APRIL 1ST, 2010
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
Happy Birthday, Ronnie Lane
The late, great Ronnie Lane would have been 64 today.
Happy Birthday, Ronnie.
Tags: Ronnie Lane
Category: Collaboration
MARCH 31ST, 2010
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
The Solar System Music Box
It would be odd if this hadn’t come our way. It’s the Solar System as a music box. Click here to open and play it
(from the wonderful Information Is Beautiful website)
Tags: Solar System
MARCH 13TH, 2010
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
Montage
Friends of FOTS Rob Hyde is one of the good guys.
The other day, over on the Twitter, he asked for suggestions for a new mix he was making. Once we found out that the mix would consist entirely of songs used in the montage sections of shite films, we realised this was a round where we should be playing our joker and immediately threw in a few suggestions, some of which made the cut. Here’s Rob’s mix in all it’s glory. He considers it “perfect for doing cocaine in the gym to”, and who can argue with that.
“You’re the Best” - Joe Esposito (Karate Kid OST)
“The Touch” - Stan Bush (Transformers Movie OST 1986)
“Sister Christian” - Night Ranger
“Fight to Survive” - Stan Bush (Bloodsport OST)
“Dangerzone” - Kenny Loggins (Top Gun OST)
“Push it to the Limit” - Giorgio Moroder / Paul Engemann / Pete Bellotte (Scarface OST)
“Glory of Love” - Peter Cetera (Karate Kid 3 OST)
“Montage” - (Team America:World Police OST)
Rob, along with his pal Lee Andrews, contributed a lovely remix for our last LP. We’re hoping they’ll do the honours next time round, if fate ever allows us to finish the LP (but that’s another story). Here’s Rob & Lee’s remix of “Sharpening A Blade”
Tags: Karate Kid, Rob Hyde, Rocky, Top Gun
JANUARY 20TH, 2010
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
FOTS-POD#22 - “Robson Man 2″
Episode 22 of the Friends of the Stars Podcast is now up on the internet. …Don’t all rush at once.
This hour-long episode, entitled “Robson Man 2″, finds Cam and Craig in blistering form as they discuss the various merits of iPhones, Spotify and SKY Sports before moving on to give an insight into the working processes of a band lumbering towards the completion of it’s 2nd LP. It’s nowhere near as dull as it sounds, honest.
FOTS-POD#22 - “Robson Man 2″ - DOWNLOAD MP3
Listen:
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TRACKLISTING:
Love Like A Fountain - Ian Brown
Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
I Have Learned To Do Without You - Mavis Staples
Beard of Bees - Stately Homes of England
It’s Time To Move On - Tom Petty
Prisons - Trashcan Sinatras
No Regrets - The Walker Brothers
On The Floe - Thin White Rope
Saturday Gigs - Mott The Hoople
Liner Notes (with Spotify links, where available)
Ian Brown - Love Like A Fountain
Ian Brown has made a bagful of groovy in his career - here’s one of the best. BTW drummer Simon Wolstencroft was a total metronome when he played with The Fall in the late 80s and early 90s…. it’s him on this (ie it’s not a loop).
LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
20 yrs old - pretty classic.
Mavis Staples - I Have Learned To Do Without You
One of the greatest, sexiest, most soulful, most powerful voices ever committed to shellac.
Stately Homes of England - Beard of Bees
Fellow Brum-centric but multi-city musical troupe, this is a great tune. Andy from the band used to work with Cam too. Two musical geniuses under one roof - what were the chances? 
Tom Petty - It’s Time To Move On
FOTS love TP but even we maybe weren’t as au fait with his 90s and naughties output until recently. This is a typically beautifully judged and introspective gem from Wildflowers - probably his most cohesive and listenable album (if Damn the Torpedoes and Full Moon Fever have all the blockbusters and Hard Promises has moments of peaking genius and the rest all have wonderful moments). Incidentally, Wildflowers isn’t credited to The Heartbreakers, even tho they all play on it and…musically… it’s probably them at their finest. Check Benmont’s piano on the title track… heartmelting.
Trashcan Sinatras - Prisons
More perfect tunecraft from Scotland’s enduring bridesmaids. They are from Cam’s home territory (Irvine, Kilmarnock) and he’s very evangelical about them. In 20 years, over five albums, they have hardly missed a beat. Check em all out.
The Walker Brothers - No Regrets
When Scott went back to his “hombres” in the 70s, commercially washed up, kind of need of some middle of the road paydirt, they came up with some real gems. Sounds obvious, but even so it would be great to hear Glen Campbell doing this.
In the late 80s and early 90s, before Kate Thornton decided Indie was cool and some twisted notion tugged at Cowell’s bawhairs from the future, students up and down the UK were listening to REM, Throwing Muses and these guys. I have always loved great outros, that build and build and go right through the gears… Tumblin’ Dice does it, The Concept does it, Motorway to Roswell does it, On the Floe does it
Mott The Hoople - Saturday Gigs
I haven’t checked but Mott may have been played more on these FOTS PODS than any other band. That’s because they rule and people might not fully know just how great they were. This was their farewell single. I mean…C’MON… what a farewell 45 this is! Maybe, MAYBE, bettered by Beat Surrender but that’s a moot point (a Moot the Hopple point?….sorry).
Incidentally, farewell singles are much missed - a kind of grand gesture by bands to their own gangs. A bit of a thank you to the boys. FOTS would love if it you commented on this post with other examples of the lost artform of the farewell single, when the band came out in advance and said it would be their last…. so the expectation was REALLY high and yet they still delivered. Looking forward to them.
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JANUARY 18TH, 2010
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
Live in Bristol!
Commercially Inviable artists Richard Burke, World of Fox and Friends of the Stars will be sharing the bill in Bristol on Friday 5th Febuary at the Grain Barge.
FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY // GRAIN BARGE - HOLD BAR // 8PM // £3
COMMERCIALLY INVIABLE RECORDS SHOWCASE featuring:
?FRIENDS OF THE STARS
?WORLD OF FOX
?RICHARD BURKE
Prepare for a full evening of music from the innovative label that is so commercially inviable! See below for a summary of what each act tends to get up to… Check out the music online and see you down in our intimate Hold Bar.
?FRIENDS OF THE STARS?
http://friendsofthestars.co.uk/
FRIENDS OF THE STARS are a Country/Folk collective from Birmingham, UK that has never done things the easy way. Nor have they often gone the right way; at least, not before a couple of ambitious, ill-conceived or simply stubborn blind alleys have been ventured down first.
— Not known for their work-ethic or good fortune, the band have nevertheless chalked up several achievements since forming (as Buick 6) in the summer of 2000. Their debut 7″ single, “Drunk on My Porch”, was well received in alt-country circles and lead to airplay and two live sessions with the late John Peel. An ill-advised deal with Sanctuary Music followed, as did a lengthy courtship with major label BMG, before the band imploded briefly amidst accusations of them being ‘too Country’.
— Regrouping, the band recorded “The Gun Quarter Tapes” at their own studio, before abandoning release plans for reasons unknown. Starting once again afresh they then recorded their debut album, “Lighting & Electrical”, which endured a tortured gestation before finally seeing the light of day in September 2007. Released on the Commercially Inviable label the record garnered many fine and complimentary reviews.
— They are currently recording their second album, “Faith’s Meat Kiosk”, and claim to be making significant progress. As with their debut album, this release will also be handled by Commerically Inviable Records.
?WORLD OF FOX?
http://www.worldoffox.com/
http://www.myspace.com/worldoffox
“Everything is for the Best”, is the debut album by WORLD OF FOX and was released on Commercially Inviable Records in October 2009.
— A prolific and committed independent musician, Simon Fox was formerly leader of Birmingham’s post-rock pioneers, Grover. Between 1993 and 2003 Grover released a host of albums, singles and split releases on independent labels around the world. Broadcasts on BBC Radio1 (including a Peel Session in 2001), plus airtime on a variety of independent stations in Europe and the USA, helped Grover build a dedicated international fan-base and influence the UK post-rock scene.
— Since then, Simon has quietened down, trading sweeping guitar theatrics for more intimate, acoustic-led song-writing. The new songs, performed under the moniker WORLD OF FOX, show a more personal, reflective side, with deceptively rich arrangements, a disarming wit and a flair for creating intimate moods. Recordings feature Simon playing a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, banjo, percussion, keyboards, Theremin, mandolin, even occasional brass and woodwind.
— As well as performing solo, Simon can often be seen/heard collaborating with other artists. Most notably, he was one half of electronica duo Krafla, was a founder member of the Experimental Music Collective, recorded and gigged an album with Clair Horton, is currently working with James Summerfield and is a regular guest DJ for the Grumpy Man DJs.
?RICHARD BURKE?
http://www.myspace.com/richardburke
RICHARD BURKE is a 31-year-old singer from Birmingham, UK and the latest signing to Commercially Inviable Records.
— He previously screamed his way through seven years of Indie rock mayhem with the wonderfully shambolic Starries before deciding that his delicate, lusty vocal chords were much better suited to the comparatively quieter world of off-kilter folk.
— Burke’s forthcoming debut album, “An Ocean Full Of Broken Stars”, clocks in at just under 30 minutes and is simply a magical, mesmerising collection of songs. Listeners to the album will immediately be drawn to future single, “Brown Eyes, Dark Hair” and his stunning, highly personal take on Yazoo’s “Only You”.
— Throughout the record and at his live shows, Burke consistently wraps his words and melodies around musical arrangements that would fall flat in the hands of less dextrous vocalists.
— Whilst Indie Rock mourns his loss, then, Off-Kilter Folk can rejoice as he melds the fluent guitar style of Jose Gonzalez to the tunefulness of Teenage Fanclub, all the while incorporating his wonderfully quirky and often heart-wrenching lyrics.
— To paraphrase the shy, often self-deprecating man himself, some people just think he’s shit. A more generous, objective observer would suggest that such people merely fail to see his worth. For the record, we think the naysayers are misguided fools.
— “An Ocean Full Of Broken Stars”, will be released on Commercially Inviable in early 2010.
Tags: Bristol, The Grain Barge
DECEMBER 21ST, 2009
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
Hark! The Herald…A Jailbird Sings
Here’s a Christmas treat for you from Friends of the Stars….
“Christmas Inside” by Barry Linnie & Friends of the Stars
If Friends of the Stars were going to do a Christmas song, it just had to be about Yuletide in prison, right? The whole story of how “Christmas Inside” came about can be found on the Sunday Herald website but the potted version is as follows:
Writer, broadcaster and pal of FOTS, Graeme Virtue, asked the band to help him with a very scientific project for a piece he was writing for The Herald, Scotland’s quality national newspaper - He was seeking to harness the essence of Christmas songs and to replicate it with a song of his own. Graeme (pictured below) takes up the story of the song’s creation…
“Sonically, I want to shoot straight for the mass-market, mimicking the soaring secular hymns of Coldplay and Snow Patrol, those galactically popular songs of mid-tempo tenderness and iPod-ready transcendence. But instead of generalised expressions of hope, longing or catharsis, I want to tell a proper Christmas story, with a beginning, a middle and, obviously, a punchline”
Not sure if we ever found that essence, Graeme, but we had a laugh working on it and the tune’s our once-a-decade stab at going for those elusive Snow Patrol millions buried somewhere deep underneath the middle of the road. In 2019 Bono’s gonna help us sing “Foreign Muck” via satellite at a gig in Digbeth; and 2029 might involve a laser keyboard like Jean Michel Jarre has.
Anyway, Graeme also went on BBC Radio Scotland last weekend to talk about it and play wee snatches of the tune. Listen again here (about 1hr 2mins in, right after The Dickies).
Merry Christmas and lots of love from Friends of the Stars
xx
DOWNLOAD “Christmas Inside” (MP3)
Performed by Barry Linnie vs Friends of the Stars
Written by Graeme Virtue and Cam Docherty
Vocals and Guitar - Barry Linnie (aka Graeme Virtue)
Guitars, Bass, Glock, Programming - Cam Docherty
Arranged and Mixed - Cam Docherty
DECEMBER 7TH, 2009
By CAMPBELL
By CAMPBELL
Looks like we have a new roadie…
Friends of the Stars Family Announcement
We would like to congratulate our brother Craig and his girlfriend Val on the birth of their baby son earlier today. Mother and son doing great, Dad probably being a big jessie as we speak.
With Love
FoTS
x
AUGUST 18TH, 2009
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
FOTS-POD#19 - “The No-Robson Club: Part 2″
Apologies for the delay in posting the second part of this special two-part podcast. Things are busy at this end . You know how it is.
Always true to our word, “The No-Robson Club Part 2″ features a very special guest, so take a wild guess who that might be.
This episode features music from Ry Cooder, Teenage Fanclub, Linda Thompson and others. As usual, there is some effing and jeffing. Enjoy.
Listen:
TRACKLISTING
I’ll Have to Let Him Go - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
Folk Song Oblivion - The Phantom Band
Drive Like I’ve Never Been Hurt - Ry Cooder
Near You - Teenage Fanclub
Play Dead - Astrid
I Wish You’d Met Her - Trashcan Sinatras
Over It - Dinosaur Jr
Versatile Heart - Linda Thompson
DOWNLOAD FOTS-POD#19 - “The No Robson Club: Part 2″
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JUNE 5TH, 2009
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
FOTS-POD#17 - “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Robson”
Apologies for the posting haitus these last few weeks, Friends of the Stars have been in the studio recording their 2nd LP, “Faiths Meat Kiosk”, and there will be more on that soon…
Here is Episode 17 of the ever-popular Friends of the Stars Podcasts. This one is called “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Robson” and continues in the fine tradition of it’s predecessors containing as it does lots of great tunes and two blokes swearing
at each other. If it ain’t fucking broke, and all that…
This Episode finds Executive Producer Robson and Craig discussing the process of Podcasting, Submarines and submariners during World War 2, before demonstrating, live on air, the effects of caffiene and sugar on Robson’s brain. Later, they engage in the dumbest audio-based broadcast game of skill since Dave Lee Travis introduced darts to the radio.
Listen:
TRACKLISTING:
Dexys Midnight Runners - Show Me
The Bee Gees - Marley Purt Drive
The Beastie Boys - Jimmy James
Dennis Wilson - Cocktails
The Jackson 5 - Sugar Daddy
World of Fox - Rules of Engagement
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Drop It Like It’s Hot
Friends of the Stars - Wagons (Rough Mix, Instrumental)
DOWNLOAD FOTS-POD17 - “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Robson”
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MAY 13TH, 2009
By ADMIN
By ADMIN
An Idiot With A Computer Is Just A Faster Idiot.
Earlier today Episode 16 of the Friends of the Stars podcasts was posted. Unfortunately when it initially went out onto the interweb it contained the links and files relating to Episode 17. The original post has now been amended and the person concerned has been fired.
Since we’re not sure how fast RSS feeds work (whether or not they pick up these posts immediately) and just in case your FEED delivered version was incorrect, here are the Episode 16 files once more.
This problem will only have affected subscribers to the full FOTS RSS feed. Subscribers to the PODCAST ONLY feed will continue to enjoy uninterrupted service.
We apologise for the hurt and inconvience caused to our tens of listeners.
FOTS-POD#16: “N-N-N-New Jack Robson”
LISTEN:
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Welcome!
Friends of the Stars are a Country / Folk band from Birmingham, UK and have been Commercially Inviable since 2000
We are releasing records on our own Commerically Inviable imprint. The first album, "Lighting & Electrical" is available here and at various other locations on the net.
How we go about releasing our records and subsequent others remains to be seen, so this site will document that experiment, amongst other things. To writing, recording and performing we are now adding 'releasing records' to our list of activites.
We have been friends for a long time, playing and sticking together through thin and thin. We are prone to horrendous collective errors of judgement and have made some mistakes in our time. We'll no doubt make more of these in the near future. We also make some pretty decent tunes.
If you have any questions then please feel free to email info@friendsofthestars.co.uk and we'll get back to you.
