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
To locate a band on this page use Ctrl + F (Apple + F)
Monday 8th March CHRIS OLLEY + SERGEANT BUZFUZ + REIPAS £6 Blang www.blang.co.uk
8:30 REIPAS - Parisian duo featuring Irishwoman Dinny on keyboards and voice and Guillaume, bassist with French punks Crippled Old Farts, on guitar. Shuffling between ethereal lullabyes laced with menace and antifolk drone pop.
www.myspace.com/reipas
9:15 SERGEANT BUZFUZ - Buzfuz celebrate the release today of new double A side single 'Popes 4 Cops 1', the last single to be released from 'High Slang'.
"Sergeant Buzfuz's fourth album crams in songs, styles and instruments, moving from Robyn Hitchcock-style pop (the very moreish 'God to Holloway') to the Velvet Underground in space ('Mothership Zelda') and dramatic Turkish stomping folk tunes ('My Drinking Friends')" (Sounds XP)
www.myspace.com/buzfuz
10:00 CHRIS OLLEY - Leader of Nottingham '90s drone-pop titans Six By Seven, Chris Olley released his first solo album last year. 'A Streetcar Named Disaster' is introspective and melodic in a dreamlike Elliott Smith fashion. Olley also heads the more experimental side project Twelve and has toured and collaborated with Julian Cope.
www.myspace.com/chrisolleymusic
Tuesday 9th March TERRY EMM + ALEX LIPINSKI + SISTER MERCEDES £6
Terry Emm's debut 'White Butterflies', produced with world-renowned musician and producer, Richard Durrant, received rave reviews when it was released in February this year:
'Excellent debut release.. stunning...faultless production...this is the best debut album from a singer-songwriter that I have heard in a long time...' - ***** 5/5 - MAVERICK
'England's new pastoral-folk prince...an accomplished & mature writer, backed by the most gentle and thoughtful of settings...a charming debut in every sense...careful, considered and invitingly pretty and spatial...luxuriously appealing... ' - AMERICANA-UK.COM
'Outstanding debut...pastoral, romantic and lit musically by summer rays...this album is no routine singer- songwriter offering but some-thing totally engaging in melody and lyric...the cult starts here'- **** 4/5 - MOJO
'Striking debut from teenage English troubadour...For a 19-year-old, Emm's songs boast a remarkable maturity and poise'- *** 3/ 5 - UNCUT
The album, released on a shoe-string budget by Brighton based, cottage industry, Longman Records (The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Don Partridge), received much airplay including from Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music, who interviewed Terry, Archie Fisher on BBC Scotland's 'Travelling Folk' program, as well as regional shows like singer- songwriter Johnny Coppin's 'Folk Roots' on BBC Gloucestershire. Terry has performed all over the UK, including tours with label-mate Simon Stewart and the much acclaimed songstress Judith Owen plus dates with acts as diverse as: Iain Archer, The Hoosiers, Ella Edmondson and Rosie Flores. He has gathered a cult of admirers that include Eliza Carthy, Nick Drake string-arranger- Robert Kirby, Chesney Hawkes, Beach Boys collaborator and much celebrated poet- Stephen J Kalinich, legendary bass player Herbie Flowers (Elton John, Lou Reed, Bowie), Jackie Leven and many more.
www.myspace.com/emmmusic
Alex Lipinski is a 21-year old singer/songwriter from the South-West of England, now living in London. Alex has been writing and performing his original material for the past five years, as a solo artist, a duo and in a band environment. His music stems from rock'n'roll, alt. country, Americana, folk and indie music. Performing extensively across the UK (and even more extensively in London and the South-West), since Alex relocated to London he has been playing regularly all across the city. He has built up and is constantly building up a growing live following and reputation. In the past twelve months Alex has appeared and performed on various radio shows and stations. Having recently returned from playing a selection of solo shows in New York City and Philadelphia, he has also been interviewed for US Digital Radio Station 'UPop'. Alex has also recently received an award in recognition of his Songwriting at the annual MBF UK National Songwriting Awards (Music Benevolent Fund). In the coming months Alex will be performing both solo shows and with his full band in preparation for the release of his debut album (more details to be announced shortly).
www.alexlipinski.com
The man from junkbox needed some sort of solo artiste name for his first show in Paris last spring. He hangs around a hospice some days a week, finding great treasure and past belongings that are given to keep the place alive. Making holes and drinking coffee with guests. times they all share be funny times with twists. Its not stackin shelves at slave brothers co and sons, or them other money hunting boss men who want your sweat not passion and commitment for own gains. One day as he stalked the past and futures of this place of peace and final days for Londons sick. He watched as a funeral prossesion was taking place. "who be dead" said he "that was sister mercedes" said a nun. "perfect" he said and took her name to Paris (and back) Enjoy
www.myspace.com/sistermercedes
Wednesday 10th March CHINA SOUL + GER LANE + RORY TREGASKIS £6
China Soul, daughter of David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) and Julia Nickson (Rambo II), grew up in Los Angeles, California and studied creative writing at Orange County High School of the Arts. Playing various venues throughout L.A. she developed a steady fan-base within the acoustic music scene. In 2006, she made the jump over the pond, and after obtaining her British citizenship, now resides in London.
In August 2008, China began co-writing with BAFTA Award Nominee Chaz Jankel of The Blockheads and has now completed her debut album, 'Secrets and Words' (watch out for it later this year)
China's song 'Cold', released as a limited edition 7" white vinyl, is now available to purchase through FooFar Records.
www.ChinaSoul.co.uk
Veneer is the band name that singer / songwriter Ger Lane has presented his songs under since the mid-nineties. He has been fortunate to have worked with many of the best Limerick musicians under various line ups over the years. A debut album has been parked temporarily due to that famous clash between 'realism' and it's most irritating enemy 'idealism'!
Ger is currently taking some time out from Veneerland to consider some of the issues at hand but would like to thank all who have given so much support and assistance to both himself and fellow band members until now.
www.myspace.com/gerlanemusic
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"
www.myspace.com/acidfolk
Thursday 11th March NATIONAL SNACK + THE SAVAGE NOMADS + RED ROOM + DONNY MAHMOOD (LEO'S GARDEN SOLO ACOUSTIC SET) £6
In 2003 in a flat above an amp shop in Denmark Place, Joe and Gem first plotted National Snack. Since then they have enjoyed many line-ups. First came the pomp and circumstance of a seven piece extravaganza, then the inimitable mini-snack stamping their acoustic, shouty way around the rooftops of Soho and the streets of Europe. Then the fully vocally loaded 5 piece, and for the last couple of years an uncompromising punk motown steamroller of a 3-piece, this most recent line-up producing the "Apply Machine" Ep.
In a mad-cap, ill-advised experiment that would make Dr Frankenstein shy away in a bemused horror National Snack aim to push the very limits of mungrul music by performing a different set with a different line-up every month from now until summer 2010. This is "The Enormous Project". Each set and line-up will have a different flavour, it might be sharp like limes or sweet like apple pie, they just won't know until each one happens.
www.myspace.com/nationalsnack
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
Red Room formed in June 2009. The lovechild of sleep deprivation and substance abuse, they began rehearsing during this hectic summer.
www.myspace.com/marblesmusic1
Donny Mahmood's plays guitar in in Beatroot and The Gillian Glover band, and while child bearing sidelines those combos for a while, Donny has a work in progress; the band Leo's Garden, in which he steps out from the shadow of other vocalists, and does the singing and song writing himself. With the line up of that project undergoing some changes, Donny is playing a few vigorous acoustic sets of his new songs.
www.myspace.com/leosgarden
Friday 12th March CORMAC HERON presents "IRIS ROBINSON: THE MUSICAL - ON THE BANJO (gay anthems pre-St. Patrick's Day extravaganza) £6
Cormac Heron is the only person ever to have walked in the 12 Bar Club on stilts and the world's first ever to play a Gig2.0 and is now a veteran of the 12 Bar Club. He has yet to play a stinker in this venue and every gig wins him new fans.
Now the wicked witch of the North, acclaimed as "Bigot Of The Year in 2008", has quit politics, Cormac anticipates her possible relocation into showbiz (or possibly the catering business) with his latest musical spectacular. No expenses will be spared, and no charges brought, to bring this abomination, this sordid affair into the open.
Warning! Songs will include banjo. Onstage at 8.04pm and yes, that really does mean 8.04pm folks!
http://itiswhatever.com
Saturday 13th March THE EXTERMINATORS + THE SUNDAE KUPS + THE SQUADRON LEADERS £6 Bonnie & Clyde's Renegade Rendezvous presents
The Exterminators play 1st generation Surf instrumentals from the early 60s, using electrical guitars and drums. Its loud and fast and soaked in reverb. Its kickass stomp and twang with sand between its toes.
The Exterminators have all your surf needs covered, you got your middle eastern sounds, your tiki luau beach tunes, your outer space science frictional sonics, some dashing spy movie themes, a couple of beastly horrors, taking a quick detour through some Japanese eleki tunes with a dash of Finnish rautalanka.
And at 2 minutes per tune, that's getting on for 30TPH (tunes per hour), approaching the phonic boom of escape velocity, where the surf meets the sky...
www.myspace.com/exterminators
All the way from Coronado Bay, San Diego, The Sundae Kups met whilst working at the local Dairy Queen serving ice cream. Under the guidance of their mentor, the surf sensei Soundpapa (himself a hero in his home town of Hakodate, Japan), The Sundae Kups travelled to England, where they won over many crowds at the legendary Diplo, Scooterworks & Teen Bop parties. Get down to their uncontrollable dance dance frenzy now now now!
www.myspace.com/thesundaekups
The Squadron Leaders are purveyors of deep down and dirty surf/instro music from Brighton UK. Autumn 2009 saw the release of their first full length LP "In Which We Surf". 13 tracks on Largactil Shuffle Records.
www.myspace.com/thesquadronleaders
Sunday 14th March THE LAST DRONES £5
The Last Drones are guitarist Matt Read and vocalist Jon Murray, an acoustic duo from Kent. Their musical influences are widespread, ranging from Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel and Led Zeppelin to Bach, Debussy and Stravinsky. Percussive, intricate and melodic guitar combines with distinctive, haunting vocals to create an emotionally driven and dramatic sound. Their first album "My Fire"' is due for completion early 2010.
www.myspace.com/thelastdrones
Monday 15th March PURSUED BY BEARS + TOTEM £5
Tuesday 16th March ELLIOTT MORRIS + MIKE BRIGHTLEY + HANNAH HARRIS £6
Twenty year old Elliott Morris has been playing electric guitar since the age of 11 and acoustic guitar for three and a half years. For the past two years Elliott has been performing his own solo acoustic guitar music. Since Feb 2008 he has supported names such as Erik Mongrain, Andy McKee, Guy Buttery, Kit Holmes, Tristan Seume, Gareth Pearson, Dave McPherson (from rock band InMe), Baddies, Jim Bob (from Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine), Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick, Frank Turner and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly.
Although Elliott is a singer/songwriter, his playing style is unusual as he uses the guitar like a percussion instrument as well as a stringed one. He beats the body of the guitar at the same time as playing it, creating an original and unique sound.
In January 2009 Elliott performed at The Hub in Sleaford as part of the exhibition "Guitars - made in Britain, played the world over", alongside names such as Martin Taylor, Martin Simpson, Newton Faulkner, Gordon Giltrap, Gareth Pearson, Tristan Seume and Bert Jansch. At the concert was Martin Harrison of Hania guitars, who agreed to build Elliott an acoustic guitar to his specification. This guitar was completed in September 2009 and Elliott plays it at all his shows!
Elliott performs regularly in Lincoln, his home city. He has become the resident artist at Dogma in Lincoln and both co-runs and headlines their acoustic night every Thursday. Since January, alongside regular Lincoln gigs, Elliott has played shows in Edinburgh, Nottingham, Buxton (at the guitar gathering and the Beltane Bar) and also many concerts in London, including two headline shows. Elliott is also a regular at Dave McPherson's acoustic night at O'Neills in Essex. He has been playing there about once a month for about half a year now.
To date, Elliott has performed live on BBC Radio Lincolnshire 7 times, including a very special show from Broadcasting House in London. He has played live sets on Siren FM (Lincoln's community radio station) many times and was also Bristol Burst Radio's featured artist of the week in early 2009.
www.myspace.com/elliottmorris
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 "Call To Arms" - a gig favourite - and lullaby "A Better View".
The tracks were produced by Nick Harris and mastered by Grammy-nominee Andy Jackson.
www.myspace.com/mikebrightley
After getting knocked down by a truck in April last year and getting back up again Hannah Harris is now ready for anything and chomping at the bit. Time out in 2009 has led to lots of new songs and a new sound, not to mention the psychedelic paintings...mmm pain killers.
www.myspace.com/hannahharris
Wednesday 17th March KESTON COBBLERS CLUB £6
"Keston Cobblers' Club will heel your soles." And you will be glad of that when you have worn out your tatty old lace-ups from tapping your feet all night! Somewhere between folk and indie, their music is fresh and catchy, with tuneful vocals and tight 4-part harmonies. None of the Cobblers play the same instrument all evening, and pass accordions, banjos and even brass between them.
Having appeared on XFM, BBC6 music and folk radio recently, and gigging on the London circuit, Keston Cobblers' Club are a captivating band to watch. They will be supporting the great Seth Lakeman in the spring and will be filling our balmy summer evenings with jovial, uplifting songs.
If you still need a little convincing, there is a little homemade video straight from the club house, with its sticky tape charm and gravity-defying stunts, we think you will love it!
For the video click:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYpN6GVjWe8
www.kestoncobblersclub.com
www.myspace.com/keston_cobblers_club
Thursday 18th March KYLE VINCENT £6
Contemporary singer/ songwriter/ producer/ piano-pickin'/ pop-lovin'/ tree-huggin'/ twig-eatin'/ hybrid car drivin' kinda-guy, a ative of Berkeley, California now based in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Beginning his career as lead singer in US seminal teen powerpop band, Candy, he has had a Billboard Hot AC Top 20 Hit Single, "Wake Me Up (When the World's Worth Waking Up For)", has released 10 albums, toured with lots of big time people, and is the only guy to ever open for both Barry Manilow and Run DMC.
In addition to his music career, Kyle is Is an officially sanctioned presenter of Al Gore's climate slideshow, personalizing the presentation with his own research regarding dietary impact on global warming, having been trained by Mr. Gore himself!.
www.kylevincent.com
Friday 19th March THE SOUL HUSTLERS + ELECTRIC RED DRIVE £6 Johnny Clash Club
Saturday 20th March THE CASH BAND £6 London Callin
Monday 22nd March DAVE STDDERT + SALENA GOODEN + JAZZMAN JOHN + L.A. SALAMI £6
Tuesday 23rd March TERRY EMM £6
Wednesday 24th March ROBERT ROTIFER + CHINA SOUL with Chaz Jankel + MATT BACKER + THE LAST DRONES £6
Robert Rotifer was born in Vienna at the last gasp of the sixties. he grew up listening to his politico parents' records of revolutionary songs from the first half of the century and stuff like Hanns Eisler, Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie, Chilean music, Wolf Biermann etc. ... and promptly looked elsewhere for light relief in the form of The Beatles, The Who, The Jam, The Clash, you get the picture.
He played in a succession of bands from the mid to the late eighties when he started doing solo gigs as Robert Rotifer, then went into music journalism and formed a band called The Electric Eels (which, of course, had nothing to do with the early punk band of the same name). In their native Austria, the EP "Need To Know" and album "Instant" (Brefkas Ready/Warner) was understood to fit in with the Britpop thing, even though they weren't British and their drummer sometimes played without a shirt. Trying to change tack, they teamed up with the then newly formed Sofa Surfers to produce a second album, but the studio was more than basic, the recordings were pretty bad, and they started to lose confidence.
At the time, Robert was looking for a completely new direction and started working with Sofa Surfers as producers, combining their programming and sampling skills with his songwriting. The technology they used was crude, but somehow it worked, and the result came out in 1996 as a four-song double-seven-inch EP entitled "The Fun Is Now Over", but the deal came apart after Robert moved to London the following January.
After lots of demoing and some aborted band formations, he found his musical feet again and recorded the album "A Different Cup of Fish" in Liverpool and London (2001), followed by the 7" single "The Boy's a Fool" and the album "Shambles Grove" (2003). Since that time, he has been backed by changing line-ups of musical friends from London, Vienna, Cambridge, Canterbury, Maidstone, Liverpool etc., and by summer 2005 he felt that they should have a go at recording that band sound, so one July day they went into Bark Studio in Walthamstow and recorded the album "Before The Water Wars" in one go (okay, he did come back the next day to add a few electric guitars and harmonies, plus a bit of hammond and French horn, but the rest was done live).
Robert Rotifer's new album is called "The Children on the Hill" and was released in Austria on monkey records on November 27, 2009 (Germany & UK to follow this year).
Robert is very proud of it, it's easily the most varied set of songs he has recorded so far, and the title track can be heard every now and then on Austrian radio. He is rece3ntly returned from an Austrian tour, which was a grand success.
www.robertrotifer.co.uk
www.myspace.com/robertrotifer
China Soul, daughter of David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) and Julia Nickson (Rambo II), grew up in Los Angeles, California and studied creative writing at Orange County High School of the Arts.
Playing various venues throughout L.A. she developed a steady fan-base within the acoustic music scene. In 2006, she made the jump over the pond, and after obtaining her British citizenship, now resides in London.
In August 2008, China began co-writing with BAFTA Award Nominee Chaz Jankel of The Blockheads and has now completed her debut album, 'Secrets and Words' (watch out for it in 2010).
China's song 'Cold', released as a limited edition 7" white vinyl, is now available to purchase through FooFar Records.
www.ChinaSoul.co.uk
Matt Backer was born in Louisiana USA, in a log cabin he helped build. His parents were members of the jet set, living in Mexico, Venezuela, Belgium , The Carribean and England. They lost him in transit at Miami airport and he was raised by friendly groundstaff. Matt's university studies in both the US and UK prepared him for the life of an urban guerilla, unfortunately he couldn't spell that and he became a guitarist instead. Matt has worked live and in the studio with a wide range of artists including Matthew Sweet, Cher, Edward Ball, David Arnold, Shirley Bassey, Sinead O'Connor, ABC, Joe Cocker, Mica Paris, Stiff Little Fingers, Swing Out Sister, Aimee Mann, The Beautiful South, Steve Earle, Marcella Detroit, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Julian Lennon, Mindy McReady, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, Alice Cooper, Virginia, David McAlmont, Donny Osmond and more recently S Club 7 and Hearsay. His last Single "Right Girl, Wrong Time", reached number 1 on two US radio charts, and the title track from his current album "The Impulse Man" ("A janglesome record full of hooks and the sort of licks you wish you'd learned to play"-MOJO) is now going to radio, is on the NMW Hot AC Most Added list.
After years of being the guy in the background making other people shine , he finds himself the subject of glowing reviews and the recipient of several awards. About time too, and he's still having fun.
www.mattbacker.com
www.myspace.com/mattbacker
The Last Drones are guitarist Matt Read and vocalist Jon Murray, an acoustic duo from Kent. Their musical influences are widespread, ranging from Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel and Led Zeppelin to Bach, Debussy and Stravinsky. Percussive, intricate and melodic guitar combines with distinctive, haunting vocals to create an emotionally driven and dramatic sound. Their first album "My Fire"' is due for completion early 2010. Tonight is their last UK gigbefore embarking on a short US tour.
www.myspace.com/thelastdrones
Thursday 25th March CAPTAIN MONDAY & THE REST OF THE WEEK + BLEAK + ISAW DINOSOR + MARK SIDDALL + a late set from DANNY TAYLOR £6 Hieronymous Bisch Bosch presents
Captain Monday and The Rest of The Week invite you to indulge yourself in their 'Good Times' Rock and Roll Review. Bask freely in the upbeat vibes and let the diversely influenced sounds envelope you like a high voltage electric blanket. With a rhythm section as solid as a curling stone and 2 guitars up front weaving a functional yet stylish tapestry, Captain Monday delivers a set cram packed with outrageously good songs, banging tunes and only the freshest jams.
www.myspace.com/captainmondayuk
Bleak is the greatest death.blues band this side of the Delta. Imagine a noise that can melt through bank vaults. Throw in a wall shattering live show. Add twisted humour and a dash of voodoo. What do you get?
Heavy, brutal, primal, direct, and yet sublimely beautiful, this band drags you by your throat from the plantations of the 1860s Deep South via the jails and chain gangs of the Great Depression and throws you face down among burning rubble and charred corpses of the Rhythm Night Club, Natchez Mississippi.
These guys tried to sell their souls to the devil at the crossroads. He couldn't afford them, so they are going to give you a piece for free instead
www.myspace.com/bleakandblue
William Stapleton is a singer/song writer and has been writing music since the age of 18.
He formed ISAW-DINOSOR in late August of 2009 with old school friend Michael Radforth and Mattia Milan from Italy. They are currently performing shows around London.
www.myspace.com/willstapleton
Friday 26th March LOST GRAVITY + more acts tbc £6 Chog Town & London Callin present
Saturday 27th March THE SCREAMING VIOLETS £6 London Callin presents
Monday 29th March FELDSPAR + CHRISTOPHER EATOUGH £5
Tuesday 30th March THE HAMPTONS £6
Wednesday 31st March YO ZUSHI + SASHA ILYUVEKICH & THE HIGHLY SKILLED MIGRANTS + ADAM BEATTIE & THE CONSULTANTS £6
Yo Zushi - Described by Mary Anne Hobbs (Radio One) as "the spirit of Bob Dylan for the 21st Century", lo-fi slacker Yo Zushi has released two highly acclaimed CD albums on Pointy Records (home to the Clientele, Tim Ten Yen, Flotation Toy Warning and Ladybug Transistor), as well as a limited edition cassette on Italy's Best Kept Secret Tape Label (Jangadeiros, 2009). According to London's Metro newspaper, his "lucid tales of alcohol-fuzzled intrigue" exude "a warm melancholia"; Steve Lamacq (Radio Two) calls him a "raw, intriguing talent". Q Magazine, which gave his 2005 debut, Songs From A Dazzling Drift (2005) a **** review, predicts that "this could be the start of something major". Dazed & Confused calls his music "a masterclass in storytelling", and Word praises his "perfectly constructed lyricism". Zushi has supported the likes of Joanna Newsom, Willy Mason, Scritti Politti, Rachel Unthank, Patrick Wolf, the Magic Numbers and many others. He was born in Hiroshima,! Japan - famous for its momiji manjuu cakes.
www.myspace.com/yozushi
www.yozushi.net
Sasha Ilyuvekich and the Highly Skilled Migrants - Belarussian rock and roller Sasha Ilyukevich hits London with his incomparable brew of punk, folk and blues. Combining the literate worldliness of Boris Grebenshikov and the emotional depth of Blood on the Tracks-era Bob Dylan, Ilyukevich's songs are propelled by a raw sound and melodicism that render the language barrier insignificant. His highly anticipated debut album, Ha Numa, was released in Russia on St Petersburg's Bomba-Piter label in 2009. Sasha is one of a small group of Russian-speaking artists whose music has found an audience outside his native country, playing his first UK show at the Luminaire in 2007. There, he met the musicians who would later become his band members. While the songs are written and performed in Russian, the unique sound of Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants is attracting a growing cult in the UK, driven largely by word of mouth (and the enthusiastic buzz generated by his hand-pressed demo collection, Woe fr! om Wit).
www.myspace.com/sashailyukevich
Adam Beattie and the Consultants - The Scottish folk singer is steadily becoming a fixture in London, with his jazz blues and balladry generating a well deserved following among discerning listeners. Expect the blue valentines of Tom Waits tempered with the whiskey-stained rawness of Townes Van Zandt and you're halfway there. Today's Robert Burns.
