Myspace Magic: Strawhouses

Another one of those prolific weeks so you are in for a treat on NME-E. Following the Loveday Fools feature, Myspace Magic was feeling a little homesick and so decided to head back to Liverpool. The latest addition is Strawhouses, a band I first heard a couple of months back and who instantly caught my eye. I've waited this long for the feature to give them a well-earned plug; they'll be launching their brand new single on Saturday night at the O2 Academy in town. Paul was more than willing to tell us about the band, so have a read, check out their sounds on myspace and, if you're in the area, get down and watch their live set next weekend.

NME-E: Who are you and how did you come about?
SH: We are Strawhouses...I started things many years ago now in my school days...several abortive attempts, some bizzarre plot twists, and much sub-bridge level water gone, the current line up formed in 2007 - Chris (Smith, guitar) I had met at uni, Stuart (Mann, drums) had followed me from Fallout (the band previous to Strawhouses) and Brad (Michael Bradshaw, bass) is Stuart's friend from home. I am Paul (Donnelly) and I sing and write the songs...

NME: Do you have any releases to date?
SH: So far we have only released one EP, 'Runaway Child'. Although we'd had demos etc previously, this was our first proper body of work that we recorded properly and released. We have big (enough) plans for releases in the next few months, in particular our debut single, 'A Good Night Out' in April, which will be followed by another single in May, most probably a song called 'Train Wreck'.

A live version of 'Train Wreck' is available to on the Strawhouses' myspace, along with four other tracks. If you like a bit of music to think about and have a soft spot for tracks which grow on you with every listen, you are in for a treat. Careful arrangements, poignant lyrics and haunting melodies galore is the order of the day for Strawhouses.

NME-E: If you could choose a band to support you, who would it be?
SH: ahaaa...um...if we're talking absolutely anyone, probably either The Smiths, Radiohead or Talking Heads - I mean, this would never happen, but I think if we did do a gig where one of those bands supported us, we might get some good exposure (!). The band I realistically can't wait to support us are The Daisy Riots, who will hopefully be supporting us at the O2 Academy in Liverpool for our single launch on April 11. They're bloody great and are headed for big things.

Listening to their tunes, you understand the choices. Daisy Riots, one to watch - best get them on here before it's too late!

NME-E: What was your favourite album of 2008?
SH: I really liked 'Third' by Portishead, 'Do You Like Rock Music' by British Sea Power, 'Amidst Bright Shadows' by Ray Dunne and 'Everything That Happens Will Happen Today' by Brian Eno and David Byrne. Though, I think as a band, we'd probably have to say Elbow's 'The Seldom Seen Kid'.

NME-E: Finally, tell us about your objectives/prospects for 2009?
SH: Well, as I mentioned- the indie releases we're planning. We'd quite like to record our first album, get on a few festivals and work with more industry people- eventually signing some sort of record deal. None of these things are impossible but we're going to have to work very hard. We've put in a lot of the ground work but we know we've got a tough make-or-break year ahead- I'm optimistic we can make good on our objectives and will hopefully be able to look back on the year and definitively say we've progressed exactly how I wanted us to.

With a sound like they have, I'm sure they have every right to feel optimistic. NME-E certainly wishes them all the best.


Having waited for a good two months for this to appear, the least you can do is check out their Myspace. Thanks to Paul and the group for their time and patience.

Last 5 NME-E Interviews:
Loveday Fools (Scarborough, UK)
The Scholars (Midlands, UK)
Meeting Of Important People (Pittsburgh, USA)
Overspill Poets (NW, UK)
Fare Evaders (Liverpool, UK)

Read all NME-E interviews

Weekly Round Up (06 Apr 2009)

Welcome to this week's insight into the top music events.

Top Stories
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed together at a New York charity show in aid of the David Lynch Foundation on Saturday night (April 4), their first time together in seven years.

McCartney played a handful of Beatles tunes as well as some from his solo career, paying a touching tribute to the John Lennon, before playing 'Here Today', a song he wrote for him. He also dedicated the classic 'Blackbird' to new US President Barack Obama.

After playing his set he introduced "Billy Shears" (Starr's pseudonym on 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band') and the pair performed 'With a Little Help from My Friends'.

This was the first joint appearance from the two remaining moptops since they performed at the George Harrison memorial gig in 2002.


Harrison is himself set to receive a star on the renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame later this month. Harrison's wife, Olivia, and son, Dhani, will be present to accept the honour on his behalf.

Elsewhere, new(ish) online music service Spotify has thrown down the gauntlet to iTunes by signing a deal with online provider 7digital to offer a paid download service. Users will be able to access songs from its six-million track catalogue.

The new service will initially be available to users in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with further European countries to be included in the near future.

This move appears to have been made after Spotify found that far fewer people than expected were signing up for paid premium accounts on the service.

Mark Mulligan, technology analyst at Forrester Research, explained the reasons behind the strategy: "It [Spotify] went into this thinking it was going to be a premium subscription business," he said. "The problem is what's proven to be the successful part is the free bit."
Premium Spotify subscriptions cost £9.99 per month in the UK, and give users an advert-free service. However, most users are happy to stick with the free version, as the adverts tend not to interfere too much with listening time.

Myspace Magic
Before I make mention of a couple of group developments, I would like to thank Liverpool Bands Friends for giving nme-europe a mention on their myspace page this week.

The man behind the project, Tony, told us a little about the project. "There's just me and I'm just a punter that's interested in the music of Liverpool. I do hope that the page acts as a bulletin board where you can hear some bands, find out about gigs and support up and coming bands."

Naturally, nme-europe gives the page its full support and recommends you all have a look. It's a great portal for Liverpool bands to get some exposure. I know I'll be a regular from now on. Check it out for yourselves here.

Still in Liverpool, indie boys, Strawhouses, are counting down the days to the release of their new single 'A Good Night Out'. The launch will be celebrated with a gig at the Liverpool O2 Academy on Saturday night (11th), with support from The Daisy Riots, Subjects of the City and The Fall of Kings.

In case you're not familiar with this bunch, an exclusive interview will be available on nme-europe as from this Wednesday. In the meantime you can marvel at their music on the myspace page.


How about a couple of new tracks to have a listen to? Sheffield-based, The Breaks have uploaded 'Waste Away Girl', a five minute breeze in the park, which any indie fan will surely appreciate. The Breaks will also be featured on this page in a week or so.

Slightly further north, Newcastle to be precise, The Rigg have added a further two tracks to the five already on offer on their myspace page. 'Realisation' has particularly impressed me, I'm sure I'll not be the only one...

Finally, across the pond Dark Speakers have uploaded a rough version of their new single 'California Rhythm', which has a touch of a souped-up The Eagles about it. Give it a go.

Reviews
This week's most notable release must be Manchester boys, Doves, with 'Kingdom Of Rust'. Hot on the pod, a review will appear forthwith. In the meantime, you can check out a summary of the March reviews here.


Think that's about it.... NME-E is off on hols for the rest of the week, but has left a couple of articles on standby to keep the masses satisfied.

Cheers


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