Roots Live Music
Promoting Independent musicians
Myles Knight New Track Reggae!Reggae? Funtime
Myles Knight has a new track out and we at Roots Live Music are pushing the idea that the best way to support our amazing original artists and help the music scene is to buy the tracks to download that way the artist get the cash to write more stuff.
For a mere £0.59 you can own some original art and bask in the knowledge you have supported and made a real difference and even if you only buy one track a week 4 or 5 tracks a month it’s still less then a coffee at Starbucks
Myles Knight is a Nottingham born Singer/Songwriter, who has been described as a ‘Quick Witted’ and a ‘Stellar’ Songwriter with a ‘Distinctive Tone’. Myles Knight, occasionally accompanied by his band, provides a fusion of Indie Rock vibes with Blues undertones.
You can also Catch his songs and other local artists on Nottingham & Derby original music Radio station
Keep Roots Live Music Radio On Air
- Hello we need a little help to keep our station running.
Roots Live Music Radio is a Radio Station that only plays original music by the Independent musicians off Nottingham and Derbyshire it doesn’t generate any money of it’s own and has been funded buy myself Chris Barlow and with the current situation over the last few months Income has been a problem
So we are looking to try raise some funds to catch up on some payments we are behind on in order to keep the radio playing
If you cant help with a donation how about helping us share and join us to raise fund any help would be amazing
Lawrence County The Frailty of Humans
The fiddle and accordion are delivered skilfully by talented multi-instrumentalist Martin Gallimore. Lawrence County frontmen and songwriters Al Rate and Bill Kerry III are joined by local lasses Charlotte Pynegar and Marianne ‘Maz’ Clarke, who provide a contrast of backing vocals ranging from sweet and pure to proper gritty country. Lawrence County were lucky enough to have some incredible session players contribute to this album, namely Kristen Horner on cello, and George French on Trumpet.
Badge sales go towards funding original music!
Over the last 5 years Roots Live Music have been promoting original music in and around Nottingham and Derby in a few different ways, such as weekly open mics & weekend festivals and even created our own radio station that only plays original songs by our local artists from the two great cities…. To run a station is no easy thing it takes a great deal of time and indeed Money.
The station itself doesn’t generate an income so we have over the years funded it from the revenue of the open mics we hosted, but due to us currently not running a night we decided to start a new venture to help us fund it which found us making badges that musicians & Bands use to promote themselves this has been a great way for us to still keep the radio running
The Badges at the moment are two different sizes 25mm and 32mm we offer free Delivery on all orders so for £23 you can get 100 badges delivered to your door all in the knowledge its helping independent original music
We also do Stickers they are 60mm round which are £12.99 for 100
We have lots of plans to develop the station and promotion of original independent music so hopefully this can give us the funds that are so important to our mission
Warren Ireland…a whole new level!
Demons
Warren Ireland
Warren Ireland is the embodiment of a modern-day troubadour. A young singer/songwriter from Nottinghamshire, you can catch him at festivals and gigs all over the country and busking in towns throughout the north of his home county.
His latest single, Demons, sees him up his game to a whole new level, utilising his signature pedal looping technique and calling on some of North Nottinghamshire’s most versatile and talented session players to augment the arrangement.
Ireland’s vocal dexterity is working at the max for the duration of the whole track, tripping out words with great skill. There’s also a catchy refrain which adds a singalong element to this song.
Demons is performed with considerable passion, building to some beautifully engineered vocal layers and outstanding instrumental breaks from Zosia on sax and Scott Makepeace on electric lead who bring the piece to a massive crescendo before breaking back down to its original raw form in contrast to finish. Add a one-take percussion track from Isaac Walters and some steady bass riffs from Luke Yates, highly production values from Mansfield’s Electric-Bear Productions, Demons is all set to be a winner for Warren Ireland, deserving as much air play as possible.
Download or stream from tomorrow, 27th September, on all quality digital music platforms. This is a track not to be missed and will surely be included on this month’s Rock Shotz Recommends within the next few days.
At last…it’s The Fine Art Society!
Footprints
The Fine Art Society
There’s a painful beauty in both the lyrics and musical arrangement of The Fine Art Society’s new release: ‘Footprints.’
Rock Shotz’ previous experience of TFAS material is upbeat and ‘laddish’ (considering the debut single, ‘Waiting For The Summer To Arrive’!) ‘Footprints’ is more introspective, emotional and, we suspect, is an indicator of the musical versatility of Messrs. Turner, Marshall and Leedall.
In stark contrast to the ballad-style verses, when Matt Turner almost wails:
‘I’ll take the stars from the night sky
So you can wear them in your eyes…’
a most magnificent, passionate, (almost haunting) chorus, you can almost sense the song’s narrative on a personal level! It’s one of those choruses that brings the hair up on the back of your neck!
Citing influences from artists such as Frank Turner & Mumford & Sons, the boys from The Fine Art Society are aiming high and, in Rock Shotz’ opinion, they’re getting it right!
In less than three weeks’ time, you can decide for yourselves from any of the major quality digital music platforms. ‘Footprints’ will be sure to find a place in your heart (for the song and for The Fine Art Society!)
Isaac Walters…Solo Release
Drunk Again
Isaac Walters
Recently, Rock Shotz has made mention of Nottinghamshire singer/songwriter and all-round versatile muso, Isaac Walters, as a session musician. We have also featured the work of his band Take 96; however, this week the spotlight is on his work as a solo artist.
Drunk Again is a plaintive, modern love song which, on it’s release, will additionally employ a video to add to the atmosphere of the melody.
Not only is Walters a writer and arranger, but on this track he plays ALL the instruments AND sings! This is surely deserving of being labelled a ‘virtuoso’ piece!
In the Rock Shotz office, it has taken some time to warm to Drunk Again, but after a number of plays, the tune is being hummed with ease, which is suggestive that this is a more catchy song than you may first believe.
Drunk Again is a ‘gentler’ composition than Rock Shotz is used to hearing from Isaac Walters, but it is a song we are warming to with each spin.
Give it a shot for yourselves on all major digital music platforms from this Thursday, 03/10/19. This young man has real talent!
Welcome To The D.H.Lawrence Music Festival
It was a privilege for Rock Shotz Live Music ImagingLiveMusicImaging to be official photographer for this year’s D.H Lawrence Music Festival, a great little one-day, multi-venue community music event in the small Nottinghamshire mining town of Eastwood, home of the renowned author, D H Lawrence.
Rock Shotz Soundz caught up with Ben Mark Smith, singer/songwriter & one of the festival organisers, to find out more about this unusual event.
The initial concept for the D H Lawrence Festival came from local music promoter, Chris Roots Barlow who first saw the realisation of his idea in 2016. Ben Mark Smith came on board a little while later to lend a hand with the logistics.
When asked to tell us about his favourite part of the festival, Ben told us that he particularly enjoys the opportunity to bring amazing musicians, most of whom have never visited the town before, to Eastwood and have them perform their predominately original music live, (as most of the Festival’s venues usually use backing tracks or cover acts for their in-house entertainment.)
One of Rock Shotz’s personal highlights was the combination of rock venues between The Old Wine Vaults pub and (bizzarely,) Eastwood Conservative Club, which hosted some incredible acts covering everything from Rock to Steam Punk! Special mention to Replica Jesus, YOUTH ILLUSION, The Small Town Boys, The Wildflowers, Clonk, The 1855 and The Collective Band who played blinding sets! Sorry we can’t mention you all, but the standard of all the bands/artists we heard was truly outstanding!
It was difficult to spread across all 14 (!) venues, but some of our acoustic highlights were a beautiful rendition of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’ (sung in Italian) by Mat Meakin at The Wellington Inn; meeting Jack’s got a plan at The Sun Inn, (at last!) and hearing ‘True Blue’ sung live by Jack Chapman at Oliver’s Pub & Kitchen .
We asked Ben Smith to give us his festival highlights. He told us:
‘ I was obviously stuck at Dog & Parrot: Real Ale House all day’ (where he was venue host.)
‘However …
– Jonny Olley & Jasper Malone’s sets were amazing!
– Having a giant inflatable cock waved at me throughout most of my set was interesting!
– My cousins coming from Cheltenham to play with their band, PANIC SWITCH, at the Vaults stage was awesome!
– Just seeing so many of my fellow music mates come into the Dog & Parrot, having an incredible day & being pretty shocked at how good it was. It really was pretty cool!’
Plans are already underway for next year’s D H Lawrence Festival, which Ben hopes will be even bigger and better! This year was a game changer, but organisers are looking for bigger names, more sponsors, promoters willing to take on venue hosting. It is also hoped that the local community will become more involved with photography groups, poetry groups, etc.
Any artists interested appearing at next year’s festival, 12/09/2020, can contact Ben and Chris through the Facebook or Instagram pages.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/646341385876407/
IG: D.H.Lawrence Music Festival
Crown of Thorns: Omen Machine
Omen Machine is new young 5-piece band on the East Midlands Metal scene and in Crown of Thorns, their first single, they are setting the bar mighty high. They describe themselves as an ‘Alternative Metal’ band and within the first few bars of the introduction, a whole wave of major influences can be heard, justifying their claim.
I make no apology for making comparisons with major names such as Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More, whose work has obviously flavoured the band’s approach. What these guys are delivering is outstanding! Once Matt Nathan opens up on his lead vocals and the track gets underway, you could so easily be forgiven for believing this is an established band with a credible history!
Instrumentally, Omen Machine are smashing it! Fred Bettis’ drums and Ross Walters’ bass line create a bedrock of power, depth and drive, while guitarists, Callum Parkin and Oliver Nelson display incredible versatility from the melodic introduction to thrashing choruses and intricate noodling solos.
If this is their first offering, then, on my recommendation, Omen Machine is destined to be ‘a name’ of the future!
Pre-order Crown of Thorns in time for release on all major digital platforms from 4th August.
Remember, you were there at the first!
The Small Town Boys: EP review
EP REVIEW…
This.Is.Not.It
The Small Town Boys
Indie band, The Small Town Boys have their own unique sound which is loud, punky and very energetic!. This.Is.Not.It is a live EP and it’s has been so well engineered you would barely know it wasn’t studio recorded!
Musically, these guys are great! Rhys Davies plays frenetic, powerful lead, with a thumping good bass line from Ash Simpson on bass guitar and Joe Hodges on drums. Scott Baxter’s vocals are raw and exciting.
Standout track is the eponymous, This.Is.Not.It. which fuses Britpop, Rock and Punk in glorious chaotic sound! BBC Introducing gave them an airing this week and if this is how The Small Town Boys roll, they are, as the local scene tells me, a band worth following!
Stream or download on most good digital music platforms.
Alex Cavan…A Man on a Mission
All For You
Alex Cavan
https://www.facebook.com/cavanmusic/
Life can be so tough and music is such a great method for people to express the way they cope with the challenges that come along.
All For You is a heart-on-the-sleeve love song from talented musician , Alex Cavan. The East Midlands-based singer/songwriter has a beautiful wife and tiny daughter far away in South Africa and his song is an open dedication to them as he tries to make a life for them over here.
The production on this track is excellent. It enhances Cavan’s rich, sonorous voice and increases our empathy with his wishes to be reunited with his family as soon as possible. Lyrically, the words are crystal clear and the listener is left in no doubt as to the sentiment expressed here. Musically, All Of You is a charmingly melodic, gentle rock style.
This is a song you can listen to over and over again. There is also a beautifully shot video on YouTube which is worth catching. Alex Cavan’s delivery is so impassioned and genuine, you can’t help but want his wishes to come true quickly. In order to do that you can help towards realising that dream by streaming/downloading All Of You on all major digital platforms now.
Jack Ryan – The kids are alright…
How do folks? You find me in the midst of a rather manic day before a holiday. My car needs packing, there’s mixes to mix and I have other exciting things occurring that I’m dying to share in good time! Today’s blog however, focuses on a young chap called Jack Ryan.
I met Jack around 10 years ago when me and his Dad Mark played in an outrageous prog band together. I’ve performed with Mark in loads of guises throughout the years, and without going off topic I will quickly note that he’s an amazing drummer who has an unrivalled passion for JUST PLAYING MUSIC.
Though it may not seem immediately relevant, Mark played an important role in my journey as a producer when he asked if I would like to rent a residential rehearsal space with him. Whilst this seemed like a cracking idea, my 17-year-old self lacked the funds for such a luxury and my band at the time did too. After scraping together all my pennies and inviting Matt to join the band because he had a JOB and a VOLKSWAGEN POLO (sellout…), we still couldn’t quite meet the figure needed. Faced with this information most people would just drop the idea, but Mark isn’t most people. He was so passionate about music (both supporting it and playing it) that he agreed to front far more than his fair share of rent so we could get the space and commit serious time into playing and developing as musicians. Having that creative space and the time to use it led to me finding my passion for recording and the rest, as they say, is history.
(His wife Jo also deserves an honourable mention here for always encouraging me, Mark and Jack in our musical endeavours – nice one Jo!x)
With this background, I was more than happy to help when Mark got in touch asking if I could record his son Jack and capture some songs he’d written. Whilst I knew Jack was really creative after hearing about his infinite list of hobbies, I was chuffed to hear that at the age of 15 he’d sat down at a piano and written his very own batch of his songs. In a time where there’s a million distractions for kids and adults alike, it’s always great to hear about someone you know finding a way to channel some much needed creativity into the world.
You never really know how people will perform when they first enter a studio (particularly at such a young age!) but Jack honestly blew me away with his tunes and really natural performances. So on one sunny Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago we found the time to get Jack in for a video. Aided by the legend that is Rich Wosik on acoustic guitar (Crazy 66, Maffa Kings….Himself), Jack performed his song ‘Why Can’t You See’.
It’s an awesome little ballad, and whilst it was never intended to be a Pin-up Session, it struck me that releasing it as one might give Jack a little leg up when setting up his artist pages and beginning his journey as a musician. Though I know Jack loves Billie Eilish (who doesn’t?), his first batch of tunes put me more in mind of Adelle/Sam Smith and the likes. The recipe of simple raw songs sung with tonnes of passion is certainly one I can get behind. Take a look at the Roots sneak peak of his session below!
Stay tuned for the full video on Friday (assuming I have signal at my campsite!) and give Jack’s brand spanking new instagram a follow at @jackryanofficial_music_page. You’ll no doubt watch him go from strength to strength over the next few years.
Ta,
Ben x
Jake Martin: First Night
GIG REVIEW…
Jake Martin
Rough Trade, Nottingham
Rough Trade was enveloped in genuine love and admiration for this young acoustic punk/folk singer/songwriter. Jake Martin has a dedicated following nationwide and friends from all areas of the circuit turned out for his special night.
He had selected fantastic support in the form of Manchester’s Arms & Hearts, (Steve Millar), who warmed up the audience with heartfelt renditions and interaction which undoubtedly won him a room full of new fans.
Ever popular Jess Silk treated the audience to a blistering set in which they sang along to anthemic favourites such as Preaching From The Barricades and Drink Up Your Whiskey, as well as new sounds such as the incredible, thought provoking Stranger On A Train.
By the time Jake Martin took to the stage for the first night of his first ever headline tour, the audience was truly warmed up and ready for the top man.
He opened with Introducing, (just in case) and continued by delivering a fine set of old favourites and new tunes. There were introspective moments about growing older and losing good friends, but generally the mood was light and humorous, as Jake Martin bantered with the audience with confidence.
It was plain to see in his face, the joy Martin feels when everyone has fun with what has become his ‘signature song’ : For F*cks Sake Jake, as well as with the final rousing chorus of We Sing The Words All Wrong.
This was an evening of music, smiles and laughter all ways round and has set the tour off to a fantastic start.
If Jake Martin is touring your way, I highly recommend you catch up with him for a great evening’s entertainment with one who will make himself a favourite within minutes!
https://www.facebook.com/jakemartinmuzic/
Scott Makepeace – No War Double Album Review
Scott Makepeace is making up for lost time. He is having a creative explosion!
This self-produced opus contains a hefty 24 tracks of original material, so if you choose to buy to download, you can be sure you are getting a lot for your money!
Amidst a plethora of new material you will find a small number of familiar tracks already available as singles: This Is What I’m Made For, Robin Hood and my personal favourite, I Was A Slave, which I heard recently as a full band piece with The Peacemakers. This track has now been sampled and extended from the original acoustic single and so still makes it the standout track of this collection, in my opinion.
Makepeace is a terrific songwriter. His observations on everyday life are interesting and astute. He is an accomplished guitarist and successfully combines this skill with looping and technical experimentation. His voice is distinctive, with that comforting Jack Daniels’-soaked timbre. For that reason, I would rather enjoy the moment selecting single tracks to play rather than listening to the album in its entirety at one sitting. Scott Makepeace deserves to be listened to, not to be background music, which I found it became whilst trying to listen to the album all in one go.
Not War is certainly an album worth investing in, but enjoy it at its best by listening at more than one sitting; that way you’ll get the best of Scott Makepeace!
Available to pre-order from tomorrow: June 28th and to download/stream from all good music platforms from July 12th.
Olly Hensby: Finding an undiscovered gem down a Facebook wormhole
When I began pulling together artists for the latest series of The Pin-up Sessions I decided it was time to indulge my ears a bit and find an amazing bluesy/jazzy guitarist. I started my quest on Facebook and more specifically on some posts from Myles Knight who happens to run some of the finest open mic nights in Nottingham. I stumbled across a post mentioning Olly performing so I thought I’d better investigate a little further and go down the rabbit hole of clicking various links and profiles. To my disappointment I couldn’t find too much of him online, but what I did find was a homemade video of Olly playing John Mayer’s ‘Neon’ perfectly – which is literally ‘well hard’ for those of you who don’t know it! This was enough for me to ask Myles ‘Is this Olly lad much of a jazzy/bluesy guitarist?’ and when he replied with ‘Yeah man he’s awesome’ the deal was sealed.
You can also discover some awesome talent at one of Myles’ nights which you can find links of here and on his personal profile. Plugs are easy when they’re completely true! Oh go on you can watch his session here too if you want…
When Olly arrived at the studio it became apparent he was a very likeable chap and me and the Pin-up squad immediately hit it off with him. As resident guitar nerd, me and Olly had a chat about all things John Mayer, and after a brief introduction to the works of the amazing Joey Landreth we got to business.
Olly ended up performing a brand new song which didn’t even have a name yet (later to be dubbed ‘Midnight’). We love it when people do this as it allows us to capture a song in its early stages and get the undiluted essence of what makes it tick. After stating ‘I might mess this up’ Olly proceeded to smash out an effortlessly cool performance first time round. You can view a little secret roots snippet of the session below (the full thing is out on Friday so be sure to subscribe to my channel to catch it !)
To me, the track brings to mind all of the best bits from Maroon Fives ‘Songs About Jane’. Mixed in with Olly’s quite frankly GAWJUS voice, the result is a song that’s been going around my head for the last few weeks and making me subconsciously do that slow forward head bob thing like this…
Stumbling across Olly online highlights the unique situation the music industry and artists find themselves in today. How a man with his talent can remain largely hidden is mystifying, but the fact he can be found within a few clicks of a Facebook stalking session gives hope to all of us trying to get our music found. Hopefully this video and The Pin-up Sessions can play a small role in helping people discover some of the amazing talent that’s on our doorstep. With that in mind, make sure you follow Olly’s Facebook and Instagram, and if you’re interested in catching him as part of an amazing line-up, be sure to go to Tori Sheard’s headline gig at The Bodega on the 22nd July which also features our next amazing Pin-up Session artist Kelsey and The Embers.
I’ll end with a little reminder that you can watch Olly’s full Pin-up Session on Friday by SUBSCRIBING TO MY CHANNEL and also check out the likes of Pretty Babs, Scribble Victory, Reqs, MYOK, Them Are They, Myles Knight, Crazy66, Clonk and Boats on the Ocean while you’re at it. More artist sessions coming very soon!
Benjy x
Pretty Babs Take Over The Bodega
It was an early start for Indie band, Pretty Babs’ debut headline show in Nottingham on Saturday as there were three support bands on the line-up. This was the first city gig for the Babs’ management, One Eye Shut Music Promotion, so everyone was on a mission.
Sam Jones, Brad Drury, Craig Tucker and Liam Bainbridge, 4 young men from North Nottinghamshire, make up one of the most talented and hard-working bands in the East Midlands. It’s hard to believe they’ve never headlined in the city before, so this was a Big One for them.
The Bodega was almost at capacity, drawing in Babs fans from far and wide, many wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the hashtag #upthebabs, bringing love and fandom for the band in mini-bus loads!
The programme for the evening was exceptional, kicking off with Warsop stalwarts, The Star Botherers, singing their original songs on matters as wild as what to do when your bass player dies and the problems of being a Star Wars bride! They quickly broke the ice and set the atmosphere bubbling.
Next up was festival favourite, Nick Parker, complete with full backing band. The False Alarms bring a full-on sound to a number of Parker’s familiar, self-penned songs. I’ve seen Nick as a solo artist many times, but I wasn’t prepared for the huge difference the band made to the presentation of his set; a versatile, exciting group of musicians joined, on this occasion, by Dave Burbidge of The Leylines fame, depping on drums as though he was a natural member of the band. A great set!
With entertainment of this calibre, it had to be a carefully-chosen act on third to maintain the ‘buzz’ before the headliners and the incredible Essex heavy rock duo, Ghosts of Men, were exactly the right pick! Loud, funny, impressive, Ads and Clegg gave a rollicking performance, engaging some of the more well-known members of the audience to help them with their unorthodox show.
By the time the headliners were ready, the audience was rhythmically chanting ‘Up the Babs’ as one voice, creating a tangible air of excitement.
Pretty Babs opened with The Fall, getting everyone on their side, then proceeded to deliver a well-considered set which included beautiful ballads such as The Storm. I was privileged to be working from the stage at the time and the sight of the audience waving their phone torches along with this song was breath taking and surely must have been a highlight in many peoples’ memories.
Lead singer, Sam Jones has the most exquisite Indie/Rock voice and plays guitar like a demon. Some of you may know hi as a solo artist on the Roots Music Circuit and this has been where has honed the confidence needed for being a strong front man. Either side of him are dynamic bass player, Liam Bainbridge and Craig Tucker who is a good match for Jones on guitar and vocals, adding to the sheer musical weight of the front line, each of them bringing their own exuberance to the stage. Behind them sits the powerhouse who drives the band, Brad Drury, a drummer of incredible stamina and experience, who is key to the synergy of the band. All the right ingredients for a tight, professional, impressive line-up.
By the time the band played their final songs, Road Runner and Don’t Step On The Moor, the audience was ignited, animated and desperate for the music to continue. Sadly there was a curfew,so the show really was over: however, Pretty Babs were showing Nottingham loud and clear that not only can they host a great programme of music, but that they have the capacity to fill The Bodega more successfully than some more well-known names!
You can call this one A Success, guys!
#upthebabs Proud of ya!
Benjamin…Concrete Rose
When you look at the musical calibre of this new band, it just oozes quality! With connections to Unknown Era, Ferocious Dog and Idle Nova, you know you’re in for something really special.
Of everything queued up before me today, Concrete Rose’s debut track, Benjamin has the ear worm. I challenge you not to have the refrain in your head for the rest of the day after the first chorus!
This is a sunshine song. You feel as though you should be watching the cricket with a picnic and a long, cool lager as it plays.
With marimba sounds from the keys, rim shots and traditional second beat drop, this is reggae as it was meant to be played. With Philip Wilbraham’s expertise on production, this is a class track.
Benjamin is a happy song from a band who like to keep it happy. It’s bright, it’s cheerful and it will make you smile every single time you hear it.
Available to stream or download from all good music platforms now.
Code Blue…Jack Chapman
Nottingham is a city awash with young singer/songwriter talent and Jack Chapman fits the bill. Having decided to go solo at the end of last year, he is carving out quite a local following! He plays a cool guitar and has a delicious voice.
Code Blue is a passionate love song. The lyrics are emotional and Chapman’s delivery lives up to that. It’s not sweet and sentimental, but a modern love song sitting comfortably in today’s Indie airwaves.
Instrumentally, the guitar playing is spot on and the balance with the vocals in production make this easy on the ears.
This is my introduction to Jack Chapman and if Code Blue is characteristic of his work, then I will be pleased to hear more. He has my recommendation as One To Watch!
Search Code Blue on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and Deezer to stream or download.