Playlouder - Music is the Network

LEVI'S® ONESTOWATCH® PRESENTS...

Derek Meins
With support from Josh Weller and Le Shark

8th October, 2008
Old Blue Last 38 Great Eastern St, Shoreditch EC2A 3ES
Doors: 7:30pm / Tickets £6.50 (adv)
Ticketline: 0870 907 0999

Freshly toweled down from the steaming 5 Night Revue at The Macbeth where the likes of Metronomy, Esser and Foals took the Levi’s OnestoWatch stage by a storm, the tour is back to its usual tricks showcasing more cutting edge talent.

On Wednesday 8th October, part musician and part performance poet, Derek Meins, headlines the first in a series of Levi’s OnesToWatch October shows.

As vocalist in Berwick-Upon-Tweed’s Rough Trade signings Eastern Lane, Derek wrote and sang all the tracks across two critically acclaimed LPs. A beloved cult act, the band were underpinned by Derek’s delusional howl.

Now relocated to Brighton, Derek is still doing whatever he wants. His live performance is a real spectacle; armed solely with a battered acoustic guitar and his merciful larynx, Derek switches from bittersweet song to his Ivor Cutler-esque surrealist prose on a whim. He manages to silence, enrapture, and melt the hearts of audiences wherever he plays.

Signed to the 1965 label, his debut album, The Famous Poet launched this summer. His influences include James Joyce and Leadbelly, Gertrude Stein and Ella Fitzgerald.

http://www.myspace.com/derekmeins

Josh Weller has been described by the NME as “a collision between Elvis Costello & Randy Newman in winklepickers”. He first found fame in a group as Josh Weller and The Availables in early 2006.

Standing out from a crowded marketplace of acoustic singer-songwriters due to his cuttingly sharp and witty lyrics, Josh is sure to find more mainstream success due to both his friendly nature and combination of funny and thought-provoking songs.

http://www.myspace.com/joshweller

La Shark are a five-piece band from London featuring great beats, quirky lyrics, pretty harmonies and overall weirdness, faintly reminiscent of Mystery Jets, but sound more like they had a collision with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

http://www.myspace.com/lasharkband

For more information see www.levi.co.uk/lotw

For further information, photography or interviews please contact
hannahm@exposure.net 0207 907 7283

EDITORS NOTES:

Levi’s OnesToWatch

Now in its fifth year, Levi’s® OnesToWatch® has firmly established its reputation as a reliable indicator for artists about to hit the big time. With monthly shows at Barfly venues across the country, this year has already seen charged performances by Ida Maria, Santogold, Late of The Pier, Friendly Fires, and Cage The Elephant.

The Levi’s® OnesToWatch® music programme, which launched in 2004 as a series of monthly gigs at Barfly venues across the UK, has been a natural extension of Levi's® long affiliation with music, showcasing the best in new talent and giving a unique opportunity for emerging artists to play to a discerning audience.

Acts to date have included an astounding number of success stories, prompting a reputation for Levi’s® OnesToWatch® as both a channel for new talent and a reliable gauge for the future music scene. Past acts include, Editors, Kooks, The View, Foals, We Are Scientists and The Pigeon Detectives to name but a handful.

For more information go to www.levi.co.uk/lotw