Saw the Q article too. Glad our Berryboy got some mention!

 

Mhmm, that's what's always confusing me.

It's the October issue but it was published at the end of August.

That confuses me as well... :inquisitive:

 

 

@Denise: I ddid the same as Anna, I suscribed to Q, it's quite cheap (they sell it in stores for the double price in France :confused: )

 

Balancing ballast with beauty, these two sisters from Alabama offer a rocked-up folk take on Fleetwood Mac

 

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama.

 

The lineup: Catherine Pierce (vocals, guitar), Alison Pierce (vocals, guitar).

 

The background: The Pierces aren't new as such, but they may well be new to you, and that's no indictment of your ability or inclination to hunt down the obscure and unknown – it's just a fact. The US duo's first three albums weren't made widely available over here and precious little was written about them, to the extent that Polydor, which has just signed them, are going to be presenting them as a Brand New Act.

 

Anyway, ass-covering justification for their inclusion here today aside, what are the Pierces like? Well, they're a couple of Alabama girls who sound quite a bit like Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac. What, today again? That's right: yesterday's pair, Tamaryn, did shimmery shoegazey things to the Mac/Nicks' witchy oeuvre, while the Pierce sisters offer a rocked-up folk take on the same. This is less an indicator of Fleetwood Mac's huge influence – although they've probably been referenced more times in this column these past few years than the Stones and Beatles combined – merely evidence that when women of a certain artistic disposition bearing guitars approach a mic, more often than not they will produce a sound like this. Not everyone can achieve it – Courtney Love, for example, attempted an album of edgy MOR on Hole's Celebrity Skin, with mixed results – but when it works there's nothing better.

 

Not that the Pierces are leftfield types or avant-gardists doing arch, knowing things to the Fleetwood Mac catalogue. They're not an indie in-joke or exercise in pastiche. They do come from an arty, bohemian place – their mum and dad were Viz Modern Parents-style hippies who home-schooled their children – and they do now live in New York, but they're not Williamsburg hipsters. This is roots music with ambitions towards adult contemporary – one of them sang on the Ryan Adams album Heartbreaker. There is credibility here (TV syncs for Gossip Girl and Dexter hint at the Pierces' lyrical quirks), but the point isn't to score points on the cool-o-meter. It's to sell vast quantities of records.

 

They're like Lady Antebellum, only with lush production and gorgeous melodies. So actually not that much like Lady Antebellum. Their forthcoming album has been produced by Coldplay's bass player, Guy Berryman, and also features the band's drummer, Will Champion. We could quite happily die without hearing another Coldplay record (except Viva La Vida, and even the provenance of that tune is in doubt, as was widely reported), but that band's rhythm section has given the music substantial heft, allowing the girls to balance out ballast with beauty. What this essentially means is a song like You'll Be Mine, their next single – mooted for early 2011 release – satisfies the Pierces' penchant for 70s radio melodies while meeting the exigencies of contemporary production. Now all the girls need to do is have affairs with Berryman and Champion and they've got the material for their very own Rumours right there.

 

The buzz: "The perfect background music to an amusement park created and run by Tim Burton. Wonderful, whimsical, eclectic and soaring" – Michael Jones, blogcritics.org

 

The truth: Their early music was quirkier and folkier, but their new stuff is mainstream, streamlined Radio 2-friendly MOR in excelsis.

 

Most likely to: Sell out.

 

Least likely to: Worry about selling out.

 

What to buy: Love You More is released by Polydor on 25 October, followed by You'll Be Mine early next year.

 

File next to: Fleetwood Mac, Lady Antebellum, Dixie Chicks, the Heartthrobs.

 

Links: myspace.com/thepierces.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/01/new-band-the-pierces

Didn't know Will was involved!

Didn't know Will was involved!

:shocked2: neither do I!

 

BIG LOL

 

Now all the girls need to do is have affairs with Berryman and Champion and they've got the material for their very own Rumours right there.

 

:lol: (thought the blondie was with Albert Hammond Jr??)

 

They're like Lady Antebellum, only with lush production and gorgeous melodies. So actually not that much like Lady Antebellum. Their forthcoming album has been produced by Coldplay's bass player, Guy Berryman, and also features the band's drummer, Will Champion. We could quite happily die without hearing another Coldplay record (except Viva La Vida, and even the provenance of that tune is in doubt, as was widely reported), but that band's rhythm section has given the music substantial heft, allowing the girls to balance out ballast with beauty. What this essentially means is a song like You'll Be Mine, their next single – mooted for early 2011 release – satisfies the Pierces' penchant for 70s radio melodies while meeting the exigencies of contemporary production. Now all the girls need to do is have affairs with Berryman and Champion and they've got the material for their very own Rumours right there.

 

Even Will? Oh wow... These girls are lucky for real, and with these producers they gonna get some hits for sure!

 

About the affairs... LOL I hope so not! LOL

I've never seen Will being mentioned anywhere about their album, but that's awesome, quoting Aurelie's status "the rhythm section rules" :D

It's not the first time they worked together outside of Coldplay, they played for one of Magne's albums as well :nice:

 

Thanks for the article Ian :thumbsup:

 

edit: from their myspace

So one day they said, "We're done, this isn't working..." and decided to split up. "When you pour your heart into a record and see its potential, and you also see that it isn't going to reach that potential, it drags you down," says Catherine. "It's heartbreaking..." "I felt angry and frustrated," Allison says. "We were trapped in this deal that was going nowhere."

 

But they were saved from that fate. The day after deciding to split - the very next day - the sisters received a call that changed absolutely everything. "It was Guy Berryman," Catherine says. "He asked if we wanted to join Coldplay on tour in South America..."

 

As things turned out, the sisters didn't end up joining that tour, but Berryman was keen to help in any way he could and that's how we have ended up with this remarkable, beautiful record. Last summer Berryman and Grammy Award winning producer Rik Simpson started their own production company, The Darktones and decided The Pierces should be their first project. The pair went first to NYC's Electric Lady and then to Coldplay's own place in London. Allison plays acoustic guitar, Guy plays electric guitar, bass and percussion while Guy's band mate Will Champion, Glenn Moule from Howling Bells and Matt Romano from Little Joy all play drums. The album was recorded over nine months. "We were working in Coldplay's spare time," laughs Allison. "And there's not a lot of that..."

We could quite happily die without hearing another Coldplay record (except Viva La Vida, and even the provenance of that tune is in doubt, as was widely reported)

 

:inquisitive:

Bump :nice:

 

From coldplay.com

 

Guy produces The Pierces - interview and free download

September 10, 2010 7:41 pm

Catherine from the band tells us about working with Guy

 

 

On October 25th, two sisters from Alabama known as The Pierces will release a new EP, Love You More. It was produced by our very own Guy Berryman alongside Coldplay producer Rik Simpson, so we got in touch with Catherine from the band (pictured, left) to find out a bit more. The Pierces are also offering Coldplay fans a free download of their To The Grave track, which you can get from here.

 

Hello Catherine, how are you?

I'm very well, thank you. We arrived in London two days ago and so far we are miraculously jet lag free. Also our hotel gave us a free upgrade to a lovely suite...so we are feelin' lucky.

 

For those Coldplay fans who haven't heard of The Pierces, what do you sound like?

Our newest record is really big and beautiful and melodic. We keep getting compared to Fleetwood Mac which is a compliment we'll take any day.

 

How long have you been going?

We've been singing together since we were little kids but we've been doing it professionally for over 10 years now.

 

Is it true that you were about to split up when Guy called and asked you to support Coldplay in South America?

That is true. We were just really frustrated with our label at the time and we'd had so many years of almost making it. We felt stuck so we thought maybe we should split up and do solo records. Then we got the call from Guy and was a very clear sign that we should stay together... for at least one more record!

 

And although you didn't do the tour, you did end up working with Guy?

Yeah, the tour didn't happen, it kept getting postponed, but Guy had some free time so we decided to record some songs. It was clear pretty quickly that we were onto something good. He brought Rik in and it just all came together.

 

What were Guy and Rik like to work with as producers?

They're great. We loved working with them. We had so much fun in the studio but at the same time they were total pros... they know how to get shit done!

 

And you recorded in the Bakery? How was that?

It's an amazing place to record. It has a great vibe and the boys made us feel right at home. We are so happy we got the chance to make music there... unbelievable.

 

Guy and Will also contributed musically to the recordings. What exactly did they do?

Will played drums on a few tracks and Guy played bass on everything and some percussion here and there.

 

And presumably you're pleased with the finished article?

We love it. We can't wait for people to hear it.

 

So, what are your plans for the rest of the year?

We are going to launch the record in the UK and then we plan to tour. We'll actually find out today about our first shows. We're itching to get out there and play again, it's been a while.

 

Finally, whenever we interview musicians for Coldplay.com, we ask what their favourite Coldplay track is?

We love The Scientist. It's just so sad and beautiful. Kinda wish it was one of ours... maybe we should cover it :)

 

Click here to get your free download of To The Grave by The Pierces

:o I want to listen to their album, I'm sure Guy and Will did a great job there

So do I :stunned:

Guy and Will :) Can't wait to hear the album

If someone has not done it yet, you should listen to Love You More on their website, I really like it, and the bass is really noticeable I dare say :)

Don't know if Will is playing drums on it tough :thinking:

I kinda liked "Love you More", it sounds celtic :rolleyes: and the bass is stunning...

I'm impressed with this band for their cool sound and very very proud of Guy ;)

I really like the free download.

It makes me like them more.... :laugh3:

I've been lately listening to older Pierces songs and I found one called Secret that has a line like "2 can keep a secret if 1 of them is dead"

and I was like "there's an Apparatjik song called 4 can keep a secret if 3 of them are dead!"

 

Does anyone know if they're related?? It seems like Guy as he likes this band he got inspired in this quote and put it in an appa song... :rolleyes:

Article in The Guardian: The guy is not too nice with Coldplay (but then agin he thinks Viva La Vida is better than other, better songs so maybe we can doubt his likings) but he likes Guy and Will's influence on the album, which is nice.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/01/new-band-the-pierces

New infos on their EP on amazon, Will is not playing in any of these four songs, but there's someone else from the Coldplay family who helped the girls :wink:

 

1. Love You More - Catherine Pierce, The Pierces, Allison Pierce, Rik Simpson, Guy Berryman, Tom Marsh, Jon Hopkins, BJ Cole, The Darktones, Michael H Brauer

2. We Are Stars - Catherine Pierce, The Pierces, Allison Pierce, Rik Simpson, Guy Berryman, Tom Marsh, Jon Hopkins, BJ Cole, The Darktones, Michael H. Brauer

3. To The Grave - Allison Pierce, The Pierces, Catherine Pierce, Rik Simpson, Guy Berryman, Glenn Moule, Roger Greenawalt, The Darktones

4. We Can Make It - Allison Pierce, The Pierces, Catherine Pierce, Guy Berryman, Matt McGinn, The Darktones, Michael H Brauer, Iain Gore, Ian Shea

 

Oh and The Darktones (Guy's and Rik Simpson's production company) have their website here, I have a feeling who's gonna fill it up :nice:

It was not my kind of music, not my cup of tea sorry .

Mr McGinn!

The Pierces are Glorious

 

With their album release just around the corner, The Pierces have revealed details of the next single to be taken from it.

 

'Glorious' is set for release on May 23rd, a week prior to the release of their debut UK album You & I on May 30th. The album was co-produced by Coldplay's Guy Berryman and Grammy-award winner Rik Simpson with recording sessions in New York's Electric Lady Studios and The Bakery in North London.

 

You can see the video to 'Glorious' below:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8uc7c0HZuc]YouTube - The Pierces - Glorious[/ame]

 

http://www.themusicfix.co.uk/content/news-flash/13979/the-pierces-are-glorious.html

 

 

It's not available to watch in Germany, this link works for me though. :)

Megabump :P

 

The sisters who were saved by Coldplay: They'd split up, then a phone call rescued indie duo The Pierces

 

By Adrian Thrills

 

Two years ago, The Pierces were at rock bottom.

After singing together for a decade, sisters Catherine and Allison were ready to go their separate ways after their third album had struggled commercially.

‘We had a conversation about moving on,’ says blonde-haired Catherine, the younger of the pair.

‘We’d had some good times, but things weren’t working out. So we decided we’d just do solo stuff.’

But within 24 hours, there had been a dramatic U-turn. Guy Berryman, Coldplay’s bass player, called the New York-based siblings out of the blue and asked if they would join his band on a Latin American tour.

‘When they told me they’d split up, I had to do something,’ says Guy.

‘I’d always enjoyed their music, so I asked to hear some new material.

‘They sent me some songs played on scratchy acoustic guitars and I immediately fell in love with them.’

Now the Pierces are on the up. Their fourth album, You & I — overseen by the Coldplay man and his production partner Rik Simpson — has given them a major breakthrough, reaching No 4 in the UK albums chart in June.

The band’s big asset is their wide-ranging appeal. The album — on which Fife-born Guy plays guitar, bass and keyboards — has roots in U.S. indie, but also has a Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac feel.

Since the album’s release, the Pierces have played Glastonbury and T In The Park, and they recently shared a stage with Elton John.

When I meet the duo and their producer at the iTunes Festival in London, the mood is upbeat.

Allison, the dark-haired sister, is celebrating her 36th birthday — though the champagne was put on ice until after their performance.

You & I was completed alongside the sessions for the forthcoming fifth studio album from Coldplay, due in October.

‘Making a Coldplay record is a long, structured process, so I don’t need to be in the studio all the time,’ says Guy. ‘I need to keep busy or I’d go crazy.’

‘Guy made things fun,’ adds Catherine, 33. ‘Every time we’d been in a studio before, we’d viewed it as our last chance.

'This was different. Guy was a hard task master, but he got excited — and that made us excited.’

Born to Christian hippie parents in rural Alabama, they have been singing for as long as they can remember.

They trained as ballet dancers, but their professional hopes were dashed when Catherine suffered a serious hip injury.

They moved to Manhattan — where Catherine was briefly engaged to the Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. — and began releasing records.

Their first two albums, a folky, self-titled debut and 2005’s Light Of The Moon were poorly received, but 2007’s quirky Thirteen Tales Of Love And Revenge was, at least, a critical success.

After Berryman’s intervention, their music now has a much sharper focus.

‘A good harmony is the oldest trick in the pop book,’ says Guy.

‘It’s important to engage the listener and make them want to sing along.

I’ve learned everything I know from making the Coldplay albums.’

‘If you play our songs acoustically, they sound like ballads,’ adds Allison.

‘But, when you put a groove behind them, they really move. That’s something I noticed with the songs that Stevie Nicks wrote for Fleetwood Mac.’

Success here has helped the Pierces in America, too — they have recently landed a new U.S. record deal.

But they are focusing on Britain for now.

A new single, It Will Not Be Forgotten, is out on Monday, while they are playing this month’s V Festival before touring the UK in the autumn.

For Berryman, the emphasis now returns to his day job and a Coldplay album that, on the evidence of the new numbers played at Glastonbury and the iTunes festival, is shaping up to be one of the year’s strongest.

‘The album isn’t quite done. It won’t be finished until people drag it out of our hands,’ he says.

‘But it is coming this year. We’ve taken the same approach as on our second album [A Rush Of Blood To The Head] and played a lot of the tracks live beforehand.

‘If you can work your way around a song before going into the studio, it helps to give things a freshness.

'That’s how you make great records.’

 

It Will Not Be Forgotten is out on Monday. The Pierces begin a UK tour on October 7.

 

 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2022541/The-sisters-saved-Coldplay-Theyd-split-phone-rescued-indie-duo-The-Pierces.html

I know it doesn't deal with The Pierces, but I don't feel like creating another thread just for this..maybe we can rename this to include all of Guy's production works :shrug:

 

Anyway, found out he's producing an album for Sam Oatts, who is (according to his blog) a freelance musician in the NYC metropolitan area. Currently playing on Broadway (trumpet), arranging and producing for rock bands, playing bass with rock bands and songwriters, and teaching the musical craft.

 

This is what he wrote back at the beginning of June (source)

Summer 2011

 

In London finishing up the record with Guy Berryman (producer) and Ian Shea (engineer)! It's sounding sooooo good! I'm very fortunate to be working with such an intelligent, dynamic team. more updates to come. Very exciting things happening over here! Happy summer to all.

 

So he's the third production project for Guy after The Pierces and Blood Red Rose/James Levy (but I don't have any idea at what point this last project is :P).

I still do not love their songs or their style :rolleyes:

Don't know where he found the time...

JAMES LEVY + ALLISON PIERCE - FEB ALBUM AND LONDON SHOW GIG IN NOVEMBER

THE ALBUM - PRAY TO BE FREE - HEAVENLY RECORDINGS - FEB 6TH 2012 ** LIVE AT THE SOCIAL - NOVEMBER 2ND **

 

 

Released on Heavenly Recordings under the name James Levy & The Blood Red Rose, Pray To Be Free is a romantic yet playful collection of jaunty pop and bruised ballads, imbued with stunning vocals and wrapped in a variety of velvet strings, suave horns and lush arrangements.

 

“A great traditional rock 'n' roll singer songwriter record,” reckons Heavenly head honcho Jeff Barrett - and he should know, having worked with several of the best. In Levy’s case, his aim was the kind of classic Serge Gainsbourg recorded in the ‘60s with Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, or Lee Hazlewood’s similarly charged duets with Nancy Sinatra and Ann Margret - “An older record, with a classic vibe and a contemporary, fresh sound.”

 

The co- vocals in this case are provided by Levy’s long time friend Allison Pierce (of The Pierces), delivering the vocal riposte to Levy’s in these sumptuous duels of love and war. “I tend to write about death and relationships, and the death of relationships,” says Levy, “but I cannot tell you why."

 

Allison played an instrumental part in the making of this album, not only by choosing to cover Levy’s song Glorious with her sister, but by introducing him to Coldplay’s bassist Guy Berryman. Berryman loved what he heard and - like The Pierces own breakthrough album (You & I) – he offered to produce Levy’s album.

 

With the exception of Allison’s Cry Myself To Sleep, the songs on Pray To Be Free are picked from a collection of more than 50 Levy-penned tracks - some of which were originally recorded by the band named LEVY, which released two albums on One Little Indian in the mid 2000s and toured the UK alongside The Macabees. Other songs were chosen from a series of post-LEVY releases that more closely embodied the Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan spirit that James took with him when he left his native Vermont in the early Naughties for New York City. One of the premiere songwriters and performers in town, he was readily embraced by the burgeoning anti-folk scene centred around the Sidewalk Cafe, which included contemporaries like Adam Green, Kimya Dawson and Regina Spektor.

 

At the heart of Pray To Be Free sit some of James’ newest and most compelling compositions, including the soon-to-be-singles “Sneak Into My Room” and “Hung to Dry”. “The new songs came alive for me when I performed them with Allison,” James says. “These songs were meant to be sung as duets. There is a beautiful, knowing quality to Allison’s voice. She understands where the songs come from.” Other songs that hold a particular resonance to Levy include “Precious Age Of 13”, half-sung in Hebrew (the words come from the passage James memorised for his bar mitzvah) and the album’s finale. “I wanted to write a song like Gainsbourg but I couldn’t sing in French, so I sing in Hebrew instead!”.

 

James’ roots helped support him during his more recent years when he worked for a Jewish cemetery. But now, with the imminent release of Pray To Be Free and The Pierces’ success with their version Of Glorious, he has finally given up the day job. His prayers have been answered.

 

Ahead of the album’s release in the New Year James Levy and Allison Pierce make their debut appearance at an invite only, one off show at London’s Social on November 2nd.

 

Source

Dear Lord the man is a working machine. Does he ever get any propper night of sleep? Cause theres not enough hours in the day to that + Apparatjik + recording MX. :dead:

And Chris said in an interview earlier today that he is the one who gets at the Brakery at like 8 in the morning every day :freak: