NEWS BLAST #7 contains details of a number of events coming up, and a few opportunities for musicians.
- BETTER FRED THAN DEAD – Grateful Fred’s Roots and Acoustic Night is back at the Freshfields Hotel on Thursday 12th May featuring Joanna Chapman-Smith all the way from Canada and winner of the Independent Music Award 2009 in the Best Song Category. Q Magazine gave her five stars and described a “slinky voiced with a hint of East European klezmer music”. Tickets are £6.50 from gratefulfred.co.uk
- JOIN THE CHESHIRE SET – No, we’re not talking Footballers’ Wives but the return to Liverpool of London’s finest, Jack Cheshire. Mellowtone will be hosting him on Saturday 14th May at the View Two Gallery along with support from Ian Dunn and Mark Byrne. And the night wouldn’t be complete without Beaten Tracks DJs Richie Vegas and Jonnie O’Hare. Tickets are £5/4 on the door and from skiddle.com
And as a treat to all you JC fans there are two free tracks to download here from the forthcoming second album Copenhagen.
- GO THE EXTRA SMILE – Following on from the overwhelming success of Japan Fun Day on 2nd May, CUC Liverpool and Liverpool For Japan are running Smiles for Japan in response to the earthquake and tsunami disasters which hit Japan on 11th March. It all takes place at Novas CUC on Saturday 14th May with daytime activities between 12pm and 5pm, and evening music and performances from 5pm to 11pm. There are acoustic music sets between 5pm and 7pm, plus art, music, photography, films, calligraphy, badge making, J-Pop, and the 1000 Origami Crane Challenge! Full details from liverpool-live.info
- SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY – The good folks at The Zanzibar have restarted The Rain Project which is a series of Saturday afternoon gigs for bands between the ages of 13-19 that would like to play at a professional venue. These gigs are all free entry so if you meet the age criteria and want to take part, your mates will not have any excuses for not supporting you. If you’re interested, contact Tony on his facebook profile here.
- CROSSTOWN FOR VIDEO OFFER – Crosstown Studios have an interesting offer at the moment. If you’re in a band you can get an 8 hour recording session at their studio, plus a full HD promo video, all from only £150. They shoot the video as you record your song, then they edit it together with the fully mixed track and present you with a super duper promo video to go online. Details from crosstownstudios.co.uk
- SKELETON KEYS REQUIRED – Local folky-poppy-rock band Jessicas Ghost are looking for a new keyboard player with live and studio experience. “Must not take themselves too seriously, and must be talented!” The group already has a second album underway, and a festival booking on 20th May. If you’re interested you can find out more about the group and how to contact them at their website jessicasghost.co.uk
- 42 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE – You may well have heard of the acoustic nights that have been held at the Clove Hitch on Hope Street in aid of the National Autistic Society (a fabulous £370 was raised at the last one!). Well, it seems the organisers have been thinking big for the next one and want to attempt a 42 hour non-stop acoustic gig, starting at 7.00am on Friday 1st July and going all the way through to 1.00am on Sunday 3rd July. Obviously they’re going to need a lot of support, a lot of ProPlus and Redbull, and a whole lot of acoustic musicians. If you’re interested in helping out or taking part contact Jill Hampson via email here.