Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Described by The Guardian as ‘a master of the contemporary blues’, Skip ‘Little Axe’ McDonald comes to the Gallery Sessions at Barnstaple’s Queen’s Theatre on Thursday 12 th May for an exclusive solo performance. Providing guitars, bass, keyboards, and vocals, Little Axe is the return to the blues that Skip grew up with and learned from his father. Born Bernard Alexander in 1949, Dayton, Ohio, Skip McDonald learned to play the blues on his father's guitar from the age of 8, although by the time he was 12 years old he had opted to perform doo-wop. But from picking up a guitar as a child, and returning to his roots with Little Axe, there has been a long twisting road. McDonald, along with bass player Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc formed the house band for the pioneering rap label Sugar Hill, providing the music for some of the most seminal records of the era by  Grandmaster Flash , Afrika Bambaata and others. From there he worked closely w...

If the past couple of years have been rock’n’roll’s radio iceage, right now our toes are teetering on the briof a lush new dawn. The question is; beyond the frenzy of supposed saviour bands whose name-drops have christened the New Year, which of the lauded gangs of axe-wielders are the genuine sculptors of tomorrow? Well, of the few promised Next Big Things, none have earned their hype more than Camden's Tribes. “When you’re a kid you want to be cool, so you make experimental weird music. But for us, I think there just came a point where we couldn’t be bothered messing around anymore," prophesises singer Johnny Lloyd. "I realized that there’s no point being in a band if you’re not gonna be one of those life-changing bands. Not the one’s you stroke your chin too, the one’s you beat your heart plate to.” It's this unabashed manifesto of anthemia that’s taken the rag-tag four-piece from prodigious debutant slots opening for idols The Pixies, to relentless grassroots g...

G. Love has announced the details of his new album, Fixin’ To Die, set for release on on Brushfire Records. Recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC, and produced by The Avett Brothers, this new body of work is arguably G. Love’s most sincere and candid work to date. After a chance meeting in Boston last fall, G. Love and The Avett Brothers forged a friendship and bonded over their love of back road blues. After performing together onstage and discovering their shared musical heritage, G. Love invited Scott and Seth Avett to not only produce his new album, but perform on it as well. The result is Fixin’ To Die, a collection of  G. Love originals, rearranged traditionals, and a classic cover, many simmering for over a decade, all sharing a common goal: to strip away all pretense and capture the original spirit and sound G. Love has cultivated over his entire career but never fully embraced until now. From the ragged jangle of its opener “Milk & Sugar” and floorboard s...

FROM MARK, TOM AND TRAVIS : It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce our planned 2011 European Summer tour has been rescheduled. When we booked the tour last year, we were confident that we would have the new album out before the Summer. Turns out we were mistaken as the album is taking longer than we thought and won't be out till later this year. We hoped we would have some new songs to play rather than do another 'greatest hits tour' which you all saw last Summer. As much as we know our fans would be cool with that, we feel that we owe you guys something new when you spend your money to come see us. Frankly, it's what needs to continue for us to remain vital. The three of us are working very hard to do what we set out to do when we re-formed...get a new blink-182 album recorded. Apologies to all of our fans who have bought tickets and were looking forward to the Summer shows but we'll be back soon with the rescheduled dates in Summer 2012, have a new al...

A talented multi-instrumentalist with a voice reminiscent of Joanna Newsom, Lykke Li and PJ Harvey, Detroit born Alex Winston is causing quite a stir in the pop world. Having recently headlined a NME Awards Show, signed to Island Records, Alex is now making serious waves in America – her video for last single ‘Locomotive’ was the number 1 most played video on Pitchfork TV. Taken from her critically acclaimed mini album (of the same name), new single ‘Sister Wife’ will be released as a digital download on May 16th through Island Records. Written by Alex and produced by New York whizz-kids The Knocks, ‘Sister Wife’ looks back at Winston’s upbringing in Detroit. The soulful chorus, “Hey there sister wife / Get the hell out / It’s my night / You don’t know they way to his heart like I do” is set against a wall of melody and muscular percussion. The defiant ‘Sister Wife’ highlights an impressive skill for crafting the perfect pop song and beckons at a talent we’re only just discovering. ...

If you have just missed the fantastic BBC 4  series The Killing , don't worry, critically acclaimed and billed as one of the finest murder investigation series ever produced, this riveting thriller is now out on DVD THE PLOT The murder of a young girl launches Detective Sarah Lund into an extended police investigation. Lund's plans for a new life in Sweden are put on hold as she can't bring herself to leave the case behind. As the parents of the dead girl's parents and friends struggle to cope with their loss, a link is revealed between city hall and the murder, causing a dilemma for one of Copenhagen's mayoral candidates. Over the course of twenty episodes, one for every day of the investigation, Copenhagen's secret corruption and power struggles are intriguingly unravelled as the hunt for the killer intensifies and the truth becomes ever harder to find. Click here to read about the series, cast and characters at BBC4 Buy the The Killing 5Dvd 2011 CLICK T...

Mona today announce details of their debut album, ‘Mona’, which will be released through the band’s own imprint Zion Noiz Recordings/Island Records on CD, Digital Download and limited edition collectors vinyl from May 16th. The band will also play their biggest show so far at the Electric Ballroom a day later. The album, which was originally recorded in the band’s Nashville basement, was mixed by Rich Costey (Muse, Foo Fighters, Glasvegas) and produced by the band. Following a series of sold out shows across the UK, including London’s Garage, the band have confirmed they will be headlining their biggest show to date, playing to over 1200 people at London’s Electric Ballroom on May 17th. Tickets went on sale on Friday 11th February, for an exclusive fan pre sale head over to www.monatheband.com/signup.php . 2011 has started strongly for Mona, winning MTV’s Brand New For 2011, polling over 35% of of 200,000 public votes and beating off competition from Jessie J, The Vaccines and Jamie ...