First published in the Southern Daily Echo, Friday 25th July 2010

You know you’re getting old when you drop your biro beside a mosh pit… and try to pick it up.

And when the mosh is in full swing you have to watch your back, front and ball point pen in The Joiners!

The whirling revellers beside me were propelled by Southampton’s ‘Kids Can’t Fly’ one of six bands competing in Southampton Takedown.

Up for grabs was the chance to support Welsh band ‘The Blackout’ at the Takedown Festival in Salisbury on 24^th July.

As a judge I was delighted to see all entrants approaching the event at full steam and, whatever time you walked in, you would have thought it was the headliners on stage.

But for me ‘Kids Can’t Fly’ ticked all the essential boxes: attitude, songs and entertainment.

With 50% of the vote coming from the audience their win was confirmation that many there agreed.

They mix Ska-punk with an infectious attitude that causes the body to pogo with a smile on the face.

Surprisingly they’re formed around a brass section of Ryan (trombone) and Dave (saxophone) who told me: “We’re trying to be something original, adding a horn section to a pop-punk backing, rather than copying bands of the past.”

The brass also gives a touch of class (and proper metal) and completes a line-up whose infectious energy engages the audience while playing songs that lodge in the memory.

This band might claim to lack the ability of flight but they definitely walk the walk.

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./