HMV Warrington welcomed the band GONDOLAS last Saturday ( 11th Nov 2023 ) for their live music showcase and they turned out to be a great outfit , although they were undoubtedly held up by the dreadful Winwick Rd traffic, they were worth the wait and when the band bundled in they were already behind the curve, but fair play to them because with their scaled down kit they were up and running in 10 mins!.
Although I had heard of them in name only, this was my first time of seeing them live and they came highly recommended by fellow music writer Janet Harding who has vast experience of many live and local bands, but for the reader who may be unaware GONDOLAS ,who formed in 2022 are:
Irish brothers Ben on lead vocals and rhythm guitar and Chris on lead guitar, long-time friend Rosh on bass, and local Waringtonian Jacques on drums, and (straight from their press kit) they describe themselves as ‘a fiery 4-piece from Liverpool that deliver dirty distorted indie punk straight to your face’ via an electrifying show. Ok, they might struggle to replicate that in a brightly lit HMV store on a wet Saturday afternoon in Warrington, where curious onlookers browse the aisles for early Christmas presents, but music lovers can see well beyond that can’t we?
GONDOLAS state their musical influences are derived from noughties garage rock such as The Strokes and The Hives, with modern post-punk such as Fontaines D.C in the mix .Musically this type of guitar-driven indie form is a well trodden path, particularly in Northern Ireland with it’s Undertones heritage. But, it is a very successful formula and the cheerful, feel good nature of GONDOLAS songs and Ben’s extremely positive attitude ‘just for the craic’ makes this a joyful experience ( can I bottle that? ) . Don’t let the ‘formed in 2022’ tag fool you, this outfit can really play……. very well and are massively confident, so when I get the chance to interview them I’m certain I will unravel their musical journey! I was very disappointed to leave after just two and half songs. However, after all these years I like to think I can recognise a good tune and I’m certain GONDOLAS have them in heaps.
Readers can check them out now on Spotify where you will hear singles ‘Swing And A Miss’, ‘Never Ends’ and ‘Keep In Mind’ which have all garnered thousands of listeners, streams and followers to their social media pages from all over the world, as well as support from BBC Introducing and if you like their sound why not zip along to their next headline show at The Jacaranda in Liverpool on the 25th of November where they will also launch their new single ‘Isn’t That Great’ which will be released on all platforms on the 20th of November. 4 singles since 2022, now that is hard work! Well done and I hope I can be at the performance.
It would be awesome if you could check in , especially the new ‘Venues and Reviews’ slot on Tik-Tok , they might look a bit rustic at the moment but they will get better – don’t forget to like them and give us a follow . We support all the Arts, particularly live music , new music and grassroots venues . After all that’s where the seeds are sown!
In the meantime we commissioned independent local music writer – Janet Harding to review the E.P from the Blues/ Rock band ‘ When Rivers Meet’ , we love them, but it’s good to get another perspective and Janet writes this in her own inimitable style , here you go :
‘Essex based, formed in 2016, husband and wife blues rock duo, When Rivers Meet, are Grace Bond – vocals, mandolin, and Aaron Bond – vocals, guitar.
This multi award winning powerhouse of a band genuinely needs to be listened to, whether blues is your thing or not, it’s a given you will be wowed by the sounds created by this all encompassing and musically explosive band. An amalgamation of the obvious blues and rock but with aspects of country, vintage jazz and often times – the retro gospel feel and glimmers of an almost psychedelic influence can be detected; powerful, very strong vocals and stunning slide strings are amongst a whole host of sounds, a multi faceted creation that is quite honestly mind blowing.
This EP collection starts as it means to go on – hits you from the first song – powerful, rousing, uplifting and utterly enchanting from the off and this is a theme which continues throughout. Mesmerising, bewitching and beguiling with real solid blues at its heart; evocative atmosphere wrapped around every song that transports us elsewhere. Exquisite rock kicks in and there’s the most encompassing Americana essence and feel that is seamlessly woven throughout. Each song takes us on a journey, alternating from heartfelt and emotive to moving, stirring and inspiring. The vocal is nothing short of incredible; Grace has a staggering range which seems effortless; a richness with honey tones but textural and a volume that extends out and reaches us from within each song. Aaron’s vocal is earthy, full, raspy and characterful. It adds another dimension; it brings that vintage feel; the combination of male and female vocals works brilliantly.
The haunting vintage sounds of ‘Free Man’ – Up-tempo with sweltering feels of Americana which conjure up images of sweeping dustlands and hazy days. There’s a country rock undercurrent which hooks you, pulling you in and keeping you there until its end.
‘Kill for your Love’ is a masterpiece; really heady, ‘down by the Mississippi River’ feels throughout this track, siren-like in its beguiling and fascinating sounds, almost cathartic and magical feeling. We could be deep in the bayou.
‘A dead man doesn’t talk’ is another atmospheric wonder; an entire feeling or essence is created; a soulful or melancholy sound but with a spirited heart and a brightness within; intense.
My personal favourite from this EP collection is ‘Innocence of youth’. It’s real old style blues, that ‘days gone by’, authentic sound. I get slight gospel feels, dust bowl, depression era Americana type feels; totally immersive; really captures the blues. The vintage or retro sounds are incredible! ‘
When Rivers Meet – The EP collection
The Uprising EP
1.Free Man
2.Like what you see
3.Tomorrow
4.Kill for your love
Innocence of Youth
5.Innocence of Youth
6.A dead man doesn’t lie
7.My Babe says that he loves me.
8.Fire
9.Want your love
Huge thanks to Janet , why not pop along to www.whenriversmeet.co.uk and have a look yourself folks .
Following a sell out gig at The Irish Club on Orford Lane I caught up with popular Warrington band ‘The Ambersons’ for a chat about their forthcoming event on December 1st at The Pyramid & Parr Hall Studio Centre.
I have seen the band perform several times but during a busy summer of venues and reviews I didn’t manage to track them down, so the opportunity to meet up with one of the founder band members – Andy Fairnington at The Cheshire Cheese pub was perfect timing. However, prior to discussing the new show I wanted to take a brief step back in time and hear how The Ambersons began.
The original 4 piece band formed in 2006 and had a very successful run up till 2013 and were signed by Manchester Independent label ‘Spiral Scope’. Taking their musical influences from the likes of Super Furry Animals, Blur and the Beatles they proved very popular all over the country and drew the attention of Chrysalis Records USA, but sadly they didn’t manage to clinch the deal. This would have been deflating for any band and having chased the dream so hard they decided to take a break from performing in 2014, although the creative songwriting and studio sessions continued.
Roll forward to 2018 and after a few changes to the line up they came back re-charged as a six piece and are no longer ‘chasing the dream’ but enjoying the journey instead. The band are:
Andy Fairnington – Bass and Songwriter.
Ben Ashton – Lead Guitar and Songwriter.
Phil Bond – Rhythm Guitar.
Richard Dowling – Keyboards.
Rick McLaughlin – Drums.
Midge Fairnington – Lead Vocals.
and they are currently in rehearsals for their one night show. With support from Culture Warrington it promises to be a musical extravaganza of electro acoustic/electric songs accompanied by a string and brass section, and with a catalogue of 60 songs and some familiar covers to choose from it really is something to look forward to. Tickets are selling well but with a generous ticket donation by the band to the Room at the Inn, The Salvation Army and Pathways to Recovery, I would book them now before it sells out and they can be purchased at the following link:
Nothing serious readers , just super busy since I launched this simple blog earlier in the year. I suppose it’s a great opportunity to reflect anyway and get my house in order so what have I been up to over the last 6 months?
Why not start by refreshing my memory . In June the editor of the @WarringtonWorldwideMagazine asked me if I fancied writing the local music column……………………………are you kidding!! What an opportunity for a musician who loves to write, take a few photos and talk to people. I suppose landing the voluntary gig in Summer was perfect as I had to quickly review 6 local festivals, watch many bands including some big names, speak to artists, writers and photographers and have met some wonderful people, all on the back of a quick conversation in a park on a blustery Saturday morning!! So before I move on, massive thanks to the editor for giving me the chance to write and review and more important allowing me to continue!! It really is a fantastic job, and even 20 articles later it’s never classed as work if you love doing it. I don’t think I would have got around the gigs so much without your help and approval. Cheers mate.
So what is @UnsignedHub.com then? That’s me, on my own and I clearly have a passion for the Arts. I really like to see people develop their talents – be it music, art, photography or performing in any other way, so I am keen to shout that from the rooftops and will broadcast the message in whatever way I can. Someone asked “do I get paid”? The answer is really quite simple – I will always post a free blog review or post on Facebook if I am on a guest list or sent material , but if any unsigned artist wants to pursue it further I can offer P.R services at very reasonable rates . The clue is in the name – Unsigned.…. I know all too well how much P.R can cost and having been there myself my rates will always be highly competitive, I really want the artist to succeed and know P.R is a drain on very limited funds.
However , at this very early stage it’s been about making contacts, establishing subscriptions, meeting people and creating platforms and accounts, but it has been a real eye opener. Even in my local town of #Warrington there are so many artists performing, painting, writing and reciting day in-day out, and I’m only scratching the surface on my own doorstep! The Facebook account @unsignedhub.com is slowly ticking along but I’m finding it more useful for communication to be honest and the Instagram account @unsignedhub.com_uk is good for pics , but the new Tik-Tok account @unsignedhub.com seems to be the way forward . Following a trial post with a review of the reformed @warringtonbluesclub it got nearly 850 views overnight so why not give me a follow on Tik-Tok and watch out for my new ‘venues and reviews’ video shorts coming very soon.
Before I go I must take a moment to thank my lovely wife Clare for her patience and encouragement whilst I get this together. It can’t be easy seeing me flit off into the night to perform at a gig myself or do another review somewhere …………………………..although I think she secretly enjoys the peace xx
Stepping outside of my usual reporting area, the editor for my column at #warringtonworldwide magazine invited me to review the band ‘Crawlers’ at The Invisible Wind Factory in Liverpool on Saturday 23rd September.
Suffice to say, this all-black, cavernous room with huge wind related art installations hanging from the ceiling, a huge stage at one end and a bar at the other was ideally suited for the Crawlers homecoming gig, and although I wasn’t too familiar with the band I had done my homework and consulted Spotify and You Tube for the playlist .
Furthermore, I found an article from the March 2022 edition of Music Magazine NME that reported ‘Merseyside misfits making striking alt-rock with a powerful message’ , and referred to them as a ‘Liverpool Gang’ . However us Northerner’s always like to quantify such statements, especially when guitarist Amy Woodall and bassist Liv May are Warringtonians, and with Holly Minto on lead vocals and Harry Breen on drums I read the band had created a unique following for their ‘genreless and genderless music’ , although I believe ‘misfits’ is going a bit far. I just see a likeable group of ex-performing arts students who have encouraged a huge Tik -Tok audience to join in on their musical journey and share their own personal feelings along the way. The difference being that through sheer hard work the band chose to personally engage with their devoted fans (affectionately known as Crawlers) at every opportunity- very refreshing.
Tonight is such an occasion and shortly after 9pm the band is on stage for the near capacity crowd of 1500 revellers and Holly greets them with “the biggest headline act for us so far!” much to everybody’s delight, before the drum and bass kick in .It is a deep and heavy sound and initially it is difficult to hear the melody and the early vocals are a bit muddy, but kudos to the sound engineers as it was quickly balanced by the second number and it wasn’t long before Holly took command of the crowd with enormous confidence. When she said “I want everybody to jump” they jumped, and the audience were quickly pogoing around punk style in the friendliest mosh-pit I have seen. In this diverse and culture embracing crowd there is no shortage of coloured hair, piercings, top – hats and tutu’s and for some reason blow up aliens seem to be the order of the evening!
But what about the music?? To be honest it’s not all my type, although I do like the solo electro- acoustic numbers from Holly, she has a very clear voice with lyrics expressed in a sweet, high and low drawling style adding emotion to some (perhaps) difficult themes, there are also some clever effects from someone lurking at the back of the stage which adds plenty of colour to the songs and continues throughout the performance . However, readers shouldn’t let my own opinion detract from what is an excellent performance, after all what a boring world it would be if we all liked the same music, check them out yourself!
From a marketing perspective it is interesting to see how the ‘Crawlers’ developed their large fanbase across social media and having signed to Polydor Records in 2022 I’m sure they will be welcomed with open arms on their short upcoming tour of North America in October. I certainly hope so, but I wonder if a drink in Friars Court will ever be the same again for Amy and Liv?
Read about ‘Crawlers’ at www.crawlersband.com where you can access all their social media platforms.
Morning folks , been a bit busy lately writing for my music column at #warringtonworldwide magazine , I am really lucky in that respect as (it’s an unpaid voluntary post) I get to see many bands with a press ticket and that’s not really work is it!!
Although the following couple of reviews obviously aren’t unsigned bands, I have had some nice comments on earlier work so I thought it would be nice to post them , hope you enjoy them and please feel free to comment. Don’t forget you can follow us on facebook @unsignedhub.com .
On the 12th September a fundraiser in aid of The Wolves Academy tour of Australia 2024 took place at the 40/20 lounge inside the Halliwell Jones Stadium, it was organised by Alexandra Chicken – Chair of Warrington Wolves Supporters Trust and was generously supported by local, and very popular band Starsailor .
Approximately 280 people thoroughly enjoyed an excellent, short electro – acoustic set of approximately 40 mins although it was originally scheduled for 30, and quite how the band selected the songs from such a huge back catalogue was beyond me, we could have easily been there all night!! From the moment the band appeared the atmosphere was electric as they were definitely amongst friends tonight and there was little doubt that James Walsh ( Lead guitar and vocals) , James Stelfox ( Bass ) , Barry Westhead ( Keyboards) and Ben Byrne ( on Cahon ) were ‘up for it’ as well.
“Good to be here Warrington!” from a smiling James was greeted with the usual whoops of delight from the excited groups of ladies before the band launched into ‘PoorMisguided Fool ‘.
Now, I have seen Starsailor twice before, I recall the last time was probably about 3 years ago ,and yet again this highly experienced, professional band were absolutely faultless, had they really been away?
The sound was excellent and just right for this venue as it’s not really a music setting, vocals were pitch perfect, keyboards from Barry were cutting through nicely and even Ben’s Cahon and tambourine combo was clearly heard, so kudos to the engineers . After delivering hits ‘Alchoholic’ and ‘Tell me it’s not over’ James asked people to “close in, fill the gap at the front” , nobody required a second prompt and with plenty of good humour people shuffled forward, quickly claiming a spot to be within touching distance and then we were all in real party mode! Hit records ‘Fever’, ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Four to the Floor’ followed prior to a short pause to remove the jackets and cool off. James briefly mentioned the great work of the Warrington Wolves Supporters Trust and how he hoped the band playing tonight would contribute to the Academy tour. It’s always a nice touch when bands talk about their roots and tonight was no exception as James recalled the very early days on the pub circuit in Warrington and how grateful the band were for the support at that time, nearly 23 years ago now!
After a quick tune up and a few jokes we were on to ‘Silence is Easy’ , a massive hit for the band in 2003 which was delivered with the usual finesse and the audience were loving this with beaming smiles all around which were reciprocated by the band who were clearly enjoying themselves. This was followed up with ‘Tie up my hands’ before James commanded the audience with a solo rendition of ‘What a Wonderful World’ . It’s a fact that =some music magazines are full of unique and sometimes unfathomed reviews, but when NME wrote that ‘Starsailor are blessed with a singer whose voice thrummed like an emotional telegraph’ they were spot on, there was not a dry eye in the house for Louis Armstrong’s huge hit.
“Good luck to the Academy on the fundraising and thanks again Warrington, you’ve been amazing!!” were the final words from James , and sadly the show was drawing to a close with the driving, melodic ‘Good Souls’ being playedfor the exuberant audience who had certainly witnessed true musicianship. However, before the band departed there was one very nice touch remaining from organizer Alex as she presented James (on behalf of the band) with their own framed Starsailor rugby shirt signed by the Warrington Wolves 1st Team.
Post music, a raffle for an additional signed Starsailor commemorative rugby shirt raised a whopping £390 in a humorous ‘bidding war’ and organiser Alex later reported the evening had raised a further £4300 for the Academy tour, overall a magnificent effort and a very successful evening, well done to everyone involved .
We’ve written about them folks and now it’s your turn to catch them on this mini tour , cracking bunch of lads , very entertaining , don’t miss out !!!. Check out the their bio in our musicians tab.
I could just write Wow!! and sign off there, but after following Balancing Act for about 10 months I could hardly wait to see them. “The Deaf Institute???” I hear you cry …………..well , if you have never been there you can look up the history of this fascinating venue below , I love it – intimate , great acoustics and the bar is even in the same room!
But tonight, and following a great performance by support act ‘The Kites’ , I’m stood before a dimly lit, red stage along with about 250 revellers eagerly awaiting the arrival of the lads whilst hovering over the merch sold by ‘Cowboy Lou’ and cradling a £5 pint of Madri ( not bad price really ). I can’t recall if it was ‘Sexy Boy’ by Air that preceded their arrival at 9.15pm or not, did I imagine that? However to rapturous applause and in a flash behind my back they were on stage. Now the place was absolutely buzzing, after all, this was the homecoming for my fellow ‘Mancs’ – Frontman and Rhythm guitarist Kai Roberts and lead guitarist Jackson Couzens, and with the rhythm section of David Carpenter on Bass and George Le Page on Drums they kicked off with the aptly named ‘Intro’. To the ‘newbie’ this may have sounded like a short tune-up but they smoothly segued into ‘Cold’, a cracking mid-tempo warm up song for the band. The perfect paradiddles from George and those lovely eastern sounding chords from the Epiphone of Jackson had the crowd bopping along (was it me , did this really sound so good?).
“Very bright up here , can we have it a bit darker?……………… evening Manny!!!” cry’s the charismatic front man Kai, and clad in his white vest he gets the roar of approval I’m sure he was hoping for. “Thanks to everybody for coming down on a Thursday night and great to see so many friends”. More roars of approval and I’m certain had he asked for a pint they would have been 5 deep at the bar! Before long the few opening chords and staccato strokes on a tight snare signalled the arrival of ‘Before I Shoot’ and if I was to recommend a new listener to the band this is the song I would advise listening to first. It contains everything that typifies Balancing Act – spot on tempo, light and shade, superb lead vocals and church-like harmonies. Coupled with heartfelt lyrics it takes you to places in a song where you don’t expect to be , as a drummer myself it’s a great piece of work and very clever .
Now readers, I could wax lyrical about each song played and they were all brilliant, but for brevity I need to confine myself to the highlights, so check out the full set list of new and older songs here. I was kindly handed this set list by one of the band photographers ……… okay, I had to ask her to go back on stage to retrieve it, but nevertheless she could have easily said “do one!” so whoever you were, thank you very much.
‘Rabbit Hole‘ – A personal favourite and I’m dedicating this to my wife on our 15th Wedding anniversary on this very day of writing . Beautiful lyrics about the complexities of a loving relationship and a moving , dreamy song with pitch perfect vocals, a thudding floor tom-tom and lovely chords .
‘Cool Shoes‘ – A new one and they have only played it twice, but it was on the set list for the familiar Manchester crowd, I’m glad it was as I loved it and I’m looking forward to grabbing it on Spotify.
‘Gift Shop‘ – “Time for a good cry” says Kai as this emotional song explores themes of apathy, self-reflection, and the search for meaning . I’m not a lyricist by a long way, but all I know is we have obviously arrived at the more meaningful part of the show as the slower songs kick in and for me it really demonstrates the range of the bands musicianship. Their ability to change the mood from the alternative indie-rocking numbers where we jumped around in unison, to a more pensive mood is uncanny, I haven’t seen anything quite like this in a long time, especially as Kai unstraps his guitar and descends into the crowd for ‘The Saddest Song I Ever Did Write’ (much to the delight of his adoring female fans) , note someone had penned in the words whistleon the set list in case Kai should forget!!
A couple more new ones on the set list before Kai entices us even further forward and generously thanks ‘The Kites’ for their support and of course ‘Cowboy Lou’ on merch ( nice, helpful chap ), before we are back on familiar ground with their latest single ‘Cheshire Smile’. The crowd is bouncing around now and positively encouraged by Kai gyrating in the small space afforded him on stage, whilst somehow managing to display his trademark ‘Jaggeresque’ moves!…….. Just brilliant, the lads are clearly enjoying themselves, even Mr Cool Jackson is smiling and the Rhythm section are rock solid as usual.
Remember what I said about clever mood changing above ?? Well it’s here again, we are back to the thought provoking exploration of relationships with the slower number ‘A Little More Time’, the haunting melodies with that distant Epiphone sound, like some middle-eastern bazaar. On reflection I’m sure we were given a bit of respite there just to cool down – a headphone song for sure, download it now folks but only when you want to escape and reflect! Otherwise we are racing to the finale and a fast moving anthem of the band , the rocking vibe of ‘All Yours’ , we sense the end is near and the crowd don’t want to let go, but sadly for us Mancs it’s all over and the lights ‘go-up’ . Some appear shell-shocked and hang around grabbing merch and photos before disappearing back into reality and the balmy evening on Grosvenor Street.
What a night, would I go again?? ………in a heartbeat!!. The band have far exceeded my expectations, they are refreshing and exciting and have restored my faith in a world that seems obsessed with manufactured pop, tribute bands and mind numbing reality TV. Absolutely outstanding.
Sometimes my job dictates I have to drive 3-6 hours to a site to do 4 hours work , stay overnight in a hotel or just drive all the way back! Now , i absolutely detest driving and used to take all types of short cuts to gain perhaps 25 mins , well not anymore folks.
Like a latter day John Peel listening to endless demo cassettes in his car , I find myself doing the same but with the luxury of Spotify new music playlists……
“Where have you been Luddite , they’ve been around ages” I hear you scream!!
Perhaps they have but with the endless streaming platforms out there I confess to sampling them all!! However , I have finally settled on Spotify and am picking up some cracking tracks from Unsigned bands , don’t forget that is the aim of my blog and my recently launched Music Publicist offering. In fact there are so many tracks I have quite a list for ‘Single of the Week’ on my Facebook site – simply named Unsignedhub.com . Perhaps you want to head over there and give me a follow???
My simple message here is that next time you think your new single is going nowhere just remember that somebody , somewhere is always listening.
People of a certain age (author included), remember the world of Vinyl records very well and it appears many younger music fans are returning to it and are clearly enjoying the world of the original (non-digitized) sound in all its glory.
Next time you are in Warrington town centre (Cheshire) or sat in the 9 Gallon real ale pub on Legh St (Postcode WA11UG) why not walk another 20 yards on the left to Lizard Records – keep your eyes peeled, you might not see it but you will hear it!
Crossing the threshold you will be greeted enthusiastically by Steve Davidson aka ‘Diddy’, you might even recognize him as he has been a D.J since the age of 13 when he helped out at various shows by playing his own ‘punk’ set at the local Woolston Leisure Centre and the Cantilever Youth Club and continues to ‘spin’ records today at many of the festivals in town and beyond. During his time on the road Steve had amassed thousands of singles and albums of various musical genres to cater for his increasing D.J spots. To the uninitiated, Vinyl Records (33 & 45’s) can take up a lot of space and probably contain music you might not play again….. ever! Around 2010 -2012 (ish) the music scene was changing quickly and in Steve’s own words he was “sick of looking at a huge stack of old Dance and Techno” and took approximately 2000 records to various charity shops around town.
Roll forward to 2014, when Mike Wilkie – current owner of the 9 Gallon pub offered Steve a storage unit for his huge Vinyl collection it dawned on him that perhaps he shouldn’t have given away that Vinyl after all? Especially as 2 years later in 2016 Steve started officially trading as Lizard Records and had to go to flea markets, boot sales and second hand shops to acquire more stock!!
As a former interior shopfitter Steve knew what was required in his new unit to make it into the authentic ‘record shop’ style that you see today and being a keen artisan he would love to see more environmentally friendly – second hand quirky traders in glass & ceramics, clothing, & furniture in the area – a kind of Afflecks Palace in Warrington. When I was there people were bringing in collections of all music genres for Steve to assess, and although he doesn’t class himself as a business man he considers his venture more of a community service where you can buy or sell old Vinyl , purchase re-issues or browse and have a chat whilst being educated about Vinyl by Steve himself . Reader beware though, you will disappear down the rabbit hole, indeed a number of youngsters came in the shop to browse and eventually buy quite a few Vinyl albums and Steve’s enthusiasm was boundless, he even got excited about a 1980’s carrier bag advertising jeans, that’s passion for you.
So, next time you are in the area swing by and smell the Vinyl, soak up the atmosphere and tune in to whatever Steve is playing on his excellent sound system, if you have the kids in tow they might even get a lollipop, now you won’t get that in any of the corporate stores!
