Andy White, Major Matt Mason & SAL - Friday 4th June 04

[chilli]

Interesting Music announce an evening of the very best in local, national & international

singer songwriters

Dr Drakes

Friday 4th June 2004

Doors 8pm

Door Tax 5

Now read on for details:-

Andy White

is a poet and powerbook-toting troubadour. He grew up in Belfast, surrounded by Irish beauty and terrorist violence. His father is a political writer and his grandmother was a piano player. Music and lyricism run in the family. boy 40 is Andy White's 12th international release. boy 40 begins with Andy 'going solo' with his guitar and ends with him and an orchestra, trying to see God. From his very first album Rave on Andy White, Andy was always going to be trouble. The title was a reference to a W.B. Yeats poem or a Van Morrison song take your pick. The song Religious Persuasion was a slap in the face for those who connect religion with violence. Melody Maker's album review proclaimed "Yer man's a genius" and Andy White had arrived. In his own words: "I grew up hearing folk music dividing people into one side or the other. I wanted to write a new folk music for my country. Uniting our traditions with the rock music we loved and the new political future we hoped for. I started off writing poems and then picked up an acoustic guitar when I heard John Lennon sing 'Give Peace A Chance'. Put them both together, that's all." boy 40 touches the heart of our time for those of us facing middle youth in a world where it is hard to feel fully grown. Andy White is a coherent voice in the midst of all the generation txt confusion. From the innocence of the young Belfast boy watching the parades in The Twelfth Of July, all the way through to the experience of the man considering the western world's very own war on terrorism in The Fortune Teller's Right and Everything You've Got. It is an album about war and peace, about looking for a new home in the sun and searching for spiritual enlightenment.boy 40 was written in London and Melbourne, Andy's new home. For the first time since on his earliest recordings, Andy played all the instruments. As a result, there is an offbeat and spontaneous vibe to the proceedings. The album was engineered and co-produced by Australian Simon Polinski (The Church, ALT) with two tracks co-produced by the Scotsman behind Narcotic Thrust, Stuart Crichton. There is an element of surprise and a groovy quality to the recordings that stems from an entirely laid back approach to the process itself (a.k.a. the Melbourne effect). boy 40 - the advantage of being older and wiser is that you can do and say what you want in the full knowledge that you can handle the consequences. The advantage of being a grown up is that you have the option of behaving like a child. Seize the moment, light the incense and experience the innocence. It's cool to care.

Major Matt Mason (USA)

was born and raised in Kansas. He spent his formative years studying creative writing and shredding his electric guitar in various post-punk, math-rock, noise combos (see Dracomagnet and Magic Nose) that serviced the rather dynamic underground in the small college town of Lawrence. After moving to New York in the summer of "93 and landing a job at Tower Record for five dollars an hour, Major Matt sold his amp for food and began composing on a thirty dollar acoustic guitar that thankfully would not stay

in tun. Recording on a cheap boom box, he found the acoustics in his Lower East Side closet ideal for creating a sort of intimate sound which would perfectly suit his newly inspired urban-folk songs, as well as his finances. With guitar in hand and hay still in his hair Major Matt hit the streets and found a home in the now infamous East Village Antifolk scene.

Sal

Sitting in the shadows of the stage rests two of Aberdeen's most talented musicians. As the haunting vocals lift out of the stage and intertwine with heart-achingly perfect guitar chords you know you're in the presence of something special. That something is Sal. Sal are an unsigned acoustic duo based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Consisting of Magnus Robertson on vocals, and Paul Tasker on guitar and backing vocals. They formed in November 2001 and frenetically established a reputation as an exciting and versatile live act. So far the band's music has taken Magnus and Paul across Scotland with gigs across Aberdeen, including a headline gig at the Lemon Tree, as well as higher profile gigs in the likes of Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh and the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

In May 2002 they were asked to take part in the Tennants T-Break event at Lava in Aberdeen. Their performance that night was described as "beautiful songs played expertly on the acoustic guitar" by www.redt.co.uk. A month later and the guys broke onto the radio with a live radio session on the Del Franklin show on Northsound 1. Two of their songs from their EP were played across the North East. These were "Sunshine Morning Smile" and "Missing in Action". Another of their tracks, "Last Miles", is featured on a Radio Scotland website called Celtic Roots. In January of this year Sal performed at a series of high profile showcases in Glasgow, including a performance on the Danny Kyle stage as part of the "Celtic Connections" festival, which earned them a special commendation. They then appeared as finalists in the Daily Record 192 Big Break song writing competition. Sal's material combines all the elements of contemporary song writing with both the power of the delta blues and beauty of Celtic folk. The power and beauty of hearing Sal is in the comparisons that can be drawn from a wide

range of established acts yet still with the ability and imagination to retain their own sense of purpose. The media have taken these boys to their hearts: "Beautifully chilled out songs with depth and feeling" Aberdeen Evening Express "Excellently played, sung and arranged with a very classic feel" Session in Scotland DJ, Vic Galloway. "These boys take originality and squeeze it through your ears"

www.eatthismusic.com

With pitch perfect music from Paul and the soulful harmonies from Magnus Sal are reminiscent of a contemporary John Martyn times two.Sal are currently recording songs for their debut album at Arc Studios in Mintlaw Aberdeenshire.

[Alan Cynic]

Another wonderful Interesting Music Night...........especially Major Matt Mason!!!!!! A little bit of NYC cool hit Aberdeen for the night, and it was superb.

[RF Scott]

Major Matt Mason was amazing, he was probably the best thing i've witnessed at dr drakes, he was a very very nice guy as well, an interview and some tracks recorded on the night will be on www.eatingpaper.com when we finally put the site online, which could be in the next week or three.

[mmd040]

Major Matt Mason

Ditto to everything said about him. Amazing performance and top, top bloke.

PS. His sister was lovely too.