studio albums, and
two live albums – one solo acoustic and one along with a live DVD for Germanys
ROCKPALAST TV show. He has sold over 75,000 records and now headlines many of
the major festivals throughout Europe where he has played alongside blues
legends such as Buddy Guy, John Mayall, and Robert Cray aswell as big name pop
artists such as Bryan Adams and Fun Lovin’ Criminals. His recorded work has seen
him working with Producers Jim Gaines (Santana, SRV) and Greg Haver (Manic
Street Preachers, Catatonia)
In more recent times 2006 saw Lister recording in Clarksdale, Mississippi and
Memphis Tennessee where he worked again with Jim Gaines on the Ruf Records
collaboration ‘Pilgrimage’. With Gaines producing Lister debut for the label in
1999, it was almost 7 years to the month that they had previously worked
together. In September of that year his album ‘Everything I Need’ was released
stateside in preparation for this years debut tour.
“Upside Down” is Lister’s fourth studio album and his first to contain all
originals. Every aspect and quality that his fans have now come to expect is
there, from the raunchy guitar, the melodic voice to the infectious songs - the
result is his strongest, boldest and most compelling album to date that could
quite easily crossover into the mainstream.
MINUS THE BEAR, WEDGEWOOD ROOMS,
PORTSMOUTH, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17.
 With
catchy song titles like “Hey Wanna Throw Up,” “Get Me Naked” and “Lemurs, Man,
Lemurs,” it’s hard not to be a little bit curious about Minus The Bear.
Featuring members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Sharks Keep Moving, the band emerged
on the Seattle music scene. In 2001 with the release of their EP “This Is What I
Know About Being Gigantic.”
The band comprising guitarist Dave Knudson, vocalist/guitarist Jake Snider,
drummer Erin Tate and bassist Cory Murchy entered the recording studio before
they have even played a show. But they toured aggressively in support of the EP
before returning to the studio to record 2002’s “Highly Refined Pirates,” their
first full album. Both the album and the EP were released by Seattle-based
Suicide Squeeze Records.
Though you could be forgiven for assuming that Minus The Bear are a novelty act
on the basis of their song titles, the band actually produce highly polished and
shrewdly arranged songs. They combine ripping guitar riffs with catchy melodies
and unexpected time changes that keep listeners interested and entertained. They
followed up the album with two more EPs “Bands Like It When You Yell Yar” and
“They Make Beer Commercials Like This” in 2004. The EPs were followed by another
album “Menos El Oso” (Spanish for Minus The Bear) in 2005 and the remix album
“Interpretaciones Del Oso” earlier this year, along with “Planet Of Ice.”
Tickets for the Wedgewood Rooms gig are £10 through
www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk , and there will be a support act.
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THE POPES
TALKING HEADS, SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY DEC 21
THE MODS
THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY, DEC 28
ROY AYERS
THE VENUE
RYDE THEATRE,
ISLE OF WIGHT, SUNDAY DEC 23
EMMA POLLOCK
THE JOINERS, SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY DEC 4
AYNSLEY LISTER FARNHAM MALTINGS, THURSDAY,
DEC 14 & THE LIGHTS, ANDOVER,
FRIDAY, DEC 14
MINUS THE BEAR WEDGEWOOD ROOMS, PORTSMOUTH,
MONDAY, DEC 17 |
Southampton's No 1 recording studio
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