“Spotify’s U.S. launch is going to destroy digital album sales. The celestial jukebox makes downloading, legal or not, feel dumb.”

And maybe he has a point.

When compared to Spotify’s “almost any song at the touch of a button” approach downloading seems a very clunky way of collecting music.

However Spotify isn’t in the car, and not every internet connection is perfect, so for many the CD and mp3 player will remain a firm fixture.

Plus new bands won’t solely commit to a service that doesn’t yet deliver a great return when your songs are played.

So the best way for up-and-coming artists to make instant cash from song writing is CD sales at gigs and the past fortnight has seen a rash of EP releases.

It continues this Saturday with The Queue launching ‘Enquiring Time. ..’ at the Soul Cellar.

They’ll be supported by Cardiff’s ‘Brother Steve and a new Southampton act ‘Welcome Pariah!.

The Queue’s early recordings were heavily influenced by the all conquering sound of Oasis and although they are leaving some of that behind they found themselves taking another avenue into the lives of the Gallaghers.

In May they played the first in a series of acoustic shows in the Manchester branch of Liam’s ‘Pretty Green‘ clothing stores.

With more gigs to come we’ll no doubt see if clothes make the band.

First published in the Daily Echo 24th June 2011

It was a strong bill with Arp Attack, LST & The Mandem, The Mopes, New Broadcast Group and Oresteia vying to land a coveted spot at the Winchester festival. www.blissfields.co.uk

The popular winners were Southampton’s LST & the Mandem and maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Although LST told me later his plan was slightly different: “My mind set was to be there and smash it so that people would leave thing about me, not to win, but just to be the best.”

And when they won, he said: “It was strange, every second I had put into my music didn’t seem like a waste of time.”

The group have been working really hard, not only building a following, but with a music director, someone from outside of the unit who generates enough respect that his opinions and observations do not put any noses out of joint.

“His ear for detail is impeccable,” LST explained. “He believes in me 100%. That all I ask from the people that work with me.”

We’re all critics nowadays and seem to be encouraged to off-load our opinions about everything on any social network that we can click on.

But to deliver suggestions in a positive manner is a tough challenge: there again not as tough as being on the receiving end.

So you have to take your hats off to LST for being forward thinking enough to pursue such guidance and the festival prise will raise their profile another notch.

This Saturday it’s the O2 in Bournemouth for the final of Dorset Music Awards.

It’s another competition offering festival slots as a reward (Larmer Tree, En-Dorset in Dorset and Beach Break) but the overall prize is equally sort after: £1500 PR Campaign, recording time, CD pressing and a photo shoot.

It’s open to everyone, so maybe someone from the Southampton area will enter next year.

First published in the Southern Daily Echo 22nd April 2011

Its one of those remarkable occasions when a band connects with an audience many miles away.

The following evening the demonstration of affection is reversed at the Soul Cellar with 60 fans flying in from Europe to see Southampton’s Coast.

They are launching their next single ‘The beat of you’ which is a great ballad that would suit anybody looking out of a window, thinking of a loved one, on a frosty winter night.

Xan Phillips interviews Paul Eastham (centre) and Iain Bayne for Playdio

One of the co-writers is Iain Bayne, Runrig’s drummer and the manager of Coast and with so many people flying over Iain is confident about the band’s future: “I know Coast has got a longevity about it that will see the band grow, develop and evolve in a career that will last ten to twenty years.”

Coast’s excellent musicianship is one reason for his confidence and the second is front man Paul Eastham: “His songwriting abilities are second to none. I don’t think there’s been potential for a band like this for quite some time.”

Those skills are currently channelled into Coast’s second album “The Turning Stone” which is full of south coast themes and released in 2011.

So if you are seriously seeking an alternative to X-Factor this is your perfect reason to switch off the box and join us in town.

First published in the Southern Daily Echo Friday 10th December 2010

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 ]]> http://www.xan.co.uk/wordpress/2009/12/the-real-raj-through-the-window/feed/ 0 http://www.xan.co.uk/wordpress/2009/10/demo-cellar-in-the-soul-cellar/ http://www.xan.co.uk/wordpress/2009/10/demo-cellar-in-the-soul-cellar/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:55:03 +0000 admin http://www.xan.co.uk/wordpress/?p=711 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

One day you hear an idea; the next you almost have an album!

And it was 23^rd June that Julian Aplin from ‘Angry Badger Records‘ suggested we put together a compilation album.

Julian had become a regular at the Showcase UK nights in the Soul Cellar and decided to put on a few gigs at the venue  to showcase some of his own acts. He asked me to perform a DJ set between the bands following that sent an email with the immortal words: “How do you fancy a Showcase UK/Angry Badger compilation CD?”

There was no need for persuading as I had been thinking for the past two years we needed a follow-up to the previous South Coast collection “The Coming of The Railways” which introduced me to Birdpen and many others.

I would have loved Birdpen to have been on this collection but as they are now signed to a French label this excellent trio are beyond our reach. However we both know many great acts and could easily find 15 for a compilation which we’ve called ‘Showcase Sett’.

Where Julian and I agreed immediately was that it had to be quality through and through, at a very reasonable price.

Showcase Sett by Peter Jaques

So we enlisted the wonderful painter and graphic designer Peter Jaques to create the cover (left). For the design and layout of the inner sleeves Oliver Taylor was recommended by the Soul Cellar.

The music had to have a flow, and each song sound it’s best, so we visited Peter J Croissant at Grand Master Audio to master our first pick of the South Coast’s talent.

We’re expecting this to be the first of many. This area is rich in quality musicians and, as I have been saying in the Daily Echo, there is a ’scene’ on the South Coast and scene is quality song writing.

And here we are, almost a month later and we are sending the elements to be turned into ‘Showcase Sett – Propeller’, a limited edition album (400 commercial copies) which is already receiving pre-orders.

You can see the full track listing and place your order at Iconic Culture. It is released August 1^st 2009 priced £4.99 online and £5 in the flesh.

Order: Showcase Sett – Propeller

For me, last Friday has become ‘unsigned Friday’.

In the morning we held meetings about a compilation CD full of unsigned artists, the evening’s task was judging five unsigned bands in the ‘Southampton Takedown’ at the Talking Heads and between those events I was invited to present a radio show on a national DAB station that only plays unsigned music.

The winners of ‘Southampton Takedown’ were ‘Plastic Toys‘ and they’ll now be supporting ‘YouMeAtSix’ when they play The Salisbury Takedown on July 26^th.

‘Plastic Toys’ narrowly beat deep grunge rockers ‘Burn The Fleet‘ who win the unofficial runners-up prize of an acoustic set at ‘Showcase UK’ in the Soul Cellar on Monday 20^th.

Meanwhile the CD is a collaboration between ‘Showcase UK‘ and ‘Angry Badger Records‘ and titled “Showcase Sett“.

Julian Aplin’s label is fast becoming a feature in the South’s music scene and this album will give 16 acts from Southampton and Portsmouth a great boost.

We’re also using Southampton artists for the cover and sleeve design and with one glimpse you’ll understand why the first collection is called ‘Propeller‘.

It’s released on Saturday 1^st August with a four band show at the Soul Cellar featuring ‘Dlugokecki‘, ‘The Queue‘, ‘Moody Tuesday‘ & ‘Thinking For Tuesday‘.

And finally the radio station is ‘Amazing Radio‘ which I believe is going to shake up both the radio and music industries.

It’s a great thrill and honour to be asked to join them and I’ll only be playing music from the South coast.

First published in the Daily Echo, Friday 10th July www.dailyecho.co.uk/leisure/music/news/4486773./

Singing and Winning

These two are responsible for Saints Aid, a musical extravaganza which is raising money to help Southampton’s football team.

It started as a one day event but has now spread around the city, rapidly turning into a weekend of gigs and entertainment.

As Lee told me: “The idea started when David Reid from Olympian offered to play a gig to raise a few pounds for the club. Glynn Root from Fingermen also said his band would like to play. I spoke to to Nick Illingsworth about moving the event to St Mary’s and making it an all day affair. After this myself and Nick joked about being Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in red and white stripes, so Saints Aid was born!”

Headlining at St Mary’s on Saturday 23rd will be The Rebs and Dlugokecki. On Bank Holiday Monday The Artful Dodger will be back home at Oceana on the 25th May in a unique performance specially for Saints Aid.

On Friday 22nd Melodee Rockmore will be ending eight hours of music at the King Alfred in Northam Road. And on the same day a heavy rock night at Louisiana Nightclub, Leisure World.

Showcase UK is also taking part and tonight Monday 18th we’re having a preview night at the Soul Cellar, playing tracks by all of the artists taking part in Saints Aid, call it pre-match training if you like but we’ll be raising money for the team and building the anticipation for the weekend to come.

Musicians from around the city, and even beyond, are trying to save the Southampton FC, according to Lee: “It’s part of the feeling in the city of people wanting to do something to help the club but do not quite know what they can. As we have asked for local musicians, the bands have approached us in their droves. ”

“The response has been both overwhelming and quite inspiring. The support for Saints-aid has been fantastic and it has snowballed into something quite enormous, which is why we have had to use over venues and take it all over the city. It just goes to show how much the football club means to the city of Southampton.”

For more details and ticket information visit www.saints-aid.co.uk

Singing and Winning

A musical extravaganza is now taking place at the St Mary’s stadium on Saturday 23rd May.

Saints Aid starts at 2pm and continues right up to 11pm featuring a wide variety of musicians from X-factor hopefuls Afrodisiac, through rock and metal bands like Big Num and Raging Silence to co-headlining songwriters like Dlugokecki and The Rebs.

As a preview to the weekend’s entertainment Showcase UK will be hosting a
Saints Aid preview night at the Soul Cellar in Southampton on Monday 18th May starting at 7pm. The night will feature the bands below and more.

Full details about
Web site: Saints Aid can be found here:

Web site: Saints Aid

Saints Aid on Facebook

Showcase Uk on Facebook

Showcase UK at the Soul Cellar
78 W Marlands Rd
Southampton, SO14 7FW
023 8071 0648
www.soulcellar.com

The Saints Aid line up so far:

The Rebs
Dlugokecki
The Radics
Blackcouch
Jesserit
Big Num
Moral Soul
Tench
The Docks
Catalinas
Hours Till Autumn
The Skore
Coast
Raging Silence
Olympian
Fingermen
Prong horn
Blind Vision
Matt Britton
Rayguns Look Real Enough

‘Showcase UK’ at the Soul Cellar in Southampton is expected to become the place to hear the latest recordings from south coast musicians.

Every Monday night from 11th May Xan Phillips will be playing four hours of albums, singles or demos all from CD and all made by unsigned and independent acts.

If it is made in the south it is made for ‘Showcase UK’.

Many venues have gigs for local music but very few dedicate a whole evening to this kind of music. In fact it could be a UK first.

The evening is hosted by Xan Phillips who currently writes a new music column for the Southern Daily Echo and also presented the Original Showcase on Original 106fm until the station shut down.

A fine selection in house

The Soul Cellar serves food until 9pm and also has the best range of continental lagers (pictured) in Southampton. Another great reason to support this venue and the night itself.

Plus the Soul Cellar also has free Internet access so the audience can give instant reactions on Twitter or Facebook.

The ‘Showcase UK’ evening starts at 7 and finishes at 11pm, with free entry.

Xan is always looking for new music: from beats to folk, indie to jazz, metal to soul – they might be unsigned but they are not unloved. Contact Xan here

Updates and playlist will be available from the Showcase UK section of www.xan.co.uk

Showcase UK at the Soul Cellar
78 W Marlands Rd
Southampton, SO14 7FW
023 8071 0648
www.soulcellar.com

Showcase UK flyer