I grew up… in Neptune City, New Jersey by the sea.

Now you can find me in… Brooklyn, NY by the city and the sea.

It all started when… I heard Cream’s “Wheels of Fire,” and Traffic’s “John Barleycorn Must Die”

If I’m not in the studio or on stage, you’ll find me… at a bar or someone else’s show.

I can’t perform unless I have… monitors, my floor shiners and a glass of wine.

If I could take one CD with me on holiday it would be… the Jack Nitzchie Anthology.

The one gig I’ll never forget was… Singing with My Morning Jacket on New Years Eve at Madison Square Garden!

I’m not really into electronic dance music, but I do like LCD Soundsystem.

I wish I hadn’t… sold my powder blue 56″ guild rockabilly reissue guitar for rent money back in ’03. It still haunts me.

My most treasured possession is… my 68′ hagstrom viking. That beast is tricked out!

My favourite festival is… Bonnaroo and Roskilde.

My favourite piece of clothing… these black boots I have that look like a cross between Keith Richards and Peter Pan.

It makes me happy when… I rub my feet together in the morning

It makes me sad when… I have to think about things that make me sad. Next question…

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s… the difference between shit and shinola!

If you’re new to my music, I’d suggest listening to either Vultures or The Tower.

You can buy or download my single/album now… on iTunes, Amazon or at your favorite Mom n Pop record shop. Go!

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Nicole Atkins – Vultures

We grew up… the same way most people do I guess.  Sam, Hayley and Heather started their lives in or around Byron Bay, on the North Coast of NSW.  I was born and grew up in Southern California until I was fifteen when I moved to Australia.

Now you can find us in… Sydney.  All of us ended up at the same university which is how all of this came about.  By this time Heather and Hayley had been making music together for a while, and Sam had been jamming with them for half a year or so.  I met Sam through a cafe I was working at on campus.

It all started when… Sam was getting a coffee from me when he commented on the music in the cafe – we started talking about music and he mentioned that he and two girls were looking for someone to play the drums.  I said sure, why not – and we had our first gig at the university band comp three weeks later.   They actually registered for the band comp before they had a drummer, which ended up working out quite well!

If we’re not in the studio or on stage, you’ll find us… At work.  We’re furiously writing for an album at the moment so it’s really all we have time for.  We do manage to find time to go to the markets, museums, the movies – that kind of thing.  I actually did some baking last night, I’ve convinced a friend to give me his old drumming practice pad in exchange for some home made biscuits.

We can’t perform unless we have… our instruments… and have done a group hug.  It’s a bit cheesy but we tend to huddle in before we play and get psyched.

You’ll recognise us by our… music, hopefully.  I’m not sure if there’s another way you’d want to recognise a band – maybe I’ll start dressing like Lady Gaga to attract some more attention.

Our first gig together was… at the university band comp.  It’s a really great way to get some practice on a decently sized stage.  It’s pretty funny to look back on, I was a bit nervous and probably had 1 too many beers.  We made it through to the next round luckily – and I didn’t have as many beers that time.

We’re not really into hardcore industrial techno, but we do like Neil Young.

We wish we hadn’t… eaten those falafel rolls with garlic sauce, which was essentially puréed  garlic, before our show in Bathurst.  It’s so hard to put on a good show when you feel terribly uncool, burping up garlic on stage.

Our favourite festival is… either Wave Rock or Peats Ridge.  We played Wave Rock in Western Australia late last year and it was incredible.  Google a picture of it – it’s a very cool geological phenomenon; a massive rock shaped like a wave (as the name suggests).  They set up a stage on the local camp site.  Really great, friendly people were attracted to the festival and we had a great time.

It makes us happy when… we play a good show.

It makes us sad when… we play a bad show.

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt it’s… don’t be afraid of acquainting yourself with 4am starts.  Earlier flights are cheaper.

If you’re new to our music, we suggest listening to the title track of our most recent EP. It’s hard to chose a single song that is representative of what we do – but I’m a fan of this one.

Our most recent release is the Dark Storm EP, and our next release is due Septemeber 2011 – yet to be titled, but it will be a full legnth.  Thanks for taking an interest in our band!

All the best, Nik Kaloper (drummer in the Jezabels…)

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The Jezabels – Mace Spray

I grew up…in London. West is best.

Now you can find me in…London still. I had a whirlwind romance with Manchester, which was lovely, but I’m now back in the big smoke.

It all started when…I was forced to learn violin at the tender age of 5.

If I’m not in the studio or on stage, you’ll find me…watching grand designs. Or cooking a feast. Or having port and cheese with friends.

I can’t perform unless I have…a rave to Phil Collins followed by at least 5 minutes of solitary confinement.

If I could take one CD with me on holiday it would be…Lauryn Hill –  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Either that or Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On. Close call.

The one gig I’ll never forget…The Maccabees Reading ’08. I couldn’t get over Orlando’s voice. Still can’t. It was also the biggest gigs they had played at the time which felt pretty special.

I wish I hadn’t…overwatered my tomato plants that I have been trying to grow out of season. I didn’t know you can drown plants… now I do.

My most treasured possession is…nothing really. I try not to attach too much sentimental value to any objects. People are much more interesting.

My favourite festival is…Glastonbury, even though I have never been, I just know it is. Lame but true.

My favourite piece of clothing…changes from month to month. At the moment a dusty pink/peach shirt. Very nice.

It makes me happy when…I feel productive.

It makes me sad when…people try and claw their way up by pushing other people down.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s…try and eat healthily on the road, and put your trust in Berrocca effervescent tablets whenever possible.

If you’re new to my music, I’d suggest listening to ‘In Arms’ first…it sums up what David’s Lyre is about, alternative and interesting, yet approachable.

My next release will be… the ‘In Arms’ EP out February 21st on 12” vinyl and download.

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David’s Lyre – In Arms (Bombay Bicycle Club Remix) - download

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After some great feedback, we’re proud to introduce the Mahogany Minute 2.0 which includes some fresh points for artists and bands to elaborate on, replacing the old!

We grew up…in Oxfordshire’s suburban enclaves rummaging through our parents collection of 12 inch gate-folds.

Now you can find us in…various states of disrepair.

It all started when…Jody pretended to be a female drummer so he could join Kit’s slow-core band in the early noughties. It soon transpired in a garage rehearsal that he couldn’t actually play drums at all. However, Kit could and Ben had a laptop stacked full with ominous drones.

If we’re not in the studio or on stage, you’ll find us…drinking amaretto’s in Franco’s, paying the bills and tweeting with the rest of the world.

We can’t perform unless we have…had some room temperature volvic then paced around our dressing room meditatively.

You’ll recognise us by our…1970′s bass amplifier, a home made electronic drum-kit built from wood, and a fender strat.

If there’s one CD allowed on the tour bus, it would be…’Neon Golden’ by The Notwist.

Our first gig together was…at Lennon’s in Southampton. It went better than we thought it would although afterwards we couldnt get the door of the van to open, and panic set in before realising we hadnt simply pressed ‘open’ on the key.

We’re not really into Pagan Folk, but we do like Paul Giovanni’s score for ‘The Wicker Man’.

We wish we hadn’t…drunk so much rum and ting the other night.

Our favourite festival is…The Electric Peacock festival in Sri Lanka. We went out there in December to play on a beach and had the time of our lives. It’s the first year it has happened and is the beginning of something very special. We did a fringe gig in the street and had to move our equipment inside mid-performance because it started raining.

It makes us happy when…an angel gets its wings.

It makes us sad when…we realise that the aforementioned angel doesn’t actually exist.

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt it’s…never trust a man with shit on his brow.

If you’re new to our music, we suggest listening to Microlite first.

Our next release will be…a double A-side ‘The Quiet Earth/White Horses’ on 28th February.

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Trophy Wife – The Quiet Earth (James Yuill Remix) – download

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Trophy Wife – Microlite

We grew up…in a house with a garden and a shed. Me and Mickey turned the shed into a fortress and by the time we were ten we would write songs inside it and post them to local radio stations. This all happened in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear. Who knows how Mark and Matt began.

It all started when…we meet in a greengrocers shop over the butternut squash. I had a Saturday job and Michael would deliver walnuts and other such things. Mark and Matt are cousins so came in looking for fruited wonderment. We had David Bowie on the ghettoblaster and just started talking about music, grapes and courgettes. Aeons later we started a band together!

If we’re not recording or playing music you’ll find us…playing a game we’ve invented like: Chastity Hammer (find an abandoned building and throw a claw hammer at the wall, if it sticks you get a point, points are lost for peripheral damage), Coinbombing (a variation of dodge ball combined with stone-skimming with two teams of players sitting opposite on leather sofas, at least two tables and four chairs must separate each couple), Pro-barricade Building (secure a given location). Other than that we’ve been spending a lot of time recently doing an advent calendar on the facebook page, with things like this.

We can’t perform unless we have…practised lots and have taken some water. It helps if we’ve been allowed to put our percussion line up above the stage too. Some venues think it is a spontaneous fire-hazard….

One country we’re dying to play live in is…Germany. We’ve been to Berlin before and it is a  lovely place. Ideally we’d start small before one day recreating the Hasselhoff gig when the wall came down.

Our three dream festival headliners would be…David Bowie (because he is the king of the modern world and would have a tour bus to match Xerxes I), Paul Simon (from quite a few years ago because he is little knacked now) and a Bob Marley / John Lennon duo – can you imagine that!

You’ll recognise us by our… self-decorated van, gaudy jumpers (Rob), bad attitudes (Matt), general cleanliness (Mark), and Neumann Mic Collection (Mickey).

We wish we hadn’t…signed to Columbia Records. It was like working for a bank, but without the perks or access to people’s accounts.

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt it’s…that you should try to learn how to do as many things as possible for yourself. Learning to record, do artwork, make videos and write in roughly coherent sentences has given us a much greater level of intimacy with our music (if that makes sense)… it makes it really personal, and we really care – hopefully this comes across a little bit in what we produce.

Give us 30 minutes and we’ll cook a great…meal. Mickey would choose some lovely olives and make some bread for a starter, I’d make a little red onion and goats cheese tart, Matt would curate the wine list and whack up a roast loin for main course, whilst Mark would no doubt make a clafoutis for pudding!

Buy us a drink and…we’ll say thank you for buying us a drink. Then probably offer to buy you one later, then realise that really we should have just bought our own drinks. Then go on the quizzer and curse the machine for giving us shit questions.

We’re not really into metal, but Matt does like Metallica.

Our latest release… is Joanna on the 17th of January and our album In Search of Elusive Little Comets on the 31st of January. You can pre-order it here .

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Little Comets – Joanna

Little Comets – Adultery