Laura Viers announces 9-date UK Tour in November‏

To follow the release of her ninth studio album Warp and Weft this August, LAURA VEIRS has just announced news of a 9-date UK tour in November. Dates/info below:

Sunday 10 November – NORWICH – Norwich Arts Centre (£15)

Monday 11 November – BRIGHTON – Komedia (£16)

Thursday 14 November – YORK – Fibbers (£15)

Friday 15 November – MANCHESTER – Academy 3 (£16.50)

Saturday 16 November – GLASGOW – ABC2 (£15)

Sunday 17 November – NEWCASTLE – Cluny (£16.50)

Tuesday 19 November – NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms (£15)

Wednesday 20 November – BRISTOL – Thekla (£15)

Thursday 21 November – LONDON – Islington Assembly Hall (£19.50)

Beautiful, lush and at times deeply dark, Warp and Weft captures the intensity of motherhood, love and violence. Primarily electric-guitar driven, it is a fever dream of an album and could well be Veirs’ best work to date, building on the uniform praise and commercial success of 2010's "July Flame”. Click HERE to check out 'Sun Song', the album's opening track, which features Neko Case on backing vocals.

The recording of ‘Warp and Weft’ (a weaving term) was a community effort. Produced in Portland in March 2013 by Veirs’ longtime collaborator Tucker Martine, the album features Jim James, KD Lang, Neko Case, Brian Blade and members of The Decemberists and many more.

Veirs sings not only of mid-winter suns, white blossoming cherry trees and melting ice, but also suicide, gun violence and war. She weaves threads of old folk songs including “Motherless Children” as well as stories of folk-art hero Howard Finster and jazz harpist Alice Coltrane. “I think of this record as a tapestry where disparate elements come together and are stronger and more lovely as a result,” says Veirs.

Veirs was eight months pregnant with her second child during the recording; she says her experience as a mother brought about some of the more beautiful and painful songs. “I’m haunted by the idea that something terrible could happen to my kids but that fear pushes me to embrace the moment. This record is an exploration of extremes – deep, dark suffering and intense, compassionate love.”

Warp and Weft will be released 19th August 2013 on Bella Union.

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Review: The Dinosaur Truckers – S/T

The Dinosaur Truckers – S/T (Off Label Records)

German quartet, The Dinosaur Truckers, play a form of country music that isn’t afraid to rock. Their energetic, rambunctious take on a genre known for its staid conservatism is to be welcomed with open arms, and should see the group embraced by fans of the Bloodshot label, the early country/rockabilly sides of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams (1 and 3) and Lemmy’s collection of cowboy hats. I’ve no idea if they’re hugely popular in their homeland, but I imagine if their live shows are as much fun as their new record, they can’t have too much trouble attracting an audience.

Their third album begins well; “Black Ship” probably owes a deal more to folk than to country, and rattles forth like The Men They Couldn’t Hang put through a faulty Spaghetti Western power mincer. It’s followed by “Let It Roll”, on which guitars shimmer like shafts of hazy light on a desert highway, and names like True West and Evan Johns are ushered forth from a particularly dry and gritty part of my dustbowl subconscious.

“Hey People” is a fantastic call to arms, propelled by feisty strings (banjo, guitar, mandolin), and a message well worth hearing, and they bring things to an excellent conclusion with “High, Low and Lonesome”; a dark tale that incorporates a little satanic Marty Robbins into the mix. I don’t get to type that too often!

www.dinosaurtruckers.de

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Phil S.

Sell Music online at ReverbNation.com

Shakespeare-era Oxford tavern room wins funding

The Painted Room would have been used by the

tavern's special guests, the preservation trust said

Campaigners hoping to preserve a room in a former inn, believed to have been used by William Shakespeare, have received a cash boost.

The Painted Room is all that remains of the Crown Tavern in Cornmarket, Oxford.

A £30,000 grant from English Heritage is expected to be used for initial conservation work on the building's structure and the room's original Elizabethan wallpaper.

Oxford Preservation Trust hopes the room can become a visitor attraction.

More than 700 people attended public tours of the Painted Room in April, when the trust temporarily opened it to mark Shakespeare's birthday.

The Crown Tavern was owned by John Davenant who was a friend of Shakespeare, according to the trust.

Shakespeare is said to have stayed there on several occasions while travelling between Stratford-upon-Avon and London.

The preservation trust said the Painted Room would have been used by special guests.

The room, above the current Republic fashion shop, features Elizabethan wallpaper, which was discovered hidden behind oak panels in the 1920s.

English Heritage's David Brock described the wall paintings in the room as "extraordinary".

"We hope our grant will lead to a better understanding of the historical significance of this building and help ensure it has a viable future," he added.

The Oxford Preservation Trust hopes to manage the property, which is currently owned by the city council, and open it to the public.

Source: BBC

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Alison Moyet to be honoured at Silver Clef Awards

Alison Moyet is to be honoured with the Icon Award at this year's Silver Clef Awards.

The annual event, which takes place at the end of June, is in aid of the music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

Moyet said she was honoured to be recognised by the charity.

"I've admired their work for many years and it feels really special to be recognised by them as an 'icon'," she said.

She will receive her honorary award from her friend Dawn French at the ceremony in London.

Moyet found fame in the 1980s with Yazoo and has had a successful solo career, as well as starring in West End productions.

Last month she released her 8th studio album, The Minutes.

She told the BBC that making the album had been her most enjoyable studio experience because she had "taken herself away from the record companies" to make it the way she wanted.

She said that when singers got to a certain age, "the only record anyone wants to make with you is a covers album".

Other winners

The Silver Clef Awards will take place at the London Hilton on 28 June.

Ten awards will be presented at the ceremony.

Other winners include Bee Gees star Barry Gibb, who will receive a lifetime achievement prize and Coldplay, who will pick up the best British act.

Trumpet soloist Alison Balsom will receive the classical award and Labrinth, will be given the innovation award.

Organisers hope to raise £500,000 from the awards to fund 20,000 music therapy sessions for children and adults across the UK.

Source: BBC

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Review: Lauren Lapointe – Superhero

Lauren Lapointe – Superhero (Independent)

Lauren Lapointe is a Savannah, Georgia based singer-songwriter with roots in folk, acoustic and alternative country music – three genres, that when combined, usually get described as Americana. That sounds about right, though it’s worth mentioning that much of Lapointe’s oeuvre comes with a rootsy pop edge, which is always appealing, and would sound great on mainstream radio - in the way Laura Cantrell’s songs used to, and occasionally, Lucinda Williams’ still do.

Her 2007 album “Butterfly” got her foot in many industry doors, and “Superhero” should see Lapointe throwing them open. Produced in Nashville by Thomm Jutz (Nanci Griffith, Mary Gauthier, Steve Young), the sound is an engaging combination of classic country, narrative songwriting and plentiful hooks. Jutz weaves these threads with some skill, emphasizing Lapointe’s many strengths, and inspiring the musicians at his disposal to some fine performances.

Kicking off with “Silent Hurricane”, its torchy arrangement and conflicting meteorological imagery is clever and cool, and easy to like. “Silver Cowboy Boots” brings to mind both the fore mentioned Laura Cantrell and insurgent country legend Kelly Hogan. It comes with a beautifully languid pedal steel and the sort of storyline that country music built its reputation on, and unfortunately, is rarely heard these days. It might be the best thing here, though both “Dusty Tired Angel” and the rockabilly flecked “The Ghost of Elvis” run it close.

www.laurenl.com

www.facebook.com/LaurenLapointeMusic

www.laurenlapointe.bandcamp.com

Lauren Lapointe CD Baby Page

Phil S.

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Tonight at The Musician: The City Acoustic Club

The City Acoustic Club
Monday 10^th June
Free open mic night

 

For up to date info and news please join The City Acoustic Club Facebook group!

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Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59

Author Iain Banks has died aged 59, two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family has said.

Banks, who was born in Dunfermline, Fife, revealed in April he had gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year.

He was best known for his novels The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road and Complicity.

In a statement, his publisher said he was "an irreplaceable part of the literary world".

A message posted on Banksophilia, a website set up to provide fans with updates on the author, quoted his wife Adele saying: "Iain died in the early hours this morning. His death was calm and without pain."

Publisher Little, Brown Book Group said the author was "one of the country's best-loved novelists" for both his mainstream and science fiction books.

"Iain Banks' ability to combine the most fertile of imaginations with his own highly distinctive brand of gothic humour made him unique," it said.

After announcing his illness in April, Banks asked his publishers to bring forward the release date of his latest novel, The Quarry, so he could see it on the shelves.

On Sunday, it was revealed the book - to be released on 20 June - would detail the physical and emotional strain of cancer.

It describes the final weeks of the life of a man in his 40s who has terminal cancer.

Speaking to the BBC's Kirsty Wark, Banks said he was some 87,000 words into writing the book when he was diagnosed with his own illness.

"I had no inkling. So it wasn't as though this is a response to the disease or anything, the book had been kind of ready to go," he said.

"And then 10,000 words from the end, as it turned out, I suddenly discovered that I had cancer."

'Craft and skill'

Little, Brown said the author was presented with finished copies of his last novel three weeks ago.

Banks' first novel, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984 and was ranked as one of the best 100 books of the 20th Century in a 1997 poll conducted by book chain Waterstones and Channel 4.

In 2008 he was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by The Times.

The writer also penned sci-fi titles under the name Iain M Banks. His most recent book, The Hydrogen Sonata, was released last year.

Fellow Scottish author Ken MacLeod paid tribute to Banks, saying he had "left a large gap in the Scottish literary scene as well as the wider speaking English world".

"He brought a wonderful combination of the dark and the light side of life and he explored them both without flinching," he said.

"He brought the same degree of craft and skill and commitment to his science fiction as he did to his mainstream fiction and he never drew any distinction in terms of his pride in what he was doing."

Another contemporary, Iain Rankin, told the BBC that Banks was "fascinating, curious and full of life".

"He didn't take things too seriously, and in a way I'm happy that he refused to take death too seriously - he could still joke about it," he said. "I think we all thought he would have a bit longer than he got.

"What made him a great writer was that he was childlike; he had a curiosity about the world. He was restless, he wanted to transmit that in his work, and he treated the cancer with a certain amount of levity, the same that made him a great writer.

"You never knew what you were going to get, every book was different."

Other authors to pay tribute included Irvine Welsh, who tweeted: "RIP Iain Banks. One of the finest writers and greatest imaginations ever."

Sci-fi writer John-Paul Cleary also said: "Tragic news about Iain Banks, my hero and inspiration, a writer of incredible creativity and wit."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Iain was an incredibly talented writer whose work, across all genres, has brought pleasure to readers for over 30 years.

"His determination not just to complete his final novel but also to reflect his illness in the pages of his work, will make that work all the more poignant and all the more significant."

After announcing his illness, Banks had described being "hugely moved" by the public support for him through his website.

"Still knocked out by the love and the depth of feeling coming from so many people; thank you, all of you," he wrote on Banksophilia last month.

Source: BBC

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Review: Tim Snider – Let Go, Jump In The River

Tim Snider – Let Go, Jump In The River (Bok Choy Productions)

Tim Snider wanted to play violin from a very early age. An Itzhak Perlman performance on Sesame Street when he was just three-and-a-half years old was his earliest musical inspiration, and it was classical music that first provided the impetus to learn his instrument. Over the years other influences came into play, from exposure to rock music (he dropped the violin and picked up a guitar), a Ben Harper gig turned him onto songwriting, and sojourns in Spain and Cuba introduced flamenco, salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms into his repertoire. Returning to college, he spent a year studying jazz, and rediscovering his love of classical music – and went back to the violin.

That’s a lot of music for one so young, but it’s experience that’s served him well. He’s shared bills with artists as diverse as Steel Pulse to Robert Randolph and the Family Band, as well as touring a large chunk of the world playing his own music, a world-folk-jazz-pop hybrid that’s aimed at the heart, the brain and the feet.

On his new album, recorded with the assistance of a large group of musical friends, Snider brings his influence together in ways that are vital and powerful. Songs are propelled by the rhythms of Southern Europe and the Americas, and his songs get under skin in a most agreeable way. “Hurricane” gets things going, pushed along by serious strings, and preparing the ground for the remarkable “Jump In” – the semi-official title track – where his vision (and concept) truly comes together. It’s about letting go and grabbing life, and musically that’s just what Snider’s doing – with side helpings of driving rhythm and radio friendly hooks.

www.timsnidermusic.com

www.facebook.com/Tim-Snider-Music

Tim Snider CD Baby Page

Phil S.

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This Weekend at The Musician: Saturday, Larry Miller Band / Sunday, The Book Of Genesis

Saturday 8^th June

Larry Miller Band
£12

plus Motherlode and Purple & The Rains

www.larrymiller.co.uk

www.motherlodeonline.co.uk

After picking up his brother's guitar and writing his first song, he felt his future lay in Rock music, being influenced by some of the guitar greats - Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Moore. "For me, my moment of inspiration was seeing Rory Gallagher live, I had never experienced anything like it. So loud, so gloriously on the edge of total mayhem, yet Rory was still totally in control. How could I not do this too! Like Rory I'd work under my own name, with a band. I'd do all the writing, singing, producing, playing and leading."

Very quickly, Larry found his own Blues/Rock style, and has been constantly refining it. He is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, with a love for his music which is simply infectious.

"Fantastic, world class guitarist” - Bluesrockers, USA

"His guitar playing is simply mesmerising” - Bluesmatters UK

Sunday 9^th June

Doktor Dyper Promotions presents...

The Book Of Genesis (Genesis Tribute)
£10adv £12door

www.thebookofgenesis.co.uk

The Book of Genesis faithfully recreate the musical brilliance of England's finest prog rock band covering the Gabriel years and some of the best songs from the Collins period too. The band cover a wide repertoire from the first album onwards but focused on the progressive rock era up until Steve Hackett left the band.

The Book of Genesis performance encompasses all the exciting hallmarks of the Gabriel period (masks, costumes, acting) and they continue this on into the Collins period.

The Book of Genesis are truly a revelation for all Genesis fans.

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