THE BENEFITS OF A DOWNHILL PAPER ROUND: A review and a track by track of The Ragamuffins' latest offering!

 

Below is our review of The Ragamuffins' EP 'The Benefits Of A Downhill Paper Round'. In the second half of the feature you can also find a 'track by track' from The Ragamuffins' very own David Jaggs. 

 

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PART 1 - "AB SAYS..."

 

Below we review The Ragamuffins exceptional EP 'The Benefits Of A Downhill Paper Round'!

 

"The Ragamuffins latest EP 'The Benefits Of A Downhill Paper Round' is a fine outing all together. Everything from the packaging (see picture above), to the artwork, to the tile, to the most important part, the music, is exceptional. Upon receiving the CD package you will be immediately blown away by the amount of time that The Ragamuffins spend in making sure that their fans have a proper little present instead of just a plain old EP. The CD is packaged within an envelope with logo and title featured upon. Within the envelope, is the beautifully presented artwork of the EP itself along with a small Ragamuffins badge. The CD itself has a vinyl effect to it getting across the band's retro side. Anyway, the EP itself makes an impressive entrance with a Coral-like riff on 'Shoegazing'. Driving drums and rollicking bass then come into the frame as the song makes its way to the 'kids on the war path chorus' which will surely be a sing-a-long point in live shows. The backing vocals are spot on in this opening track as well. Following 'Shoegazing' is the EP's two finest tracks in the form of 'Fingernails & Fairytales' and 'Declan, Put Your Dancing Shoes On'. The former again can draw comparisons to The Coral whilst still retaining a certain 'uniqueness' while the latter is much more of a rocker which sounds reminiscent of a fellow up and coming band, Cheap Cuts (now renamed Man And The Echo). On the remaining two tracks The Ragamuffins explore a slightly more Latin, jazz style which is no bad thing! The closing track, 'Something To Shout About', is another highlight and certainty has the catchiest chorus on the EP. Overall, a fine mix of rock, soul and jazz. Definitely a band to keep an eye on!"

 

 

PART 2 - "THE RAGAMUFFINS SAY..."

 

Below David Jaggs talks us through each track on the EP!

 

Shoegazing

 

"This song had a comparatively huge gestation period which began when I was at the Liverpool vs. Napoli game at Anfield in 2010, specifically after seeing a group of about three or four very young Napoli lads surrounded by police outside the Albert pub and thinking how utterly terrified they looked. There'd been trouble in Naples a few weeks before the match at the away leg with some Liverpool lads being attacked in a restaurant I think by Italian ultras and so the atmosphere wasn't very hospitable around the ground to say the least. Just a few little words and phrases popped into my head when trying to keep my head down and get to the bus without any trouble, being a lover not a fighter and all that... Anyway, I was revisiting some lyric notebooks and found the ideas I'd jotted down and remembered this slightly chaotic guitar riff I'd written when getting my acoustic out on the top deck of a completely empty bus home after a night out which fitted in. When Florin started doubling the riff in practices and Xav had the drums rattling along with that almost Johnny Cash (or more recently Jake Bugg I suppose!) train rhythm and Alex added that utterly hypnotic bassline everything just seemed to fit together nicely so we went from there! It also made sense to call it 'Shoegazing', not to do with the eighties indie sub genre, but given most of the band's slight obsession with footwear, whether it's my stupid numbers of trainers, Sam and his hi-tops or Xav blowing a fortune on Oliver Sweeney shoes!"

 

Fingernails & Fairytales

 

"'Fingernails & Fairytales' is a re-recording of an older song that I'd demoed a few years ago and abandoned somewhat because the vocal never really managed to span that balance of fragility and tenderness it needed with the heartbroken subject matter, yet still sung 'well' enough with it being quite a high note in the choruses to lift the tune to make it work properly on record. In all honesty I don't think I was a good enough singer when I wrote the song but have got better vocally and as a musician and we worked out the harmonies better to give it an extra dimension. The solo started sounding really nice with the 12-string style guitar line going on. In terms of writing the song itself, it was the classic songwriter's thing of finding a new chord out and then straight away wanting to use it in a song with the menacing sounding diminished progression and melody in the verses."

 

Declan, Put Your Dancing Shoes On

 

"'Declan, Put Your Dancing Shoes On' is sort of a response song (in terms of the title at least) to Elvis Costello's 'Tramp The Dirt Down' that I wrote in the weeks after Margaret Thatcher's death, but more specifically after her actual funeral. The news was awash with sound bytes and anger and you couldn't help but come up with ideas off the back of that, especially when so many of the unsavoury things she did during her time as Prime Minister seemed to be getting glossed over. It's sort of meant to imagine some bizarre, trans-existential funeral service and wake with people both alive and dead, friend and foe turning up and offering their two-penneth to what's going on, and name-checks everyone from Bernard Ingham to Judy Garland. I put some mad synthesiser arpeggios and 'swooshes' on this because there was so much space without the bass in the verses it just felt like we COULD do something like that, and this immediately made me go back and do some similar sonic things on 'Shoegazing' because I was worried that it'd make 'Declan' sound a little musically isolated on the record if there weren't some similar musical themes!"

 

Eleven In The Afternoon

 

"'Eleven In The Afternoon' was trickier to record than it probably should have been. It's inception was a result of our former bassist and my good mate Paul dropping a wonderful 'Ringo-ism' (a la 'Hard Days Night' and 'Eight Days A Week') when attempting to organise meeting up, but is more about feeling guilty when wasting a day recovering from a night out and absolutely everything seems to wind you up. The opening ninth chord was another 'songwriter learns new chord' situation but the almost Latin, bossa feel was a bit of a joke originally and just the way I finger-plucked the chords when messing around in our practice room. I think Florin was initially impressed with the melody and chorus lyric which spurred me on to have a go at writing the whole thing but I thought it'd end up as a straighter, faster song. When we tried to do this however it sounded RUBBISH; it was very amateurish and had the teenage band sort of quiet/loud verse/chorus contrast thing you do when you first buy a distortion pedal and an electric guitar and form a band with your mates as a sixteen year old. I knew we could do much better and with a few breakbeat ideas from Xav the first bossa idea I had morphed into something that sounded like 'us'."

 

Something To Shout About

 

"'Something To Shout About' is a song about the perils of over-doing it on social media, but I was extremely conscious of how it'd look written down if I called it 'Nothing Much To Shout About' so changed the name accordingly. I wrote it all around that slightly odd chord pattern in the verses and the chiming post-chorus guitar and it just all seemed to make sense with Sam, our keys player firing out a Cuban style piano line in the intro. The tumbling trumpet line at the end seemed as good a way to close the EP as any as well! We were really, really happy with how the 'ah' backing vocals came out as an overdub in the last chorus as, sadly, we can't do them to quite that extent live (yet!) without audience participation, but it made sense and gave that bit of the song a massive lift."

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this feature on The Ragamuffins! Check out our previous feature on Dan Poole!
 

Check out The Ragamuffins here - https://www.facebook.com/theragamuffinsuk

 

You can also like our facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS

A WORLD OUT YOUR WINDOW: An interview with Liverpool's own Joe Symes And The Loving Kind!

 

Below is our interview with Liverpool's own Joe Symes And The Loving Kind.

 

To stay up to date with future interviews like our facebook page at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

 

PART 1 - THE INTERVIEW

 

What was your earliest musical memory and what pushed you towards pursuing a career in the music industry?

 

Joe: "My earliest musical memory was my dad playing Frank Sinatra records at home and myself looking at the album sleeves of the vinyls, other memories like Beatles albums and 7 inch singles in the record collection. This was at a very early age."

Dave: "I loved listening to a lot of music at a young age but it's only when my grandparents enrolled me onto keyboard lessons that my love of music began to flourish. I haven't looked back since."

 

Colin: "My earliest musical memory is probably hearing songs from the James Bond films - 'You Only Live Twice', 'Thunderball', 'Live And Let Die', things like that. I love those soundtracks; I have a lot on vinyl and CD. It  was definitely hearing The Doors that really got me into playing. My brother would play their albums around the house. I remember being on holiday with my mum and dad when I was eleven and talking about them nonstop. I think I drove them to the brink of insanity during those two weeks!"

Paul: "My grandfather playing the organ was my earliest musical memory. He was really good and loud! For me playing guitar has always been a major pastime, others have come and gone but the guitar has always stayed. Now it would be a great shame not to take it as far as it could possibly go."

Chris: "I cant really remember what my first memory of music was, it's just something I always wanted to do! My mum was always into cool bands, so was very keen to help me get into playing the guitar."

 

What sort of records were played around the house when you were younger and did these records have an influence on your songwriting?

Joe: "Motown, Beatles, The Doors, Marvin Gaye, Buzzcocks, Neil Young etcetera...those artists have a huge influence on my songwriting."

Dave: "Earliest memory was listening to whatever my parents played on the old vinyl. Hendrix, Cream, Dylan, Zappa, Abba (my mother!), The Beatles, Santana and a load of classical too."

Colin: "My brother would play things like The Beatles, The Doors, Ocean Colour Scene, The Eagles, Paul Weller, amongst other things, but that was when I was around nine or ten onward. Before that my dad would play things by Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson and Frankie Laine. That was his era, and a lot of it I do actually like. You're looking at a big Sinatra fan."

Paul: "From my dad it was plenty of Beatles, Stones and Genesis. All mainly guitar based music which must have something to do with why I took it up."

Chris: "My mum was always playing LP's by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, anything like that. I remember listening to Aqualung by Jethro Tull, and talking about it in school the next day and no one having a clue what I was on about!"
 

Had you been involved in any other band prior to Joe Symes & The Loving Kind?

Dave: "Yes I have. A few cover bands and one original band which was great fun when I was in my early twenties and there were some great songs. But this is the band that I hope can give us a lot of good times and hopefully some financial stability. If this can give me a serious prosperous career then I'm all for it."

Joe: "Yes...but I think you have to experience working with a lot of other musicians before you find the right members that you know it will work with."

Colin: "Yes, but I tend not to think about the past. This is THE band!"

Paul: "Yes and I learnt a lot from the experiences which has helped us in compiling our sound and live setup."

Chris: "Yeah, I've been in bands since my first band in school. It's all I've ever wanted to do."

 

How did Joe Symes & The Loving Kind begin?

Colin: "Joe had not long started doing solo acoustic gigs, which got amazing feedback within the two to three months before I joined. The band I was in at the time had split, so I rang Joe - who I've know for a good few years - and asked if he wanted any drums on recordings and maybe some percussion live. He said yes, and we became an acoustic duo. After a few months I (apparently, it may have been after a few drinks) suggested we get a bass player, keyboard player and guitarist. Dave came through a mutual friend of his and Joe's, Paul came through a mutual friend of Dave and his, and Chris replied to an ad I put up on the internet."

Joe: "I was playing acoustic open mic nights in Liverpool and around the north west about six months before Colin came on board, we did a lot more acoustic gigs after that to which Colin suggested bringing in band members to which I agreed to."

Chris: "Think Col's covered it there!"

 

Where did the name The Loving Kind come from?

Colin: "I came up with the name; I got it from the R.E.M song 'Get Up'. I suggested it to Joe and he seemed to like it, so it stuck. I was really pleased, as it was the first band name I've really come up with."

Joe: "R.E.M."

Dave: "Colin's summed that up in one. Nothing for me to add there!"

 

Why do you go under the name of Joe Symes & The Loving King instead of simply Joe Symes?

Joe: "Because I had already established myself as a solo artist under my own name, I did not want to go and change it to a new band name after all the exposure I was getting so Colin suggested the rest of the band name to which I agreed, I really like it."

Colin: "While we were an acoustic duo - and before - a lot of promotion was done under Joe's name, magazine interviews, radio interviews etcetera. If we'd have gone under a 'name' once everyone else came on board, it would've been confusing for a lot of people who were starting to follow us, so when I suggested we go under Joe Symes & 'something, something', like Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, etcetera. We're connoisseurs of the classics, and well...I think having a band name which is 'front man name & the something' has a classic, old school ring to it."

Dave: "In addition to the fact that Joe had established himself before a full band was on board it does give a very classic feel so it helps with our M.O. so to speak."

 

How would you describe the sound of Joe Symes & The Loving Kind?

Chris: "Fresh, with a classic twist! Like when they re-branded Opel Fruits."

Joe: "Very honest!"

Colin: "Considerably versatile."

Dave: "Eclectic versatility!"

Paul: "A very eclectic mixed bag that produces classic songs."

 

You have recently released your debut album. What would you say influenced the album on the whole?

Paul: "There's plenty of references to the Doors, Beatles, Floyd, Kinks, etcetera, on there if you listen out for them, but the album is more about providing a snapshot of what we're all about and the way things will be heading in future releases."

Joe: "Personal experiences for me, my life is in that album, in them songs."

Colin: "Probably the versatility of 'The White Album'. We love how much variety is on that album, and because we hate repeating ourselves anyway, it was a buzz for us to do something like that."

Dave: "Well there's a lot there as even though Joe writes the songs, we as a band 'colour them in'. I think on a personal level I was looking towards The Doors and my heavy Jazz influence. 'Ready to Ride' is a great example of how a song took from a singer-songwriter song to a laid back jazz piece, so to speak. But it's a band thing and everyone has shown their traits that have come from one band/artist or another. We just like making good music whatever the artist or style that influences us."

Chris: "There's the obvious influences in there, but making the album to have some variety in it."

 

One of the singles off this album is called ‘A World out Your Window’ – a rather mysterious, laidback, acoustic-driven song. What is this song about?

Joe: "'A World Out Your Window' is about an old friend of mine who would always say he's been here, been there, did this, did that. A bit of an attention seeker but really he's never done nothing with himself, sad really."

Colin: "Urm...we haven't released any singles off the album. 'A World Out Your Window' is a bonus track, not a single."

Dave: "Although, as it's been pointed out, it's not a single, I'd love it to be one as it's a great song. The feel is brilliant. If I'm being honest, this was THE song that got me hooked and wanted to join the band. I think it's open to interpretation as with any piece of art it's subjective and whatever you make out of it is up to you. For me personally it's about what's going on in the world and everyday life."

 

You have played as support act of both Steve Cradock and the Blockheads. How does it feel getting recognition from icons such as these?

Joe: "Very nice, I think it's a great step on the ladder that many bands don't get the chance to do."

Colin: "I'm very proud. I think it shows we're doing the right thing if we're getting good support slots within a short time of the band being together."

Dave: "It shows what great strides we have made in such a short space of time. We have garnered a great reputation as a great live band and we hope to be confirming more gigs like these in 2014."

Paul: "It's a good step in the right direction and we keep building on this progress all the time. Hopefully it's only a matter of time before the word spreads and more support slots are coming through."

Chris: "Amazing. It's a nice feeling knowing that we're starting to get recognition and that the hard work we have put in is starting to pay off."

 

Do you have any 'rituals' before you go on stage?

Joe: "More vocal in the monitors."

Colin: "No."

Dave: "Rituals? Hmm, make sure everything is switched on. My first ever gig as a musician someone switched my keyboard off and when I went to play nothing was happening! So apart from that no nothing. Maybe I'll ask for a bowl of blue M&M's!"

Paul: "Turn phone off!"

Chris: "No, not really. Making sure you are in tune is always a good thing!"

 

Any live dates coming up?

Colin: "After The Blockheads gig, Alan McGee's 359 gig, and a little gig on the Williamson Square Bandstand in Liverpool (all December), that's it till February. A lot of great things will come in 2014, but we can't say yet!"

Chris: "Next year is looking promising."

 

Any new songs in the pipeline?

Joe: "Loads of new material always being written, watch this space."

Colin: "We have about half a dozen albums worth of songs there - that's no exaggeration - ready and waiting to get recorded. I'm very proud of that."

Dave: "All the time!"

Chris: "Yeah, we have the single we are recording now, which will be out around March, then we will be going into start recording a new album."

 

When can fans be expecting the next release?

Joe: "I'd say maybe March or Feb."

Colin: "Double A side single should be out around February or March."

Dave: "Hopefully around March."

Chris: "March, hopefully."
 

Who would be your dream collaboration?

Joe: "I'd like to say John Lennon but that's out of the question, maybe Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, the list is endless for me."

Colin: "That's a tough one. I can't name just one. Hmm, to have worked with the likes of Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis or Chet Baker would've been nice, but they've unfortunately passed away. Burt Bacharach would be nice to work with."

Dave: "Hmm, too many artists to mention but something with Bill Evans and Jim Morrison. That would be interesting!"

Paul: "Dave Gilmore could probably work out well at the moment for some of the songs we've been doing lately."

Chris: "Current? I'm a big Kasabian fan, so I would say them!"

 

Who would be in your dream supergroup?

Joe: "To be honest I've never thought about a supergroup."

Colin: "Me on drums, Charles Mingus on bass, Ray Manzarek on keyboards, Robbie Krieger on guitar, Chano Pozo on percussion, and various members of Duke Ellington's and James Brown's horn sections combined. Now that line-up could change tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that."

Dave: "John Densmore on drums, myself on keys, Scott LaFaro on bass. Jeff Buckley on vocals and John Mayer on guitar. There's a lot of jazz underneath there!"

Paul: "Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar, Keith Moon on drums, John Paul Jones on bass and Jim Morrison... Hmm, really don't think that would work out though."

Chris: "Hmm, I would be on bass, Keith Moon on drums, Brian Eno, Serge Pizzorno and Syd Barrett."

 

PART 2 - THE QUICKFIRE ROUND

Favourite Beatle?

Joe: "John."

Colin: "Paul."

Dave: "Paul. Why? Blackbird."

Paul: "George."

Chris: "JWL."

Favourite band?

Joe: "The Beatles."

Colin: "The Beatles and The Doors together."

Dave: "I honestly don't have one, I like too many!"

Paul: "The Beatles."

Chris: "Pink Floyd."

Favourite new band?

Colin: "Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings."

Dave: "Although not particularly 'new' but new to me. Brad Mehldau."

Paul: "The Strypes."

Chris: "How new is new? But at the moment Warpaint."

Favourite song?

Joe: "There are so many I can't answer."

Colin: "That's an impossible question to answer."

Dave: "Lover You Should've Come Over by Jeff Buckley. It gets me every time!"

Paul: "Little Wing - Hendrix."

Chris: "Walking Backward To Christmas by The Goons."

Favourite album?

Joe: "Again I can't answer as there are so many."

Colin: "The White Album."

Dave: "Grace. Jeff Buckley. Fantastic!"

Paul: "Texas Flood (Stevie Ray Vaughan)."

Chris: "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn."

Vinyl, CD or download?

Joe: "Vinyl."

Colin: "Vinyl."

Dave: "Vinyl!"

Paul: "Vinyl."

Chris: "Vinyls downloaded onto CD."

Style icon?

Joe: "John Lennon in his Revolver period."

Colin: "Any jazz musician or bohemian."

Dave: "Although I don't 'follow suit' and wear what he wears, Paul Weller. He'd make an eighties shell-suit look cool! (Not that I'd wear one)."

Paul: "Steve McQueen."

Chris: "Syd Barrett or Sergio Pizzorno."

Favourite clothing brand?

Colin: "Anything vintage."

Dave: "Anything that makes me smart as fuck!"

Paul: "Guinness."

Chris: "Anything sixties inspired."

Favourite film?

Joe: "The Ipcress File, Michael Caine."

Colin: "The Godfather."

Dave: "Pulp Fiction."

Paul: "Big."

Chris: "Garden State."

Favourite TV show?

Joe: "Man In A Suitcase."

Colin: "Doctor Who."

Dave: "Dexter."

Paul: "Man Vs. Food."

Chris: "The Mighty Boosh."

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Joe: "Someone I hope?"

Colin: "Me."

Dave: "If not me then because of looks it'd be Alexander Armstrong but if I could have anyone? My favourite actor of all time, Jack Nicholson."

Paul: "Tom Hanks."

Chris: "R2-D2."

Favourite food?

Joe: "Pasta and sauce."

Colin: "Steak."

Dave: "Poached eggs with mayo."

Paul: "Pizza."

Chris: "Liquid lunch!"

Football team?

Joe: "London Irish."

Colin: "Don't like football."

Dave: "Everton, of course, who else!"

Paul: "Sorry, I'm missing that gene from my DNA."

Chris: "Liverpool (sorry, Dave)."



Hope you enjoyed this feature on Joe Symes & The Loving Kind! Check out our previous feature on Groovy Uncle featuring Suzi Chunk!

Check out Joe Symes & The Loving Kind here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/JOE-Symes/206169176086266

 

You can also like our facebook page to keep up to date with all future interviews at the following link - https://www.facebook.com/aldorabritainrecords

 

AB RECORDS