PlayRewind

IM BACKING DRY COUNTY BUT BOOKIES BACK DELORENTOS FOR CHOICE

The Choice award is in its 3rd year and was set up to heap praise and cash (€10,000) on the lucky Irish artist who’s album impressed its panel of critics. It does not go on sales, focusing instead on the music so it says. I can't imagine what they think the rest of us focus on before buying an album but then again looking at the charts most weeks one could be forgiven for wondering! Anyway the reason I am (sorta) talking about the Choice Awards is because the crop deemed worthy of a crack at the prize have just been announced. The short List is as follows;
Adrian Crowley "Long Distance Swimmer" (Tin Angel)
http://www.myspace.com/adriancrowley
Cathy Davey "Tales Of Silversleeve" (EMI)
http://www.myspace.com/cathydavey
Delorentos "In Love With Detail" (Cottage)
http://www.delorentos.net
Dry County "Unexpected Falls" (Lazybird)
http://www.myspace.com/drycounty05
The Flaws "Achieving Vagueness" (Arrivals)
http://www.theflaws.com
David Geraghty "Kill Your Darlings" (Decal)
http://www.davidgeraghty.com
Kila "Gambler's Ballet" (Kila Records)
http://www.kila.ie
Roisin Murphy "Overpowered" (EMI)
http://roisin.paperheads.co.uk/
Stanley Super 800 "Louder & Clearer" (Sofa)
http://www.stanleysuper800.com
Super Extra Bonus Party "Super Extra Bonus Party" (Alphabet Set)
http://www.superextrabonusparty.com/

The Thrills and Paddy Casey are noticeable by their absence.

Songs of Praise karaoke goes on the move

The Dublin rock ‘n’ roll karaoke night, Songs of Praise, is going on the move with a student karaoke competition.

The top prize is a Gibson electric guitar worth over €2,000, while each of the seven heat winners will get an Xbox 360 console, Guitar Hero III, and other games, worth over €1,000.

The amateurs will get rest with Phantom FM’s DJ Sinead NiMhordha playing in-between.

The Songs of Praise, a regular on Sundays at the Village, the Irish Times named it “Dublin's most successful and only credible Karaoke”, while the Guardian said “now firmly established as the city's place to go on the Lord's Day”.

MORE: Xbox launches student karaoke contest

StarLittleThing: Where is the Child Gone launched, album launch in October

StarLittleThing – who we now have in our mind as 'StarryLittleThing' – just launched their new single (video above), and their album is due to be at the start of next month.

Where is the Child Gone was launched on Friday in the Loft at the Powercourt Centre, Dublin. You should be able to see a YouTube video for the song above – press play.

StarLittleThing's album is set to be launched on October 5 at the Crawdaddy, at the PoD Complex on Harcourt Street. The admission of €15 (€17.45 on Ticketmaster.ie) includes a copy of the album.

The album launch runs from 11pm to 3pm, and is part of Wanted Weekender from October 4 - 7.

Hard Working Class Heroes 07 announced

The fifth Dublin Hard Working Class Heroes music festival, described as the Irish festival for Irish bands, will showcase unsigned Irish bands, will take place over three days from Friday September 28, 2007.

Last night it was announced that the POD complex on Harcourt Street will host the festival for this year, and a new website was launched at hwch.net.

On the venue, the festival website notes, "We know, it's never been done before, so much so that two of the rooms don't even have names yet". It was previously held in Temple Bar.

With the promise of around 100 acts, unsigned bands are invited to register their interest vie the event website, the closing date is July 19.

"This year we've moved the event to the Pod Complex in an effort to engender a real sense of community and shared experience amongst performers and audience alike" said Hard Working Class Heroes founder Brian Carroll.

"Owing to the set-up of the Pod Complex, the event will be under one roof and will offer the same number of self-contained venues and the same capacity as in previous years but without the travel time between location".

(Vie BALL*ISTIC)

RockChic: Photo teaser

As David posted below, the National Museum of Ireland is hosting ‘RockChic - The Life and Times of the Electric Guitar 1931-2006’ until January 21. Entry to the museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin is free, and it’s serviced by the aptly named Museum Luas stop on the Red line. As non-flash photography is allowed, for those of you who haven’t visited, here’s a photo preview…

INTERVIEW WITH GLEN HANSARD FROM THE FRAMES

 So The Frames are going to the US how long are you going over there for?

A month, just over a month.

How big are you over there?

I wouldn’t say we are big, for shore, I mean in New York we would play 200 to 300, kind of Whelans
level, and Boston the same, were actually a little bigger.