Principle songwriters Jay Manley (guitar/vocals) and Jane Francis (bass/vocals) joined by Hungarian drummer Zsolt David, craft more than just smart pop songs with fascinating structures. Manley and Francis bring a lifetime of musicianship to Velvet and seamlessly assimilate a batch of influences including The Beatles, Ravi Shankar, The Pretenders, Guided By Voices, Aimee Mann, Television, with hints of Jimi Hendrix, and Pat Metheny.
Since its beginnings as a Wilmington-based art-rock outfit in 1995, Velvet’s artistry and career continue to be upwardly mobile. The bands work is featured in Daniel Kraus’s debut film Jefftowne and MTV bought the rights to use the groups songs in its reality-based programs. Velvet also appears on the Lets Active tribute released by Australian label Laughing Outlaw Records and on the German Compilation Coast to Coast, where the bands work was placed alongside Ani DiFranco and the Cowboy Junkies. Two tracks from The Juggernaut are on the soundtrack of Jonathan Landau’s new film, The Last Summer and more recently, the band has been film scoring for Carrboro based film director Nic Beery.
Lately, the band had been studying and assimilating North Indian classical music into their songwriting. Manley, who has been studying Hindustani vocal for over two years now, brings ragas and melodies to guitar. Velvet is currently recording songs at their home studio for the next release. Stay tuned for some singles!
You ROCK! Thanks for being a friend and for all your hard work. Hope to see you at the 2nd annual Utica Music Fest. Over 200 performers in over 15 venues for 3 DAYS! Visit our site for more info and performer submissions. Have a great day!
Bands::: Interested in performing at this years event?? Click the link! And while you’re there please take a moment to sign up for our mailers to stay informed.
Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
If you don't already know, we are a new music awards for Unsigned and Newly Emerging music artists. So if your a band, musician, songwriter, DJ or producer check out our myspace page, and enter for free at: www. thepeoplesmusicawards. com
Hey thanks so much for adding us. Please keep checking in to see when we'll be in your city or a city near you next. And while you're at it, check us out on Fearless Radio this month!
thanks for the note. i do believe i saw someone wearing one of your tees at OCSC last evening. come say hello, itd be nice to meet you, as i've heard many great things about your band but have never gotten to see y'all!
Hey guys!!! How was last night's show? When I left early in the last set from a packed-house cd release show* at Local 506, I drove around the 100 block a few times, got a space at the other end, stuck my head in Blue Horn Lounge for a final song by Bad Mothers (who I met for the first time and who enthusiastically asked me to tell y'all hello!) and to snap a photo, rushed down to Jack Sprat Cafe ...to find it pretty quiet. They told me I'd missed you by ohh, a mere 110 minutes or so.
I'd have loved to hear you again, and am going to keep an eye out for your next show!
* ..The Pneurotics' cd party!, and they asked Red Collar to close out the night. Smart, because after Red Collar plays a show, bars probably shut off the electricity and hose the place down.
Hey, I just wanted to let you know we are playing two shows in Raleigh this Friday, 3/21!!! We'll be playing Borders on East Six Forks Rd. at 5:00 and then we are heading over to Vintage 21. It is an All-Ages show and we are playing with two other great bands, The Stellas and Lakeland. The cover is $6. We hope to see you there!
