Northeast Music Guide

RFTK Promotions in Association with  Bloodstock: Metal 2 The Masses presents For the very first time... NEWCASTLE FINALS This is very good news for the region.  Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses is a battle of the bands contest where a band from each region goes on to play at Bloodstock Festival, the UK's biggest Metal Festival. The contest has been running many years, but this is the first time the region will be represented - taking this year's contest to 26 regions and counting. The premise is simple - it is a battle of the bands consisting of heats, semi-finals and a final - with the regional winner playing the NEW BLOOD STAGE at Bloodstock in 2016.  This stage gets estimated crowds of 2000 fans who are hungry for new music. Bands such as Evile, Bloodshot Dawn and Saturnian are amongst those who've gone on to do world tours or sign to major record labels since coming through this route.  Evile have just toured with Megadeth. The Newcastle final tak...

Last Joker To Play the O2 Newcastle Support: Saints of Arcadia Once More Round A New Nowhere Last Joker was formed by Miguel Mega, portuguese guitar player, in the late eighties in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. In 1990 Last Joker recorded their first demo tape with the songs  Without You , Last Joker , Hold on Tight and Every Night and started a career playing for eager crowds in the São Paulo state. Because of their musicality , stage presence and sold out concerts they got the attention of Metal Rock Records and recorded their first LP simply called Last Joker and toured Brazil supporting bands such as Sepultura, Angra, Dr. Sin, RDP among others. In the middle nineties the band broke up and Miguel Mega moved to LA and started a solo career and released around 10 instrumental solo cds and appeared on several compilations alongside Greg Howe (Howe II, Michael jackson, Maragold),  Kiko Loureiro (Angra, Megadeth) among others. Photos by Ruth Hindson Ph...

Winter Food and Craft Fair  at Gateshead Rugby Club ,  5th and 6th December "CHANGE OF VENUE - due to advice we have received from our marquee provider about the safety of the marquee in strong winds forecast for Saturday we have changed the venue of the event. It will now be held at the Dryden Centre, Evistones Road NE9 5UR . This is just around the corner from the Rugby Club and has its own car park. " "Our first Winter Food & Craft Fair will be on Saturday 5th & 6th December and is held at Gateshead Rugby Club. The event will be held in both the rugby club hall and a heated marquee, with over 70 stallholders confirmed, each day,  with a wide variety of wonderful gift items including north east themed products, personalised artwork & Christmas products, real Christmas trees and locally sourced food products.  Planning is coming along very nicely with a full programme of entertainment for the Saturday and Sunday this incl...

Black Atom Movement are a highly skilled duo. They manage to blend Iommi-like guitar, Grohl-like drums and Kilmister-like vocals in a blues metal mix to create a massive sound with just two instruments. I particularly enjoyed The Sheriff,a very bluesy number. A wireless connection for the guitar might be advisable, as vocalist and guitarist Aaron is very twisty turny on stage and kep pulling the lead out. Set yourself free Aaron! Andrew O'Neil performed a stand-up set, which was a pleasant change. This was a veritable variety evening!Mr O'Neil entertained with stories and improvised songs from the satirical to the surreal. He's an appealing character onstage and this continued into the Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing set, as he is the guitarist and second on vocals. The Men who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing specialise in songs telling tales of the Victorian era. The music itself, however, ranges from political punk like Doing it For The Whigs , to folk,...

Get social with iVAMOS! at the heart of Newcastle! Sharing the same building as Jowheretogo PR is a real cultural gem in the city centre:  Newcastle’s new cultural hub iVAMOS! Social, which is delivered by ¡VAMOS! and Breeze Creatives, has opened its doors and is set to present an up-and-coming programme of Latin infused events at its Market Street residence. Located on the ground floor of Bamburgh House which already hosts various creative organisations under its roof, its reformation has transformed the venue from a previous nightclub into a social space that runs both day and night in partnership with Northeast arts organisation, Breeze Creatives. iVAMOS! Social founder and iVAMOS! Festival Director Nik Barrera said: “iVAMOS! Social aims to introduce a vibrant community centre for everyone from Wednesday to Saturdays by offering food and drinks, DJ events, live music and film screenings. Plans for development in the near future includes workshops, markets, ...

Tom Robinson  Mighty Sword of Justice Tour  at The Sage, Gateshead 09/11/2015 Tom Robinson is known to many as the voice on BBC6Music with his unique Saturday Night Show with its blend of the classic and brand new. Tom is on tour after the release of his album Only The Now, his fist studio album in nearly 20 years.  Hall 2 at The Sage was first entertained by a short set of eclectic songs, about, or related to, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, by Kitten Pyramid. The band on this occasion only consisted of frontman Scott Milligan (on various instruments) and his son Tom on drums. I found this interesting prog music for a live gig though perhaps would not be my personal choice of CD for a long journey. Tom Robinson took to the stage to perform two sets with a short voice break in between. He mixed the old and the new with the audience joining in with such classics as Martin and Glad to be Gay but also with new tracks like Risky Busine...

Cherie Currie Chats To Jo About Her First Tour In 20 Years Cherie Currie is famous for her time as the lead singer in The Runaways in the mid to late 70’s. She’s had success as a solo artist, actress, wood carver and author since, and she’s heading to Newcastle on tour,  on 14th November.  JO: First of all thanks for taking time out to talk to us at NE Volume/Jowheretogo. I'm sure you are very busy or just craving some nap time between all this travelling? CC: Well, the heat here in LA has sidelined me from carving.  Thank God for the kindness and patience of my clients who are willing to wait until I return from the UK. JO: How's the tour so far? Good band to work with? CC: The guys are great.  Alexx Michael put together a great band for this tour and he worked so hard to make sure the fans are thrilled with the shows.  JO: It's interesting tour in that you have chosen some really down-to-earth venues. For example the Globe pub in Newcast...

Bringing The Best Music To Newcastle RFTK Promotions November 5th – Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate) + The King Lot + Rusted Hero @ Think Tank November 14th – Cherie Currie + The Last Great Dreamers + Scream of Sirens @ Globe November 20th - The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing + Andrew O'Neill @ Think Tank November 21st – Devilish Presley + Death Party + 13 Candles @ Globe November 26th - Dorje @ Think Tank 2016 February 12th - Faderhead + Dreams Divide @ Cluny February 19th  - CJ Wildheart @ Think Tank March 5th  - Tragedy @ Cluny Tickets for all are available from www.seetickets.com , www.wegottickets.com , Reflex Records.  Cluny shows are available from the bar.

Jack's Mates Films Announces Opening of  "M.A.D: Murder at Dawn" Newcastle, UK - Jack's Mates Films are proud to announce the opening of "MAD: Murder at Dawn", a Halloween drama starring Jamie McKay, Dennis Baer, Martin Smith and Carl Walker, and making his debut at directing is actor Martin Owens-Cairns. M.A.D: Murder at Dawn is the story of David (Jamie McKay), a college student, who attends a pre-halloween party with friends. At the party Jon (Carl Walker) notices his girlfriend dancing with another man, Mike (Martin Owens-Cairns), his college friend, and becomes insanely jealous. He follows them upstairs where he finds them  embracing. Furious at the sight he threatens Mike with murder. The next day Mike is found dead. David accuses Jon of said Murder but was it really him? Or was Mike a wanted man? It is up to DCI Rogers (Dennis Baer) and DS Boone (Martin Smith) to work that out. Jamie McKay stars in this movie, as his debut perform...

Tom Robinson Releases ‘Only The Now’ New Album Out October 16 th Featuring John Grant, Nadine Shah, Billy Bragg and Many More Inspired by the new music he has heard through his 6 Music shows, Tom Robinson has returned with his first new album in twenty years ' Only The Now ' a record made with award-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist  Gerry Diver  and released on his own Castaway Northwest Recordings. ‘After my second child was born in 1997 I took a break from recording and did more radio work’ says Tom. ‘Both my kids are now grown up now, I've turned 65, the decks are clear, and my musical tastes have changed enormously since working at 6 Music. I've finally met the right producer for all the songs I've had on a backburner for the last 15 years, and the record has exceeded my wildest expectations. Gerry creates the kind of fresh, adventurous noises I actually enjoy listening to - and playing on the radio - in 2015.’ Guest appearing ...