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Friday 25 March 2011

Next Stop Atlanta - EP Review


Next Stop Atlanta sure have made an impression here at Louder Now, and it’s no surprise. This band are exceptional and are set to take true leaps and bounds in 2011 with their debut, self titled EP, which has been played non stop at Louder Now HQ since we got our grubby paws on it.  

The EP, produced by Matt O’Grady (You Me At Six, The Blackout, Don Broco) is four tracks of pure pop-punk without compromise, brought together by a sheer determination, passion and brilliance. Opening track, ‘I’ll Catch Fire (The Gift)’ was featured on Hang Tight Records compilation album, ‘Sing Your Heart Out Loud’ earlier this year and it absolutely sparkles. A perfectly executed gang shout and ridiculously catchy guitar riff made for a shiny first video, shot and edited by Mark Forrer. This was closely followed by a second for track “Fourteennineeightyseven”, which will give you goose bumps with its gang shout of the word ‘forever’.  

Lyrics throughout this EP are brought alive by Georgia Peters’ absolutely entrancing voice. She manages to keep things fast paced and fun, just as pop-punk should be, but can still slow it down, for the stunning acoustic track “When Perfection is Key”, without missing a trick. But Next Stop Atlanta are, by no means, a one woman show as the vocals compliment well structured and bouncy guitar riffs and aggressive drum beats.

We were lucky enough to have a chat with Peters about the bands busy year ahead: “We really just try to play as many shows as physically possible, whether it be big, small, as part of a tour or just a one off! If we can play a show we'll just grab at the chance!” It’s that determination which is going to get this band to some amazing places, and by the likes of the shows they have lined up it will happen sooner rather than later.

The videos and recordings are exceptional but word on the street is that they don’t do justice to what these guys bring to the stage. Though that’s easy to imagine, there’s no reason why you can’t find out for yourself. The band has got a busy year ahead of them and Louder Now are very proud to be working alongside Next Stop Atlanta to bring the Louder Now Launch Night Showcase to Leicester’s Firebug on April 7th 2011. You all need to get down to this show and join Next Stop Atlanta as they look forward “to strip back from the bigger venues and play something a little more intimate!”

Tickets are priced at £4 and can be reserved by contacting our Facebook loudernow@hotmail.co.uk NOW!


Friday 4 March 2011

Feargal Sharkey Speaks at DMU

Feargal Sharkey, most famous for his role in the seventies punk rock band The Undertones, has done more for the UK’s music industry than most. After being a member of the Radio Authority for the full term of five years and earning numerous awards for his contribution to the live music industry, Sharkey is now CEO of UK Music, which protects the UK’s commercial music industry. Louder Now were lucky enough to join Sharkey as he looked back at his time within the music industry and talked about the future of live music.


Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the sixties and seventies proved to be a challenging experience that shaped Sharkey into the brilliant man he is today. Looking back at the early years he remembers “walking down the road carrying what I now know to be an anarchist flag” but maintains: “I am desperately grateful for the world I grew up in.”


It’s a bold claim to make for a man who, whilst playing a show with The Undertones in Nottingham, was told that his mother and sister were being held hostage by members of the IRA. “They had gone to visit a close family friend” says Sharkey “but the door was opened by a guy in a balaclava who said they had better come in.” The house had been taken over for use in an IRA mission and Sharkey’s mother and sister were held there until his mother found a way out by faking a heart attack. “I think at that point they thought, oh shit this is Feargal Sharkey’s mother and they called an ambulance which took them both from the house.”


His mother and father’s politically influenced lives alongside the fame and success, which allowed him to be one of the only people in Derry to own a home at the age of twenty, gave Sharkey the chance to make huge change in the industry. “The voice still works,” says Sharkey, “I still do it occasionally on a Sunday morning to annoy the kids saying, look you un-grateful kids, people use to pay for this shit!”


On why he traded the lights and glamour of showbiz for the business side of the industry he said: “Well who in the hell else was going to give me a job?!” But on his journey Sharkey has found documents and legislation that have encouraged him to make some very important changes. Not least of which are The Licensing Act 2003, which affects the ability of music venues to provide regulated entertainment as well as alcohol, and Form 696, a risk assessment form compulsory to promoters and licensees in certain boroughs of London.


As a result of the Licensing Act 2003, a venue cannot legally host a live music event without a license that clearly states it has permission to do so. Sharkey highlights the impact it has on struggling young artists who are trying to get people to take notice of them, something which is very close to Louder Now’s heart. “If I picked up a guitar now and sung a song, someone would be facing a £20,000 fine and/or a 6 months prison sentence, now would that stop a pub landlord putting a kid on stage one night? I think it might.” Despite the security and profit that can be brought to venues who hold a licence Sharkey remains adamant that the process is un-fair and damaging: “I don’t think it is healthy that someone who wants to do something as harmless as sing a song in the back of a pub has to ask permission from a local council.”


One of the most pressing issues facing the music industry today is that of illegal internet downloads which, with the closure of Limewire in late 2010, seems to have fierce action being taken against it, especially in the US. Sharkey says: “I genuinely think the Internet is an extraordinary thing. My industry has a 120 year history of disruption. For me this is just another disruption.” Memories of days when radio shows were recorded on to tapes and passed on to friends and family, and an acknowledgement that the music industry is still booming leads to a conclusion that this disruption is a fleeting one. “I think now is an extraordinary time to be a music fan. You can buy Liam Gallagher’s new album off Amazon for £3.99. £3.99? Bloody hell I can barely buy a pint of beer for £3.99!”


Feargal Sharkey is a remarkable character and with his experience, morals and sheer determination the myths and rumours of the music industries demise will remain just that, myths and rumours.