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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
POL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW WITH HAUNTED STEREO
 Southampton’s
very own alt-folk heroes Haunted Stereo have just followed up their debut EP “In
Bars” with the truly exceptional “Cross The Sea” EP. Following their triumphant
EP Launch Night at The Joiners, the band took time out to have a chat with POL
about their story so far and their hopes for a very bright future.
What/who got you into music in the first place? What are
your earliest musical memories?
LEWIS FORD: My Dad's Jimi Hendrix live at Monterey Pop Festival CD got me
wanting a guitar, etc. Apparently I used to wander around with a wee guitar when
I was little screaming “Wild Boys” at everyone. Hmmm….
DAVE JONES: My dad again was the main influence, bringing me up on Black
Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple. I also used to sing the saxophone parts to
Dire Straits' “Your Latest Trick” from a very early age. Nice...
BEN TOON: I think seeing the Chili Peppers on Top of the Pops did it for
me. I just wanted to bang the drums like Chad Smith, strong and kind of funky.
It’s weird, because it’s not the way I play now. And my earliest musical
memory is in Spain with my family who play a lot of Flamenco, dance on tables
and drink a lot. Good memories…
BEN JENNINGS: I'd like to say something different, but yet again, for me
it was my Dad's fault for getting me into music. Like Dave, he played me a lot
of Pink Floyd, The Who and Jethro Tull. I remember being terrified the first
time I heard “Dark Side of the Moon”. I was about 14 at the time and I'd never
heard anything like it before!! Now it's my favourite album...
ANDY HARRIS: My dad is a Folk and Blues musician. He would sing and play
songs to me and my sister when we were very little, so I was first inspired to
play music because of that. I got my first guitar on my 7th birthday.
ANJA McCLOSKEY: My grandpa used to play old German songs on Accordion to
me, which I loved. Although, I never wanted to play the accordion. My mum made
me, because accordion lessons were cheaper than piano lessons…
What are each band member's musical backgrounds?
LEWIS: My background is made up of my sister playing me random rave mix
tapes and also getting me into Nirvana and Pearl Jam etc when I was pretty
little. My Mother also sang a bit so perhaps that could be seen as a background?
This all pretty much led to me learning to play the Banjo badly.
DAVE: I learned guitar through a teenage obsession with Metallica
(clearly an influence on the Haunted Stereo sound) and then proceeded to dabble
with drums, bass and piano(ish). I've played in a few bands and like being
involved with various eclectic projects. It keeps my creative side happy.
BEN J: I started violin when I was 8 after a local string quartet came to
my primary school, and I was just transfixed by the violinist at the time. So I
started to learn it, and I was hooked. I've mostly been in classical orchestras
and have been to Junior Trinity College of Music. But sometimes you need a break
from the usual classical stuff, so playing jazz violin and being in a band is
such a great relief.
ANDY: As mentioned, music and musical instruments were always about due
to my dad’s constant gigging. However my dad’s music taste didn’t speak to me
when I was very little. “Everything released after 1976 is modern” he used
to say. We never heard pop music in the house or car, just ‘rootsy’ music like
blues, British and American folk and early choral music. I just happened to
stumble across his 45s collection one day and heard the Beatles, Rolling Stones,
Searchers and Shadows. That turned my ear to popular music. I had been learning
classical guitar from 9, but began playing old pop tunes from about 10-11. Got
an electric and into contemporary bands at 12, the rest is the usual; played in
a few bands on both guitar bass and singing over the years, whilst also
developing my songwriting.
ANJA: I grew up playing classical piano and accordion. I also played in
an accordion orchestra, which consisted of around 30 accordion players. I loved
it and it pretty much defined my entire youth. I even travelled to Innsbruck in
Austria to participate in an international accordion orchestra competition. I
also sang in lots of choirs when I was younger. I didn’t play in bands until I
went to University.
When did the band form? How did this come about?
LEWIS: I think I met Andy about 3 years ago at the tail end of his stag
which I attended sort of accidentally. Having gotten myself into a bit of
mischief involving a bottle and my face I think Andy or someone he knew tended
to my wound and we just got talking. We then bumped into each other at the pub
and planned to get some music written having both just left our then current
bands. I guess that was the start of what became Haunted Stereo.
What was the first Haunted Stereo song? When was the first
Haunted Stereo gig? Do you have any favourite memories from this period?
ANDY: Myself and Lewis are both pretty bad at starting and finishing
ideas/songs quickly, so we in fact had about 4 tunes floating about from the
start. I can’t be sure, but we either got ‘The Ballad of Osnaburgh Street’ or
‘In Bars They Wanted to Sing’ properly off the ground first. Our first gig was a
good 8 months after our first writing sessions, it took a
while to put the group together and work out all our arrangements. The gig was
at the Soul Cellar in the middle of Southampton, we supported Jonquil.
One clear memory of this period and this gig in particular was how unprepared
soundmen were for a band of our size. At the first gig we had one mic set up to
pick up the violin and two backing vocals! The engineer just didn’t have enough
channels on his desk for us. We had similar experiences at the next few gigs and
realised that we would need to get some equipment ourselves in order for us to
stop compromising. Without our desk and muti-DI box unit we probably would have
gone mad and given up by now.
The band have quite a refreshingly unique folky sound and
line up compared with a lot of other bands around the South Coast. Who are your
influences?
ANDY: My tastes have changed a lot since my younger years, but I can’t
deny the indie of the mid 90s will have left its mark on me. These days I really
enjoy some classic folky artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake.
I’m also a big fan of American indie lo-fi like The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev
and Grandaddy. Radiohead are my favourite band not forgetting the Beatles,
Dylan, The Band are fantastic, the Buckley and Wainwright dynasties have made a
lot of great music, just recently I’ve really got into Jacques Brel… I could go
on, there is so much more but I’ll stop there!
LEWIS: Bjork, Rufus Wainwright, Devotchka, Magnetic Fields, The
Decemberists and a shed-load others.
ANJA: My influences are more classical, I think. I love Michael Nyman and
Yann Tiersen, but also Jan Kaczmarek. And I would kill to see Astor Piazolla
play live! Bandwise I am quite into Sharon Van Etten, Sebastien Tellier, Arcade
Fire, Pepi Ginsberg, Abigail Washburn, Emmy the Great and Lewis has definitely
got me into Devotchka. But there are so many many different bands that I like.
DAVE: I don't really see that we have overall collective influences at
all, it's more that we are all interested in different things and all bring them
to the table which usually makes for an interesting blend. Personally, I like to
think of Do Make Say Think a lot when we're arranging songs. From a bass
perspective though, I rip off Joe Lally as much as I can.
BEN J: I'm with Dave on this one. We all have such eclectic tastes that
we seem to try and mix the best ideas each of us have, and this becomes what
people hear in our songs. I've not been in the band for that long, so the violin
ideas that we have are from other people. Personally my influence has to be
Stephane Grappelli, that's who my improvisation ideas come from.
You have released the EP through Sotones? How did this
come about? What are your thoughts on the label?
ANDY: My best friend Dave Miatt was getting more and more involved with
Sotones, when he did a split release with Joe Parker back in the summer. I spent
a good deal of time seeing what the guys were up to and learning what
the label was all about. I asked whether they would be up for having us on
board, to which they gladly agreed; the result is the Cross the Sea EP. We are
really happy to be part of such a collaborative bunch, to be honest we’re
wondering why we didn’t get on board sooner! The label is growing from strength
to strength – if people don’t know all about the co-operative nature and ethos
of the label I point you to www.sotones.co.uk
rather than cram it all in here – and we all feel that 2010 could be a really
significant year for the label.
What are your thoughts on the EP?
LEWIS: I'm happy with it. It's definitely the best thing we've done so
far. It's probably more folky than I'd expected it to sound but it works and
flows nicely. We attempted to write and record in the same process, which was a
new approach for us but it made it a much more fun experience. It kind of gave
us more room to be creative with different sounds.
ANDY: We certainly had so much more time to breathe. Our previous two
releases were each recorded in 2 days respectively, which is exciting and
enjoyable as all you live and breathe for a concentrated period is the music.
With this EP it was really nice to work in a very different way. Some drums were
recorded weeks before the songs were revisited to add the other parts for
example. This has resulted in a much more layered and complex record. I hope it
is a CD where people can discover something new with each listen. I am proud of
what we have produced.
What has been the best moment so far for the band and for
you personally?
ANDY: For me our two EP launches at the Joiners have been great as we
have had big crowds tuning into the music and a brilliant sound to bring our
music across at its live best.
LEWIS: For the band probably being track of the day on Q music, but for
me the best experience was when we played the Books for Amnesty shop in Brighton
because it was so much fun and chilled, just hanging around with all the random
people that were listening from the street who were jolly nice folk.
ANJA: We did a little “tour” in Preston and Sheffield (not really a tour
I know). But I just loved spending so much time with everyone and it really
makes me want to tour properly and play loads and loads of gigs and have a laugh
with the rest of the band… Also I remember how happy I was when one of our songs
was first played on xfm.
DAVE: Meeting Sally Taylor without doubt. Absolute legend.
BEN J: For the band I'd say being track of the day on Q Music’s website.
It was odd seeing that 'The Prodigy' were track of the day a few days before us!
Personally, our Cross the Sea EP launch at The Joiners has been my best
moment with the band so far. We got such a great response from the audience - it
gave me such a buzz.
What is your favourite Haunted Stereo song? Why?
ANDY: Crumbs, which baby do I love the best! It changes, but the one I’ve
got most pleasure from throughout our time is ‘In Bars They Wanted to Sing’.
LEWIS: Probably 'Cross the Sea'. I like the Violins!
ANJA: I really love “The Ballad of Osnaburgh Street”, which was on our
first EP. I listened to it again the other day after a long break away from it
and it really moved me, as it is so eloquent and dramatic.
DAVE: At the moment I'd have to go for Lock The Doors. It's going to be
on the next single and will be epic, epic, epic!
BEN J: I'm tempted to say “The Ballad of Osnaburgh Street”, even if it
has got one of the most difficult bars ever written for the violin in it,*cough*
Anja!!
What are your thoughts on the Southampton music scene
right now? Who are your favourite current bands from the region?
DAVE: There have always been great bands in Southampton, but the scene
has often struggled building an identity and togetherness. There are a few
exciting things happening for our bands now, so I have high hopes that
Southampton music will soon get the attention it deserves. I've got eclectic
tastes, but I'll list a few Southampton bands that you should at least give some
listens to on MySpace - Thomas Tantrum, Science of 8 Limbs, Burn the Fleet, Joe
Parker, Woven Bird, Hijera, Jackie Paper, Viva Sleep (selfish vote I'm afraid),
Moneytree, Fresh Legs, The Moulettes, Nato...there are way more, though!
What are your plans and hopes for 2010? What does the
future hold for Haunted Stereo?
ANJA: We are back in the studio in January to record our new single,
which will be released on Sotones Records on 17th May. I am very much looking
forward to that and I hope that we will be able to break into the mainstream
media a little bit more with that. We really want to play more festivals next
year, as we only had a chance to do Sellindge Festival in 2009 and do not want
to miss out on all of the fun! Also, in the very immediate future, we are
curating a weekend of music at Hamptons on 16th and 17th Jan, which looks to be
excellent. Moneytree are headlining the
Saturday and Pete Lyons the Sunday. For full band line-up have a look on our My
Space page (www.myspace.com/hauntedstereomusic
)
Interview by Paul Lane.
BUFFY SAINTE MARIE – THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE – SUNDAY
JANUARY 24
 Buffy
Sainte-Marie has enjoyed a long career that has seen her rise to stardom on the
folk circuit and try her hand at country, rock, soundtrack themes, acting,
activism, and children's television. Her best-known songs
recorded in the mid-60s addressed the plight of the Native American, "Universal
Soldier" but she is also a skilled interpreter of romantic songs like “Until
It's Time for You to Go.”
Buffy was born to Cree Indian parents and adopted by a white family. Signed to
Vanguard, she was one of the folk scene's more prominent rising stars in the
'60s, and certainly the only widely heard performer articulating Native American
viewpoints in song. Much of her best material from this era, however, gained its
greatest commercial inroads via cover versions. "Universal Soldier" was one of
Donovan's first hits. "Until It's Time for You to Go," perhaps her best
composition, was a big British hit for Elvis Presley in the early '70s. "Cod'ine,"
one of the few '60s songs to explicitly address the dangers of drugs, was
covered by Californian rock bands Quicksilver Messenger Service and the
Charlatans.
Buffy didn't pigeonhole herself as a folkie, though, recording in Nashville in
the late '60s in attempts to break into the country market. In the 1970s, she
would make some rock records, “ She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina” with
contributions from Ry Cooder and Crazy Horse. But Buffy was never as reliant on
selling units as most musicians. She kept busy with a long-running stint on
Sesame Street, performing benefits for and organizing on behalf of Native
Americans, and composing for movies (she won an Oscar for the theme to “An
Officer and a Gentleman”co-written with her husband, producer Jack Nitzsche).
She hadn't made an album for 15 years before issuing “Coincidence and Likely
Stories” in 1992. It was another 17 years before her next, “Running for the
Drum” which appeared in 2009.
NELL BRYDEN – NEWBURY CORN EXCHANGE – THURSDAY JANUARY
21
 Nell
Bryden, born in Brooklyn on March 8, 1977to parents who were themselves a singer
and artist. A classically trained musician (she studied the cello for ten
years), Nell dreamed of becoming an opera singer before hearing Jimi Hendrix and
Janis Joplin for the first time.
After a year spent in Australia honing her songwriting skills, Nell attended
Boston University where she graduated in English Literature with honours. It was
during this time that she began performing her songs live. Following this, she
returned to New York in the aftermath of 9/11 and recorded an album in
Nashville.
After coming across a Milton Avery painting during an attic clearout (a gift
from her father when she was still a baby), Bryden auctioned the piece and
received a substantial amount for it. She then used the money to re-record her
album, but this time around bringing on board Grammy-winning record producer
David Kershenbaum.
The resulting album “What Does It Take” came out on 12 October 2009 on Cooking
Vinyl in the UK and Ireland, and has enjoyed considerable critical success.
LARK RISE BAND – FOREST ARTS CENTRE, NEW MILTON –
FRIDAY JANUARY 15
 The
beauty of “Lark Rise to Candleford” will be brought to life at Forest Arts
Centre this month.
The classic book by Flora Thompson has inspired two plays, an album of music and
now the Lark Rise Band will present their show, fronted by Ashley Hutchings. The
show is crammed full of stories, customs, music and singing games relating to
the book, which recalls the rural England of the late 19th Century, leading up
to the Great War of 1914-1918.
Ashley, who was musical director at the National Theatre’s production of Lark
Rise in 1978, formed the band with a new generation of singers and musicians, to
once again draw focus to the memorable music of the plays.
He said: “It’s a really nice mixed bag. There’s music, song, dance and some
spoken word. It’s a quality family show.
Ashley, who was a founder member of folk bands including Fairport Convention,
said one of his favourite things about forming the band is getting to meet
fellow Lark Rise fans.
He said: “I really do love Lark Rise. One of the great pleasures is meeting
people at the concerts who want to share their stories about when they first
read the book, or when they saw the plays. You get to meet such lovely people
with lots of great stories.”
VIOLET VIOLET – THE CELLARS AT EASTNEY, SOUTHSEA –
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27
 Forming
in 2006 Violet Violet are no strangers to the media jungle, repeat rave reviews
from Artrocker, a coveted slot in the NME and branded one of Steve Lamacq's
“'New Favourite Bands”on his radio show.
The female duo's quirky approach has charmed a few people in the music industry
too, including Brummie punk legends The Nightingales, swooping in to take the
girls under their wing on tours in America, Europe and their native UK.
Art Brut's Eddie Argos also personally invited VV to perform as his backing band
at London's Buffalo Bar. The band ended 2008 with their “Bring! Bring! The Morn
and Bike Till Dawn” EP clawing to number 21 in Artrocker's 'Singles of the Year'
chart.
“The City Is Full Of Beasts” - the keenly-anticipated 10-track follow-up to
their debut album, “Bitchbox” - marks a transition: closer to rock than riot
grrrl, thanks to increased intensity and more sophisticated phraseology, written
with performance in mind.
Live, it's an ultra-raw approach: the same edgy, devastating dual-pronged vocal
attack, now working in harmony with a guitar, polyphonic octave generator, and
drums. Leaner, yet more efficient while maintaining a thirst for passion and
honesty, a rejuvenated pair of lionesses prowl the urban jungle, proudly
nurturing, displaying and protecting Violet Violet's latest progeny.
Here's some nice words other people have written about Violet Violet:
"They will have you coming away from their gigs with the feeling you've seen
something quite special" - NME
"... thrilling guitar pop [Violet Violet] sum up the real energy of the DIY
movement at present" - Steve Lamacq, 6Music
"Violet Violet are a refreshing kick in the goolies to boring ladrock and
post-rocking chinstrokers the land over" - Drowned In Sound
THE IMAGINED VILLAGE – SALISBURY CITY HALL – SUNDAY
JANUARY 24
 Several
years in the making, The Imagined Village is a collaboration between a varied
group of musicians with roots in many different types of music, from traditional
folk to bhangra. The ensemble was brought together by Simon Emmerson, who wanted
to explore their musical roots and identity as English musicians. The group
includes Eliza Carthy, Billy Bragg, Benjamin Zephaniah, Chris Wood, Johnny Kalsi,
Martin Carthy, Paul Weller, Sheila Chandra, Simon Emmerson, and members of The
Copper Family, The Gloworms, Tiger Moth, Trans-Global Underground and Tunng.
In the 2008 Radio 2 Folk Awards they won Best Traditional Track (Cold Haily
Rainy Night), and were the winners of three Hancock Awards in 2008: Best Album,
Best Original Song (Cold Haily Rainy Night) and Best Traditional Song (Tam Lyn
Retold).
Their first performance was at Womad in 2007, after which they followed up with
a nationwide tour in November, after releasing their first album “The Imagined
Village” in September. 2008 and 2009 saw a host of festival appearances,
including Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festival.
KIMMIE RHODES – TIVOLI THEATRE,
WIMBORNE – THURSDAY JANUARY 28
 The
singing career of Lubbock, Texas, native Kimmie Rhodes kicked off at the age of
six, when she first performed with her family gospel trio. During her teens she
began learning guitar and writing songs, and in 1979 moved to Austin, where she
met her future husband and producer Joe Gracey.
Two years later Kimmie released her debut LP, “Kimmie Rhodes and the Jackalope
Brothers followed in 1985 by her second effort, “Man in the Moon.” She recorded
her third album, 1989's “Angels Get the Blues” at Sun Studios in Memphis. While
commercial success continually eluded Kimmie, her music proved popular with
other performers; her song "I Just Drove By" was covered by Wynonna on the”Tell
Me Why” album, and the duet pairing of Trisha Yearwood and Willie Nelson
recorded "Hard Promises to Keep" for Yearwood's “The Song Remembers When.”
Kimmie herself also cut a pair of duets with Nelson for his “Just One Love” LP;
Nelson returned the favour for Kimmie’s 1996 effort”West Texas Heaven” on which
she also teamed with Waylon Jennings and Townes Van Zandt.
“Rich From the Journey” followed in the spring of 2000. “Love Me Like a Song”,
her sixth album, was released in 2002. The following year, she teamed up with
Willie Nelson for the duo album “Picture in a Frame.” 2004’s Lost & Found was a
collection of previously unreleased recordings recorded between 1996 and
2003Kimmie’s 2005 album “Windblown” doubled as the soundtrack for a
performance-art piece that debuted in January 2005. Similarly, 2006’s “Small
Town Girl” featured songs from Kimmie’s stage musical of the same name. She
followed it with her 2008 release, “Walls Fall Down.”
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
HAUNTED STEREO
BUFFY SAINTE MARIE
THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE SUNDAY JAN 24
NELL BRYDEN NEWBURY CORN EXCHANGE, THURSDAY
JAN 21
LARK RISE BAND FOREST ARTS CENTRE,
NEW MILTON
FRIDAY JAN 15
VIOLET VIOLET
THE CELLARS AT EASTNEY, SOUTHSEA WEDNESDAY JAN 27
THE IMAGINED VILLAGE SALISBURY
CITY HALL
SUNDAY JAN 24
KIMMIE RHODES TIVOLI THEATRE,
WIMBORNE THURSDAY JAN 28 |
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