Oliver Gaywood

- CV -

2007-04-03T19:06:00.009Z

Currently working as a freelance contributor for eHow. Duties include researching and writing articles on a wide variety of topics.

A graduate from the Robert Gordon University's Publishing with Journalism course trained to write creative copy, edit out any mistakes and finish with a well rounded article. Experienced in writing for all kinds of audiences - teens through to adults via students - and for all kinds of media - broadsheets, local papers, websites and magazines.

Education

BA Degree Publishing with Journalism, the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 2003–06
Advanced Higher – German (C), Milne’s High School, Fochabers, 2003
Highers – German (A), English (B), Accounts and Finance (B), Modern Studies (C), Maths (C), Information Systems (C), Milne’s High School, Fochabers, 2002-03
Standard Grades – Maths (1), Chemistry (1), Modern Studies (1), Graphic Communication (1), Computing (2), English (2), German (2), P.E. (2), Milne’s High School, Fochabers, 2001

Work Experience

August 2010-present
eHow contributor, Demand Studios

Researched and wrote articles on a variety of subjects, often in a 'How to...' manner

June 2008 - August 2010:
Media Optimiser, bigmouthmedia
Edinburgh

Created copy, articles and press releases with different purposes (high keyword density, for SEO value or for readers)
Liaised with directory owners on a regular basis
Wrote news articles about industry specific topics

July 2007 - June 2008:
Online Journalist/Web Administrator, http://www.stv.tv
Aberdeen

Edited television scripts for publication on the web alongside suitable pictures and videos
Created new pages from scratch using CMS system
Interviewed bands, reviewed albums and wrote a weekly entertainment preview
Gained experience using Photoshop, Newscutter and iNEWS

Freelance work

June 2007, December 2007 - January 2008:
Web Journalist, http://www.unknownpoker.com
Aberdeen

Researched an unfamiliar subject
Wrote profiles for more than 80 professional poker players
Interviewed players
General article length: 450-500 words

July 2006 – May 2007:

Features Writer, Cogno
Aberdeen

Wrote features, reviews and opinion pieces
Interviewed celebrities
General article length: 300-500 words

February – March 2006:

Football Reporter, Edinburgh Evening News
Edinburgh

Wrote match reports on local Edinburgh sides
Communicated with club officials to gather information
General article length: 500-600 words

June 2004 –May 2005:

Website Editor, http://www.elgincity-mad.co.uk
Elgin, Moray

Organised the structure of the site
Updated the site by discarding old or irrelevant stories and replacing them with newer articles
General article length: 100-250 words

September 2001 – June 2003:

Football Reporter, Final Whistle Media
Elgin, Moray

Wrote reports on Elgin City Football Club matches for Web sites and newspapers
Judged the performances of both teams’ players, the referee and the quality of each game
Kept a tally of events in the game
General article length: 200 words

August 2001 - June 2002:

Editor, Elgin City official match day programme
Elgin, Moray

Selected and arranged features to appear in the programme for home games
Improved the quality of the programme leading to increased sales
Liaised with club officials, contributors and the publisher
General article length: 250 words

April 2000 – September 2003:

Reporter, The Northern Scot
Fochabers, Moray

Wrote reports on local cricket teams on a weekly basis
General article length: 500 words

Work Record

January - March 2006:
Work Placement, Black and White Publishing
Edinburgh

Editorial duties such as proofreading
PR duties such as writing press releases
Handling unsolicited manuscripts
General administrative duties

August 2004 – November 2005, June – December 2006:

Team Member, UGC/Cineworld Cinemas
Aberdeen

Interacted with the public to satisfy their needs and demands
Handled money and transactions
Basic bar duties

Summer 2004:

Business Analyst & Researcher, Booth Smith Food Technology
Derby

Searched databases and the internet for relevant information on various food manufacturing companies
Created an e-Book for a selection of these companies
General office duties

Summer 2003:

Personal Assistant, Paul Gaywood Associates
Fochabers, Moray

Observed a manager and successful consultant’s work pattern and style
Assisted the manager with everyday tasks to ensure the smooth running of the company
Processed information using software such as Microsoft Office

Tiny Dancers

2007-03-31T20:49:00.000Z

"I always wear good socks,” declares Dez Wathey (centre) with his soft Yorkshire accent, “Always.” And the Tiny Dancers’ bassist, the youngest member of the group at 23, hopes everyone in the country will follow suit.

Throughout the interview Dez brazenly flashed his socks at me as if to prove his point (he was wearing a knee-high pair with a black and white diamond/check pattern). As well as these, Dez was wearing a lot of grey but he denies that this was a deliberate homage to Aberdeen. “The city’s a bit grey – I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I love grey, grey’s a good colour!” His other fashion tip is to visit second-hand stores and it’s one that the band follows regularly when they’ve got spare time on tour. “We just wander around together and try to find charity shops. We saw a sweet one in Nottingham – a retro Oxfam – and Sheffield’s got some pretty good charity shops. Generally we spend all our time together, we just hang out, we’re all friends.

“We’re all from the same village so we all know each other from school, we’re all different ages, I’m the youngest so I joined last.”

Tiny Dancers share their roots in Yorkshire with the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, Geoffrey Boycott and Brian Blessed and Dez rues his personal lack of ability to grow facial hair, “I can’t grow it! If I could, I would; I’d have a big ‘un - a Brian Blessed beard!”

Tiny Dancers’ name was picked out of a hat at random – other nominations included Hooton Pagnell, a nearby village, and local video stores – and it definitely has nothing to do with Elton John. Dez says, “I think everyone relates it with the Elton John song. I don’t really mind it; I suppose it’s not great, we don’t like it all that much and it can be a bit annoying being asked the same question all the time. I think we may have changed it if we’d realised.

“Basically we had to come up with a name and that’s the one we came up with. It was one that we thought described us, not describe us literally but, you know, suited our music.”

That music is described on their MySpace as alternative/folk rock/pop and is a happy kind of music that is designed to please and to get people dancing. Comparisons with other bands are easy to make and many of their songs have identifiable influences; yet despite this, there is no obvious link between the influences and no two of their songs sound overly similar but each has a distinctive quality that makes you know that it’s a Tiny Dancers song.

- Oliver Gaywood, March 2007

Lorraine

2007-03-20T21:36:00.000Z

After their summer release, I Feel It, Lorraine received great critical acclaim in the media and were branded as “a band ready to shake the music world”. Where exactly the Bergen-based band fit into this world is still a little undecided – their official MySpace page lists them as indie, they won ‘Best Electronic Artist’ at the BT Digital Music Awards and some websites are claiming that they are the saviours of pop music.

Ole Gundersen (right), Paal Myran-Haaland (left) and Anders Winsents (centre) are often compared to the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, the Lightning Seeds and, fellow Norwegians, A-Ha; whilst they find the comparisons flattering, they see themselves in a different light.

“I don’t mind it but it wouldn’t be the first thing we would say. I would personally see us more as the Violator era of Depeche Mode mixed with Placebo - we love ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, it’s a very good album. It’s one thing for us to say what we like to listen to and totally another to say what we sound like.”

Their name, as you may have noticed, is a girl’s name. They, as the picture indicates, are men. This, as you may have guessed, is a constant source of disappointment for taxi drivers.

Formerly known as Sharon, the band changed their name in case there was any confusion with Ariel Sharon, who they think is “a bit of a twat”. Ole, with the look of someone who has told this story to nearly everyone he’s ever spoken to, explains why they changed to Lorraine, “We were standing about before a gig and there was this girl, there still is this girl – she’s still alive, a singer-songwriter girl and her name is Lorraine. I think she was French or Canadian, I don’t know, but she wasn’t Norwegian, I know that.

“I remember we’d been playing under another name and we were going to change it. So we thought, what are we going to call ourselves?, because we were taking the band very seriously but we were all very, very bad at thinking that particular thing up and she said, ‘You should call yourselves Lorraine’ - as a joke, I don’t know – and we thought that could work.”

Heaven

The test of whether the name works or not will come when they release their next album. This album, which won’t contain their recent single, Heaven, is expected early in 2007 and is expected to be great.

Heaven

Asked whether they believe in the conventional view of heaven, they gave three very different responses. Whilst Anders sat silently contemplating the idea, Paal said “I believe there’s a place that is very close to heaven” and Ole dismissed it saying “No. I believe there is a place that can tear us apart, though," before adding, "Heaven is a place on earth.” That place is, of course, their hometown.

“We went back to Bergen this summer just do this show in the town square and played for over 1500 people. Afterwards, because we had some British journalists with us, we took them to up to this mountain and I was just looking over Bergen and it was just beautiful – it is a very beautiful place. It’s nice to have somewhere where you know what used to be there – when you’re walking around town thinking there used to be a candy shop there, that’s where I used to… - you have all these fond memories. It’s a hard feeling to get when you move to another city."

Heaven

Being as nice as they are, the Lorraine boys would like to send you to heaven and you’re welcome to bring a friend. If you’re unlucky, you might go to hell instead (“it’s very cold”). Visit www.lorrainemusic.com/heaven for more details.

- Oliver Gaywood, September 2006

Kenetic

2007-03-18T21:44:00.000Z

Juxtaposed with his onstage persona, it feels strange to watch Kenetic’s Rae Fisher hide shyly behind his indie-rock fringe as he speaks to me. Less than twenty four hours previously, he was in the spotlight as his voice, and hair, demanded the full attention of the crowd in the Tunnels.

“Anyone can walk on stage and do something, I want to feel like there’s a reason that I’m on that stage; I’ve got something to say and I’m justified in saying it. I just don’t want to be another trivial band. Maybe it’s a delusion of grandeur thinking that we are something special but I think we have to think that, we have to think we’re special or we’ll go nowhere.”

Duality, as well as confidence, is an important part of the band – their sound changes dramatically when Ciaran McGowan switches from guitar to keyboard, aided by Rae’s impressive vocal range, it gives a very Muse-esque feel to their music.

“Everyone’s trying to sing like a girl at the moment. My total heroin is Kate Bush – sometimes I get confused whether I want to sing like a man or want to sing like Kate Bush. I think people automatically associate you with people who sing high.

“I liked their [Muse’s] first album, they had a more Radiohead-y feel to it but they have come into their own now. I never really listened to Muse that much but I do get a lot of comparisons to their music and to my voice as well.”

Styles and influences vary greatly in the group; Rae and Ciaran know each other from previous projects, bassist Kevin Smith comes from an indie background whilst David Milne’s punk drumming, at first, appears to be completely at odds with the cello playing of Rachel Lind.

“At one time we did plan to have a string quartet but it got to the point that it was just too complicated and it was fighting against the music. Especially live, there was a big sound there already and we really struggled with it. I think just little bits with Rachel were the strongest out of everything we did and she’s stayed and she’s really worked wonders for the band.”

Music is an art form for many and this is no different for Kenetic. In what seems a common trend in top bands these days (Ricky Wilson and Paul Smith of the Kaiser Chiefs and Maximo Park both have art degrees whilst The Horrors frontman, Faris Rotten, is currently at St Martin’s college of art); Rae studies fine art at Gray’s School.

After speaking to him for this long, it comes as no surprise that he doesn’t like to show off his art. “I’m really shy about my art - I just store it in cupboards! I struggle with the idea of buying art. Whenever you see something people always say, ‘Where can I buy that? Where can I get that?’ And I don’t really get the idea of everything always being for sale. Even with the songs that I write it takes a lot of work for me to actually hand them over to the band. I’ve always said the test would be if I showed a painting I did to a ned and he liked it and an art critic liked it then I’ve won and I think it’s the same with our music.”

Zany and egotistical behaviour might be synonymous with rock ‘n’ roll but it’s not something that Rae sees in himself or his bandmates. “We’re all quite sensible really. I think we’re probably the most bashful band on Earth, we always seem to be apologetically thanking people almost to the point of embarrassment. We do have a lot of people to thank, the people who come to our gigs always come to our gigs and they are really good and really loyal, they always seem to be there.”

Influenced by artists such as Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Mansun and by their fans, they’re not about to namedrop any modern bands to win over fickle fans. “I always find it strange when bands cite references that are cool references. I think you can appreciate them and take things from it but I think a true influence is someone that’s always been with you a long time and is your true voice.”

Nocturnal Waves, Love Carries On and Charlie’s Fascination With Guns are three songs that make seeing Kenetic worth it. To listen to a couple of demos visit www.myspace.com/keneticmusic.

Go and see them! It’s even better than sitting in front of a computer screen! Kenetic will be supporting Air Traffic at the Tunnels on Thursday 12 October.

- Oliver Gaywood, September 2006

CLEA

2007-03-15T21:46:00.001Z

With reality TV now a permanent feature on the broadcasting schedule it’s hard to imagine not having to flick past some form of it whilst watching the telly. Big Brother made its British debut in 2000, 2002 gave us The Salon, whilst Date My Mom hit our screens in 2004 as a myriad of shows have copied the format.

It is, however, 2002’s Popstars: The Rivals that we have the most to thank for. As well as gifting us with the creation of Girls Aloud, the show also provided the basis for many other wannabes to try to create a career out of pop. Whilst for most, such as boybands One True Voice and Phixx, the dream was short lived; others, such as CLEA, are still together releasing music. And although the CLEA girls (Lynsey Brown [left], Emma Beard [right] and Aimée Kearsley [centre]) met on the show, a lot has changed since then: they're now with a different label in order to give themselves more creative control, they’ve lost a member (Chloe Staines) and they've overhauled their music style.

Despite this, they've kept their name - partly because their previous method of selection (taking the first letter from each of their names: Chloe, Lynsey, Emma and Aimée) provided nothing more lucrative than 'ALE' and partly because they feel they had become the name. Emma says, "It was a really, really difficult decision to make because there's positives and negatives to both but we thought with the fan base we'd already got from being in CLEA we felt like we wanted to just stick with what we know best. Luckily the ‘C’ left and we could make it ‘Collectively Lynsey, Emma and Aimée’."

Four years after her reality TV appearances, Emma was rumoured to be returning to our screens on this year’s Celebrity Love Island. When Cogno spoke to her beforehand, this is what she had to say about the show, "I can't really talk about it, to be honest." You read it here first! Those of you who watched the show will realise that she didn’t make the final cut.

With CLEA’s recent single and album releases both charting poorly, the effect of Emma’s appearance on Love Island would surely have boosted CLEA’s fame and popularity just as Samuel Preston and Peter Andre’s appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here benefited their singing careers.

For those yet to buy the album, Trinity, the girls told us, "It's a pop album. It's something that you can put on and enjoy and just listen and sing along to. There's a few ballads on there and a few up beat ones. It's got different tastes and styles; we've got influences from dance, RnB, pop and rock as well. It's something for everyone we hope."

As well as nine new songs (which include CLEA in the writing credits), there are also six re-recorded songs from their first album, Identity Crisis. Rather than this being a lazy way to rip off their fans, it's actually giving them something they probably wouldn't have heard before because Identity Crisis hasn't been released in the UK. ("In Lithuania, we're huge!") Emma explains, "By the time we got it ready to release, it was the time when Chloe was leaving. So it was like there was no point in releasing an album when a member's not going to be there. We wanted to make it a fresh start." Some of the more dedicated fans did get hold of it from the internet, with one even paying over £60 for it on ebay. Aimée already knew about this "We heard about it through our management. Obviously so many of our big fans really wanted to get hold of it. Sixty quid's quite impressive, I think!"

The rapport CLEA share with their fans is both refreshing and impressive. Unlike many bands, or many bands' management, who try to hide away from the public, CLEA embrace their support. As welling as having an 'Ask the girls' section on their official forum (which they actually reply to), they also speak to their fans through private messages (PMs). They also have an official MySpace account (as well as the few obligatory fakes dedicated to them) and they're also one of the first bands to provide a podcast service to their fans. And rather than find it a chore like many stars seem to make it out to be, CLEA enjoy this special relationship. Emma explains, "I think it's a great way for them to get to know us. When we were younger, I used to love the Spice Girls and All Saints and I would've loved to be able to go on a site and PM them. You could always write a letter but you never got a reply. The podcasts are really good because, obviously, they see us in these glamorous videos but with the podcasts you see behind the scenes; you see us mucking around being absolute idiots. It can be embarrassing but it's good because they get to see the real us."

However, despite letting people see what they're really like (lovely), Aimée feels that many men still get put off by their celebrity status. "I find a lot more now, when they know you're in a band, it's a lot harder for guys to actually approach you because they kind of feel like you'll be busy and be like 'ooh, just go away from me' but we're not like that at all. We're very, very normal."

But in case you're getting ideas, Lynsey and Aimée have both been in relationships for over a year with "nice, normal boys". You'll just have to hope that the rumours of Emma finding a man aren’t the reason for her omission on Love Island.

CLEA’s album, Trinity, is available now. For more information on the band go to http://www.officialCLEA.com

====

If you could pick the six guys to go on the Love Island with, who would it be?

E: Paul Walker from Too Fast Too Furious.
Shayne Ward, pretty sexy.
Will Smith 'cause he makes me laugh.
Brad Pitt 'cause he's just fit.
Two more...
A: Avid Merion, 'cause you like a bit of ginge!
E: Yeah... who else? Who else is really, really gorgeous?
L: Me
E: Seth from the OC
L: You can't take my man over with you. Leave him with me, you take David Beckham.
E: Oh yeah, that's a good one!

If someone bumped into you in the street, what could they do to woo you?

E: One, I'd have to be attracted to them. You have to have a chemistry. I'm not saying they have to be perfect but perfect to me. They've got to be confident; I love guys who are confident. If they like you then they've got to say it, don't beat around the bush; if you like me then ask me out.
L: Ooh!

If you won the £100,000 prize money, what would you do with it?

A: Spend it on the girls!
E: I'd divide it by three. And I'd buy a car...
L: You'd buy a party boat!
A: A CLEA jet so that we can fly away wherever we want
L: CLEA airwaves!

If you were flying on CLEA airwaves and it crashed on a desert island somewhere, which one of you would you eat first?

L: They'd eat me because I'm bigger. I've got more breasts.
A: We're all a bit boney, to be honest. There's not much point in eating me. We'd eat Lynsey.
L: Aimée's got a big bum. We might just chop bits off each other.
A: This is sick!

===

One question I bet nearly all of you have asked yourself whilst reading this article is Who would pay £60 for a CD?

The answer is Glasgow’s Danny Lynch, “I think it was about £65-70 including postage! Definitely the most I have ever paid [for an album]. I think next in line is probably a Japanese import of the Solid Harmonie album at about £25 – all for 2 bonus tracks!”

27 year old Danny (who was 25 when he bought Identity Crisis) is pleased with his acquisition. Out of ten he gives the album “a big fat nine! It was my favourite album of 2004; I had the album on constant repeat through the whole of summer.

“Part of the reason I wanted it so much was so I could get the full album version of Download It that was on the video – the single version cut out one of the choruses after the second verse, a small thing but at the time it was mega important!”

Danny bought Trinity on the day of release and says “It’s good, some really good pop tracks on there, and a nice range of styles. I do prefer Identity Crisis but that’s probably because I’ve listened to the album so much.

“I also think that the girls should have put more of their newer tracks on it and left off the Identity Crisis tracks, but I also understand that hardly anyone will have the Identity Crisis album unlike myself, so they needed to put the tracks on there.”

Danny has never had the privilege of meeting CLEA (or CLEA have never had the privilege of meeting Danny), “they’d probably think I was some mad person though, seeing as that I’m a little bit older than the average CLEA fan.”

Identity Crisis is currently available through Amazon.com for $23.99 (roughly £13).

- Oliver Gaywood, August 2006

Simon R. Biggam

2007-03-03T22:49:00.000Z

Many people assume that having a real job is no fun – why would someone pay you to do something you enjoy? With this in mind many relinquish their childhood dreams as they enter a more mature phase of their life at university to study something they believe will be more useful in the job market; others don’t.

Simon R. Biggam remembers writing since an early age and for him to end up as a published author seems only logical. “I’ve known I’ve wanted to be an author from the age of about 12. I’ve recently moved and I found some old notepads with things like Doctor Who episodes that I’d written.

“There are lots of good bits about it – the book launch, it’s nice to meet people who have read the book or are interested in reading it; it’s nice to go into a book shop and see my book there on the shelf.”

Although he went through the rigmarole of university (studying history) he had his first novel printed earlier this year - which currently has nothing but five-star reviews on Amazon. At the moment he’s writing his second with a third brilliant idea to follow up. He’s had experience of working on the other side of the book trade too, working in bookshops and organising author events after leaving university.

Simon’s debut, These Are Only Words, is an attention-grabbing thriller which guides the reader into the world of an unnamed, voyeuristic man who, not content with simply being on the outside, starts to involve himself in the lives of those watches. As the story develops, the reader, bizarrely, finds themselves on the side of the antihero, willing the best to happen for him.

He promises that it’s not written from experience, “It started off as a short story with the idea of a guy in a block of flats just watching people in the city. That was sort of bubbling about for ages so I started to work part-time to really give it a go. I’ve had plenty of ideas and half stories but this is one that really stuck with me.”

One of the main attractions of becoming an author is being able to work at your own pace with no one peering over your shoulder telling you what to do. “I don’t like sitting down day-to-day and saying ‘I have to write this much today’ so I set myself weekly targets instead. It requires a lot of patience and just sitting there trying not to get distracted.” However, when we spoke to him, Simon did reckon he was behind schedule with his second book. His advice to aspiring authors is read as much as you can and to be very patient.

The ‘R’ stands for Russel.

- Oliver Gaywood, July 2006

Amy MacDonald

2007-02-07T17:20:00.000Z

The term ‘singer-songwriter’ carries a lot of baggage with it these days. Whether it’s a lack of respect and an abundance of confusion after Sandi Thom’s claims about her ‘21 Nights from Tooting’ tour or a general apathy after the bland and overplayed tunes of James Blunt and his ilk, it’s a far cry from the furore and the genius of Bob Dylan. Whilst it’s obviously foolish to compare a new artist to someone like Dylan, it’s almost as wrong to rank Amy MacDonald alongside any recent artists who are associated with this genre. Amy plays a no frills, plenty of thrills set with lyrics that get straight to the point. Her lively nature and bubbly songs transfer well from studio to stage and her gig in The Tunnels was deserving of a larger audience.

Amy isn’t one of those stand alone girls with little behind a pretty face, she has a full band backing her but they’ve just decided to name everything after her. Think of her as a mix of Avril Lavigne, but without the faux-punk attitude, a touch of Kelly Clarkson, but without the need for reality TV’s injection of fame, and a heap of KT Tunstall, but with over a decade of youth in Amy’s favour.

The 19 year old’s first single, Poison Prince, is set to be released on 7 May. This song, as well as its b-side Rock Bottom, is about the infamous Pete Doherty. Amy’s fascination with the drug-addled rock star continue in Let’s Start A Band (“Put a ribbon around my neck and I’ll be a Libertine”) but this is more of a schoolgirl crush than a full blown celebrity addiction to rival the writers of Heat. Footballer’s Wife is her display of disgust at the ‘fake’ celebrities and the modern day desperation for fame.

It is clear that Amy is devoted to music, as well as her tributes to the Babyshambles front man, she continues to sing about her passionate love of song in Barrowland Ballroom and Mr Rock And Roll. And we still haven’t mentioned her incredible cover of The Killers’ Mr Brightside or her most catchy song, the title track of her album due out in the summer, This Is The Life.

Her ambitious lyrics in Let’s Start A Band (“Give me a festival and I’ll be a Glastonbury star”) seem to be coming true as the noises surrounding, and the sounds coming from, Amy tell us that she’s going to be big. With spots at Glastonbury and T In The Park this summer, Amy MacDonald is a name that you’re sure to be hearing a lot of soon so if you missed her in The Tunnels, and you didn’t see her performing in the RGUnion, you should at least go to her website to get the free download of her brilliant LA to make it look like you were in the know from the start.

http://www.amymacdonald.co.uk

- Oliver Gaywood, April 2007

Tiny Dancers

2007-02-06T21:51:00.000Z

After the recent release of their bubbly single I Will Wait For You, Tiny Dancers returned to Aberdeen as part of their first headline tour. Having previously supported Paolo Nutini and Larrikin Love this was the band’s third visit to our city and the most enjoyable yet. Their lead singer David Kay clearly enjoyed the event and all his different roles; during the support acts he happily manned the merchandise stand and mingled with the crowd yet he seemed domineering and untouchable whilst on stage.

The Phoenix Band, (probably) Keith’s finest musicians, kicked off proceedings with an impressive half hour set. The departure of Lyn Beard, their lead singer, from stage for their penultimate song coincided with the low point of their performance, although it did give the audience ample opportunity to admire the guitarist’s hat. The lead singer returned halfway through the last song and even though she was only there to shake her tambourine, she somehow gave a well timed boost to the band.

Unfortunately she wasn’t on stage to help out Glasvegas when they stormed to the stage. Oozing with confidence and proudly showing off their glitzy, shimmering microphones are about as far as the positives stretch. Their obvious Glaswegian accents and harsh song content – I’m Gonna Get Stabbed being an interesting example of their work – soon turned off most of the Aberdonian crowd. They should probably have brought a few hats with them.

Hats have three main uses – they can make you look cool, they can hide terrible hair cuts and they can improve the quality of a support act in The Tunnels. All of these could come in handy for Glasvegas.

Cast your mind back to last month’s Air Traffic gig. There were two support bands that night – Ghosts and Confidence. One band had a member wearing a hat, one didn’t; one band was really good, one wasn’t.

Here’s a graph to better explain this concept.

Conclusion: support acts in The Tunnels are better if someone is wearing a hat.

This is quite close to being the most important insight into the music industry in years but, alas, it wasn’t to be.

Those in attendance will notice that we haven’t commented on the other support band, Captain Face, yet.

That’s because they ruined everything.

They were the second band on stage and it was immediately noticeable that none of them were wearing hats. By now our theory was formulating in our heads so we instantly dismissed the idea of enjoying their set.

We tried to hate it, we really did. We hated their uncovered hair, we tried to hate their catchy tunes and we especially tried to hate Sep, the bass player, who had the audacity to actually play skilfully and not with the perfunctory apathy of most musicians who play his instrument.

For the good of our theory we really did try to dislike them, and we did try not to tell anyone that their single Awesome! No Way! is being launched in Café Drummonds on 30 March, but we couldn’t.

With the disappointment of our genius being questioned and of the preceding Glasvegas it needed something special from the main act to brighten our mood. Luckily, Tiny Dancers are the perfect band for such an occasion.

Their infectious, cheery alternative/folk rock/pop seemed to please the whole crowd and in Kay they seem to have a genuine entertainer as their frontman. Entering the stage through a shower of balloons, the cape-clad crooner towered over the venue and soon had the audience watching his every move. Five members of this crowd were brought onstage during the set to participate in the percussion section of the obvious highlight of the night - I Will Wait For You – before Kay ended the show by leading the band off stage – mid-song – to the far end of the venue. This was presumably for the benefit of those who couldn’t see or hear properly from the back - either that or he had to return to selling Tiny Dancers’ products.

- Oliver Gaywood, March 2007

Air Traffic

2007-02-05T21:56:00.000Z

Last time Air Traffic played in Aberdeen they were preceded by one great and one terrible support act. By a spooky coincidence, Ghosts and Confidence managed to repeat this feat.

The night was opened on time by Confidence, a local band who made a lot of the audience wish they had turned up late. Despite their name, it appeared that nerves had taken the lead singer to the bar for a few pre-show drinks which affected his performance for the worst. Whilst it was suggested that the whole band were poor, by a 2:1 majority we decided that if they just replaced the singer they wouldn’t be nearly so bad. Perhaps luckily, this scanty show lowered the expectations of the audience and the following bands may have appeared better than they actually were.

Post-gig MySpacing, however, suggests that the inclusion of Ghosts and Air Traffic on BBC’s Sound of 2007 list was no mistake.

As well as featuring on this list of bands to watch out for, there are three facts that you should probably know about Ghosts: their lead guitarist doesn’t wash his hands after he goes to the toilet (but he does say ‘cheers’ if you hold the door open for him); their keyboardist has a cool hat; and their music is very good. Like nearly all bands these days, you can listen to their music online. They even have a video for the stunning The World Is Outside on YouTube.

Ghosts have a lot in common with Air Traffic. As well as sharing the same stage that night, both bands have a similar style of music and both of their debut videos are ridiculously dull. Whilst Air Traffic’s video for Never Even Told Me Here Name isn’t great, the song is. As their biggest release to date it was the main reason for the inflated crowd in The Tunnels and it seemed strange that they played this song second rather than keeping it for their finale. However, they appeared to know what they were doing as they successfully used the rest of their set to showcase their obvious talent and promote their upcoming single, Charlotte, which is out on 26March.

The video for Charlotte is, thankfully, a lot more interesting than their first attempt with a camera.

- Oliver Gaywood, February 2007.

We Are Scientists

2007-02-04T21:57:00.000Z

Looking like they’d stolen the backdrop from The Killers’ Somebody Told Me video, indie trio We Are Scientists returned to Aberdeen with a set list of singles, album tracks, b-sides and curious covers remarkably similar to their previous visit.

The two front men, Keith Murray and the moustachioed Chris Cain, entertained the audience with witty banter used to draw boos and cheers from the crowd at will – varying from telling stories about past visits to the city and speaking of their fondness for James Blunt to Keith using a bottle of beer to play his guitar.

The Californians’ geek-rock image was enhanced with their opening song – a cover of Phil Collins’ Against All Odds – before they got into their ‘proper’ set. Despite playing most of their songs from a sub-hour album, With Love And Squalor, released over a year ago, the band kept the crowd entertained especially with the big hits of It’s A Hit, The Great Escape and Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.

The night ended in a more bizarre fashion than it had started. Having already played all of their hits, the crowd had no idea what was going to be played in the encore – or if indeed they’d bother with one. The three men re-emerged with drummer Michael Tapper joining Chris and Keith on vocals to lead the band in a karaoke style cover of Boyz II Men’s The End Of The Road. I’m still not sure if this was brilliant or terrible.

- Oliver Gaywood, November 2006

Air Traffic

2007-02-03T22:11:00.000Z

With a stunning debut album to promote, this show provides great hope for the future of Air Traffic and fully backs up the hype given out on Radio 1 recently - Never Even Told Me Her Name was Zane Lowe’s single of the week whilst Charlotte and Just Abuse Me appeared on what Lowe honoured as the ‘hottest record in the world’.

The night was started in great fashion by local favourites, Kenetic. The Aberdonian band impressed the sober and the drunk, the first timers and their regular viewers and even the bar staff with solid guitar foundations, a varied vocal range and flirtations with their keyboard. Fellow support band beginning with ‘K’, Kowalski, failed to continue in this vein. Their shy and timid appearance on stage soon lost the attention of much of the crowd who used this time to visit the toilets or to give the bar staff some work.

The interest was soon recaptured as Air Traffic took over. I liked that opening song of theirs, I Like That. All of Lowe’s favourites followed as singer Chris skilfully switched between piano and guitar in an impressive set of imaginatively written songs full of well penned lyrics.

The headliners did cause a ripple of worry in the crowd amid fears of them beginning to sound a bit like Keane but that was soon corrected as Shooting Star and Never Even Told Me Her Name sensationally ended the show.

Never Even Told Me Her Name is their first single released under the guidance of EMI and is available on 30 October.

Bassist Jim (far right) is free and single and is seeking a sweetheart for comfort. Check their MySpace for ways to contact him.

- Oliver Gaywood, October 2006

Graham Coxon

2007-02-02T22:14:00.000Z

When James Dean Bradfield does solo gigs, he plays some of the Manic Street Preachers’ songs. When Jo O’Meara did solo gigs, she recreated some of S Club’s finer moments. When Graham Coxon plays alone, he stays well clear of Blur’s hits. Blur were amazing and staying well clear of amazing is a dodgy move.

Support act Switches seemed to have read the script – although starting off impressively, their generic rock failed to show much variety or inventiveness as their whole set blurred into one song, fronted by a man whose behaviour implies he thinks they are bigger and better than they actually are.

The main attraction soon replaced them on stage and stayed there for almost two and a half hours giving big Coxon fans a huge treat. For the casual viewers it dragged on for far too long; many of his songs started off with a foot-tapping brilliance before descending into mediocrity; others were worse, giving off the appearance of a newly formed school band rather than an accomplished guitarist displaying his best work.

Other songs, such as You & I and the magnificent Freakin’ Out showed the artist (in more ways the one – Coxon even designs his own CD covers) hasn’t completely got rid of all of his amazing just yet.

- Oliver Gaywood, October 2006

The Automatic

2007-02-01T22:16:00.000Z

If you’re only going to see The Automatic for one thing (as in What’s that coming over the hill...) think again. Before we even get to that particular monster there’s the sets of the two stunning support bands – Alterkicks and Mumm Ra – and half of The Automatic’s appearance to enjoy.

Energetic almost the whole way through, The Automatic’s Robin Hawkins and Alex Pennie in particular, seemed to enjoy themselves, interacting well with the crowd and showing off a great stage presence.

Their first charting single, Raoul, and a bizarre cover of Kanye West’s Golddigga kept the audience’s spirits high as did the brilliant game of trying to fit What’s that coming over the hill? into every song – something that seems to work with a disturbingly high frequency. It, obviously, worked best with Monster when everyone joined in: singing, bopping, enjoying themselves.

Whilst this was the obvious highlight, not choosing this favourite as the finale could easily have led to a disappointing finish. But ending their encore with That’s What She Said and Recover, The Automatic nearly managed to stir the crowd into the same excited frenzy as previously seen during the anthemic Monster.

- Oliver Gaywood, October 2006