Bands appearing at Oran Mor and the Caves include How to Swim (pictured) and Twin Atlantic (below)
New musical express
Glas ow and Edinburgh venues host new night to help support and deve op new emerging music talent. Words: Anna Millar
ran Mor in (ilasgow and the (‘aves
in lidinhurgh will play host to a
new initiative set tip by Miller (ienuine Draft. The Mill. holding weekly sessions for artists. who will play free gigs to a 300 capacity audience.
(‘onlirmed acts over the next couple of
months include How to Swim. Twin Atlantic and Broken Records.
A spokesperson said of the initiative: "I‘he music industry is changing. Artists don‘t need the traditional record company model of ‘getting signed‘ to build their fan base and their career. Similarly. audiences are
looking for new and uncomplicated ways of
connecting with innovative sounds and their favourite hands.
“It‘s a very exciting time for music right now and the DIY attitude is creating some fantastic opportunities for new talent. We‘d like to support that.‘
Asked what kind of intisic audiences can expect. organisers said they were opting for as varied a remit as possible. referring to it as ‘emerging music‘ and 'music that pushes houndaries.‘
Ross Millard. guitarist and vocalist with the l‘utureheads. who kick off the line-up on Wed 20 Aug. said: "l‘he Mill‘s a brilliant idea. For new hands to he able to play a free show for their fans and walk away with a set of live tracks. videos and photos to use however they like is exactly how hrands should be working in music.
"l‘oday‘s about artists like us being able to communicate directly with their audience without having to rely on a record company to do it for them anything that helps support that gets my vote.‘
What you need to know: The Mill will open at The Caves in Niddry Street, Edinburgh on Thu 18 Sep and every Thu ongoing from 7-10.30pm and at The Venue, Oran Mor, Glasgow from Wed 27 Aug and every Wed ongoing. All tickets for The Mill are free and available at themill- live.com, where you can also get up-to-date artist information, upcoming
gigs, gig tickets and free
and live downloads.
NotirII .
music festival Oxjam is busy setting its stall for its 2009 jamboree next March. Organisers are already looking for people to be involved in all aspects of the festival. See www.0xfam.org. uk for more.
RUMOUR HAS IT that the Lothian Road venue Gig, which quickly closed after its launch in 2005, will re-open under the guise of the Picture House. Todd Rundgren and Dirty Pretty Things are both being bandied about as potential acts for opening night.
have announced that fans wishing to
attend next year’s festival will be able to reserve their tickets six months earlier for a £50 deposit. 100,000 tickets will be made available from October.
ONE OF GLASGOW'S most picturesque churches, Lansdowne Church, plays host to American indie muso Calvin Johnson’s first Scottish gig in five years on Sat 9 Aug.
CALLING ALL NEW WRITERS
I Budding wordsmiths are in with a chance to be critiqued by one of the UK’s biggest publishers thanks to a new incentive, YouWriteOn.com. Each month this free Arts Council-funded site for new writers will select the top ten highest rated opening chapters and short stories to be looked at by Random House, who publish writers John Grisham and Bill Bryson.
HOUSING CHARITY Shelter Scotland has launched Hometime Scotland to kee the pressure on p0 iticians to ensure eve one has a home by 012. Idlewild and D] Calvin Harris are among those nonfinafin songs that remin them of home as part of the campa1gn. www.hometimescot land.org.uk
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31 Jul—7 Aug 2008 me LIST 5