Spitz@ Kings Cross Social Club

UNITED VIBRATIONS + J.D. SMITH

February 14, door time tbc

United Vibrations - Afro-beat, ska, reggae, funk, jazz, rock, ragga, hip-hop, house, world music, drum'n'bass - the intelligence of jazz meets the rawness of punk.. Influences move from Fela Kuti to Bob Marley and the Wailers. A young group to watch expressing the high tempo, multi-cultural frenzy of London. “Our mission is to create some bangin' tunes, and pass that vibe onto others.”

Yussef Dayes (drums), Kareem Dayes (bass/vocals), Wayne Francis (sax/vocals), & Ahmad Dayes (trombone/vocals).

United Vibrations "mix ska with raw punk energy and blistering jazz harmonies". TIME OUT

myspace.com/unitedvibrations

J.D. Smith is a London based solo Blues/Punk/Rockabilly slide player who has been trying to bring Rockabilly back from the brink and allow this amazing music to gain a larger audience. With an idea, a guitar and a heap of Punk rock thrown in J.D. is hoping to wake people up to the idea that a solo act doesn't have to mean folk, it can also be dangerous again.

''Everbody deserves a little rockabilly in their lives...and if twang's your thang, Mr Smiths got it in buckets. -Bizarre Magazine

'' Sounds like an Elvis for the modern era'' The Music Magazine

myspace.com/stuartjamesdurdensmith and jukeboxriot.com

Spitz@ Kings Cross Social Club
2 Britannia St, WC1X 9JE
Station: Kings Cross
time tbc
Free

Spitz@ Kings Cross Social Club

SONGDOG + JOE WILKES + JASON MCNIFF

February 21, door time tbc

Songdog are a trio (Lyndon Morgans, Karl Woodward, Dave Paterson) who combine acoustic and electronic instruments to create soundscapes for singer/songwriter (and former award-winning playwright) Lyndon Morgans's vignettes on life, love and loss. New fans include Bruce Springsteen, who used their track 'Days of Armageddon' for "walk in music" on his last European tour and personally requested a copy of the last album.

"... Their music is dark and sinister and beautiful and Lyndon's songs are by turns sexy, scary, funny, creepy, heartbreaking and usually always brilliant." Allan Jones (Editor), Uncut

"Building otherworldly lovesongs with acoustic guitar, a jagged drawl and lush accordions, Songdog's album unfurls with grace" Rock Sound

"One of those life-changing albums where you'll remember forever where you were when you first heard it" RocknReel (5*)

songdog.co.uk/us.htm

Joe Wilkes’ songs are robustly crafted and he likes to defy convention and take risks with song structures. Overt melodies are matched by sharply observed intelligent lyrics and his freewheeling arrangements take the listener on journeys beyond the usual folk confines.

“Time was when all singers at Soho folk hangouts owed debts to Woody Guthrie. Except Wilkes is of today and flavours his songs with French horns and bassoons.” MOJO, December 2007

joewilkes.co.uk/site.swf

Jason McNiff’s talent lies somewhere between Pete Doherty at his most tender and Nick Drake at his most optimistic, curiously soaked in Americana while remaining resolutely British. This Irish-Polish singer/songwriter recalls Americana, folk and roots without ever descending into formulaic acoustic drudgery. With a knack for the unpredictable, McNiff cultivates a tangible tension, dragging his audience — not unwillingly — into his elaborate songs.

"One of the UK's best-kept secrets" Mojo Magazine

jasonmcniff.com and myspace.com/jasonmcniff

+++ "DJ Lenny George regularly DJs at venues such as the ICA and the Union Chapel playing eclectic sets of fantastic folk, vintage soul and obscure Rolf Harris B-sides."

Spitz@ Kings Cross Social Club
2 Britannia St, WC1X 9JE
Station: Kings Cross
time tbc
Free

Spitz@ Kings Place atrium

SPITZ JAZZ

Every Friday, 6pm-9pm

Kings Place continues to host Friday evening Spitz Jazz in the building's popular atrium.

Friday, 12th Feb:

• Pete Wareham – sax
• Dave Whitford – double bass
• Alan Weekes – guitar

Friday, 19th Feb:

• Johannes Rieplar – guitar
• Ryan Trebilcock – double bass
• George Crowley – sax/clarinet

Friday, 26th Feb:

• Jon Shenoy – sax
• Spencer Brown – bass
• Kristian Borring – guitar

Past lineups

Spitz@ Kings Place
90 York Way, N1 9AG
Station: Kings Cross
6pm - 9pm
Free

Listen to Kings Place's audio recording of John Crampton's entire performance at their Spitz Blues evening on 4 Sept 2009:

Or browse Christopher Tribble's photos of John Crampton, Tom Rodwell, Sister Mary & the Choir Boys, Mr Black and Blues:

Or sample the same wonderful evening via video clips of John Crampton and Sister Mary & the Choir Boys:

A sample from the film Polar Bear Live at The Spitz:

Polar Bear - TOMLOVESALICELOVESTOM (a Rub Recordings Production, 2009)
myspace.com/rubrecordings

Check out the first commercial release on Spitz Records,
PARKBENCH: "VERSUS BLACKOUT", released on June 30th, 2008.

"Darkly sophisticated slabs of sax-seared lonesomeness ... this is the first commercial release from Spitz Records, a label whose advent can only mean great things for London's leftfield acts." - TIME OUT > read review

Treasured by many and missed by even more since its epic closing night bash on 27th Sept 2007 featuring the likes of Beth Orton, Terry Edwards, Seb Rochford and Gwyneth Herbert, the SPITZ has been working away to ensure that the many years of graft, grind and damn fine times do not go to waste. Now, to add to their regular gigs in other East London venues under the 'Spitz presents' moniker, comes the first in a series of releases by artists related to the legendary venue.

PARKBENCH is basic, original, earnest song-craft informed by an unflinching devotion to the spirituality of every day events; universal, human emotions; moods and moments burning bright or smouldering quietly; words liike white-hot cinders stoked by the tension and drama of real life situations; and the unique and creative force of a trapped, self-reflective, curious and longing soul.

Expressed honestly, without agenda or pretence, PARKBENCH heralds a return to the simple and beautiful classic songwriter criteria – compositions of inspired subject matter and creative survival techniques (how to get by life using the power of your own imagination to transform negative energy and draw good things from bad; and how to conjure up psychological imagery that is ultimately more functional and satisfying in describing 'the truth' than style pieces about individual love sickness or ready-made, borrowed genre thematics. The PARKBENCH modus operandi is in a sense a way of life, yet it is rendered with moderation and humility, an approach perhaps similar to the line infamously engraved upon Charles Bukowski's tombstone in Rancho Palos Verdes: "Don't Try."

"An outfit blending pastoral strumming and jazzy urbanity with the timelessly stylish blues gloom of Michael J Sheehy." - TIME OUT

Buy PARKBENCH: "VERSUS BLACKOUT" from:

• HMV stores buy
• Amazon.co.uk buy
• Play.com download

myspace.com/parkbenchfromthechinamen

Dhafer Youssef playing at the Spitz.