ANDREW FOSTER – The Garden

Andrew Foster is something of a favourite of ours here at Call Upon The Author, some may even accuse us of favouritism, though they’d be wrong, the reason we like Foster so much is because of his consistently high quality output.
As such, it was with more than a little excitement that we contemplated listening to Andrew’s second album on a bleary Monday morning journey into work. The immediate thought was that leaps and bounds have been made in terms of production, this is a bolder piece perhaps influenced a little by the quality of other artists in Portsmouth like B of the Bang, Dawn Chorus and Foster’s sometime colleague Loz Bridge. Whatever the reasons what we have here is an intriguing album that plays out as one long piece more so than a bunch of disparate tracks.
Opener Evil Tree is an atmospheric beast and sets the tone perfectly for an album that, despite Foster’s subtle vocals, has a brooding presence. The real highlight here though is the title track, from the Eastern influences (I’m not sure that an actual sitar, but at the least it’s an impressive approximation) that lend the track an other worldly air against the simple instrumentation elsewhere to the menacing and claustrophobic feel as the music ebbs and swirls about the ears, this is a truly great track!
So, Foster remains an artist this site is proud to champion and one that we heartily recommend you check out!

Check out Andrew Foster’s music at: www.myspace.com/andrewfostermusic

2009 – How was it for you? Part 6

So, here we are at the end of our 2009 roundups, we thought we’d end close to home with three of our favourite acts, all of whom have local roots.

Andrew Foster
www.myspace.com/andrewfostermusic

So, 2009 is pretty much up, how was it for you?
A bit like falling out of the tallest tree and landing in a soft pile of Lavender.
I found a lot out about myself…
Internal fights are impossible to win when you don’t know what you’re fighting against.
Musically I think I’ve achieved more than I give myself credit for with some very big supports for my level, good radio play and a piece of work I’m proud of that will be released next year.
I haven’t been around as much this year as previous; I think everyone took a step back from the local scene a bit due to personal or financial reasons. I hid for a bit, but I made an album from this time.

Other than your own tunes, what have you been listening to this year?
Oh there’s been so much good music this year if you care to look out the box. Here’s a few of the most influential albums and the ones I’ve played to death this year.

Noah & the Whale: First days of Spring
Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More
Muse: The Resistance
Crooked Vultures: Crooked Vultures
The B Of The Bang: Beginning Middle End
Prodigy: Invaders Must Die
Doves: Kingdom Of Rust
Smoke Fairies: Frozen Heart
Pete Molinari: A Virtual Landslide
The Low Album: Oh My God Charlie Darwin
The Decemberists: The Hazards Of Love
Thomas Dybdahl: Thomas Dybdahl
Crooked Still: Still Crooked

And music not from this year
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals: Cardinology
Led Zeppelin 3
CSNY: Déjà vu
The Black Keys: Magic Potion
Band Of Horses:
Wintersleep
Neil Young: Sugar Mountain LIVE
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors
The Beatles: take your pick!
Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul
BRMC: Howl
Amplifier: Amplifier
Bob Dylan: Dylan
Coldplay: viva la vida
David Bowie: take your pick!
Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs

What one thing would you have changed about the last twelve months?
My mindset over certain things, and not making the most of opportunities.
The medias ever-increasing grip on the way people live their lives, including myself.
This is the year that Peter and Jordon became more interesting than Scientists trying to create the conditions of a black hole on earth.
Liking trashy mags whilst on the toilet is one thing, aspiring to be these people is ludicrous.

What are you looking forward to in 2010?
Releasing my new album “The Garden” and learning to embrace musical opportunities more than I do now. I think next year will bring many changes for me….I feel it in my waters! Keep writing and focus more on my obsession, doing different styles and feeding my suppressed rock notions of having a Marshall ripping behind me. Im gonna let that out next year a little more maybe with a different project.
Im very proud of this years work on the craft of “The Garden” and I’m looking forward to gigging it, playing the songs to people and moving on musically.
Next year I think Im gonna work harder on my own aspirations and be ruthless with my own musical targets. Hopefully a bit of Neil Young spirit will rub off on me…hopefully not alienating everyone in the process though!

Do you have a message for our readers?
If you’re a musician, the Industry is very strange at the moment… never stop writing. People of the Arts unite!
I want this year to be the year individual expression becomes free again.
Lets have some colour…everything’s grey at the moment, go see live gigs again, see art galleries, go see plays and nature.
Tell people how you feel.

The B Of The Bang (Wit – vocals, guitars)
www.myspace.com/thebofthebang

So, 2009 is pretty much up, how was it for you?
It was spiffing ta. Ruddy busy but ruddy rewarding too…our album did pretty well in a few end of year lists so it’s been a good’un…we’ve undergone a few changes and have demoed a load of new stuff already. It’s sounding very different and i’m most excited as to where we find ourselves bowling into blindly next….

Other than your own tunes, what have you been listening to this year?
Everything under the sun, old stuff, new stuff, good stuff, bad stuff. Fave albums of the year would include Grizzly Bear, Wild Beasts, The Antlers. Anything with a wildlife theme it seems….

What one thing would you have changed about the last twelve months?
I would have asked our Rhodesy (newest TBOTB member) to have not spilt coffee in his motor just before a tour. Sour milk is a pretty difficult look to pull off…

What are you looking forward to in 2010?
The new Dawn Chorus album, the new Strange Death album. Getting into the studio again as soon as possible and having a tour-vehicle that doesn’t smell of moose.

Do you have a message for our readers?
Yes. But they’ll have to come see us live to find out what it is.

Joe Black
www.myspace.com/misterjoeblack

So, 2009 is pretty much up, how was it for you?
wonderful, definitely an enlightening experience. I realised how much things can change in a year, both good and bad. Though – mostly good.

Other than your own tunes, what have you been listening to this year?
I’ve been listening to a lot of tori amos this year, always something i can relate too. no matter what is going on

What one thing would you have changed about the last twelve months?
nothing. everything happens for a reason

What are you looking forward to in 2010?
To be kind of like 2009. but better. Though i’m particularly looking forward to supporting the tiger lillies, and getting to germany again.

Do you have a message for our readers?
one of my favourite quotes, actually….
‘Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.’ – Marilyn Monroe

DAVID FORD @ South Parade Pier, 27/10/2009

 One of the perks of getting to know a promoter well is that you can slip in early to their gigs. It’s always fascinating to see artists set up and go through sound check, but when I strolled past the track suit wearing locals and the fishing enthusiasts and turned up at the Albert Bar on South Parade Pier, David Ford appeared to be building a little shack. It later emerged that this was his stage set, and a fascinating one at that, with midi drum pads built into leather suitcases and bits of wood turned into kick drums, all threaded through a loop pedal to form something very special.

Soon enough the venue was (very) full, thank god we’d snared a table at the front. Support came from a good friend of the site, Mr Andrew Foster. We’ve often talked in the past about a shared love of Ford’s work and it seemed a little strange to have him playing a gig in our hometown. Foster, as always, turned in an assured set and every time we see him he seems to grow as an onstage performer.

Ford himself mixed the world weary song writing that has made him so popular with a nice line in self-deprecating humour. His sets (he played two, with a short break) took in tracks for his forthcoming album mixed with favourites from his catalogue, including the superb ‘Go To Hell‘. He ended the first set with a run through ‘State Of The Union’ that left the hairs standing up on the end of this reviewers neck!

When he returned to the stage, Ford was stopped in his tracks by instrument problems, namely his handmade bass drum falling apart, unfazed – mainly because it had happened a couple of nights previously in Exeter – Ford scooped up some percussion instruments and liberally distributed them among the audience, turning the crowd into an impromptu rhythm section. With a haunting, paino driven version of ‘Song For The Road’ stunning the audience into silence, David eschewed an encore and ended with the whole room erupting into the chorus of ‘Cheer Up You Miserable Fuck’. As people slowly left it was clear everyone felt thee same, this was clearly one of those gigs that only comes along every few years – something very special!

POLLY SCATTERGOOD – Live @The Talking Heads, 19/04/09

Stiff Promotions have a strong reputation and steady following in Portsmouth, but when they decided to venture into Southampton we at Call Upon The Author decided we had to be there! The Talking Heads is a real spit & sawdust venue, a stage in the large back area of what is essentially a pub. It really works though, there is a ton of atmosphere here. First up on stage were Loz Bridge and the Box Social. Bridge and his band have really grown in the past year from a bunch of guys with good songs into one of the most impressive bands in the south. Tonight they played old favourites like ‘Witches’ and China and a couple of new tracks, most notably ‘Brazen Bull’, a departure for the band musically with it’s much more uptempo vibe. Andy Foster was on form tonight too, layering bluesy guitar over the songs in ways I’d not heard before from the band. Next up were Light Effect. You may remember these guys as Beau Monde, but their former front man is gone, replaced by rhythm guitarist Austin. It seems to have worked in the bands favour, shaping them into a much more cohesive unit. Of all the bands that regularly ply their trade locally, these guys look most suited to mainstream success. When Polly Scattergood took to the stage I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Speaking to her before the show she seemed a little shy and withdrawn and I’d heard tales of stage fright, but when she began performing she held the attention of every audience member. Swaying and gesturing like Kate Bush, she put me in mind of a British Paula Cole with her interesting song structures. She is already picking up plenty of media interest and judging by the crowd reaction when she attempted to leave the stage, she’s only going to get more popular with the public too!

check out Stiff Promotions at: www.stiffpromotions.co.uk

check out Polly Scattergood at: www.myspace.com/pollyscattergood

check out Light Effect at: www.myspace.com/lighteffectband

check out Loz Bridge & The Box Social at: www.myspace.com/lozbridge

LOZ BRIDGE AND THE BOX SOCIAL: Witches EP

Loz Bridge is a talent I’ve been fortunate enough to come across many times, making plain my admiration for him both as songwriter and performer. Thus it’s rather obvious that his debut EP is going to become a favourite part of my collection, especially as the titular Witches is, in my opinion, the best thing he’s written yet. We’ve all been trapped in a mind numbing office job at some point, but I for one have never viewed it quite the same since having a gander through Loz’s twisted window on the world. Make no mistake this is a song that would sit proudly on albums by the likes of Lupen Crook, Louden Wainwright and even Tom Waits. It is, in short, the perfect introduction to this young man’s music.