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A Badge of Friendship Update: Music, Comedy and More!
Now we're officially striding through the last half of 2012, we thought it was about time we sent out an update. 2012 has been our busiest year yet working on a variety of wonderful clients from Last.fm to comedian Doug Stanhope and an array of wonderful bands and labels.
If you'd like to read more about our PR and event management services, please check out our ABoF case studies pdf which you can download online. If you'd prefer to get in touch personally, please drop us an email here: info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
Coming up...
We're about to add an array of wonderful new clients and projects to the ABoF roster - we've not announced all of the bands, comedians and new projects we're working on just yet but we're not ones for holding back the good stuff so we thought, why not just announce them here? Don't say we don't spoil you!
We're very excited to be working on comedian Dave Hill's forthcoming book Tasteful Nudes. The multi-talented Mr. Hill has appeared on the US TV show The King of Miami, currently appears as on-air talent for HBO and Cinemax and currently fronts the band Valley Lodge and plays guitar with Walter Schreifels' (Rival Schools, Quicksand) solo band and Diamondsnake, a hard rock band also featuring Moby. Tasteful Nudes will be released in October, we'll have more information on this release and Dave very shortly.
Continuing on from last year's pop-up sessions, we're working with Last.fm on their Originals sessions. These sessions are an intimate an exclusive look at new and established artists featuring interviews and exclusive live performances.
Berlin based duo Me And My Drummer have already released two tracks from their forthcoming debut album The Hawk, The Beak, The Prey and the anticipation is building. Hailed as a cross between Florence + The Machine, Bat For Lashes and Delphic, they've already got John Kennedy and Mary Anne Hobbs (XFM), Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1) and Tom Ravenscroft and Chris Hawkins (BBC 6Music) signing them praises. The Hawk, The Beak, The Prey is out on September 24th via German label Sinnbus.
Scottish band State Broadcasters release their second album Ghosts We Must Carry via Olive Grove Records on September 24th. They just released a free download of the album track "Trespassers" with another to follow in August just before the album's release.
Another fantastic Olive Grove release coming up is Jo Mango’s album Murmuration. Having already collaborated with Vashti Bunyan and Devendra Banhart, this much anticipated album will showcase Jo’s brilliant songwriting talents as a solo performer.
Also watch out for new artists Cara Mitchell, The Maginot Band, Verse Metrics, Jonny & The Giros, Shirock, Damian Cox, Humphrey Milles, The Jar Family plus more releases from ABoF favourites Atom Eye, Turnpike Glow, The Birthday Suit and The Murder Barn. We'll be posting out information on all of these very soon!
2012 so far...
It's been a year of great releases so far here at ABoF towers. However, not only have we been working with some of the finest new bands around, we also had the chance to work with controversial comedian Doug Stanhope and top music sharing platform Last.fm.
Doug Stanhope released his latest DVD Before Turning The Gun On Himself back in March and completed another successful UK tour, which ended on a high to a packed out audience at the Hammersmith Apollo. The DVD was released to rapturous reviews with Doug appearing in the Shortlist, Rock Sound, MOJO, Nuts and Front on the run up to its release.
After the success of their pop-up sessions with HP last year, Last.fm asked ABoF to event manage their media party with HP earlier this year. The party was to celebrate the activity their activity in 2011 with David Guetta headlining the event.
We've been working with even more brilliant new bands this year, we’re very proud of the quality of our roster this year. We would love to list all the amazing bands we've worked with this year but instead we've put them all on this handy Soundcloud set and you can also read about some of our highlights below!
Knifeworld returned with their strongest release to date - Clairvoyant Fortnight. The EP followed 2011's critically acclaimed EP Dear Lord, No Deal and their 2009 debut album Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat. Prog Magazine and Rock A Rolla heralded the EP a success and special praise went to their brilliant (and slightly mental!) video for 'Clairvoyant Fortnight', which featured snooker legend Steve Davis.
Scots boys Vigo Thieves have gone from strength to strength providing T in the Park with this year's 2012 theme tune, playing the BBC Introducing stage, packing out shows in Scotland and appearing on Classic Rock, Drowned in Sound, Spinner and NME.com to name but a few.
French Wives have also been flying the flag for talent in Scotland. They released their album Dream of the Inbetween this year with everyone from BBC 6Music, The Line of Best Fit, The Herald, The Fly and The Skinny Magazine singing them praise.
If you'd like more information on anything you've read here or our PR services, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
Introducing… SHIROCK
SHIROCK, a band based in the cool US music hub of Nashville, is about to land on British soil. Their forthcoming dynamic debut album, Everything Burns, is filled with bold, massive songs that are fit for epic stadium greatness. With a body of strong UK releases planned, starting with the free taster track “You Keep Me Singing” from the US Deluxe version of Everything Burns, SHIROCK are ready to rock the last half of 2012 in style.
Produced by Jay Ruston, (The Donnas, Everclear, Matisyahu, and Cold War Kids), Everything Burns may sound grand and expansive, but underneath the soaring arrangements and sweeping melodies is a singer/songwriter album at heart with lyrics that are touchingly personal and socially pointed with a spiritual core.
"You Keep Me Singing" is available to stream and download from the A Badge of Friendship Soundcloud page now.
Everything Burns, featuring 12 songs, is due to be released digitally in February 2013 via The Movement Group / Sony / RED / CEN. September 2012 will see the band’s debut UK single “New Solution” released, accompanied by their first UK tour.
The band have already had many a success over in the US. SHIROCK's first music video for "New Solution" was picked up by MTV, Fuse, VH1, Cool TV, etc. This was swiftly followed by their second music video for the single "Still Young." Released exclusively to MTV, the video was then picked up by every major video outlet, including a worldwide ‘in store’ premiere in American Eagle Outfitters stores. This coincided with Pap modeling for the American Eagle 2011 Fall/Winter campaign. This modeling venture included placements in stores, online, print, billboards, and in Times Square, New York City. Towards the end of 2011, this opportunity led to Chuck and Pap beginning to work with various modeling agencies, further pursuing their marriage of fashion and music.
You can watch the video for "New Solution" on SHIROCK's YouTube channel now.
Chuck Shirock, the band's founder, front man and namesake grew up in the Philippines and Scotland before his family returned to the States to settle in Detroit, Michigan. Chuck developed a love of singing and performing as a child, and began writing and recording on his own as a young teenager.
Chuck met Pap toward the end of high school in 1999. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Pap grew up in a very musical family, and started playing classical piano at age 5. They soon discovered they shared many of the same passions and experiences, including their love of music, a broad worldview and a desire to have an impact on the people around them.
Soon after, the two began to collaborate as their relationship grew.
Chuck and Pap also run a Nashville based clothing line, Irock Clothing, which features shirts, jackets, bags, and accessories, rapidly selling out in every boutique that carries the range! As a model for a number of key fashion houses, Pap says “We’ve always been interested in fashion, and really wanted to make clothing that we would want to wear. Designing this collection has been another creative outlet and vehicle for the ideas in our music”. A new range of Irock Clothing is due out later this year.
"We are so excited about coming to the UK," Chuck says - "We feel as though we've been building up to something, and we believe this year is it."
Introducing… The Maginot Band
Scotland’s The Maginot Band are due to release their debut EP, Peace and Quiet, via When You Awake Records on 10th September 2012.
Peace and Quiet EP straddles the line between retro-tinged wistfulness and a more modern indie sound akin to bands like The Maccabees and the Mystery Jets. The chiming guitars, rolling beats and upbeat keys of “Slow Down Sundial” is reminiscent of sixties greats The Band. However, with “Trees” and “Waking Up To Rain (Part 1)” the boys change tact with a slower, more thoughtful ballad as vocalist Jordan Shearer singing on the latter,”Abide by the rules that were set before us, like nobody moves and no one gets hurt, and nobody changes we’ll all stay the same”. “Waking Up To Rain (Part 2)” finishes the EP with a flourish as a cacophony of drums, vocals and piercing organ envelope the listener one last time, raising the tempo and the cheer.
"Slow Down Sundial" is available to stream and download now from the A Badge of Friendship Soundcloud page.
The video for "Slow Down Sundial" is available to watch now on The Maginot Band's YouTube channel.
Having initially forming as Maydays, The Maginot Band, who hail from Caithness, have been writing music together on and off for the past decade. After numerous changes to their line-up, they finally settled as a six piece in late 2010. Consisting of Jordan Shearer (vocals), Calvin Wilson (bass, vocals), Kevin Swanson (guitar, Vocals), Jamie Swanson (guitar), Liam Whittles (organ, piano) and Darren Coghill (drums), as Maydays they gained some success supporting Field Music and Tango In The Attic as well as support from BBC Radio 1. However, as their musical direction started to mature, they decided a change of name was needed and The Maginot Band was born.
It’s been a busy introduction for The Maginot Band, who debuted their new material at the GoNorth Festival and an appearance at Belladrum Festival.
Peace and Quiet is due for release via When You Awake Records on September 10th.
If you would like more information about The Maginot Band or our PR services, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
Introducing… State Broadcasters
“Beautiful...” - Uncut Magazine
Ghosts We Must Carry is the stunning follow-up to State Broadcasters 2009 debut The Ship and the Iceberg. As ever, the band bury the wrenching sadness of their songs beneath layers of subtle orchestration and oft-naïve charm, making for the finest of wistful pop music.
“The ghosts in the title are the burdens we carry with us as we get older, the things we've done or had done to us that still hurt - actions and memories that occasionally haunt us,” the band say and they execute this theme beautifully. Opener “The Only Way Home” (a tribute to Mark Linkous and Vic Chesnutt) builds layers of sound underneath melancholic vocals. Yet tracks like “Trespassers” and “Kittiwake” pick up the pace bringing a dreamy nostalgic quality that has become the band’s trademark. There are tinges of The Low Anthem in some of the more sombre tracks but in their more upbeat moments the melodies are more akin to Andrew Bird’s “catchier” tunes.
The album track "Trespassers" is available to stream and download free now via the A Badge of Friendship Soundcloud page.
Graeme Black (guitar, vocals) met Pete MacDonald (piano, trombone, vocals) in a library in Glasgow in 2004. After bumping into each other at various gigs and bonding over their love of Lambchop and Clem Snide they tried playing some songs together in Graeme’s kitchen and it wasn’t before long that they called themselves the State Broadcasters. Soon after Pete’s brother Fergus (guitar, banjo, uke, accordian and vocals) joined them followed by Gilian Fleetwood (harp, accordian, vocals), Cameron Maxwell (double bass, electric bass, vocals), Susan Appelbe (cello, vocals) and Andrew Samson (percussion).
With much of their first album The Ship and The Iceberg having been featured in Scottish independent films - fitting for a band described by Uncut as being "cut straight from a film by Bill (Gregory's Girl) Forsyth"- in the interim between records the band took time to compose and record the soundtrack for the multi-award winning short Fixing Luka. This piece saw co-songwriter and producer Pete MacDonald taking home the BAFTA New Talent Award for 'Best Original Score'. The band have also found themselves the subject of a great many admirers with Uncut, The Sunday Express, The List, BBC 6Music’s Gideon Coe, Marc Riley and BBC Radio Scotland’s Vic Galloway amongst them.
Ghosts We Must Carry will be released via Olive Grove on 17th September 2012.
If you would like more information about State Broadcasters or our PR services, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.
The Birthday Suit confirmed for T in the Park!
The Birthday Suit - solo project of Idlewild guitarist / songwriter Rod Jones - return with their brand new single Less Worthless Years out next week (July 9th). Just in time for the release, the band have been confirmed to play this weekend's T in the Park festival in Scotland.
The band will play the T Break stage at 7.30pm on Sunday 8th July.
If you'd like a wee taster of what to expect, you can listen to the single "Less Worthless Years" on Soundcloud and watch the video on YouTube.
The single features Jones' trademark biting indie riffs and an infectious summery chorus. Although the single will be available on iTunes, if you buy it via the band's official website and register for the mailing list, fans will receive a free EP of songs from Rod's first solo record - A Sentimental Education - reworked and "noised up" by The Birthday Suit.
Formed with Roddy Woomble and Colin Newton in Edinburgh in 1995, Idlewild spent the last 16 years becoming one of Scotland's most beloved indie rock acts. But after seven studio albums, four top 20 singles and numerous world tours, including supporting bands such as REM, Pearl Jam, U2 and The Rolling Stones, the band decided to take a break to concentrate on their individual solo projects.
Debut album The Eleventh Hour was released at the tail end of 2011. Receiving support from BBC Radio 1 Scotland, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, This Is Fake DIY and Drowned in Sound, the album heralded a triumphant return for Rod whilst Idlewild continue their indefinite hiatus.
The Birthday Suit released the free track "Do You Ever?" from their debut album last year, you can still listen and download via our Soundcloud page.
An as yet untitled second album is planned for Autumn 2012 but in the meantime, The Birthday Suit will be playing live throughout June and July to promote the single - full tour dates are on the band's official website.
Less Worthless Years will be released on 9th July 2012 via Sing It Alone records.
If you would like more information about The Birthday Suit or our PR services, please email info@abadgeoffriendship.com.