By Fatea Magazine ~ "Liverpool Acoustic Extra

Next up were The Sea Kings -James [ vocals/guitar] ;Joe [vocals/mandolin] and Jake [vocals/percussion]. Originally from Cornwall, they met up in London when performing as solo artists. In appearance, they look like characters out of a Thomas Hardy novel but they have a really distinctive sound with glorious vocal harmonies and complex rhythms. Their songs have a very English pastoral quality, somewhat reminiscent of the gentler side of XTC. Several of their songs are, not surprisingly given the band's name, about the sea [ Swim ; On The Beach]. Another excellent find.

The Complete Review:

Bird/The Sea Kings/Thom Morecroft-Liverpool Acoustic eXtra
Venue: View Two Gallery, Town: Liverpool, Date: March 9th

The fact that the Acoustic Music scene is thriving in Liverpool is due in no small part to the sterling efforts of Graham Holland and his Liverpool Acoustic organisation. As well as running the Liverpool Acoustic website, Graham also runs monthly acoustic music events featuring the best in acoustic performers. Occasionally he puts on a special event, known as Liverpool Acoustic eXtra. This was one of those special events which featured a very impressive line up of artists, hand-picked by Graham as his "dream line up". We were treated to Bird [top-notch psych-folk band from Liverpool] ; The Sea Kings [excellent acoustic trio from Cornwall] and Thom Morecroft [powerful singer-songwriter from Shropshire]. More about them later, first a word or two about the venue, the View Two Gallery on Matthew Street, Liverpool.

View Two Gallery is one of the leading independent art galleries in the region. It's a wonderful place to go because not only can you listen to great music, you can look at some beautiful art at the same time. Gallery owner Ken Martin is an enthusiastic supporter of the music and his Gallery is an oasis of calm and beauty compared with the boisterous tourist trap of Mathew Street [The Cavern, Eric's, The Grapes, Lennon's Bar etc.] down below. Its intimate atmosphere makes it one of my favourite places to hear live music.

Back to the music. First on was Thom Morecroft. Graham had told me that Thom stands apart from the usual run of singer-songwriters and he was dead right. Thom is possessed of an amazingly powerful voice which brings to mind such singers as Joe Cocker or Kelly Jones . Accompanied by Chris on percussion, Thom performed a set of powerful, muscular, acoustic-guitar driven, self-written songs. He also showed another side by performing a lovely ballad on the conveniently-placed gallery piano.Thom got the night off to a great start .

Next up were The Sea Kings -James [ vocals/guitar] ;Joe [vocals/mandolin] and Jake [vocals/percussion]. Originally from Cornwall, they met up in London when performing as solo artists. In appearance, they look like characters out of a Thomas Hardy novel but they have a really distinctive sound with glorious vocal harmonies and complex rhythms. Their songs have a very English pastoral quality, somewhat reminiscent of the gentler side of XTC. Several of their songs are, not surprisingly given the band's name, about the sea [ Swim ; On The Beach]. Another excellent find.

Headlining the night were the wonderful Bird, led by the charismatic Adele Emmas on guitar and vocals. Bird describe their music as 'atmospheric folk' but I would add the words 'haunting', eerie', "mesmeric" and "other worldly". The nearest comparison I can make, as a rough guide, is to the Cowboy Junkies and such current bands as Trembling Bells and Two Wings but comparisons don't do Bird justice, they sound like nobody else . There is a clue in their song titles- "The Witch Hunter"; "Hey Hey Moonshine " and "Phantoms", all of which feature on their critically-acclaimed debut EP. They also played some as-yet unreleased songs [which may appear on their forthcoming album] including the new single "My Love Sleeps With Lions". Their final number [before the encore "Phantoms"] was a sultry, slowed down version of The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog", complete with lashings of fuzz guitar. Brilliant stuff !

I could have listened to Bird for much longer but all too soon it was over and it was time to join the throng of revellers down on Mathew Street. ~ Peter Cowley"

The Sea Kings have added 1 show in Manchester & 3 shows in London to their spring schedule.

They kick of their spring schedule with the first show of the year this upcoming Thursday (Mar 08) @ The Mondo Water Rats "Can't Afford The Rock" Festival, before they are off to Liverpool & Manchester for the weekend. So if you want to Party with The Sea Kings, check out the schedule below and give them a Holla! 

Thu, Mar 08 - The Mondo Water Rats "Can't Afford The Rock" Festival, London, UK

Fri, Mar 9 - Liverpool Acoustic eXtra, w Bird & Thom Morecroft, Liverpool, UK

"Liverpool Acoustic eXtra returns for a one-off event on Friday 9th March with a special show featuring local atmospheric folk favourites Bird.

 Joining Bird from Cornwall and London are the fantastic folk trio The Sea Kings. Expect tight harmonies, great songs (some of them even about the sea!), and wonderful musicianship.

 Finally we've singer-songwriter and youtube star Thom Morecroft, who's already a firm favourite and a crowd pleaser on the local acoustic music scene.

 Doors open at 8pm and the music runs from 8.30pm to just after 11pm. Unfortunately there is no disabled access as the venue is on the third floor of the gallery. There is a full bar, and it's an over 14 event.

 Tickets are £5 in advance and £6 on the door. This is set to be a popular night and demand for tickets will be high. Tickets are currently on sale only via a secret link available to those who subscribe to our Events Publicity mailing list. To sign up to this list click here http://​liverpoolacoustic.us2.list-​manage1.com/​subscribe?u=d03f1555f3bf1e1​...

 Tickets will go on general sale from Friday 27th January and will be available from http://wegottickets.com/​liverpoolacoustic"

Sat, Mar 10 - Playing At A Party, Manchester, UK

"Playing for a party - if you live in Manchester and would like to come let us know."

Sun, Apr 29 - The Good Ship, London, UK

"A welcome return to The Good Ship and their Sunday Sessions. 
- 289 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR"

Sun, May 13 - Samaritans 1-Day Festival @ New Cross Inn, London, UK

"A fund-raising WHOLE DAY of bands and artists in this seminal New Cross pub.
323 New Cross Road, London SE14 6AS"

Sat, May 19 -  Before the Gold Rush @ The Wilmington Arms, w The Long Dead Kings, Clerkenwell, UK

"The Sea Kings meet The Long Dead Kings and take part in the latter Kings' second night of folk and Americana, whilst the former Kings shake their heads from all the confusion. In Clerkenwell.
- The Wilmington Arms, 69 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4RL"

The Sea Kings have been invited to perform on the opening night of The Mondo Water Rats 3-Day Mini Festival (the "Can't Afford The Rock" Festival), on Thursday 8th March.

It could very well be The Sea Kings' biggest show to date, and they'd love to have as many of their friends, folks, brothers, sisters, housemates, allies, pets, dead pets, friends of friends, people-they-have-met-but-can't-remember-when-or-where, and basically anyone and everyone who'll come and enjoy their high-energy set, and all the other bands of the night. Confirm that you're coming and they can get you on their list of 'special discount', no-questions asked, dirty-deeds-done-dirt-cheap £5 tickets.

Would be lovely to see as many crewmates there as possible - to herald in the start of spring!

Details can be found on their Facebook Event Page or on The Sea Kings homepage Or just drop  The Sea Kings an email - theseakings@hotmail.co.uk

Thu, Mar 08 - The Mondo Water Rats "Can't Afford The Rock" Festival, London, UK

Upcoming Shows 

I got sent these live recordings of The Sea Kings performing Black Betty & Subterranean Homesick Blues today and "snaps fingers" here they are...

The Sea Kings tour diary August 2010

Tour Day 1 (1.Aug)

The sea kings are getting ready for the polite debauchary tour 2010. Sunday ; 1st Night of the Tour! The Gladstone - London - Subterranean Homesick Blues ;We hit the road tomorrow for liverpool!

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Slowdive Music Blog ~ "Heads Up: The Sea Kings

The Internet is really a labyrinth. Navigating it and finding something you like can be quite difficult, sort of like a tourist navigating through New York City without a map. But once in a while you come across something that you immediately have to jump on, less you forget where to find it again. Recently, that something is The Sea Kings – an English folk band. I immediately reached out to them; they shared two songs with me, that are streaming on their MySpace, and this is a band you really should listen to; they may just turn you onto folk.

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The Sea Kings are featured on a compilation album released by Remark Records (Indie label from Sweden) called 'Remark Records Vol 1 Music For Fun'

You can download it for free HERE (via www.archive.org). There is also a solo track by Joe Holtaway (Vocals/Mandolin in The Sea Kings) included on the compilation.

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