A sneak preview from the upcoming album 'Songs For The Wicked' by local actThe Steve Dior Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdYvR8_TD8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

LOCAL BAND ATOMIC SON SET TO RELEASE DEBUT EP

        West London-based band Atomic Son are due to release their debut EP this summer. 

        Atomic Son started as a studio collaboration between the internationally renowned producer Youth and singer-songwriter/guitarist Charlie Gardner in 2011. Charlie began recruiting band members for the project between studio sessions and had soon begun rehearsing with local musicians James Simmins (guitar) and Jono Willis (bass guitar). The line-up was completed in early 2012 by the addition of Tom Grashion (drums) and Jamie Grashion (keyboards/guitar). Atomic Son have since played a number of local gigs, as well as further afield at venues around London including The Dublin Castle in Camden and The Scotch Club in Piccadilly and they will be revisiting The Elgin in Ladbroke Grove on Friday 24th May.

 

     You can listen to "Choose Love"from Atomic Son's debut EP on YouTube by clicking here..

Jc Carroll from The Members on winning a 'Golden Trellick' at The Portobello Film Festival for his opera 'The Golborne Variations'

25 years in the making, Jc from The Members looks back on the creation and staging of his critically acclaimed multimedia opera 'The Golborne Variations', which premiered at The Portobello Film Festival on Friday 2nd September this year. Received with a standing ovation by a full house at the Portobello Film Festival, 'The Golborne Variations went on to win a Special Award, which was collected on Jc's behalf (he was on tour in France with The Members) by cast members Simon Godley & James Simmins from festival organiser Jonathan Barnett.

It is hoped that another staging of this award-winning opera will take place somewhere in the Portobello vicinity very soon. Watch this space...

Live music event LOCO will now be held every Saturday at The Grand Union W9, starting tonight!

Live music event LOCO @ The Grand Union W9 has now become a weekly event and will be held every Saturday starting at 8 pm! Acts tonight include an acoustic set from The Freak Elite, surreal cabaret from The ElectroFuture Beard Club, keyboard player and self-confessed Bohemian Joel Sarakula, great songs and piano-playing from Stuart Frobisher, beautiful singing from Emma Lyndon-Stanford, the mercurial Roxanne & The Pain Killers and interesting observations from resident poet Tristan Hazell. Hosted by James Simmins and Jono Willis the night starts at 8 pm and entry is FREE!

Special Joe Strummer memorial edition of "Retro Rocks" tonight (Fri 19th August) @ The Retro Bar

A special Joe Strummer memorial edition of "Retro Rocks" tonight at the Retro Bar features live performances from The No Tomorrows, Shunty Hawkins, Alice Offley, Carlina Walton, James Simmins, Anke Landeau as Marlene Dietrich & Micky P, as well as a special one-off DJ mash-up from the Rotten Hill Gang.

Starting at 7.30 pm, this fast-growing night is held at the Retro Bar, which is either across the park from The Cobden Club or around the corner from the Lisboa, depending on which way you look at it...

The address is 50 Bosworth Rd (junction of Appleford Rd)

Joe Strummer lived in and around the local area during his meteoric rise to fame and was often to be seen hanging out in the Portobello area when visiting London from his home in Somerset subsequent untimely death. I personally spent several hours jamming with him around a campfire and smoking weed at Glastonbury one year in the early/mid 90's, something that we both found preferable to schlepping around the site that day... due to arrogance and laziness I failed to take up further invites to form a band with him, a churlish decision that I will always fondly regret. Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation, still hosts campfire jams at Glastonbury every year and I fully intend to check that out next time I find myself there... Joe was a internationally recognised superstar who post-Clash subsequently either shunned, or was happy not to chase fame. He was a man of principle, a benign influence who is sorely missed in the fame and greed-obsessed society of the moment. RIP Joe Strummer, we shall raise a glass to your memory tonight!

Loco Cabaret will be on At The Grand Union tonight

Loco Cabaret is on at The Grand Union W9 ,tonight featuring performances from the amazing singer/guitarist Chrystina Tomlin, local legend Paul Gillen, National Open-Mic Competition Regional Finalist Cuthbert 80, the inspirational Mario Nardi, "Best Band in Portobello" The Freak Elite unplugged, the borderline genius of Paul "Fishslice" Browse, inspirational whackiness from Kosmic Troubadour, rock'n'roll poetry from Tristan Hazell, club favourites Roxanne & The Pain Killers and a little bit of jamming as well as club hosts Dan Antrobus & James Simmins... Expect a diverse line-up of quality acts from kick-off at 7.30 pm until showdown at midnight... Entrance is free! Also expect a guest act or two....

Local performer Alexia Coley and her band have won a competition at the Big Chill Bar in Bristol and will now be performing at the Big Chill Festival

Local performer Alexia Coley and her band have won a competition at the Big Chill Bar in Bristol and will now be performing at the Big Chill Festival - see the link below for details:

http://www.bigchill.net/news/2011/07/win-a-slot-at-the-big-chill-2011-winner-announced/

 Alexia is a well-known performer from the Ladbroke Grove area, who has previously sung with an orchestral band, as well as performing with the Rotten Hill Gang, before forming her own band. It seems that, now she has established her own identity, as an artist in her own right, she is becoming quite an unstoppable force!

To read a review of Alexia and her band by James Simmins, please follow the link below:


http://thesourcemag.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345%3Aalexia-coley-a-band-reviewed-by-james-simmins&catid=51%3Amusic&Itemid=55
 

The Portobello Blog wishes her the best of luck for the future!

James Simmins reviews Karin Fransson's "Private Behaviour" Album Launch

 Locally based performer Karin Fransson launched her album "Private Behaviour" at the Green Carnation in Soho on Tuesday 5th July with a live gig. Read the article here:

http://thesourcemag.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=391%3Akarin-fransson-private-behaviour-album-launch-5th-july-the-green-carnatio&catid=55%3Areview-and-preview&Itemid=55

Steve Mepsted's birthday bonanza at The Castle, followed by live Karaoke

I arrived late, but in time to catch the Freak Elite (Neil Anderson, Jono Willis, Michael Giri plus their new guitarist) perform to a full pub, many of whom were getting down to the music. Having finished their own set, the band rearranged slightly and Steve himself joined the realigned line-up to perform a few numbers including covers of 'Wicked Game' by Chris Isaacs and 'Use Me Up' by Bill Withers, which were all very well received by the now exuberant crowd.... To round the night off in style, a bunch of us ended up at a friends house singing covers until 3 am - these included several Elvis numbers including 'Always on my Mind', 'Don't be Cruel', 'Teddy Bear', 'In The Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds' inspired by the 'Suspiciously Elvis' gig the previous night at The Tabernacle, as well as great versions of 'Desperado' and 'Take It Easy' by the Eagles... Other artists covered included Bob Marley, The Beatles, Bill Withers and even Status Quo (amongst too many others to mention here) in what was a great end to a fun evening... thanks to Alex for hosting the afterjam, as well as  Neil, Jono, Michael, Emma Lyndon-Stanford, Wiggzaro, Anette et al. for helping make the evening such fun! We need more nights like that!