Artist of the fortnight: Jo Rose
Knowledge is power, so arm yourself with some top advice from the Manchester bands who are leading the way…
This week, we chat with Jo Rose.
Favourite Manchester bands:
Gabriel Minnikin, Gladeyes, Liam Frost, Cherry Ghost, Petty Thief, Kathryn Edwards, Ten Bears
Have you found the Manchester music scene supportive?
I read an NME blog a while ago that said the Manchester music scene had lost its 'togetherness and spirit', and that the days of it being a city rife with creative talent, intimately networked, are over. From what I could gather, it caused a bit of a stir - I think the blog was well intended and not malicious but I've got to disagree. Manchester's a great place to be a musician. The community of people who contribute to the scene is so closely interlinked and you're never more than a few degrees of separation from anyone.
I've found that, especially with this project, the response I've had from people has been so open and warm, and I've been surprised to have earned fans in the people I really admire and have always thought were awesome, even when I first appeared on the scene when I was about fifteen or sixteen - most of the breaks I've had so far have been a product of that vibe.
What’s your top tip for bands trying to make in this city and beyond?
I can't really say that I've 'made it', so I don't really feel qualified to give advice, but the best thing I think you can say to anyone who's starting out is to focus on doing the work you need to do to make your thing as good and as complete as it can be.
The Manchester scene especially is responsive to anyone who has a real sense of believing in what they do and you'll find that word of mouth spreads pretty quickly if you do something that inspires people or leaves an impression. That being said, there's a lot of incredible stuff out there that just doesn't get noticed at all, so it’s hard to say. There's no hard or fast rules; you need a lot of perseverance, I think.
What’s next for you?
I really want to get my band together! I've been playing a lot of acoustic shows lately, and its great, but I miss playing with a band and being able to rock out some and create something that's a product of the input of a few people with different influences and different ways of thinking about music.
I have some really great guys involved who are so creatively minded and fun to play with. I really want to get some proper recordings done, as all I've got so far are demos that I've done in my flat.
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