interview / LP review / August gig news
“We all choose our suffering. There is ugly suffering and there is beautiful suffering. You, I think, are somewhere in between”
That’s a quote from an interview I did with The Sound Lab, here. (One of the more… interesting audience responses I’ve had in a while, that was.)
There’s also a review of Vanishing Island in print and online in Devolution Magazine – a good one, check it out here.
…Another full-throat shout-out for the August gig:
GREENNESS (full band) onstage 10pm
“Hypnotic electro acoustic tunes creating a relaxed atmosphere with a whiff of Massive Attack / The Sugarcubes” – Breaking Glass Magazine
https://www.facebook.com/pg/greennessmusic/
https://www.greennessmusic.com/
MATT FINUCANE + band onstage 9.15
“The troubadour of disharmony, back to confront, provoke, and captivate in his unique way” – The Ring Master Review
https://www.facebook.com/Matt.x.Finucane/
https://mattfinucane.net/
LUCY FELIZ onstage 8.30
“A unique brand of melancholy folk that’s unforgettable in its intensity” – Line Of Best Fit
https://www.facebook.com/lucyfelizmusic/
https://www.losfeliz.co.uk/
Wed 7 Aug, The Prince Albert
£4 OTD
DOORS 8pm
MUSIC from 8.30 sharp
…After that, I’ve got stuff booked up till December, solo & electric band (and one acoustic duo gig). More on that to follow.
11 June gig, Hope & Ruin, and other stories
My next full-band gig’s on Mon 11 June at the Hope & Ruin, with Pink Narcissus, Peter Cat & Lewis McKale. I’ll be onstage from 8:30, with a new drummer and new songs – truly, playing with the big boys…
Before that, there’s a return to Mr Wolf’s in Bristol (tomorrow!) and another go at Bar 42 in Worthing (electric this time). I chase the phantom wherever it leads, till the oil runs out and the lights go off.
I love a blog entry studded with enticing blue links. So – another track from the new EP can be heard on the second Mixcloud from Plugged In Brighton, along with loads of other really good hard stuff. Listen at leisure.
Guitars? Who Cares – gig with band, Brighton 8th Oct
So I’m playing at this all-day celebration of noise on Sunday, with bass and drums and a loud electric guitar again. We’re on about 6pm, but I can recommend arriving earlier: check that line-up.
5 quid, 11 bands, 9 hours of mind-smashing volume in Brighton’s best, most dimly-lit venue. Sounds like heaven to me.
BLURB
An All-Dayer showcasing the best Brighton bands and artists playing Alt, Indie and Grunge. Only £5 on the door. #Brighton #Alt #Indie #Grunge #Punk #Rock
Pink Narcissus
Brighton Freak Rock est. 2009
https://pinknarcissus.bandcamp.com/
Idle Bones
Alternative Rock from Brighton.
https://www.facebook.com/IdleBonesUK/
Hell Beings
Fuzz Chug Wailers
https://hellbeings.bandcamp.com/
Matt Finucane
Deliciously dysfunctional, hard-edged art rock.
https://mattfinucane.net/
Thirty Giants
Homegrown heavy featuring bits lifted from all your favourite bands.
https://www.facebook.com/thirtygiants/
ARXX
A fine tuned mix of garage rock and gospel.
https://www.facebook.com/arxxband/
Spleen
https://www.facebook.com/spleenbrighton/
Frank & Beans
Two-piece thunder punk outfit from N. Ireland.
https://www.facebook.com/Frank-Beans-1502143416758541/
https://frankandbeans.bandcamp.com/
Embet Henx
Brighton Rock/Noise Pests
https://www.facebook.com/embethenx/
https://embethenx.bandcamp.com/releases
WitchShark
Punchy, noisy, melodic punk from Brighton
https://witchshark.bandcamp.com/releases
Young Francis
One Man Punk Band
https://www.facebook.com/yyoungfrancis/
live session, Radio Reverb: listen back
Here’s a live session / interview I did for Pete Jones the other day on Radio Reverb (at 33min 58 onwards)…
There’s two unrecorded new tracks – one so new that I cocked up the intro twice, the suspense is incredible – and two from the forthcoming EP:
Not Too Far / Threaten Me with Your Love / Looking For A Genius / Moon Madness
There’s plenty of other tunes and chat, some of which took a weirdly confessional left-turn; a solid listen all round. See if you can tell how wretched my hayfever was; I reckon it doesn’t show at all, but what do you think?
gig, Thur 13 April – with electric band
Octopuses (Bouncy Castle single launch!)
alt indie dance from the bottom of the (Brighton) sea
https://www.facebook.com/octopusesband/
Matt Finucane + band
chanelling Lou Reed stylings with backing band
https://mattfinucane.net/
AK Patterson
folk singer songwriter…
https://m.facebook.com/akpatterson
live at the Prince Albert on Thursday 13th April
Doors Open: 8pm
Entry: £4
tickets on the door only
email: dazedawake@gmail.com
18th Dec gig photos
Some photos by Heather Johnson of last night’s Green Door Store gig supporting I, Ludicrous (except no. 4, by Phil of Spinning Chilli).
Went very well, especially for a first gig as a duo. A high note to finish 2016 on.
(Think I, Ludicrous have forgiven me for bailing out on their set due to transport issues the first time I supported them a while ago… They were inconsolable for years, of course.)
Kind words from Shindig Magazine, radio play & GIG
recommendation indeed
Shindig Magazine had some good words for Lilith – see above.
Doing a free gig in Brighton tonight at Molly Malone’s for StrungOut Music. Onstage early, 8:30ish, which means I’ll probably still be sober.
You can hear Lilith on RoundSound Radio – looks like a good show, all kindsa stuff going on. That’s from 8pm this eve.
Finally… got a nice (brief) write-up from SupaJam, complete with Soundcloud link.
So that’s 3 different ways you can check out the song for yourself, since I’ll also be playing it live: have a reckon.
live session, Radio Reverb TONIGHT
Mon Oct 12th: am playing a live session for Pete Jones on Radio Reverb 97.2FM tonight, which can be heard on the wireless or streamed live here. It goes out from 6-8PM, with a repeat on Friday at noon (see above). I’ll be doing songs old & new, and probably chatting a bit.
Phantom Hound III – Sept 9th
o sweet lord it’s happening again… EVENT LINK
As you can see, this gig happens on Wed 9 Sept At The Coach House… If you don’t know about this venue, you should. Same goes for the performers – I’m not playing this time, am just the door-bitch, but in ascending order we have:
Shonalika – one of the best singer-songwriters in a town full of ’em
Crysi di Milo – excoriating spoken word mayhem
& headliners Broken Ears – so tight and heavy it’s frankly SCARY
Music from 8pm, no messing. The hound of pleasure calls! x
Trans Pride & beyond
can you tell which one’s me?
Had a blast backing Crysi di Milo at Trans Pride last weekend (then in a sex-dungeon at Fag Machine on Wed 29th). We absolutely killed, so might go into a studio soon and make some horrendous noise, see what happens. Both events were lovely and it was a privileged buzz to play a – very minor, but fun – part.
GIG, 8th July, Brighton – PHANTOM HOUND presents…
cute, isn’t he
This is going to be a very interesting gig.
It features super-powerful performance poet Gary Goodman, renowned multi-instrumental improviser Alistair Strachan, some attention-whore with an Irish surname that’s hard to pronounce, and devastatingly dark new talent Rochelle McLean.
And it happens in one of the – if not the – coolest venues in Brighton. Wed 8 July, folks. It may be Summer, but BRING BACK DARKNESS.
…& now it’s gone. Waterghosts, plus gig news
Waterghosts was a success; both on its own terms and going by audience reaction. Jamie Sturrock, awkward visionary, I salute you (many people can talk a good game about stuff like this, very few actually risk doing it).
It was exciting to read out my writing in the pulpit, and to work with so many talented musicians and performers; sitting in the engine room and feeling all that improvised sonic deviltry strafing the church was wonderful.
Now I’ve got some gigs, first one Sunday 1 June.
a few Waterghosts pics – more on my Facebook page:
Lou Reed tribute gig, Sat 7th Dec, Kemptown
visitation of an American Poet
I’m playing at a Lou Reed tribute night in Kemptown, (At The) Coach House. It starts at 7pm, on Sat 7th Dec. Here’s the address:
22 Walpole Road
Brighton BN2
There’ll be loads of people playing songs from all across his incredible body of work. I’m doing… Actually, no. If you want to find out, you’ll have to come along. Anyway, it promises to be a fantastic celebration.
Unpeeled album review + TOUR NEWS
The 13th August update of Unpeeled has very positive things to say about Glow in the Dark – “once in a blue one, you come across something of genuine interest”, for a start – and I’ve taken the liberty of quoting the entire review somewhere on here. Go to the site, though, it’s all good writing (and they clearly have excellent taste).
Tomorrow sees the first date of MINOTAUR – South Seas Live in Sheffield. Facebook pg for that specific gig here.
Wish me luck – or a gloriously messy death. x
GLOW IN THE DARK out today – reviewed by Whiteboard Project
GLOW IN THE DARK – album #2 – is now available from Bandcamp, Amazon, Spotify & the rest. My advice is get it from Bandcamp, where it comes with extras.
It’s been reviewed by Whiteboard Project, here. (Scroll down, it’s the second or third item.) It “will infuriate some and delight others […] Highly recommended”. Amen to that.
On top of this, I’m part of a brief tour from 15th – 19th August.
Brighton Souce & Ringmaster Reviews: Glow in the Dark x2
Two more reviews for Glow in the Dark, first from Stu Huggett in Brighton Source magazine:
…And second from Ringmaster Reviews, here. An ambivalent one, this – “at times not easy to get a handle on”, but “to ignore it would be a mistake”… and “a sinister caress with less than healthy intentions which leaves one rattled but needing to feel its shadows again”(!). Still, it’s in-depth, which is aces with me. And uncertainty isn’t a bad thing… I’ve evoked some colourful images in the writer’s head: my work is done.
BBC session – retrospect
The BBC Introducing: South live session we played is up on their site for the next 5 days, here.
We’ll get a recording of our songs, which were spread out across the broadcast, so I’ll probably upload it here &/or to Soundcloud at some point… Till then, check out the programme. It includes an interview, which I think went okay – the top of my head was spinning off somewhere in the upper atmosphere at the time. Managed not to swear or otherwise disgrace myself – can recall that much.
In all, sounded nice and crunchy; in fact we were ear-splittingly loud. No idea how the sound engineer made sense of this tidal sheet of fuzz, but what went on-air was magicked into something very tight and coherent, more so as we progressed. The fact we were lean, ready and up for it must’ve helped too.
Abiding memory? How swift and efficient the whole operation was – totally hassle-free, nice people to deal with – and, uh, playing with a big cardboard cut-out of Beloved National Treasure (and in my book, twat) David Jason as Del Boy, right in my eyeline. That and the chundering monotony of football, everywhere, inescapable.
No, seriously though: it was a pleasure. Had thought I was shackled to the acoustic guitar forevermore… Happily, I was wrong.
BBC Introducing: South radio session Sunday 24th June (info)
Okay, the live session on BBC Introducing: South is going out this Sunday, from 7 – 9 pm. We’re playing 4 songs and doing an interview. EDIT: 1st song goes out at 7:05.
Link to their webpage here. Info:
BBC Introducing: The South, 7-9pm Sunday evenings
BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey & BBC Radio Solent
Listen in Brighton on 95.3 FM
Listen in Sussex & Surrey 104-104.8 FM
Listen in Solent & Hampshire on 96.1 FM
Listen in Dorset on 103.8 FM L
Listen on-line
Text during the show on 81333 your normal rates apply, but you must start your text with the word ‘radio’
Email unsigned@bbc.co.uk
…I can promise the unpredictable, the colourful, the atom-smashing. Give us a listen, do!
more press & BBC session news
Here’s another write-up for Hard Science from is this music? Good again: I’m a punk poet prepared to push the boat out, it sez. Damn right.
The BBC Introducing: South session takes place next Sunday, 24th June – more details as soon as I have them (probably tomorrow).
GLOW IN THE DARK album: first press coverage/BBC gig
Here’s a nice write-up for the upcoming album at indiebandsblog.com …
And here’s one at withguitars.com
Appreciated, as ever. Live, the gigs are gradually pencilling in, circling like corner-of-the eye spectres… Also, just been offered a BBC radio session, so more news on that soon.
album reviewed
Nothing like positive coverage to make an egomaniac’s day worthwhile
There’s a good write-up for the album in this month’s BN1 Magazine. It’s not online yet, but can be found in print around Brighton. I’m a pirate and a rascal, apparently – also a devil may care rebel. Naturally, this is very gratifying. Favourable comments on the music, too.
A few more reviews (that I’m aware of) should appear soon, but this’ll do nicely for now.
[EDIT – the review can now be read on the More Press page. All copyright BN1 Magazine, all effrontery mine.]
interview on Radio Reverb, Thur 21 Aug
In Brighton, Thur 21 Aug, 5-6pm
I’m being interviewed by Jeff Hemmings on the In Brighton programme this Thursday, on Brighton’s Radio Reverb.
It can be found on 97.2 FM, or listened to online. It goes out from 5 – 6pm, and is repeated at 11pm.
x
