Interview with Velvetine

On Monday 18th June I went to the Voice.FM studio in Southampton to interview upcoming and new band Velvetine; their time creating original sleazy rock tunes and successful live shows have brought great things to them. Being awarded for things including Best New Band and playing at great venues in England such as Southampton's The Joiners and Portsmouth's Wedgewood Rooms. In this interview we talk about their brand new EP, the party that will be showcasing it and who they'd like to be stuck in a lift with. Here is a print version of the interview, that I have tried my best to keep word for word as the audio,  enjoy.

Charlotte:  You have an new EP being released very soon, what are your musical influences on the EP?

Velvetine:  Hardcore Superstar, Crashdiet, Buckcherry, Hanoi Rocks, Guns 'N' Roses, AC/DC; a lot of sleaze but a lot of modern stuff as well such as The Treatment, Michael Monroe and stuff like that.

Charlotte:  What are the main themes on the EP?

Velvetine:  We don't tend to write about a specific theme, we sort of write about how we feel at the time. Different songs represent different moods and just generally overall a party vibe, we try to keep it upbeat and classy as we can. Being musicians we have our moments but it's all about having a good time.

Charlotte:  Can you describe your EP in three words?

Velvetine:  Party's one of them definitely, can rock'n roll be one word?

Charlotte:  Yeah it can be one word 

Velvetine:  Happy. So Happy, Rock 'N Roll, Party

Charlotte:  Your EP Launch is this Saturday [23rd June] at The Edge Of The Wedge in Portsmouth, tell us why people should go?

Velvetine:  It's not the EP Launch, it's a EP party showcasing it. It's £2, four bands; four great bands. We're playing with three great bands; Spartan who will be playing Live and Unsigned at The O2 Arena, White Knuckle Bride who have toured with Thin Lizzy and Dead Pinups who have literally the best unsigned band we have heard.

Charlotte:  Recently you supported The Treatment; what other bands would you like to support in the future?

Velvetine:  Well The Treatment again, Reckless Love, Jettblack, The Howling; they're really cool it's Rev from Towers Of London's new band so it would be cool to gig with them  If we're really lucky AC/DC, Crashdiet or maybe Buckcherry if they came down again.

Charlotte:  Where would dream venue to perform; this can realistic or unrealistic?

Velvetine:  Sticky Fingers in Sweden, Hardcore Superstar filmed a DVD there and it's like the Swedish equivalent to The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth or The Joiners in Southampton. Crashdiet played there and so did Vains Of Jenna, it's a really really good venue.

Charlotte:  A Facebook birdy told me you have a new app under development, what made you decide to do this?

Velvetine:  We're the first local unsigned band to have go at making something up with the modern keeping; it's quite new thing this App store that will give some more promotional value. It will have these ornaments that will keep people more interested; we've got some good ideas for it so it should be good.

Charlotte:  When are you planning to release this app?

Velvetine:  In about a week, it'll be a free download as well.

Charlotte:  You are stuck in a lift; which five people would you love to be stuck in a lift with and why?

Velvetine:  Josh Todd from Buckcherry; he's a laugh, Slash, Bon Scott, Justin Hawkins and Peter London from Crashdiet, that's a great combination. Or it might be all of Steel Panther and one stripper, that would just be carnage.

Charlotte:  Which five people would you hate to be stuck in a lift with and why?

Velvetine:  Justin Bieber, Simon Cowell, who would we hate to be stuck in a lift with; so far we've established Justin Bieber, Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Jedward, who count as two. They'd [Jedward] would be dead, we can stick them together with their hair. It is hard to think of who we don't like; we're quite nice people overall.

Charlotte:  Final question; do you guys have future plans for the band?

Velvetine:  Get signed, get famous. We're going to carry on what we are doing at the moment but the fan base is growing, I mean the most recent gig we bought just over a hundred people to it. We have another headline gig planned for the Wedgewood Rooms [Portsmouth] later this year; which we are talking to some promoters about supporting signed bands. We would also like to try and release an album, upgrade on gigs as well in that time. We would like to play Portsmouth Pyramids; we also need to do adventurous things and not do what everyone else has done.

Thanks again to Velvetine for the interview; was truly a great one and I wish them luck for tomorrow as sadly I can't attend. In the meantime find out more about Velvetine on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.

Be sure to attend the EP party tomorrow at The Edge Of the Wedge; Portsmouth, more details of the event can be found here.

Jason Munday Music

Hello everyone. How are you all?? The sun is now shining after days of heavy rain. YouTube is a rather wonderful thing to discover new and fresh music; one particular trio of musicians have definitely made me smile today after a busy day at work. Jimmy Wong, Jason Munday and Alex Carpenter cleverly writing songs about films, TV and games that release your inner nerd; their charismatic charm captures your heart instantly and leaves a huge grin across your face. If you have had a rough day and need something to make you smile listen to this song and many others they have.

I hope you enjoy this I have shared.

Find them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Jettblack - Raining Rock

Ever since hearing the single off this very album and after witnessing the amazing sold out launch promoting it I have been very excited to listen to the album today. Starting off with a fantastic Intro leading into the single Raining Rock it was an excitable few minutes of rock to get the album underway; along the way there has been such a fantastic collection of many different sounding tracks from the beautiful ballad Black Gold to the more grungy sounding System. The particular track that caught my eye was The Sweet and Brave; being since it started with an acoustic tune that I had never heard from Jettblack before so I was very impressed when in transformed smoothly into their stadium like sound. This album has marked the growth and development in one of Britain's freshest rock bands on the scene in the past couple of years; bringing some aspects from the 80s and adding some of the modern aspects of today. Overall a fantastic album from beginning to end; cannot wait to see them in October as part of their UK headline tour.

Tuomaslotte rating:  10/10
Stand out tracks:  Prison Of Love, Something About This Girl and The Sweet and Brave
For fans of:  Whitesnake and Bon Jovi

Find Jettblack on Facebook and Twitter

Some music for the Bank Holidays!

Happy Bank Holiday to everyone; celebrating the Jubilee whether you are watching the concert or gathering with friends and family. I would love to share with you some music to listen and relax to this evening and tomorrow. First is this very cute video of a young man playing a guitar to his dog; watch closely at the dog's face.

The next comes from a new musician named James Dalby; his voice is fantastic and his guitar skills are incredible. Here is one of his videos; you can find this one and many others on his YouTube channel.

And finally the song that was written specifically in time for the Queen's Jubilee; the song Sing was composed by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The song is very beautiful; I love the very clear representation of what the song is all about, nations coming together to create something unique that everyone will remember for years to come. The stories behind the musicians that took part in the video are just extraordinary; for instance there are a group of drummers that have made their instruments completely out of litter. It also sends a wonderful message about music itself. Wherever you are in the world music is a powerful aspect in our lives that does bring us together; whether you go to club, rock gig or creating it music does bring us together without even realising this.