Redlights Q&A

Your name: 

Joe Wood, guitarist & vocalist  and student and the BA (Hons) Popular Music Performance degree at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Where are you from?: 
I’m from a Village called Royston which is part of Barnsley Metropolitan District. Barnsley resides about 15 miles north of Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Not the most interesting of places is Barnsley, but it’s my home.

Name of band:

Redlights.

Who else is in your band?

Luke Balmer (guitar & backing vox), Luke Jones (bass) and Luke Washington (drums).

How would you describe yourselves?

We are a group of four close friends that have a passion for music and a drive to succeed. We love to create a sense of energy with our music and work tirelessly to be the best live band we could ever possibly be. We are serious about getting our name out there but don’t get me wrong, we don’t take ourselves too seriously at times and we love nothing more than having a good laugh with our extended group of friends at live shows and other get-togethers.
We really care about what our fans think about us and our music (a quality that appears to be dwindling amongst some other bands) and always try to do our utmost to keep in touch with everyone who sees us at our shows, messages us or tweets us. We are real people, no egos, fronts or unrealistic aspirations; just four lads from Barnsley that really want to be in a good band!

Who are your main influences musically?

To speak for myself, my all-time favourite bands are The Beatles, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Coldplay, The Arctic Monkeys and Nirvana. I’d even add bands like Green Day and Jimmy Eat World to this list. Recently I’ve really got into bands like Don Broco and The 1975.
The rest of the lads will agree with me here when I say we generally share the same musical tastes although unlike me the rest of the lads have a bigger passion than I have for heavier music.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Well having studied music academically for years now and working with many bands in the underground circuit I know that having dreams usually makes you look silly. Even on my degree course at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester I see students shy away from sharing their hopes and dreams, fearing that they’ll never live up to them as if that's something to be massively ashamed of. I say sod that attitude!
I want to be headlining the mainstage of Leeds and Reading Festival as soon as I can! Do I realise my dreams will most likely never even come close to being true? Of course I do! No-one decides to be a musician without having a dream. I probably know more than most about the challenges that face modern musicians, but nothing will stop me dreaming big!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Playing at the O2 with my old band was a treat, releasing an EP is always great and getting into the RNCM was just the best feeling. I can’t help but feel that the best is yet to come for me… I hope so anyway! 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Back in my “metal days” I was once in a band call To Wage The War. I was 14, incredibly short and pretty chubby, my hair was a complete joke and I’d not had a brace yet so I looked awful… We were playing at one of the legendary BMX nights at The Archers in Barnsley, I think the line-up included AndWhiteStars, which used to feature Kristan Dawson, now member of Bury Tomorrow, and Revenance who we’re a legendary metal band back in the day… and I’m pretty sure Lawrence Taylor (now in While She Sleeps) was the vocalist Revenace back then, someone better correct me if I’m wrong.
Anyway, we opened the show and everything was great up until a string snapped on the guitar that my brother was playing. It knocked the tuning right out (damn Floyd Rose bridges) and we had no replacements. Not a spare guitar or anything. We had to stop two-and-a-half songs in. People booed. It was pretty awful!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

That’s a toughie! I’d have to say Hold On represents Redlights better on the whole BUT as you asked me, I would say that Blinded by Streetlights represents much more. It’s gives raw insight into how I write songs, how I like a sense of explosive energy in my music. The lyrics are also a reflection on myself and my hopes and dreams.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/redlightsuk/blinded-by-streetlights?in=redlightsuk/sets/blinded-by-streetlights-ep

It’s free to download!
You can download the rest of our EP from there too.

Where can we find out more about your music?

Facebook is our home, we link everything we do back to there so make sure you give us a like! https://www.facebook.com/TheRedLightsUK

You can find us at all of these websites too,
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/UKRedlights

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realRedlights

Tumblr: http://redlightsuk.tumblr.com/

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/redlightsuk

Our EP is available on iTunes and Spotify to be streamed/purchased BUT it’s actually available for free now via Soundcloud! 

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

I’d just like to say for those that read this, thanks a bunch! And thanks for asking us these great questions. We’ve come out of hiatus now that we’re settled into university and ready to get back out there! We’ve got some seriously awesome stuff happening RIGHT NOW that we can’t wait to share with you. We’re looking forward to hitting up towns and cities up and down the country and meeting fantastic new people along the way, make sure that you are one of those people we get to meet!

Glitchfield Plaines Q&A

Band name: 

Glitchfield Plaines.

Where are you from?

I'm from the North West of England, specifically Marshside in Southport.

Who else is in your band?

Glitchfield consists of one, although I do collaborate!

How would you describe yourself? 

I like to mix live instrumentation and recorded sound with that of synths and computer-based audio. I like to experiment with audio often sending recorded audio through external effects units and re-recording the results. I am always looking for different ways to use sound or process it, using the speaker on a childs toy to degrade a sound is something I embrace, or using a toy piano to create a melody. Broadly speaking I produce electronica.

Who are your main influences musically? 

I absorb and filter many different things musically, I admire Four Tet & Boards of Canada within electronica though.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

All I want is to enjoy creating music (I already do), anything else is a bonus.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

It's still young, but I think collaborating with the talented Hepman Platofv for a start, and also, the great response I've had to the music I've put out so far.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

I've forgotten. What moment?

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

Travel Plexus, it has a lot of layers and has details that you may not pick up from just one listen, I like that in music.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/glitchfieldplaines/travel-plexus-featuring-hepman

Where can we find out more about your music? 

You can follow me on twitter; https://twitter.com/Glitch_field find me on bandcamp; http://glitchfieldplaines.bandcamp.com/ and on soundcloud;https://soundcloud.com/glitchfieldplaines

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask? 

Only that 2014 is shaping up to be a good year for Glitchfield, there's a couple of collabs in the pipeline, as well as tracks I'm working on that I'll maybe issue as an EP, plus I'm helping with production on some tracks for others that I think will be released in the next couple of months. There's just not enough hours in the day for me at the moment! But I like it that way!!

Loving Forty-Four Q&A

Your name:
Alex Hopwood.

Where are you from:
We're from East London and Essex, England.

Name of band:

Loving Forty-Four.

Who else is in your band?

Jamie Simes (guitar/lead vocals), Charlie 'Bushman' Bowden (bass), and I play drums/backing vocals.

How would you describe yourselves?

The best way I can describe our sound is dirty alt rock with grunge and hard rock undertones. We have deep, bold bass lines that, in addition to our raw, powerful drums create a massive, energetic rhythm section. On top of that, eerie vocals and sharp, aggressive guitar riffs complete our sound.

Who are your main influences musically?

We 're influenced by everyone from Nirvana to Black Sabbath, Mudhoney, The Ramones, Alice In Chains and everyone in between.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

We want to make people happy. Growing up listening to bands has shown us that music is such a powerful tool and it makes people happy. We play for the fans and as long as people want to listen to us, we will play.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

The release of our first EP and the amazing reaction we have received from it is definitely the highlight of our career. It's humbling to hear from complete strangers who love our music as much as we do. There are so many other highlights such as every single show we've played our hearts out at. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We were playing a show in Brentwood and on the last song of our set, I managed to snap the chain on my kick pedal completely. Luckily the guitarist from our support band, like a hero, jumped onstage, grabbed a spare drum stick and started smashing the bass drum to keep the song going. On second thoughts, I'd like to remember that!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Poppy. This song from our first EP represents everything this band does. It's loud, angry and energetic and we love seeing people completely loose it when we end our set with it.

Where can we listen to it?

It's available to stream/download here on our bandcamp page, along with the rest of the EP.
www.lovingfortyfour.bandcamp.com

Where can we find out more about your music?

You can keel track of us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lovingfortyfour
And Twitter: @lovingfortyfour

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

We hope people like what we do as much as we do. We've got tonnes of shows coming up and we would love to see new faces at them!

Venus Sans Fur Q&A

Band name:
Venus Sans Fur.

Where are you from? 
Welland, Ontario, Canada, currently in Port Colborne.

Who else is in your band?

My cat Kiki. He's written 10 songs about birds.

How would you describe yourselves?

Temperamental. Itchy.

Who are your main influences musically?

The Beatles, Velvet Underground, Pavement, Flaming Lips, The Elephant Six Collective.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Continuity. And 60 'likes' on Facebook.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Starting this project up after having played drums only in Bronx Cheerleader. Those were fun times but I'm much happier and more fulfilled being able to do basically whatever I want. It's been a blast rediscovering guitar and learning bass.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None, no regrets.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 
My newest track New Fear.

Where can we listen to it?

http://venussansfur.bandcamp.com


Where can we find out more about your music?

twitter.com/venussansfur
facebook.com/venussansfur
http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQ1bhYGSU2Vn-xeCZRFTZbA?desktop_uri=%2Fchannel%2FUCQ1bhYGSU2Vn-xeCZRFTZbA

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

I did a song about Steve Keene. Steve provided footage of him painting and Bob Nastanovich from Pavement contributed music and vocals as well, cool!

Burning Chase Q&A

Your name:

Stefan Strasser - guitar, vocals.

Where are you from?

We’re all from in and around Vienna, Austria.

Name of band:

Burning Chase.

Who else is in your band?

Tom Goethe - also guitar and vocals. We share rhythm and lead parts for guitar as well as main and backing vocals more or less equally.

Siegfried Swoboda - drummer with the loudest snare in town

We’re currently transitioning between bassists, because Johana, our last one, will move back to Prague, where she’s from, to study.

How would you describe yourselves?

Alternative rock with funk, pop, heavy influences. It’s hard to pin it down, because it seems we’re constantly changing.

Who are your main influences musically?

Personally, Foo Fighters, King’s X, Dream Theater, Nuno Bettencourt, AC/DC … I really love rock music that kicks ass, but I like lots of different styles, from Beethoven over Stevie Wonder to Opeth. And I know Sigi, our drummer, also loves all kinds of rock music, Dave Matthews Band, Yes, also Foo Fighters, and is very much into everything funky and groovy, including fusion and jazz funk. Tom has a thing for John Mayer, but he also has a very diverse taste, as far as I know.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Have fun! Write songs that people enjoy. Tom is the only professional musician in our group, but he makes his money with other projects and mainly with working as a sound engineer. Everybody else has a (more or less "normal") daytime job, which means we have to set realistic goals for our band. Playing some live shows, getting a song in the radio, reaching people and making them dance and enjoy themselves are what would make us feel accomplished.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Personally, my highlights are always great live shows where the crowd enjoys itself. I remember one particular one I had with my band in Japan (I used to live there for a couple of years) when we rocked a small dive bar that was absolutely packed. That was awesome! Or the one gig with another band where we played at the inauguration party of a Harley Davidson custom shop. That was a highlight, because I made more money with music that night than ever before or after, haha.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I’ve witnessed it a couple of times that a clash of egos destroyed or almost destroyed a band. That’s probably the worst thing for me in this world of making music / being in a band.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Ooohhh… Impossible! We have only released two songs so fat that I could point to. I would probably pick Lie because I wrote it. But we have so many other great and different songs. It’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child!

Where can we listen to it?

On Myspace: https://myspace.com/burningchase/music/songs

Or Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/burningchase

Where can we find out more about your music?

Well, our online presence is in it’s fledgling state. But you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Soundcloud.

https://www.facebook.com/BurningChase

https://twitter.com/BurningChase

https://myspace.com/burningchase

https://soundcloud.com/burningchase

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Well, some people ask us if we’re a political band. That’s because the two songs we have released so far are about the encroaching surveillance state (Step by Step) and about constantly being lied to by politicians and authority figures (Lie). Also, our band name is based about a series of paintings called Burning Chase, which show branches of Chase banks going up in flames. So, the question is justified. But, in fact, I’d say 90% of our songs are about a different subject matter. Personally, I am a rather politically minded individual with a skeptical, cynical and critical view of the world, so that’s bound to show up in some of the lyrics now and then. Most of our lyrics are about love, personal relations and stuff like that though.

Debut EP from hardcore outfit Atlases

HARDCORE five-piece Atlases have released their debut EP Upbringing.

The EP contains six tracks of "emotionally driven vocals, crunching riffs and technical drumming", or so it says here. You can make you own mind up by having a listen below, but it did receive four Ks in the current issue of Kerrang!

Upbringing is available on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp and if you want to find out more about the band from Berkshire, England, visit atlasesuk.com

Rattlin Bone Q&A

Your name:

Wily Bo Walker. 

Where are you from?

The band and I are London based. I am from Scotland (but I was born in London to save on the train fare!) :-) …ah the old jokes are the best!

Name of band:

Rattlin Bone.

Who is in your band?

As a recording entity Wily Bo Walker (vocals, guitars, keyboards, drums, percussion, double bass and sound fx), L'il Neill (trombones, trumpets and backing vocals), Kareña K (backing vocals) and some wonderful special guests…

As a 'live' touring and festival band there can be as many as 18 of us on stage. We have a veritable trombone army, beat-boxing clowns, fire-eaters, The Vampirettes (a three-piece female vocal group featuring Kareña K) on backing vocals and a host of other musicians…

How would you describe yourselves?

Voodoo burlesque and swamp jazz.

Who are your main influences musically?

Well there is a real N’awlins [New Orleans] spirit within the band – those funeral marching bands with all the brass players blowing up a storm. Mix in some Delta Blues and then a sprinkling of some of those old foot stompin’ jazz rhythms. Add a touch of rockabilly in to the mix and there’s your Rattlin Bone sound!

Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Howlin Wolf, Screamin Jay Hawkins, even, dare I say it, Tom Waits. We have had a few reviews comparing us to the great man so, Flaming Hearts Records even went to the trouble to licence two of Tom Waits’ songs for us to record. Been a lot of fun I have to say. Screamin Jay is another obvious one I guess – we have a cover version of one of his tracks that we have licensed to record, but we’ll see.

Most of the stuff we do is original, of course, and even when we do a cover version we like to ‘rattle it up’! Plus L’il Neill digs Ennio Morricone so you can hear touches of haunting spaghetti western themes through his bone playing! Cinema soundtracks to b-movie horror flicks perhaps? Got to be in there. Certainly some of the keyboard parts I have laid down in the studio sound as if they would be right at home there – can’t say I am the world’s most competent keyboard player but I get by – Much more in my element when it comes to doing my frontman and vocalist thing. I look back at some of the old videos of people like Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong and love what they were doing back then! But I obviously mix it up with a lifetime of influences as everyone does.

Music is so abundant and readily available now that there is so much to inspire – I might not be inspired by the boring mainstream syndicated radio stuff everyone is told to like but there are tons of bands and artists out there producing up brilliant music that is both innovative and inspirational.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

On a personal level, to just keep on the path I am on; working with great musicians all across this beautiful planet and create music. I love the energy that comes from that. And I also love the moments when playing 'live' and the audience are digging what you are doing, the band gels and that little moment of timeless magic occurs for everyone!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

I love every moment I am able to create, write, play, work in music.

I recently released a cover of the old Billie Holiday track 'You Don't Know What Love Is' and worked with Teddy Charles. It was Teddy's final recording before he died and I am honoured to have been able to work with such a legend. Teddy worked with all the greats from the golden era of jazz; from Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday through to Miles Davis and latterly people like Aretha Franklin. Amazing experience.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Nothing connected with music - I want to remember each and every moment! :-)

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Although not a Rattlin Bone song per se, we do play this at every Rattlin Bone gig. It is a solo track of mine called 'When The Angels Call Your Time' and it kind of covers the sound of Rattlin Bone whilst also features in some of my other projects; my solo work and my other bands 'The Mescal Canyon Troubadours' and 'The Blue Valentines'.

Where can we listen to it?

http://wilybo.bandcamp.com/track/when-the-angels-call-your-time

Where can we find out more about your music?

Links a-plenty:

RATTLIN BONE

ARTIST WEB-SITE: http://rattlinbone.com

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/rattlinbone

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/rattlinbo

REVERBNATION: http://www.reverbnation.com/rattlinbone

WILY BO WALKER

ARTIST WEB-SITE: http://wilybo.com

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/wilybo

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/wilybo

REVERBNATION: http://www.reverbnation.com/wilybowalker

SPOTIFY: http://open.spotify.com/user/wilybowalker

AIRPLAY DIRECT: http://www.airplaydirect.com/music/wilybo

MYSPACE: https://myspace.com/wilybowalker

CD BABY: http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/wilybowalker

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/wilybo

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

The debut Rattlin Bone album 'The Life and Death Of…' was re-released on 21st January on iTunes, Amazon and al good online stores with a special bonus version released on Rattlin Bone's Bandcamp site: http://rattlinbone.bandcamp.com

Shoot The Moon Q&A

Your name: 

Shawn Woodhouse. People call me Woody.

Where are you from? 

Orillia Ontario, Canada.

Name of band: 

Shoot the Moon.

Who is in the band? 

Shawn Woodhouse (lead vocals, guitars), Lance Troian (bass, vocals), Phil Smith (drums, sound effects), Don Dumas (guitar, vocals).

How would you describe yourselves?   

We are primarily a rock band but with touches of other types of music genres such as… punk, blues, reggae and country, depending on what the song calls for.

Who are your main influences musically?   

When I was a young kid it was the three Bs - Beatles, Beach Boys and Bay City Rollers. I know, but hey, there was a guy in the Bay City Rollers named Woody. How could a kid with the same nickname not think that was cool?Once high school hit, the musical discoveries became enormous. Queen, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Def Lepard, and all time faves, The Police and Van Halen.

In 2014, I still listen to a lot of Police and other bands like Weezer, Foo Fighters, Joe Walsh, Bob Mould, Pearl Jam and Frank Sinatra to name a few.

What do you hope to achieve in music?     

I'm 45 years old, so the dream of being the next Eddie Van Halen is pretty much gone. I'm more or less just creating music because I have to. There is something inside me that begs to be creative. So writing music is my way to release that internal urge.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?    

The highlight of my own musical career was opening gigs for Canadian music icons such as April Wine, Finger Eleven, Kim Mitchell, Colin James, Honeymoon Suite and The Razorbacks. Opening for Steppenwolf was pretty cool too.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?     

My first live performance. It was in front of my entire high school as part of a Christmas assembly. The band that I was playing with didn't even have a bass player but we had two very loud guitar players. We played one of my first original songs that I wrote, Fast Lane. Holy shit, what a mistake. The other high school rock band that played did a Beatles song, a Christmas song and then threw candy canes out into the crowded gym - and all the girls went nuts. Lesson learned.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I think it would be Friends. It has such a good groove, especially when the band plays the song live. Phil, Don and Lance connect really nice and I like the way that song changes its mood. Part of Life is another song. I've been kicking that song around for a while with other bands, but I really like how it came together with Shoot The Moon. Lance came up with the bridge. That really put the song over the edge.

Where can we listen to it?  

Our website is  shootthemoonband.com/index.cfm  

Hit the link for Reverbnation to listen to our tunes.

Free Electronic Press Kits template from ReverbNation.com

Where can we find out more about your music?   

Twitter ­ @shoothemoonband

Reverbnation.com/shootthemoonband

Facebook.com/shootthemoonband

Men Without Armies release The Devil's Bride

MEN Without Armies will release their debut EP in the Spring and are teasing us with their first video, The Devil's Bride.

The band was formed by New York guitar virtuoso Brennan Dylan last year and they recorded six songs in eight days at the Vibe Studios, in Ohio.

You can watch the video above and if you like it, you can find out more about the band by visiting facebook.com/menwithoutarmies, twitter.com/menwithoutarmys or youtube.com/brennandylanofficial

Lyric video from Southern Inc

CANADIAN metalheads Southern Inc have released a lyric video for their track Judgement Day.

It is taken from the Peterborough, Ontario, band's Crushing All EP, which was released earlier this month.

If you like the sound of Judgement Day, you can buy the EP at itunes.apple.com/us/album/crushing-all-ep/id793033677 and to find out more about the band, click here to read the Q&A they did with RealSoundsOK in early December.

Debut EP from Cairoglyphs

CAIROGLYPHS have released debut EP The Veil on Russian Winter Records.

It is the electronic brainchild of Kansas City based hip-hop artist/producer Ryan Forest and features "retro-futuristic soundscapes underlined by a dark introspective narrative".

You can have a listen to the EP below and visit cairoglyphs.bandcamp.com for more.

Villains show us The Fall

Villains - The Fall on MUZU.TV.


VILLAINS have released the video for new single The Fall.

The band from Essex, England - formerly known as Never Means Maybe - will release their eponymous album next month and are tipped for big things this year.

Under their previous guise they have played festivals such as Download, Sonisphere and T In The Park, as well as support slots alongside the likes of Bury Tomorrow, Mallory Knox and Enter Shikari.

You can check out the video above and if you like what you see/hear, visit facebook.com/villainsofficial

Limp Bizkit and Chas & Dave for Sonisphere

Limp Bizkit's Fred and Wes

TEN more bands have been added to the Sonisphere 2014 bill - with nu-metal favourites Limp Bizkit announced as 'special guests.

Goth heroes The Sisters Of Mercy have also been confirmed for the Knebworth bash along with Anthrax, The Virginmarys, Carnifex, Voodoo Six, Dropkick Murphys, Silverstein, Devin Townsend Project - and cockney knees up legends Chas & Dave.

The duo, who supported Led Zep at Knebworth waaaay back, said: "We went down quite well in '79. Not surprised we got a return booking."

The Prodigy, Iron Maiden and Metallica will headline the festival, which runs from July 4th to 6th. 

For more information - including the full line-up so far and ticketing details - visit sonisphere.co.uk

Nick Tann Q&A

Your name: 

Nick Tann.

Where are you from? 

Originally London but now in Eastleigh, Hampshire, just the other side of Winchester.

How would you describe yourself? 

A jobbing solo singer-songwriter and performer.

Who are your main influences musically?  

If you can imagine John Martyn, Sting and Elvis Costello jamming with Union Station and Jeff Buckley, then you can get a sense of where I'm coming from.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

To earn more money that my wife!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

Just before Xmas I performed at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell and it was the most perfect gig. A nice full space full of people hearing my music for the first time and they got me. I managed to keep their full attention for 40 minutes. Signed most of them up to my mailing list and sold a bunch of CDs. I have played to bigger audiences and on bigger stages but  the fact that I could see every face and every ear on me was quite magical. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

There have been a few dodgy pub gigs in my past that I am trying hard to forget. People wanting covers....*shudders*

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

I am first and foremost a songwriter and as such I write in may styles and genres. I think the tracks on my Electronic Press Kit probably best represent my live set best. I have brand new tune as yet unrecorded that will be part of my new album that I am recording next month (February). This is the antithesis of where I am now but you'll have to wait a month or two for that. It's called You Never Did Me Wrong.

Where can we listen to it? 

I thought you'd never ask! http://nicktann.co.uk/electronic-press-kit/

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Pretty much everything is on my website http://nicktann.co.uk/

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

"So Nick, tell me about your Home Concerts, your forthcoming album, your European tour, your famous music podcast, your online gigs, your monthly showcase in Winchester and how are your chickens?" Its all on my website as well as in my fortnightly newsletter http://eepurl.com/eCJ-Q

I am always on the lookout for new artists to play on my podcast, the link is http://isthisthingonpodcast.com/how-to-submit-your-tracks-to-the-podcast/

Tess Of The Circle Q&A

Your name:

My name is Tess Jones. I'm a male singer songwriter from the band Tess Of The Circle.

Where are you from?

I live in Oxfordshire. Born in Surrey. raised in the West Midlands.

Name of band:

Tess Of The Circle.

Who else is in your band?

Tess Of The Circle is an independent musical collective based around the songs of Tess Jones. The Thorns album features contributions from Tess on vocals and guitar, Lee Clifton (electric guitar), Damon Minchella (bass) and Geoff Dugmore (drums). The live line-up is ever-changing! But you can usually find myself and Lee in there somewhere! 

How would you describe yourselves?

We mix a bit of classic early electric 1970s rock with acoustic guitar sounds. Style wise we jump from Flamenco to folk rock to string ensemble ballads.

Who are your main influences musically?

If you dig deep enough you would find Led Zeppelin, Nick Drake, The Doors and even some Jeff Buckley. Well thats what we tell ourselves at least ;)

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To make a living! 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Our Bob Harris session and all the support from BBC Radio 2. Supporting Joan Armatrading also meant a lot personally.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Breaking an acoustic guitar string in front of 4,000 people on the first song! 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Vagabonds and Rogues off the new album Thorns. I believe it mixes the qualities of all the other songs, balancing poetry, subtle acoustic with electric guitar swells.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/riff-raff-pr/03-vagabonds-and-rogues

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.tessofthecircle.com

www.facebook.com/tessofthecircle

www.twitter.com/tessofthecircle

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

We have a new video for History up here: http://youtu.be/_EZ05huU0QM

Finally, I wanted to thank the people reading this article right now. The people that go out and find new music are the reason we get to keep doing what we do. Please check out the album Thorns available now.