MARCH / APRIL 2011

Grahams Number appeared on 11Alive TV show Atlanta

VIEW HERE

Simon Kirke - Filling The Void CD

Our Price: $10.38    CD UNIVERSE

 

 

 

Simon Kirke new album scheduled to release
on Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Place your order today and be one of the first to receive this product when it arrives.

 

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BAD COMPANY & FREE - DRUMMER KIRKE STEPS UP TO THE MIC FOR FIRST VOCAL ALBUM
FILLING THE VOID RELEASED ON MEGAFORCE RECORDS – JUNE 21ST

Having spent over four decades kicking out the jams with the likes of English blues rockers Free ("All Right Now," "Wishing Well") and their hard rock successors Bad Company ("Feel Like Makin' Love," "Can't Get Enough," "Shooting Star"), Simon Kirke is stepping out from behind the skins for his first proper studio album, the straightforward and polished Filling the Void.

While Kirke plays drums, piano, bass, and guitar throughout this contemporary rock set, the
New York-based, south London-bred musician showcases his sharp guitar skills as well as his honest and heartfelt vocal prowess. Such an endeavor has been a long time coming, as Kirke reveals that a stint in rehab for substance abuse just under a decade ago truly inspired him to pen the small indie release, Seven Rays of Hope, in 2005, and ultimately encouraged him to get his singing out there.

"I've been writing songs for many, many years and I just wanted to get them out, like an exorcism," Kirke says. "That was the primary reason for doing it and on the way [these songs] started to become something more than I thought they would."

From the sunny tones of "One Day Closer to You" and "Talk to the Hand" to the insightful "Message From the Lost," Filling the Void falls in the same vein as Gerry Rafferty, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor. Kirke's fellow Bad Company bandmate, guitarist Mick Ralphs, makes an appearance on the rollicking "Make Up Your Mind." Guitarist Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers) appears on the soul-searching title track, as does Kirke's daughter Domino. She also lends her earthy harmonies to "Over There," Kirke's touching homage to the fallen soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Filling the Void was engineered and produced by Kirke in his Long Island cottage and in studios in Manhattan and Brooklyn during November 2010 and March 2011. Chris Muth of Taloowa Music mastered the collection. A host of seasoned musicians also provided a rich sonic backdrop their wide-ranging talents, including organist Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes fame, guitarist G.E. Smith, saxophonist Art Hays, guitarist Steve Conte (New York Dolls, Maceo Parker) and bassist John Conte (Ian Hunter, Levon Helm). "I was very lucky to get them," Kirke says of his Filling the Void ensemble.

Aside from his issuing six albums with Free and following those with 12 LPs with Bad Company, Kirke has gone on to collaborate with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band, Ronnie Wood, Bo Diddley and Wilson Pickett. Additionally, he previously participated in the popular Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, which allows aspiring musicians of all ages to play alongside some of the genre's greatest. He currently serves as a consultant and board member.

Filling the Void
I was in rehab a couple of times and I don't mind telling anyone that. This is an analogy for when I was in there.

I Want You Back
This song was written with Larry Dvoskin [produced several tracks on Bad Company’s “Fame and Fortune”], who visited me when I was living the UK. This is one of our best. I love the vocal performance by Audrey Martells, who did multi-tracking and ended up sounding like a choir.

Message From the Lost:
I was a driver for the Red Cross for about six weeks after 9/11. One day, I was delivering supplies to Ground Zero when a big siren went off. The whole place went quiet and then came the first wave of relatives, carrying photos, flowers, and toys for the missing. It was incredibly moving. My surmise here is, what if souls of the dead could speak to their loved ones, what could they say?

Angel in My Eyes
My vision here was one of sheer love and my look on a couple that's been together for a long time. I also took a little slice of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" here.

Over There
I try not to get involved in politics, but this is my take on the Iraq War and the events in Afghanistan. I was haunted after seeing a newsreel of how young some of these soldiers who were getting blown up by roadside bombs. It wasn't even a fair fight.

Jaunty Sarcasm
These are just two words that came to me. It's a soliloquy on a bad relationship.

Melting On Madison
I was stuck up town late at night after a session, it was pouring rain and I couldn't get a taxi. Some scaffolding provided some shelter and I saw a couple nearby that was sort of snuggling together, completely oblivious to the rain. The woman said "I want to melt into you," which I thought was a lovely phrase.

Fly to Your Side
I wanted this to sound like Ry Cooder meets The Beatles. I also wanted an orchestra on the end, but budget restraints prevented that. Instead Jeff Kazee and I manned separate string synthesizers and did it that way.

Make Up Your Mind
My collaboration with the husband-and-wife team of Jon and Sally Tiven (Nick Lowe, Wilson Pickett). It came about after I read about the legendary country star George Jones driving into town to his local bar on a harvesting machine because his wife had hidden all of his car keys! An ode to drunkenness with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Talk to the Hand
I was a little bit nervous when I wrote this because the first part of the song is about this rather arrogant guy. But then I did a 180 and gave this male voice a chance to redeem himself. It's a piss-take on guys who are a little misogynistic.

Going Home
This song draws from a situation where a guy's wife or girlfriend has done something crazy and left the telephone hanging. The guy jumps into his car and drives all night until he gets to her.

One Day Closer to You
My companion to "Over There." The setting could be a man counting the days off of a prison sentence or a tour of duty overseas… I imagined a guy singing this around a campfire one night.

 

Sound Clips will be available shortly at www.myspace.com/simonkirke

 

Atlanta Bands Wanted

Press here

ATLANTA -- Three Atlanta guys who make up the band Graham's Number are in the running to play at London's famed Hyde Park this summer.

They are finalists in Hard Rock Cafe's Battle of the Bands, which looks for an up and coming band to take the stage at their annual three-day concert Hard Rock Calling.

Q & A: Graham's Number

Graham's Number is competing against bands from Boston, New Orleans, and Myrtle Beach, just to name a few places. Hard Rock describes Graham's Number as a "band with extraordinary potential with a cutting edge new sound. They combine traditional songwriting with new innovative sounds with influences ranging from Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime."

To vote for "Graham's Number," and to get more information on Hard Rock Calling, click here.

.

GRAHAMS NUMBER of ATLANTA GA

with

 THE HABITUAL BUNGLERS of ATHENS GA

Wow - that's all I can say !

         The Habitual Bunglers are a funky quartet of slick n’ sly rapscallions from Athens, GA:

 David “Dubious” Brown on vocals,

Rio Crane on drums,

James Stickney on bass,

and

 Robbie Rapp on guitar and vocals.

David, James, and Rio all met around the age of 10, and by age 11 Robbie came into the fold.

After several failed attempts at starting a band with other players, they decided to give it another go in the fall of 2008,

 their sophomore year in high school.

 The music seemed to flow much smoother for a band who’d only been playing for several months,

 so they took to performing at many school functions and house parties, leaving all who witnessed their shows as confirmed fans.

 A big factor of their sound is their influences; influences ranging everywhere from Captain Beefheart, Sublime, The Minutemen, Led Zeppelin,

 as well as Sly & the Family Stone and Megadeth.

They incorporate many musical styles into their music in order to brew the uniquely funky stew that is their music;

 If you were to ask the band what kind of music they play, they’d say “We play funk music”.

However, the greatest factor of their sound comes from their long-lasting friendship and their profound loyalty to each other...and the Funk. 

________________________________

These guys are still in high school, I was lucky enough to have seen them

play live in Athens while visiting there with Grahams Number

I was amazed at this bands tightness and passion for playing brilliant music

for their young age. I feel blessed to have heard them first

The boys are yet to go public, they have no music recorded, so I cannot share their music with you

but if you trust my judgement,

Beware, a new awsome band is about to be born !!!!!!!!!!

The Habitual Bunglers

Lucy Piller - Allightnow.com

Jam on, Rye - underdog takes the win

Call Rye Bar the little bar that could.

David Manning

From left, Chris Allen, Ryan Hetrick, Bobby Fede, Emily and David Tammen, Betsy Kingston and Justin Junnier of Rye Bar.

Rye Bar
Where: 140 E. Clayton St.
Hours: 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday
Call: (706) 354-6629

The tavern can only squeeze about 50 skinny people into its underground confines. It's not the nicest, the biggest or the most historic watering hole in downtown Athens.

But Rye Bar, which David Tammen opened less than two years ago, beat out 31 competitors to claim the inaugural Marquee Bar Madness tournament, a monthlong competition that pitted 32 downtown bars against each other and let their fans vote for their supremacy.

Rye Bar outlasted Cutters Pub in the final round to win the honors after steamrolling competitors - Caledonia Lounge, Farm 255, MAX and Mad Hatter - as the field of 32 was whittled down.

"We've got lots of fans everywhere," Tammen said. "We put the contest on our Facebook page and got all our friends voting for us. We feel like we've done a lot of good things to turn that bar around."

Tammen has made several upgrades at the bar that sits below East Clayton Street. He hired a new staff, upgraded the air conditioning and improved the sound system for bands.

Many locals will remember the bar as DT's. If it was anything before that, this transplant is unaware.

Now, Rye Bar hosts music several nights a week. But just any music wasn't enough for Tammen - he wanted good music.

"We did a really hard look at the music we had down there," he said. "We wanted to make sure we had good music every night.

"We've done a lot of residencies with a lot of local bands and have really worked on making musicians feel welcome. You can go there any night of the week now and hear good music."

Tammen and his staff also have tried to be more consistent with their mix of drinks and drink specials. Rye Bar focuses on selling tall-boy cans instead of bottles and offers them for $2 until 11 p.m. Well drinks and certain draft beers also are $2 during the bar's extended happy hour.

"We're trying some new things - we've got good selections of rye whiskeys and tequilas," Tammen said. "We might get into some infused vodkas where we're doing them ourselves."

Even with all of its improvements, Tammen didn't think Rye Bar had a great shot at winning the Bar Madness tournament.

His bar was one of the last four bars selected to the tournament and was an underdog in every match-up.

But Rye Bar didn't just win on its way to the finals - it dominated.

"I thought it was pretty neat," he said. "I'm kind of surprised at some of the bars we beat."

The wins were a product of a lot of promotion, Tammen said. The staff pushed the contest, and the fans kept on voting.

"It's an awesome thing for us," he said. "We really tried to promote us, and obviously our efforts paid off. I can't wait to post something on our wall."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: N.Y., N.Y. April 4, 20011

BAD COMPANY & FREE - DRUMMER

SIMON KIRKE

STEPS UP TO THE MIC FOR First VOCAL ALBUM

Filling the Void

Released on MEGAFORCE RECORDS – june 21^ST  

PERFORMING JUNE 11^th @ CITY WINERY

155 Varick Street, N.Y., N.Y.

Having spent over four decades kicking out the jams with the likes of English blues rockers Free ("All Right Now," "Wishing Well") and their hard rock successors Bad Company ("Feel Like Makin' Love," "Can't Get Enough," "Shooting Star"), Simon Kirke is stepping out from behind the skins for his first proper studio album, the straightforward and polished Filling the Void.

While Kirke plays drums, piano, bass, and guitar throughout this contemporary rock set, the

New York-based, south London-bred musician showcases his sharp guitar skills as well as his honest and heartfelt vocal prowess. Such an endeavor has been a long time coming, as Kirke reveals that a stint in rehab for substance abuse just under a decade ago truly inspired him to pen the small indie release, Seven Rays of Hope, in 2005, and ultimately encouraged him to get his singing out there.

"I've been writing songs for many, many years and I just wanted to get them out, like an exorcism," Kirke says. "That was the primary reason for doing it and on the way [these songs] started to become something more than I thought they would."

From the sunny tones of "One Day Closer to You" and "Talk to the Hand" to the insightful "Message From the Lost," Filling the Void falls in the same vein as Gerry Rafferty, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor. Kirke's fellow Bad Company bandmate, guitarist Mick Ralphs, makes an appearance on the rollicking "Make Up Your Mind." Guitarist Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers) appears on the soul-searching title track, as does Kirke's daughter Domino. She also lends her earthy harmonies to "Over There," Kirke's touching homage to the fallen soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Filling the Void was engineered and produced by Kirke in his Long Island cottage and in studios in Manhattan and Brooklyn during November 2010 and March 2011. Chris Muth of Taloowa Music mastered the collection. A host of seasoned musicians also provided a rich sonic backdrop their wide-ranging talents, including organist Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes fame, guitarist G.E. Smith, saxophonist Art Hays, guitarist Steve Conte (New York Dolls, Maceo Parker) and bassist John Conte (Ian Hunter, Levon Helm). "I was very lucky to get them," Kirke says of his Filling the Void ensemble.

Aside from his issuing six albums with Free and following those with 12 LPs with Bad Company, Kirke has gone on to collaborate with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band, Ronnie Wood, Bo Diddley and Wilson Pickett. Additionally, he previously participated in the popular Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, which allows aspiring musicians of all ages to play alongside some of the genre's greatest. He currently serves as a consultant and board member.

Filling the Void

I was in rehab a couple of times and I don't mind telling anyone that. This is an analogy for when I was in there.

I Want You Back

This song was written with Larry Dvoskin [produced several tracks on Bad Company’s “Fame and Fortune”], who visited me when I was living the UK. This is one of our best. I love the vocal performance by Audrey Martells, who did multi-tracking and ended up sounding like a choir.

Message From the Lost:

I was a driver for the Red Cross for about six weeks after 9/11. One day, I was delivering supplies to Ground Zero when a big siren went off. The whole place went quiet and then came the first wave of relatives, carrying photos, flowers, and toys for the missing. It was incredibly moving. My surmise here is, what if souls of the dead could speak to their loved ones, what could they say?

Angel in My Eyes

My vision here was one of sheer love and my look on a couple that's been together for a long time. I also took a little slice of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" here.

Over There

I try not to get involved in politics, but this is my take on the Iraq War and the events in Afghanistan. I was haunted after seeing a newsreel of how young some of these soldiers who were getting blown up by roadside bombs. It wasn't even a fair fight.

Jaunty Sarcasm

These are just two words that came to me. It's a soliloquy on a bad relationship.

Melting On Madison

I was stuck up town late at night after a session, it was pouring rain and I couldn't get a taxi. Some scaffolding provided some shelter and I saw a couple nearby that was sort of snuggling together, completely oblivious to the rain. The woman said "I want to melt into you," which I thought was a lovely phrase.

Fly to Your Side

I wanted this to sound like Ry Cooder meets The Beatles. I also wanted an orchestra on the end, but budget restraints prevented that. Instead Jeff Kazee and I manned separate string synthesizers and did it that way.

Make Up Your Mind

My collaboration with the husband-and-wife team of Jon and Sally Tiven (Nick Lowe, Wilson Pickett). It came about after I read about the legendary country star George Jones driving into town to his local bar on a harvesting machine because his wife had hidden all of his car keys! An ode to drunkenness with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Talk to the Hand

I was a little bit nervous when I wrote this because the first part of the song is about this rather arrogant guy. But then I did a 180 and gave this male voice a chance to redeem himself. It's a piss-take on guys who are a little misogynistic.

Going Home

This song draws from a situation where a guy's wife or girlfriend has done something crazy and left the telephone hanging. The guy jumps into his car and drives all night until he gets to her.

One Day Closer to You

My companion to "Over There." The setting could be a man counting the days off of a prison sentence or a tour of duty overseas… I imagined a guy singing this around a campfire one night.

For Further information please contact:

Doreen D’Agostino

[email protected]

212-772-2050

917-916-2626

DOREEN D’AGOSTINO MEDIA

www.doreendagostinomedia.com