Back To School With ELLIOT MINOR

The middle of the day, children, a gig, a school hall, the classically trained Elliot minor, what is going on?

The Myspace school invasion hits a secondary school in Nottingham, fronted by five lads from York know as Elliot Minor who previously got there success through a Myspace competition. Elliot Minor are once again back with Myspace but under very different circumstances.

Walking into a School Hall to see a band was a surreal experience, not knowing what to expect left my mind open for a whole new experience, and what an experience it was. When the band came on the audience of just over 200 made enough noise for 2000 and the band lapped it up and launched straight into there first song with nearly as much energy as the young crowd. After a short pause, a thank you for having us, the classically trained five got the crowd motivated again with a hand clapping frenzy and another melodic sing along for all to enjoy. Although being situated in a predominantly orange dated school gymnasium the sound coming from the 15 year olds latest heart throbs was astonishingly good when taking into consideration all the equipment came off a average sized lorry put into a dated gym with the acoustics of an outside toilet.
The Myspace school invasion did invade and what an invasion it was, although it was a short 8 song conquest it was a complete success with the band making themselves at least 200 more screaming young fans.



Interview with Elliot Minor in a school under the flag of the social networking site Myspace, this is what they had to say.

Myspace helped you kick start your musical careers when you won the competition to support McFly but do you think with the music industry in its current state, social networking sites such as Myspace are the way forward for upcoming bands?

Well Myspace definitely helped us as you said but i think that we had a huge degree of luck on our side and up and coming bands are going to have to work harder especially with the decline of the music industry, there just isn’t as much room for bands now like there was a few years back when we started.




Why did you decided to take part in the Myspace school invasion?

Several reasons really, as a mini tour for the up coming launch of our new single as well as it being a genuinely great opportunity to get on the road again and make some new friends after being away for a year. We also believe that we are giving back to Myspace after they helped us out right at the start when we were coming up in the industry.

Do you think being classically trained sets you apart from other bands and if so why?

Yes and no really, i think we feel that our sound sets us apart from some bands but not from others, we do take a lot from our classical music knowledge much in the same way other bands take things from other influences close to them, its just what we relate to and incorporate into our music.

Finally what 3 bands are you listening to at the moment?
Motley Crue, White Lies and Senses fail are constantly being played around here and that’s about it really.




words and photos by Dan Russell

TRACKS

When you've got some tunes, and they're that good, who you gunna call? Our Graz, Lucy and Drew...


The Answer - 'Tonight.'
24/5/09

Well i'm not sure this tune is the 'answer' (lolz). Those of you tired of the 'retro' sound and those of you in search of something remotely innovating, you might want to give these guys a miss. However in their defence, you will be singing the chorus for hours after, and their front man does have an amazing voice. Just cant see these guys taking the world by storm unfortunately.


La Roux - ‘Bullet Proof’
15/6/09

Despite a backing track reminiscent of a Super Mario Brothers game, this tune is potentially another massive hit for the pompous London red head. The track’s hook is unquestionable, so cheer up sweetheart, this one will sell. (which is shouldn't, because she's rubbish as well - Andy)


Vagabond - ‘Sweat (Until Morning)’
08/06/09

A synth-driven, soulful pop track, the seductive vocal and suggestive lyrics say it all. However it does have the tendency to drift into the realms of ‘back ground’ music. Might help you out on a date though?

By Graham Turner

Lily Allen - 'Not Fair'
11/5/09
Poor Lily. After a turbulent love life you finally find someone who’s devoted to you. You couldn’t be happier...until you find out he’s sh*t in the sack and doesn’t believe in a bit of give and take. You should probably sing about your misfortune to a catchy little tune and hope he gets the message. Good plan.

The Fray - Never Say Never
18/5/09
Oh The Fray. You like to think you’re cool with your ‘kooky’ glasses and waistcoats, but really you’re just morphing into a watered down Snow Patrol, which pretty much makes you pond water. How do you get to be so boring, inoffensive and pedestrian?

By Lucy Knighton


Metric – Sick Muse
1/6/09
Exciting, with a catchy guitar hook and chorus, Sick Muse is a song that will stay in your head, with vocalist Emily Haines, despite being female sounding like a mix between Placebo’s Brian Molko and Claudio Sanchez from Coheed & Cambria fame. (A POSITIVE SINGLE REVIEW, GET IN - Andy)

Baddies – Holler For My Holiday
1/6/09
Baddies power through two and a half minutes of frantic guitars and chaotic drums, which resemble a garage band racket more than a hotly tipped British band. NME says “catch them before they explode” – more like catch them when they get good.


Cosmo Jarvis – Chapter 2
31/5/09
Releasing a batch of three songs and a movie, Cosmo Jarvis is a man of all crafts – producer, filmmaker, and singer/songwriter. Unfortunately he should focus on the first two. Unimaginative and dodgy Streets-like vocals make this one to miss - skip to chapter three.

By Drew Heatley

ESSER: INTERVIEW & GIG REVIEW ESSER black kids + kasier chiefs @ Nottingham Arena 22/02/0

At the moment You've got this massive arena tour starting with Kaiser Chiefs, how did that come about?
I think a couple of them came and saw us play at leeds festival, or heard some of our tunes and said they liked us. Last year we did a show with them at the forum and they asked us to come on tour! So its good to know they actually like us.

Will you be adapting your stage performance for the likes of your last date at wembley arena?
Ive never really been to arena venues before, so we didnt realise how vast they actually were. I dont know what we are going to do, but try and communicate to that many people. Its the simplest things in songs that might work the best I suppose Stadium bands like Queen, we'l have Hands in the air and claps!

Your single 'lets work it out' is out tomorrow! (23rd FEB) Can we expect the debut album very soon ?
I think its out in late April some time soon, along with it we'l be releasing another single. Im already working on new material, so when the album is out there'l be a new EP almost ready.

You spent two years drumming for Ladyfuzz - were you playing your own material back then? When did you decide to start writing for yourself?
Not really, I was playing in other bands at the time also and writing, I think its all part of developing and everything ive done up until now has been experience. Im really lucky in that respect, as alot of new bands come into the industry with no experience and Ive already had the opportunity to tour and record.

Is it true that you used to play in a covers band who did Butlins?
Yes, years ago! You defiantely realise what you dont want to do or end up being, but yeah it was good fun. You did get the experience of touring though - apart from you had to play two 45 minute sets of bad songs.



Your bands seems to have a big mix of styles, who or what would you say is your greatest inspiration?
Yeah, Ive gone through stages of liking different styles and listen to as much music as possible. But because this is my first album, all the music ive listened to from what my parents used to listen to and what ive discovered in electronic music have in some way ended up on the album. Either directly sampling them onto the record or just different records being a big influence on our sound.

What are essers plans for 2009?
I think we are pretty much touring for the whole of the year. The headline tour starts in april. Im going to be working with afew other people and doing some writing. Ive just sent some beats to Cee-lo (Gnarls Barkley) which should be interesting and just trying to write on tour as well.

I really like your song 'headlock'. what would someone have to do for you to put them in a headlock ?
(laughs) I dont know. Whoever has made me ill, surely deserves some kind of punishment.

---

ESSER
black kids + kasier chiefs
@ Nottingham Arena
22/02/09

Arena tours are always momentous occasions and tonight sees a bafflingly eclectic line up of bands on tour together, but with the Kaiser Chiefs at the top of the bill one can only predict something riotous.
For London new comer Esser, who has had a rollercoaster-like ride in 2008 to earning a slot with internationally successful bands, an arena tour would seem quite daunting. But clearly Esser has not left any opportunity for holding back, as he decides to tackle any arena nerves by arriving on stage complete with pearly-king jacket and attire, brandishing his own name on the back. An image that is far from the quietly confident posture that he would otherwise confide in. His own brand of ‘wonky-pop’, a genre that could well reach sincerity in 2009, appears to bemuse most but does not lack lustre or any substance like so many other young pop hopefuls.
His sounds are at the very least eclectic, a universal mix of classic pop tones with his own electronic edge. It is not hard to something that you will unashamedly like, even if it might annoy you for days after, to arduously remove the shards and hooks of melody embedded deep in your head. The ska-tinged ‘I love you’ and new single ‘We can work it out’ shine effortlessly with enough bleeps and glazed hooks to please the otherwise indifferent audience. Esser are not exactly masters of the stage and they should not be, at least not yet. They still have a long way to go in crafting a convincing stage performance, but that should be far from their concerns when they are still yet to release their debut album.



Black Kids play through a solid set of songs that are more familiar to tonight’s audience, for a band of well, kids they fill the arena stage with a grand presence. Singles ‘hurricane Jayne’ and ‘I’m not going to teach your boyfriend’ still allure and have not lost any of the charm felt for them since their release.



The thousands of hungry fans finally feast on their northern pinups Kaiser Chiefs, who take to the stage as clear veterans of ridiculously big stage performances. Ricky Wilson, ever the ringmaster, directs traffic and conjures the arena to near eruption as he takes fans through selection of Kasier Chief’s anthemic repertoire. Despite the total commercial failure of their last album, tracks ‘Oh my god’ and ‘Modern way’ still shine relentlessly.


By Tom Walmsley