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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
GIG OF THE MONTH
JOE LEAN & THE JIN JAN JONG, WEDGEWOOD ROOMS,
PORTSMOUTH – SUNDAY MAY 25
 Following
high-profile appearances supporting the likes of Babyshambles and The Kaiser
Chiefs, Joe Lean and his crew are being touted as the next big thing. Formerly
the drummer with The Pipettes, Joe has carried the 60s revival feel into his
current band.
Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong played their first gig in January 2007 and
released debut single “Lucio Starts Fires on Young and Lost Club Records in
October last year. As well as supporting Babyshambles and The Kaiser Chiefs, the
band also played with Dizzee Rascal and Cansei de Ser Sexy, going on to complete
their first headlining tour across the UK in December 2007. Earlier this year
they supported The Cribs on the 2008 NME Awards Tour and last month showcased at
the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Their current tour is the band’s their
biggest UK headlining tour to date. They are to play 25 gigs at venues including
Birmingham Academy 2, London Scala and Oxford Academy. On this tour they will be
supported by Beggars.
The band were also placed number 7 on the BBC's Sound of 2008 poll. Their new
single, "Lonely Buoy", is currently scheduled has just been released, and they
are currently working on an album. Incidentally, lead singer Joe Lean also acts
under the name Joe Van Moyland. He has appeared in the TV series “The Tudors,”
“The Peep Show” and “Nathan Barley,” but is reported to have fallen out of love
with acting, and now wishes to concentrate on his musical career.
Advance tickets for the Wedgewood Rooms gig are £8 through the Box Office on
02392 863911 or email
tickets@wedgewoodrooms.co.uk .
DENNIS ROLLINS – SALISBURY CITY HALL,
TUE MAY 29
 Award-winning
jazz trombonist Dennis appears in Salisbury as part of the Salisbury Festival.
The man who has been credited with making the slide trombone sexy appears with
his band BadBone & Co.
Dennis was born in Birmingham of Jamaican parents in 1964 and brought up in
Yorkshire. He joined the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association in 1978, with which he
studied and perfomed before moving to London in 1987. Over the years he has
performed, recorded and toured with countless musicians and jazz bands including
Courtney Pine, Jamiroquai, Roy Ayers, Dionne Warwick, Cyprus Hill, Tom Jones,
Percy Sledge and many more artists.
In 1995 he formed his own jazz-funk band Dee Roe with which he performed at many
venues including The Jazz Café, Ronnie Scott’s, the London Forum and Brixton
Academy. After only two years he was forced to break up the band for personal
reasons and three years later formed the quintet Dennis Rollins’ BadBone & Co
which specialized in funk-inflected jazz. In 2005 he formed another band,
Boneyard, an ensemble featuring ten trombones, sousaphone and drums. They
performed a series of gigs throughout the UK in the summer of 2005.
But BadBone is still his main band and current members are Jay Phelps on
trumpet, Johnny Heyes on guitar, Alex Bonfanti on bass, Christian Gulino on
keyboards and Jack Pollit on drums. As well as being a unique trombone player,
Dennis is also a gifted educator who has done much to promote youth interest in
the trombone. During his career Dennis has picked up many awards including
Ronnie Scott’s Award for UK Trombonist and the British Jazz Award for the
Trombone Category last year.
TCHA LIMBERGER’S HUNGARIAN BAND, TURNER
SIMS CONCERT HALL, SOUTHAMPTON – SUNDAY MAY 18
 There’s
a taste of Hungary coming to the Southampton University Campus with an
appearance by world class violinist Tcha and his band.
Tcha was born into a musical family with each member playing musical instruments
(his grandfather was the legendary Piotto Limberger). His Manouch tzigane
father, Vivi Limberger, and his Flemish-born mother Lut Bruyneel each inducted
him into their own culture. As a young boy, Tcha was bent on becoming a flamenco
singer. Aged twelve, he started out on the clarinet, joining the family
orchestra, the Piottos. In due course, he swapped the flamenco guitar for a
Django guitar, learning how to play with the likes of Koen De Cauter and Fapy
Lafertin. At the instigation of Dick Vanderharst and Herman Schamp to name just
two, he learned how to analyse music, considerably widening his horizons in the
process.
When Tcha turned seventeen, he took up the violin, inspired by his grandfather’s
stories and recordings by Hungarian Toki Horvat. He split with the orchestra
Piottos and formed a trio with his father Vivi and his uncle Bisque Limberger. A
year later they formed a band called Romani with Koen de Cauter and two of his
sons, Dajo and Viv. In Budapest on tour, Tcha decided to return there later to
learn the gypsy music of the city, which he did when he was 23, taking classical
and zigane musical classes from Horvat Bela.
His current Hungarian Gypsy band play the style of music known as Magyar Nota,
producing bursts of soaring musical tragedy and czardas madness with an
astounding technical virtuosity and considerable passion. Along with Tcha is
violinist Istvan Ruszo, Norbert Olah on viola, Szekfy Karoly on cello, Vilmos
Csikos on double bass, Istvan Feher on cimbalom, Csaba Lukacs on clarinet and
vocalist Vivi Limberger.
PLUCK – SALISBURY ARTS, FRIDAY MAY 30 &
FOREST ARTS CENTRE, NEW MILTON, SATURDAY MAY 31
 A
trio who combine classical music with comedy bring their act, The Specialists,
to Wiltshire and Hampshire this month. Pluck is their name and the performers
are violinist Adrian Garratt, violist Jon Regan and cellist Sian Kadifachi.
Pluck was formed by Adrian in 2002 - all three performers are trained classical
musicians. Although they met in conventional music circles, they share an
unusual desire to do more than just play the instruments that they’ve spent so
long learning and perfecting.
The trio have, so far, won four international awards, performed at four
Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, been the ‘undeniable hit’ of the Adelaide Fringe
2004, stunned an audience of 8000 in a football stadium, played the Glastonbury
Festival in white tie, tails, and Wellington boots, tangoed with patients in
hospitals, entertained children in schools, and interviewed the President of
Slovenia in a boxing ring!
In the process, they have they devised two comedy theatre shows that have played
to sold out crowds in three continents, and have also become consummate
corporate entertainers, expert street performers and have a cabaret show that is
a guaranteed hit at weddings and parties.
Pluck’s theatre resume is a remarkable story. After an inaugural performance at
the world famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar in London, they took their show,
Musical Arson to the Edinburgh Fringe 2003. Pluck stormed the festival, selling
out two weeks of shows and winning the prestigious Tap Water Award for Cabaret.
Directors John Fealey and Toby Sedgwick then came on board to develop the show,
which went on to receive rave reviews in Italy, and at the Adelaide Fringe and
Sydney ‘Big Laugh Comedy’ festivals in 2004. Later that year they played at
festivals in Brighton, Aldeburgh, Glastonbury, and Jyvaskyla, Finland. At the
Edinburgh Fringe 2004, Pluck received the Spirit of the Fringe Award and again
enjoyed a sell out run, following which they toured Malaysia and the UK. In
2005, Pluck developed their present show, The Specialists with director Cal
McCrystal. It was premiered in Edinburgh to sold out houses and received
unanimous critical acclaim. It has now been performed in Australia, Malaysia,
Finland, and the USA.
PARK BENCH SOCIAL CLUB – ASHCROFT ARTS
CENTRE, FAREHAM – SATURDAY MAY 31
 The
Park Bench Social Club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK , should appeal to a
wide span of music lovers. They mix musical genres with abandon - traditional
folk, Celtic fiddle tunes, bluegrass, gypsy jazz, bhangra and old time Americana
are all standout influences.
The band met while attending the Newcastle University Folk and Traditional Music
degree course based at The Sage, Gateshead, and have made a big impact at venues
and festivals across the UK over the last eighteen months.
The band members are Ross Couper, Will Lang, and Aidan Curran. Ross is a fiddle
player from the Shetland Islands who counts Young Shetland Traditional Fiddler
of the Year among his personal accolades. He also won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk
Awards as a member of the band Bodega. Will is one of the best bodhran players
on the folk scene, and is a past all-Britain champion, while Aidan brings
guitar, mandolin and vocal skills to the trio. He is a founder member of the
Canadian band The Rock Island Ramblers and has also played with the Eliza Carthy
Band.
The band’s recent album “Sit On This” got good reviews including the following
from David Kidman of fRoots: "Sit on This" strikes a good balance between tunes
and songs (amazing vocals from Aidan Curran) this is a brilliant first stab ,
making a formidable impression and having great fun in the process."
ANDY MCKEE – THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON –
SUNDAY MAY 25
 Andy
McKee, from Topeka, Kansas, USA is one of the world’s finest acoustic guitar
players. After receiving over 20 million views collectively for his Youtube
videos which were posted by the independent record label “Candyrat”, Andy’s
success is a testament to the changing nature of the music industry as well as
people’s desire for something new and interesting to listen to. At one point,
Andy held the #1, #2 and #3 positions for Top-Rated Videos of All Time on the
hugely popular website. His videos are still among the highest rated on Youtube.
Consequently, Andy has performed to sold out shows in all over the world.
After starting with an interest in electric guitar, Andy turned to the acoustic
guitar at the age of 16 and began enjoying and studying the music of Michael
Hedges, Don Ross, Billy McLaughlin and Preston Reed. To this day he still sites
these four musicians as his primary influences in acoustic music. At the same
time, Andy draws inspiration from various other musicians and groups such as;
Earth Wind and Fire, The Yellowjackets, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Pantera, Eric
Johnson, Peter Gabriel, Dream Theater, Bruce Hornsby, and many others.
While there are countless amazing guitar players in the world, it is Andy’s
attention to song structure and melodic content that elevates him above the
typical guitarist. Andy likes to try different things with the guitar such as
altered tunings, partial capos, percussive hits, and tapping. But in the hands
of Andy these are not mere parlour tricks, they are compositional tools used to
create some of the finest crafted music for the steel string acoustic guitar.
JESSE SYKES & PHIL WANDSCHER – RAILWAY
INN, WINCHESTER – SUNDAY MAY 11
 Seattle-based
singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes brings Phil Wandscher, the guitarist from her band
The Sweet Hereafter for an intimate gig at The Railway, playing as a duo.
Jesse first met Phil in Seattle’s Hattie’s Hat Bar back in 1999, and the pair
began performing as a duo. They later added drummer Kevin Warner, bassist Bill
Herzog and violinist Anne Marie Ruljancich to form The Sweet Hereafter and
recorded their debut album “Reckless Burning” in 2002.
The Sweet Hereafter’s next album was “”Oh, My Girl” in 2005; it was followed by
“Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls Of The Soul” last year. Jesse and The Sweet
Hereafter’s first two albums got good reviews, but many critics thought the
latter album the band’s best yet. Thom Jurek of All Music Guide was particularly
impressed saying: If anything, the Sweet Hereafter are stretching themselves,
incorporating different textures, sonics, and even song structures to build
bridges for that understated, intensely expressive voice to articulate a poetic
view that's decidedly subterranean and perhaps even sublingual. Country and folk
music hasn't been abandoned -- it's still ever present in tracks like "The Air
Is Thin," the haunted "Spectral Beings," "Morning, It Comes," and "The Open
Halls of the Soul." If anything, this is the most satisfying offering from Sykes
and her band yet.
Jesse’s record label Barsuk Records summed up the development of their artists
in a press release: The band's musical growth has been mirrored by the evolution
and maturation of Sykes' distinctive singing voice, which time has saturated
with a weathered wisdom that connects to something beyond the singer and the
song. And the visual aesthetic of Sykes' songwriting has never been more
evocative. Listen closely to her stark descriptions of isolation,
sometimes-swaggering toughness, fragile human emotion, and the possibilities of
love, and you'll hear something that perfectly, tenderly, and surprisingly
captures the feel of the 21st century so far — it's the sound of vulnerability,
and the sound of the best and most relevant piece of art Jesse Sykes has ever
made.”
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JOE LEAN &
THE JIN JAN JONG, WEDGEWOOD ROOMS, PORTSMOUTH SUNDAY MAY 25
DENNIS ROLLINS SALISBURY CITY HALL,
TUE MAY 29
TCHA LIMBERGER’S HUNGARIAN BAND TURNER SIMS
CONCERT HALL, SOUTHAMPTON SUNDAY MAY 18
PLUCK
SALISBURY ARTS CENTRE,
FRIDAY MAY 30
& FOREST ARTS CENTRE,
NEW MILTON, SATURDAY MAY 31
PARK BENCH SOCIAL CLUB ASHCROFT ARTS CENTRE,
FAREHAM SATURDAY MAY 31
ANDY MCKEE
THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON SUNDAY MAY 25
JESSE SYKES & PHIL WANDSCHER RAILWAY INN,
WINCHESTER SUNDAY MAY 11 |
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