CUSHY PRODUCTIONs @ 12 BAR CLUB Denmark Place, London WC2

Thursday 12th September

RHATIGAN
MADAM
JACK HAYTER
UM

First I want to apologise for not attending last months Cushy night, believe me if I could have been there I would. My particular thanks to Paul the girl who stood in at the last minute, and of course Paul Anderson and Meets Guitar who by all accounts entertained you all royally. This month I have no foreseeable problems and will endeavour to make it up to you all. http://www.cushyproductions.com/html/rhatigan.htm

MADAM is the gorgeous Sukie Smith's band. Cushy aficionados will remember her playing for us a couple of years ago, but her other life as an actress has kept her too busy to play music recently despite a few attempts to coax her down. At last she and friends Adam Franklin -ex Swervedriver -guitars, Gavin Pearse - ex Minxus -guitars keyboards, Chris Clarke -ex Rockingbirds- bass and Jeff Townsin -Sophia on drums will augment her sparse intense alt/folk songs. Think a brunette Marianne Faithful circa Broken English.

JACK HAYTER is one of those musicians whose enthusiasm and soul add depth and texture to every band and record he works on. Most of you will know him as the lap steel, guitar, keyboard and harmonica accompaniment in HEFNER in recent years, but he has also worked with among others; TRAM, MARK MULCAHY, RHATIGAN and SPONGE FINGER. At last he has released his solo album 'PRACTICAL WIRELESS' on Kosher records distributed by Shell Shocked, which he recorded with Darren Hayman. It has that lofi quirky folk tilt you might expect. Great stories great playing,great. http://www.jackovision.com

Who on earth is UM, you may ask. Well, when my friend David McGinnis, the man behind the recent HINTERLAND evenings emailed me about him, I was intrigued... "A couple of weeks ago I saw an amazing performance by an act from Cambridge called Um. It's just one guy, Pete Gregory, and it was his first London appearance. He was supporting my friends Lomax after being 'discovered' doing his bizarre show at an acoustic night in Cambridge. I strongly recommend checking him out and booking him if you have a free slot. He has something out through the Burning Shed label (web sales only) and I think he has given some stuff to charity shops in Cambridge to sell. He sings/talks/mc's over tapes of himself singing/talking/mc-ing with cracked up synth/electronic backing. He is quite tall, has a box full of hats, a toy monkey and does very entertaining dancing. He will be a great addition to any bill. Honestly, my jaw was on the floor." Need I say more? http://www.umbusiness.co.uk

£5/£4 with flyers

Doors 8pm

CUSHY PRODUCTIONs @ 12 BAR CLUB Denmark Place, London WC2

Thursday 8th August

SUZANNE RHATIGAN (Solo set)
PAUL ANDERSON (Solo set from Tram singer and songwriter)
MEETS GUITAR (Solo set from Billy Mahonie guitarist Gavin Baker)

As regular attendees of the 12 Bar Club will know it is the best venue in this great city to hear intimate performances. Though we often push the venue to it's limits with the wide variety of bands CUSHY promote in this small space, tonight we have three solo performances which should really engage everyone. My own band RHATIGAN have experimented with various line ups and drastic dynamics over the years and I know a lot of our fans have enjoyed that, but some of my favourite nights have been solo, maybe I am a control freak after all! I'm embarking on a short solo tour around Ireland in August so this is a nice way to kick it all off…

The secret of great, dark, introspective and frankly depressing music is, that it is somehow uplifting and TRAM treads that subtle line better than most. Singer songwriter PAUL ANDERSON has one of the heartbreakingly sweet male voices you will ever hear and with it he delivers some of the most brutal and sad tales of failed relationships and lost love ever written. Listening to their third album (their second for Setanta Records) A KIND OF CLOSURE, Tram once again embellishes and enhances Paul's songs with a delicate restraint and beauty. There are some similarities with my favourites Lamb Chop and that whole school of alt/folk/country, but Tram are no pseudo 'americana wanabes', theirs is an original voice born of this side of the pond and so for now it's a lonely road they travel, but on it, they lead the way.
http://www.tram.org.uk

Post rock instrumentalists BILLY MAHONIE have been quiet recently so that's given guitarist Gavin Baker a chance to do some song writing and MEETS GUITAR is the result. Some 8track recordings are to be released on Johnny Kane Records (due in July 2002) and Becalmed Records (due in September). These early Meets Guitar records are acoustic have been described as nu-folk and although Meets Guitar thinks this phrase is a bit daft, it is nice to be allocated a genre so soon.

£5/£4 with flyers

Doors 8pm

CUSHY PRODUCTIONs @ 12 BAR CLUB Denmark Place, London WC2

Thursday 11th July

TOBY SLATER
JET JOHNSON
GARLIC

Last months Cushy night was one of the most eclectic but enjoyable nights we have had for a while, great to see everyone enjoying all the music. This month we have the cream of new songwriters and bands emerging from London and one from slightly further afield, but more of that later.

TOBY SLATER's sound is epic with an energy and ambition that seems boundless. His web site http://www.tobyslater.com is very accessible and informative. You can hear the range of his emotive pop rock sound on the radio station he has up there. After a stint signed to Virgin Records with his former band 'Catch' he spent some time on the West Coast of America, an influence which can be heard in the occasionally histrionic guitar work, before immersing himself like all artists making original music, in the independent/cyber world. Some comparisons with Jeff Buckly are obvious but so far this hasn't put this listener off.

JET JOHNSON is a happy musical marriage of the vocals and bass of Caroline Nesbo formerly of Norwegian band Peach Fuzz and the guitars of Gavin Baker erstwhile axe god of Billy Mahonie, with best men Ian Scanlon of grind-pop-band Econoline on bass and drummer Kevin Smith from Reynolds (not the Reynolds girls btw though I'm sure he'd rather Fleetwood Mac than Jack any day). Such a combination of indie luminaries promises a lot and so far singles 'Mr Bones' on Becalmed Records and 'Klementiev' on the Two Minute Men compilation, don't disappoint. Atmospheric, melodic, throbbing, pop.

A late but welcome addition to tonight's proceedings is GARLIC. Newly signed to Bella Union this partnership will hopefully bring the groovy guitar pop of last year's album 'The Murky World of Seats' originally released on Propylactic Records, to a wider audience. This album certainly deserves a push and has already garnered fans in radio here. Check out the web site http://www.garlicmusic.co.uk to sample the infectious intensity of tracks like 'Slave to the summer' and the wonderful 'Drink Induced Conversations'.

£5/£4 with flyers

Doors 8pm