Evening Express
Foyerlive
Café Drummonds, Aberdeen
12 July 2002
Foyerlive have a knack of hosting diverse, interesting line-ups of local talent and this show was no exception. Who could forget the astonishing last performance of Tar at Caesar’s Palace 18 months ago? Those of you who were there will know exactly where I’m coming from on this one.
Zoidberg kick things off to a worryingly empty Drummonds. Driveblind are playing down the road and the weekends T in the Park festival hasn’t helped. Zoidberg are an odd institution, two small men armed with guitars and a sequencer. They goof around between songs clearly not caring about playing to such a small crowd. When they do play they’re actually very good, although the guitars could have sounded a bit meatier. A pleasing mix of sci fi imagery and old-fashioned punk values, applaud them for their uniqueness and a knack of not following or caring about current trends. They do need to tighten their act up though (although we’ll let them off as Matt lives in Birmingham so rehearsal time is limited).
Thankfully the venue starts filling up a bit more by the time Chronium take the stage. These boys rock; they play Iron Maiden, Pantera and Sex Pistols covers. They’re the kind of band you expect to be shit but were far from it. The sound was good, the songs well played and the crowd lapped them up.
Capital Blues are probably the best live band in the North East of Scotland. Considering they are all aged 17, they play their mean'n'moody blues covers like a bunch of old blokes who’ve been doing this for decades. Tonight they are simply astonishing, people dance like deranged lunatics, whooping and hollering at every lick, turn and manoeuvre. Highlight of a faultless set was an extended jam version of classic rocker ‘Johnny Be Goode’; everyone lapping each twist and turn. The crowd cheered more, they got an encore and Capital Blues could have played all night. Capital Blues could well have a future entertaining such crowds; they are a revelation in this age of skate punk and nu metal wannabies. A refreshing change from the norm.
© Del Franklin 2002
Evening Express
27th January 2003
EVENT AIMS TO GIVE YOUNG BANDS CHANCE TO GO LIVE
A Showcase event for young talent from all over the UK takes place in Aberdeen this weekend.
On Friday and Saturday budding local stars will be joined by artists from the Northern Isles to England in the Foyerlive Weekender. Two of the Scottish bands are made up of pupils from the city's Robert Gordon's College. Run in association with the Shetland Arts Trust, the event kicks off with an open session on Friday at One-Up Records in Belmont Street, from 4pm until 6pm.
That is followed by a gig at 8pm at Cafe Drummonds, open to over 14-year-olds. Five bands will perform until 1am. Headlining are The Madisuns from Kent - touring the UK to promote their album. On Saturday an acoustic show will be held from 6pm until 9pm at Kilau coffee Company, Little Belmont Street. It is open to all ages and free of charge.
Jonathan McKenna, a fifth-year pupil at Kincorth Academy, is co-chairman of the Foyer Music Support Group for youngsters who use the recording and rehearsal facilities at Aberdeen Foyer. He said: "Our idea for the Weekender came about after the success of Foyerlive gigs. There's a lot happening in the Aberdeen music scene but it isn't easy for bands to get a gig. Some bands don't know enough about what goes on behind the scenes to feel confident about putting on a performance"
Evening Express
Foyerlive
Café Drummonds, Aberdeen
2001
‘Foyerlive’ is a project run by Foyer Music at Aberdeen Foyer in Marywell Street and every month showcases three up and coming bands at Café Drummonds. The Music Room is run by Dave Stewart who says, “The remit of the project is to provide young musician's with a safe, secure and accessible platform to perform live. The foyer also run workshops aimed at educating anyone who wants to start a career within the music industry There's quite a lot of interest from the music industry in the foyerlive project which is seen a great showcase and base for local talent.” This month's gig on Friday night features Contra, Purple Munkie and Flight 19.
Contra play their first gig since bassist Jim left to join fellow rockers We Become Less. His replacement is Scott Bowden who continues his duties with Oddity as well. Contra have been creating quite a buzz in Aberdeen since they formed a couple of years ago. They describe their music as "fast paced punk/rock fusion"
Purple Munkie (Now known as Fickle Public) hail from Elgin and have already released singles through Alphabetty Records in London. They have already performed live on Radio 1 and in session on Radio Scotland as well as playing the prestigious ‘In The City’ event held in Manchester every year. Their energy fuelled punk/pop has been picking up interest from the industry.
Flight 19 left Dyce Academy recently and recently played in Inverness and Thurso as part of a goNORTH project. There has been a lot of interest in the band from major labels in the south. One to watch! Formerly known as Eminence, the band have supported the likes of Wilt, Astrid and Regular Fries.
The show kicks off at 9pm, is completely free to get in and open to anyone over 14.
Bands interested in playing should check out the Foyerlive web site, which is also packed with good advice and information for anyone thinking of a career in music. Dave also adds, “The Foyer works with musician's under 25 so both the crowd and the bands tend to be pretty young, this show will be no exception. The parent organization is a charity offering supported accommodation to disadvantaged young people in the area. It's also involved in the goNORTH music festival which runs in the city every May.”foyerlive will be running a series of free workshops through the winter about careers in music. They kick off at Aberdeen Foyer on Saturday 26th November with one based on recording. Legendary record producer John Woods will be there on the day. He is best known for recording the first two Pink Floyd singles as well as working with Squeeze, Jethro Tull and Nick Drake. Several more similar events are planned with many more personalities to advise anyone on the pros and cons of a life in the music industry.
By Del Franklin.
Evening Express
Foyerlive
Café Drummonds, Aberdeen
13 February 2003
It’s that time of the month already when the latest in the successful series of ‘Foyer Live’ showcase gigs takes place at Café Drummonds tomorrow night, February 14th.
This one should be the most exciting yet as Aberdeen welcomes two bands from Shetland, Death By Monkeys and Lambados who will play alongside two local acts, Dos Dedos and Roadhouse.
The exchange trip has been organised between Foyerlive and The Shetland Arts Trust. This event is the first leg of the exchange and Aberdeen bands will make the trip to Shetland later on in the year. Dave Stewart, the organiser of Foyerlive explained, “This is the first part of a series of exchange trips that Foyerlive are setting up between other parts of the world. We are currently speaking to cities around Europe which whom we plan similar swaps over the next few years.”
Lambados are an indie rock band and Death By Monkeys are a teenage punk group who have generated a massive following in Shetland. It will be both bands first gig on the mainland.
As for the Aberdeen bands, this gig sees the welcome return of Roadhouse who have reformed over a year after they split up. Although still at school, the band have built up an impressive C.V. (including playing the unsigned stage at Gig On The Green in 2001 – their last gig to date!) and by reforming can only build on this.
Dos Dedos are no strangers to the local live scene and their own unique brand of quirky power indie rock makes a refreshing change from the formulaic approach many bands take. Dos Dedos shows are always worth catching as you never know quite what to expect!
Dave continues on the importance of this gig for the Shetland bands and the benefits of such exchange trips in the future, “We plan to make the youngsters from Shetland very welcome and give them a taste of life in Aberdeen by showing them around the city and taking them to other shows whilst they are here. We will also be visiting a recording studio in town with them and introducing them to some of the local bands. It's very important for young people in Aberdeen to experience cultures outwith Aberdeen. Even places as close as Shetland can be a fantastic eye-opener so we look forward to taking a group of local youngsters up there as soon as possible.”
Articles from a long time ago about Dave!
