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

Jazica love their synths, guitars, drums and best of all they love writing great pop songs. The people love Jazica too and have so far voted them into the final six of the “Road To V”.

If they win they will not only open the V Festival, in front of thousands of music lovers, but they will also be the second Southampton act in a row to win the competition. Last year ‘The Rebs‘ triumphed; will 2009 be Jazica’s year?

This podcast was recorded at The Joiners in Southampton before Jazica headlined a shortly arranged gig at the end of June. You’ll hear from all of the band: (above L2R) Chris on guitar and sythns, Kev on drums, Frankie on vocals and guitar & Nick on bass.

The conversation is interspersed with a smattering of music from their excellent mini-album ‘Illusions’ which veers from tracks that could grace TV commercials to songs that should fill the darkest of clubs.

They were great live. Slick and energetic. A real treat and hopefully the act that wins. If you haven’t voted yet place your ‘X’ here:

http://roadtov.com/artists/jazica/

http://www.myspace.com/jazicamusic

It’s the wrong time of the year for snowballs but Lee Marchant and Nick Illingsworth seem to have created a giant one which is rolling to St Mary’s stadium this weekend (23rd May).

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

‘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.

During the two years it was broadcasting across the south coast Xan played over 1000 songs from unsigned bands and is hoping to make this evening a place for musicians to not only play their latest recordings but also network with fellow artists.

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

Every Monday night from 7pm (opening night 11th May 2009)