And so the odyssey continues to Wales and the Midlands…. Another busy few Freak weeks for me. Band recruitment is a demanding mistress and despite the biggest art festival in the world (c) having just kicked off outside the office (we are city centre based, so it’s difficult to avoid) I’ve been mostly chained to the desk on the hunt for acts from the same part of the world as such greats as Slade and Black Sabbath. Although the bands I’m looking for will generally be slightly less screechy and with less dove abuse respectively. As I’ve said before in this very blog, we don’t recruit rubbish, but these are recent standouts from this part of the world…
We have a fair few classical guitarists on the roster but occasionally one will catch the ear more than most. Nottingham based Alex Bett (below) is one of those. Along with his glorious take on the cello standard in Bach’s Prelude from Cello
Suite, his version of the Beatles’ Here there and everywhere is a must listen. His stripped down rendering of the 1966 song from Revolver reminds you what an incredible sense of melody Paul McCartney had (has?) and handily illustrates what a talent Alex possesses.
Celtic Clan (below right)
These guys pride themselves on being the “Irish band who don’t just do Irish” which is fair enough but when they do chose to “do” Irish, they do it rather well. Their repertoire is pretty eclectic, to say the least taking in the Mamas & Papas, Amy MacDonald and the Boomtown Rats
among others. And, as they’ve found themselves in an acoustic band with only three members there is really only one way forward in the volume stakes; get the crowd to sing along. Check out the video of them at the Cheltenham Races on St Patrick’s day for a great example of this.
Candy Spangles and the green oyster band
Up here, we northern Britons have a saying, to “gie it laldy” which loosely translates as “to perform with gusto” and this 5 piece do exactly that. Their name incorporates one of my favourite foods (no, not Spangles) and happens to be the longest on the roster. This high-energy combo play almost exclusively at private parties and function so you can’t just show up and see them, however they do offer the option of allowing you catch their rehearsals which is a nice touch. If you do want to hire them for an event, two words to remember ‘book early’.
Paul is a solo pianist whose repertoire jumped out at once, boasting a set list from Mozart to Metallica. If anything he’s being modest. He must be one of the few classical performers around who plays more modern rock and pop rather than standard classical, but this is no gimmick. His rendering of the Red Hot Chilli’s Californication (listen on his profile) is a clever arrangement that like all good arrangements takes nothing away from the original but remains its own piece. Paul has been playing professionally for twelve years so going by the photos he sent us, he must have turned pro around the age of eight…
All in all a productive few weeks at Freak towers, I’m currently trawling the big wide net thing for acts in the South East and West and of course London, so if you are in or know of any bands or acts who are looking to join one of the UK’s fastest growing music agents, get in touch.
All the best, all the time…
Chris Mackinnon
Chief Freak Scout
