Darren and The Tramp + Luna Geckos + Purple May + Johnny’s Sexual Kitchenette

The Wheatsheaf Oxford
Darren & The Tramp + Luna Geckos + Purple May + Johnny’s Sexual Kitchenette at The Wheatsheaf, Oxford (3:30-7pm) Sunday 2nd November 2014.

The Wheatsheaf Oxford

Darren & The Tramp + Luna Geckos + Purple May + Johnny’s Sexual Kitchenette at The Wheatsheaf, Oxford (3:30pm-7pm) Sunday 2nd November 2014.

All duos take the stage, playing an eclectic mix of music.

Darren & The Tramp is Karen Cleave and Ian Nixon from Les Clochards; Luna Geckos features drummer Greig Stewart from Guillemots and multi-instrumentalist Ben Heaney playing atmospheric violin, loops and percussion. Also acoustic duos Johnny’s Sexual Kitchenette and Purple May.

GiddyUp Music Presents free show in the downstairs bar.

Guillemots – Greig Stewart interview (Walk The River)

Guillemots have released their third studio album, Walk The River. Their latest single “I Must Be A Lover” is set for release July 3, 2011.

Guillemots
Drummer Greig Stewart took some time out from his busy tour schedule to answer some questions for our readers.

Guillemots have released their third studio album, Walk The River. Their latest single “I Must Be A Lover” is set for release July 3, 2011.

Guillemots

Greig Stewart took some time out from his busy tour schedule to answer some questions for our readers.

We seem to be collecting quite a few exclusive interviews with this talented drummer – Guillemots drummer Greig Stewart interview; Greig Stewart EXCLUSIVE interview (Red album)!

Jenny May: You recorded your latest album Walk The River in Wales. How was the experience recording there different from recording your other albums (Through the Windowpane, Red)?

Greig Stewart: A vast difference from Red. Red was written in the studio, over 9 months. While Windowpane was 3/4 already written before we went in the studio. Also both of these records were mostly self produced. Walk The River was firstly written over a year by the whole band and we had a producer (David Kosten). Also it was the first time we went residential to record (Bryn Derwin).

Is there someone/something that you, as a drummer – and also the band as a unit, “channeled” (or were inspired by) when writing and recording Walk The River?

For me as a drummer, it’s still always the same. I’m always on the hunt for the great undeniable drum riff. As a band, we were going for as much playing live together in a room, feel. As other artist influences go, I don’t think we had anyone specific in mind.

Guillemots - Walk The River album cover

Who did the artwork for the album? How did you come up with the concept?

Lots of arguments until we all saw Susan Burnstine photographs. Her photographs really summed up the album mood.

You have a busy festival season this year. Dot To Dot, Glastonbury, Hop Farm, Wilderness and more. How would you compare playing festivals to a strict tour schedule? Do you prefer one over the other?

Both have pros and cons. So I wouldn’t pick one over the other. Festival shows are really cool because you get to see other bands and hang out with them after. Also you get to play to people who would usually not come to your gigs. On the negative side, if it rains at the festival then it can be quite depressing. Also the toilets are usually not very good at festivals. If it’s our own tour, we get to have our own lighting tech and lights. We can play for longer, get a sound check, decent toilets.

Guillemots recently covered the Beatles and The Who during performances in Paris. Have you covered many artists? What was it like covering these legendary bands – and what songs did you play?

It’s just a recent thing for the band. The two different shows we were on in Paris asked us to do a cover. The Who was a surprise as I never knew Fyfe was into them. As a drummer, it’s great to play (I Can See For Miles) and try and be Keith Moon for a moment. Though also quite scary as he was such a crazy drummer. Think I may have passed the test when one of the Friendly Fires crew came up to me after and said not many people can get away with doing Keith, but you pulled it off. The other cover was Tomorrow Never Knows, by the Beatles. Again another song with a great drum part. This was the hardest one for me due to the band not getting to rehearse it and then doing it live. I had to transpose the part I had practiced on my knees onto the drum kit live on air. Scary!

Your song “Get Over It” from the ‘Red’ album appears in the Simon Pegg film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Did you get to go to the premiere or any parties? Did you meet any of the actors?

It was quite embarrassing as we went to the premiere, did the red carpet thing. Then the song was only in the film for the last 10 seconds at the end of the credits. Afterwards we played at the aftershow party and Simon Pegg joined in playing percussion with us. That was fun. He really got into it. The party ended up the whole of Guillemots being in the swimming pool. Great night overall.

What is one of your all time favorite music videos and why?

I like dancing videos where the people in the video/band aren’t professional dancers, but dance. Weapon Of Choice by Fatboy Slim; Fatboy Slim – Praise You; The Housemartins – Happy Hour; Beastie Boys – Sabotage.

What would be the combination to make for a perfect night – e.g., what food would you be eating while listening to what album, in what location anywhere in the world?

It all comes back to Greece for me. So it would be the balcony of my old apartment in Rhodes, eating fresh Calamari, with a bottle of Retsina and listening to ‘Astral Weeks’.

In our first interview, you mentioned Sandy Denny as an artist that you like. Which song was it of hers that first caught your attention?

The first time I heard her I was on tour with my old band Bohinta. We were on tour for a long time and I was pretty knackered. I think we were travelling over night from Aberdeen to do a London afternoon gig at the Barbican. Someone put on Sandy Denny, in the van. I was totally transfixed and blown away by such beauty. The song was called No End.

If you could arrange for an artist to sing any cover song, who would the artist be, and what would they sing?

‘Into Dust’ by Mazzy Starr sung by Mary Margaret O’Hara. Or for comedic value get Michael Bolten to sing ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’, by The Smiths.

Guillemots – I Must Be A Lover video:

How has your gear/kit changed over the years? Do you experiment much with new gear? How do you decide what’s best for you?

Always trying out new gear. I know the guy at Roland, so am always tinkering. But at the moment we are downsizing our tour gear so that it doesn’t cost so much to fly. So we have to take this in for consideration when choosing what to use. For the tour, if the equipment is essential and can withhold being battered about on the road then it’s in.

What gear/kit are you using now?

Yamaha drums and Zildjian Cymbals.

Are there any bands that you’ve heard recently that stand out particularly because of the drumming?

Lady GaGa live. The drummer is amazing. Big Society, Superman. Drums by Darren Hasson-Davis…love the baggy beat he plays on it.

If you could only add five songs to your iPod, and you were going to be away from all other music for a week, what would they be?

The songs would be: Mazzy Star – Into Dust; Bonnie Prince Billy – I See a Darkness; Billie Holiday – Solitude; Sandy Denny – Who Knows Where the Time Goes, and Leftfield – Phat Planet.

Buy CDs, MP3s, more:

Guillemots on Amazon.co.uk

Guillemots on Amazon.com

Be sure to check out Guillemots’ latest album, ‘Walk The River’ as well as their highly recommended live show!

Guillemots Official Website
Guillemots Facebook

By: Jenny May

Guillemots review – Under The Bridge, Chelsea Football Club

An Evening Under The Bridge at Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, London.

Guillemots
Under The Bridge is one of my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, but now I can add it as one of my favorite places to be, too. Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, recently opened the 500-capacity £20million nightclub quite literally under Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football stadium.

An Evening Under The Bridge
Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, London
Friday 11 March 2011

Guillemots

Under The Bridge is one of my favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, but now I can add it as one of my favorite places to be, too.

Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, recently opened the 500-capacity £20million nightclub quite literally under Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football stadium.

I was looking forward to the night not only because of the new venue, but also our friends Guillemots were playing. This is another gig amongst the secret shows they have been playing in a run up to their album release. The secret shows are a good idea and they also get the band used to the songs before they start to tour later this year.

Guillemots to play 4 secret shows: Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, London

The industry show they’re playing tonight though, is for the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) – so not many superfans to be seen – and most people probably aren’t here specifically to see the band.

After being treated to mini fish and chips in a basket that the waitresses were handing out, native New Yorker, turned London resident Julian Velard starts the entertainment rolling by playing quirky cheeky jazz/pop music on an electric piano. Good fun and a nice way to warm the crowd.

Guillemots follow him and start their set with songs from the forthcoming album Walk The River. It’s good to hear that they have nailed their new single “The Basket”, as the last time we saw them they left it out of the set calling it a work in progress. Well it has progressed and sounds like it could be a summer hit for them.

Guillemots

Guillemots

Guillemots

The light show is all about blue to go with the vibe of the CD. The sound is well balanced and not too loud. Compliments to the sound engineers who also work for The Specials. Guillemots play a blinding set mixing in a few old favorites such as Made Up Love Song #43, and that masterpiece Trains To Brazil. By this time they have won the crowd over and from where we are standing people are waving their arms, clapping along and shaking their legs in a good old London knees up.

I have to say that Dancing In The Devil’s Shoes is the stand out song from their new album Walk The River, and they played a perfect version of it tonight.

Finishing the set with Sao Paulo, Guillemots leave the crowd wanting more and retire to the dressing room to the right of the stage. I would say that Guillemots have to be one of the most inspiring bands in Britain today. Frontman Fyfe Dangerfield has a certain something, you know the X-thing that all greats have and I am sure he and his band will rise above the ranks in the forthcoming years becoming an important part of music history.

What an experience and what a night. You should go to Under The Bridge for an event, a night out. It has to be one of the best live music venues I’ve been to. Even the band was happy with their sound. The doormen were friendly and welcoming and I would like to thank Alan Tenenbaum, the Creative Manager of the club for providing us with a wonderful and memorable evening, and Guillemots for putting the soundtrack to it.

I have a funny feeling that we will be returning to this place soon, and not because I left my gloves there! No, this is one of those venues that leaves you feeling like it’s apart of where you should be.

Photo credits: Dave Tommo

Watch Guillemots – The Basket video:

Buy CDs, MP3s, more:

Guillemots on Amazon.com

Guillemots on Amazon.co.uk

Guillemots Official Website
Guillemots Facebook

Under The Bridge Official Website

By: Dave Tommo

Nambucca Live Music Venue – Holloway Road, London – Review + Bands, DJs

Nambucca New Year's Eve party
At first I was hesitant with the idea of traveling from Oxford to London for the New Year’s Eve festivities, thinking it might be difficult to get around London, and back to Oxford at such late/early hours. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be a good night out, and worth any travel hassles that might occur.

Nambucca New Year's Eve party

At first I was hesitant with the idea of traveling from Oxford to London for the New Year’s Eve festivities, thinking it might be difficult to get around London, and back to Oxford at such late/early hours. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be a good night out, and worth any travel hassles that might occur.

So, destination: Nambucca in London. 596 Holloway Road, Islington. Our friend Greig Stewart (Guillemots) was DJing plus Orthadox Junkies and Michael Latif. Also, the bands lined up for the night were Swedish indie rockers Pippa Marias, London bands Them Changes, Prima Donna and Wildlife.

Pippa Marias, Them Changes, Prima Donna @ Nambucca review

This was an important night for venue owners Gemma Clarke (former drummer for The Suffrajets, Babyshambles) and her family – her father Graham Clarke and brother Jack. After being closed for two years because of a fire, which gutted the building in 2008, Nambucca had its grand reopening December 18, 2010. Their New Year’s Eve party was going to be another celebration, this time, at year end after all the hard work of rebuilding, looking forward to the future of the establishment.

When we arrived at the venue around 8pm Gemma was outside, and talked to us about the preparations that went into making this a night to remember. I was looking forward to it, and the bands that she arranged to play for the night – oh and not to forget, Greig’s DJing slot. She also said that the venue caters to live music every night – including a weekly open mic in the front bar.

The venue looks great – there’s rock memorabilia and posters on the walls, including Gemma’s old Babyshambles drum kit placed above the door. The bar area is nice, with plush leather seating by the windows, the DJs are set up above the bar and then straight through to the back of the room and up a couple steps takes you into the live music venue area.

We were able to catch some of Greig’s DJing, he was spinning current pop and indie tunes mixed with some old favorites, but it started around the same time as Prima Donna, so the live music was calling us into the other room to watch the bands, which were perfectly chosen for the night. The theme was raw, old school rock with a mix of glam and punk. All three young bands could easily show up on Top of the Pops if the charts program was still on the air. Them Changes were stand-out, a three piece with the bass player on lead vocals. Hopefully they’ll come to Oxford, as I would like to see them play again soon. The sound in the live room is excellent – not too loud, but certainly loud enough.

The staff is friendly and welcoming, as was Gemma, and I was lucky to meet her father Graham Clarke at the end of the night. He was in good spirits and I hope that they continue.

It was definitely worth the trip from Oxford, and in the end, it was free tube travel New Year’s Eve from 11:45pm – 4:30am. By the time we left, there weren’t many people on the streets or the tube, which made travel around London a piece of cake.

I highly recommend checking out Nambucca if you’re a fan of live music, or if you’re a DJ or in a band, get in touch with them for bookings!

For more information, go to:

Nambucca Official Website
Nambucca Facebook
Nambucca Twitter

Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots) EXCLUSIVE interview + She Needs Me video

Guillemots frontman Fyfe Dangerfield has released his debut solo album Fly Yellow Moon.

Fyfe Dangerfield
I had a few questions for him.

Guillemots frontman Fyfe Dangerfield has released his debut solo album Fly Yellow Moon.

Fyfe Dangerfield

I had a few questions for him.

Jenny May: Hi Fyfe, hope you’re well.

Fyfe Dangerfield: Hey Jenny! Helloo .. hope you’re good too!

Why did you decide to record a solo album?

I didn’t really decide as such, I just had some free time before Christmas 2008 and thought I’d book 5 days in a studio with my friend Adam to demo some of the songs I’d written that year. And in doing that we ended up with a big chunk of what became the finished record – I think because we weren’t trying hard to perfect or construct anything as such, it came out quite, to our ears at least, fresh and raw sounding. Obviously not raw compared to Shellac or something, but raw in a kind of unpolished, simple way.

Fly Yellow Moon features a refreshing mix of sounds, beautiful instrumentation and I’ve always been a fan of your passionate and honest voice. What was the process of deciding which songs would go on the album?

Well thank you loads! We just recorded a lot and then tried to get a tracklist that worked. A lot of the tracks on the bonus album (there’s another 10 track album included in the special edition, which will hopefully then be released digitally later in the year) are to my ears just as good as ones on the main album, in fact I prefer some of them! But there was a real sort of narrative, in my head, to the record, it was really important to me from the start that it started and ended with the tracks that it does. Which caused some debate in circles around me, but I’m glad I stuck to what I thought in this case. I think generally when you have a gut feeling like that it’s right.

Who are the musicians playing on the album?

I’m playing guitars, bass, keys and stuff, and there’s two different drummers – Jamie, from the Noisettes, and a guy called Matt Ingram. Both are very different sorts of drummer, and both are wonderful. . it was really lovely working with some new people – you realise how much influence it has, who you decide to work with. . both of them had a massive impact on the tracks they play on .. but at the same time, working with Jamie and Matt, lovely as it was, made me appreciate what a special relationship I have with Greig [from Guillemots] as a drummer. You get different things out of working with different people, and I’ll definitely work with both of them again in the future, but at the same time, Greig’s undoubtedly the most unique drummer I’ve ever encountered. It’s a lovely position to be in as a songwriter where you can play things with different people. It’s sort of like being able to suddenly change the interior of your house at a moment’s notice.

Anyway, beyond that, it’s then just some string and brass players here and there. Bernard Butler plays guitar on She Needs Me and Laurence the studio assistant at the studio where we were finishing off some of the stuff in 2009 whistles on “High on the Tide”, because I can’t whistle!

How did it work out that you would work with (some of) them?

Well Jamie I just knew from ‘the circuit’, if you like. . we’ve known the Noisettes for a while, and I did a Rock Against Racism thing with Jamie and Drew from Babyshambles a couple of years back. Matt, I’d done a demo session with Emmy the Great with him once, and also Urchin, where we recorded – which we got put onto by a friend of a friend – turned out to be his studio… and an amazing studio it is, one of my favourites ever. A little wee place, but the atmosphere there is great.

Fyfe Dangerfield - Fly Yellow Moon

Why did you name the album Fly Yellow Moon?

It’s the first line of “So Brand New”, which I think maybe sums up the record the most if I had to choose one track. It just seemed like a nice phrase to attach to the record as a whole, it somehow fits the way it sounds, to my ears anyway.

Will you be touring as a solo artist throughout 2010?

I’ve just done 4 shows in the UK last week, which were really really fun – by the last couple I felt I was really getting into my stride. I’m hopefully going to America in March for a couple of weeks, and then maybe some more shows in the UK later in the year. We’re not quite sure yet, we’re just going to sort of see what feels right. I definitely hope I’ll be doing some festivals in the summer, probably the smaller, nicer ones!

You’re involved with another music project, Gannets. How long has that been going and who is involved?

That’s been going a good few years now. It’s Chris and Alex who were the old Guillemots saxmen, my cousin Steve Noble on drums, and Dom Lash on double bass, and me on keyboards. My main thing with Gannets is I want us to get a record out this year, it’s just hard finding the time to mix down the various sessions we’ve recorded. Playing in Gannets is great fun though. It’s entirely improvised, so some gigs are much better than others, but it’s worth it for the gigs where we really hit it. And it’s just very fun, it’s far from being a chin-stroking “new music” group or anything. I always imagine a tiger running into a 1920s business meeting or something.. it’s that sort of gear for me.

Watch “She Needs Me” video:

It seems you have a fascination with birds. A Guillemot is a bird, Gannets are birds. Is it a fascination or something else? When did this begin?

I love birdwatching, but the name thing is just because I’m terrible with names, and I guess it just makes it easier – “okay, let’s name it after a bird”.

I’m sure fans will be wondering when the next Guillemots album is coming out…? Will you be recording another Guillemots album? How’s it going?

Hopefully we’ll be starting to record in the next couple of months. We’ve got a bit more writing and rehearsing coming up and at the same time we’re talking to producers and trying to find the right person to work with at the moment. We’ve been writing for nearly a year now so have loads of stuff we’ve amassed – I think we all feel we have it in us to make something really really special but we maybe need a bit of help from someone to tie all our ideas together. I’m currently trying to write some songs for the band too – which I haven’t done for a while as we enjoy writing together so much. But I feel sort of ready again to try bringing in some stuff to Guillemots, so that’s a new challenge for me too.

If you could spend the day anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Oh, I can think of many places but that’s my secret.

Who would you love to see cover one of your songs?

Neil Young. That would send me through the roof.

Buy Music:

Fyfe Dangerfield on amazon.co.uk

Fyfe Dangerfield on amazon.com

For the latest music, tour dates and more, go to:

Fyfe Dangerfield Official Website

Guillemots Official Website

Roy Orbison Birthday Party @ Gibson Guitar Studio, London – ft Fyfe Dangerfield, Aruba Red, more

Roy Orbison Birthday Party

Press Photo: Roy Orbison Jr., Barbara Orbison, Alex Orbison. Last night Dave and I attended the Roy Orbison Birthday Party celebration at the Gibson Guitar Studio in London. There was a tribute show in honor of the late singer, with bands and artists performing songs written by Roy Orbison …

Roy Orbison Birthday Party

Press Photo: Roy Orbison Jr., Barbara Orbison, Alex Orbison

Last night Dave and I attended the Roy Orbison Birthday Party celebration at the Gibson Guitar Studio in London.

There was a tribute show in honor of the late singer, with bands and artists performing songs written by Roy Orbison. Barbara Orbison, sons Alex and Roy Jr. along with 19 new artists and friends from around the world celebrated the life and music of one of music’s biggest legends.

Barbara Orbison, sons, Fyfe Dangerfield, Tone Damli Aaberge

Roy Orbison Jr., Tone Damli Aaberge (Norway Pop Idol winner), Barbara Orbison, Fyfe Dangerfield, Alex Orbison

Roy Orbison Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake

Continue reading “Roy Orbison Birthday Party @ Gibson Guitar Studio, London – ft Fyfe Dangerfield, Aruba Red, more”

Guillemots NEW Kriss Kross video directed by MC Lord Magrao!

Guillemots

Here’s the new video for Guillemots’ latest single “Kriss Kross” from their album, ‘Red’. The video was directed by none other than their guitarist MC Lord Magrao! …

Guillemots

Here’s the new video for Guillemots‘ latest single “Kriss Kross” from their album, ‘Red’.

The video was directed by none other than their guitarist MC Lord Magrao!

Watch Kriss Kross video:

I love this song.

As noted on Guillemots blog:

From Fyfe, “We’ve always meant to put out a double A-side at some point ‘And we couldn’t decide which of ‘Kriss Kross’ and ‘Clarion’ should be the next single, so now seemed like the right time to do both”.

The single will initially be available as a four-track digital bundle, including the new video directed by Magrao on Sept 22nd, then a beautiful VERY limited edition 10” vinyl following on October 6th. There will only by 500 numbered copies in beautiful packaging that features the masks, that Greig made used in Magrao’s Kriss Kross video.

As well as Kriss Kross and Clarion, which both appear with alternative edits to those on the album “Red”, the release features two previously unreleased tracks. The first is the band’s frenzied Radio 1 cover of Sam Sparro’s “Black & Gold”, The second is a brand new song, “Fishbone For A Drink”, written in a soundcheck at Latitude Festival this year and hastily recorded soon afterwards. it is rough, stripped-down and with a distinctly menacing undertone running through, it’s not quite like anything Guillemots have recorded before, and provides a glimpse of the way things might sound on their next album.

For more music and information, go to:

Guillemots Official Website