Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #25
March 2010
1. Chris Selman – New Shoes
2. Dana Wylie – The Unruly Ones
3. Mathew Ord – Louis Collins
4. The Lees – Middle Class White Boy Indie Rock
bonus track
5. Nick Harper – Radio Silence
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This month’s Liverpool Acoustic Live takes place on Friday 26th March at the Vew Two Gallery on Mathew Street and features Chris Selman on the Liverpool leg of his album launch tour. Money’s Everything will be available to buy from iTunes by the end of the month and there should be limited run of hard copies available on the night.
Joining Chris Selman on the night will be Dana Wylie [Canada], Matthew Ord [London], and local lads The Lees.
As for the last Liverpool Acoustic Live event there are only 50 tickets available online for £3 in advance from wegottickets.com
There will be a limited number of £4 tickets available on the door for this intimate and friendly gig at one of the best acoustic venues in the city.
Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm
Chris Selman
myspace.com/chrisselman
twitter.com/Selmonster
facebook page
Soundclick
Chris Selman has been surrounded by music from an early age. The youngest son of guitarist parents Paul and Jill, he was born in Stirling in 1986. His family have moved all over the UK with his father’s work, eventually settling in Sheffield, although at 18 Chris moved to Liverpool to study music at university.
His aspiration to become a singer/songwriter has slowly become realised during his years in the city, being heavily involved in the local music scene as a member of various bands, as a promoter and, most recently, as a solo artist. He is heavily influenced by American acoustic and folk music, but is not afraid to admit an appreciation of more popular styles; this combination has allowed him to write some memorable tunes with meaningful words – a combination seen all too rarely in today’s music.
Chris’ debut release, the Graffiti Dreams EP, was released through Pip-Music in March 2009. His new album Money’s Everything is released March 2010 and is available to buy from iTunes.
Dana Wylie
www.danawylie.net
myspace.com/danawylieband
Dana Wylie is an extremely talented singer-songwriter from Canada. She has lived and toured in the UK, Taiwan, and Canada, and is back in the UK this month touring as a solo artist and also performing with London-based musician Matthew Ord.
Dana receives rave reviews and makes new fans and friends wherever she plays, and she’s sure to be a hit at the Liverpool Acoustic Live event.
“…while I was expecting good things, I wasn’t expecting anything quite so ridiculously good as this.” – Moles, Bath, UK
The Dana Wylie Band released their debut album Almost There in 2006, and their follow up album The Unruly Ones in 2008. Both are available to buy from iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.
Matthew Ord
myspace.com/mattheword
Matthew Ord is a London based singer and guitarist with a fresh take on the traditional music of the British Isles and North America. A dedicated musician with a deep passion for folk music from an early age, his repertoire reflects the length and breadth of these traditions, drawing together the Delta and Piedmont blues, Scots and English Ballads, jigs, reels, slow airs, nursery rhymes and protest songs, all skilfully performed with warmth and conviction.
After graduating from university in 2005, Matthew has pursued a career as a gigging musician, a journey which so far has taken him to Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Norway, the southern US and the far north west of Canada. Along the way he has shared the bill with legendary guitar players Albert Lee, Pierre Bensusan, Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson and respected folk performers such as Seth Lakeman, Tom McRae and Kathryn Williams. He has performed at many of the UK’s major festivals including Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festival and twice at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.
In 2008 Matthew was featured in Alex Walker’s documentary film We Dreamed America, an exploration of London’s Americana scene, for which he also provided part of the soundtrack.
Matthew has contributed to the following records.
Hey Negrita, “You Can Kick” (2008)
Dana Wylie Band, “The Unruly Ones” (2008)
Hey Negrita, “Burn the Whole Place Down” (2009)
Andy Sharrocks, “Dirt” (2009)
Scott Cook, “This One’s on the House” (2009)
Matthew’s latest solo recording, Early in the Spring, was completed in April of 2009. The album features a selection of traditional songs from Britain and America in fresh arrangements for voice and guitar and will be available on iTunes and for online purchase later this year.
The Lees
myspace.com/iwanttobealee
Lee and Lee, otherwise known as, The Lees, are a duo from Liverpool. Formed around July 2009, they’ve spent their time together playing loads of gigs…
“We play as many gigs as we can, anywhere; coz that’s what music’s all about, doing what you love.”
“Punk is whatever we made it to be.”
(c) Jennie Lewis Photography 2005
Nick Harper
harperspace.com
myspace.com/harperspace
Nick Harper has forged his own way ahead to become recognised as one of Britain’s finest acoustic singer/guitarists (despite being destined to be forever known as the son of the legendary folk/blues singer-songwriter Roy Harper). Having played the guitar from the age of 10 (he is completely self-taught) and surrounded by the likes of Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Dave Gilmour as he grew up, it was no surprise when Nick made his recording debut on his father’s Whatever Happened to Jugula? in 1985.
With 4 studio albums, a double live CD and 2 EPs (including Instrumental, a stunning display of his guitar talents) under his belt, Nick’s work is still as fresh and as vital as that of his first solo release in 1994. His 2006 album Treasure Island attests to his being quite rightly recognised as one of Britain’s finest acoustic singer/guitarists and to his ability to craft songs that take in, absorb and spit out political scorn, social history comment, the seven ages of man, pride in his country, and turn them into catchy, robust tunes that grab the ear and remain in the memory long after the last track has ended. But as with his highly personal 2004 “family album” Blood Songs, he still has time to sing about the most important things in his world – family, friends, love, life.
To call him a superlative singer/songwriter could put his highly lauded guitar talent in the shade, and to call him a guitarist’s guitarist might slight his distinctive, soulful voice and passionate songs. Not forgetting the wild ride that is one of his live shows – from personal introspection to biting political satire via a charmingly caustic wit that would make Groucho Marx proud. To see Nick Harper live (with a style that combines a multitude of musical influences from folk to rock, classical to flamenco) is an unforgettable experience. This is where his own material is frequently accompanied by segued offerings from Jeff Buckley, Blur, Led Zeppelin, Prodigy; a little Zappa here, a touch of Monty Python there – and even a few bars of Kylie at times – all are liable to be thrown into the mix of a two-hour set- that’s when he’s not walking across glass-littered bartops or never dropping so much as a single note as he re-strings his guitar, mid-song. This is all part and parcel of what an audience now comes to expect from this inveterate showman.
And you can see Nick performing live in Liverpool on Friday 12th March at The Masque venue on Seel Street. The gig starts at 7.30pm and tickets are only £10 from ticketweb.co.uk and you can also sign up for the facebook event here. This event is great value because in addition to Nick Harper you also get support from Thomas-Joseph & Murphy, and Dead Cities.
The song Radio Silence is taken from his 1995 release Blood Songs, and the track is available as a free download from here. All of Nick’s albums are available to buy from his website here, Amazon, and iTunes.
Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #25 – March 2010
If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible.
The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website. It is also available on the Internet courtesy of Art In Liverpool FM (Defnet Media), and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting – supported by Libsyn
The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.