Caesars Stars are a new band that only got together at the beginning of 2010. Wilko Ed & Josh have been working hard in this short time and already are starting build quite a following. Wilko has written some brilliant songs and along with his distinctive voice Caesar Stars  have created quite a unique style. They recently won a Battle of the Bands competition in Leeds and are now working on their first EP. Checkout their Myspace to have a listen and also go see these guys when you can. Check out Facebook for dates coming up. I caught up with them at the Elbow Rooms last week and these are some of the images from the night.

This is an evening not to be missed. If you want to get up close and personal with an excellent band then this is for you. The Hope and Social guys are having a Come Dine With Us evening at the Crypt on March 27th. Billed as a recording event with food and music – the idea was conceived during the recording of their second album which is still being put together. There was a song that James said had the feel of “A french Bistro, in a cave or cellar, with a small jazz band playing, and red candles on the tables”. So the guys are going to turn the Crypt into a French Bistro and invite fans down to get involved with a fun night. The 3B Media boys are going to be there to document the evening and do a little video as well.

Go here for full Come Dine With Us details

Saturday night I was asked to pop down and cover the first anniversary of the Spanish Harlem nights at The Wardrobe. To celebrate this fact they had an amazing line up.  The New Mastersounds were accompanied by some awesome guests performers Cleve Freckleton and the Haggis Horns Brass. The opening band was Freckles, the Mastersounds guitarist Eddie Roberts’ new collaboration with singer Rhianna Kenny!

The UK’s finest funk band The New Mastersounds are very rarely heard live in the UK never mind their hometown of Leeds! Overseas most of the year in the USA, mainland Europe or Japan. To celebrate the Mastersounds first gig at the venue in eight years, the whole night will be dedicated to the band….the current line-up showcasing tracks from the new CD “Ten Years On”, some former band members making guest appearances on early New Mastersounds classics.

Check out some images from the night and watch the video of more images from a great night

This afternoon I headed on down to The Crypt where our good friends Hope and Social are in the middle of recording their second album. I had my 3B Media chums Rob & Barnaby along as we were there to chat and discuss some future projects they had in mind. These are exciting times for these guys and it is great to be involved with them . They have such a great philosophy in their approach. For them it is about getting the fans involved as much as possible. Currently they are asking fans to twitter them names of towns which they are then going to work into the lyrics of one of  their new songs “Marching on through” Check their twitter if you want in – #hopeandsocial #crowdsourcing

Anyhow with the band and Ben Denison @bendenison working on an idea to invite bands to the Crypt to record & film covers! All in one day. Not sure the logistics of it. But will be a great day and everybody can get involved using twitter and facebook and the blogs. More to follow on this and other ideas we chatted about over several cups of coffee.

It is a privilege to be allowed to document a band in the middle of their creative process. What we heard sounded cool and can’t wait to hear more of the tracks that will end up on the album. Spent most of the afternoon chatting but the band did spend some time laying down some tracks – so took a few shots of the guys in action. Check Rob’s blog for more images from our visit.

Leeds music stalwart James Owen Fender decided to host a Battle of the Bands to dig out Leeds’ finest upcoming groups in association with his night ‘Plumpton Presents‘.  It’s been cunningly named ‘The Battle of Plumpton’ and has some quality prizes, such as the winning band getting a track waxed by ace producer James Kenosha, which gets onto a limited edition Plumpton Presents Record (via ADA distribution) and get to play the Beach Break Live 2010 music festival.

The Battle kicked off to a roaring start at the Wardrobe in Leeds, with the Leeds College of Music heat.  Those kids generally require a grade 8 in something to get in, so musical tightness & mad skills were pretty much guaranteed.

I went to the fourth heat which was held at the Leeds Met. One of the bands I know well ‘Gavin Mart & The Saturday Vandals’ was playing so it was great to go along photograph the gig but also be there to support Gav. We managed to get there in time as Barns and I had seen Martin Parr earlier in the evening.

Below are some images of Gav and the guys in action.

Also we caught the next band playing which was DodoDeadDead. These guys eventually won that night’s heat and will play in the final at Oporto on the 3rd February 2010 at 20:00. The other bands playing will be Moody Gowns Charlie Bath and The Luminaries. Go along and vote for your top band. Free admission too. Bargain!

I found myself with my good friend Barns covering a charity concert on Friday night. Called ‘Singing in the Rain’ it was in aid of the victims of the Cumbrian floods and they had got together some great local bands from Leeds.
Kinch
Birdman Rallies
Hannah Trigwell and
The Moves

We didn’t manage to stay for all the gig but caught the set by Hannah Trigwell & The Moves. These guys both put on some great sets. Head over to the The Sound Gallery Blog for more images.

Hope and Social  -  ‘ Be the Architect’

The Set includes:

Be The Architect live CD recorded on the night

68 minutes of the Hope and Social live crypt show

80-page Be the Architect hardback book

We asked all who came to the Be The Architect show to help us record the evening. We asked them to write a wish/poem/prayer/hope and submit it to us for inclusion in the Be The Architect box set. The result is an incredible 80 page insight into people’s lives in 2009. It’s a beautiful and inspiring artifact.

Hope and Social début album Architect of This Church

Prayer Song (Bonus Track)

Excerpts of people’s “prayers” will be made into a new work by Hope and Social. This will be included in the download, i.e. not on the physical CD (NB, anyone purchasing this before 1st January 2010 will be sent a link to this track by email)

…all in a beautiful leatherette (yes, leatherette) box with silver H&S logo. Wow.

Also includes:

Immediate download of the 10 track live album recording of the show and

Immediate download of a photo- slideshow, a beautiful visual record of the evening.

After seeing Hope and Social at Oporto it was off to the Crypt for a really special night. This is the guys hope turf. It is where they recorded the album ‘Architect of the Church’ and has become a very special place for them. So to watch them play the whole album live from start to finish in the place it was created, was amazing. Lots of thing for the audience to get involved before and during the gig. Everyone was invited to record the fact they had attended the gig by making hand prints on the wall and then signing below. My kids would have loved this. Also people were asked to write their own prayers and place in a box. Simon I think is going to pick one and turn it into a song. These guys like to get the fans involved and none more so by joining in with Kazoo’s! You just have to be there. Apparently they managed to get 1500 people to play Kazoo’s at Glastonbury this year – Check this video out.

Talking of video’s – we managed to record some video of the evening and will be posting a couple of them in the next few days so keep coming back to check. But in the meantime look at this little video of all the images from the gig.

Just a few images from the gig at Oporto on Monday night. Hope & Social are amazing band and are destined for greatness. The Sound Gallery have been asked to get involved with a special eving they are putting together on Saturday. Find out more on the TSG Blog. In the meantime if you get a chance to go and see one of there gigs you will not be disappointed and will be well worth the coin to get in. Check out their album Architect of this Church

U2 Rolled into Sheffield tonight for their only gig outside of London in England. We have been working quite hard as The Sound Gallery to get press passes for this event and at 12.15 pm just 8 hours before the gig was due to start we got the green light. I will post later on this week with more information and images. Needless to say it was an amazing show and here are few of the images as taster. Also a big up to Mr Rob Booker who thought he was going to have a quiet afternoon editing images when I told him I has a spare pass. Check  out his blog later for more images.