It’s fast approaching our next Comedy Song Club at Peter Parkers (4 Denmark Street, Soho) and ohhh do we have some brilliant talent to share with you…

Our resident MC Vikki Stone (apparently a cross between Victoria Wood and Jack Black) will welcome to the stage…

ISY SUTTIE (Dobby from The Peep Show)

One of the most innovative acts to emerge on the circuit in recent times, Isy’s gloriously silly and twisted songs, stand-up and stories have drawn comparisons with Victoria Wood and Tom Lehrer.

“Her songs were hypnotic: blending hilarity, lyrical brilliance and pathos so adeptly” Chortle.co.uk

EARL OAKIN

“Multi-talented musical supremo’ - TIME OUT.

TOM ADAMS

He’s a bespectacled worrier with a side parting and a lack of social skills. We love him, and file into the night feeling better about ourselves.’ - Channel 4 (4Laughs)

PAUL THORNE

Paul Thorne is one of Britain’s most established and sought-after stand-ups. TV credits include: The World Stands Up, Paramount, The Stand Up Show, BBC 1 and Saturday Live, ITV (to name but a few!)

‘A MUST SEE’ The Guardian

SCUFFED UP SHOES

SUS are one of the most hotly tipped bands currently on the London live music circuit. They’ll be closing the night for us. If you like The King Blues or Lily Allen chances are you’ll take a liking to these guys. They present to you an array of melodic and well crafted songs, complimented by some great harmonies. Singing about love, age, losing your virginity and the injustice of it all they’ll have you hooked within minutes. They wanna see some scuffed up shoes…so get moving.

**PLUS TOP SECRET SPECIAL GUEST!!**

Supported by SongLink International

For our gig on October 14th I’ve hand picked a few cherries from the alt-country and folk orchard and oh how succulant they are! Details below…

Marcus Foster

http://www.myspace.com/marcusfoster

Marcus Foster is a London born musician and studies sculpture at the Royal College of Art. He grew up listening to Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Sister Rosetta Tharp giving him a raw, honest and timeless sound. His songs are currently featured in two motion pictures; Twilight and Five Dollars a Day and he’s just returned from a tour of America. ‘Let Me Sign’ is written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long.

The Cedars

http://www.myspace.com/theonlycedars

A UK based Alt-Americana quartet, with soaring vocals, infectious rhythms and blasts of slide guitar and banjo. Plying tales of lost love, revenge and rural homicide, The Cedars manage to straddle the divide between the dancehalls of the 20’s and 30’s and what’s going on in the scene right now.

“…this choice cut from a thoroughly juicy selection serves as a splendid introduction to a band currently at the forefront of the UK’s alt.country scene…”
R2 Magazine (Rock n Reel)

Her Make Believe Band

http://www.myspace.com/hermakebelieveband

Performing as a 4-piece band, Her Make Believe Band are renowned for their exciting and assured performances and well-crafted songs that beautifully blend their country, pop and jazz influences. Described as “sugary harmonies and classic songwriting coming together to create a truly gorgeous sound” by Rahda (MNYC at Proud Camden and Folkadot, London) and as “the best live act we’ve ever had” by Matt (Showcase 55, London) the full band version of Her Make Believe Band brims with lush guitars, vintage keyboards and stunning vocals.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 14TH
The Library, 235 Upper Street, (opposite The Union Chapel)
London, N1 IRU. 8pm.

This morning I received a wonderful mail out from the lovely Phildel sharing her news of a support slot with One Eskimo and plugging our impending Roundhouse gig! I have to say that, during my time organising Behind The Mic gigs, no artist has ever promoted one of our gigs in such a unique and utterly charming manner. Phildel had created a little piece of conceptual art and photographed it for us all to see! She feels that the art helps capture the beauty and surrealism that the night will bring. See what you think…!

Fabulous!

Phildel - http://www.myspace.com/phildel

Join Phildel, Roxy Rawson, Dockers MC, Pippa Evans, Nicol and Kirstenana at The Roundhouse, April 22nd. 7pm onwards. Free Bohemia Beer whilst stocks last. Tickets available from The Roundhouse Box Office. Click here to order online.

Tomorrow Anna’s paintings will be shipped to Dubai for her latest exhibition “Union of the Senses” at the Art Couture Gallery, Dubai. I’m so immensely proud of her latest work and continue to feel flattered that she asked me to be involved in promoting her work to the rest of the world. Her paintings are stunning and she deserves every success. For those of you who are not acquainted yet with Anna. Let me tell you something about her…

Anna is an abstract expressionist painter who currently resides between her studios in London and the Mediterranean island of Gozo. She has been applauded as a ‘sorceress cartographer’ who presents her most intimate stories and experiences through paintings that ‘inspire, astonish and enchant’.

Born and raised in the rural parts of Cheshire, North West England, Anna left home aged twenty to complete a Masters in Fine Art at Central St Martins. On graduation, life brought her to the frequently sun-drenched and archaeologically rich island of Gozo, where the warm reds, oranges and tranquil, calming blues contrasted remarkably with the closed grey skies of England.

However, Anna’s love for the variance that these two locations provided meant she would go on to split her time between both. The influences of both London and Gozo echo throughout her paintings; the sumptuous colours of Gozo (from the panaramic skies and sunsets to the craggy rocks and clear blue sea) are sublimely recalled, whilst the cultural vibrancy of London can also be felt in their atmospheres and subplots. Each of Anna’s paintings encourages the viewer to embark on a spirited and passionate journey that intimately mirrors the depths of the artist herself. In this respect, her paintings can aptly be described as ‘lanterns of the soul’.

Inspired by legends such as Rothko and Whistler, Anna’s skilful layering of powerful colours in oils and ink has led to her enjoying over twenty highly successful international exhibitions. You can view a sneak preview of her latest exhibition “Union of the Senses” below…

What a talented crew of artists we have lined up for this Thursday. Please do visit their myspaces and listen for yourself….

Behind The Mic at The Library, Thursday March 19th

235 Upper Street, Opposite Union Chapel, Islington. Nearest tube: Highbury & Islington. 8pm start.

Tickets: £3 if you’ve confirmed attendance on our Facebook event invite. Check it out here.

Hosted by our favourite vampy performance poet, Sophia Blackwell

Special Guests include:

TALLULAH RENDALL

http://www.myspace.com/tallulahrendall

‘One of the top Up and Coming Artists’ - Evening Standard
‘Tallulah’s got a wonderful voice’ - Shirley Bassey

KAYO CHINGONYI

Multiple slam winnning poet who’s performed in venues as diverse as Buckingham Palace, The Tate Modern and Stratford Circus.

CHARLENE SORAIA

http://www.myspace.com/charlenesoraiajones

A BRIT-school graduate and prog-rock enthusiast who does a neat line in smooth-voiced, Feist-style alt-pop. Finalist, Glastonbury New Talent 2008

ADAMS & REA, comic duo

“The songs are splendid…delicious deadpan” The Guardian

LAIL ARAD

http://www.myspace.com/lailarad

“Sparky melodies and lyrics full of warm wit and wry domesticity.” Time Out

Well, I have some good news and some bad news with regards our Behind The Mic shows. The bad news is that our beloved Soho Revue Bar ceased trading after last nights gigs so our Soho show is homeless. The good news is, Time Out love our radio shows…‘a splendid arts series’ they say! On the live show front, we’re back at The Library (Islington - Opposite Union Chapel) on the 19th February with Sound of Rum headlining. They were guests on our radio show last Monday and were brilliant! Kate Tempest is one hell of a rapper and the guitarist and drummer were not only lovely lads but highly skilled themselves.

Below’s the latest press release for the next few shows in the series…(NB it was too late to include this Mondays info but I can tell you we have the vampy performance poet Sophia Blackwell and singer songwriter Idan Rabinovici who’s recently supported Jose Gonzalez. http://www.myspace.com/idanrab )

Behind The Mic, Mondays 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd Feb, 10-11pm

Resonance FM 104.4FM www.resonancefm.com

Presented by Rosie Wilby (Finalist, Funny Women 2006) with Jen Roberts

www.myspace.com/behindthemic06

Showcasing the cream of emerging and established London talents in music, live literature/poetry and comedy, from Behind The Mic’s live events.

Feb 9th – Rosie and Jen present live acoustic sessions from London songstress Tallulah Rendall whose voice sits somewhere between Alison Goldfrapp and Regina Spektor, and bluesy Marcus Bonfanti who supports Sandi Thom in Feb. www.myspace.com/tallulahrendall www.myspace.com/marcusbonfantimusic

Feb 16th – live music from husky voiced Italian rock songstress Elena and spoken word from 2007 UK Slam Champion, 2007 Glastonbury Slam Champion and 2006 Blackdrop Slam Champion John Berkavitch www.myspace.com/musicelena

Feb 23rd – live acoustic music sessions from Dan Raza, who recently opened for Joan Armatrading on her European tour dates and, daughter of Bill, Rosie Oddie will be in the studio with some of her band the Odd Squad and their fabulously leftfield songs www.myspace.com/danraza www.myspace.com/rosieoddieandtheoddsquad

Jake Morley in the studio for Behind The Mic

Anna and her partner came to see Shazia on Saturday night at my local pub, The Steeles in Belsize Park. (If you don’t know The Steeles I recommend checking it out, it’s a fabulous battered, bohemian, boozer.)

The promoter made us sit right at the front. So close to the mic in fact that I was wrapping my legs about the mic stand in a mock pole dancing effort from my chair. I wasn’t very good. Anyway, Shazabelle was on form and they thought she was brilliant. Anna had tears streaming down her face. It was great to watch. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard certain jokes of Shazia’s but still, I always, always, laugh. Which I guess is testament to the enormity of her talent.

If you’ve never seen Shazia perform then I recommend a visit to her website where you can view a few sketches and TV clips of her performing. (I particularly love the news and Primark sketches.) If you enjoyed them then perhaps you’d like to join us at the Soho Theatre in February.  Shazia will be performing a ten night stretch of her hour long show, commencing February 4th at 8pm. Come! I’ve included more information below.

Press Release

Internationally acclaimed, award winning stand up comedienne Shazia Mirza returns to the Soho Theatre this year with her brilliantly funny one-hour show ‘A Portrait of Shazia Mirza’.

Mirza will take the audience through the ups and downs of appearing alongside Nelson Mandela in the National Portrait Gallery’s Top Ten People of the Decade, to being told at eight stone that she is too fat for US TV, to becoming a WAG for the day.

As a stand up comedienne, Mirza has one on the most distinctive comedy voices. She is an international performer in huge demand and, in the last year alone, has performed in the USA (where she was the only UK comedienne to reach the semi finals of NBC’s Last Comic Standing), Switzerland, Berlin, Sweden and was the first British Comedienne to perform in Pakistan.

Following the huge rating success of F*** Off I’m a Hairy Woman, she has recently been filming ‘Brilliant Britain’ for the relaunch of TV channel Blighty. Her other television credits include Have I Got News For You, Miss Real World and a profile on ‘60 minutes’ (CBS).

In 2008 Shazia won the prestigious Columnist of the Year Award at the PPA Awards for her fortnightly column in political weekly the New Statesman. The judges praised Shazia as a columnist “who actually talks to their readers” and “gives an insight into a whole culture that does not have a voice in the British media”.

“She writes as a feisty young Muslim woman with a self deprecating and needle sharp humour, prepared to break taboos and make us think about the most controversial issues of our time, from suicide bombers to virginity” THE GUARDIAN

‘Clever, groundbreaking and very funny’ EVENING STANDARD

‘Her laconic one-liners represent something quite unique in modern comedy’ THE GUARDIAN

www.shazia-mirza.com

Dates: 4th-14th Feb. 8pm. Soho Theatre. £12 (£10)

For any press queries email moi! jr at jenroberts.co.uk or call 07968 756 449

Whoop! January 09 is starting off on a high. From Monday 12th we’re commencing our weekly Behind The Mic radio show on Resonance FM. Every Monday between 10-11pm we’ll be interviewing BTM artists, hosting live sessions and playing some great new music.  Just tune in to 104.4 FM or alternatively online via www.resonancefm.com. Guests for Monday include poet Tamsin Kendrick and mistress of music, Madam. Future guests include Claire Tchaikowski, Jake Morley, Sara Schiralli, Dan Raza, Sara Pascoe, Rosie Oddie,  Idan Rabinovici, Elena, Talullah Rendall and more. Presented by Rosie Wilby (Funny Women of the Year Finalist) and myself - if Rosie remembers to turn my mic up.

Other news…

On January 22nd we’re bringing our eclectic and high quality brand of nights to a new venue opposite the Union Chapel, endearingly named The Library. The venue is run by the Fratelli’s Management and boasts a divine wine list and food menu devised by a Michelin starred chef. The emphasis on this launch will be on spoken word; highlighting why it’s popularity is on the rise and it’s influence on music in the mainstream. So, to this end, we’ve invited back the brilliant Gideon Conn plus George Pringle, the wonderfully colourful Dockers MC and Andy Craven-Griffiths.

January 29th see’s our return to the rather glam Soho Revue Bar.  Typically, we have another stirling line up with lap tapping genius Jake Morley (’On the verge of making it’ The Times) highly acclaimed comedian Sara Pascoe (dubbed by Time Out as one 2008’s rising stars) Jinadu from the 4* rated The Beauty Room (Q magazine) plus Poetry Idol winner Joe Hakim. More details on that next week.

Above left, Madam. Above right, Tamsin Kendrick.

http://www.myspace.com/madammusic

http://www.myspace.com/tamsinkendrick

Last week Anna was involved in the making of a music video for the very talented Claire Tchaikowski (for whom Anna provided the art work for her debut album ‘Those Thousand Seas’ - you can check out some of her dreamy music here: http://www.myspace.com/clairetchaikowski)

The setting was a stunning Edwardian town house located on Chiswick Mall - literally metres away from the river Thames. (What I would give to own one of those houses!) It was great to observe Anna’s creative processes and the ideas behind the video were beautiful.  I won’t reveal too much about the video - I’ll post it here when it’s ready. For now, I’ve uploaded some pictures I took…(click to enlarge)