email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 197 December Oxford’s Music Magazine 2011 The Cellar Family Songs from under the floorboard photo: Johnny Moto NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 NEWNEWSS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] Online: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net taken control of the building three years ago after Solarview, the company that refurbished it after years of neglect, went into liquidation. Trouble at a couple of club nights in the past had earned The Regal a bad reputation in certain sections of the press, but more recently the building looked like it was set to fulfil its potential as the biggest dedicated live music venue in Oxford. SECRET RIVALS release a new single next month. ‘Once More M83 have added a date at the O2 Academy on Tuesday 24th January With Heart’ b/w ‘I Know to their UK tour. The band, centred around French musician and Something’ is released on It’s All producer Anthony Gonzalez, recently followed up their acclaimed JONQUIL return to town for a Happening Records on January 2008 album `Saturdays = Youth’ with new album, `Hurry Up, We’re special Blessing Force-themed 16th. Visit www.secretrivals.com Dreaming. Tickets, priced £12.50, are on sale now from the venue box show at the O2 Academy on for more news on the band. office. Saturday 17th December. They are THE HORRORS, meanwhile, have re-arranged their Academy joined for the night by Pet Moon, THE ORIGINAL RABBIT FOOT show for Thursday 19th January after their original date in October Sisterland and Motherhood as well SPASM BAND play a fundraising was postponed when singer Faris Badwan lost his voice. Tickets for as art contributions from Tinhead, show for Kingham Primary the original date remain valid. Valeska Hykel, Amy Honour and School’s music course this month. Charlotte Freeston. Tickets are £6 The course has previously been in advance from the Academy box funded by the annual Commotion office. Festival in the school grounds but feature on a cover-mounted CD sessions with local acts, gig Jonquil, who played at South By this year the event was with China’s SoRock! magazine next reviews, news and a weekly gig Southwest and CMJ earlier this incorporated into the far larger month, along with an interview with guide. The show is available to year, have recently signed to Co-op Harvest Festival, run by Big Wheel the band. Visit www.myspace.com/ download as a podcast all week at Records and will release a new on Alex James’ farm. Having put thegracefulslicks to hear the bbc.co.uk/oxford. album, ‘Point Of Go’, in February together one of the worst line-ups song. More local music news, as well as in conjunction with Blessing Force in festival history, including The interactive local gig and music Records. Feeling, The Kooks and DJ Sara FOLK IN OXFORD is a new reviews, photo galleries, podcasts Jonquil frontman Hugo Manuel, Cox, and attracting such delightful website dedicated to the local folk and interviews are also available meanwhile, has signed a record deal clientele as David Cameron and scene, covering everything from online at with Loose Lips in his Chad Jeremy Clarkson, Big Wheel went folk concerts to morris dancing, www.musicinoxford.co.uk. Valley guise. After a Far East tour, into administration, leaving celidhs, community choirs and Hugo headed off on a UK tour in Commotion, and many others, more. The site has been set up by FINALLY, a big Nightshift support of Friendly Fires unpaid. local folk singer Cat Kelly. Visit goodbye and good luck to Vicky throughout November. Visit The ORFSB will play at Chipping www.folkinoxford.co.uk. Walters, who is leaving her www.mayspace.com/hugomanuel Norton Town Hall on Friday 9th position as box office manager at for more details. December alongside folk singer DON’T FORGET to tune into the O2 Academy. Vicky was Krissy Matthews. Visit BBC Oxford Introducing every responsible for starting and running THE REGAL is set to become a www.commotionfestival.co.uk for Sunday evening between 9-10pm the Academy’s excellent Upstairs church from this month. Rumours tickets and more details. on 95.2fm. The dedicated local local bands showcases earlier this had been circulating around the music show plays the best Oxford year. We’re certain Vicky will miss local music scene for a couple of THE GRACEFUL SLICKS have releases and demos as well as those idyllic Wednesday nights months before it was confirmed at their song ‘Bul Bul Tarang’ featuring interviews and live working at Fuzzy Ducks. the beginning of November that the included on Custom Made Music’s Christian Life Centre would take autumn sampler album in the over the lease of the 1,700-capacity States this month. The local THE OXFORD GUITAR venue, which has recently hosted psychedelic garage rockers feature GALLERY in Summertown has shows by Stornoway, Imelda May alongside Bauhaus’ David J and closed down. The guitar shop, and Bellowhead. Peter Holmstrom from The Dandy jointly run by former-Sevenchurch The Regal’s owner, Niaz Ali, had Warhols. The same song will also axeman Dave Smart, shut its doors for the last time at the start of last month after eleven years trading, This issue of Nightshift is dedicated to the the shop, like so many other memory of Craig Allnutt independent retailers, suffering from declining sales. a quiet word with HE ELLAR AMILY T C F help of a couple of good live reviews and Demo Of The Month in Nightshift last year and the kind support of local people like Paul Carrera and Johnny Moto and Osprey and Penny at the Bullingdon spreading the word, we got a bit of photo: Johnny Moto attention and quickly realised that moving here was a good decision.” Even if you haven’t seen or heard The Cellar Family yet, chances are you’ll have heard local promoters and other musicians name-checking them – always a good sign. Wherever they play they leave a lasting impression. Another indication of how much Oxford has taken to The Cellar Family came when they were picked to play the Blessing Force tent at Truck back in July. “Andrew [Mears] from Blessing Force emailed us out the blue. It’s was very cool of them, we weren’t expecting to be asked to play. To be honest, we don’t think our sound makes a lot of sense to the Blessing Force thing. I guess either someone recommended us and we were a last resort or they just figured we were “STYLE OF MUSIC DOESN’T all the dirt in the world under your else there who played instruments edgy enough. Either way, musical come into it; it’s bands that are fingernails. seriously so we didn’t really have a pleasings aside, it’s totally impressive shamelessly mimicking what they choice”), before moving to Oxford what the collective have done in assume will get their dicks sucked and BECAUSE, LET’S BE HONEST, last year. Nick and Sam actually live Oxford and there should be more make them millionaires instantly that The Cellar Family’s songs aren’t in the cellar of their house in east young people trying to do the same.” we hate. The only thing that matters songs you could take home to meet Oxford. is integrity and genuine heartfelt your parents. “There isn’t really a home-grown HAVING HEARD THE CELLAR energy in live shows. We don’t want Instead here are tales of serial killers, scene in Winchester,” they explain, Family’s first demo last October and to mention any bands that we sociopaths, cult leaders and voyeurs. “but lots of bands pass through, given it Demo Of The Month, particularly dislike because it’s Tales yelped, screamed, snarled and playing almost solely at The Railway Nightshift was keen to see the trio irrelevant.” eerily gurgled through the twisted where we were lucky enough to play live and ended up catching two shows skeletons and shrapnel of acutely with The Vibrators and The UK Subs, in a week, at the Bullingdon and the ANGER. LOATHING. DISGUST. angular hardcore noise, all sheet-metal which were pretty important gigs for Wheatsheaf. They were everything These are the things that drive The guitars and pulverising artillery beats. us and we received an enthusiastic we’d hoped for and more. There was a Cellar Family. Drive them to ever- There’s no juvenile revelling in shock response from the ageing crusty punk genuine feeling of tension about their greater highs of musical virulence. tactics here; instead songs like ‘Fritzl’, crowd and also from Charlie Parker. performance, as if none of them felt Drive them to react in the most ‘Secret Admirer’ and ‘Father Michael’ Still, due to the lack of a scene we comfortable in their own skin, as well visceral fashion to the posers and immerse themselves in a level of ended up playing mostly in London.” as a cathartic zeal about the songs they pretenders who would try and use humanity most of us are lucky enough The Cellar Family aren’t the first were feverishly kicking out. music simply as a tool to climb an not to have ever encountered. band to move to Oxford because of NICK: “On the best nights that’s imagined career ladder. The band’s latest EP, ‘Flab’, features its vibrant, supportive music scene, definitely the case but then on bad seven tightly-wound splenetic salvos but we wonder how the trio found nights I can sometimes feel like PLENTY OF BANDS CALL of blissful punk noise that fuse, weld their way here.