Matt Geary’s Blog

   Bohemian Jukebox has an uncanny habit of uncovering gems from around the globe and presenting them to the ears of discerning Brummies. In the midst of mid-week doldrums I ventured to the musical cauldron which is the Rainbow to witness one-time Moldy Peaches guitarist and legendary lo-fi anti-folk New Yorker Toby Goodshank.
  Centred around his solo guitar exposing his soft affecting voice and delivery, Toby portrays the isolated urban spirit searching for love and sky amidst the smog and concrete. Cut and paste lyrics relay graffiti trains of thought which produce an ease of flowing reason akin to William Burroughs but much more accessible. As in ‘What I Learned There’ Toby presents ‘fragments of storybook arranged and converged’ in unconventional song structures conjuring emotional, melancholic landscapes both pornographic and beautiful as seen when he encourages us to ‘Staple my penis shut and nail it to the wall.’ Also a visual artist, underground art and musical influences prevail through visually affecting realism and imagery which is brutally honest and void of decoratio. Lyrical artistry entwines with this visual artistic sensibility convincingly telling of intimacy, closeness and degradation rarely approached by songwriters. However, these ’thoughts of hope and death’ are far from depressing, Toby’s soulful pained portraiture retains humility due to his sincere, sweet sentiment and wry humour which sees light at the end of dark tunnels, hugging loneliness only to throw it down the fire escape.
   Highlights of the evening occurred in his duets with touring support Dizzy and the Martian whose gentle female vocals subtlety sprinkled magic dust, and an impromptu animal-like drum performance by wondrous Brummie Greg Smith of Theatre Of The Absurd who helped cap an excellent nights music. 
   Both a riveting and abstract voice for the disenfranchised, fans of Conor Oberst and Jeffrey Lewis should definitely further investigate Toby Goodshank’s weaving tales of intense reflection and refraction. Visit www.olivejuicemusic.com and www.myspace.com/tobygoodshank

For those who deem live music the highest desideratum for their lugholes, I am proud to announce the launch of my column in the Nighttimes music magazine which aims to champion and give scope to the vast richness and diverse talent presently playing notes in the Midlands musical melting pot. Built upon a premise of positive and constructive coverage, all and sundry tuneage will be featured in order to provide you the reader and listener a regular comprehensive overview of what is happening in your local venues, pubs, clubs and street corners.

    So to the chase. These coming months have much to offer, a few choice cuts being the regular Tuesday nights run by Bohemian Jukebox @ the Hare and Hounds  which features wonderfully diverse and reputable songwriters from near and afar. As well as providing it’s staple funk and jazz, August sees the launch of  a new night at The Yardbird called Birmingham’s Unsung Heroes which specifically spotlights Birmingham songwriters starting on the 25^th  with Kristy Gallagher, Aaron Yorke, James Summerfield, Matt Tuite and Flame of Furvor and continuing every Monday.
   The 444club @ The Rainbow (every Friday) is the flagship night of the Kamikaze! Promoters. Featured artists can be any prominent touring artists coming through alongside rising local acts. 22^nd August sees electric noise monger trio and NME favourite Untitled Musical Project headline, indie-electro experimentalists The Dead Fish play the 29^th, whilst September introduces punk rock anti-folk legend Lach on the 15th and Brummie indie rockers Electric Animals on the 19th. All further listings and information can be found on myspace.com/kamikazeeventssite.  As ever the Academy plays host to some excellent acts large and small with August hosting N.E.R.D and Crystal Castles, also catch one of John Peel’s most beloved The Wedding Present on 1^st September at the Barfly in the heart of Digbeth. Highly recommended gig is cosmic yee-haa songwriter Danny And The Champions of The World, catch him at the wonderful Kitchen Garden Café, Kings Heath August 24^th www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk

    Highlight of the month has to be the ever-burgeoning Moseley Folk Festival 29-31^st August held in Moseley Park, which maintains an exceptionally high standard of performers this year featuring Morcheeba, Jose Gonzales, The Bees, Scott Matthews, Seth Lakeman and Waterson:Carthy plus local troubadours Mickey Greaney, Richard Burke, Ben Calvert and Vijay Kishore. Matt Geary and full band will also be playing the event on the Bohemian Jukebox stage. Further information can be found on www.moseleyfolk.com. Oh yeah ! Finally, some legend called Stevie Wonder who is apparently quite good and had three of the most seminal records of the seventies is playing Birmingham NIA on 8^th September. ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ anyone?

Due to a few requests here are the lyrics to new song ‘Best Kept Secret’:

Best Kept Secret

There’s no path just overgrown old roads
White rabbits dive down man holes where ghost children played

Did I exist? Amidst the lust and the shrewdness
Cinnamon and crushed velvet told in your eyes

For I’ve learnt that nothing lasts forever at all
Was everything that I did so wrong?
So wrong

A mass brawl, broken glass in the concert hall
I guess that we were not so pure after all

Blown tyres, love letters and tapped wires
Burning on this funeral pyre, your photograph

For I’ve learnt that nothing lasts forever at all
Was everything that I did so wrong?
So wrong

For I was your best kept secret
A dirty thought that you frequented
Under moonlight I was lost
Forgot

(M.Geary 2008)

Martin Mullaney’ s next podcast has just been uploaded at http://www.communitypodcastradio.co.uk/martin/martin.html

It is an interview with the ex-lead singer of Duran Duran, Andy Wickett.

Andy was lead singer of Duran Duran in 1979, prior to Simon Le Bon.

In this interview Andy explains how he wrote the Duran Duran classic’s “Girls on Film” and “Rio” - these were then recorded at 68 Cambridge Road, Moseley. Why he left Duran Duran. How he was then paid to teach Simon Le Bon to sing like him and then why he sold the rights to “Girls on Film” and “Rio” for £600.

Andy’s five songs for this interview are:
Love will tear us apart – Joy Division
The passenger – Iggy Pop
Sympathy for the devil –Rolling stones
Midnight cowboy – john barry
Teardrop on the fire – massive attack

Hi ya,

we’re back at the ever-successful Bohemian Jukebox run by Ben Calvert and Beppa which has now moved to the Hare And Hounds High St Kings Heath Birmingham on Thursday 5th August. This shall be the first gig with new addition pianist Jez Diaper and we shall be previewing new material such as “Best Kept Secret”. Do come along shall be spiffing!

Here’s a reminder about Womad & Moseley folk Festival as provided by Graham Radley at World Unlimited

Womad takes place over the weekend of July 25th - 27th here’s some of the wonderful line up and don’t miss the extra  Thursday evening session- On-U Sound Showcase with Adrian Sherwood, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & Little Axe

Adrian Sherwood  AltaiKAI · Asif Ali Khan Babylon Circus  Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – Mali · Bedouin Jerry Can Band  Bella Hardy  Bill Cobham & Asere  Chic Children Of The Khmer - Cambodian Dance –  Dengue Fever  Devon Sproule Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan  DJ Marky & Stamina MC Eddy Grant & The Frontline Orchestra Ernest Ranglin  Finley Quaye Fribo  GOCOO + GoRo  Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara Kenge Kenge Orutu Systems Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Lo Còr De La Plana Martha Wainwright –· Mavis Staples  Monobloco Mor Karbasi –  Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee Orchestra Baobab  Rachid Taha Roni Size & Reprazent Rumberos de Cuba Shantel & Bucovina Club OrkestarSharon Shannon Big Band Show of Hands – Speed Caravan  Squeeze Sudd MM Tashi Lhunpo Monks Terakaft Toumani Diabaté Transglobal Underground

Book online at www.womadshop.com   & by phone on 0845 146 1735

Lines open Monday-Friday from 10am-3pm for credit/debit card bookings Weekend Ticket - £125

Moseley Folk Festival takes place over the weekend August 29th-31st with a great line up which includes  Jose Gonzales    Seth Lakeman   Scott Matthews   Waterson : Carthy   The Bees   Morcheeba  Rachel Unthank and the Winterset   Ian Campbell & Sons  Chris Wood   The Accidental   Ruth Notman The Destroyers & The Dhol Blasters  John Tams & Barry Coop  Starless & Bible Black   John Smith

Matt Geary and band will be playing Friday evening on the Bohemian Jukebox stage.

Tickets

Children under 12 accompanied by an adult go free.Children aged 12-15 go half price

Friday Adult £15 
Saturday Adult £33 
Sunday Adult £33

Full Weekend

  Adult £55  Family £120 (2 Adults, 2 Children)

Hailing from the Lake District, Cumbria and relatively new to Birmingham Skeleton’s a DJ that draws on many different styles of break beats from funk to Dubstep but ultimately based around the electro breaks sound. A current student at Birmingham City University studying photography and illustration he uses music and art to express himself. After starting out playing at free parties and raves in the Lake District Skeleton came to Birmingham where he co-founded and holds residence with the Open Beats collective at the Rainbow.

Triggers mission is to advance consciousness through low frequency bass driven music, enabling you to connect to a higher awareness of yourself. The Human Hologram Interference Project was born out of Serotonin Sounds, formed in 1994 to bring to Birmingham the ethos of the UK’s fading free party scene, due to the introduction of the criminal justice bill that year. Trigger offered a unique, mind bending alternative to the often uninspiring ‘club’ experience, and went on to be named Trigger Your Serotonin before becoming Trigger in the summer of ‘98.

Trigger continues to utilize the most innovative DJ’s and producers from the UK and international Electro Breaks circuit, continually pulling large crowds at all night events, providing a unique experience unrivalled within the scene with their Funktion One sound system. The next event is at the Rainbow Warehouse in Digbeth, Birmingham on Saturday 9^th August, featuring a host of acts all for a mere £5 for all night, alongside myself and residents Lawgiverz, Jnr Hacksaw, Ksmknl, and iytal.

For more info see:

Myspace:

www.myspace.com/triggerrecordings

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=765399229#/profile.php?id=1127513898

Alternatively search Facebook for: Trigger Recordings

A Little Piece Of An Island

   A little piece of an island,
A shattered emerald shard of home,
   Seen through a frosted window
Of something I’ll never know.

Dance on the tables
Stomp the dank peat earth
Push the bog old face to the rise
Rub the green and black tan hot sands;
   of foreign lands.
Between the picture postcard lines

Eyes smile,
Reflect the snooker hall.
Wish the ever scent red rose
Was a little piece of that island
In my city heart called home.

(M.Geary March 2008)

I’ve neglected the blog of late but it has not been due to wanton tom-foolery or laziness. On the contrary, I’ve been inundated with work (exams coming up, essays etc…. Chaucer arghhh!!!) and been busy gigging, rehearsing and planning recording. Many thanks to Red Route EP launch gig at the Barfly and all at the Island Bar, i thoroughly enjoyed  it and many thanks to Birmingham Live for their kind review, I will post a link up soon.

Also, welcome to new member, cellist Mike Nowland, the Burnley bounder is a former student of Birmingham conservatoire and has a penchant for Brummie curries, three piece suits and wry humour so he is a fine addition to the Boy Wonder band of loons.

I am in the process of writing up gig reviews for Be Your Own Pet and Nick Harper, and a write-up for Bohemian Jukebox and will post them up at Redbrick University Online and in the paper as soon as completed. Do bear with me folks.

I am exhausted with so much going on, but I will not temper like Paula Radcliffe in the heat of an Athens marathon. In fact it’s all good. Here’s to the summer, festivals, gigs, recording, fine d’amour, poetry, dance, debauchery, Pimms on the lawn (well Carlsberg in a plastic cup) et al.

Seriously people, the Birmingham scene has many wonderful nights happening, so get out and see live music, entertainment, comedy, performance….. a few recommendations. Project X, Bohemian Jukebox, Bazaar, Saturday Night At The Queens and also gig venues Jug Of Ale, Flapper, Academy, Barfly, Glee Club, MAC, The Cross, Custard Factory, The Rainbow and many many more…. seriously stop watching X-Factor and all that other pig swill and get your buttocks to the races.

Stay tuned for more updates…. and exciting developments.

Alas to more mystification I have found Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America” on my Ipod, no i dont know either. Anyone found extraneous, spectre-like tracks on their Ipods, do inform me of any more of this relatively new phenomena.

I have been mainly listening to Leadbelly, Killing Joke (Thanks Nick for the recommendation), Prodigy, Be Your Own Pet, Nick Harper, Roy Harper, Desmond Dekker, Beck, Datarock, Leonard Cohen, Linton Kwesi Johnson (newly discovered and am very thankful), David Bowie, Eluvium, Elbow’s new album (hoorah!!!), Prince, Broken Social Scene…..

Hats off to the Bic