Saturday, October 27, 2007

Gillian Glover interview

Inspiration can be a nuisance some times. Like the uninvited visitor who pops up all of a sudden, this creative arousal of the mind has the disturbing tendency to showcase its dazzle entirely out of the blue. Yet singer/songwriter Gillian Glover was more than quick-witted when this bewildering intruder crossed paths with her. “I was walking through Soho in a rush to get somewhere, and I had this tune going through my head, and as I didn’t have my little dictaphone, I called myself on my answering machine and I sung this tune and the first two lines of the song. Then I hung up, kept walking and then another two lines came, so I scribbled them somewhere, kept walking and then another two lines came, so, literally, “Go” was written all through Soho and different doorways,” Gillian says about the penultimate song of her debut album entitled “Red Handed.”
Although eerie “Go” is doubtlessly one of the songs that Gillian is most proud of, it is not the only highlight of her 11-track album. From the groovy “Serpentine” and “Made You Look” to the darker “Red Shoes” and the moving “Singing You To Sleep,” “Red Handed” is an album that steps into several territories, with each song having a story to tell and an emotion to stir, driven by Gillian’s powerful and diverse vocal style. “I’m slightly dubious about people who only listen to one kind of music, because you experience a range of emotions every day, not alone in a lifetime, so the ideas for the songs come from everywhere! I mean, literally, it might be something I overhear somebody saying on a bus or any visual and auditory experience. It’s only natural that the album would end up being very emotional and with a varied music style,” explains Gillian, daughter of Deep Purple’s bass player Roger Glover, about the album that is best heard “with a nice glass of red wine.”
In “Red Handed” Gillian’s voice merges wonderfully with the fine playing of first-rate musicians, such as drummer Woody Woodmansey, (David Bowie, Art Garfunkel, Paul McCartney) and pianist Rod Melvin ( Ian Dury, Brian Eno, Kilburn & The High Roads) among others. “They were totally wonderful and behaved like professional musicians. At the beginning I was a bit intimidated, I thought ‘what am I doing, I’m so out of my depth,’ but they immediately put me at ease. And it was a great learning experience to work with them and I’m looking forward to doing it again.”
Although “Red Handed” is her first solo endeavour, Gillian is not a new-comer in music. She’s been singing and playing live with London-based Beat:Root for about six years now, and before that she was having a weekly gig, or “a party” as she says, with her first band ever in Dahab, Egypt. “The first time I sung live was scary!” she says with a smile, “I was really sick the first time, but the show must go on! I still got up there and sung, and then it just became a regular, it was great, lots of fun that lasted about a year. With Beat:Root we gig more regularly probably than my solo project, it’s more funky and you dance to it more. There’s nothing more rewarding than people having a wicked time and dancing with you! With Beat:Root it’s very much a democracy, we all pretty much write the parts that we play or that we sing and we work very well as a team together.”
Yet, she was introduced to a wider audience in 2002, when she did her first studio recording at her father’s solo album “Snapshot,” in a song that Roger Glover had written in the 70s, but never recorded it – maybe because it had to be sung by a unique voice. “I was very nervous in the studio environment, because everyone is looking at you and is concentrating on you and what you sing is going to be recorded and can’t be changed forever. To be honest, we did one take and my voice was wavering, so we went downstairs to a bar and had a quick drink to calm my nerves a little bit and then went back and sung it again.” The result was a shining performance of “The Bargain Basement,” a song that is still a part of her live set list.
One would expect that growing up in such an environment, music would be Gillian’s first and only choice. Nevertheless, things had taken a different turn at the beginning. After studying painting in New York, she went to Egypt where “I painted murals and advertising billboards in order to get my divemaster, so rather than money exchange I gave them paintings and became a divemaster.” The unavoidable affair with music came a bit later, and immediately grew into a relationship of love. “I kind of came to music late, because I probably thought that I had big shoes to fill. It wasn’t a conscious decision not to follow music, but once I ended up doing some music with a friend of mine, just in his basement for a laugh or to pass the day, I understood that this is much better than painting. With music I get to make stuff with somebody else and I realised that two heads are better than one, rather than making this thing on your own you come up with something totally different that you couldn’t do if you were solo,” says Gillian. It was those recordings that Gillian did at her friend’s basement that Roger Glover heard and asked her to sing at his album.
Roger Glover returned the favour to his daughter by helping her very discreetly, only towards the end of the recording of “Red Handed.” “He would never step on my toes and try get involved where I wouldn’t want him. I don’t want to push him away but I don’t want to rely on that help either. It is great working with him, he’s really complimentary and everything is very rewarding and easy. But this whole project was completed as far as I see and only at the very end my father said ‘I think it’s about 90 per cent there - would you let me help you and getting a string quartet and stuff like that,’ but he’d let me do it on my own and that’s how I would like it. In a way, if you rely on that kind of help too much, you end up shooting yourself in the foot, because of how people perceive you and expect that to be how your music or part of your music is. It shouldn’t be like that and I don’t want it like that,” says Gillian decisively.
When talking about her father, Gillian subtly assumes a more defensive stance, mostly because the comparisons drawn are usually both prejudiced and unjust. Yet, the path she chose to follow leaves no room for doubts.
Without the backing of a major record label, Gillian acknowledges the difficulties but refuses to retreat or compromise. “If you don’t have the support of a big record label, it’s very difficult to do anything, just to get people to hear the album, just to get it in shops. I’m aware that it’s a long, big struggle, but at the same time it can be a blessing in disguise, because it is very independent and there are no compromises. I think it’s gonna have to be one of those projects that will make its way through time, from mouth to mouth,” she says. “Music in its best form is really about being cutting edge, a combination of self expression and reaction to things happening around the people that are writing most of the music. I think that is kind of lost a little bit now, it certainly is still there, I just want to see more and it makes me more determined to write more music and hopefully, good music.”
For the time being, the promotion of “Red Handed” is relying mostly on the buzz that is created after her live performances, where a group of excellent musicians, including electric violinist Sim Jones, are accompanying her on stage. In a typical Gillian Glover gig the approach is similar to “Red Handed;” various alterations in style and moods delivered with quality and passion. “The stage is a magical place,” she says. “I always feel nervous before a gig, but a few songs into it I’m fine and I get to enjoy it. For a gig to be successful it is essential to know that we’ve all played a good gig together, to have communication between everybody who’s playing, you have to have that connection. I love watching world music musicians when they play, most of the times they have a real rapport with one another, looking each other in their eyes, they nod, and 'how that was a nice solo you just did there,' real respect for one another. I love watching that as a person off stage and I think it’s important to have that kind of connection with the people that you’re playing music with, because if you don’t have that, it won’t be good music and it won’t be received the same way by the people in the audience.” Her next two London gigs are in December, followed by a few more dates in little venues, solely around the UK.
“I would love to play anywhere, at all those places that I travel to. I like to travel quite simply, small towns, lots of us running around barefoot, being happy, just on the beach. I would love to play in that kind of an environment, to sort of have a regular gig. I see bands there that have a regular gig, they play every week in just a small community, and that would be fantastic, but right now I can’t see myself moving away from London.”
There are already plans for a follow-up to “Red Handed,” where Gillian admits that she’d like to explore new sounds and musical areas. “I would really like to have some more percussive kind of quality to this album. I have a nice little collection going of African percussion instruments and I spent some time last summer at a couple of festivals that were all workshops based around drumming and singing and dancing, very small, very kind of hippie. Currently I am writing, I’m starting to think more and more about it, I am constantly carrying around my notebook, getting down in paper the ideas that float in my head, and I think we’re going to start soon. We book a studio every couple of weeks and just start jamming. We’ll see what we can come up with and hopefully early next year start recording.”
In between performing live as a solo artist, playing with Beat:Root and writing new songs she found the time to co-write and sing on Roger Glover’s next long-awaited solo album, expected to be released some time in 2008. On top of that, she continues painting and making jewelry, which is her main business, having incorporated music to that as well, as she uses guitar and bass strings for her jewelry. “I think it’s all connected together somehow. I need to do something visual and creative too, whether it’s jewelry or painting. I would like to think that any good piece of art, whether it’s a painting or a piece of music or a photograph, can put the viewer or the listener into another place for a minute. I love it when a piece of music makes me cry or gives me goosebumps, then it’s done its job, and that’s been a wonderful feedback with “Go” for example, a lot of people felt that emotion come through which I’m very pleased, even though I’ve made them cry!”


For more information on Gillian Glover, check: http://www.myspace.com/gillianglovermusic

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Dim Sum

Last week I was in Hong Kong, and even though Canto-pop is not my bag baby, I highly recommend you check out this excellent blog about the ins and outs of the former British colony. The blog is run by Jessica Au.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Playground live every Thursday at 103,3

If you don't have to go to a concert on a Thursday night, you can tune in to 103,3 LGR from 22.00 to midnight and listen to the radio show "Playground."
At some point of the show a certain Greek guy, who blogs in his free time, goes on air babbling about music. But the most important thing is that you'll get the chance to listen to the enchanting voices of Nadia Papanikolaou and Rene Maltezou, who with their exceptional reporting give a unique note to the show!
Ah, a necessary requirement in order to understand what is said is that you must know Greek...If you don't, you can always enjoy the great music that Jason and Ioanna, hosts of the show, select.

Violent Femmes - Live in London (26-02-2006)


Just came back from the Violent Femmes concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. Having a great view from the first floor that I was standing, I can say that it was a great concert, full of good songs that were played with a lot of energy by a band that wanted to response appropiately to the warm welcome of the London audience.
They played all their most-known songs, along with some more obscure ones. I really enjoyed the version of "Children Of The Revolution"- brilliant!
Brian Ritchie was changing numerous instruments throughout the concert, and as the show was progressing everyone could witness his exceptional talent. His best time of course was when he was soloing with his bass guitar, and he did a lot of that!
The band was driven by Victor de Lorenzo's enthusiastic drumming and Gordon Gano's voice and guitar playing. However, it wasn't just that. Femmes were joined on stage by various musicians who added to the sound with mandolins, saxophones, guitars, even by whistling!
There were times during the concert that Violent Femmes were transforming into a bluegrass band, or to a jazz and fusion outfit, all delivered with excellent style.
The audience was a mixture of young and old fans. Everybody was participating from the very first note until the ending of "Kiss Off," the last song of the concert. Even the people that were on the seating stalls couldn't resist to the band's rhythmic sound and almost all of them would be up on their feet dancing and singing.
I had a chance to meet the members of the band after the show and speak to them for a while. They looked relaxed, pretty happy and satisfied with the performance. Brian Ritchie even mentioned the great gig that Femmes played last week in Thessaloniki, Greece, the one that my friends back home kept talking to me about!

I wait your comments regarding the London gig!

Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Strokes Live - Review of the Hammersmith gig (17/02/2006)


On Friday 17th of February I had the chance to see live The Strokes at the Hammersmith Apollo. It was their first out of two sold-out appearances in London. In fact, their whole U.K. tour has been sold-out a long time before the concerts. This was the first time that I caught them live and I must admit that I had a great time.
The procedures begun with a band called Movement Of A Rose, which played for around half an hour. Then, Adam Green came to the stage and with his peculiar presence got a warm response from the audience. He didn't avoid also some -not polite!- comments about the rumoured Coldplay quit..!
Around 21.30, and after 45 minutes of waiting, The Strokes hit the stage and for the next 90 minutes they created a wonderful atmosphere. They managed to fit 23 songs in just one hour and a half playing fast and tight.
They played songs from all the albums they have released. The set begun with "Ize of the World" and finished with "Reptilia". There were also three encores, "New York City Cops", "Someday" and "Take It Or Leave It".
It was a very "live" gig, with the audience - extremely young, many 15-year-old boys and girls - dancing and participating throughout.
All in all, it was a very good concert, ideal for those who appreciate this kind of direction that rock concerts and rock music in general has taken the last years.

The entire set list of the Hammersmith gig on the 17th of February 2006:

Ize Of The World
The Modern Age
Red Light
Juicebox
The End Has No End
12:51
Heart In A Cage
Razorblade
Soma
I Can't Win
Hawaii
Trying Your Luck
Last Nite
Hard To Explain
You Only Live Once
Barely Legal
What Ever Happened?
Ask Me Anything
Vision of Division
Reptilia

encores

New York City Cops
Someday
Take It Or Leave It

If you were at the Hammersmith show, or in any other Strokes concert, feel free to send your comments!

Ragged Words

Check this excellent site of my good friend Padraic Halpin. In Ragged Words you can find many exclusive interviews, live reviews, latest releases, gig guides and many many more. This site must be a regular visiting point for all the music fans out there, especially those who are interested in the contemporary rock scene and its young artists. It is regularly updated, and has content that satisfies every music fan that wants to know everything both about the the current stars and the up and coming artists.


http://www.raggedwords.com/

Enjoy!

P.S. Nice photo Padraic, he he!

Sunday, February 05, 2006

London concerts in February

Here are some of February's most important concerts in London:

February 7: The Darkness - Alexandra Palace
February 10: Belle & Sebastian - Hammersmith Apollo
February 13: Simple Minds - Astoria
February 13: Helloween - Koko Camden
Febryary 17,18: The Strokes - Hammersmith Apollo
Febryary 18,19,20: James Blunt - Carling Academy Brixton
February 25: Toto - Hammersmith Apollo
February 26: Violent Femmes - Shepherds Bush Empire
February 27,28: Beth Orton - Shepherds Bush Empire

I hope we'll be able to go to as many as possible!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

CrestFallen - The Interview

Yesterday I had the honor and pleasure to speak with Achilleas Schizas, the bass player of CrestFallen, about their debut EP "Lose My Mind," the recording process, the current status of the band, the future, the bass guitar and many more.
Here is the interview:

Q:Hello Achilleas,would you like to introduce the band and give us a brief CV of the band?
A: Sure,we are a 6 piece band,we've been around since 2002 and finally after a long time manage to record our first demo entitled "Lose my Mind."
Q:Was this the fist time you recorded in a studio enviroment?How was the experience?
A:Yes it was, it was an amazing experiense working in a professional studio, R-Mic Studios in Cyprus. Our producer,Michael Russos was fantastic at his job and was able to advise us on certain aspects of our music.
Q:How long did you play the songs before entering the studio?Did they take a different shape in the recording process?
A:Most of the songs have been around since the band started. Ever since we started we've been working on the songs and combining ideas and finally we ended up with all the tracks of "Lose My Mind."Several songs like the title track and "Spawns of Society" were around since before CrestFallen were formed but after they were played and experimented with they ended up as something which everyone contributed to. During the recording process our producer recommended many things such as the intro to Spawns of Society which used to be played on the guitar. We also experimented on violins which we decided against in the end.
Q:But do you leave this possibility open for the future?
A:We would definetely consider it and also depending on how the band evolves and which direction we choose to take.
Q:How was the reaction so far from the people that have heard the CD?
A:We have very good responses from the metal community in Cyprus but we are still in the process of trying to promote it abroad, we've already had a couple of very positive reviews and more is still to come!
Q:Are you trying to find a label? Have you send the cd to them?
A:We think it's a bit too early to start label-hunting, although we probably wouldn't turn down an opportunity. At the moment it's probably more important to create a stable fan base and then we'll see what destiny has in store for us.
Q:I like your approach!
A:Me too!
Q:How difficult is it for a band to operate when the members don't live in the same country?
A:It's not so much the distance as the compulsary military service some of us are currently serving. It's easy to send emails and ideas to each other but when you don't have the time or the opportunity to work on those ideas that's where the problem lies. But we seem to be handling the situation. Plus we're not in a hurry since we are quite confident that everything will somehow fall into place if we stick to it.
Q:How would you characterise your music? Which bands are your major influences?
A:People have different opinions on what style we play. Some people tell us we sound like In Flames or Children of Bodom, while others say we sound more like early Paradise Lost or Anathema. Our influences all vary but between all the members of CrestFallen We listen to anything from classic rock to black metal.
Q:This diversity can be heard in your cd. What is your biggest dream regarding music?
A:To become the greatest band of all time! But seriously, I think most of us will be content knowing that some random person in some random country has heard our music and liked it, after all that's what it's all about.
Q:I have a couple questions about the bass. How did you start playing it?
A:Before I say anything, I have to add that the bass parts on the demo were recorded by Mario (keyboards) due to my absense from Cyprus at the time. Now, to answer your question, my first band back in '97 needed a bassist and I offered to learn, it's as simple as that!
Q:Did you find that so easy?
A:(Laughs) It is my humble opinion that the bass guitar is easier to pick up than a guitar but harder to master.
Q:Do you feel that you've mastered it?
A:I've hardly learnt it! (Laughs)
Q:Which are the bass players that you admire?
A:There's the usual like Steve Harris and DiGeorgio, but who really influenced me was Timmy Grabber of Mercyful Fate, someone who I consider an underdog in the bassist community.
Q:All right,what are the next plans of CrestFallen?
A:I'd like to say a world tour but the truth is that for the moment we don't really know. We're going to start talking soon about composing new tracks and stuff and hopefully our next release will be a full length album.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Exclusive interview with Brian Ritchie of Violent Femmes! Part 2

Here is the second part of the interview with Brian Ritchie:

Q: A film of 1994 called "Reality Bites" presents the troubled American youth of 90's. One of the characters, Roy, in one scene, plays in a concert the song "Add It Up" devoting it to his love, Lalena. How much do the lyrics and music of Violent Femmes represent the 1990s and what do you believe binds in your music the 1980s, 1990s and nowadays?
A: We think our music and lyrics are timeless and that is why we have such longevity. Our music will probably last for another 50 years, at least.
Q: Most artists are devoted in one specific instrument. In the band's biography there is a phrase that says: "Ritchie devours other instruments like a football fan devours potato chips." What is an instrument for you?
A: For me an instrument is a tool. If you are building a house you need more than just a hammer. So you get as many tools as you want or need to accomplish the task. All instruments are related, so after learning a few it is easy to expand to the others. I love playing the bouzouki for example.
Q: How many instruments do you have in your possession?
A: I have over 100 instruments from all families (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion) and my collection is growing all the time.
Q: Isn't it about time that Violent Femmes released a new album, after five years?
A: Victor (De Lorenzo, drummer) and I think so, but Gordon Gano (singer) is afraid to make an album. He is worried his mother won't like it. This is not a joke.

Deep Purple - Live In London 2006

There are bands that can play. And there are bands that PLAY. Deep Purple always belonged in the second category. They built their reputation on their ability to deliver great music on stage. From the long, almost jazz, improvisations of the late 1960s to the rockier aproach of today, Deep Purple always were a LIVE band. It's no surprise that Made In Japan, the legendary live album of the 1970s is mentioned by almost every musician as his favourite live album.
Deep Purple kicked off their new world tour in London's Astoria on the 17th of January. The show was sold-out from early November and the anticipation was big, especially after the release of the excellent new album "Rapture of the Deep."
There was only one fear. The fear of relying too much on their older, classic but too-much-heard material of their back catalogue. But this was not the case this time. The band seemed to trust the new album and decided to perform live most of its songs. In addition, some of the forgotten "diamonds" of the past like "Living Wreck" were played, adding to the excitement of the audience. The show was a pure delight both for the hard-core fans and also for those who went for the first time to a Purple concert.
New songs like "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," "Wrong Man," and "Rapture of the Deep," sounded really impressive and can easily become classic live tracks.
Others highlights of the evening were the new intro to "Highway Star," along with the always great live "Perfect Strangers" and "Space Truckin'."
Time really seems to have no bad effect on this band, just look at the way Ian Gillan performs (Ian Gillan became 60 last August). The "Rapture of the Deep" tour will probably last for the next 2 years, passing from almost every country, as usual...Don't miss the chance to see them live!

The Astoria setlist:
Pictures of Home
Things I Never Said
Wrong Man
Ted the Mechanic
Living Wreck
Rapture of the Deep
Back To Back
Before Time Began
Contact Lost
Well-Dressed Guitar
Lazy
Keyboard Solo
Perfect Strangers
Junkyard Blues
Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
Space Truckin'
Highway Star
Smoke on The Water

encores:
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Black Night

Deep Purple in 2006:
Ian Paice: Drums
Roger Glover: Bass
Ian Gillan: Vocals
Steve Morse: Guitar
Don Airey: Keyboards

You can find pictures from the show here.