GIG LISTINGS
compiled by Andy Lowe
Advance prices shown, door prices may vary slightly - All doors 7:30pm except Sundays, when doors open 7pm.
TO BOOK TICKETS call our booking line on 020 7240 2622. Out of office hours the phone is on answer-phone in which case please leave your name, the artist you want to see, the date of the show and your daytime contact number and we will return your call.
OFFICE NUMBER 020 7240 2120
ADVANCED BOOKING NUMBER 020 7240 2622
E-MAIL: 12barclub@btconnect.com
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Saturday 28th August DEATH VALLEY SURFERS + HUMAN WAVE ATTACK + ANTIBODIES £6 London Callin presents
In 1998 Russ Surfer, drummer for The Highliners, left to start a new band. This time as the front man, based on his love of surfing, 50s hot rods & cult films. The name Death Valley Surfers came from a surfing gang in the 80's, who all cruised around in old cars & hot rods. Dingo, Super Ted, Dolf (Russ) & Red Nose were the founder members.
The DVS train was on the way to entertain anybody who wants to have fun. They have their own style of punkabilly mixed in with country, surf, plenty of humour & a big fat swinging saxophone. They call it crazy rock'n'roll.
www.deathvalleysurfers.co.uk
Sunday 29th August OPEN MIC SESSION hosted by VINCE McCANN £3 arrive from 7pm, music from 8pm
Monday 30th August NIGEL OF BERMONDSEY + BROMIDE + TESS CUNNINGHAM + JAY FISHER £3
Nigel Hoyle has been making music since he was tiny, and has been mooching around the music business all his adult life. He was bass player and one of the founder members of indie band Gay Dad, and he has written a number one hit (in Italy). He has sold his soul. He can now afford to buy it back.
www.myspace.com/nigelofbermondsey
Bromide is London-based, Essex-born, Capri-owning, cat-worshipping, singer-songwriter simon berridge and anyone he can con into playing with him. Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's not. Until recently there had been two albums, "iscariot heart" and "no.space.anymore.even.inbetween.words", plus a couple of singles on his own scratchy label. Along the way he's shared stages with vic chesnutt, mark eitzel from american music club, the fuzztones, darren hefner, erland oye from kings of convenience, simon fisher turner, the rocks, suzanne rhatigan katy carr, and NY anti-folkers major matt mason and prewar yard sale.
Latest album "the trouble with... bromide" was released last year and features thirteen tracks of lo-fi acoustic folk-poptrickery produced by ed and matt from labelmates spork, including a cover of the legendary guided by voices song "Game Of Pricks"
www.theinternetatemysoul.co.uk/bromide.htm
Since 1994 jay Fisher's music out-put has been prolific, independent. and often obscure; his influences have always been slightly at odds with his work, and this has always made him uncomfortable with being identified as a singer/songwriter - even though he is one. Now with the forming of his own label, Kilburn State Records, he's finally achieving autonomy; his current projects apple rabbits,Rainettes, and Furry Kitten, could be viewed as a merging of everything he's done since the release of his first album The Velvetine Ear in 1994.
Considering it was released at a time in a Britain where pop music was dominated by Brit-pop, trip-hop, and Grunge, when Oasis were a new band just down from Manchester, Nirvana were just about to release In Utero, and Radiohead were a year or so away from releasing The Bends, jay Fisher's debut album 'The Velvetine Ear' received a surprising amount of critical acclaim. Maybe it was because there was no attempt to emulate, or acknowledge, popular trends in music at the time; which won over the albums reviewers. What ever it was it worked; and Jay Fisher, and his not quite folk, and not quite 80's retro album, made an unlikely ripple.
What followed was a stream of support slots and festival appearances in 94/95; supports included: Vic Chestnutt, Jools Holland, Mark Burgess, Freedy Johnson, Madder Rose, Roy Harper, and finally a four month tour with John Martyn. In the autumn of 1994 Jay was approached by Paul Castle, who was looking for a vocalist to do something on a track called Shark Dance for N-tone. What Paul was looking for was a high energy, feel good vocal - and what jay delivered was a strange four part harmony drone, using made up words; nothing like what Paul had been expecting, or had wanted. In the Autumn of 1995 jay and Paul met up again, at Crosstrax studio Kings cross, and started working on ideas.
What eventually came out of those sessions was Canteen's Satsuma album, in 1999. Canteen's sound was a mixture of Jay's songs, four track recordings, vocals, and instrumentation, Paul's Dance, ambient,and big beat arrangements, and later Dug Wolfsohn's Sonic experiments. And It is here that all the elements which make up apple rabbits', genre hopping, sound came together, and where jay learned an approach to recording, which allowed him to develop his ideas for apple rabbits' King Of Anglia and Kilburn State albums.
www.myspace.com/applerabbits
Tess Cunningham is a fine singer, accomplished pianist, captivating performer and dancer....what sets her apart is the sheer originality and quality of her songwriting. Tess writes and composes without fear or favour, expressing often dark, passionate, sometimes heart on sleeve at others in your face truthful lyrical dynamism.
Dark, brooding, full of raw emotion and honest insight into the heart of a self. Tess and her music are not to be missed.
www.myspace.com/tesscunningham
Wednesday 1st September CITIZEN HELENE + LIAM BAILEY + CHARLENE SORAIA £6
Citizen Helene is a psychedelic folk singer, songwriter and guitarist from London. Raised in a sleepy coastal town in West Dorset, Helene picked up the guitar and began to experiment with writing and recording her own songs as a teenager. One day she decided to sneak into her brother's room and steal his copy of 'Pet Sounds' - a moment that would mark the beginning of a lifelong obsession with the music of Brian Wilson.
Described as "pure 60's West Coast pop", Helene's sound has been likened to that of Margo Guryan, Karen Carpenter and Joni Mitchell with English sensibilities, combining lush Beach Boys harmonies with a touch of lo-fi Wall of Sound production.
www.myspace.com/citizenhelene
Listening to Liam Bailey's soulful, bluesy, drawl you would be forgiven for assuming you're hearing some lost, Chess Records classic. In actual fact he is a 25-year-old singer songwriter hotly tipped as the next big thing in British soul by those in the know, and with a voice somewhere between Howlin' Wolf and Marvin Gaye, coupled with his beautifully intricate guitars, it's hard to disagree.
Drawn to "the sound, the heart, the lyrics the history [and] the songs" of soul music, new singer/songwriter on the block Liam Bailey fell in love with music - particularly Reggae, Rock and Soul - and began making his own on the eclectic Nottingham scene. He has a background in hip-hop with 1st Blood and folk with The Accidental, and these influences infuse sumptuously in his contemporary take on classic soul-pop.
Liam's debut album is being produced by Sex & The City musical director and versatile producer (Nas, Amy Winehouse) Salaam Remi. The album is due in January 2011, and look out for Mr Bailey's single coming this month.
www.liambaileymusic.co.uk
Charlene Soraia as given her first guitar at the age of five. She played her first open mic night at the age of eight, and was a regular on the Open Mic circuit by the age of ten.
Completely self-taught, she won admission to the legendary BRIT School of Performing Arts despite failing to have the minimum requirement of a GCSE in Music. Once at the BRIT School she stopped performing acoustically and started playing in a band called Retrospect. She restarted her solo performances in 2008.
www.myspace.com/charlenesoraiajones
Thursday 2nd September CALM OF ZERO + ROXANNE DE BASTION + ODETTE + ALLEGRA SHOCK £6
Calm Of Zero were formed this year from the ashes of a previous incarnation as Echobelly whose frontwoman, Sonya Aurora Madan and guitarist, Glenn Johansson have continued to write songs together. After the maelstrom years of Britpop and their ensuing success as Echobelly, a series of experiences that rock'n'roll would call its own, including death, drugs, theft and high court injunctions.
Glenn and Sonya came through the storm to a time of reflection, re-positioning and reality: Where to go from here when the desire to write songs is stronger than ever but the business has changed considerably? Back to what you once knew:
Write those songs and perform them. Calm Of Zero will be performing brand new songs for the first time this September. Catch a glimpse and say you were there when it all began.........
Roxanne De Bastion grew up in Berlin where she started performing at the wee age of ten. Never having to ask herself "what do I want to do when I grow up", she moved to England to further pursue hery music career in 2007.
Since then she has been touring the UK and hase already played some of England's most prestigious venues and has recently been on tour with Nik Kershaw!
Now based in London, Roxanne released her first EP "Mono" through Zube Records, which has received great reviews and airplay throughout the country, including the BBC Midlands and Merseyside.
Roxanne is an extremely energetic and enthusiastic performer, which allows her to play at events usually reserved for full rock and indie bands as well as the acoustic and folk platforms. Her songs are now equally at home in London, The Midlands, Liverpool and Berlin and she hopes that they will continue to spread their feelers into new grounds, ears and hearts!
www.myspace.com/roxannedebastion
Odette Albani - vocals, Marco De Angelis - lead guitar are "Odette", whose new album "Just Me" is newly released on Marbles Records
www.marblesrecords.com
Odette was born in Rome, Italy but has lived long parts of her life in New York and in London, where she currently resides. She started playing the piano at five, writing poems at nine, and writing songs when she was 14. In her late teens she played keyboards, sang in a girl band, and signed her first record deal as an artist and songwriter. Odette's songs were published by Warner Chappell in Italy. After a phase studying, and in the business world, she has now found her way back to music and has just finished recording her CD as a solo artist 'Just Me' which she launched in January 2010. Her songs are inspired by her eclectic taste for music from the 60's and 70's, the indie sounds from today's UK rock, and country-rock music from the US.
www.myspace.com/odettealbani
Vocalist/acoustic guitarist, Allegra Shock (aka Allegra Prosper) has a background which spans punk, poetic melodies, rock and roll and folk. Shock is alluring yet vulnerable, hard yet soft, with a unique voice she uses as an instrument and a guitar she meshes with her lyrics to paint pictures with words. Brought up in Northern California by musician/artist parents, Allegra travelled around with her father on tour and absorbed the influence of many styles of music. Rock and roll in the vein of Richards and Townsend...pop in the sense of Lennon/ McCartney and early soul/r&b... not to mention American and Irish folk music, blues, punk rock and the poets- Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Shane Mcgowan and of course Bob Dylan. Allegra is truly a lover of music and a lover of life.
www.myspace.com/allegrashock
Friday 3rd September 5 SHITTY FINGERS + DEADBEAT + THE WRONG 'UNS £6 London Callin presents
Saturday 4th September KNUCKLEDUST + KARTEL + SIX GRAMMES EIGHT + BROKEN TEETH + TRUE VALIANCE £6 Rucktion Records presents
Monday 6th September ARTMAGIC + ANDREW MONTGOMERY £6 Artmagic is Richard Oakes and Sean McGhee. Richard plays guitar, bass and piano, while Sean programs, plays synthesisers and sings.
Richard played guitar for Suede and co-wrote several of their hits, while Sean has worked with Britney Spears, Sugababes, Robyn, Kate Havnevik, Imogen Heap and many more.
This is shimmering, yearning pop music made by people who understand.
www.myspace.com/artmagicmusic
Andrew Montgomery comes from a family of strong singers. Montgomery's brother, parents and grandparents have or had exceptional voices, in particular Montgomery's mother, who was a semi-professional performer. He grew up in a household where singing was a part of everyday life, and, as a result, Montgomery had already developed a strong singing voice at a very young age. As an adult, he has an impressive vocal range of over three and a half octaves.
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh Montgomery became a journalist in Aberdeen, where he met guitarist Steven Dora, and formed a band called Sunfish.
The band was signed to the record label Nude, and changed its name, first to Garland, then to Geneva. At the height of their career, Geneva received wide critical acclaim, particularly with regard to Montgomery's singing voice. Often referred to as "angelic", "heavenly" or "celestial", there was a distinct 'choirboy' quality to Montgomery's voice.
Following the band's split, Montgomery moved to New York City, where he met and began collaborating with a number of musicians, including Steve Slingeneyer of Soulwax, and Ben Ellis of Serafin and Catherine Wheel. During this period Montgomery travelled regularly between New York and the UK, living in a number of different places, including London, and taking temporary jobs to support his music. It was while he was spending time in England that he engaged in a collaboration with Overseer, culminating in a contribution to his 2003 album Wreckage.
Montgomery moved permanently back to Scotland in 2003, and formed a London based band called Amityville. Amityville did well on the London gig circuit and generated some press and industry interest, and they released a limited edition EP, Pacific Radio Fire, which quickly sold out. But ultimately the band was too indie rock centred for the mood of the British pop band scene at the time and the band broke up in 2005, but Montgomery and guitarist Stuart Peck continue to collaborate.
Montgomery moved to Brighton in 2005 and, following the break-up of Amityville, embarked on a collaboration with Keris Howard, formerly of the band Harper Lee. They named themselves St. Famous.
Following a sabbatical from summer 2006 to summer 2007, Montgomery had rekindled his work both with St. Famous and Stuart Peck. St. Famous planned to go into the recording studio some time in 2008. However in March 2009 Montgomery announced on the band's myspace page that Keris Howard has decided to leave and St Famous is a solo project now.
"It's the voice that you fall for, of course. There are easy reference points - Jeff Buckley, David McAlmont, Radiohead - but what thrills most is Montgomery's restraint. He could show off, demonstrate his "virtuosity", ultimately be used by his ability; remarkably, he resists" - Melody Maker
www.myspace.com/stfamous
Tuesday 7th September DAVID CRONENBERG'S WIFE + THE BLUE TACKIES + SERGEANT BUZFUZ £6 Blang. Monthly Blang showcase moves to Tuesday nights www.blang.co.uk
8:30 SERGEANT BUZFUZ - Modern folk songs about death, desire and drinking. And that's just the ones about the papacy.
"Imagine XTC singing Celtic folk music, and you'll be half-way to appreciating the beautiful anarchy of the opening track. But then it really does get ever-more weird and strangely wonderful. I can only imagine the sheer joy and possible mayhem that their live gigs contain." (Sandman album review)
www.sergeantbuzfuz.com
9:15 THE BLUE TACKIES - The Blue Tackies started in 2009 as a computer generated band created by artist Gaya Giacometti and have evolved into a mischievous and anarchic cut-up of electro, punk, cabaret, noise, classical and other random voices.
www.myspace.com/thebluetackies
10:00 DAVID CRONENBERG'S WIFE - Modern folk tales about death, desire and drinking. All intoned over a repetitive 60s garage-meets-Krautrock 2 chord 2 note holy din.
"If Nick Cave just isn't unpleasant enough for you these days, this will be a record to treasure" - Time Out
"Where genius meets idiocy" - Mark Lamarr, Radio 2
www.davidcronenbergswife.com
Wednesday 8th September CLARENCE BUCARO + SADIE JEMMETT + BEN DE LA COUR £6
Clarence Bucaro has been described by Boston Phoenix as "the roots offspring of Jackson Brown and Rickie Lee Jones. BBC Radio London's Robert Elms declared Clarence's new album "mature, melodic and edgy music. I absolutely loved it".
Londoners had an opportunity to catch Clarence playingd three shows here in May supporting Anais Mitchell to coincide with the UK release of his latest album "'Til Spring"
This is a record The New York Times described as containing "songs that hark back to late 1960s Van Morrison", and these impeccable credentials are on show once again at the 12 Bar before he heads to the Marlow FM Festival on September 11th on a bill alongside Nick Heyward.
www.clarencebucaro.com
www.myspace.com/clarencebucaro
Sadie Jemmett's extraordinary songs reflect a remarkable life. Behind the entrancing, eloquence of her lyrics and the subtle acoustic beauty of her music lies a restlessly seeking spirit and a rich but frequently dark experience. Her peripatetic journey has followed a jagged course from a wildly bohemian childhood through being a teenage runaway, a backing singer in a reggae band and a touring actress to her role today as one of the most magical new singer-songwriters to excite our ears in many years. Somewhere along the way, she also found time to work with adults with learning difficulties, spend a year busking in Berlin, write the music for an award-winning play in Paris and to become a mother. Every one of these kaleidoscopic experiences has helped to shape her into a potent singer-songwriter who stands in the great lineage of the art from classic era Joni Mitchell and Neil Young to the likes of David Gray and Ryan Adams today, and yet who shines out as a profoundly unique voice.
Produced by Steve Lee, mixed and co-produced in LA by David Bianco (Teenage Fanclub/Del Amitri/Tom Petty) and mastered in London by Kevin Metcalfe (Queen/ David Bowie/ Kinks/ Oasis), her album, "The Blacksmith's Girl" is the distillation of Sadie's astonishing life story. Mostly written over the last year, the magical, eloquently confessional songs are all about coming to terms with her extraordinary and often traumatic past. Many of them delve deep into her own sub-conscious. Yet like the best songs of Joni Mitchell, at the same time they're far more than pages torn from a private diary.
The album is set to appear in autumn on Wildflower, the label run by American folk legend Judy Collins. "I opened for Judy at a show at London's Jazz café last year," Sadie recalls. "She appeared when I was sound checking, which was a bit intimidating because I've always regarded her as an inspiration. But she seemed to like what she heard and afterwards invited me to her dressing room, wanting to know all about me and the songs."
At the time Sadie assumed that Wildflower was purely a vehicle for Collins' own releases. When she discovered that the label was signing other acts, she got back in touch. Collins had not forgotten the singer and the songs that had so impressed her that night at the Jazz Café, and a deal followed.
By this time, "The Blacksmith's Girl" was already intact as an album. But in the meantime, of course, Sadie had been writing new songs, among them the wonderful "Up On The Heath", which has now been added to the album. Produced by Ed Harcourt, the track will be the first single.
www.sadiejemmett.com
www.myspace.com/sadiejemmettmusic
Ben de la Cour started out playing in metal bands at the age of eleven in Brooklyn. At twenty-five years old he has been a boxer in Cuba, a busker in Paris, a janitor in a mental institution, a farm worker and the frontman for London based doom-lunatics Dead Man's Root with whom he released two albums.
In early 2009 he began recording and gigging on his own and has since played all over the country as well as touring the UK, Ireland, France and Switzerland.
Like his heroes Townes Van Zandt, Tom Waits and Hank Williams, he echoes the timeless voices of the past while creating something contemporary, haunting and unique.
www.myspace.com/bendelacour
Thursday 9th September THE SAVAGE NOMADS + JON BYRNE + FABIAN TACTICS £6
The Savage Nomads, a South London four piece, were inspired to perform as a serious act after Clash founder Mick Jones urged them to play support at one of his Carbon Casino events in Notting Hill in early 2008. Cole Salewicz, who had founded the Savage Nomads with drummer Billy Boone the previous summer, had been reluctant, feeling that the group wasn't ready, even with the addition of feisty bass player Josh Miles. Up until then they had only played one show, at a friend's birthday party in a Brixton pub. But as singer and guitarist Cole had recently written "Christmas Shoppers" which he considered "a strong song", he allowed Mick Jones to coax him into it.
After their original guitar player left the band to focus on studies, Cole Salewicz put ads for a new guitarist on the internet. The Savage Nomads were flooded with responses. But the only appropriate musician was one who had applied for the job within the first five minutes of it being announced on the web. "Joe Gillick's innovative, unique playing and his great enthusiasm and desire to write, took us up another gear, and cemented us as a group we were really pleased with," says Cole Salewicz. "Joe really appreciates that in any sound you can find something you like."
" We listen to absolutely everything," Cole Salewicz defines the sound of The Savage Nomads. For all the group members, it's a great quest to find the next track that leads onto something new for them. "Music is very liberating. We never wanted to play anything that sounded the same as other people. We wanted to incorporate all different ideas into the sound: even though there is an underlying punk rock influence, the lyrics can come from hip hop, and the live drumming as much from electronica beats."
The group recently reunited with Mick Jones, this time in the studio that was part of the Clashman's Rock 'N' Roll Public Library exhibition. For now you can catch The Savage Nomads' terrific onstage work every month at their residency at the 12 Bar Club.
www.myspace.com/thesavagenomads
Friday 10th September THE PENNY BLACK REMEDY + supports £6
In The Penny Black Remedy, Keith Thomson seems to have found the perfect vehicle to express his world view...that life is full of dark, cruel things and unjust miseries, that it may come to a premature or unpleasant end, but that there is no reason not to embrace the situation and be cheerful, and live life to its limits.
This band make a gleeful noise, dancing on graves and kicking away ladders, and Keith croons and snarls, roundly abusing the audience and pretty much anyone else, but in such an agreeable way that they always want more.
Penny Black Remedy's songs wash over the audience like petrol pouring on a barbeque, as their Balkan country punk juggernaut exhumes Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Hank Williams, checks Nick Cave's pulse for continued signs of life, and sets all of them go-go dancing till the bars close and the street cleaners come to pick up the bones.
www.myspace.com/pennyblackremedy
Monday 13th September DREW NELSON £6
Every generation has its poets; the writers, musicians, and lyricists who capture the spirit and longings of their time. Those who give expression to our own personal memories and dreams as though they know us. They tell our stories, giving us the words we need to celebrate or let go. That is the soil in which singer/songwriter Drew Nelson has been toiling.
Drew Neslon's latest album, Dusty Road to Beulah Land marks a notable growth in his standing as a songwriter and musician. Each song brings another side of Drew to the forefront, expanding beyond his folk-singer roots to embrace wider genres.
In the follow up to Nelsons' acclaimed independent release Immigrant Son, he proves he is not only a great songwriter but also a great storyteller. Singer/songwriter Meg Hutchinson says "it's not often that someone can so aptly give voice to other people's lives and make us believe every word." Nelson's stories are about the people we know, people we wish we knew, and who we are.
Within this collection of songs we find the displaced Detroit auto worker (Stranger), the love lost and wandering (Highway 2), the farmer watching his beloved landscape disappear before his eyes (Farmer's Lament), the dazed blue collar worker shaking his head at bailouts and greed, and the deep respect and insight of Native American life and culture (Grandmother Moon, Raindance). Drew puts his feelings, and ours, into words and music that capture the spirit and soul of the world around us all with a common thread - hope.
"Drew Nelson's songs move like the river under the ice. He writes like a man who has learned to make use of his setbacks, to become a voice of community and renewal," says Andrew Calhoun of Waterbug Records. (Dusty Road to Beulah Land was released on Waterbug Records March 09)"
Early on every writer has to decide whether to try to get at the truth or just blather," says Signature Sounds Recording Artist, Peter Mulvey. "As you encounter the characters on this record, it becomes clear that Drew Nelson has dedicated and re-dedicated himself to getting at real human stories. Some of these characters are him, and some are people he knows, and all their stories let us know that Drew is standing in the Midwestern cold, seeing and telling as clearly as he can."
Drew grew up in Michigan, but escaped the narrow confines of his small-town, Midwestern upbringing by joining the Navy and traveling the world. He was able to see first-hand what was really happening in the world, and come home with fresh eyes to appreciate the realities of life in America. These experiences provided insight and understanding that have found an outlet in songs filled with discovery, revelation, and optimism.
Tuesday 14th September BOB RAFKIN + PATRIA JACOBS £6
Born in New York City, Bob Rafkin grew up in Washington D.C., Cleveland and Philadelphia. Rafkin's musical journey actually began when he headed for Greenwich Village in the mid-sixties where he joined forces with David Blue to form the campy folk-rock group, The American Patrol. In the Village, Bob met folksingers Phil Ochs and Eric Andersen, and Eric Jacobsen, producer for the Lovin' Spoonful, Tim Hardin and Sopwith Camel. He played guitar on and contributed musical arrangements to Eric Andersen's 1966 album, "More Hits From Tin Can Alley," on Vanguard Records.
In 1967, Eric Jacobsen moved to San Francisco to start Sweet Reliable Productions. Bob also relocated there to work as a producer, musical arranger and session guitarist. Old friends David Blue and Phil Ochs moved to Los Angeles, where Bob eventually settled after breaking with Jacobsen in 1968. He played on and produced David Blue's 1972 Asylum LP, "Stories," and played on two LP's by Phil Ochs, including the legendary live album, "Gunfight At Carnegie Hall." Bob worked along side producers Henry Lewy, Larry Marks and Lenny Waronker. He played on sessions for Gene Vincent, The Everly Brothers, Randy Newman and Arlo Guthrie, and was hired to rework Joni Mitchell's1972 song, "Blonde In The Bleachers," for a single release.
Bob's songwriting career took flight in the early seventies with his song "Lazy Waters," covered by the Byrd's on their LP, "Farther Along." He wrote the score for a PBS documentary, furnished the off-camera recording for actor Greg Evigan (B.J. McKay on the NBC TV program "B.J. and the Bear") and his song, "Ain't Gonna Rain No More" was featured on the soundtrack to the feature film "Spree". Bob's first-rate guitar playing was in demand for Tim Buckley's "Sefronia" album and Augie Meyer's 1973 Polydor LP "Western Head Music Company." He collaborated on a country song with rock and roll legend, Johnny Tillotson. After the untimely passing of David Blue, Phil Ochs and Tim Buckley in the mid-seventies, Rafkin took time off from the studio scene to redirect his life and establish his own woodworking business, allowing his creative desires an outlet without the immense pressures of the recording industry.
In 1991, Bob relocated to central Florida where he currently lives with his wife and daughter. So began the current phase in his rich musical life. All seven of his CDs were composed and recorded since his 1991 move. In 1994, Bob was a winner in the Florida Guitar Finger Picking Championship and the South Florida Festival Songwriters Competition. Besides his private guitar teaching and clinics, Bob has performed all over Florida, in Nashville at the Bluebird Cafe and at the Bethlehem Musikfest in Pennsylvania. He opened for Willie Nelson in 1997 and 1999. In 2002 and 2003, Bob toured the U.K. with country music artist, Annie Sims. Since then, Bob has returned to the U K each year, performing solo.
www.bobrafkin.com
With a flamboyant twang that can only be achieved through a blend of uncalculated southern eavesdropping and California coastal wallowing, Patria Jacobs¹ songs cover a variety of musical tastes: her post-punk roots influence her ambient, pop and country songs.
Built around piano, guitar, bass and drum, these new songs are an eclectic collection of pop, dirgy ballads and country flavored songs. Patria¹s new CD, Poison of the Sea, features performances by Stew, Heidi Rodewald (of The Negro Problem), Probyn Gregory (of the Wondermints and Brian Wilson), Paul Lacques (I See Hawks in LA), Tina Link (10 cent) with guest appearances by legendary jazz harpist Corky Hale.
Texas born, this California dwelling songwriter reveals her nicotined chicory roots through her lyrics, while her voice maintains a metropolitan nuance that betrays her wanderings. Patria Jacobs¹ lyrics don¹t just sound Southern, they are. Patria currently resides in Los Angeles but she was born in Houston, Texas and spent her early years in places like Waco and New Caney, Texas. As soon as the clock struck "legal", Patria moved to San Francisco where she joined her first band the Startles but Patria is probably best known as the singer and principal songwriter for the dreamy, atmospheric pop-rock band, Rubyfish, a band that flourished in pre-hype Silver Lake, CA.
After returning to the South and living in Hot Springs, Arkansas for almost a year, Patria found herself obsessed with the Southern dialect, and began eavesdropping and taking rabid notes. Since returning to Los Angeles, Patria recently revealed her southern OEn twisted lyrics in her first solo release, the spoken word/rap/groove Do The Pink remix project. Co-produced by Stew, Doten, and Patria, Do The Pink has seven versions: remixes by Cheeba, Stew, The Mighty One, Doten/TrendComa, and Pickles. The various mixes cross electronic, dance, funky, low-rider and pop ground.
"...like a Marianne Faithful meets Patsy Cline with George Martin arranging." - Iggy St. Ignacious, Zentone.com.
www.myspace.com/patriajacobs
www.patriaworld.com
Wednesday 15th September JOHNNY 5TH WHEEL & THE COWARDS + JD SMITH £6
Johnny 5th Wheel is an acoustic music hall swing skiffle artist from the U.K. The debut album 'TalesOf...Johnny5thWheel&thecowards' will be available to buy and download on the 1st October 2010.
Johnny also creates house sounds and incidental music for ace Muppets-meets-Boosh radio show 'The Me and Perrin, You and Everyone We Know Show' on Express FM in Portsmouth.
www.myspace.com/johnny5thwheel
Saturday 18th September ALTERNATIVE TV + WHO SHOT WHO + THE FALLEN LEAVES + DIRTY UGLY PUNK MONKEYS £6 in advance London Callin presents
Tuesday 21st September GOOD WEATHER GIRL + MIKE BRIGHTLEY + REMFRY DEDMAN £6
Good Weather Girl are a brother and sister duo from London town. Who can say how long they have been together making music? - for they were always working towards it from the moment they could speak. They were encouraged by their mother, punk icon Soo Catwoman to always express themselves and share a great love of music, which has grown stronger with time.
Shem loves listening to death metal and hardcore, whereas Dion loves acoustic indie and electronica. Somehow, they have managed to find a musical level ground. Shem's thrashy guitar playing met Dion's childlike singing, and Good Weather Girl was born.
Good Weather Girl recorded their debut album in 2008 at Hazelwood studios in Frankfurt, Germany and it is now released.
www.myspace.com/goodweathergirlmusic
Mike Brightley - guitarist/singer/songwriter - performs with a versatility that takes him from sweet, chilled-out melodies to darker, heavier sounds, drawing comparisons to Neil Young, Damien Rice and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The emotional intensity displayed in his vocal delivery combines with talented guitar playing to make his dream-like sound a very compelling listen. Cathartic, contemplative, questioning lyrics link love, loss and philosophy, making his songs sound simultaneously melancholic and hopeful. Mike's major musical influences include John Frusciante, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Josh Homme, Pearl Jam and Jimi Hendrix. He has been performing live for almost 15 years, with bands or as a solo act, across the UK and from Scandinavia to South America. Paranoid and beautiful. Soothing and searching. Well-crafted rock music straight from the soul.
Mike Brightley's single "Say It" was released last November. "Say It" is an apocalyptic love song loaded with strings, guitars and tenderness. Also on the release are gig favourite "Call To Arms" and lullaby "A Better View". The tracks were produced by Nick Harris, mastered by Grammy-nominee Andy Jackson.
www.myspace.com/mikebrightley
For a very long time Remfry Dedman wanted to be an actor. After a long soul-searching whiskey induced new year he realized that it wasn't really going anywhere. Depressed, he wrote a song about it. It wasn't a very good song admittedly, but it got him to thinking...and now he has a set of songs that are very personal, often tragic, sometimes funny deep ruminations into the soul, many little reconstructions of that drunken new years if you will. The music in his head is often on a massive quasi-orchestral scale. He tries to turn the ideas in his head into real songs using just a guitar and his voice.
www.myspace.com/remfrydedman
Thursday 23rd September VASHTI ANNA + JAMIE LAWSON + PAUL MOSELY £6
Paul & Jamie & Vashti bringing it folk review style - sharing the stage act as each others' band and generally giving you 3 times the fun!
Vashti was born in Cornwall in 1980, the youngest to three brothers from dreamy singer/songwriter parents Jeff 'n Julie. However, by the time Vashti was one the family had exchanged their idyllic life-style for a Hotel in Bungay, Suffolk. Here Vashti grew up within a world of entertainment, stress, Can-Can girls, heavy drinkers, late night noise and a lot of time on her own. Charlie's Bar (a large function room) provided Vashti with the platform to debut her one girl show at the age of 6. Pulling in guests and locals for the price of 50p, stilt walking, singing, dancing, skating and skipping were all part of the performance, and from this early age Vashti felt at home on the stage.
As Vashti struggled through school and her parents' separation she began to find solace in music and in particular - songwriting. With influences from Madonna, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Nick Drake and many more, Vashti's songs are always personal, honest, fresh and interesting. In 1999, having completed a performing arts course, Vashti went to London where she worked as Assistant Manager at Angel Recording Studios for two years. Although a fascinating place with lovely people, Vashti soon realised working 9-5 was not for her. So she ventured off to Thailand for 6 months where she played in bars and gained a residency in a popular music venue in Pai - Jazz Up Café Bar.
When back in the U.K Vashti moved every 6 months or so, finding that music followed her every stride and that the songs kept flowing. Back in London in 2004 Vashti made her first album with 7 different producers. The result, three months later was "SCRAPBOOK" a polished, sleek piece of work reflecting Vashti's varying styles. A follow up acoustic collection of songs "DRAGONFLY" capturing the more vunerable, melancholy Vashti was recorded in three days with Roy Dodds (Fairground Attraction, Eddi Reader, Jacqui Dankworth, Reg Meuross) in February 2005. Vashti is now singing backing vocals for both her older brothers (Tom Baxter for his 2nd album release and Charlie Winston for his 1st album release - check out their myspace pages).
www.vashtimusic.com
Jamie Lawson used to play regularly here at the 12 Bar Club when he lived in London, and was an underground legend, inspiring the first tentative steps of Turin Brakes, among others.
Jamie was born and raised in Plymouth in what was he says a resolutely non-musical household. "No-one sang or played anything. We didn't have any records. My dad would listen to Radio 2 a bit but that was the extent of it. Then the elder of his two brothers got me into The Smiths, The Housemartins, the Jackson 5, a disparate trio of early influences, you might think, but Jamie says not really. "They're all very big on melody. And Morrissey and the young Michael Jackson both have a real passion to the way they sing."
Jamie's voice proved to be something very special indeed. No one who has heard him sing live would disagree, he has played with artists including The Frames, Martha Wainwright and Damien Rice, as well as having been chosen as opening act for outdoor gigs by both Van Morrison and Katie Melua. Even-keeled, even undemonstrative offstage, he comes alive in front of an audience and in the service of his songs. Jamie is not just a singer but also an exceptionally blessed and affecting one, whether with his regular band or in a solo and acoustic setting. His voice and songs have proven to work equally beautifully and well whether in a tiny indoor venue like London's 12 Bar Club or outdoors before 10,000 people.."
www.myspace.com/jamielawson
If you don't know Paul Mosely so far you have missed: A band called Moses, being accused of stealing from The Clangers, Radio 2 playlists, 6music sessions, being shushed and praised at the same time by Tom Robinson, the love of Jamie Oliver, a drink with Shane MacGowan, Another drink with Shane MacGowan, duetting with Sam Brown and her fine display of 'playing the piano with ones knockers', sharing a toilet with Muse at Glastonbury, singing in an Amsterdam brothel, another drink with Shane MacGowan, Oliver Postgate approvingly quoting Dee-Lite lyrics, the 'Graham Coxon's favourite band' debacle, Jools Holland inviting himself backstage, potential band names ranging from 'the Lucky Bitches' to 'Troon Cronk & Monger (featuring paul mosley)', making 'Mistys Big Adventure' sound a bit like Thomas the tank engine, The Canadian Will & Grace on the dole, the BMG A&R man incident, a choir, Plakka getting good, a lap top show down, improvising on bassoons, flutes, a lot of incredible harp, losing a moth to Florence and the Machine, a small amount of sex, an abandoned attempt to write proper pop songs in Barcelona, monkeys, pigs, wolves and some astonishing music.
Its not too late, there's more to come including POP!, fashion magazines, ukuleles, ventriloquists, supermen, xylophones and possibly Jimmy Somerville.
Listen!
www.myspace.com/paulmosley
Friday 24th September MISPELT + BORN TO DESTRUCT + RUPERT LOVES A RIOT + ROOM 4 1 more tbc £6 Chog Town & London Callin present
Sunday 26th September OPEN MIC SESSION hosted by VINCE McCANN £3 arrive from 7pm, music from 8pm
Tuesday 28th September BOB RAFKIN + ROSELANDS £6 for Bob Rafkin, see 14th September
Wednesday 29th September MONICA HELDAL + RORY TREGASKIS + JD SMITH £6
Monica Heldal ia 19 years old. She lives just right outside Bergen, in Norway and is in her last year at "Langhaugen" college. This is a very good school where she specializes in guitar. Monica started playing in a band when she was 12. At the same time she started playing cover songs alone with her guitar. She did a few gigs and started playing Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed tunes on an electric guitar. She also loves to play acoustic blues and finds a lot of inspiration in American and Irish music. From there she has pick up different tunings and moods for my own songs. Lately Monica has been playing around in Bergen, and has played two times in the country music festival "Yes We Love Norwegian Country".
This year she has supported Mundy in London, and has been a featured artist at the "Going to my hometown festival", in Ballyshannon, celebrating the music of Rory Gallagher.
For a while, Rory Tregaskis was known as Black Cat Bones, when he made a deal with the devil on the junction between the North Circular and the A4. He claims to have exchanged his ability to read and write for his mojo hand and can of Red Stripe. It has been said that Black Cat Bones took his name from a Voodoo ritual. According to him, this is incorrect: "It was thrust upon me". He hasn't looked back since.
He describes his music as a mixture of blues, folk and punk. He's also a brilliant storyteller and an expressive, elegant guitarist.
In an interview with Who's Jack magazine, he was described as "London's very own acidfolk hero". Whatever that is. He's obsessed with the blues and his songs master the art of making something fresh and exciting from old traditions.
He sings about food, love, death, and haircuts. A reviewer of a gig at the BBC said "his edgy songs are angry yet enthralling and always poetic". On tour with Atlanta rock band The Hiss, he quickly proved himself to be a "cocky smart ass who will say anything to anyone, anywhere. He just doesn't care. At last count, he was slapped by three girls, one of whom was a prostitute." He has also been described as an "arsehole" by Mani, a "genius" by Ian Mcnabb and "a very entertaining young man" by Lisa Moorish.
www.myspace.com/acidfolk
J.D Smith is a London based solo blues/punk/rockabilly slide player who has been trying for the past 8 years to bring Rockabilly back from the brink and allow this amazing music to gain a larger audience. Having stayed outside of the rockabilly scene (but some very enjoyable times within), where rockabilly music has found itself very much alive but stuck, J.D. has played in venues that include the Luminarie (in support of Wanda Jackson) the Barfly (upstairs and downstairs), the Fly, Purple Turtle (Camden), the Cafe de Paris, the Dublin castle, the Hope and Anchor, the Bull & Gate, the Notting hill arts club and here at the 12 Bar Club.
J.D's debut album '' A Jukebox Riot,'' which was recorded by Darrel Higham (Modern Rockabilly guitarist), has now been released in HMV and a number of other internet based retail outlets. The album has been picked up by Total Rock's radio station, who carried out an hour long interview for their rockabilly/country show and a number of underground magazines including Bizarre magazine, the Music Magazine and Bubblegum Slut. His second album, 'Hey, Rube!!!' is now complete and marks a change for J.D. from rockabilly to a more blues based sound with this album hopefully being release in the next few months.
With an idea, a guitar and a heap of punk rock thrown in J.D. is hoping to wake people up to the idea that a solo act doesn't have to mean folk, it can also be dangerous again.
www.myspace.com/stuartjamesdurdensmith
www.jukeboxriot.com
Thursday 30th September SUZANNE ELIZABETH MARRON + BILLY VINCENT + DYLAN WALSHE + more tbc £6 Hieronymous Bisch Bosch presents
Monday 11th October JOE WILKES + IAN WILKINSON + BOO SCHER £5
Album launch of "Looking For The Grave of Garcia Lorca" by Joe Wilkes
October the 11th marks the release of Looking for the Grave of Garcia Lorca, Joe Wilkes' much-anticipated third album - and his first on Spitz Records. Characteristically original and shot through with the politics of resistance, the ten original songs that comprise Lorca arc across history, including everything from the demise and rediscovery of the eponymous Spanish poet, to late modern parobles straight from the streets of South London.
This is the official album launch, expect new songs from Wilkes and strong supporting sets from Iain Wilkinson and Boo Scher.
Music starts 7:45 till midnight
www.joewilkes.co.uk
www.spitz.co.uk
