Editors Blog...

Band Review: Stone at The Greyhound, Beeston (19-04-2008)

by our very own rock chic "Gwendoline"

Hey where were you Saturday night?...The Greyhound was the place to be. Decent sized pub, good beer and the venue for a night of passion with the band "STONE". Stone by name but definitely not cold. Hot rock!, solid rock!, they breezed through cover versions played with enthusiasm and energy including "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "Sin City" and many, many more to the delight of the assembled crowd. The gig was buzzing and this chic was rockin’. These four everyday guys performed together for a night of magic and rawness the sight & sound still trembling in my bones.

Animal Andy on drums, laid back Lol on bass, new vocalist Justin with a strong gutsy voice and Johnny Boy on lead guitar, this guy makes it bleed pure sweat and tears. First set to warm you up is foreplay of an experience in love, just to get you in a relaxed mood, chill out then your ready for action! Heart racing, pulse throbbing, head spinning and sheer excitement trickling through your veins.

We’re begging for more with every song and we're not disappointed. You want to let your hair down, no matter what your age, you know that feeling, no inhibitions, well come and hear "STONE" and feel alive. Remember you only live once, let go and play your air guitar, gyrate, feel and hear great rock music from the past to the present, these guys are definitely the band to see. I was a truly satisfied chic. Never mind "I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes".. Huh!! , I felt it every goddamn way but loose..ha! ha!

As Billy said with "Rebel Yell" we just wanted more, more, more. Oh yes please we weren’t "Pretty Vacant", we were well and truly stuffed with pleasure, soaked to the skin in sweat and gratitude for a fantastic night out. Thankx boys, loved ya!, can't wait till the next time.

Nottingham Gig Guide’s Live Band Showcase 19/03/08 - By Fiona Snow

Photography by Nick Lowe
www.catchingtheeye.co.uk
Tel: 07846 739 810

A decent crowd turned up to see three of Nottingham’s up and coming bands play their hearts out at the Greyhound pub in Beeston on Wednesday 19th March 2008. First on was Harry King, playing a half hour set comprising of mostly cover songs with a taste of their own work. Among the cover songs were Are You Gonna Go My Way? by Lenny Kravitz, Hard To Handle by Black Crows and The Heat Is On. It was only their second live gig in front of an audience and they were nervous but eventually warmed up and I would like to have seen more and look forward to reviewing the boys full set when they get it together.

Next on was Capone, the only band I’ve ever seen to introduce each song at the beginning and thank the crowd for their support at the end, which was great (and helpful for me!). They played self-penned Demons, Deano, Strawberry Suicide and Autumn Leaf before treating us to a cover of the Pigeon Detective’s Take It Back then finished off with a couple of their own, Neighbours and Day To Day. Someone behind me said the singer had "got a bit of the Liam Gallagher about him" which I could see; the delivery was very a cheeky chappy style, which complimented their sound. Each song was a bouncy care-free tune, with my favourite being Paradise for its slightly melodic touch.

To complete the running order was The BuzzBand performing covers of well known pop and rock songs that went down well with the high spirited crowd. The male members of the band donned white shirts and black ties, simple but effectively eye catching. They played Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Love Train Running by The Doobie Brothers, Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival, This One Goes Out To The One I Love by REM, Don’t Get Me Wrong by Chrissie Hynde, Get It On by T. Rex, Denise Denise by Blondie, Walking On Sunshine by Katrina And The Waves, Born To Be Wild by Steppen Wolf and encored with Summer Of 69 by Bryan Adams.

Before the gig started I had a chance to quiz each band briefly and here’s what I learnt...

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With Aaron and John from Harry King
Aaron – vocals
Miles – bass
John – guitar
Sam – guitar
Tom – drums

Tell me about the band
We have been together for a year. We were arguing for ages about the name of the band, it’s also the title of one of our songs. We don’t have a website yet. There is a little bit of Harry King in everyone.

How would you describe your music?
Our music is beautiful, inspirational, classic, loud and rich in emotional tapestry.

How do you write your music?
Most our stuff is covers, but the songs we do write are created through jamming a lot. Tonight we’ll be playing mostly covers.

Who are your main influences?
Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Ian Drury And The Blockheads, Black Crows, Stone Roses and Little Barrie.

Which Nottingham venues do you enjoy playing in?
Here and the Half Crown in Long Eaton, we haven’t done many gigs yet.

What can we expect from you at your gigs?
Something old, something new, wit and music that is different from what you’d normally hear.

Have you got a discography or any new releases you’d like to mention?
We’re in the process of recording an EP, which will be released in a couple of months.

If you could put together your ideal band, who would it consist of?
The stage manager would be ours, Bez.
Drums – Rick Allen (Def Leppard)
Vocals – Chris Robinson (Black Crows)
Guitar – Eric Clapton
Bass – Mani (Stone Roses)

If you could have a super power for a day, what would it be?
We’d be China or America. Or maybe just flying and invisibility.

Where would you like to be a year from now?
Somewhere hot, abroad, playing golf.

What are the pros and cons of being in a band?
The pros are finding people to be creative with.
At this point the band was due on-stage so the interview was cut short. They seemed quite happy so maybe they haven’t found any cons...

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With Tom (and occasionally Paul!) from Capone

Tell me about the band
We have been together for three years, Tom has only been playing the guitar for two years and Paul used to be in a punk band called Verbal Warning. The name came from graffiti on a bollard in West Bridgford. We haven’t played in The Greyhound before.

Tom, what made you want to play guitar again two years ago?
When I was 19 I got a Spanish flamenco guitar as a present, I played a few chords on it but nothing came out sounding like Wonderwall (by Oasis) so I quickly gave up. A couple of years ago I wanted to have another go so I got an acoustic guitar.

What happened to the Spanish flamenco guitar?
It’s in the loft!

Which Nottingham venues do you enjoy playing in?
The Old Angel and Golden Fleece, we had a good gig in the Golden Fleece recently.

How do you write your music?
It’s a collective process, we start off with a strumming pattern and then Jack adds the lyrics. We all write together.

Who are your main influences?
Oasis, Dirty Pretty Things and Libertines. We like indie music from the 1990s, although growing up, guitar bands weren’t prevalent. The main three bands people seemed to be interested in were Oasis, Blur and Take That.

What can we expect from you at your gigs?
Noise, feedback, laughing when we make mistakes, giving each other dirty looks when we forget things! We just want to have a laugh and have a fun time mucking about with our mates.

What other Nottingham based bands do you like?
The Bets from Clifton. We liked This Vehicle Is Reversing but they’ve split up.

Do you consider Nottingham to be a good city for bands such as yours i.e. venues, promotions, general interest etc?
Not really, there aren’t many good opportunities for up and coming bands, which is probably why Nottingham hasn’t produced a famous band.

What do you think of Nottingham as a city on the whole?
It’s got everything a larger city would have to offer, it’s just proportioned.

If you could put together your ideal band, who would it consist of?
Drums – Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana)
Keyboards – Mick Gallagher (The Clash)(Tom wanted Beethoven)
Guitar – Geordie (Killing Joke)
Vocals – Ian Brown (Stone Roses)
2nd Guitarist – Graham Cockson
Bass – The Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

If you could have a super power for a day, what would it be?
Tom - I’d like to be able to eat as much macaroni and cheese as possible and never get full!
Paul – I’d like to be invisible.

Where would you like to be a year from now?
On a beach with lots of money and girls. Feeling happy with 10 fingers and 10 toes

What are your hopes and fears for the future?
We don’t think about the future, we just potter about. Life’s too short to make plans.

Have you got a website?
www.myspace.com/ukcapone

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With Heather and Tony from Buzz Band (Briefly, as it was during Capone’s sound check!)

Tony – bass
Brian – guitar
Michael – drums
Heather - vocals
Colin – guitar

Tell me about the band
Buzz Band was formed 30 years ago and reformed after a long break 2 years ago. The original singer has passed away. Tony and Colin are the only original members. We sing covers at the moment from the 1960s onwards but we have just started writing our own music as well. We like playing pubs and clubs, we do functions and parties.

How did the reunion come about?
It was by accident, Tony found Colin on the Internet. We were just going to do a show for Heather’s daughter’s birthday party but we decided to continue.

How do you choose which songs to cover?
We all go home individually, have a think about it and then make our suggestions to the rest of the band. If something’s not working during rehearsals then we don’t pursue it.

How are you writing your own music?
Colin comes up with the ideas for the songs and then the rest of us will finish it together.

What can we expect from you at your gigs?
You can expect music that will suit everyone; we play songs that people will know. Somebody once described us as “high impact cheese”. We know we’re old, but who cares? We’re old enough to rock!

Have you got a discography or any new releases you’d like to mention?
We will be releasing CDs in the future but there’s no back catalogue.

Do you consider Nottingham to be a good city for bands such as yours i.e. venues, promotions, general interest etc?
Nottingham is a good city; there are plenty of venues and nights for amateur bands. The pubs are trying harder to entertain their customers now that there’s a smoking ban.

What are the pros and cons of being in a band?
The main pros are its enjoyable and you get to work with nice people. The cons are sometimes you get strange venues and people but there are mostly pros.

Have you got a website?
www.buzzband.co.uk

MARS BONFIRE REVIEW by Fiona Snow

As I was listening to the sounds of Led Zeppelin being delivered to my ears I found it almost impossible to believe that I was watching a group of lads from Hereford aged from 17 to 21. It was their first time playing at this rock pub "The Tap & Tumbler" on Wollaton Street. I had sensed their nervous excitement as I chatted to them before the set, their enthusiasm oozing and contagious

"Good Evening Boys & Girls" came the voice of lead vocalist Martin Martyn and the band went straight into self penned "See The Light". From the first few notes I knew I was in for a rock and roll treat.

Everyone around me were turning their heads towards the stage as this youthful 4 piece took them back to the 1970’s. Attention fully grabbed they wasted no time in playing into their next song "This is for the people who like the blues" announced Martyn, already in the knowledge that their music needs no introduction; It speaks for itself, although Black Dog did get introduced as "this is for the lady in the Led Zeppelin T Shirt" by Martyn (pointing at me) aw shucks.

During the break I spoke to Remi Harris (guitar) complete with a paisley shirt and beady bangles – about his foot peddles, it was quite a piece of impressive equipment. He told me the base comes empty for the guitarist to add whatever they like, it was a PODX3 and it was only the second time he’d used it.

Martyn asked for my thoughts so far. I told him that as I like backing vocals to feature quite heavily I thought Harris & Shane Dixon (drums) could contribute more as Karl Dixon (bass) was a bit quiet, other than this, it was fine and Karl Dixon sang lead brilliantly on "Walk & Show Down". His bass playing is also brilliant and he really looks the part. I had to feel sympathy for Shane Dixon’s drum kit, as he was giving it the lashing of a lifetime, an excellent backbone for Mars Bonfire. Martyn has got a fantastic voice, vocal range and front man persona. Harris is a very talented guitarist, not needing to look at his guitar during intricate melodies. Every member of the band seems to be in deep concentration to make every note count and also seem to be in deep enjoyment of this. Mars Bonfire had people dancing and playing air guitars as they nailed some Led Zeppelin classics in a medley including "Heartbreaker", "Rock & Roll" and "Living Loving Maid" (She’s just a woman) from the albums Led Zeppelin & Led Zeppelin 2. Even the man who had been heckling them during a technical hitch had been won over and was singing along. During "Walk" somebody screams out "f…… brilliant" and I had to agree with him!

"We’re going to play one more song and then we’re going to f… off home coz we’re all knackered. This is a song you might know to sing along if you want" They belted out "Johnny B Goode" before leaving us feeling thoroughly rocked by their groovy rhythms and amazing riffs, Mars Bonfire are going to make it. The crowd were demanding more, sadly, for tonight, there was none.

I had to see Mars Bonfire again and was treated to a second helping at The Greyhound in Beeston, where I was equally impressed and witnessed Harris playing his guitar with a power drill!!! I highly recommend going to see them, they’re one of the best up and coming bands out there.

You can see them next in Nottingham on
28 June: The Greyhound, Beeston
11 July: Tap & Tumbler, Nottingham
17 Oct: The Greyhound, Beeston

For more information, CD’s, News, go to
www.marsbonfire.co.uk
www.myspace.com/marsbonfirespace

BAND REVIEW – They ain't sunglasses my friend

I am not a great fan of the blues so was a little apprehensive at the prospect of going to see Dumpy's Bluezz Intoxicated at The Greyhound in Beeston last Saturday. I arrived for the second set, my senses a little numbed with a few welcome beers. As I got through the door I thought I had arrived on Christmas day... was that Santa Clause on stage!!...
A strangely dressed man with the biggest white beard I had ever seen, but that was no sack over his shoulder but a bright yellow guitar in the shape of a huge pair of sunglasses…and believe you me it wasn't jingle bells he was playing. This was the man! And the mans name was "Dumpy".. aptly assisted by his little helpers on bass and drums. The sound coming off that stage was awesome, this was blues like I had never heard before. This had a hard driving beat that thumped out like an elephant having an orgasm, I was truly transfixed audibly and visually and with all my pre conceptions dismissed I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening.

After talking to "Dumpy" after the gig I was amazed to hear that I had been treated to the Asda version of the Dumpy show and that the Harrods version was in fact Dumpy's Rusty Nuts. This was Dumpy's main band performing at festivals up and down the country with the likes of Motorhead, Status Quo & Hawkwind with whom Dumpy is often invited to guest with. We were even treated to his live version of Silver Machine complete with Dumpy on all fours as he tweaked an array of effect knobs and pedals, it was like watching a bizarre game of twister.

I gleefully grabbed a handful of CD's with enticing titles of "Hot Love", "Spacenutz", "Get out on The Road" and "Somewhere in England". If you want to see this band live you can check out their site at www.dumpysrustynuts.net

Cheers. The Ed

Happy New Year! (02-01-2008)

Well I hope you all had a wild & wonderful new years eve and are up for all the gigs we have to offer you in 2008. It's normally a slow start at the beginning of the year but there are a couple of gigs that have caught my eye this month. Steve Steinman's new show "The Meatloaf Trilogy" comes to Retford's Majestic Theatre on Friday 25th January.....also on Friday there is a treat for 60's memorabilia fans as "The Crew" entertain at the Soldiers & Sailors Club in Sawley, Long Eaton.

Nottingham Arena have a big year coming up featuring major headliners including this month Linkin Park on the 24th, Westlife - March 24th. Boyzone - June 3rd & 4th. But quite why Lee Evans is doing 4 nights in September is a mystery to me... is he that good?

I do like the look of the 80's show with:
Rick Astley
Bananarama
Paul Young
ABC
Curiosity Killed The Cat
Johnny Hates Jazz
Cutting Crew

What a line up and all appearing on Friday 9th May at the Nottingham Arena, has to be one for my diary

Cheers, Ed!

Christmas Countdown (14-12-2007)

As the countdown to Christmas approaches, there are loads of gigs over the festive period to choose from. If your band or venue is not listed, don't worry we never sleep here at the NGG and your events can be emailed to us at any time and they will normally appear within 8 hours... or less.

One such short notice gig I have been informed about is The Crew appearing at The Rose & Crown, Lenton, this Saturday 15th December. It is The Crew's Xmas special and no doubt there will be some very special guests alongside Andy and the boys. This band have a great pedigree and are truly entertaining with their huge repertoire of classic hits from the 60's. Band strike up around 9pm and admission is normally free.

For another party night, The Midnight Pumpkin Trucks will be rocking their socks off at The Factory, Long Eaton on Thursday 20th December, belting out hits from The Beatles to The Kaiser Chiefs. Kick off for this one is a tad later as this is after all a nightclub, I normally slope in around 11pm and crawl out around 1am.... admission is around £2 after 10.30pm.

Incidentally The Midnight Pumpkin Trucks are looking for a new singer!!! and if you're really brave they may let you get up on stage with them at The Factory. For more details contact Steve on 0779 0725 755

Don't forget keep the gigs rolling in, we need your support in keeping the NGG the Number 1 guide in the Midlands.

One Mans Meat (03-12-2007)

I was really gutted Meatloaf threw a sicky and cancelled his date at The Nottingham Arena. I had my free press pass ticket and a pint with my name on it...
Roll on the re-scheduled date...anyone know it?...
One man was pleased though, Steve Steniman's Vampires Rock Show was on at The Concert Hall the same night so he was able to hoodwink a few of Meat's fans.

Well Christmas is nearly upon us and I will be surfing the Nottingham Gig Guide pages for my nights out.... I fancy a bit of The Kommitments Kristmas bash at The Factory on Sunday 23rd December, should be a great night with the Irish tribute Jiggers, most of whom hail from Carlton... watch out for the dodgy Irish accents..... still a great band though.

Those of you who like a bit of The Drifters.... Ye olde "American Drifters" are on at Stage One on Saturday 15th December. I have seen these guys before...and they really are yanks...even though they now live in Blackpool.... what a bummer! they must miss Detroit....

Well thats my blog for this week....
If you have any comments, suggestions for the guide, etc etc.. just send me an email to ed@nottinghamgigguide.com and I will reply in next weeks blog.