KAJAGOOGOO - ORIGINAL LINE UP BACK TOGETHER:

















KajaGooGoo are back with their original 5 piece line up. Limahl, Nick Beggs, Jez Strode, Stuart Neale & Steve Askew are back together for the first time in 25 years. The band are currently in rehearsals for several festivals and gigs around the world, as well as planning a new album. KajaGooGoo (MySpace) will be performing at festivals in Denmark, Slovakia and again at Retrofest '08. 2008 will also see the band writing new material for a new album. It was also recently announced that Nick Beggs has rejoined Howard Jones electronic band and will be playing the occasional gig with Howard. The photo of Kajagoogoo above was taken just in the last few days.

SECOND SINGLES AND OTHER BITS & PIECES:















The Feeling are releasing 'Without You' - MP3 as the second single in the U.K. from their new cd 'Join With Us' (BUY IT HERE). I'm still trying to get into the album, it's solid but just doesn't seem to have the stand out tracks that their debut cd 'Twelve Stops & Home' had. Still no word on if the new cd will get a North American release.

The Last Goodnight are releasing the song 'Stay Beautiful' - MP3 as the second single from their debut cd "Poison Kiss' (BUY IT HERE). I'm really enjoying the cd and hope this will be another hit for them.

Not sure why Kylie Minogue is releasing the Janet Jackson sounding "All I See' from X as a North American single when 'Wow' seems like the obvious choice for her to return to the charts over here. Here is a link to the MP3 of the single featuring rapper MIMS doing his best to sound like Kanye West.

I'm enjoying the song 'Superstar'- MP3 by Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos (wasn't that Jimmy Smits character's name on The West Wing?).

A Fine Frenzy are returning to Vancouver for a headline show at the intimate 'Media Club', I hope to make it to the show. I met the beautiful Alison Sudol when they opened for Brandi Carlile and she was very kind and put on a great show (I hope they perform the track 'Lifesize' this time as they didn't last time). Check out their MySpace page to hear a remix of the song "Almost Lover" from their debut cd 'One Cell In The Sea' (BUY IT HERE).

Teitur has added a Seattle gig to his upcoming tour, still hoping for a Vancouver show.

Not sure why the band Chester French are getting a fair amount of blog hype, nothing I've heard from this band has impressed me that much.

LO-FI-FNK TOURING & FERRAS NEWS:

















Just checked out Lo-Fi-Fnk's website to see if there was any news of the next album and was surprised and happy to see they are playing some dates in North America in late February/March that includes a stop in Vancouver. I'll definitely be going, hopefully they will have some new tracks to perform (tour dates at bottom of posting)



















American Idol may actually have a decent season as there is a quite varied top 24 that will be whittled down to the Top 10. If you've been watching you'll no doubt have heard the song by Ferras titled "Hollywood's Not America" that they are using. He shows great potential and has an album titled "Aliens And Rainbows" due out on April 1st, you can download the David Bowie influenced title track here and check other tracks on his MySpace page. ChartRigger has blogged about Ferras, and I was interested to read on another website that the album has been produced by The Matrix (that includes the amazing Lauren Christy) with their frequent collaborator Gary Clark (remember the band Danny Wilson - that Gary Clark who has also worked with Natalie Imbruglia and Lloyd Cole).

Lo-Fi-Fnk Tour Dates:

February 28 Montreal [CA] Le Cabaret w. Fluokids

February 29 Toronto [CA] Circa w. Fluokids

March 01 New York [US] Highline Ballroom w. Finger On the Pulse

March 04 Los Angeles [US] UCLA Kerckhoff Grand Salon

March 05 San Francisco [US] Mezannine w. Junior Boys DJ-set

March 06 Vancouver [CA] The Bourbon

March 07 Guadalajara [MX] La Santa

March 08 Mexico City [MX] MX Beat Festival

VARIOUS BITS AND PIECES:


Howard Jones has announced that his 25th Anniversary (in the music biz) concert is set for September 20th at the at the O2 Indigo Arena in London (Jonatha Brooke plays there on March 25th). A visit to London is long overdue so I will have to decide if I'm heading over for a vacation and to take in Howard's concert. I was at his 20th Anniversary gig at Shepherd's Bush that is available to buy on DVD. Hopefully he will start to announce any special guests soon, last time there was Midge Ure, Nena and his old sidekick Jed Hollie.



It appears that Jonatha Brooke has been working on a project that may result in a full album of songs she has written using the lyrics of Woody Guthrie after going through his massive archives. She is due in the studio this month with Bob Clearmountain to start recording with a summer release planned. Not sure what I think about this but I will be interested to hear the results.

I read that Thomas Dekker, the young star of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has recorded two albums and is looking for a record deal to release the first one titled "Psyanotic". I checked out his MySpace site and can't say I was overly impressed with the songs up there. On the website it mentions that Simon Curtis makes a guest appearance on his second album titled "Protean", and the site lists an upcoming gig at The Viper Room in Los Angeles on March 4th.

Last week I heard the song "Life As A Soldier' by Toronto band illScarlett and liked the track. Check out their MySpace page to take a listen to this reggae tinged single. Buy illScarlett CD's

Adele's song "Chasing Pavements" is the free single of the week on Canada's iTunes.

If you haven't already please check out The Whip in my post below - you should as they have some great music.

MAJOR NEW ARTIST ALERT - 'THE WHIP' FROM MANCHESTER:















I just discovered the electronic/synth stylings of Manchester U.K. band The Whip who have a new album titled "X Marks Destination" (due out March 24th) that has some great tracks that have a somewhat 80's influence throughout them. I've only had a chance to listen to the cd quickly and they could soon become a favourite as I like the album a lot. The cd was produced by Jim Abiss who has worked with other bands like the Arctic Monkeys and Editors (some definite Monkeys guitar sounds evident on some tracks).

The new single is the song 'Trash" but I prefer cuts like 'Sister Siam' (previous single), 'Dubsex' and 'Sirens' (which reminds me a bit of 80's Canadian band Strange Advance) - Sirens MP3 up for one week, be sure to check it out.

The band is touring in the U.K. with Simian Mobile Disco and are set to play SXSW in Austin in March and then return to the U.K. for more shows. Check out their MySpace site for tour dates and to listen to tracks from the album.

THE TWO NICK'S/NIK'S:




Nick Heyward has a sample of a new song called "Pure" up on his MySpace page, if you're a fan check it out. He is one artist definitely overdue to release another album, it is nice to see him post often on his MySpace blog. Nick looks like Matt Hales of Aqualung in this picture, see Matt here.







Nik Kershaw has booked some acoustic shows in the U.K. this summer, if I win the lottery I'm there as I've never had the chance to see him in concert (although it appears both shows are already sold-out). He also has a Festival gig in Denmark and is part of a Here & Now Summer Show gig in the U.K. with people like Howard Jones and Heaven 17 (dates below) and a Retrofest gig..

31/05/2008
Solo Acoustic
The Cellars at Eastney, Southsea, Hants - SOLD OUT

01/06/2008
Solo Acoustic
The Cellars at Eastney, Southsea, Hants - SOLD OUT

14/06/2008
Esbjerg Rock Festival, Esbjerg, Denmark

19/07/2008
Here & Now Summer Show, Blickling Hall, Norwich
KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS, KIM WILDE, NIK KERSHAW, HOWARD JONES, PAUL YOUNG, HEAVEN 17, CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT, ALTERED IMAGES, THE REAL THING, CHINA CRISIS, DR & THE MEDICS

30/08/2008
RetroFest, Strathclyde Country Park, Lanarkshire, Scotland

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT - THE LONG WALK HOME:

Some pictures from my walk around the Stanley Park Seawall this afternoon.