katco ep launch & au interview via iced coffee words
Kitty and the Can Openers are a band for those who appreciates the sounds of folk/pop with a lot of acoustic; female vocals, guitar plucking, brilliant bass and rolling drums. The sounds of Fleetwood Mac and Nick Drake, Ani DiFranco and Elliot Smith quickly come to mind.
The band officially released their first, self-titled, EP on Thursday 13th November in McHughs Bar, Belfast and is available through the band’s website, as a cd or free download.
They were interviewed in the latest issue of AU magazine. The full interview is available below.
There is a graceful, understated charm to the indie-folk of Kitty and the Can Openers. The endearing melodies of their eponymous debut EP are sun-dimples but hint at rain clouds on the horizon. It’s sweetness tempered by the realisation... hugh cornwell via iced coffee words
As part of the JD Set, a music showcase tour throughout the UK, ex lead singer of The Strangers, Hugh Cornwell, played a song with each of the two bands on the night. His sound is a bit different from the days of Golden Brown. But what a song.... kittys october gigs via iced coffee words
Kitty and the Can Openers have three gigs coming up in the next week, in preparation for their EP relaunch gig in November.
Tuesday 28th October
Auntie Annies, Belfast
Supporting Wallis Bird
9pm. £6
Wednesday 29th October
The Pavilion Bar, Belfast
Underground Fundraiser
Friday 31st October
Common Grounds, Belfast
8pm. Free.... top 20 northern irish songs via iced coffee words
In Celebrating their 50th issue this month NI-based music magazine AU compiled a list of their favourite songs of Northern Irish bands since the first issue (June 2003), and so I have decided to do the same, on a smaller scale.
Here are my current top 20 songs of NI bands:
1. Boathouse - Tinderbox West
2. Tom McShane - Lullaby
3. Robyn G Shiels - I’d Go To Funerals
4. Kitty & the Can Openers - On The Fringes
5. Oppenheimer - Sraight Out Of Comp’in’
6. Duke Special - Salvation Tambourine
7. Jane Bradfords - Hide From the Cold
8. The Benjamins - Burn Me Up Buttercup
9. The Delawares - Learning to Love
10. Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy
11. Cat Malojian - Life Rolls On
12. The Elliots - Torch Song
13. Fast Emperors - Tapdance Junkies
14. Kharma45 - Ecstasy
15. Ruby... robert holmes - hazard hill via iced coffee words
Last Thursday, 2nd October, Belfast-born singer-songwriter Robert Holmes launched his EP ‘Hazard Hill’ in the Pavilion to a small but enthusiastic crowd of devoted fans. Terri Hooley, who was in the audience said, “I love Robert, though he can’t sing or play guitar”. This was clearly in Jest as Robert definitely can sing, he sings well.
The songs are a cross between Nick Cave, Vast and Joy Division; deep, slow and dark. Simple melodic songs with a voice that lingers of a quiet honesty.
Hazard Hill is available for purchase on iTunes [iTunes store], through his website and in Zavvi, where he is playing instore in Victoria Square on Friday 10th October at 5pm.
Listen to the track ‘Frankie’ from the EP below:
[See post to listen to audio]... oscillations - part three via iced coffee words
I did indeed play ping pong. Similar to my childhood Saturday morning badminton-playing days when we would all round around the court hitting the shuttlecock while running by. Miss it and you’re out. Lots of fun. Still fun, with ping pong and alcohol all these years later.
As for the final instalment of the festival over the weekend:
Friday 10th October
1/2 Mensch
Black Box 8.30pm Free
There is little doubt that Einstürzende Neubauten are one of the most unique and influential bands of the last 25 years. Although not the only band to have a hand in the creation of industrial music, they were perhaps the most extreme exemplars of the burgeoning idiom.The result of this meeting was 1/2 Mensch, a riveting artifact of the band at their early punkish prime.
Twinkranes / David Holmes /... cutaways; ep launch thurs 9th oct via iced coffee words
Belfast band Cutaways release their new EP this Thursday in the Empire Music Hall. Having gone through various line-up changes over the years and a fresh take on their sound, Cutaways have consistent poppy and energetic songs and a live performance to match.
I asked the band’s drummer, Ryan, a few questions about the launch.
Firstly, having listened to the EP a few times, it sounds great, where will it be available for purchase?
The lovely digipak CDs are available through our website ( www.wearecutaways.co.uk ) and at gigs, and for the post-CD generation the tracks are available as downloads from iTunes, Napster and most other major sites.
Keyboardist and vocalist, Grace, recently joined the band, what has she helped bring to the band’s latest sound?
Enthusiam, talent,... oscillations - part two via iced coffee words
A quick rundown of what’s to come this week in Oscillations. I’m giving it so much attention ‘cos so many of the events look great, and although my weekend was pretty busy, and cold still lingering, I didn’t manage to get to any I wish I had.
Tuesday 7th October
Play Ping Pong
Black Box Café 7.30pm £3
Games begin with everyone round the table, one hit, move on…one foul and you’re out. Continues until there are only 2 people left, best of 3 to see who wins, then all back in again for a new round.
Music is provided by DJs from local label, cAFF/FLICK Records.
www.caff-flick.com
Wednesday 8th October
You Think You Really Know Me?: The Gary Wilson Story
Black Box Café 6pm Free
You Think You Really Know Me, is widely considered one of the most unique and... oscillations - part one via iced coffee words
This Friday begins the new multi media arts festival by Belfast-based music collective, Ordinary Days and The Black Box; Oscillations.
The inaugural 2008 festival begins on Friday 3rd October at The Black Box and will run until Sunday 12th October. The festival aims to showcase the leading edge of independent music, film, contemporary art, graphic design and technology on a local and international level. The programme will consist of live music performances and film screenings accompanied by a series of exhibitions, installations and educational workshops.
It will be an exciting and jam-packed 9 days, with an eclectic mix of fun, fact and musical remedy. Download the programme here [pdf]. I will try to break it down for ya:
Friday 3rd October
Tiny Little Horse & Scrawled
Black Box... sweet sweet kisses via iced coffee words
music ambition - kick up the arts via iced coffee words
In order to succeed in any industry those involved should meet regularly to discuss moving forward together; collaborating and sharing ideas. This also applies to musicians, does it not?
This Saturday Blick is housing the first in a series of events titled ‘Kick up the Arts‘ hosted by life coach, Tracy Dempsey.
Whatever your beliefs, this music clinic is all about taking control and creating change in your music career and in the music industry in NI and further afield. Life, business and arts coach Tracy Dempsey will help you identify the obstacles stopping you getting from where you want to be, boot them out of the way and charge ahead with the big dream.
You’ll also get to network with other musicians and industry professionals; to talk about whether we should be... scratch my business via iced coffee words
Opening doors to new music entrepreneurs
The Oh Yeah music centre wants to offer space to eight new music businesses. The Scratch My Business Experiment will run for a 10 week trial period, October 6 to December 12. Facilities will be basic, but it’s a chance to try out new ideas at low cost in a growing creative space.
What exactly is the Scratch concept?
The scratch concept has been developed by the Battersea Arts Centre in London. It encourages work-in-progress ideas, rather than getting too obsessed with the finished product. The BAC also puts great value of the notion of a “ladder of development” which encourages new ideas to be tried out, taking small steps but building on feedback and support.
How will this translate... on balconytv via iced coffee words
Kitty and the Can Openers on BalconyTV
You can download their full E.P. on the band’s website.
Not long left to vote for the band on SlicethePie... last standing via iced coffee words
Every so often a ‘Battle of the Bands’ pops up on the radar, each one to be better than any before it. Last Standing with its emphasis on war rather than battle, may prove itself to be stronger than its predecessors of the genre of musician competitiveness.
Last-standing.com Is a social networking site for Northern Irish bands; trying to build networks between bands in NI to strengthen our collective position in the music industry. Also runs a Battle of the Bands which is open to entrants right now, heats are on around NI to to determine the finalists, the finalists will then battle for a chance to win £2000’s worth of prizes, including:
- cash prize
- demo recording at Shabby Road studio
- 100 copies of the demo
- expert advice from those in the music and promotion... summer experiment via iced coffee words
The Summer Experiment play Auntie Annies on Wednesday 27th August. Then disappear into the night. Never to be seen again.
They said it better than I could
What happens when a band is faced with its own end before it even gets off its feet? Would this knowledge change their plan of action? Could it change the band’s dynamic? Could it even change the music? The Experiment is exactly this: a ‘band’ in its dying days from before you had even heard of them….it is what it is…no strings attached…just creativity. Doing what you can while you can. This is what we decided to make of Summer 2008 and we hope to remind everyone of the amazing things that happen when artists just allow themselves to create.”
The Summer Experiment taking place in Auntie Annies,... slicethepie via iced coffee words
What is SlicethePie?
Slicethepie is a web based artist financing engine that raises money for artists to professionally record an album. It enables users to invest in, profit from, and trade in artists’ success by turning every music fan into a talent scout and investor.
On Slicethepie:
Artists can raise money directly from their fans to professionally record albums
Fans can become emotionally and financially involved at all levels of the music industry - scouting, breaking, investing in and influencing real artists
Investors can gamble on, trade in and profit from the success of these artists
Artists who secure finance pay Slicethepie a small royalty on album sales but keep all their copyright and publishing rights.
Essentially, Artsits join an Arena and once the arena is full (up to... kitty and the can openers dot com via iced coffee words
Kitty and the Cna Openers launched their website yesterday, so head over to www.KittyandtheCanOpeners.com for free mp3 downloads, photos, live dates, and various updates through the blog, with the occasional spot of home recording in the mix.
The band’s first E.P. can also be purchased through the online store.... glasgowbury 2008 via iced coffee words
12:03am. Ash are 3/4 through their set, and are in good form. It’s been a great day, the weather was good and so many musicians in the one place enjoying the lively atmosphere ad great music.
Back to 3/4 through Ash’s set and Paddy Glasgow has noticed a disabled man by the fence left of the stage. He goes to him and, after failing to get him through the doubled up barrier, meets him at the backstage entrance and tells him to sit at the front barrier, spitting distance from Tim Wheeler.
This is how Paddy does things - Small but Massive.
A festival with a human side. A great vibe from everyone and the best of Northern Irish music (with the odd band from South of the border). The crowd is happy. The bands are happy, and things just run smoothly.
It is a festival to be proud of.... You know it’s time for bed via Skin Flicks
When the neighbours are banging on the walls because you're playing Ethiopian jazz too loud.It fucking rawks, though.(Or else the whiskey does. Or probably both do. Together.)You should get yourself some of each and annoy your neighbours too.Must go. The cops are at the door again......
boathouse ep launch via iced coffee words
Still racing of adrenaline from her solo performance at the 20/20 photographic exhibition, Amy McGarrigle will join her band-mates at the Empire Music Hall, Belfast, for the launch of their E.P. ‘What I Remember’.
The band, Boathouse, were formed in 2006 and through progressively gigging, their music as gotten better and fanbase, bigger. The EP contains 5 tracks of the highest quality music, my favourite track changes with each time I see them play.
1. Tinderbox West
2. It Was A River
3. The Johnnny & Ruth Story
4. Don’t Knock
5. What I Remember
I asked drummer Keir Hurley how it feels to finally release this long awaited CD.
“Finally having the recordings completed is great. I think after ‘Trail of Ghosts’ [the first E.P. recorded in 2006], a lot... twitter for music promotion via iced coffee words
For those unaware, Twitter is the latest social networking phenomenon. The main difference between it and any other social tool is that it’s based around what you say, in 140 characters, rather than how pretty your profile, your vast array of cool bands you like or all those super arty movies you like plus a love of hugging, stars, star tattoos, boys with emo hair etc. Nor does it matter how many “friends” you have.
What are you doing?
So how on earth do you get friends, or “followers” as they are called? Through interaction!
Twitter is more of a mediator between other platforms. Not so much finding friends from scratch but using platforms already established to interact with the friends already made, often on a more personal including one-on-one level.... kitty and the can openers! ep relaunch gig via iced coffee words
Tonight Kitty and the Can Openers subtly relaunch their self-titled EP at the Empire Music Hall, Belfast.
Recorded in Dec 07/Jan 08, the finely produced CD contains five superb tracks, which often find themselves slipped into the the set list whenever they grace the stage.
When the EP was first printed the band were unhappy with the album sleeve and so it was back to the drawing board. Now, 2 months later the newly printed sleeve and CD are ready for general sale at various gigs and events, and soon to be available from their website, which is in production.
So if you are free tonight get down to the Empire and get yourself a CD!... lets get drunk and dance via iced coffee words
It’s been a while since I went to a club and drank many alcoholic beverages into the early hours of the morning. Having had a taste of just that the other night, not so much in the alcohol consumption but in the atmosphere and drink consumed by the free spirits all around me - including the occasional fantastically attractive female.
Those nights are always nice. It’s fun to go a bit crazy every now and then, though right now it seems I’m not able to do it, or in the mood quite often. It feels great to be busy, sometimes it feels great to be tired, because it’s tiredness from doing what I love.
It’s the weekend. Go nuts!... look MOM! via iced coffee words
Recently I’ve been working with local promotion company Moving On Music, who specialise in classical, traditional, world, rock and jazz music.
MOM are putting on a mini-festival in the Black Box from today, 26th March, to Sunday 30th March, encompassing many great musicians, as well as film screenings before each show.
In the Café, however, a selection of my photographs, taken at Moving On Music events, are on display throughout the festival.
If you are in Belfast it would be great if you could stop by and have a look, maybe even get a bite to eat - they do a good lunch.
For full details on the festival programme click here... Irish Eyes Not Smiling at Apple via Everything Ulster
Some time ago I gave a few examples of practical, everyday benefits of being a part of the United Kingdom as distinct from the Republic of Ireland. I've stumbled across further examples on a semi-regular basis since then, but I couldn't believe that the iPhone hadn't been released (officially) in "Ireland" [sic] yet.
Apparently there are a few complaints that the price of the iPhone in the rip-off Republic is going to be even higher than the price in the United Kingdom (of rip-off Britain and rip-off Northern Ireland) when it is finally launched down south (where it also looks like being an O2 exclusive), just 4 months after UK consumers got their mits on the device.
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Downloaders Banned from the Internet via Everything Ulster
There's plenty wrong with copyright laws in this country. Instead of fixing those things though, the government want ISPs to do their dirty work, monitor everything you download and ban users from the internet if they download copyrighted material. There are so many things wrong with this I don't know where to start!
1. It's an invasion of privacy. This is the most immediately obvious problem. That's fair enough if you're one of those downloading illegal content, but it's essentially treating everyone as guilty (by stripping them of their right to privacy) until proven innocent. There isn't even a "reasonable grounds for suspicion" protection.
2. It's not technologically feasible. Discussing this very issue, one ISP that monitors the types of traffic on their network quite closely...
imeall geal - foy vance and the flaws via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
Show 6 of Imeall Geal - Irish language music and culture show. I didn’t spend any time in the studio during recording so I can’t comment on how it went, or how much crap they talked in the links - all I know is that the two acts who performed are superb.
I have been meaning to hear more of Foy Vance’s music other than the two songs on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack; Gabriel and the Vagabond and Homebird. Both incredible songs. I have wanted to see him playing for some time now. Unfortunately while at the recording of Imeall Geal yesterday afternoon I was not able to be there at the time he was playing, though being the super-nice guy that he is he agreed to a quick photo shoot.
I returned to the Arts Centre a couple of hours later for lots more coffee and reading... Downloaders Banned from the Internet via Everything Ulster
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/15/downloaders_banned_from_the_internetThere's plenty wrong with copyright laws in this country. Instead of fixing those things though, the government want ISPs to do their dirty work, monitor everything you download and ban users from the internet if they download copyrighted material. There are so many things wrong with this I don't know where to start!
1. The most immediately obvious problem is it's an invasion of privacy. That's fair enough if you're one of those downloading illegal content, but it's essentially treating everyone as guilty (by stripping them of their right to privacy) until proven innocent. There isn't even a "reasonable grounds for suspicion" protection.
2. It's not technologically feasible. Discussing this...
happy ‘feck-off-i’m-single’ day via iced coffee words » Phil O'Kane Photography
That time of year once more. Lets ignore it.
Thankfully there is plenty going on in Belfast this evening to keep me occupied.
The Knights of the Round Table are holding their usual jam packed night of fun with music from Kitty and the Can Openers, Serpentine Smile and Autorun plus plenty of extras including light electronica, poetry, “groovy” art displays, a local film and rice krispie valentines delights for the first fifty people through the door.
The Winding Stair are headlining Gifted at the Empire along with Eoghan Colgan, Ursula Burns and Dolbro Dan. A great acoustic lineup..
If you head a little further into town Olympic Lifts are releasing their new single ‘I Am Cursed’ which is available now to download. Well worth checking out.
With a lot of choice of...