The Winchester Massive Fanzine

Developing their sound with bewildering aplomb.

2006-08-10T16:38:00.000+01:00

Hats off to Dale from the band Fracture; the rest of the band couldn’t make it tonight to the Railway but he still showed up to knock out some acoustic numbers, which at the start of his set started to make me think that he wouldn’t be treading down the well worn path of the mundane singer-songwriter with a collection of upbeat tracks that have about them more than a slight Artic Monkeys twang. As the set draws on however I come to realise that the reason Dale avoids my contempt for the singer-songwriter is what becomes his downfall; he plays songs that sound like they should have a band behind them; littered throughout the set are sections that, with the rest of his band, would be rife with harmonies and breakdowns, thus steering himself away from the usual pitfalls that await the solo artist, but the lack of these elements exposes rather elementary lyric writing typified by a track about getting lashed that grates me somewhat. Still, his rapport with the crowd serves him well, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him with the rest of his band, but for now I feel that the acoustic numbers are best left to an Open Mic night where they’d be more readily received.

Whereas Dale sorely needed some form of backing, The Scarlet Letter Unions constantly evolving soundscape gives him all the room he needs to unleash tortured guitars that, despite their angst, actually ascend to the ambient when awash with one another, fusing together heavy slabs of hip hop, noise rock, grunge and the avant-garde when combined with the programmed beats.
So much of Scarlet Letter Unions music reaches its audience via pre-recordings, samples and loops, that when he begins to sing his poetry, the confession within the lyrics is all the more striking and the performance onstage comes across as one of the most cathartic you will see from one man.

In the short time they have been together headliners Caesura have developed their sound with bewildering aplomb. Their first demo, recoded at the start of the year and but a few months into the bands formation, offered promise that was swiftly fulfilled with captivating live shows and tonight was no exception; with a second EP under their belts the band assault the audience, somewhat literally in the case of bassist Louis, with all four new tracks from the record.

From the off, the material on offer successfully represents the bands former material; Time Passages verses are carried by a typically Caesura descending bass line and opening track Say Hello (Brighter Side) contains a luscious breakdown reminiscent of older track Exposure Exposed, but this sense of familiarity not only endears the new songs to the crowd, but also unifies the newer elements of the bands sound. Whilst previous shows have been more erratic, as befitted the older material, tonight’s set featured songs of far more sophisticated composition. Say Hello typifies this refinement, betraying the bands former aggressive element by avoiding the obvious dynamics; frontman Mossy juxtaposes the energy of Louis and Rob either side of him, remaining quite sedate, far more tender in his melody than the wild flailing of second guitarist Rob and this presents a bizarre new direction in that the band are so powerful in their melody that even when they seem as aggressive as their older, rawer, material, they still seem somewhat passive.

Passive that is, except drummer Venus, and it his with him that the progression lies; Lous bass lines steer clear of roots and low end and the two guitars flow into one another with constant dual lead parts, often made up of exquisite finger tapping, so there is nothing of definite power to fuel the bands heavier side, giving Venus ample room to attack his drum kit, creating sounds you’d expect to hear over the skies of Iraq, and give the melodies the power they need and deserve. Essentially it is this fusing of aggression and ambience where Caesuras strength lies; tonight where they were quiet they were beautiful, and where they were loud they were chaotic........... And there is now a severed guitar head that will testify for that.

Jerome Cross, The Winchester Massive

A cocktail of indie rock and electro punk

2006-06-27T12:36:00.000+01:00

Rebus, Geko, The Rebel Ching, Zodiac @ The Railway Inn 18/06/06

The last couple of months since my last encounter with Zodiac seem to have served the band well as both new tracks on offer this evening show just where the band could be heading once older material like fan favourite Badger Song is culled from the set and the band’s Led Zeppelin influences are left to run riot through the more complex, original material, rather than to plod through the older numbers that don’t quite sound their own. Midway through the set, The Organ Song (working title) demonstrated the potential the band have; brooding organ underlined constantly evolving rhythms that managed to explore influences from just about every decade since the seventies, and was soon followed up by the second untitled new song, which, following this description, may not sound that appealing, but believe me when I tell you I want to hear it again. Take the kind of verses Space used to write. Add a chorus Silverchair would be aroused by, and then complement it with a bizarre cartoon sounding synth hook that farts its way through the track. Sounds bizarre, but one of the most memorable songs of the night! It is standalone quality like this that I feel the band should be striving towards with all their material, for although next track Tomorrow, a homage to Zeppelin if ever I heard one, demonstrates their ability to do far better what several other bands do round these parts, I feel these songs limit a band that can and will give us so much. Zodiac are a band that will shit all over the current trend, and one that hopefully they, despite their years, are leaving behind already, of just spelling out a song to an audience; songs that once you’ve heard the first minute, you’ve heard the next four, and with songs like The Organ Song (and some titles!) they can constantly surprise their audience and go on to great things.

One band that unashamedly spells out their songs is Southampton’s The Rebel Ching. But both they and the audience don’t really mind, and why would they when the band is blazing through Brit-rock influenced Buzzcocks esque punk. The Rebel Ching are just four blokes playing for fun, writing songs about their everyday life, and while there is a certain Arctic Monkeys twang to some of the tracks, Pocket Full of Money especially, I expect we’ll be saying that about most British indie/punk bands for the next twelve months at least. With tracks like Tearaway demonstrating a nod in the direction of Motorhead and Mundane Monday sounding more than a little Graham Coxon you always know where you are with The Rebel Ching, but when their doing, like Zodiac, what plenty of bands are doing locally but better, you feel the band have very bright prospects. Not indie chic enough to usurp current local punk rock n roll top dogs Mach Schau just yet, The Rebel Ching can be content in the knowledge they have the better songs.

Following their recent success in the Emergenza Southern heats, I was expecting, and hoping for the fiercest Geko performance yet, and I pleasantly received it. The call and answer sections between guitar and bass at the beginning of new track Coloured Lights demonstrate a new shift in the band’s song writing, and finally their Skunk Anansie influence is being realised to the full. However, the new found aggression of the band’s writing needs to be fully complemented by their onstage presence. In the unfortunately ample room available in The Railway Inn, front woman Hannah careers amongst the crowd and when free of vocal duties, bassist Greg does similarly on stage, but guitarist Jon seems content to remain rooted to the spot, creating a fairly surreal look onstage. Geko’s sound is one that should get a crowd moving, and would have done tonight were the room so sparsely filled. Iron Gold Steel best epitomises Geko’s new found ferocity and intelligence with riffs that break away from the band’s formative funk/rock leanings and if the decision lay in my hands I’d put that as the A side to their debut single over the proposed Bedroom Crawl.

Finishing off the night in emphatic style was Heathen Record’s Rebus; an intense cocktail of indie rock and electro punk Launching straight into Promises, it was clear that the diminished numbers didn’t bother the band and those that didn’t attend would inevitably rue their absence if they now hear exactly what they missed Tonight’s set contained material written and released over the last twelve months and served as a lesson to the two Winchester bands on the bill tonight just where you can get if you’re not afraid to just keep writing until you can play a set that fully encapsulates your sound; there was not a track out of place from Rebus and their pace never faltered throughout the evening as a result, whereas I’d say with both Geko and Zodiac, there were points where the older material was quite obvious. There’s never a dull moment with Rebus, and never a really identifiable influence as such, closing number Worksong smacks of Ikara Colt, there are traces of Bloc Party throughout but there is something unique in their approach; the guitars play cleverly off each other, sparring almost, and the three part vocals cascade in and out of each other, all backed up by a furious rhythm section and washed over with hypnotic synth.

A blistering end to what could have been one of the most memorable Winchester Massive nights yet, had exam revision, University holidays and whatever else not taken its toll on the numbers.

Jerome Cross.

An audience in a state of pure kinesis

2006-06-23T23:30:00.000+01:00

JayetAl, LCD & Rooms, Stem Project, Hip Hop Farmers, The Green Leaves @ The Guildhall Tavern 26/05/06

Having recently lost their guitarist, The Green Leaves tonight completely changed pace. Gone was one of the main sonic ingredients to their heady folk/trance bastard child and so now a four piece, the bands sound, constantly being refined as it is (to quote frontman Ben Startup when asked why they don’t play several recorded tracks live, ‘We don’t know how to yet’), took on a far more relaxed, almost lo-fi sound akin in my mind at least to the great Pavement, but Pavement if they had started breeding illicitly with The Levellers and playing with Southampton’s lo-fi bubblegum indie-pop urchins Tri-City President. Although fans will be eagerly waiting and in some cases, drunkenly demanding the band’s more Underworld esque recorded efforts, until they figure out how the hell they’re going to play all the synth’s and drum machine’s live, tonight’s set will do just fine.

What do you get if you put Winchester’s most tumultuous band in a situation where they may be playing to A & R guys? You get Tzudo- the ‘grown up’ version of the Hip Hop Farmers. Six months ago the Farmers went through said change and became a ‘proper’ band. I won’t lie- it didn’t work, and upon realisation of this, the band took a break. Now four months later, The Hip Hop Farmers bounced onstage and shat all over their former Tzudo image. From the off there has never been a Hip Hop Farmers set that has boasted so much energy; Messy was the only point in which the band took their foot off the gas. Random Fear and the rest of the band’s more energetic back catalogue including a stupidly fast rendition of Beach Days and finally War Death Leprosy and Council Tax left both audience and band sweltering in a packed out Tavern (the Farmers’ boiler suits couldn’t have helped matters). The Farmers continue to leave me unable to liken them to anyone but their quirky folk-hop was tonight ravaged by even more punk energy than ever, leaving the audience in a state of pure kinesis.

Perhaps it was the energy of the previous set that slightly undermined The Stem Project, coupled with a sound setup that really needed the kind of rig that the Guildhall Tavern just doesn’t have. As a result only the front row were able to really hear anything and thusly the audience seemed fairly detached from the band, an unusual sight as ‘Stem have, every time I have seen them in the past, never failed in seducing an audience with their Aphex Twin through Godspeed! Hellishly tweaked ecstasy. Tonight however, the sound simply didn’t do them justice, and subsequently it felt like they were just up onstage performing to themselves and not the audience.

The second man to play two sets tonight, Hip Hop Farmer Chris Moore graced us with his new project LCD & Rooms. More often the voice of the more serious things in ‘the Farmers, compared to MC Lockwood’s insane poetry about being eaten by bears, LCD now gives Moore all the freedom he wants and makes the transition from a six piece down to a trio with remarkable aplomb, particularly as he is the only one of the three who is actually free of instrumental restrictions to move sufficiently to get the audience doing likewise. With Rooms spinning the tunes; a ferocious raping of samples and classical jazz horns, with PA shaking drums and bass and Jo on the bongo’s, LCD bounces around the stage with the audience chomping at the bit, the set epitomised by the tune that could send LCD on the way to bigger things if it gets picked up by the right people; Slapstick, despite only its second public airing had the entire front row singing along, LCD turning the song into some sort of bizarre hip hop pantomime. And fuck me does it work.

Finally, the moment I’d been waiting for not only since the start of the night, but pretty much since the line-up was announced. JayetAl’s fusion of electronica and post-rock has the ability to send a crowd into one of two world’s; either you become gently hypnotized by the beauty of the music and are sent off into your own little world or it will grab everyone in the room by some sort of unifying, invisible collar and throttle them accordingly. Tonight was the latter. Within seconds of the two-piece starting their set, what was once a stage had become a dance floor, what was once the largest number of individuals the Guildhall Tavern has ever contained had suddenly become the largest singular mass the Tavern has ever contained. The constantly ascending euphoria of tracks like My Jaxon is peerless, certainly in these parts, and could hold its own admirably in the world outside that which JayetAl manage to create inside the venue tonight, and create they do; the intensity of the live drumming and the delightful onslaught of samples and guitar is so uplifting it makes you forget you’re dancing like a tit on a little stage in a pub in Winchester, pouring with sweat and gurning like a fool, and quite frankly, we love them for it.

Jerome Cross.

Leftenant command the evening

2006-06-23T11:08:00.000+01:00

Louis Adamo reviews the acts @ The Winchester Massive's MassiveWednesday - The Railway Inn, 14th June 2006.

Alex J Dunne
Opening the gig was a young man who before going onstage looked shy and uneasy. His name being Alex J Dunne was the only fact I knew about him. Dunne then goes on to produce one the most promising sets of the night. His most striking feature musically is his voice which can portray emotion and pain in the style of Jeff Buckley having a duet with Kurt Cobain. The stage presence of Dunne goes hand in hand with his vocals, he is comfortable and assured. The guitar work of Dunne is the one area where he could improve. Although he is not bad he is not amazing. It makes you wonder of what potential could be unlocked if he was to employ a full band who could add layers to his music. He is one of a dying breed of guitarist though who appreciates that they can alter the mood of their music through the tone of their picking.

Leftenant
Easily the most impressive band of the night. The band are tight and add a flavour to the current music scene which hasn’t been tasted in a while. Early Pixies-esque guitar riffs crossed with vocals that could have jumped straight out of many bands in the early 90’s grunge era this band play a set of songs consistent with each other which is rare in bands whose lifespan is less than a year. The vocalist seems to be in a natural flow during the set playing with confidence which unfortunately cannot be said for the rest of the band. The rhythm section are tight but look uneasy and I cant help but think what a good live band this would be if they did get that early 90’s style of live performance into their set. This band would surely only benefit from a huge stage presence and it would certainly suit their music. Songs to look out for in the live set include originals, ‘Red Lights’ and ‘You’re In You’re Out’.

The Mercury Act
This band are young and even without seeing them you could tell this. They are tight which is always a positive, but at the same time they seem to be attempting to be unpredictable which makes a huge contradiction because for this reason they become predictable. For their type of music they should also really start to think about employing the services of a second guitar player not just to add layers but so that lead guitar parts can be imported into their music. However to their credit they play a tight set and they seem to have brought a good crowd in with them who to enjoy it.

The Fallout Theory
This band ooze energy and epitomize what all bands should seek to be; tight. The energy shown by the drummer who is also their vocalist is phenomenal. The skill involved in both drumming like a maniac and singing at the same time must be so huge that I cannot even begin to think about how long it would take an ordinary person to learn how. Also the triple vocal harmonies make you want to melt right where you are standing. This band, although talented seem to need some fine-tuning. They have all the right foundations to make the next step but whether they find the inspiration needed to make it is another matter. The songs are catchy, they are nice to listen to but currently they have nothing that sets them aside from other bands in their genre. They do what they do exceptionally well, this is just a position where they could improve.

Louis Adamo

The Massive Recomends - June 2006

2006-06-13T16:29:00.000+01:00

The Mescalitas http://www.myspace.com/themescalitas	Sharp End First http://www.myspace.com/sharpendfirst
Big Wednesday http://www.myspace.com/bigwednesday	Templeton Pek http://www.myspace.com/templetonpek

Being on the road is like going to Butlins - An interview with SixNationState

2006-06-08T09:43:00.000+01:00

North Korea, Butlins, Working Men’s Clubs and the Eastern Bloc; many destinations past present and future for SixNationState, but for now they’re happy to be back in a sleepy little city they consider home. Jerome Cross doesn’t so much grill the band on recent events, but nonetheless distracts them enough with a dozen or so questions to escape from the rain in their van for half an hour and bum a smoke in the process…..

You’ve just come back from you second jaunt across Europe, how does gigging out there compare with gigging in the UK?

The atmosphere is amazing. In Europe the British music scene is so popular but not many British bands get out there so when they do they get treated so well; the crowd is so receptive, and from the moment the first band are onstage they’re at the front dancing. There’s no hang-up on the ‘cool’ thing that you get over here. The audience is down the front dancing all night, then afterwards they’ll stick around and talk to you and they all buy CD’s.

It really seems when you’re there that you’re bigger in another country than you are in your own, you arrive at the venue and there’s riders full of food and beer, you come back from soundcheck and there’s plates of bread, cheese and meat and then after that they take you out to dinner! Everyone just seems really grateful that you’re there and the European countries seem far more accepting of our more low key British status; you get treated like you are a lot bigger than you are, we even got away with a bet between us that we couldn’t say cunt on Belgian radio during an interview that went out to five hundred thousand people at 8.30 in the morning!

The beauty of playing the Country Song I suppose? Do you intend to build on your success out there? Spread further across the continent?

For now actually the next step is England. At the moment we’ve only really got the South West and London covered. The plan is to get back on the road and explore new territory here; go into new cities, blitz the crowd, get out of there and head onto the next one.

British indie music is conquering the world, but for us the most important thing is conquering England. Although we would love to be the first British band to be huge in North Korea!

You’ve recently been signed on a three album deal by Jeepster Records. Do you think that the security of the record deal will affect the momentum of the band? Are things relaxed enough now to allow you to take your foot off the gas?

There’s no such thing as security. They could drop us at any time. Right now we’re working as hard as ever as now we have people believing in us and we have to prove their faith was well placed. We have to prove to ourselves that we can do this, and to our record company and all the people who support us and believe in our music.

Its now at a stage where its gone beyond ‘SixNationState’, now we have five people working with us and a whole load of people now are willing to help and go out of their way for us, so we owe it to them to keep working hard so there’s been no real change of pace as such. We’ve spent so long juggling two full time jobs, now the record deal has allowed us just to focus on one.

Are there any down sides to the current situation?

We never see our parents and you can’t forward plan. The next time we’re are going to be able to take any time off will be after the festival season next year, and even then, who knows? Things always change, but at the same time we are our own family. Being on the road is like going to Butlins.

But before next summer’s festival season you’ve cited March 2007 for the release of your debut album, what can we expect?

We want to make an album that will be the soundtrack for people’s summers. Hopefully people will hear the album and it will make them want to be in a band; at the moment we’re working hard to capture the energy of the live shows so that we can have a dozen amazing songs, songs which make people wonder why we haven’t released every track on there. The writing process won’t stop for another four months, we’re aiming to build up a big catalogue of new songs so that we never end up with album tracks; we don’t want any filler’s!

Hopefully its going to sound like sex with a new girl in the rain; sweaty and wet; all the old favourites and a whole load of new tricks!

Putting thoughts of summer aside, for many people, last winter’s Love What You Live For tour was the start of a six month love affair with the band, how was the experience from your point of view?

It’s a viewpoint we can relate to, because Winchester was the best date of the tour by far and it definitely felt like that’s when people ‘discovered’ us in Winchester; people who hadn’t had the chance to see us before, and since then we’ve kind of been associated with Winchester and that’s fine with us because we love it here, so we always come back. Similarly with Bath, we went there on the tour, and try and get back as often as possible.

The good thing about doing that tour was meeting new people, gaining new territory, and managing to keep in regular contact with those people and those places, and just basically managing surround ourselves with people who aren’t cunts.

It’s nice to come down here just to see shit loads of people, and to see the people here we know; I rave about The Winchester Massive to people, and for a small city Winchester is doing a lot more than many bigger cities, its nice to be associated with what’s going on here.

On the subject of bigger cities, the recent Access Festival in Southampton saw the unspoken local pecking order slightly turned on it’s head with you leapfrogging acts you’d played before last year to headline the event, which seemed a justified decision as the crowd practically doubled when you came onstage. Were you aware of a sense of change in status at all?

Fuck pecking orders, people shouldn’t be listening to them. We wouldn’t have cared if we hadn’t been headlining; we played a gig in Derby with seven other bands and we just ended up pulling names out of a hat.

All the bands round here are doing they’re own thing and they’re all getting places with it, so we’re happy for them and they’re happy for us; we’ve all been there together, playing with each other and supporting each other so there’s no animosity; we’re just about playing gigs.

One thing that is highly noticeable about SixNationState live shows is the crowd reaction and participation. Has the thought crossed your minds that when the album’s out you’re going to have to promote it with bigger shows in bigger venues, and if so do you think it will have an affect on your intimate relationship with your audience?

Bigger shows will always be a lot less intimate; at the moment there’s generally about twelve inches at most between us and the crowd. Once you’ve gone up the ladder and move onto bigger venues you’ll never recapture some of the moments you share with a crowd in the smaller venues; these are the gigs that we’ll tell our grandchildren about!

What about the customary stage invasion? It’s going to be pretty tricky for us to join you in the mayhem when there’s a ten foot gap filled with bouncers between us!

People will always be welcome to invade the stage but if they can’t then fuck it, we’ll invade the crowd! Even if the crowd can’t get onstage with us or they’re ten feet away there are always ways to involve the audience.

Tonight’s Winchester Massive clubnight will be your last gig here at The Railway and in Winchester in general for quite some time, following six months of regular gig. Being as you’re based between Southampton and Reading, do you feel Winchester has bridged the gap and become part of your home now?

It’s definitely a home for us, but it’s not The Railway that makes it feel like home, it’s you guys, it’s The Winchester Massive, you guys have given us loads and it’s always good to come and play and give some back. We’re amongst friends here and the crowd is always brilliant.

I like to think that even if things go well and we start playing bigger venues and bigger cities, we’ll still come back and do ‘the Winchester shows’ for all the people that have supported us from the beginning.

So now you want to create a similar atmosphere in other counties; setting up there until you win over all the cities? Surely that will be easier now you have the backing of the label?

We do have the backing of the company, but the next thing is a booking agent. Doing it DIY is fine but you need some sort of structure around you.

We’ve done nicely down here, but now we need to go and start from scratch up north.

We’ve got the album backing, but at the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of guys in a van that need to go and work hard. We know that we’re still going to have to go and play gigs to no-one, we’ve still got our fair share of toilet gigs to play but you can’t just go into someone else’s Manor and expect to headline, so we know we’re going to have slots where we play to twenty people if that, but we’re happy with that; after all, we got signed in a Working Men’s Club!

With the accompanying Eighties DJ set if memory serves me correctly! Finally, now that you have been signed and have obligations to the company, will your side project, DubNationState, still find time to grace stages?

That’s the beauty of now being able to record B-sides now, as opposed to releasing Split singles, we can put down the dub stuff for that, or we could just release a dub record to get us out of our contract! Even with the deal, we still want to explore our music and it’s good to play live to an audience as well because people then see what they know, but in a different context; recording a dub record is also something we’d like to do.

But we like to surprise people, you guys have been to enough ‘secret’ gigs to know that; we can always DubNationState for that sort of thing, but we have to get SixNationState out to the masses first.

And if it all goes tits up John’s going to start up a new project; some sort of cross between Nick Drake and Jackanory, but better, Neil’s going to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rich intends to become a recluse and never leave his room, Gerry wants to write a rock opera and Alexei aims to become a model for GQ, based in the Eastern Bloc. He hopes to make as much as £7.50 per hour…...

Ryan O'Reilly: CD Lauch Party Review

2006-05-14T18:43:00.000+01:00

Ryan O'Reilly and the Raindogs, G.R.O.O.V.E and Callum. At: The Railway Inn, Winchester, March 29th 2006.

I turn up early to a venue already bursting at the seems with students and arty alternatives taking their places around the stage for Questionable Records' night of free music, mainly to platform the single launch for newly signed headliners Ryan O'Reilly and The Raindogs.

First up was singer songwriter Callum, he had some nice songs, a good voice, that actually reminded me at times of Robbie Williams, however, his voice worked over the sound he created. His acoustic strumming was accompanied by a very talented guest lead guitarist called Robert, who gave a haunting western twang to the set bringing Callums sound to another dimension musically. It was a perfect easy listening setting for the evening.

Second on the menu for the evening was a band called G.R.O.O.V.E consisting of 8 band members, the 2 front girls I found out to be sisters, all very young and clad in their best dinner dance attire a stark contrast from their usual Peter Symonds college wear I'm sure. I had apprehensions about this 8 piece that every member would prove necessary and worth while. These assumptions were soon buried as I was completely blown away by this talented bunch who oozed professionalism, enthusiasm and talent along with a sound full of funk and soul that had the majority dancing.

For a band that have only been together barely a year they worked the stage with absolute ease. I found myself really enjoying their set and judging from the amount of wolf whistles the audience clearly agreed. The two front girls were like a double soul dose of Joss Stone with a mixture of Christina Aguileras vocal range and confidence. The chemistry between the band was electric as they flirted with each other and teased the audience. Harmonies were perfect, compositionally build ups were smooth and anticipated with the sax and trombone adding to the sex appeal of the soulful sound. I did feel that the dynamics could have been shaded a little more overall, to highlight the girls amazing voices at their peak and individual instruments, as at times it sounded like the set needed a new angle on a melody. However I dont doubt this will come. This sexy sleek performance was projected with sophistication and style. If your a fan of funk and soulful grooves, this band will keep you high and hang you dry right to the very end.

Last, but certainly not least headliners Ryan O'Reilly and The Raindogs grace the stage with their presence, which is that of a casual down to earth bunch of lads, the drummer looked like an unpolluted Stroke member. O'Reilly comes across shy but shyly confident and very charming as he greets the audience. O'Reilly is a young hybrid of Dylan and Neil Young adopting their folkiesk essence of story telling lyrics and lingering vocals that grip your ears along with the very talented raindogs supplying the setting for a full Americana country, blues and rock concoction.

This band were on fire tonight, having seen Ryan at a few open mic sessions in Winchester (Being a personal fan of his music) his band sound did not disappoint but only highlighted the talents of this young singer songwriter. It was refreshing to hear such raw talent breaking away from the current set indie bandwagon and doing it so well. Every song was melodic and comparable as O'Reilly detoxed his emotions as if re living every moment of their meaning. He sang of love and betrayal, resonating perfectly through the room as he gazed out like we were a maze for his thoughts to lie upon.

Whilst you can hear this bands influences, you only hear their music and their music is memorable giving it a contemporary twist that modernises country, blues and folk as we know it with that bit more of a rock element. There best song of the set, which I could not help singing along to, was called "I know I'll have nightmares" it had 'hit' written all over it as soon as they started playing the very melodic, sing a long number that had everyone toe tapping and turning to each other with the agreeable nod. It gave you that uplifting sensation that allows you to play it over and over again without getting bored of it.

As I rush off to buy the single, I see my favourite songs only on the album, but worth every penny to invest in. This is one band to catch whilst you can still afford to hear them. All in all it was a night of great diverse music and judging from the amount of empty glass' I wasnt the only one walking home with a swagger in my step.

By Angela Barnes.

The Fly Wessex: The Winchester Massive

2006-05-11T15:22:00.000+01:00

Whoever posted this deserves a medal...

The Fly Wessex: The Winchester Massive

The Massive Recomends - May 2006

2006-05-07T19:45:00.000+01:00

Thomas Tantrum One of the highlights from Southamptons Access Festival, this band look and sound the part... big things beckon.	Tyler Kyte Singer/songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Heartfelt songs with hooks left, right and center.
SixNationState I've bigged them up enough in the past, I'll let the music do the talking this time.	Phil King Acousic Singer/Songwriter from Bristol. Sit back and chill out to one of the best male voices you will hear in a long time.

Spotlight on: Nina McCann

2006-04-25T22:07:00.000+01:00

Nina was raised in the village of Overton, Hampshire. Given a guitar for her eighth birthday, she soon developed a great bond with her six string, always playing, but shying away from performing publicly.

This probably explains why her music has been a long time coming, but if there is such a thing as perfect timing or facing the music and quite literally, then this is it, she has found her moment.

There is something uniquely different about this artist that must be heard. Her ability to write independently proves her strength as a song writer because here is someone who is not a crowd follower, but a person who is establishing her own musical identity. Both artist and song can hold their own and it is even more apparent when faced with the true test of an act to deliver live, a good voice with honest melodies fused together with a rolling acoustic guitar epitomises what Nina is all about.

It is all this and more that is making headway for this talented, new U.K artist that ensures her potential and longevity within the global music scene.

What she has been doing

Nina has played at Central Studio on Oct 15th 2005, tickets sold out again.
She opened the Newbury Frindge festival in 2005 and appears at open mics like The Cellar Bar in Bracknell and The Traders in Petersfield.

She has played two live sets for BBC radio and blast 1386 and has appeared on Meridians "around and about".

Quote from Phil Jackson - BBC radio
"Possessing a unique voice, and considerable song-writing skills, Nina McCann is undoubtedly an artist to keep an eye on in in the acoustic arena. Her songs have infectious melodies, and stay with you long after the CD has finished."

Nina's debut album is all self penned material and was self funded, the album is available from her website, CD Baby, HMV in Basingstoke, Winchester and soon to be in other stores around the south.

Album Review 'Leave The Room

Recently we've had the angst ridden male singer/songwriters storming the charts with songs about love, loss and bad days, but now it's accomplished and independent female singer/songwriter Nina McCann's turn.

The road to the creation of her debut album has been a long time coming for Nina, but the love of music was always there. Nina was raised in the country village of Overton in Hampshire, at the tender aged of eight she was given her first guitar. But that fact that she shied away from the stage led her to concentrate on her music from the inside out and establish her own musical identity, which in a world of manufactured pop is increasingly becoming a rare thing.

Nina's debut album Leave The Room is a 10 track medley of whimsical, thoughtful and well crafted acoustic based songs, with a rocky edge about love, loss and well, bad days. But don't despair it's far from doom and gloom as she manages to maintain a uniqueness that is more empowering and uplifting and never depressing.

Throughout the album Nina's vocals sound reminiscent of early 90s female singers (think Kd Lang or Sheryl Crowe) and with her honest lyrics, Nina somehow manages to turn the mundane things in life, into an interesting rolling story that captures the imagination of its listeners.

Another credit to Nina is that her album has no commercial spin. It took two years to make and was entirely self-funded, which gives it an raw almost earthy feel. Everything that she has achieved can be based entirely on her own hard work, and her ability to write independently proves she is happy and comfortable with her own skill and rightly so.

Opening the album is a song called Just My Luck. It is a sweet guitar led track that describes a friendship gone sour. While Walk On Be Free is a rock tinged, country infused love song about setting the one you love free "Walk away from me this time/If I'm right you'll see/ You'll come back to me with those eyes."

Nina makes a live appearance for The Winchester Massive, on Thursday 11th May at The Guildhall Tavern. The 'Acoustic Thursday' show is free entry and starts at 9pm and will also feature music from Ryan O'Reilly, Thomas Joseph, Juggla Heroes and Vaughan King unitl 1am.

More information on Nina can be found at:
www.ninamccann.co.uk and www.myspace.com/ninamccann

The Massive Recomends - April 2006

2006-04-15T15:02:00.000+01:00


Mr Fogg “A short burst of relaxed, reclining electronica that resonates with the heartstrings amiably.” – Drowned In Sound	The Rebel Ching Dirty Indie from Southampton.
The Screening Synth-led pop rock from Leicester.	Soma High Southampton based band that bring you back to Bends era Radiohead, which is no bad thing.
Citizen Winners of Heat 2 of The Winchester Massive Battle of the Bands. This band should be banging out their tunes to the thousands... and pretty soon, I hope they will be! Oh, and they are only 16!

A CHORUS AT DAWN

2006-04-09T23:11:00.000+01:00

An update on the Winchester Massive Battle of the Bands:

Hype, prejudice, expectation; so many factors to take into the first heat of the Winchester Massive Battle of the Bands, and every one would play its part.

The slow start I feared could scupper The Dawn Chorus, combined with the slightly up turned nose I had cast when listening to an online track couldn’t have been more misplaced. By the end of their set I had been pleasantly surprised and had forced myself to eat some humble pie; if the start was slow, it was deliberately so. Every song sounded different, and every song sounded better than the last, but all were unified by the harmonious melodies which formed the backbone of the material, calling to mind the Pixies, The Magic Numbers and The Dropkick Murphys, a comparison aided further by the subtle offbeat bounce and rustic folk marriage of the rhythm section which seductively built around the melodic foundations.

Having missed a previous set I was relishing the chance to see Zodiac, but sadly, after being led to expect so much I sadly enjoyed very little.

Fronted by an amazing voice and backed by talented musicians, all of whom have ample room to demonstrate their abilities, Zodiac do very little that hasn’t been done at some point over the last thirty years. Whereas The Dawn Chorus had gradually ensnared me without me even realising it, I felt somewhat alienated by lack of originality in Zodiacs sound, and then further by the lack of deviation from influence during their misused covers.

A very talented band, who in time could be very special, but first they need to realise the need to rejuvenate their genre rather than just rehash.

No Skidoo, like Zodiac, play with their heart on their sleeves, emulating those they aspire to in every song, but sadly, those same songs show a very basic writing ability.

Pop-Punk is not a question of musical academia, but the very least that can be done well, and without the monotonous drumbeats, appalling instrument definition and melodies that merely accentuate every single chord change in every single song. The only mercy afforded to the audience was that No Skidoo finished thankfully promptly, having played themselves out of contention for progression to the next round. Playing fourth on the night seemed to do several things to Gekos performance.

On the plus side it seems to drive them to a level of exuberance that had been missing for most of the night, on the negative side I couldn’t help but feel that they felt somewhat automatically victorious due to headlining the heat, but certainly their hi-octane performance put them head and shoulders above the previous act.

Coming on like a funk rock version of Skunk Anansie without the venom, Geko successfully whipped the dance floor into a frenzy, but still fell victim to the nagging feeling that like No Skidoo and Zodiac, their music doesn’t offer anything new, and it was this feeling of predictability that held back the latter three bands whilst the constantly evolving sound of The Dawn Chorus saw them unanimously progress to the final round of a competition which successfully brought together the local music community. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of the night was that the crowd was littered with band members featuring in the following heats, proving that a little competition can be healthy.

Jerome Cross

Sine Star - Top of the class

2006-04-03T16:11:00.001+01:00

This evening at The Railway could be looked at as various stages in a course on how to write a good song. Unfortunately two of the three bands on tonights bill havent been attending all their seminars.

First band, Rocket Kid, though talented, seem to have ideas above their station. Though competently led by superb guitar hooks that spar energetically together, the band dont seem to be on the same level, producing a fragmented stage presence and lack of musical cohesion; the rhythm section, penned in by the genres limitations, leaves the lead sections flamboyance somewhat stranded in its own world. When combined with vocal melodies that either try too hard or are delivered with no real passion an overall picture is created that doesnt quite synch up.

Whereas Rocket Kid cram their songs with too much too soon, Xavier Floyd Firebird fall victim to a lack of composition. Their set starts off slowly and somewhat unintelligently; peddled root notes and standard four fours are the backdrop for fairly basic descending melodies that fail to inspire. As they approach the middle of their set however, the band begin to wake up and slowly the harmonies begin to creep in, the cringe worthy Glam undertones begin to fall away and they start to entertain as performers also, having found a gritty new level of punk energy. Playing the part of a Woman and past single You scare me Bossman are the highlights of the set, the formers harmonies adding so much to the sound the question has to be asked, why dont they do it more?

At best Xavier Floyd Firebird were everything that was great about Britrock whipped into a frenzy by a punk attitude, at worst they were everything that condemned it, but certainly deserve a listen.

Headliners Sine Star Projects set tonight is played as though they have paid attention to lessons past, and display a wealth of competence and composition that puts the previous two bands to shame. Whether ripping through heavier tracks like Bullet and Strange Girl, tracks which have about them the drive of The Smashing Pumpkins, with breakdowns Tool would be pleased with, or the slower paced keys and steel guitar led Wolf River and progressively hypnotic Green Man (which is home to a fairly jaw dropping steel guitar solo) it is impossible not to be seduced by the intensely clever structures and the Buckley esque theatrics of frontman Peter J. Croissant.

Everything about Sine Star Project screams sophistication and dues paid which in time Rocket Kid can achieve, and with perhaps a little stylistic redirection, Xavier Floyd Firebird also, but for tonight, Sine Star Project were top of the class.

Jerome Cross, The Winchester Massive.

SixNationState - Live Video

2006-04-01T15:59:00.000+01:00

SixNationState - I Hate The Summer

Filmed at their recent single launch party at The Railway Inn.

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Video by Ben Startup
Sound and Editing by Rob Ball

Single release for Ryan O'Reilly

2006-03-16T12:41:00.000Z

Ryan O'Reilly & The Raindogs have just announced they are releasing Don't Feel Cold through Questionable? Records, due out out April 3rd 2006 on limited edition CD and through digital download on Itunes and Karma Download.

Ryan has recently signed to the Hampshire based independent label, and the single will be followed later this year by a full album, which is in the process of being recorded.

Also, good news for all Raindogs fans is Questionable? Records and The Winchester Massive have just announced an single release party at The Railway Inn on 29th March, with FREE entry before 9pm... The single can also be purchased before the release date exclusively from the gig. Also performing at the gig will be Callum and G.R.O.O.V.E. More gigs around the UK will be announced soon, as well as Ryan's solo support tour with Sweet Thing in Canada.

Ryan's first album is still available from The Winchester Massive online store, or a digital download from Karma Download.

For more information on Ryan O'Reilly & The Raindogs, please visit www.ryanoreilly.co.uk or www.myspace.com/ryanoreilly.

Exclusive Tzudo Live Video

2006-03-02T22:43:00.000Z

Battle of the Bands - Now Closed

2006-03-02T10:36:00.000Z

The Winchester Massive Battle of the Bands has now finished taking applications, and I can reveal that the finalists will be:

No Skidoo
Big-ish Shoe
Bodyhost
Ali Fresh
G.R.O.O.V.E
The Tripods
Renaissance Child
The Dawn Chorus
The Reason
Citizen
3 Kings
Loopy

Congratulations to the above bands, who will play at the event, taking place at The Guildhall Tavern, Winchester every Thursday in April. Details of who will be playing at each heat will be published soon.

Webmaster's Blog for ryanoreilly.co.uk

2006-02-26T21:27:00.000Z

Webmaster's Blog for ryanoreilly.co.uk

The Fly Wessex

2006-02-14T17:31:00.000Z

The Fly Wessex

The Permanent Thought Collective & Jayetal @ Winchester Art College Student’s Union, Friday 31st October 2005.

2006-02-13T17:25:00.000Z

It may be that the exciting array of cobwebs, rubber insects and occult bric-a-brac on display at the Art College Union Halloween Ball this evening is particularly distracting, or it may be the general air of spooky Halloween excitement - but still, it’s hard to explain the general disinterest of the crowd to tonight’s music, especially considering the amount of pure energy that Jayetal devote to their set. Playing their usual sublime and eternally relevant mix of computerised beats and melodies, clicks, samples, refreshingly simple guitar melodies and passionate drumming that bypasses the ears on the way to the gut, it is obvious from the perspiration on their brows that Jayetal regard their live performances not as an opportunity for publicity, but as just what they do. With a traditional set list that doesn’t contain a single weak link, Jayetal could be accused of relying too heavily on their existing material to date, which is perhaps why tonight’s set features different mixes of some of their most popular tracks, the rethought beats and arrangements providing just enough variety whilst still retaining the euphoric riffs and sounds that made them so likable in the first place. Those in the audience who paid more attention to the music than the colour of their friends shoes this evening saw an act that are proving to be amongst the most passionate and inspiring that this region has to offer.

The Permanent Thought Collective are a band like their rock music epic, unashamedly virtuosic, and ideally played in stadiums. And anyone of a similar mind is unlikely to be disappointed by the band’s collection of post-prog-rock songs, featuring anthemic choruses, ethnic influences, extended guitar solos and a generous helping of feedback. Perhaps a little too thoughtful at times, the music occasionally becomes bogged down in its own ‘higher purpose’, but at it’s unselfconscious best it is vibrant and impressive, harking back to a day when it was the kids that wore the jeans and Rock was God. The vocals are occasionally lost in the overall panorama of the sound, but each of the band’s musicians are so clearly talented that this rarely matters – the guitar licks and solos are sweeping and lovingly performed with a hint of nostalgic irony. The drums are raucous, energetic and tight… and the sounds that come from the bass guitar are unstoppable and frankly astounding, making you wonder why anyone would want to play the small one with six strings at all. The Permanent Thought Collective work well together, and have an obvious affection for their art – which is Rocking Out in the Old Style. But it is hard to shake the feeling that some more ambitious material and a touch less naval gazing will show them to be capable of even more.

Matt Golding
Matthew_c_golding@hotmail.com

The Juggla Heroes

2006-02-08T12:52:00.000Z

Ben Startup asks Winchester's Juggla Heroes some taxing questions, and then steals a few from Smash Hits.

1. Who are Juggla Heroes?
We are a young local band, establishing a local following around Winchester: Miranda on flute and lead vocals, Joe on guitar, Oli on guitar, Hugh on drums, and George on bass A group of extremeley like minded musicians, apart from Hugh whos in a world of his own.

2. What do you want to achieve as a band?
There are no limits, we are happy to play for anything, we all have dreams but we just really like playing live. We also want to get into HEAT magazine, we havent decided how yet. Although Joe reckons we should split up and reform on a weekly basis to attract attention.

3. How do you describe your sound?
A mixture of rock, indie, acid jazz and funk. + one russian type folk song....we cant pidgeon hole this song!

4. If you could tour with 3 other bands, who would it be and why?
The Zutons, cos they are unusual, and the boys think the saxophonist is hot. The hip hop farmers, cos we love their stuff. The Cooper temple clause, the guys favourite, but miranda hasnt heard of them.

5. If Juggla Heroes were a cocktail, what would it be and why?
Cheap cider, spiked with boot polish, for the lads. Water with lemon for miranda, cos she always has to drive them home.

6. Pizza, Indian or chinese?
Pizza, typical student food for the poor.

7. Whats the ideal setting/venue for a Juggla Heroes gig?
A local venue where we can interact with the audience, and where theres a good atmosphere, best if people dance! We loved playing at the soul cellar and guildhall tavern!!!

8. Who gets the most groupies?
Miranda or Hugh. They seem to attract the same people every time!

9. What’s the most heroic thing you've ever done?
Miranda saved a fan from the water meadows river. Miranda drives home the drunken band members after each gig! (Guess who’s writing this one!)

10. Can you juggle?
No. Dont be silly

Bullycats/ SixNationState/ Grand Rose Band

2006-02-08T12:42:00.000Z

Saturday 29^th October

Railway Inn, Winchester

A pre-Halloween ghoul’s nite out at the Railway Inn saw the first stop-off for the ‘Love What You Live For’ tour, a three-ring rock n’ roll circus headlined by local heroes the Bullycats and showcasing out-of-towners the Grand Rose Band and SixNationState. Bath bootboys the Grand Rose Band kicked off proceedings and it took ‘til approximately the end of their first chorus for the near-capacity crowd to abandon its too-cool-for-school Winchester aloofness and break into a uniform head-nodding grin. GRB didn’t stand on ceremony. Sweaty and impassioned they ripped thru their set of heavy-hitting Crazy Horse-esque numbers pausing only briefly to offer the sexual services of their rookie guitarist. True gents of rock.

A wise man once observed that in these musically saturated times a band must invent its own genre or die. SixNationState clearly understand this. Existing in some kind of schizophrenic grey-area between the two-tone ska stutter of the Specials and the psychedelic gumbo of the Zutons, the ‘state veer between a tense simple-minded flounder – a bit like children with learning difficulties trying to play Captain Beefheart – and scattershot, Bruce Lee-style flurries of punches. The entire spectacle repeatedly threatens to collapse around their ears – drums tumble and headstocks flail – yet somehow, in the beautiful end, it all comes together. Apparently fueled by something other than Ribena and Extra Strong Mints, SixNationState’s confrontational style demands the audience’s attention from the first to the last. They deserve adulation; they’ll probably end up with Asbos.

Taking to the stage with a swagger that comes only with the knowledge that one is truly shit-hot, the Bullycats set about the business of closing the evening’s merriment with a sleazed-up set of their trademark low-slung pre-punk songs. No twangy Franz Ferdinand-guitars or drainpipe jeans tonight; here be riffs, flares and pornstar facial hair. The obvious reference points include Led Zep, Thin Lizzy and all manner of 1970s guitar slinger bands, but there’s a careworn depth and sincerity to the Bullycats’ music which elevates it above mere pastiche. When playing it straight ahead heavy the band can tend to come off a little like the musical equivalent of the last, lumbering steps of a brontosaurus on the verge of extinction – not necessarily a bad thing rock fans, but maybe a little too old skool Zep/Skynyrd/Free for comfort. More melodic affairs, such as the rapidly attaining ‘classic’ status Mama Don’t Like War Films Anymore, showcase the band’s dexterity and neat way with a big chorus. Still histrionic and 70s sexy but with an assurance that indicates the Bullycats are more than a simple re-hashing of classic rock influences. In true rock n’ roll fashion the crowd is left punch-drunk, gagging for more. And with three shows left of the tour, they know where they can get it. Peace out.

Ryan O'Reilly Album Review

2006-02-06T20:59:00.000Z

Winchester boy O’Reilly is only 19 but my is he talented. Performer with his band ‘The Raindogs’, this CD displays his ear for writing a fine tune, and whilst most of it is just him and a guitar, it doesn’t sound as sparse as initially expected.

Most first self produced albums tend to be a little desperate in their output. Probably as a result of all those years of pent up musical frustration and then, when given the chance to get it all out onto record, the dross also pours out. And songs that sound great in the head don’t always translate well onto vinyl. However this isn’t the case with O’Reilly.

This album covers love (as ever), girls (not necessarily as the love interest), betrayal, and the usual subjects close to a nineteen year olds heart. Some of which are not necessarily as obvious as you may think; ‘In My Time of Dyin’ (as recorded by Joshua White, Dylan and Led Zep) anyone ?

‘Midnight train’, ‘Natalie’ and ‘Last Years Blues’ display O’Reilly’s ability to sing sad, mournful blues whilst sounding like he’s been doing it for the past 60 years. For a young man he’s surprisingly melancholic. I’m sure he’s much happier once you get to know him.

Half of the 13 tracks were recorded in Toronto and a couple written with Tyler Kyte (Canadian actor) which are as recorded. No overdubs, just live in the studio. And they work. ‘Tired of Waiting’ and ‘Nowhere to be Found’ again follow the trail of lost loves, whilst also showboating two guitarists who obviously enjoy their work.

‘I Know I’ll Have Nightmares’ (Live) is the stand out track. Along with ‘I Liked Her Smile The Best’ it sums up his whole ethos to what he’s trying to do. Simple sparse songs with a good melody, sung well and just a guitar to enhance the ambience. Excellent.

Shamefully O’Reilly is currently unsigned. This should be rectified immediately.

Pick up a copy of this CD at the website, or alternatively go and see him in the Winchester area, or before he gets even bigger in Dublin, and pick up a copy of the CD at the live shows.

Phil Edwards - Americana UK

CHURCHILL WOULD BE DANCING HIS ARSE OFF

2006-01-20T16:42:00.000Z

SixNationState are a confusing band; firstly in that there are only five of them, despite what the name may suggest; secondly, you will never see a band clad so well in suit and tie pour so much kinetic sweat on stage and thirdly because it is doubtful you will ever find such a wide range of musicians working so well together:

Shoe gazer Neil, bent at the waist, ravages the band’s offbeat rhythm with searing white noise and Santiago-esque riffs that sound as though they shouldn’t work, but somehow do. Frontman Gerry is the bull in the SixNationState china shop, charging through the wall of sound like the bastard child of James Skelly and Black Francis, an NME god waiting to happen. To his right, bassist John spins barefoot, mesmerized it seems by the hypnotic acid jazz/ska basslines that wrap themselves around Alexei’s explosive drumming. Finally, far right, Rich bobs along to both the maniacal noise surrounding him and to his own dub/ska rhythm.

The combination of the above can be likened to Hamburg era Beatles on ten times as much acid, the harmonious all singing all dancing early days of The Coral and the two minute, three chord attitude of The Strokes all played with the intensity and layering of At the Drive-in. Live shows are a chaotic mess of flailing bodies, four part harmonies, shout-a-long choruses, almost worryingly well rehearsed tableau's and the most infectious noise that will attack your faith in the music industry all year. Winston Churchill once said, ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’ If Winston was alive today, he would see himself in SixNationState, and then he’d dance his arse off.

by Jerome Cross.

Exclusive live video of "Do I Feel The Same":

Video by Ben Startup.
Edited by Rob Ball.

Tzudo - Back in the Studio

2006-01-14T01:10:00.000Z

Tzudo have just announced they are to release a new EP, a follow up to ‘Sexy Cows and Corporate Horses’, which they released under their previous name ‘The Hip Hop Farmers’. This EP will be produced by The Winchester Massive and Valley Studios and will be recorded in February at the newly renovated Valley Studios in Winnall.

The track listing has still yet to be decided, but indications are that live favourites ‘Fuck the Middleman’, ‘Beach Days’ and new song ‘Take a Bow’ will be recorded. As well as possible remixes of older recordings and variations of ‘Bass Riff’ which was originally recorded by Guitarist Tali Trow’s solo project ‘S.I.M.’.

MC Craig Lockwood said “This is a very exciting time for us, we have become stronger as a band in the last few months, and things are really looking up, the new tunes are the best we’ve written as a collective and getting into the studio to record this new stuff is like starting a whole new chapter in the life of The Farmers”.

There is however sad news from the Tzudo camp. Bassist Jerome Cross is leaving the band, and will play his last show on Febuary 10th @ Live and Loud. A replacement is already waiting to take over, Andy Reaney, formally of Black Neilson, will join the band after Jerome’s swan song. Andy’s first gig with Tzudo will be on the 22nd February @ The Railway, on a double headlining night with Soupcon.

The as yet untitled EP will be available as of the 29th March, when they will be holding a launch party @ The Railway Inn, support comes from G.R.O.O.V.E. and Tzudo’s own LCD (Chris Moore).

Valley FM Podcast - Live Special

2006-01-13T23:14:00.000Z

New Valley FM Podcast

Check out The Winchester Massive Website for the new Valley FM Podcast.

This month is a live special from The Winchester Massive / Valley Studios Xmas party @ The Railway Inn, 29th December 2005. Featuring exclusive live tracks from Six Nation State, Juggla Heroes, Ryan O'Reilly & The Raindogs and No Skidoo.

http://www.winchestermassive.co.uk/valleyfm_page.htm

or use the following feed to subscribe in ITunes:

Hampshire Chronicle Review

2006-01-13T21:12:00.000Z

Getting in a state about the nation

There was a generous helping of quality music at The Railway Inn for a post-Christmas party. The event was organised by the Winchester Massive website, which lists information about gigs and music news in the city. The Valley Studios in Winnall also supported the concert on the snowy evening of Thursday, December 29.

Six Nation State were the headline act, and provided an enjoyable evening’s entertainment. Fast-paced and full of life, most of the group were simply a blur of guitars, hair, and ill-fitting suits. Certainly if Brit Awards were given out for on-stage energy, Six Nation State would be leading contenders. Their distinctive brand of music combines elements of ska and rock to create a unique sound that even has a vague Tex-Mex flavour. On the flip side, some may find Six Nation State a little too quirky, but the audience of around 100 clearly enjoyed their set. Indeed, many people were singing along with the catchy lyrics and melodies, which added to the fun nature of the gig.

Support on the night was provided by Ryan O’Reilly, from Chandler’s Ford, with backing group, The Raindogs. His songs are traditional although certainly not pedestrian, with some highly refined lyrics and melodies. He also exhibited a great deal of musical skill, regularly switching between guitars and alternating between singing and playing the harmonica. Critics might argue that his sound and appearance are somewhat dated, but in his defence, there should always be room for retro when it is performed well.

- Warwick Payne

direct link

Ryan O'Reilly Video

2006-01-05T17:48:00.000Z

Ryan O'Reilly - Last Years Blues
Video by Sean O'Reilly

The 'Massive' in the paper

2005-12-30T13:36:00.000Z

The Hampshire Chronicle - 29th Dec 2005

direct link

LOCAL TALENT PROMOTED ON NEW CD

2005-12-09T17:04:00.000Z

Valley Sessions II - The Tavern Sessions, is a new CD released by Ben Startup from Winchesters Valley Studio and Valley Recordings.

The CD highlights the depth of talent we have in this City. All the artists that appear on the album are regular performers at The Guildhall Taverns aptly named 'Tavern Sessions', an open mic night held there every Tuesday. The tracks are not live recordings as Ben did not want to release a 'live' acoustic album, instead he has put together a compilation of the artists Studio and home recordings. Ben said "I wanted to capture their tunes in a studio setting rather than just recording an open mic night, and the results are on this CD. Rather than an album exclusively full of acoustic guitar singer songwriters, The Tavern Sessions album also contains some tracks by the artists in their full band lineups as well as the traditional acoustic guitar format."

17 tracks by 11 artists, this promises to be the essential album for those who support the local music scene. It also features 'Cake', an exclusive track from local favorates Tzudo (The Hip Hop Farmers).

The tracklisting is as follows:

Coffee - Put a Name To It
Daniel Newbury - Sad Song
Tali Trow - Kaboom
Robert Franco - Talking you You
Kat Vary - Pushing Faith
Coffee - On My Wall
Soupcon - Take Your Time
Tzudo (The Hip Hop Farmers) - Cake
Daniel Newbury - The Temple
Robin James - On My Side
Djely Kouyate - O Dama
Flixie G - Footsteps
Robert Franco - Run With Me
Big-ish Shoe - Kids Don't Mind
Kat Vary - Pigface
Djely Kouyate - Wanommareya
Big-ish Shoe - Stop And Go

This CD can be purchased online for £8 from The Winchester Massive.

Review of El Loop @ The Railway 19/11/05

2005-11-30T21:41:00.000Z

Tali Trow’s El Loop is a solo project, which seemed slightly odd at first due to stage over spilling with equipment from all bands, but as soon as his songs began it was obvious that El Loop only needed one person. The artist had a lead and bass guitar, and a piece of technology allowing him to multi-track different instruments before proceeding to play along to the loop he had just made. As he began with the first song he recorded a funky short bass line, and a guitar part. He then began playing chords and singing.

The songs were woven together in such a way that you could tell that the songs were personal and written to a perfectionist quality. The guitar parts not only complimented each other in rhythm but also in key. One of the aspects which were particularly impressive was the way ascending and descending melodies were used at the same time. There is, of course, the chance that you could get carried away with looping one instrument then another and another and ending up with something sounding as clear as white noise, but Tali created the perfect balance in each song. By this time the Railway was filling out nicely not only by friends and associates of bands, but fans as each group have attracted attention especially from the Winchester area.

Tali’s style of music could be classified as acoustic, but would be wrong to do so as with the several intricate melodies and harmonies created it is the most enjoyable type of acoustic music you will ever hear. The first impressions of the songs you might hear would probably leave you fairly moved but if you take the time to listen to the lyrics you can find wit humour and structured lyrics, which flowed and matched the preciseness of the music he creates. Despite Tali presenting the opening act with some delicate songs he managed to create that stunned silence in The Railway, that is rarely achieved, this is due to his outstanding skills on all instruments, especially vocals. The sincerity of his songs vary from one to the next, one of his numbers gave it away at the title (“this is a song about getting wankered too often”), and others leave you to listen and work it out yourself. The opening act of the night was well concluded with Tali improvising a song in a style, which the audience chose (reggae), and based it around a word the audience chose (love). He managed to fit in a few concise lines before singing ‘My name's Tali and good night’.

by Kayla Painter.

December 2005

2005-11-30T16:39:00.000Z

December promises to be an exciting month for The Winchester Massive.

On Thursday 8th December, Ryan O'Reilly returns to Winchester to play an acoustic set and headline Acoustic Thursday @ The White Swan, support comes from Big-ish Show, Robin James and Lemonade Shade. Birthday celebrations are also in order for Fiona Coffin and Ben Stanbrough. Live music kicks off soon after 8.

Tzudo, the revamped Hip Hop Farmers, SoupÃ§on and Robert Franco will be playing a Winchester Massive showcase gig in London on Thursday 15th. The venue is The Goldsmiths, in Southwark. More information about this gig will be posted soon.

And finaly on Thursday 29th December, Valley Studios and The Winchester Massive join forces to bring you a Christmas party not to forget. The amazing Six Nation State headline, both Ben from Valley and myself cannot shut up about these guys, and I can guarantee they'll blow you away. Support comes from Ryan O'Reilly, playing with his band 'The Raindogs', No Skidoo take to the stage for the Massive again and promising Peter Symonds band Juggla Heroes open up the evening. Tickets are Â£4.50 and will be available on the door.

Launch Night

2005-10-27T07:06:00.000+01:00

A big thank you to everyone that came to the Launch party last Tuesday. I think you'll all agree that it was a huge success. Also a huge big up to all the bands who took part, they were fantastic.

Adam Buckles started the evening with a chilled out acoustic performance that was very well received by everyone there, and had a feeling of Roots night with everyone sat on the floor enjoying the music.

Next up were Big-ish Shoe, who almost weren't able to play, as Jamez had broken his wrist two days previously. However, they did play and Jamez played through with a broken wrist. The set was highly charged, and had the back bar packed. A fantastic reception for a fantastic performance.

No Skidoo, delivered their style of punk/pop/emo to The Railway with real style. A very tight set, that would have put most similar bands to shame. A breath of fresh air for the genre, and I have to say was blown away by them.

The Hip Hop Farmers, what can you say? Bloody fantastic is one way to describe them. This has got to go down as one of the best gigs they have played. A rare treat to see them as a full band, Chris and Craig were on fine form, Tali shone on the guitar, Jerome as usual tight and booming on the bass, Simon (pictured) belting out some amazing Sax solos and tinkering the ivory, Jimi-Ray more than impressed with his human beat box performance and James Moore (Jay et Al), a last moment stand in for Jamez Penson on drums more than proved his talent. A perfect end to a perfect night.

More photo's coming soon.

New Valley FM Podcast

2005-10-04T23:23:00.000+01:00

Ben Valley presents his pick of the bunch to have come out of Valley Studios this month, including Permanent Thought Collective, The Usual, Coffee, Juggler Heroes, Sonic Vandals, Six Nation State and The Lost Review. Contact Ben for excellent recording/rehearsal deals 07770 472 337

copy the following feed into your podcast software:
http://www.winchestermassive.co.uk/valleyfm/valleyfm.xml

if you don't have any podcast software, please download the following:

The Glitterati Live In Winchester

2005-09-21T19:42:00.000+01:00

With Support from The Bully Cats
Tuesday 4th October
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM THE RAILWAY ON:
01962 867795

The Glitterati swagger across stage with an insane bravado rock hasn’t seen for years. Lizzy, Aerosmith and Guns ‘N’Roses are all in there somewhere, but it’s the good-time charm of The Faces which most spikes their space-glam cocktail. The Glitterati have dirt under their fingernails and in their lyrics. Having met in the time-honoured fashion via school and shared gig experiences, the band (Paul vocals: Nick guitar: Jamie bass: John guitar: Billy drums) served an apprenticeship in various bands around Leeds. Inevitably they found their gaze being drawn to the smoke. Relocating to the wilds of South London and quickly attracting vast music biz interest, the band rapidly signed a publishing deal and played a host of riotous secret gigs under the name The Highly Davidson. No wonder. Songs like debut single ‘Do You Love Yourself?’ reference everyone from ‘Aladdin Sane’ era Bowie to Bolan and suggest that, in a post-Darkness universe, The Glitterati have all the credentials for a rapid rise through the ranks. They’re already at the point where people write breathless mini-biogs about them. Clearly, their sleazy, gloriously rock’n’roll trail starts here.

www.theglitterati.com
Plus guests. EASY KILL
www.easykill.co.uk
and Winchester's THE BULLY CATS
www.thebullycats.com
Doors open 20:00/16+ The Railway 3 St Pauls Hill Winchester SO22 5AE 01962 867795

Dlugokecki on the Radio

2005-09-18T10:29:00.000+01:00

7pm tonight on BBC Southern Counties Radio and BBC Solent Dlugokecki will playing three brand new tracks from the forthcoming debut album.
104-104.8fm & 95-95.3fm
or
96.1fm & 103.8fm

The radio stations cover the South of England (including Solent, Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Surrey and Kent)as well as world wide via on-line and digital services. The Show is South:Live which promotes Live music, Phil Jackson's show is really good so tune in and hear him play live and being interviewed also. Shall be Fun!!

Valley FM Podcast

2005-09-13T22:26:00.000+01:00

Subscribe to the Valley FM podcast, a regular show from Valley studios in Winchester, highlighting the talent in the area.

Copy the following feed into Itunes, or any other Podcast client:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/valleyfm

Check back for further shows and features.