Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 at Oran Mor

The January Blues can hit pretty hard. What better way to banish them then to dance, sing, laugh and smile with the party machine that is Colonel Mustard and the Dijon Five?

I've caught CMD5 a number of times over the years, but the last time was pre-pandemic at a Celtic Connections show at the Old Fruitmarket back in January 2020.

3-years on and CMD5 are as bright, colourful and inventive as ever. I had so much fun that I never counted how many people were in the band. I'm guessing 10; 3 in the horn section, drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, effects/samples plus the effervescent Fathom and the good Colonel John McMustard leading the band and crowd through a 80 minutes of partying.

Colonel Mustard and the Dijon Five win friends and hearts wherever and whenever they play. They have built a huge community from wowing people at festivals, leading to huge shows at the Barrowland and the Academy in Glasgow ... alongside trips to Korea.

Their infectious energy transfers to the audience. The cost of living crisis, the climate crisis, the energy crisis ... the Tories ... for 80-minutes yesterday afternoon people forgot about their worries.

Everyone was happy, everyone was smiling, no-one in Oran Mor was sad anymore.

And that is the beauty of Colonel Mustard, that is the power of music. What was extra special was that this was a matinee show, so it was a real family affair. The four of us went and I would love to see more matinee/family friendly shows across the city in the future.

Photo by Colin Bilby, Phoenix Independent Photography

CMD5 have built quite a selection of crowd pleasers over their 2 albums. Taking in disco, funk, pop, reggae, ska and adding a dash of Screamadelica and a sprinkling of humour while appreciating the importance of audience engagement and participation. 

We crossed The road (not quite as easy as it is in a festival field, had a dance off (2 kids won inflatable trophies), batted balloons around the room, sang the praises of ginger girls, aaaarrrrggghhhhed as pirates and rrrrrroooooaaaaarrrred as dinosaurs, danced like no-one was watching, bounced like bouncy balls, had a house music rave (This Is Your House was a real favourite) and unified as one to preach peace, love and mustard.

The Colonel parted the crow like the Red Sea to let people dance down the middle

during (and for a) Dance Off

The imagination of John McMustard to write the songs, develop the concept of CMD5 and their Yellow Movement, include humour with reflection and politics, while creating a party vibe is pretty incredible. And it's ambitious. It can't be easy to keep a 10-piece band on the go! But everyone has fun and fun can keep many things going and make everything easier.

I would heartily recommend seeing CMD5 live if you can. Keep an eye on their socials for festival announcements and a Christmas show - they hinted about that on stage. Hopefully there will be a matinee show.

Ette at Oran Mor

Last night saw the debut performance of Ette, the solo project by my sister Carla J Easton, also of TeenCanteen.

2015 was an extremely productive year for Carla, with loads of new songs written for the forthcoming TeenCanteen album and then a fresh batch written over a couple of months in the summer that Carla didn’t want to sit on. Instead she hooked up with Joe Kane from Dr Cosmos Tape Lab and recorded an album in just  5-days in his garage studio. Joe produced and played guitar and drums on the album and they co-wrote the sublime disco summer pop song Heaven Knows.

Joe Kane and Carla Easton had never met until last summer

The fresh and quick approach to writing and recording has resulted in a beautiful, psychedelic pop album titled Homemade Lemonade that will be released on Olive Grove Records on 22nd July. They have already found a fan in Marc Riley from BBC 6 Music who played opening track Attack of the Glam Soul Cheerleaders on his show a couple of weeks ago and promptly invited them for a session.

The songs seems to have a habit of finding fans instantly. Within days of finishing the album, Carla sent them on to Lloyd at Olive Grove Records who immediately declared that he would love to release the album in the summer of 2016.

And here we are....

Ette’s debut album will be released on 22nd July

The West End Festival had kindly given Olive Grove Records a showcase at the beautiful Oran Mor, situated at the top of Byres Road. It was a fantastic opportunity for the boutique DIY label to highlight their taste and style. Call To Mind and The Moth and the Mirror are established acts on the label, however the two headline acts were playing their first ever performances!

The Royal Male (excellent name) is the solo project of Ali from Woodenbox. Ali wrote a batch of songs that were centred around the piano. His 4-piece band also had an excellent drummer, a trumpet player and a violinist. The 4 conjured up some rather beautiful songs, gaining confidence the longer the set went on and ending with (for me) their best song; one that allowed Ali to open up on vocals to display real strength and soul in his voice. The musicianship was first class throughout.

On to Ette. They absolutely smashed it out the park!

Carla had recruited a quite incredible band to back her up; John Nicol from Hidden Masters on drums, Deborah Smith from TeenCanteen on harmonies, percussion and effects, Paul Kelly from How To Swim on synths and bass, Reggie House (still don’t know what his real name is!) from BooHooHoo on synths, with Joe on guitar and Carla also on synths and keys.

They romped through opener Attack Of The Glam Soul Cheerleaders (Parts 1 and 2) with real confidence, getting the crowd on their side from the off. People came down from the bar and in from the sides, always a good sign!

The band looked the part from the off, creating a wall of sound that was aided by the superb Oran Mor sound system. Joe would turn and raise his guitar to John on drums, driving him on. They were brilliant to watch.

Bones was a highlight for me, the flowing melody is simply stunning. I Hate You Song was another favourite, delivered with humour and venom.

I hate you but I hate that I once loved you even more

Bonfires turned dub raga with the pop hooks remaining, Bird In The Sky was psychedelic pop bliss before the set closed with the stunning disco pop of Heaven Knows - the sound of summer.

This band was really put together specifically for this show, but given the response from the crowd and the fun they had on stage, I hope they’ll continue for a while to come.

Fresh Blood

Big Inner by Matthew E. White was my album of the year in 2013, so I have been looking forward to his follow up. Thankfully I didn't have too long (in album terms) to wait.

Fresh Blood, released on White's own Spacebomb Records in conjunction with Domino, contains all the charms and delights offered on White's debut - the gorgeous dry delivery, exceptional arrangements, warm production and flowing melodies.

The album opens with Take Care My Baby with White in loving poetic form; the playing and production is beautifully warm, White's voice is soothing and welcoming, the melodies flowing, the Spacebomb house band gelling with ease, horns soaring, incredible percussion. It is brilliant stuff; no-one else (to my knowledge - please tell me if i am wrong) is creating music and melodies like this.

Oh the diamonds on the sea look like your eyes to me

Love will make the flowers grow

and blossom till its colours show

Baby I never met another one like you before

Talking all night long

From the midnight on

Rock n Roll Is Cold pours scorn on the current rock n roll scene while sounding like superb rock n roll with more than a dash of soul.

White referenced God and religion throughout Big Inner and Holy Moly sees him reference child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The very subject injects a feeling of disgust and White ensures the listener is in no doubt about his own.

Holy moly, what's wrong with you.....

don't you ever give me false hope, don't you ever give a man false hope

F**k 'em all, love is home

Home is love, f**k 'em all

Almost to display his own faith, White follows with Circle 'Round the Sun; a gentle strum and shuffle that sounds like it could easily have been lifted off a Lennon or Harrison solo album.

So wrap your arms around me Jesus, like the circle 'round the sun

Hand in hand , do you know where we're going

Hand in hand, I'll go where you lead me

White's lyrics are often simple, yet the music and arrangements surrounding them are exquisite, lifting the song and allowing White's melodies to flow and he comes on all Marvin Gaye on Feeling Good Is Good Enough, especially on the line I feel like making it with my baby one last time leading to an extended outro - just listen to the drums!

Tranquility is aptly named, dreamy strings for the first half of the song before piercing electric guitar wakes the listener from the lullaby, before going all gentle dreamy again, dig deeper for the lyrics which were written following the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

White does love in simple form, but sometimes you don't need to say too much and Vision begins with the line nobody in this world is better than us, repeated for extra effect. After a few dreamy tunes White throws in a huge chorus.

Dry humour ushers in Love Is Deep along with acoustic guitars, a real Wall of Sound percussion, Stax horns and the kind of backing vocals that just get me every time - the kind that are a real important part of the song, harmonising, having their own sections.

Everybody ought to think twice baby

Cause love is deep

Cause love is deep shit

The song grows to flow beautifully with White referencing some of his musical heroes.

Matthew E. White plays Oran Mor on Tuesday 14th April. I intend to be there.

Edwyn Collins at Oran Mor

I'm just in from watching Edwyn Collins; a national treasure, a Scottish pop poet who is still producing first rate material at the age of 54 and he shows no sign of letting up.

Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols provided the beats in Edwyn's incredible band, joined by Carwyn Elle on bass, Andy H and David Page on guitars and Sean Read on keyboards. Carwyn and David also played in the support band Colorama. Page was sensational on guitar.

The band took to the stage and launched into a soulful and funky jam before Edwyn was helped on to the stage by his wife Grace; walking across with the help of a cane and taking a seat to huge applause.

Falling and Laughing opened the set in real style, raw upbeat indie guitar pop at its very best. Collins poetic pop lyrics are just beautiful.

Only my tears satisfy the real need of my heart

I resist

Fall, falling, falling again

Cause I want to take the pleasure with the pain, pain, pain

It was swiftly followed by another Orange Juice classic in the shape of What Presence and the upbeat Make Me Feel Again from Edwyn's smash solo album Gorgeous George. There was a sense of urgency about the performance.

Collins was comfortable stretching away back to the start of his career, up to the present time with a selection of material from his acclaimed Understated album and everything in between.

Understated was represented by searing versions of Understated and Dilemma and a gorgeous version of Forsooth with Edwyn owning up to ripping off the Velvets and Lou Reed.

Wheels of Love from the Hope and Despair album was a stand out from a very strong performance, the band jammed on with ease and style.

Bridge from the Texas Fever album went down well with some of the guys down the front, one of who in particular was dancing like his life depended on it.

Edwyn back in the day

One of my favourite Edwyn songs is the Motown-esque Losing Sleep which just flows superbly and the band ripped through it with Paul Cook outstanding on drums. Orange Juice were well represented throughout the set and Poor Old Soul was superb.

Collins and his band then delivered three killer songs in a row, with Collins rising to his feet to deliver them. Blueboy got more people dancing and then Rip It Up received a rapturous reception, only topped by the cheers a superb version of A Girl Like You generated.

Edwyn seemed to get stronger and more into the show the longer it went on and he was on top form, sharing banter with the crowd on several occasions.

Fan - I love you
Edwyn - I love you too
Fan - I love you more
Edwyn - I love you more, more

Edwyn left the stage to allow the band to rip it up (pun intended) and jam on at the end of A Girl Like You. I thought that might have been it, especially given the fact that Oran Mor has strict curfews.

Thankfully there was more to come.

Edwyn came back on with Carwen and David on acoustic guitars for stunning versions of Low Expectations and Home Again. Edwyn's voice was strong and true. I particularly love his upbeat pop songs but he knows how to write a heartfelt ballad as well. I'd love to see him do a full stripped back acoustic set at some point.

The rest of the band came on to race through Orange Juice fave Felicity before ending with a rip roaring version of Don't Shilly Shally. Edwyn left to a greta reception and he gave a thumbs up and said he would see us soon some time.

I hope it isn't too long. In this form and mood Collins and his band are an absolute joy and delight to watch perform. Edwyn has an incredible back catalogue and is still producing material that sits alongside his classics from years ago.

A national treasure, a pop poet.

Olive Grove Records interview

I got a nice little feeling inside when Lloyd from Olive Grove Records posted online about his label's showcase show at Oran Mor as part of Celtic Connections selling out. Sadly I couldn't make it along, however I know how much work Lloyd and his co-owner Halina have put into the label and the support, passion and encouragement that they offer to the artists on it. So I was mightily chuffed for them.

I hope the exposure and success from the showcase gig helps to establish the label a little more and that they continue to pour energy and enthusiasm into the Scottish music scene.

I thought it might be a good time to catch up with them to hear about the trials, tribulations, successes and joy that come from running a D.I.Y record label,

So read on to find out about sticking out an album by someone wishing to remain anonymous, label highlights, future plans, the one that got away, dodgy dad dancing, juggling life with dreams and lots more.

If you are new to the label why not check out these beauties for starters;

1. Closing Doors by The Moth and the Mirror

2. There Is No-one To Thank by The Son(s)

3. Counting Sheep by Randolph's Leap 

Enjoy.

So how did Olive Grove come about?

Lloyd - Back in the summer of 2010, Halina called me one evening of out of the blue asking me if I wanted to start a label together. I thought about it for about a nanosecond, before blurting out “YES” in quite an over excited voice. We met up shortly after to come up with a plan, an ethos and talk about who we’d like to approach to work with us. About a month or so after we met up with Randolph’s Leap to see if they’d be interested in letting us release their debut EP, ‘Battleships and Kettle Chips’. Thankfully they said yes and we’ve pretty much been winging it from their ever since.

How did you arrive at the name? Can you tell us any of the rejects?

Halina – Lloyd and I used to have a big love of the band Snow Patrol (many will be surprised to find out) and one of the better songs of theirs, An Olive Grove Facing The Sea was a favourite for both of us. Lloyd suggested the name and it was a perfect fit as it was different, but captures the organic ethos behind the label. 

What's your basic philosophy?

Lloyd - That’s an easy one, release good music and don’t lose too much money! When we first agreed to start the label we both agreed that we weren’t doing this for the money and that any profits made would go back to the bands. When I tell most folk that they tend to look at me like I am insane, but that was the plan and to date we’ve pretty much stuck to that ideology.

What labels do you look to for inspiration?

Halina – I think there are loads. Johnny Pictish Trail has always been a source of constant inspiration as has Matthew Young and his label Song, By Toad Records. Others for me include FatCat Records and Smalltown America, both have produced some incredible bands. 

One of your first releases was by a mysterious outfit/artist going by the name of The Son(s). The music is incredible and it was a brave move to put something out by an act who remains anonymous and doesn't play live. Very frustrating for people who like his music - how frustrating for you as a label?!

Lloyd – The Son(s) was the very first album that we put out, so at that time I wasn’t too concerned about the whole live thing. I was just super excited that someone was willing to trust us with their hard work. Obviously we liked the music, but the air of mystery surrounding the band also sucked me in. I finally met Karl, aka The Son(s) about a year and a bit after we put their album out, which I thought would be really weird and awkward, but it was quite the opposite. We got on really well and he’s now someone I would consider to be a good friend.

As per usual I have waffled on and not actually answered the question. There have been times that I have found it slightly frustrating, but then I appreciate why it hasn’t happened yet. There have been plans afoot for a while now for them to play live, if it happens then great, if not, then such is life. There’s a new record on the way, which is enough to keep me happy.

One of my fave books is 'Rip It Up And Start Again' and I marvel at stories of bedroom labels (like Mute) suddenly selling hundreds of thousands of records. Things have changed dramatically but what are your ambitions for the label? Could you have a break through artist? Is that an aim? 

Halina – We have ambition don’t get me wrong, but for us it is more of a focus on the artists than anything else. It is always nice to think you would be able to quite your day job for the love of music, but I think people are more realistic these days. I am the romantic in the partnership in that I always think that something unworldly will happen one day and Lloyd is the grounded one. I suppose you have to have 2 opposites. The truth is that all the artists have the potential to be breakthroughs, the question is, how does one measure a breakthrough? 

What are your top 3 highlights of the label so far?

Lloyd - The Celtic Connections show on Sunday is up there as one the greatest things I’ve done in my life, never mind just the label. It’s something we’ve been working on since July last year and it took a lot of hard work and planning to pull it all together. Getting The Moth & The Mirror back playing live again was really exciting, then to sell Oran Mor out was pretty special for me –for those that had to witness my dodgy dancing on stage with Woodenbox, could probably tell by my cheesy grin just how happy I was.

Aside from Celtic Connections, there have been too many highs that I’d find it hard to single two more out. Highlights for me include our showcase at the Insider Festival, The Moth & The Mirror getting a five star review in the Skinny, seeing Randolph’s Leap headline the Queen’s Hall, the State Broadcasters album launch in the Wellington Church Hall, plus I am sure there’s loads more that I have forgotten!

What are your label plans for 2014 (that you can share)?

We are in talks with Woodenbox and Jo Mango again. The aim is to release a second album by one of our artists which we have yet to do. We have to nurture and develop what we have already.

Jo Mango

What are your top 3 favourite things about running a label?

Lloyd – 1) I have wanted to do this since I was 16, so I am kind of living the dream, 2) releasing records by some of my favourite bands, 3) introducing new music that I love to people

What are your 3 most challenging things about running a label?

 Halina – 1) Time – obviously Lloyd and I have full-time jobs and we also run our blogs so trying to fit things in is sometimes brutal. Lloyd also has a child which floors me sometimes.

2) Foresight – this a particularly honest response, but I think that because everyone is different and opinions are different then things will not always run smooth. It would be bullshit for me to sit here and say that things are always smooth. For the most part they are, but there is sometimes those moments whereby you will disagree, it is human nature. 

3) Money – if won the lottery I would put a massive investment and take on more artists. We had to turn down a band this week that broke my heart as I love them and it would have shown a completely different side to our roster and taste, but because we need to work that means no time.

Do you both need to agree on an artist for release?

Lloyd – that we do, as we’re doing this for the love of it, we both have to like the artist enough to want to invest our time in them. Recently we’ve had to pass on a few bands that we both really like, purely because we just don’t have the time and we wouldn’t want to do a half arsed job for them.

If you could release an album by anyone, who would it be and why?

 Halina – Well one that we really wished we had released was Song Of Return’s first album. I really believe that could have knocked a lot of things out of the park. The writing, production, performance and overall product was incredible. I still listen to  it.

Any advice for artists interested in approaching you?

Lloyd - Before approaching any label I would argue that you need to have built up some kind of a profile for yourself. If we haven’t already heard of you, then we’re unlikely to want to work with you. We get a lot of emails from generic lad rock bands, who you get the impression are just out there spamming any label they can find. Have a look at the bands that we’ve worked with before, that should give you a good indication as to the kind of music we like. 

Tim Burgess at Oran Mor

Why do people go to gigs and chat?

Ok, you need to talk at times during a gig;

'He nailed that', 'beautiful version', 'on form tonight', 'oh they fucked that up'......but the volume of chat during last nights Tim Burgess show at Oran Mor was ridiculous, half the venue must have been chatting during the quieter moments, either that or texting. The mind boggles.

Thankfully it didn't ruin what was a brilliant gig and I pushed further forwards to be treated to a sublime version of 'A Case Of Vinyl' with Martin Duffy on piano/keys playing a blinder.

Support came from The Velveteen Saints who I have blogged about before - check them out here. They played a short, sharp and energetic set and I'll be writing about them in more depth following their next Glasgow show at Sleazys in November. 

Further support came from the Hatcham Social and 3 of the band went on to back Tim during his performance. They had their moments, most noticeably with 'Crocodile'.

Tim bounded on to the stage to greet his adoring masses and I have to admit to being surprised by his choice of set opener, it was a bold choice to play 'Tobacco Fields', a stand out track from his album (reviewed here). Electric guitar combined well with Mark Collins on acoustic and the band showed great confidence in taking their time to let the song build.

The pace picked up with one of the highlights of the night, 'The Economy' with Burgess getting the falsetto spot on. His voice is getting stronger and better with age.

Tim was on great form, there was banter and handshakes with the crowd and disbelief that someone had a tattoo of his signature on their arm.

The airing of 'We All Need Love' and 'Oh My Corozon' (from Tim's first solo album) with their big choruses and upbeat sunshine pop vibes lifted the crowd and were real highlights.

There was a real sense of freedom from the performance, there is no denying Burgess is a great front man but his performance last night showed him to be a leader and motivator as well, linking closely with Collins in particular, he was down on his knees in front of Collins for a sublime version of 'A Case Of Vinyl' with Martin Duffy from Primal Scream playing some spellbinding and spine tingling notes on piano.

'The Great Outdoors Bitches' was another highlight, as was 'The Graduate', Tim bounding and dancing to the country vibes.

There was a short break before and encore of 'A Gain' with the backing band on superb form for the harmonies and gospel section, Tim was right on the lip of the stage, arms aloft for the refrain;

I'll not brave the dancefloor for you (Again)

'White' ended proceedings, northern soul mixed up in a Melting Pot with Americana vibes.

I look forward to finding out what Tim comes up with next.

The Lemonheads at Oran Mor 05/12/11

Last night I got to see one of my all time favourite bands in an absolutely brilliant venue. 


I've only previously been to the upstairs venue at Oran Mor for a wedding. I had no idea it was used for live music. So it was a real pleasant surprise to hear that The Lemonheads were playing there, rather than the usual downstairs venue.


I met my mates Lorna and Colin at 7.30pm and we decided to go straight in. I was meant to be going with my wife and my sister, but the weather and illness prevented that, so thanks to Lorna and Colin for stepping in. I was suffering from a bit of the 'man flu' myself.


A couple of pints and a good catch up at the bar meant that the support act passed by without us noticing. The gig was a sell-out, but thankfully there was room to move and we skirted down the right hand side of the venue to get near the front.

Evan Dando strolled on to the stage at 9.15pm and launched straight into the glorious 'Being Around', a brilliant playful and humourous love song,


He was joined by a bassist and drummer and they literally tore through the 'It's A Shame About Ray' album with little between song chat, often going straight from one song into another, possibly as they were a little late on stage.


The songs have stood the test of time since the albums release in 1992. Dando's poster boy looks have also lasted, despite years of drug abuse.


'Rockin' Stroll' opened proceedings with Dando's guitar sounding fantastic through his twin Marshall Amps. It was straight into 'Confetti', the chiming, simple guitar riff underpinning the lyrics about love coming to an end.


The album was played in order, so after the title track we had my own personal favourite song off the album 'Rudderless'. The guitar sounded fantastic again, it is often hard to believe it is just Dando on stage, playing rythm and lead with ease.

All the way down to the lake

(Found the lake was wet)

How much more could I take?

(Better yet)

Walked back home to my place

(Tired of getting high)

Guess I don't wanna die

'My Drug Buddy' was another highlight, slowing things down with Dando telling the tale of scoring drugs and making friends, before 'The Turnpike Down' upped the pace, with the band then flying through the pure guitar pop of 'Bit Part' and 'Alison's Starting To Happen'.


'Hannah and Gabi' slowed it down again, a gorgeous dreamy song.

Got me watching your eyes, watching things go by outside

Out the window of a train

'Kitchen' and 'Ceiling Fan Hit My Spoon' prompted a bit of pogo-ing in places, before Dando ended with the crowd singing-a-long to 'Frank Mills'. He wisely opted not to play 'Mrs Robinson', despite it being the song/cover that broke the band.


The band left the stage to allow Dando to take some acclaim and play acoustic; 'Different Drum' was a particular highlight. The second part of the set was largely lifted from the equally good 'Come On Feel The Lemonheads' album; 'The Great Big No', 'It's About Time', 'Into Your Arms', 'Big Gay Heart' and 'Style' all got an airing. 'Hospital', 'If I Could Talk I'd Tell You' and 'Stove' were brilliant before Dando ended with the lovely 'Outdoor Type'.


This was a great show. I hope more bands use this fabulous venue.

Alcohol and Music - Sailor Jerry's present Pete & the Pirates

Alcohol and music pretty much go hand in hand, I’m sure that goes without saying for many of you reading this blog!

In recent years the drinks industry has recognised the significance of the live music audience and moved to ‘get in there’ (Scottish football fans expression) and ‘get about it’ (another one). This has been tried and tested on various different levels.

This week will see Sailor Jerry’s put on a night at Stereo with Pete and the Pirates, to tie in with Sailor Jerry Spiced, with the crowd invited to get ‘torn into’ (another good Scottish expression) a number of combinations including Sailor and Ginger and Sailor and Cola.

Amazingly, I have been getting some rather good hits/visits to my blogs since I started writing regularly and someone got in touch asking if I would go to this gig. As someone who was converted to the wonder of Sailor Jerry’s by Sonny Marvello, I immediately asked if there was any space on the bill for them, sadly there wasn’t but I fully intended to go along and sample the wares anyway.

Until I realised that this weekend is absolutely manic for me and I had completely forgotten that I’m going to see Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire at Oran Mor on Friday.

Anyway, it got me thinking about Drinks companies and their increasing forays into the live music market, in turn prompting this blog. So I’ll look at Sailor Jerry’s, but also Miller, Guinness and Carling who have all got involved in the music scene in Glasgow over the last few years.

Sailor Jerry’s

I first heard about Sailor Jerry’s at the wedding of Sonny Marvello’s singer Stephen to his lovely wife Hayley. I was fed up of beer and needed a spirit. Low and behold, Mick and Craig from the band produced Sailor Jerry’s and with simple mix of coke and ice I was back in the mood to party, suitably refreshed and recharged. They seem to be a drinks brand going quietly about their business and generating recommendations through word of mouth and some clever advertising.

Sailor Jerry’s are no stranger to live gigs; in recent times they have put on gigs by rising bands The Joy Formidable and Mystery Jets. So they clearly have someone with their ear to the ground in terms of rising bands, indeed Pete and the Pirates latest single ‘Come To The Bar’ has been deemed ‘hottest record in the world’ by Zane Lowe. So they may just have their ear to Radio 1 rather than the ground!

Pic by Stephen Guillock

So Pete and the Pirates headline Stereo on Friday 27^th May,tickets are a mere £5 with no booking fee and they are available from www.sailorjerry.co.uk You can also visit www.facebook.com/sailorjerry where you can win a signed guitar and there will be regular giveaways through the year.

“we can't wait to play Sailor Jerry Presents and we always have fun when in Glasgow so it's going to be a great show" - Pete and the Pirates

Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins was the father of old-school American tattooing. Sailor Jerry preserves the legacy of Norman Collins and celebrates his old-school values of independence, hard work, and unyielding standards of craftsmanship. 


So there is a good link between independent up and coming bands who like to get out on tour and .....are good. It will be interesting to see how Sailor Jerry’s relationship with music develops. They seem to be ‘targetting’ a certain market and my own opinion is that they are choosing a good selection of bands and venues and Glasgow will naturally feature regularly given our love of live music and drink.

Pete and the Pirates seem to be a band on the rise, so with the mix of some Sailor Jerry’s and an excellent venue, this could be a good night. This is the first one I’ve heard about, so I look forward to seeing who they put on next.

Miller

My introduction to Alcohol Companies using the live music market to enhance and promote their brand was through Miller Genuine Draft and their series of monthly gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh circa 2006-2007/8 (I lose track of time). The concept was simple – get two of the hottest and best bands around, get them in a cool venue, promote it well, make it free (you had to text) and get the beers in – Miller only though of course.

I went to a number of gigs at the Mill in both Glasgow and Edinburgh and two of the bands I went on to manage; Futuristic Retro Champions and Sonny Marvello, played at the nights they put on. So looking back I can assess them as a music fan, from a band/management perspective and in reflection on what they brought to the live music scene. I can also hazard a guess at what they got out of it. So I’ll do just that!

Music fan

The Mill gigs were weekly (yes that’s right – weekly) gigs in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. I think that not only highlights the number of bands in and around those cities, but also the quality. I recently met with the girl in charge of these nights and she wouldn’t put on any old crap, nor would the brand wish to be associated with terrible music. So as a music fan you had access to regular quality music in great venues – for free!

Band/Management

The Mill (Miller) promoted the sh*t out of these gigs with adverts in The Skinny, The List and on billboards throughout each city. So if you were an ‘out and about’ type of person, you really couldn’t miss the fact that they were on. This is a major plus point for bands, they knew that there was a very good chance indeed that they would be playing to people who had never seen them before in a great venue with a great sound system (several plus points).

To make things even better The Mill gigs were filmed at broadcast quality, a superb marketing tool for any aspiring band, something that would have cost them thousands. Check out the example below.

Sonny Marvello, 'Whispering Song' live at The Mill

They were also recorded through the mixing desk – yet another plus point, I’ve lost count already. Oh and the bands got a crate of beer each!

Music Scene

Miller brought a sense of excitement to the music scene, you would often hear ‘who is on at The Mill this week’ in conversations about what to do that week/night. They also brought a sense of trust – good bands, good venue, good sound system and all for FREE. They did of course have a huge budget in which to do this.

Miller

Miller must have spent a small fortune on the series of gigs. In actual fact I know they did, and it must have run easily into the high hundreds of thousands of pounds. So was it worth it? I’m going to say yes (I also hope it was as they deserve it). They got their brand out there, they did it over a sustained period ensuring raised levels of awareness, they got people talking about Miller and they certainly got people drinking Miller. Through the gigs they got direct access to their target market, there were questionnaires and research.

I would love them to do it again. I doubt Sailor Jerry's have the budget of Miller, but it would be worth a look at their model.

Carling

Carling were the former sponsors of the O2 Academy in Glasgow. This meant that their brand was promoted to hundreds of thousands of people through listings, tickets, adverts, promotions and through the actual sale of the lager in the venue.

So if Miller adopted a ‘hands on’ approach you can certainly say that Carlin were going in at a much higher level. Now I could only guess at how much Carling paid per year to sponsor the Academy. It must have been a fair whack.

Guinness

Going at things in a different manner (as you would half expect from the Irish) are Guinness who sponsored Snow Patrol’s Bellahouston Park show last year. I was up in Inverness for Rock Ness at the time, so I don’t know what extent they sponsored the show to, but I do know that the second stage for unsigned bands was sponsored by Guinness. Putting on a big show like Bellahouston costs a small fortune, so to have the backing of a major company like Guinness eases the burden. It probably kept the ticket price down by a good few pounds! I’m also sure Snow Patrol like their Guinness!

So to summarise

Well it isn’t rocket science. Alcohol companies can align their brand with cool bands, get direct access to cool people (yeah OK, we’re not all cool, more of their target audience) and research opinions. In a way I guess this is ‘direct marketing’, just in a clever roundabout way.

And bands get a boost in promotion and occasionally some money in their pocket, certainly a drink in their hand!

It would appear that if the drinks company do their job well, the bands put on a show and people turn up, then everyone is a winner..?