The New Artist Showcase with Derek 6-7pm Tuesday 30th August 2022

30 August 2022 79 1

An entire hour dedicated to showcasing Music from brand new and established independent artists and bands. Original and covers from both in the UK and Internationally.

An opportunity for one of your tracks to be Smile Radio’s ‘Track of the Week’ with your track played across multiple shows for an entire week!

To feature on this or any other show on Smile Radio, simply get in touch via the emails below:

derek@smileradio.online

and/or

hello@smileradio.online

Time of The Mouth

Founded by lead singer Chris Jones and original bass player James Chatfield in early 2011, Time Of The Mouth (TOTM) have been a band for a little over a decade.

Inspired by bands such as Fall Out Boy and Four Year Strong, Chris Jones developed his own unique brand of Pop-punk mixed with Emo undertones that helped shape the modern sound of Time of the Mouth.

Many line-up changes have occurred over the years, until Chris met current bass player Mitch Tyler and drummer Ollie Badger through the local music scene in their hometown of Worcester.

From the first rehearsal it was clear that the cocktail of musical influences was going to blend beautifully. This developed into writing their debut album “30 Seconds” due for release in November 2022. With lead singles “RIDE (Here We Go Again)”and “You’re Falling Apart Kid” due for release in August and November respectively. Time of the Mouth are an incredibly ambitious and hard working group of best friends that live to play music as often and as loud as humanly possible.

“All the punch and energy of Blink-182 combined with the song writing and musicality of The Clash” Ralph Titley, SLAP Magazine

Band members, instruments played and locations:
Chris Jones – Lead Vocal and Guitar, from Kidderminster, now in Worcester
Mitch Tyler – Bass and Backing Vocal – from Worcester
Ollie Badger – Drums – from Worcester

Musical influences:
Chris Jones – Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Four Year Strong, Biffy Clyro
Mitch Tyler – Jimmy Eat World, New Found Glory, Fightstar
Ollie Badger – Lower Than Atlantis, Foo Fighters, Creed

About the song:
“Anyone that has a passion for music can relate to this song. This song is BY people who love music, FOR people who love music” – Chris Jones (Singer and Writer)

Seeking Benjamin

Seeking Benjamin – AKA Ben Francis is a singer-songwriter from Bournemouth, Dorset, along the South Coast of the UK.

Writing from the age of 10, he has taken influence from a range of genres to produce his original music.

In high school, Ben was a frontman for a rock band where he first began performing in Battle of the Bands events, raising money through his performances. The past decade has been spent travelling the South Coast, playing open mic nights and helping start a local music festival which still runs today.

The last 12 months have seen Ben supporting a popular local rock covers band playing across the South West of England and working on his new EP – due to be released in March 2023 – and his debut single Marry Me which will be released on the 26^th of August.

Musical influences:
Oasis, Ray Lamontagne, Damien Rice, The Black Keys, Jack Johnson.

About the song:
“Marry Me is a modern love song about the nervousness and excitement of giving love a second chance and asking the big question” – Ben

Upcoming tour dates:
Friday, 2nd September – Wooders Wild Weekend Festival, Sugar Hill, Bere Regis, Wareham
Saturday, 24th September – Royal British Legion Marie Curie Evening, Marnhull Dorset
Sunday, 25th September – Shepton Mallet Town, Somerset Square
Saturday, October 22nd – Rocky’s Bar Gillingham Dorset

Tarrow X Emily Ewing

USA DJ & Producer teams up with Worcester based Singer/Songwriter Emily Ewing to produce this new track Ignite out now!

The Magic Es

Norwich alt-rockers, The Magic Es, which is released on September 9th.

Since 2015, Norwich band, The Magic Es have released 2 critically acclaimed albums, 2 EPs, and 6 singles. They’ve received radio play across the globe on 100s of stations and a mountain of enthusiastic reviews from the likes of KEXP, BBC Introducing, XS Noize, One On One Music, and Amazing Radio.

What’s more remarkable is that they’ve done this without the backing of any label; pure, hard work and a love for making and playing music.

It’s hard to pigeonhole the band; they’ve been declared “the best British rock band since Oasis” (Henry Lipput, cooldadmusic.com) while others, such as Don Valentine at I Don’t Hear A Single, compared their album Dead Star to The Stones and The Killers. Ultimately, they’re a melodic rock band with pop sensibilities; memorable hooks and big choruses ooze out of every track.

As well as releasing music at a remarkable rate they’re no slouches when it comes to performing. They’ve completed UK tours and can be found gigging up and down the country on a regular basis.

Their blistering live performances have earned them UK tour support with South Africa’s biggest-selling rock band The Parlotones as well as support slots with Glass Caves, Pop Will Eat Itself, and The Wedding Present.

There’s no doubt that when you listen to The Magic Es, on record or from the stage, you’ll end up humming their infectious melodies as if they’d been part of your music collection for years.

Quote about Gone:

Pete Thompson – “I wrote this song during lockdown following the passing of a couple of people who I was very close to once upon a time. The song is ultimately about wishing you were there to support people during their most troubling times and knowing, once they’ve gone, there was so much more you could have done if you weren’t wrapped up in your own life.”

Band members, instruments played, and location

Pete Thompson – Lead Vocals/Guitar – Norwich
Stuart Catchpole – Drums/Backing Vox – Norwich
Jasper Stainthorpe – Bass Guitar – Norwich

Upcoming live dates:

September 24^th, 2022 – The Shed, Leicester

The Stone Fylers

The StoneFlyers

A project that began as a casual, weekly, songwriting and beer drinking hang-out for Mike and Jeremy – two old friends who share life in a small town an hour north east of Toronto, Canada.

Fast-forward 4 years and the band have just released their second album, ‘The Dreim’ – a hard hitting collection of 9 songs with sonic twists and turns. This is unapologetic straight to the point rock music – a mature ideal follow up to their 2018 debut album release.

What started out as just a fun hang out has very quickly matured into a very serious song-writing project.

Backyard Casino

Formed in the Summer of 2019, Hull based Backyard Casino have taken the music scene by storm, merging catchy indie hooks alongside anthemic rock bangers! BYC manage to capture not only the ears but also the eyes with energetic, passionate and unforgettable live gigs which have earned them a loyal and hardcore fanbase. The band live by a simple set of rules and they are to have a great time whilst bringing rock n roll back to the masses in a way unseen since the likes of Oasis in the 90’s, as well looking the business every time they take to the stage. They are able to harness the raw power and electricity that comes with such a band but are also able to bring a softer side that will have you bouncing off the walls one minute to shedding a tear the next, all the while belting out anthems that sing of hope for the generation of today.

With ‘Silver Tongue’, Backyard Casino deliver an unashamedly punchy indie disco anthem. Based on a real life encounter in a bar, the track tells the story of the over eager love rat always out on the town repulsing all in his path.

Jason Shand

“What does my dust taste like? How does it feel down there? I’m walking on air, you couldn’t hold me down forever.” Jason Shand sings on his anthemic self celebratory track, ‘X Factor’, the new single off the NYC native’s soon to be released deluxe version of his very personal second full-length album, The Petty Narcissist, and also culled from his first album, Because of Zeeva.

“X Factor is a song about self celebration, about self achievement, about overcoming all the doubters/naysayers… as well as telling them where to get off. It’s definitely a very personal song and I’m so thrilled to be releasing it! I hardly did any radio promotion for Because of Zeeva and always felt X Factor deserves to be heard, hence, including it as well on The Petty Narcissist deluxe album.”

‘X Factor’ is the follow up to Shand’s World and European #1 indie single, ‘The Petty Narcissist (Arctic Ocean)’. The Petty Narcissist deluxe album is set to be released September 15

Scott Van Zen

Scott Van Zen is one of those high-powered, hard-working musicians who you’ve almost certainly heard, but maybe never heard of. All that’s about to change with the release of his debut solo EP, Trouble, on Love Conquered Records late this summer. Scott Van Zen’s first single release is “In A World Gone Crazy”, which is very relevant to the current times.

Influenced by six-string guitar greats like Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher, and Johnny Winter – but also appealing to fans of Jimi Hendrix, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai, and Gary Moore – “In A World Gone Crazy” from the Trouble EP is a raucous yet virtuoso romp through life’s dark desires and dilemmas. Other songs like “All Gassed Up” and “Born in Darkness” tell gritty stories fueled by Van Zen’s fleet, furious fingers.

Scott Van Zen has co-written hits for rock legends Kiss; won a Dove Award with Ken Tamplin; toured with ex Bad Company vocalist Brian Howe: and had over 1,000 songs placed in films, TV, and commercials (everything from The Green Hornet and Cars movies to McDonald’s ads). Yet, on the eve of his five-song EP’s release, this super-prolific blues-rock maestro remains disarmingly mode

“I’ve been all over the world, on a lot of private jets, and been around a lot of money,” mulled Van Zen. “But the guitar was always the savior. It was never about girls or fame. It was always about the tone and the meditation, and the gift that I don’t take for granted.”

“In A World Gone Crazy” confirms why Scott Van Zen has been a first-call session player and sideman for decades, while reminding us that he’s also a world-class songsmith to boot.

The Big Push

Brighton based band The Big Push consists of three front men Ren, Romain Axisa and Gorran Kendall and drummer Glenn Chambers. Drawing elements from classic brit-bands like The Beatles or The Police, they craft their clever modern arrangements into catchy pop tunes.

Playing rock n roll, with a crazed kind of energy and authentic sound, The Big Push met busking in Brighton. Coming from four fairly different backgrounds, they have managed to create an authentic and original sound.

The four-piece sold out their first ever official hometown show at Chalk last October and followed up with a full-capacity o2 Academy Islington headline in March 2020, just before lockdown hit the UK.

Over the last year the boys have created quite a buzz both nationally and to more worldwide acclaim amassing over 1.2 million streams on Spotify and 12 Million views on YouTube. Having achieved such staggering success online, their fanbase now reaches across the world.

The Lunar Keys

Once is out on Friday, the 2^nd of September 2022, but you’re welcome to play it now.

Recorded by Billy Foster at Snap Studios and mastered by John Davis (The Killers, U2, Royal Blood) at Metropolis, the song charts the journey from the loss of innocence to finally facing your fears with others and beyond. ONCE is not a love song, it is a life song.

Life can be so complicated – innocence is overrated – ONCE you see the light – from the other side.

It is also the first song The Lunar Keys recorded whilst all being together in Snap’s epic live room.

For our last 3 releases we put our little money where our big mouths are – in support of good causes: ‘Silent Ricochet’ aided the arrival of 600 trees (and counting), whilst ‘Stop This’ and ‘Oxygen Type’ raised money for the charities Nordoff Robbins and Oxygen respectively.

The release of ONCE will continue this Lunar tradition.

Steve, Dom, Lexi & JC

Ally Cribb

Through her music, Abby Cribb has weathered personal storms and troubled
waters when the odds were stacked against her. Her voice is heavy with
soul, and a certain knowing wisdom, that belies her eighteen years.
The Canadian singer-songwriter’s first statement of intent was a
reimagining of Radiohead’s “Creep”, which has attracted over
200,000 on YouTube. Cribb transformed the track beyond recognition,
swapping the guitars for the gravitas of the piano, shedding new light
on dark places.
She followed this with “Bigger”, her first original release, which
spoke to her versatility as an artist by introducing an anthemic ballad
with a strong pop instinct. Produced by her father, a musician and
writer himself, Cribb’s strength has always lied with the intimacy
which she weaves into every element of her music. There was little
wonder, with the indelible mark this debut left on listeners, that she
was made a finalist in the Song Academy Competition in the international
category for her age group.
Her debut EP, Unbroken, however, is an incredibly vulnerable project.
It’s a record of survival after the unexpected loss of her mother, her
music granting her an outlet from the suffocation that follows grief.
Cribb explains: “The songs for Unbroken spilled out onto the pages of
notebooks, scraps of paper and screens over the past couple of years –
a time of intense challenge and inspiration in my life, especially after
the sudden loss of my mom while spending my high school years largely
isolated by the pandemic. Throughout it all, I’ve tried to find myself
through this music.”
The seven original tracks are deftly woven ballads that allow her voice
to stand sharp against stripped-back instrumentals. She pays homage to
the traditional sonic signatures of folk and country, while adding
shades of pop and jazz to make each song as arresting as the last. But
what is most striking about Unbroken is Ally Cribb’s masterful
storytelling; in the vein of Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, she is
not afraid to feel – but, rather, she feels everything with pride. And
wisdom is her reward.
Despite her age, the accolades for Ally Cribb are tallying up. Her
music, having garnered over 300,000 streams since the release of
“Creep” and “Bigger”, has won the attention of Amazing Radio,
with critical acclaim from the likes of Plastic Magazine and
Lefuturewave – not to mention being championed by Canadian
broadcasting legend Alan Cross and Runrig lead vocalist, Bruce Guthro.
Since she started writing songs at the age of 12, Ally Cribb would
process the turbulence of her life by turning to the piano or the
guitar, finding emotional clarity through creative expression. She says:
“The creative process has been the one constant in my life. I hope
this record can offer some glints of compassion, hope and resilience to
anyone who needs them as much as I have.”

Nez Tha Villan

Nez Tha Villain is a Lyricist with range and diversity within his craft. The raw emotion displayed comes from an authentic background on the street. He’s an Austin, Texas native from the 78704 which is located on the south side of the city. This up and coming artist has released multiple ep’s and a full length project by the name “Nothing Eazy” which is not only a statement but the definition of his name “Nez”.

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Written by: Derek

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The New Artist Showcase with Derek 6-7pm Tuesday 30th August 2022

Time of The Mouth

Seeking Benjamin

Tarrow X Emily Ewing

The Magic Es

The Stone Fylers

Backyard Casino

Jason Shand

Scott Van Zen

The Big Push

The Lunar Keys

Ally Cribb

Nez Tha Villan

Smile Radio

CreatorsBarn - Promotion & Networking

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