JD Set Unsigned, Heat 1

I’m thinking of setting up a fund of sorts…some kind of one-trick charity for our university. Not for library books or subsidised fruit in the Arts Centre, or anything particularly useful like that, but rather, I think we should all invest in a great big sign to place on our own not-so-rolling hills. Think of the Hollywood sign. Now imagine it saying WARWICK in fifty-foot letters instead. You may scoff now, but when you consider the home-grown talent of our humble campus, I am sure you will start to see the bigger picture. Consider it an investment for the future.

Last term, some Warwick acts performed in the Jug and Jester in the hope they should win themselves a day in a professional recording studio. It was all care of Jack Daniel’s and it just so happens that old Mr. JD the First was a bit of a music patron himself. Well, needless to say Jack would salute from the afterlife at the sound of the quality acts on show.

There were 5 Warwick acts captivating audiences that night, and I could honestly write a novel (or at least a novella) on the talents of them. But there are 2 acts that really do need a mention.

One of these acts is a small girl with a big voice- Fran ‘oh-sing-me-a-song-oh-siren’ Lobo. Accompanied by a sharply dressed Matt Cooper, whose intense toe-tapping guitar playing is hypnotic in itself, and a chap who is only known to me as ‘Rob’, Fran pulled a crowd. She pulled them, in fact, from the depths of the smoking area to the stage itself. Spinning silky sultry sounds in a mystifying mix of Ella Fitzgerald and Amy Winehouse, with a rendition of Bloc Party’s Banquet worthy of recognition, the set just did not go on long enough.

With a benchmark in place from these outstanding acts, it must have been daunting for Club Silencio, the fourth act and a band worthy of note if not worthy of photography, to take to the stage. Club Silencio are Warwick veterans. Formed in 2006 but never the sort of band to enter formal competitions, the band remained undaunted and demonstrated melodious music reminiscent of Minus the Bear with ease and panache. A new sound focused upon a new singing style from front man Nick Tsivanidis and I, along with others, nodded with approval.

There was more. There was frivolity. There were dozens of people wearing identical Jack Daniels shirts, but I shall cut to the chase. The judges, consisting of a local promoter, the Boar’s former Music Editor, Sam Kinchin-Smith, and Head of Music at RaW, Ben Morse, awarded the prize to Club Silencio. It was a tough call, but they decided that Silencio were a band who had the right sound and flair, yet suitably unpolished, to make the most of a studio session. Silencio however, weren’t the only winners, one of those acts, who will remain nameless (sounds like Flan Lomo) even got themselves scouted.

To surmise, if you didn’t make it, well you might have just missed out. But fear not! There will be another competition next year and there is still a chance to head down to London to visit the best of Warwick’s music as judged by the discerning editor of ArtRocker. In conjunction with the local gigs, bands were allowed to submit demos to JD for the National Unsigned Competition. This time, the prize was bigger: a front page cover mount with ArtRocker, a contract with a renowned PR company, and generally just tons of glory. Though they didn’t play at the night, Warwick/London based band The Fanclub caught the eye of those in the know in the competition and thus on the 27th Feb are playing down in London at the Luminaire for a chance at fame.

So where do you come in to all this? If you fancy catching The Fanclub while they’re hot in London this week, you are in for a treat. JD are bringing the music insiders outside and are hosting an hour long Q&A session with some of the music industry’s finest at none other than the London Institute of Contemporary Music. Fancy probing ArtRocker’s reviews editor? How about catching a trick from Graham Wrench, currently managing Pulp’s Richard Hawley? Or maybe you want to talk business to the lawyer that launched CSS and Biffy Clyro? Well you can with these, entirely free, masterclasses, which include a free ticket to watch The Fanclub battle it out, to do Warwick proud. There are currently free spaces available on the coach leaving Warwick University for the masterclass and gig in London , please contact the Boar on boararts@gmail.com to grab yourself a seat.

So go on. Join them, support them, get to know them, and maybe you’ll get a thank you on their debut album. If not, put a pound away for our giant Warwick sign. It’s just a matter of time until we’ll need it…