Covers - Many Covers

I have done MANY covers. Mainly for Playmusic Pickup, whom I've been Deputy Editor of since early 2007 or so. I've also done two Artrocker covers, when I could squeeze them in, the best of which is here. I'd like to do more covers, they are fun, but as print magazines get squeezed out of the picture, I doubt this will happen. Boo. Here's some I will cherish forever below. YAY!



Using Nelson as the catalyst, this piece broadly introduces the mass of exciting music Paris produces, while bemoaning the lack of real fire that was there only a few years before. An interesting piece and an exciting, intelligent band to lead it. Plus free day trip to Paris - hurrah!




Slipknot are far more open than I realised.



A long overdue cover - possibly their first anywhere. That they still haven't been cover stars anywhere else seems ludicrous to me.



A band that should grace every rock magazine's cover every time they release something or tour. Mastodon give good interview.



My life's work seemed complete when I was able to put Sonic Youth on the cover of a magazine. They don't need the exposure, but there are still people out there who NEED to know about them, so that's what I did. Slightly altered from the printed cover due to sub-editing disaster.




An underrated band whom Fleet Foxes owe a great deal to in my opinion.



Scottish legends mature but remain as brilliant as ever.



Think we put Gallows on the cover of PLaymusic Magazine before anyone else - Kerrang! may have pipped us at the post back in 2007. Anyway, here's their long overdue return. They look good don't they?



TV On The Radio are an exceptional band, and were challenging interviewees, which I enjoyed for a change.


FFAF are always a great laugh, very down to Earth and still worthy of covers all over the place, certainly more than those who ripped them off entirely.

Cut Copy - Notion Magazine

Before the release of In Ghost Colours, I spoke to Cut Copy about the usual stuff. It went in Notion Magazine. Funtimes.

New Orleans - Notion Issue 30

Having been dealt a blow by being rendered unemployed by Playmusic Magazine, I was buoyed by the suggestion of being able to have an all expenses paid trip to New Orleans for Notion magazine in June of 2007. The brief was simply to cover the New Orleans soul festival at Audubon Zoo.
It turned into a much broader piece, which could've filled 10 pages. As it was I only had two. Enjoy.

Popular Workshop - Artrocker New Blood Piece February 2008

One of my favourite ever interviews - and easily one of the most intoxicated (in fact it's possibly the only one - how rock and roll of me?!). Popular Workshop really let rip and there were several quotes which just couldn't be put in. Maybe a Director's Cut is in order? Anyhow, it's the passion and anger that's at work here which made their manager proclaim it to be "The best interview I've ever read". She would say that though. I think she's right regardless.
PS: One of the band was scared shitless of this running, but I'll leave it to you to figure out which one.

Danananaykroyd New Band Piece - Playmusic June 2007

A short lived new bands section that I insisted needed to happen as we were covering unsigned bands and established bands with ease, reviewing newish bands in reviews and choosing our favourite new band for Most Valuable Players; but I still felt like we were abandoning the self-releasing/independent label bands who were far off of major attention, but deserved it. You get very few I TOLD YOU SO moments in music journalism, and some of them are hollow (band's breaking up etc.) but, while there was indsustry buzz (UGH) about this Scottish six-piece, no one had really got up and said: "These guys are fucking brilliant" I wanted to be the first, and although no one read it, I'm pleased that I did. Best live band in the country, and there's a LOT of competition right now.

Coheed & Cambria Cover - Playmusic Pickup November 2007

A cover story now - possibly one of my favourites. It speaks for itself if you know the band. While they are pretty unhip and pretentious, there's a need for music like this and it's harmless fun really, while at the same time being complicated and epic. I mean a science-fiction story set across four albums (with a fifth acting as a prologue)? What were they thinking?? Well they were thinking this....

Snow Patrol - August 2006

My first band feature for Playmusic was this phone call with the guitarist of Snow Patrol about his love of Fender. There's another page with a rather dark press shot of the band, but you don't need to see that.