MUSIC
BACARDI Rum/The List Unsigned Scottish Band Search
The night before
Party time is upon us once more and this time around the bash is in Stirling. Bright of eye and bushy of tail, the rock 'n' roll rollercoaster is heading into Braveheart country.
Words: Jonathan Trew
The final heat of the BACARDI Rum/The List Unsigned Scottish Band Search looks like it's going to go off With an almighty bang. It's gUitars-a-go-go as the Stirling six compete for the biggest prize on the Scottish lTTUSlC scene. Comprising £1000, recording equipment, studio time, 500 CD singles, legal advrce and PR back-up, all courtesy of BACARDI Rum, Parklane Studios and Sound Control, the goodie sack is bulging and wocild give any band a hefty kick
along the path to success.
Flexmg their plectrums and massaging their rhythm glands in preparation for the hooley are three- piece Kalamazoo. They’ve been kicking about for less than a year and have already knocked up an impresswe number of gigs across the Central Belt. Lucky enough to have their own home recording studio rn which to hone their pop/rock interface, the lads Quote diverse influences from Beck to
Black Sabbath vra Primal Scream and Neil Young
MCBTTV-Jillfe, a second three-piece, The Dolly Rockers, are limbering up for the fray. They've been on the go since '89 and describe themselves as a cross
between The Beach Boys and My Old Man’s A Dustman', which isn't a combination you come across all that often. Not content With writing heaps of songs, the guys have been working wrth film and have. had two of their videos broadcast on network TV. Allegedly, Gary the drummer has a curly 70s perm, but this may be a lie since we were told it by Mickey the guitarist,
The morning after
They came, they saw and they drank copious amounts of BACARDI Rum. Yes sirree, the third regional heat of Scotland's biggest band search took place at La Belle Angele in Edinburgh. And the winners are . . .
Words Jonathan Trew
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Movrng on from hair-related matters, Flurd are a young bunch of guitar slmgers who’ve been together since the middle of last year Boasting a twin guitar charge that c0u!d bowl over a rhino from 200 yards, the band go across the board as far as influences are concerned, wrth lvletallica cropping up as Often as Ocean Colour Scene
American grunge bands have influenced the threesome who make up Stacey They used to be called Capri but Ford weren't too keen on the idea of sharing the name of their model of car With a guitar band central Scotland. Gigs at King Tut’s and The Garage in Glasgow have gone down well and, if stardom beckons, mebbee car manufacturers Will vcxant to cafl their sports cars Stacey
Straight Outta Bridge of Weir, the four members of Volley all take a share in the vocals and have played digs 9-". various venues around Glasgow On stage they belt out a healthy blend of guitar pop with all the youthful exuberance of a band that believes in itself completely Volley are probably
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Baba Cool and compere Ewan MacLeod (top right) celebrate victory
Given that Glasgow is often acknowledged as the roost ‘.’ll)fci'l'c centre of new musical talent in Scotland, the response from Edinburgh bands to our original call for demo tapes was pleasantly overwhelming ‘.\'e were S‘.‘.t‘:l:‘.;‘:t.‘(f with so many tapes, the niaiority cg-f ‘.\fll(.’l were of a ‘cery high standard, that selecting suc bands to play n the Edinburgh lieat .ellish The Judging on the night was no less diffic tilt
The aptly named Slapliead rare the first to perform il‘. front of a cur-.xd of over 300 Sparking (()fl‘.;"tis".‘s.)l!‘~ to o'er/one from Jonathan Fire‘fiater tc: T/laziness uia Bad t.lanners, Sfttliift-Z‘zi‘f (orr‘e on like a skate-punk thrash band ‘.‘.'ltfl 1 sense of humour. S'aphead him three sr‘eecls fast, faster and terminal velocity Untier‘prrioiriii the skankrng chaos is dirty great sac
givmg a throaty grime to tt-e pron rings
On a completely different tack, The Hungry Ghosts produced the zxarrrres: set of the evening Playing rate-rmht r'r'l"'(‘(f lTiUSIC for the more reflec il‘.~.“ r' life, they work through then ’lz‘ ballads \\'lift a soft yet ileft taxis; fly-crime female harmonies rise and fall ‘.‘.fl1ft‘ '.'c:l:n and an atria/ind array of perciirsr i'i instruments add to the s‘.'.c‘ff
If The Hungry Ghosfs ‘lli’; .‘..tl'i .i strrppecf-cioxt'ri (Fll‘.()i:r‘l‘.cif port-0st,, Tiw Rich Hill pull citf a similar feat, take on it has more in c (.’X()l(lSllii’l i‘cu'.'.fir‘.g through your l)ltif.‘ft‘-i'7.‘- .oa- Lit Whipping B;;~., tlxeir retrieval '.'.-."i‘.'f and slots, fitilffflli‘} t. a ’2'lZ*'." intensity trefor-q- i-piittiri; cathartic Stuff that .'.Lffft';'.t‘I.J1;7-.‘:‘i‘ll’;ci
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rock ‘n' roll rollercoaster and win fame and fortune
the only band playing tonight to have had airplay on New York radio. Alan Rennrson, their main vocalist, took a tape into a station while on holiday there and asked them to play it. They did. Simple, eh?
Buzzbomb started life three years ago in that rock ’n' roll mecca, Bathgate Havmg quickly deduced that there wasn’t a huge local market for a kick- ass punk/indie crossover around the genteel pubs of West Lothian, the lads gigged hard around Edinburgh and Glasgow and picked up support slots for The Sultans Of Ping, Tiny Monroe and Cecil. James Cavan, then drummer, has recorded in Chesney Hawkes's studios, but we won't hold that against him.
The bands Will be sweating, straining and generally breaking their hacks for your entertainment. All you’ve got to do is to get down there. SliOuld you need any further incentive, remember that BACARD! Rum and a mixer costs a paltry it all night. Entry is free
Stirling: Rainbow Rocks, Wed 23 Apr.
little haggard in the morning.
Gallus provided the only chance of the evening to hear a balalaika solo, before launching into a rebel-rousing, bt-irnstormer of a sec Sriatc hes of the folk idiom surface occasionally but Gallus take the traditional, give it a good boot up the iacksy and then set it pogciing like a dervrsh
’Contemporary' and 'modern' here Just two of the Judges’ remarks about Doc Stanley's bolshie pop Three-part harmonies interttsine over a high octane power pop that’s packed With more melodies than most The Supernaturals were mentioned in passing comparison and they're a good reference point One of the criteria for success in this competition is that the band have a chance of gaining wider recognition, a‘l the Judges reckoned that Doc Stanley h c? that potential anrl the runners-up prise went to the fi iursoriie.
Baba Coril won the night. Disregard azi previous demo tape-inspired reports dance neaxy grow-es, lave, Baba Coo-l are harder and heayier tht .". anything l‘irnte’: at on their entry tape Not that hard and heavy are always any inci'icatioi‘. cf duality indeed they are often the opposite bzit, ‘.‘.’f‘.c"ll played with the polish and verve which Baba ti." summoned up on the night, the,“- it's pretty damned good lt's big, drariritic stuff with a?! the r'egiiisrte wrcfe xisi’ru atmosphere that's needed to carry the sound off The scales tipped in their favour and Rat a Cool .‘Jlif be lieaiincr through. to the final ti“- ..carnpete fcr t" e
)r !.'c‘s whic l‘. h;
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been put up lzy FACARD! Rum, S {Hiritrol and Parliarie tpicfros All of ‘.‘.’h:c L", feat-us httfct to than thank you to
aud'ence who one th-.-.'
,iart'i atria-r all t'rir- bands took part, the
suprort ll‘. such ard thz‘ orgar‘asers and staff surfs) r"acf-g- tf‘e rt.i;l.t
"Ill'l‘i, ef‘s
'..=ri so srt‘ic‘othly