kick the plug

It’s the Kick the Plug Christmas party at the Wilmington Arms!
This time around we present the excellent The Sleeping Years, with support from the equally excellnt Kat Flint and Indie-folk cutey Catriona Irving. As if this wasn’t a brilliant line-up enough, they are all playing us a special Christmas song as part of their sets.
Expect musical excellence, with mince pies, other culinary treats and badges aplenty, with musical interludes provided by Mark and Tom of Neednowater.

The Sleeping Years
http://www.myspace.com/thesleepingyears

The Sleeping Years is the new project from Dale Grundle, formerly of the Catchers.  The debut album “We’re becoming Islands One by One”, is a gorgeous exploration of melody and melancholy. A gifted lyricist, Dale’s exquisitely crafted songs tell of people trying to stay connected in a world seemingly designed to keep them apart.  He is heavily influenced by the language and culture of his home in Ireland, providing a distinct character to this highly personal collection of songs.

Born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland to an Irish father and a Scottish mother, Dale started his first band Catchers while at school. Their first single ‘Cotton Dress’ came out on Setanta Records and became single of the week in Melody Maker. Their debut album ‘Mute’ was recorded with Mike Hedges in France. Catchers went on to tour with Pulp, Edwyn Collins, The Divine Comedy, Dr. John and Oasis. Their second album ‘Stooping to Fit’ was recorded with Nick Drake’s arranger Robert Kirby.

Dale started his solo project The Sleeping Years with a trilogy of EPs in 2007, ‘You and Me Against The World’, ‘Setting Fire to Sleepy Towns’ and ‘Clocks and Clones’.  These were very well received and are living proof that independent singles do sell-out. They also garnered critical acclaim, featuring on BBC Radio 1’s Introducing, the Guardian’s writer’s play list and on the cover mount of Rolling Stone and Word Magazine. Songs have been heavily played on Gideon Coe’s 6music show, Stuart Bailie’s BBC Radio show, and on French radio, having been championed by France’s answer to John Peel, Bernard Lenoir.

The Sleeping Years have toured this year across France, Italy, Belgium, Ireland and the UK, including dates supporting The Bowerbirds and Damien Jurado. The live band is Dale Grundle (acoustic guitar/vocals), Michelle So (cello), Dan Wood (keyboards) and Tom Page (drums).

‘a record that only Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ has really rivaled in recent months. ‘We’re Becoming Islands One By One’ could be remembered as one of 2008’s best of its kind in years to come’. 8/10”
Drowned in Sound

‘his voice breaks exquisitely between hope and despair in songs that the acoustic guitar was invented for’
The Guardian

‘a one-man show that owes his lilting metaphysical lyricism to the likes of Nick Drake, Elliot Smith and John Martyn. It’s good to know that there are people like him out there’
Dazed and Confused

‘Just as Sufjan Stevens has been moved to celebrate the quirks and character of the United States, so Dale Grundle is devising his own charts, full of wonder, dread and reverie. Can’t wait to see where he takes us next.’
Stuart Bailie (BBC Radio)

Kat Flint
http://www.myspace.com/katflint

Kat Flint is a Scottish songwright and wordsmith, born in Barbados and living in London. She’s a bit mixed up about it all. She makes instruments out of suitcases and writes incessantly. Mostly she plays solo because all her musical comrades are in other very good bands instead of hers. She kidnaps them from time to time, for special occasions and recordings, and she’d quite like to keep them.
She was once buried alive in the name of television and she used to tell ghost stories for a living.

Kat’s debut album ‘Dirty Birds’ was released on 15th Sept, 2008. Recorded in a living room, mixed on a roadtrip across America and funded entirely by donations from fans, it contains songs about black crows and bomber jets, pigeons and prostitutes and young men marching off to war.

When she’s not making a gentle racket, Kat also writes fiction no-one reads and draws pictures with a scratchy pen and a pot of India ink.

Catriona Irving
http://www.myspace.com/catrionairvingmusic

Catriona Irving is an indie-folk star in the making. Grabbing the bull by the horns,  her debut release was the self-released ‘Running on Empathy’, followed by the Stitch EP which enjoyed excellent reviews (“DIY music at it’s best”, said FACT, while the Metro called her “an artist to watch out for”). She’s currently working on an album, and in the meantime has been building a reputation for her live show, playing at venues such as 93 feet east, the 12 bar Club and the Borderline, and supporting the Espers and Emilie Simon along the way. Combining clever lyrics and sweet melodies that stick in your head for days, with a sweet and witty live performance, Catriona is making a significant mark on the DIY scene.