Q1: Have The Supernovas been back to the studio recently?

Joei: Yeah we were back in Sunshine Corner with Smiley in Fleet at the end of last year. We recorded drums, bass and guitars for 10 tracks so we’ve got plenty of work to be getting on with at the moment!

Q2: How did your debut single do?

Joei: I’m really happy with the progress we’ve as a band as a result of it. We sold around 300 vinyl copies, I’m not sure how many downloads there were on top of that but it was a good start. Just looking forward to the next step now and releasing Slaughter In The Gaza!

Q3: When can we expect that?

Joei: We’re hoping to release Slaughter In The Gaza in March as a Download-only and then follow it up with a full hard copy release of City Of Smoke in the summer.

Q4: The band have been playing all over the country, tell us about that.

Joei: It’s been good over the last year. We’ve really taken it up a gear. No more being stuck in a rut playing the same London shows over and over again. We’ve actually been able to go and visit different places around the country that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
I think the main highlights have been the Bournemouth and Portsmouth shows although the Babyshambles supports in Cardiff, Southampton and Manchester were amazing.

Q5: Do you feel any kinship with any other bands or artists currently playing?

Joei: Well, being on the same label as Inwits and Krakatoa has definitely given us a sort of gang mentality when we’re out playing together. David McSherry would definitely be a part of that gang as well.

Q6: Who would you choose to run the country?

Joei: Tony Benn. Hands down winner. Easy choice.

Q7: Do politics have a place in music anymore?

Joei: Most definitely. I think that one of the reasons that music has hit a patch of boredom or mediocrity, or whatever you wanna call it, is that no-one seems to have anything to say anymore. I mean Lady Gaga is supposed to be the most offensive one out there and all I’ve heard her say is that she’s bluffin’ with her muffin! I like to invite her round for a couple of hands of Poker one day – I bet she’d catch a fuckin’ cold!

Q8: Are there any heroes left, musical or otherwise?

Joei: They are few and far between but they’re not all dead yet.

Q9: What are the worst and best things about being in your band?

Joei: The best thing about being in The Supernovas is the belief I have in the music we make and the boys as individuals. The worst thing about being in The Supernovas is the amount of fried chicken we eat when we’re on the road together.

Q10: You go to Austin, Texas in March, what are your plans for your first American trip?

Joei: To cause a fuckin’ stir… I like the fact that we’ll have Slaughter In The Gaza out for then. I think it should turn a few heads out there. I’m hoping that by the end of our first song, half the crowd will have walked out and the remainder will be up for it. That’s like ‘my vision’ of the gig haha!

Q1: How and when did the band form?

Alfie: In the backstreets of south London

Ben: In early 2008 we started ‘jamming’ at ‘The Toilet Factory’, a squat in Camberwell on Sundays. Our first proper gig was on 28th June at The Wilmington Arms.

Q2: Your first EP came out at the end of 2009, what’s next?

Ben: The next EP ‘Alchemy’ is nearly ready and will be coming out in the spring. There’s talk of doing a Steve Lamacq session around that time too. In the meantime we’ll keep writing, rehearsing and gigging hard.

Alex: Alchemy is a lot more ‘us’, the sound of it is what we have been working towards, it has really come together on this EP.

Alfie: We’ve got loads of gigs coming up. We really want to play some festivals in the Summer too.

John: I want to play as many festivals as possible this summer, maybe get a little European jaunt together too.

Q3: The band play a lot of shows in the London area, do you plan to travel further afield?

Ben: Of course. It’s simply a question of finances. We can’t afford to underwrite our touring costs as we are all poor!

Alfie: We do have gigs coming up around the UK in March and April though and maybe even some in Europe too!

Alex: Yes, we have plans for Europe and hopefully New York in the near future. We would love to record out there as well as play gigs.

Q4: The lyrics of the songs are very poetic, where does the influence and inspiration come from?

Alfie: Books.

Ben: Ask John!

John: Most of my lyrics are introspective I suppose. I try to avoid the whole ‘we’re getting drunk on a Friday night’ kind of stuff. Maybe people relate to them, maybe they don’t, but writing is a lot cheaper than therapy! I read a fair bit too, as I think everyone in this band does, and it’s bound to have an effect on how I write. Rather than taking direct inspiration, I seem to reference certain books or poems, and use them to enhance the ideas I have.

Q5: Steve Lamacq appears to have picked up on the band, having played ‘Jumbo Jet’ on his show a few times. This must have been helpful?

Alex: It’s more than we could have hoped for, it’s come at a perfect time for us, just as we are in the flow of releasing stuff and getting used to recording with each other, it’s a good sign of things to come I think.

Ben: We’ll find out in time just how ‘helpful’ it’s been. It’s certainly good to know that he likes our music though.

Alfie: Lammo is a great ally to have, and he knows his music. The good thing about him is he plays what he likes, and is not governed by traditional radio playlist restrictions.

John: Every band wants to get on the radio, so from that point of view it’s great.

Q6: Shakespeare or The Smiths?

Ben: Why choose. They have both had a huge impact on me.

Alfie: We like Shakespeare’s music, the early stuff mind, he got a little bit wayward towards the end, and of course The Smiths wrote some smashing plays.

Q7: The band have a very distinctive sound, what are the individual band influences?

Ben: Thanks. We try not to think too much about influences when writing  songs. Whatever serves the melody and the moment is right. We never set out to write a song that sounds like this or that. We’re not that  cynical.

Alex: I love ‘80s indie: Echo And The Bunnymen, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Smiths, but I’m a sucker for drum & bass, breaks, dub and dub step, these are the things I seem to be listening to a lot at the moment. We like to draw inspiration from all sorts of places, me and Alfie were listening to Disney songs last night……..

Alfie: Whatever serves the melody in that moment is right. We never set out to write a song that sounds like this or that. We’re not such cynical songwriters. As far as our individual influences go, I like Family, Curtis Mayfield, most things on the Motown label, not that Bruce Willis album though. “I didn’t like that one bit, apart from his shoes on the cover.”

Alex: …also Ian Dury and The Fall!

John: John Martyn, Dylan, Captain Beefheart, Kate Bush…

Q8: Alcohol or records?

Ben: Again, why choose. We spend most of our money unwisely. Let’s just  leave it at that.

Alex: I think that’s the hardest question I have ever been asked, they go hand in hand, don’t they?

Alfie: How can you choose between the two things that make wedding receptions worth going to?

Q9: Do the band have a political standpoint?

Ben: We don’t like to force our political beliefs down people’s throat. Our music is about escapism and enjoyment. We just live our way and lead by example.

Alex: I don’t personally, I’ve never been hot on politics.

John: I try not to get too involved in this kind of thing, especially regarding lyrics. I think I’ll leave that to people who know what they’re talking about. We are, after all, a band not the panel of Question time, and music, especially our music, is all about escapism rather than getting bogged down in things beyond our control.

Alfie: Get rid of Boris Johnson, he’s funny on ‘Have I Got News For You’ but that’s about it. If he gets rid of bendy buses, Alex wont be able to get to gigs!

Q10: Who would you most like to work with, in terms of a producer and musicians?

Ben: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Captain Beefheart, Prince, Armand Van Helden.

Alex: Producer would be Rick Rubin, just to see what the hype is really about. I think Jack White would also be a good for me in the studio, trying out loads of guitar effects, nah actually, fuck it, Dr. Dre or RZA! Musician wise, that’s tough. Maybe Thom Yorke, I would love to know what goes through his head when he’s making music. The obvious ones for me would be Johnny Marr, I’m a big fan, maybe he’d be a good bet for a producer…

John: The m*therf***in’ D R E, and Quincy Jones. Plus Paul Tipler who’s very much into what we’re doing and has produced some great bands like Eighties Matchbox b-line Disaster.

Alfie: We would all love to work with up and coming producer Ben Bones, as most big name producers are normally judged on the amazing projects they worked on in the past when they were establishing themselves. Bones has a great career ahead of him, and we would love to be one of the great projects HE has worked on. Have always wanted to work with Snoop, standard.

Gaoler’s Daughter can be seen out and about – CLICK HERE for details

Jumbo Jet – from the EP ‘The Only Way To Travel’ is available through The Gaoler’s Daughter store HERE

Last week I saw the La Roux and Noisettes albums in Sainsbury’s for £3 each. I find this amazing. Really. If anyone doubts the mess the record business is in just think about that for a moment. 3 of your British pounds!

I make no comment about the quality of these artists or their individual merits, but for sure they’ll have had much major label moolah pumped into them, and there they are, in amongst the nappies, coffee and cigarettes, but far cheaper than any of these products.

Once upon at time there lived an executive who decided that the company needed to generate more profit so they could give their ‘music loving’ CEO a bigger bonus, in order for him to get his own suite, on its own floor, whilst the minions below were monitored on mini cameras, cooped up in their chicken coop work spaces. So he made a deal with the supermarket chains, which suited the latter until they discovered DVD and Yakult and Fair trade coffee and…

It’s a disease that major labels have had for a while.

I’m not knocking supermarkets, although I guess I could. They are not in the business of selling a specific product – they’ll sell anything at any price to anybody to generate footfall.

To them:

Music=Product         Product=Footfall         Footfall=Profit

And ultimately selling music this way devalues it. Probably works wonders for beans though.

It is true that record companies certainly have had an awkward relationship with retailers over the years. Letting them choose release dates, price points and even cover designs. Especially with TV advertised compilations. How barmy is that?

Back in the day, Woolworths had a great deal of influence in this area. They were responsible for sales in excess 30% of the market and could order huge amounts of stock and the labels really needed their support. This now seems like fantasy, but really they were very important.

To get into Woolworths you had to go into the lion’s den that was Entertainment UK. There you would see a buyer who would make decisions based on the relationship with the company or individual, rarely the product. The product would be taken seriously when the company were able to shell out big bucks to get the album / single racked in all the stores. Did you really think these titles were picked on merit?

I’m not for a minute suggesting that this was a corrupt system or that WW should have stocked everything asked, I am simply saying that the record companies should have respected what they had, protected their artists for the long term and developed a better way to sell.

Here’s a true tale, highlighting the tail wagging the dog syndrome. In 1994 BMG were releasing an album that they were trying to get into Woolworths and the buyer at the time didn’t think the title was right. He had a problem understanding the type of music that was on the release.

True…

1    THE LEISURE SOCIETY – A Short Weekend Begins With Longing

2    WILCO – You Never Know

3    PETER HOLSAPPLE & CHRIS STAMEY – My Friend The Sun

4    JAMIE T  - Sticks ‘N’ Stones

5    AMAZING BABY – The Narwahl

6    EELS – All The Beautiful Things

7    GRIZZLY BEAR – Two Weeks

8    WHITE DENIM – Paint Yourself

9    KASABIAN – Where Did All The Love Go

10   LOCAL NATIVES – Wide Eyes

11   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Summertime Clothes

12   MARSHALL CRENSHAW – Passing Through

13   REVEREND & THE MAKERS – Hidden Persuaders

14   PHOENIX – Lisztomania

15   WOODEN SHJIPS – Down By The Sea

16   GIRLS – Laura

17   M. WARD – For Beginners

18   PAPERCUTS – A Dictator’s Lament

19   EELS – My Timing Is Off

20   GRIZZLY BEAR – Southern Point

1.    EELS  Blinking Lights & Other Revelations

2.   THE SHINS  Wincing The Night Away

3.   THE CORAL Roots & Echoes

4.   SHACK  The Corner Of Miles And Gil

5.   BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE  Bravery Repetition And Noise

6.   YEASAYER  All Hour Cymbals

7.   BECK  Sea Change

8.   WEEN  White Pepper

9.   CLOUD ELEVEN  Orange And Green And Yellow And Near

10. THE VINES  Vision Valley

11. DUSTY TRAILS  Dusty Trails

12. ARCTIC MONKEYS  Whatever People Say I Am…

13. OUTKAST  Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

14. THE TROUBADOURS  The Troubadours

15. BECK  Modern Guilt

16. THE PEARLFISHERS  Up With The Larks

17. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE  Welcome Interstate Managers

18. LARRIKIN LOVE  The Freedom Spark

19. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT  Want One

20. THE SHINS  Chutes Too Narrow

21. MGMT  Oracular Spectacular

22. EELS  Daisies Of The Galaxy

23. JOSH ROUSE  Nashville

24. COCONUT RECORDS  Nighttiming

25. BOBBY GAYLOR  Fuzzatonic Scream

26. JAY-Z  The Black Album

27. THE QUARTER AFTER The Quarter After

28. EMINEM  The Eminem Show

29. WEEN  Quebec

30. KINGS OF LEON  Aha Shake Heartbreak

31. WILCO  Wilco (The Album)

32. WHITE DENIM  Fits

33. LEISURE SOCIETY  The Sleeper

34. BLACK LIPS  Good Bad Not Evil

35. WHITE STRIPES  White Blood Cells

36. JAMIE T Kings & Queens

37. WOODEN SHJIPS Dos

38. BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE Tomorrow’s Heroes Today

39. SUPERGRASS  Road To Rouen

40. BECK  The Information

41. MARSHALL CRENSHAW  Jaggedland

42. GRIZZLY BEAR  Veckatimest

43. NEIL YOUNG  Chrome Dreams II

44.  ROGER JOSEPH MANNING, JR.  The Land Of Pure Imagination

45.  SHERYL CROW  C’mon C’mon

46. WHITE STRIPES  Elephant

47. THE STROKES  Is This It

48. JANE’S ADDICTION Strays

49. WEEN  Shinola (Vol. One)

50. THE JUNIPERS  Cut Your Key

This is from the BBC website, posted just before Christmas:

Listen to Florence and the Machine’s cover of Last Christmas

On Tuesday of this week, BBC Introducing hosted a very special Christmas gig at a tiny London venue to celebrate what has been a fantastic year for new music. You can read all about it in my previous post and check out the photos.

Headlining the gig was a good friend of ours, Florence and the Machine. Our love affair with Florence began back in March 2008 when, unsigned, we took her out to Texas to perform at the BBC Introducing showcase at South by Southwest, where she was introduced by Steve Lamacq. She’s gone from strength to strength since then, enjoying phenomenal success this year. So we were extremely proud when she came to the gig on Tuesday night to thank us by performing an acoustic set to a packed out pub. To say it was ‘intimate’ would be putting it lightly.

The highlight of Flo’s set was undoubtedly her hauntingly beautiful and forlorn rendition of Wham!’s Last Christmas. Accompanied by acoustic guitar and harp, Flo’s incredible voice had us all transfixed.

It’s been proving popular on Radio 1 this week, where Greg James and Huw Stephens have both been playing it, but for those of you that haven’t heard it yet, here it is in all its glory. If this doesn’t get you feeling festive, nothing will…

Is it just me or does it suck that the BBC is promoting this ‘artist’ (I use the term loosely, as to my mind this is the worst case of ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ since Little Boots and La Roux came prancing into town). ‘Flo’…the ‘wacky’ theatrical chick who actually cannot sing in tune. Sponsored by the BBC! Played by the BBC! Flown to Texas by the BBC! How ‘Alternative’, how ‘Indie’ that this stuffy old corporate institution is now informing us how great this ‘exciting new talent’ is. Wake up kids!

The Nottingham gig at Rock city was the last date we were playing on this particular tour. I’d heard a lot about the venue and couldn’t wait to get there. Again we got a confused as to where the venue actually was, and it didn’t help that it started snowing as we were peering out of the windscreen, looking for ‘Talbot Street’. After Ben asked in Starbucks for directions though, we found the venue.

It’s owned and run by the hell’s angels and everyone there was really friendly. Although every time I walked past one of the crew, they seemed to be talking about Scalextrix. Namely the 1992 Nigel Mansell World Champion set. Slightly strange, but you’ve got to have hobbies and I’m sure it’s a great set to own, play and maintain.

We had catering provided here too! This amazed me and I ordered Cumberland sausage and lashings of diet coke as old Enid Blyton might say (no ginger beer I’m afraid)

The gig was great too. The crowd were absolutely amazing, really up for listening to new music and I spotted a few groups of people having a little boogie in the confines of the packed Rock City venue. We were worried about playing some of the slower songs, mainly From Russia With Love, because the instinct is to play a support set full high energy tunes to get the crowd pumped up ready for the main act. However, I think the gamble to play it payed off as it was one of the best received songs of the night, and showed the crowd a different side to us as a band (I’ll put the lyrics up soon, with a short explanation on the subject of the song). Nottingham: Easily the best gig of the year for me, so major points to Nottingham, can’t wait to return!

After our set we hung around with the lovely guys from The Skuzzies, drinking our rider and exchanging stories. From what I could see of their set, it looked like they played a great gig too.

And all too soon, it was time to go home. We couldn’t stay to meet and talk to anyone which was a shame, but we needed to start the long trek back to London, and after saying our goodbyes to the ’Shambles and The Skuzzies and Crew, we piled into the our van and roared off (nearly taking a lamp-post with us. shhhh)

The inevitable service station stop off happened, which I would have been grateful for had they not been charging £4.50 for a BLT sandwich!!! That is ridiculous. I went hungry out of protest, found the crumbled remains of my custard creams in my bag and ate them on the way home. Getting into the van I split my trousers in a big way. This made getting home on the tube the next day rather a challenge without getting arrested for indecent exposure. Luckily I had a scarf which I could strategically place to avoid the police getting involved.

Anyway, so all in all, an amazing couple of days. And I know I speak for everyone when I say we can’t wait to hit the road again in 2010!

ciao,

Gaoler’s x

The first gig of the year took place at Proud Galleries in Camden, I can still recall the walk from the tube station to the Lock, on a freezing cold evening when I saw just one person on my way to the gig. Camden a ghost town? It really was that night, but forty or so brave souls showed up to see Krakatoa play a set that soon warmed the crowd up.

Fast forward three and a half months to a beautiful spring day in April. 360 Degree Music are hosting the Camden Crawl at Tommy Flynn’s, a hostelry situated between Mornington Crescent and Camden stations. Actually, it’s the Camden Trawl, as the venue is not officially part of the Crawl, but that doesn’t stop us from having bigger crowds than many of the official venues.

Thirteen bands play in twelve hours, everyone goes on at the scheduled time, there are only three minor skirmishes, no ones head gets busted, and stars of the day are Krakatoa, (yes it’s them again, and this time they are headlining this extravaganza); The Supernovas, (a storming set that wins the best reception of the day on their North London home turf); Rum Shebeen, (proving once again what a great band they are, but why only one single in three years?); a wonderful debut set by Savants; Reader’s Wives’ London debut, which is a totally assured, singalong affair; a rollicking, Beatlesque, Motown meets the modern age set by Inwits; and a sparse solo performance from Paul Liddell, which wins plaudits from journalist Gavin Martin.

Stroll On’s remarkable residency at central London’s The Social provided several highlights of the year, with The Metros’ penultimate gig in March, which drew a sellout crowd by 9.30; Mozzy Green’s beautiful intensity enrapturing the audience in April, and an astonishing aural barrage/sonic symphony from Screaming Tea Party in June. Later in the year, Gringo Star ,The Supernovas and Yves Klein Blue gave garland winning performances on a glorious night in November.

Also in November, Reader’s Wives returned to London with storming sets at two packed-to-the-rafters gigs at Peter Parker’s in old Tin Pan Alley, and Tommy Flynn’s (I see a theme developing here…). The same week bore witness to three shows from Sweden’s psychsters Mono Stereo, who played a fine show at Kentish Town’s Flowerpot, and an absolute stormer supporting Violens at Proud Galleries.

Upon returning to Dublin, Reader’s Wives played a launch show, in support of their ‘Secrecy & Sex’ EP, at Dublin’s stunning Odessa Club. Contraceptives were dispatched into the crowd from the stage, people drank and danced, and a jolly good time was had by all. Support band Mozzy Green were disappointed with their own performance, but they were the only ones, and they received a warm reception from a very warm and appreciative audience (that’s Dublin for ya!).

Talking of Dublin, Krakatoa and The Supernovas both visited the fair city in July for their debut Irish shows, both winning many fans and compliments. Both bands also followed their return to London with single launches, Krakatoa selling out the Legion on a warm July night, and The Supernovas repeating the feat in a sweaty night at The Social at the beginning of August.

Oh, did I mention that Krakatoa played 18 gigs in 18 nights, supporting Alabama 3 on a trek that took in the length and breadth of the country. And Gaoler’s Daughter and The Supernovas playing high profile support slots with Babyshambles?

2009’s live activity ends with a show at the Stroll On Christmas party, at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on Monday 22^nd December. Krakatoa, The Supernovas and Inwits will all play – IT’S GONNA GO OFF!

BIG Question: Who is going to make your band truly great and get you where you rightly belong?

Answer below…

First, please go though this seven-question checklist and as long as you answer yes to all of them you’ll be fine.

Question 1: Do you have good songs?
Including…
Time to rehearse those good songs (regularly)
Time to book gigs, (and not just in the street you live) get to those gigs and play those good songs live.

Question 2:  Can you communicate well?
Here is a small sample of people who you may need to communicate well with. Please feel free to make notes.

The band; People who like the band; People who are helping the band; Friends of the band; Fans of the band; Manager of the band; Promoters, and on the periphery a vast array of people who can assist the band to complete this questionnaire.

Question 3:  Do you collectively have chemistry – do all of the members of a band add up to a giant great mass of greatness?
As Spock said “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one”
Translated. If you aren’t all pulling one way, for the collective good and looking after each other, with respect you are fucked!

Question 4:  Do you have good looks and style?
Including, but in no particular order, good hair, Twitter fingers, Blog-ability, a love of fried chicken and cheap lager, big moustache (you know who you are!), sex appeal, charisma and a vacant stare.

Question 5:  Do you have a powerful desire?
Also phrased as, how bad do you want it?

Including…
(a) Will you sleep in a van, telephone box or friendly police cell if you need to?

(b) Can you sponge off your girlfriends, for as long as they’ll have you and then move on to fried chicken in another part of town?

(c) Can you drop everything for an opportunity?

(d) Can you dig deep when you need to?

Question 6:  Are you happy to…
Do a gig, then give out flyers with your web address on or tell someone to sign up to your mailing list, sell a CD or a 7″, stick a sticker in places you shouldn’t stick a sticker and finally talk to people about your question 1’s. If you are lucky, later you’ll get to show off your question 5, but don’t piss the fans off along the way.
You need them more than they need you and you never know, one of them might turn into a 5b.

Question 7:  Do you understand facts?

E.g.  iTunes has more than 10,000,000 tracks within it’s walls. Most of which don’t even sell one copy.
Great to be there but if SJ decides to dump music you’re gone.

MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch – yes that old music lover.
Use it please do, but don’t rely on it solely because if Newscorp decides to dump you you is dumped.

Facebook is owned by some bloke/corporation who pretends he listens.
See MySpace.

Xfactor is not about music.
Power Rangers.

Bread has loads of salt in it.
Toast is good…..crumpets are better.

BIG Answer: Obviously it’s you. Right?

This is not meant to be a lecture, although I guess it could read like one. The truth is there is so much competition out there that you just have to do more, be better than and be more flexible and creative than the rest.

You need to make your own story before anyone will read you.

Write, get better, play, write, get better, play, communicate, get up as early as possible, email people, tell them how good you are, ask them for opportunities, drop the cunts that use you, dump the dodgy promoters and then start again.

Please do:

Get a web domain of your own and collect data. Be nice to that data.

Use MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the other social networking sites smartly while they are there because sure enough they’ll fuck you in the end.

Find good people to moan at you like: www.360degreemusic.com

Find great promoters like:.myspace.com/strollonnights

Read stuff like:

Music Think Tank: www.musicthinktank.com/

Lefsetz: www.lefsetz.com/

Seth Godin: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

1000 true fans: www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php

Add to this list and tell your mates.

Remember when Paula Radcliffe stopped for a piss?
You need to piss on the go in this world to get in front.

Be careful out there…