Stereoboard's Round-Up Review Of Download Festival 2011 (Download Feature)

Chills and thrills certainly seemed to be the order of the day at the rock extravaganza that was Download 2011. Despite hosting one of the hottest line-ups on the heavy music calendar, the Donington event was noticeably cooler than usual thanks to an icy breeze that was doing its best to send the throngs of attending metallers running for their sleeping bags. However, the occasionally inhospitable weather at this year’s festival was far from enough to put a dampener on the event, which saw Linkin Park and Def Leppard both returning to top an outstanding bill of metal that yet again proved to appeal to the nu and old school alike. 

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Keep On Trucking (Truck Festival Feature)

Picture the scene: There’s 100,000 people around you. The beer is a fiver for a can poured in a (hopefully) sterile plastic cup, and you can’t see the Main Stage from your vantage point but know it’s over there somewhere as your favourite band take to it. Probably. Somehow you’re covered in beer and the only way to change is to head back to your tent which is about seven miles away in a different field.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Stereoboard Tour of the Week – Gruff Rhys

Reaching the age of 40 is never a welcome occasion for anyone. Unlike most birthdays, this one seems to represent something much less joyous and exhilarating and far gloomier with just a tiny bit of dread. While most people prefer to greet the big 4-0 with a brave and somewhat obligatory grin, the truth is that the four-decade mark is a day that many would prefer to skip. Sorry to go all depressing, but try and picture this from a different perspective. As much as most people despise turning 40 with every ounce of their being, try to imagine how much worse this milestone must be for a highly-respected rock singer. You’ve been cheerfully going along, releasing killer albums and touring for the best part of 15 to 20 years, knee-deep in sex, drugs and rock’n’roll the whole way. Then suddenly… bang! You’re 40. What now? Must it all stop? The touring? The lifestyle? The music? More importantly, are the kids going to take you seriously as a musician anymore? Or are you destined to be forever smirked at for any sorry attempt at showmanship?

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Friday, 27 May 2011

A Stereoboard Interview with Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin of Cults

Well, Lily Allen may have given up making music for a while, but that hasn’t stopped her from helping other people out with theirs. In the two years since the release of her second album ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’, the singer has opened a boutique and launched a fashion collection with her sister. Now, for her latest project, she has opted to try her hand at being a record company exec. The first act signed to her newly-founded In The Name Of label, if you haven’t already heard, is the New York-based duo Cults. Cults, comprising Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, are a musical couple – and, incidentally, an actual couple – from San Diego in California, who first caught people’s attention when some of their songs started getting noticed on Bandcamp, the online music store for independent artists.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Wednesday, 25 May 2011

“Seven Curses”: Bob Dylan’s 70th Birthday – A Look Back In Seven Stages (Bob Dylan Feature)

For a man that's had more rebirths in his career than any other, it seems strange to be celebrating Bob Dylan's 70th birthday. But when half a century since 1960 passed last year, and Dylan was still reinventing himself abreast of the times in his 60s, there could be no doubting the size of the man's shadow over music and popular culture over the past half a century.

Written by: Chris Norman | Date: Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Interview with The Suzukis – Wigan’s Newest Hard-Rocking Hopefuls

When you think of Wigan and its musical contributions to the world, which examples spring instantly to mind? Northern soul? The Verve? George Formby? It’s true that this great mill and mining town has a long and colourful history in music that has, at brief intervals over the past 50 years or so, given us a number of notable movements and artists along the way. But what of the latest pretenders to the title? Wigan’s newest young hopefuls The Suzukis are finally here with their no-nonsense blend of raw punk rock and shameless Northern indie to put the town back on the musical atlas. Following some well-received shows at Brighton’s The Great Escape festival and Liverpool Sound City, The Suzukis are now getting ready to unleash their eponymous debut album, which is due out in July. Stereoboard catches up with The Suzukis’ vocalist Chris Veasey to find out more about the band and Wigan’s music scene.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Stereoboard Tour of the Week – Toots and the Maytals - Tickets Onsale Now

"Everybody knows the UK is like a second home to me," said reggae legend Toots Hibbert of his forthcoming UK tour upon its announcement earlier this week. This probably helps to explain why the Jamaican singer chose these shores as the setting for his upcoming dates, when he will be celebrating no less than 50 years in music. That’s right, the great Toots has been making music for half a century. He was there, with the first incarnation of his group The Maytals, during the earliest days of ska – several years before anyone even knew what reggae was. In fact, it was they who were the first to officially use the term “reggae” in a recording, in the title of their 1968 track ‘Do the Reggay’. Toots has previously claimed to have come up with the term himself, although its actual origin has been widely debated.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Friday, 20 May 2011

Interview with The Bluetones – Mark Morriss Speaks to Stereoboard About The Farewell Tour

After 18 years, six albums and numerous hit singles, Britpop survivors The Bluetones have sadly decided to call it a day with the recent announcement of a farewell tour this September. Following the news, Stereoboard caught up with frontman Mark Morriss to find out more about the history of the band and why they chose to wrap things up now.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Thursday, 19 May 2011

In Defence Of Illegal Music Downloads

Even as I typed the title of this article just then, I flinched a little bit in my chair, half expecting a SWAT team to rappel down through the window and take me out. “Tango down” they’d say, in a ridiculously deep American accent, high-fiving each other as the contents of my head slowly stained the carpet. I didn’t flinch because I’ve necessarily got anything to offer that isn't regulation-grade journalistic drivel, however, but rather because the topic of file sharing is one so vehemently opposed in the press that it’s hard to even approach the subject without that little bit of hesitation.

Written by: James Conlon | Date: Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Eurotrash (Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Feature)

Pop music television shows come and go. In my time The Tube, The Roxy (remember that one ?), The Word and even the weekly Top of the Pops show have become distant memories. However one show still remains with us, and that show is the Eurovision Song Contest. Terry Wogan’s years of amusing commentary about the show have turned the contest into a bit of a joke for many Brits. Britain hasn’t done too well in the Contest in recent years so there was a lot of interest in British entry Blue’s performance this year. I thought I’d take a look at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest Final and cast my critical eye on the acts.

Written by: Rob Burns | Date: Monday, 16 May 2011

Stereoboard Tour of the Week – Motorhead - Tickets Onsale Friday May 13th at 9am

No prizes for guessing who we picked for this week’s Stereoboard Tour of the Week. However, if you are struggling to figure it out, we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover who we chose. It is, of course, Motorhead. That’s right – after reaching the 35 year mark with 2010’s anniversary tour, did you really think Lemmy and co were going to call it quits? If we’ve learnt anything about the legendary mutton-chopped rocker over the past three and a half decades, it’s that this is a man who doesn’t quit anything. Ever.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Tour of the Week - Slash - Tickets Onsale Friday 9am

After two years out of the limelight, guitarist Saul Hudson – known to most as Slash – returned with a bang in 2010 with his own long-awaited solo career. Many would argue that, this time around, the legendary axeman was bigger and better than ever. While former bandmate Mr Rose continued with his lifelong tradition of turning up late and generally frustrating fans wherever he showed his face, Slash’s year proved far less disappointing.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Thursday, 05 May 2011

Permanent Ability Interview - Frontman Brian Lanese speaks to Stereoboard

Following in the footsteps of rock luminaries such as No Doubt, fellow Californians Permanent Ability recently headed into the studio with producer Jim Wirt to work on their latest release ‘Bring It On!’. Wirt, who is best-known for producing a string of groundbreaking rock albums like Incubus’s ‘S.C.I.E.N.C.E.’ and Hoobastank’s 2001 debut, spent some time working with Permanent Ability on the funk-rock quartet’s second EP last year. However, despite only having a short history, this isn’t the first time that the LA-based group have collaborated with a well-known artist. For their 2008 debut EP ‘From the Womb to Hollywood’, Permanent Ability were joined by funk legend Lige Curry, who was formerly the bass player with George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Wednesday, 04 May 2011

If You Bump Into Ozzy, Don’t Tell Him Where I Am … (Feature by David Evans)

I’m not being boastful on her behalf, but my grandma was a great cook. Even my fuddy-duddy cousin, who seemed to live on mashed up boiled eggs with salad cream and pineapple yoghurt without the bits, never turned her nose up at any of gran’s puddings and pies.

Written by: David Evans | Date: Wednesday, 04 May 2011

Michael Jackson Legacy - The Lies That Bind

April 29, 2011. London. Westminster Abbey groans under its own weight in flowers and a nation prays for the sun to shine. A centuries old country hyperventilates as it waits for a young Prince and a young woman who would become a Princess – well, Duchess as it turned out – to kiss. The level of anticipation and interest in Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, building in the weeks and days before the big day, powered not only by a media whipped frenzy, but out of the massive desire to see the eldest son of the late ex-Princess of Wales make his choice before an audience of billions. Lady Diana Spencer, self-confessed ‘Queen of Hearts,’ was for many both in England and overseas, the real heroine of the Royal Family. And it was the memory of the joyous potential a young Diana’s own wedding represented and the huge sorrow and anger her death precipitated – that gave her son’s wedding the pathos and historic power it did.

Written by: Deborah Ffrench | Date: Tuesday, 03 May 2011

Skindred Interview – Frontman Benji Webbe speaks to Stereoboard about ‘Union Black’

After recording their first three albums over in the US and spending much of the past seven years riding high over on that side of the pond, Newport ragga-metal quartet Skindred have decided to bring things back home for their fourth and latest effort ‘Union Black’. On the third night of the band’s current tour, we ask frontman Benji Webbe whether it was their intention to target this Great Britain-themed album at the UK audience.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 03 May 2011

Tour of the Week - Wu Tang Clan - Tickets Onsale Now

Three years ago, Glastonbury Festival’s organisers announced New York rapper Jay-Z as one of the three Pyramid Stage headliners for their 2008 event. Despite Glastonbury’s long reputation for having one of the most musically diverse line-ups on the UK festival circuit, which has often seen them include hip-hop artists on the bill, the announcement proved somewhat controversial and a large number of people – most famously Noel Gallagher – slated the decision.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Friday, 15 April 2011

Record Store Day 2011 – Saturday 16th April: Interview with Organiser Spencer Hickman

We’re still a couple of weeks away from Record Store Day and it already looks set to be a major event for 2011. After last year’s annual festivities, which marked the third and most successful Record Store Day yet and saw special edition releases from the likes of Blur, it seems that they might be difficult to top. However, with Foo Fighters, Gorillaz and Arctic Monkeys among the artists getting involved this year, expectations are high for another massive event. Last year, Stereoboard spoke to Record Store Day UK organiser Spencer Hickman, the manager of Rough Trade East in London, about the history of the event and the future of record shops. In the run-up to Record Store Day 2011, we caught up with Spencer again to find out more about this year’s celebrations.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Monday, 04 April 2011

Stereoboard Tour of the Week – The Bluetones

A few weeks ago, we made Ocean Colour Scene our Stereoboard Tour of the Week for their forthcoming ‘Moseley Shoals’ 15th anniversary dates. Now it’s time for another group of Britpop survivors, although these ones have decided to call it a day. That’s right, it’s The Bluetones. After seventeen years, six albums and thirteen Top 40 singles, this London quartet have announced that their tour in September will be their last. Earlier this week, the band’s MySpace page read: “We're afraid the time has come and we must say farewell. We will be playing a career-spanning set of songs as a way to say thank you to our loyal supporters and hopefully signing off with a bit of a bang. We hope we'll see you all in September.”

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Friday, 01 April 2011

'Fowl Play' A Feature By David Evans (Rockness Feature)

Draw up a list of legal addictions and it’s a fair bet that at some time or another I’ve caved in to the lure of at least two, and in the unlikely event of you including something to do with vinyl records, I could chalk up a hat trick.

Written by: David Evans | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011