Friday
The Little Kicks
KOBI
Saturday
Three Blind Wolves
Over The Wall
The John Knox Sex Club
Sizequeen
Detour Dj’s
The Little Kicks
www.myspace.com/thelittlekicks
The Little Kicks are a 4 piece band based in Scotland who are becoming well known for their distinctly catchy upbeat indie pop songs combined with their reputation for a great live show.
Since their formation the band have toured across the UK several times in their own right and have done so to a great response. The band have also played at festivals such as T in the Park, Belladrum, Insider, Connect and have regularly appeared on stages at the other major Scottish music festivals.
KOBI
Back in 2003/04 the Highland music scene looked very different; there was no Ironworks to bring established names to the area and only the Raigmore Motel offered the opportunity to catch recognised artists in the Highland Capital. When Belladrum launched in 2004, it was headlined by The Grim Northern Social and Linda Gail Lewis (sister of Jerry Lee Lewis) whilst Rockness and Loopallu were still ideas in someone’s head.
In this environment, if a band wanted to gig hard they had to make their own opportunities, and it was exactly this situation that proved the making of Dingwall group KOBI. “We played our own music largely because we were so bad at covers,” jokes singer and songwriter Gary Thain. “It was difficult to get a gig playing original music initially, as all the venues were full of cover bands, but our bass player would get in touch with halls, hotels and bars across the North of Scotland and get us playing everywhere from Ullapool to Evanton to Aberdeen to Portmahomack, we must have done something like 50 shows in our first year of gigging!”
In early 2005 the band went into hiatus, but now in 2011 armed with a brand new set, now Gary Thain (Vocals/Guitar), Dave Smith (Drums), and Steve Robertson (Bass) are back as KOBI.
“We had a jam at the start of the year, immediately started to write new music and it just felt right for everyone to be playing again”, continues Thain. “It’s great to come back to such a cool music scene with so many avenues to explore, when Belladrum launched in 2004 it only had one stage, but we wanted to be part of it somehow, so we played an acoustic set in the car park.”
This is however no exercise in nostalgia; KOBI haven’t come back to life to re-hash old songs and reminisce about days gone by, they have come with a renewed vigour to make new music and embrace fresh ideas, but thankfully one thing remains as it was, they will do what they always have done, kick down doors and grab attention.
Three Blind Wolves
http://www.myspace.com/threeblindwolves
Loud, hairy, and unpredictable, Three Blind Wolves are four young Glaswegians delivering country rock with a razor sharp edge. Drawing influences from Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival and even Led Zeppelin, the boys have sold out venues across Scotland with their wild stage presence, transfixing harmonies and captivating performance. They have built on their ever-growing reputation across the UK and beyond, with two successful tours in the Netherlands under their belts and a headline slot at the sold-out Communion Christmas party last year.
Resultantly the band released mini-album Sound of the Storm on Communion Records in March 2011 to critical acclaim, with track Emily Rose bagging a well-deserved place on the July MOJO magazine cover CD and sealing their soaring momentum with a coveted place on the BBC Introducing stage at T in the park 2011.
Over The Wall
Over the Wall consists of friends Gav Prentice of old steel town Bathgate and Ben Hillman of old seaside town Bridlington, who met in Glasgow in 2002 and have been inflicting their relationship on others through the medium of ‘euphoric failed‐pop’ music since 2006. Their debut album Treacherous – think Michael Jackson’s Dangerous but with less morals ‐ released in November 2010, and is the result of four years work.
Incorporating DIY elements, the album cements the band’s sound while managing to defy the notions of fragile folktronica which won them praise for their debut EP The Rise And Fall Of Over The Wall. One track from that release, ‘Thurso’, features alongside ten original tracks. As catchy as can be, and genuinely difficult to categorise, the album engenders instant smiles and a desire to toe tap, but perhaps most importantly, answers that age old question: what exactly are ‘bacon chips’?
The John Knox Sex Club
www.thejohnknoxsexclub.bandcamp.com
The John Knox Sex Club are 6 humble people, 5 from Glen Curney and one from Ireland somewhere, we found her, her name is Travellin’ Tumilty. Started from boredom and a love for the MC5, we didn’t record, we played live. now we do record; our second album, yet to be titled, will be release August 28th 2011. Our first “Blud Rins Cauld” was released last year in handcrafted boxes made on a kitchen table….they are still made on kitchen tables. John Knox Sex Club do not play to be watched, we play to be involved, stages are seldom used and crowd participation is encouraged…. it will be loud…it will be fun…
Detour DJs
Manning the decks, and plugging the gaps on Saturday will be Scottish promoters, DJs and all round nice guys – the Detour boys.
As if they’re not busy enough in between jetting off to South By South West, putting on gigs, or filming live performances from the country’s top bands in the strangest locations, we’ve managed to pin down the brains behind Detour for an exclusive DJ set as part of this years mayhem!
David Weaver and Ally McCrae have carved out a niche for themselves by displaying fine taste in promoting, pushing and generally championing the very best up-and-coming bands from the Scottish music scene.
Their ‘Wee Jaunt’ parties/festival/tours/rammys in Glasgow and Edinburgh are the stuff of legend and BBC Scotland were so impressed by their style that they even gave Mr McCrae his own show, which also goes out on Radio 1!
