Best of the Mezz Preview – June 30th 2009.
Another quarter ends with a fantastic array of artists performing for more than 3 hours on the main stage at the Leatherhead Theatre, having played their auditions in the Mezz Bar Open Mic nights. The overall quality is so high that just about every artist that had appeared this quarter was worthy of a main stage slot. Unfortunately with time and cost limits the list was whittled down to four main stage artists and one who will play before the show and during the intervals in the bar. £5 entry (£4 adv www.mezzbar.com). Don't miss it!

TED HUMPHREY

Something of a local legend at Open Mic nights throughout the South-East, Ted graced the Mezz with his presence in April  and added yet more fans to his following. He is a quiet soulful man who has a voice that defies description. When Ted performs he enters his own world and takes everyone in the room with him. No frills, no spills – just a beautiful and naturally delivery. Don’t miss him unless Marvin Gaye comes back to life and does a gig at the same time!

GILES JORDAN

Giles is an 18 year old singer-songwriter from Mickelham. He is a member of the bar and theatre staff and is going to Loughborough university in October.  Although he performs some covers the majority of his music is self penned and he regularly turns up at Open Mic nights and tests out the latest song he wrote over breakfast. An accomplished pianist and singer, not daunted by the main stage he intends to make his public guitar debut as well! Giles influences are Damien Rice, James Morrison, Elton John and The Beatles. He thrives in the spotlight and I am sure he will achieve great things in the future whether in music or academically.

JULIA K

So perfectly does Julia K embody the 'good ole fashioned Spirit of Rock' that it's widely believed she must have been carved from purest Warsaw granite sometime in the late Cretaceous period (well, sometime in the late 1970's anyway). In fact, if she ever had to go under the knife, God forbid, we think that the surgeon would find the chords to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" tattooed throughout her gizzards like that other form of rock so popular in British culture. And you thought they didn't made 'em like this any more...

Of Polish heritage , but hailing from the UK's home counties, you can almost hear her musical upbringing of London's 90's alternative club scene playing itself out. Listening to the debut album, 'Spit out the pips' there are layers of Blondie, Chrissie Hynde and P J Harvey mixed with the piano ballads of Kate Bush and the balls-out rock of Soundgarden. (As a classical pianist from the age of 5, those keys were always going to have a part to play, even amid all the riff-driven, distorted guitars.)

From the very first track you'll be *PICKED UP* and *SHAKEN* by the lapels, then *PINNED* to your chair by some mad invisible force (probably that of Julia's personality) and NOT ALLOWED TO MOVE UNTIL THE WHOLE ALBUM HAS FINISHED. What, need to go to the toilet? SHOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THAT PRIOR TO PUTTING THE CD ON SHOULDN'T YOU? You'll just have to go where you sit! And as for her live performances...
Not afraid to speak plainly, the track 'Monster' opens with the lyric; "I'm not your whore... I'm not your mother..." But it's not all thrash and anger though. The ballads are tender and moving, showing us that she might just be human after all. Unless of course it's all an act and she really is some sort of granite-based creature...

THE CRITICAL

The Critical are a unit of idealistic pioneers raised during the influential 80’s & 90’s, and are the result of pop culture, terrestrial television and various sci-fi cult movies. Their aim is to create a sound that encompasses everything they have experienced and encountered during their diverse, but strangely parallel lives; lyrically exposed stories of social politics, societies taboos and human nature, combined with powerful vocals, exuberant guitars, driving bass lines and heart pounding, adrenaline-fuelled drum beats make up The Critical’s unique repertoire. The band started by winning an unsigned competition to become Mercury FM’s Official Breakfast Show Band after gaining thousands of votes from local listeners. They went on to appear on various radio shows in and around the South East of England, as well as regularly featuring in local press with requests for full-page interviews. The Critical thrive on live performances and have played in many salubrious locations and venues all over the South East from London to Brighton as well as recent gigs in Coventry and Southend They have been building an army of fans that show loyalty and commitment to the band. Apart from being chosen to perform as part of the build up to the BT Digital Music Awards and winning competitions on local radio, The Critical have now stepped up their game by securing financing to record their debut album through www.slicethepie.com, a new music website phenomenon. Their music was given a top rating out of over 1,000 bands internationally. The Critical are currently in the studio with up-and-coming producer Guy Katsav and expect their debut album and first single ‘Reasons’ to be ready for release in May 2009.

SARAH JANE WESTON (on the Mezz)

Sarah attended the very first open mic night held at the Mezz Bar. She crept in, hid near the bar, bravely volunteered to do two songs and then disappeared out the door like a scalded cat. She did not need worry, a lasting impression was made on those of us lucky enough to be there and she can now be considered part of the furniture! She recently played for one week on the bar during the Leatherhead Drama Festival, held a Jazz night where ABBA and JAZZ collided to become JABBAZ supported by her very accomplished trio and has regularly brought an eclectic mix of friends and colleagues to impromptu jam sessions. Here’s what she says about herself:
When you wish upon a star and can’t choose between the man of your dreams and a career of dreams, when you know your instinct was thoroughly outweighed by desire you might find yourself in the position of having to write an ‘About Me’.

I am a jazz vocalist and despite the best efforts of a very supportive vocal tutor to get me to ‘un blue’ my version of Mozart I had decided that I was and could be nothing other than a singer – a jazz n blues singer.

I was very lucky to have had training so early on, my parents having been pulled aside by the school music teacher who pleaded with them to get me singing lessons. Moving swiftly on from my later attempts to please my parents by not going into the daunting and uncertain world of music…

I took lessons from Ian Shaw, a top British vocalist with an ear for art and educational politics and later went to Trinity College of Music where I met and studied under many more fab artists such as Trudi Kerr, Anita Wardell, Tina May, Anton Brown and Victoria Newton…if you know jazz then you know these lot are really at the top.

After college and the money running out I tried to run out but the music drew me back and is a part of me I can’t live without. Slowly, slowly I took myself to more and more open mic nights, which led to gigs, bands, people asking me if when would I teach…such a lot of support from local music venues such as The Star and The Thorndike Theatre and the next part of it will become history.

If you have never visited the theatre but love real, live music then June 30th should be tattooed on your forehead. If it was £25 a ticket for five great artists it would be a bargain, at £5 it is pretty much a give away. And who knows will you be saying I saw that artist at the Leatherhead Theatre a few years ago?

IF YOU GO OUT TO SOMETHING NEW IN JUNE – MAKE IT JUNE 30TH – YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.