New Retrosonic Podcast with Tom Powell, Bassist with Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band on his new solo project def.fo

In our recent Retrosonic Podcast Episode 53 you would have heard the excellent track by def.fo called "Play It Cool", well we liked it so much we named the episode after it and even featured the man behind the project, Tom Powell, on the cover. You might recognise Tom as the bassist with former Shack and Pale Fountains frontman Mick Head's latest outfit, Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and here, in a thoroughly entertaining show, Tom discusses the concept behind def.fo and the superb album "Eternity", some of the varied musical influences that helped to shape the sound and the contributors that played their part in creating one of the best albums of 2023. "Eternity" is a concise and perfectly plotted debut that effortlessly moves between an eclectic mix of genres, from 60's West Coast Californian harmonies, pastoral Folk Rock with lush orchestral arrangements to 90's  Trip-Hop and contemporary Neo-Psychedelia, but despite the varied reference points, it all sounds completely fresh and unique. It brings to mind the similarly studio-based project 5 Billion In Diamonds which was created by Nirvana Producer and Garbage drummer, Butch Vig along with the Bristol based Producers and DJ's James Grillo and Andy Spaceland and a list of impressive studio guests including Ebbot Lundberg from The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Damian O'Neill from the Undertones and members of Ocean Blue, Massive Attack, Spiritualised and The Blue Aeroplanes. 

With def.fo, Tom has called on dad, Steve Powell from Ark Recording Studios in Liverpool who has worked with Mick Head, The Stairs, Cast and Echo & The Bunnymen among others and here his production and guitar work, lifts "Eternity" to another level, the album just sounds fantastic, especially on vinyl. Then there are contributions from Tom's Red Elastic Band colleague Phil Murphy on drums, Chris Geddes from Belle & Sebastian on keyboards and Mick Head himself, who adds vocals to a couple of songs and also more intriguing, the bongos! In fact, the time spent working with Mick Head, who the NME once dubbed as Britain's "Greatest Songwriter", has certainly rubbed off on Tom as "Eternity" is packed full of immediately memorable songs, ringing with superb guitar riffs, beautiful melodies and choruses that will stick in your head for days after the very first listen. His Red Elastic Band boss must be very proud. Talking of which, during our chat, Tom also covers the amazing reaction to the "Dear Scott" album and the wonderful experience of playing in Japan with Mick and The Red Elastic Band earlier this year. We were lucky enough to be there to catch one of the Tokyo shows and you can see videos over at our YouTube channel here. Anyway, please enjoy Tom's company in this latest episode which is also soundtracked with a selection of songs from the "Eternity" album - you can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or direct from our SoundCloud site below.

 

Retrosonic Podcast · Tom Powell of Def.fo and Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band

You can order "Eternity" directly from the official def.fo website here and check out more news and information at the Facebook page here. With thanks to Tom and to John Johnson photography for use of the excellent photo in the Podcover. We recommend the Pale Fountains fan's Facebook group here for all Mick Head music-related chat and resource. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at Liverpool Arts Club August 7th with Previously Unseen John Johnson Photos

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

One of the very last gigs we went to back in February 2020, just before the onset of COVID and the impending troubles of the pandemic, was seeing a superb show by Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at EartH in Hackney. It was one of only five shows we managed to attend in that terrible year which saw the live music scene completely decimated but I guess, if you’re going to be without live music for a while, what better way to wind down than with a Michael Head show. So, it was fitting that some eighteen months later, our very first post-lockdown venture to a proper sold-out, all standing, no social distancing gig would be to see Mick play again, this time back in his Liverpool home-town. Despite a worrying postponement of the original date, due to the lockdown deadline being extended, we finally turned up at the doors of a live music venue once again. We went along on the Saturday night; the second of two full-to-the-rafters shows at The Arts Club on Seel Street. I was a bit worried at first when I saw it was part of the O2 Academy group as I haven’t had good experiences with this chain in the past, but it really was a great venue, despite the two large columns blocking the view of the stage somewhat. The staff were friendly and our COVID vaccination ‘passports’ were checked on the door, but I must admit it did feel a bit uneasy at first as the crowd swelled around me. However, that trepidation was soon replaced by the overwhelming and much-missed feeling of excitement and anticipation that makes you remember just how special live music can be. And yes, this turned out to be very special indeed. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

The band take the stage and as always, the self-effacing singer looks genuinely chuffed with the level of love and admiration pouring forth from the crowd. What follows is a masterclass in exceptional song-writing with a set that is crammed full of nuggets from all aspects of Mick’s musical career from The Pale Fountains, Shack, The Strands and then bang up-to-date with new and unreleased songs from the forthcoming Red Elastic Band album, the wittily titled “New Brighton Rock”. The Red Elastic Band has always had, if you pardon the terrible pun, a flexible line-up but now Mick seems to have settled on a quite magnificent band that do full justice to his songs and I think this was the best I’ve seen them play so far. Brothers Phil on drums and Danny on guitar are joined by their colleague Nathaniel from the impressive Liverpool based Indie-Pop band The Peach Fuzz, also on guitar. Nathaniel is actually The Peach Fuzz’s frontman so he has that extra touch of charisma that really adds something to The Red Elastic Band’s energetic live show. Supercool bassist Tom Powell grooves away at the back and there’s the crowd favourite, Martin Smith on trumpet. After seeing the Red Elastic Band play shows at seated venues like the Liverpool St. George’s Hall and then Union Chapel, EartH Hackney and the solo acoustic show at the Social in London, it was nice to see the band in a proper “Rock ‘n’ Roll” standing venue again and overall, I think it probably just about topped the similarly stunning show at the Islington Assembly Hall back in March 2016. (Click the highlighted venue names for previous features). 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

The set-list is in particular, a Shack fan’s dream especially if like me, "HMS Fable" is your favourite album as we are treated to a fair chunk of it. The immensely moving “Comedy” scores a direct hit, straight to the hearts of the adoring crowd. Then, there’s a storming full-on version of “Pull Together” and an almost transcendental “Natalie’s Party”, both quite superb. Mick’s sister Joanne takes the stage for the haunting “Daniella” and we also get a rare outing of “Oscar” with the crowd singing along to Martin Smith’s insistent trumpet riff.  Mick is capable of writing such heartfelt, emotionally charged music, there’s real beauty inside that tough looking Liverpudlian. I must confess to a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye on occasion, especially when the crowd sing along and shout their encouragement. Sometimes there are terrace chant sing-alongs in-between songs and I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of youngsters enthusiastically jumping about at the front of the stage, singing along to all the words. The kids are alright...!

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

There’s “Reach” from The Pale Fountains which sends the crowd into raptures and “The Prize” from the fantastic Michael Head & The Strands album. Only one recorded Red Elastic Band track gets an airing tonight and of course it just has to be the classic upbeat bounce of “Newby Street”. The new songs all sounded excellent and promise much from the new LP. “Grace and Eddie”, “Broken Beauty” and “American Kid” all captured the imagination. There’s an acoustic interlude with Mick delivering “As Long as I’ve Got You” and “Byrds Turn to Stone” from “Here’s Tom with The Weather” and then cranked-up versions of “Cup of Tea” and “Al’s Vacation” are both warmly received. However, it’s the mini-symphony of “Meant to Be” that is one of the night’s undoubted highlights, and I suddenly get ‘something in my eye’ during the Love-like trumpet refrain. The Psychedelic rocker “Up” almost lifts the roof off the Arts Club but the really pleasant surprise was the inclusion of “Sgt. Major” from that classic album “Waterpistol”. Hearing this was a cathartic experience, all the stress and hardships of the previous eighteen months of COVID, lockdown, bad news after bad news and the lack of live music – just seemed to disappear for the four minutes or so of this quite brilliant song. Tonight though, was much more than just a long-awaited return to seeing a gig, this was an experience that I won’t forget, this was emotional. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

With sincere thanks to John Johnson for his photos. John has been documenting The Red Elastic Band from the start and is responsible for the superb cover to their debut album “Adios Señor Pussycat”. You can check out his official web-site here for limited edition prints and further examples of his photography. John also co-owns the great bar The Angus Tap & Grind at 83-85 Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2HT, we went along the evening before the gig and not only were they playing some fantastic music, we were also treated to an acoustic live set by a very good singer-songwriter. Finally, John has also started up a clothing range called Sound and Fury and one of their first ventures includes a limited-edition Mick Head T-Shirt which you can check out at the web-site here. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

For more news on Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band please check out their official web-site, their Facebook page or their Instagram page. The Peach Fuzz are also well worth investigating at their official Facebook page here. There's also a fantastic Pale Fountains Facebook group here, which covers all of Mick's musical career. Thanks again to John Johnson and Ana for the pic of the set-list and "hello, wish you were there" to Mick's biggest fans out in Japan - Hiro, Rie, Kaz & Kurt!

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at St. George’s Hall Liverpool, Sunday December 11th 2016

Photo Copyright John Johnson

Mick Head does like to play gigs in unusual places. He's played in churches, venues threatened with closure such as The Florrie in Liverpool and even in cafés like Leaf on Bold Street and it’s these special one-off gigs that tend to mean more to fans than shows in run-of-the-mill music venues. A great example of this is tonight where he’s performing to a capacity crowd of just over 500 people in the stunningly beautiful neoclassical St. George’s Hall in Liverpool with his current project. After Shack decided to take a break Mick didn’t head off on the typical solo career but instead appeared with a new band, The Red Elastic Band to be precise. Mick explains that this is a cooperative of like-minded people with a fluid line-up that has indeed expanded since I last saw them play at the Islington Assembly Hall back in early 2016. Tonight there’s a choir, a grand piano and flute along with the trumpets and cello and the surroundings suit the lush orchestral arrangements of Mick’s music perfectly. Rather than just churn out the “greatest hits” Mick is taking the opportunity to revisit hidden gems and rarely played album tracks from all stages of his career, often reworking them with different arrangements or instrumentation. That’s not to say this is purely a nostalgia trip, far from it as The Red Elastic Band have already released one excellent E.P. “Artorius Revisited” and a 7” Single “Velvets in The Dark” and will release their debut album sometime in 2017. This new fluidity and open minded attitude makes going to Mick’s gigs nowadays unpredictable and exciting and it must also surely keep things as interesting for him and the band as it does for us, their audience. 

Michael Head, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

However, despite this fresh approach, there are still reassuring nods to the past. Pale Fountains trumpet player Andy Diagram is a main stay in the Red Elastic Band and Pete Wilkinson, Mick’s bass playing side-kick from Shack, is a regular too. Unfortunately Pete doesn’t appear at the St. George’s Hall gig and his backing vocals and on-stage chemistry with Mick are missed a bit but they’ve drafted in an able replacement on the bass so the overall sound was not compromised. By the way, Pete has his own band, the excellent Aviator, who are well worth checking out. Mick looks remarkably fit and healthy these days, and is in particularly cheerful mood as he takes the stage. In between songs there’s lots of banter and in-jokes which is hardly surprising this being such a prestigious hometown show and the front row of seats are all reserved for friends and family. His daughter is in the best seat in the house, right in front of her dad and she must be his most enthusiastic fan too, getting up excitedly after one song to show him a framed black and white photo that someone had handed to her earlier. During gigs you often catch Mick off-guard with a huge grin on his face, totally caught up in the music around him and you can imagine if he weren’t singing he would be down at the front cheering on his own band! It’s moments like this and his lack of pretence that make Mick such a charming and inspirational performer. 

The Red Elastic Band, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The set-list is quite different to the Islington show where Mick delved deep into “The Magical World of The Strands” album but tonight that’s skipped completely and we are treated to an uplifting “I Know You Well” from Shack’s 1988 debut album “Zilch” as the opener and a choice selection of wonderful songs from the second album “Waterpistol”. In fact, a stripped back “Mood of The Morning” with Mick on acoustic guitar backed by some percussive bongos is one of the highlights of the evening. Mick is capable of writing some truly emotional and moving music that can bring a tear to the eye and a lump to the throat. It’s intelligent and involving songwriting with real depth and longevity, although a catchy melody is never allowed to stray too far away. Mick’s sister Joanne sings lead vocals on the beautifully haunting “Daniella” with Mick kneeling on the floor accompanying her with some impressive Flamenco guitar flourishes. More magical moments include the crowd singing along together on “Meant To Be” which sends a shiver down the spine and then there's the Psychedelic rush of “Streets of Kenny” which is simply mind-blowing tonight.

The Red Elastic Band, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

All these great songs are worked seamlessly into a set which also takes in “Newby Street” and “Cadiz” from “Artorius Revisited”, a cover of “Wild Mountain Thyme” and some new and unreleased material too. Mick ends the main set with “Comedy” one of the most perfect singles of any genre or any era and the upbeat “Newby Street” is so good it gets played again as the encore prompting people to finally get out of their seats to dance and show their appreciation. The Red Elastic Band will be releasing their debut album “Adios Señor Pussycat” on Violette Records in 2017 and talking of Violette, another thing Mick seems to have tightened up on since starting the Red Elastic Band is that old chestnut “artistic control”. It’s great that Mick has found kindred spirits in Matt who runs Violette Records, graphic designer Pascal Blua and photographer John Johnson, as all combine to make the Red Elastic Band releases, not just musically superb, but visually striking and very special indeed. In fact, everything from record covers to gig posters to badges, limited edition vinyl, postcard “box-sets” and T-shirts are all stunning and highly collectable. But reassuringly, and most importantly, among the new material are some songs that easily match Mick's most popular and well-loved classics, “Money”, “What’s The Difference?” and “Queen of All Saints” all sounded great and promise that “Adios Señor Pussycat” will be something quite special indeed. 

The review of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at The Islington Assembly Hall can be found in our Blog archive here. Violette Records is the exclusive home to Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and you can check out their web-site here. Designer Pascal Blua’s excellent design work can be found at his own website here and the Liverpool based photographer John Johnson's stunning photos are here. The essential web-site and comprehensive Mick Head archive Shacknet is here. With thanks to Matt at Violette. More photographs of the gig can be found at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here, please hit “Like” and “Get Notifications” if you are not already following.