Saturday 30 October 2010

Hog the Stage

Brilliant news for the Sound of Scotland. Edinburgh's New Year Party is one of the biggest audiences in the world. A Scottish band is being given the chance to kick off the celebrations and do their thang before Biffy Clyro and The Charlatons @ The Princess Street Garden Party.

Many bands based in or from Scotland have entered the competition, vast and varied, from the lively folk band The Banana Sessions to Cello playing Lindsay and the Storm, solo artists such as Aaron Wright, bands like  The Stagger Rats, OK Social Club, Pose Victorious, Number 9's and heaps and heaps more.....

Follow the link to see all the worthy entries and read more about them. For the first time you can have a say in who gets to play Hogmany. Five finalist entries will be invited to play @HMV picture house on 21st Nov where the audience and industry judges will choose the finalists. Good luck to everyone, with so much talent on display it will be a tough nut to crack. Get down to the Picture House and support the acts, for 'Auld Lang Syne, my Dear!'

http://hog-the-stage.com/

Spooky Sounds !

Friday 29th - Did anyone check out Frantic Chant last night or hear them on Leith FM?
Who managed to go to 'Live at the Deep End'@ The Lighthouse Building, Edinburgh last night and see the Dark Jokes or Aaron Wright and the Aprils? Isn't it great that there are more and more live music venues popping up around us....? Post a comment if you were there x

Sat 30th- Well a busy Halloween Saturday and there are a few belter bashes to choose from
In the East - The Ok Social Club play a fancy-dress set followed by acoustic stuff and a bit of DJ-ing, the Mitre Bar, Royal Mile.
In the West-  Pose Victorious play alongside Marner Brown at Slouch Bar, Glasgow
                     Imagineers and Young Rebel Set @ King Tut's
In Between - Swift Dig, the Leads and 1004's support The Dogs @ McQ's in Stirling

Sunday 31st-  overalls/hardhats/fake moustaches/Chiliean Flags at the ready!
Let's stick with the East-  The Stagger Rats and others play @Whistle Binkies
                            The Dogs, 1004's, Marner Brown, Nature Boys and Pose Victorious play @ Electric Circus, tickets still available on the door.
Happy Halloween!

Frightened Rabbit

Frightened Rabbit were started up in 2003 by  Selkirk's Scott Hutchison. The band are now touring in the US, promoting their third album and are about to start a European tour which finishes up with two dates at Barrowlands, Glasgow (still tickets available for 6/12/10)
  ' A Winter of Mixed Drinks'  was said to have been written over a few weeks, in the coastal town of  Crail, Fife after a heavy bout of gigs in support of the band's second album, The Midnight Organ Fight. Drummer Grant Hutchison said that "the location had a big impact on the songs. There's definitely a nautical theme to a lot of the tracks and a feeling of testing yourself to the limit which the sea plays a big part in. Scott  had a daily routine of walking along the beach until an idea came into his head and he would then turn round and develop it on the way home." The album was initially recorded at Castle Sound Studios in Pencaitland and you can definately hear a distinct 'Sound of Scotland' when listening to the tracks.
The fourth and fantastic single from the album ' The Lonliness and the Scream' will be released on 22nd November.
Good luck with the remainder of the tour, Catch you at the Barras!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Lf7mriehU

Wednesday 20 October 2010

The Valkarys

If you like psychedelic sounds and melodic delights then you will love the Valkarys. The Valkarys are Edinburgh home-grown talent who have decided to expand themselves and spread the love 'down south' in the bright lights of London town. Never fear they will be popping back soon to let us hear some new material and see the new and improved line up.
If you are living south of the border, show some support to the Scottish music scene and catch The Valks at

22nd October Purple Turtle (London)
23rd October The Finsbury (London)
30th October The World's End (London)
11th November Hope and Anchor
13th November Tommy Flynn's (London)
27th November Capitol (Glasgow)
3rd December Enterprise (London)
15th January Voodoo Rooms (Edinburgh)

The great news is that you can now download the Valkarys album on i-tunes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-average-can-blind-you/id355463442
 and if you want to listen on Spotify first you can do so too.
The Valkarys – The Average Can Blind You To The Excellent

One of the most interesting albums of 2010 to come from Scotland!

Thursday 14 October 2010

The Next Four Days in Music Across the Central Belt...

Friday 15th- The wonderful Death by Misadventure are joined by Dundee band Lost City Soul @ The Cape in Stirling.

Saturday 16th - The Stone Roses Experience (Scottish Tribute Band) have support from The Leads and The Mixups,  a night which promises to keep your toes tapping @ The Pines in Denny, Falkirk

A chilled out affair @ Nobles Bar, Leith offers vocals from Scott MacDonald and an acoustic set, with catchy melodies from The Imagineers.

The Scottish Ski Show @ SECC has Edinburgh band's The Stagger Rats and Pose Victorious playing live music in the evening.

Sunday 17th - Londoner's Jim Jones Revue "are an astonishing live phenomenon" and have relentlessly toured across Europe, tonight they have support from locals Selective Service who successfully fuse soul, reggae and indie/rock n roll.

Monday 18th - word of mouth, independent band The Boxer Rebellion (featured in Going the Distance soundtrack) have support from Scots The Winter Tradition. The evening will promise some rocky anthems and exhilarating live performances.

So how's that for variation in the Scottish  unsigned scene?

Not to shabby!

Wednesday 13 October 2010

A Short Film About The MANIKEES

Here's a short film about Fife four piece, The Manikees, talking about their own music growing and developing over the past 5 years, alongside the Fife music scene. The band started out writing songs and music as a three-piece in 2006, learning their instruments together.Their first gig was at the Greenside, Fife, when live music venues were few and far beteen over the bridge... Since then they have had exposure on Vic Galloway's BBC show, X-FM and have supported Scottish talent such as the View and Glasvegas and have helped to splodge Fife firmly on the music map of Scotland. Stay tuned for part 2 of the film and the new single early 2011. Nice Work!

Sunday 10 October 2010

The Stagger Rats - See Through Spiders (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

This is the first official video from Edinburgh based band The Stagger Rats. This song was used in the soundtrack for P.I.M.P a 2010 movie starring Danny Dyer. Not only does the video display the lads dazzling personalities but also  their musical talents and unique sound, Listen for yourself, it's a grower..... and check out the other catchy numbers on the bands myspace   www.myspace.com/thestaggerratsofficial

Sounds of Scotland

Roll up, Roll up, let's hear it......who do you love, who is floating your boat in Scottish unsigned music just now?

Edinburgh and the Central Belt are well and truely catching up with the well established Glasgow Scene now. Watch out the Weedge, here we come....Of course Glasgow still has some excellent forces to be reckoned with but here's a chance to capture, discuss and display some of the newest and exciting sounds coming from Scotland now... Coming from places like the Liquid Rooms, Voodoo Rooms, Cabaret Voltaire, GRV, Electric Circus, Sneaky Petes, Bannermans, Whistle Binkies, The Wee Red Bar, PJ Malloys, Captains Rest, Nice N Sleazys, King Tuts, Maggie Mays........ These are the places where you can hear real music at the weekends. Don't look to the charts and glossy mags- look to the sweaty, grimy and packed out music venues in Scotland just now and here you will find some real talent,or just something different.....

If you have a band you love, post a comment, video and spread the word, support local music and shout out loud for the Sound of Scotland.... (or you could text into X-factor and vote for Storm, Wagner or Diva Fever, the choice is yours)