So having a soft spot for Scottish bands, I went and had a listen and found all the things that I really like about Scottish Bands. “False Hope” with it’s Big Countryish guitars was the song that immediately caught my attention.

The band  has supplied a copy of “False Hope” for you to listen to while you read on

So after a bit of chat with Chris, I sent him a list of questions and they become the interview that follows.

The Benthams Interview

Q: Lets start with how did you first meet up and decide “lets form a band”?

Chris: We all knew each other from high school – Chris, Ali and Tom started playing acoustic sets of their own material at band nights in obscure local towns, before bassist ‘Tuesday’ joined the band to complete the line-up and then we started to get serious…

Q: So where does the inspiration come from? What other producers, songwriters and/or artists fire you up?

Chris: If we allowed Ali to write this by himself it would consist solely of Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher and all things Oasis related, however, luckily, the rest of the band have a more diverse passion for music, with Rage Against The Machine, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Snow Patrol and James being some of our favourite artists and musical heroes

Q: I have been listening to your recent EP. Could you tell us a little bit about it? Tell us how the songs developed, how long did it all take from starting writing and then recording the material?

Chris: The songs we write try and capture some of the frustrations frequently experienced in life, but from an optimistic perspective, and the EP tracks definitely portray an element of this. 2007 was a year where we focused on being creative and refining our own sound, and over a period of 6-8 months of writing new material we felt the songs we chose to be put on the EP were the songs we were most proud of and best represented the sound the band is trying to create.

Q: How did you approach creating the material?

Chris: It varies really. For the second song on the EP (Send The Poet) we used lyrics Chris wrote randomly during a night of insomnia and they fitted well with a chord progression we had in mind, whereas songs like Sunset Fire and Calling Out Your Name started with a basic chord progression and we developed lyrics and the structure of the songs as we rehearsed together. We feel that if you try and impose a set method and structure to the writing process it gets a bit difficult, and that the best work is created with a bit of added spontaneity and rawness which gives it its own unique feel

Q: Now that the songs are recorded do you get any surprises when you hear it?

Chris: The songs sometimes have to be changed slightly from the versions we were used to playing live. Working in the studio and hearing the mixes over and over gives you the perfect opportunity to assess every single part of the song and it makes it easier to identify parts that would benefit from trying something slightly different. Hearing a recording of your own material does give you a few surprises as you get a better appreciation of the other band member’s contributions, as it’s more difficult to hear the all round sound when you’re playing live and focusing on the sound coming from your own amp or monitor!

Q: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

Chris: The internet and MySpace in particular, despite its drawbacks, still gives musicians and artists the opportunity to have their music heard by a much bigger potential audience. We have recently signed a publishing contract and we’re excited about the possibility of our music being distributed all over the world, throughout the music industry and the opportunities this might bring us. Listening back to the music we first wrote, compared to now, shows we have come a long way in a relatively short time and we feel confident that we will continue to develop and progress to the next level.

One of the things we have been really touched by is the support we’ve received from friends and family. They have been behind us from the very beginning and given us as much support as possible which has really helped spur us on and encourage us during times when we felt we weren’t getting any luck. Our hometown, in Perthshire, is on the opposite side of the country from where we are based now, but a large of number of friends will always make the long trip through to see our gigs and support us and we’re very grateful for that. It makes playing all the more worthwhile

Q: What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

Chris: There are many aspects of the music industry that can get quite discouraging. It’s very frustrating when you realise how “cliquey” some areas of the industry are; some people won’t give your music the time of day because you’re not represented by a well known company or manager, which is a pity. If there were less politics in the business there would be many more bands getting a break because they deserve it on merit, due to their talent and work ethic

Q: As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people…and why do you think that is?

Chris: We are constantly coming across new music from our gigging experiences and contact with management and promotions companies, and it makes you realise just how many good bands there are out there. We’ve met a lot of talented new bands creating exciting music and a lot of nice people too! It’s also often interesting to compare our own music to other bands around us in similar positions

Q: How did you produce and finance your musical productions?

Chris: We came across a really good producer at a local studio who was great to work with so we decided to record our EP there because we trusted he would do our songs justice in the recording/producing process. We spent a lot more time in the studio with the EP compared to previous recordings and we were very proud of the results, and it was also something we thoroughly enjoyed. But record production is a very costly process which meant we had to stretch our student loans and overdrafts to their limits, resulting in a fair few weeks of living on beans on toast and tins of soup afterwards!

Q: How hard is it for you to find gigs?

Chris: We do find it relatively easy to play local gigs around Glasgow and are quite lucky that the Glasgow music scene is vibrant and lively. There are lots of promoters to put on gigs, but its very easy for bands to fall into the trap of playing gigs arranged by promotion companies where the band don’t get the best deal, so we have to be careful with any gig we play that we know how well organised and advertised the event is going to be in order for us to be exposed to new audiences and potential fans. As our reputation is growing we are hoping to start getting on the bills with bigger bands in the near future to help our music be exposed to a wider target audience and we definitely want to start branching out and playing more gigs in areas of the country where we aren’t really known.

Q: What do think of “giving your music away”? Any thoughts on Radiohead’s decision to release an album on its own? What do you think of the music industry today?

Chris: It is definitely a good thing in some respects. There’s a lot of huge bands making millions and maybe they should be giving something back to the fans who’ve loyally supported them from the start and helped get them where they are.

The music industry has been and always will be a very difficult and unfair business to work in but it has been completely changed by the emergence of the internet and MySpace etc, making anyone and everyone’s music readily available at your fingertips. In a sense it gives anyone who wants to make music the chance to get their stuff “out there”, but because there’s so many people doing just that it is still just as difficult to get noticed, and it seems being successful in the music industry will always require a great deal of luck and being in the right place at the right time – which unfortunately means many good bands who deserve a break go unnoticed – but we remain hopeful that by working hard enough we can create our own luck and we will strive to get our music heard by as many people as we can.

Q: SO, IF YOU HAD TO INTERVIEW YOURSELF WHAT WOULD YOU ASK?

Chris: How about: Which celebrity would you most like to punch?

The list is endless, but some candidates who we think deserve a good smack are: Ian Wright, Sharon Osbourne, Jonny Borrell, Bianca from Eastenders and Ashley Cole

Q: What are you currently up to? And what can we expect from you next? What are your future plans or dreams as a musicians?

Chris: Our EP is coming out soon so we are very busy in preparation for its release: promoting it with lots of gigs, primarily in the major cities in Scotland to begin with but we are also hoping to venture down south at some point in the summer and play a few gigs. We’re working hard to try and get ourselves the opportunity to support a few bigger bands and get on the bill at a few of the many festivals in the summer.

We are also always writing new material for the next recording, we’re constantly getting more confident in our writing and we’ve got one or two brand new songs which we are really excited about and have had a good reaction from live audiences, so we’re looking forward to getting back into the studio when we can.

A couple of our dreams as musicians would be to open for some of our musical heroes, to play on the same bill as a band like Oasis would be fantastic. Another dream would be to play on the main stage at T in the Park. Our hometown’s not far from Balado, where the event is held, which would make it really special to play, but also because its an event we’ve grown up going to and seen so many great bands play there, the atmosphere at the festival is like nothing else we’ve ever experienced, and that’s just from being in the crowd, so we can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to play at it.

Q: Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener?

Chris: There’s always a few new bands that we listen to quite a lot, and its always interesting to keep an eye on the new music scene for stuff that catches our attention, but we go through phases of different styles, depending on our moods. Tom is really into Blues, stuff like Clapton and John Lee Hooker, Chris and Ali like a bit of Britpop, in particular the Stone Roses and Oasis, while Tuesday is into a bit more heavy music like Taking Back Sunday and The Used. But in general, the stuff we’ve all been listening to recently is probably older music that’s been around a while, with the Rolling Stones and James being listened to quite a lot.

And the last question: What’s on high rotation on your MP3 player at the moment that we should know about?

Chris: We’re all really excited about Rage Against The Machine playing at T in the Park so we’ve listening to quite a lot of their albums recently.

One band Chris and Tom are quite passionate about is a Glasgow outfit called Union of Knives, who have an electro/indie sound but with a dark and moody tone. Their debut album is intensely powerful and magnetising, and they have received nowhere near as much recognition as their talent’s deserve. Other bands we’re really into at the minute are The Cribs, Kings of Leon, Air Traffic and we’re looking forward to the new albums from The Delays and Coldplay which are both coming out soon

Thanks to Chris of The Benthams for his time and if you are in Glasgow next Tuesday the 29th April, head down Saucihall Street to BOX and help the lads launch their EP. I wish I could go but the commute is a killer

Websites at www.bebo.com/thebenthams and www.myspace.com/thebenthams

Bass and vocals? Not a pairing that one would think of but osh10 (www.osh10.com/) does make it sound completely obvious, by combining seriously funky and inventive bass playing with vocals that range from intensely soulful and jazzy to very edgy and playful.

osh10 sent duggup a CD for review earlier this year and after having a listen to it (about a half a dozen times. on repeat. Yes, it’s really that good), I had to find out more about Aimee and Mike. The interview (it’s a long one) that follows shows two musicians who have are quite thoughtful, articulate and incredibly generous with their time. they play up a storm as well.
So Question 1 has to be – How did you first meet up and decide “this is a cool idea”?
Aimee: No it’s not the typical band line-up is it? I guess initially it was just a case of getting together to write songs and naturally turning to our primary instruments. While we both play guitar and a bit of piano, The more we wrote together, the more I felt like I wanted to really dig in and explore the vast capabilities of voice and bass to create a really satisfying sound.
Mike: We started this band as an experiment. We wanted a different sound, so by combining bass and vocals, which are extremely different registers, we have so much room to work with in the ensemble. It means we can create a very raw spatial sound or use vocal and bass loops to create the effect of a full band playing.

duggup: I honestly can’t think of another duo doing this, although there have been some jazz ballads that come close. So where does the inspiration come from? What other producers, songwriters and/or artists fire you up?
Mike: I draw from too many sources to mention. I take inspiration from every style of music and combine all these elements to my playing. So I guess what keeps me motivated is the fact that I can use all forms of musical influences enabling me to create songs and sounds which hopefully no one has experienced before. giving me a unique voice with everything I write and perform.
Aimee: It surprises me that it is such an uncommon combination. Some people are almost angry at you when you tell them the line-up, particularly guitarists & drummers!!!) They say ‘You can’t do that!’ But once they hear the diversity of sound that we produce without that rhythm section, they do start to come around.

In terms of inspiration I really lean toward the theatrical, so while I listen to anything and everything, it is the things with a quirky bent that really appeal to me. I like Jon Brion both as a producer and a songwriter, he swings between such fragile melancholic sounds to something hilarious and carnivalesque. I love Sigur Ros for the beautiful visual and emotional journey their music takes you on. There is just so much stuff, I love the random play function on Itunes!

duggup: When did you both start making music as individuals, what is/was your motivation to do it?
Aimee: I was obsessed with creating things as a kid. My mum really encouraged my imagination, and between the dress-up box, art and craft supplies, instruments aplenty and unlimited use of the record player, I was left to invent entire one-woman shows performed for friends, relatives and pets. I would use my old tape deck to record songs that I had written or I’d rewrite melodies for the songs I’d tape off the radio. It took me until my late teens to single out music as my main outlet, but choose I did and it’s been my 24/7 obsession since.
Mike: I found music at a young age. The ability to express myself though music and to be able to connect with the audience and have them experience the same feelings is awesome. People don’t always realize it, but music is connected with everything we do. Some suggest music is irrelevant to life. but they are often the same people that then go home and listen to their favorite CD. I’m in love with the fact that my career is constantly evolving to new heights depending on my situation in life. This means that the music I write now will be completely different in a year’s time. and for me that beats any repetitive day job straight up. I would rather have no money and do what I want then be rich and bored with life.

duggup: Can you describe, briefly, how you work on a musical project?
Aimee: I don’t think we have a set plan.yet. We still feel really new to the whole idea of producing a body of work and I think it will take a few albums worth of experimenting, to settle on something that feels like solid method. By using varying methods of writing, it means each song we create has a life of its own and can become a part of us however it wants. This means it has its own unique personality.Just like people are unique in their own ways.

duggup: I have been listening to your recent album. Could you tell us a little bit about it? Tell us how the new album developed, when did you start writing and recording the material?
Aimee: We started writing osh10 songs back at music school as part of our songwriting assessments and to perform as part of our recital exams. At the time, it was purely academic, somewhere along the line it evolved into a really fulfilling musical adventure worth the pursuit.

The songs on the album developed over about 4 years, before osh10 was a fully-fledged band. Rather than write songs in a short period, for the purpose of putting an album out, each song springs from where we were at musically, whether it be exploring new techniques we had learned at school, influences from projects we were involved in outside of osh10, as well as the ever-changing musical, cultural influences. It wasn’t until we got to the end of tertiary studies that we were able to look back on this body of work and think ‘hey, there’s an album in this!’

duggup: How did you approach creating the album’s material (i.e., did you start with the lyrics or a melody)?
Aimee: It really varies, often Mike will record a bass line that I will write a melody/lyrics to or vice versa, other times I might write a melody and bass line that Mike will then layer with other bass lines and we build it from there. Sometimes we write the complete song on our own. Each song just seems to have a predetermined destiny and we just choose the route that seems right.
Mike: Similar to what Aimee said. Every song we’ve written has been created in a different way. What has been recurring is the way we workshop songs. Once we have the ideas for a song. we workshop it and change structures together. By doing this we’ve achieved the creation of music that is relevant to both of us. This means when we perform a song the emotion is expressed though all of us, creating a much more intimate experience.
Aimee: Absolutely, it’s a team effort!

duggup: “Mr Sheen” and “Eight Hands” are currently my favourites, what about you both. Now that the album is finished and out there which track still surprises you when you hear it?
Mike: For me, I like a different song each time I hear it. This is because each song contains the mood I was in when I wrote it. So depending on what mood I’m in, there will be a song that connects to me on that level.
Aimee: Yeah “Mr Sheen” seems to be a popular choice both live and in terms of radio play, but we find that people let us know what song they’re digging the most from the album and there’s no consistency in the choice, which I guess is how I feel about it, it is a mixed bag. Now that time has passed since recording/mixing, I can listen to the album as a listener again, rather than a critical musician. I do love to listen to “‘Going.gone” and I will never get sick of hearing “Sferics“, it is just stunning- Mike at his best!

SIDEBAR: Time for you all to hear what we are talking about. Have a listen to my favourite “Mr Sheen”
duggup: The CD has such a wonderful dynamic range, Adam Dempsey your mastering engineer did a great job of preserving the light and shade of the performances. Are you happy with how it turned out or in hindsight do you wish you had gone for a “louder is better” mix?
Mike: Not at all. I’m very happy with the album as it is. Generally, if you go for the louder is better option, you lose all dynamics and therefore the songs loose their impact.
Aimee: I think the ‘louder is better’ principle has taken a little too much precedent in music in the past few years and I’m glad we resisted. In previous bands, when I guess I was a little more naive, I was disappointed that the soul of the song was lost in mixing, and so we did a lot of research into finding an engineer who was going to understand the subtleties of our songs. I think we really found that in Adam.

duggup: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
Aimee: I feel like I’m just beginning to get my head around what my music is, what is unique to me, what I want to say with my music. and that makes me feel really excited about the future of my music making and the road ahead for osh10.
Mike: Right now I’m spending all my money on new gadgets that will expand the sounds I can produce on my bass ten-hundred-thousand fold. I’m so excited by this because it means my creative musical expression will almost be limitless. I now have so much to work with.but so little money

duggup: And what aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?
Mike: The fact that people are so quick to judge other people’s music. It usually so open and shut too. It’s either brilliant or shithouse. Music is so subjective and that really is the great thing about it- There is a place for everyone with something to say musically, and an audience for just about everything, so I think less of the judgment and more of the exploration to find what does it for you is necessary.
Aimee: I think the perceived value of music, or rather lack of value in music is a real concern. Particularly in Australia, I think that there is a heavily ingrained notion that musicians should do what they do for free. It amazes me the general resistance to paying even a $5 cover charge for live music. It kills me the way that a lot of venues think that while they have every right to make a huge profit from alcohol sales and are happy to use live music, or recorded music for that matter as a means for increasing that profit, that they don’t need pay the musicians adequately. I think that there needs to be a major shift in people’s attitude of music as having a monetary value in addition to the accepted cultural and emotional value. I mean you don’t go have surgery and then say, ‘No I’m not paying, because you should just be doing this because you love your job’

duggup: What do think of “giving your music away” Any thoughts on Radiohead’s decision to release an album on its own? What do you think of the music industry today?
Aimee: It’s a really tough one, I think what Radiohead and Trent Reznor have done with their ‘Pay what you like’ model is to bring into public conscience the way in which music is distributed, who is getting what percentage of the pie and how much it is actually worth. While I don’t think that this would work for a band lacking in the profile that these artists have, I am definitely of the thought that major label domination as we have known it, is dead. Digital Distribution is the reality and the future of music and had the majors not feared it so much, they probably would have found better ways of harnessing the potential of the digital world. They didn’t though, and the power is now in the hands of the makers, the musicians. I think the difficult part is making the mental shift between how music is to be made and essentially paid for- it is a very different model to the old and musicians really need to do their homework and understand the new model.

For me, I think absolutely, if it cost you to make something, then rightfully you should be paid something for it. The nature of a song being digitally encoded means that it will inevitably be copied. The challenge for artists now is to accept that reality and work on the areas that cannot be copied, such as trust- gaining a fan’s loyalty is an enormous asset that will result in money being spent on attending live shows, purchasing merchandise, introducing new fans to your music because they trust you and your product. If this trust and subsequent income streams came from someone obtaining a downloaded mp3, then so be it. I think the whole musician-audience relationship is becoming much more personal and interactive and you have to earn a fan. I love that I can have a direct relationship with the people who connect to our music, through things such as myspace and facebook, it can’t be a bad thing can it?

duggup: So I notice on your websites, your solution to the independent distribution question is to use Paypal, CDBaby and of course the ubiquitous iTunes. How is that working for you?
Aimee: I wouldn’t say that one distribution method is winning out over another at this point, Paypal is great, it is so easy to set up and attach to our myspace and website without having to worry about internet security and setting up our own merchant facilities. I think that the majority of people are becoming very comfortable with the idea of purchasing music online whether in physical form or as mp3s from the likes of iTunes, and I love to be able to put in a little thank you note to people who buy it direct from the site, being a direct part of the transaction makes you feel very grateful and It’s so important to hold onto that humility.

For the next album we may look at getting a distributor for the bricks and mortar stores nationally, as we are currently stocked in a few independent music stores in Melbourne only. As our fanbase grows (fingers crossed it will continue to grow!) it would be lovely to have the option for our fans to buy or order the cd from any record store if they do not feel comfortable with the online method, but that’s on the to-do list for album number 2.

duggup: Mike. tell me something about the instruments, technical equipment and tools you use? Mike: At the moment I play an Ibanez BTB 6-string bass.This gives me great sub sounds and also allows chordal playing in the guitar realm. I recently bought a Boss RC-50 loop station so I can layer bass lines and chords over each other to create the full rhythm section sound that you hear on the album. I then have a few pedals which allow me to play a full range of styles. I can create special audio scopes with reverb, delays, phasers and alike with my Digitech effects unit.or go the opposite, creating harsh gritty tunes with my Boss Oc3 distortion and ocata bass. All capped off with my Dunlop 95Q Wah pedal.because everyone loves wah! {in some circles this is none as “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” or GAS, it’s a common affliction among musicians. duggup}
I’m constantly updating my set up. The next step for me is incorporating my Mac laptop into the mix with Ableton Live. This will give me endless options of sounds and possibilities.

duggup: As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people…and why do you think that is?
Mike: Like I said earlier. I take inspiration from all forms of music. I’m always listening to new music by other bands and composers. It expands my understanding of music also helps me define who I am.
Aimee: Wow, less music, that would be like starving myself – I can’t stop! Living in Fitzroy, I have such great access to live music and I regularly head out to see both friends bands as well as seeking out new things. I don’t see how a musician can make new music without some sort of context of where they are in the music landscape, I mean you can lock yourself in a room for 5 years and do nothing but practice, and sure you’re gonna have amazing chops, but what are you going to write about? How are you going to relate to your bandmates or your audience? I think musicians who become insular in relation to other music are really missing out.

duggup: How did you produce and finance your musical productions?
Aimee: We are totally independent and have paid for the entire project ourselves- any way that we could. We play in a couple of bands that do weddings and corporate gigs and the money we earn from those goes directly into the osh10 kitty and we each do a number part time jobs- We just did whatever we had to in order to raise funds and it’s amazing how hard you will work to achieve something you really believe in, totally makes the end product even more satisfying.

duggup: How hard is it for you to find gigs? Are you perceived as “too hard” to book?
Aimee: This project is still very young and I guess we are still trying to find a musical label for ourselves- we don’t fit neatly into a musical genre and so in that respect, I guess we have to think a little harder about which gigs we do. It isn’t hard to find gigs, but with such a different sounding band, it’s just a matter of playing a gig that has the right audience. That said, though we have been in some pretty diverse lineups from live drum & bass/electronica outfits, to more roots or jazz.

We have a definite wish list of bands that we would like to work with, and we are just going to play with around with it until we find the right mix.

duggup: What are you currently up to? And what can we expect from you next? What are your future plans or dreams as a musicians?
Aimee: We have been writing non stop since we wrapped up the recording on the last album and we are pretty keen to get into the studio and start getting them on tape- I think the sounds going to be a lot bigger, the dynamics are going to be even more defined. We have some pretty wild ideas about where we are headed, our challenge is to realize them now! I’m pretty darn psyched actually; putting the album out has really opened the flood gates for our creativity. We will also be ramping our live gigs up over the next few months and trying out the gizmos, I think we’re just gonna jump in headfirst in 2008 and see what we come up with!
Mike: As I described with my music equipment set up. Once it’s fully up and running the way I want it, I can effectively do anything I want. I may even be able to play drum beats on my bass…who knows? My music will always be constantly evolving to create new sounds never heard before. I will never get bored with my career choice in life. That’s the plan!

duggup: So, if you had to interview yourself what would you ask?
Mike: Do you like coffee? My answer is yes
Aimee: What does osh10 mean? I’m still waiting for someone to figure it out on their own- I’m not telling!!!

duggup: Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)
Mike: Anything that expresses emotion.which I can find in almost every style/genre of music.
Aimee: I have to have variety, I refuse to listen to CD’s in my car because I think having the radio on is the best way to hear new stuff- for better or worse. I take risks on music and trawl places like CDBaby to seek out new independent music. I do constantly go back and revisit older music, like at that music I am obsessively going back and listening to my old Kate Bush and Beatles records as well as my Beck collection, because it doesn’t matter how much you listen to them, you always find something new in it, and good music is just good music, it’s ageless.

The last Question every time. What’s on high rotation on your MP3 player at the moment that we should know about?
Aimee: I bought Sia’s new album 2 weeks ago and have been listening to it with an almost unhealthy obsession- I just LOVE it. I would really like to work with her one day. I am also loving Amon Tobin’s stuff, especially ‘Permutation’, it blows my mind that that album is 10 years old, it sounds so modern to my ears, the guy is a genius.
Mike: Again a lot of styles. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of electronic music by Squarepusher and Aphex Twin among others. I guess I like that genre of music because it is utilizing new technology and striving for new sounds. For example, it wasn’t until recently that I discovered the depths of unique composition that Aphex Twin uses. For his song ‘Window Licker’ he used Pd, a complex audio engine. With this program he was able to generate sound from images. I’m not going to go into full details about how he did it.because my it hurts my brain. However he created ‘Window Licker’ using warped images of himself.which is quite relevant to the film clip for it.

There are so many crazy ways to get new sounds. So when I look at Kyma, a piece of outboard audio hardware, I get excited. As far as I’m aware Kyma can change sound waves on a molecular level, rather than just warping a sine wav for example. This means that one can transform and create sounds in an entirely different way. I’m very interested in inventions like this because it shows just how limitless the possibilities are in sound and music design/creation.

duggup: Interesting choices guys. I have to admit to having a couple of Amon Tobin tracks on my MP3 player as well.

Thanks for your time and all your typing (this was an email interview). I look forward to catching you playing live.

Ok folks, you can get a feel for the album at www.myspace.com/osh10music and then head over and pick up a copy of the album from their website at www.osh10.com/.

Track Name: New York

The band are Tristan Cook on vocals, Luke Wilkins on guitar and vocals, Dale Townsend on piano and guitar, Matthew Abercrombie on drums and James Affleck on bass.

They play a brand of power pop that stands out thanks to strong voices, ripper hooks, thoughtful lyrics and sensitive arrangements. I liked the songs enough to contact No Cassandra for an email interview. The guys came to the party after I said “So here are the questions. Go crazy.” This is their response.

Duggup: Tell me about the band name – it’s pretty distinctive.
No Cassandra: Cassandra was a mythological Greek character who’s often served as a model for insanity and
tragedy. Therefore, we felt it fitting to incorporate the ‘no’ at the beginning. Something different but it’s not about the name.

Duggup: You list a huge number of influences – seriously?
No Cassandra: We’re a 5 piece band all with a broad range of influences. We won’t sound like all the artists but they have influenced what we wanna do.
Duggup: When was the first time you felt deeply affected by music or when you knew you wanted to make music?
No Cassandra: Hearing Squre being let loose on ‘Second Coming”. Seeing Oasis @ Maine Road 1996 those sort of things were hugely inspiring and made us wanna do this.

Duggup: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
No Cassandra: Taking our ideas from the bedroom to band rehearsal and getting that look of ‘quality tune’ from the rest of the band.

Duggup: How did you all as a band first connect?
No Cassandra: Mutual friendship. Most of us have known each other for years and been involved in other projects and have now finally come together to form No Cassandra

Duggup: Tell me something about your living environments and musical education – big city or small town?
No Cassandra: The education of ‘big city’ music has been priceless. Where we are in the Midlands we’re very lucky to have several big cities with great music scenes on our doorstep

Duggup: Can you describe, briefly, how you work on the songs?
No Cassandra: Normally members bring ideas to the table and if they get the magic seal of approval we all work around the initial idea or if the song gets ‘shot down in flames’, the next ‘spontaneous’ eruption of sound is usually quality

Duggup: What is distinctive about your music?
No Cassandra: Our music isn’t pushing any major boundaries but we believe we are making good old quality music. We don’t feel that anyone else is releasing music like ours at the moment. Everyone’s trying to be so left field and different they end up forgetting what’s most important, ‘the songs’.

Duggup: What can we expect next?
No Cassandra: The reaction of the first 4 demo’s has been great and has given us great hope. So when we’re ready we’ll head into the studio to record our album and tour it as much as we can.

Duggup: What are your future plans or dreams as musicians?
No Cassandra: To sign a record deal, try and make it and live the dream. No different to any other ‘sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll -a-holic’.

Duggup: How hard is to produce and finance your musical productions?
No Cassandra: We been quite lucky so far and have some friends in the industry that have helped us record the demos so far ‘on the cheap’

Duggup: What do think of “giving your music away”?
No Cassandra: It’s alright when you’ve already release a load of albums and made it. Cause you don’t need the money and don’t need to worry about selling out endless tours. How’s a new band meant to get anywhere if they give everything away for free.

Duggup: What do you think of the music industry today?
No Cassandra: The industry is on it’s arse at the moment and i’m not sure what’s gonna happen next. Everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to think of this ‘great’ idea that’s gonna save the industry. But at the end of the day, if people make quality music people will still buy it and come and see you play.

Duggup: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
No Cassandra: Seeing the reaction of friends and new fans listening to our music and the response it’s been getting. We can’t wait to hit the road and win over an army of new fans.

Duggup: What do you like to do for fun outside of working on music?
No Cassandra: Sex and Drugs……….what else is there when you take out the Rock ‘n’ Roll

Duggup: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
No Cassandra: Well at the moment we’re all stuck in the usual 9-5 jobs along with the rest. So we all live for the day when we tell our bosses that we won’t be back on Monday cause i’m off to take over the world.

Duggup: What is your biggest indulgence?
No Cassandra: We all live and breathe music. Playing, watching, listening and buying. It’s an addiction!!

DUGGUP: Finally…..
What’s on high rotation on your MP3 player at the moment that we should know about?
No Cassandra: No Cassandra – Demos (Of Course)
Lightspeed Champion – Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
Exit Calm – Demos
Seasick Steve – Dog House Music
Band Of Horses – Cease To Begin
Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire
Ryan Adams – Entire Back Catalogue

So thanks for the interview guys and good luck for the future.

There you have it then, keep your ears open for the album and if you happen to be in their neck of the woods and get to hear No Cassandra live, send us a review.

Jo Kelly Stephenson has just completed her full length album ’I See Flowers, You See Cars, featuring Mike Rudd, Bill Putt and Peter ‘Robbo’ Robertson from Spectrum (Ill Be Gone), and co-produced with her father Ken Stephenson. She currently works with a similar line up performing a combination of roots music with hints of blues, jazz, R&B and pop / rock. Have a listen to Deep End while you read through the interview.

Email Interview with Jo Kelly Stephenson.

The last time I saw you perform was at Hardimans working with Ross Ryan, Jools and I were both really impressed with your vocals (and melodica playing which I notice you haven’t used on the album). Since then you have released your album, “I See Flowers You See Cars“. Four tracks from it have earned top 10 placements in the ASA – Australian Songwriters Association Awards 2007, you scored a nomination for the Rudy Brandsma Award and “I See Flowers, You See Cars” has been nominated a finalist in the Independent Music Awards in the USA Alternative Country Category. Going well isn’t it?

In your website bio it reads

“spending most of her early years riding around in a red Kombi, some of Jo Kelly’s favourite memories were of dancing to her father’s band at late night gigs. It was these moments that paved the way for the musical journey that was to follow”

So let’s play 20 Questions and start back at your childhood.

1. In a world where there are an infinite variety of creative outlets, when did you realise that music was it for you? When did you start making music, what was your motivation to do it?

Jo: I think I was about 8 years old. My dad came home with a documentary on the Beatles. That was it for me! I went scrounging through his collection of old cassette tapes and found every Beatles album he owned. I don’t think he’s ever seen those tapes again!

2. Tell us how the new album developed, when did you start writing and recording the material?

Jo: It’s a collection of old and new material. I really wanted a ‘produced’ sounding album, therefore took a lot of time to carefully decide what each track needed. Now that I have that produced album I can move on. I want my next album to be done in two weeks!

3. How did you approach creating the album’s material, do you start with the lyrics or the melody or does the song spring into your head fully formed?

Jo: As a general rule, groove and chords first, melody next then lyrics. Though there are exceptions. Sometimes I wake up from a dream with a full chorus in my head. I’ll elaborate on that later.

4. Does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), have an affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

Jo: Of course. I lived up near Byron for some time and a lot of happy songs about sunshine came about there. You’re also exposed to different types of music everywhere you go. I don’t think one can avoid being influenced on some level by the music and environment surrounding them, whether they like it or not.

5. On your album apart from having Ken Stephenson (your dad)playing Lap Steel, Dobro, Banjo, Mandolin, Electric Guitars, Bass doing Backing Vocals & the production. You also had Robbo, Bill and Mike from Spectrum on the album. Was it fun working with them?

Jo: They were true seasoned professionals and it was a joy to have them on board. They know about groove those guys.

6. Big music influences in your life? Pick a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to.

Jo: Gillian Welch and her gorgeous husband Dave Rawlings. They make magical, honest, non-contrived music together.

7. What’s one of your all-time favourite recordings by this band/musician?

Jo: I like it all. The real joy is seeing them live. I had the pleasure of doing so at the Meenyan town hall when they toured Oz.

8. What musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? Old stuff or new stuff? Similar to yours or radically different?

Jo: A lot of old stuff. I l grew up on the old folk rock scene. Joni, Bob, Neil, Leonard, though lately I’m getting into Americana and Alternative country. Buddy & Julie Miller, Emmylou, Harry Manx. A bit of Tom Waits, J.J Cale and Tony Joe White ‘Swamp’ music..you know “chomp”, “chomp”. I do however love artists like Coldplay, Crowded House, Nick Cave and old soul blues, Bill Withers, Otis Redding. I even got into the British punk scene for a while, but that’s another story. I like lots of different music, I’d get bored if I listened only to music like mine.

9. As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people…and why do you think that is?

Jo: It is often other people’s songs that inspire me to write. I always enjoy hearing something new that makes me tick.

10. What aspect of making music excites you the most right now? What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

Jo: Making the music is the easy part, getting it out there is the challenge. Trying to work a day job so that I can pay to be a musician is what gets me down the most. Those worlds are so far apart.

11. How hard is to produce and finance your musical productions?

Jo: Well I was fortunate enough to work with my father, Ken Stephenson, who has been building up his own recording studio for years now. He’s a great producer and engineer who is passionate about recording, which is an important factor. We also work very well together as a team. The hardest part for me is trying to pay a band when we take the music to the live stage. It’s sad but true, most venues don’t pay for original acts. That’s why a small cover charge really isn’t that much to fork out. The cost of a drink!

12. With the music industry paradigm changing from the 4 majors telling us what to consume to the musicians dealing directly with the fan, you have a few of your songs up on MySpace, which is where I got to hear your song “Deep End”. What do you think of the music industry today?

Jo: There are pros and cons. I think it’s brilliant that artists have more freedom and independence. Everyone gets an opportunity to record and showcase their music. Maybe people are more savvy when it comes to record contracts also. With the freedom comes extra responsibility though in the sense that ‘development deals’ don’t really exist anymore. Record labels want a ‘turn key product’ ready to market and packaged to go, so artists probably need to be more business minded these days. You don’t just go and play at a cafe and get picked up like Joan Baez and all those old folkies! That’s my understanding anyway, correct me if I’m wrong.

13. As an artist, what do think of “giving your music away” Do you have Any thoughts on Radiohead’s decision to release an album on the internet and let the listeners set the amount that they want to pay?

Jo: I’ll think about giving my music away for free the day I have enough food to eat, not to mention recouping recording costs. Artists still have to pay the rent and survive somehow. It’s such a conflict of interests trying to hold down a day job then be all so creative and musically inspired when you get home each day. Generally you wouldn’t apply for a full time job in another industry and expect to not get paid, regardless of how much you like the job. I’m sure Radiohead are now in a position financially to allow their audience to set a price for their music.

14. Gibson or Martin? Seriously, tell me something about the instruments and gear that you use?

Jo: ‘Simon and Patrick’ acoustic guitar all the way from Canada. ‘Korg’ digital Piano & a new ‘Line 6 Variax’ electric guitar with an in built computer! It allows me to program in different guitar tunings! It’s brilliant, but heavy! { I am jealous, I read about the Variax a year ago and immediately wanted one. thatch}

15. When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?

Jo: It all started a month or so ago when I had a dream about Keith Urban. I dreamt I was the girl with the floral dress in his film clip. He was singing away and I said “hey Keith, how do you write songs like that?” Then I awoke and realised the song was mine! I’ve recorded a rough version. It’s called ‘Urban Dream’. Cheesy, I know.

16. What’s the saddest song you’ve ever heard?

Jo: Nina Simone, ‘Wild is the Wind’ would have to be one of them.

17. What was your first professional gig like?

Jo: It was at ABC studios when I was about 18. It went very smoothly. No awful gig tales there!

Nearly finished

18. What are you currently up to? What’s next?

Jo: Well, there are the Independent Music Awards. If anything happened there, I’d be straight on a plane to the States. I’d love to meet all my Americana idols over there. I’m also live on Joy FM 94.9 this Saturday 17th November at 4pm, so tune in!

SIDEBAR We couldn’t publish this interview before Jo played the radio show so we recorded it and you can find the live to air version of “Deep End” at the bottom of this article {thatch}

19. If you had to interview yourself what is the question you would ask and of course it’s answer?

Jo: Why do you think interviewers ask so many questions? No comment. Just joking!

And finally the last Question: 20. What’s on high rotation on your MP3 player at the moment that we all should know about?

Jo: Paul Kelly ‘Stolen Apples’. Lucinda Williams ‘West’.

Good choices, thanks for your time and your typing.

Ok, you can get a feel for the album at www.myspace.com/jokellystephenson and pick up up a copy of the album from her website.

Deep End – acoustic from the Joy FM Interview

Here is “Deep End” taken from the Joy FM interview referred to above, it is just Jo and her guitar. It’s a good performance.

We may post the whole interview some time later as it runs about 25 minutes.

Meet Eoin McDonagh, he’s a musician from Dublin in Ireland. At just 19 years of age he is beginning to show a strong songwriting talent with tracks like What’s Left, you’ll find the self produced mp3 below. Add to the melodic equation minimalist piano accompaniment and a voice that can give Justin Timberlake a run for his money.

Listen to “What’s Left”

He is out there shaking the bars of the MySpace community, showcasing what is shaping up to be a promising career as a performer. He works by day in retail, gigs and socialises by night and studies his craft in between.

In his early teens he began singing publicly at smaller venues and concerts showcasing a progressing talent and as time went on this talent developed. He bagan taking music quite seriously in his later years of secondary school always taking up any possible opportunity to perform. Within the last two years he has been writing and performing and has won competitions such as ‘STAR SEARCH’ and ‘STARS IN YOUR EYES’.

I spotted Eoin’s MySpace site and liked what I heard so I asked him to answer a few questions.

To begin, I asked him to describe how he puts together his songs.

(EOIN) Usually when I attempt to write songs and plan it things, just get completely screwed up and I get nowhere. So I’d much rather on a lazy day, just say ‘oh I think I’ll mess around on the piano for a few minutes’ and usually that’s when my songs are written.

Usually when it happens they are done within 10 minutes; once I get an idea in my head the lyrics start flowing and I like to get it all done there and then otherwise I will NEVER finish it.

I use my own feelings and experiences to create my songs as well as those of my friends but always there’s something that’s personal to me. For example ‘What’s left’ I wrote in, I’d say ten minutes, about two of my friends.

I love a great bridge and although my songs don’t all have one, I do try to include one and a good hook is always good too, but overall there’s how my songs are put together.

Tell me something about the instruments, technical equipment or tools you use?

(EOIN) I started playing piano when I was about eight and was purely classically trained At the beginning I loved it and I was great with my practice and all was good, but as years went on, that went out the window. I begged and begged to quit, but it my granny who was my teacher so I didn’t want her to be offended. I was the only grandchild taking any interest in music or with any musical ability, the others hadn’t a note hahaha.

When I was about 13 my granny had a stroke and I gave up playing. Then a couple of years later I took it back up and really began enjoying it again as I was using it to accompany myself while singing which was a first for me. When I mastered that, then, I was so grateful having learned how to play.

Now I think my piano skills need some major tuning and practice, I’m very basic and simple with my accompaniments mostly plain and simple chords but sometimes I find it works best, “less is more”.

What are your future plans or dreams as a musician?

(EOIN) At the moment I am studying music performance in Kylemore College in Dublin which is just a one year course so I will be finished in May. Basically it’s just about being in an environment with other young musicians and spending the year writing and developing. After that I would like to record a bit more, continue to write and gig and start getting videos on YouTube and get more people interested in my MySpace with the hope of being noticed and signed.

What do think of “giving your music away” Any thoughts on Radiohead’s decision to release an album on its own?

(EOIN) I thought at the start “giving music away” was something very bad for the music industry. I thought it was ridiculous whether it was unsigned artists making all their produced material downloadable for free or whether it was signed artists whose material had leaked for free downloading on the net.

Now my opinion has changed in some ways, I feel that it is excellent publicity for artists to have their music downloadable for free, it shows record labels and scouts how determined the artists actually are to make it and also demonstartes their passion for music. I believe it isn’t about the money, it’s about doing what you want to do and living out the dream and if that’s to have millions of people listen and respect your music then you can have that.

Just because you are giving it to them for free doesn’t mean they enjoy it any less or that you are less successful and also then if you release your next album or even the same one it will have had so much publicity that it will be booming, people will want to pay money for it. As for signed artists the same goes, it will only publicise them and promote further material which they release as well as ticket sales for gigs and concerts.

As for Radiohead I am not too opinionated on their decision to release the album on its own but I think that a lot of it is for publicity after all I think a lot of people have lost count of the number of albums they have had. I think they need to make an impact somehow and this is certainly one way to do it. Also if people like them but are of the opinion that they don’t like them enough to risk buying the album then they can pay less for it or just have it for free. I mean in one respect it’s very intelligent, in another I’m not so sure but I don’t really know enough to have a long winded opinion on it.

What do you think of the music industry today?

(EOIN) I think the music industry today is finally recognising unique talent more. There was a time where only white artists of a certain stereotype and genre were even considered for radio play and record deals. Now the more different you are the better, provided you’re marketable of course. I mean look at Beth Ditto, she is a massive icon, she just has such a ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude and people love it as well as the fantastic material she produces with her band Gossip.

Obviously less and less deals are being handed out and they are very, very scarce. I don’t know, maybe the amount of talent out there these days exceeds the amount of space there is for artists in the industry. That’s hard to believe when you hear some of the artists in the charts these days who seriously cannot sing.

What do you like to do for fun outside of working on music?

(EOIN) Outside of music I love to socialise, A LOT. I love seeing my friends and going out whether it’s just a drive in the car where we have all the laughs or whether we go out on the tear.

I love the cinema and DVD’s, I don’t watch the tv too much but I am totally hooked on ‘Lost’ and I am dying for the next series to come out. I also like the odd bit of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’ and the ‘X Factor’ and ‘American Idol’ too.

I love to travel especially anywhere hot but snow is good too once I can ski, best hang over cure EVER! I used to have horses and did some show-jumping but when I decided on music as a career I gave up and sold my horse but I will always have an interest there.

And most importantly what’s on high rotation on your MP3 player at the moment that we should know about?

(EOIN) Obviously going to gigs and I’m so looking forward to seeing Amy Winehouse in Dublin in December, that girl better show up, she Is hilarious and so talented, a great inspiration to me at the moment. She is on constant play on my ipod, in my car wherever I can get a sneak of a tune haha. Rihanna is also getting some love at the moment as well as James Morrison and Timberland, now that’s an album!

So there it is – Eoin McDonagh – make a note of the name, you’re sure to hear it again. Oh and check out his other two tracks on MySpace.