When you ask creatives to contribute to a publishing feature, you never know what you’ll get but it’s almost guaranteed to be interesting. High Fives has had its fair share of hilarity in its five year history, but we’ve never had a contribution from someone who wanted to thank people for their kindness over the year. Sofia Talvik has done just that and we salute her.

In these times, I feel like it’s extra important to be kind to the people around you. So I want to high five these awesome people who made my life a little easier this year.

Larry and Michael in Greenville, TX, US

When I was on my last U.S tour my little tour RV Lil’Chief broke down in Greenville, TX. It didn’t take more than a few minutes before the first car pulled over and just a few more until another guy showed up offering his help. Larry and Michael, the guys that pulled over for us, helped us push Lil’Chief into a parking lot and did their best to help my husband Jonas try to find out what was wrong. After a while they came to the conclusion that it was the ignition coil. A quick search on google showed that the closest store that carried the part was 40 miles away. Larry offered to drive the 40 miles there and back to get the part, and not only that, he also paid for it. With the new part Lil’Chief started right up and we could make it to our concert that evening. What an amazing person!

Kent in Dallas, TX

This summer I was playing an outdoors concert in Sweden in full storm. My beloved acoustic guitar fell over from the wind and smacked into the concrete, giving it some ugly cracks in the body. So after that I was on the lookout for a new Guild D25. I found one on Ebay but it was a bit too expensive for me. I thought I’d be a little bit cheeky so I posted the ad on my artist page on Facebook with the caption, “who wants to buy me this guitar?”. Kent commented on the post and said he had a similar guitar, a Guild D35, that he could gift me if I wanted it. Needless to say I was overwhelmed by gratitude. He sent it to me and I have just installed a new pickup, planning to use it live as soon as possible!

Malcolm and Terry, DE

When we end our U.S tours we have to find somewhere to park Lil’Chief until the next time we come over. We had arrangements to park him in Pennsylvania at the end of the last tour, but the plans fell through. I was looking online for a cheap and safe parking but couldn’t find anything suitable. So then I joined the network boondockers welcome. (Boondocking is the word for camping somewhere without hook-ups, ie not in a campground.) The site is basically like air b’n’b but for RV:ers that need a place to park for a night or two. I checked out the hosts in the Philly area and sent out a few emails hoping that someone would have space for Lil’Chief for a few months. Malcolm instantly got back to me and offered us to leave Lil’Chief in their barn for free until spring. We were thrilled, because that meant that he would be under a roof and protected from the snow. We had imagined an old barn, but when we got there it was a really nice big garage. Malcolm and Terry were so nice and even treated us to pizza.

Frau Tropoja, Berlin Germany

This is my neighbour. She lives on the floor above me and always takes cares of packages that are being delivered when I’m not at home. She is always so sweet and has a big smile on her face whenever I see her.

Nathan Reich and David Duchovny, USA

Nathan is a good friend of mine and has been since we ended up sharing a bill in Birmingham, AL many years ago. He now plays guitar in David Duchovny’s backing band and when they came to Europe for a tour he asked me if I wanted to open for them in Munich. It was an amazing night, and very cool to meet David Duchovny, since I’m both an X-files fan and a Californication fan. Along with Nathan I want to give a shout out to all my other artist friends that have helped me along the way, with concert venue recommendations, hosting house concerts at their home and being generally wonderful. I’m really lucky to have so many great and talented friends.

And, as an added bonus, Sofia has a Christmas single out which you can download here on a ‘name your price’ basis. Here’s the video:

Next up in the MusicRiot 2016 High Fives is a contribution from Dallas bass player, songwriter and manager Ward Richmond, better known as The Warden. There are some great lines on his eponymous album released earlier this year, including (from the raucous “Our Town”) ‘Miller Lites and shots and fights’ and the run-out at the end of “Sun Goes Down” which sort of sums up the album: ‘What it lacks in proficiency and accuracy is surely duly matched in sheer moxie’. Many thanks to Ward for sharing his favourites with us. If you’re particularly observant, you might notice that there are actually six entries here; bass players always like to go one higher. And DFW is Dallas/Fort Worth.

Margo Price – “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter”

This one by far is my favorite album of the year. 10 Thumbs up. Once “Hands of Time” comes to an end, you will be in love with this woman – and her songs.

 

 

Luke Bell – “Luke Bell”

Pure old school Texas-style honky-tonk. Do yourself a favor and watch the music video for “Sometimes”. It makes me want to move to Nashville and be roommates with this dude.

 

 

Cody Jinks – “I’m Not the Devil”

Cody is from the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area. George Strait meets Waylon Jennings. The real deal. The title track says it all.

 

 

 

Vandoliers – “Ameri-Kinda”

Another DFW band. The scene here in North Texas is really becoming the strongest that I’ve ever seen it over the course of 20+ years of playin’ around town and the Vandos are leading the charge. If “Bottom Dollar Boy” doesn’t get your toes a tappin’, then I don’t know what will…

The O’s – “Honeycomb

And another DFW band. Are you pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down, yet? This has to be my favorite Alt Folk duo in the world. The O’s also happen to be two of my good friends and bandmates in our project, Boys Named Sue. “Retribution” is my favorite track. I wish I wrote it. (We loved this at Riot Towers as well).

 

Paul Cauthen – “My Gospel”

I met Paul literally 30 seconds after I met Kris Kristofferson. The next thing I knew he was onstage singing a song with Kris. “Still Drivin’” is my anthem for 2016.

One of the bands that the Riot Squad has supported for a few years now is Stone Foundation. Live and on vinyl, they are the real deal; great songs, rock solid rhythm section (that’s the stone foundation) and some superb horn arrangements. Founder members and songwriters Neil Jones and Neil Sheasby are a formidable partnership and also a pair of diamond blokes. Among other things, Neil Sheasby likes to do a bit of writing as well, and what he writes is always worth reading, so imagine how chuffed we were at Riot Towers when this piece came through less than two hours after we asked him if he’s like to contribute to High Fives again this year. What a star. 

Michael Kiwanuka – “Love & Hate“

 It’s such a complete piece of work from beginning to end, it’s in no desperate rush to impress, it just unfolds and works its way into your subconscious. It’s also hard to pin down to one genre, it’s a soulful record but equally embraces subtle elements of Rock, I certainly hear a Pink Floyd thing going on in there too. 

To encompass all these elements, have a social narrative and then still be an accessible pop record is no mean feat to pull off. 

Best album I’ve heard in a few years. 

 Phill Brown – “Are We Still Rolling?”

I’ve read some great books this year. I really enjoyed Tim Burgess “Tim book two” as it turned me onto a lot of music that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have arrived at. 

I was given the Phill Brown book by a friend who thought I’d like it. Phill was (& still is) a recording engineer whose working life in studios started in the mid 60’s with sessions at Olympic Studios including The Stones right through to those remarkable Talk Talk albums “Spirit of Eden” & “Laughing Stock”.

The inside stories on both the artists involved and indeed the creation of the records is fairly priceless. I found it fascinating to read up on the creative process of pieces I adore like the first couple of Robert Palmer solo albums or tales of Traffic and a rather reclusive Stevie Winwood. 

Again it put me on a path of discovery, a chapter was dedicated to the making of Murray Head’s 1972 concept album “Nigel Lived”

I’d never heard it, didn’t even know of it prior to opening this book. 

It’s like a buried treasure somewhere between “Odyssey & Oracle” and “Dear Mr Fantasy”. 

It sold zero and sank without trace. 

 Josef Leimberg – “Astral Progressions”

This was something that our merch guy Pete had been banging on about for a while but as there is no physical format as yet of the album, it took me a short while to get around to hearing it, but once I did I found myself running back to listen to it constantly. 

He’s a trumpeter & composer who has worked recently with Kendrick Lemar & Erykah Badu but has now branched out and created his own thing which, as the title suggests, is a jazz fusion thing. The vocal tracks are pretty amazing too, it is a sort of continuation and development of the style that Kamasi Washington impressed with last year. 

It’s a real rewarding listen, powerful 21st century music. 

“The Get Down” (Netflix TV Series)

I wasn’t that impressed by the pilot of this but once I locked into the TV series I really thought it worked. 

“The Get Down” documents that period of New York City in the late 1970’s just as disco’s smouldering embers are being laid to rest and the City is on the verge of bankruptcy. A new art emerges, as always with the best movements it starts from the streets. The birth of Hip Hop told through the lives, music and art of a young street gang in the south Bronx. 

I thought the main actor, Justice Smith, was wonderful, the show had its fair share of critics but I really, really enjoyed it and look forward to picking it up again when the second series returns in 2017. 

 William Bell, Union Chapel – July

 We (Stone Foundation) didn’t really do that many gigs this year as our priority lay with writing, recording and ultimately completing a new album for 2017. 

Our appearance as support for William Bell back in July turned out to be an evening that will live long in the memory, not so much for the gig itself but for the fairly surreal circumstances that we found ourselves surrounded by. 

Not only did we get introduced to William and have the opportunity to talk at length but we also had the good fortune of rubbing shoulders with both Paul Weller and Nick Lowe who were both in attendance. 

I always find it heartening to find that these people are just music obsessives and have principles and motives that are no different to that of our own. I don’t think you ever lose that sense of wonderment, that fan thing. It is fundamentally why we started playing and creating music and it never diminishes even if you’re Paul Weller or Nick Lowe. 

Music is an incurable sensation. 

Long may it reign o’er us…

High Fives? Is it that time already? Another year gone, loads of gigs attended and some pretty good pics, if I say so myself. Looking through this year’s galleries, it’s really obvious that it I have to claim two entries for the feature again, one for male artists, one for female; well, they do it at the Oscars, why shouldn’t MusicRiot do it as well. So, in no particular order, here we go. Click on any of the thumbnail images to expand the photo.

Southside Johnny @The Picturedrome, Holmfirth April 2016

This is dedication to the cause. I’ve been a fan of Southside for a long time. Only two gigs in the UK in 2016, and one of those on the day I flew back from Thailand. That was never going to happen, so I went for the next best thing, the following day in Yorkshire. Jet-lagged and bone tired, I drove 250 miles to the gig and then the same distance back home but in a snowstorm. No photo pit at the gig and (very unusually) some very uncooperative punters (and I’m very polite, before you ask). So, not the best position, but I was pretty chuffed with this attempt at giving Southside a blue rinse. See the full gallery here.

 

Crispian Mills (Kula Shaker) @The Roundhouse February 2016

In February of this year, I discovered that Riot Squad favourites Black Casino and the Ghost were supporting Kula Shaker on a European tour that included a gig at The roundhouse in Chalk Farm, a venue I’ve never visited; before you could say ‘Photo pass’, I was there, in a very busy photo pit which was actually very civilised (no dailies represented obviously). The stage lighting was up to eleven during Kula Shaker’s set creating some really contrasty situations which were crying out for black and white treatment. This is one of those. See the full gallery here.

 

John Fairhurst @The Borderline October 2016

It was a lovely surprise to discover that John was supporting The Eskies in London on their tour to promote their first album. I’d seen John before at Rich Mix in Shoreditch with his electric band, but this gig was a solo stint with a resonator and stompbox. Electric or acoustic, it really doesn’t matter, he’s equally convincing either way, and well worth seeing. Having photographed John before, I was looking out for facial expressions and watching his hands. This time the hands won. Having a chat later, I discovered that John and The Eskies (also very good) were old friends from a time when they used to busk in Dublin. See the full gallery here.

David Ryder Prangley (Sister Witch) @ The Unicorn, Camden July 2016

Sister Witch is an alt-London supergroup featuring DRP, Lux Lyall and Lilygun members Anna Christina and Belle Star, so this was a great night to meet up with some musicians I hadn’t seen for a while. It’s fair to say that each member of the band is worth photographing in their own right, but the honours on the night went to David, strutting his stuff with a six-string instead of a bass and looking every inch the underground legend that he is. This is someone that doesn’t need to play a part; he is a rock star. See the full gallery here.

 

Gareth John of Stone Foundation @Under the Bridge, Chelsea May 2016

It’s sometimes a huge advantage as a photographer if you know the songs well. I love Stone Foundation and I’d go to Chelsea to see them, even if I’m normally with Elvis Costello on that one. It’s a bit of a hike home from Chelsea, so I’m normally poised at the bottom of the stairs at UTB, waiting for the dying notes of the encore before I peg it over to Fulham Broadway to jump on the Tube. As the second encore started, trumpet player Gareth John and keyboard player Ian Arnold emerged from backstage and I knew that they were about to play “Old Partners, New Dances”, a smoky (and very short) jazz instrumental and Gareth would take centre stage, playing a flugelhorn, which somehow makes it even more romantic. I just managed to get a camera and lens assembled as the song started and was rewarded with this. As my Dad used to say ’Never take your eye off the ball’. See the full gallery here.