Preview: Wide Days

Edinburgh based music seminar & showcase have announced all the details of their upcoming event, which takes place on April 7th.

Seminars and workshops take place at Teviot House, tickets are available here.

SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

MAKING TOURING PAY

How can an impoverished band build a fanbase by taking to the road.

Robert Hicks [Beyond Promotion], Jason Edwards [13 Artists], Caroline Winn [Hebrides Ensemble], Keren McKean [manager], Moderator Michael Lambert.

NOT JUST SXSW

Which showcase events do not involve visas, can be reached by van or budget flight, and will still leave an artist enough money to record and tour an album?

Shaun Arnold [GoNorth], Ruth Daniel [Unvonvention], Martin Elbourne [The Great Escape/Glastonbury]. Moderator, Vic Galloway.

MUSIC IN FILMS

How to bridge the gap between film makers and musicians, it will cover legal aspect and rights, as well as the artistic and technical aspects which need to be considered.

Caroline Gorman [Rage Music], Nigel McCune [MU], additional guest TBA.

DIGITAL DIY VS RECORD LABELS

New online services are launched every month, but what do they really offer and can they substitute the role traditionally associated with labels? Can the artist get the best of both worlds and do these services work for labels as well?

Stewart Henderson [Chemikal Underground], Joe Porn [Music Glue], and more to be announced.

In the evening a series of short minute showcase gigs take place, starting off at Sneaky Pete's, moving on to Cabaret Voltaire and finishing up at the Electric Circus.

Performing at the showcases are Letters, PAWS, Withered Hand, Rachel Sermanni, Capitals and GoGoBot.

Entry to the showcase gigs is free, but to get yourself on the list you need to email for who you want to see. Send an email to the relevant address below to book your spot.

SNEAKY PETE’S

Letters – letters@widedays.com

Paws – paws@widedays.com

CABARET VOLTAIRE

Withered Hand – witheredhand@widedays.com

Rachel Sermanni – rachelsermanni@widedays.com

ELECTRIC CIRCUS

Capitals – capitals@widedays.com

GoGoBot – gogobot@widedays.com

For more information visit http://widedays.com

Letters - Grand National

PAWS - Salem

Withered Hand - Religious Songs

Rachel Sermanni - My Friend Fire

Capitals - Hello World

GoGoBot - We Are Here

News & Bits - March 21st

Some vaguely newsy things, to give me something slightly productive to do on a Monday afternoon and to make me feel like the hours I spend looking through Bandcamp are research rather than time wasting.

First, some new releases worth mentioning.

Aaron Wright's new single Trampoline is released today. Trampoline is available from Bandcamp, eMusic, iTunes and no doubt other places too.

Andrew Lindsay & The Coat Hooks's (is that right? Help me, grammar people) new EP The Whittling, which I mentioned the last time I did one of these, is out now. You can get it from Bandcamp, eMusic, iTunes and so on.

We mentioned the launch gig for the Birdhead EP Talons in the gig guide last week. If you didn't get to the gig you can buy the EP now from Bandcamp.

Carnivores have released their first EP. Nights of Infinity is limited to 50 copies, so if you want one you should probably act fast. You can buy a copy here.

Francis MacDonald recorded an album while on tour with Teenage Fanclub. Maculate Conceptions takes its name from the fact it was recorded and mixed entirely on a MacBook, and is available for free from Bandcamp.
Laki Mera are a band I haven't heard much from in a while, but they've popped up with a new single today. Once again, you can buy that on eMusic or iTunes.

King Post Kitsch releases his debut album in June, just in time for my birthday (hint hint), on Song, by Toad Records. To keep us going until then though he has a new EP out. Some Call it Hell, But It's Home is free, and good, and available here. There's no excuse not to give it a try really.

New Town Triptych have a rather good single out. Buy Just How You Designed on Bandcamp, and you can find out more about them by popping over to the Peenko Blog today too.

Tiny Birds are Londoners, but that's no reason to overlook them. DC, of The Waiting Room fame, mentioned on Twitter that their album was a wee bit special. After checking it out for myself I have to agree. Hymns For The Careless is well worth a listen. You can check it out here.

Trapped Mice are a band I really like, so much so that we got them to play a gig and everything, so I'll mention their new EP, Waving & Pointing, again. Buy it here. Go on, it's good.

Reading Aye Tunes you can be forgiven for thinking I only like one kind of music, and if it isn't all folky I'll hate it. Part of the reason for these round up posts is to give a mention to some of the other bands and styles that our ears dig. Guanoman then is as far from what you'd expect me to like as possible, I think. I picked up and loved Tawdry Seduction Disasters when came out a while back, but has just been made available over on Bandcamp if you missed it.

Moving away from the new releases, here's some more things that hopefully count as news.

Pareto have, just a few minutes ago, uploaded the first track from their upcoming EP. You can listen to Miracle of... here.

The Seventeenth Century will be releasing their second EP, The Seventeenth Century (Part II) on the 2nd of May. You can hear the first track from the EP here. To celebrate the band are having a launch gig at the Oran Mor on April 29th, joined by The Scottish Enlightenment and Sunshine Social. Tickets for the launch are available now here.

We like Dave Hughes round here, so here's an advance plug for his upcoming tour with Beans on Toast. They'll be playing the following dates round Scotland:
Friday 1st April – Tunnels 2, Aberdeen
Saturday 2nd April – Thomsons Bar, Dundee
Sunday 3rd April - 13th Note, Glasgow

If you want to submit your band to showcase at goNORTH this year then this is your last week to do so. You can to submit an entry through Sonicbids.

Detour Scotland made video diaries of their time over in Austin, Texas at SXSW. I'd meant to syndicate the videos over here, but clearly failed. You can catch up over on their website and YouTube channel. For more SXSW video diaries be sure to visit Song, by Toad too. Yes, this WAS all typed with gritted teeth of jealousy, how could you tell?

Overlook Records is a new Glasgow based record label. In the coming months they will be releasing EPs by Trapped in Kansas and The Darien Venture. Stay tuned for more details on those.

Since this is likely to sell out before next week's gig guide rolls round, a quick mention for a gig taking place next week. Taking place on Wednesday March 30th at Stereo in Glasgow is a Red Cross fundraiser gig for Japan. On the bill are Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison, Haight-Ashbury, and Jenny Reeve and Jill O'Sullivan of Strike The Colours and Sparrow & The Workshop. Tickets are available here.

This Week's Gigs: 21st - 27th March

Somewhat lacking in blog enthusiasm this week, resulting in lots of half written posts and the return of the feeling that I could pack this in without anyone noticing. Wah wah, poor me.

Anyway, gigs this week, go!

Monday:

KIT, Divorce, Neighbourhood Gout. Stereo. (Tickets)

Tuesday:

F*ck the Tories, Tell Us Your Stories. Pivo Pivo.

Head over to Facebook for all the details on this one.

Wednesday:

Carnivores, Pacific Theatre, Augusta Fireball, Babyjack. Paisley Arts Theatre.

Jesca Hoop. Captain's Rest. (Tickets)

So Many Animal Calls, Macabre Scene, The Upbeat Breakdown, Queen Jane. Stereo.

That noise you just heard was me cheering at the return of Macabre Scene. We've missed them. We also love So Many Animal Calls, but you already knew that.

Thursday:

For Abel, Built On Tradition, Culann, Pinky Suavo. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Munch Munch, Galoshins, Battery Face. Captain's Rest. (Tickets)

Friday:

Mix_Up_Mayhem: You Already Know, Carnivores, Otherpeople. Bloc. Free Entry.

Gig of the week? I think so. More details over here.

Three Blind Wolves, Open Swimmer, Bwani Junction. The Arches. (Tickets)

Pin Up Nights: Milk, Galleries, Sonic Hearts Foundation. The Flying Duck.

Saturday:

Husband, Miaoux Miaoux, Justin Grounds. Medina, Edinburgh. (Tickets)

Nevada Base, Capitals, Crash Club. Taylors, Kilwinning.

I've spent some pretty horrendous nights in Kilwinning, but I won't hold that against it.

Johnny and the Giros, Crayons, The System. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Sunday:

Brain Burner: Radiation Fuck, Ug!, Messiah Complex, Cop Porn, Lady Thigh. The Liquid Ship, free entry.

Lower Dens, Edinburgh School For the Deaf, The Scottish Enlightenment. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh.

Supermarionation. Whistle Binkies, Edinburgh.