COVERING three continents and involving more than 20 musicians, THE KINTNERS album, ‘Collaborations,’ has finally been released. The project has been a labour of love for Texan-based songwriters Kelly and Keri Kintner. It’s taken 13 months of their lives and a bucket full of ‘Lone Star State’ blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice, but my Lord,…
Read articleSTEVEN Patrick Morrissey was born in Manchester on May 22nd 1959. Singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Smiths (1982-1987), Morrissey has been a solo artist for twenty-six years, during which time he has had three Number 1 albums in England in three different decades. Achieving twelve Top 10 albums (plus nine with the Smiths), his songs…
Read articleI ALMOST passed on the invitation to choose a ‘Desert Island Album.’ There have been some monumental albums that have served me well at various points in my life and I didn’t want to diminish their importance by omitting them. After the initial anxiety faded, I found peace in the acceptance that life is about…
Read articleOUT NOW, from London’s finest exponent of musical vignettes, ‘POCKET LINT,’ the exquisite new compilation album, ‘A Grey Opaque.’ Mark Heffernan – the genius behind the name – integrates found sounds: for example, traffic noises, rain, and bells, into his guitar, piano and keyboard-based compositions with the results producing something quite blissfully out of this…
Read articleTHE most candid account of the Sex Pistols you will ever read, this updated edition marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s first recordings. Glen Matlock, original bassist for the Sex Pistols, was also one of the band’s founding members. Those were the days before punk, when the group (known as The Strand) was more…
Read articleI KNOW, given my position as an indie artist my ‘Desert Island’ pick should be an indie album. I would certainly rank any work by Fendehlene, Portobello Express, Rose Alaimo, January Fire, Postindustrial Poets or… well the list is just TOO long, as being the lone disc I would keep in my company when isolated on…
Read articleDONE well, there’s few who can resist the lure of the ‘New Americana’ sound, and right now there’s not many doing it any better than Texan, Rī Wolf. Having spent 14 years as a collegiate track and field coach – and almost a decade away from music – Rī Wolf has returned to his first…
Read article‘YOU CAN DRUM BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE.’ Simon Wolstencroft “AMONG the many near-mythical figures of the Manchester music scene, he’s known as the ‘Nearly Man.’ You’d expect a drummer to have better timing. Yes, he parted ways before ‘The Patrol’ became ‘The Stone Roses.’ Yes, he turned down ‘The Smiths.’ Yes, Noel Gallagher asked if he…
Read articleAS well as being a listed building, THE SPICE OF LIFE also has an esteemed musical heritage. In the 1960’s and 1970’s The Scots Hoose (as it was then called) was a popular venue for folk musicians where many of the greats including, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Bert Jansch, The Strawbs and Sandy…
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