Gunning for Tamar tour with Jumping Ships in March!

Exactly what it says on the tin. Two of our lovely lots of champs are out on tour together. And while Gunning for Tamar have been touted as one of the bands set to slay 2012 by Rocksound who brandished there new track ‘a phenomenal statement of intent from a very promising band’… Jumping Ships were featured across the board at the tail end of last year, Katie at Kerrang calling them ‘An addictive blend of danceable, jangly rock songs topped with British punk attitude’, whilst Rocksound suggested ‘Standard Bearer is a launching platform for these guys to do some serious commercial damage’….

Ahhhh no more talk, lets just you and me decide which of these shows we’re gonna go to – and rock the f**k out! In?

Jumping Ships dominate Rocksound

Not entirely sure what inspired the mad scientist look, but it’s rather fetching aye. Love a bit of full page in Rocksound Magazine. They’re on the covermount too, meaning that £4 is very rarely spent so strongly. Gogo>> Jumping Ships!

Also scope out this super interview over at Noise Addiction, and glorious review on Music Fans Mic. They played with the Xcerts last night and, although PoP weren’t in attendance (stupid pop) apparently it slayed.. Word is not clear as to whether chandaliers were ripped from the ceiling (a must for any perfect show) but either way… Oh YEAH!

Jumping Ships touring hard, touring fast, rating cake..

So this may be a little late (ahem, sorry Ships…) – but after recent fun times on tour, those charming chaps at Jumping Ships thought they’d document the trials and tribulations of their co-headline UK tour with the lovely Lightguides. Here is the first of two installments in which they talk of love (with LightGuides), loss (of wallets) and loads of cake… Read away, oh and keep an eye out for this months Rock Sound. On the covermount CD, 8/10 review and some lovely interview words. Winner. Damn right winner!

ENGLAND

The Old Blue Last – London

On the first date of the tour we picked up a van from our mates Jouis, which was soon christened ‘The J-Bag’ by Lightguides. We spent the day of the gig and the day preceding it making lots of pre-release tour EP’s. They were super limited edition and super fresh – so fresh that the paint was still a bit sticky upon arrival at the venue! At the Old Blue Last we were joined by label buddies Lightguides, Delta Alaska and Mr Paddy Johnston, which made it a nice, family affair to start the tour off.

Mike [Williams, vocalist] managed to lose his car and house keys in one foul swoop, what would become the first chapter in an ongoing saga…

Kai Smith’s Cake of the Day – Cherry Bakewells

The Croft – Bristol.

We loaded into the Croft to find the sound man operating a mixing desk out of a cupboard in the wall! The crowd was looking a bit tame to begin with, but that soon changed when the legend and icon ‘Big Jeff’ arrived. He proceeded to headbang relentlessly, from the first chord of Lightguides set, to the last of ours. Kai even got involved, jumping off stage to throw some shapes with Jeff mid song.

Mike picked up where he left off and managed to lose his wallet. This left him with no house, car keys, cash, bank cards, so basically, er… no nothing! He slept with his iphone tight to his chest that night!

We finished the night at Kai’s friends house, relaxing and playing the crazy Indian game Karrom – (Picture)

Big thank you to Tom Johnson – Goldflake Paint for putting the show on and putting Lightguides up.

Kai Smith’s Cake of the day – Carrot Cake

The Labour Club – Northampton.

The day began with Cold Shower No. 1

We arrived at the gig to find out that the Northampton women’s legion were having a quiz night in the room upstairs. They kept coming down during the course of the evening to stock up from the bar and didn’t really take to the night’s entertainment! Fingers in ears ladies!

On the way back to reading Rich [Thorp, bass] was nearly mown down by an articulated lorry. Two lanes merged into one and the J-bag wasn’t up to challenge and ended up running through a sea of traffic cones into some overnight road works.

Fry up rating 7/10

Cake of the Day – Cherry Pie

The Borderline – London.

The drive to this show left something to be desired. We fell foul to the brutality of the London one-way system and road works and diversions meant we were circling the venue for a good 45 minutes before getting close enough to park.

We witnessed wicked sets from both RunWalk! and Brontide before everyone parted ways – (with Rich and Kai manning the drive back to Brighton, minus a sat-nav).
Needless to say it was a long one!

“Fri-tarrrta!!!” (Rich-ism – and his Yorkshire accent) for breakfast – fry up rating 7/10

The Carlisle – Hastings.

We arrive at Hasting and things are looking up! Mike has been reunited with his house and car keys and Rich has successfully managed to slay the Lightguides boys with some hard partying in Brighton the night before.

Lots of people there from the off and a wicked show all in all. We whipped out some older tunes which went down a storm, including an encore of ‘The Whole Truth.’

Kai Smith’s Cake of the Day – Lemon drizzle Cake

The Milo – Leeds.

We headed to Leeds as part of the Fringe festival to play a little venue called the Milo. One word comes to mind! Oven!

The venue was like a small tin can with metal walls and ceiling and was by far the hottest and loudest show. Steaming!

We made sure to indulge in some Yorkshire delicacies before playing (Fish Chips and Gravy with a mug of Tea) and drove through the night, post-set to stay with Kai and Rich’s family in the Yorkshire Dales. Lightguides however, got seriously lost and ended up four miles down a beaten mud track in the middle of a field. Epic Fail!

Kai Smith’s Cake of the day – Flapjack

The Milton Rooms – York.

Today began with Cold Shower no. 2

This was a massive venue, the biggest of all tour. We tucked into some quality Thai food across the road whilst Kai sorted all the bits and bobs that needed taking care of – PA hire, Venue hire, Backline, etc

Friends Surprise… Fire reformed in time to play the show and it was a great night! Lots of people there and loads of family and friends for Kai and Rich, which was amazing!

Queue after party at Cocktail bar and Thai restaurant Tui’s – but not before the drummers get whacky with some Strawpedo’s [stupid way of downing drinks with staws] backstage – something which will soon become Al {Potts, drums]’s calling card.

Spent the night at Tui’s partying and then stayed at Sam Keyworth’s place – Kai got cake – and poor Mike got Al sleeping on top of him – (cough).

Kai Smith’s Cake of the day – Carrot Cake, Marshmallow Cake

Travel Day.

We took advantage of our travel day to hit up some Yorkshire sights!

We went up to Castle Howard for a hefty fry up in the Castle courtyard accompanied by peacocks strolling around us whilst we ate. Oh, how very gentrified.

We went on a tractor train and hung out with some ducks in a play park before heading back to the cars.

Kai made sure to tape “GAY” across the back of Al’s car before we set off, something which was a sure fire hit with the truckers in and around Glasgow – prompting lots of Flashing and Beeping on route.

Fry up rating 8/10

Kai Smith’s Cake of the Day – Toffee and Honeycomb cheesecake

New Jumping Ships EP up for pre-order (and free download yo!)

Holllllaaaaa – as if draining the country dry of burritos and jager during their lengthy tour with LighGuides wasn’t enough, alt-rock 4 piece Jumping Ships are back and sounding bigger than ever! Unleashing brand new 6 track EP ‘Standard Bearer’ in mid-September with us boys in the PoP hood, you can pre-order it now all fresh and lovely in all of it’s splendid glory.

Sounding a bit like Hundred Reasons meets Reuben with a bit of epic big brash Lost Prophet style pop rock epic twinge about it (you can see why we liked them right), the Brighton 4-piece have had a remarkable summer, and this little beauty should just about top it off – and perfectly soundrack the ultimate autumnal romp, booting leaves about or playing conkers – or something like that ☺

But don’t take our word for it, oh no no… Or Rocksound (10/10), Big Cheese or Artrocker (not cos we’re liars or anything, but we’ve heard you poppers have the strongest of ears)… So take a listen to one of the brand new tracks from the EP below (and download it for free why not)…

And then purchase pre-order from the shop, or any of your favoured digital etailers, should you be so bold…
Jumping Ships will be rocking something of a launch celebration at Southsea Festival on the 17th September, and a proper full old homecoming celebration show in Brighton. South Coasters – take note x

Jumping Ships FREE TRACK!

Reddddd hot and fresh from their forthcoming EP (out on September 10th, Standard Bearer). Listen, love, go see on tour for the next couple of weeks with LightGuides!

New Jumping Ships and LightGuides material and tours!

It’s been a hectic month or so in the PoP stable (so why not trot out some horse analogies) – magnificent new foal Katie Malco has cantered in, we had a strong nuzzle-off at Alcopopalooza, rambunctious stallions My First Tooth have been led off to stud with Grand National runners Athlete, the benevolent Shire Horses of JoFo have been crafting a sleek new record (or horseshoe maybe) – but today we bring you news of fine new colts Jumping Ships and LightGuides, who are swiftly making the next two months their own.

First up will be brand new Poppers LightGuides brutal-pop-rock core 7 track mini album ‘Samba, Samba, Samba’ on 29th August (currently making a lot of magaziney type people pretty damn excited) – followed up by epic Brighton funsters Jumping Ships unleashing their massive sounding new 6 track EP ‘Standard Bearer’ on 12^th September. The latter is part of our Rock Sound endorsed new EP club (more info coming soon), all aided by the lovely folks at Red Bull – and sounding like a well lit express train crashing through a firework factory…!

Whatsmore, as part of the new breed of bands signing to Alcopop in this wonder year of 2011 for your super ears, we also thought – why not unleash perhaps the hottest tour in town all the way through August – so we did. Starting way down south and heading all the way up to Glenrothes, (which I’m reliably informed is the furthest away point in the world) both bands will be on tour kicking out the jams

(15) London, Old Blue Last (16) Bristol, The Croft (17) Hereford, The Jailhouse (18) Northampton, The Labour Club (19) London, Borderline w/ Brontide JS only (20) Cricketers, Kingston w/Shapes LG only (21) Hastings, Tubman (22) Leeds, Milo (23) Milton Rooms, Malton (25) Thurso, The New Market Bar (26) Dundee, Dexters (27) Glenrothes, The Greenside (28) King Tuts, Glasgow

Ooooooh yeah!

Loads more info, and front covers and free downloads will be heading your way soon – but in the meantime if you haven’t heard the boys most recent singles yet, do so here… And damn well pick your nearest date! This tour is gonna blow off some rooves yo!

Heart & Hope – Jumping Ships

The Casting Call – LightGuides

Meet the new #bsm5aside Alcopop signings… .

So tomorrow is the #BSM5aside football tournament, and it’s been a busy summer in the transfer market for Alcopop! Out have been former ever presents Darren Gillick (to moving into a house with his missus – FREE TRANSFER) and treacherous Leigh ‘Nedry out of Jurassic Park’ Shorter (Bag of balls to BSM), whilst former favourite Tom Elephants has retired from the circuit (for now at least). We will miss them all, apart from Leigh, who was last seen chuckling at the foot of a crucifix whilst juggling a bag of silver coins from hand to hand – and stamping on the head of a kitten.

But – while these dears have departed – 5 hardy heros still remain. Paul McManus (skipper), Thom Day (cat like goalkeeper), Matt Emery (champ), Andy Hoatson (the people’s choice) and Jack PoP (me) form the backbone of the squad… With 3 epic new signings. Please welcome

Mike ‘GOALZ’ Wilkinson: A former star of the Swansea University side that saw Jack PoP dominate the intermural leagues – Mike has a problem. He can’t stop scoring goals… Now resident in Blackpool and scourge of the local chicken shops he is a prestigious talent, once having a trial with Hucknall Town – and, PoP fans will be pleased to note, is now fully vaccinated against Tetanus since Wednesday

Michael ‘Cyril’ Williams: Handsome of face, and usually seen gracing the stage with Jumping Ships – Swansea fan Michael (spotting a theme here) is a hot young property in the 5 a side, and we’re proud to have him. Diminutive in stature but big of heart, he should be at peak physical fitness after spending all day yesterday vomiting. No longer a shred of ill health in his body. Winner

Ross ‘Swanny’ K Witt: Famous for his lovely voice and getting into all sorts of vicious scrapes with the general public, Swanny may have a lovely friendly attitude most of the time – but don’t get him angry! Widely vilified in the BSM camp after he shattered head honcho Kev’s arm at End of the Road festival, and well feared in bars across Oxford – Ross is My First Tooth, and now Alcopop FC’s, champion!

Lets go Team POP!!

FREE 7 Track Alcopop compilation on 7 Digital!

Good old 7 Digital! Handsome folk galore there no doubt, and they’re really excelling themselves this week with their free download and competition… Cos they’ve got all Alcopop! – and decided to give away our latest compilation (made specially for them) called ‘We’re Always Looking for Something to Hold On to. We’re With Our Friends, They’re the Best Thing We Can Find!’ (10 indie cool points if you get that reference) – and it’s all free to you, and your pals – and your grandfather if he should so desire it.

The tracklisting goes a little something like this… Actually, I lie. It goes exactly like this. Crack on over here to pick it up.

Headbangers Ball by Stagecoach
Who Needs Comment Boxes When You’ve Got Knives by Johnny Foreigner
Silent Spring by My First Tooth
As Dew In Aprille by Screaming Maldini
Sounds of the Stereo by The Attika State
The Whole Truth by Jumping Ships
Bunker by Ute

Plus – for all you coolest kids who already have everything this compilation delivers, there’s a pretty rad competition too where you can win a whole load of PoP stuff. Get involved if you fancy a bumper load of post coming through courtesy of those 7 Digital lot.

Yes!

Jumping Ships – Heart and Hope

So the pint-sized Brighton pop-kings Jumping Ships released their first single with Alcopop on Monday. Smashing times were had at the launch show at the OBL, and we’ve barely recovered… Much praise has been received for it from across the blogosphere – and you aint gonna believe the review it got in Rock Sound (more to come on that)….

Both new songs are outstanding said Ambassador Beats, Snapshots and Snippets called in Anthemic! Music in Oxford got a little confused about radiators but seemed to like it nonetheless, whilst Eclectically Challenged were ‘proper charmed’. Shout 4 Music gave it 8/10 and Keep Pop Loud reckon it’s HUGE! They’re not wrong.

And just in case you need any more convincing? Listen below to the 3 track single (including a remix by Alex R Winter which is ACE. Available fairly cheap on iTunes, or from our shop even cheaper (with the option of an awesome T-Shirt single too!)…

Jumping Ships CD/T-Shirt single & new Tour!

OH YEAH! Payday’s in and you need some stunning new threads no? Well, now’s the time to indulge. Alcopop’s newest young hip kids Jumping Ships are kicking with a new 3 TRK single ‘Heart and Hope’ – released all on CD (yeah)/ MP3 (why not) and a CD + T-Shirt Megadeal package (both) for just 8 sheets! It looks pretty damn hot too, no…? Oh, and the tees are strictly limited to just 50 – so don’t leave it too long.

It comes out on the 7th March (coinciding with a pretty damn splendid evening show at The Old Blue Last) – and I promise you’ll love it. Speaking of tour… You can catch them around the country on the following dates….

28th Feb – Portsmouth (Cellars)
2nd Mar – Reading Purple Turtle
3rd Mar – Basingstoke
4th Mar – Hastings Tubman
6th Mar – Cardiff Buffalo Bar
7th Mar – London, The Old Blue Last
9th Mar – Westminster University
10th Mar – Brighton, The Green Door Store
11th Mar- Wimbledon

See you there yo… xxx This is the introduction for one HOT Jumping Ships summer….