OXFORD THE EXETER HALL..

FRI 1ST AUG, 2008 8.00pm

Ballboy
www.myspace.com/ballboymusic

they all live in Edinburgh, Scotland.
they’ve released 4 albums in the UK over the past three years and are soon release their fifth album, "I worked on the ships". their records have been licensed across Europe, America and Japan.
they signed to sl records in june 1999 and released four ep's over the next three years. "silversuitsforastronauts"; "i hate scotland", "girls are better than boys" and "all the records on the radio are shite". tracks from these first three ep's were released on a compilation album, "club anthems 2001".
Edinburgh based production company brainhole have made films to accompany two ballboy tracks - "i’ve got pictures of you in your underwear" and "i hate scotland" which was entered in the mirrorball showcase at the edinburgh international film festival. these films were released on an sl video compilation "music is a competition" in January 2002.
their debut album "a guide for the daylight hours" was recorded at chamber studio's in granton. it was released in the uk in November 2002 and features artwork by Glasgow based artist David Shrigley. following a licensing deal with manifesto records in the states the band embarked on a five week tour across the states. highlights of the tour included playing a sell out show at the knitting factory in New York and in the legendary great American music hall in San Francisco.
their third album, "the sash my father wore and other stories", was released last year. it’s an acoustic album, featuring strings from Pete Harvey and Caroline Evens and was recorded at Cava Studios in Glasgow. the title track is a song about bigotry in Scotland, not a version of the pipes and drums anthem so beloved by the Orangemen – Gordon just stole the title.
in 2003 Ballboy said goodbye to keyboardist Katie Griffiths, who’d played with the band for the last five years, who left to move to London and get married. the band then recruited Alexa Morrison to play keyboards. they also released the single, "past lovers / i lost you, but i found country music" – a duet with American country singer Laura Cantrell.
their album “the royal theatre” was released in 2004 along with the singles “the art of kissing” and i died for love”.
since the release of their first ep they’ve received great acclaim from press and media across the uk. the late great john peel on radio one was a great fan of the band and he invited the band to record sessions for the show five times. this included a Christmas show in 2003 which was broadcast live from his house. tracks from the band have featured in the Festive Fifty every year for the past 5 years (11 tracks in total).
ballboy have recently recorded a song for the American film "Graduation" which is to be released soon. their forthcoming album “I worked on the ships” will be released in July. in the meantime they are broadcasting a monthly podcast through their website and which features acoustic versions of new and old Ballboy songs as well the occasional cover.


Stornoway
www.myspace.com/stornoway

The band consists of an Ornithologist, an occasional Russian translator, a South African Pirate Captain, and a human radio. They were first united in a snow-encrusted garage in Oxford early in 2006 and have since attracted the attention of Dr & Mrs Killjoy the neighbours and their android children. They occasionally invite an equine guest onstage.
None of the band have ever been to Stornoway. But Brian once got to within 37 miles of it.
Extra musical cargo belonging to Stornoway can be found around and about, but you have to search the murky depths to find it.


The Zebras
www.myspace.com/ilikezebras

On first blush, this sounds like the latest gorgeous, jangly guitar pop record from somewhere north of Manchester. Belle and Sebastian meet the better moments of the Lightning Seeds, with Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame strumming away. But on closer listening there's a certain local twang to both the voices and the music on the second production from this unheralded Brisbane six-piece. There's nary a foot, or a note, wrong on this, and the Zebras can lay claim to being, if not the heirs. then at least the love child of the Go-Betweens. Loaded with hooks and soaked with harmonies, Worry A Lot is the perfect laid-back lovely thing to listen to during this earliest of summers. The stripped back production suits the sound and these small but perfectly formed songs hit the spot in a quite delightful way. If there's a smidgen of a quibble it's that some of the tracks are too brief, with the whole effort clocking in at a sharp 35 minutes. Still nothing quite like wanting more, is there? - The Australian