Yup, a month later and we're STILL banging on about being the undoubted kings of the music pub quiz scene. Did we tell you about trouncing 30 (that's three-oh) other tables at ATP in May ? And thus winning a four berth chalet to the Dec fest (that's the one with Portishead), a case of beer and assorted ATP freebies. We didn't ? Surely, you're one of the last to know...
 The margin of victory isn't important I guess, but it was a whopping eight points. Them other playas got one hell of a beating.

 So...El Del, Johnnly, Stuey Baby and Boy Philm - the glory quartet of  popular music based knowledge - hereby challenge allcomers. Mobiles off, eyes down, 50's to Noughties...bring it on.

 You feel lucky, punk ?

 

Gone.

...of the VICTORY GARDEN RECORDS TALENT SCOUTING DEPARTMENT genius for picking up exciting, new DEBUT releases can be found by checking these links...*

 http://www.playlouder.com/review/+pigeon-english/
 http://makenoiseanddance.com/2007/605
http://drownedinsound.com/release/view/9715
and stunningly...
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1580147.ece

 Good, eh ? And I promise I haven't just focused on the gloss and left all the slaggings and slatings to one-side - nope, the love of ONE MORE GRAIN's "Pigeon English" has been seemingly universal. Did I mention that "Northern" was the Guardian blog site's "Song Of The Day" last Tuesday ? Ho, yes - VG goes all bleedin' highbrow !

Plus there have been numerous radio plays that we're faaar too modest to list here, but they include Tom Ravenscroft, Tom Robinson, Tom Anjerry (hmmm, you sure about that one ? Ed), Resonance FM including a live session on Glass Shrimp, and stuff.

  And lastly on the trumpet blowin' tip, it sold 25 copies through Amazon in March. That's the month before release !! The virgin VG territory of pre-sales  !!
Hey, it excites us...

 So there goes. The moral of this story ?

 "Trust us - it's quality goods..."

 Erika (A&E Dept)



 *Which obviously will not work, cos I think myspace has some sort of link blocking system in place so as you're eternally trapped in this seedy little virtual world of murdochian ipod advertising and arms-length-phonecam-shots-in-crowded-bars solipsism. Still, I guess it's all our x-factor fixated generation deserves, hmmm?

Wellp, a couple of weeks to go before One More Grains "Pigeon English" is officially released on VG, but things seem to be going well so far. A pretty good review can be found right here :

http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=4637

 there's been radio play on the Tom Robinsons 6Music show and Glass Shrimp on Resonance 104.4fm (on which they have a live session on the afternoon of Wed 4th April), Tom Ravenscroft's "Slash Music Podacast" (!?) PLUS - and this was particularly exciting in a kinda highbrow sort of way - "Northern" was featured as The Guardian blog site "Song Of The Day" on Tues 20th March !!!

 Gosh, this is all heady stuff.

 Can we suggest you go order from your local record emporium, poste haste ? Don't worry, none of us are liable to get rich out of this venture in the near future (we only pressed up 500 copies), it's an almost totally philanthropic gesture to the music loving public in general, which is nice of us.

 Cheers !

 Erika

Bloody typical.

 Not two weeks after Southall Riot decide to call a dignified end to their tenure as " London's resident lo-fi psychedelic rock institution" (@Karen E. Graves - the cheque is really in the post), then what happens ?

 Time Out ("London's Weekly Listing Bible") place The Riot at NUMBER 5 in their all time list of bands who've named themselves after places in London. That's number FIVE, as in Chanel...a mighty FOUR places above All Saints, a crafty one place above Merton Parkas, and a slightly lacklustre three behind East 17 (the list was topped by Kilburn And The High Roads, which is fair enough). It's all there - Page 23, lower left hand side, Issue 1895 December 13-20 2006, a very reasonable £2.50.*

 Where was this swell of media recognition when we needed it most huh ? All those years of hard graft and slog with not so much as an inclusion in the giglistings in the back, then 12 days after our WIDELY MOURNED demise, comes the much deserved but all too posthumous place in the limelight. Gah !

 Myself and Stuey baby (as I call him in private) are seriously considering a quick reformation and tour of Wales (where we disappointingly never got to strut our stuff live). All we need is that first reasonable offer to get the ball rolling...

 Philm

 *For any interested parties, or those too slow off the mark to have picked up their own copy of this now sought after and highly collectable issue, we've posted a scan of the list in our pics section.

We're going to release a cd EP by ONE MORE GRAIN very very soon. Playlouder had this to say about them a couple of months ago...

Saturday catches The Social Worker at the Betsy Trotwood witnessing One More Grain's second ever gig. They have a thing about playing the basements of pubs, this lot, after their debut in the derelict Milton Arms that so flabbergasted me a couple of weeks back. Suffice to say, tonight is even better - how often do we catch a band on the London circuit who are so tight, so quickly? For a start, the rhythm section are fantastic, working the electric upright bass and drums with such relish that 'Tropical Mother In Law' would get even Bernard Manning moving. The shimmering, Krautrock-tinged melodies are complemented with a defiant Englishness to Daniel Patrick Quinn's deadpan narrative lyricism, with talk of "Pina Coladas in Carlisle town centre," listing the market towns of the near-West Country: "Cheltenham, Hereford, Gloucester," or announcing 'Northern' with "this is the romantic song of the evening, dedicated to my beloved. She's called the A701, a beautiful road." I really can't get enough of One More Grain right now.

That's all. Rare excuse to crack that pun, cheers.

Well OK, Stu's photo is pretty obvious, and though most lovely is not exactly rare - but what about one of the elusive Philm, who shuns the evil of having his own dedicated myspac site ?

 Ooh, ooh Mr. Peevley ! Look hard, look close, and for a limited time only you may just catch a glimpse of the enigmatic mop head in one of our "friends" photos.

 Correctly guess which and who etc, email us, and we'll send you summat decent from the VG hall of merchandising...

 Cheers !

 Erika

The names of the bands have been left out to protect some good friends of mine from any possible recriminations*

Just got back from a three band gig -  the one I went along to see were playing in the middle (though the first band on were also excellent !!). Good friends, great band, and lined up on a week long support  tour with a very uber hip and trendy act, well know for their connections, label, hair-dos, trainers etc etc...
 Get to the gig and meet me mates, who inform me that the trendy headliners had just been dropped from their label. As a result, there wasn't going to be label funding for the tour. As a result the trendy headliners decided that they were only going to go ahead with the London and Brighton gigs - all the other were to be pulled (at a matter of days notice).

 My friends band were a bit arsed off. Though in the process of getting a name for themselves, they're still at the stage where they have to take time off work to tour, so that had already cost them. This wasn't so much an issue,  as they actually ENJOY touring. You know, like , playing live in front of people ? That sort of thing ? And they've been doing it off their own expense account for just over two years now - building up a crowd and a great live prescence, and generally enjoying themselves being a band and doing what "proper" bands are "meant" to do. And paying for it themselves.

 But for trendy headline band, this won't do. No. They want it to be paid for. They want a wage just for existing.. They would'nt dream of actually financing playing live themselves - never done it before, why start now. Yeah, OK, they're an "indie" band, but the fact of the matter is they've never done anything truly independent in their whole careers, save for a industry showcase gig in New Cross in 2003 (maybe). The music industry owes them a living, and fuck it - if they won't pay for them to play live then they just won't do it. Who gives a toss about the kids who've bought tickets in Southampton, Manchester, Oxford etc etc...

 This was made all  the worse by the cringeably idiotic statement by one of the band that they only owed the record company so much because the company had allowed them to stay in four star hotels and rack up a huge expense account. Like, why didn't they tell us to go sleep in Travel Lodges, man ?
 You total bloody idiots. You dunderskulls. Who on earth do you think should pay for your life of luxurious rock'n'roll hedonism in the long run, hmm ? Didn't anyone explain to you the correlation between "advance" and "expense account" before you signed the dotted line ? Didn't you think to ask ? Did you care ? Probably not - you just wanted a freebie life of pampered exclusivity, and be hanged with the cost. Money is as air, and then people cheer at the end...what a wonderful world this is.

 But when it comes to judgement day, and someone whips the carpet from under yr feet, then the true "rock and roll" artist in you shines through. You actually don't give a toss about music, do you. Or playing great music to enthusiastic kids, or trying to win over apathetic audiences with a great new song you wrote two days ago, or paying the petrol bill to travel 250 mile in a transit van to play a gig to 35 people, get paid £50, and make 4 new solid fans. You just give a toss about living a free loader lifestyle on the most half-arsed excuse for music that you can get away with.
 You no longer have a record contract - are you still a band ? Well, are you ??

 It's sickening, it really is, and I so hope the London gig they play on Tuesday is the last stage that overhyped, overpampered, precious bubble of talentless cack ever grace.

* for anyone interested in who I'm talking about, it won't take Sherlock bloody Holmes to find out. Email us and we'll tell you direct. Or check who isn't on Transgr*ssive anymore...