Posted on 11 December 2009. Tags: acoustic, demo cellar, showcase uk, soul cellar, Southampton, the real raj
A favourite pastime for some office workers is window gazing: peering through the glass, letting the mind wander to the weekend or beyond and of course studying any passers-by.
One such pedestrian piqued the interest of Southampton singer/songwriter ‘The Real Raj’.
He regularly saw a woman holding a bunch of flowers and then returning empty handed a while later.
Soon he realised she was visiting the local cemetery and this, he told me, inspired him to write the song ‘Sway’: “I put a back story to how it must have felt to be in love with someone for 40 or 50 years and to loose that person.”
I heard ‘Sway’ for the first time on Monday night in the Soul Cellar. In fact it was the last song of his set and it really touched the silent audience.
Any earlier we would have missed it as the noise from evening’s crowd was so loud that only someone with a very keen ear would have picked up the melody, let alone the words.
The Real Raj has about five hours of similar material as he pointed out: “all of my songs are about something. I write songs that touch me or someone I know.”
But there is no CD for sale, just a button badge to modestly hand out: “I feel as if I’m giving something back to people for taking a moment out of their time to say thank you for a song.”
www.myspace.com/therealraj
First published in the Daily Echo Friday 11th December 2009
Posted in Showcase UK
Posted on 23 October 2009. Tags: demo cellar, soul cellar, Southampton, unsigned bands, xan phillips
On Monday November 2nd ‘Demo Cellar’ is the new name for Monday nights at the Soul Cellar in Southampton. It might be a change of name but not of attitude as it remains one of the few places in the UK which only plays recordings made by unsigned artists.
Formerly know as ‘Showcase UK’ the night, hosted by Xan Phillips, has demonstrated a fantastic commitment to the south coast over the past five months. It has not only played artists demos and new releases but also given new acts the opportunity to perform in public without the pressure of bringing an audience.
Monday November 2nd sees the beginning of ‘Demo Cellar’s’ end-of-year season of performances by established and new artists from the South Coast.
NOV 2 JIM CHORLEY
NOV 9 NICK TANN
NOV 16 JAZICA (singer Frankie + guests)
NOV 23 CHICAGO 9 – blues band
NOV 30 THE WIDOWMAKER
DEC 7 THE REAL RAJ
DEC 14 THE VISITORS
DEC 21 XMAS PARTY with THE FAMILY
ABOUT SHOWCASE UK
However ‘Showcase UK’ has not gone away. It is now the backbone of projects initiated by Xan Phillips, the broadcaster and journalist whose passion for bringing the UK’s new talent to the public’s attention has propelled him the world of book publishing.
Wednesday, November 18 see the publication of ‘Holywood Star’ the autobiography of singer Eamon Nancarrow. A boy who grew up in Holywood, County Down dreaming of becoming a rock star and a man whose journey to fame and fortune brought him in contact with some of the most strangest of characters and amusing situations that have graced the lower levels of rock and roll. Eamon is a great singer and the reason his talent didn’t receive the wider acclaim it thorough deserved will be revealed quite quickly in the first five chapters. But in those pages you will begin to realise Eamon has a fantastic knack for observational humour and an uncanny ability to remember all the funny moments he has witnessed. This is a book to buy as will as give and is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk.
Holywood Star: The Life and Times of a Rock and Roll Misadventurer
Paperback: 356 pages
Publisher: Showcase UK; 1st edition (18 Nov 2009)
ISBN-10: 0956390005
ISBN-13: 978-0956390004
Price £9.99 or less
Posted in Showcase UK
