Trash Blog: September 2011

Sunday, 25 September 2011

CAMDEN UNSIGNED THURSDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER PLAYLIST

I was lucky enough to join John Shrubsole on Camden Unsigned radio this Thursday just gone for two whole hours of new unsigned music. In contrast to the studio at UCL's Rare FM, the equipment was not held together with masking tape and everything, shocklingly, worked perfectly. What can I say? I'm just not used to working in these conditions...

Unfortunately, the shows aren't currently being logged (but hopefully will be soon!) so here's the playlist of all the songs we played:

1. Arthur Brown - In the Summer
2. Frontline Fire - Mirror Test
3. Laws of Motion - Scanner
4. Lenny Verallas - One in a Million
5. Healthy Junkies - Manifesto
6. Dumbjaw - My Acrimony
7. The Hyenas - Filthy Electricity
8. Blondes in Tokyo - I am Goatboy
9. The Palace of Justice - Meredith
10. Bubblegum Screw - I Was a Teenage Fuck-up
11. Sister Gracie - Black
12. Stone Them Crows - 50s Sex
13. The Hyenas - Dirty Little Love Song
14. The Midnight Heavy - Bonnie and Clyde
15. Van Howling - Five
16. Pete - I'll Be Waiting
17. The Full Colour Hardback Books - This is London
18. The Palace of Justice - Hourglass
19. The Hit Ups - Unforgiveable
20. Dactyls - Killing Time

Bands and musicians looking to have their tracks played on Camden Unsigned can submit their act along with an MP3 on the Camden Unsigned website at http://www.camdenunsigned.com/contact.asp

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Two great gigs on Thursday 29th September

Trash is thrilled to report that there are two fabulous gigs scheduled for Thursday 29th September.

Healthy Junkies will be officially launching their long-awaited debut album, 'Sicknote' at the Dublin Castle in Camden on Thursday 29th September. Also on the bill are Bubblegum Screw and The Palace of Justice which basically equates to one of the tastiest line-ups imaginable. A great venue hosting three fantastic bands, all at the absolute top of their musical game, for only £6. That's two pounds a band. That's about fifty pence a band member, give or take. That's GREAT VALUE.

Here's the Facebook event for those so inclined:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=277472842267316&notif_t=event_name_change

Th'Sheridans will be joining Fair-Ohs and Shout Timber at the launch of UCL's 'Popaganda' live music night at Mully's Basement Bar of The Huntley, UCLU, on the corner of Gower Street. A genuinely unique outfit with sometimes-fluctuating lineup, at the moment Th'Sheridans consists of Joe, Julia and Adam, and sources inform me that their set at Popaganda will include lots of new hardly-performed material which is very exciting indeed:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/thsheridans/399733239467?ref=ts#!/event.php?eid=277550508928581

Although it's bloody annoying that both gigs are on the same evening, the chances are that each band is playing again soon so be sure to check them out on Myspace, Facebook etc.

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Camden Unsigned

Camden Unsigned is a recent project based in Camden (funnily enough) that seeks to promote fresh new musical talent particularly from Camden/North London, though I doubt they're likely to discriminate for geographical reasons.

The brain child of John Shrubsole, Camden Unsigned broadcasts internet radio on weekday evenings from 8-10pm during which DJs spin records by unsigned musicians, a bank of acts of which is on the project's website. This is usually followed by the 'Camden Unsigned Jukebox' which automatically plays out tracks from CU's archive. If you're a musician looking for some air-time on a local, independently-run radio, then I'd encourage you wholeheartedly to register your details, including an MP3, at the address below:

http://www.camdenunsigned.com/contact.asp

The station gets a decent number of people listening every week so it really is worth signing up.

Here's a schedule of the radio station's regular shows:

Monday: 20:00-22:00: 'I LIKE MONDAYS' with Sofia
Tuesday: 20:00-22:00: 'Personality Crisis'. These are the same girls who put on a clubnight of the same name at Punk in Soho.
Wednesday 20:00-22:00: The 'We Like It' show
Thursday 20:00-22:00: 'Shrub's Thursday Unsigned Show'. John Shrubsole plays all unsigned material on this thursday night slot.

Keep up to date with Camden Unsigned's activities via their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Camden-Unsigned/127318664023065?sk=wall

As I understand it, CU is looking to work with local bars and pubs to promote the radio, its acts, and of course, London's music scene itself, so any future collaborations/Camden Unsigned gigs etc should be pretty exciting.

This truly is a project with intentions very close to the heart of Trash.

Friday, 16 September 2011

Behold Van Howling! Hear him roooooaaaaarrrr...

FEED ME at the Hideaway, Thursday 15th September 2011

FEED ME is the latest clubnight to grace the stage of the basement bar at the Hideaway on Junction Road. Taking over from the Killer Blob Promotions nights that are usually held every month at the Hideaway (which are something of a local institution), FEED ME was organised by the members of ghost-swamp rock outfit, Van Howling, who gave the performance of their lives as the headlining act. Compere Mark Tomlinson had the enthusiasm of a small child on Christmas morning, introducing his night and every act with an energy that was contagious...

First on-stage was singer-songwriter and general badass, Eli Cash, whose self-penned punky ditties of 'bad romance' were habitually interspersed by hilarious commentary from Eli herself. Her songs were forthright and honest and hugely enjoyable, her strumming guitar propelling ever song to its often unashamedly bitter end. What was most impressive was the earnest quality of her performance, laying everything down (music and sentiments), warts and all. Apparently, Eli Cash is in some kind of Facebook 'Like' war with someone she knows (and dislikes) so add her page to stay up to date with her activities:

http://www.facebook.com/elicash.is.king?sk=app_178091127385#!/elicash.is.king?sk=wall

Following Eli Cash was Laws of Motion, a four-piece from Bath responsible for some interesting and elegant sound-scapes accompanied by spectral falsetto vocals. The set was varied but structured by extended shoegazey instrumentals, and bar a broken guitar string, the band maintained an atmospheric ambience that was pretty impressive.

http://soundcloud.com/lawsofmotion

Apparently, Van Howling hasn't played a gig in over two months and the only rehearsals its members have had have been completely informal affairs. A CD to follow an earlier three-track EP has been in the works for awhile now and rumour has it that VH has been attempting to translate its incendiary live shows into a fully-fledged record.

If last night's gig was anything to go, the results of this should be hugely exciting.
Having seen Van Howling play a number of times before, I feel that this was the band's best gig to date. The sound at the Hideaway was fantastic, the rewards of a thorough sound-check that had taken place beforehand. On-stage, it was a very much a DIY sound-job, members of the Palace of Justice sporadically jumping into the sound-booth and fiddling with the dials before re-joining the throngs of fans at the front to heckle for their favourite Van Howling numbers.

And what a set it was, the gothic, Nick Cave-Birthday Party stylings of VH coming through in howling waves of dramatic splendour. Van Howling is original in every sense of the word, presenting 'cheerful songs about death' as frontman Gabriel Balfe has termed them, set against rampant polka beats and latino, carnivalesque rhythms. Van Howling almost reminds me a Victorian music-hall cabaret act - so much so it should become standard to have them perform framed by a red velvet curtain and under a rhinestone chandelier.

Foot-pedals magnified the psychedelic guitar with shoe-gaze freakouts that added to the richness of Van Howling's songs, underpinned by the trademark pulsating funky bass-lines and superb, energetic drumming that are central to Van Howling. Gabriel is proving to be quite the front-man, shedding his guitar on several occasions to allow room for him to dance and annunciating lyrics with sheer grandiosity, thus lending Van Howling's narratives a sense of pure, Bowie-informed theatre.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get hold of a set-list (and I'm not even sure there was one) but some stand-out numbers included 'Quake' during which the dancefloor at the front erupted into spinning and shimmying, as well as a stripped-down and elegant acoustic version of stellar VH tale of woe, 'Five', during which everyone sat down, VH's John and Julian included, before getting up again for its final crescendo.

Quite simply, it was stunning.

Keep in the loop with VH's future gigs and FEED ME events via the band's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/vanhowling