The Red Box was shaken

The Red Box was shaken to its foundations last week when Bass Odyssey supported the Jungle Brothers in a gig of epic proportions. Now the Cork outfit are in the process of consolidation with a short Irish tour in August and a follow-up single to their debut ‘Twilight’ – which is also the theme music to a new film by Paul Mercier titled Lip Service which premieres in October at the Cork Film Festival.

Skindive are creating a big buzz at the moment, planning a follow-up promotional EP to their highly successful Swallow five-tracker. The band have gigged Germany, The Netherlands and UK extensively and are now turning their attention to the US of A. They plan a preliminary two-week tour of New York, Boston, Phoenix, Arizona and LA in September. Vocalist Danielle Harrison will no doubt be looking forward to re-visiting her home town, the City of Angels. An extensive US tour is planned for later on in the year at unusual venues and experimental radio stations.

The band have simplified their set up on the new four-track EP and are at the receiving end of very positive media exposure in the States and getting airplay on many college radio stations. Moreover, they have been invited to feature on a movie soundtrack. They have also been approached by several record companies in the last 10 months but have not committed themselves to anything as of yet.

Sinéad Lohan is gearing up to take her show on the road at present and is rehearsing her new album’s material at Temple Bar Music Centre in preparation for her nationwide tour. Pelvis too, are limbering up for their tour following the release of Who Are You Today? Also rehearsing at the moment are The Frames, The Fleadh Cowboys and Eurovision songstress Eimear Quinn.

Juniper are about to record a track for the forthcoming Elvis Tribute album Natural Born Elvis, due for release on August 16th. The project was set up to raise money for C.A.R.I. (Children At Risk In Ireland). Fifteen Irish bands and artists are involved in the opus. Already Blink have laid down ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, Engine Alley have given their interpretation of ‘Suspicion’ and Whipping Boy get to grips with ‘Suspicious Minds’, followed by Jack L on ‘Trouble’. Other Elvis classics such as ‘Love Me Tender’ and ‘Ring Around Your Neck’ are performed by Yuma and An Emotional Fish respectively. The song ‘Fever’, given a thorough spring cleaning by Craft, is tipped to be the single released from the album and they are already scheduled for TV and radio appearances in August. All the proceeds of the album will go directly to the charity it supports.

Lee-side, the Cork Music Resource Centre have been organising a successful double showcase to highlight Corkonian singer/songwriters and bands. Bandstand and Acoustic Banana, as the events are called are taking over Fred Zeppelins and Rumplestiltskins. Currently halfway through its six-week run, any bands interested in partaking in the event should present themselves at the offices of the Resource Centre.

Meanwhile Blow, a very fine ska/reggae outfit have just finished a demo that is chock-full of catchy riffs, rhythmic dub-bass lines and lyrics that are poetic, in a strange sense rather than a flowery sense. They are attracting attention in the Cork area and beyond, as are their fellow Corkmen Pacer, with their five-track offering titled Almost Made It. If you want to catch a glimpse of Cork’s finest, Blow play Rumplestiltskins on Sunday, August 2.

There will be much revelry at the Funnel Bar on Wednesday, July 29th when The National Prayer Breakfast wet the head of their first-born, a very promising four-track EP entitled The National Prayer Breakfast, funnily enough. The EP was recorded with Dirt Records and is the product of the band’s own Catchy Go Go label. The band are drafting future plans to release another EP and album within the year, as well as taking on other as yet unknown artistes. Support on the night will be provided by Palomine and ‘special guests’ and there’s a free, gratis and for nothing CD for everybody in the audience, once you pay the fiver to get in that is . . .

At Sonic Studios, Antoni O’Breskey is working on an album and Midland band Cosher are getting down to recording a demo there this month.

Bacardi/Hot Press Unplugged award winners Shallow are taking up residence at Homestead Studios to do a recording stint. Both Dominic Kirwan and Tommy Fleming are undertaking album recordings: the latter is due to release a single recorded at a session at the same location.

It’s been a whirlwind of a time in Galway with the Arts Festival and the Big Day Out, but two promising young rock bands have been playing underground gigs and making an impact on the music scene. Fuzz Burger have been rousing the student bracket during the year and Cane 141 have just released an album, recorded at Temptation Studios (formerly West 1 Studios). Expect to hear a lot more from them in the future . . .

It’s a case of double trouble in the world of Dublin band The Revenants as a Phoenix, Arizona band have been trading under exactly the same name. That, however, is where the similarity ends; the Yankee counterparts deal in a line of traditional country music, so if you find yourself gravitating towards an album called Artists And Whores in your local music store, you have been warned – it’s full of accordions, fiddles and autoharps.