Save The Pop Cop - A Call To Arms

I'm slightly later to the game than others on this one since I didn't want to do a post last night since I didn't have all the details yet.

Last night Scottish music blog The Pop Cop was unceremoniously deleted by Blogger. The Pop Cop has been around for about three years, and was one of the main inspirations for me leaving behind the blogs I was doing at the time and moving on to start up Aye Tunes, so to say I'm a bit unhappy at its closure for "code violations" is a bit of an understatement. I may frequently disagree with the choice of bands featured and the opinions expressed, but I always enjoy reading them.

Head over here for all the details on what happened, and why.

Earlier this year a bunch of blogs were shut down around the same time, do a search for "blogocide" to find out more on that story. The good news is that on some of them at least Blogger did a U-turn, and reinstated the blogs. It's my hope that the same will happen for The Pop Cop.

How can you help? Well, the best thing to do is email support@blogger.com to ask that The Pop Cop be put back online. My email was quite heated, but try to remain polite and reasonable, it's easier to ignore us if we send expletive filled rants.

Since nothing is a campaign without a Facebook page these days there's one of those too here. By all means join up to show your support, but please, get emailing too.

Conquering Animal Sound, Cheer & Yahweh - Important Announcement

We interrupt your Friday night to tell you that Sunday's Cheer, Yahweh and Conquering Animal Sound gig has moved from the Captain's Rest, to The Halt Bar.

Ok, now you can go back to whatever you were doing.

Got One More Vote In You?

We'll gently gloss over what happened the last time the Nation voted for now, and instead move on to something else.

If you aren't too jaded to vote after last week, then may I politely enlist a little help with something?

Mitchell Museum, as you can't have failed to notice, are pretty well loved round Aye Tunes way, and they are gearing up for the launch of their new single. Warning Bells is released on June 14th (hey, just in time for my birthday!), backed with a brand new remix by We Were Promised Jetpacks.

Before that though, the song is currently up for inclusion on Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist.

Competition for the spot comes from She & Him and recent Geffen Records signings Everything Everything. Both of them are good, but I dare say they don't need the assistance quite so much as a small operation in Glasgow does, do they?

So, basically this has been a rather long winded way of saying please go here and vote for Mitchell Museum.

All it takes is a quick email and you'd be helping out a bunch of smashing musicians and lovely men.

Stag & Dagger 2010 Running Times

Going to Stag & Dagger in Glasgow next Saturday? Want to know what venue and what time the bands you want to see are at?

Well, we've got you covered.

ABC1
The Antlers 19:15-19:50
Wild Beasts 20:15-21:15
We Were Promised Jetpacks 21:30-22:15

ABC2
Wilder 18:00-18:30
Erland and the Carnival 18:45-19:15
Jaguar Love 19:45-20:15
The Unwinding Hours 20:45-21:15
A Place To Bury Strangers 21:30-22:00

Glasgow School of Art
Gold Panda 19:00-19:30
Javelin 19:45-20:15
Egyptian Hip Hop 20:45-21:15
Titus Andronicus 21:45-22:15
Sleigh Bells 22:45-23:30
Dam Mantle 23:30-00:15
Synth Eastwood 00:15-00:45
Taz Buckfaster 00:45-01:30
Joker 01:30-03:00

The Vic Bar
Wilson Tan 19:00-19:30
Samuel Chase 19:45-20:15
Django Django 20:45-21:15
Fun 21:45-22:15
White Hinterland 22:45-23:15
Esban & The Witch 23:45-00:15
Schnapps 00:45-01:15
Silver Columns 01:45-02:15

Stereo
Milk 17:15-17:45
Three Blind Wolves 18:00-18:30
Yuck 18:45-19:15
Jesca Hoop 19:45-20:15
Chapel Club 20:45-21:15
My Latest Novel 21:45-22:30
Men and Machines with guest: Serge Santiago from 11pm

Nice n' Sleazy
Aerials Up 17:15-17:45
Bridezilla 18:00-18:30
North Atlantic Oscillation 18:45-19:15
Sky Larkin 19:30-20:00
Male Bonding 20:30-21:00
Divorce 21:30-22:00
Kong 22:30-23:00
Hot Club from 11pm

The Captain's Rest
Olympic Swimmers 14:00-14:30
Sparrow & The Workshop 14:45-15:15
Islet 15:45-16:15
Tripwires 16:45-17:15
Wax Fang 17:45-18:15
Copy Haho 18:45-19:15
Turbo Fruits 19:45-20:15
Crocodiles 20:45-21:15
Kid Adrift 21:45-22:15
Blood Red Shoes 22:45-23:30

These times are correct at the time of going to press and subject to change
For more info and tickets visit http://www.staganddagger.com/

French Wives - Me Vs. Me Single Review

A week or so after I reviewed Halloween/Dogfight, the first single by French Wives, I commented that "those French Wives songs are still wedged in my head". Roughly seven months on, they still are. Seriously, at times it's been a little embarrassing, as I've been sitting on a bus or train, idly staring out a window, then realised I'm humming, whistling, or worst of all having a wee sing to myself of Halloween in particular. Still, that does a good job of keeping the nutters away, since the assume you are one too.
It's nice then to have some more songs by the band to try out, although from its appearances in live sets Me Vs. Me is already familiar enough to me that it makes the occasional appearance on my mental shuffle list too.

Obviously then there's a scary amount of love for French Wives round my way (hm, should maybe rephrase that actually, or I'll get some very disappointed visitors coming in off a dodgy google search...) so you if you suspect that this review will pretty much be me telling you to buy the single you wouldn't be far wrong.

So, we've established that I a) like the band and b) like the single, but why? Well, Me Vs. Me does loads of things I like in a song. Pace changes, some nice guitar jangles, cheeky bit of violin, sing along lyrics, and does all the sweepy building to a crescendo stuff that makes me go "oooh". Plus, Stuart Dougan has a cracking voice.
Not only that, but listening to Me vs. Me a handful of times on repeat has brightened up an otherwise pretty dreadful day, which is just grand.
Hyndland Weather Bear on the b-side (read a wee bit further down for more on this song) is a more quiet, fragile affair. Simple, understated, but no less gorgeous than the A-side.

Love the band, love the single, and make no apologies for my very fanboyish approach, sorry!

You can still listen to B-side Hyndland Weather Bear, and watch a wee video, in the post here, but hurry, I'll be taking down the stream when the single comes out.

French Wives: MySpace - Facebook

Me vs. Me is available from May 17th on CD and download. You can preorder it here.
French Wives play a launch gig at Glasgow School of Art on May 14th, and an instore gig at LOVEmusic (the shop formerly known as Avalanche) in Glasgow on May 17th.

This Week's Records

Not all that much out this week, but what's available is very good.

The Lamplighter album that I reviewed last week, All Is Vanity, is released today. You can buy it direct from the Antimatter shop. It's a really good album, you should own a copy.

The Scottish Enlightenment have an EP out. I've been waiting weeks for a chance to get my hands on this and buying it was just about the first thing I did today. It is brilliant, get it. You can download it from all the usual places, or buy a CD from Bandcamp.

I know nothing at all about Ghost Pants, other than the fact that there's a free EP on the go over at Bandcamp, and it's pretty good.

Non-Scots with new releases include Nina Nastasia who has a single Cry, Cry, Baby out. It's a gorgeous, delicate wee thing, and bodes well for her new album Outlaster which is out in June.

LaFaro have their self titled debut album out too.

This Week's Gigs: 10-16th May

This was supposed to go up on Sunday, but I went to the pub instead. Sorry...
Quite a lot on this week, and some really good bands playing too.

Edit: Missed a couple, so there's a few more added.

Monday:

Shonen Knife are at King Tuts, for possibly their first Scottish date ever. I could be wrong on that though.

Tuesday:

Krautrock legends Faust bring chainsaws, cement mixers and more to The Arches for what promises to be quite a memorable gig.

Banana Sessions are playing at Sloans Ballroom, along with Tragic O'Hara and Mummy Short Arms.

Wednesday:

The last of this week's featured out of towners CocoRosie play The Classic Grand.

It's also Detour Live time again. As usual the Detour crew will be at Bloc, and on the bill this month are Midnight Lion, Iain Morrison and Carnivores.

Thursday:

Blue Sky Archives, who I was quite taken with the other day, are playing along with Pishy Tissue at Brel on The Concrete Campfire evening. (Update: Pishy Tissue aren't playing anymore)

Over at Maggie May's, its Catapult's first birthday. To celebrate Acrylic Iqon, Lousie Against the Elements, Julia and the Doogans and Upbeat Beatdown are all playing.

Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun, Oxygen Thief and Judith Harron are all playing at The 13th Note.

Missed this one earlier, but Emma Pollock will be doing an instore gig at the Apple Store in Glasgow at 6pm on Thursday.

Friday:

There's another Ten Tracks gig taking place at Stereo. On the bill are Make Sparks, Cairnhill Trading Estate and Panda Trap, all for the super cheap price of £1.

There's a Chaffinch Records night taking place at The Captain's Rest. Playing at that one are Anthony Reynolds and Charlotte Greig, The Second Hand Marching Band and Burnt Island. Tickets are available here.

French Wives are launching their new single, Me Vs Me, at The Glasgow School of Art, with support from Endor and Blue Sky. You can listen to the b-side, and watch a nice wee promo video for the single here.

Machar Granite are playing the O2 Academy on Friday night, along with Perduramo.

Saturday:

The Side, Foxgang, Sebastian Dangerfield and Casino Brag are all at The Captain's Rest.

Nuts, forgot about this one. Was almost certain it was next week, but got my dates horrible wrong. Anyway, Sleazy's on Saturday night has a cracking wee line-up of Midas Fall, Galleries and Heart Beats, supporting A Sunny Day in Glasgow. It'll no doubt be raining.

Sunday:

Edinburgh folk could do much worse than get down to the Roxy Art House to see Lamplighter who is playing a gig with Hauschka, Nancy Elizabeth and James Blackshaw. Get tickets and more info here. Lamplighter's All Is Vanity album is out today, and a very good album it is too. I made a few changes to my plans last week to get to the Glasgow album launch and left very impressed, both with Lamplighter and the supports, NOMA and Cheer.

Which takes us on nicely to a rather fine Glasgow gig on Sunday, as the aforementioned Cheer and the rather fine Yahweh are supporting the frankly awesome Conquering Animal Sound at The Captain's Rest. Gig of the week? I'd have said so. CAS have a clutch of other gigs this week, all over the UK, skip on over to their MySpace page for details.

Fuzzbox are playing nice N Sleazy on Sunday, with support from Miss The Occupier. That should be awesome, actually.

Lamplighter - All Is Vanity: Album Review

Lamplighter (aka Robin Legge) is an Edinburgh based musician/producer, with an album of instrumental, electronic hip-hop out next week. I'm already horribly out of my depth and I've not even started reviewing the album, All Is Vanity, yet. Settle in and laugh as I now try to write more than just "I liked this" over and over.

So, we've established that I like the album. Why? Well, for one thing when it is done well I enjoy instrumental hip hop. Lamplighter does it well. Although the album is - at least to my uneducated ears - well produced it isn't too polished. There's an endearing rough quality to things, nothing sounds too clinical.
All Is Vanity also reminds me of a few things that I really like too. There's a few songs that bring to mind the production on the first Wu Tang Clan album, for example. Just little things, the way things sound interesting, a bit off kilter and not quite what you expect.
Another thing the album puts me in mind of is a John Carpenter score. Much of the album has similar use of atmosphere and hooks, and a somewhat retro, lo-fi vibe to it, that you can find in Carpenter's music.

So, yeah, even though I'm rubbish at trying to explain why, I liked All Is Vanity a lot. There's a track embedded below, and more on Lamplighter's MySpace, so have a listen for yourself.

All is Vanity is released by Antimatter Records on May 10th.
Lamplighter plays an album launch gig at La Cheetah in Glasgow on May 6th, with support from Noma and Cheer.

Tigerfest 2010 Updates

As you might know, Tigerfest 2010 kicks off tonight, or more accurately kicked off about 45 minutes ago with tonight's gig at the Electric Circus.

There's been a couple of changes to the gigs previously announced, so this is just a wee update on a couple of things.

Firstly, The Gothenberg Address will no longer be playing at the 17 Seconds night on Sunday. Replacing them on the bill for that gig are White Heath.

Secondly, tomorrow's gig at The Wee Red Bar is, unfortunately, cancelled. Phoebe Kreutz, along with guest and tourmate Casey, have been left stranded somewhere in Europe but the reappearance of that deadly, gig destroying volcanic ash cloud.
Refunds are available at point of purchase, and everyone is a bit gutted.

You can find the line-up here, and further details at the Tigerfest website.

Round Up Reviews

There's a frankly embarrassing backlog of things I've been sent recently, so rather than let stuff sit in the inbox forever, here's a very quick round up of the shorter things, singles and demos.

If you've sent something over and it's ended up on here instead of getting a proper review then sorry, but there's only so much time in the day.

Palace Ballet - Gabriel/City of Lights

This was meant to get a full review weeks ago. Clearly, that didn't happen so instead through no fault of it's own, it's ended up in here. Gabriel is straight up indie pop, complete with a big catchy chorus and lots of "whoa-oh-ohs". Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but perfectly enjoyable all the same. I could have lived without my copy having a radio friendly edit of the "happy as a pig in shit" lyric though, but that's a small complaint. City of Lights stands out a bit more and shows off that there's more to the band than you might expect. Lots going on without being cluttered, lots of shifting styles and moods. Good stuff really. Shame I kept forgetting to review it till now. Gabriel/City of Lights is available as a download from iTunes now.

Night Noise Team - You Won:
I had to check a couple of times I was listening to the right thing here. I've heard a fair chunk of Night Noise Team before and didn't expect their next single to be some big dancefloor monster. This is ace. You Won is released as a download on May 17th.

Happy Vandals - Dusk

A wee bit like Last Shadow Puppets for me, but decent enough. Gets a bit more interesting towards the end, and there's some nice jangly guitar in there. More promising that exciting, but nowhere near bad. Download some demos free here.

Tokyo Knife Attack - Cool Kids:

Gloriously retro synthpop. The kind of thing that - similar to X-Lion Tamer - I usually start off thinking "I shouldn't like this" then after about 30 seconds give in, abandon my snobbery and dance my arse off to. Excellent. Cool Kids is released as a download on May 31st.

Blue Sky Archives - EP:

Ah, I like this. It's pretty much indie pop with a bit of post-rock slung in, but it does what it does really well, and manages to find it's way right up my street. Well, apart from the very start of second track The Highest of Fives, which always makes me think I'm about to hear Natalie Imbruglia sign Torn. Still, it's a pleasant surprise when I don't have to suffer that. Aaaand now I'm rambling. EP closer Sleeves Rolled Up, The Team Rolls Out has a bit more drive and urgency to it than the first two tracks, which rounds things out nicely. Liked this a lot, so you can probably expect me to bring up Blue Sky Archives again in the future. The Blue Sky Archives EP is available now on Bandcamp.

Indian Red Lopez - KYS:

All a bit run of the mill, plodding and indistinct sadly. I've heard much better from this band before, so we'll write this off as a blip. Still, bit disappointing.

This Week's Gigs

Now that I'm done pimping the heck out of my own gig, it's back to just pimping gigs for everyone else this week you'll be glad to hear. This week starts quietly, before going mental around midweek. It's like it knows I'm running out of money. In return for the week mocking me, I'm more bitter than normal at some of the rubbish that's on this week.

Tuesday:

Fear The Fives are playing a wee acoustic gig at Tchai Ovna, but I'll be waiting till Thursday to see them.

You could go and see Scouting For Girls at the O2 Academy, but if you do I might have to question whether you are welcome here. I kid, everyone is welcome here, but still, please don't encourage Scouting For Girls.

Wednesday:

Pavement play the Barrowlands. That's Pavement. At the Barras. And I don't have a ticket. The sound you are hearing right now is me sobbing.

Thursday:

Catch High Places at Nice n Sleazy, with support from Dam Mantle, Kill The Waves (formerly known as Camembert) and Barn Owl.

I however will be heading along to Bloc, where Fear The Fives are having an EP launch gig. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed the EP in question.

Friday:

Ah Friday, why are you mocking me so? You know I'll probably be quite skint by the end of the week, yet you conspire to have three, THREE!, gigs I want to go to.

At Nice n Sleazy there's Midnight Lion, .scores, The Darien Venture and Trapped in Kansas. One of these bands are threatening to be swallowed up by the hype surrounding them, the other three are good. My "too nice" reputations prevents me from being more specific.

Speaking of shite, Sandi Thom is on at the ABC. Please, just don't, there's so many better ways to spend your time and money.

A much better choice would be Make Sparks, Black Heart Generator and Peenko Vs Aye Tunes co-stars Mitchell Museum at The Flying Duck. I missed most of Mitchell Museum on Friday, so I'd have been going to this, were my plans not foiled by...

The Kays Lavelle. It's the Glasgow leg of the launch for Be Still This Gentle Morning, their debut album, on Friday. Ideally between now and then I'll finish off the album review I've been attempting. Support comes from Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers and Autistic Angus, and it's at Stereo.

Saturday:

Song of Return and Boycotts are playing at Stereo, while Owl City gives me another chance to be insulting by playing the Barrowlands on the same night.

Despite having this one written down on a bit of paper right next to the computer, I forgot to mention it. At the Citizens Theatre there's another Frost and Fire gig on. Playing this week are Cath & Phil Tyler, Nereo Bello & Lucy Duncombe, iSSHO and the excellent RM Hubbert.

NEXT Week:

Alright, so mentioning things this far in advance won't be a common occurence, but there's a couple of gigs that look good enough that if I wait a week to mention them might not be options anymore. Best to get your tickets now if you want to go to:

Shonen Knife - Monday 10th May - King Tuts

Faust - Tuesday 11th May - The Arches

CocoRosie - Wednesday 12th May - The Classic Grand

Gig Review: Peenko vs Aye Tunes - Kid Canaveral, Mitchell Museum & Campfires In Winter

Peenko Vs Ayetunes
Kid Canaveral, Mitchell Museum & Campfires In Winter
Captains Rest
30th April

Last night after a long day of avoiding studying by being locked away in a rehearsal studio I headed out to the first ever(and hopefully not the last) Ayetunes vs Peenko night at my home away from home The Captains Rest in the west end of Glasgow. Though I managed to lose my ticket some time in the run up to the event in this sold out event I luckily got in, cheers for that by the way lads!
After wading my way through a crowd of some of my favourite bloggers and podcasters around town I made it downstairs with time to spare to get ready for Campfires In Winter.

Campfires In Winter
Being a fan of all the recordings I had heard so far but not having the opportunity to catch them live yet as of yet I was very happy to finally get the opportunity to see them in action, and they didn't disappoint The band came out of the gate with personal favourite They Looked Like Fallen Leaves they instantly caught my attention with their great atmospheric guitar sounds and honest and convincing vocals backed by a piano and a peculiar yet highly effective percussion set up which appeared to be a tv dinner, a floor tom, a ride cymbal table and a box with a kick pedal, despite the loss of a member in recent months the band did their selves justice which is always a worry seeing an act for the first time live. The band left me transfixed for their entire set with subtle builds and soundscaped backing along with a few well picked covers in Neutral Milk Hotel and Square 9 by Frightened Rabbit which I never knew was a cover until it was pointed out to me post set. They closed with the track Mortigi Tempo which was a powerful ending to an excellent set, and a perfect start to the night! After the topping up of beverages it came the time for Mitchell Museum.

Mitchell Museum
This was a band that I had experienced once in Brel at a gig which seemed to be filled with technical problems but couldn't wait to see what they had to offer. The band spared not even a drop of energy in their performance of fun filled, hook laden and groove ridden pop songs. Mitchell Museum really brought the energy to the packed out sweaty basement that was the Captains Rest, and their highly entertaining yet cheeky banter kept you entertained between every track. Tracks like Take The Tongue which was one of my personal favourites of the set showing off their high tempo almost circus influenced pop side alongside upcoming single Warning Bells more of a groove ridden vamped pop song with a great sing along chorus which I am listening back to again now on their site and cant wait till its available to be bought. All in all they blew me away with their energy and ability to control the audience and look forward to the opportunity to catch them again. After catching my breath and cooling down it was time for the main attraction of the evening Kid Canaveral.

Kid Canaveral
I have seen this band a hand full of times now, they have yet to disappoint and this time? Well they were on fine form! The band kicked off with a slower number which I hadn't heard before which I can only assume is from their upcoming album(which will be released at the Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh on June 3rd) this was a slowed down beginning for the band, I had seen them use this technique before so the second track hits hard and it did with “Good Morning” a song which is a great example of their energetic indie pop sound which managed to capture this rooms full attention. The band were playing all of their hits tonight and it amazed me how many of the songs I actually knew to sing along with tracks like Smash Hits, And Another Thing and Left and Rights. The performance they gave did not leave people bopping their heads but the front of the crowd(myself included among the many bloggers) pulling shapes and bopping around and smiling like idiots. Kid Canaveral closed the set with fans favourite Couldn't Dance where the crowd and the band used up the last of their available drops of energy that they had left form the rest of their set. The band walked off the stage leaving their guitars buzzing and the crowd cheering.

All in all this was a great gig, 3 bands who put their full energy to their performances. If anyone went home from that gig I would be highly surprised. Ayetunes and Peenko put on a great event and I'm left wondering, when's the next one?

Review by Wull Swales of Define Pop. Cheers Wull!

This Week's Records

It's another fairly slim week for Scottish releases, so I'll also be throwing in a few things from elsewhere this week.

Fear The Fives have their debut self titled EP out, which I though was excellent.

eagleowl have a beautiful new EP out, which I should be reviewing some time this week. Don't bother waiting for what I have to say though, go buy Into The Fold here now.

Meursault's new album, All Creatures Will Make Merry, is available from eMusic now, possibly a bit early. Full release is due for the end of the month, if you are lucky you might still be able to get a special early CD direct from Song, by Toad too.

Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam are the first non-Scots to make an appearance this week. Their album, Life Stream, is fab.

More non Scots with an album out are CocoRosie. Grey Oceans is out now, and the band visit Glasgow next Wednesday (May 12th) for their only Scottish date of their current tour, with a gig at The Classic Grand.

Kill The Captains have an album out too. Once again, they aren't Scottish, but Fun Anxiety is released by Armelodie, which is a Scottish label, so gives me a tenuous link.

I've probably missed stuff, so as usual let me know if I have.

Peenko vs Aye Tunes - The Aftermath

Well now, that was fun.

By 7pm, a good hour before doors were meant to open, we were sold out. You have no idea how happy this made me, and how much it reduced my levels of blind panic which had been high ever since we announced the gig in the first place.

We had what I though was a great line up, so I was delighted to know that the people that would make the gig a success of failure, the crowd we could attract, agreed with us. If you've seen my Twitter stream, looked at my Facebook or indeed read the blog (not to mention my email outbox) you'll know that I buried my natural shyness to do everything I could to drag people along - which is after all the gig promoter's job - so yeah, I'm happy it worked.

I'm really sorry to the people we had to turn away at the door, if we could have fitted you in we would have. I'm sorry also for the first group of people that were greeted with the sight of me trying to eat a burger while doing the door. The food took ages to arrive, that's my excuse.

I only got to see little bits of the bands as Lloyd and I took turns going into the cramped downstairs while the other took care of things upstairs, but I did, predictably, like what I heard. I hope everyone that was there did too. I hope you enjoyed your lollies as well.

I really can't thank Campfires In Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral enough for coming along and playing for us, I really, really appreciate it. Hopefully all three bands won't feel they've been screwed over by a dodgy promoter afterwards.

I have to give a huge thank you to every single person that came along, both the familiar faces and the unfamiliar ones, your support made a nervous Jim a happy man indeed. If you enjoyed yourself anywhere near as much as I did then you should have had a good night.

Is this music? have been quick off the mark with a review here, while Manic Pop Thrills have some snaps and a review too. Obviously I can't review this one, so if anyone else does then give me a shout and I'll add the links in here too.

Ooh, more pictures & reviews! Lis, not happy with actually making me blush with something she said earlier, wrote a bit for her blog so skip over to Last Year's Girl to read that. Claire took some photos which you can find on her Flickr page, and so did Grave Maurice whose photos are here.
Even more photos can be found at twistyfoldy.net, with pictures of Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral.

Wull Swales of Define Pop wrote a review too, which he's kindly let me post in ful. You can read that here.
Mitchell Museum seemed to enjoy themselves, which is good to know!

So, anyone up for Aye Tunes Vs Peenko: The Rematch?

Aye Tunes Vs Peenko - The Final Plug

There's only one day to go before the gig, so you'll be relieved to hear this is the last plug before it happens.

The main reason for the plug is to warn anyone that's planning to come along that there aren't that many tickets left. We aren't sold out yet, but it isn't far off. If you don't have a ticket yet it might be an idea to give me or Peenko a shout to get us to keep one aside for you.

All the other details are the same as they have been in all the other posts about the gig.

Captain's Rest, Glasgow, Friday April 30th.

Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral

First band will be on not long after 8pm if all goes to plan.

Come along!

Update:
This is the last ticket from my share, if you want it, let me know!

Words Per Minute

I mentioned this on Monday in the gig guide, but that's no reason not to bring it up again, particularly as organisers Anneliese Mackintosh and Kirstin Innes were kind enough to answer some questions about the event, making them the first ever victims of an Aye Tunes interview in the process.

Would you care to introduce yourself, and tell us a little about yourself?

A – Hello, I’m Anneliese, the German-born/English-raised/Scots-descended half of Words Per Minute. I’m a writer of novels, short stories, plays and short films. I’m currently working on a novel called Watch Yourself, and a short story collection called Dedicated. I get very excited about performing my work, and have done so at Glasgow events DiScOmBoBuLaTe at the Arches, Manifesto and TBC Cabaret at the Tron Theatre, OMG at Offshore, and Edinburgh events A Night In the Gutter at the National Library, Golden Hour at the Forest Café and as support act for musician David Ford at Cabaret Voltaire. At the moment I’m finishing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and so soon I’m about to get a real, real job. You may see the panic this causes me reflected in my recent (foreboding?) short stories about abusive workplaces.

K- Hello. I’m Kirstin. I write stories and newspaper articles.

A – Oops. Kirstin is also far more modest than I am, it seems.

Tell us a little about Words Per Minute?

K - There’s loads of work being made in Glasgow just now that doesn’t necessarily conform to one genre - it’s not just ‘writing’ or ‘music’ or ‘film’ or ‘theatre’. We wanted to put on an event that showcased that. We’re both writers who perform our own work (Anneliese makes animations, too), so we decided to put together a collection of people who use words in different ways and see what happens. We’re also hoping to introduce audiences to different kinds of work -- spike a literary crowd on some electronica, bring really good writers to a live music audience, screen artist films to theatre-goers. That’s the plan, anyway.

A – We’re also giving people the opportunity to try out something completely new. If, for instance, an established novelist decides he wants to try his hand at animations in an open-minded environment before unleashing it to the wider world (yes, that’s you, Ewan Morrison, at WPM1), then our event is the perfect place to do it. If artists are looking to seek out new collaborators in alternative art forms, we provide an ideal hub for that sort of thing too. In terms of what the audience will get out of it – for very little money they’ll get a snapshot into the artistic scene in Glasgow and beyond – a bit of film, literature, music, theatre and who-knows-what-else at each event, and each one will be exciting, vibrant and unique. What better way to spend your post-roast Sunday afternoon?

The first event is coming up on Sunday, who can we expect to see performing?

K - Martin O’Connor, a playwright and theatre-maker who I’ve been keeping an eye on for yeeears now is going to try out some new work. Ewan Morrison, who’s best known for his deviant and quite frankly filthy novels (Swung, Distance and Menage) has started working on a new short story collection designed for e-books, with embedded animations, and he’s going to be screening and narrating them. Then there’s fast-living rock diva/writer/hurricane Lisa Foad - I met her at a literary festival in Toronto and loved her writing. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to get her over from Canada, but thanks to the miracle of modern technology she can be there in video form.

A – Plus there’s the lovely Colin Begg, whose poems are influenced by the Scottish people and landscape, and feelings of (not) belonging. He recently described his work to me as 'some poems the head wrote about the heart, or vice versa'. He’s also written short screenplays and plays, and is currently co-editor of Gutter, a brilliant new literary magazine, going soon into its third issue. The live music act for the first event is Miaoux Miaoux, an electronica musician listed on BBC Scotland's Vic Galloway's 50 Scottish artists to watch in 2010. His new EP Blooms was launched in March, described on the Ayetunes blog as ‘positively bursting with energy’. (Jim - it's true, check here) It’s Postal Service meets Apparat meets Lali Puna and they all go for a drink with Mogwai and have a nice time. Miaoux Miaoux, aka Julian Corrie, is also going to be WPM’s resident DJ, playing a one-hour set after every event, whilst people chat, mingle and relax.

K - Anneliese and I are also going to do five minute sets of our own stuff, just for the first night. We’re not going to get into the habit of it, though: we’re running this night to celebrate what’s happening in Glasgow just now, not to promote our own work. Too much.

Why did you choose Creation Studios as the venue?

K - I was working on a project in the Trongate and Merchant City, and Roddy (Creation Studios head honcho) approached us looking to be included in that. After going up for a meeting I was really taken by the café/performance space - it’s got a great atmosphere about it, so when Roddy mentioned he was looking for spoken word events, it seemed like a pretty good fit with the night Anneliese and I had been dreaming up for the past few months. It’s a lovely, open space, the staff are ace and interested in everything, and as somewhere that already promotes emergent visual artists and musicians, it felt like the right place to unleash our cross-genre vision on the world!

Words Per Minute is a nonprofit event, do you have any plans for what to do with any money raised?

A – The £2 ticket money will go straight back into promoting the events – we need to buy posters each month in order to give the performers the best possible chance of publicity, but we will also be collecting money for Cancer Research UK on the night. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer two years ago and I think it’s really important to keep providing money for the much needed equipment and resources for cancer care. Making art is about making a difference, both onstage and off.

Going forward what plans do you have for Words Per Minute, and for yourselves?

K - We’re already planning lineups for WPM2 and 3. We’ve just confirmed Adam Stafford for next month: as I’m sure Ayetunes readers already know, he creates these amazing, slow-building soundscapes with just a loop pedal and his voice, then sings wild-man blues over the top. Sophie Cooke is also performing - she’s a well-established novelist and short story writer, but she’s also a glittering, diamond-hard performer.

A - We’ve also got newcomer Craig Lamont confirmed for WPM2. I saw him perform at the Mitchell Library during the Aye Write festival as part of the University of Strathclyde Creative Showcase, and was blown away by his work. We’ve also had all sorts of interesting submissions for future events - keep them coming, folks!

K - We’ve got a fantasy wishlist of people we want, and we’re already talking to some of them. Everyone from beatboxers and short filmmakers to Booker-nominated novelists and former members of seminal Falkirk-based bands now pursuing their own spoken-word projects. We’d also like to open things up to visual artists a bit more - we’re not sure exactly how, yet, but we’ll take any suggestions going.

A - As for my own plans, I’m hoping to punt my novel around by the end of the year, and I’m in the process of getting a short film made with a production company in London. I’ve also got some music collaborations on the horizon.

K - I’m currently writing a novel and a play, and collaborating with US-based composer Tony Marasco, who’s setting a couple of stories I’ve written to music (I think I’m then going to record myself reading over the top - we’re doing the whole thing over the internet, so haven’t quite worked out the logistics of that bit yet).

A – We’ll probably try and fit in a nice long rest at some point, but not just yet.

Thanks a million to Anneliese and Kirstin for taking time to answer my questions, from the sound of it that long rest will be well deserved. Now, get along there on Sunday!

Words Per Minute takes place on Sunday May 2nd 2010, from 4-6pm, plus a Miaoux Miaoux DJ set from 6-7pm at Creation Studios, 16 Trongate, Glasgow. Tickets: £2 on the door.

For more information on Words Per Minute visit their website, http://www.wordsperminute.org.uk, and say hello on Facebook or Twitter.

Fear The Fives - EP Review

Well now, this is just brilliant.
Imagine if you will a bar on the docks of some Eastern European country, now imagine Nick Cave finding himself in there, signing some sea shanties and drinking songs backed by a band of gypsies. That's pretty much the image conjured up in my head by this EP.
Quite frankly, it's a mental image that's both good enough and more than unique enough to get pass marks for the EP from me.

Happily the songs are also excellent. Opener Balkan Ekspres, which mixes piano led swagger with more tender moments and soaring choruses, before it all goes a bit beautifully mental towards the end.
Devil's Tongue sounds a bit like what The Doors' Alabama Song might be like if The Doors weren't a bit rubbish, and maybe Jarvis Cocker stepped in on vocals. Packed with passion an atmosphere it's a raucous affair that does nothing to dispel the thought of beer tankards being waved in the air.
Finally No Hurry Home is a more downbeat affair, one to round off the evening of drinking, dancing and singing with a mournful torch song, tempered with optimism.

It would be hyperbolic to say the least if I said that I'd never heard anything quite like Fear The Fives, but they certainly sound fresh and different, and they are a very welcome change from yet another indie schmindie band.

I know I have a bit of a reputation for liking everything, but trust me on this one one, this is pretty much an outstanding debut that I'd implore you all to seek out.

Fear The Fives: MySpace - Facebook

Fear The Fives release their self-titled debut EP on iTunes, Amazon and other digital media on Monday 3rd May 2010. Catch Fear The Fives live playing an acoustic set at Tchai Ovna on 4th May, and at an EP launch gig on 6th May at Bar Bloc.

Stream Fear The Fives - Devil's Tongue

This Week's Gigs

Welcome to another exciting round up of the gigs happening this week, or as I like to think of it, the weekly attempt to steal all my money and ruin my liver as I realise just how much is on.

If any bands are playing Glasgow on Friday then I'm sorry, but this week you aren't getting a mention.

Monday:

The Paraffins, Sugar Crisis and Magic Box Mistress can be found at Pivo Pivo, and entry is only £1.

Tuesday:

Shambles Miller has another gig? Why yes, he does. He's quite the hard worker. Sloans Ballroom, 8pm, £4.

Wednesday:

Always Read The Label are playing at Box. It's free.

Also on Wednesday you can catch Kochka at The Buff Club in Glasgow.

Thursday:

Spy Movie have a launch gig for their new single at Stereo. Also on the bill are Julia and the Doogans, The Hardy Boys and Always Me, Me, Me.

Also on Thursday over at The Captain's Rest is what would have been my gig of the week, were it not for what's happening there on Friday. Eat Dr Ape, Palace Ballet, Mickey 9's and Vendor Defender. I predict dancing.

Friday:

If you are in Edinburgh then you could do a lot worse than hop along to The Roxy Room, where eagleowl are having a launch gig for their new EP, followed by an after party at Sneaky Pete's. The EP is very good too, as you'd expect from Eagleowl.

For those of you in Glasgow, or going to Glasgow on Friday night, then I'm duty bound to ask you to come to The Captain's Rest. If you have to ask why then you haven't been paying attention. Friday sees the very first Peenko Vs Aye Tunes gig, and even if I wasn't putting it on I'd be advising you to go anyway. If you didn't know already, on the bill are Campfires in Winter, Mitchell Museum and Kid Canaveral. It all kicks off at 8pm, and it's £5 on the door. If you hurry £4 are still available. The Alarm at The ABC is sold out, so come to us instead.

Afterwards join some of us in heading along to The Flying Duck for Pinup Nights. DJing on the night are Ed from 17 Seconds, Jason from The Pop Cop, Nick from Radar, some of the Glasgow PodcART team, and Lloyd, the Peenko half of Aye Tunes Vs Peenko. It costs a fiver, but rumour has it that you can get £1 off with a ticket for our gig.
Oh alright, I wil mention one other Glasgow gig happening on Friday. It's at The Liquid Ship, which is practically next door to The Captain;s Rest, so you could potentially get to it and ours. Playing there are Julia and the Doogans, Stevie & the Moon and Lovers Turn To Monsters. Kyle Wood, AKA Lovers Turned To Monsters, designed the Peenko Vs Aye Tunes poster for us, so it's only fair I give his gig a mention.

Saturday:

Glasgow's chance to get a bit of eagleowl action, as they have another EP launch, this time at The Flying Duck.

Edinburgh folk have Machar Granite at The Wee Red Bar, along with the Lorraine McCauley Band and Tam's Railway.

Back in Glasgow, Ace City Racers are having what they call a May Day Tea Party. It takes places at The Victoria Bar at The Clutha, doors are at 8pm, and it'll cost you £2.

Sunday:

Not quite a gig, but looking pretty good, is WPM1. This is the first ever Words Per Minute event, which promises to mix spoken word, live music, film and performance. The event takes place in Creation Studios in Glasgow at 4pm on Sunday, and features animations of a literary bent from Ewan Morrison, poetry from Colin Begg, readings from Anneliese MacKintosh and Kirstin Innes. and both a live performance and a DJ set from Miaoux Miaoux. I'm a little worried that when I turn up at this Julian of Miaoux Miaoux will think I'm stalking him.

You can find more information on Words Per Minute here.

For those waiting on it, it doesn't look like there'll be a "This Week's Records" post this week, since as far as I can see there's only one new release, Admiral Fallow's debut album.

Single Review: The Kays Lavelle - Ten Times

I like The Kays Lavelle, I like them a lot. However I was unconvinced by the choice of their first single, The Hours. The Hours is a gorgeous song, but to me maybe not the best single to lead off with. But hey, what do I know? That's why I write a blog and other people make these decisions.

New single Ten Times is much more like it though.
The Kays Lavelle do emotional and atmospheric as well as anyone does, and Ten Times really shows off the band's strength in those departments. For the most part Ten Times is a pretty sparse affair, which makes the occasions where the entire band bursts into action a gorgeous contrast. Moody, atmospheric and really very good pretty much sums it up.

For the B-side The Japanese War Effort contribute a remix, which shaves a good two and a half minutes off the running time and rejiggles the song thoroughly, making it both different sounding enough to be worthwhile, but retaining enough of the original to be familiar. I always find it tough to review a remix, either they work for me or they don't. This one does.

The Kays Lavelle: MySpace

Ten Times is available now as a free download from www.wisebloodindustries.com
The debut album 'Be Still This Gentle Morning' will be released on 17th May. Visit MySpace for details on upcoming gigs, including Glasgow and Edinburgh launch shows.

French Wives - New Song & Single Details - And Now A Video!

French Wives, ones of my highlights from Hinterland, and all around ace band have a new single out in a few weeks.
They've very kindly sent over the b-side, Hyndland Weather Bear, which you can - if I've got the widget thingy working - listen to below.

What is a Hyndland Weather Bear you ask?
Well, according to the band: "next time you're in Hyndland be sure to look at the flat above the Peckhams on Hyndland Road (at the top of Clarence Drive) and you'll see a teddy bear who is dressed on a daily basis to suit the day's weather conditions."
I'm not too sure how that works out, giving Scotland's liking for weather that changes by the hour, but still, aww, that's sweet.

Me Vs. Me will be released with a launch gig at The Glasgow School of Art on May 14th., with support from Endor and Blue Sky, followed by the single going on general release on May 17th.
I dare say there'll be a review of it round here sometime before then too.

French Wives: MySpace - Shop

Update! There's also this little promo video to go with the single.