‘Love Music’ Glasgow Record Store day 20 April 2013 –

 We had great fun with rock Viking metal band Viking Galaxy who launched their album First Contact at a packed out Independent Record store day at Love Music Record shop Glasgow.  Indie bands performing were -Young Aviators, Viking galaxy, French Wives, Fake Major, Wooden Box, Three Blind Wolves, Washington Irvine, Glasvagas, 

‘Record Store Day’ was started in the States in 2007 by record store employee Chris Brown as a backlash to the cheap and low quality sound sent out over the internet. The compression of MP3s only carry percent of the music. Online is a good means of discovery these days but – as with those hardback books - the hard copy vinyl or CD has that something collectable and to treasure.  They also offer the artist’s artwork, lyrics and more. Some of us can remember the booths with the headsets in the record shops in town where we could check out new albums. The joy of discovering new music.
This yearly event celebrated physical records, counter-culture, grassroots labels and local community. The record shops offered special limited editions and exclusives. This year's Scottish Record Store Day highlights included vinyl, tapes and treats from Orange Juice, Biffy Clyro, King Creosote, Admiral Fallow, Adam Stafford, Randolph's Leap, Frightened Rabbit, Mogwai/Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, The Twilight Sad and more.  

Scottish Independent Record Store Day
Up North - Groucho's in Dundee (Nethergate) had performances from Silent Nothing, Colour Coded and General Judgement. Inverness's fab Imperial (Academy Street) from Sara Bills and the Hasbeens and Willie and Tabs Macaskill.  Stirling, Europa Music (Friars Street) houses Scotland's largest vinyl collection and they hosted live in-store appearances including local indie tearaways FRANK and Miniature Dinosaurs along with James Grant of Love and Money.  

GLASGOW. Love Music (Dundas Street, Glasgow) had live sets from Glasvegas, Woodenbox, French Wives, Three Blind Wolves, Washington Irving, Fake Major, Viking Galaxy and Young Aviators, and also a tea stall, classic rock cake and a pinball AC/DC pinball machine.  Monorail (King's Court, Glasgow) hosted Subway Sect's punk renegade Vic Godard with Davey Henderson's art-pop firebrands The Sexual Objects. Other live highlights include Ela Orleans and alt-rock radicals World Peace.
Oxfam Music (Byres Road, Glasgow) held a Record Store Day party helmed by pop collective TYCI. Rubadub (Howard Street, Glasgow) stocked danceable exclusives and deals on vinyl, while guest DJs and live acts included electronic diviner Dam Mantle, Trevino and Silk Cut. 

EDINBURGH. Underground Solu'shn (Cockburn Street, Edinburgh), had dance and electronic action with a day-long vinyl DJ sets from Fryer, House of Traps, Colvin Cruikshank, Fudge Fingas, G-Mac and EH1. Folk wonderland Coda (The Mound) held live in-stores from songstress Karine Polwart and Jenna Reid, Elvis Shakespeare (Leith Walk) welcomed Saint Max and the Fanatics and Oi Polloi, and Avalanche (Grassmarket) had in-stores from Glasvegas and Admiral Fallow. The Bow Bar (West Bow, Edinburgh) had special cask ale, Sid 'n' Nancy IPA. 
VoxBox Music and Last Word Saloon (St Stephen Street, Edinburgh) celebrated Auld Reekie's thriving grassroots community and teamed up with local labels Gerry Loves Records and Song, By Toad that featured Magic Eye, Mike Heron Band, Rob St John, Adam Stafford and Honeyblood, and Fence Records alt-pop Kid Canaveral (aka Kid Canaverowl).

There was also Song By Toad's inspired Beer vs Records  – ‘Why do we resent paying £12 for a record, when we'll happily fork that out for a round of drinks?’
Support your local artists and record shops/ We all pay far too much to the giant Apple Empire, who give nothing back to the artists!  

RECORD STORE DAY SEES ALBUM SALES RISE BY 60%
Record Store Day album sales soared by 60 percent compared with last year, official figures have shown. Read more: http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/record-store-day-sees-album-sales-rise-by-60/

Edwyn Collins and his band at the O2 ABC

Still rockin in his soul, even if his body has failed him at times.

Edwyn Collins, Scottish musician, best known for his song A Girl Like You and also for the song Rip It Up with his band Orange Juice, rocked a gig ABC Glasgow 18th April 2013. 

  

Understated, the title of his new album suits him well. Here's man who rocks deep inside with a generosity of spirit and soul. He's unassuming and sincere and there was a lot of love in the room for him at this gig and some nostalgia for a few no doubt. He performed songs from his 2013 album Understated as well as some of his back catalogue songs. Collins had a band of quality musicians who seemed to enjoy playing with him.

Songs: Ghost of a Chance; Understated; I Never Met a Girl Like you Before.  

For an encore he sang Home Again, searching for my soul again, and Simple Life – simple choice makes the world a better place. Seven years after his two strokes the indie veteran has produced another excellent album. 

Viking Galaxy rocked Bannermans

On March 30^th VG played their first gig this year for Dougie's birthday. Bannermans is a cloistered stone venue directly down in the Cowgate from Edinburgh’s High Street and proved a intense venue for new bands. 

Lead by the tall and charismatic William Hill on lead vocals, energetic Matt Brown on keys, full of character Mike Parkin on guitar, Ross Keightley providing strong bass lines, and new drummer Alasdair Gunn playing tight thundering drums.

In the summer they recorded their debut album First Contact. They performed songs form the album – Raid & Pillage; Sickle of Hate; Galactic Plunder; Lost Forever’ Shaft of Agony’ Hall the Slain; Space Chariots.

On 20th April Viking Galaxy play their debut Album launch gig at Love Music Glasgow.  http://www.lovemusicglasgow.com/

While Viking Galaxy list themselves as a metal music band they are also influenced by 70s soul and by bands such as Mastodon and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  https://www.facebook.com/vikinggalaxy

Songbird Eva Cassidy

For me my best loved music is often about the perfect song, perfectly sung. One of the loveliest female voices is Eva Cassidy. She became known for her voice four years after her early death in 1996.

She had a naturally unaffected voice and beautifully interpreted and expressed the song. She never ‘over sang’ or over killed as some singers do and her voice is both soothing and heartbreaking. You can feel her honesty of emotion and hunger for a better world. She has the most expressive and sad eyes.

She chose top quality songs to sing. In those days not every singer also worked with co-writers to do their own songs. Songs such as Over the Rainbow, Songbird, Kathy’s Song, Danny Boy, What a Wonderful World, Imagine, Early Morning Rain, Ain't No Sunshine.  

One of my favourites sung by Eva – You Take My Breath Away - http://youtu.be/anqO7bpffts

Eva Marie Cassidy (1963-1996) was an American vocalist and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992, she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by the 1996 live solo album entitled Live at Blues Alley. Although she had been honored by the Washington Area Music Association, she was virtually unknown outside her native Washington DC, when she died of melanoma in 1996.  Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her version of "Over the Rainbow" was played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at Blues Alley in Washington, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album Songbird climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition worldwide; her posthumously released recordings, including three UK number 1s, have sold more than ten million copies. Her music has also charted top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.