JosieJo’s great Big Pair of Tips

The JoiseJo Show 3

Greetings  to you.  I’m glad you’re here. I’m JosieJo bringing you two tracks from two very different bands. Listen up indeed, because I’ll also give you links to extra content and both these bands offer interesting special products and free downloads if you know where to look.  It’s The JosieJo Show – let’s go.

Let me tell you about Nottingham, England.  It is the home town of the record label I’m Not From London which is a label that is an absolute goldmine of great music and we have played quite a bit of it on Round At Milligan’s over the last few years including Captain Dangerous and Practical Lovers.  By following the activity of the label on Twitter I found We Show Up On RadaR also from Nottingham.  We Show Up on RadaR, headed up by Andrew Wright is a pretty pared down sound; magical and sort of sparkly with slightly disturbing subject matter.  It’s a bit like feeling a black shadow move just out of vision on a bright sunny day.  Andrew even apologizes for one of his tracks, “Out For Fallow”, being “a bit of a misery”, however considering that this track is the B-side of a pink vinyl single, the warning is probably justified.  If pink isn’t your colour the 11 track LP is available on blue vinyl and has the curious title “Sadness Defeated” which, whilst being a hopeful phrase somehow always manages to sound unhappy.  I’ve never seen the band live, but, like Golden Fable who are featured on Show 2, they are due to play 2013’s Swn festival in Cardiff.  Listening to We Show Up on RadaR and encountering their videos I soon realised that it is the half sensed enchantment that is the source of the band’s power.  I personally have a secret obsession with puppets and their place in animation and our psyche and this band share that sense of wonder.  There is a spellbinding video for their track “Hands Up if You’re Lost” which is a charming tableau of the puppet band set in the forest; a dark forest that is slightly sinister.

The track “I’ll be the Ghost” that I’m going to play also has that macabre side.  It’s cute and twinkly, speaking of love, comfort and of taking care of the one he loves, jumping over fences and putting coasters under hot drinks and yet…and yet.. it is also voyeuristic and slightly controlling.  Not surprisingly, given its title, it’s a haunting track; fascinating and alarming like the wasp in its story.  Enjoy the baleful and the beautiful as you catch a glimpse from the corner of your understanding .

We Show Up On RadaR and “I’ll be the Ghost”

http://www.last.fm/music/We+Show+Up+On+RadaR

That was We Show Up On RadaR and “I’ll be the Ghost” and if you are interested in blue and pink vinyl, those amazing videos or even digital downloads head to www.wsuor.com and if you click the Last FM button on the homepage you can access 6 tracks for free download.

Now then, my next  band is Magic Brothers.  What you need to know about this North London band is that, well they are brothers and that they are Daniel Woodgate who is Woody, the drummer from Madness and his delightful, big souled and also very talented brother Nicky Woodgate.  Now Dave Milligan has been playing Magic Brothers tracks for a little bit now as well as Nicky’s solo projects on his show Round At Milligan’s.  You can dig around in archived version of that show by going to www.milligans.biz and click the link for listen to the show.  I just adore Nicky’s album Magic Carpets, but the Magic Brothers’s album The Magic line (do you see a thread here) came out this week and they are very proud of it.  I heard it first when  it was played on the jukebox in The Dublin Castle pub in Camden, North London as the boys signed autographs and chatted to fans.  The event had a lovely atmosphere to it and Woody and Nick were charming so given that my first listen of the whole album was whilst I was surrounded by Madness fans in fezs and pith helmets, it wasn’t a huge stretch to hear the soft ska influences of Madness.  Indeed Nick has written many tracks for Madness several of which appear on the last album, having said that you can also discern the sweetness of Nick’s solo sound.  It is seasoned with witty touches such as the thunderclap and rainstorm that opens the track “Sunshine”.  I’ve already got my signed CD, but if you go to the Magic brothers website www.magicbrothers.com you can buy the CD (pay a little more and you get it signed) and t-shirts.  You can even order one of only 25 limited edition Collector’s packs which include: a signed CD, digital download, a T-shirt, Woody’s signed drumsticks and Nick’s signed guitar pick, a copy of the album lyrics and a Thank You telephone call from Woody and Nick.

The songs are stories set around their childhood and their adult lives and include many references to north London and that Kentish Town/Camden area around the Magic Line of the title of the album.  The title track “The Magic Line” is the last, not the first track and this is the one I’ve chosen to play you.  Unusual for the album it has no lyrics as such and uses sound that feels like it was found as well as the symphony of the London underground its engines, sirens, voices and the rhythm of the train track laid under, over and through delicate drums, electronic sounds and a guitar that seems to push the air through the tunnel like the train does.  It’s not the most typical track on the album, but with its orchestration and swimmingly floating movement it takes you on its own lilting journey.  This is Magic Brothers and “The Magic Line”

www.magicbrothers.com

That was magic brothers and “The Magic Line” and you can get free downloads of tracks that didn’t quite fit on the album by going to their Facebook page and click free music.

For bonus content from me including photos of that day in The Dublin Castle, videos I’ve filmed and links to other great bands go visit and like my Facebook page under josiejoshow.  For news, events gigs and releases follow me on twitter @josiejoshow and for my blogs including reviews of full albums follow me on Blogger or Tumblr and links to all that and band s I’ve featured on the show can be found on my website www.josiejoshow.com  Follow me on Mixcloud and you’ll never miss a show. Tell your friends and between us we can get the good stuff heard.  It’s been a blast to have your company.  Thank You for Listening.

Against The Grain - "Out of the Rain"

JosieJo's Great Big Pair of Tips

JosieJo's Great Big Pair of Tips

The JosieJo Show 3

Greetings to the third JosieJo Show. Each show I bring you two great tracks from two different bands or musicians that you may, or may not have come across before. I can't promise that you'll like everything I play, but you may just find your new favourite band. The JosieJo Show – let's give it a go.

My first track is by the stunning duo Golden Fable. They are Tim McIver and Rebecca Palin. I heard their beautiful choral backgrounds, folk textures and electronic creations at the End Of The Road Festival 2013 and they recently supported Charlotte Church on her recent British tour. They have also played The Union Chapel in London, a venue which used to be a church and, I image, lends itself beautifully to the range and echo of this band. True to their Welsh roots they are due to play the SWN festival in Cardiff (swn is the welsh word for sound. It should have a little roof over the “w”, but I can't find it on the keyboard. Everyday's a school day on the JosieJo Show). Their delicate sound has been captured in a recording studio in North Wales on their debut album “Star Map” by David Wrench. They really are a delightful band. Hauntingly captivating live and just jolly, jolly nice. Plus, because they come from North Wales I have a huge soft spot for them.

You can buy the album via their webpage www.goldenfable.com and if you buy the deluxe CD you are not only buying a low carbon product, you are also getting detailed drawings that have a folk/fable sense about them. You get a poster that is hand stitched, an origami case printed with vegetable based inks, a twelve page booklet and the CD is signed and numbered. These a rea limited edition though so don't hang around.

They are, at the moment, working on a new album, but this track, “Always Golden” is from that first album “Star Map” and it has a beautiful video on You Tube which showcases Rebecca's incredible eyelashes and stunning ear-pieces as well as the pulsating off-beats and layers of sound. It flows in and out of monochrome to colour a little like the music itself. This track reminds me of a life enhancing rainstorm and it ends with big chords of sound like raindrops on soft eyelashes. Enrich your life with Golden Fable and “Always Golden”.

www.goldenfable.com

Now ICHI. An artist from Japan who plays with sound in a way you can't even imagine, even if you have seen him live. I've been lucky enough to catch him live twice now, both times at festivals and he is always unexpected and always endearing. He communicates articulately through his music and quite frankly charms the bees from the flowers. One of the genuinely nicest things about seeing Ichi live is the way that children respond to his music. They really get engaged with his performance watching and listening closely as he moves from instrument to instrument. You really have to see what he does as well as hear it, which is why I'm going to point you to a YouTube video, but you can see more of his work by going to his website www.ichimemos.blogspot.com or follow him on twitter @ICHIcreator...and he really is a creator. I'll try to describe some of the ways he creates music, but frankly I probably won't even get close. He blows up a balloon through a megaphone, bounces a ping-pong ball on a bat and launches it into the audience, he uses his wedding ring as a percussion instrument on the steel muffler of a trumpet, he brushes his teeth to produce a tune, he has a harp that is also a wind instrument, a bass that also doubles up as stilts and he puts water in a steel drum and rolls a ball around under a microphone to create a very weird sound. He also concludes his shows with a wonderful finale involving his hat, but that's all I'm going to say.

This track is called “Wakka” (Ring) and is about the letter “P” on the Japanese alphabet. You don't have to be fluent in Japanese to enjoy the pure, playful pleasure of the alliteration of this track (do you see what I did there?) When I saw it live, his wife, the wonderful Rachel Dadd joined him on stage and harmonised with “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper” whilst they played a clapping game. There's no point on talking any more about this track you have to hear it and see it. Watch it right to the end to see the lengths he goes to for his music. Ichi and “Wakka”(Ring)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hScNvLU2rlM

For extra content including a doodle I did of Ichi and Rachel as well as photos and videos check out my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JosieJoShow

For news, events, gigs and releases follow me on twitter @josiejoshow

Easy links to all this and links to the bands can be found on my website www.josiejoshow.com

Cheers and thanks for reading.

The Penguin Party
"Mid Life Chris"

The JosieJo Show Number 1

                                            http://www.mixcloud.com/joanne-salisbury/

The JosieJo Show 1

 JosieJo’s Great Big Pair of Tips

   Greetings. This is The JosieJo Show and I’m JosieJo here to bring you two great tips every show a track each from two different artists/bands/musicians. I’ve been going to gigs, digging around on the internet and generally making a nuisance of myself to find the good stuff out there. You probably won’t like all that I play, but hopefully you’ll discover your new favourite band right here. It’s the JosieJo Show – let’s give it a go. 

    First up I simply have to play you The Penguin Party. They are the reason I started this show. If you want to hear the story of that then go to my website www.josiejo.com, but let me tell you about The Penguin Party. Formed by Dave Milligan it’s a rocky five piece from Essex, England and they’re pure power pop. The songs are stories; stories of local characters and the landscape and scrapes they encounter in everyday life. From commuting into London to the challenges of being a transvestite roofer, single parent. It may not be life exactly as you know it, but it is life nonetheless. Headed up Dave Milligan and co-produced by Gareth David hall on bass, this band is tight. You also get Jan Black and the most amazing hair you’ll ever see on a keyboard player, Johnny Holburn kicking in large in a nifty hat on drums and Dave’s Uber talented and effortlessly cool son, Jake Milligan, on guitar. Live at The Railway Hotel recently (21st September 2013) they played two enthusiastic sets that were…well just really, really good fun. 

    The track I’ve chosen is “Mike-Leigh-On-Sea” is from their second album “Sex Furniture Warehouse and Other Stories” which comes packaged in a book packed with lyrics and photos (there’s even a picture of my tattoo for those of you with a curious disposition). The album is full of the tales that I talked of earlier, but this track is a real anthem of the area; that Canvey Island, Essex delta that the likes of Dr. Feelgood introduced us to. This is a song about getting drunk (many of them on the album are and if you want to read my full review go to my Tumblr or Blogger sites under JosieJo Show). It catalogues that roller coaster journey you take as you are lifted up to hero status and come crashing back down into the day after. It’s got a hooky tune and chorus with pace changes that keep you disoriented and subtle word play over clever rifts. Enjoy a night out with The Penguin Party and “Mike-Leigh-On-Sea”

 It’s the second track on the album which you can stream for free 

http://penguinparty.bandcamp.com/album/sex-furniture-warehouse-and-other-stories 

    That was The Penguin Party and “Mike-Leigh-On-Sea” and you can see photos, videos and buy CDs and merchandise via their webpage www.thepenguinparty.co.uk 

     So from powerpop, to punk. Get used to this, I’m not known for my specialist genres. The JosieJo Show is trans-genre. Standby for The Charly Syndrome from Burnley, U.K. A bleak yet starkly beautiful town in northern England, Burnley has an impressive treasure chest of brilliant independent music. Stick with the show and I’ll introduce you to some of it. I came across The Charly Syndrome because I went to school with the drummer, Frankie Fontaine, or Barry from Burnley as we called him, (nicknames weren’t very inventive at my school). Frankie Fontaine is a much better name for him. Flamboyant and charismatic, Frankie creates what can only be described as BIG DRUMS. Some may say that they are not quite physically big enough due to the fact that he has a tendency to end up naked by the end of the gig. Although when I saw them play live in Nelson his wife made him keep his pants on (that’s underwear for our American readers) due to the fact that his daughter was in the audience. Naked drummers are just part of the show that this intensely physical band put on. Couple that entertainment with a sound that crawls into your soul through punk beats raw guitar, and the deep vocals of Brocky the singer who often migrates into the audience leaving you no-where to hide, you can’t ignore The Charly Syndrome. At full tilt they can fill the room and spill out of the door.

     This track “E.G.O” is pure, in-yer-face comment that you can’t turn away from. These guys aren’t dum. Their lyrics may seem a little bit cross, but they are a comment on our self -absorption and society’s struggle against the personal fable that people often use to relinquish responsibility. Having said that, don’t worry too much about the message because it’s the energy of this track that really counts. I find it just lets me be ok with not always liking other people the whole time and that, in itself, keeps me from punching them. So enjoy the social service that is The Charly Syndrome and “E.G.O” 

I can’t find this as a free stream so you’ll just have to listen to the audio version of JosieJo’s Great Big Pair of Tips by listening to show one of “The JosieJo Show”

 http://www.mixcloud.com/joanne-salisbury/

Against the Grain - Squeeze

Review "Sex Furniture Warehouse and Other Stories" - The Penguin Party

For all of you who bemoan the demise of cover notes and those fabulous pull out bits of Album sleeves that we used to pour over in our youth, welcome to "Sex furniture Warehouse and other Stories" by the essex based band The Penguin Party. The album comes packaged in its own book which includes the lyrics and photographs that provide a witty nod to the quirky-pop, quirky-clever, and sometimes quirkily-dark album within.
You won't find a band surprised that hearts get broken or that teenage boys like cars. What you will find is crafted power-pop sneakily wrapped round life stories from a bunch of guys who lived and, sort of, learnt. If you've got a middle-aged hangover again (and who hasn't) try "It's Not Big". If you've fallen in love with your wife all over again after bringing up kids together try "Song For My Old Lady" and if you've ever thought your Dad did a great job just being your dad or you are a transvestite roofer, then try "Roofer's Daughter"

This is just a great English band telling great stories that will catch in your head make you go "yeah I know what you mean"
This album probably won't change the world or even your life, but it'll probably make you laugh and make you feel just a bit better about not being a teenage boy with a broken heart who likes cars.

http://thepenguinparty.moonfruit.com/#/the-music/4568465999