Not Long Now: AVP4

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.

Say It Dont Spray It by mondegreen

Making Cookies by mondegreen

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.

Hrvatski by miaouxmiaoux

Hey Sound! by miaouxmiaoux

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.

Paws - Lekker by gerrylovesrecords

Winners Don't Bleed by wehavepaws

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.

Shot-down You Summer Wannabes by Adam Stafford

Fire & Theft by Adam Stafford

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.

News & Bits - August 1st

Pinch punch first of the month. A fair amount of news this week, and a chance for me to reference one of my favourite songs, which goes some way to making up for the fact that I'm supposed to be in the pub right now instead of writing this.

New Releases:

Jonnie Common - Master of None. This snuck a little early digitally, but is officially released today. You can buy it from iTunes. A limited vinyl version is available here.
Lady North/PAWS - Split 7". On the off chance you've missed all my mentions of this so far, the latest Gerry Loves Records split single is out today, buy from Bandcamp. There are launch gigs in Edinburgh tonight (Monday) and in Glasgow on Wednesday too.

The Mouse That Ate The Cat - Falling Down. Brand spanking new single from TMTATC, available from Bandcamp.

The Pineapple Chunks - A Dog Walked In. New album from The Pinapple Chunks, available now from Bandcamp for a very low price.

Note: I make up the new releases section by adding in what I know is out and going over new additions to eMusic on a Monday. eMusic hasn't yet updated with new releases today, so I'll come back and fill in any blanks once it does.

Ah Yes, Ain't That Fresh:

Fresh Air have released their second Inside Track compilation. 18 tracks of top notch Scottish music, including Loch Awe, Black International, Supermarionation, Plastic Animals, Trapped Mice, The Spook School and loads more, all for the minimum price of £2, with proceeds going to Waverly Care. You can download the album here.

Staff:

Adam Stafford releases a new single on Friday. Fire & Theft will be available as a free download from the Wiseblood Industries site from August 5th. You can hear a b-side, Miaoux Miaoux's remix of Shot Down You Summer Wannabes below. Adam launches his new album at Stereo on August 20th, with Miaoux Miaoux, PAWS and Mondegreen all supporting. You knew that already though, right? Tickets for that gig can be bought here, or from myself, Peenko or any of the bands.

Summer Wannabes (Miaoux Miaoux remix) by Adam Stafford

Branching Out:

Olive Grove Records have announced that the latest members of their family are The Moth and the Mirror. Debut album his World, Honestly is set to be released through Olive Grove on October 10th, and you can grab a free download of a new track, Lights in the Sky, from here.

Still Afraid:

I got a lovely wee surprise in my post the other day, a promo CD containing two new songs by We're Only Afraid of NYC. The band had been very quiet, but popped up again at the end of May with a new video and song, Walls. Walls will be released as a free download on August 22nd, but you can get your hands on it right now with a purchase of a ticket to see the band support LightGuides at King Tut's on August 28th here. As someone that has been following the band for quite a while now I'm delighted to see them back, and even happier that the new material is another step forward for them.

Stuff:

Due to it having a mid week release, I missed out the new Scrap Brain single last week. You can download Take It for free here, and see the video here.

Make Sparks have been awfully quiet of late, but have sprung back into action in the last few weeks. A new single will be released in September, with the band going on tour to accompany it. In the meantime they've kindly packaged up a bunch of their old songs as a cheap download from Bandcamp, and are also giving away the b-side to the new single for free.

Martin John Henry releases his debut solo album in October, but you can get a wee taster right now. First Light is available to download for free from Bandcamp, and has me eager to hear the rest of the album.

Former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra is playing at Glasgow's O2 ABC next week. Support comes from Desalvo and Bronto Skylift. Half price tickets are available here, just enter desalvo as the promo code.

The Red Show release a new EP on Friday. You can pre-order it at Bandcamp, and find all their previous EPs there too.

French Wives have announced an intimate Glasgow show to celebrate finishing the recording of their debut album. The gig will take place in The 13th Note on September 4th. You are advised to turn up early. French Wives are also playing at the first Tidal Wave of Indifference gig in Edinburgh on September 24th, with Star Wheel Press, the douglas firs and Lost Telegrams, tickets available here.

Bellow Bellow have stuck up a couple of demos for free download.

The Whisky Works are joining the club of bands who are releasing something and at the same time splitting up. They will release new EP In Fiction and play their final gig at Stereo on September 2nd, tickets are available here.

This Week's Gigs: 1st - 7th August

How did it get to August already? Blimey, time flies when you sit on your arse for most of it.

Either this week is fairly quiet, or I've missed a lot. Consider this edited highlights if you like. There are a couple of crackers though.

Monday:

PAWS, Lady North, Vasquez. Sneaky Pete's. (Tickets)

Edinburgh leg of the PAWS/Lady North split single launch. Go, buy the single, enjoy.

Manatees, Divorce, Citizens, The Downs. Stereo. (Tickets)

Wednesday:

PAWS, Lady North, Hairy AREA. Captain's Rest. (Tickets)

See Monday, really.

MILK: Over The Wall, The Mouse That Ate The Cat, Team Kapowski. Flat0/1.

Why do these two both have to be on Wednesday? Coin toss needed, I think. TMATC release a new single on Monday, but more on that in the news post tomorrow.

Alright the Captain,What the Blood Revealed. Bloc.

Thursday:

Alright the Captain, Black International, Pensioner. Henry's Cellar Bar.

Ooh, splendid.

Friday:

Le Reno Amps, Chris Devotion and the Expectations, Cuddly Shark, Bad Bad Men. Stereo.

A return of sorts for the Barmellodie night. This will be your last chance to catch Le Reno Amps for quite some time, as one of them is heading off to China, making gigs somewhat tricky.

Tall Tales, The Honeymoon Period, The Belle Hops. 13th Note.

The Red Show, Underclass, Suspire. Maggie Mays.

Saturday:

F.O. Machete, Muscles of Joy. Stereo

Avast!, Verse Metrics, People, Places, Maps. Sneaky Pete's.

Sunday:

Scottish Independent Record Fair. Summerhall, Edinburgh.

Running from 1pm on Sunday, the record fair will have stalls from a bunch of Scottish indie labels, along with acoustic music and DJ sets all afternoon. More details here.

Born To Be Wide: Edinburgh Night. Electric Circus.

Kicking off at 7pm - so you could pop along after the record fair - the night will feature short ten minute taster sets from a number of local bands, including Lady North, Capitals, Rachel Sermanni, Withered Hand, and more. A wee bit more about this, including how you can earn yourself free entry, should be in the news post tomorrow.

Spotlight: Black Jash

It is probably about time I did another interview thing, isn't it?

I can never think up interesting questions, so these don't roll round all that often. I've cheated a bit this time, but we'll get back to that.

Black Jash then. Hailing from Gretna, the first I heard of them was from Vic Galloway, when he picked them when a guest on Glasgow Podcart all the way back in February 2010. An EP was promptly purchased when available (5 Track, which you can get on iTunes) and enjoyed, with a mental note made to go see them sometime. Fate has so far conspired against me on the last count though. One day, one day... There has also been split cassette releases, with Male Pattern Band and If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now.

The interview? Well as i said above, I cheated. Instead of doing it myself I roped in Kate from Charles of the Ritz to interview Bob of Black Jash. What? I'm a lazy man! Here's what happened.

I got asked to interview Black Jash and I shuddered half in nervous anticipation and half in sexual delight. I thought I'd better do my research, and by keeping a weather eye to Gretna's horizon, and my ear to the drum pounding ground, I was able to throw myself into a terrifying world full of sordid games, danger and Crap Alan's. I tried to contact all the members of theJash - the two drummers and the bassist, but all were "unavailable for comments" according to Bob, the lead singer and guitarist, the dirtiest of the bunch. The monarch of the Jash. When I asked him why the others declined to speak to the press, he muttered something about how they don't speak unless he says they can. He slurred his words as if he was the bastard love child of Elvis and Sid Vicious. Live, they are the most filthy, disgusting thing I've ever seen/heard. He pummels you with insults and swinging hips, demanding to know why you even bothered to show up to see them. One of a kind and Black Jash are the band that makes masochists of us all. I bribed Bob with Irn-Bru and a twenty deck of Mayfair for some answers to my questions.

Black Jash in repose, by Mike Griffiths

A lot of your songs are about Gretna. Is it really that much of a hell hole? Does it inspire you?

It's no more of a hell hole than anywhere else, there's good and bad wherever you go. It's not easy dealing with tourists and mildly racist comments from both sides of the border though. All the Deep Fryers think we're in England or may as well be and all the Morris Dancers vent their hatred for the whole country, of which borderers have very little say in, on you. Aye we're surrounded. To my recollection there are no Gretna specifics in our songs, it's more certain types of people that everyone has where they live, and every community has a Crap Alan or Black Jash. I don't hide my Gretna accent, maybe that's causing the confusion?


Who are Black Jash's main influences?

The Stooges, I'm a fan of proper frontmen like Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, GG Allin, Lux Interior and the like. I can't be on with meek tortured souls, I want a pure throbbing phallus. I like ODB, Wu-Tang and The Beastie Boys, I think the ego rappers have, getting on a microphone and telling everyone you're on it and openly saying everyone else is worse than you, is really admirable. It's hard to master doing that and not be hated on for the idiot you're being. Have I nailed it? Some folk say so. I hate myself so you're not going to get a valid answer from me. You'll have to come check me out and decide for yourself. Please give nonviolent criticism.

Who taught you how to dance?

I know you won't believe this but I've never had a lesson! I think my styles are genetic, having seen my Dad's moves at numerous family parties I’d have to say it's not him. My Mam used to go to dance schools and my Sister's in a dance group so I think it's off the good old Fife stock that I get my moves from. Fife for Life. I've always wiggled my hips on stage but in the early days I stopped myself when I realised I was doing it. After seeing Spawny from Big Ned openly does it I thought to myself "Hey, I've got a better arse than that, let’s show the ladies the goods available". I still do wish I was Spawny though.

How do you usually decide who to do the split tapes with? Is it a case of collaboration/admiration or do you just take what you can get?

It's admiration. The 'size' of the band is a factor too. I wouldn't send a gushing email to a band already with a record deal, they have to be unsigned and to my taste. It helps if they're from a different part of the country/world too, broadens each other’s fan bases and trying to shift that many cassettes in one town is sheer idiocy. They're the ideal format for a split. One side each, nobodies 'on top' either.

What are Black Jash’s world domination plans?

The Tortoise from The Tortoise and The Hare saga is a massive inspiration. Myself, Alex and Neill went to see the 'Transatlantic Feedback' film about the Monks at Indie Cinema 'Star & Shadow' in Newcastle and it changed my mind greatly about our imminent world domination. I'd much prefer to be stumbled upon by the next generation of music fans, or the one after that. That's why we release cassettes. Someone that finds one of our cassettes and listens to it hopefully will not know what era we're from and have to do a bit of homework, type the name into Ye Olde Google, to find out what we're about. So the plan is to plod on as we are, get fed up with each other, not talk for years then get a phone call pleading for us to reunite for a one off show, back catalogue reissue box set with mouse mat and usb storage pen in the shape of a pineapple, documentary and hopefully we'll get the Black Jash lighters made we've been saying we are going to for years.

Are you as much of a dick in real life as you are on stage?

Obviously.

What about local bands/musicians that you like? Any that compare to the Jash?

I just realised the other day that I haven't listened too much else but music made at Green Door Studios for about a year. Nothing else gets me going. So anyone that records there I rate everything else I don't. I'd be lying if I said anything other than Black Jash is my favourite, followed closely by Charles of the Ritz, the band I drum for. (If I was reading this I'd hate me too.) Why would I be in a band... nae front a band I didn't think was awesome? I'd be wasting my time and be unhappy. I know it's not the done thing to say it but it's not the done thing to wear bodyform bandit masks and I've done that.

Did you know your bassist looks like Jim Morrison?

His hair did a few years back. He also looks like Mick Jagger, Vernon Kay, Mica and Brian Ferry, he's got one of those faces you really want to punch, wait 'til it's slightly healed then punch again and again, then pay for him to get a new one. He's actually distantly related to Brian Ferry and Neil Armstrong. I couldn't do the frontman thing without Neill to be honest though, he's my rock. I envy how effortlessly cool he is and how I always get asked, before anyone asks how I am, how he is.

How did the idea for the two drummers come about?

After we stopped playing with Liam we went through a few one off shows with drummers. Sam from Casual Sex was my favourite. Brickyard sound technician extraordinaire Nic Jay was the closest we had to a constant drummer at the time. We had a gig in Carlisle where we the only band on the bill and I thought we should make i a bit extra special. Black Manajash Arkastra was created. Black Jash and Manatees combined. The line-up was Pauley, Alex and Nic on drums with Greg Wynne on white noise guitar and Neill and I doing our usual. We sounded massive, the vibrations made drunk girls sick and drunk boys head bang. Nic moved to Newcastle and Pauley and Alex just kept coming back to practises. I'm quite insecure about their presence in the band. Manatees are proper and I don't think we can compare in any way to them. Every time I get a phone call from those guys I think 'oh no here comes the bad news'. I like the primal sound we've got now. Drums are awesome. I've always wanted to be a drummer.

How much better are Charles of the Ritz?

I like that I just have to turn up for Charles of The Ritz. I hate gig promotion and the admin side of Black Jash. Organising one drummer is bad enough but two? Getting in touch with a recluse bass player also proves difficult. The Ritz have catchier choruses and appeal to more people. I think the 'Black' in our name closes more doors than it opens. It's not my fault; I didn't name Black Jash, Black Jash. We took the name from the local 'nutter'. The guy you'd shout stuff at to get a chase off. Everyone's been part of a wee gang that does that for funsies. The best fun I had as a youth were running away from people. It's the best kind of buzz I've ever had. Honestly I'm like shit off a shovel for about a hundred yards. Shouting scathing one liners on your feet is a talent I'm glad I've honed. Growing up is such a bummer.

What's in the future for Black Jash?

General jealousy of other bands that get better support slots and releases than us. Ideally more of the same. Having fun and playing gigs we'd pay to go and see anyways.

Will you buy me a drink? I'm skint.

What are you after? I'm not asking for a Rose Spritzer, Jagerbomb or a half though. (Jim: while you are up, I'll take a Guinness...)

Thanks Kate for doing my work for me, and Bob for answering the questions.

Lothario by * B L A C K ~ J A S H *

Black Jash: Facebook

News & Bits - July 25th

Welcome back to your regular Monday dose of me babbling. Always thrilling, isn't it?

New Releases:

Be Like Pablo - Spirit of Adventure/Oh, Emily! New double A side single, available from Bandcamp.

CUR$ES - Solar Temple. Debut album from Glasgow based producer & musician Niall Morris, available as a free download from Bandcamp.

Dam Mantle - We. Available from iTunes.

Dave Hughes - Despite the Blackout. This marks the first time Dave has released something through a label, with the album out through Corporate Records. Buy it here.

Galoshins - EP1. I keep missing Galoshins at gigs through a series of events meaning I'm either too late, or something stops me going at all. EP sounds good though, and I'll catch them eventually. You can buy it from Bandcamp.

Moustache of Insanity - Lynn Lowry. First single taken from the upcoming Album of Death album (I've said album too many times now), available as a free download from Bandcamp.

T Time (Again):

If you want to revisit any of the sets from the TBreak stage at T in the Park, or if like me you want to hear what you missed, you can listen to live recordings over at Radio Magnetic. Also, the TBreak site has a free download of one song from each set.

What's On This Week?

No gig guide this week, as you may have noticed. The guide is always harder to put together when you know you'll be too skint to go to much, so I gave it a week off. Here's some quick highlights instead.

Summer Nights carries on at King Tut's, with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday all standing out as having good line ups.

Pin Up Nights is on Friday at The Flying Duck. Playing live this time round are Eddy & the T-Bolts, Camino Real and Fiction Faction.

Also on Friday at The Electric Circus in Edinburgh there's I Build Collapsible Mountains, Finn Lemarinel, Debutant and Johnny Rapeseed. There's an early start for this one, with doors opening at 5pm and the music carrying on till 10:30.

Late on Saturday at Bloc, kicking off at 11pm and carrying on till 3, is the latest New Life night with Betatone Distraction, The Great I Am and Phiktion playing live.

Sunday sees Jonnie Common launch his Master of None album at The Captain's Rest, with support from The Japanese War Effort and River of Slime.

Reopen The Doors!

I've jabbered on about The Year of Open Doors a fair bit before, but here's another wee plug for it. Cargo Publishing are releasing the paperback edition of the book with new art by Aidan Moffat and an introduction from Irvine Welsh on July 27th, a year to the day from the release of the first edition. To celebrate there is a launch night at The Arches on Wednesday with readings from Alan Bissett, Anneliese Mackintosh and Taggart star Colin McCredie, along with live music from Aidan Moffat, RM Hubbert and Doug Johnstone. Tickets for the launch are £4 and available from The Arches.

Beer News:

Last week Beerjacket announced that recording had been completed on his new album, today he has mentioned that it will be titled The White Feather Trail. More details to come, but new Beerjacket is very good news in my book, so I'm already quite excited.

A Reminder:

And finally, a quick reminder that I'm hoping back on to the self promotion horse. Aye Tunes Vs Peenko 4: The Revenge is now less than four weeks away. It takes place on August 20th at Stereo, with Adam Stafford, PAWS, Miaoux Miaoux and Mondegreen making up our bill. Tell us you are coming on Facebook here and buy advance tickets here. Alternately corner me at a gig over the next few weeks and I'll be more than happy to sell you a ticket.

News & Bits - July 18th

I have nothing of interest to say in the intro. No change there then.

New Releases:

Fatherson - Fatherson EP. Available on iTunes.

Roddy Hart - Road of Bones. Album available from iTunes.

Kid Canaveral - And Another Thing!!! As mentioned last week, the new single from Kid Canaveral, backed with a remix by FOUND and a cover of Missionary, by the other KC. Available from Bandcamp, and now from iTunes.

Lach - Ramshackle Heart. Available on vinyl from Song, by Toad Records, download from iTunes.

The Last Battle - The Springwell EP. Y'know, that EP we had a launch for a couple of weeks ago. It is very good. Buy it from Bandcamp. Also go read an interview they did with my pal Last Year's Girl here.

Verse Metrics - Sleep & Wakefulness. Splendid new double A side single, available from iTunes.

Let There Be Light(Guides):

LightGuides have announced what will be keeping them busy for the next couple of months. They'll be releasing a 7 track mini album - Samba, Samba, Samba - through Alcopop! Records on August 29th. Also in August they'll be heading off on tour with label mates Jumping Ships.

The Scottish dates are:

August 25th - The New Market Bar, Thurso.
August 26th - Dexters, Dundee.
August 27th - The Greenside, Glenrothes.
August 28th - King Tut's, Glasgow. (Buy Tickets)

More info can be found here.

The Casting Call - LightGuides by alcopop

Computer Failure:

A Fight You Can't Win have let us know that The Computers have pulled out of their gig at Sneaky Pete's on Thursday. Bronto Skylift will now headline, with PAWS and AFYCW still playing, the gig is now free entry.

Silent Bells:

In November Gizeh Records are hitting the road, briefly. Sleepingdog, Conquering Animal Sound and Farewell Poetry will be taking part in the Silent Bells tour. On November 15th they'll be at the CCA in Glasgow, tickets available here, with gigs in Leeds and London on the following two days. More info here.

Stuff:

ballboy have put pretty much all their albums up on Bandcamp, giving you the perfect chance to have a listen and spend some money.

The Pineapple Chunks carry on putting up teasers for their upcoming new album. The latest, She Needs Answers, is available for free here.

Queen Jane have made their Confetti EP available for free here ahead of their appearance at King Tut's on Friday.

Linky Gray has a new song up on Bandcamp, and it is quite lovely. You can grab Sunshine for free here, if you haven't already then grab her My Mechanical Heart EP for free too.

I really enjoyed Peter Cat when I saw him support How Garbo Died at their EP launch the other week, so was happy to learn he has an EP available for download. You can pick that up here, at a price of your choosing.

This Week's Gigs: 18th - 24th July

Not sure how much longer the gig guide will keep going for, but since I don't post nearly enough other stuff to give up on one of my regular features it is still here for now. This week would have been a good time to give up, there is loads on and this took ages.

The week and next will likely be dominated by the Summer Nights gigs, but there is other stuff on too. You can read my pick of the Summer Nights gigs here.

Monday:

Kochka. Glasgow Science Centre.

Two gigs by Kochka, at 1:30pm and again at 3:30pm.

Fatherson, Vukovi, The Winter Tradition, The Scottish Enlightenment, plus Debbie Kate in the bar. King Tut's. (Tickets)

I really like The Scottish Enlightenment, and Debbie Kate.

How Garbo Died, Katerwaul, Seas, Starry. The Tunnels, Aberdeen.

Aberdonian readers usually get a pretty bad deal out of the gig guide, I rarely know what is on up there. This one ought to be good though.

Tuesday:

FOUND, Bermuda, Cancel the Astronauts, Verse Metrics, plus Ajimal in the bar. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Tuesday and Wednesday are the two Summer Nights gigs I am looking forward to most. Lots of good stuff on show here, including birthday guests Verse Metrics who will also be launching their new single.

Wounded Knee. Mono.

If I wasn't off to Tut's I'd go here.

Wednesday:

Bronto Skylift, United Fruit, Carnivores, Jackie Onassis, plus As In Bear in the bar. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Yes please.

Thursday:

Song of Return, Otherpeople, The King Hats, Ace City Racers. King Tut's. (Tickets)

The Computers, Bronto Skylift, PAWS, A Fight You Can't Win. Sneaky Pete's. (Tickets)

Must confess to not knowing a lot about The Computers, but the rest of that bill is worth going for anyway. UPDATE: The Computers have pulled out of the gig, which is now free entry.

Citizens, Shields Up, Broken Few. Bloc.

Friday:

Eska and guests. Stereo. (Tickets)

Eska's first gig in about 100 years. Woo.

The Serious Men, Mitchell Museum, Sick Kids. 13th Note.

Plastic Animals, Black International, Supermarionation (solo), Loch Awe (solo). The Wee Red Bar.

Well, that's a blooming excellent line up. This is a launch gig for Fresh Air Radio's 2011 edition of The Inside Track compilation. Last year's is still available here, with proceeds all going to charity.

Randan Discotheque, The Pineapple Chunks, Lach. Electric Circus.

The Just Joans, We See Lights, The Occasional Flickers. Forest Cafe.

Wickerman Festival.

Strawberry Ocean Sea, The Vespas, Ewan Butler. Captain's Rest.

Dead Sea Souls, The Black Rats, John's Weans, Queen Jane. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Saturday:

Kid Canaveral. Avalanche instore.

Kid Canaveral celebrate the vinyl launch of their Shouting At Wildlife with an in store gig, kicking off at 6pm.

Be Like Pablo, Gordon McIntyre (ballboy), Ewan Cruikshanks, Felix Darcy. Nice N Sleazy.

Correcto, Ben Butler & Mousepad, Remember Remember, Ubre Blanca, Galoshins, Black Jash, Her Royal Highness, RM Hubbert. 13th Note.

Free entry, running from 4pm. Tempting.

Young Aviators, Skinny Villains, Poor Things. Captain's Rest.

Enfant Bastard, Moustache of Insanity, River of Slime. Henry's Cellar Bar.

Your last chance to see Enfant Bastard for a while.

Wickerman Festival.

Aaron Wright, Steve Heron. Nobles Bar, Edinburgh.

Davey Horne, The OK Social Club, Val Verde, Dead Electric. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Sunday:

Pensioner, Mondegreen, Pinky Suavo. Captain's Rest.

Pensioner are ace live, while my bandcrush on Mondegreen is legendary.

Miniature Dinosaurs, Gav Livz & MC-VA, Miss Baudelaire, Hector Bizerk. King Tut's. (Tickets)

I like Miniature Dinosaurs and the little I've heard of Hector Bizerk, but the others I have no idea about.

Summer Nights: Our Picks

The Sailor Jerry King Tut's Summer Nights Festival 2011 is just a few hours away from kick off. There is a hefty number of bands playing over the next two weeks, some we like, some we are not quite so keen on. Here's a wee cut out and keep* guide to the ones we think are worth seeing. You can see the full line up here.

*Any damage to your computer screen from scissors is entirely your own fault.

Thurs 14th July- The Miss's. Super sweet harmonies and gorgeous wee songs. They probably won't thank me for saying it, but their pop sensibilities reminds me of the first Sugababes album, which is no bad thing.

Sun 17th July- Aerials Up + Blochestra + Little Fire + Where We Lay Our Heads + Esperi (In The Bar). Good stuff all round on this one really.

Mon 18th July- The Scottish Enlightenment + Debbie Kate (In The Bar). The Scottish Enlightenment made one of our favourite albums of last year, and are always a band that delivers. Debbie Kate is also in Aerials Up, but returns here on solo duty to make turning up early worthwhile.

Tues 19th July- FOUND + Cancel The Astronauts + Verse Metrics. On paper an unusual line up, since the bands are all pretty different sounding, but all three happen to be very good too. I like diverse line ups anyway. FOUND's Factorycraft album has been one of my favourites released this year. Cancel the Astronauts were one of the first bands we ever reviewed on Aye Tunes, and have gradually been gathering momentum since. Verse Metrics helped make my birthday brilliant, and launch their new single at this gig.

Wed 20th July- Bronto Skylift + Carnivores + United Fruit. Three of the finest, loudest, most ferocious live rock bands around in Scotland. Bring earplugs. Also, a napkin to wipe up your melted face. Maybe a change of trousers too. This one will be brilliant, and I'll be very surprised if at least part of a drum kit doesn't end up in the crowd.

Thurs 21st July- Song of Return + OtherPeople. Song of Return are another band with a cracking album out at the moment. Otherpeople are just plain fun.

Mon 25th July- Meursault + Over The Wall + Miaoux Miaoux. I'm not always completely into Meursault on record, but they are terrific live. They've rejigged their line up since the last time I saw them, so I'm looking forward to seeing what effect that has had. Over The Wall are a band always guaranteed to leave me with a massive grin on my face. If you don't know how much I like Miaoux Miaoux by now you must not have been paying attention, Julian is just bordering on genius at times.

Tues 26th July- The Seventeenth Century + Endor + Randolph's Leap (In The Bar). The Seventeenth Century are long term favourites round here. Great on record, flipping awesome live. Endor too are an excellent band to see live, swapping with ease between big singalong songs, and more gentle, reflective moments. Randolph's Leap are always a blast.

Wed 27th July- Bear Bones + Blue Sky Archives. I haven't seen Bear Bones yet, and have heard only a few songs too. The songs are enough to make me want to sort out that not seen live part. Blue Sky Archives are a band I just plain really enjoy.

A free Summer Nights album is available to download here. Tickets are available here.

The Early Bird Catches Something Or Other

There are probably still some people trying to get mud out of their jeans and nursing hangovers from last weekend's T in the Park, but time waits for no man, so early bird tickets for next year are now available.

Planning on camping? Then you can choose between a Thursday to Sunday ticket with camping included, or Friday to Sunday.

Not into tents? There are non camping weekend tickets available too.

You can find the full list of packages here.

Or, if you'd rather make an appearance in The Judge column in the Sunday Mail, I'm sure a number of dodgy websites will be along in the next 50 weeks to take your money in return for no ticket.

News & Bits - July 11th

Not much news this week really, but here we go anyway.

New Releases:

How Garbo Died - Muted Response EP. First "proper" EP from the Aye Tunes favourites. The EP is available here on CD or as a name your price download.

Jonnie Common - Master of None. This seems to have slipped out a little early digitally. You can buy it from iTunes now. A limited vinyl version is available for pre-order here. There's a launch gig at the Captain's Rest on July 31st, with the album officially released the following day.

Kid Canaveral - And Another Thing!!! Yay, new Kid Canaveral, backed with a remix by FOUND and a cover of Missionary, by the other KC. Available now from Bandcamp, from other digital places next week.

Le Reno Amps - Construction EP. As mentioned last week, Construction was first available as a bonus with early copies of recent, and excellent, album Appetite, and now gets a stand alone digital release. In addition to Bandcamp it is also available from iTunes etc now too.

Negotiations. & LA MORENA - It's Dinner Time In Fucking America. Negotiations. is Matthew Liam Healy. LA MORENA is Makayla Armijo. They've never met, but have recorded an EP together. A very good EP it is too. You can download it for free here.

PAWS/Lady North - Split 7". Not out until August 8th, but this split 7" is the next release from Gerry Loves Records, and available for preorder from Bandcamp. I spent a little while on Friday obsessively refreshing the page until it went on sale to get one of the fancy versions, which are now sold out.

Stuff:

A blogger putting on a gig? What a ridiculous idea, that'll never work. Our pal Stu from The Tidal Wave of Indifference is venturing into the field anyway, with his first taking place at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on September 24th. The line up is more than decent, with Star Wheel Press, French Wives, the douglas firs and Lost Telegrams playing. Tickets are available here.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have announced details of their second album. Titled In the Pit of the Stomach the album will be released on October 3rd. You can download a new track here.

This Week's Gigs: 11th - 17th July

Oh look, a gig guide again. Blogger has been playing up today, so this is a bit later than intended, but at least I wrote one this week eh?

Usual warning applies, it might be half arsed.

Monday:

Big Country. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Wednesday:

For Abel, Magic Daddy. Captain's Rest.

Free entry before 9pm, a mere £2 after.

Thursday:

Beerjacket, RM Hubbert, Michael Cassidy. Stereo. (Tickets)

That's probably your pick of the week right there.

Redwings, Thula Borah, The Clock. Captain's Rest.

Sonny Marvello, The Dirty Demographic, The Miss's, Acutones. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Friday:

Jumpersknee, Ukreign, The Twist, Little Eskimos. King Tut's. (Tickets)

The Deadly Winters, Plastic Animals. Electric Circus.

If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now, Swan Lee. The Common Rooms.

Saturday:

Roy Ayers, Pete Rock, Brown Eye Superfly. 02 ABC. (Tickets)

Crying out for some kind of Ayers Rock tour title that one.

Bwani Junction, Selective Service, Inner Sight, The System. King Tut's. (Tickets)

Aerials Up, Letters. The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore.

Sunday:

Aerials Up, Where We Lay Our Heads, Blochestra, Little Fire. King Tut's. (Tickets)

News & Bits - July 4th

Happy Birthday America! Before I batter on with the news a big thank you to everyone who came along to Stereo on Friday for the Aye Tunes gig. Extra special thanks to The Last Battle, The Second Hand Marching Band and Loch Awe who were all excellent.

You've got a bit of a break from me harassing you about my own gigs for a little while now as I retreat to plan things for the autumn. Coming up in August though is, of course, the return of Aye Tunes Vs Peenko at Stereo on August 20th. Plenty of time to remind you about that though.

New releases:

Ed Muirhead - Cage for the Clouds. Available from Tattie Records, Bandcamp, iTunes.

The Japanese War Effort - Surrender to Summer EP. Available on very pretty 10" vinyl from Song, by Toad. Also available to download from Amazon and iTunes.

Le Reno Amps - Construction. First available as a bonus with early copies of recent, and excellent, album Appetite, Construction now gets a stand alone digital release. Available from Bandcamp.

Letters - Flash! Lights. New single available free from the website. Good too.

Lou Hickey - Minutes, hours, days EP. Available from iTunes and Amazon.

Mickey 9s - A Thing To Try and Dance To. Available from iTunes.

Mitchell Museum - What They Built. I picked up my copy at the launch gig on Saturday, on the not at all unusual format of miniature keyboard. the single is also available in the more standard digital format from iTunes and Amazon. A few keyboards are left, keep an eye on the Mitchell Museum website if you want to snag one.

Spaghetti Anywhere - Doolally. This slipped my mind last week. With the current sunny weather it seems fitting that Spaghetti Anywhere have something new to offer us. The 3 track Doolally EP is available free from Bandcamp.

Sucioperro - Land/Slide. Available from Bandcamp.

What's On?

I skipped the gig guide this week not because I'm lazy (although as you know by know, I most certainly am) but because there isn't an awful lot on. There's still a couple of gigs worth checking out though. Such as...

Sicknote, The Girobabies, Ghosts of Progress & more at Pivo Pivo on Wednesday. This is a warm up gig for the Free in the Park event taking place at a so far secret location at the weekend.

Lydia Lunch at Stereo on Thursday. Influential, individual and uncompromising, Lydia Lunch sweeps into Glasgow on Thursday for a one off performance,. Tickets are available here.

Plastic Animals, Trapped Mice and Yusuf Azak at The Wee Red Bar on Friday. Launch gig for Plastic Animals' debut EP, A Dark Spring. The EP is out now, available from Bandcamp, and very good. I'll try and elaborate on that a bit later this week.

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How Garbo Died, Tangles, Uzuruzu and Peter Cat at Stereo on Saturday. Launch gig for How Garbo Died's first "proper" EP, Muted Response. We like these guys, so will be heading down on Saturday to catch them and pick up a copy of the EP. I've not yet managed to see Tangles either, and this is the first outing for Uzuruzu - a new project featuring Guanoman, Noma and members of The Cosmic Dead and Ug! - which all adds up to a pretty decent night, and a nice change from jangly guitars.

How Garbo Died will be doing it all again on Sunday through in Edinburgh at Sneaky Pete's, with Simon Herron and The Spook School joining Peter Cat in support. Entry for both gigs is a mere £3, which also gets you a copy of the Muted Response EP.

Spend, Spend, Spend:

Gizeh Records are celebrating the launch of their new online store by offering 20% off everything for one week only. If you haven't yet bought Conquering Animal Sound's Kammerspiel album, or the more recent remix album, now is your chance to save a few quid on doing so. The Gizeh shop is here.

Bits:

The Martial Arts have stuck their back catalogue on Bandcamp, all of it either free or available for you to name your price.

The Phantom Band have been playing with Bandcamp too. Go here to have a listen to both their albums, a couple of singles and some other stuff. Some free downloads are available too.

On The Telly:

Scotland Rocks at SXSW is on BBC Two at 9pm on Tuesday night. Filmed at SXSW, oddly enough, this summer, the show has Vic Galloway join the Scottish bands taking part to document their trip. I look forward to pointing out folk I know to my Mum and acting like being an unpopular Scottish music blogger isn't me wasting my life. I feel a little sorry for the band who dream of visiting Inverness though. Here's a trailer:

Tonight, Tonight

With just a few hours to go until we throw the doors open on the next Aye Tunes Presents gig, it is time for one last quick reminder, and some begging to get you to come along.

Tonight in Stereo in Glasgow we've got The Last Battle, The Second Hand Marching Band and Loch Awe.

The Last Battle are launching their new release, The Springwell EP. With the EP they've moved off the nautical theme behind their debut album Heart of the Land, Soul of the Sea, without moving away from any of the charm that record had. The Springwell EP also shows off that The Last Battle aren't afraid to get a bit noisier than you might expect.

Ward 119 by thelastbattlemusic

The Second Hand Marching Band are as well known for their large number of members as they are their songs, but focusing just of the novelty of watching them cram everyone on stage would be a mistake. Without good songs the gimmick would be useless, and these folk have good songs by the barrowload.

Loch Awe are making their full band Glasgow debut tonight, so come along early and make them feel welcome. They've been around less than a year and debut release Artificial Life from a Digital Sea was written, recorded and released in around a month, so they aren't a band that hang around.

The gig is at Stereo on Renfield Lane. Doors are at 7pm. Entry is £5. Do come along!

News & Bits - June 27th

Yay news and stuff! Onwards.

New Releases:

Departures - When Losing Everything Is Everything You Wanted. Available from Bandcamp.

Doctors & Dealers - Every Sinner Has a Future. Buy from Amazon, iTunes.

Something Beginning With L - Beautiful Ground. Buy from Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon (CD/download).

This is the least Scottish the new releases section has ever been.

Check Your Head:

Deserving of a bit more of a mention than just being shoved into the new releases section, The Fruit Tree Foundation's First Edition was initially released in a limited edition last October this album has now been reissued by Chemikal Underground. First Edition is the result of a songwriting workshop involving James Graham (Twilight Sad), Scott Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit), Rod Jones (Idlewild), Jill O’Sullivan (Sparrow and the Workshop), Emma Pollock, Karine Polwart, Jenny Reeve, Alasdair Roberts and James Yorkston, wil the album also featuring a host of other musicians pitching in. The flippant title I've given this bit relates to the album's origins as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. 50% of profits made from the album go to the Mental Health Foundation. CDs and downloads (with bonus videos!) can be bought from the Chemikal shop, with the album also available on Amazon and iTunes.

Obligatory Self Promotion:

Aye Tunes Presents: The Last Battle, The Second Hand Marching Band and Loch Awe. This Friday at Stereo. £4 advance, £5 on the door. Come along, it won't be rubbish.

Bits:

PET have made their debut single What You Building available as a name your price download on Bandcamp. They play a launch gig on Friday at Superclub in Edinburgh.

The latest release on the Phuturelabs label comes from Rivers of Slime. Also known as Kev Sim from FOUND, this is the first Rivers of Slime release. Volume One is available for free from Bandcamp, with remixes from S-Type, Paranoise and Scatabrainz.

FOUND's record for "most unusual release format" - their chocolate 7" - is under threat. Mitchell Museum release new single What They Built on July 4th in the normal digital style, but also via limited edition 16 note keyboard. Yes, keyboard. In their words "This is a small playable keyboard that comes with a hidden code in side that grants you access to an exclusive download of the song and an extra b-side bonus. To get the code you simply take the keyboard out of the packaging and smash it to pieces. Our love of destruction and crappy keyboards has finally been meshed into our music life and we couldn’t be happier." There's a launch gig for What The Built on Saturday at Stereo.

Negotiations. has a new album imminent, a collaboration with LA MORENA. In the meantime there's a host of songs recorded between 2008 and 2010 available for free download here.

Guns of Parlophone have a load of free stuff on Bandcamp, including new mini album Gold Cobra.

The line up has been announced for the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park. Amongst those included are Kid Canaveral, Bronto Skylift, Wrongnote and GoGoBot. The full list can be found here.

On a T in the Park note, The Pop Cop wants that chant to stop. I heartily agree.

This Week's Gigs: 27th June - 3rd July

The gig guide this week it a bit haphazard, so chances are I've missed a few things.
As always, the best way to let me know about gigs is to sling a wee email with the details to gigs@ayetunes.org.uk

Monday:

Woodpigeon, eagleowl, Rob St John. Pilrig St Paul's.

Tuesday:

This Will Destroy You, The Lava Experiments, What the Blood Revealed. Ivory Blacks.

Wednesday:

Boycotts, Whigs and Rakes. Bloc.

Thursday:

The Last Battle, King Creosote, Loch Awe. The Wee Red Bar.

Darren Hayman, Gordon McIntyre (ballboy), Withered Hand (solo). Pilrig St Paul's. (Tickets)

Sneak: Mondegreen, Vasquez, Bloodlunch. Pivo Pivo

Kochka, Discopolis, The Toi, The Meatmen. Bloc.

Edinburgh School For The Deaf, Hookers For Jesus, The Shithawks, Man Without Machines. Dexter's, Dundee. (Tickets)

Friday:

The Last Battle, The Second Hand Marching Band, Loch Awe. Stereo. (Tickets)

Put on by me, so somewhat obviously I recommend going.

Verse Metrics, RM Hubbert, I Build Collapsible Mountains. Sneaky Pete's.

PET, Rhododendron. SUPERCLUB, Edinburgh.

Saturday:

The Second Hand Marching Band, RM Hubbert, The Last Battle. Cafe Drummond, Aberdeen.

Edinburgh School For The Deaf, The Spook School. Henry's Cellar Bar.

Steve Heron, Sebastian Dangerfield, The Gold Lions, Ded Rabbit. Sneaky Pete's.

Mitchell Museum, Fur Hood, Andrea Marini. Stereo.

Sunday:

Lou Hickey, Jonathan Carr, Scott Beaton. O2 ABC2. (Tickets)