Velma
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Velma

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"Jellyfish Rain"

"Velma's power pop is just what the summer needed. Their sound is full of hooks, ringing guitars and sunny vocals, without a shred of preciousness or feigned irony. "Jellyfish Rain" is driven by passion and a sense of fun, its sly and inventive riffs competing with vocalist Jeanette Collard for most evocative sound.

The dual guitars of Rose Kelly and J.P. Daly weave and slice in and around one another, giving "Pacman" and "Living in Cyberspace" and the rest an edgy, larger than life feel. Epic pop that is straight on rocking and not over-layered or fey is rare. In a sort of cheeky way too, the rhythm section, lead by drummer Siobhan McKenna, keeps a solid but slightly disjointed beat. It is a jagged counterpoint to the ringing guitars and further adds to the Belfast quartet's fire.

The five tracks here all sound huge but intimate; like all great pop, Velma sound necessary and about to vanish into thin air at the same time. "Jelly Fish Rain" is the record hundreds of bands would kill to make, and thousands have failed to make.

Reviewed by Mike Wood (www.musicemissions.com) - Music Emissions


"Velma"

If you haven't yet managed to catch any of Velma's excellent live performances around the country, it's good to know that some of their music is now only a mouse click away!'

'Imagine the raw punk angst, powerful vocals and poetic lyrics of Patti Smith, mixed with the strut and swagger of PJ Harvey and add a dash of the quirkiness of early-era B52s an you've got a good idea of what Velma is like. The Belfast-based band is one of the most exciting on the local scene, and the five members aren't afraid to showcase their individuality with an 'in-yer-face-' delivery' - Guardian Weekend


"Velma"

'You can't help but like them, even if they do look like they'd 'knack yor ballix in' for stealing their pint. Lead singer Jeanette packs a powerful voice and their collective energy would put teenagers half their age to shame. Their blend of sugarpop meets New York new wave suits them - I'd definitely have them at my party!'
Charlotte Dryden, Alternative Ulster - BBC


"Velma"

Velma are one of the most exciting bands to come out of Northern Ireland since The Undertones'
Terri Hooley, winner of Fate '08 'Lifetime Achievment Award'
- Fate Magazine


"What They Say"

Velma's music has been described by The Belfast Telegraph's Andrea McVeigh as 'Fabulous, high octane rock n' roll with a unique twist'.

Patric Baird, who reviews for The Weekend Guardian and The Belfast Telegraph stated, 'If you haven't yet managed to catch any of Velma's excellent live performances around the country, it's good to know that some of their music is now only a mouse click away!'

'Imagine the raw punk angst, powerful vocals and poetic lyrics of Patti Smith, mixed with the strut and swagger of PJ Harvey and add a dash of the quirkiness of early-era B52s an you've got a good idea of what Velma is like. The Belfast-based band is one of the most exciting on the local scene, and the five members aren't afraid to showcase their individuality with an 'in-yer-face-' delivery'


Alternative Ulster's Charlotte Dryden asserted, 'You can't help but like them, even if they do look like they'd 'knack yor ballix in' for stealing their pint. Lead singer Jeanette packs a powerful voice and their collective energy would put teenagers half their age to shame. Their blend of sugarpop meets New York new wave suits them - I'd definitely have them at my party!'


Velma have also been described by local impresario, Terri Hooley (the man who single-handedly invented Norn Iron Punk!), as 'one of the most exciting bands to come out of Northern Ireland since The Undertones'. - General


Discography

Velma - a demonstration…demo ep (2005)
This is the end of history EP (2006)
Jellyfish Rain EP (2007) - released through the Audioill label
‘Do You Feel' featured on Bruised Fruit ‘Up In The Attic' Compilation CD (2007)
‘The Itching Never Stops/Suspect Device’ featured on the forthcoming Immortal Records Ireland Release ‘Oh Yeah- Time to Be Proud’ compilation to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of Good Vibrations record label.

Photos

Bio

Velma convey influences ranging from energetic alternative rock to edgy New York post-punk. Velma's full-on, rock n roll attitude and hi-octane vocal delivery have drawn comparisons with PJ Harvey and other performers of that ilk. The band's no-nonsense, 'in-yer-face' guitar sound, quirky melodies which lodge themselves firmly in your brain, dynamic rock-solid rhythms, and delightfully skewed lyrics set Velma apart from their contemporaries and give the band that elusive stamp of individuality. These ingredients mixed with an explosive energy make for a raw and passionate stage performance that always leaves the audience wanting more…

Velma are gathering a small but loyal following, which increases in size with every performance. The band's songs are regularly aired on Johnny Hero's Downtown Radio show, BBCNI's Across The Line show, Down FM, and Queens Radio. Velma were also interviewed for UK MUSIC WEEK (UK commercial radio) and have had songs aired on Pulse Rated internet radio station and Radio Basile (an internet radio station based in Italy – www.myspace.com/radiobasile). The band were featured on Northern Visions 'Kick Out The Jams' television series. In the next few months Velma are planning to expand their horizons beyond their local base and will be heading off on a short tour of the UK towards the end of 2008.

HISTORY

The band were christened 'Velma' after one of Rose's friends insisted on pointing out the fact that she bore a passing resemblance to the original 'Scooby-do' character (was it the red hair, and 'geek' glasses that she was sporting at the time maybe?). So Rose was nicknamed 'Velma' after the Scooby-do character and the band were nicknamed 'Velma' after Rose! The band was originally formed in 2003 when founder members Rose Kelly and JP Daly got together to write a bunch of songs. Rose and JP had collaborated in numerous previous bands and knew they could work together and spark off one another creatively without getting on one another’s nerves (!). The songwriting partnership proved to be a successful one so the next stage was to hunt around for a suitable vocalist, drummer, and bass player. A few singers joined the Velma fold subsequently, each with their own merits, but it was an audition in 2004 which lead Rose and JP to the perfect vocalist for Velma in the shape of Jeanette Collard. “Can you do the vertical splits?- Have you bucketloads of attitude?” the band enquired in their advert, and Jeanette came up with the goods - in spades.

Drummer and bass duties went to a veritable rock family tree of musicians, borrowed from notable bands from the burgeoning Northern Ireland Music Scene, from ‘The Delawares’ and ‘The Greeters’ through to ‘Volvograd’ via ‘We are Knives’ and back again. In 2006 Velma found their very own drummer at last! Enter Siobhan, recommended to Velma by radio programme ‘Across The Line’ DJ Deci from The Jane Bradfords (those rock family trees again…). Siobhan turned out to be a kick-ass rock chick, who could give Cozy Powell a run for his money! Perfect - and last but not least, Velma were joined by Bert on bass (for the second time round after a short spell on bass with The Elliots). By end of 2006, the band were complete with a steady line-up.

GIGS AND THINGS

Velma came top in the regional finals of the Global Battle of the bands' Festival in 2005. They also made the final of the Music Quest Reloaded '06 which is part of the annual Music Revolution Festival organised by the Island Arts Centre and is open to bands throughout Ireland. Velma were also invited to take part in BelFEST 2005 and 2006 Festivals, a celebration of the best new music to come out of Northern Ireland. The band’s songs were also included in the ‘Your Sound’ playlist at ‘King Tuts Wah Wah Hut’ in Glasgow, just before the band went over to Glasgow to perform a set at ‘The Box’ over the May bank Holiday weekend in 2007. Velma ‘s song ‘Do You Feel’ was also featured in the opening credits of the ‘Innishfree Documentary’, a film of the annual music festival run by TRC Promotions. Velma played at the festival in August 2006 and a fun time was had by all (at least those revellers who can actually remember what happened over the whole weekend…).

A few of Velma’s favourite gigs of the last few years would have to be the Oxjam Festival, run by Oxfam as part of their ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, the John Peel Tribute night, organised by ex Stiff Little Finger Brian Faloon, shortly after the death of one of the greatest DJs of all time and the ‘Belfast Calling’ gig, organised by ‘Immortal Records Ireland, to mark the 30 anniversary of the banned Clash gig which sparked a riot outside Belfast’s Ulster Hall.

The award for the most bizarre venue/gig must go to Hydebank Young Offenders Centre, in the presence of around 400 inmates and the Mayoress of Castlereagh. The inmates weren’t allowed out of their chairs, but the Mayoress gamely ‘shook her boo