James was born in Bristol, with roots deep in the West Country.He returned to music, while pursuing his career as a Geologist (my hub has just made reference to hard rock music ha ha).In his previous life, he performed regularly at The Troubadour Club in Clifton and the Stonehouse as well as clubs in London, Sheffield, Manchester, Oxford and Bridgwater.He also ran the Bristol University Folk booking acts such as Paul Simon, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior!Among many other talented musicians.
The James Gale Band also consists of Elliott Scott and Doug Hamiliton who also perform Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, Pink Floyd to name as their repertoire but a few.
James’ MySpace describes him as country, but I think the man should not be categorised: as he has also developed jazz; soft rock; blues; ballads; as well as English trad influences.
Everywhere I go
Familiar intro, but adorable lyrics.‘Either about a woman possessed or someone he miss.One can imagine an audience drawn into his world… as is shown by the popularity this track.
Three Moons
An emotional ballad moving towards his Leonard Cohen style of songwriting.The simple chords and guitar accompaniment lets the listener enjoy his story enfold.
The Word
As a woman, I’m drawn to this poetry either emotionally or physically.Again the music is simple but complements this simplicity.
Little Bear is screaming a Daddy Bear Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
JO AND THE FLOOD
Hey Jo E.P
Review
When the Cardigans meet The Sugarcubes (Bjork) you get ultra folk slamming tunes with some slow moving melodies that roll of your ears, that’s the feel from Jo and the flood’s new E.P Hey JO… The soft and suspicious voice of Jo takes you to place of real subtle imaginary tones, very relaxing and very good too; this E.P is a very well mixed and produced piece of work with some clever techniques that haven’t been used in recordings in a few years, Excellent stuff.
Josh is a 14 year old singer songwriter from the UK with his self produced demo tunes, this is one act to look out for in the future
All the things you said – This is nice little number gives a feel of a early Blur number nice up moving tune with some catchy lyrics Josh could still do a bit of work with his vocals on this track but sounds well.
Café song – there is not much going in this tune except for the melody it has a nice feel but still needs a bit of work both vocals and with the guitar, it has a nice folk feel with some good catchy lyrics.
Friend of a friend – This tune has a cool uplifting beat with some great catchy lyrics it is structured very well but loses its way a bit but great effort.
White van man – I like this tune it’s catchy and poetic at the same time a bit like a rhyme more than a tune, maybe lacks melodies in the music but sounds good.
Overall I have enjoyed Josh Timmins music after all he is only 14 and starting off with some great little catchy numbers as a wise man would say practice makes perfect, looking forward to here more of Josh in the coming years.
Live at Áras Chrónáin, Clondalkin, Dublin May 2nd 07
Jimi Cullen is a solo artist from Gorey,Wexford with a intense album called "When the last leaf falls" Jimi came on the stage and put a smile on the audiences faces with his funny remarks and humored suggestions, the first song Jimi done was "The poverty song" great structure in this tune with a real catchy chorus it went down really well and his vocals were excellent too, he then played "Small minded people living in small towns" a real laid back tune with a good commercial chorus he sounded a bit like Cat stevens with a groovy twist, Jimi played another song from his album called "Hangover blues" this is where Jimi expressed his humor and showed how good of a songwriter he is, he then played one of his more serious songs called "On the street" this was a great change to the set, to humor the crowd and then play a song from the heart and expressing his thoughts and views to the homeless very moving and a fantastic chorus, Jimi created a great vibe on stage and could relate to the audience very well with strong vocals and some great musical talent, overall it was a good show put on by Jimi on the night.
Jim Page, the experienced American folk singer, landed in Dolans of Limerick city for a night of storytelling and political ballads.
His music, highly critical of the milieu of corporate America, is an introspected kind of melody both occupied and aligned by his thinking. Channelling his thoughts through streams of conscious and decisively desolate guitar sounds, his longstanding ambition is admirable. This anguished critical sound can seem pained at times, both in his halting stop/start guitar technique and in the mirroring comfortable angry half-telling of his own great rages against the machine. However, Jim Page promises a relaxing evening where the viewer can sit back and be entertained with only the slightest disturbance of mood.
Supporting Clive Barnes at the Aras Chronain in Clondalkin, Junah played an acoustic version of their full band set. Vocalists and guitarist's Mick and Graham Smyth performed tracks from their E.P The Last Patrol, as well as newer songs due for release on their next E.P early 2008.
After a humorous start (where both matching guitar strings broke), Junah kicked off the supporting set with a sequence of their own songs stripped back for the acoustic duo. The songs were well written, and settled comfortably with their surroundings, both in introducing Clive Barnes, and in the venue of Aras Chronain. Many of the songs were lent to softer folk trends, while the vocals demanded the focus of an attentive audience. The duo harmonize together with absolute assurance, highly polished and with points of intense control. Perhaps even more alluring is the guitar technique, a blend of gentle and roaming sounds that perform some striking melodies a roomful of guitars may have struggled to meet. Junah finished their set leaving us anxious for a glimpse of the full band, and with the conclusion that the Junah sound is qualified, distinctive and set to impress the professional music scene.
