Come and join us for our BIG FANCY DRESS PARTY WITH LOADS OF COOL BANDS on Saturday @ Mannifest !

Fancy Dress theme is 'FUNKY ZOO' - NO EXCUSES - its easy £1.99 for an animal mask from the shop in Douglas, a funky shirt and some dancin feet, its all you need, on the other hand you could dress as an octopus, or a sloth, or a monkey - the choice is yours, just dress up like a funky animal and join in the fun

Line up is as follows;
...
12.00 (ha ha, thereabouts) BALLAGROOVE AND ROTTEN PLANET DJ's

Soundtracks, Childrens Music, Deep Rumbling Dub, Japanese Screamcore, Welsh Psych Folk, Slovakian Minamilist Beats, Transylvanian Jazz Boogie .... you knows it - it'll be unpredictable

4.30 SAMBAMANN

Top Drawer Manx Samba Band, great way to start the party

5.00 'INGIE

One man band bringing the beats to make yo shake yo ass !, expect Dubby stuff thats great to frug to

6.00 CHRIS T-T

Solo musician and Troubadour, he can make you cry, make you think and make you laugh all in the space of one song - he's a legend

7.20 TRASH 5

Stand well back from the stage, these guys are loud, 60's tinged garage mayhem - joyous !

8.15 SPACE MONKEY

Everybodies favourite Psych Reggae Freeform Dance band on the Island, if you don't dance to this you are dead

9.00 FONDA 500

We are soooo excited to be bringing you one of the best bands in Britain, impossible to describe but you will love them and you'll go out and buy all their albums after you've heard them

10.00 BALLAGROOVE DJs

Expect the unexpected ... and the expected .. and everything inbetween, we want to make you dance but we don't play dance music, well we might play a bit, but we might not, who knows

12.00 WOMBLE CONGA (hush hush)

Audio Woks 'lo-fi Sea Shanty' mix of Rhysical Phecks 'Yr Roots'

Quick note .....

The next ballagroove shindig will be at Islands premier (and only proper) music festival in August, we're sharing a tent with our good friends at 'Rotten Planet Records' .... many more details to come soon, we've got some of the Islands top acts plus some spectacularly ace UK acts, its going to be ace so get yr tickets soon !!

Check out the festival website at http://www.mannifestlive.com/

Thanks to scottish alison for the lovely haggis present - but as a veggie I cannae eat offal - so, frug like a madman and earn yr supper !!

You know you'll be bored of sweaty leather clad grandads screeching 'All Right Now' for the 1000th time by senior race day, so come along and get some light relief at The Claree (South Quay, Douglas, by the Bus Terminal) with Top Local Live Acts - Space Monkey and Trash 5, plus Ballagroove DJ's playing all sorts of crazy shit - its FREE to get in and you will get a FREE CD - Music starts at 7pm, be there or claim your'e tired and need some sleep cause its the end of TT week - DON'T BE A LIGHTWEIGHT !

Plus DJ Hairy Man Baby / Buggane / Gyp DJing tunes you'll probably hate

DJ's Pencil and Hairy Man Baby (Toots and Gyp)

Punk Night ?, Indie Night ?, Rock Night ?, Electro Night ?, Funk Night ?, Reggae Night ?

Come along and find out !

Free Entry

10pm till Late

DJ Fionn

NB Not a ballagroove event, just a plug for our mate Fionn

Ballagroove 'Traa-dy-Liooar' New Year's Eve Millenium Party (10 years late)

Bay Port Erin

FREE ENTRY

50's-60's-70's-80's-90's Fancy Dress

Ballagroove DJ's playing select tunes from the 50's-60's-70's-80's-90's

8.30pm—1am

Come along and see in 2010 in style!

After the huge success of the last 'Jurby Alive' event , which raised enough money to pay for the Jurby Kids Xmas party , the 2nd one is to be held on January 2nd – just enough time to recover and get some sleep after New Year's Eve at The Bay Port Erin (Ballagroove DJs, more details soon).

Bands for the night are: Smealiean Race, Caution Runners, Jurby Mountain Daredevils and Brian Brough. And we're pretty sure Grant Trash will be spinning some tunes between bands.

It's 'BRING YOUR OWN BEER' and only TWO QUID to get in, so you'll need a good excuse not to go!

Top Reggae Man Shaun Hogg is doing one of his Reggae spectaculars at Sub Zero on fri 30th October, he'll be spinning classic Roots Rock Reggae , Dub , Ska & all reggae linked music . FREE ENTRY & open till late .

The very, very wonderful Trash 5 are playing at the Trafalgar, North Quay, Douglas on Hop Tu Naa (Saturday 31st October), support is from Dr Q and The Evil Empire (who we have to admit to not knowing anything about, but they're bound to be cool), there is DJ's and its FANCY DRESS !!!

Bring ear plugs, wear fake blood, bug out

The annual 'Evening of Improvised Music' will be held at the Erin Arts Centre on Thursday 19th November 2009 at 7.45 pm
 
The main performers are: Jon Sanders (Saxophone, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar); George Hughes (Guitar, Bass Guitar); Anglin Buttimore (Piano, Keyboards); Danny Kneale (Drums, Percussion).

For the un-initiated, these evenings involve some of the Islands top musicians playing improvised music, they don't rehearse in advance and have little plan of where the evenings music will go, so its anybodies guess, generally it rolls between Jazz, Rock, Tripped out psych, Blues, Free jazz and anything else that happens to appear on the night.

For more details of what improvised music is all about, have a look at Jon Sanders Website

The night also raises a lot of money for charity, so its well worth it

Also worth supporting to show that there is interest in live music down south and that the Erin Arts Centre should be used for such

SPREAD THE WORD...

JURBY ALIVE

Plug for our good friends Trash 5, who have put together a great evening of entertainment up in Jurby featuring, amongst others, Ballagroove’s very own kings of rock 'Aliens In The Crayon’ as well as a rare outing from the wonderful comedian Ian Ellis.

This is hoped to be the first of a regular event, so, support it and it will be!

Line up (provisional) as follows:

7.40 Brian’s intro spot
7.45-8.15 Born in a Barn
8.15 Brian spot 2
8.30- 9.15 The Shenanigans Banned
9.15 Ian Ellis (Comedy)
9.30- 10.30 Repeat Prescription
10.30 DJ spot
10.45 - 11.30 Aliens in the Crayon
11.30- midnight DJ

Xmas is coming, so here is the ideal present for your friends on and off the island!

We've reduced the price to £5 for the next few months to try and encourage people to get these as Xmas presents - Support local charities and local bands at the same time!

Note that all money raised goes directly to the IoM Anti-Cancer Association.

Read full details about the CD

Buy Online:

Ballagroove Records Online Shop

Sadly this gig has now been CANCELLED as the len price 3 can no longer come due to circumstances way beyond anyones control

The Trash 5 are however still playing on saturday 31st (hop tu naa) at the Traf with Dr Q and The Evil Empire - more details soon

Please come along. Tell all your friends. Dress scary - it's Halloween party weekend!

Here are some videos of the band to give you an idea of what they’re about. The Southern Comfort ad that most people know them from:

Hope to see you there....The Trash 5 will be supporting and there will be local DJs keeping the party swinging.

The Isle of Man Anti-Cancer Association is proud to announce the launch of its brand new ‘1 in 3’ CD as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. For the first time on one CD, the cream of Manx music has come together in a collection that showcases the startling diversity of home-grown musical talent in the Isle of Man.

“I’m very excited about this project,” said President of the Isle of Man Anti-Cancer Association, Carole Cowin. “We started with a very rough idea about a CD with some local music on to help celebrate our 50th anniversary and at the same time to raise money for the ongoing fight against cancer.”

Carole added that she had been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the musicians who contributed to the album: “When we began asking people if they wanted to take part, we weren’t sure of the response we’d get. In fact, every single person involved has been incredibly supportive. Almost everyone on the album has been affected in some way by cancer – either personally or someone close to them and they wanted to do something which they felt could make a difference.”

The CD boasts tracks from Katherine Crowe, Christine Collister, Back Door Slam, Über Room, Truman Falls, Anna Goldsmith and many more.

Geoff Corkish, MHK, Chairman of the Isle of Man Anti-Cancer Association explained the meaning behind the name of the CD: “We wanted a name that would catch people’s attention, and the sad fact is that one in three of us here in the Isle of Man will develop some form of cancer. I don’t think many people really understand quite how prevalent cancer is so hopefully this CD will help to raise awareness of that. But the good news is that because of advancements in medicine – advancements that are only possible due to research directly funded by charities like the Isle of Man Anti Cancer Association – cancer is no longer always a terminal disease.”

The compilation has been produced by local label Ballagroove, and their hard work and expertise has been given free of charge.

Producer Andrew Clague said “It was an honour to be asked to assist with a project to help such a worthy cause. The ’One in Three’ title really brings the message home. We’ve had great fun producing this CD, all the bands have been very willing to donate songs and give up their time, it’s been a pleasure to work on from start to finish.’

The CD, which contains 17 tracks from Manx artists, will be available on sale from shops Island-wide from Friday May 1st.

More information and exclusive track samples can be found at http://www.myspace.com/onein3

For electronic copies of album artwork or music samples, email – Carole Cowin.

Media Contacts:

• Isle of Man Anti Cancer Association President Carole Cowin – 628686
• Producer Ballagroove Andrew Clague – 832038/458177
• Katherine Crowe (breast cancer surivivor) – 618803
• Cocahiba – (Kin or Nicky) – 497285/833454

CD retailers:

• 7th Wave, Strand Road, Port Erin – 836366
• Celtic Gold, Michael Street, Peel – 843737
• Harbour Home & Living, East Quay, Peel – 848411
• Lexicon Bookshop, Strand Street, Douglas – 673004
• Shakti Man, Parliament Street, Ramsey – 815060
• St Paul’s Bookshop, St Paul’s Square, Ramsey – 813733
• Trafalger Hotel, South Quay, Douglas – 618131

Buy Online:

Ballagroove Records Online Shop

Digital sales:

iTunes

Amazon UK

Full List of Bands:

• Maldune
• Anna Goldsmith
• Moot
• Uber Room
• Christy D
• Jeceris
• Porn Monkey
• Back Door Slam
• Cocahiba
• On A Friday
• Katherine Crowe
• Rhysical Pheck (Watch it on Youtube)
• Suspect Package
• Clara Barker
• Planes Over Paris
• Truman Falls
• Christine Collister

Hey
Rhysical Pheck are playing at the Mitre in Ramsey on Friday 17th April. The gig is organised by the IoM Permaculture Association.
Acoustic support from JC (the one and only) and 'Steve'
Doors open 8pm
Tickets on door - fiver
Fancy dress - GREEN

I've been trying to think of long rambling witty stuff to say about this gig but simply put, Chris T-T is great and back again because he likes it here as much as we like him, and the support – Mike Seed, Clara Barker and Jimmy Tinkler – are among the Island's finest…
a good way to spend 3 quid and a saturday night… there is talk of candles…
more about Chris at www.christt.com
Details:
07 March 2009
19:00–23:55
Trafalgar Hotel, Douglas, IoM
£3 on the door

Fellow Ballagroover Audio Wok has put together what promises to be a night with a difference to raise some funds for Alder Hey Childrens Hospital
Rhysical Pheck, Audio Wok, Uber Room, Planes Over Paris and Vex Mama will all throw their instruments away and hit the decks to play a wild variety of tunes that have influenced their bands
Its only £4 to get in - all money raised going to the childrens hospital
Dont Stay In, Dont Do Nothing .... Come Out and Have fun !!!! (and raise some money for a very worthy cause in the process)

Local venues that support live music are really suffering at the moment, we've just lost the Cornerhouse and the Bushys Basement Bar so the only remaining live music venue in Douglas is The Traf, this gig is to try and raise the profile of local music, the bands are playing for FREE and its FREE to get in, please please please spread the word and lets pack the place out !!
Trash 5 - Loud, Fast, Organs, Bass that sounds like a plane taking off, White Rimmed Glasses - Cool as F***
Aliens in the Crayon - Loud, Fast, No Organs, sound like early Husker Du at their very best
DJ Fionn - Plays tunes, but only good ones !
SPREAD THE WORD !!

Hey !
Another Christmas and New Year upon us, so, another Ballagroove New Year bash at the Bay Port Erin, fancy dress theme is 'Funky Monkeys'
DJ Hairy Man Baby and DJ Pencil will be playing all kinds of Funk, Soul, Boogaloo, Reggae and Christmas oddities
Starts sometime after 8pm and its FREE, hope you can come along !!, if not ....
Have a crackin' Christmas, New Year and Winter Solstice !

Ballagroove and Triskel throw the following in the air -
Rhysical pheck
The trash 5
Dj fionn
Bay port erin
Saturday 13th december
Free entry
Rhysical pheck
Been around since last millenium, slowly growing in number to the current 7 piece (8 on one gong) acoustic band with singing, bazouki, acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, glockenspiels, indian shruti box, melodica, flutes, whistles, trumpet and drums. Music is something akin to laidback experimental acoustic folky pop. We'll be playing a few tunes from our 2002 lp 'the little people album' and lots of tunes from our forthcoming 'vitamin d album'. We don't jump around or do anything other than play and sing so we rightly get criticised for being boring to look at !!!!, so bring a book
If they were a picture it would be of a hammond organ in an allotment
The trash 5
Are the exact opposite of rhysical pheck. Fast garage punk tunes, great to look at even better to jump around to. Currently the 5 are a 4 piece, all electric guitars and thunderous bass and great organ and full live drums. They'll be playing tracks from their recent album 'the lucid dreams of dr seed', about half the songs in the set were originally written by local legend dr seed, they'll also be playing a load of new songs and possibly a cover at the end of the set to deafen anyone who hasn't already been deafened !!!
If they were a picture it would be a suede boot on fire
There will also be a dj called fionn playing all kinds of crazy shit
If he was a picture it would be african sunshine refracted through a grimy mancunian pint glass
It'll kick off about 8pm and finish at midnight
It is of course free to get in and the bay sell underberg, jägermeister, proper ales and proper cider and peanuts and you have to put your shoe in a basket if you want a nice glass !, their logo is a fox, which is unusual on an island with no foxes (or so they say
Christ only knows how we are going to fit all the above in the tiny pub that is the bay and still leave some room for punters, so come down and get cosy !!!

Faster Mie Y'all

Hope everybody is enjoying their spring / summer action

Few bits of news from the Rhysical Pheck camp

First, thanks to all who attended the gig we did with Daevid Allen and His University Of Errors, it was a wonderful night, they were top blokes, Daevid was every bit as eccentric as we’d expect and the rest of the band were spot on, they’ve promised to come back to play and on holiday so they must have enjoyed themselves !, a huge shout out to Tony for organising the gig, Dave / Anglin for doing the sound and Phil Kneen for video’ing the whole thing and everybody else who helped along the way – you can watch a video (or a vido for any Absolutley fans out there) of our set from the link below;

Rhysical Pheck Live at Peel Centenary Centre 23rd May 2008 Video We’re not the most exciting band to watch, no dancing, fire breathing or explosions but its ‘nice to chill out to’ as Tony Wilson would say

We enjoyed that gig so much, we’ve planned a couple more with our buddies The Trash 5, our music is quiet, they are not , should be good nights, both gigs are free to get in and their will be musical DJ interludes from DJ Fionn, please come along and support these as both venues are hoping to do more nights like these but only if they get good attendance, both pubs do great beers !!!

Click on the pictures above to view the posters, feel free to download the posters and stick em up anywhere appropriate !

All the tracks on the video and at the gigs are new tracks from our forthcoming release ‘The Vitamin D LP’, it was finished and ready for release, but we’ve enjoyed enrolling the help of Jo, Jenni, Pippa, Ben and Simon so much we’re considering re-recording the whole thing so it’ll probably be another five years before we get it released now, “Traa Dy Liooar” as we say round here

The new Ballagroove compilation “BGK003” is also ready to roll and should be released in the next month (hopefully !), we’re hoping to put together a showcase gig and get as many of the 28 bands that appear on the double CD to play as possible, we’re just trying to find a decent venue that is up for such a thing, will post any updates here soon.

Have fun, only 9 days till the nights start drawing in so get out there and enjoy the sun !

Slaynt Vie

PS Big Congratulations to Jenni and John who got married recently, was the most lovely wedding ever !!!

PPS We recently did an interview with Christy D and Dave Armstrong about Ballagroove and the Manx Music Scene in general - Manx Independent Article

The recording contains the following tracks:

1. Get Trashed
2. I'm Gone
3. Henrietta's Penknife
4. Cardinal Jack
5. I Gotta
6. Maureen Bullock
7. Normal Service
8. We Chew Gum

Clieck here to Watch their lovely video

A quick post to let you know about what we've been up to and details of the 3rd Bay Port Erin Ballagroove New Year's Party, which is on New Year's Eve at the Bay Port Erin, 7.30pm start. It's FREE to get in, it's a Fancy Dress theme of "Zombie Santas" which should be easy: grow a grey beard (the ladies may have a problem there, Gyp – Ed.), wear something red, cover yourself in blood and ride into the pub "Bianca Jagger in Club 54 style" on a reindeer

The music will be the usual mix of funk, soul, reggae, punk, spacerock and of course boogaloo, i.e. stuff to make weird shapes too , provided by DJ's Gypo and Toots.

N.B. The music will be stop just before midnight and won't be going back on again. (Sorry, music licencing rules.)

There is a Facebook event for the party so join if you use it. Hope to see you there!

It has probably appeared a little quiet lately – to say the least! – but that's cause we've been working on lots of new recordings, in the next couple of months we'll have the following releases out:

BGK03 – The third Ballagroove compilation

Release Date: Jan/Feb 2008

A double (!) CD with 26 bands/tracks in a lovely handmade sleeve. And it'll be cheap

Track listing as follows:
Ballagroove Compilation 3 – BGK03a

1. Bonchee – Cornfield
2. AJ – Innocent Man
3. Alien in the Crayon – Missile of Man
4. Moot – Braight
5. Tholtan Builders – Wednesday at the mart
6. 'Ingie – The Water
7. Buggane – Through the mill
8. Cocahiba – You and Me
9. Kickin' Wing – Abigail
10. Salt is not wool – Do you believe in magic?
11. Safetyword – Hellebore
12. Audio Wok – Temper Tantrum
13. Mike Seed – St Lukes In Autumn
14. Stevie Sore – 30 Year Hangover

Ballagroove Compilation 3 – BGK03b

15. Gratiz 3 – Coma (Buggane Mix)
16. Doug and Sarah – Deep River Blues
17. The Trash 5 – I'm gone
18. Nicky Kinley – Don't Leave Us
19. Neil Curphey – Maybe
20. 13th Pillar – Take Control
21. John and Dean – Cloudy Versions
22. Pobble – Pobble
23. Rhysical Pheck – Not Everything Is Wrong
24. Doug and Sarah – What have you done
25. Cartesian Jetstream – Reborn
26. Jimmy Tinkler – All in your mind

Rhysical Pheck – The Vitamin D LP

Release Date: Spring 2008

Finally, five years after our debut album, we've just about completed the follow up – we're not exactly fast workers! Werre really happy with the album and currently putting together a proper live set – no backing mini disc this time round – and planning some gigs for the Spring.

Track listing as follows:

• Not Everything Is Wrong
• Mighty Time
• Just the Two Of Us
• Drunk Guitar
• Just a Little Piece
• Light The Candles
• Upstairs Downstairs
• Yr Roots
• Dip into The Well
• Serpentine (Reprise)
• Tie me To The Wheel
• False Promises

Doug and Sarah – Doug and Sarah LP

Release Date: Jan/Feb 2008

Some of you will know Doug(ie Sloth) from years ago when he lived on the Island; he now lives in Bristol with his lovely girlfriend Sarah. Over the last year or so each time they visit the Island they pop along to Ballagroove studios and record a few songs, and we've now accumulated enough songs to release an album. There are lots of guest players on there from Rhysical Pheck, Cocahiba, ‘ingie, Katie Lawrance, Tholtan Builders etc. it's all very folky and very nice

The Trash 5 – The Lucid Dreams of Dr Seed Mini LP

Release Date: Jan/Feb 2008

Trash 5 are a new Manx band who play dirty garage tunes. They rock!! They've done a couple of gigs so far and wowed the audiences with their full-on musical explosion and their matching pink frilly shirts

They asked us to record them and do a release, we jumped at the chance. We recorded 8 tracks in 6 hours in a tool shop – not quite a garage but close enough! – and it sounds ace! Try to imagine 1965 era Rolling Stones jamming with Mudhoney and the Fall circa 1978, i.e. mighty!

They've got a and a Facebook group to read and enjoy
Track listing as follows:

• Get Trashed
• I'm gone
• Henrietta's Penknife
• Maureen Bullock
• I've Gotta
• We Chew Gum
• Normal Service
• Cardinal Jack

We've got plenty of other releases planned, will post up details soon! We've also setup a Facebook group for Ballagroove and all the associated bands, parties, etc. so please join us!

“Cool jangly college rock / pop / indie sounds with acoustic guitars, synths and samples. Sensitive heartbreaking songs of love and regret. Great production and beautiful songs. Think Felt, Blue Aeroplanes, Beta Band, Sukpatch, Ecstacy of St. Theresa, etc.” - Probe Records, Liverpool

We’re happy to say that Rhysical Pheck’s debut album The Little People Album is now available on the following digital download stores:

• 
  iTunes Music Store (UK/Europe, US, Australia/NZ, Canada, Japan)
• Real Rhapsody
• MusicNet including HMV Digital, URGE, Virgin Digital and Yahoo! Music Unlimited
• Napster
•  eMusic
• Sony Connect

Neville Staple -- he of The Specials / Fun Boy Three fame -- is playing at the Castletown Golf Links on Friday 23rd February.

Details are a little sketchy right now, but all will be cleared up and announced in the next couple of days, we'll post up details as soon as we know more.

Tickets are £17.50, I know that much!

I'm double excited as DJ Toots (Pencil ) and I are DJing so expect lots of Dub, Reggae, 2 Tone and Ska, yipee!

P.S. We're not organising this, so not trying to take any credit! Thanks to the mighty Misfit for sorting this one (and so many other crackin' gigs).

Ballagroove New Years Eve Party at The Bay Port Erin is on (you guessed it) 31st December
More details soon, but basically its Free, there will be lots of funky music and its 70's / Funky / Pimps / Hos / Disco etc. Fancy Dress !!
And there will be prizes and stuff like that

First of all a very Happy Mid-Winter, Christmas and New Year to y'all !
We are holding this years Xmas / New Year party at The Bay Hotel, Port Erin on New Years Eve, we'll be playing lots of jolly music to dance to and hopefully everybody will be dressed up in 70's fancy dress (no excuses !!), there will be prizes and stuff for best get up and general merriment of all kinds and best of all its FREE to get in, will be in the Resturaunt side of the Bay (Right Hand Side), hope you can come !
There is loads and loads on this Xmas all over the Island, few things we suggest are the Xmas Funk Party at the Rovers Basement Bar on the 23rd (Saturday), Gratiz 3 and Stoliday
at the Bay Port Erin on the 29th (Friday) and the Mighty Tholtan Builders Xmas Party at the Bay Port St Mary on the 30th (Saturday) hopefully they will have recovered from Saturdays gig / chaos !!!
So, all the very best, "Nollick Ghennal as Blein Vie Noa" as we say round these parts
PS If you can't think of that last minute Xmas pressie, then anybody would be happy to get a copy of 'ingie's wonderful album - available from the Ballagroove Shop or for download from iTunes, also Safetyword have just released their debut album and its fantastic available from their website and a special recommendation for Moots fabulous new album available from all good shops !
And if anybody wants to buy me one of these I'd be very grateful !!

"Gratiz 3 are not exactly shrinking violets. Their 'Vapour Trails' is a dandy blend of solid and sinuous guitars, a good rhythm section and a melody that surfs gaily on the pile-driving sound. 'My Own Cage' is equally subtle, without ever losing a deep rock groove which connects U2 to Nine Inch Nails with aplomb. 'They' pumps out a heavy riff on a track that shows some influences of Nirvana to good effect. Gratiz 3 tolerate no nonsense, and make no apology."

Nice one fellaghs!

Tickets are now on sale (£6) from Jon 'stop me and buy one' Sanders or directly from the Erin Arts Centre Box Office (832662).

Read all about it !

There will be fireworks

"Tighten Up", the islands premier Funk night

And thats REAL Funk (NOT funky house or some other such thing that isn't FUNK !)

Git Down !!

 www.itsonthecorner.com