Rob Jarvis and The Mercury Sons

Essex based Alt Rockers Rob Jarvis and The Mercury Sons are due to release their debut single Just To Make You Happy on the 17th of February. It's already had its first radio play on the Kerrang Fresh Blood Show and needless to say Ralph will be giving it a pre-release spin on his Radio KC Indie Show soon.

I'm pretty certain they'll also be playing it at their first ever live gig in Think Tank? Underground, Newcastle this Saturday.



Rob Jarvis and The Mercury Sons cite a vast amount of musical influences ranging from Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains through to Foo Fighters and one of Ralph's favourites, Biffy Clyro. These influences certainly make themselves felt on this first rendering from the band.

Just To Make You Happy showcases frontman Rob's ability as a songwriter. It's a strong rocking it out track that highlights his passion and skill in bringing light and shade to a track. 

Whilst he tips his hat to his influences in Just To Make You Happy he most definitely makes his own unique mark.




As Rob said:

"Our debut release hasn't been shown to a great deal of people, but those who've encountered it during the 'making of' stages have made reference to all kinds of bands, certainly lots of references to 90's rock, so I hope you all like it!"

VITO

Hailing from Newcastle, VITO are four young men with their sights firmly set on achieving greater notoriety than just gigging around their local stomping ground in the North East.

They offer - "a 'no-frills' ethos, focusing on raw, dynamic performances" and "have a flair for compelling lyrics to accompany their upbeat riffs, creating poignant messages through tracks that pack a punch."

Not only that, VITO are taking a fiercely Indie approach by producing their debut single Masquerade themselves and available from January 13th via the fiercely Indie End Of The Trail Records.

Whilst there are no real surprises (they stick to what they know best, with a view to appealing to fans of similarly minded contemporaries) they're blending choppy guitar riffs, pleasing harmonies and a much better than average pop-esque vocal with style, therefor Masquerade sticks in your head and makes you want to go back for another listen.

VITO are: Tom Conway on vocals/guitar, Andy Bell on guitar/vocals, Ben Houlton on Bass and Dom Willis on drums.

Live performances so far for 2017 are:

O2 Academy, Newcastle

 - 27th January

Head Of Steam, Newcastle - 2nd February

The Monarch, London - 11th March

They have also been confirmed for Brighton's ever popular Great Escape Festival in May.

Elephant Memoirs

Elephant Memoirs are a three piece from Gateshead who formed in late 2013 and comprises of John Aspinall (Guitar & Vocals), Barry Drew (Drums) and Carl Aspinall (Bass).

Their new EP Broken Jagged Edges released on the 14/10/16, succeeds in amplifying the band's raw sound of..."a driving powerful rhythm section, with aggressive guitar and bold vocal melodies". 

Recently published articles have seen the band being likened to bands such as Placebo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Pulled Apart By Horses and Drenge. 

Over the last 12 months Elephant Memoirs have released a single and their first EP, played a number of headline shows and also provided support slots for many touring bands around the region too. This has helped them grow and to attract interest from a much wider audience. 

Coupled with regular airplay on various radio stations across the globe, they are currently on rotation on American, French and UK radio stations. 

Elephant Memoirs have also had multiple plays on local BBC Radio and been handpicked by Tom Robinson, to feature on his BBC Radio 6 show, Fresh On The Net. They hope the release of their new EP will help gain further interested and build on the foundations they already have. 

Their track Focus/Release will be featured on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show next Sunday (6th Nov) so tune in from 5 - 7pm.

Elephant Memoirs

Ralph recently gave Gateshead Indie rockers Elephant Memoirs new single Mug a spin on his Radio KC Sunday Show and thought it'd be a good idea to take a look after some great feedback. 

Formed in 2013 by John Aspinall, Barry Drew and Carl Aspinall they've been working hard to create a catalogue of original material and successfully so in the case of Mug which kicks off with swirling guitar before thumping into a gritty vocal.

Elephant Memoirs have formed into a tight creative unit and are garnering no small amount of critical acclaim.








Likened to such luminaries as Biffy Clyro, Frank Turner, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Weezer the North East's Elephant Memoirs focus on a forceful guitar, bass and drum sound to to cover such diverse themes as love, prejudice, frustration and life in general. Similarities notwithstanding they're finding their own niche now.

In August of last year Elephant Memoirs hit the studios and recorded a four track demo which has gained airplay on radio stations worldwide. 

The tracks are accompanied by a selection of four original artworks by band member John.

More melodic than the likes of QOTSA their sound should see them acquire an ever increasing following both locally and beyond, especially with tracks like the punchy Dirt.








By far the strongest track of the four demos for me is was lyrically sound and melodically pleasing Champion Of The Universe.

Having individually been in several local bands previously, I'm certain as they work together and continue to develop their own sound they'll release more material and play gigs wider afield, acquiring a much wider fan-base. 

Definitely ones to watch.

Dave Maughan & The Morris Quinlan Experience

As Ralph never tires of saying, it's not always about the bands...and never more so when it came to having the Ralph's Life CD for Rethink Mental Illness mastered. During the crowd funder process Morris Quinlan (who's reworking of the classic Scarborough Fair Ralph has played on Radio KC) introduced his good friend and producer Dave Maughan who offered to master the CD free of charge!

Dave Maughan first came to prominence through his work on the 2000 Mercury Music Prize nominated Kathryn Williams album Little Black Numbers, and almost simultaneously, the critically acclaimed, ground-breaking (and eponymously titled) debut album by The Morris Quinlan Experience.

A New Rain (Single Version) by DaveMaughanProducer

In the past he's worked with such famous names as Maximo Park, Lindisfarne, The Animals, Billy Connolly, Robson Green, Dennis Waterman, Andrew Sachs, Craig Fairbrass.  

The recent release of Follow On, the second Morris Quinlan Experience album, has brought Dave’s work to the attention of an even wider international audience. 






I cannot recommend him highly enough for the patience, diligence and humour he's maintained throughout the process of mastering the Ralph's Life CD for The Fine Line Project and Rethink Mental Illness. Undaunted by the 40 tracks donated to the Double CD in varying formats by Indie bands and artists who have featured on Ralph's blog, he has put together a seamless double album that will take pride of place in any Indie music fan's collection.