A reminder why Banquet Records are the best indie label EVER!

How sweet is this.. On delivery of the JoFo frisbee CDs, they really went to town and created this magnificent video displaying just how well the blighter flies! What you don’t see in this vid however is the unfortunate 1st take where a young and wide-eyed Tom Pennington (Banquet worker extroadinaire for those of you who don’t know him) takes a flying JoFo disc to the mouth, smashing at least 17 of his teeth in the process.

Yes weep for him sweet poppers, but not for too long – ‘cos it was all done in a good cause right?

Johnny Foreigner and Freeze the Atlantic FTW!

So frisbees have been flying out… Strong times in the PoP camp, and they seem to be going down well. As JoFo are busy ploughing a mean furrow up and down the country we’re popping about despatching Freeze the Atlantic ‘Colour by Numbers’ EPs (complete with crayons), and JoFo discs galore.

Meanwhile, delegation PoP went along to Guildford on Sunday for the aforementioned FTA launch and man it was awesome, as well as nicely packed and sweaty – did you get the free track by the way. Just tweet and it’s yours! (someone on the PoP facebook group said it was ‘hench‘ – pretty sure that’s good). Rocking hard with the support of Scholars there were plenty of friends in attendance (as well as Larry ex Hundred Reasons). Dusting ourselves down we then popped to the Barfly to see My First Tooth support The Xcerts. Amazing times.

Incidentally, have you heard the new JoFo record yet… Oh my! Check this out, and visit them on tour!

Alcopop! Records shutting up shop….

But just for one day Been thinking about the ace Record Store Day a lot, and what it means to people like us who rely on awesome record shops pushing our wares to get through to people who may not know Alcopop, or prefer to shop offline.. They’re awesome, and without them well, I guess all this would be a lot harder – and we’d be missing out on a whole heap of good times. So, rather than create something new to tempt you on a day where all the finest artists in the world are filling shops with wonder-produce, I thought we’d let our current releases do the talking – but encourage everyone to pick them up from physical stores rather than us.

So for the next 24 hours or so – Alcopop Shop is closed, as a mark of respect to all those brilliant indies who have overheads and staff costs and heating bills and all that kinda thing to pay…. So baby, lets get shopping!

Alternative TGE Alcopop show – free pints for Dolphin Suits!

So the strong-faced Alcopop and lustily handsome DIY have teamed up with some super friends (BSM, Idle Hands Club, Ray Gun, Rock Sound’s Ben Patashinak and the like) and put together quite the best free show line up, perhaps ever…

The Xcerts
Stagecoach
Freeze the Atlantic (ex Reuben/Hundred Reasons)
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
My Firs Tooth
We Are the Physics
Jumping Ships
LightGuides
Special Guests (TBC)
Ute
The Social Club
You Animals
Cat Matador
Dad Rocks
Nicholas Stevenson
Elliot Morris

Lining up on the Alternative Great Escape bill in Brighton town, we’re free entry all day and night to provide you THE best thing in B-town on Friday 13th, except for perhaps the Dolphin Derby on the pier. LOOK AT THIS LINE UP, and say you’re coming on Facebook!!!

Do come along, all day – and rock hard with us yes! we’re running from 12.30pm till about 1.30/2ish – featuring this quite jaw-dropping line up of awesome acts… Free for wrist band holders, and non-wrist band holders alike (we’re just like that you know )

Do say you’ll come… Free pint for anyone dressed in a dolphin suit!

We’ve signed LightGuides!!!

Yeah we have – and a good thing too! Please welcome the first heros from Scotland to the stable, and sweet, sweet poppers. We hope you make them feel all sorts of special. These guys are proper awesome, all balls out The Xcerts-esque rock with an unmistalable scottish twang. Riding all calm with lush vocals on a wave of big, brash melodic noise – oh honestly, there’s some awesome stuff on Spotify and the like, but I just can’t wait for you to hear the mini album that’s coming in the summer. Yes, it’s my favourite length of record – and you just know it’s gonna look mmmm – special!

Have a listen to this in the meantime – Midget Gems all free to download.

A couple of self-funded EPs and a split single have complemented a gigography that already spans every corner of Scotland, including high profile support slots in some of Glasgow’s favourite venues, Scotland’s biggest music festival and a couple of jaunts to the Big Smoke. Alcopop! will be introducing them at their The Great Escape showcase with DIY, and tour dates across the UK and Scotland.

LightGuides will be releasing their first single ‘Old Bucket Seats’ with us in May. Their debut mini album will follow in the summer… And they’re playing in London at The Garage in Hignbury on Saturday. Kev and I will be down, so give us a shout if you’re popping in – and we’ll meet for a coke!

Going to Glastonbury 2011….?

So are these handsome brutes! Ignore the melancholia they’ve summoned for this moody press shot, My First Tooth are a terribly lovely bunch – and they’ll be playing strong song after strong song on Sunday at the UK’s most famous festival. Put it in your diary. Just write ‘TOOF + EAVIS’ in big letters on June 26th. You’ll know what it means when you see it in a few months time.

Plus the canny chaps have been all over BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio 2 and Artrocker magazine in the last few weeks. New single Sleet and Snow (out on Monday) is all sold out in the PoP Shop, but you can get it for free, Free, FREE (for real, on CD and everything) over in the very awesome Banquet Records.

Yeah!

Plus – tonight I had a strawberry milkshake with popping candy in it from Atomic Burger in Oxford. It totally reminded me of MFT – kinda lush, and all smooth – but with a whole heap of fizz and a nicely unexpected twist again and again. It was awesome.