Check Out The Get Alongs (Live Video and Demos)

One of the bands supporting All The Young at Keele University were The Get Alongs.  They are a bundle of young musical energy who have already since moved on to play several headline shows around the area of their home town Stoke-On-Trent. 

You need to check 'em......

(Warning: I'm going to use the term Indie-Punk shortly)

Singer Shane Davis is a natural frontman who dominates the stage with pure enthusiasm for what he does and loves to do.......Perform.

Almost as if he were acting out the songs, his movement alone keeps you enthralled.  However as good as Shane is, and you should definitely remember his name, The Get Alongs are not just another one dimensional standard frontman-lead guitar band.  Far from it.  The other band members, Sim Cope on Guitar & Vocals,  Gav Joines on Bass & Vocals and Jack Hilditch on Drums all play their part in an energetic Indie-Punk (Told you) onslaught that barely seems to stop once the gig starts and leaves you afterwards thinking "WTF just happened there?" and in the best way possible.

To top it all, THEY WRITE GOOD SONGS!  

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear such well made and thought out songs from such a young band.  Although their live performances are a torrent of music and words, the demos that the band have recorded so far let you get to know the songs more intimately and appreciate how good they are and more importantly how good the band are going to be. 

You should check out The Get Alongs.  You should probably check them out more than once and if you're still not convinced check them out a third time.  (After that if you're still not on the train you might as well fuck off back yo your JLS CDs)

Listen to the songs, watch the video then go and see them live.  Remember the names.  You will definitely hear more from these lot in the future.

Mick

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The Get Alongs Facebook page is HERE

The Get Alongs Live @ Keele University 2012

The Get Alongs - The Soundcloud Demos

Hear The Slow readers Club LIVE on The BBC

The Slow Readers Club played a BBC Introducing gig earlier this week @ The Ruby Lounge.  The whole gig was broadcast on BBC Introducing Manchester this week and it's still available to hear on iPlayer for 3 more days.  Get a listen before it disappears.  CLICK HERE (The gig starts around 2Hrs18Mins but the rest of the show is worth a listen too.)

Support The Slow Readers Club, spread the word....

Facebook HERE

Official Web Site HERE

Twitter @SlowReadersClub

Mick

Introducing The Slow Readers Club

All I ever do is listen to music and eat biscuits, but I almost missed The Slow Readers Club completely.  Having heard them,  I just don't know how that is possible and I'm over the moon that I've put it right now.

The Slow Readers Club are a Manchester based Indie / Electro  band who’s output, according to their biog 'ranges from insanely catchy upbeat indie to  angry, introspective downbeat ballads. Their music has drawn  comparisons with Interpol, The Killers and Arcade Fire.'


I could list a whole load more comparissons that crept into my head as I listened to the album the first few times, but I won't because in my mind they have already moved in to the category - Sound's like The Slow Readers Club.

Their debut single Sirens was released in October of last year and was pretty well received and the album followed in December.  A second single Feet On Fire is due and hopefully will do as well in elevating the band's profile, having already being featured on a Soccer AM VT.

I'm really looking forward to hearing them play live when they're up this way but for the moment they only have a few dates sheduled in the Manchester area.  If you're down there, check 'em out.

I really can't recommend The Slow Readers Club highly enough.  You should take time out to have a listen and show them some support and spread the word.

Mick

Preview a few tracks from the album, and see below for info links.

Links:-

Official Slow Readers Club Web Site is HERE
Facebook page is HERE
Youtube Channel is HERE
and follow them on Twitter @slowreadersclub

Gaz Coombes Presents. Here Come The Bombs LISTEN HERE

Gaz Coombes long awaited album 'Here Come The bombs' is released on Monday but you can listen to the whole album now.  You can buy the album by clicking HERE Enjoy.

Mick

Click HERE to listem.

Noel Gallagher Hits The Nail On The Head

Here's an interview recorded with Noel Gallagher backstage at this year's Coachella Festival (below). It's no special interview. Noel's on his usual good form and he speaks about the differences between being in a band and being a solo artist, about technology and the way music deliverance has changed in the last few years, but most importantly, for me anyway, he highlights the fact that everything in the music industry is 'focus grouped' nowadays and anything that 'the random customer' doesn't want they don't get. It's that simple!

(The interview is at the bottom of the page, this is still me rambling...)

There are two points here.

The first is; nobody ever asks ME if I want to listen to ONE fucking DIRECTION on the radio and TV all day. Nobody has ever asked ME if I thought that virtually all of the decent music programs on TV and Radio should be cancelled and their slots filled with commercial factories of utter shite that produce MORE sugar coated 'boy bands' to stand there grabbing either their nackers or the air while they deliver the latest generic pop ballad written by some behind the scenes professional song writer to coin it for some body or some corporation.

The problem is that they usually ask a collection of general punters who are so stupid and consumed by what their mates think is cool that they just go along with the status quo. People like me (and you I hope) never get asked. People who would rather see a bit of creative rock 'n roll in the charts and on TV and who would welcome a return to a world filled with guitar driven indie or rock songs, and a few of the bands that are currently bubbling under the surface who we know are capable of world domination. The big problem is that there are more dickheads in this world than people with brains, so the fact that it's mostly the dickheads that get polled and the dickheads that then spend the money on the shit they have asked for means that TV, Radio and the charts will remain filled with pants, commercial tripe until the revolution comes. (Man!)

The second and very depressing point is this; the music industry and indeed the entertainment industry in general 'focus group' everything nowadays before it costs them any money, to see if it will sell, and if it will then it gets made and promoted to death. If it is not what the majority want then it will either get a much lesser budget or not happen at all. Whether it be a movie, a band a TV show or whatever it is.

Noel points out that nobody asked the world if they wanted Jimmy Hendrix, or Sgt. Pepper’s or The Sex Pistols but they happened and they each made a huge difference to the world and a lot of people loved them. 

It all comes down to money these days, not creativity or talent anymore.  Where are the new Tony Wilsons? The new Alan McGees and John Peels?  People like these have gone and been replaced by Simon fucking Cowell.

The question is; How do we change it?


Mick

12 DIRTY BULLETS tour starts TOMORROW!

They're DIRTY, there's 12 of them and ..... NO there arent.

The amazing 12 DIRTY BULLETS head out on the second leg of their MOTOWN IN YOUR TOWN tour of the UK tomorrow night.  These gigs are going to be special.  Not only will they be playing songs from the brilliant first album DOWNSIDES TO MAKING A LIVING but there will also be a big handful of new songs from the forthcoming album which will be released later this year.

The band have also made the album version of MOTOWN available to listen to. (Check below)

The full tour dates are:-

Thu 26 Apr 7:00 PM O2 Academy, Liverpool
Fri 27 Apr 7:30 PM Ku.bar, Stockton-on-Tees  < See You There?
Sat 28 Apr 8:00 PM Maggie Mays, Glasgow
Tue 1 May 7:30 PM Lark & Linnet, Hull
Wed 2 May 7:45 PM Milo, Leeds
Thu 3 May 7:30 PM Galleon Bar, Blackpool
Fri 4 May 7:30 PM The Box, Crewe
Sat 5 May 9:00 PM The Lanes, Bristol
Sun 6 May 7:30 PM AKA, Banbury
Thu 10 May 8:00 PM The Music Box, Salisbury
Fri 11 May 7:30 PM Open, Norwich
Sat 12 May 7:30 PM Corporation, Sheffield
Fri 18 May 8:00 PM Hope, Brighton
Sat 19 May 7:30 PM Stereo, York   < See You There?
Tue 22 May 7:30 PM Dexter’s Bar, Dundee
Wed 23 May 7:30 PM Head Of Steam, Newcastle < See You There?

Check out the band's official web site for ticket details HERE

Franco and the Dreadnought - Last Man Standing VIDEO

Music lovers of the world.  I give you a song to love.  The quite simply beautiful "Last Man Standing" by Franco and the Dreadnought. There's just no limit to the positive things to say about this song.  It should be revered worldwide and appreciated by everyone.  This is me doing my bit to get the song into the ears of even just one more person.  Have a listen and then spread the word.

Also check out The Franco and the Dreadnought Facebook page HERE for more amazing songs.

Mick

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THIS SATURDAY - Indie Wirks Presents The Kayas

YES folks, you read right.  The KAYAS are fit and well and this Saturday they're gonna' be tearing it up at Wirksworth's Hope And Anchor.

For those who know The KAYAS there's only one thing to say and that's BE THERE!

For those who don't, they are a four peice Indie Rock band and a big breakthrough prospect for 2012/13. The band have reformed after a brief break because the world just couldn't fill the gap. 

Singer/Songwriter Ad Edwards writes tunes that rock AND roll but still have humour and a meaning.  Almost like a poet who just also happens to be in a band.  Ad formed the band in 2007 and they have been through various changes in personnel before settling on the current line up of Ad on guitar and vocals, Philie Jones on bass, Duane Williams on guitar and Abbo Lewis on drums.

The Kayas know how to perform on stage and their gigs are always lively, so if you're in the area, get yourself and your mates down the front and enjoy the party.

Full details of the night are HERE

The Kayas' Facebook page is HERE

Check out some Kayas tunes HERE

IC1s – New Release ‘Not Perfect’ / Emerging Icons

The Brilliant IC1s release single ‘Not Perfect’ on Monday April 30th as part of the ‘Emerging Icons’ compilation curated by BRIT award winning Kaiser Chiefs and released via Emerging Icons/Universal.

IC1s debut single ‘Levitate’ saw massive success as the 2nd most downloaded new entry in the ITunes Alternative Singles Chart in its week of entry, resulting in a peak at #24 in the Alternative Singles Chart.

Follow up single ‘Karma’ was featured on Soccer AM, was Q Magazines track of the day on release and peaked at #40 in the alternative charts. The band donated all profit to UK homelessness charity Shelter.

2011 saw the band work alongside Gary Powell (The Libertines / Dirty Pretty Things) and his 25 Hour Convenience Store record label. Expanding their fan base as far as Oasis discoverer, Creation Records Founder and all-round musical myth-maker Alan Mcgee, The Libertines’ Gary Powell, The Stone Roses’ Mani and many more, the band recently headlined the final date of HMVs Next Big Thing Festival in February 2012. Since inception in the summer of 2010, the band have shared venues and festival stages with Indie giants such as The Charlatans and The Cribs, childhood heroes like Buzzcocks and even mainstream acts such as Tinie Tempah.

The release sees Emerging Icons team up with Kaiser Chiefs in hand picking 13 bands from 10,000 for the labels debut release. IC1s frontman Daniel Coburn says "It’s about time someone did this! They keep saying guitar music is dead, but it’s not where I’m standing, it’s more alive than ever. So hats off to Emerging Icons for giving people a chance".

Emerging Icons founder Kat Jackman says "It’s becoming more and more important to give audiences a filter which highlights good music and shuts out the band. The Emerging Icons initiative not only gives exciting new musical talent a platform to get heard but also gives audiences a trustworthy way to find good new music".

Alan McGee (Creation Records) -

"If you go and see a new band, go and see IC1s, they’re brilliant and post-everything".

Mark Beaumont (NME, The Times, The Guardian) -

"A proper, no messing about, rock and roll band".

Gary Powell (The Libertines/Dirty Pretty Things) - 

"After meeting IC1s and seeing obvious confidence exuding from their being it’s easy to see this is not a band of pomp and circumstance; they actually deliver in spades – an approach to live performance that’s lacking in today’s scene. Highly exciting to watch and thought provoking to listen to – but they’ve also an ace in their deck in lead singer Daniel Coburn. A must see for anyone who wants a real rock and roll band with attitude and ability".

Pete Donaldson (XFM/6music) -

"They're a little bit Libertines, a little bit Ramones - but they're certainly 100% hundred percent London. Whack Jack must surely serve as a stomping, unifying crowd pleaser live. The punk rock chorus comes out of precisely nowhere and is the sort of thing the word 'tasty' was invented for".

Sarah Champion (Absolute Radio) - 

"Love ‘Not Perfect’, Indie pop rock with attitude, particularly infectious!".

Check out the Emerging Icons Compilation HERE

Check out the band's previous two singles HERE

...and, check out the band's official sites NOW!!! :-

Soundcloud HERE

Facebook HERE

Twitter HERE

YouTube HERE

and the band's official Web site is HERE

Alan McGee's getting his.  Make sure you get yours!!

Today is RECORD STORE DAY 2012

Record Store Day came into being in 2007 when over 700 independent stores in the USA came together to celebrate their unique culture. The UK followed suit and 2012 will see the fifth celebration of the UK's unique independent sector. This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, meet & greets with artists, DJ's, in store quizzes and many other events.

Get over to the RECORD STORE DAY Web site HERE to check out what's going on and for details of all the special CD and vinyl releases for the day.

Support Independent Music

Mick