Cannonball Jane

First, the name Cannonball Jane. How did you come up with it?

It’s one of those things that arose from when I was a teenager and I would imagine different monikers for myself or my imaginary future band. Cannonball Jane just instantly clicked for me! It’s strong, classic and feminine.

I’m sure you get this a lot but how were you able to balance being a teacher and recording your music in your free time?

Well, I was definitely heading into the “crazy cat lady” territory in terms of isolating myself at home with just my cat to get everything done for school and to record. My co-workers were very puzzled as to why I was so tired all of the time. I have a strong tendency to stay up very, very, very late and to procrastinate badly.

Have you played your students any of your work?

No, I’ve kept Cannonball Jane and school completely separate. I would only consider playing my songs for my kindergartners during our “Freeze Game” because it’s such fun music. I think they’d really enjoy it!

What equipment do you use to create your music?

I recorded everything onto a digital workstation. I use cheap samplers, a synthesizer, guitars, old vinyl, beatboxes, drums, effects…I really enjoy having something physically in my hands when I create music and I like mixing electronic sounds with organic sounds.

You were able get Adrock from the Beastie Boys to remix a song on your upcoming EP. How did that end up happening?

He’s a friend of mine. He was letting me listen to a remix he did for the band Measles, Mumps, Rubella and I asked him if he’d do a remix for me. He said he liked my song, Take it to Fantastic, so he remixed that one.

How do you perform live shows? Do you utilize pre-recorded tapes or do you recruit a friend to help out? Have you ever toured before?

Ugh….figuring out live shows can be so puzzling. I use pre-recorded music with certain elements taken out of it. I have a person who plays the guitar for shows and I sing, play the synth, work the samplers and operate any other audio/visual device needed for the show.
As far as touring goes, it’s been all over the place! My very first show was at a coffee shop and the next one was opening for Le Tigre in front of a couple thousand people….I felt like a deer in headlights! We’ve played out about 30 times, sharing the stage with Le Tigre, The Go! Team, ESG and we had a small tour in the UK when my debut album was released there. I’m looking forward to doing more shows in the future!

You teach and create but do you have time for anything else?

Barely, but I do squeeze in showers, grocery store runs, lots of coffee consumption, computer time, tennis and talking on the phone with my sisters! Oh yeah, and I also do all the accounting for my school! (I love crunching numbers!)

So what can we expect next for you?

Definitely more music as well as advocating for the arts in schools.

By John Siwicki

Dickie Haydon

Lexington, Kentucky’s favorite son sat down with us to answer a few questions about his new solo EP and some of the other bands that he spends time in.

CC: Hello, how are you today?
DH: Feeling good. Just about to do some laundry and such before I head off to work.

CC: Tell us a bit about your new EP? You recorded and released it all yourself?
DH: Well, this is my debut release under my own name… it’s a 6-song EP called ‘Hunger Pangs.’ It is basically a culmination of songs I didn’t see fit for my other musical projects. They were all written within the past year and are probably the most personal collection of songs I’ve ever publicly released. I recorded it all on my own, along with some help from my good friend, Jackson Silvanik (played bass & drums on ‘Hunger Pangs’), in my apartment as well as my dad’s house.

CC: What made you decide to release a solo work?
DH: Again, when writing these songs I just felt as if they didn’t fit into the catalog of work for Petticoat (my main musical project). I had recorded demos and shown them to close friends without any intention of releasing them…however, I was persuaded to release them…maybe because my friends are inappropriately supportive? Haha. I also seem to get into new musical projects every year…I have the bad habit of putting too much on my plate at once, but I love surrounding myself with as many creative outlets as possible. It just seemed natural to pursue doing the whole ’solo thing’ once people took so much interest in the songs.

CC: The song “Tabitha” is there really a girl out there with that name?
DH: Yes, there certainly is. She was my childhood dog who just passed away about a year ago. I had had her since I was 8 years old and she died (of heart failure) right before I turned 21. I wrote the song the night that she passed away.

CC: Also, you are in two other bands so do you manage everything?
DH: Yes, I play in a band called Petticoat, Petticoat as well as The Scourge Of The Sea. It can be a bit hectic trying to manage time between the three of them but I make it work to the best of my ability. All of the guys in Scourge, as well as Kristin and Jackson (Petticoat) are involved in various musical projects as well, so there are holes in time when they are off touring without me…this is when I focus on other projects! We’re all incredibly close friends so we understand when time is needed to be spent elsewhere.

CC: One of your other bands Petticoat, Petticoat can you give us an update on them?
DH: Yes, Petticoat is in the midst of writing and demoing new material for our second full length album, which we hope to have completed by late summer or early fall of ‘08. We’re still supporting our first full length record, Every Mother’s Child (came out 7/11/06), by playing regionally when we can. A lot of the new Petticoat material is much more intimate and personal than our previous releases. It’s very much become a singer/songwriter type of band as opposed to the indie/pop outfit we had during the release of Every Mother’s Child.

CC: How is the scene in Lexington? Any other bands we should be on top of?
DH: The Lexington scene is wonderful. I love it here. There are so many songwriters and musicians representing so many different genres and coming up with such great art. What we have here is essentially one giant collective in a modestly-sized college town; something I would compare to Omaha or Athens. Some of the other movers and shakers you should check into are Clifton Keller and Neva Geoffrey. They are my two favorite Lexington singer/songwriters right now.

CC: What is Dickie’s next move?
DH: Well, I just finished up some sporadic tour dates within the past two months; I hit up the east coast up to NYC and back down, as well as some other regional shows. A two week tour during the first half of January will be taking me around the southeast. Tour dates are on my Myspace! I’m also in the midst of recording a new album with The Scourge Of The Sea, which will be our second full length. This is coming out (tentatively) this summer! You know, just keeping busy. Thanks for letting me do this interview!

By John Siwicki

Marina Siertis

For those who don’t know the band can you give us a little background?

Marina Siertis is a Swedish pop band that consists of Martin Löfgren on Vocals, Martin Fridegren on Guitar and André Öberg on Keyboard. Marina Siertis was formed in 2000 and since then we have released 2 full length albums, a couple of EP’s and toured both Europe and the states.

Right now we are doing promotion for our latest album, the much needed second cold war, that is released world wide this week.

So, your new album “The Much Needed Second Cold War” has a very political title to it can we expect you tackle some current events in the album?

On the album we have a number of songs with a political background. At some time at the production of the album we grew tired of artists desperately separating their own opinion out of fear that they will lose a fraction of their fan base. The lyrics of the political songs on the album have to a large extent been written in frustration over the state of the world. The major example is the so called war on terror, where the US as well as other countries in vengeance rolled the dice and blindly struck at the Arabic country at hand. In this case the enormous US military force was released on Afghanistan and Iraq, with unwanted results. Or was the results really unwanted? The governments kept the minimum wage worker in line, through fear of a non existing threat. This is the background to the song “The Much Needed Second Cold War”.

Another song, “American Torture”, is of course based on the events in Abu Ghraib. The song “The Minister is Dead”, concerns the stabbing of the Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh and the way media wolfed down the incident.

To avoid expanding on the subject excessively it is safe to say the you can expect us to tackle some current events in the album.

The influence on the album are wide. The Cure and Depeche Mode are right there but even traces of REM and Radiohead come to mind as well. What were some of your other influences musical and non-musical?

It’s interesting that you are mentioning these bands. Especially The Cure and Depeche Mode are great influences over the years. The influences are always there in the back of your head somehow, but we never think of these when we start to make music. More or less the songs are under development during the whole process and we never really know from the start in which direction a new song will end up.

If you try to write a demo with the aim at sounding as a specific band, it’ll surely end up in the trash can. The music must come genuinely from within you. But Radiohead is a splendid band and the lyrics to abuse is inspired by the REM-song “Why Not Smile”.

How do you go about writing your songs?

As mentioned above, much of the lyrics are written as response to national or international events. In those cases the lyrics usually is written before the music. On this album the music of such songs have been initiated by sitting down with a guitar and just let the music come out. On other songs the music is done first and thereafter the lyrics is written. On “The Much Needed Second Cold War” such lyrics has a tendency of being about individuals and their anger and sorrow. The way of recognizing if the song is any good has been that somewhere around nine in the evening one realizes that one has forgotten eating lunch and dinner. The tunes have just come out without any break out of fear of forgetting ones great ideas.

How do you feel the band has changed over the last eight years?

8 years ago we released our first EP called “View from an Intergalactic Star”. From the beginning the sound was quite much more synth pop. Also the music was recorded in a living room using simple equipment. Today we have our own studio, with professional recording possibilities.
Also we lost a keyboardist about four years ago and gained a guitarist about the same time. This has of course contributed to our musical puzzle. Now the guitar and the electronic sound are coexisting.

Any bands we should be listening to?

We would like to recommend some Swedish acts that we like right now:
Dimbodius, Tarnation Street, Twice a Man and The Knife.

What is the next move for the band? Touring? Recording?

The next move is to promote the new album. This includes interviews, radio shows, touring, promotion events, and you name it. But of course there is also a lot of inspiration to write new songs for our next album and we already have a bunch of demos that we would like to work on.

Interview with Martin Löfgren and André Öberg from Marina Siertis.

By John Siwicki

Leon Jean-Marie

Chances are that you went to see either of the artists who made last year their year; Mika or Amy Winehouse. Well, if you did, there is a good chance that your appetite for those acts was warmed by a flighty and funky set of R N’ B gelled indie from the unassuming and genuine East Londoner, Mr Leon Jean-Marie. His vibrant sets and personable nature has won Leon many friends as he stoically attempts to make his brand of R N’ B/Funk palatable to as wide ranging an audience as possible. Leon kindly takes time out from his hectic recording/touring schedule to open out his thoughtful and funky world;

How did you find the experience of opening for MIKA and Amy Winehouse last year? Did you change your set at all to fit in with the demands of the MIKA and Winehouse fans?

I found both tours incredible, for many reasons. Mika, his band and crew were so kind, his tour gave me the opportunities to play in front of the biggest crowds I have ever played for. I’d say my set for that tour was constructed to be very lively and energetic.

Supporting Amy was also special, because I already knew some of the band members, and having met her before in New York it was like a little reunion, my set for her was a little toned down and more soulful.
Your stand out song for me so far, is the slow building, yearning ballad of ‘Beg’. That sees you put in a polished, soaring vocal performance. What is the story behind this and is it difficult to perform live due to its personal nature?

‘Beg’ is my most personal song, it’s a song for the men that lose their way in a relationship basically. It is hard to perform live, because the song can grab me, and cause me to lose myself. The last thing I want is to break down on stage.

Your funky side is investigated through East End Blues? Is this more indicative of your current mood and defiant streak, as you include a lash out at pigeon holers in it?

Oh yes! I have never liked to be pigeon holed or stereotyped. It was definitely created from a mood and a deep feeling I have always had.

What does the term R’N’B mean to you these days and has it changed over the years?

Rhythm’n'Blues! Yes it has changed a lot, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I do feel that old skool R’n'B was much more about the song and less about the production and the complex vocal performance.

Are attempts to combat ticket touting such as those deployed by the Glastonbury organisers merely stabbing the honest punter in the front instead of in the back? Increasing booking fees and hidden changes are just making ticket touting a corporate business - or do you disagree?

No! I agree. Now I’m gonna sound like a moany old man, but I find it’s the way of the world now, to overprice everything. Everything is just about money, driven by greed which is such a shame.

Describe the East London scene that you have blossomed out of, did you fit in with it? Is the cyber-world of Youtube and Myspace threatening to destroy geographical scenes as we know and love them?

I live right on the border of East London and Essex, so i grew up in a very diverse little world. Suffering minor cases of racial abuse growing up I would still say I fit in, all that stuff I just think of it as a not a big deal. I had a lot of white friends on one side from Woodford/Loughton and on the other lots of black friends from Leyton/Waltamstow, and always appreciated their musical tastes.

The Youtube and Myspace age has its positives and negatives, the negatives are the way these sites have the ability to waste away your day, it’s so easy to lose time browsing these sites. The positive side I feel is how small it’s made the world, and how you can touch people on the other side of the world.

Which of your songs sums up your current mood and why?

Definitely the new single ‘Bed of Nails’. You just can’t get away from at the moment in the news, about kids killing kids.

If you could get any established artist or band to cover one your numbers which one and who would it be?

I would love to hear Prince sing ‘You Must Know’, but you and I know that will never happen if it was the last song on earth! lol

By Dave Adair

The 66; The Lounge Warrington (11/10/07)

Descending the stairs into a compact, leery pit of expectation that is awaiting the first hometown gig from the rugged rock/garage/indie and psychedelic mixing Warrington troupe The 66, is reminiscent to that of The Roadhouse in Manchester several years back. Back then it was some rising southern misfits who went by the name of The Libertines causing the air of anticipation. Tonight, it is The 66 stirring things up even before their entrance. The fulcrum of the outfit builds around an intriguing front pairing, featuring The Ever Mercurial Mike Bee (ex The Bridge and Zen Cohen) and the raw strutting young early Bobby Gillespie mirroring vocalist, Daniel Rimmer.
Every sinew is strained early on by a mixture of excitable, intrigued and “too-cool-for-school”gatherers, attempting to see if both a new band and potential gig venue holds up to expectation. One song, “Rise” confirms all optimism on both counts, as the full potent impact of a raw and ripping sound akin to an early Stone Roses when they were under the influence of Slaughter And The Dogs, envelopes the surroundings. The rugged sound is well concealed in the tinned basement and a bolshie, high spirited atmosphere descends upon the venue. The indie kids who are slowly starting to wander back upstairs, do a U-turn to rival Blair and Brown put together, when a rough n’ ready The Cribs molded tune, “Instant Europe” finds its way into the set. Mike Bee’s guitar prowess is rarely doubted from anyone who witnessed one of his performances, but tonight he shows he has taken a step forward by providing a rugged backing vocal thrust, beefing up the lofty and slightly nasal push of Rimmer.

The 66 are far from a two person band, as percussionist Ian ‘Ghandi’ Wilson and bassist Craig Harman demonstrates through a Sound Garden intro and The Ramones strutting free bass rumble of “Bordello”. Uncovering sleazy life with 70’s rock sordidness and it is just what this Saturday night crowd needs. Harman continues his prominence throughout the rhythm bustling bass kicked and Nine Black Alps skirting, “Gypsy Queen”. Atmospheric instrumental implants give extra mystique to the songs that are kicked along by a light rock vocal style, turning material towards the catchy range that Free used to blistering impact. There has been some recent criticism of the people of Warrington for failing to support a mediocre football team. Surely the people of this town will be able to find the time and energy, needed to give a little shove in the right direction to a band with the potential to expand into a traditional, but forward gazing band to be proud of? Unless you’re an indie bore that is!

By Dave Adair

Say Hi - The Witches and The Glitches

Say Hi was formally Say Hi To Your Mom but they decided to trim up the name a bit and it seems to work a little bit better. This is my first Say Hi record as this is the bands fifth record overall. The band which is basically just one guy named Eric who gets a lot of helped started off in Brooklyn but has since relocated to Seattle as of late. Once, the albums first chords struck I became a believer of the band. The song is “Northwestern Girls.” The song starts off with some simple keyboard bits and then a thick and floaty vocal comes in to command my attention. Then when the female background singer joins in it creates such an impressive atmosphere and then the song continues to build and get much louder and denser. “Shake Her Shoulders” has some incredible drumming and some contagious handicapping. Then tracks like “Toil and Trouble” and “Back Before We Were Brittle” which, both have very impressive intros with “Toil” sounding like some sort of interglacial weapon. “Magic Beans and the Truth Machine” is an amazing little track. At first, it seems to be a short instrumental, then when Eric’s vocal kicks in and then a piano follows him it turns into a strange pop tune.

A rich and accomplished album “The Wishes and The Glitches” turned out to be. Eric Elogen is an amazing talent for composing such an album basically solo. The instrumentation and the production are spot on and sound amazing at times. His vocal is familiar but not showing too much parody to other singers. When it comes down to it, the album is well made and extremely enjoyable collection.

By John Siwicki

Hammer No More The Fingers - Hammer No More The Fingers

Hammer No More The Fingers’ are a three piece from Durham, North Carolina. The band have a very unique sound. At times, they have flashes of a Queens of the Stone Age, but they also carry a indie influences right there with them. A post-punk-post-indie band perhaps? The first song “Orgy” gets off into a massive riff and you can tell when they hit the chorus this is an instant live favorite. “Mushrooms” is a bit silly but very notable, with the silly lyrics. The bands debut shows a lot of promise, the band knows how to put on a show and have a good time. They effective mixed it up nicely with a track like “Fall Down Play Dead.” There is a lot of good here and once it is planned out well, the band will be all set.

By John Siwicki

Camera Head Shark - Oh You!

What a great name for a band. Every time, I hear that name I literally think of a shark attacking me with a camera. This New York band’s self-released album is what indie pop should be. Its fun, serious and wacky in all the right places and there is a great balance between all of those elements. For example. the first track on the album “Punched” its this funky little tune with even an appearance by an organ. Then you get a track like “Help Me Out” goes with a more straightforward approach, with multi layered vocals and a intense hook. “Kurbana” sounds like something out of the Barenaked Ladies catalog, it has that quirky sensibilities. “I Can’t Wait” has a bit of country/folk/bluegrass to it and its very compelling hybrid of different sounds. The harmonica and that fast violin are still fun. Camera Head Shark’s album was a fun time. It won’t be something that is going to blow you away. But, there are a few deep, solid and fun songs that are very nice to tap along to.

By John Siwicki

Led Zeppelin - Mothership

There are far too many outstanding tracks on this fantastic double album to choose from, to review individually, but the classic Stairway to Heaven is simply breathtaking, Dazed and Confused is mind-blowing, the sound on this one really spins you out and carries you off to another place.

Good Times Bad Times, as with most tracks on this album, this boasts incredible electric guitar work, at all times the vocals are incredibly powerful from the melancholic atmosphere on Stairway to Heaven to the lighter heartedness on Good Times, Bad Times.

Over the Hills and Far Away is a track which mixes sounds and pace with higher vocals and it works, amazingly well. Achilles Last Stand is quite haunting in places, rocky in others; it’s an extremely cleverly put together track. In the Evening is another example of how these guys really

Richard Hawley - Born Under A Bad Sign

This is the fourth single lifted off Richard’s highly acclaimed “Coles Corner” LP. I really enjoyed the guitar in this song, and the laid back style; the vocals are not my cup of tea though they aren’t unpleasant by any means and are consistent throughout. I was disappointed to find the lyrics a tad weak and repetitive; I’d like to hear this guy do something more rocky and upbeat.

By J.Greenwood