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Asylum at Live Lounge, July 24th 2009

In asylum, bands, dinan, jersey, live lounge, london, music on June 25, 2009 at 12:25

Fusion of cultures

Asylum is serious about bringing to the attention of its audiences some of the best bands from outside of Jersey. Superior rock acts from Guernsey and the UK have graced the stage at Live Lounge and impressed all lucky enough to have seen them in recent months and now we are proud to announce a forthcoming show by the rock band Gasp’n gus who hail from Dinan in Brittany, France.

Gasp’n gus are Greg (vocals), Mikael (guitar), Maxime (guitar), Vince (drums), Antoine (bass) and Julien (keyboard). Their songs, sung in English by Greg with a richly soulful rock voice evoking Eddie Vedder in his mellower moments and Tom Waits in his gruffer, more agonised stylings, are delicately ornamented, classic pieces. The lyrics are romantic, impassioned poetry. Surrounding Greg’s virtuoso vocal performances is a bed of lush instrumentation which is subtly, spaciously arranged and always fascinating. There are sections of beautiful guitar soloing, keyboard parts, funky bass and jazz-inspired drumming that together suggest a mythical heyday of world pop. The music of Gasp’n gus belongs in stadiums.

They cite many influences including Jaco Pastorius, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Satriani, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Steve Gadd, Bruce Hornsby, Bon Jovi, Ryan Adams, Simple Minds, Karizma, Peter Gabriel and Maceo Parker. France, with its pop music having been more diversely multicultural than most British pop, is the natural place where this unique musical expression comes together.

Support acts for the show are Jerseybob and DJ Rosbif. Bob has already been with us several times with his band The Freewheelers and on this occasion will be performing solo. His songs, played, and lived, in the tradition of timeless troubadourianism, are joyous, heartfelt tributes to life, love and a quest for spiritual enrichment. DJ Rosbif will be playing a set of exoticism and danceability in equal measures.

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bulletproof, gift wrapped fist, nailed to the furnace

Asylum at Live Lounge, July 17th 2009

In asylum, bands, burton on trent, jersey, live lounge, music on June 25, 2009 at 12:24

"... drink beer, fuck fall out boy ..."

With song titles such as Tomorrow’s Whores and Prepare For Death, you know from the get-go that you’re in for an uncompromising attack on polite sensibilities with Gift Wrapped Fist.

They are Angelo Vidigal (vocals), Danny Norris (drums), Sam Marriott (bass), Roy Taylor (guitar) and Matt Daly (guitar). Based in Burton On Trent, and coming from the shores of Jersey, Gift Wrapped Fist say they are determined to make their way through ‘the crap that is the metal scene now’ and in doing so demonstrate a taste for derisive nose-thumbing that not even fellow metal musicians can feel safe from. Their music features fuzzed-out guitars slicing through the murk of an aggressive rhythm section, and vocals that are one-part Lemmy to two parts violent tramp. They create a monstrous derangement of lust and anguish, and create something that is radically new with the forms of classic metal. Their performance on July 17th promises to be unmissable.

Metal nights at Asylum are always exciting events due to the loyal support of a heavy music loving crowd recognising that, uniquely in Jersey, the Live Lounge genuinely supports the scene.

Nailed To The Furnace are John Ward (vocals), Lee Raeburn (lead guitar), Andy Thomas (guitar), Molly Warren (bass) and Danny Gallichan (drums). They are a hardcore band aiming to bring a different style of metal to Jersey. I’d sum up that sound by saying it is like a chamber quintet offshoot of Glenn Branca’s symphonic guitar noise orchestra playing relentless, monochordal anthems with ferocious intensity and fronted by a vocalist with real menace.

Bulletproof are the island’s respected punk dons, Steve, Lee and Eddie, committed and vital as ever, all of whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for Asylum on YouTube recently. Check out the interview and performance videos here.

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chaos theory, nocturnum, we bury our own

Jersey Evening Post, June 13th 2009

In asylum, bands, jersey, live lounge, music, press on June 13, 2009 at 01:17

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chaos theory, nocturnum, we bury our own

Asylum at Live Lounge, June 19th 2009

In asylum, bands, jersey, live lounge, music on June 6, 2009 at 22:47

Darkness audible

Nocturnum are Midgard Morningstar (vocals), Alex (guitars), Blake (drums) and Muz (bass).

Nocturnum are a black metal band with an epic sound pitched in the swirling space where heaven and hell do battle: Jagged, motorik rhythms, savage guitar heroics and lyrics of bleak threnody and poetic passion. They have been diligently working on a set of tremendous audacity and verve, and have just finished their debut album Darker Than Darkness. It is a masterpiece of classic metal with production that will leave listeners dazzled. Copies of the CD will be available to buy for the great value price of £2.50.

We Bury Our Own are Rob (vocals), Jordan (guitar), Andreas (guitar), Kyle (bass) and Chris (drums). They are a heavy metal band with a well-deserved reputation for performances of visceral excitement and musical excellence. Their thrashy compositions, heavy as a black hole, are delivered with stunning power, and with the magnetic force of frontman Rob they always deliver quality in spades. They’ve been recording this year and there will be more information on this later.

Chaos Theory formed about a year ago, and this will be their first live performance. They are Josh Feldman (lead Guitar), Joey Conway (guitar), Robert Telfer (drums), Kyle Jones (bass) and Matt Ahier (vocals).

From Josh of the band: Chaos Theory make heavy metal music that is a fresh, bouncy, groove-laden power surge with some thrash mixed in for good measure. Having only been practising for the best part of a year, we have yet to gig. Nevertheless this is not to say that we are not ready! We are itching to showcase our product. From five lads who started jamming in a living room now comes a solid band with tracks that warrant an outsider’s appreciation. We have five original tracks ready and rearing to go, with two more in the pipeline that just require lyrics written for. We also have a handful of covers to choose from bands such as Metallica, Lamb of God and Chimaira.

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kevin pallot and the pinnacles, lloyd yates, the freewheelers

June 5th photos and news

In asylum, bands, jersey, live lounge, music on June 6, 2009 at 22:37

Some changes have been made to the middle floor of the Live Lounge, which attendees of last night’s show with Lloyd Yates, The Freewheelers, and Kevin Pallot and The Pinnacles were the first to experience. Flavio and his team have worked hard (and unbelievably fast) to construct a new stage, bar, and booth for the DJs, sound and light technicians. Our regular sound engineers Justin Vooles and Dave Findlay spent the week installing new stage box and cables for the stage. The results of their work were strikingly evident; a cleaner, richer sound and a more stable system.