Poppin all over the world! Jack DJ’s the planet

Or London anyway… Just a quick heads up to tell you about a couple of really awesome events I’m spinning a few hits at next week. So if you’re free on Tuesday and Thursday and about town – do pop down!

Firstly, Tuesday sees the excellent magazine ‘Ballad Of’ putting on a cute little show at BARDENS BOUDOIR!! They have set out to create Ballad Of… a community of emerging and exciting artists with the shared goal of collaborating to produce outstanding work for publication and portfolios.

This is awesome, and it features Nadine Shah and The Duloks – if you fancy it, give us a yell and I’ll snare some cheap tickets for you. Oh yes I will xxx

Secondly, it’s my old pal Galbo – a soldier of a gent, who is launching his epic multi-media creation ‘Operation Concrete’ at Vibe Bar next Thursday. I shall be a-spinning once more as well as reading an excerpt… Nerves…

Most excitingly though, Ross from My First Tooth (you know him, handsome lad) is playing a bit of a solo spot as he is one of the many collaborators for the book. There are more details over at the facebook group – and the poster resides hungrily below. Somehow, he’s managed to keep the party free entry, which is rather impressive. So do pop on down and get involved…

It’s like an art exhibition, gig and literary party all in one – and I guarantee your senses will be lit up with every moment you spend nearby. True story.

My First Tooth ‘Margaret Yen’ EP – out December 7th!

We’ve hinted at it – well in truth we’ve downright told you… But the good news for everyone who enjoys a good bit of Northampton folk-indie that lavishes your ears whilst at the same time tenderly pulling your heart strings – is that My First Tooth are back with their first release since the wonderful My First Tooth and the Rubies EP which was out on PoP early 2009.

And they really have saved us a cracker!

Absolute live favourite, and no doubt already a favourite of anyone who’s a regular at the front when Tooth hit the town, we’re proud to announce that the next single will be Margaret Yen… Yup – the sweet lady herself! Brilliant.

Backed by two gorgeous demos Silent Spring and Railway (Ross hasn’t confirmed either way whether they’ll be on the album or not just yet but I do hope so) and perennial favourite Judge and Jury, the EP will be available on Deceber 7^th – via digital mediums, and very, very limited CD – all hand spray painted and lovely!

It will be available to pre-order in the next week or two, so do keep an eye out… Meanwhile, feast your eyes on the artwork drawn by the delicious Ross himself. We had long conversations about the bear and the amount of fire round his ass. I think it looks pretty perfect now!

See what you think….

Alcopopping Xmas party @The Social, W1: Tellison, Stagecoach, My First Tooth and Aspen Sails!

MONDAY 14th DECEMBER in London town!!!

Christmas time again – what joy! So we thought that it was probably our duty to throw a nice festive bash in London town – and make it as damn sweaty as we can! So we invited 4 of the finest bands this good nation has to offer, grabbed a piece of intimate venue (The Social, W1) and prepared some pretty tasty goodie bags for the first 20 people through the door.

Expect snow, Christmas decorations and general loveliness too – as well as a lush 7 track Alcopop sampler free for every person who comes through the door. 

Where else do you get all this for a fiver?



(Father) Tellison – need no introduction! And this is their only London show of what remains of 2009…. Indie pop deliciousness from utter legends! 



(Rudolph the red nosed) Stagecoach – Seminal popstars from deep within the Surrey hills, and even deeper in the Alcopop heart. Imagine Americana pop lavished in melody, harmony and rock n roll sensibilities.

(We wish you a merry) My First Tooth – Prettier than a whole barrel of peaches and dearest siblings of Team PoP, My First Tooth will treat your heart to its biggest workout since Bambi. Folk-kissed indie pop you will literally die for. 



(Frosty the) Aspen Sails – Newest kids on the block, Aspen Sails are a lush duo who pedal lovingly crafted folk pop, ideally enjoyed with a sherry or two. 



Plus Alcopop DJs will be battling excellent online music boys The 405… Expect bombs dropped from all sides!

Would be delicious to see you… You can pre-order tickets (that will be a smidgen cheaper than on the door) here! It’s gonna be a cracker! Tellison have rocked up already see!

Pop in the City

Ah music industry biased events – how I doth love you… The booze always seems to continuously flow, I never see enough bands, and proud ideals of going to all sorts of fascinating in-depth discussions from fascinating types often seem to go by the wayside. That’s not to say we don’t usually have a super time though. Just the other week Kev and I visted Manchester’s In The City. It was fun; Stagecoach and My First Tooth partied like animals and we joined in, although the event itself didn’t really seem that vibrant.

But I blather on – if you fancy reading a full account, and my poorly educated take on the event, pop over to the ever-delicious Rock Midgets where my third column has just gone up.

Meanwhile, I won’t go too much into it yet, but keep your eyes peeled over the next week or two for some announcements. We’ve got T-Shirts on the way, 3 new CDs to be released before Christmas and a few must-go-to gigs a coming (specifically in December time). Shit, actually, looking at the schedule, December is going to be insane.

Ah well, at least an Alcopop themed Christmas is well on the cards…. Rudolph was clearly always on the Hooch Lemon, and he came off all sorts of good. Prime, prime. Meanwhile, here’s a picture that somehow surfaced off the back of the great Coach/Tooth/Pop takeover of Manchester just the other week.  Props to anyone who knows who the blonde girl is, though it looks like we were all getting on famously…

Hope you’ve had a good weekend!

Pop show @ RoTa 10th October

It wouldn’t be an Alcopop show if everything went to plan, and despite last Saturday (and a bit)’s show at RoTa being quite a remarkable rock n’ roll orgy of ace (busiest RoTa’s been in months according to the organiser – get in Team PoP ) it was not without it’s teething problems. Gigjunkie will explain from their point of view….

“After searching for forty minutes [for the venue], I received a text from Scott McEwan of The Candle Thieves; informing me they had broken down on the M25 and might not be able to make it at all – a rather bad start to the day!
However, despite the initial problems, all turned out well. The RAC rescued The Candle Thieves, and the venue [which we'd walked past dozens of times] opened it’s doors as if to say sarcastically “Yes, I’m here – you haven’t looked foolish trying to find me at all.”

But despite the difficulties – with a generous double fisting of free beer bottles, it was plain sailing… And as the all-Alcopop line up took the stage, and the punters poured in, we were rockin’. The Candle Thieves, fresh from the busom of the RAC, delighted the crowd with honey sweet melodies, delicious faces and hand claps galore, My First Tooth launched into a veritable marathon of folk-fused modern day classics – do you dance? Do you laugh at the lush melodies or cry at the bitter sentiments hinted at? All three at respectable levels (perhaps simultaneously) recommended.

Then it was time for Stagecoach, who showcased a new stage show which really rocked – with crowd pummeling Nick furiously thrashing within the crowd while Tom became perhaps the first Mandolin player to pull a flying leap from atop a bass drum ever… In short, breathtaking… On decks Nathan T Pyle kept the punters entertained with a smattering of The Candyskins and Arrows of Love, whilst Richard from Ten Speed Photography took marvelous photographs.

All in all, a splendid day – and a favourable setting for the launch of the Stagecoach We Got Tazers EP… Strong times ladies and gentlemen, strong times…. Oh, and cheers so much for coming y’all!

My First Tooth on tour….

“Gentle readers”, begins Ross on his most recent blog post…

“October tour is here.
It’s way too late to cancel.
So you had better come.
We have new songs.
New merch.
And one of us has had dental work.”

You know it’s tour time when My First Tooth are in town! And who can deny that popping to an MFT show is one of life’s pleasures that always scores bang on… They’re playing the following dates as of like… Now! Or check out the poster. They’ve managed to slip a few Stagecoach related bills into the list too – which is probably/definitely/certainly bloody ace!

Oct14th – Cardiff, Buffalo Bar
Oct 15th – Cheltenham, 2 Pigs (w/Poppy & Friends)
Oct 16th – Oxford, Cellar Bar (w/Stagecoach)
Oct 17th – Rushden, AMEF @ Pemberton Centre (w/Retro Spankees)
Oct 18th – Manchester, ITC @ Space (w/Stagecoach)
Oct 19th – Leeds, Gaslight Club (w/Poppy & Friends)
Oct 20th – York, City Screen Basement (w/Poppy & Friends)

My First Tooth to tour the world?

After a week of shows that have been way up, and then a little bit down – before soaring with joy again (apparently one group of fans in Colchester were so enamoured with the Tooth that they refused to let the van leave) – My First Tooth, as is their way, have been hitting the road hard. I think Ross enjoys it too, as he yesterday outlined plans to permanently locate his home to a van and have played shows in all 7 continents before the end of the 2010…. Well, almost anyway.

This is cool for several reasons… ‘Cos not only will Ross be able to take his very own brand of tooth pop to people so far flung that they haven’t been touched by the leprous tongue of Bono, but I imagine he’ll want to take Alcopop with him, and I quite like he idea of sending the mail-orders out from a golden beach in Aruba, or liaising with RoTa whilst half way down the Amazon – hanging out in Alcocroc’s spiritual home.

Either way, it also looks like the veritable champs at MFT are going into the studio before the year’s out to begin work on their debut full length – and after that, you may not see them for months. So make sure to catch them while you can, before Ross tours that little too hard and is appointed lord and master of a small southern pacific isle, soon to be deposed by a mercilessly gigging folk duo from The Philippines.

Onward MFT, onward….

And for your delectation and delight… Here’s an Italian review recently come in from soundmagazine.it! Love the translation

Don’t let yourselves be fooled by the young age of these english musicians, they play mature music.
It’s a pleasure to listen to My First Tooth because they combine elements that recall the relax, the spring warmth and the comfort of a good sofa. It feels simple to suddenly abandon yourself to the sweet and melancholy folk notes, that fit well with a delightful taste in country music. Acustic guitars, violin, mouth organ, a fascinating and sometimes harrowing voice can conquer you and make you want to stop for a few minutes, keeping time with nude feet and make yourselves a good hot coffee. It’s a pure and honest music, that goes straight to your heart, and you feel it. If you like bands like Wilco, Bright Eyes or Bon Iver, this English collective, taken with the right measures, could be your band.

What better than a montage..?

So said the directors of Rocky IV, Karate Kid, Pretty Woman, Ghostbusters, Teen Wolf ad nauseum. And oh god of brilliant 8os films, how I agree.

So rather than extoll the genius of the bands, heroism of mass drunken attendees or  relay the ‘I vomited on my own chest’ explosion that a close pal of mine encountered… I shall sum up the Alcopop/BSM party with this photo montage I have created in the time it took for a beleagured My First Tooth to discuss the relative merits of swimming in a pile of coins (a la Scrooge McDuck) this morning over breakfast.

You really should have been there x

On a boat, on a boat, got me dancing on a boat… MFT in London tonight

Once sang legendary rockers Rocket From the Crypt (almost) – but now see as legendary folk rockers (and notorious landlubbers) My First Tooth take to the water to play in a 1930’s barge moored alongside Vauxhall Bridge* in what promises to be a truly lovely evening.

Appearing alongside Jesca Hoop and Birdengine, not to mention the Thames rushing beneath you as ‘mellow rock out’ – Londoners hitting up the big smoke on Wednesday would be well advised to get themselves along.  We’re reliably informed that 3 buses go to the door and its only 8 minutes walk from Vauxhall Tube… So get down

Closer to home however, and serving as a joint birthday shindig for myself and Kev BSM, My First Tooth are also rocking out at The Cellar in bonny Oxford on Friday with Kevin Devine and This Town Needs Guns – which should be rather fun for all concerned. If anyone does fancy coming down it would be lovely to see you… And I promise a round of rum for all Alcopoppers in the awesome Jamaican Bar on Cowley Road after (not that I’m paying – it is my birthday!)

Boats and birthdays… Great week!

* = picture not an entirely accurate representation

My First Tooth live set on beatcast.tv

It’s great when awesome stuff gets together and results in something that everyone can enjoy – so praise be that beatcast.tv, purveyors of live films of the best underground talent in the UK, hooked up with My First Tooth (aforementioned part of the best underground talent scene) – and shot a video of them at The Peel in Kingston…

This is ace for a number of reasons – most particularly because you can see the results below. I ought to point out though that you may want to clear your calendar for the foreseeable few hours though, because with free to watch gigs from the likes of Horse the Band, 4 or 5 Magicians, DSP, Blakfish and Sam Isaac to name a few – you’re unlikely to be leaving beatcast any time soon.

Rock n roll…