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beerjacket

Last Updated: 11/17/2009

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Status: Single
State: Scotland
Country: UK
Signup Date: 1/9/2005

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Time is the enemy

You know when people aren't making it up about how busy they are. I barely have time to speak to my friends face to face let alone blog, so I'll make this brief.

I had an amazing time in session on Radio 1's BBC Introducing programme on Wednesday night. You can hear it here in full - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/vicgalloway/ - and the podcast features both live tracks too which is here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/scotintro/

I''m playing some Edinburgh shows next Saturday, 19th September - an instore at Avalanche at 5pm and a headline show that evening at the Wee Red Bar. The Wee Red Bar show will be my first headline show in the capital and if that doesn't make it speciaal enough, support comes from Emily Scott and Julia & the Doogans.

Bye for now - thanks for your support.

4:34 PM

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Sunday, August 09, 2009

Thanks
Current mood:

accomplished

Thank you so much if you came to the show at King Tut's last night.

Whether it was due to recent press in Rolling Stone, The Herald, The List, the Daily Record, the Scotsman... or radio play on Radio 1, BBC Scotland... or on podcasts like Glasgow PodcArt, Jim Gellatly's New Music, Song By Toad's Toadcast... coverage on blogs like The Pop Cop, I Guess I'm Floating, Aye Tunes or Song By Toad... or from years of opening for folks at King Tut's... the place was rammed.

Amazing support came from The Seventeenth Century and The Second Hand Marching Band - tremendous bands in their own right - and the whole night just sizzled from the word go, just such a special evening and I'll never forget it.

Thanks so much for being an amazing listening audience, even on a Saturday night in Glasgow!!! I had an incredible night playing for you people and I hope to see you again soon.

7:51 PM

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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Animosity - The List review
Current mood:

electric
Category: Music

Like an iron fist in a velvet glove, acoustic troubadour Peter Kelly has wrapped powerful lyrical sentiment inside a delicate musical framework for this stripped-back-to-basics album.

And what an album it is, with whispered vocals, plaintive harmonies and nimble fretwork that could give Bon Iver or Elvis Perkins a serious run for their money.

Armed with just a guitar and a tambourine, his introspective lyrics veer from pugnacious to frank self-deprecation, and singing of how ‘a sleeping king will lose his crown’ on ‘Evil Air’, it’s a record proving that its creator can stake his own worthy claim at joining acoustic royalty.

4/5

8:20 AM

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

The Scotsman

From The Scotsman, 26th June

Becoming a singer/songwriter, on the face of it, seems easy. Get a guitar, learn a few minor chords, let some feelings out.

However, once you have seen it done well, you realise how much talent is actually required. There is no hiding place when you do everything on your own, and there are few in Scotland right now who do it better than Peter Kelly.

Beerjacket, the name of Kelly’s homemade solo project, very nearly disappeared soon after it began. It started in 2004 “as a goodbye to music...a bitter farewell show”, after which he planned to stop for good. Thankfully, enough people liked the show to keep the project alive and, five years on, Beerjacket is still going.

Although he plays most of his live shows in Glasgow, Kelly says he can’t claim to be a Glasgow musician as he doesn’t spend much time there. Instead, “Beerjacket happens alone in a toy room in Lanarkshire,” he says.

His most recent album, Animosity, is a return to simplicity after Kelly felt previous work had become overcomplicated. The songs have the classic singer/songwriter appeal: simultaneously sad and uplifting. ‘Violent’ and ‘Drum’ perfectly sum up the honest tone of the album, whilst ‘The Gun’ is moralistic without any accompanying righteousness.

The album attains considerable diversity in its ten tracks too, especially on ‘Evil Air’, which adds colourful bluesy edges thanks to some neat slide guitar work.

The stripped-down, back to basics approach is certainly noticeable; Kelly describes his set-up as “one the most primitive you’re likely to find – acoustic guitar, vocal and foot-stomped tambourine”. The one-to-one feel of this minimal intervention policy gives his lyrics more immediacy.

There is also something hugely appealing about an artist who has decided to go it alone. As Kelly says, “I have opened for many of my heroes like Feist, The National, Kristin Hersh, Rilo Kiley and Arab Strap, released six albums and received airplay all over the world. And all this without a manager, PR, publisher, record label, agent or other band members to thank or blame.”

Kelly is also keen to praise those he has worked with: “I’ve been fortunate in playing with many of my influences. They have all inspired me”. The Second Hand Marching Band opened a show for him recently and also played along on a Beerjacket cover, which pleased Kelly to the extent that he forgot the words to his own song.

If comparisons are to be made, then the most obvious, in terms of style, seems to be Elliott Smith. But the tagline of ‘the new Elliott Smith’ has weighed heavily, usually unhelpfully, on many artists before. Kelly’s work stands alone perfectly well.

In a cluttered genre, Beerjacket has emerged as one of Scotland’s best singer/songwriters. Going it alone is a brave decision, but his work demands recognition. Wherever he goes next, it is sure to be well worth following.

By Stevie Kearney

3:57 PM

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

The State of Independence
Current mood:

validated
Category: Music

Firstly, I want to say I'm really grateful of all your messages about Animosity. It seems like a lot of folks are buying and liking the record.

It's a huge relief to me that my excitement about this album is receiving affirmation as it can be really frightening letting go of music. Up till then, it's secure and safe within your control - once it's out there, it's on its own!

As a totally independent musician, support from listeners is absolute. I do everything associated with Beerjacket alone. Fully by choice, these are some things I don't have: * Any other band members. * A manager. * A record label.

* A producer/ engineer. * A publisher.

* A radio plugger.

* A PR team.

* A distributor.

* An agent.

Despite working without all of these apparently necessary factors, Beerjacket has recently received valuable coverage in local and national newspapers, as well as national and international radio play.

Thankfully, I have been bolstered by the support of genuine enthusiastic individuals who imbue the music industry with integrity in the face of so much artifice. They are still out there!

So, thanks basically.

In supporting my output and that of other truly independent musicians, you put paid to the out-dated idea that you have to be obligated to external agencies to successfully operate within the music industry.

Now more than ever, independent musicicians are a threat to the bland mainstream and we can present true alternatives, not only musically, but ethically. In contrast with the sad commercial whitewashing of daytime radio, where it can be difficult to break down the door, the Internet is in some respects a level playing field. You can be heard anywhere at any time of the day. It is now, of course, perfectly possible as a Glasgow home-recording artist to find yourself on an iPod in Ohio snuggled up to the major-league players as a result of a hungry music fan's hunt for fresh meat.

Please download Animosity from iTunes, eMusic, LaLa or Amazon MP3 (priced only £4.99!) if you have not already, and if you have, spread the word.

The beautiful digipack CD edition is also available now from Avalanche Records in Glasgow - if you work in a record shop and would like to take copies, drop me a line on Myspace. More stores will be stocking the record in coming weeks.

Keep in touch, we're in this together!

9:37 PM

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Things

Hello. Some things have been happening. 1) The new album Animosity came out through iTunes, LaLa, Amazon MP3 and eMusic a couple of weeks ago on the 8th June.

So far the reaction to the record has been really great.

Reviews have been appearing here and there, more are on the way.

"This is like Elliott Smith never died. This is lo-fi pop music at its very, very best." Song, By Toad

2) The launch show was on Wednesday. Support came from French Wives, who were fantastic.

I don't usually do encores. It was nice to do an encore for you.

The beautiful digipacks of the album were available for the first time and these will be appearing in selected independent shops over the next few weeks.

3) I will working on a live video with a film company towards the end of next month.

4) I've recently been doing some interviews about the album, which you should keep an eye out for over the next few weeks.

Things.

Things are great.

11:08 AM

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Oran Mor and More
Category: Music

Howdy.

There are several things worth knowing about right now.

One is that the new Beerjacket album will be recorded towards the end of February and it will be available very soon after. I've been writing the songs before recording them this time which may seem like an obvious strategy but it's one I've not really made a habit of before...
The result is that I feel I've written some awesome songs which I'm excited to approach for the record. It's going to be very raw, like the demos which have been appearing on the Beerjacket Myspace, and will be recorded really quickly. I feel there's been way too much clutter on my previous records whereas live I've always played pretty much the most direct way possible. It's always seemed a bit of an oxymoron.

But that's all over with now: what you see (or hear, in fact) is what you're going to get...

Also, I'm incredibly excited to inform you that tickets for the following show are now available from Ticketweb and Tickets Scotland.

   Feb 5th, 2009 - Oran Mor
          Beerjacket
          w. support from
          Second Hand Marching Band
          £5

   You'll find links to the Last FM, Facebook and Myspace events pages at the bottom of this bulletin, as well as a direct link to buy yr tickets.

   You know you want to.

   Please check out the new demos for the record and leave yr comments.

   Yrs.
   Peter

   Ticketweb link

   Last FM

   Facebook

   Myspace