Shorty

“A big band destined for big things. Think a much heavier Brand New Heavies if you will, but with hip-hop sensibilities firmly to the fore.

Live is where they thrive, so when the offer comes make sure you grab a little slice of the good life.” - Infamous Ink Ltd

With their differing, but equally dextrous styles Roots Manuva and Dizzee Rascal are luminously spearheading UK hip-hop at the moment. However, if there’s any justice, London septet Shorty will be joining them on their sonic crusade. Skilful, vivacious and downright funky, Shorty have clearly been shaped by such greats as Jurassic 5, N.E.R.D, and even Sly and the Family Stone. And crucially on top of all this, they’re damn good fun and have the potential to breathe even more life into the already budding UK scene.
Now signed to Gravy records, the collective have been busying themselves at the start of the year recording an album. Listening to their music is incredibly affirming, and is guaranteed to be equally uplifting when you see them live.

http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=4833 - gigwise.com

… the frankly inspirational live hip hop band Shorty… both musically gifted and witty, they managed to take a crowd who didn't have a clue who they were and turn them into a singing and jumping audience all of their own.
M8 Magazine - M8

“The crowd at SHORTY’s monthly night at London’s famous Half Moon witnessed another sell out performance! Reunited after last month’s absence of MC Ducane, the 7 Heads were back to hustle in the weekend like only they can.“Turn it Up” started the head nodding, “Live it Up” brought the house down and the ever so cheeky “Chicken Wings” left the crowd licking their lips for more of the same!”

“The UK's finest live hip-hop outfit”

The Half Moon, London - Half Moon

This seven-headed live funk army will have you dancing like a loon as they blend a sound that echoes the Gap Band, Jurassic 5, The Roots and Led Zeppelin. Sign up to the website for an awesome new mixtape.
/www.shortyonline.co.uk/


SHORTY INTERVIEW

Shorty are currently defining UK hip hop, with their unique and experimental blend of funk and rock with an occasional dip into American jazz and soul.
They are made up of seven members, with Celeste on lead vocals, Cisco (MC), Ducane (MC/vocals), Jim Reynolds (guitar), Dan French (bass), Hudge (DJ) and
Charlie Taylor (drums). The band are already well-known in certain circles,
winning the Diesel-U-Music hip hop award, making appearances on MTV and an international advertising campaign for Pepsi. They have spent the past few years working with some of the UK’s best hip hop producers and touring around Europe supporting the likes of Roots Manuva, although they have sold
out a crowd by themselves in London. Their totally unique yet iconic British sound never fails to win over a crowd and they have now become renowned for their live performances. They have recently signed to Gravy Records, which led them to billings at a whole host of the summer’s festivals.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY DAN AND CISCO.

PLACE OF BIRTH
Shorty – Leeds,
Cisco – London
Dan- London

DATE OF BIRTH
C The band was born in 2001


What do you do to chill out after a hectic night performing?

C - Straight after gigs we tend to hit the bar, drink and talk to people.
It sounds quite narcissistic but face-to face you can really tell what
people think even if they tell you you’re great!

What is your biggest achievement so far?

C - Apart from not killing each other I’d say this year has been great for us.We’ve started to get the Shorty name out there and receive more acclaim for what we’re doing. Playing 02 Wireless and Ashton Court were mind-blowing.
We’ve always seen ourselves as a live act more than anything else, so getting to do what we do best at this level just felt right... if not a little nerve-wracking.

Who are your musical heroes?

D - Originals and Innovators. Artists with longevity who stick to their guns, take their own route and who aren’t distracted by fads and trends.
C - I’ve always been influenced by Jimi Hendrix and early hip hop and rock acts. I remember stealing my brother’s cassette copy of an early KRS 1 album and thinking, “man, I wanna do this!” I like people that take risks musically and lyrically and that won’t conform just to fit in.
What are your plans for the future?

C - I think the vibe at Shorty Central is one of expansion. We’ve got our foot in the door now and it’s definitely time to kick it open and let people know we’re here. We know we can hold our own in the festival scene so we want to push that more and start doing bigger and better ones. We live for that stuff!
On top of all that, we’re writing new material, gigging more, and recording
the second single and the album.

Are there any artists you would like to work with?
C - There are loads but right now I think it’s important we concentrate
on getting our sound out there as us. I’m not saying we’re not interested in guest spots and collaborations but with seven of us throwing ideas in already it’s tough enough.
D - For me, there’s loads. Stevie Wonder being one but he’s got
some explaining to do after that Blue business!

What is your recipe for success?
C - All of us fighting like dogs until we finally agree on something special. I don’t think we’ve really mastered our recipe yet, but we’re definitely on the right track.

What makes you happy?

C - Jack Daniels and home cooking. Honestly though, I’ve yet to experience anything that can meet the buzz of playing live music with the others to a large crowd. There’s something crazy about it.

What makes you angry?
C - Spam email, loyalty cards, adverts in papers for literacy classes,
things like that drive me mad.

What was the last CD/record you bought?
C - The last lot I bought were Amp Fiddler, The Kooks, and Rage’s
first album that somebody stole off me.

If not a DJ/producer/artist then what?
D - Drawing, designing, inventing and being creative - a gardener?
C – I would be a depressed, bored, and grumpy old man, with six similarly depressed friends who all meet up at least twice a week and dream of what could have been.

___________________________
SHORTYS DEBUT SINGLE ‘I TRY’ IS AVAILABLE NOW. CATCH THE BAND AS THEY TOUR THE UK THIS AUTUMN. TOUR
DATES AND A FREE MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD (PRODUCED BY BABY J) CAN BE FOUND AT SHORTYONLINE.CO.UK AND
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SHORTYONLINE. - planetnotion.com

Shorty Got It Goin On

Shorty is already a well established name to those in the know on the UK live scene. Winners of the Diesel-U-Music Hip Hop Award 2002 and London winners of the liveanduncut music awards, Shorty have already appeared on MTV and MTV Base, BBC, ITV, Sky and in an international advertising campaign with Pepsi Cola. UKMusic.com catch up with Shorty band members Jim and Andy and get the low down...

How old are you? 
Andy: Old enough to know better

Where do you live? 
Jim: London
Andy: West London

Where do you come from? 
Jim: Newbury
Andy: West London

Tell us what you do for a living?
Jim: Play guitar/co-write songs for Shorty
Andy: I’m the Emcee in Shorty

Can you describe what that involves?
Jim: Co-writing, playing guitar and performing with Shorty
Andy: We write loads of songs to keep kids of the streets, gets their older brothers and sisters dancing and reminds their parents that not all new music is crap.

What do you enjoy about your job?
Jim: Playing live, creating great music that I love to play and let others hear
Andy: It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and it’s great to do with friends… sometimes. Live shows are the best though. It’s always good to see what reaction you get from people! You meet some freaks on the road too so that’s always entertaining.

Is there anything you do not enjoy?
Jim: About being in this band? Absolutely nothing, apart from getting back to the studio at 4 in the morning after a gig and having to unload all the gear.
Andy: Its hard work and it does take over your life after a while. We put in crazy hours sometimes. Late nights then early mornings and seeing the same faces all the time can get weary. I need prettier band mates!

Can you describe what a day in your job might be? 
Jim: Depends on whether we’re recording, writing or playing a gig. Usually we spend quite a bit of time in the studio working on new stuff and practicing our songs. We’ll be there for at least 5 hours working on material and sometimes we’ll be in there all day and night. It’s hard work writing your own material and you need to be dedicated to pushing yourself to make it work for the band, but when it does it’s a great feeling and everyone vibes off that.
Andy: At the moment we are split between the studio where we’re working on our album, and out on the road playing round the country. So far this month we’ve hit London, Brighton, Southampton and Oxford twice and its only the 10th and we’re not even on tour!

What hours do you work? 
Jim: We tend to be creatures of the night, all gigs are normally after 10 or 11pm and studio time tends to be from late afternoon to whenever. Proper recording is different, it’ll be all day and usually all night as well.
Andy: Shorty’s a fulltime job. I can’t turn it off. I listen to music now and I’m always thinking about what bits I like and don’t like or if I can take tips for something we’re working on at the minute. If we’re not gigging, we’re recording or we’re writing or we’re fighting about what we’re writing…

How long have you been working in this area?
Jim: I’ve been playing guitar for 15 years and been part of Shorty for 5 or so. A few of us started doing music together a little while before that.
Andy: I started writing songs in school so I should be better at it by now. Shorty have been knocking around for a while now as friends but over the last few years we’re started taking it a bit more seriously.

Can you tell us how you got to where you are? 
Jim: Through a lot of hard work and never giving up. Also a strong belief that we are good and people deserve to make their minds up by hearing what we do
Andy: Just keeping at it. You get a lot of “overnight” successes but they’re pretty rare and normally short-lived. We’ve done it the hard way by taking time out to get to know ourselves better. We’ve worked the gig scene making a name for ourselves there before trying to break the big-time.

Have you’ve learnt any new skills whilst doing this job?
Jim: I guess my playing has improved and writing sometimes seems easier, learning how to perform was very hard, but I think it’s getting there now
Andy: How to survive on 4 hours sleep.

Did you come across any problems getting this job?   If yes, please tell us what problems you came across and if you sorted them out…
Jim: It was a meeting of like minds with different musical tastes and it just worked, so no problems really
Andy: I think the biggest difficulty for us was and probably still is the fact that people don’t know where to class us. The industry as a business is made up of little pockets and we just don’t fit into any of them. We’re not strictly rock, hip-hop or funk so people spend forever trying to force us a circle into a square box. Have we sorted it out? Not really we’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing and hope the rest of the world catches up. If not I reckon I’d be pretty good in Starbucks.

Looking back, would you choose the same job again? 
Jim: Definitely
Andy: Without a doubt. I think I would’ve pushed harder a lot earlier but hindsight is good thing. We know the industry a bit better now but if knew then what we know now we’d be laughing!

Thinking about your personal experience, what advice would you give to someone hoping to follow a similar career path?
Jim: Go for it, if you think you can offer something or make people stand up and listen to what you have to say then do it.
Andy: Just be yourself and don’t let what everyone else is doing effect your own stuff. It would’ve been easier to go off and make the music of the current trend but we’d have hated it and probably ended up killing each other… although we still might anyway! The music industry is great. It’s hard and really competitive but if you surround yourself with the right people it can be really rewarding. I’m having a great time.

Do you have an aspiration/ goal for your future career?
Jim: To still be doing what I love and that’s making music, even if it’s playing blues  in my local pub. I’d still get a buzz out of doing that.

If yes, how will you try and get there? 
Jim: I’m already there in some ways, in a band making music


For more information and a free Shorty mixtape visit www.shortyonline.co.uk

Words By: Juliet Maingay-Cooper

02-06-06


- www.ukmusic.com

Now...the headline act! Shorty. I had listened to their demo tracks on their MySpace page, and was mightily impressed! I was extremely curious to see how this 7-piece band would deliver these pumping tracks live. I had been reliably informed a couple of days previously that word of mouth had it that they were as good if not better than their demos.

The four instrumental musicians took to the stage and began to set the groove. Joined by the three vocalists/rappers, they delivered a huge vocal thunderstorm over the top of "Back in Black" by AC/DC. The bar had well and truly been raised! Their sound and vibe is akin to a fusion of Public Enemy and Arrested Development, with a rather funky edge. Now the crowd were hooked!

Shorty are clearly well rehearsed and delivered a tight performance in both their music and stage presence that shone out. Whipping the crowd into a sweaty dance orgy, they worked their way through their set, delivering tight grooves.

Shorty's petite female vocalist thanked the crowd for their rapturous applause, and admitted that they weren't sure how their set would be received, considering there were barely any punters through the door for Screwball Cabaret this time round. However, those that had turned out were evidently glad they did.

Completing their set, the audience were rather vocal about the fact they wanted more, and the band obliged, taking to the stage for an encore. With drums, bass, guitar, a Scratch DJ, three vocals...Shorty are by far the best band I have had the pleasure of seeing this year. If they're in town again I'll certainly be there to see them!

Editor's note: Charley missed a performance by The Palestinians and an opening set from Three Litre.

Review by Charley Murray
Copyright Josaka
20 August 2006

http://www.josaka.com/Reviews/2006/Screwball-Cabaret-170806.htm - Josaka.com

The night is saved by seven-piece headliners Shorty.

Mixing heavy rock, funk, soul and rap, they're a British version of Holland's Urban Dance Squad, with a kick-ass scratch DJ. They send the few stragglers left, and myself, into a frenzy. In fact, Shorty are one of the best bands I've heard live all year.

The singers/rappers/MCers, (two male, one sassy female) engage in Jurassic 5-style tag-team delivery and play off each other like mime-artists in a light-hearted musical. Meanwhile we all crunch down and stomp to the thick beats and colossal riffs.

I've never seen a band enjoy themselves and smile so much. And it's infectious. Catch them live and leave uplifted.

Linda Serck

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2006/08/18/shorty_review_feature.shtml - BBC

Shorty's hip-hop sound was sledgehammer tight, deftly mixing the right ingredients to reach back through Grandmaster Flash to Sly Stone's rockier era.

Venue magazine - Venue

Hip Hop’s next big thing Shorty play the Joiners in Southampton tomorrow night,8pm.
Dubbed “ a big band destined for big things” by Hip Hop Connection, Shorty have recently signed to new Indie label Gravy Records.

A seven piece from London featuring drums,bass and guitar augmented by two MCs, a DJ and Celeste on vocals, Shorty have been together for four years and honed their live act into one of the finest in the UK. Anyone who saw their last incendiary performance at the Joiners will know that this show is not to be missed!


- thisishampshire.net