Just over a week to go until me and Peenko reunite by popular* demand for the forth Aye Tunes Vs Peenko gig, and we're are entering the pre-gig period where I start to panic and convince myself no one is coming. It would be nice if some people came then. Keep reading to see (and hear) why you should chose Stereo on August 20th instead of something else.*not popular
After AVP3 last November we decided to call time on the gigs for various reasons, the gigs had gone pretty well and had been a whole lot of fun, but it felt like a good time to step away and do our own things for a while.
Back in April, fuelled by a few beers, fitting since it was after beers we came up with AVP in the first place, Peenko and I started talking about putting together something together again. We suggested a couple of bands to each other, and were in full agreement with the other's choices, coming up with a four band bill that passed the first test - would we pay to go to this gig?
From there bands were contacted, we fluttered our eyelashes, stroked their hair, and pretended we know what we are doing. Imagine our surprise and delight when everyone said yes, they'd do it. Then the tricky part was trying to keep it under our hat for a while. We teased a bit.
Months later the event is almost upon us, here's the details.
Mondegreen are a band I'd been following for ages. Some might call it stalking, but the Judge didn't. I picked them to represent Aye Tunes at Pin Up Nights Bloggers Delight back in May where along with being great, were about the only people to hang around in the kitchen at The Flying Duck for my DJ exploits. We love Mondegreen. Have a wee listen and hear why.
Download Mondergreen's Headless EP from Bandcamp for free.
Miaoux Miaoux is another artist we think is brilliant, and a bit different from what you might expect from Peenko and I. Blending electronics with guitar, layers of bleepy things and angelic vocals Miaoux Miaoux also isn't just great on record, he is fantastic live too, a million miles away from one man nodding over the top of a laptop. Dancing shoes are optional but advised, big stupid grins are almost certain to be provided.
Miaoux Miaoux records and downloads are available from Bandcamp.
PAWS first came to my attention with the single Violent Vicky Violet, released back in mid 2010 on Wiseblood Industries, a song which is two and a half minutes of fuzzy indie pop brilliance. Since then they've gone from strength to strength, picking up a legion of admirers and a reputation for energetic, loud and bags of fun gigs. Most recently PAWS were one of the bands chosen to play the TBreak stage at T in the Park, and just released a split 7" with Lady North through the excellent Gerry Loves Records. I can tell you from experience that the single launch in Glasgow was frenetic - stage invasions, crowd surfing, and an attempt at a human pyramid all accompanied the glorious noise coming from the band. A brilliant band, and even better live band, and yet another that never fail to leave me grinning like a turtle.
Buy PAWS goods from their shop, and get the PAWS/Lady North split 7" from Gerry Loves Records.
Adam Stafford is a many of many talents. Not happy with being a brilliant musician, he is also an award winning filmmaker and founder of the Wiseblood Industries record label. Formerly the singer and songwriter of Y'all Is Fantasy Island, we'd be much sadder about the demise of that band if it wasn't for the quality of Adam's solo material. Adam very kindly agreed when we asked him to not just play our gig, but to use it as the launch night for his new album Build a Harbour Immediately. Conflict of interest means I can't actually review that album without being accused of bias, but it is a quite extraordinary release, one I won't be surprised popping up on Best Of lists at the end of the year. The album moves away a bit from Adam's previous solo accapella albums, featuring contibutions from Emily Scott, Zoey Van Goey's Kim Moore, and former Yifi members Robbie Lesiuk and Steven Tosh. It goes without saying that if me and Lloyd didn't love the album, we wouldn't be wanting to launch it. When it first surfaced last year the song Shot Down You Summer Wannabes stopped me dead in my tracks, and became one of my favourite tracks of the year. Summer Wannabes reappears on the new album in a different form, but remains jaw dropping. Inventive and seemingly endlessly creative, Adam is also a captivating live performer, who always has a trick or two up his sleeve.
Pre-order Build a Harbour Immediately on very limited edition cassette (with download code) from Insularis Records. The album is also available to download from Bandcamp now. Find a whole lot more from Adam Stafford and Y'all Is Fantasy Island at Wiseblood Industries.
Aye Tunes Vs Peenko 4: The Revenge takes place on Saturday August 20th at Stereo on Renfield Lane, Glasgow. Advance tickets are avilable here, or just shoot me an email if you want one. You can let us know you are coming and keep up to date on Facebook. Please come along, you'll help stop me getting a stress ulcer.