Everyday should be a Ruby Tuesday

Talent!!! - a former weight and unit of currency, used especially by the ancient Romans and Greeks.!! or - natural aptitude or skill.... how do we measure it these days? talent shows or maybe even wait for someone influential to profess a band or individual to be a possessor of talent. I highly doubt its a gift from the gods as it takes many years to develop a skill that can be passed off as a talent :) and never-the-less the being that may hand out such "gifts" would need to exist in the first place!!!! 

The reason I bring this up is because of all the chatter I see on a regular basis at this time of year... and the reason for this is the X-Factor.. every year its slotted in to climax just before Jesus' birthday! in the hope of having the mindless zombies go out in their masses to purchase the puppetry that is the potential no 1.... now my main grumble here is not the awful auditions that are just public mockery of the retards that decide they're good enough to win the show! but the discussions you see about the "Talent" that these people must obviously possess to progress through the competition! I ask this "Do they actually possess any talent?" I ask this as I truly don't see singing someone else' song as a talent. If, for example they wrote a quality song and progressed on their own writing and performing talent alone, that would be a different case.

Now any artist worth a shit with any integrity would want to work for their reward in being recognised as a "talent" and not just piggy back there way to the top... 

I may add that this is entirely my opinion and not the bands ( well I think so anyway ) and if you disagree... well I'm not bothered as you must be wrong :) 

My rant about talent brings me nicely onto these chaps Ruby Tuesday.....

Ruby Tuesday

Now it's hard enough making enough noise as a three piece, but these guys pull it off as a two piece and convincingly so. As soon as you're greeted by the first track on their soundcloud page you know you're about to have a great trip... 

The opening of "Fools in Belief" is brilliant the drums and guitar are unleashed in perfect harmony it's such a cool sound... everything I love about music is going on here awesome drums, catchy melodies and sweet guitar riffs its magic :) The groove going on here is brilliant. Then as you're sat thinking about what your ears have just experienced you're straight into an equally massive sound as "Fall" kicks off and it's just as magic the guitar work is brilliant I'd like to have a peek at the pedal board :) 

there's no doubt that there is an abundance of talent here that needs to be heard and its up to us to get everyone talking about these guys! 

If you love music then get on this and shout about it... you'll soon realise that you won't be able to do anything but :) 

https://soundcloud.com/rubytuesdayband

Hoffman, they will see you now!!

If you've been reading my blog religiously (which I doubt) then you may have noticed that I like to speak my mind... Didn't notice?? well I'm gonna do it again :)

This week I have noticed a huge up turn in these so called packages that allow you to gain a massive "following" for a fee.. Your guess is as good as mine how this is done, but I doubt very much that these are real people that are following, liking and playing for this fee! We have been offered these "deals" on many occasions since our inception. I really don't see the point myself as surely it's obvious to the real fans that this is a ruse of the highest degree. I really don't understand the end goal here either! if this is to impress a label then surely they must be aware of these practices? or even be able to sense that such a talentless gathering of fuckwits couldn't gain such a following even with the help of Yahweh himself. I implore you to please stop this behaviour you are fooling nobody. Go get out there and build your own following it may take sometime but at least it will be genuine... 

Right rant over... This week we have discovered a gem :) a genius if you will.... if you like some pure dirty guitar and some emotion, then you my friend are in the right place - Matt Hoffman really does have a unique sound, I'm smitten with this guys vocals they're unreal you won't hear anything like this knocking around. The guitar is brilliant I can tell you from experience trying to bang out a tune on your own the way this guy does takes some balls and talent. I feel compelled to cover one of his tune just to see how much energy it would take :) 

The other thing about Matt is the way he throws up a tune and then its gone when you go back for another listen he's like the Banksy of soundcloud. My favourite tune is Rosa it has such a cool riff you can imagine this with a band behind it and you have a huge tune on your hands. 

This won't be for everyone but you gotta have a listen and show your appreciation for this - no one else is doing this and boy does he do it well - 

https://soundcloud.com/matthoffman-2

you know the rules, listen, like and shout about it 

It's getting a bit GRIM around these here parts!!

Well it's been an interesting couple of days to say the least... We had our first gig back after my crippling month out :) It was good to get back out there in-spite of the faulty mic stand that forced me into a whole plethora of new positions that I didn't know I could sing and play the guitar in, but that's life you gotta go with the shit rather than stop and have a moan about it! no one likes a whining bitch after all :)

However I was surprised to be greeted by a middle aged chap who had clearly made little effort to get dressed that day :) When we had been in touch with what seemed to be a lovely young blonde lady via facebook who had nicely invited us to the gig under the pretence that it was a "Record Label" showcase... To be honest we were just happy to have a gig regardless of what kudos the promoter had. However, I find this practice very underhand! Imagine being an impressionable young band being invited out under this pretence only to find you're playing to the bar staff and the "promoter"!! it's not cool...

Anyway I digress it was a fun evening :)

I have wanted to have my say on the following artist since I found about him a few weeks ago. I just haven't found the time ( to my shame ) My good online friend Nessi pointed me in the direction of this chap and I've become an instant fan -

GRIMDerry 


Now I'm not sure how this comparison will go down but I'm a massive Bjork fan I find her to be such a refreshing and original artist and I've been listening to her music for over 15 years now. When I first listened to Grim I instantly felt intrigued by his style, for me it's easily as refreshing and original and this is so rare these days. The music is so clever there's so many interesting sounds and melodies at play, its the kind of music you can listen to over and over, and with each listen you discover a new sound or melody you missed the last time. I'm also reminded a lot of the genius that is Beck in Grims music.. I don't know about you but I will genuinely listen to an artist and think 'shit I wish I could make music like this' :) and this is exactly the feeling I have listening to Grim... I  can't emphasize enough how much you need to go and give this guy a listen! it's simply brilliant.. and it would be a shame to miss out...

https://soundcloud.com/grimderry

You know the rule peeps... go listen (and be in awe ) share and shout about it!! 

12 Bar Blues

Now as a guitarist there's one thing you learn as your bread and butter, and that's the 12 bar blues!! now you can probably hear that this is the basis for like 80% of all songs since its conception. One thing that's hard to pull off is making the 12 bar blues your own. It's not a simple task, trust me I'm yet to do so myself but there are a few people that have done so... one of my favourites being Red House by Jimi Hendrix. It totally hits the nail on the head... your down on your luck, you've lost your woman and no clue of what to do. It's gotta be one of the best lines when he says " my baby don't love me no more, but I'm sure her sister will" :)

It's a story and an emotion that goes hand in hand and it's such a simple and elegant way to get it across, but at the same time proper hard to get right... Now I stumbled across a great 12 bar blues rendition on Soundcloud about two weeks ago and I've listened to it a few more times since just to make sure it was as good as I initially thought, and it just gets better -

David Harris 

This chap hails from Manchester and has quite a unique voice its a great surprise when it kicks in, it's like listening to a young Jagger with such a cool groove. Now as I said before its a rareity to get a great 12 bar blues and this certainly is one of the best I've heard in a long while. If you carry on through the rest of the page there are some equally impressive songs. It must be said you know you're listening to a class act as you journey through the tunes on offer. It's a must for sure.

https://soundcloud.com/dave-harris-27 

Mr Harris is clearly a super talent on the guitar, he offers a really unique sound. I can't say I've heard anything like it for a long time. It's refreshing to hear someone not trying to produce the same drivel as the masses and stand out from the crowd. And, he certainly stands out. For example listen to Cherry Blossom its such a beautiful sound I can hear early Iggy Pop with elements of Floyd and Zeppelin mixed in its brilliant. 

You know the score people.... go listen, enjoy, and spread the word. 

https://www.facebook.com/dave.harris.acoustic 

Mr Piggies Playlist

As some of you may know I recently acquired a new phone... upon receipt of a new phone I normally transfer my music to it so I'm not left in silence on the morning commute. However, with this new one I've decided to try out these streaming apps that allow you the freedom to listen to whatever you like. I was given the choice to download some albums... now being left with a blank search tab and the choice to download any album you want!! hmmmmm..... what would you choose? I went for Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix :) I then downloaded Urban Hymns by The Verve and Circus by Lenny Kravitz and then settled on Zeitgeist by The Smashing Pumpkins.. now you may notice there's nothing new in my initial choices and the same goes for my old iTunes library. This isn't through a lack of trying new stuff but all the new stuff I like is from unsigned bands so I use Soundcloud for that..... 

Now this brings me onto the task at hand :) this if you in the unsigned world will be aware of a lovely chap who goes out of his way to help us unsigned bands showcase out stuff and list gigs and so on. Yes I'm talking about Mr SqrPig :) He asked me to put a playlist together for his new project that will hopefully become a regular slot on his site... Well I felt somewhat honoured to get the opportunity to let you guys hear my choice.. To be fair its a hard choice and if you are in a band and feel you should have been picked then I apologise... so here goes - 

Playlist 

Track 1 - Wham Bam - Round

https://soundcloud.com/whambam/wham-bam-round

Now these chaps hail from Russia and are by far the most innovative musicians I've come across on my search for new music - I may add that they are nice chaps as well :) you really should pencil in at least an hour to spend on their page and soak in the genius that lies within, you won't be disappointed. 

Track 2 - Streamline - Can You Hear Me Now

https://soundcloud.com/streamlinegrimsby/can-you-hear-me-now

If you have been cool enough to keep up with my blog then you will have already heard of Streamline :) - if, however, this is your first time on here then you my friend are in for a treat - Streamline will give your ears a well deserved treat. This track is so uplifting and a hug for the soul I always get a great buzz from this track... when you have finished the playlist go check out the rest of their catalogue its a must. 

Track 3 - Mad Robot - Got Talent 

https://soundcloud.com/mad-robot-1/got-talent

Now this band were one of the very first that I stumbled across in my early days of Soundcloud. I have to admit there's something really catchy about these guys they have such a lazy groove its brilliant. The sound they produce takes me back to the 90's indie rock scene that influenced me heavily as a kid and I really love having these guys on loop. They have some quality tracks and I really recommend spending some time with Mad Robot. 

Track 4 - Dead Dreams - Moonlight Rider

https://soundcloud.com/dead-dreams-1/moonlight-rider-demo

Now I blogged about these guys the other day and I must say everytime I give them a listen it grows on me more and more. With tones of The Doors, Dylan and even a Manchester indie sound mixed in the music that's happening here is exciting to say the least. Even though its a low-fi sound the music speaks for itself and just goes to show you don't need a big budget and a fancy studio to make great music. 

Track 5 - Shoot The Rabbit - Scribble 

https://soundcloud.com/shoottherabbit/scribble

Now these chaps hail from my home town of Bangor and it's great to see that there's some great new music coming from Wales :) they have some great songs that have great energy, melody and superb lyrics. If you just take time to listen to the lyrics you're in for a treat... again pencil in some time to spend on Shoot The Rabbit and you will easily become a fan.... Ardderchog :) 

Track 6 - Lost Cassettes - Beat Motel

https://soundcloud.com/lostcassettes/02-beat-motel-studio-version

My final pick is a no brainer - The Lost Cassettes!!! as soon as this track kicks in it's hard not to be drawn in and start tapping the feet :) what a tune this is. So simple in nature but exceptionally clever at the same time. I love the drums in this track they drive the track perfectly and they lay a perfect canvas for the guitars n bass to have some serious fun here. go check out the rest of their songs you won't be disappointed. 

Track 7 - The Unassisted - Revolution

https://soundcloud.com/unassisted/revolution

Now don't think in anyway that I'm doing some selfless promotion here, I was asked to include a track of ours so here's a track :) I chose this track as its the latest one we've written. Also as we're currently involved in a Kickstarter project to record an EP and this is the track that we're naming the EP after:) and its a great track to end on.......  

I hope you have enjoyed my playlist and I hope I get to make another one for you guys at some point.... Stay tuned to http://squarepig.co.uk/ as I can guarantee there will be some exciting playlists to catch.. 

 

Not so Dead Dreams

I remember the pre-internet days, you'd have to phone people or even pen a letter to a friend! We'd listen to our favourite tracks on Vinyl or through a Walkman and we certainly didn't have a portable telephone... Now you young-uns may think I must be proper old to recall such cave dwelling, but I can assure you I'm not that old! back in these dark cave dwelling days my best mate and I would record songs on a dual cassette player that had a built in microphone. We'd spend days on end writing songs and listening back to them, some where funny others where anthemic (well we thought so at the time) 

These days its all to easy to go and get a laptop with a pre-amp and get some serious quality tracks done at home. For me this is a sad turn of events, it means that even the most mediocre of bands can achieve a decent sound with next to no effort. I mean you can even buy views, plays and followers (fans) for your mediocre minimal effort drivel and look like you're doing well! for me I honestly don't see the point. If you have got the talent this will be evident, even on a tape cassette or a built in microphone on an iPhone. 

Anyways I digress.... 

The point of my rant leads me onto this little gem of a band I came across about 6 months ago on my search for some great music and I hope you agree... 

Dead Dreams

As soon as these guys kick off I'm swept back to the pre-internet days of my youth and I feel like I have my Walkman clipped to my belt :) the sound these guys create it just brilliant. It's like some one got a time machine and stole some early Bob Dylan recordings. The music is great with a real retro vibe on the guitars and a positively lazy groove that makes my foot tap uncontrollably. The vocals really standout they go with the way they sit with the lazy groove is a perfect match. With a mere 14 twitter followers these guys are clearly an undiscovered gem that you all need to go and shout about... 

https://soundcloud.com/dead-dreams-1

https://twitter.com/DeadDreamsBand

You know the rules by now!! go listen, share and shout about it :) 

Flying by my socks

A sound!! this is what we're told as musicians we should adhere to. A sound! you know what I mean, as soon as you play a track you can tell who it is! If I played Oasis Wonderwall you'd know that was Oasis straight away.. this is to have a sense of familiarity, as we all love familiarity. I think we often perform at our worst in unfamiliar circumstances or as its now popular to use the term 'comfort zone'... for me I don't perform well if I'm in unfamiliar socks!! odd I know... However, we all have an odd familiarity that throws us at times.. for me its socks :) I really have had some bad times in unfamiliar socks! I'd like to see what you're familiar necessities are in the comments box below (We're all friends here we won't judge :) )

Now you may be asking where I'm going with this!! well let me tell you. If you're like me you will spend hours on Soundcloud searching out some gems. You click on a track and immediately move on if you don't hear the familiar tones you expect or need to enjoy a track. This week I've really tried my best to sit with some tracks and try my best to push past the unfamiliar socks feeling... and sometimes it worked and I really enjoyed some tracks (look to the bottom of the page I will share some links)

After a few uncomfortable listens I stumbled across the band that I hope you will give a few listens to and enjoy as much as I do.

The Flying Hour

This band didn't have to try hard for me to sit and listen to their EP it's great and what I like most is that each track has it's own "sound" it's really great to see a band just go with the flow and just make music without adhering to the norm. You start out with an electric synth popesque song called Captain Howdy, my initial thought was wow this is different trying my best to work out if it was in time! you'll see what I mean when you listen. It's really clever indeed and a great track, definitely deserves a good few listens. They have a great driving sound (They might even make it into my cars CD collection) The second track seamlessly falls off the first track with a grand opening and carries on driving you. I really love the vocals its effortlessly cool with loads of bravado. When you move onto the 3rd track it's simply brilliant a total showcase of this bands musicianship. I highly recommend having a listen to this EP 'Hilltown Sessions'.

https://soundcloud.com/tf-h/sets/debut-ep-hilltown-sessions

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Flying-Hour/371484236195995

Having spent a long time looking for some great music it was a relief to find such a cracking EP hiding in the belly of Soundcloud and I hope you enjoy them as I have :)


Links to unfamiliar socks songs that I gave a chance - I would have normally just carried on searching :)

https://soundcloud.com/bill-speed/mystic

https://soundcloud.com/tanglemint/roadtrip

https://soundcloud.com/joshuathomas/starting-something-rough-cut

Oi you seen my Cassettes!!!!

In my line of work there's one simple rule.... KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and you know what, this can be applied to pretty much anything with awesome results. Let me give you a few examples......

1. Cooking - over complicate this and you become a pretentious twat!
2. Writing a Blog :) - over complicate this and you become a pretentious twat also!
3. Relationships - over complicate these and you become a standard twat!
4. Getting dressed - over complicate this and you look like a twat!

and if you'd have KISS'd all over these then you my friend would be one well rounded chap/chapette 

Now the one place this is applied best is in the fine craft of songwriting, you may have guessed where I'm going with this if you've read any of my previous entries........ and yes you got it right! this brings me nicely on to the next band I want to bend your ear about - 

Lost cassettes

Now don't get me wrong keeping it simple when you're writing a song is the hardest thing to do ever! its far to easy to go bonkers and over complicate a song! the Lost Cassettes have an outstanding sound that is beyond catchy. I couldn't help but get immediately hooked on Beat Motel, the guitar and drum work is brilliant and when you throw the vocal over the top its a perfect match. I'm a fan of the old school sound and these chaps pull it off perfectly. you can't help but be taken back to an era when music had an attitude and was meant to get you off your ass and jump around! 

If there's one thing you do this week it should be listening to these guys. you won't be disappointed. I'd clear my diary as well, I've heard on good authority that they do a spanking live show to boot. 

https://soundcloud.com/lostcassettes

https://twitter.com/lostcassettes1

and finally..... 

When you're in a band you're often asked "what/who are your influences? and to be honest its a boring question! The Lost Cassettes could easily be compared to The Clash, The Arctic Monkeys or Joy Division but when I listen to them all I hear is class... We need to move away from this and just appreciate bands for their unique sound and these guys are as unique as you like!