Lojinx - British Independent Record Label

Esteemed US musician Mike Viola is bringing his new album Rock Of Boston to our shores with a handful of shows in November, forming a special pick-up band with members of The Zutons and The La’s for the tour.

Mike Viola is a producer, musician, songwriter and singer best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Andrew Bird, Dawes, Ryan Adams and Jenny Lewis. However his solo career stands on its own, starting with a number of acclaimed records as the leader of New York based cult favourite Candy Butchers and 8 critically adored solo records.  His original music has been featured on soundtracks for movies such as That Thing You Do!, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Get Him to the Greek.

Rock Of Boston was recorded over the winter of 2023 on 8 track ½” tape at Barebones, Viola’s home studio in Los Angeles.  Once again joined by his friends Jake Sinclair (Weezer, Sia, Panic! at the Disco) on bass and Brendon Urie (Panic! At The Disco) on drums.

For UK shows Mike has roped in Sean Payne (The Zutons) and Jay Lewis (The La’s, Cast) to join Jake Sinclair and himself on the road.

Viola says, “I’m always writing songs, or pieces of songs, or riffs. My writing process changes every song, so I never get trapped in a method. I let the song lead me.  While I was on a world tour playing guitar for Panic at The Disco, I wrote the bulk of this record on the bus between soundcheck and showtime. On the days off, I’d find a recording studio wherever we were and I’d book studio time to sneak away to lay down a few ideas. When the tour finished, Jake and Brendon came home to LA and we never stopped playing music together. We just switched from touring with Panic! to recording Rock Of Boston pretty seamlessly without a break. Maybe that’s why the riffs seem bigger on this record, we had spent all those months in hockey arenas around the world playing big music.”

Decades into his career his music continues to resonate with, and inspire, new generations of musicians and music lovers. Starting in 2019 Viola hit a prolific streak and released fan favourite records The American Egypt, Godmuffin, and Paul McCarthy, all recorded in his Los Angeles studio Barebones.  His recent albums have garnered a whole new fan base and sold out shows around the US.

12 Nov Bristol The Louisiana
13 Nov Pocklington Arts Center
14 Nov London The Grace
15 Nov Nottingham The Bodega
16 Nov Hebden Bridge Trades Club

Mike Viola’s new album, “Rock Of Boston” is out now on digital services and will be released on CD & vinyl LP on 15th November on British indie label Lojinx in Europe.

A new Mike Viola album, “Rock Of Boston”, will be released on 20th September 2024 on Good Morning Monkey/Grand Phony in the US, Lojinx in Europe and SONY Japan.

Mike Viola is a producer, musician, songwriter and singer. Viola may be best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Andrew Bird, Dawes, Ryan Adams and Jenny Lewis, but his solo career stands on its own starting with a number of acclaimed records as the leader of New York based cult favorite Candy Butchers and 8 critically adored Mike Viola records. His original music has been featured on soundtracks for movies such as That Thing You Do!, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Get Him to the Greek.

Decades into his career his music continues to resonate with and inspire new generations of musicians and music lovers. Starting in 2019, Viola hit a prolific streak and released fan favourite records The American Egypt, Godmuffin, and Paul McCarthy, all recorded in his Los Angeles studio Barebones. His recent albums have garnered a whole new fan base and sold out shows around the US.

Rock Of Boston was recorded over the winter of 2023 on ½” tape at Barebones, Viola’s home studio in Los Angeles. Once again joined by his friends Jake Sinclair on bass and Brendon Urie on drums. Viola says, “I’m always writing songs, or pieces of songs, or riffs. My writing process changes every song, so I never get trapped in a method. I let the song lead me. While I was on a world tour playing guitar for Panic at The Disco, I wrote the bulk of this record on the bus between soundcheck and showtime. On the days off, I’d find a recording studio wherever we were and I’d book studio time to sneak away to lay down a few ideas. When the tour finished, Jake and Brendon came home to LA and we never stopped playing music together. We just switched from touring with Panic! to recording Rock Of Boston pretty seamlessly without a break. Maybe that’s why the riffs seem bigger on this record, we had spent all those months in hockey arenas around the world playing big music.”

Viola will support the Rock Of Boston album release with an international tour starting in Los Angeles September 21st at his home turf Gold Diggers.

For UK / Europe PRE-ORDER ROCK OF BOSTON HERE. For North America, through Grand Phony, go HERE.

Join Mike online:

• mikeviola.com
• facebook.com/MikeViolaMusic
• instagram.com/themikeviola

Not many musicians can call upon Britain’s all-time greatest guitar players and the world’s best known drummer to contribute to their side-gig solo album.

But legendary singer, songwriter and keeper of the 10cc flame Graham Gouldman has made a few pioneering friends over the course of his 60 year career. Brian May, Hank Marvin, Albert Lee and Ringo Starr, among others, have all contributed to Gouldman’s forthcoming 6^th solo album, ‘I Have Notes’, released 5^th July on British independent record label Lojinx.

 

First single ‘We’re Alive’, which is out now and available to listen to HERE, displays an Americana tone, co-written with Nashville-based singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman (Bette Midler, Trisha Yearwood, Neil Diamond) and songwriter/guitarist Gordon Kennedy (Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Garth Brooks).

“I wrote this song in Nashville last year with Beth Nielsen Chapman and Gordon Kennedy. Both of whom I’ve worked with before. I just started playing this opening riff, there’s some nodding going on, it sounded quite exuberant and so the theme had to be something life affirming. Beth came up with the “We’re Alive” title, and then we finished off the song really quickly together.

There are certain references, which I love, that are kind of interesting. “Pull back the sofa, wind up the gramophone”. You know who’s got a gramophone? Nobody!

It’s always a real joy to work with Beth and Gordon and I think it shows in the song because it’s full of life.” says Gouldman.

The song was tracked with the writers between London and Nashville, with Dan Needham (Michael McDonald, Billy Preston, Amy Grant) on drums, and produced by Graham Gouldman and Graeme Pleeth.

‘I Have Notes’ has a broad palette of musical styles and textures, reflecting the diverse nature of Gouldman’s catalogue. From the “I’m Not In Love” choral opening of literal space-ballad ‘Floating In Heaven’ (with Brian May), through the endearing romantic waltz of ‘When You Find Love’ (featuring Hank Marvin). The album also features the exuberant childish joy of ‘Play Me’, the cheeky festive swing of ‘Christmas Affair’ (featuring Beth Nielsen Chapman) to the Side A closer, the unashamed Beatle-inspired ‘Couldn’t Love You More’ (featuring Ringo Starr).

Side B kicks off with the overtly poppy ‘It’s Time For Me To Go’, followed by the country-tinged ‘Don’t Tell Lies’. The long-lost 10cc-era confessional ‘I’m Lazy’ leads into the instrumental palette cleanse of ‘Celestial Light’, followed by a return to country twang with ‘Say You Love Me Tonight (featuring Albert Lee). The album closes with a rocking live performance of ‘Heart Full Of Soul’, featuring an all-star band – Brian May & Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Ric Fierabracci on bass and Simon Phillips on drums.

Having worked with the late Storm Thorgerson, of Hypnosis, for many 10cc covers over the years, Gouldman has continued the collaboration through Peter Curzon at StormStudios for the ‘I Have Notes’ cover:

“The cover art works beautifully, I think”, enthuses Gouldman. “You may understand it, you may not. But you know something interesting is happening.”

‘I Have Notes’ will be released on vinyl LP, CD & digital on 5th July 2024 – GET IT HERE.

See the animated lyric video for Phil Thornalley’s Shipwrecked Love

Phil explains: “Whilst improvising on my old piano one day i found a cool repeating motif and, to me, it suggested the ebb and flow of a rising tide. Shit got sea faring dude!”

After a while i found the lyrics to suit the simple melody. The words that came to me felt impressionistic rather than literal and i soon had a song about disintegrating romance. But not a sea shanty. No fair isle sweaters or captain birds eye beards. More the spirit of Robinson Crusoe rather than rock and roll cruise ship.

With the help of Karl, a string bass player, we created this minimal orchestral arrangement mirroring the pulsing piano. Added some vocoder harmonies to the singer’s plaintive plea. And a touch of flute.

Then, drum roll please, my collaborator, ac (head at record company lojinx) created this wonderful lyric video with, perhaps, a french impressionist feel.

Cascading warm, natural colours and sweeping brush strokes. Like Van Gogh on vacation.

As source material he used a film i had made on a beach holiday in January. then he added my scrawled handwriting that somehow became a wannabe Cezanne’s delicate touch. Pretty remarkable eh?

And that’s the salty sea tale of how a sad song became this visual feast.

“and so begins, the journey’s end”

Disclaimer: no fish were battered in the making of this video.

The 3-track Shipwrecked Love EP is out now. Pre-order the album Holly Would now for release on March 29th.

Ahoy! Naval gazing!

For lovers of metaphorical maritime melancholy comes melodic ballad Shipwrecked Love, the second song and EP from Phil Thornalley’s forthcoming album Holly Would.

Swirling piano, chopping cellos, fluttering flute and vocoder voices embrace the singer’s siren song of a love on the rocks. One-man orchestra Karl McComas-Reichl layers accompaniment of Thornalley’s string arrangement.

Apple | Spotify

“Over the years, as a formally untrained musician, I have been drawn to the emotion that strings can bring to a song. I suppose I’ve been diligent in studying how to arrange with years in the studio seeing other top pop arrangers at work. Del Newman, Paul Buckmaster, George Fenton, Charles Blackwell and Sal Herbert have all written arrangements for recordings I was producing, writing or engineering. With the power of modern string sample libraries it’s possible for me to sketch an authentic arrangement and then convert that into a score for the players, who can overdub themselves from their home studios, bringing their beautiful craft to colour my probably laughable scratchings. Karl records in California and sends the results to me in West Hampstead.”

“Once I’d decided on shipwrecked as the theme it felt good, the lyrics seemed to come naturally. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell a story in so few lines but they fell into place quickly.”

Riding the waves of the title track the EP includes two non-album tracks with simpler productions. The late era Beatle-ish Could You Be Loved and the hybrid acoustic ballad Too Many Goodbyes.

“Throughout my career, whilst trying to write, possibly contrive , ‘hit’ songs for other artists, I’ve had many other songs fall into my lap, from the sky into my hands. I started collecting these ‘found’ songs from the last few years for an album of perhaps more introspective feel; keeping them less arranged, looser in playing style and even more naturally ‘me’. I love singing harmony vocals and enjoyed the intertwining coda of Too Many Goodbyes. I suppose they are more singer-songwriter songs rather than singer-with-a-full-band blasting away.”

“Having shelved the idea of a niche album from an admittedly already niche artist, I felt I wanted to still share them anyway. It’s a natural reflection of the way I feel my way through a song just strumming and humming with my guitar . I realise later the unconscious influence of The Beatles, solo Macca and even Weezer”.

Shipwrecked Love is the only ballad on the Holly Would album, so the tone of this EP doesn’t reflect the sound of the album overall. But with the abundance of songs pouring out of Thornalley in recent years it seemed a shame for them to go unheard and natural to group these tracks into a melancholic set.

“Sometimes writing songs is like a surfer catching a wave: you struggle to get past the breakers but once you get the right energy it can be a beautiful, graceful ride to the shore”.

The 3-track Shipwrecked Love EP is out now. Pre-order the album Holly Would now for release on March 29th.