TALENTBANQ PRESENTS: COFFEEPOT DRIVE

Posted on February 3rd, 2018 by James Gamble

Hi Peeps,

So, for the second piece from TALENTBANQ PRESENTS, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Nadine from CoffeePot Drive. Nadine indicates they’re now in the process of relaunching with TalentBanq, so what better time to bombard you with info? Call it CoffeePot over-Drive.

‘What’s CoffeePot Drive?’, I hear you say. Umm, rude. Secondly, okay, let’s get some education on the go. Grab yo cortado.

Firstly, let’s just say that if The Blues Brothers and George Thorowood and the Destroyers had a love child, it would be called CoffeePot Drive.

Now, let me introduce to you to the legends (in bullet point format, ‘cos I’m efficient like that):

Let’s start the at what I like to call the ‘babyccino’ days of CoffeePot Drive.

It was MPG awards triple nominee producer**, Andy Brook, who first introduced Illy and Nadine to each other in the murky depths of mid-2013. Based in and around Croydon, South East London, the founding members initially took to the London circuit with their “acoustic vision”. After which, it was a kinda snowball process that took the band into the effervescent ensemble it is now. Coffeepot Drive has kept all original band members, they just can’t shake each other off!

After completing their first record in 2015, Edge of Town, their track ‘Hey Suzy! reached number one in the iTunes Blues chart. They’ve kept up the momentum by belching in-your-face grooves to their loyal following around London. You can usually catch them in places such as The Bedford, The New Cross Inn and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

Okay, now let’s delve into some deeper shit… What do they represent? Nadine explains the aforementioned Edge of Town is named after the band’s roots being on the fringe of London. In their track Warning Sign, they voice the frustration of the isolated and ignored, which resulted in the 2011 London Riots; an integral part of London’s modern history. Not only do they reflect contemporary issues in their song writing, they’re also advocates for mental health awareness and #diversitymatters.

In terms of musical influences, Nadine goes on to say they’re all heavily influenced by rock music – you can hear it in tracks such as Fallback. Despite the rock backgrounds, all members wanted to come together to make something different. I mean, Mark, their keys player, came from some crazy psychedelic bands, ya get me? So far, they’ve succeeded in their mission. You think you’ve heard something like them before, but then they throw in a rock or dub-esque twang and you’re like ‘nope, dis is fresh music’. Bringing it forward to 2018, their journey has taken them a long way from the aforesaid acoustic vision. Babyccino has morphed into Café Patrón. Think boozy rock ‘n’ soul, dude.

To be honest, they’re just the loveliest, coolest people playing shit-hot music that will blow your wig off.

So, you wanna see them play, huh? You wanna sweat out the Blues with them? Get your arses to their REVERBNATION gig on 27th Feb. If you can’t make it, please wake up and smell the coffee by checking out their YouTube channel.

 

DISCLAIMER: They just want to get you dancing and having a good time to some good fucking music, OKAY?! Happy crowd = happy band.
* btw = by the way (gosh, get with the lingo)
**a bit of a mouthful, soz.

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TALENTBANQ RADAR PRESENTS: JOE SLATER

Posted on January 25th, 2018 by James Gamble

Joe, Joe, Joe.

 

Where do I start with this twenty-one-year-old Scouse?

 

Self-proclaimed “rascal from Liverpool”, he gives no freakin’ friggs from the North West of England. The “giver of peace, love, harmony and egg chow mein” – says it all, really.

 

Not really arsed about his Waterloo Road acting history, he states he’s a musician through and through. ‘Tis to be expected when you’re a self-taught musician of six instruments.

 

So, it’s clear he has quite the plethora of talent. I asked him what his favourite instrument was, he said the “harmonica” …???? … I didn’t quite know if he was taking the piss or actually really loved it. Either way, he also loves playing the drums; paying homage to the Phil Collins’ Cadbury’s advert.

 

I queried his nomadic lifestyle, which is split between the Pool of Liver and Don of Lon. He seemed to shrug it off, “I’m a traveller, a musician. The train journey’s shit but apart from that it’s all good, I like it”. Well that’s ruddy good then, isn’t it? ‘Cos he’s pinging his rock n roll to all corners of the UK, from Glasgow to Chesham.

 

After asking the age-old question of his influences, he said doesn’t know why he plays music…He just does it because it feels good. It’s a natural thing to do – it’s instinct – anything and everything can inspire him, even “the carpet on the floor”. Time stops and everything happens without even thinking about it. He doesn’t find inspiration, it finds him. DEEP. But, if he did have to choose, he draws “subconscious” inspo from the likes of David Gray, Beatles, Oasis and Pink Floyd.

 

When I enquired about his deep song-writing-ness, referring to his 2016 record, Floatin’, he said “listen here, I’m fuckin’ crazy…Fuckin’ a bit eccentric’’. He’s trying to find the fine line between craziness and creativity, where if you’re on the line and don’t go over the edge, you’ll find it’s genius. We’re all a bit ‘effed up in our own ways, he says, “you need to mangle your mind and then get it all back together”. After some more chat, he proceeded to invite me to play the trombone on his next track ‘Mangle of the Mind’. How could I refuse?

 

Anyway, apparently, he can’t stand Floatin’ anymore, ‘cos he finds it boring – he was still finding his identity and voice. I beg to differ, but you can make your own mind up, listen here. Joe says in 2018 his music is more mature [insert: cheddar], he’s found his lil corner of melody, which is a world away from the top 50 trap music saturating the charts. A salmon swimming upstream, some may say.

 

FYI, Joe’s got about three album’s worth of songs to catapult at you.

Ok, so, where can you hear him play next and endure some top-quality banter? Where can you see this rockstar-in-the-making play live?

TALENTBANQ is promoting Joe’s Shoreditch Showcase on the 20th. GET YOURSELVES THERE.

Keep your eyes peeled, please, ‘cos the venue is TBA.

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