NOVEMBER 2018
YOUR ONE STOP GUIDE TO THE BEST MUSIC IN THE COUNTY!
D O R S E T MUSIC INTERVIEW
MIKEY BALL
BEHIND THE SCENE ARTFUL DODGER RR PRODUCTIONS HALO “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” Albert Schweitzer
www.dorset-music.com
/ dorsetmusicmag @ dorsetmusicmag
ABSOLUTE
Welcome freshers! Bournemouth is in full musical swing this time of year as thousands of new students descend upon our town to study and/or party. This month we chat with local folk-rock artist Mikey Ball ahead of the release of this much anticipated second album, as well as catching up with Nicole Riley or RR Promotions as she steps into a lead role for a number of local festivals. Elsewhere in the mag Chinners of Rock Regeneration reviews Aryiss at Sound Circus as well as all the listings and previews you need for October!
This month’s contributers are: Bert Burnell Dave Chinery Dan Sullivan Adam Trimby
BUFFALO
Mikey Ball has been a mainstay of the Bournemouth music scene for years playing his unique brand of folk tinged rock all over the place. Most recently he can be found with a full backing band, who are about to launch their second album at The Madding Crowd on the 9th November. We catch up with Mikey for a chat before all this goes down... Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Mikey! How’s the album going, all written? Thank you for giving me the opportunity to chat. The albums towards its final stages as we speak. We finished up recording at the beginning of September and have since been working on getting all the mixes sorted. Do you write as a band or do you turn up with the songs fully formed? It really varies from song to song. Some of the songs we’ve worked on for a while, and developed fully before recording. Others we kind of constructed in the studio from a more basic initial song into something more comprehensive. Both approaches have had their own benefits, going in with a song fully formed is quicker and works best when you have a clear vision of what you want the finished track to sound like. Whereas when we constructed songs in the studio it opened up a blank canvas for us to experiment and create layers.
Talking of your band, each one of them is an incredible solo performer in their own right making ‘the company’ kind of a local supergroup, was this a conscious choice or do you just keep talented company? I have been incredibly spoilt over the years with who I have had the great pleasure of sharing stages with. It was never a conscious choice more something that has grown organically over the years. Which surprises me to say we’ve been going that long. It’s never prearranged whether a joining member will stay for a short period or long term. However there have been instances of previous members joining the current roster on stage and that is always a unique and fun experience. Can you tell us about the recording process and how it has been different from when you did ‘Castaway?’ In an overall sense this process has been more mature. That’s taking nothing away from
Castaway which remains a fond memory. More to say I’ve personally learnt a lot and have a clearer vision from the experiences of the last three years. Fundamentally the Castaway sessions where very focused and the tracks were more fully formed beforehand. This time round the sessions have been more experimental at times and more open minded. I first saw you play back in 2010 11ish I think, how has your songwriting and outlook on the music industry changed since those days? Safe to say it feels like a lifetime ago!! I like to think that my songwriting has changed to fundamentally from what draws me to it in the first place, more evolved with time. It was frustrating at times when I started and still frustrates the hell out of me now. In fact I think I have more half written scraps of verses and opening lines now. Maybe I was more efficient when I started. I think, like everything
experience finds its way of influencing who you are and what you do. Things happen in your personal life, or to those around you both positive and negative that will influence the thought process when writing. I do think this has helped to ground my writing in realism and hopefully make it more relatable for the listener. Again time changes your outlook, we all start out very optimistic as everyone should. I think it can be easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of something like music industry and perhaps feel ignored or that the task facing you to be heard above everyone else is insurmountable. However I have found it more positive to create your own path of aims and goals to keep building and progressing. That’s not to say it’s been smooth sailing or that I haven’t had to remind myself a few times to stay focused. It can be so easy to get lost and feel like you’re up against it and that it’s all too much… But I have found some wonderful musicians to call friends who I can have these kind of conversations with. Which is very important. I understand you were instrumental in getting live music into The Angel. What was that experience like and how is it all going now its been running for a while? I seem to have stolen a lot of glory when it comes to the music at The Angel. It was my boss Heidi who originally thought for a budget to bring music in. It’s from that I got the opportunity to help build it up. The same can be said of the Open Mic that I run with Chris Collins. We were
gifted the opportunity and three years later the event is going strong every month with some truly brilliant youngsters and newcomers each month. If you could go back to when you first started writing and gigging and give yourself one piece of advise what would it be? Well it probably sounds a bit cliche but I would say slow down. Chill out. Take the time to enjoy the weird and wonderful situations you find yourself in. Those times when you have to think on your feet, solving problems last minute at a venue. Enjoy the buzz you get on stage, the funny house gigs and random jam sessions. To stop comparing yourself to others. Your voice is your own. Relax and remember you love music and the people it brings into your life.
What is your proudest moment as a musician to date? That is a tough one… I think I have to say the year we headlined a stage at Teddy Rocks. We ended up being the last act to play before the mainstage headliner. I remember the heavens opened and the crowd came as far forward as possible to hide from the rain. The sheer volume of the crowd singing along was incredible. Why should we come to the album launch party? That’s the toughest question of the lot. I can say it will be one hell of a party. Got some of my favourite acts on the bill who I can’t wait to see. Madding Crowd is a brilliant venue, great beers too. We’ve worked hard for most of the year on these tracks and cannot wait to share it with you all and for you all to party with us!
Christmas at Madding Crowd THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS Drink reception / delicious buffet Live party band Just £15 per person or £5 access from 9pm includes a complimentary drink HIRE A BOOTH Welcome drink plus a bottle of Magnum Champagne, buffet & VIP seating Just £250 for 6 guests £280 for 8 guests CHRISTMAS EVE Open from midday Live music / FREE entry Matt Black with special guests NEW YEAR’S EVE £25 per person One big party with live music Food / Drink reception
PARTY PACKAGES BOOK NOW Located above Pret A Manger, Bournemouth Square Contact the team for details Visit www.maddingcrowd.club Tel: 07866 489 585 E: music@maddingcrowd.club
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Behind the scene Hawkeye is a local musician with a passion for roots music and the local music scene. His outstanding taste in music has given us all festivals we love and enjoy here in Dorset, beginning with Rustic Stomp all the way back in 2000. A decade later, with a new national directive regarding small events in place, Hawkeye was back in the saddle and throwing a fundraiser for a friends herd of donkeys that were in need of new homes, and from this Wonkydonk was born. More events sprung from Wonkydonk’s success including Acoustic Movement, Calanfest, Skunkfest and Alice’s Wicked Tea Party. Moving forward to 2017 UK festivals have seen a big drop in numbers and each year its necessary to reinvent to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market. With Hawkeye taking a step back in recent years RR promotions have stepped in to help him with his events. We chat to main lady Nicole Riley about her role in the business, their charity ventures and what’s next!
Thanks for chatting with us, can you tell us about your role up to this point in the running of the events and the business in general? Since Wonkydonk this year, I’ve started the task of understanding the current operations of the events and I’m slowly taking on the promotions side of things plus I’ve been setting some regular monthly gigs to keep me busy all throughout the year. You mentioned when we chatted before that Hawkeye is looking to take a step back from it all, what will your new role be going forward and where do you see the business going into the future? Hawkeye has always had a project studio somewhere in the world, and for the last few years he had a temporary facility in Bournemouth. He’s currently purpose building a larger recording studio
and hopes to have it up and running by early 2019. He will be focusing more on his personal creative projects and so I will be taking on all the promotions and overseas artist liason, which involves tour planning and all the paperwork associated with this. Do you have a favourite event and how does it stand out from the others? I love them all as they are so special and individual. My favourite this year was our Dark Holler Festival - the music was phenomenal and it was the perfect garden party where musicians come and pay to see other musicians play. We had artists from all over the world I’ve counted 9 different countries in a small field in Dorset and that’s pretty impressive. I’m now working on a monthly project Shaping Acoustic Sessions set in an old church and we are
raising money towards the refurbishment costs. Our first acoustic session will be on 3rd October Neil Brophy Band and then 20th November Daria Kulesh please Check both out as you won’t be disappointed and we will have a festive session 12th December so yeah really exiting times ahead. How have you guys dealt with the burst of the ‘festival bubble’ in recent years, and with so many ceasing to exist due to poor sales how will you will stay at the top? The events have always been about the party over the profit. So all our infrastructure has been slowly purchased over time and this has allowed us to run things at a lower cost, which gives us the ability to keep ticket prices affordable. Our public are regularly attending every year and many comment on how non commercial our weekends are, which is
RR Promotions becoming harder to maintain for many other festivals as more costs rise. We have everything on site ready to go! So it’s exciting for me, as there’s so much scope to add more fun things. I’m currently working on an extra acoustic stage and opening up some of our unused land for stalls and kids stuff. We’re lucky we have a core of people that attend every year, which gives a real friendly vibe and keeps the everything ticking over nicely. Can you give us some details on The Charitable Emporium? The Charitable Emporium has been set up to enable mentally and physically disabled individuals to take a step into the world of music. Whether that be learning an instrument or just getting into the industry. We facilitate bespoke training through our volunteers and businesses in all aspects of the music industry, plus we help other local charities raise funds through music. Last year we setup a stages for Teddy Rocks, Henfest and Winchelsea School in Poole, and created training sessions from our charity shop based in Christchurch. We are currently working on new projects to bring music into local elderly centres with our
‘Girls and Guitars’ concept and an interactive music and light experience for disabled children. Girls with guitars sounds particularly cool, what is the inspiration and goal behind that? We are currently talking with local female artists with a view to taking live music to people who wouldn’t normally have access to see and hear live performances. We have noticed that female musicians have a certain empathy with the public that we hope this will add an extra connection with our audiences. The charity is working closely with my other project Cycling Without Age Bmth which I have set up here to enable elderly people to get out and volunteers will take them in a special build trishaw to feel the wind in their hair. Both projects will be interlinking much more in the future. Working closely with the local and national music scene you must see a fair few bands, any up and comers we need to check out and why? Now and again you see a band and think wow! This has everything. Recently we had a cancellation at short notice and a young band
from Southampton stepped in and made a real impression on me. They’re called The Dead Freights and they play a mix of originals that hark back to The Kinks close harmony sound, but with a contemporary feel. Definitely a band to look out for. What piece of advice would you give to any aspiring events organisers reading this? If you’re considering creating an event, keep it small and don’t expand too quickly. Your heart needs to be into the experience rather than a business model. Listen to your public and constantly strive to improve on that experience without getting into a financial risk. Small is beautiful in my book. Everyone loves a garden party
PREVIEWS KUNG FU CHICKEN FIGHTERS UNPLUGGED
Funky rockers without the power Solid Air’s second free MTV Unplugged-style Adventure @ Boscombe’s Cellar Bar presents a full-band triple bill: KUNG FU CHICKEN FIGHTERS return after making their unplugged debut with Dead Lettuce in June, ERICA DRIVE play acoustic for the first time ever, plus there’s unplugged grunge from Prophetic Records’ trio, VIOLET, feat Summer Begley, onstage @ 9pm, with host DJ Connie till late
8TH OCTOBER | CHAPLINS AND CELLAR BAR
Seminars, brand reps, freebies and more 15TH BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Absolute Music is now in its 16th year of trading. Since opening in 2003 they have given countless nuggets of advice and supplied hundreds of thousands of customers with music gear. So, to celebrate Absolute Music’s 15th birthday they are inviting suppliers and customers to join them in-store to chat with the brands themselves about the gear, join in with workshops and seminars, and get some fantastic freebies. Way too many workshops to list here but anyone who plays music or works in the industry should be here for this! 13TH OCT | ABSOLUTE MUSIC
PURE GARAGE
19TH OCTOBER | HALO
Join Artful Dodger, Sweet Female Attitude and more at halo After the fantastic success of Pure Garage in 2017 Halo are delighted to welcome the heavyweight brand back to the Church, bringing you a solid night of Old & New UK Garage bangers featuring Artful Dodger, Sweet Female Attitude, Ollie Weeks, Usual Suspects and AJR.
Club show from folk punk festival circuit favourites Armed with debut album ‘Taking Chances’, Black Water County are bringing their mental live show to Bournemouth’s newest music venue. The six-piece folk/punk band have built a reputation as an exciting live act at festivals in recent years with tons of crowds left wanting more all over the country. Switching from a bellowing ruckus to the sounds of traditional folk seamlessly they cover the full spectrum of both folk and punk.
BLACK WATER COUNTY
26TH OCT | MADDING CROWD
THUUM
Local riff masters home town show for halloween Smashing down riffs like a ten ton sludgehammer, Bournemouth’s four piece THUUM, named after the popular Elder Scrolls game Skyrim, bring together a doom atmosphere that bellows like a war chant in Valhalla. Blended with southern fried riffs that hold both groove and whale sized heaviness. Combining into a raging beast of epic proportions. Hot of the heels of high profile appearances all over the UK the last year or so The Anvil will be rammed to the rafters for this one, if you haven’t checked out the bars new refurb yet this is the perfect opportunity. 27TH OCT | ANVIL ROCK BAR
DORSET MUSIC | OCTOBER
Previews
A!
Tue 2 Oct- 19:30: O2 Academy, Bournemouth : The Magic Gang + The Orielles + Sports Team + Leeches Thu 4 Oct- 19:00: Anvil, Bournemouth : Indoor Pets + Wave Chase
Aryiss
Sound Circus, Bournemouth 4th September 2018 The Sound Circus in Bournemouth is the place to see local singer/songwriter Jordan Aryiss launch his debut album ‘Amiss’. Jordan has played in a variety of bands including his first band, an alternative rock outfit called ‘Sepia Daze’, a no nonsense punk band called ‘Gutter Rats’ and a four-piece acoustic quartet called ‘Ironic Encounter’. He is somewhat of an experimenter and likes to push boundaries, exploring new styles of musical presentation. His latest project is solo and the album follows on from the release of his first EP “Air-riss”. Kicking off with a cheeky reworked cover of ‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragons, this is enough to settle his nerves before moving onto the serious part of the evening -delivering the new album live in full. The one-man band sound is created with the help of Synthesizers and electronic drum beats with Jordan swapping between bass and electric guitars. This creates an unbelievably large atmospheric sound that easily fills this small room. The sound comes from many places, to give you an idea you can expect to hear influences from the likes ‘Muse’; ‘Twenty One Pilots’ and ‘Royal Blood’, along with a sprinkling of 80s electronic pioneer Gary Numan.
The nine-track album is delivered with ease and there are so many highlights; track two ‘Voices’
is just a huge track, starting off with an intense electric guitar coupled with some deliberate drum beats and Jordan’s passionate vocals. ‘Chill glitch’ sees James Haynes join in with a nicely delivered duo of harmonies and ‘Losing Touch’ adds a very different dimension with Leo Wild’s perfectly delivered rap. Another tune written back during the ‘Ironic Encounter’ days ‘Relax’ gets a thorough reworking, a simple but potent song with the rolling lyric “I’m trying to relax but I can’t sit still for more than 30 seconds’. I can honestly say I have never seen such a simple line like this delivered with so much passion. The evening is rounded off with couple of covers by ‘Muse’ and ‘Royal Blood’, much to the delight of the rowdy audience who start a small mosh at the front. This young man has shown the ability to move with the times and create relevant music that people will want to listen to. Taking in his own influences and using them to create his own original sound, delivered in a unique way. You cannot fault his commitment to his cause and despite being in a string of bands, going solo might be just be the making of this talented musician.
Thu 4 Oct- 20:00: Sixty Million Postcards, Bournemouth : Spill Gold + Jack Grace Band Fri 5 Oct- 21:00: Chaplin’s Cellar Bar, Boscombe : Carter County + Dr. Beatroot’s Bluegrass Band Sat 6 Oct- 21:00: The Gaggle of Geese Pub, Dorchester, : Little Dave & The Sun Sessions Sat 13 Oct- 19:30: Canford Heath Community Centre, Poole : Skaema+ Support Sun 14 Oct- 21:00: Thomas Tripp (Christchurch), Christchurch : Hugh Budden & The Blue Chords Thu 18 Oct- 19:30: The Madding Crowd, Bournemouth : Krista Green & The Bees + Support Fri 19 Oct- 20:00: Anvil, Bournemouth : Between The Void+ Kung Fu Chicken Fighters + Arid Wave Fri 19 Oct- 21:00: Chaplin’s Cellar Bar, Boscombe : Meat Sweats+ Murderers Row Fri 26 Oct- 19:30: Anvil, Bournemouth : The Midnight Choir + Plastic Jeezus + Soulhole Fri 26 Oct- 19:00: The Madding Crowd, Bournemouth : Black Water County + Support
Death By Shotgun - ‘Lines’- Single https://www.facebook.com/deathbyshotgun Pirates of Panama - ‘Tear it Apart’- Single http://piratesofpanama.com Meat Sweats- ‘Good For Nothing’ - Album https://www.facebook.com/meatsweatsbmth Wave Chase- ‘Fangs’ - Single https://www.facebook.com/wavechaseband
DORSET MUSIC | OCTOBER
Rock Regeneration