Monday 27 February 2017

INTERVIEW WITH PETE GARDINER




Introducing Pete Gardiner, a talented singer-songwriter from Ireland. We asked Pete a few questions about his music and life in general so you could get to know the man behind the music ahead of his album release next month.


Let's start with a bit about you, what is your first musical memory?

There's a few that blend together. I remember Meat Loaf's ''Bat Out Of Hell'' album on cassette tape one Christmas and listening to it with my dad Saturday morning when I got up. I was only about six or seven but even then I had a strong sense that this was a great album to start the weekend to.

My older cousin let me hear the Guns N Roses album ''Use Your Illusions' when I was around the same age. I was captivated by that one for a lot of years after.

I can remember my parents playing Bob Dylan's ''Mr Tambourine Man'' and I was fascinated by the contrast between his version and the version by The Byrds. I would come back to Dylan many years later when I was ready to understand him...I never came back to The Byrds though. 


How did you get into music as a career?

Well I never really thought of it as a career, and I still don't. Songwriting was just something I got a high from and when I was in school it gave the class-clown smart-ass inside me an outlet that didn't get me into trouble - now it's just second nature, part of my identity. If I showed up to a party with a guitar people might think I was ill. Even if it did start to really pay off financially, I think I would always be too close to it to think of it as a career. 


How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it - in three words?

Worth a listen.


Where has been your favourite place to play and why?

The best nights don;t always transpire where you'd expect them to. I've played to five thousand people before and there's a certain trill attached to that, but then some of my most memorable evenings have been entertaining non more than eight or nine people in somebody's kitchen. A good night just depends on so many things that are out of your hands that you don't really know when it's going to come together. 



What is your writing process like?

It usually begins with a rhyming couplet racing through my head at a very inappropriate time, like when I'm busy or just about to fall asleep. Just one or two lines that are worth pursuing. When that happens, they'll be noted, and I'll look at them again the next time I bet a chance to sit down with the guitar. If I'm lucky it'll spark off a song. There's a balance and a compromise that happens because you have to sit and work at part of the song but another part has to be given to you from somewhere. There's a key component to a song that you can't find just from showing up and trying, it just presents itself when it wants to and sometimes it just keeps you waiting around.

Monday 20 February 2017

New Music Monday: Singles Edition

This week I thought we'd do something different.

In recent weeks a few good singles have come to my attention from various bands around the UK who are in the middle of making new albums. As such, with no EP or album to review all we have are the singles so that's what we're going to talk about today. Welcome to New Music Monday - the singles edition.

First up we have 'Modern Times' by Pink Hotel.

Monday 13 February 2017

Dangerous Animals: 'Thick Thieves On The Bricktops EP'



Based in New York, Dangerous Animals are a four piece alternative rock band. Today we'll be talking about their recently released EP 'Thick Thieves On The Bricktops'.

Intriguing guitar phrases are combined with fragments of drums to open the EP on first track 'Confusion'. After you've gotten used to the quiet guitar, the track bursts open with the crash of drums and a roar of added guitars. Layered on top of this is the raw vocal of Mike Holler. In the band's words, this is a song about waking up not knowing where you are and trying to piece together what happened the night before. The chaotic melodic mix of guitar and drums on this track demonstrate this inner turmoil very well. 

Monday 6 February 2017

Chase Atlantic: 'Part One'

Image Source: Chase Atlantic Twitter @ChaseAtlantic

For those of you unfamiliar with the work of Chase Atlantic; Mitchel, Clinton and Christian are a three piece alternative, electronic edged band from Australia. It's been a year since their last EP and now they're back with 'Part One' - continuing the smooth beats and emotive vocal from before.

The three track piece kicks off with a distant clean guitar tone and echoed vocals on the track 'Right Here'. Typical pulsing drums are added with scratchy clicks to define that chilled beat Chase Atlantic do so well. An almost whispered verse towards the end of the track displays vocal talents and the Aussie accent to add even more of a mellowness to the track. This is intensified with a smooth saxophone solo that brings chills to your spine. The track fades into the next - 'Into It'.