20 year old english singer-songwriter Joseph Watkin's story begins back when he would busk Bob Dylan songs out of Kings College, Cambridge. It was a bright summers day; and Joseph was mid-way through a revised version of 'Visions of Johanna' when he was approached by a student holding a worn out book. "Hey, you should read this..." He said, dropping the book into Joseph's open guitar case.
"Dream Brother : The Story of Jeff & Tim Buckley"
Needless to say the book was read cover-to-cover, it revolutionised the way Joseph looked at his music. Not unlike most acclaimed literary essentials, it inspired him. The following week, on the tail-end of a string of local shows, Joe bought a train ticket to central London. And with only a bag of leads, a six-string and a book full of lyrics, he set about filling his gig diary there.
Fast forward a few months, he was playing regular acoustic slots to his London counter-parts in a host of bars and clubs on the infamous, mirky back-streets of Soho and Camden.
And; wrapped in a blanket of appraisal from his peers, he dragged himself to the intimate surrounds of The Rock Garden in Covent Garden, where he played his official debut showcase to an attentive audience. Amongst whom was the producer of an innovative new TV show called 'Live From The London Studios'. This lead to him filming a live performance of his record 'Emily' to a large studio audience at the Southbank Studios.
November 2006 saw Joseph complete the first leg of his 'Live & Acoustic' tour calling at cities across the Uk, ever since, Joseph has taken each show in his stride, confidently performing a catalogue of his heartfelt songs.
"Look Out For This Young Man" - The Guardian
REVIEWS
Cambridgeshire's 'Joseph Watkin' has created a thoroughly emotionally driven demo cd. His heart-heavy songs really leap out to you in the first listen of his 2005 demo and allow you to feel his passion for writing and recording. I also get the feeling that these four songs were written because they needed to be written, not because he just felt like writing some songs one day.
"Emily"
is the perfect introduction to Joseph's material and starts the demo off with warm acoustic tones, despite it being about a lost love. Track two, "Him" is perfectly able to hold its own but i feel that it could benefit from backing vocals being added to it. Musically it seems a little too light at times and perhaps some more guitar would also give the song more weight to match his rising vocals.
"I Need You Tonight"
has been perfectly crafted and balances the power of Joseph's vocals with the guitars which leads nicely towards "Unity", which takes the demo to a close. This last song is aided by percussive accompaniment and contributes to an epic ending of what feels like a completely raw, honest but upbeat collection on personal thoughts and feelings. Superb. In Conclusion : "Joseph Watkin's Demo is an incredibly personal and intimate note to himself..."
The Band Agency
"I think he is an exceptional talent and someone who i very much believe in, he is someone who deserves every chance given to him. I have rarely seen an artist of such a young age with such an incredible talent and potential to be a great success. His stage presence and the calibre of his songwriting is something you just have to experience. I first saw Joe at The Rock Garden in Covent Garden, and i knew i had to make every effort to get him to appear on 'Live from the London Studios'. "
Chris Yates Producer 'Live from The London Studios'
come promesso qualcosa del nuovo album alla fine l'abbiamo cagata.... A parte i nuovi video su Youtube, tra 1 pò pubblicheremo il Telefilm a puntate "3 Sgroove In Europe", direttamentre tratto da una storia vera: il viaggio di Frank, Hermes e Brazo da Gaeta (LT) a Cristiania (Copenaghen) 3 amici, 1 Panda, 7000Km!
Ah, e ovviamente... a Settembre il nuovo disco: ABBEY RUZZ!
MAY 21ST LAUNCH NIGHT for MYSPACE OR YOURS @ VIBE LIVE. 91 Brick Lane E1 6QL
featuring:
=SUMMER HOLIDAY= Crititically aclaimed totally original and hugely entertaing. Famous for playing concerts on the roof of their car, and with a Channel 4 documentary on the band coming out soon, they play celebratory songs to dance to CLICKHERE
VIBE MACHINE mix acoustic and electronic sounds with words and beats,and are made up of Poet, Bard and Wordsmith DAVE PEPPER and Producer and Musician Odd Job Man. CLICKHERE
MINGUS MENZIES is probably what Robert Johnson or leadbelly would have sounded like if they were white, of scottish descent; brought up in Hull, and lived in Hackney. A powerful and original voic CLICKHERE
..NEV HAWKINS Indie Folk Surrealist and host for the night. CLICKHERE
Doors Open 7. 30 TILL 11PM
£5 On door £4 past performers from 'Myspace or yours'
Thank you ever so much for playing last night Joseph, il say it again, you were absolutely fantastic!!! I hope you will come again sometime unless America steals you... it was lovely to meet you both,
Many thanks for the powerful performance last night, Joe. Sorry we hid all the light switches. Hope this wont spoil our chances of getting you to come back ? Steve @ Grapevine.
Thanks for the friendship...come check out our NEW song "Thoughts" by our female hip hop artist Stumpy and give us your "Thoughts" your opinion is valued as a friend...see ya on da comments...Triple Mz Is OuT!
After 18 months of songwriting thrills, spills, chilled drinks and temperamental strange beautiful mentalist Shelley like waif and stray musicians baring their warm hearted souls at weekly music night ’Myspace or Yours’. The folks from SONGWRITERS ANONYMOUS are kickstarting a monthly residency at The Vibe Live with a showcase for the acts they’ve nominated for this years Indy Music Awards.
The launch night was a huge success, with musicians and supportive crowds making the evening a most pleasurable and encouraging spectacular.
We had Skopje and Corey Hallwood down as featured artists, and i am honoured to have them play- they really did put on fantastic performances. Id recommend you check them out if you havent done so already
www. myspace. com/skopjemusic (important gig coming up- check for details)
www. myspace. com/hallwoodcorey
The musicians who came to support the open mic slots were of top class last night, we were all very impressed with the talent on show, and i can only urge you all to come back and give us some more- great work.
Go and have a look at the picture evidence of the laughs and frolicks in the picture sections, Danny and I really enjoyed ourselves and the feedback has been fantastic, so for the first night of the unsigned treaty sessions, a massive high five to everyone who came to play and enjoy the music- please continue to spread the word and get your friends down to chill out on these Sunday evenings, starting from 7 till late, with a bit of djing inbetween sets. Why dont you bring a cd down. Keep up the fantastic support, together this night will flourish!
Also if you have any suggestions or comments please let me know. Thanks again.
This weeks easter special flyer coming soon. Featured artists include Bally and Sonofman
Yeah Mrs March was (ironically) the devil incarnate.. and apparently Mrs Martin still does the whole "digging her heels into the floor while complaining about all the dents" thing.. Blahh I hated that school :P
I don't have your email :( However if you've got msn, give us an add - zombie_cag@hotmail.com I'm online most of the time.. Don't really do much else haha.
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