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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
PETER BRUNTNELL, RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER
- WEDNESDAY MARCH 30
 Always
a big draw at The Railway, Peter Bruntnell and his band return to the
venue for another night of first class Americana.
Peter
Bruntnell's rave-reviewed last album "Ghost In A Spitfire" is
packed with the kind of songs that led Rolling Stone to hail him as "one
of England's best kept musical secrets." Although his tent has been
pitched in the Americana camp, he's a very British songwriter, who on
the evidence of this latest album and especially on tracks such as "Fear
Of Lightning" has more in common with Teenage Fanclub than the likes
of the usual comparisons with Neil Young and Evan Dando. Lyrically he's
never been tempted to stray from matters close to home, and as a result
he's been praised for the succinct authenticity of his past five albums
and "Ghost In A Spitfire" is no exception - its very title betraying
a theme rarely found amongst his western peers.
The
bulk of the songs were written by Peter and Canadian writing partner Bill
Ritchie before his tour of the UK with Kathleen Edwards, and the album
was recorded by Bruntnell and Sterephonics producer Jim Lowe in a variety
of locations: his own guitars and vocals were laid down at his home in
Devon, while Mick Clews' drums and former Black Grape member Danny Williams'
bass were all recorded in a converted barn in Yorkshire. In addition,
long time collaborator James Walbourne's lead guitar were nailed in north
London and Son Volt's Eric Heywood recorded his pedal steel on "Little
Lorelai" and "Polar Bear Jail" in his Shepherds Bush hotel
room while on a break touring with Minnie Driver.
BAND
OF SKULLS, THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON - WEDNESDAY MARCH 23
 The
three members of Band of Skulls, Russell Marsden (guitar & vocals),
Emma Richardson (bass & vocals) and Matt Hayward (drums), first met
at college and quickly discovered that having two lead singers and three
songwriters in a band was always going to present unlimited possibilities.
With their creative process and sonic path fully intact the band quickly
established themselves in the music and art community with a series of
culturally inspired club nights in Southampton, London and further afield
in Moscow and Tokyo.
They changed their name to Band of Skulls in November 2008. Their debut
album "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey," distributed by Dhangri-La
Music, was released exclusively on the iTunes Store on 6 March 2009, followed
by a general release on 20 March. The track "I Know What I Am"
was chosen as iTunes free Single of the Week to coincide with the digital
release. The song was also chosen to be part of a soundtrack for TV series
Friday Night Lights, Volume 2, which was released on 4 May 2010.
The band's single "Friends", which was a cast-off from the album
was included on "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack in
November 2009. On 23 March 2010, Band of Skulls released "Friends
EP", which includes the studio-recorded version of "Friends",
a live version, and a music video of the song. They played at the SXSW
Festival in early 2010 and toured the Midwest in March in support of Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club.
The band appeared on the French TV show "Taratata" in March
2010, where they covered the song "Sympathy for the Devil by The
Rolling Stones with the band John and Jehn. In April 2010, they toured
the U.S. and Canada followed by England in May 2010. On 28 June 2010,
they supported The Dead Weather at The Roundhouse in London. In July 2010,
they covered Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine" for Australian radio.
They were also one of three bands who opened for Muse on 4 September 2010
at Lancashire County Cricket Ground.
THE UNTHANKS
 The
Unthanks (previously called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, until 2009)
are an English folk group from Northumberland. They made their debut performance
at Towersey Village Festival in August 2004 and, on 11 May 2005, launched
their debut album, "Cruel Sister" at Holmfirth Folk Festival.
"Cruel Sister" received support from a number of DJs on BBC Radio
2 and was subsequently awarded Folk Album of the Year by Mojo magazine.
Their 2007 follow-up album, "The Bairns" was nominated for the
Best Album award at the BBC Folk Awards 2008 and also nominated for the
2008 Mercury Music Prize. The album debuted in the UK Top 200 Albums Chart
at number 178 in the week after the Mercury prize award ceremony.
The band were nominated for three further BBC Folk Awards in 2008 (Best
Band, Best Live Act, Horizon Award), and were successful in one category,
receiving the Horizon Award at the ceremony in The Brewery, London. ]
Their third album, "Here's The Tender Coming," was released in
September 2009. Their fourth album, "Last" is soon to be released
.
In a departure from their usual practice of showcasing material from their
studio albums, the Unthanks performed two concerts at London's Union Chapel
on 8 and 9 December 2010 consisting entirely of material written by Robert
Wyatt and Antony Hegaarty of Anton and The Johnsons.
AVISHAI
COHEN, MR KYPS, POOLE - WEDNESDAY MARCH 23
 Avishai
grew up in a musical family at Kibbutz Kabri, Northern Israel. He began
playing the piano at 9 years old, but changed to the bass guitar at the
age of 14, inspired by legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius. Later, after
playing in an Army band for two years, he began studying upright bass
with maestro Michael Klinghoffer.
Two years later Avishai moved to New York City and got in contact with
other jazz players. At the beginning of his stay there he had to struggle,
working in jobs like construction. According to him his first year there
was the most difficult year of his life, having to play bass in the streets,
subways and parks. He studied music at Mannes College, The New School
For Music, and after playing Latin jazz in a few bands in his student
years, Cohen was approached by pianist Danilo Perez to join his trio.
After a long period of performing in small clubs, Cohen got a phone call
from the jazz pianist Chick Corea and was given a record contract. In
1996, he became a founding member of Corea's sextet Origin and his first
four albums as a leader were subsequently released under Corea's Stretch
label. Cohen performed in Corea's bands until as late as 2003; he currently
performs with his own group, the Avishai Cohen Trio. His later albums
have been released by this formation with extended lineup including wind
instruments.
Aside from Corea, Cohen has accompanied, recorded or performed with several
noted jazz figures such as Bobby McFerrin, Roy Hargrove, Herbie Hancock
and Nnenna Freelong. Other collaborators include Claudia Acuna, Alicia
Keys and the London and Isreal Philharmonic Orchestras. Cohen has been
cited as "undoubtedly the most successful" of Israel's jazz
exports by The Jerusalem Post, a "jazz visionary of global proportions"
by Down Beat, "one of the 100 Most Influential Bass Players of the
20th Century" by Bass Player magazine, and "a great composer"
and "a genius musician" by Chick Corea himself.
JOE
LOVANO, TURNER SIMS CONCERT HALL, SOUTHAMPTON - SUNDAY MARCH 27
 Born
in Cleveland, Ohio, jazz sax player Joe Lovano was exposed throughout
his early life to jazz by his father, Tony "Big T" Lovano. John
Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt were among his earlier influences.
He developed further at Berklee College of Music where he studied under
Herb Pomeroy and Gary Burton, then served a big band apprenticeship with
Woody Herman's Thundering Herd and The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.
Cleveland tenorman "Big T" Lovano was his son's first inspiration,
teaching him all the standards, how to lead a gig, pace a set, and be
versatile enough to always find work. Joe started on alto at age six and
switched to tenor five years later. He attended Berklee before working
with Jack McDuff and Dr Lonnie Smith. After three years with Woody Herman's
orchestra, Lovano moved to New York and began playing regularly with Mel
Leweis' Band. This influence is still present in his solos. He often plays
lines that convey the rhythmic drive and punch of an entire horn section.
One of the top saxophonists of the 1990s, Joe Lovano continues to grow
and explore as a musician. He has a husky tenor tone and takes a modern
approach to improvisation. In the early '80s he began working in John
Scofield's quartet and a bass-less trio with Paul Motian and Bill Frisell.
Steeped in the tradition of Ornette Coleman, Motian's recordings show
off Lovano's avant-garde abilities.
He is currently a jazz artist on the international level. His live work,
specifically Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard, garnered a Down Beat
"Jazz Album of the Year" award. Other releases include "Trio
Fascination" and "52nd Street Themes." In the late 1990s,
he formed the Saxophone Summit with Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker (now
deceased, replaced with Ravi Coltrane. He played the tenor saxophone on
the critically acclaimed 2007 McCoy Tyner album "Quartet." In
2006 Lovano released "Streams Of Expression," a tribute to cool
jazz and free jazz. Joe Lovano and Hank Jones released an album together
in June 2007 entitled "Kids."
Joe Lovano has been playing Borgani saxophones since 1991, and exclusively
since 1999. He has his own series called Borgani-Lovano, which uses Pearl-Silver
Alloy with Gold 24K keys.
DAVE
MCPHERSON, THE CELLARS AT EASTNEY, SOUTHSEA - TUESDAY MARCH 24
 If
you know the name, it's more likely than not to be because of his time
fronting Essex, UK melodic rock band InMe; over the next year, however,
your perspective on Dave McPherson may well change.
His time writing and performing with InMe has seen Dave score a Number
One in the UK Rock Charts when he was just 20, play the Main Stage of
festivals such as Leeds/Reading, and tour the world - sharing stages with
Deftones, Serj Tankian, Feeder, Biffy Clyro, Pendulum and many more. Like
the aforementioned Tankian, and the likes of former Million Dead frontman
Frank Turner, McPherson is now ready to step out on his own properly as
his band enter a new phase following their 'Best Of' release.
Flying solo, however, is nothing new to Dave - armed with an acoustic
guitar and a disciplined hard work ethic he's been touring anywhere and
everywhere since 2007 and has played over 700 shows. The difference now
is that, as opposed to a collection of self-released EP's that provided
snapshots of Dave's song-writing ability, he has recorded his debut album
with a sound that is rich and pure, exploding with feeling and honesty.
McPherson has lived & breathed music since childhood, drawing influence
from artists such as Talk Talk, Loudon Wainwright III, Pink Floyd, Damien
Rice, Amos Lee, Counting Crows & countless other vibrant artists.
He is now ready to forge an identity of his own outside of the band that
he has dedicated himself to over the past few years.
The album itself sits Dave & his acoustic guitar comfortably at the
forefront of a wondrous wall of instrumentation. Recorded by the enigmatic
upcoming studio wizard Mike Curtis at CDS Studios, the pair's unique production
method adds to the overall honesty of 'The Hardship Diaries'.
A full headline tour will coincide with the album's release in March 2011
and Dave McPherson's unique voice will continue to be heard by aficionados
of melody, true passion and all things euphonic!
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PETER BRUNTNELL
RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER
WED MARCH 30
BAND OF SKULLS
THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON WED MARCH 23
THE UNTHANKS
AVISHAI COHEN
MR KYPS,
POOLE
WED MARCH 23
JOE LOVANO
TURNER SIMS CONCERT HALL, SOUTHAMPTON SUNDAY MARCH 27
DAVE MCPHERSON THE
CELLARS AT EASTNEY, SOUTHSEA
TUES MARCH 24 |
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