AER Music Club Story.....so far

Earlier this year (2013) I met up with a friend in a local coffee shop I frequent. We were having a chat about music, life generally catching up and also finalising the details of a fundraising gig we were organising to raise funds for local children's charity CLIC Sargent, which supports children and young people with cancer along with their families. This gig was part of a planned month long fundraising effort we as a family had planned which eventually, with the help of a lot of people raised over £27,500 for the charity.

Part of the conversation included my friend telling me about a chat he'd had with a mutual friend and part of that chat included the remark 'Mark Reid (that's me) should start up a music event' that comment resonated with what I'd been thinking myself.... anyway to cut a long story short that conversation in that coffee shop in the presence of a couple of lattes saw AER Music Club conceived, at least in my head.

Amy meeting her hero Aston from JLS

Several months previous to this on 20th February 2013 we lost our youngest daughter Amy, who was only 20 to cancer, Amy fought long and hard against this hideous disease with outrageous courage and grace. This has been devastating to us as a family, but it has made me as her dad to determined to keep her memory alive and to do something worthwhile in her name.

In another conversation I had with another friend several months after this he said to me that I would do thing either because  Amy would have done it or I would do it in her memory....it was probably at that point I decided I wanted/needed to do this....
....and so AER Music Club was born....
I am a lover of music always have been and I've always been a person who loved to provide opportunities for others to discover and develop their interests, talents ifI I was at all able...
So I suppose there are several reasons why I along with some friends are launching  the AER Music Club in January 2014...
....firstly it's in memory of Amy, the club is named in her honour AER stands for Amy Ellen Reid even the colours in the logo have a significance to Amy... I want her memory to live on, I want people who didn't know her to be inspired by her story and how she faced the greatest challenge of life as I said before with outrageous courage, strength, grace and humour...

Amy was also very supportive of cancer charities and in particular CLIC Sargent, Stand Up to Cancer (Cancer Research UK) and Friends of the Cancer Centre were she received her treatment.. so we will be using the music club to continue to raise funds for these amazing charities by donating part of the door tax and also holding a ballot on each club night...

 

Also our we country is jammed pack with outstanding musical talent the more I hear the more I research the more I go to gigs the more I'm convinced of that.. So we want to provide a platform for people just starting out to get a gig in front of a listening audience but we also want to provide a platform for artists to reach a whole new audience to get a chance to play outside of Belfast and to get their music out there'
So to that end the AER Music Club will launch on Thursday 30th January 2014 and will be held on the last Thursday of every month after that... at Molly Browns in Newtownards... We are excited to be doing this and look forward to seeing you lovers of music there for a great night of music and to help make a difference to people with cancer..

 

we have facebook and twitter where you can keep up to date with whats happening at AER

www.facebook.com/aermusicclub

@aermusicclub

Thanks
Mark Reid



AER Music Club Venue Announced...

We are pleased to announce that the venue we are using for the AER Music Club will be the Live Lounge upstairs at Molly Brownst in Newtownards...
We used Molly's back in April 2013 for a fundraising event for CLIC Sargent... was a great venue...
Chris the manager there has been very helpful..
Looking forward to many great nights of music here...

Aaron Ferris - State of Emergency

7/10

Now on his 3rd release, Aaron Ferris introduces us to State of Emergency a 6 track EP. which follows up his album Solitary Realignment & the debut EP, A Round of Silence

There's no mistaking Aaron's music is informed by his Christian faith notably in the songs 1859, Jerusalem Of The East & Mission Field there's certainly a sense of emergency when he sings about North Korea in Propaganda Village also a subject covered on the absolutely outstanding N.K.  from Solitary Realignment.

There is a beauty in the sounds Aaron has produced through the whole E.P. ...from the choppy guitar ringing out in the lead of track Propaganda Village to the delicate almost intimate guitar on say Annie or the Way Out Of Here. Vocally Aaron is at his best... right out of the top shelf
By far the standout songs for me are The Way Out Of Here an intimate song of hope beyond our circumstance, also the harrowing story of a little girl Annie & interestingly for me Propaganda Village which I initially didn't take to.

It's obvious Aaron is not throwaway when it come to songwriting, these lyrics are well thought out they've been given a lot of attention and conjure up images in your mind were sometimes you feel you're there... likewise the music and playing allows a worthwhile setting for a set of songs full of hope, full of despair, that's show the dark in humanity but also the light of a hope greater than ourselves.

As a man once said on the radio these are not just good songs but they're good for something.

Check Aaron at www.facebook.com/aaronferrisni

Tracks
1. Propaganda Village
2. Mission  Field
3. 1859
4. Annie
5. Jerusalem Of The East
6. The Way Out Of Here

Mark Reid
www.facebook.com/aermusicclub

Now Playing...

Ok it's not all local but some of the music I've been enjoying lately includes....

Jason Isbell - Southeastern
Foy Vance - Joy of Nothing
Turin Brakes - We Were Here
Tired Pony - Ghost of the Mountain
The Farriers - Years Ago In Our Back Yard
Sons of Caliber - The Tundra
Dustin Kensrue -  The Water & the Blood

All worth investigating!!

A Flawed Beauty

Chasing Perpetua - EP

8/10

To be honest, I'm probably not the best person to be doing a review of husband & wife duo, Chasing Perpetua debut 4 track EP.. I've known Mark & Lynsey for a good few years...and count them as friends

....but here goes anyway....I'll be a honest as I can...

I can remember the first time I heard Chasing Perpetua, it was a video that just appeared on my Facebook timeline the song was Purple Coat, it blow me away i was totally taken in by the sound, in their performance especially Lynsey's & sound they reminded me of The Civil Wars they still do. And that's a good reference point for these songs... Purple Coat its still my favourite CP song, though sadly not on this EP but it was the start of a musical journey that has led to this, their debut release.

So to this release, I think the songs here showcase the Chasing Perpetua sound very well, a beautiful almost magical blend of harmonious vocals taking centre stage but driven along by some low key musical backing, for the most part a simple acoustic guitar accompanied by some strings courtesy of Mike Donaghy & Gill Adair, which although there do not overwhelm, they compliment. All beautifully captured on this EP recorded by Matt McIvor.

I think the two greatest weapons in the Chasing Perpetua armoury are the vocals, and their potential as songwriters.... Lynsey Hill, for me has one of the most beautiful, powerful female vocals I've heard in a long time, whether its those fragile, vulnerable, intimate moments like when she joins her husband Mark on the lead track, the Climb..which to be honest is not my favourite song, on first hearing it that particular moment sent shivers through me, it's sublime Then there's the soaring, reach for the sky vocal that are admirably controlled and evident in tracks like the already mentioned, The Climb & also in Conquering Heroes. The combination & harmonies these two bring to the table are at times Wonderful. For the most part their voices just seem so right together...

Also as fledgling songwriters these 4 tracks show some great lyrics that stir some  powerful images in my mind. If they pay attention to their craft I think we will benefit from many great songs from this pair in the future.

These are songs of longing, despair, life, love and hope.... having listened to the songs on this haunting EP many times I just keep thinking to myself this is beautiful...and that's not a word I often use to describe music.

Don't get me wrong it's not perfect, but to these ears it's a flawed beauty and sometime, just sometimes that we're the greatest beauty is found just below the surface...and in the imperfect..

See told you I probably wasn't the right person to review this...

But don't take my word for it..

Check it for yourself

http://chasingperpetua.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-perpetua 

Tracks

1. The Climb

2. Conquering Heroes

3. Be Still

4. Changing Tides

Mark Reid