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Another day and another chance to ply all my knowledge on the newest up and coming bands and artists of today. The mighty bandwagon of new music rolls on mercifully, for ever gain momentum by locating and discovering new bands. The quest is to find and reveal a whole host of music which grips your soul, tears at your internal consciousness and finds peace in your heart.
One band that have caught me eye and have been stringing together a number of gigs across the west of the capital are Dog Chewed The Handle. This five piece from West London comprise of Clive (Bass Guitar), Lee (Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals), Gareth (Leading Vocals), Ivan (Drums) and Colin (Rhythm Guitar). Influences for the band come from a wide range of musical giants, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, The Jam, The Clash, The Stones, The Who, Guns n Roses, Sex Pistols, Deep Purple the list is endless. Rock and Roll is in their souls. The band have been together for about eight months and things have started to come together according to Lead Singer Gareth. These guys have certainly got a lot of experience behind them, the average age of the band is 34. One of the major aspects of this band is that Lead Singer Gareth leads, some might say, a double life. During the week he is the hard hitting front man of a rock and roll band, but come Saturday afternoon he pulls on a football jersey and is the even harder hitting self proclaimed and much worshipped "Wild Thing" at Loftus Road Stadium. For Gareth proudly wears and plays his socks off for Queens Park Rangers FC. Top Man! And from personal experience, at least at Loftus Road, the wild thing certainly does his stuff on the pitch!
Delving into the music well of untapped gems, a band called The Wrens has come to my attention. These guys hail from New Jersey [U.S.] and have been around since the late 80's. Hardy veterans certainly! First known recording was Low in 1993 , made on 7". The record was sent to Grass Records/Dutch East India and the band were sign up the very same day. Debut album Silver (released in 1994) was received by surprising and wonderful critical acclaim. The band's first tour seems them visit Omaha, Nebraska, playing to an overwhelming size crowd. Mingling in the crowd are Conor and Todd (who as of yet form Bright Eyes!). The band starts to make a number of good and important friends, whom they play and tour with throughout 1995. A year later the band released their second album - Secaucus, which received even more critical acclaim. In 1997 the band released the Abbott 1135 EP. The bands music was widely used in MTV commercials and trailers, some independent films and a handful of compilations CDs. In 1998 the band were asked to play at the Expo 98' and World's Fair in Portugal. The following years saw the band take their foot of the gas and channel all their efforts into writing and recording their next album. All throughout 1999 and 2000 the band were hard at work creating their third album. In the spring of 2002, after almost three years the band released The Meadowlands.
A whisper on the musical grape vine, has revealed a band has surfaced which claims to be the new Libertines. A band who makes a claim such as this must have the evidence to back up such a statement. The band in question are Louie, a four piece hailing from York and Cumbria respectively. 19 year old singers Jordan Smith and Gaz Tomlinson, lead guitarist Russell Ditchfield, Rhythm guitarist Luke Morris, Twiggy on bass and Mikey Parrish on drums are the driving force that is cause a whirlwind effect of interest. Formed in 2004 these guys are based in London having dropped out of college. The music press have already been hugely intrigued by the arrival of Louie. Kerrang! have compared the band to New York Dolls, NME made another comparison this time likening the band to The Libertines. Current single Trees has everyone going mental, it's been stuck on NME stereo's from the day it was recorded! Check it out!
Go forth and seek!
*-* Maximo Park - December '05 Tour Details *-*
*-* Foo Fighters - (most) Tour Details *-*
Tapping into the vein of the music industry to find new blood wasn't as difficult as I though it was going to be. To find a starting-point was going to be a good beginning as far as I was concerned, but knowing where this point was, was to be the biggest hurdle. If you know where to look, you've won half the battle, to find that elusive key that will unlock the treasure trove of goodies inside, is the one thing that I wanted to find. The holy grail of new music. My search will be never ending and it's a journey that I'll happily take on, because the riches and rewards to behold will be something truly awesome! This is an area which I know relatively little about but I'm as keen as mustard to find out and learn about as much as I can! To seek out new bands and listen to their work, attend gigs where I can, at first hand, feel the vibe of their intentions and most importantly their music.
Where do I begin? Over the last few weeks I have come across at least two dozen new bands, ranging from full blown orchestras to three-piece punk-rock bands! The wealth of talent and new faces out there is simply overwhelming. Bands which play some many different styles and have so much diversity and some many excelling qualities. Some many to research, so much to find, so much information to learn and understand.
So I'll take a deep breath and show my findings here and try to put all the pieces of this incredibly intricate jigsaw puzzle together, so that the full wondrous picture can be seen. One of the first bands to catch my eye was a band called We Are Scientists. WAS are a three piece from Brooklyn, New York and they have a geekish image to them. But don't be fooled, these guys can seriously rock. Comprising of Michael Tapper (Drums and Vocals), Keith Murray (Guitar and Vocals), Chris Cain (Bass Guitar and Vocals). These happy, intelligent rockers have a fascination with cats. Check out the front cover of their debut album With Love And Squalor! Current single The Great Escape is well worth getting, so go to HMV now and check it out for yourself. Total guitar rolling riffs, an 80's dance beat added to the mix makes this a winner! Get it Now!!!!
One of the best elements of looking out for new bands are the band names. So many different ones, so many interesting and intriguing ideas. You read the name and roll the words around in your tongue over and over again, getting used to a new and fresh label. The more you say the name the more its grows and grows, sticking in your mind. A band with such an unusual name was another American outfit, this time going by the name of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! These boys hail from New York and comprise of Alec Ounsworth (Vocals and Guitar), Lee Sargent (Guitar and Keyboard), Tyler Sargent (Bass Guitar and Backing Vox), Robbie Guertin (Guitar and Keyboard) and Sean Greenhaigh (Drums). Self entitled debut album is out now. Go research and find out about CYHASY! Currently single In This Home On Ice is well worth checking out to!!! The band are said to be like Talking Heads covering Bob Dylan classics!
The new band scene just seems to me to be getting bigger and better day by day. An endless stream of bands which just begs to be heard and followed. Cardiff's The Automatic are no exception! Comprising of Rob (Lead Singer), Frost (Guitar), Pennie (Keyboard) and Iwan (Drums) these four whipper-snappers have got that hyperactive wonk-pop vibe to them. Debut single Recover is to be released on November 7th on B-Unique record label. Two tracks can be obtained from www.myspace.com/theautomatic these being Team Drama and Monsters (Ed' 5th November: Now also including Rats, which is downloadable...).
Go forth and seek! There is a ocean of new bands to be found and heard!!!
*-* Babyshambles Secret Gig (Aug' 1st) *-*
Bloc Party are planning to a release a new single in October. Singer Kele Okereke has described the sound of the single as somewhere between Notorious BIG and The Smiths. The band, who are currently written the song, have given the track the title of " Hero". This will follow the release of their next single Pioneers - due for release on July 18.*
Kasabian have spoken out about their latest North American tour with Oasis. They will be supporting the Gallagher brothers for the trek which kicks off at the Vancouver General Motors Place on September 8 alongside Jet. Speaking to NME, Singer Tom Meighan said " To us it meant the world. Me and Serge (Pizzorno, guitarist) went to Earls Court and saw Oasis and The Verve, we were 16, we were kids. If it wasn't for Oasis, Blur, Supergrass, Radiohead or bands like that, we wouldn't be here."*
Franz Ferdinand are reported to be on the verge of breaking point during the recording of their second album, according to NME. Further proof of the bands tensions were revealed in a number of photos, showing band members throwing axes at each other!*
Razorlight have revealed that their second album is currently taking shape and have sealed the foundations for the record away for a later date, NME have reported. The band, who recently returned from a US campus tour supporting Muse, have said that the follow up to the bands debut album Up All Night is coming together, but that they are not in a rush to record it just yet. Singer Johnny Borrell told NME " The Next album's taking shape - it's great... it's a lot better than the last one. We're just really honing it and we're all pretty excited". *
* All information accurate as of NME issue 04/06