Unsigned Bands and Indie Label Music Reviews

Even Though I've No Hair I Let It Down at the Carousel, Leicester!

Cos that was the kind of night it was. Cabaret with a capital 'C', diva with a small 'd', small meaning small in ego, HUGE in the talent of all those that took part.

So who did we have?

Magenta the Magnificent from the Arctic Male - Belly Dancer. Yes you heard right - male! Very funny and perfect to get everyone in the mood.

Then on came Glorian Gray who had an intriguing mix of comedy and burlesque and was great silly fun and also good to watch.

After Glorian we had the First Monday Ukelele Band who showed just what you can do with ukeleles. Again whilst they played well they were also fun. No po faced artists who take themselves too seriously were around that night!

Now everyone was relaxed and chilled but hmmm maybe too chilled as I thought people would be up and dancing with the ukekekes. 

Step in Joanne Fagon as 'Audriana' Funny Gym Bunny. Just the ticket old chaps. She soon had everyone out their seats with her "audiorobics" - her way of getting all of us to dance and burn off all that lovely food that was sold at the event. Audriana has a natural way with people and makes them understand that it's ok to get up and dance. Silly? Who cares and who's looking anyway? With Audriana you just said goodbye to your inhibitions and whey heyyy!! I predict a good future for that lass.

Arr arr me hearties, Seas of Mirth came on stage with their outrageous and funny shanties. A comic band but very professional at the same time. Again no po faced nonsense here!

So after that we were all suitably relaxed for some more fun and jump up which was ably supplied by Out of Karma, a righteous reggae band if there was ever one. Great music and Joseph Macwan's haunting and spiritual voice is something to remember. I have done a review on him separately as he is a band I follow closely.
Out of Karma

 The icing on the cake and headline act was Combust Troupe who mixed dance and acrobatics with a glow spectacular! The juggling was fascinating and the their movements created a sort of optical illusion. Cirque du Soleil eat your heart out!

I must also mention a young lass of about 16 I think who got up on stage and sung a cappella. That took guts and she sang well. The stage should not hold any terrors for her! 

So suitably entertained and fed and watered I made my way home happily to my lonely cold room in my hotel. Awww.

But my memories of a wonderful evening kept me warm all night.

The Legendary Frank
Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown

The Legendary Frank on Myspace 

Out of Karma at the Carousel Event, Leicester

Out of Karma as usual presented a set of music to enjoy and think about. 

The band opened the set with their song "My Skin Catches Fire" and this was a new version and beautiful like the other two versions.

The song is a perfect showcase for Joseph Macwan's haunting, spiritual voice and the rest of the band added tight and restrained harmony with a lead guitar providing the gentle melody, and thoughtful drums as steady as a heartbeat and add to that a smooth as butter bass. And of course the keyboards gave the song breadth and colour tones. 

Another song they sang "Don't Waste My Time" which is dance time! And I don't need much excuse to get up and dance.

I can't remember the titles of the other songs but hey I'm not a reviewer, I only report from the front line!

So to sum up, Out of Karma's set was glorious, tight, melodic, spiritual and above all happy. So when you listen to Out of Karma, let go - let the music wash over you.

You'll feel so good afterwards.

To listen to Out of Karma's fine music go to:

Out of Karma

The Legendary Frank

Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown

The Legendary Frank Myspace

La Rebla Fam - An Urban Band for the Urban Bar

I arrived at the Urban Bar and had no problems finding where La Rebla Fam were as their music was blasting out from the first floor.

One of the joys of watching La Rebla Fam is that everytime their set is a little different. This proves that they are not robots mindlessly playing their instruments like some other bands.

They get tighter and tighter everytime I hear them but not too tight, hence why they sound a little different each time. I think that's because they improvise a little especially in the new song they played this evening which I'm already beginning to warm to with its rhythms. 

As I've said before what strikes me very much is how these guys work together, yeh you've got the two lead singers but everyone in the band has a big part to play and the band are becoming virtual virtuosos on their instruments. It was such a pleasure to close my eyes and really listen to the music - whilst I skanked of course.

So once again thank you La Rebal Fam for another great set and one day I hope to see a whole evening of you guys playing. Trouble is that most of us would be flat on the floor from Skank Burnout!

If you want to hear La Rebla Fam well here's where you go:
La Rebla Fam

The Legendary Frank

Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown
 

You're the Song My Soul Sings

Tiger Lily in her song Waiting for You sings with such longing and forlorn hope that it makes your heart ache.

We've all been in that sad situation, haven't we?

We won't accept that it is over.

We can't understand why it's over.

So all we can do is wait and hope.

Once again Tiger Lily uses simple melody with a tight production and flawless sound to give us a song of power and feeling.

Tiger Lily Sings Here I Am, Do You Know Where You Are?

If not then Tiger Lily's excellent song will inspire you.

This song is in your face. Slime balls of the music industry watch out. Jealous bitches run for your lives cos Tiger Lily sings:

Take me or leave me
But don't forget who I am

The melody is punchy and direct and the production is no nonsense (just like the lyrics) with an instrumental that short and unfussy.

If you're feeling crushed by people that you have to deal with, then listen to this song and keep listening until you can punch your fist in the air and say yeh!

Remember Tiger Lily has been on a rollercoaster and if she can stay on track so can you.

Other Blog

Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown

 

A Skastranomical NIght - La Rebla Fam at Dublin Castle, Camden 16/10/10

Great to see all you fellow skasters down in Dublin Castle. Unfortunately I was a bit late but late is a little better than never.

Cos I was late, my skankster motor was not fully revved up, well lets put it this way, an 80yo granny would have done better.

La Rebla Fam played a tight set and well the skanksters did their thing and skanked and jumped up and made joyous noise. A true skaster is always a skankster as well!

And that's how you can tell a band that is truly GREAT live! I've said it before, (and this goes out to all fans of all bands), love up your band and they will love you up. There's nothing more frustrating than playing to a bunch of people that have come from a funeral. Oops sorry, wakes are way more fun that some gigs I've gone to where people think they are cool just standing around. Well if that's cool I'd rather be someone jumping, skanking, diving, bumping into people in my enthusiasm and generally being very happy.

Talking about bumping I noticed that it was a little crowded for a good ole no holds barred skank. You all know mosh pits, so why not skank pits? Not for deliberate collision dancing but somewhere where you (ok fuk it I mean I!) can skank so hard that my little balls are shaking, where I can jump up and down without worrying about crippling someone that's packed next to me.

How about it La Rebla Fam?

Tiger Lily's Affair in London

Yes she had an affair in London but don't keep it a secret!

We all met at Mary Jane's in Aldgate, London and it was a time for meeting old friends and getting to know new ones.

That wasn't the only reason we were there. In fact THE reason we were there was to attend the launch of Tiger Lily's video Affair and also to hear Tiger Lily sing some of her songs.

Yes that video with its delicious but slightly dangerous naughtiness. Then again if you play with fire.....

See and hear for yourself and enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfXDEnOW40k

As I said, Tiger Lily also sang so I bravely croaked along with her on my favourite songs getting some strange stares so I hid behind my camera instead.

It was a great evening, very laid back and people just clicked naturally. This is what you expect from Tiger Lily's events!

Frank The Legend
Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown

News, Views and Things That Go Bump in the NIght

Fun in the Sun with Brassneck

Food, sun and Brassneck go so well together.

This was at the excellent Wokingham Food and Drink Festival so I felt first it was my duty to tour the various food stalls and politely eat the freebies on offer without looking too piggish. Needless to say I spent more than I planned on exotic cheeses, savoury jellies and sauces and strange but deliciously flavoured Balsamic Vinegars.

But this blog is about reviewing Brassneck's gig. As old Shakespeare used to say when in his cups "If music be the food of love, play on" or something like that. When he had a bit too much he tended to ramble on a bit.

No matter.

Cos food, music and love go well with Brassneck, meaning I love eating my gourmet hamburger with oriental salad (at gourmet prices) whilst listening to delicious music from Brassneck and chilling out in the sun and watching a guy dancing to Brassneck and doing his own thing and having a good time.

Well that's what Brassneck is all about. If you're having a good time listening to their music then they are having a good time. And to show their appreciation they handed out their latest EP at the end of the gig. I've never known these guys to charge for their EPs, all they want is for people to listen to their music. Not a good business model but is really at the foundations of what music used to be when people would bring their fiddles, flutes and drums and what not down to the local pub for a bit of crack.

It was great listening to my favourite Brassneck songs, it was like meeting old friends and then thrilling to the new ones. And people were actually listening! Not like in many pub venues where people are yapping away and you wonder why they just can't shut the f*** up and listen to the music!

I didn't dance cos it was a chill out afternoon and the vibes were great, families and friends all together and it is in these types of events that Brassneck flourish.

If you want to listen to Brassneck the pop over here:
Brassneck

The Legendary Frank
http://www.myspace.com/competeyetworktogether

 

Stupid What?

Well ask Brassneck!

A typical sweet song from Brassneck but with punchy lyrics.

The song starts off folksy and in comes the violin played by Kat who knows to how to give wellie to a violin.

Neil's anxious bass and Mark's drumming ranging from pitter patter to bang bang adds to the neurosis. Not a very accurate description of his drumming as he's an ace player with a huge variety of styles and deftness of touch.

Sid's lead guitar is restrained and Ben's rhythm guitar adds body. 

Not to mention Ben's singing which has a nice whine to it.

Just one fly in the ointment. The mix and balance could have been better, the bass was a bit boomy and the drums could have been brought out forward more.

If you want to listen to Brassneck's excellent songs go to:

Brassneck

The Legendary Frank

Tips for Bands
 Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown

www.myspace.com/competeyetworktogether

A Song for the World Cup

A no nonsense hard drum beat kicks this song in, as you'd expect with a footie song.

Then the vocals come in after six seconds.

This is a singalong song to put it mildly.

The whole idea is fun with a big chorus and lots of fun things in the background like miaowing, clapping hands and stamping feet and roars and well you can't stop these people lol.

Pure silliness, pure fun. Isn't that what footie supposed to be all about? Well, not the silly part. And ok not fun if your team loses but you get the drift.

I tell you, you won't stop smiling when you listen to this song. It will put sunshine in your showers.

Also with a few tweaks it could be ideal for the Song for the World Cup!

Frank

Unsigned Does Not Mean Unknown