The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 21st July 2010

Coca Jem is a unique vocalist and lyricist, based in London and Kent Coca has collaborated with several other musicians including renowned guitarist Andy Vickery to create a vibrant contemporary blues/rock style. Her most recent collaboration is with Laurence Hobbs, songwriter, producer and co-founder of Major Music, who has worked with 100's of artists. Together they have created a refreshingly new tribal pop sound with Coca’s soulful voice providing a distinct 80’s feel. CocaJem performs locally and in London with Andy Vickery and Max Pepe from ‘Intraverse’ and has recently been joined by Jack Greenwood from ‘The Pretty Things’ on percussion.

The Naming Of Things formed towards the end of last year and is comprised of Andrew Lennox (vocals/guitar), James Carrigan (bass guitar) and Andrew Morley (drums/percussion). All three are experienced musicians and have previously performed in numerous local bands over the years.

The Naming Of Things offer a distinct alternative acoustic sound, with crafted melodies and edgy, thought provoking lyrics. Their influences stem from a varied array of artists and genres such as; Tom Waits, The Cure, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. In the relatively since they formed, the band have already made their mark on the local music scene by performing regularly at The Forum and The Sussex Arms and securing airplay on BBC Radio Kent with their song ‘Jennifer Said’.

Caroline Tew is a 17 year old singer/songwriter from Tunbridge Wells. Her songs are expressed through her distinct, enchanting voice and engaging piano & guitar. Caroline started writing when she was just 12 and began performing her own songs in concerts from the age of 15. Lyrically, Caroline tends to write from personal experience and believes in writing both openly and honestly to enable the feelings and emotions contained within her songwriting to be expressed fully. Caroline says "If a situation really means something to me then I want to write about it because when something is set to music it means more to people, and it affects them more. The people who inspire me are other singer/songwriters, especially because they write incredible music that really affects me when I hear it. I too want to be able to write music that people can identify with. I think that music is one of the most powerful things in the world because you can make people feel so much, even in such a short time, and that has always amazed me."

Gavin says: "Like ringing out a dry sponge! I knew I'd get it into something I'd written. I've been very lucky of late to be in the company of Chris Difford of Squeeze writing songs with fellow sponges in Italy, interestingly we were forced to stay for another week because of the volcano.

Tragic but some real gems came out in that second week which you'll soon be able to hear on myspace.com/gavinalex.

I've won songwriting competitions in the past and had one of my songs recorded by the new Flying Pickets (Blossom on Big Mouth). I studied in Newcastle College for a while under James Birkett/Geoff Tooley but it's my love of songs that fulfils me & so I've spent the last few years in the pursuit of that goal. I write and perform on acoustic guitar & sing all my own songs. I am currently collaborating with some notable fellow songsmiths & hope you enjoy taking the time to listen to my songs as much as i did writing them for all to hear."