A Honey Pot of Acoustic Goodness: Jess Hall, Tamara and the Martyrs, Goodwin Sands

Goodwin Sands

Last night saw a honeyed mix of musical talent as part of the Oxfringe festival. The Honey Pot is one of my favourite pubs, and the back room can be one of the more intimate performance spaces in Oxford. Tom and Leanne create a friendly and warm atmosphere, and treat musicians well. They also cook some of the best pub grub around. The evening was kicked off by singer/songwriter Jess Hall. It was the first time I'd seen her perform. The spell of her clear, soft voice floated me in from the bar where I was nursing my bowl of massive chips ("Oi, hands orf!"). Huck and I then graced the stage with a few Martyrs songs. The atmosphere in the Honey Pot was perfect for some acoustic strumming. Each act even coaxed in the smokers, who were braving the 'warm summer air'. Headlining was a dutch band, Goodwin Sands. What a pleasant surprise! I knew the guitarist, Pete Barnes, from my uni days, when he used to rock out in his Bath-based band,  'A Neat Science'. But Goodwin Sands is a folk band, and a folk band through and through. I definitely think he's found his musical calling. This isn't just any old folk though, it has a real mesmerizing quality, and the lead singer, Anna Curvers, has a delicate and precise magnetism that has you hanging on every word. When the whole band offer backing vocals and switch instruments between songs the deal is sealed, these guys can really play. The carefully crafted compositions are executed with finesse, and as I watched the band I noticed that they're all smiling - and so are the audience. This is feel-good-folk at its intricate and smiley best. Goodwin Sands are touring the UK so catch them if you can, more info here.

Tamara and the Martyrs website launched

Today we have launched the Tamara and the Martyrs official website. You can keep up to date with all the latest Martyrs business and we even have an online store! You can visit the page by following: http://www.tamaraandthemartyrs.com/

Tamara and the Martyrs release their first EP 'Hang My Picture'

We are very excited to announce that our first EP 'Hang My Picture' is  released this month by Oxford based label Big Sky Records.  The Martyrs and I have had a great time recording the 4 tracks for this EP which is now available from Itunes for the fabulous price of £3.16. We will begin recording our 10 track album at the end of June and will keep you updated on it's release date. If you're coming to see us play any of our many gigs and/or festivals over the coming month then you can get a copy of the EP directly from us, complete with CD artwork and a free badge...and all these things will soon be available to order from our new website which will also be launched later this month. Enjoy!

Tamara and the Martyrs first reveiw in Nightshift: Secret Sisters gig at the O2

We have had our first review and it ain't half bad. You can read it here: http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/2011/jun.pdf

Thanks be to Nighshift Magazine.

Supporting the Secret Sisters in Oxford

So, last night we supported the Secret Sisters at the O2 Academy, Oxford. It was my first time at this venue, but the boys have rattled those walls many a time in their Sextodecimo days. I was quite nervous because the place was packed out, but after a few sonic gripes we settled nicely into our set, and Humphrey was grinning every time he picked up his bass. The crowd were great, so attentive and friendly despite the beer being £4 a can!



Backstage with the Secret Sisters

The Secret Sisters were really friendly, down to earth Southern girls. Their set was stunning, punctuated with funny anecdotes and sisterly jibes. It sounds like they've enjoyed the first leg of their UK tour, with crowds warming to them everywhere they go. After us came Simon Lynge, who announced that he'll soon be opening up for Emmylou Harris. He introduced himself as an Eskimo from Greenland and told other-worldly stories of a pastoral youth, watching the glacier fog roll in like a big slug, and mischievously robbing skulls from stone graves - apparently there's no topsoil in Greenland so you have to bury bodies under piles of stones.

Anyway, we're heading down to the Isis on Friday - so come and say hi: Mayhem.

Recording, Mayhem and "arrest those men"

"it was them, Officer"

A lot's been going on since I we last spoke. So listen up. The Martyrs and I have been gigging plenty and we had a great time in the borough of Witney, playing Witney Music Festival and Witney's Rapture records day. We also hot-tailed it to London - and Tommy's passion-wagon broke down on the way back (15 miles from Oxford). Maybe shrunken heads hanging from the rear-view mirror aren't so lucky after all..

We had a photo shoot with a mighty-fine photographer called Bruce Markos. It was all good clean fun until the boys turned on me having raided the props cupboard. When I was pressing charges at the local constabulary the policeman said it wasn't often a victim could produce such accurate evidence of an assault. I thanked him kindly, and that was last we heard of the matter.



Passion-wagon R.I.P

This weekend we've been holed up in the recording studio. Every time Humphrey picked up the guitar the song gradually morphed into 'Here comes the bride' (more than a little annoying) so we ended up letting him out to watch the royal wedding. He assured us that they were "happy tears" when we re-clothed him at the end of the ceremony. Tommy said he wouldn't mind doing this sort of thing for a living (recording music rather than dressing sobbing monarchists), but he was eating a big pink slice of French fancy cake at the time - so we could hardly take him seriously. It looks like we are going to have 4 kick-ass tracks by the end of the week. A massive bunch of thanks must go out to our loving Engineer and tea-matron, Mr Martin Newton of Studio 101 and our mixologist and drum-mic god, Jimmy Heatherington.

We're now looking forward to supporting the Secret Sisters next week on  11 May at the O2 Academy. This venue will be a first for us so we're excited. If you're around on Friday May 13th (lucky for some) come and enjoy some sunshine and fine tunes from us at our next event: Mayhem

Rocking Out Acoustic Style at The Cellar



Ju from Little Fish
http://www.brucemarkos.com/

Thanks to all of you who came along on Thursday for what turned out to be an awesome night of music. It was great to finally see Bethany Weimers on piano and I love her new songs - very dark, beautiful. She's recording at the moment and the album will follow soon so watch that space. Samuel Zasada have bulked up since I saw them last. It really suits their songs, with some incredible vocal harmonies still ringing in my head.
You can find out more about them and their next gigs here. Ju and Ben from Little Fish completely rocked the stage and got the audience singing sweetly along to their songs. I loved Ju's new beat song - especially the onstage self-lynching! Check out what's going on in the fish bowl here. We got a real buzz from our first Oxford show and can't wait to set up another Cellar show. There's talk about doing one that focuses solely on the local femmes fatales. [Better give Undersmile a call..] Celebrations spilt well into one of the darkest Fridays on record, but we're back on track and looking forward to this Thursday's gig at the Port Mahon. I leave you with a video of my song 'Billboards' recorded on Thursday night.