HOPE Portsmouth

Dan and Sam from Attacking Atlantis popped in yesterday to record an acoustic cover of a song by You Me at Six. Looks good, sounds good. Nice work!

We are really excited to let you know that Attacking Atlantis, anther BackBeat artist is releasing their brand new EP next week. The EP was recorded at the newly refurbished studios over the summer and after much hard work the guys are launching it by headlining a gig at the Cellars on November 5th.

More details on the gig can be found from the cellars directly.

You can also download their album directly from iTunes – and proceeds from that go back into the HOPE Project. So go buy it!!

Heather-Elizabeth has been a busy little bee performing all over the south so it seems. At one of the gigs in Eastleigh she was given a stunning write-up, which should be shared with all! Great stuff Heather!

Heather-Elizabeth Bailey, performed a solo gig with only her guitar for company, in a tent at the far end of the recreation ground to a small but very appreciative audience who really enjoyed her clear, uncluttered and soulful style of music with a melody of six original songs written by the artist herself. No more than you would expect at such an event.!! Well this artist is clearly a cut above the rest. Heather-Elizabeth, is just 15 years old, yet has the talent, style and stage presence that would not be out-of-place at either the Reading or Glastonbury Festivals.

I was lucky enough to get to chat with HEB when she came off stage and it was clear to me that unlike most girls of her age, here was a level-headed and passionate musician who just loves what she does. There are no illusions of being the next winner of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ or being signed to a multi-million pound record deal. No, HEB loves to perform and from what I witnessed today, people love to listen to her.

I normally run a mile when I see teenaged girls heading towards microphones, fearing that I will be left with bleeding ears and an overwhelming need to report them to Social Services, as they are clearly in distress and pain. Yet, despite very bad acoustics and poor sound mixing by the POINTless highly trained theatre staff, this girl has a real skill. Not only is she self-taught on both the guitar and piano, HEB can really sing and sing in such a way that you are compelled to listen to every word that expresses her hopes, dreams, anger and love for life.

Closing her set with the powerful and very catchy, ‘Photographs-Notes-Letters’, written about the problems and distress of teenage love, Heather-Elizabeth was faced with new-found fans, shoving money into her hand, eager to secure a copy of her EP ‘Shadows’, which she had brought along with her in the hope that people might like her music. Well HEB, hope no more..

You are without doubt the most refreshing act to feature at the Eastleigh Music Festival and I am sure that we will be seeing much more of you in the coming years in your own, Pictures- Notes and BIG Letters.

Thanks to Matthew Myatt at the Black Balaclava for the interview!

We’ve finally done it! The studio is officially open!

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Every gig has highs and lows – for the crowd watching on Tuesday this was definitely a high moment, but not so much for Will of Everything But Arms. Check out Will’s ‘Killer moment’. It’s awesome…

And the audio to go with it…

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What an incredible gig on Tuesday night! Thanks to all who came out and supported it. A special thanks to UpSwitch, Brutal Harmony, Heather-Elizabeth, Defined Music and Everything But Arms. Awesome.

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Spring is always a busy time for the music mentoring project. We’ve been busy recruiting new bands to work with the project as well as some serious recording action with the old faithfuls. On top of that we are also organising a Spring Showcase gig at the Eastney cellars to showcase some of the incredible talent that we are able to work with each week.

The gig is on Tuesday 8th March 2011 at The Eastney Cellars in Portsmouth. Tickets are £5 available from us directly (send us an email), from one of the bands listed below or from the Cellars themselves.

Performing on the night are:

• Heather-Elizabeth
• Everything But Arms
• Defined Music
• UpSwitch
• Brutal Harmony

Two of the bands are making their debut at this gig – so it should be a cracker.

We are incredibly happy to announce the release of Heather-Elizabeth’s first solo EP. She has been working extremely hard over the last few months to get this ready and we are really pleased with the outcome.

I know you are all going to be dying to get your hands on a copy and you can purchase one from Heather at one of her gigs or you can purchase it on iTunes by clicking the link below. As a teaser for you all, the physical CD contains a bonus track which is incredible – so pick yourself up a copy of that when you can! But until then you can download it by clicking the link below.

Great job Heather! We are all really proud of you.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/shadows-ep/id409213884

Pictures from the HOPE Easter Gig 2010.

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Thanks to all who turned out for the gig last week. I am sure you will agree it was an incredible evening and all the acts were amazing. Thanks to Split Personalities, Heather Bailey, Defined Music and Zoo in the Sky for performing – and thanks to all of you who came.

At the gig we also launched the HOPE Music Mentoring 500 Club. This is our plan to raise some money to finish sound proofing our rehearsal and recording space. Check out the trailer for more information.

You can follow each of the bands on Facebook or MySpace and become their fans! This is a great way of keeping in touch with them and finding out what they are up to:

• Split Personalities
• Heather Bailey
• Defined Music
• Zoo In The Sky