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PLAYING OUT LOUD! Breed 77 - Opera House, Bournemouth -
September 11 & Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth September 12. Breed 77 combine a unique mix of musical influences and styles, spanning melodic hard rock to Spanish / flamenco oriented guitar and Moroccan / Northern African rhythms. Their original sound has already won over tens of thousands of die-hard fans in the UK. The band lines up with Paul Isola on vocals, Danny Felice on guitar, Stuart Cavilla on bass and Pete Chichone on drums. All Breed 77’s members grew up on that two and a half square mile piece of scorched rock, populated by 30,000 UK citizens, 500 UK Service personnel and a colony of monkeys. Named 'Gibeltarik', (i.e. Tarik's Mountain) by Tarik-Ibn-Zeyad, the Moor who conquered the whole of southern Spain in the 8th Century, Gibraltar was captured by Spain in 1462 and ceded to Britain 3 centuries ago. The inhabitants are mainly of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese descent, plus a sprinkling of Maltese and English, and with Spain in their giant backyard, it is no surprise that Gibraltarians are bilingual; “All the bigger things to do are in Spain” explains Paul Isola. Influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd on the one hand, and major Spanish bands like Triana on the other, the four young musicians were hell bent on getting off the rock and over to the London music scene as soon as possible after finishing their British education at the end of the 90s. Hooking up with Spanish flamenco guitarist Pedro Caparros, Breed 77 began creating a unique and diverse sound incomparable to anything in the world of rock. Much like System Of A Down plundered their Armenian heritage, Breed 77 plundered Gibraltar's rich past, fusing North African pentatonic scaling and flamenco into their crazed rock world. Originally simply called 'Breed', the band had to act when
Placebo's drummer demanded they change their name because he had already
registered the name for an outfit on his vanity record label. As Stuart had been
making a living With an independent mind set, stunning live performances and fiery conviction, Breed 77 launched their “Cultura” album in the UK in May 2004. Against the expectations of all mainstream media, the band notched up two top 40 national chart singles and have to date sold over 22,000 albums in eight months. "At it's finest, “Cultura” matches almost anything coming from
the biggest bands right now; touched by and tinged with the brushstrokes of
master musicians who are finding their range and releasing years of pent-up
frustration" wrote Malcolm Dome in Metal Hammer, June '04. Breed 77 occupy a
unique place in the musical spectrum and nowhere is this more appreciated than
in North and South America, home of the biggest Hispanic population in the
world, where Breed 77 aim to tackle next in their quest for world
domination. The Gift - The Brook, Southampton -
Saturday September 9. Rick was one of the finest drummers of his generation and his band ' The Jam were arguably the most powerful outfit to emerge from the New Wave scene. Throughout the late 70s and early 80s The Jam voiced the hopes and dreams of Britain's post punk youth, producing a string of hits including “Going Underground,” “The Eton Rifles,” and “Start.” The original lineup of Rick, Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller left an indelible impact which later inspired bands like Hard-Fi and The Arctic Monkeys. After a gap of over twelve years, Rick, inspired by the current crop of upstarts and buoyed by his loyal fan base, returned to the stage in September 2005 with his band The Gift, the name of which is both a reference to the final Jam album, but also reflects the fact that it is Rick’s own personal gift to his loyal fan base. Recruiting the talents of ex-Maximum High musicians Russell Hastings (vocals/guitar) and bassist Dave Moore, Rick and The Gift have been playing Jam songs, (some receiving their first live airings for over a quarter of a century) which has both enabled the group to establish themselves within the live circuit and also allowed them to hone their skills as a powerful three piece. Headline news in the NME has resulted in sell out shows in London and the recent spate of warm up concerts played to emotional and euphoric audiences. This has steeled the band for their major UK tour this year. Impressed by the group's credentials, keen ambition, and stunning live performances, Ludwig Drums, Merc clothing, Lonsdale and All Mod Icon Magazine have all added their names as official sponsors of The Gift. Rick's return to the music scene has already been described by Scootering Magazine as 'a Richter Scale shaking bang' and by All Mod Icon Magazine as 'the rightful return of one of our finest and best loved drummers'. Advance tickets for The Brook gig are £12.50 via 02380 555366 or through The Brook website www.the-brook.com .
Sarah Moule - Forest Arts, New Milton - Saturday
September 30. Sarah grew up in Bexhill-on-Sea on the East Sussex coast where her passion for singing was sparked by performing English folk songs with her large musical family. She spent the 80s working and travelling in South America, Asia, China, Australia, Europe and the USA. On returning to London in the early 90s she met jazz singers Ian Shaw and Claire Martin who introduced her to the song-writing team of veteran American lyricist Fran Landesman and Welsh pianist and composer Simon Wallace. She began to explore the music of Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington along with the late-night lifestyle of the London jazz musician while continuing her vocal studies with English National Opera soloist Kenneth Woollam. She soon established a solid reputation for herself on the London jazz scene singing regularly at the 606 Club, The Vortex, Pizza Express Jazz Club and The Pizza On The Park in the company of some of Britain's foremost jazz musicians. Her second album “Something's Gotta Give|” released in November 2004 links a new collection of Landesman/Wallace material with songs by one of the greatest of the American Songbook lyricists, Johnny Mercer. Simon Wallace's fresh and swinging arrangements highlight the breadth of talent playing on the album, including Jim Mullen, Pete Wareham, Mark Armstrong, Steve Fishwick, Mick Hutton, Gary Hammond, Paul Robinson and Wallace himself.
Since emerging on the UK jazz scene Sarah has performed with many of the finest
players in British jazz including: Ian Shaw, Iain Ballamy, Tim Whitehead, Tim
Garland, Steve Waterman and John Critchinson with whom she toured the
Mediterranean with 'A Tribute To Ronnie Scott', performing opposite the
legendary bebop duo Jackie & Roy. Throughout the 1990s Sarah was featured
vocalist with The John Wilson Orchestra, with whom she recorded the band's debut
CD 'This Is The John Wilson Orchestra'. She performed extensively with them
including doing a concert for Her Majesty the Queen at The Royal College of
Music. She is also currently featured vocalist with bandleader John Williams'
Rocking In
Aberfeldy - The Joiners, Southampton - Tuesday
September 12. Aberfeldy were formed in May 2002 in Edinburgh when singer-songwriter Riley Briggs met drummer Ian Stoddart, bassist Ken McIntosh and fiddler and vocalist Sarah McFadyen in the famous folk music venue The Royal Oak, where Riley served his musical apprenticeship playing three nights a week for the great Scottish public. Together they began working with producer Jim Sutherland to record some of Riley's own material and were joined by Ruth Barrie on keyboard and vocals after spotting her singing in the Bongo Club cafe. Jim had originally tried multi-tracking some of Riley's songs but felt the recordings lacked the special quality of Riley just sitting with his guitar. Jim hit upon a technique of recording around a single microphone that captured the real in-he-moment dynamic of the band, helping to achieve the fresh sound that perfectly sets off the five piece's beautiful boy-girl harmonies and gentle acoustic sensibilities. Aberfeldy spent the next year honing their sound, setting up a weekly residency in the Forest Arts Café, playing regularly in Edinburgh and touring the North of Scotland. In the midst of their busy schedules the band were working hard to develop and record their debut album. Demos of the songs began to attract considerable interest and the band received airplay on Radio One. In January 2004 the band were picked to play at Scottish International showcase Celtic Connections at the Glasgow Barrowlands. There the band were spotted by a radio plugger who sent their fledgling album straight to Geoff Travis at Rough Trade Records. A few days later Geoff flew up to meet Aberfeldy and the band were signed to the independent UK label. Aberfeldy released their first single, a limited edition 7 " promo "Vegetarian Restaurant" in June 2004. This was followed by the release of their critically acclaimed album, "Young Forever" in August 2004. Amongst a batch of great press reviews the album was given 9/10 in the NME, alongside a "Single of the Week" accolade for first proper single "Heliopolis by Night" released in September 2004, which reached number 66 in the UK charts. Their second single “Love Is An Arrow” and accompanying flash music video featuring lovelorn Eskimos, was released on Valentine's Day last year, reaching number 60 in the charts. Seeing themselves rather as the pop-tortoises of the race, Aberfeldy plan to continue their slow but steady ascent. Aberfeldy have played all over Scotland and the UK since signing to Rough Trade. The band were chosen to play at the 2004 Edinburgh's Hogmanay Festival - the World's biggest street party supporting Blondie and the Scissor Sisters. A recent trip to play SXSW festival in Austin Texas in March 2005 earned Aberfeldy rave reviews and a severe addiction to cheese-dip. Luckily the band were working hard to lose the extra weight, playing four showcase gigs, doing interviews and playing sessions for the BBC. The band also found time to stop by in New York on their way home to record a demo track with producer Roger Greenwalt at Shabby Road studios.
Stewboss - Railway Inn, Winchester - Friday September
15. Stewboss, consisting of Gregg Sarfaty (vocals/guitar), Jano Janosik (drums), Luke Storey (bass) and Frank Lee Drennen (guitar/mandolin/harmonica) – have all spent time in bands on major labels. Their experience also taught them a lot about the work ethic necessary to achieve success in the music business. Four songs from their debut album ‘Wanted A Girl’ have been placed in independent and feature films: “Let’s Go For A Ride” was in the Kevin Costner/Kurt Russell film “3,000 Miles To Graceland”; “Heaven Of Mine” was in the award-winning short film “Jack And Jill”; “I Think She Wants Me Dead” was featured in the independent film “The Chocolate Fairy”; and “A Walk In Spain” was in the independent film “If Tomorrow Comes”. Additionally, their songs “Let’s Go For A Ride” and “A Little Goes a Long Way” have been licensed for television. Principal songwriter, Gregg Sarfaty wrote “The Midnight Shift” which was a finalist in the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The band has toured Europe four times in as many years, playing clubs, theatres and festivals of 2,500+ people. Veteran BBC2 Radio DJ, Bob Harris, has named the band on many occasions as one of his favourite new artists. Their song “Fill Station” from their debut record “Wanted A Girl” was part of his TOP 10 songs of the year and was featured on his Bob Harris Presents compilation along with artists like Ryan Adams and Slaid Cleaves. Along with Bob’s support, Stewboss has received hundreds of radio DJ accolades after their performances on BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, BBC London, BBC Newcastle and BBC Sheffield.
They have also gained the support of many other stations in Belgium, Holland,
Germany, Ireland and Australia. Their fan base reaches as far as Japan and
Russia. Last year the band performed live on The Mark and Brian Show heard
locally Tickets for the September 15 gig at The Railway are £7 and support comes from Blue Book Park.
Tilly and The Wall - The Joiners, Southampton. Till and the Wall formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst's Park Ave of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Williams were members. With leading vocals (and handclaps) from Kianna Alarid and guitarist Derek Pressnall and keyboards from Nick White, the band gained notoriety for substituting Williams' tap shoes for traditional drums. Their first release, “Woo!”, was recorded in Conor Oberst's garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area. The group released a limited-pressing eponymous 7" on Rue Royale Records, followed by their debut LP, Wild Like Children in 2004. It was flagship release on Oberst's Team Love label and made with the help of Presto studios. “Wild Like Children” garnered the band a substantial amount of critical acclaim and propelled them to national tours with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal. In early 2005, Tilly and the Wall became the first "band in residence" at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, using the Bemis Underground's Studio T to develop their follow-up album to “Wild Like Children.” In September of that year, they released “You and I Misbehaving” as a limited-pressing 7" in the UK through indie label Trash Aesthetics. This release picked up further criticalacclaim as well as support from BBC radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq. They have been recently seen touring with Jenny Lewis. “Bottoms of Barrels,” the band's follow-up to “Wild Like Children” was released last May. They have recently finished their first headlining tour to promote their new album alongside David Dondero, Now It's Overhead, Wolf Colonel and many other bands. The members have all been involved with other projects in the Saddle Creek extended family, most notably Jaime and Neely as members of Park Ave. with Clark Baechle from The Faint and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and Nick White as one of the few constants on recent Bright Eyes records and tours. The band is known for an exciting and collaborative live performance, creative fashion choices, cute and lighthearted music videos, and a healthy dose of optimism in every thing they do. They line up as follows: Jamie Williams - tap dancer, Derek Pressnall - vocals, guitar, Neely Jenkins - vocals, shakers, bells, bass, Nick White - keyboards and Kianna Alarid - vocals, shakers, tambourine, recorder, bass. |
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Southampton's No 1 recording studio
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A
band hailing from the tiny colonial outpost of Gibraltar make two appearances in
the South this month. Breed 77 play The Opera House in Bournemouth on Monday
September 11 and the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth the following night.
The
Brook in Southampton should be jammed on Saturday September 9. That’s when The
Gift play a 90 minute set featuring all the greatest songs of The Jam. Included
in the lineup is original Jam drummer Rick Buckler.
In
the past few years singer Sarah Moule, who appears at Forest Arts in New Milton
on Saturday September 30, has established a rapidly growing reputation as one of
Britain's most exciting new jazz talents. Her highly acclaimed debut CD “It's A
Nice Thought” showed that in lyricist Fran Landesman and composer Simon Wallace
Sarah had found a source of contemporary songs which were melodic,
thought-provoking, literate and witty.
Scottish
band Aberfeldy, a rising folk act, pay a visit to The Joiners in Southampton on
Tuesday September 12.
There’s
another slice of Americana coming up at the Railway Inn in Winchester on Friday
September 15 when Stewboss are the visitors.
Look
out for a band from Omaha called Tilly and The Wall who are on tour in the UK at
the moment and play a gig at The Joiners in Southampton later this month.
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