Jimmy Binks and the Shakehorns Q&A

Your name:

Sam, singer and guitarist.

Where are you from?

We're from the UK, the US, Canada, and Japan, but we all live in Tokyo, Japan!

Name of band:

Jimmy Binks and the Shakehorns.

Who else is in your band?

We are 

Sam – vocals, guitar (Sheffield, UK)

Ju Ju – vocals, guitar (Cambridge, UK)

Yuuki – bass (Kanagawa, Japan)

Erin – trumpet, vocals (Newfoundland, Canada)

Dan – drums (Virginia, USA)

Jonny Barefoot – banjo, mandolin, vocals (ON, Canada)

How would you describe yourselves?

We always struggle with this! We've been variously described as alt-country, Americana, folk, roots, bluegrass, and acoustic rock. Recently little bits of ska and 1920s have been creeping in, too...

Who are your main influences musically?

Classics like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. More recently fun stuff like Pokey Lafarge, Lumineers, Milk Carton Kids, Avett Brothers, Tallest Man on Earth. 

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Above all, we like to play live, and among the live show, the festival live show is king. Based in Japan, our number one target would be playing at the Fuji Rock Festival, which is huge. 

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

We played at the Asagiri Jam festival a few years ago, which is a bit like Fuji Rock's younger cousin. We also played at Happy Farm Music festival up in the mountains of Nagano in Japan. It was a beautiful weekend. We've also been lucky enough to have had our tracks played regularly on BBC radio, and placed in NBC and CNN TV shows, and even in a couple of movies! 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Perhaps not a rock n roll answer, but nothing really! Will let you know if something happens in the future! 

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

I'm going to go with Cabin Fever. Although we have changed a lot over the last few years, at heart we're an alt-country band, and this song sort of shows what we're trying to make: a kind of danceable alt-country. 

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/jimmybinks/jimmy-binks-and-the-shakehorns-cabin-fever

Where can we find out more about your music?

Twitter - @Jimmy_Binks

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jimmybinksandtheshakehorns

Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/jimmybinks

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

Nope, but we love meeting new people. If you or any of your readers are ever in Tokyo, get in touch on Facebook or Twitter and we'll show you some great live spots! Cheers for the chat!

Sweet Crisis Q&A

Band name:
Sweet Crisis.

Where are you from?
Cambridge/London.

How would you describe yourselves?
As fun-loving rock and roll heads who care about quality no quantity!

Who are your main influences musically?
Floyd, The Stones, Hendrix, Jack White to name a few…

What do you hope to achieve in music?
To sell out stadiums, headline festivals, and a carrier would be nice!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
Reforming as Sweet Crisis after some really tough times and selling out our first UK show!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Already forgotten! Have a rubbish memory!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?Fight About Nothing. It's our first single and is an honest statement of the first chapter
in our band.

Where can we listen to it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev-UEPv-ehw



Where can we find out more about your music? 

www.sweetcrisis.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetcrisisband
Twitter: @sweetcrisisband

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?Just come and see us live, we promise you won’t be disappointed!

Winter brothers prepare for debut

FOLK-pop duo WINTER will release their debut single The Sea Bites Back on April 7th through London-based label Infinite Jest Records.

Singer Joe Winter describes the track as “a romantic song about the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of how it feels to be left behind”.

He and brother Matt have been singing and playing guitars together their whole lives, but moved apart after disbanding their last group.

From different sides of the country they worked in parallel - with Matt melding his half-formed pop songs to the vocals Joe initially recorded on his Dictaphone.

They met up in the studio last year and recorded six sessions in seven months with producer Brett Shaw. Those sessions form the album In The Dark, due out later this year.

You can view the video for The Sea Bites Back below and for more visit songsfoundinthedark.com


The Sea Bites Back from WINTER on Vimeo.

Twelve Clay Feet unveil video for Hailstones

ALT-rock quartet Twelve Clay Feet have released a video for their new single Hailstones.

It is the first single to be taken from the Cambridge, England, band's forthcoming album More Naked Than Obscene - the follow up to their acclaimed debut Totem Bells.

Guitarist and singer Ian Jeffs says of Hailstones: "When I first brought the bare bones of the tune into the rock room, (the garage we rehearse in) and the guys started doing their thing, it immediately felt like a keeper.

"After getting into the studio it didn't take long to work out we had the single. We were recording in Fraser Smith’s converted chapel studio, which was the perfect place to capture the spaciousness of the song. Musically, Hailstones represents what we're all about as a band; energy, passion and big songs. 

"When people talk to me about the lyrics everyone seems to take slightly different things from it, which I really like. There's a story and images in there, but it's great when you feel like people can make it personal to them."

Hailstones is released on Kiln Records on September 11th.

The Dowsing Sound Collective Q&A

Your name: 

Andrea Cockerton.

Where are you from? 

Cambridge, UK.

Name of band: 

The Dowsing Sound Collective.

Who else is in your band? 

For our next gig there are 100 singers, a trumpet player, a violin player, bass guitar, drums, African/Middle Eastern percussion, Hammond organ, lead/acoustic guitar, a double bass, a cathedral organ, an opera singer, tubular bells and an iPad…

How would you describe yourselves? 

Eclectic, unpredictable, rather large!

Who are your main influences musically?  

We perform original covers and arrangements of tracks by a vast range of artists, and this diversity is really core to who we are. At the moment we’re working on tracks by Moby, Peter Gabriel, Agnes Obel, Mary Mary and The Head and The Heart, but we’re also stretching back to some 15th century polyphony and including some ‘Puirt-à-beul’ (Scottish mouth music) mixed with a bit of acid house & funk.

What do you hope to achieve in music?  

Bands write brilliant music, but not everyone gets to sing in one…local choirs sing good but perhaps predictable pop hits in very simple harmonies, but many trained musicians won’t go near them…and conventional choral groups sing challenging pieces, but not everyone can read music.  With The DSC I’m trying to fuse all of these together – to get people singing complex arrangements to a really high standard, but without excluding anyone, to mix vast amounts of voices with professional musicians and unusual instruments, and to together have a huge blast – much more like a gig than a concert - while doing so. It’s a lot of fun. 

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

The first DSC gig which had about 10 minutes of applause at the end and two standing ovations.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

The disappointment of sound problems during one of our gigs when I realised that people couldn’t hear the voices properly.

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

Tough call!  If I’m really honest I’d want to share it between our covers of Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap and Tonight We Fly by The Divine Comedy…. But if it has to be one, it would be our cover of Madness by Muse, which is coming out on our new EP soon and we’re performing in Ely in July (see below). There’s a clip of it (and the Temper Trap track) on our website at the moment.

Where can we listen to it?  

http://thedowsingsoundcollective.com/sound-samples/

Where can we find out more about your music?  

www.thedowsingsoundcollective.com 

https://twitter.com/dowsingforsound

https://www.facebook.com/TheDowsingSoundCollective

email hello@thedowsingsoundcollective.com

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

We’re going national and are looking for the best instrumentalists and MDs that want to be in the band/run sessions, as well as opening the doors to singers all across the UK. Get in touch if you’re interested!  And the other thing is that we have a lot of men, which often surprises people… mostly they come because of our set list but I think our ‘no dance moves’ policy has something to do with it. The final thing is that we’re fast selling out for our 6 July gig in Ely Cathedral but tickets can still be bought online https://tickets.elycathedral.org/ or by calling 01353 660349.

New stage line-up for folk festival

CAMBRIDGE Folk Festival has announced details of its emerging talent stage, The Den. 

A relatively new addition to the 49 year-old festival, the stage provides a platform for up and coming artists, with last year’s line-up featuring newcomer Jake Bugg who played to an intimate crowd before going on to huge critical acclaim just months later.

This year’s line up in The Den is:

Thursday - Marika Hackman, Ellie Rusbridge, Matt Tighe & Tad Sargent, Cara Winter.

Friday - Boho Dancer, Common Tongues, Rachael Dadd & Ichi, Dead Rat Orchestra, Janet Devlin, Luke Jackson, Jarlath Henderson, Hot Feet, Hudson Taylor, Robyn Sherwell.

Saturday - A Band Of Buriers, Ballina Whalers, Blue Rose Code, CC Smugglers, Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, JP Cooper, Hladowski & Joynes, Freya Roy, Luke Sital-Singh, We Were Evergreen.

Sunday - Fiona Bevan, The Black Feathers, Sam Brookes & Magic Lantern, The Cadbury Sisters, Cocos Lovers, Joe Innes & The Cavalcade, Liz Lawrence, Jess Morgan, Woodpecker Wooliams, The Young Folk.

Folk rock pioneers Steeleye Span have been added to this year's line-up alongside the likes of The Mavericks, The Waterboys, Bellowhead, KT Tunstall, Levellers and many more.

The festival also offers street theatre, music workshops and sessions, raucous ceilidhs, open stages, a youth area, internet café, kids’ ceilidh, storytelling, free creche, paddling pool and playground and real ale bars.

It takes place from July 25 to 28 at Cherry Hinton Hall. Tickets for Saturday are sold out, but weekend, Friday and Sunday tickets currently remain.

Online booking and information at www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk

Collective prepare for biggest gig

MAVERICK musical sensation The Dowsing Sound Collective is gearing up for its biggest gig to date.

The 110-strong group of singers and musicians will be performing an electrifying range of music in the magnificent Ely Cathedral, in Cambridge, England.

Founder Andrea Cockerton said: "The Dowsing Sound Collective isn’t your average choir. We have our own band, which comprises professional musicians, and we are open to both accomplished singers and people who haven’t ever sung in a group before.

"Dowsing’s age range spans from 20 to 70 and around a third of the group are men. We sing challenging, new versions of contemporary songs in up to 16 parts, and also more conventional choral pieces. The resulting sound is something really special and the amazing acoustics in Ely Cathedral will make this a show to remember."

The group’s trademark eclectic set list will leap between global artists such as Paul Simon, Moby and The Rolling Stones, to covers of European tracks by Ane Brun and Agnes Obel, and even some 16th century polyphony.

The bold instrumental line-up will include the Cathedral organ, Hammond organ, trumpet, flugelhorn, violin, African, Middle Eastern and European drums, bass, piano and an iPad.

Dowsing is looking for sponsorship for the summer gig, which is called Home and will raise money for Dowsing’s own dedicated music foundation, The Dosoco Foundation.

For more information on the collective, visit www.thedowsingsoundcollective.com

From The Sticks Q&A

Your name:
My name is Rick Butcher.

Where are you from?
I am from the fenland outskirts of a small city called Peterborough in Cambridge. In a small village called Holme, which in fact hardly has roads worth the name and hardly any street lights as well as one shop.. no actually that just closed down so no shops.. and an internet that may as well be powered by hamsters running in a wheel. But what you lack in comforts you gain in the view. It's quite nice walking the wolf at night and actually using the stars as your street lights.

Band name:

The band is called From The Sticks and is clearly quite suited.

Who is in your band?

We're a four piece consisting of myself as vocalist, Tom Ellingworth Guitar, Nick Thompson-bel Bass and Adam Mansfield Drums. We're simply four strangers, three of whom met at an open mic night at a local pub The Duck And Drake and the fourth Nick who we found in the gutter outside somewhere and handed a Bass guitar.. luckily he picked it up very quickly.
We all jelled straight away, yet we didn't really aim for a genre and when we had played a good couple of shows had been classed as an "indie" group by many people. But truthfully we're just winging it and we will never see a band and say let's be like them its just not our style.

How would you describe yourselves?To be honest i could only describe ourselves as four very strange guy's who quickly have grown into brothers. Our music varies from serious topics to not so serious topics that have humour but every song always has an underline message that we rather let people figure out for themselves. If they get it then great and if they don't it doesn't really matter as long as they enjoy it and can tap their feet and hopefully forget the world for a second.

Who are your influences musically?

Our musical influences are always the toughest question to answer. We literally like everything from classical right down to prog-rock. I'd say Tom brings a good jazz feel to things, Nick brings the funk with his pops and slaps, Adam gives a good almost punky beat with a dancey indie twist and well myself I guess my writing style is what gives it all that root indie feel too it, but I sing from the soul even when it may not be classed as 'singing' .

What do you hope to achieve in music?The world. No but seriously, to simply make 40 quid a night and be able to just about survive doing this thing we already live and breath and just know that there's even 50 people out there who get and love what we're doing just as much as we do. Because at the end of the day yeah we write this stuff for ourselves but its for the people who want to listen. We'd be nothing without them. 

What's been the highlight of your career so far?

We played the Willow Fest in our home town and got to headline on the Friday night to thousands of people, most of them probably to drunk to remember our names the next day, but we didn't mind being their one night stands, we'll still plan to play it again this year.

And what's the moment you want to forget?

Urm we had a gig recently for charity and I didn't really think about what I was saying afterwards as I said 'don't forget to hand your money to the guy with the pot' - that was a pretty epic fail.

If you could choose one song to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Hard to say. We really try to switch it up with each song but not so much people think they're listening to a different band. But I guess DMT has become a little bit of a love child for us so we'll go with that considering the recent success with the DIY video for it which I spent six months making out of bits of tissue paper card straw and whatever I could find! 

Where can we listen to it?

You can watch it on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XzW_5SBb1k

Where can we find out more about your music?

You can find links to all of our social networking sites including our itunes via our website www.fromthesticksband.co.uk 

The Sleep Wells Q&A

Your name:

Chris Lander.

Where are you from?

Cambridge, London, Liverpool and Berlin.

Name of band:

The Sleep Wells

Who else is in your band?

Me, my brother Jon, my friend Grace and her brother James.

How would you describe yourselves?

Prog Indie.

Who are your main influences musically?

Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, The XX, Tame Impala, Tom Waits, Jeff Buckly.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Personal satisfaction.

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

Playing The 100 Club in London.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

A brief foray into spoken word Kraftwerk covers.

If you could choose just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be?

In Paris.

Where can we listen to it?

thesleepwells.bandcamp.com/track/in-paris

Where can we find out more about your music?

facebook.com/sleepwells | twitter.com/thesleepwells | soundcloud.com/thesleepwells |  thesleepwells.bandcamp.com

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

Interesting factoid- Our singer lives in Berlin. The rest of us don't. This makes practice a little challenging. But we manage.