Jocknroll - Top 10 Albums of 2009

Lloyd over at Peenko has invited many of the blogging community to submit their Top 10 albums of 2009. Here, just for the record, is the selection of The Cat (Dave might get round to his at some point). There's an obvious jockanese slant to my selection. To be honest most of the stuff I've bought this year has been compilations for my radio show but here is the modern stuff that has floated my tanker in the past 12 months and, yes, they're in order.

1. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
2. Dropkick – Abelay Hotel
3. Trashcan Sinatras – In the Music
4. Colin MacIntyre – Island
5. Sergeant – Sergeant
6. Ian Brown – My Way
7. Prefab Sprout – Let’s Change the World with Music
8. God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl
9. Butcher Boy – React or Die
10. Jackie Leven – Winter: Men in Prison/Munich Blues

The Cat
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Dropkick - New Album and Scottish Tour Dates

From Alastair Taylor of the band:

"I've got no time to think of anything witty to write, so I suppose I'll just get straight down to the facts...

Dropkick's new album "Abelay Hotel" will be released on 12th September on Sound Asleep Records of Sweden. I think it's our 9th album but it's definitely not our 9th best one. I hope not anyway.The CD is available to order now from our website www.dropkickmusic.co.uk for £6.49 including postage to anywhere in the world. If you'd rather not clutter up your house with useless plastic junk or just cannot wait another 10 days to get the CD, you can already download the album from all the usual places, including iTunes, eMusic, Amazon and Napster. And if you'd rather try before you buy, you can also listen to the album in full on the new-fangled music player thingy on our website or at www.last.fm/music/Dropkick/Abelay%2BHotel.

To coincide with the release, we're playing a few gigs around Scotland. Here's the list of places and times to avoid:
Thu 3rd Sept @ 13th Note, Glasgow. Support from The Sweetheart Revue. 8.30pm. £5.
Fri 4th Sept @ Twa Tams, Perth. 10pm. Free entry.
Sat 5th Sept @ The Seaforth, Ullapool. 10pm. Free entry.
Sat 12th Sept @ Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. ALBUM LAUNCH GIG. Support from Andy Tucker and The Young Spooks. Doors 7pm (early show). £5 entry includes a free CD!
Sat 19th Sept @ Aikman's, St Andrews. 9.30pm. Free entry.

OK, that's enough self-promotion for now. Hope you all enjoy the new album!

Alastair Dropkick

http://www.dropkickmusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/dropkickmusic

Attic Lights/The Primary 5/Dropkick/The Parish Music Box - Town Hall, Darvel 8 May 2009

If the recent Camera Obscura/Attic Lights Barrowlands gig was a double whammy of pop, then last night's Darvel Festival gig was a quadraphonic aural delight with four quality bands taking to the stage on a great night for lovers of melodic pop.

Due to a prior engagement with a fish supper on the bench outside the venue, accompanied by Annemarie and Fiona from the Cairn String Quartet, I missed half of The Parish Music Box's set. But what I did see was very impressive and once you get past the Rhydian-meets-Morrissey look and mannerisms of lead singer Andy, you can hear an interesting band, with more than a hint of Cousteau about them. And that's no bad thing.

Two previous attempts to see Dropkick live had been aborted due to personal reasons too trivial to go into here. Needless to say I was delighted to finally catch their finely-honed country-tinged pop. I'm always delighted to see a band using harmonies and all four band members get in on the act to great effect. On a personal level I would love to have heard the title track from "Patchwork" and opener "Nowhere Girl" from the same album but I have no doubt I'll have more opportunities soon to hear them live. There was more than enough

Opening with "What Am I Supposed To Do?" from debut album "North Pole", The Primary 5, as they say in football parlance, set their stall out early doors. With four guitarists up front, including new recruit Gordon Keen (ex-Eugenius/Captain America/BMX Bandits), they were playing attacking pop and hell mend anyone who got in the way. Half of their set came from their most recent platter "High Five" and they were joined on stage for the title track by the Bellshill Beach Boy himself, Duglas T Stewart. Sure there are bound to be comparisons with lead singer Paul Quinn's musical alma mater but I can think of a lot worse bands to sound like. They're developing their own sound and musically maturing with every record. My personal highlight of their excellent set was "Fly Baby Fly", which, to me at least, had an air of The Beatles-meet-The Pastels about it and that's something you don't hear everyday.

Playing all the tracks from their stunning debut "Friday Night Lights" alongside a couple of brand new sings and some old favourites, Attic Lights served up a fabulous pick 'n' mix of pop goodies to an enthusiastic crowd. Despite seeing Attic Lights four times in the last six months, I still can't get enough of their harmonic, melodic guitar-driven power pop. With plenty of keyboards and pedal steel guitar thrown into mix too, their well-crafted songs are nothing less than wonderful. Your next chance to catch this very talented band at The Big Festival on 25th July. You certainly won't regret it. Hell, I may even join you! Again!!

The Parish Music Box
Heavy Drinkers
Sand Apple
Velocity Kendall
Can't Weigh The Rain
Petrocelli
Sniffer Dogs
Our Roman Knows
Bring It On

Dropkick
Only For Yourself
Can't Help It
Making Time To Talk
Breakdown
Choose
Don't Know Where It Ends
Dot The I
Figure It Out
Lucky That The Heart
Obvious
Avenues

The Primary 5
What Am I Supposed To Do
Out In The Cold
High 5
Sunsets
I'll Lay You Down
I Wonder Why
Lost and Confused
Fly Baby Fly
So Much To Find
Make Believe

Attic Lights
Bring You Down
God
The Dirty Thirst
Suzi Come On (new song debut)
People Say
Never By Myself
Walkie Talkie
Send Those Dark Eyes This Way
Stay Before You Leave (new song)
Late Night Sunshine
Martin
Bad Day (new song debut)
Game of Pricks (Guided By Voices cover)
Winter On
Wendy
Nothing But Love (Encore)
Never Get Sick of the Sea (Encore)

A big thank you to Fiona and Annemarie from the Cairn String Quartet for their company and craic. I had a bad start to the day and they snapped me out of my grumpy mood.

Music in the car going to the gig: The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
Music in the car travelling home from the gig: The Primary 5 - High Five (3 times because I daren't risked changing CD mid-journey, especially at 1am on the M8!)

Highlights: Attic Lights “Send Those Dark Eyes this Way”, The Primary 5 “So Much To Find”, Dropkick "Lucky That The Heart", The Parish Music Box "Our Roman Knows", The Cairn String Quartet (well, half of them) doing "air" strings.

Lowlights: Twice being asked to "move along" from an area that wasn't exactly mobbed - not everyone wants to sit at a table and chairs at a gig. Also, there was only one prize at the raffle - where's the tin of shortbread? There's always shortbread at a raffle!! These are very minor gripes because it was well organised and I look forward to returning to Darvel in future years. Well done to Sheila, Neil and your team.

Ten Things I Learned In Darvel:

1. It's pronounced "Dur-vel", apparently.
2. Fiona and Annemarie (Cairn String Quartet) cannot do The Slosh - more lessons needed ladies!
3. Attic Lights' drummer Noel is actually Captain Caveman (Zowie!) or, sans beard, Bud Cort!
4. The Primary V could do with more guitarists.
5. All Attic Lights songs "need strings" (so say Fiona and Annemarie)
6. Darvel is near Moscow (no, not that one)
7. Attic Light's Jamie has a big organ. (Yamaha, I believe)
8. Nobody plays "air cello" and "air viola" like Fiona and Annemarie.
9. Salt and vinegar on your chips isn't so bad after all.
10. Annemarie McGahon is a human beatbox.

Peace out...

The Cat
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Dropkick

Here is an update from those wonderful lads in Dropkick, one of Jocknroll's favourite bands:

"Hello everyone and happy Easter to you all.

There's been a lot happening in Dropkickland since I last pestered you. In February, we played our first ever gigs outside the UK with a weekend trip to Mallorca organised by our friend Joan Andreu of Pecan Pie. Thanks entirely to Joan, it was hugely successful for us and we sold more CDs in 1 night than we normally do in about 6 months. Even more miraculously, we even managed to sell some of our new "high quality" Patchwork t-shirts. You too can get your t-shirt at www.tayloredrecords.co.uk for just £7 by the way... Some photos from the trip can be seen here. Look out for the charcoal caricature of the band that a street artist in Palma drew. You'll see that I appear to have gotten a particualrly rough deal - I seem to have aged by about 89 years in the picture! Also while we were in Mallorca, we found some time to film a promo video for one of our new songs "Don't Know Where It Ends". You can see the result at www.dropkickmusic.co.uk or on YouTube.

Back in Scotland, we've finished recording our next album, due out before the end of the year. You can listen to 5 of the songs at www.myspace.com/dropkickmusic. The album still has no title, so we're open to suggestions. You can email them to me at this email address and the best suggestion received by 17th April will win a free t-shirt. And if that wasn't enough, if we end up using your title, you'll also get a free copy of the album when it comes out.

We've also got a few gigs coming up. Here's the details:
Fri 10th April @ 13th Note, Glasgow. Support from Mr D. Doors 8.30pm. £4.
Fri 24th April @ Aikman's, St Andrews. 9.30pm. Free.
Fri 8th May @ Darvel "Homecoming" Music Festival, Darvel Town Hall, Ayrshire. With Attic Lights, The Primary 5 and The Parish Music Box. Doors are 7pm. Tickets are £15. See http://www.darvelmusicfestival.org/ for details of how to buy. Should be a reasonably good gig I think.

Well that's enough for now. See you next time.

Alastair Dropkick

http://www.dropkickmusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/dropkickmusic"

Darvel "Homecoming" Festival Line-Up Unveiled

The line-up for the 8th Darvel ‘Homecoming’ Music Festival in May has been announced.

Eddi Reader will open the Festival on May 1 and will be followed by evenings of soul, jazz, blues, indie and Americana with a “supergroup” providing the finale on May 10.

As a prelude, The Darvel Music Company will be showcasing some of the west of Scotland’s finest unsigned and established bands in a fringe event at Darvel Town Hall on April 17 and 18.

Stagecoach will for the first time be operating return bus journeys from Ayr and Glasgow via Kilmarnock to Darvel during the main event utilising their express coaches and award winning bio-bus fleet. Stagecoach have also gone that ‘extra mile’ and agreed to sponsor the final concert of the ‘Homecoming’ festival and provide in-kind marketing support. The Festival website has details of where bus tickets can be purchased and a bus timetable.

The full line up is:

Fri 1 May: Eddi Reader. Support: Roddy Hart, Esther O’ Connor and Adriana.

Sat 2 May: The Hamish Stuart Band with Jim Mullen and Ruby Turner. Support: Hamilton Loomis.

Sun 3 May: Martin Taylor’s Freternity. Support: Rainy and the Dust plus Joni Keen and the Euan Stevenson Trio.

Thu 7 May: Maggie Bell and Dave Kelly with Blues n’ Trouble. Support: The Seventh Sons.

Fri 8 May: Attic Lights. Support: The Primary 5, Dropkick and The Parish Music Box.

Sat 9 May: Gary Louris and Mark Olson (The Jayhawks). Support: The Endrick Brothers, Eileen Rose and the Holy Wreck, and Hey Negrita.

Sun 10 May: Four Good Men (ex-Simple Minds, H20 and Owen Paul). Support: JJ Gilmour (ex – Silencers), The Garrett Wall Band and Boo Hewerdine.

Tickets are now on sale at Ticketweb, Ticket Scotland (Glasgow), Walker & Connell, Darvel and Valhalla Music in Kilmarnock.

See www.darvelmusicfestival.org for full event details.

Festival ‘Fringe’

Fri 17 Apr: What The Heroes Say, The Streetlight Conspiracy, The LaFontaines, The Ghosties and The Longhorns.

Sat 18 Apr: TV21, Laki Mera, Iain Morrison, Man at the Window and Iain McKinnon.

Darvel-lous Pop Music

For those of you who enojyed the Attic Lights gig at Celtic Conenctions, you'll get another chance to witness their wonderous powerpop on Friday 8 May 2009 during the Darvel "Homecoming" Music Festival.

While details of all the Festival gigs are a bit sketchy just now, we can confirm that Attic Lights will top a pop-tastic line up which includes The Parish Music Box, Paul Quinn's The Primary 5 and Jocknroll favourites Dropkick.

The venue for this gig is Darvel Town Hall, 10-12 West Main Street, Darvel, Ayrshire. Tickets, we believe, will be £15 and should be on sale around late February. Unfortunately Ticketmaster is involved (I'm not a fan, can you tell?) but I'll try and confirm if the tickets are cheaper getting them directly from the venue or festival organisers, just like Celtic Connections.

Meanwhile, Dropkick have some gigs coming up. For a mere £4 you can catch them at Bannerman's (Edinburgh) on Thursday 5 February and on Friday 13 February you can see them at Teatre de Lloseta in Mallorca, although you may need to change buses to get there.

Site Update: Link for Peter Parker added. If your (Scottish) band, past or present, isn't listed on our Artists pages then let us know and we'll do the needful. We're good like that.