Richard Hawley

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:15 pm 
US singer/songwriter Ben Weaver comes to The Grapes on Friday January 9th in support of his latest genre defying album, The Ax In The Oak which is out now on Bloodshot Records. Support comes from The Listeners. Advance tickets priced at £6 are available now from Jacks Records and Seetickets.com. The price on the doors will be £8 and they open at 8pm.


***BEN WEAVER***

The Ax In The Oak is Weaver's 6th album at the ripe old age of 29; it is by far his most adventurous to date. Weaver explains, "The majority of this record was written in Berlin, the summer of 2007. I was staying in a friend's flat in Prenzlauer Berg. I had many pictures in my head at that time. This record is not about Berlin, but about what being in Berlin allowed me to create." Produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine), the album juxtaposes electronic musical sounds with warm acoustic instruments with textural results that defy the usual expectations of the singer/songwriter genre. It's hard to argue with the results—evocative, hushed songs that illuminate Ben's affinity for the natural world of birds, phone booths, empty parking lots, strangers in the checkout line, plastic bags stuck in trees and whatever else typically goes unnoticed in the sidewalk cracks.

A former Casket Company warehouse is Weaver's current world headquarters. Multitudinous organs, synthesizers, guitars, a sampler, a piano, a dog, Polaroid cameras, sketch books, New Yorker back issues, boxes of CDs and a PowerBook mark the territory. There is an air of controlled chaos and the musty smell of old tube amps. Weaver writes continuously, a process perhaps more akin to breathing than composing, "I have always identified with those people who make art because they have to, that sense of necessity and urgency. That is why I make art, to fulfill that need within myself and to connect with the people of the world who also cannot live without it."

As a friend of the late Southern writer Larry Brown—who called Weaver “the most exciting young songwriter I’ve come across” —Weaver penned two songs in tribute to him on Ax: “Hey Ray” and “Hawks and Crows.” Weaver also contributed a song to the Bloodshot Records compilation: Just OneMore: A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown, released last year.

Weaver returned to Berlin after the recording of the album—to the same apartment—to draw all the artwork for The Ax in the Oak. But it’s not the first time Weaver’s explored the 2-dimensional side to his art: His limited-edition, hand-printed chapbook of poems and drawings, “Hand Me Downs Can Be Haunted,” sold out the first two printings and is now in its third. Weaver has also contributed a story to an upcoming Anthology being gathered by Steve Horowitz for Mellville House—each selection of fiction is written by a songwriter. Expected to be in bookstores in March, Weaver will be featured along with the likes of Renee Sparks of The Handsome Family, Greg Brown and Jolie Holland.

Weaver’s approach to songwriting is not your typical verse-chorus-verse arrangements, but rather little song-stories about birds, phone booths, empty parking lots, strangers in the checkout line, plastic bags stuck in trees and other things that may go unnoticed in life’s overstuffed Wunderkammer. Weaver’s mood is double-edged; darkness and melancholy always live in close proximity to a romantically hopeful and redeeming view of the human condition. His songwriting took critic’s notice on his self-released 2004 album, Stories Under Nails, with accolades collected both in the US and abroad in The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Harp, Mojo, and Q Magazine.

"country-rooted Americana full of weary determination and aphoristic clarity, somewhere between the Band and Tom Waits." The New York Times

"strange, skin-prickling tales picked up from the Moebius strip of a lost highway he's been compelled to travel on.... like a hillbilly Leonard Cohen." Mojo

"one of the most satisfying listens there’ll be all year, in a word, marvellous." Americana-uk.com

http://www.benweaver.net
http://www.myspace.com/benweavermusic


***THE LISTENERS***

The Listeners are an acoustic duo from the North of England. They have been together for two years having played on the same circuit for several years in different bands. Emma Thorpe provides the main voice, a velvet glove softening the punch, delivering her songs with, in turn, uncompromising invective and heart on sleeve insight. Robert Cook, as well as adding a dark baritone voice, brings his rootsy rock guitar credentials to The Listeners feast. The Listeners have won over audiences from many genres...surf punk, rock and folk music.The band have a growing reputation on the acoustic underground scene in the North of England and have been favourites of BBC radio presenters and University radio DJ's, having performed many live sessions. The duo have released a series of songs which are available now on iTunes and have been winning them much praise. The project has been produced by Ewan Davies who has worked with many artists, from Arctic Monkeys to The Editors.

"Like P.J Harvey......pissed off, unplugged and wearing a kaftan!" Music Mart Magazine 2007

"the listeners were f**king brilliant i really enjoyed last night!" Richard Hawley

http://www.myspace.com/thelisteners


Facebook Event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=42178085546


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:59 pm 
Bumpness as this is now on Friday, and in addition to the fabulous Listeners there will also be support from Brighton's Jane Bartholomew who is joining Ben for most of his UK dates:

http://www.myspace.com/janebartholomew


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:58 am 
Tonight, from 8....


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