Myspace of the week

Ok we've got a little nepotism going on here I admit it. We're making one of our own myspace of the week. But to be fair it's well deserved, and a little late because the man in question didn't get up off his arse to produce a page, leaving it to little sister, Mel, to produce. Got enough clues yet?
So why do you want to check out this myspace site? Well you get to listen to two great tracks of the new album from one of Peterboroughs best vocalists and talented guitarists, who at the moment is riding a camel in Morrocco. Come on surely you've guessed it by now. His new album is on sale at the Glass Onion for a mere £5 it's called "Horizons". Go get it it's brilliant. How many clues do you need?

www.myspace.com/therichardhall

Don't you just love that? He's not just Richard Hall or Rich he's THE Richard Hall and his songs prove it. And if you haven't already bought his album I strongly urge you to do so. It's in my car on repeat play.

Stop press
Just in case you didn't notice that we've changed the special guest for this weeks grand final of the competition, we now have the lovely Heather McVey doing the vote counting slot after the three bands have played. I gotta tell you ever since we found Heather , she's been a firm Unity favourite and has played on numerous occasions for us, each time winning more and more fans.

Just a few more days until the Final and word has come in that bands are going all out to bring in supporters and fans, Free will are bussing coach loads from cambridge, The Brackets have press ganged loads and Revenue are flying in a shed load on a private jet. So I guess it's going to be busy. We can't wait. Three of the areas finest bands playing on the same night on the same stage.In some respects we don't care who wins (because we have to be impartial) because we know it's going to be one of those very very special nights. I know a lot of the bands who have competed have made new friends and found mutual respect with everyone they've met.

So until Thursday... er... rock on dudes

Band of 2007 3rd semi final

From the very first opening bars it was obvious that Free Will & The Bad Influences meant business. Solid bluesy rock songs with on occasion, wailing harmonica accompaniment. You could see jaws dropping as people mouthed the words "wow" and "awesome". It can't be bettered........well you'd say that until the next band stalked onto the stage, The Beautiful Sleazy, early stones with that confident Mick Jagger strut going on. Fantastic. thirty minutes of brilliance. What would you expect from bands that got this far in the competition. You wouldn't expect anything less. So who do you choose as the best band to go on into the final, no one yet because next up....
...we have Final Epitaph. Now I suppose it's common knowledge through my comments over the years that I am not exactly the biggest fan of death metal there is and if there's a choice between having root canal surgery without anasthetic or listening to yet another death metal combo I'd be off to the dentists in a flash. But I'm going to make an exception to this. Final Epitaph. These guys are awesomely good. They really know how to have a good time. You can't just dismiss these guys on a whim because they happen to play a genra of music you don't particularly subscribe to because these dudes are genuinely talented. Not only that they know how to party. They were not restricted by petty boundaries like the stage area, like free style ice skaters they used every available space to their advantage, coming out into the audience and rocking.
But of course you were there weren't you. You saw all this excitement and while you were racking your brains trying to decide who to vote for, and it was, yet again a close call, we had the very wonderful Jack Brown without his Dead Mans Orchestra to do a set for you.
..and the winner was....hushed silence for dramatic pause....Free Will and the Bad Influences. Who go into next weeks grand final.

So the official line for the grand final on March 8th is:
The Brackets
Revenue
Free Will & The Bad Influences

as if that isn't enough to make you pee your pants in excitement we have as our special guest to entertain you during the counting of the votes, the one, the only, the very lovely, Heather McVey. A great vocal talent whose voice will make you melt. I thank you.

Band of 2007 3nd semi final

It's getting exciting. This Thursday we have the last semi final to secure for one talented band a covetted place in the grand final on the 8th March.
This weeks semi finalists are:
The Beautiful Sleazy
Free Will & the Bad Influences
Final Epitaph

So we're in for an exciting night. For any fans of the bands I urge you to turn up and vote. The audience vote is absolutely vital and as in last weeks competition one extra vote from the crowd could have changed the outcome completely. So be warned.

We're also excited to tell you that this week we have a special guest appearence of the legendary Jack Brown who will be on stage after the competition to entertain you while the votes are being counted. So that's another great excuse to turn up.

And while we're at the announcments have you checked out the Unity myspace? on it you'll see our lovely calendar and you can marvel at how hard we've been working on your behalf. Gasp at the wealth of talent we've lined up to entertain you. We've got james Chadwick, Opaque, Acer, Point 7 Pistol, Gaia, Fabonacci, Mr Zed, Groove cartel and many more great bands and artists. There's some cracking line ups already and more to come so keep watching. As we finalise the deals we'll post the dates.

Ok we've done a tie in with The BBC and they've done a feature on Unity Band of 2007 on the BBC website Check it out HERE

We've got a few projects in hand with the BBC not least securing airplay for the best bands of the Band of 2007 Competition. As and when other things happen we'll let you know.
Finally myspace of the week this week goes to John Russell
have a listen to his sublime acoustic guitar playing and great voice and have a look at his entertaining site complete with videos archived songs what more could you ask for? Go have a look you know you want to.
Until then.....

Peave love and Unity from the Unity Office
Shaggy, Mike and Craig.
PS Craig our new public relations man is P'ed off because we haven't got him his own desk in the office yet. Why does he need a desk when he's always up making us coffee? That's the way it is, you start at the bottom and work your way up. Rock on.

Band of 2007 2nd semi final

The competition goes on and it's getting more and more intense as the weeks go by. As we get closer to the final and the covetted first prize of hard cash in the relevant grubby little hand the bands are giving it everything. All except maybe Alpha Road who despite getting through to the semi finals chose not to turn up for reasons best known to themselves, whichis a shame because lots of people thought they were pretty cool. Anyway Intwined turned up and having fully integrated their new drummer into the band proved to be better than ever, recieving rapturous applause. It's those Brackets again. How many times do we have to say that we're impressed with these guys, not many more because they got through to the semi final and got even more rapturous applause from the audience.
And so to counting the votes, meanwhile to keep you all entertained the impossibly tall and bizarre John Litchfield.
Hello I know you only log onto this site to see yourselves and see how great we've made you look in the photos. Hmmmm some of you even get a facial makeover before publication. It's like being on telly. Aye caramba here you are.

The voting was very tight. The audience vote was split with identical amounts of votes for both bands. The Judges were split one judge for Intwined one voted The Brackets and the third had it as a draw. So what to do. Well Shaggy got out his Texas scientific calculator and with the use of calculus and integrated equations tried to find a winner. Finally with only one point difference, but someone has to win and someone has to lose, The Brackets win a place in the grand final. They can smell the money already, except of course they compete against Revenue who were sh*t hot last week and the winner of the last semi final next week which features Free Will and the Bad influences, The Beautiful Sleazy and Final Epitaph.

That's thursday March 1st next week. You'll be sorry if you miss it.

Rock on dudes.

Band of 2007 first semi final

As befitting a semi final all the bands were on top form and the audience turned up in droves to support. First on stage tonight were Pattern Of Sin who surprised the bejaysus out of everyone by winning their heat a few weeks back.Oh my word those "End Of The Day" boys (and girl) rocked it out with a great set and an impressively manic finale, I was waiting for them to set fire to their guitars and smash them up, but it was great to see Danny rolling around the floor. Brilliant.
Highest scoring runners up turned up in party mood. I'm not sure if they thought they were going to lose or what but they were going to make sure they had a great time. They played like they were possessed by demons, as the set went on it became apparent to everyone they were doing something right and the crowd went wild dancing and cheering, at this point I think even the band themselves knew they'd cracked it and stepped up a gear and went even crazier. Needless to say Revenue have come back from the dead and proved that being a runner up doesn't stop you getting to the grand final.
Well this is what you've been waiting for. Pics of you lovely people having a great time.

Don't forget next weeks semi final features The Brackets, Intwined and highest scoring runners up Alpha Road so it's going to be another cracking night.
May I remind the bands that the audience vote DOES MATTER they do make a difference so bring a crowd. You knows it.

Band of 2007 Heat 6

Here at Unity things are hotting up in the heats. First on stage this week Our Mutual Friend. Now I wasn't a judge but if I were I'd be carlsberg judge for these guys. I thought they were pretty damned good. But what do I know?












Next up a last minute entry, I say last minute entry into the competition it was really eight hours. Death Metal boys "Final Epitaph". Now I'm not a huge fan of Death Metal, I stand their thinking I need a hearing aid because I can't make out the words. But it's got to be said these guys can actually play guitar and bass and as it happens the drummer was a bit tidy too.












Our final act of the night was Alpha Road who came all the way from Cambridge to compete, a bit nervous at first but soon settled into some decent tunes with words you could hear.














So I guess a few people were gutted and a few more very surprised by the result. The Death Metal combo Final Epitaph make it to the next round. But credit where it's due technically they were brilliant. Oh and young James Chadwick turned up to entertain us while the votes were being counted. So that's twice I've heard him tonight once on the radio and once live. Do you think he might be getting famous? We'd better put a stop to that right now.

















Don't forget next week is the first of the semi finals with Pattern of Sin, End of the Day and Revenue. It's gonna be great I tells you.

BAND OF 2007 Heat 5

Heat 5 and we're on a roll, minus the Shagster who buggered off to cambridge being famous an all. First on stage in this heat was Sever the Wicked, always entertaining , always manic and of course they destroyed the stage, well who wouldn't.

Oh yes the good ol' boys Sacred Heart, pumping out solid rock for everyone to love.

Finally on stage, From St Neots, The Beautiful; Sleazy. It's not often that you witness something special, but tonight we did. This was just their fourth ever gig and you would never have guessed it. The crowd screamed for more. Now rules is rules and competition rules say no encores, but hey rules are there to be broken so they went on again.

Needless to say The Beautiful Sleazy won the day and go on to the next round.

Doing A Poo at The Silver Jubilee

Local leg ends Point Of Origin (POO) returned to the stage at the Silver Jubilee last Saturday.










And here's a few of who turned up to enjoy the night


















Don't forget Heat 5 of Band of 2007 Thursday night 9:00pm kick off doors open 8:00pm and it's free entry as well. Bands appearing, contrary to popular belief and what's been advertised, this week are Sacred Heart, The Beautiful Sleazy and Sever the Wicked. All trying for a place in the semi finals.

Band of 2007 Heat 4

It doesn't get much tighter than this. Yet another nail biting finish to a heat with three bands all equally matched in talent and ability fighting it out for a place in the semis. First on stage after drawing the straws was Revenue. I gotta tell you all the clever money was on these guys to win. Brilliant.












Next on stage were last minute stand ins for St Elmos Fire who couldn't make it, Intwined with their unique blend of folk rock and harmonies. They seemed to capture the audiences attention despite having several technical difficulties with sound.









Finally Loose Baby Charlotte taking the last slot. A faultless performance.









But there could only be one winner and tonights surprise winner, fooling all the clever money, was INtiwned who go on to the next round and also guaranteee themselves a slot at This years Muddy festival on the Unity Stage. OK you've really been waiting to see your selves in the pics so here you are.















Don't forget "Point of Origin" Saturday night Silver Jubilee North Bretton.
Until next time

Rock on dudes

Band Of 2007 Heat 3

Welcome to Heat 3 of Unitys Band Of 2007 and what a great night we all had. We in the Unity Management team recognise that you are all self publicising fame freaks so with that in mind here you all are.After the straw drawing fate decreed Tauracine go on first. They set the benchmark for others to follow. And what a bench mark. A lot of other bands would shake and shiver "How do you follow that?" Tight playing brilliant harmonies and a good solid performance.

Drawn second the ever popular The Brackets, who despite a shaky start managed to rally themselves and play a blistering set to the delight of their fans.
The third band on stage hadn't even entered the competition. But stood in for "Wolves At My Childhood" who couldn't make it on the night. "John Doe" their first outing since rejigging their lineup with a new guitarist played beautifully despite apologising to the crowd for lack of rehearsals before the night.
It was a tough call for the judges but the audience portion of the vote tipped the balance in favour of The Brackets who go on to the next round and are confirmed a slot in this years Grass Roots Festival in July.

Richards Launch Party

Wwlcome to the Glass Onion mission control of Muddy promotions where Richard Hall launched his new Extended player called Horizons. Here's a whole bunch of pics from the night.Parties don't come much better than this with a host of talented musicians on stage for your enjoyment. Nick Thomson, Charlie Alexander, John Litchfield, Jules Morgan, Moony, Skin, Chopper, Alison, Kev (ex Within) and of course Richard himself.
Richard is off to Spain at the end of the month and rumour has it Vince is going along for the ride to look after our boy. Although who will be looking after who is debateable. We wish them well.

Finally we'd like to introduce to you a new member of the Unity Team, who is taking over from Richard, Craig Lyons. That's him bottom pic second row second from right. Craig has recently moved to Peterborough from St Neots. He's a musician, but then aren't you all, and will be taking on the role of publicity. Say hello to him he's a great guy.

Myspace of the Week

Ah Ha! I changed it to Myspace of the week, which is a little more accurate than myspace of the day, although to be truly accurate it should be myspace of the day I can be arsed to do something, which is a bit of a mouthful. Anyway this weeks myspace is truly wonderful, anarchic and totally bizzarre. It's The Kazoo Funk Orchestra there's a bit of Goldie Looking Chain in there, there's a lot of Kazoos a bit of everything but mostly there's fun. The band members sporting such names as Big Beard, Little beard,jim 'n' tonic which reminds me of that Gong spin off band that toured festivals years ago "Here & Now". Anyway you don't want to be going on reading this stuff you want to be zipping off to myspace land where you'll find

The Kazoo Funk Orchestra

Band Of 2007 - Heat 2

Judging heat 2 of Unitys Band of 2007 competition proved to be a challenge with three excellent bands competeing for a place in the next round.
First on stage the wonderfully named "Free Will and the bad influences"Next up The Fake Exterior, competently rocking the venue.
Finally "End of the Day".
I've got to say it was a very close call. But "End of the day" claimed the victory on the night. But either of the other two bands could easily go through as well as best runner up. We'll let you know.

Meanwhile news just in Bar Lisboa is changing it's name. Same management same venue but new name and soon new look. The new name is "Spirit & Soul".

See you all next week for Heat 3 when The Brackets, Tauracine and Wolves ate my childhood all compete for a place in the semis. Wicked.

Rock on dudes

Band Of 2007 Heat 1

This was the first heat of Band of 2007. First on stage by drawing of lots was "The Librarians"Here's death metal mayhem from Switch Theory.
Finally, and this weeks winners, were "Pattern of Sin"
The two that didn't win because we're not being negative and saying losers have a chance of still getting through to the next round if they are one of the highest scoring runners up.

Unity 28th December 2006

OMG we're late this time with the pics of last week. I blame it all on the horizontal lubricant that we've been forced to imbibe and all the parties we've been forced to attend. So here's the pics from Unitys post Christmas laid back folksy type night. Kicking off for us were Cruel Folk singing incredibly cruel songs about cruel people doing cruel things to each other. Surprisingly Cruel Folk are not at all Cruel in real life and are infact very nice. But you know the quiet ones are the worst.The leg end that is Terry Emm. He's another very quiet guy who is unassuming in character, but what a performer. We can't think of anyone who weren't totally blown away by this guys talent.
Finally before the DJs we were treated to Intwined, who despite lacking their usual drummer, played a beautiful set full of great riffs and lovely harmonies.