Steve Rudd page 1.

Steve Rudd has been writing for thisisUll.com for some time and has proved himself to be one of our most talented writers. Steve's contributions are listed below.. No Sections:  9   No Items:  319 Album Reviews,Fiction,Going Down,Music Reviews,People,Reviews,Places to Visit,Articles

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Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part 23: A Cashflow Crisis By Steve Rudd
	Twelve ATMs down, and not all that many to go. It was fair to say that I was in a quandary, with no cash to my name other than a few dollar notes I had left over from my recent trip to the US. It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd had a clutch of British pounds, or a sizeable wad of notes in any currency for that matter; a staggering number of currency exchange offices line both sides of Khao San Road in Bangkok, Read more...

Music Reviews - Jesse Malin at Fibbers, York Thursday 24th June 2010 By Steve Rudd
	Two years since he last visited the grand old city of York, New Yorker Jesse launched into his set with reckless abandon, hitting out with a volley of brand new material, before harking back to the olden days with tunes such as Queen of The Underworld (lifted from his debut release, The Fine Art of Self-Destruction) and Black Haired Girl (one of the finest cuts on his sensational Glitter in The Gutter LP). Backed by The St. Mark's Social, Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part 22: Trios Amigos! By Steve Rudd
	OK. So what do you get if you cross a well-to-do Frenchman, a freethinking Englishman, and a mad-as-hell Spaniard? Adventure by default. I was in Sukhothai, Thailand, all psyched up to savour the unassailable beauty of one of the most dazzling jewels in the country's crown. Long before Ayuttaya and Bangkok succeeded the city as Thailand's capital, Sukhothai flourished as the naval of the nation. Read more...

Poetry - To Conrad's Horror By Steve Rudd

	The ocean is so blue as to be meaningful. It's only in the dead of night, right at the end of the pier where dreams can be analysed and swept aside into the dark, cold grave from which they first came. Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part 21: The One Hundred Baht Experience By Steve Rudd
	I was searching for 'The London Hotel', having had the place recommended to me by a friend. Paying close attention to the road signs, I was definitely heading in the right direction as I made tracks away from Phitsanulok's train station. Confusingly though, the hotel that I presumed to be 'The London' had no exterior hoarding in English proclaiming it to be the place I desired. Its sign was in Thai script, and thus beyond my comprehension. Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Twenty: Stray Dogs and Cheeky Monkeys By Steve Rudd
	I'd barely made myself at home in Lopburi, and I was already on the verge of being chased out of town. From the off, as I ambled out of the train station after catching an early morning train north from Bangkok, the town's myriad stray dogs were on my tail, as though they genuinely resented backpackers snooping around their patch. Making more haste than usual to find Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Nineteen: Going West for Eastern Inspiration By Steve Rudd
	'Tuk-Tuk!' came the shout across the concourse. In the same beat I was offered a taxi, before a middle-aged lady rushed up offering me a cut-price massage. And this was all out front of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, into which I'd just flown from LA. My writing work in the US finished, I had decided to head over to Southeast Asia in order to attend the wedding of a couple of friends who I'd first met on my first visit to Read more...

Album Reviews - The James Warner Prophecies - Fell Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	I vehemently stand by my claim. The James Warner Prophecies are one of the finest bands in the UK. And that's why I remain so confused, because if you ask the average person on the street, they have never heard of the band, let alone their life enhancing music. If I can help change that, I shall ... beginning now. I've said it before and I'll definitely say it again: this quartet is something Read more...

People - An Interview with Interior Designer Amanda Larson By Steve Rudd
	Currently residing in Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix in Arizona, Amanda is a hard-working and highly-respected interior designer who has been actively involved in the industry for an illustrious decade. Eager to channel her overactive imagination, Amanda seemed destined to be involved with art and design in the wake of graduating, and she openly admits that she feels most at home wherever she is able to 'create or express a vision'. Read more...

People - An Interview with Neil Bailey of Local Band Pastel Jack By Steve Rudd
	Pastel Jack are a hard-living, fast-rising Metal band from Yorkshire in England. Loudly and proudly rising from the ashes of other bands, the PJ boys have been setting the music scene ablaze with their passionate vocals and streamlined melodies. Here, in an exclusive interview with Steve Rudd, PJ ringleader Neil Bailey chats about the band's Metal Read more...

Music News - Embrace Music, or Lose It! By Steve Rudd A New Year's Guide to What's Musically Hot in Hull...
	As we gallantly breeze into 2010, the music scene in Hull and surrounding area remains as vibrant and as exciting as ever, with a multitude of fantastic venues continuing to play host to new and established bands from all conceivable genres. It's hard to know where to start, but The Adelphi on De Grey Street is always a good place, where the likes of The Holy Orders Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Eighteen: A Mile Of Miracles, And Then Some By Steve Rudd
	Taking the bus was too easy, despite the fact that my film making pal Dave Kebo had dropped me off at the Shell gas station at the Wilshire and Vermont intersection in Koreatown which was conveniently situated right beside a bus-stop. Looking due west along Wilshire Boulevard, my feet felt the twitch before my heart. A bus bound for Santa Monica had just pulled up, and for the meagre fee of a buck and a quarter ($1.25) Read more...

Music Reviews - Monday 4th January 2010 - Antiproduct, Psychobabylon and Chris Catalyst at Fibbers, York By Steve Rudd
	Boldly deciding to stage a gig on what is purported to be the worst day of any given year to put on live music full-stop, Mister Martyn of Screaming Tarts fame thankfully managed to book cult-rockers Antiproduct for a date on their scandalously short but undeniably thrilling tour of the UK. With Paul Miro unable to perform due to illness, the stage times of the acts were redrafted, allowing The Eureka Machines front man Chris May (AKA Chris Catalyst) to extend his solo acoustic set accordingly. Read more...

Music Reviews - The Yards at York Duchess, Saturday 28th November 2009 By Steve Rudd
	Appropriately dubbed The Last High by the band, this gig in York sadly constituted the final-ever gig to be performed by The Yards. However, it wasn't a sad affair in the least. To the contrary, it provided scant excuse to mourn the band's passing, instead being the perfect opportunity to celebrate all that the York-based outfit achieved in seven years of writing, recording and playing as a unit. Read more...

People - An Interview with Eric Weiner By Steve Rudd
	Earlier this year, writer Eric Weiner had a book published about his quest to hunt down the happiest places on earth. Steve Rudd caught up with him to ask him about it ... Hi Eric, how are things? Things are good. Or at least as good as can be expected for a self-confessed 'grump'. You are the author of a book called The Geography of Bliss in which you aim to find the happiest and unhappiest nations in the world. What first motivated you to write a book concerned with happiness? Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Sixteen: When in Venice ... By Steve Rudd
	No visit to LA is complete without a saunter along Venice Beach, south of Santa Monica. The actual beach is beautiful, yet it is the mad parade of stalls and performers which are set back from the beach on Ocean Front Walk that are the real attraction to this part of the city. It's like the sixties never ended, a slew of tarot card readers, tattoo artists, dubiously talented musicians and all manner of folk on the scrounge for marijuana making Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Fifteen: A Run-In With Gordon Ramsay By Steve Rudd
	Having touched back down in LA on what had been a sensationally overcast day, I was glad to see the sun the following morning as I ventured out into Santa Monica, aspiring to hit the beach. I was back in the city to catch up with a friend and to do some writing, but I still intended to make some time to see exactly why people get so excited about the smattering of beaches gracing The Pacific Coast at LA. It's certainly easy to understand why Read more...

People - An Interview with Jonny Bealby By Steve Rudd
	A true traveller's traveller, Jonny Bealby has intimately explored a staggering number of exotic countries. Thankfully, when he decided to undertake a daring circumnavigation of Africa by motorbike, Jonny made sure he wrote all about the many and varied trials and tribulations encountered 'on the road.' The resultant book was entitled Running With The Moon, and it became a roaring success. Bolstered by the public's reaction to his way with words, Jonny went on to write Read more...

People - An Interview with Danny of Velvet Star By Steve Rudd
	Aspiring to bring good old fashioned rock 'n' roll music back to the masses, Yorkshire based boys Velvet Star have triumphantly made a name for themselves in Glam/Punk inspired style during 2009. In the wake of their Dirty Girl single release, the band is primed to set the music industry ablaze with their vitriolic tunes. Having played well received shows all over the West Riding, Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Seventeen: On Foot Across LA By Steve Rudd
	I don't like not knowing what's out there. I prefer to be informed rather than ignorant. I hate living in the knowledge that there are sections of certain towns and cities in the world that I know next-to-nothing about. That's why, given the chance, I always walk whenever and wherever I can. I walk and I walk and I walk until my feet begin to announce their grievances. Read more...

People - An Interview with Luke Keegan By Steve Rudd
	Passionate singer-songwriters like Luke Keegan are few and far between. Blessed with a soulful voice and a mesmerising guitar-playing technique, Luke is currently living in the seaside resort of Scarborough where he is making a name for himself in local music circles, having recently played a number of high-profile sets, one of which was at The Victoria Hotel in support of Edwina Hayes. Read more...

EP Reviews - The Sugars - Gossip By Steve Rudd
	They might be called The Sugars, but not everything about this band is sweet, for their confrontational rock n roll sound is dark and deadly in equal measure, as exhilarating elements of Blues and Soul creep into their arrangements to make their music all the more interesting and engaging. Released through Bad Sneakers Record, Gossip is a sensational tune, anchored by Alex Lewis's irresistible beat, a funk-tastic bass-line, and genuinely cool Read more...

Single Reviews - Plough and Orion by Skinny Lister Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Scheduled for release on August 24, this single from London-based outfit Skinny Lister is a simply divine song which deserves as much radio-play as it can muster. Anchored by an irresistible melody and a soothing vocal performance, it coolly tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers, detailing the intolerable cruelty of being away from somebody that you truly adore. A mid-paced gem of a tune, this is Alternative Indie-Pop as it's meant to be, with Read more...

Single Reviews - Hey Negrita - You Can Kick Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	London-based boys Hey Negrita have been rightfully turning heads with their succulent blend of Blues, Rock and Americana since 2002, and this, their third studio album, helps to further cement their reputation as a highly original band par excellence. Right from the opening strains of Room Service through to the final chord progression of The Last Thing That I Do, the listener can't fail to be entranced by each and every track on this 12-song-strong wonder. Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Fourteen: St. Patrick's Day With A Difference By Steve Rudd
	In the wake of an exhilarating hike into Runyon Canyon, one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets, I was all buoyed-up to sample a prime slice of LA nightlife. It was St. Patrick's Day, and I was keen to see how Americans celebrate it. Rest assured, I wasn't disappointed. They celebrate the day with just as much gusto as stout-addled folk back in Ireland. Opting to head downtown in order to appreciate the wide variety of bars in the district, I was accompanied by Dave Kebo, a movie-making friend who I'd first met in Istanbul back in November 2008. Read more...

People - Interview with Emma Rugg By Steve Rudd
	York-born Emma Rugg is certainly no stranger to the Hull music scene. A self-taught guitarist, pianist and singer, she initially honed her natural talents by busking on the streets of Hull. At around the same time she began to visit the Musicians Nights at The Adelphi on a regular basis, unconsciously nurturing her hugely supportive fan base as she sung and played her heart out. Financed by her busking, she released her debut album in 2003 through her own Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Thirteen: The Green Side of Hollywood By Steve Rudd
	Keen to see a side of LA that the majority of visitors to the city never get to appreciate, I couldn't have been more pleased when my friend Dave Kebo, a movie-maker who was raised in LA and knows much of it like the back of his hand, offered to show me around. It was St. Patrick's Day, and our first port of call was a cafe in the Silver Lake district, east of Hollywood. Neither of us had so far indulged in breakfast, so we ordered up and sat back, sitting out on the busy sidewalk in order to increase our chances of spotting a celeb. Read more...

Reviews, Films - Emma Rugg's Directions Tour By Steve Rudd
	It's fair to say that it has been relatively quiet on the Emma Rugg front over the past couple of years. I, for one, thought she'd relocated to the United States in the wake of the Directions Tour she undertook there with Henry Doss in 2007. Having first made contact through the BBC radio show Raw Talent in 2003, Emma had visited Henry in the states on a couple of occasions prior to heading over to hit the Read more...