Reviews of the Tamara and the Martyrs' single: Get Him Out

Since its release on the 26th June, the first single from our album has received a couple of great reviews.  Thanks to Nightshift and Olly Arditi for their words.  For the full articles go here for Nightshift and here for Olly Arditi.

Single Launch & All Tamara's Parties

Last month my band released the first single from our album and the wonderful Sam King made filmed the entire event so we could bring you this video. Enjoy!
Single Launch & All Tamara's Parties #7 from Tamara Parsons-Baker on Vimeo.

Church Appeal

Tuesday night 28th May saw us all stuffed into Tommy’s new van (OK, OK, it’s actually incredibly spacious) and race over to London to play a gig at The Buffalo Bar in Islington.  It reminded me of a smaller version of The Cellar with incredibly steep stairs leading down to the darkness below… We were greeted by a very friendly soundman and started unloading the van for sound check.  Huck and the Xander Band, Tom and I, Billy T’rivers and the Wild West Retirement Home and a chap called Sweet Bread, the only London based artist on the bill (who it turns out went to school with my brother; there's no escaping Oxford!)."

Tonight was a PinDrop night and Seb was a very charming and witty host. We had a great turn out for a chilly Tuesday night.  Tom and I opened but due to a rather razorblade throat (actual medical term) I could only pipe out about 3 songs before my vocal chords gave up.  The audience were very forgiving and remained attentive throughout my raspy songs and the barman kept filling up my glass with hot water and lemon. Sweet Bread played an interesting set of what I can only describe as medieval folk.  Funnily enough, when I think about his set I can't help picturing him in a knight's robe...  too much information.   Billy T’rivers. Well what can I say?  I was mega excited to finally see them live as I had booked them for an ATP the following night after seeing one of their videos. A wonderfully thick country/American style with 3 part harmonies to match.  Their songs were warming and upbeat and made me want to jig around the room.  Billy, the front man, busted out a few very heartfelt solo numbers in the middle of the set which had impact on the silent room. They are an incredibly talented and tight band who are soon to release their debut album so make sure you check them out in Oxford soon.

Huck and the Xander band took to the stage to headline and you may think I’m biased but it was a truly magnificent set.  I’ve seen Huck build these songs from acoustic fledgling works-in-progress on his guitar into powerful stories with a full band behind him and not to mention some brilliant song writing.  Jamie’s riffling guitar lines get stuck in your head and I haven’t stopped humming the melody to a Sufi from Dixie.  Huck gets into character for each song, snarling at the audience and hollering his lines. At times he is almost operatic and if you caught him at the Candy Says single launch gig at St Barnabas a few weeks ago you would have been mesmerised by his surprising church appeal.  Despite the different setting the same qualities come through, clear crisp lyrics and some unsettling but strangely pleasing tones.  Sometimes having musician friends can be annoying. They can often be late, overly self-critical and arrogant, wear ridiculous trousers and insist on getting you drunk when you have to get up very early in the morning.  But the wonderful thing about knowing them is that you are incredibly privileged; you get to see them develop into something and someone else (which is hopefully a great musician). For some people it’s a long process, and for others it just gets better and better. This gig blew me away and as I sat there sipping my hot water and lemon I really felt like the audience were blown away too.  Huck started to blast out Xander the Great and as the crowd hollered in glee the barman waved his kettle at me (not a euphemism):“one for the road?“ he grinned. 

 

Our next gig can be found here.

Tamara and the Martyrs Single Launch: 26 June at The Library Pub

We are releasing our single 'Get Him Out' from our debut album 'Girl Jokes about Boy Parts' which is due out later this year. Not only that but it is a triple celebration: It's an All Tamara's Parties night, my birthday AND our single launch.  Could you be anymore excited? We will have some great guests supporting us in the form of witty singer songwriter and 1/4 of Candy Says, Ben Walker, award winning poet, playwright and author, Caroline Bird, and the quirky and foot-stompingly good, Reichenbach Falls.  Not to mention our lovely in-house compere and poet, George Chopping.DETAILS: Wednesday 26 June, at the Library from 7.30pm.  Entry is £3 which includes a free download of the single. Cake will be everywhere! FB GROUP.



If only I could create an album with some PVA glue and a toilet roll tube...

I knew recording an album would take a lot of time but who would have thought that a year later the thing still isn’t finished. Holy facking crop circles!. In April 2012 I stepped into the studio to record an album with my band ( The Martyrs). I was on a strict timetable, intent on releasing it before my departure to Australia in October for a well-earned break.  I was dreaming up the single launch for July and the album launch to follow in September. Now we’re in May 2013 and we’ve finally said “Yes, master the damn thing!”.  This week we invited a photographer to take some pictures of us to adorn the album sleeve and next week we hope to shoot the album cover--a picture that mainly contains ketchup so it shouldn’t be too hard to organise, right? RIGHT?  Maybe now I can go back to my dreams of organising the single launch. Are these really my dreams? Disturbing.   



When do I get to do the fun stuff again? Like play gigs and drink beers. Soon, soon. We’ve just got to listen to the CD to see if the order works (will anyone even listen to it in this order in the end? Will anyone even listen to it?), decide on how many folds we’d like in our digipacks, get the artwork and content typed up and ready (what should I say? "Thanks mum" and all that, or just keep it aloof? Get the album printed and make sure everyone’s name and instruments are spelt right (Amanda Lynn), pay people (£££) and put on a show.  D.I.Y bands eh, such fun!

Speaking of the single launch; a date will be announced soon...stay tuned!

The Oxford Country Folk Songwriters Circle

What do you get when you ask a bunch of musicians to sit in a semicircle on stage, play songs in turn and talk about their music to the audience? Not only a great night of music, but the Songwriters Circle-a unique night of unplugged music hosted by Dava of Swindlestock and Olly Wills of The Epstein. 

I’d been to their previous night in April when Dava mentioned he would like to invite me to play one of them.  At first I couldn't think of anything more horrifying. Sitting with other musicians talking about the meaning of our songs and why we wrote them; awkward.  I was worried it would look too staged or resemble a chat show and be a bit cringey for the audience. How wrong I was.  Watching the musicians play a song each, and hearing the other guests' questions about their songs and style was interesting. After all, this wasn't musicians being interviewed by fans or uninspiring reviewers. This was musicians being asked questions by other musicians.  And this is the genius of the night.  Where musicians can sometimes be insecure, arrogant or competitive, in this setting they are quite the opposite. 

Photo by Pier Corona

And watching them listen to each other so intently seems to hold the audience captive--when else do you see some of your favourite musicians sitting on stage listening to some of their favourite musicians? And for me, it was a great pleasure to be sat right next to Huck, Matt Sage, Dava and Olly and hear their songs.  It is rare and intense to be sat so close to someone as they sing their heart out. Olly sang a song about his Grandmother’s funeral that brought me close to tears and Matt Sage told us a story of young love with an academic which brought us close to tears of laughter as he sang out ‘I trained a spy’.  Huck and I met up a few hours before the gig and had a nostalgic afternoon playing through Huck and the Handsome Fee songs. We decided to perform The Fall and Staggerlee. It was great to have the opportunity to sing together and a reinvention of the Fee is in discussion (although it would have to be an acoustic version named the Handsome Two, of course).

So, if you get a chance to make it to the next Songwriters' Circle then I highly recommend it.  You won’t be disappointed.

Melbourne Free

There is rather an impressive young man in front of me in the check-in queue.  He is fully kitted out with an enormous backpack, a golden tan and an air of arrogance about him that says, "I'm incredibly well travelled, don'cha know?"  So, I couldn't help but snigger to myself when the lady at the desk informed him that he'd come to the airport a day early; his flight was in fact tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly a golden tan turns to a blushing rouge.

JB: not looking his best

Everyone in balmy Sydney told me Melbourne would be cold.  I wish I'd listened.  Despite the sunshine Melbourne was definitely a place that required socks and a warm vest in November. After my smooth hour-long flight I caught a long bus into the city to meet my friend John-Boy.  I lived with JB in Oxford when he was a student studying the Oxford BPhil, which is quite possibly the hardest degree known to man.  But despite having some of the biggest brains on campus he also has the sense of humour of a buffoon which is why we got on so well. After a hard day reading Wittgenstein he would join me on the sofa to watch a Come Dine With Me marathon or sing along to America's Next Top Model ("You wanna be on top?!"). He once made me a stir fry that contained so much fresh ginger I couldn't taste anything else for a whole week.

We ride the tram back to his home in Brunswick. This part of Melbourne's not like anywhere I've been before; lots of cool little shops and eateries but all in a very 70s style (I didn't know wallpaper was back in?). But what Brunswick lacks in interior design it makes up for in great pubs.  And I mean pubs. Proper pubs that feel like the pubs back home. And they sell pints! I order one excitedly and feel the effects immediately; after 2 months drinking schooners this pint is like being kicked in the clackers by a kangaroo. In a good way.


Takoyaki being made at the night market

The next day we head into the city centre.  We have coffee in a rather trendy street where all the cafes are like little tiny huts squished next to each other and the chairs spill out onto the street. Centre Place; the place to be.  Melbourne feels very multicultural, European and a little edgier than Sydney (Apologies to my Sydney-sider friends but it's true).  There is some very ornate Victorian architecture here and with the trams running up and down the city it makes you feel like you've travelled back in time. I like it!

Are you game?

We head to a few galleries in the NGV and then JB suggests we go and see some 'bush paintings'.  Having never heard of a bush painting before my mind conjured up all sorts of meanings but I was relieved to find some beautiful depictions of some of the first settlers arriving in Australia.  Little did I know how much of an expert JB turned out to be in regards to his heritage. As we strolled around the paintings he told me stories of famous explorers and prison escapees.  It is really unbelievable that these first settlers could survive such a country with its harsh terrain and lack of amenities (not to mention the bloodthirsty kangaroos).  They're a tough sort these Aussies.

We finished off the day with a visit to one of the regular night markets.  With rows and rows of food stalls including every national dish under the sun we really did work up an appetite trying to decide what to eat.  And then you have to stay for ice cream as they have every flavour imaginable.  A few post dinner beers later and we end up in a nice pub called "the Oxford Pub" typical. The streets all begin to look the same and the trams are all heading in the wrong direction. We flag a taxi home and try to sneak in so we don't wake JB's housemate.  The chook in the garden has other ideas though and makes a terrible racket. I'm beginning to feel at home in Melbourne.

Next time: I play a gig in Melbourne and witness a horny Koala bear courting a tree at the Healesville Animal Sanctuary (rated PG).