Hey! Manchester first caught Alan Wilkes – aka Vinny Peculiar – playing solo at the Star and Garter in 2004. He was orchestrating technical problems to panic the sound man. The Smiths’ Andy Rourke was DJing (terribly) that night. Later, he and fellow Smithsonian Mike Joyce became Vinny’s backing band, while Bonehead, ex-Oasis, also played with him, somewhat bizarrely.

We’ve put Vinny on three times: for our first ever gig, with Jens Lekman at the Kings Arms; at our monthly night at Kro bar (he was ill but soldiered on); and at the Salford Arms as part of last year’s Sounds From The Other City. He always impresses the audience.

As part of a regular new series, we’ve asked Vinny to give us an unreleased track – a live performance of Everlasting Teenage Bedroom in this instance – and answer a few questions…

Reviews have included various comparisons from Bowie to Magnetic Field’s Stephin Merritt. But which artists have particularly inspired you?

Well I do really like Stephin Merrit; 69 Love Songs is just wonderful. I’m inspired by those who do what they do without overtly pandering to the forces of commercialisation, those who create stuff because they have to, it’s who they are. Working with Bill Drummond helped me to get some kind of perspective on art for arts sake. He is an inspiration for sure. Bowie of course goes way back, it’s a teenage glam generation affiliation thing… I mean, the 60’s had the Beatles, the 70’s belonged to Bowie – end of. Of the modernists I like Fleet Foxes… amazing singing. And I love people like David Byrne, Stephen Jones, Luke Haines; Joni Mitchell’s Blue is my all time favourite album… well it is today.

Continue reading »

Here’s Andrew Bird performing unplugged – and unstaged – in Paris. It’s part of La Blogotheque’s Concert a Emporter (aka Take Away Shows) series, which asks musicians to strip their songs down and wander the streets playing them busker style.

Bird’s are some of my favourites videos on there, though I’d recommend that you check out Okkervil River’s Will Sheff being a hippy, Jens Lekman taking advantage of a gymnasium’s echo, Casiotone For the Painfully Alone in a phonebooth, Grizzly Bear in the bath, Sufjan Stevens on a windy rooftop, Dirty Projectors freaking people out, Of Montreal just being themselves, Beirut being very Gallic, Final Fantasy being elven and Herman Dune simply being the best.

Searching the archive soon becomes highly addictive… like YouTube for alternative music fans. And if after that lot you still need more, check out London’s Black Cab Sessions for a distinctly British take on things.

Andrew Bird plays at Academy 3 again on 13 May. Don’t miss him.