LIVE: THE SHEEPDOGS – 05/04/2013
- NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – Oh Canada! Tonight’s the night Saskatchewan’s blues-rock four piece The Sheepdogs grace us Mancunians with their bearded presence. Having missed the opportunity to catch the boys live in Vancouver over the Christmas holidays, I was more than thrilled to find out they’d be on tour throughout the UK [...]
WHO ARE YA? EMBERS
From time to time, one of our contributors will recommend an artist/band they think deserves to be brought to your attention. No record labels, PR companies, bands or band’s management will ever have made these recommendations. It is simply one music fan putting their taste on the line in the hope of sharing good music. [...]
INTERVIEW: BETH JEANS HOUGHTON
Before you head out to a live show you check your pockets for your ID, your drawers for your gig ticket and your purse to see if you have enough pounds to buy a drink. It’s the routine we all know so well. The last thing you’d expect to be doing alongside the scramble for [...]
INTERVIEW: JOSH OSHO
Josh Osho is kick starting a new breed of gritty Brit urban boy, meets souly singer-song writer. I catch up with the rising star, just before he steps into the studio to polish off his new EP (details after the big chat) and mixtape… in between a gob of breakfast. We cover such bases as [...]
INTERVIEW: JIMMY BELL
Simon Morrison: How did you career begin in Manchester? Jimmy Bell: I used to go around the city dropping tapes off at various clubs which was the thing to do those days. I eventually got a reply from Citrus Bar in Manchester which was a cool underground spot, I played mostly every Friday and Saturday [...]
INTERVIEW: DAN LE SAC
I recently had a chat with the very affable Dan le Sac about his first full solo album ‘Space Between The Words.’ There’s quite a mix of artists featured on this release (Merz, Emmy the Great and Pete from Pete and the Pirates) and a tour to check out in October. We chatted collaborators, producing [...]
INTERVIEW: CHÂTEAUX
South Manchester’s Châteaux have been making a big impression ever since uploading their first demo ‘It’s Magic’ six months ago, and continuing to deliver ever since with their reverb-heavy, melodic mix of soaring vocals and swirling guitar sounds. I talk to Henry Flint, one half of the Flint twins George and Henry that make up [...]
WHO ARE YA? (THE EXTENDED 12″ VERSION) – ADRIAN FLANAGAN
Silent Radio’s Simon Poole recommends Adrian Flanagan for your audible delectation and your possible bemusement on how a Salford born/Sheffield based man who only a few years ago broke both of his arms so badly that he was told he’d never play an instrument again can be so darn busy musically. ***** WHO ARE YA? “I am one half [...]
INTERVIEW: FRIENDS
Brookyln-based Friends are making some pretty darn good impressions round these parts. Even without an album release, Zane Lowe’s already cottoned on and named their 3rd single release ‘Mind Control’ the ‘Hottest Record in the World’. Plus they bagged a shortlist honour on the BBC’s Sounds of 2012. Since E4 canned the Friends repeats I’m [...]
INTERVIEW: DJANGO DJANGO
Django Django are a bunch of genre-flouting, clever buggers. The Django’s, Dave Maclean (drums), Vinny Neff (vocals/guitar), Tommy Grace (keys) and Jimmy Dixon (bass), have been at it since 2009, but only this January they released their debut, self-titled album ’Django Django’. It’s been giving all the new- music aficionados out there big, fizzy knickers. The [...]
INTERVIEW: METRONOMY’S ANNA PRIOR
Metronomy are the electric pop band that’s had us humming their catchy as fuck tune, ‘The Look’ for the best part of 2011. Like a musical version of Monty Python’s ‘The Funniest Joke in the World’ (minus inevitable death), I double dares ya not to be belting out ‘da, da, da, da, da, da, da, [...]
INTERVIEW: PEARL AND THE BEARD
Looking delicious and sounding even more so, what more do you want from a band than watching them perform an unplugged, al fresco Will Smith melody, with a cello and glockenspiel? Ah…Pearl and the Beard you had me at ‘Wicki-wild wild’. But, NY City trio Pearl and the Beard are oh so much more than [...]
INTERVIEW: GHOSTPOET
London–born Obaro Ejimiwe aka Ghostpoet is one of the freshest UK MC’s to surface over the last year. Not content with flying the flag for the UK Hip Hop scene, Ghostpoet’s softly spoken, casual vocals mix seamlessly with an experimental electronic edge; creatively knocking out vibes of trip-hop, dub-step and beyond. Having received deserved kudos [...]
INTERVIEW: FRANK TURNER
For three long and often lonely years of life on the road, playing a brand of honest and passionate folk/punk, Frank Turner continued to rise to prominence with an ever increasing following. But it was in the sweaty climes of the Lock Up Stage at Reading and Leeds 2008 that his solo career really started [...]
INTERVIEW: SYLVAIN SYLVAIN (NEW YORK DOLLS)
Times were tough for New Yorkers in 1971. Their city was dark, dirty and full of crime. Unemployment was high – gang members even higher. Undernourished drug dealers dominated the streets, while bloated MOR rock dominated the charts. As government officials tried to sort out the city’s mean streets, someone or something needed to change [...]
INTERVIEW: HUGH CORNWELL (THE STRANGLERS)
HUGH CORNWELL, 61, was born in Tufnel Park, North London. While at School, Hugh formed his first band with Richard Thompson, who went on to become a member of Fairport Convention. In 1974 he started The Stranglers, who had a string of hit singles and became the biggest selling band to emerge from the UK [...]
INTERVIEW: APRIL MAYBE MAY
Sometimes, the anticipation surrounding a gig can build up an expectation that, sadly, isn’t met on the night. However, this also works the other way around – something that was proved to your humble writer last month upon diving into a snowed-in arthouse cinema in Cumbria for a quiet beer. On stage was April Maybe [...]
INTERVIEW: IAN PARTON (THE GO! TEAM)
- THE MAN & MUSICIAN BEHIND THE GO TEAM! TALKS TO SILENT RADIO’S RICK SIMS ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM ‘ROLLING BLACKOUTS’ – Got me questions, Got me voice recorder and like the inept monkey I am, I stammer over my first ‘sentences’ that turn out to sound more like a fumbling child who’s attempting to [...]
INTERVIEW: JOHN POWER ON CAST’S REUNION
Over the last few years, reformed bands have been largely greeted by old and new fans alike with open arms and a nostalgic cheer. However, while reunions seem to be doing a roaring trade at present, taking such a step could prove to be risky for a musician who has managed to establish themselves as [...]
INTERVIEW: SRGents
Ahead of their show, “Un Je Ne Sais Quoi”, at The Kings Arms in Salford on October 9, where SRGents will be spinning tricks with their winning twist of Anglo-Gallic charm, we catch up with Gary (or is it Peri?!) and find out how life treats such an unusual trio. Hi Peri, how are [...]
INTERVIEW: TEN KENS – ELEVEN QUESTIONS
With “For Posterity” remaining one of the most played, most intriguing and definitely most enjoyed albums of 2010 thus far, we catch up with Dan Workman, the band’s lead singer, for a quick interview during his busy touring schedule: Hi Dan, thanks for taking time out to do this interview. How are you? - [...]
INTERVIEW: HUNGRY PIGEON’S ALEX MCCANN
It’s the last Bank Holiday weekend of May and the Northern Quarter is buzzing with music around every corner. One wrist band guarantees you an invite to the party, so what are you gonna do expect dive in head first? Alex McCann is one of the four wise promoters we have to thank for this three-day [...]
INTERVIEW: SANDI THOM
Punk rocker or hippy folk singer – Sandi Thom already had a split personality when she launched herself into the public consciousness back in 2006. And it looks to have taken the young Scottish troubadour the intervening four years to find her true voice . . . and the blues. Sandi’s third album, Merchants and [...]
INTERVIEW: THE JIM JONES REVUE
“Built to take on America” – The Jim Jones Revue From their weird name to their attention-grabbing sounds, The Jim Jones Revue have been creating a buzz on the gigging circuit since they formed back in 2007. With textured heavy guitars shot through with honky tonk piano and 50s rock ‘n’ roll, the [...]
INTERVIEW: OWEN STRATHERN OF GENERAL FIASCO
Imagine the scenario – you are barely out of your teens and you find yourself in an indie band that is tipped for greatness. Within a year of playing your first gig you are invited onto the line-up at the Leeds and Reading Festival and a few months later make your bow at the BBC [...]
INTERVIEW: CHRIS URBANOWICZ OF THE EDITORS
New York is in the grip of a snow storm when I catch up with the Editors’ lead guitarist Chris Urbanowicz. The Nottingham-born musician, 29, is full of apologies as our chat is punctuated by directions to the cab driver. “I’m sorry, I’m normally much more professional than this,” he explains. Chris, who is unusually polite [...]
Bombay Bicycle Club Interview
It’s 6:30pm and I’m drifting in and out of reality. I should be doing something, but instead I’m desperately trying to claw back a few hours sleep before I head out into the blistering cold. It’s the NME show tonight, and I just want to let this warm haze envelope me before the freeze fries [...]
INTERVIEW: FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS
It’s only when you hear them again, you realise how much you missed them. “No-one can really do what the Fun Lovin Criminals do,” announces vocalist, lyricist, guitarist and twinkle-eyed wise-guy Huey Morgan. “We aren’t trying to keep up with the Joneses ‘cos there are no Joneses. There’s just us, who sound like us. And [...]
INTERVIEW: CLOUD SOUNDS
Cloud Sounds started out as a one man radio show ran by a local Withington lad, mainly from the comfort of his own home. In spite of apparently modelling himself on Oscar The Grouch, once one gets over his provocative sense of humour, (which leaves you shoving your fist in your mouth to keep from [...]
INTERVIEW: LIAM FROST
Silent Radio’s collective fingers and toes will be firmly crossed for Manchester’s Liam Frost this weekend as he bids to finally break into the big time. Early signs are promising for Hold Your Hand in Mine – the first single from Liam’s second album, We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain. The [...]
INTERVIEW: JESCA HOOP
If songwriters first have to experience life before they are qualified to write about it then Jesca Hoop has already earned her credentials. Born and raised in Sonoma County – a rural area of California, 30 miles north of San Francisco – the young folk songstress is now an honorary Mancunian. The fact that she [...]
INTERVIEW: ROOTS MANUVA
Through a haze of alcohol, and some other things that perhaps I should not mention, I had for sometime been trying to work out where my Mad Ferret Festival level three security wrist band would let me go. I hadn’t at this point tried to push too hard the limits of my freedom. Was level [...]
