Featured IPO CD Artists: Blake, Emperor Penguin, The Vinylos
Featured IPO CD Artist: Blake
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “Vinyl Junkie”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
I felt that my song “Vinyl Junkie” was most representative of what I’m about as an artist, lyrically and musically. I’m basically obsessed with the sixties, The Beatles and collecting records!
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
I was fourteen years old and had apparently been singing to myself in art class in school. A couple of guys in my year were forming a band to play Joy Division covers and they had overheard me and thought I could hold a tune. I wasn’t that keen at first, but they were persistent and one day after school they came round to my house and frog-marched me to the garage where they were rehearsing (with just bass and drums). I got the bug there and then and bought my first guitar not long afterwards.
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
I’ve given the game away in my first answer! My dad was a journalist and he interviewed Lennon in 1969 for The Birmingham Evening Mail. I became aware of this when John was shot and my dad told me the story. My parents bought me The Beatles Ballads on cassette that Christmas and I fell in love with them (The Beatles, that is). I’ve been performing in a Beatles tribute band since 2007. My other favourite artists are Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan and Donovan. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan are my favourite guitarists and although their stories are both unspeakably tragic, the music they made in those few short years is timeless. I’ve loved Bob since a friend of mine lent me a tape of More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits in school 1988. There are endless depths to explore in his songs. I’m going to see him (for no doubt the final time) later this month. Donovan I came to really appreciate much later and now I can’t get enough of him. I think he’s probably the least appreciated of the great sixties artists now, which is a shame because he’s fab and if it wasn’t for Allan Klein messing around with his business affairs, he’d have been way more successful, artistically, in Britain.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
In a way, it helped me because it gave me time away from work and I knuckled down to record my album 1971 at home. This was picked up by the Subjangle record label and it eventually brought me to the attention of Mr David Bash!
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
It was my first IPO in Liverpool earlier this year and it was a brilliant experience. I got to meet some lovely people from other bands that were playing and have established several good friendships as a result. I couldn’t believe the quality of the music that was being performed. It taught me that original music is alive and well and I now feel plugged in to a network of creative fellow travelers from around the world. The fact that my song has been included on the IPO CD is marvelous.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
Head on over to my website https://www.thisisblake.com and people can sign up to my mailing list and be informed about upcoming gigs and releases. I have several albums available for free/name your price download on my Bandcamp page: https://thisisblake.bandcamp.com/music Cheers!
Featured IPO CD Artist: Emperor Penguin
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “On The Motorway”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
Neil – “On the Motorway” is catchy and kind of quirky. And doesn’t everyone love a Mungo Jerry-influenced song envisaging the extinction of the human race as a result of the proliferation of motor vehicle infrastructure?
Nigel – I think we all agreed it was because it was such an unlike-any-other sounding EP tune.
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
Rich – A 15-year old Nigel Winfield came round our house with his guitar and amp and played a selection of tunes including “Shindig” by The Shadows, “Goodbye To Love” by the Carpenters, and “James and the Cold Gun” by Kate Bush.
JT – One day I found two boys in a corner of the playground strumming air guitars and singing, “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah..” Shortly after that The Monkees started on TV…
Nigel – Walking down the stairs aged three years one morning close to Xmas and seeing The Beatles sing a song in black and white on our TV. Must have been 1965, can’t remember the tune. But one of my very earliest memories of anything.
Neil – Listening to the John Peel show on the radio late at night under the covers when I was supposed to be asleep because I had school in the morning. The Saints, Ramones, Richard Hell, Television, The Damned, the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks – it was a teenage rampage! They inspired me to think – that’s what I want to do.
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
Rich – Morrissey. He knows how to put on a show.
JT – Carole King, the Ramones, AC/DC. No-one else can do that.
Nigel – Too many to mention. A few; Elvis Costello and Andy Partridge for sheer musical and lyrical inventiveness, and Rush for never giving a fuck what people thought of them
Neil – My favourite band is still Orange Juice. And I love the mavericks and weirdos who are uniquely themselves and seem to have little care for convention or commerciality. People like Joni Mitchell, Mark E. Smith, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Prince. And you can’t deny the genius of the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
Rich – It forced me to learn how to use GarageBand
JT – It made me hate a chair and a laptop, it made me desperate to play live again.
Nigel – The isolation was incredibly taxing at times, and I love living alone, but musically it made me and the rest of the band more productive.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
Rich – Seeing how mad people are in Liverpool
JT – Quoting dialogue from A Hard Day’s Night on the train.
Nigel – Thinking about the brilliant bands, including McCartney, who have played on that same iconic stage that we’ve played. Never fails to give me a huge buzz before we’ve played a note!
Neil – Feeling that, in our own small way, we’re part of a scene. Thanks for that, David and Rina and IPO and all the other participants.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
You can follow us on Bandcamp at: https://emperorpenguin.bandcamp.com
In the USA you can buy our CDs from https://www.koolkatmusik.com
We’re at https://emperorpenguintheband.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/epenguinsrock/
And you can watch some videos here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Dx3UH6IWu9MhOqvyVTZfw/videos
Featured IPO CD Artist: The Vinylos
IPO Vol. 23 CD Song: “The Rain Comes”
1. What was the reason you chose the song you did for the IPO CD?
David Bash suggested “The Rain Comes” as a song for the IPO CD, we had chosen “Move On”, also from Club Virginia album. It was a perfect choice to submit our song “The Rain Comes” for the IPO Volume 22 CD because It’s probably our favorite song from Club Virginia album. We’re proud of each section of it: music, melody and lyrics. Thanks David!
2. Please describe that pivotal moment when you first realized you wanted to create music or become a band.
Since we were children we loved music. We all wanted to be in a band for as long as we can remember. Sebastian with his guitar, Mario with his bass, Antonio on drums, and Sonia dreamed being a famous Pop singer. Many years had to pass before we met, that beginning of The Vinylos is a happy moment in our lives. And it will be for a long time, we hope
3. Which other artists (living or dead) do you admire most and why?
Hard question, we have different choices, but all in the same direction, the sixties and seventies.
The Remains, The Beatles, Small Faces, The Who, The Move, and many more because we love all the melodies that move our soul. And they get it! They thrill us, shake us and blow our mind with their music.
4. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your music?
We took advantage of 2020 when the confinement of the covid pandemic was over to record our album Club Virginia, we spent a lot of time in the recording studio with our producer Virginia Izquierdo, and we improved many of the initial ideas of the songs. It was an intense job, and that break of live concerts helped us to get Club Virginia out in November 2021.
5. What do you most enjoy about being associated with The IPO Festival/CD?
Knowing that David Bash and Rina want us in the compilation and in the festivals is a real pride for us. We are really excited to know that you appreciate us! It is also the best support for our music to be known in the world.
6. Where can people who love your song on the IPO CD go to get more of your music and/or find out when and where you’re playing?
We have our albums on Spotify, iTunes, and on all digital platforms and you can also buy our albums on vinyl format through the Clifford Records page.
At our web: thevinylos.es you can find out about all the band news, concerts, and nearby releases.