New client Justin Sandercoe is best known as Justin Guitar and has been giving free online guitar tuition via youtube for several years – as well as teaching the likes of Katie Melua, Cathy Dennis and Luke Kooks to play.

Justin is releasing his first album in January 2010 and we can’t stop playing it in the Raw office! Furthermore, he’s a lovely guy and we’re looking forward to helping to make him even more of a success.

To request a biog or an interview with Justin drop us a line via Raw News.

Brandon Flowers

Caleb Followill

Luke Pritchard

eles são pra casar né?!

OIW have been running our supercool night since early 2008, there’s been other venues over that time (Madame Jo Jo’s, The Enterprise, The Garage) but The Old Queens Head has always been our home and we’re damn proud to be a part of things there.

We’ve had some amazing, amazing acts and even the odd celeb in the crowd, including Morrissey, Mischa Barton, Luke Pritchard, and half the cast of Neighbours amongst others. So ahead of our next night on September 8th with Mr David Viner, I Said Yes and This Frontier Needs Heroes (details HERE) we thought we’d give you a bit of history, including Sir Walter Raleigh, ghost stories and “secret canoodling”. Yep, here’s a short history of The OQH!

The Old Queens Head has stood proud in its spot on the Essex Road for centuries. In its current incarnation the pub plays host to world class bands and DJs, however in its long history it’s rumoured to have been owned by none other than Sir Walter Raleigh. Some sources say that he may well have lived at the pub. It is also rumoured that Queen Elizabeth the 1st granted Sir Walter the licence to the pub and it is said by the gossips of this world that it was also the venue for the two highest society figures to do some secret canoodling…

A long history of a grand building would not right without a ghost story and naturally The Old Queens Head has a few. The most notable being one of a woman and a small girl. Various people have reported the pitter – patter of feet in an ‘empty’ pub, seen her running ahead of people up the stairs, slamming doors and she has even been heard crying. One of the most notable features of The Old Queens Head is the beautiful downstairs fireplace. It dates back to the 17th century and is the oldest of its kind in North London. With a spectacular and master crafted stone engraving the open log fire has warmed the chilly hoards of people for centuries and still does its job very well for us in the winter months!

So there you go, a pretty interesting history of the home of OIW so you can act all knowledgeable the next time you’re at OIW and impress that girl you’ve always longed after ; ) See you on the 8th!

Ich will die Kooks mal wieder sehen. Unbedingt. Hab mir eben die Bilder vom letzten Konzert angeschaut. Ich will deine Locken wieder anfassen, Luke Boy.

met Mr. Pritchard at Ibiza-Airport…

Acho que todos que gostam de moda ou assistia O.C. sabe quem é Mischa maas…, para quem não sabe, ela namorou com o Luke Pritchard (vocalista do The Kooks) /invejinha on, já foi bastante requisitada por grifes pelo motivo de que toda roupa caía bem nela, envolveu-se em alguns escândalos e (TCHA-RAM) foi Marissa Cooper “Coop” de The O.C. que triste quando ela morreu. tsc, tsc.

Ms. Barton está na minha lista de mais estilosas e pessoas que eu roubaria o guarda-roupa se eu fosse uma delinqüente – tchau trema ): - delinquente.

Focando no que eu vim falar, ela acabou de lançar a coleção outono/inverno 09 da sua linha de bolsas que foi inspirada em países que visitou e no estilo bohemian e vintage, que lembra seu estilo pessoal. Segue aí uns modelos O/I 09:

+ at: www.mischabartonhandbags.com
(gamei nos modelos Marissa, Oscar, Jolene, Leonie e Valerie da coleção Primavera/Verão t6)

Indie legends The Kooks, have announced Gig info on performances made down South in July. The Band will show off their moves at Margate Winter Gardens on July 16th 2009, as well as Bournemouth’s Opera House on July 17th 2009! Looks like there is a bit of a ‘back to the coast’ theme going on for the Brighton born Musicans. Tickets for the gigs will be on sale tommorow at 10:00 AM (BST). Hopefully Luke Pritchard & Co will give us a great Show, as what with the sun coming up most days, it’s great to get into the Indie spirit with the sun beaming down on our pasty ‘English weather’ faces.

5) Goldheart Assembly – January 13th, Old Queens Head: Oh, Inverted World’s first birthday party! “The One Where We Got Folky On Your Ass”

Being the second week of the most miserable month of the year when all the jubilance of the festive period has died a sorry death and you’re feeling more poor, more tired and more fucked off with life than ever, it’s pretty amazing when you can go out on a Tuesday night and have an incredible night. There was something about the atmosphere that January night, for starters it was an awesome line-up. Samuel Deschamps, Pete from exlovers and Planet Earth were all superawesome and played to a packed out, but happy, room in the Old Queens Head. Headliners Goldheart Assembly were a chance finding for us, but once we’d stumbled upon them and managed to book them we were pretty stoked. A lead Radar feature in NME full of acclaim and nice words late last year made us feel even more darn smug for booking them early. “This band,” we said to ourselves, cigars hanging out of our mouths, “are gonna be gooooood”. And thankfully we were correct in our predictions; they were incredible as well as being jolly nice chaps. Somehow the band also got confused on the night and believed it to be my birthday and got whole the crowd to say happy birthday to me. It wasn’t my birthday, it was O,IW’s, but fuck it, I secretly love the attention: “Hey there, limelight!! I’m over here!!” I definitely recommend that you check them out if you haven’t already. I know they returned to the Old Queens Head recently, because it’s ace, and hopefully we’ll be having them along to play again soon.

4) Kyte – Madame Jojo’s – January 28th “The One Where We Forgot We Were Broke”

If we thought that the second week in January was depressing, it was nothing compared with the gloom we faced on the last week on January. The fourth week of January is terrible. No one had been paid for a full 6 weeks, it was pissing it down outside, and to top it off the media are constantly shoving it down our throats that we’re going through a RECESSION and you DON’T HAVE ANY FUCKING MONEY SO DON’T YOU DARE DO ANYTHING!! Through the gloom though, we the lucky ones at Madame Jojo’s, had Kyte. And rarely is there a band that can be so uplifting in their cinematically huge soundscapes as these four Leicestershire boys. Live they take you off the planet and let your dreams take you. Sounds like I’m full of hyperbole, no? Well, I guess it does, but they really were that good.

3) La Shark – Old Queens Head – 8th July “The One Where We got Seduced by Sharks”

This was the first night we had La Shark play and it was the start of what was to become a beautiful friendship. They were awesome and won over everyone in the crowd, who were perhaps originally confused about who the arty looking student types were. It was also a special night for me as it was the grand occasion of my 23rd birthday and I was lucky enough to have many of my fine friends there to enjoy the bands, drink and eat cake with me -props to Chris G for the chocolate cake. This night was also a success for me as I was not sick. A tremendous achievement!

2) Filthy Dukes, Fenech Soler and Sunny Day Sets Fire – 26 November 2008, Madame Jojo’s – “The One Where We Rose From The Jaws of Defeat”

Arguably our biggest party to date, November 26th was definitely a night of mixed emotions. For one thing I had tonsillitis and was feeling pretty ropey. I tried self-medicating with rum, but sadly it didn’t help. Also, and possibly more seriously, we began the night with major, major sound problems. The sound man informed us during sound check that for some reason we were missing some vital bit of equipment (that no one knew how to pronounce, let alone understood what it actually did. It was called something like a ‘trogiwehieyrwse’ I think…) Bad news when it’s 7.30pm and the doors are set to open at 8pm. It got so bad we thought we might have to cancel the whole thing. Thankfully the sound man came good and managed to get hold of this elusive equipment at the eleventh hour and the bands could play! And man, they were three awesome bands. From the exuberant indie-pop fun of Sunny Say Sets Fire, to the amazing electo tunes of Northamptonshire teens Fenech Soler, and finishing with the big league boys Filthy Dukes and their dirty electro-pop, it was incredible. So good in fact, I very nearly forgot that my tonsils were tennis ball size and covered in green stuff. Yeah that’s right boys, I’m damn sexy.

1) Derek Meins, Honkeyfinger, Defend Moscow, Congregation and surprise guest Luke Pritchard and Nat Jenkins – 9th December – Old Queens Head. “The one where Christmas got a crack habit.”

Bloody hell, what a surreally brilliant night this was. The line-up could not have been more eclectic and with superstar guest appearances from the likes of Mischa Barton, Luke Pritchard of The Kooks fame and Murph from the Wombats – yeah, really – plus the fact we decorated the venue in the extreme with tinsel, dog crackers, mince pies, hats and anything else vaguely Christmas related we could get our grubby little hands on, we knew it was going to be good. Each artist was top, Derek’s encore at the end was a real highlight for me and it was such a perfect end to the year. Hope we can top it next Christmas!

Honourable mentions also go out to: Tim Ten Yen and his cat, Eugene McGuinness, Stricken City, Josh Weller, Thee Single Spy, Jamie Commons, Louis Barabbas and his dog impression, Anna Calvi, Little Death acoustic, Orphans and Vandals, and loads of others I’m more than likely forgetting.

Moment I’d most like to forget: having a sick during Josh Weller’s performance back in August. Nothing to do with you Josh, it was possibly the gallons of wine and no food that did it…

…und das schon im März. 

no-one beats Luke !

• Shenae Grimes (Annie, 90210) is on the cover of Teen Prom 2009.
• Aimee Teegarden (Rhonda, 90210) and Kelly Rowan (Kirsten, The O.C.) are on CSI tonight.
• The Insider has a short article on Kassius Green, son of Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210) and Vanessa Marcil (Gina, Beverly Hills 90210) catching the acting bug from his parents.
• The March 16 issue of PEOPLE has a small box on Ed Westwick (Chuck, Gossip Girl) and Jessica Szhor’s (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) romance.
• A New York Times journalist wrote about his upcoming Gossip Girl cameo and actor Adhir Kalyan says he would love to work with Leighton Meester (Blair) or Blake Lively (Serena) if he ever guested on the show.
• You can vote for Dan, Lucas and Nathan ( all One Tree Hill) as well as Chuck (Gossip Girl) and Joshua Jackson’s Fringe character in the first-ever Alpha Male Madness.
• Portrait Magazine did a profile of Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill).  She’s also quoted in the 3/16 issue of PEOPLE as loving the Oscar-nominated film, The Wrestler.
• Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) has a very funny post up at the Southern Gothic Productions blog.
• There’s a special feature/preview for next week’s all-new episode of One Tree Hill.
• The Observer has a really in-depth look at Michelle Williams’ (Jen, Dawson’s Creek) career.
• The Seattle Times has a story about Bianca Kajilich’s (Natasha, Dawson’s Creek) career.
• Ausiello is reporting that Ashlee Simpson joined the cast of the new Melrose Place but not in the role Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) reportedly auditioned for.  Still not known, however, if Barton got it.
• Barton took her to her blog to announce she’s no longer dating musician Luke Pritchard.
• The positive outlook for the future of The CW is discussed in this article.

Hobgoblin – Staines – 1st March

Arcane Roots are like a rock and roller-coaster… gnashing, clawing and crashing their way through unconventional time signatures and frequent changes of tempo like an out of control Thorpe Park thrill ride might cut through a throng of ne’er-do-well pink-faced chavs playing chicken on the rails. Their combined energy, the electricity that this band produces,  could easily replace a dozen off-shore wind farms.

The sheer exhilaration and power of their stage presence reminded me of Muse.  However, although the AR songs may sometimes be sweet, and the themes melodramatic, the overall nu prog effect is actually more similar to Coheed and Cambria than Muse. The agony and the ecstasy is often ‘emo’ (in a good way) and the foundations of each track are defined as solid slabs of rock.

The song ‘Rouen’ starts with gently gathered stringwork beneath a thin lace of sweetly latticed vocals posing the question ‘what are you waiting for?’ This is followed by a change of pace and some raspy distortion fueled arrangements and it is here that we witness the truly exceptional talent of Andrew Groves. Andrew is the AR frontman, singer and lead guitar supremo. Andy looks and sounds like a 1964–66 Ray Davies. He plays furious rhythm and lead guitar, often simultaneously, upon his trusty Gibson. He plays this with a surprising and terrible intensity that reminded me of a ferret in a flask fighting for freedom. ‘Rouen’ sounds ‘Kooks-ish’ with its lovely tapestry of gently chiming soulful images and high-toned voices. This tale of nostalgia and despair is a bittersweet experience for any listener. The sense of loss is magnified by the wailing, repeating chorus. The grief is spread out like a blanket might be across a corpse, the final stage of a magnificent hymn to sadness.

The song ‘Nylon’ is another tune that reminds me of The Kooks (although Andrew’s voice is not as exceptional as Luke Pritchard’s.) But there is more substance and depth of feeling in the Arcane material than within the Kooks prep-pop style- there are rusty razor-blades on their kitchen tables and the streets are littered with broken glass in the Arcane world.  Daryl Atkins on the drums adds backing vocals to the emotive harmonies of each number and plays astounding firecracker percussion on a stripped-down kit. Whilst Adam Burton, on bass, does a sterling job- but you can’t help thinking that he is always struggling just to ‘keep up’ with Andrew Groves- who zips ahead of his bandmates without so much as looking back.

‘An easy smile’ is far more ‘SOAD’ than the other AR sounds (I kept getting reminders of Serj throughout the gig) with driving chords and changes of tempo and pace. The pauses are important to the Arcane Roots…just as in good choreography, the audience is called to witness and appreciate these frequent stops and starts. Each pause is like a blinding flash of sunlight from a broken mirror. The sounds seem to be swirled around the room like silken scarves, and the sudden bolts of energy seem to whizz harmlessly away- far above your head. This evokes a feeling of disharmony and disjointedness that, perhaps, prevails in our daily lives.

Even if the room smelt faintly of old leather boots and denim, the crowd at The Hob were in fact quite young and well-groomed (on the whole). They were also unnaturally restrained. To be fair most of the punters were there for ‘the other band’ who were hosting a single release party straight afterwards- so the plaintive soul-searching of the Arcane Roots songbook was, perhaps, a little too ‘full-on’ for most of this fun-loving hip crowd. But the standout performer of the night, for me anyway, was the ferociously attacking guitarist Andrew Groves who possesses the rare emotional power of a cathedral on fire. He employs guitar techniques that are normally reserved for ‘right on’ jazz musicians – or at least prog-rock stars- techniques like glissandos & stomps on the effects pedals are all part of his glistening repertoire. I particularly enjoyed the new song, ‘To The Hold You Had’. (Andy gave me this title – so don’t blame me if it is wrong!) This song had a simple structure and an enjoyable riff but also revealed a satisfying complexity.

So the band ripped down the flag of indifference and crushed it with their teeth. Rock is a jungle and this group are the predators. Watch the blood spill and the fur fly. But don’t look away!

© Neil_Mach

March 2009

This video interview with Luke Pritchard of The Kooks was taken as part of Jeremy Story Carter’s tenure with Falls TV earlier this year. It was filmed and edited by Jonathan Lim, Andrew Smith and Steven Notaro. More footage from the Falls Festival can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/fallsfestivaltv. The complete, uncut interview will be viewable on Empty Pocket Media soon.

Közös projektbe fogott a The Do nevű francia zenekarral Luke Pritchard, a The Kooks frontembere. “Csak feldolgozásokat csinálunk. Ha lesz időnk, talán írunk saját számokat is, de nem hiszem, hogy ez bekövetkezne.” Pritchard hozzátette: nem akarnak túlproducelt felvételeket készíteni, inkább a Velvet Underground debütalbumának koszosságát szeretnék megidézni.

A report of what I’ve been listening to in the past few days. It’s not all of what I’ve been listening to, as I don’t feel like writing a whole shitload of mini-reviews, so here’s the highlights:

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand)
First off, it was definitely worth the wait. While it doesn’t follow the normal Franz format, it does feature lots of fun fast songs with some rather sexually suggestive lyrics to make it loads of fun. If you were turned off by the single version of “Ulysses,” don’t worry, the rest of the album is much better (and the album version of “Ulysses” is hella different and better than the single.)
B+

Inside In/Inside Out (The Kooks)
Fuckin’ phenominal. Seriously, all of the songs are full of great lyrics half-sung-half-mumbled by Luke Pritchard in a very thick British accent that makes you want to be dorky and sing along in an attempted British accent. Not to mention the perfect guitar bits, and the nearly-reggae-beat-at-times-drums (not sure how that made sense).
A

Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (Dead Kennedys)
Rather old, but it ages gracefully for political punk, I mean, all you have to do to make it totally updated is replace “Jerry Brown” (from “California Uber Alles”) with your least favourite politician, and change “Cambodia” (from “Holiday in Cambodia”) to any middle eastern country.
A-

Så var det litt musikk daa.. har hørt en del på The Kooks det siste året ! Utrooolig bra ! Jeg hadde igrunn ingen forhold til The Kooks før Hove’08.. Jeg hadde bare hørt om sangen “Naïve” og “Ooh Laa” før det. Det var en hyggelig overraskelse kan man si ! The Kooks roocka, hehe. På “The Sofa Song” måtte faktisk vaktene holde vokalisten Luke Pritchard tilbake, så ikke han falt ned blandt publikum.. hehe.. Og det ble også senere kjent at han hadde naila en dama bak scenen, under Panic! At The Disco konserten, som også det var en bra konsert, men ikke fult så bra !
Jeg lasta også ned et album her om dagen.. Live album av The Kooks.. fra legendariske Abbey Road ! Det er fra Inside In, Inside Out albumet til The Kooks. Deeilig å høre band som kan spille live. Muse er vell det beste jeg har hørt av et band live, riktignok på dvd fra HAARP konserten, men de er heeelt syke ! The Killers er også bra.. Hehe..
Men tilbake til The Kooks.. her er noen sanger fra Abbey Road konserten !

The Kooks – Naïve (Live @ Abbey Road)

The Kooks – Ooh Laa (Live @ Abbey Road)

Må vell legges til at de ikke er noen fotomodeller disse gutta.. men de kan spille.. ;D

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