Goodnight Wembley… no, it’s Goodnight Wembley!

If there ever was a band that deserves to have an exclamation mark at the end of their name, it’s Goodnight Wembley!

Let’s start things off with a music video, and i’ll tell you a more about them after that.

Great, now that you know what they sound like, let’s get down to business…

Goodnight Wembley! is a collaborative effort between the members of a few other (also awesome) bands.

• George van der Spuy (Taxi Violence) – Vocals
• Nic Gaud (7th Son) – Guitar & Vocals
• Alex Krause (Dead Lucky) – Guitar
• Gideon de Kock (Like Knives/Yes Sir! Mister Machine) – Bass Guitar
• Jean Labuschagne (Dead Lucky/Bilderberg Motel) – Drum
  

The band is based in Cape Town, and draw on their diverse musical backgrounds to create something new and exciting.

Breaking news today, was that Goodnight Wembley! has signed with Sony Music Africa, and announced the release of their debut album, BANG

The first time I heard Goodnight Wembley!, I knew that this was a band to keep an eye on. From the word go, they attacked the South African music scene with passion. They managed to turn things upside down by releasing a music video (the one above) even before they had a fanbase to speak of. It did of course help that every member had his fans from his other bands ready and rearing to experience this new musical phenomenon, but that does not lessen the effect that Goodnight Wembley! has had in the bigger scheme of things since they started in January 2012.

Goodnight Wembley! at Jozifest
(photo: Henno Kruger)

Each musician managed to stay true to himself, not suddenly becoming a different person because he was in another band. Yet, somehow they managed to entwine their unique attributes and create an almost flawless new product. Every time I see them live (and I would encourage you to do so as a soon as possible) it’s obvious that they are not resting on their laurels. They are in fact working harder and harder to create better songs than the last ones. With an evolutionary path like this, you can bet your ass that Goodnight Wembley! will one day, years and years from now, be remembered as the band that took South Africa (and hopefully the world) by the horns and made it their bitch.

And the bitch enjoyed it.

Check them out:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GoodnightWembley (have a listen to some tunes)
• Twitter: @gnightwembley

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This post is part of my “A2Z Blogging Challenge”, where I have committed to creating one post per day, every day of April (except for Sundays), thematically according to the alphabet. For more info on this challenge, check out www.a-to-zchallenge.com

FREE TICKETS! Arcade Empire turns 2

Earlier this month I raved about Arcade Empire’s food. I might also have subtly mentioned that Arcade is the coolest live music venue in Pretoria, if not the whole of South Africa. If you have not yet been there, take my word for it… my word’s good 😉

It is therefor my pleasure to be able to give you some free tickets to party at Arcade Empire. This weekend, Arcade Empire is celebrating their 2nd birthday, and we get all the presents.

On Friday the following bands will be playing:

• Bittereinder
• Wrestlerish
• Zebra & Giraffe
• Love Glove Pyrotechnics

Here’s the link to Friday’s event: https://www.facebook.com/events/355509867893465/

On Saturday, they’re catering more for the electro junkies. I generally don’t do electro, mostly coz it’s shit, but even I have to admit that this line-up is kinda cool:

Main Stage:

• – SIBOT
• – JAKOBSNAKE
• – TWELV & THESIS
• – HYPOMANIACS
• – LIVER
• – PHIZICIST
• – THE MATCHSTICK MEN

Second Stage:

• – MR GREEN
• – TWELV
• – I AM NOIZE
• – EL PHONIX
• – BASSIK ASSAULT
• – THIS IS GIN
• – DAVID & GOLIATH
• – SASSQUATCH
• – MINX
• – SPOOK WOLF

Here’s the link to Saturday’s event: https://www.facebook.com/events/208120349312396/

I am giving away 5 double tickets to Friday’s party. All you need to do is subscribe to my blog and tell me which one of Friday’s bands is your favourite. Also mention your twitter handle/e-mail address so that I can contact you.
Winners will be announced by Friday at 14:00.

Oh, and be nice, share this post with your mates please… Thanx!

Enjoy!

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This post is part of my “A2Z Blogging Challenge”, where I have committed to creating one post per day, every day of April (except for Sundays), thematically according to the alphabet. For more info on this challenge, check out www.a-to-zchallenge.com

Die Tuindwergies – Afrikaans folk fun

Die Tuindwergies would have been called The Garden Gnomes had they been an English band.

Had they been an English band, however, I don’t think that they would have been quite as awesome as they are. You see, this band has a way to write songs that not only hook you melodically, but also lyrically. In the same way that a car that looks good still needs a proper engine to be considered a proper car, so Die Tuindwergies have managed to provide us with good tunes both lyrically and melodically. However, and this I have learnt from watching way too many Top Gear episodes, a good car is not always a fun car. Sometimes, a car that is fun to drive is not even necessarily the best or best looking car. This is where my whole band vs car analogy really kicks in.

You see, Die Tuindwergies are not the best band to ever walk the earth. Although they are definitely very talented and musically experienced, their music is not an ensemble of intricate riffs with interweaving  poetic explorations into the psyche of the song itself. It is basic music done very well… and it is fun.

One of their greatest hits, and by far one of my favourite songs, is called Kopskudkinners. The entire premise of this song speaks to me. In fact, let’s go as  far as calling it one of my anthems. It’s essentially a song about making peace with who you are, what you stand for and being at peace with the perception people have of you.

Die Tuindwergies are:

• Pieter de Jager (Lead vocals & Acoustic)
• Emile Swiegers (Electric Guitar)
• Jean Swiegers (Drums)
• Dawie de Jager (Bass)

You can find them on:

• Facebook
• @DieTuindwergies on Twitter
• YouTube

 

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This post is part of my “A2Z Blogging Challenge”, where I have committed to creating one post per day, every day of April (except for Sundays), thematically according to the alphabet. For more info on this challenge, check out www.a-to-zchallenge.com