‘Once you’ve been touched by music then age doesn’t matter’ » The Music Mag
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‘Once you’ve been touched by music then age doesn’t matter’
“DO you fancy a cup of tea?” asks Paul Weller. “I’m just about to make one.”
In his dressing room before the final show of a five-night run at London’s
Roundhouse, the Modfather is getting the drinks in.
A few years ago, celebrating a No1 album or backstage at one of his gigs would
mean a full-on party. But today, a teetotal Weller doesn’t touch anything
stronger than a cup of Tetley’s.
“I haven’t had a hangover in 18 months and I feel great,” says Weller, who
admits that he was an alcoholic.
“Life is good and I’ve even been driving home after these shows. That would
never have happened before.”
Sonik Kicks, Weller’s 11th solo album, is not only a winner in sales, topping
the album charts on the first week of release, it’s also one of the
most critically acclaimed of his 35-year career.
And it is remarkable that in the past few years the ex-Jam and Style Council
singer, now 53, has given us his three most experimental albums with Sonik
Kicks, 2010′s Wake Up The Nation and 2008 double 22 Dreams.
He says: “It’s been a great creative time for me and I’ve lived and worked
long enough to know you have times in life where you’re very, very on it and
others when you’re not. This is something I want to keep going with.”
And it’s not only his music that is experiencing change but his personal
life too.
His
new wife Hannah, 25, gave birth to twin boys, Bowie and John Paul, in January.
Dressed in a stripy shirt, Paul looks as dapper as always but since quitting
booze, he looks fresher-faced than in the past and his new lifestyle clearly
suits him.
Sipping his tea, he says: “My lovely mother-in-law has been up to help us out
so we’ve slept more this week than we normally do.”
Proudly showing me pictures of his sons on his phone, he says: “Look at them.
They sleep facing each other but they don’t acknowledge each other yet.
“They’re doing well. Both of them have doubled their bodyweight already, which
is not normal apparently. Twins only do that at six months. Here’s another
photo. One of my other sons has been taking millions of pictures of his
skateboard, I see,” he laughs.
The birth of Bowie and John Paul takes the Weller brood up to seven, ranging
from 23 to two months and Dad is intensely proud of all of them.
His eldest, Nat, 23, and Leah, 21, are from his marriage to Style Council
singer Dee C Lee.
Then there’s Dylan, 16, who was born out of a short relationship with her
make-up artist mother Lucy, then Jesamine, 12, and Stevie Mac, six, from his
long relationship with ex-partner Samantha Stock, who Paul left when he met
Hannah Andrews who sang on his album 22 Dreams.
They married in September 2010 on the Italian island of Capri.
“Life throws things at you and you never know what’s going to happen next,” he
says.
“You might have all the plans in the world but that doesn’t mean anything.
Life holds its own secrets and you have to go with them. Sometimes change is
painful but ultimately it’s good.”
Sonik
Kicks is also a family affair. The psychedelic Dragonfly is adapted
from a poem by Jesamine.
Hannah duets with Weller on the jazzy Study In Blue and Leah and Mac sing on
the album’s closer piano ballad Be Happy Children, a tribute to Weller’s
beloved dad and manager John who died in 2009 after a long illness.
Weller says: “Not all my kids are musical. My two eldest ones are and Mac’s
going to follow in my footsteps, I think. He’s just started to play guitar.
He just asked me to show him one day and he’s only six.
“And I hope I have the same relationship with my kids as I did with my dad. He
was a brilliant dad and we were great mates. And we got to spend so much
time together which is pretty unheard of in life.
I still miss him at times but I’ve got more of a philosophical view as I think
he’s with me in whatever form you want to think of it. I can see that
carried through to me and to my kids and hopefully to their kids too.
We don’t entirely die as part of us is carried on and continued in the next
generation.
“As for singing with Hannah, Study In Blue is a great song. I really love it.
We wanted the right song to do a duet, without it being too slushy.
“Hannah sings with me but she’s not a professional singer and she hasn’t got
any aspirations to be that.
“She was brilliant when the twins were born. A proper little trooper. And they
were big for twins. One was 5lb 10oz and the other one was 6lb 3oz.”
Latest single That Dangerous Age is based around a riff similar to The Kinks’
All Day And All Of The Night and David Bowie-style vocals. He says: “Yes,
there is some Bowie in there. I like a lot of his stuff and Hannah is a
massive fan.
“I suppose the song’s theme is born out of when me and Hannah first got
together. Because of our age difference, people really took an interest in
it, saying I must be having a mid-life crisis. But we just fell in love and
that’s it.
“I’m of the opinion, once you’ve been touched by music then age doesn’t
matter. What are you supposed to do, put away your records and clothes when
you get to a certain age?
“My mum is 71 and she still listens to the records she’s always listened to.
“That Dangerous Age is a character study about a guy who’s in mid-life, who’s
got a good job and is dissatisfied and regrets all the things he’s never
done.
“But it’s certainly not about me. I had my mid-life crisis when I was in my
thirties.”
Dragonfly and The Attic feature Blur’s Graham Coxon. He’s not the only mate
Weller’s got in on the album either.
Noel Gallagher plays on three tracks The Attic, Around The Lake and When
Your Garden Is Overgrown and long-term friend and Ocean Colour Scene
guitarist Steve Cradock appears on a number of songs.
“Yep the extended family features on the record as well as the family,” he
smiles. “It was a fun album to make.”
One relationship that has suffered, though, in recent times is that of
co-songwriter and producer Simon Dine, who has been credited as helping with
Weller’s rebirth. The pair fell out over money, and went their separate
ways.
Paul says: “Yes, we both worked on this record together but we fell out
towards the end. I don’t really want to go into it but it was over money.
“I know there’s been mention of him being the reason behind my rebirth,” he
smirks. “But for the past 35 years I’ve put out pretty good records without
him too.”
Listening to electronic music, Weller thinks, has really shaped his new sound
on Kling I Klang and album opener Green, a psychedelic mindbender that might
even surprise some of his die-hard fans.
“It’s certainly one to make people sit up straight away and realise we’re in
for a different ride,” he says. “It’s bold, with a Kraftwerk thing going on.
There are about two or three tracks on the album that they have influenced.
“Electronic music is something I’d never heard before but I checked some out a
couple of years ago.”
On Paul’s five nights at London’s Roundhouse last week, he played Sonik Kicks
in its entirety. And he says this year will all be about selective shows so
he can spend time with his family.
He explains: “We’re just going to do some one-off shows and make them as
special as we can.
“A few dates in Europe and we’ve got a couple of gigs in New York then other
stuff later in the year, like the Latitude festival. It’s all about picking
and choosing really.
“You just get to a certain age and you can’t really do it anymore.
“It’s the same with smoking. I quit for nine months then started again in the
last month it must be stress but after tonight I’m stopping again.
“The changes have been good for me, so has my new family.
“It’s all about looking ahead and there’s plenty of that to come.”
Sonik Kicks is out now.
Article source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/sftw/4228750/Paul-Weller-interview-as-Sonik-Kicks-goes-to-No1.html
GROOVES: The Fourfits play at Dingwalls on April 1
Published: 29 March, 2012
by ROISIN GADELRAB
When the Live and Unsigned music talent competition came to Camden earlier this year, such was the appeal that more than 800 musicians turned up to try their luck.
Among the select few that made it through to the next round, which takes place at Dingwalls on Sunday, are The Fourfits, a quartet of talented sisters who play a multitude of instruments, all sing, don’t want to be compared to The Corrs, and specialise in their own compositions mashed up with popular songs.
Guitarist Charlie Moss, the eldest at 23, lives in Camden Road. The band is completed by her sisters, lead vocalist Harriet, 21, who studies English at King’s College, keyboardist Becky, 18, studying art foundation at Camberwell, and drummer Alice, 17, who is still in school in Brussells.
The girls have an international background, having lived in Rome and Brussels as their scientist father moved for work.
Charlie said: “That made us tight as a family. When you’re travelling, home is where your family is. We’re used to being a self-sufficient unit.”
They learned to play from a young age – Charlie learning guitar from her father – and take their music wherever they go.
Charlie said: “We love busking on holiday. We busk outside restaurants and bring more customers. We earn wine and a bit of money, but when you divide it by four it’s not a lot, so we think it’s better to earn wine.”
The girls formed a band around their youngest sister, Alice, when they realised she was a naturally skilled drummer.
Charlie said: “Harriet asked for a drum kit but didn’t use it. Alice picked it up. She’s one of those people who’s got natural rhythm. We started the band because Alice was a great drummer, she’s often our showpiece. We didn’t want her to play along to a recorded soundtrack CD. She wants to apply to the Royal Academy to be a jazz drummer.”
It didn’t take long to identify Harriet – the loudest according to Charlie – as the lead singer. “She wasn’t allowed a microphone until she could sing over the drums. She used to sing over this tiny drum kit but when her voice was strong enough all the electrical equipment came.”
The girls quickly became masters at covers, putting their own twist on songs and specialising in harmonies.
Being sisters does come with its own hazards. “We do fight. Some of our best songwriting sessions were when we weren’t speaking to each other,” said Charlie.
“We all storm out, have a fight, then we go back in and start treating each other like normal band members.
“When you’re sisters you can tell someone something’s rubbish. You don’t have that kind of tentative encouragement that you would in other bands. It’s very much brutal honesty.”
These days they rehearse in Denmark Street, where they bought their guitars and are regulars on the Camden circuit.
On moving to Camden, Charlie said: “We play in Proud and Enterprise regularly. I wanted to be somewhere you can walk out and play a gig.”
For Sunday’s Live and Unsigned show – they are scheduled to play at 4pm.
• Further information visit The Fourfits’ facebook page and www.liveandunsigned.uk.com
Article source: http://www.islingtontribune.com/reviews/music/2012/mar/grooves-fourfits-play-dingwalls-april-1
Banjo musician Earl Scruggs dies
29 March 2012
Last updated at 04:16 ET
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Earl Scruggs was a regular on the Grand Old Opry radio show, including televised specials
Pioneering banjo player Earl Scruggs, who is credited with helping create modern country music, has died aged 88.
The musician died of natural causes at a Nashville hospital on Wednesday, his son Gary said.
Scruggs was known for his unique banjo playing technique, which involved just three fingers. It later became known as “the Scruggs picking style”.
His innovative method can be heard on the theme tune to the 1962 series The Beverly Hillbillies.
Scruggs rose to prominence when Bill Monroe hired him to play in the Blue Grass Boys, one of the defining groups in the bluegrass musical genre.
Hollywood actor and fellow banjo player Steve Martin previously paid tribute to Scruggs in the New Yorker magazine.
“When the singer came to the end of a phrase, he filled the theatre with sparkling runs of notes that became a signature for all bluegrass music since,” he said.
“A grand part of American music owes a debt to Earl Scruggs. Few players have changed the way we hear an instrument the way Earl has, putting him in a category with Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Chet Atkins, and Jimi Hendrix.”
Musical rift
Scruggs later teamed up with Lester Flatt to form the Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as Flatt and Scruggs.
One of their most well known records included Foggy Mountain Breakdown, which featured in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde.
Scruggs is best known for playing with Lester Flatt in the Foggy Mountain Boys
It was their recording of The Ballad of Jed Clampett that was used in The Beverly Hillbillies.
They eventually disbanded, and a rift grew between the two musicians, although they were inducted together in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
Scruggs went on to form a group with his three sons in The Earl Scruggs Revue, playing alongside rock acts such as Steppenwolf and James Taylor.
In 1992, Scruggs was among 13 recipients of a National Medal of Art.
Speaking at the time, he said: “I never in my wildest dreams thought of rewards and presentations. I appreciate those things, especially this one.”
In 2001, he released his first album in a decade, Earl Scruggs and Friends, featuring collaborations with other artists including Sir Elton John, Dwight Yoakam, Sting and Melissa Etheridge.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17546219
The Fender Music Foundation Hosts Online Benefit Concert on Stageit in …
LOS ANGELES, March 28, 2012 — /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The Fender Music Foundation is hosting its first online benefit concert “Save Music Education” on Stageit, in partnership with ReverbNation. The virtual event will take place on Thursday, April 26, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m Pacific Standard Time. Proceeds to The Fender Music Foundation will support the organization’s mission to provide musical instruments to music programs in need across the United States. Both signed and unsigned musicians are invited to participate to receive exposure and prizes (including a year’s supply of Heineken) in appreciation for their support of music education.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120328/CG76728)
“Helping artists succeed in making and sharing great music is the core of everything we do,” said ReverbNation President and Co-founder Jed Carlson. “It just makes sense that we extend that support and enthusiasm into the world of music education. That’s why we’re thrilled to be working with The Fender Music Foundation on this effort. The future of music depends on nurturing the creativity and talent of our youth.”
All musicians are invited to participate by coordinating their own online concert, which can be an acoustic performance, a private rehearsal a live show, or even a QA with fans. (The musician will need access to their own webcam, computer and Internet connection to participate.) They will sell tickets for at least $5 each to their show and collect additional funds for music education with Stageit’s tip jar feature; this feature allows users to show their support at any time during the show. Artists who have previously graced this online stage include Jason Mraz, Trey Songz, Jimmy Buffett, Indigo Girls, Butch Walker, KORN and Plain White T’s.
“Stageit is a platform created by artists for artists, and what better way to present that concept than by partnering with a great organization such as The Fender Music Foundation to assist with saving music education programs,” said John Meadows, Business Development and Production at Stageit.
Why participate? Perks for artists include, but not limited to:
- Participating musicians will receive exposure to over 3 million people through the reach of the participating brands.
- ReverbNation is hosting a contest to spotlight 10 participating musicians who will receive additional marketing and PR of their online concerts during “Save Music Education” on ReverbNation.com. Direct link: http://bit.ly/zpyVD5
- Musicians with a minimum of 20,000 Facebook or Twitter followers will additionally be considered for a homepage feature on Stageit on April 26.
- The unsigned musician(s) to raise the most funds for The Fender Music Foundation will receive a year’s supply of Heineken beer and a special feature and mention on the Fender Music Foundation’s website and social media platforms.
How to sign-up?
- Interested musicians can sign up on www.stageit.com by naming their performance “Fender Music Foundation Charity Event.”
- After signing up on Stageit, musicians can sell virtual tickets immediately using the Stageit ticketing feature.
- Suggested ticket price is $5.00 USD.
- Artists can also enter the contest on ReverbNation to receive additional marketing benefits and exposure by clicking here: http://bit.ly/zpyVD5
- Artists with a large social media following can email info@elevatemybrand.com to be considered for a home page feature on Stageit during the online benefit concert
About The Fender Music Foundation
The Fender Music Foundation believes that music participation is an essential element in the fabric of an enduring society. The organization aims to keep music education alive and available in our nation’s schools and communities. Founded in 2005, this public charity has reached over 147,000 people through its grants to music education programs. These grant recipients, which give more people the opportunity to make music, include school music classrooms, community based organizations and music therapy programs. Visit www.fendermusicfoundation.org to learn more about supporting the cause.
About Stageit
Stageit is an exciting new platform in the online music space that allows established artists as well as undiscovered talent an equal ability to tour the world and interacting with fans from anywhere Internet access is available (bedroom, tour bus, hotel room, backstage, onstage), all while making money. Created for artists by artists, Stageit gives fans a ‘front row seat’ to a backstage experience that until now has only been available in physical settings.
About ReverbNation
ReverbNation provides over 2.1 million artists, managers, labels, venues, festivals/events and other music industry professionals with powerful, easy-to-use technology to promote and prosper online. Their wide array of distribution and promotional solutions provide the hands-on tools and actionable insights that allow them to reach their goals in an increasingly complex music industry. The company operates worldwide with customers on every continent. Over 30 million visitors come to reverbnation.com every month. For more information, please visit ReverbNation.com and follow ReverbNation on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reverbnation.
Media Contact: Laurel Kaufman, Elevate My Brand, (818) 263-6213, info@elevatemybrand.com
News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com
SOURCE Elevate My Brand
Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/28/4372413/the-fender-music-foundation-hosts.html
Earl Scruggs: Remembering a bluegrass and American music legend
For better or worse, Earl Scruggs will be remembered by most Americans for his banjo picking alongside partner Lester Flatt in a dated 1960s cultural artifact: “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
For better, because the style that the bluegrass legend, who died Wednesday at 88, showcases will forever live in the memories of generations. For worse, because the song threatens to define Flatt and Scruggs, as well as the whole of the uniquely American form of bluegrass music, alongside the zany, know-nothing Clampetts of Beverly Hills. That placement has helped define bluegrass to the culture at large as music for hicks who dance at hoedowns and wouldn’t know a lick about “real” music. (Credit goes to “Deliverance” and “Dueling Banjos” for furthering the cause.)
That’s a shame, because a deep listen to Flatt Scruggs reveals something so much bigger than a few unfortunate stereotypes. The sound that Scruggs forged, a three-fingered picking style in the 1940s as a central player in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, came to define bluegrass. When he and Flatt struck out on their own in 1948 to form the Foggy Mountain Boys, the style had woven its way into the fabric of American music.
It’s a sound that still thrives today in the work of Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, and Abigail Washburn, among many others. Virtually every time a banjo solo comes on the radio, it’s played in a Scruggs-inspired picking style, and every time a TV character steps onto a farm, you can hear the spirit of Earl Scruggs. You can even get a taste of it on Madonna’s new album, where her song “Love Spent” opens with a Scruggs-suggestive lick.
But that influence has spread because Scruggs never defined himself as simply a bluegrass player. As his success on the country circuit rose in the 1960s and a generation of hippies discovered the glory of the old-time country music of Bill Monroe, the Foggy Mountain Boys, the Stanley Brothers and Dock Boggs, Scruggs expanded his reach.
In 1969, his and Flatt’s television show featured his banjo playing alongside the Byrds, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and in the decades following, Scruggs played alongside younger musicians — and no doubt taught them a thing or two about the banjo. In 2001, he confirmed that influence by releasing “Earl Scruggs and Friends,” which featured collaborations with Sting, Elton John and Dwight Yoakam.
The musical ideas on that recording, along with all the others, bore witness to a visionary who picked up an instrument once used mostly by former slaves and harnessed it to create amazing energy. Scruggs and the banjo ultimately went on to tell an incredibly important American musical story.
RELATED:
Walk of Fame: Earl Scruggs star
Earl Scruggs lets his banjo do the talking
Earl Scruggs, bluegrass legend, dies at age 88
– Randall Roberts
@liledit
Photo: Earl Scruggs, left, and Lester Flatt performing on a TV show in 1950. Credit: GAB Archive/Redferns
Article source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/03/earl-scruggs-remembering-a-bluegrass-and-american-music-legend.html
Heston gets inn on the live music scene
Pubs are increasingly clocking on to the fact that good live gigs bring in the crowds and even celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is getting in on the act.
Regulars such as The Retreat in Reading, and the Frog Wicket in Eversley already know this – you need only look at the gig guide to see the range of live music they offer.
But I’m glad to say that recently two more pubs have joined the unsigned band family and are looking for bands to play.
The first is The Queen’s Arms in Great Knollys Street. Manager Veejay Joshi has spent thousands of pounds turning a function room into a gig venue that holds 150 people.
He told me: “I will be happy to promote any band that is interested in playing here.
“We can do all the posters et cetera to help promote any event.”
The pub has an entertainment licence until 2am and has a separate side entrance for private events as well.
The second pub looking for bands is owned, yes, by Mr Blumenthal. The Crown at Bray is obviously a foodie pub, but it has just started hosting live music nights every Monday from 8pm called I Crown Mondays.
There is the house band twice a month, but on each second Monday the pub hosts an open mic night for aspiring singers to share their talents.
Performers are free to perform songs of their choice.
But the jewel in the crown is the Live and Unsigned night on the final Monday of the month.
The Crown at Bray partners with 8 Ray Music and brings the very best up and coming musicians in southern England to this corner of Berkshire.
Find out more at www.thecrownatbray.com
If you’re interested in playing at The Queen’s Arm contact Mr Joshi on (0118) 957 6858.
Soundtracks
Wokingham punk rockers Attention Thieves released their first EP Look A Little Closer on Monday.
Produced by John Mitchell (You Me At Six, Enter Shikari) at Outhouse Studios, the EP is a towering monolith of punk rock driven with raw energy and infectious melody.
The four school friends are heading out on a national tour to perform adrenaline-fuelled live shows in April, supporting Acoda.
You can currently download new single You’ll Be The First One, and the four piece recently played four live tracks for XFM as well.
Nice going!
The Caversham Festival is coming up in July, and I am incredibly impressed with the free app that will go alongside it.
Its purpose is to be your personal guide, so it offers band line-ups, discount vouchers and, above all, you can listen to any of the music being played on any of the stages with its radio-like live streaming.
This means you could be with friends at the main stage and quickly check out what is happening at the floating stage. Wouldn’t it be great if they had that for the Reading Festival?
The Readipop Caversham Festival iwill take place on Sunday, July 8, at Christchurch Meadows.
Reading’s anthemic alt-folk band A Genuine Freakshow need your support. They have a chance to support Graham Coxon on tour, and just need you to ‘Like’ or tweet them.
Visit: http://toursupport.grahamcoxon.co.uk/ to help the band out.
Listen to Linda Serck every Sunday at 7pm on BBC Radio Berkshire. Email your music news to linda.serck@bbc.co.uk
Article source: http://www.getreading.co.uk/entertainment/music/s/2110982_heston_gets_inn_on_the_live_music_scene
Music ‘soothes surgery patients’
Easy listening music and chart classics can lessen fear among patients who stay awake during surgery but require a local anaesthetic.
Experts at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford analysed data from 96 patients split into two groups.
The first group was played music during their surgery while the second were operated on in the usual operating theatre environment.
Both groups included patients undergoing plastic surgery for trauma to their bodies as well as those having planned NHS reconstructive surgery.
Anxiety levels were measured through the patients’ respiratory rate and asking them to rate their anxiety using an established scale.
Both measurements were first taken when the patient was on the operating table (just before the surgical procedure started) and, secondly, at the end of the operation (while the patient was still on the operating table).
The research, published in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons, found the group played music scored around 29% less on anxiety levels and had an average of 11 breaths per minute versus 13 breaths per minute in the other group.
The research is the first to examine the effect of music on patients undergoing both planned and emergency surgical operations whilst awake.
Hazim Sadideen, a plastic surgical registrar who led the study, said: “Undergoing surgery can be a stressful experience for patients and finding ways of making them more comfortable should be our goal as clinicians.
“There are also good medical reasons – calmer patients may cope better with pain and recover quicker.
“This small-scale work is the first time an attempt has been made to measure the impact music has in this specific group of patients and hints at the need for bigger multi-centre research to establish whether this should become part of standard practice.”
Previous studies have found classical music may have the greatest health benefits for patients, especially the works of Bach, Mozart and Italian composers.
Most studies to date tend to have investigated the effects of music when played in the waiting room or endoscopy suite, with little work done on patients in the operating theatre when they are probably most anxious.
Anxiety before an operation can include feelings of tension and apprehension, today’s research said.
This can have a physical effect, including promoting an inflammatory response which can prolong healing time.
The experts added: “Thus, from a physiological perspective, high preoperative anxiety levels in patients can result in both delayed wound healing and increased post-operative pain, potentially prolonging recovery time and the length of hospital stay.”
PA
Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/music-soothes-surgery-patients-7593819.html
‘I just want to be a good dad’
By Sarah Foster
Published on Tuesday 27 March 2012 11:53
In the darkest days of his young son’s life, Josh Clark would sing to ease his pain.
Little Jayden could spasm and go stiff up to 30 times a day before he was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. But his 22-year-old dad would pull out his guitar and use the sound of his voice to soothe him into sleep.
Now Josh is hoping to use his skills as a musician to raise awareness of West syndrome.
And he’s made it through to the next round of a competition which could set him on the path to fame and fortune.
With a top prize of £10,000, winning would give Josh the chance to give Jayden regular treatment that could make a real difference to his life.
‘Winning would mean a lot to me,’ says Josh. ‘You’re talking about a lot of money and that would put me in a good position to support Jayden.
‘That’s what I want most – to be a good dad.’
Within a few months of Jayden’s birth, it was clear something was wrong.
The new routine of coping with a baby was soon shattered when Jayden began to suffer from seizures.
‘He stopped breathing and started to turn blue,’ remembers Josh, a personal fitness instructor from Gosport.
‘He looked like he’d died. I picked him up and whacked him on the back as hard as I could and that put the air into him.
‘He would go blue and stay like that for a minute or two. We’d wet his face and sometimes that would shock him back into life.
‘At the worst he could do that 20 or 30 times a day.’
At first doctors told them he had reflux but the diagnosis was at odds with what they were witnessing.
After seeking a second opinion that involved him having ECGs and MRI scans, they were told he had infantile spasms, or West syndrome.
Jayden was put on steroids and a special high-fat diet, designed to ease the seizures.
‘It’s not easy,’ says Josh. ‘When he was really bad the prognosis was not more than five years.
‘I just hope he’ll be able to walk and keep up with his learning. It’s a very rare thing. There’s not a lot of treatments for it.’
Josh is no longer with Jayden’s mum and at the moment his little boy is in Poland getting treatment.
On the NHS, Jayden could only access 30 minutes of physiotherapy a week but his parents have been told having treatment every day will make a real difference.
Paying for physio sessions privately in this country would cost around £600 a week. But in Poland it works out at around half the price.
‘Going out there and seeing him in hospital makes you realise it’s not about me it’s about him,’ he adds.
‘As long as he can walk and smile even – because he hardly ever smiles, in his lifetime I’ve only seen him smile once or twice – I’ll be happy. But it’s very difficult.’
Like most parents, Josh has had to make sacrifices to see his son and in his case that involved leaving the Royal Marines.
Josh had joined the Royal Navy at 16, straight after leaving school.
And during his time in the navy he went on deployment to Iraq in 2008 and was part of the British forces responsible for helping to evacuate Lebanon in 2006.
Josh’s guitar was always at his side on deployment and he’d sing to keep morale up.
But in the end he decided he wanted more of a challenge and passed his Royal Marine training in August 2011.
If Jayden hadn’t been diagnosed, it’s likely that Josh would have been deployed to Afghanistan.
However, when he found out how ill his son was, all Josh could think of was staying at home.
‘The marines were really helpful and gave me a lot of time off,’ he says. ‘I put in a transfer so I could keep my job but I wanted to leave altogether.
‘I didn’t want to but I couldn’t really concentrate. We were getting ready to go to Afghanistan and I was going to be away a lot.
‘Being a marine is amazing if you’re 18 and haven’t got responsibilities.’
When he left the marines he really began writing his own material – including an emotion-packed song dedicated to Jayden.
‘When you go away all you think about is people at home,’ he adds. ‘It’s always hanging over your head, it’s always in the back of your mind.
‘Now I can do my music, I can spend more time here.
‘I write my own songs and the ones that are quite popular are about my experiences, the ones about my life, especially the song I wrote for Jayden. I wouldn’t rock it out at a gig but what really does it for me as a musician is the emotion.’
Josh considered auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent but decided against it, fearing it would be too commercial.
But he did apply to take part in the Portsmouth heats of Live and Unsigned – a competition dedicated to rooting out talented musicians.
‘The thing that appealed to me about Live and Unsigned is that it’s like X Factor for musicians,’ he adds.
‘You’re judged by a panel of industry experts and that really appeals.’
Performing under the stage name Remedysounds, Josh has a distinctive style that involves rapping and singing. As well as playing the guitar he uses a loop pedal – similar to the one used by Scottish singer KT Tunstall – to record and play back segments while he’s performing.
The first round of Live and Unsigned was at Highlight at Gunwharf Quays and Josh had to compete against hundreds of other hopefuls. He was delighted to impress the judges enough to get through to the next round.
For now he’s looking forward to preparing for the regional final of the competition next month (see panel) and being reunited with his son.
‘Jayden’s great,’ he adds. ‘He has his own personality, he likes it when I sing to him. I used to sing him to sleep.
‘I just want him to be able to walk. As long as he can walk and look after himself he can be happy.
‘I think about him all the time. Families are important.’
HE’S IN THE FINAL
Josh Clark will be competing in the regional final of Live and Unsigned after making it through the audition stage, beating hundreds of other hopefuls to earn his place.
The next round takes place on April 22 at Highlight, in Portsmouth, when musicians will be competing for the opportunity to go forward to the grand final at Live Fest at The O2 in London.
Live and Unsigned is the biggest original music competition in the UK for unsigned bands and artists.
Attracting more than 50,000 entries in the past five years, it has set itself apart from its predecessors by offering and promoting originality. It’s now established as the definitive music competition for original acts and it’s open to all genres of music from heavy rock to rap.
Birdy – who had a hit with her song Skinny Love – is a previous Live and Unsigned winner.
This year’s acts will be competing for the main prizes which include; £10,000 to be spent on development, a further £10,000 for publicity investment; slots at more than 30 international festivals; a UK tour of up to 100 shows plus a UK festival tour.
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Article source: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/i-just-want-to-be-a-good-dad-1-3670381
Listening to music ‘makes surgery less stressful’
27 March 2012
Last updated at 21:02 ET
Music appears to have a calming effect on patients
Playing music to patients while they go under the knife reduces their anxiety and may even aid healing, surgeons say.
Easy listening tracks and chart hits can have a calming effect on patients who are awake for surgery under local anaesthetic, a team at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford found.
Listening to the radio also helped.
Their small study, published in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons, tracked the progress of 96 patients having minor surgery at the hospital.
Half of the patients were played music – broadcast by a radio station or from a selection of tunes on a CD chosen by the surgical staff – while the other half had their operation under the usual ‘hushed’ conditions.
Dulcet tones
After the surgery was completed the patients, some elective and some emergency cases, were asked to rate how anxious they had felt during the operation.
The group played music scored about a third less on anxiety levels and were also noted to have more relaxed breathing patterns during the surgery – an average of 11 breaths per minute compared to 13 breaths per minute in the non-music group.
This ties in with past studies have which have shown music may help ease pain and can help hospital patients on ventilators breathe more easily.
Experts know that stress can have a negative impact on surgical outcomes and prolong the healing process.
Hazim Sadideen, a plastic surgical registrar who led the study, said more work was now needed to establish whether the use of music in operating theatres should become standard practice.
“Undergoing surgery can be a stressful experience for patients and finding ways of making them more comfortable should be our goal as clinicians.
“There are also good medical reasons – calmer patients may cope better with pain and recover quicker.”
Music might also lead to a happier, calmer surgeons and theatre staff, the researchers suggest.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17525232
Lincoln band set for UK’s biggest unsigned competition
Meet The Red, a cheeky Lincoln based indie rock band that have a lot to show for their short time together. From playing small gigs in pubs to getting to the semi-finals of the UK’s largest music competition for unsigned bands; they may be young but they pack a punch.
The Red will take on one of the UK’s biggest music competitions. Photo: Samantha Coombes
“We formed at the start of college, eighteen months ago, in September. We were all put into bands in the first week and if we didn’t like each other then we could go our own ways. But we all seemed to like each other. It was pure fate,” said lead singer Josh Jackson.
All of the band members are currently studying music at Lincoln College, which meant that it didn’t take long for them to start writing and recording music; “We started playing Stevie Wonder, that was our main inspiration. Then we did like a five song EP at some guy’s house. We were just good at writing songs I reckon,” said Jackson.
But their inspiration didn’t stop at Stevie Wonder, bassist Josh Wilkinson said that Red Hot Chilli Peppers and other ‘Old Skool’ funk influences their music; “We’re all pretty weird.”
The college lads are currently working on their second EP, which the writing for, according to Wilkinson, is “going sick! It’s a lot more funky now and more enjoyable for us.”
“I try and get a meaning for each song, but it’s funky. It’s more about moving on and enjoying what we’re doing at the minute, whereas past songs have been soppy and wanting to get famous and stuff like that ,” said Jackson.
The band’s music has already taken them to various places across the UK, with London being their favourite place to go; “We’ve been down to London quite a bit, and played round Camden quite a bit. Camden was ace. We’re hoping to go there again for quite a while,” said Wilkinson.
“We busked during the day and performed at night. You’ve got to do it yourself, it’s not going to happen around you so you’ve got to get out there and just do it,” said Jackson.
Whilst in London, The Red had the chance to play in a number of different venues, including Camden’s Proud Gallery and pub and restaurant, Lock 17.
“I would say the Proud was the best place to perform because there was so many people that have played there that are awesome like (Jimmy) Hendrix,” said Wilkinson. “Lock 17 was the best gig that we played but Proud was the best atmosphere and venue that we played at,” added drummer Jack Simpson.
But it’s not just venues and pubs the Lincoln lads have played in, they are less than a week away from performing at the UK’s regional semi-finals of the Live and Unsigned music competition on the March 31st, which features judges from Radio 1, NME and Kerrang!.
“It’s sick! It’s pretty awesome, but it was a bit of a mission wasn’t it as we had to travel like two hours to Huddersfield,” said Wilkinson.
“There’s a panel of judges and it’s just them in the room with us, there’s no audience of anything. It’s pretty awkward. But we were different on the say though. We saw all these other guys that where just like pop acts and I think we’re really different. We got good feedback from them anyway,” said Simpson.
But it’s not just performing the boys have to do to try to win, according to Jackson it involves a number of other aspects; “What we’ve got to do now is mix one of our own songs into a cover for the next regional finals, so we’ve been working on that and mashed it up completely. We’ve got to publish ourselves in as many newspapers and sell as many tickets as we can, which hasn’t been a problem. We’ve got in 2 of my local papers (Boston) as well as Newark and Lough.”
So, with a second EP on the way as well as the hopes of winning a regional unsigned competition, the future looks bright for the Lincoln funk rockers. So go see them and support them to help them make it big!
For tickets to the UK regional semi-final of Live and Unsigned visit: http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/.
Article source: http://thelinc.co.uk/2012/03/lincoln-band-set-for-uks-biggest-unsigned-competition/
