10 Essentials: Liam Gallagher

It comes as no surprise that the notoriously cantankerous former Oasis frontman has opinions. Here are some of his favorite—and least favorite—things in life

You've heard a lot from Liam Gallagher over the past couple decades. He has a thing for words. Choice ones. Specifically about things he doesn't care for. So, since he has more going on now than since the days of "Wonderwall" (his new Noel-less band Beady Eye; a new single and video, "Roller"; and his own clothing line, Pretty Green, which is now available in the U.S.) we were curious what he actually likes. We asked him and got 10 things. Plus, three things he loathes. And, for good measure, 14 instances of the word "fuck." So proceed with caution, ye of Puritan minds.

1. My Favorite TV Shows

"I love 'Judge Judy.' And, fucking, who's the black guy with the bald head? Montel. My wife and I love that shit. Also, I like that 'Celebrity Rehab' you have in America, too. I was watching it on TV and then I went out the night after to this Marilyn Manson gig, and that guy from Grease with the walking stick—what's his fucking name? He died a couple weeks ago? [Jeff Conaway.] He was there and asked me if I wanted a line. I'm like 'What the fuck? You're meant to be in fucking rehab.'"

2. Central Park

"New York is my favorite city in the world. I don't make it downtown much but I love Central Park. I've got to be by trees, otherwise I get claustrophobic. The people there—they don't take no crap either. Reminds myself a bit of me, so I like it."

3. Ginger Ale

"These days, I'm sticking to ginger ale. I'm having a bit of a time off from drinking. I haven't had anything since New Year's Eve. I'm just having a breather. I've been drinking for 25 years, man. When I do go out though, I drink absolutely fucking everything."

4. Quadrophenia

"I'm fucking obsessed with Quadrophenia. It gets me right off. I love that ballroom scene where he jumps off the balcony."

5. Levi's 504s

"I don't like jeans with holes in 'em. I like 'em faded. Levi's 504s never let me down. I like that they're a little tight in the butt, too."

6. The Beatles

"My favorite album would have to be something from The Beatles. Fucking Abbey Road? A Hard Day's Night! John Lennon's Imagine. I like everything they've done."

7. The Black Cat at Lake Como

"I take holiday at Lake Como a lot. Pretty expensive, but beautiful. If you go up there in the mountains there's a restaurant called The Black Cat. It's outside, on a cliff, and you look over the fucking lake. The food's the bollocks. It's amazing."

8. Garrett Leight sunglasses

"I like Lennon-style sunglasses. I got these in Barneys the other day. I need some proper lenses in these motherfuckers though. I've lived without them for so long though, so, actually, fuck it."

9. Style Hero: Paul Weller

"There's no one I want to be, but Paul Weller of The Jam has always looked so cool. My label, Pretty Green, is a reference to one of his songs. He did a Paul Weller for Pretty Green collection for Summer 2011, too."

10. Gibson Guitars

I don't like posh guitars. I don't like them Martins even. They're a bit too smooth and polite for me. I like guitars that are fucking loud. I've got a Gibson 1962 Hummingbird, which is a bit beat up. It's probably my favorite.

And now we bring you three entirely unessential things...

1. Muse

"Muse fucking scares me. They're like fucking creepy shit. But people like 'em. They at least play guitars, but when I hear his voice I'm like, 'Ah, fuck him.'"

2. Technology

"I don't use gadgets. Like, people do all this shit on their phones. I just use it to ring my Mrs. and mates. Never sent an e-mail in me life. I've got no apps. I don't even know how to download music."

3. Umbrellas

[After being asked by a doorman if he would like an umbrella in the rain during the interview:] "An umbrella? I only use those to stick up people's asses."

Source: www.gq.com

Watch Beady Eye At Rock Werchter Tonight

A live stream of Beady Eye's performance at Rock Werchter will be shown here from 22:00.

For other countries visit click here for the time in your part of the world.

Watch Extra Tracks From Beady Eye's Abbey Road Session Now!

Below are three videos of 'Beatles And Stones', 'Three Ring Circus' and 'The Morning Son' from an exclusive session for Channel 4's 'Live From Abbey Road' back in February.

Liam Gallagher Slams Muse And, Surprisingly, Umbrellas

It's good news for denim giant Levi's, the Fab Four and the owners of the Black Cat restaurant near Lake Como, Italy. Muse and manufacturers of umbrellas, however, will have less to cheer about.

In an interview with the US edition of men's style mag GQ, Liam Gallagher -- ex of Oasis, currently of Beady Eye -- listed his 10 essentials, including props for New York's Central Park and ginger ale.

But he was less welcoming of technological gadgets in general, and the histrionic vocals of operatic rockers Muse's singer Matt Bellamy, in particular.

On the Beatles, Gallagher said, "My favorite album would have to be something from the Beatles. F---ing 'Abbey Road?' 'A Hard Day's Night!' John Lennon's 'Imagine.' I like everything they've done."

With the former hell-raiser off the sauce since the beginning of the year, the merits of ginger ale were highlighted, as well as former Jam lynchpin and Britpop '"Modfather" Paul Weller. "There's no one I want to be, but Paul Weller of the Jam has always looked so cool. My label, Pretty Green, is a reference to one of his songs. He did a Paul Weller for Pretty Green collection for Summer 2011, too."

But as for Muse? "Muse f---ing scares me. They're like f---ing creepy shit. But people like 'em. They at least play guitars, but when I hear his voice I'm like, 'Ah, f--- him.'"

At least Muse don't suffer alone; Gallagher had this to say about umbrellas. "An umbrella? I only use those to stick up people's asses." Charmer.

Source: www.spinnermusic.co.uk

Beady Eye Roll Into Werchter

Beady Eye will play at Rock Werchter in Werchter, Belgium today (June 30th).

If you are going to the show, and you are able to scan your ticket or send in pictures email them to us @ scyhodotcom@gmail.com and I will do my best to get them on the site.

Visit my newly launched Beady Eye fan site www.standingontheedgeofthenoise.com by clicking here.

Gem Archer Thinks Noel Gallagher Will Knock Out A Mega Album

Is it different when it's your song versus someone else's, because you can picture your own song in your head?

Yeah, it is different. But this is why I love being in a band, and I love bouncing off people. No one knows everything. It's just great. Andy will come up with something I would never think of. And the other thing, once you've written a song, when Liam sings it, it just becomes something else.

How do you know when something — a song, an album — is done?

You never know. But you can't beat yourself up. Get over yourself. Don't be too precious. Once it's out, it's out. It's about communicating, isn't it? That's what it is. Nothing's perfect. You can't make a statement and stand back. How do you know when something's done? That's the thing John Lennon said: He would've really done them all again and freaked George Martin right out. My favorite record is "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix, but I never tried to learn any of it because I don't want to spoil it. I don't want to be "in" there.

It's funny that you mentioned John Lennon, because "The Roller" reminds me of his music.

Yeah, of course. Because ever since I've been 8 years old or whatever, it's just in us. It's in us all. We're really not the kind of band that would ever cover our tracks, hide our influences. You're not fooling anybody, man. We're massive Beatle heads. So, that's in there, even though — I think it was Chris who went, "You know, this sounds like 'Instant Karma.' He says, "I never thought of that for a minute when were doing it." So, there you go. And he's a Scouse, so he should know.

But that John Lennon stuff is really raw, and I wonder if we would have heard something similar to a solo Lennon song coming from Oasis, because of its rawness.

Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of a descending chord, so you can fill it. I suppose the melody is like "Three Blind Mice." It's all in us, that's what I'm saying. And that's how we communicate with each other. We had a version of "Bring the Light" that I thought sounded like early Roxy Music, and Liam said, "Look, I think we just go fucking Jerry Lee Lewis, man." We were just having fun, and that's when he came up with the idea. I got a text from him: "I want to stick some Tina Turner kind of backing vocals on it." I was just like, fucking mega, man, let's do it.

Has your setup — amps and pedals — changed over the years? Do you stick with what's worked in the past?

It does evolve, but I'm not really a gear head. I don't think any of us are. I know a lot of people are always getting the newest pedal or whatever, but I have guitars I've had for years. And I've got a few favorite things. I've got a Fender Deluxe amp, and it's just the bullocks, man.

What do you take on the road?

Basically I play through the Fender Deluxe and a VOX AC-30. One's for the top end of the sound and the other is for the body, and that's about it. I think the AC-30 is rented.

What do you write with when you're on the road?

We always have acoustics, and you're always working. I'm hearing Liam's songs evolve, and Andy's too, but now because of laptops, you can have tons of stuff on them that you've got to work on. So you bring your lyric book, and I'm always conscious of not checking it in. It's always in my hand luggage. You just try to get on with it. But it is a different head space, on the road, writing. It's hard, man. Nobody wants to write a song about being on the road.

Is there any chance the Oasis situation is just a publicity stunt and you guys will be getting back together?

No, no, no. You know by now that there's nothing constructed or fake about Oasis, and that's that. But you know what? I think Liam and Noel have given enough — 18 years. And it's just the arc, the natural curve, isn't it? And music goes on. I think Noel will knock out a fucking mega album. I think our album is mega. And music wins.

Source: www.guitarworld.com

Liam Gallagher On Muse‘s Matthew Bellamy: ‘F-ck Him’

As he is obligated to do on a regular basis, both by his own personal wont and that of his latest promotional cycle, Liam Gallagher has loudly declared his disdain for yet another musical peer. Hooray! His thoughts on Kate Hudson's baby daddy's band, as articulated to GQ: "Muse fucking scares me. They're like fucking creepy shit. But people like 'em. They at least play guitars, but when I hear his voice I'm like, 'Ah, fuck him.'" And while we're at it: "I went out ... to this Marilyn Manson gig, and that guy from Grease with the walking stick — what's his fucking name? He died a couple weeks ago? [Jeff Conaway.] He was there and asked me if I wanted a line. I'm like 'What the fuck? You're meant to be in fucking rehab.'" And: "An umbrella? I only use those to stick up people's asses."

Source: nymag.com

Free iTunes Festival London App Featuring 62 Bands

Go here to download the iTunes festival app celebrating the London iTunes festival.

Here's the description:
31 nights. 62 artists. 1 venue.
Watch the shows free with the iTunes Festival App

This July, the iTunes Festival returns to London, England. Featuring 31 consecutive nights of incredible live music in one of the UK’s best venues, this is the hottest ticket in town. The lineup includes Beady Eye, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Paul Simon, Bruno Mars, Adele, My Chemical Romance, Duran Duran, Lang Lang and Moby — to name just a few of the great shows you can watch live on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Download the official app now to explore the lineup in more detail and watch the shows LIVE or on demand for a limited period from wherever you are in the world. You can even invite your friends to watch on the big screen with AirPlay support for streaming the gigs to your Apple TV (compatible only with second-generation Apple TV; requires iOS 4.3 or later).

Source: blog.al.com

Watch Beady Eye 'Live From Abbey Road' Tonight

Fans of Beady Eye will remember the band appeared in an exclusive session for Channel 4's 'Live From Abbey Road' back in February.

During the session the band recorded an extra three songs for the programme which are set to broadcast tonight, Wednesday 29th June, at 23:50 in the UK.

The band will perform 'Beatles And Stones', 'Three Ring Circus', 'The Morning Son' plus 'Four Letter Word', which was previously shown back in February.

Source: www.beadyeyemusic.com

Win Tickets To Beady Eye At The iTunes Festival

The iTunes Festival kicks off this week! Held at London's Roundhouse the festival features 62 artists across 31 nights in July - and every show is free!

Tuesday July 5th sees Beady Eye hit the iTunes Festival at the Roundhouse.

XFM have TEN PAIRS of tickets to this show to give away. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a pair is to answer the easy question here.

Gallery: Beady Eye's North American Tour

Below is a selection of pictures from Beady Eye's North American tour, that have been sent in from site visitors.

Win Tickets To See Beady Eye At Somerset House

Beady Eye will play at Somerset House in London on the 12th of July.

For your chance to win a pair of tickets, visit the American Express Facebook page here.

Happy Birthday Tony McCarroll

Happy birthday to Tony McCarroll who is 40 today.

Gallery: Beady Eye In Philadelphia

Below are a number of pictures from Beady Eye's gig at the Theater Of Living Art, in Philadelphia on the 25th of June..


Beady Eye @ TLA - Images by Kyle Gustafson

For more pictures click here.

setlist from the gig

Four Letter Word
Beatles and Stones
Millionaire
Two of a Kind
For Anyone
The Roller
Wind Up Dream
Bring the Light
Standing on The Edge Of The Noise
Kill for a Dream
Three Ring Circus
The Beat Goes On
Man of Misery
Morning Son
Wigwam
Sons of the Stage

Review And Pictures From Beady Eye In New York

Still, no matter what Beady Eye does it’s going to be difficult to avoid comparisons with Oasis. That’s something they’re going to have to live with. Take last Thursday’s (06.23) gig at Webster Hall in New York, for instance. The last time Oasis played New York City, they headlined Madison Square Garden. You know, the place that calls itself, justifiably, the world’s most famous arena. It’s a huge indoor venue. Every big name in music has played the Garden (sorry Boston, there’s only one Garden and it ain’t in Beantown). It holds over 20,000 people for a concert. Webster Hall holds a tenth of that (shit, wasn’t expecting there to be even more math in this article… my apologies). The different venues are reflective of the respective status of the two bands: Oasis was a superstar caliber band; Beady Eye is still largely an unknown quantity. On the other hand, for fans of Liam, this is the most intimate venue they’ve probably gotten a chance to see him in in over a decade and a half. Sure enough the place was sold out. Before the show, I was wondering what the crowd would be like and what Liam’s demeanor on stage would be like. Would the crowd be a typical New York too cool for school crowd? Would that make Liam extra surly? But my fears were unfounded as it was most certainly a partisan crowd assembled to cheer on its hero. The crowd trended older, a lot of grey heads dotted the audience (note to self: start asking about Just For Men hair coloring. Or maybe Grecian 5.), and though there were Oasis shirts in abundance, it wasn’t like anyone was shouting out “play ‘Wonderwall’” or “We want Noel”. On the contrary Webster Hall frequently resounded with chants of “Liam!” before during and after the set.

The band hit the stage promptly at 9 pm and opened up with a blinding lightshow as they stormed through the album opener “Four Letter Word”. To put is simply, they rocked. There was Liam in fine form, his voice sounding strong, crouching down with his arms behind him, his head cocked back and singing up into the microphone. Like I said above, it’s a classic rock n roll image. He seemed happy to be there and though he didn’t say much to the crowd, it seemed like he talked more than at a typical Oasis gig. To his left was Gem Archer, banging away on guitar trading lead and rhythm with Andy Bell, who has switched over from playing bass in Oasis to guitar in Beady Eye. Behind them on the drums was Chris Sharrock playing in his usual maniacal style. This guy is a hell of a lot of fun to watch and definitely filled the void left by Zack Starkey’s departure from Oasis. A couple of somewhat unfamiliar faces joined the four main members of Beady Eye. On keys was Matt Jones and on bass was Jeff Wootton. As soon as I got my bearings after the band started playing I texted a friend who was at the show “Where’d they find the Bill Wyman circa 1971 lookalike to play bass?” I mean, the guy’s a dead ringer and a far, far braver man than I to sport that hairstyle. He’s also one hell of a musician. He’s played guitar in the Gorillaz, and I really recommend heading over to his myspace page (people still use myspace? Who knew?) and checking out some of his psychedelic material with him on guitar. It’s just great. It reminds me a lot of post-Syd Barrett, pre-Dark Side Pink Floyd. Some of the material sounds like the jam in “Echoes”, which is fucking epic. I’ll repeat, he’s a hell of a guitar player, and it was a stellar move to on the part of Beady Eye to tap him for the bass gig on the tour. I think it’d be great for the band if he stuck around and contributed to the band’s sound in a more prominent way. And that seems like something that is possible in Beady Eye as opposed to Oasis. I really got the sense that this was a proper band. Not that there was anything that Oasis’s live set left to be desired, I just felt that Archer and Bell owned this material just a little bit more, and considering the nature of the two bands, that’s not surprising.

The band played through the entirety of Different Gear Still Speeding and filled out the set with some covers and b-sides. The acoustics were pretty good for the nature of the venue and the band was loud. The kick drum was a bit boomy, but that’s what live sound engineers seem to like these days, and in any case there are worse things in life than to be pummeled by Sharrock’s kick drum playing. The interplay between Archer and Bell on guitar brought to mind everything that Keith Richards says about “the ancient art of weaving”, and the two seemed to have a little more room to stretch out than in Oasis. The stage setup was rather spartan, but the back wall served as a display screen for various images that corresponded to the song being played. Many of them were in the same style as the liner notes from the album. The gear the band was using deserves some mention. Aside from some of the keyboards was anyone onstage not using some ridiculously classic and sexy vintage instrument made before 1972? Motherfuckers.

The audience ate everything up, and it looked like the guys on stage were having a good time playing these songs. I wish the set could have been longer as it went by so quickly, which is understandable since they only have one album’s worth of material from which to draw their setlist, and it’s understood that no Oasis songs would be played. Is it a shame that we didn’t get to hear Liam sing “Wonderwall” or any number of classic Oasis songs? Sure. But Beady Eye is what it is. And what it is is a rocking band with some good, catchy songs. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future. I also look forward to hearing Noel’s solo album. Do I secretly hope that Oasis gets back together, records a new album and tours. Of course. Hell, I’m still hoping Led Zeppelin gets back together and tours, just as I’d been hoping Soundgarden would get back together and tour. You never know what may happen. The only thing I’m sure of is that whatever does happen it’s definitely gonna be worth listening to.

Check out pictures from the gig here

Source: www.live4ever.uk.com

On The Road With Beady Eye

Below Liam Gallagher and Gem Archer sit with Rock TV Italy and pick up their favourite music videos.

'On The Road With Beady Eye' was broadcast in June 2011, it was recorded in Milan in March 2011.

Noel And Sarah Gallagher Spotted On Their Honeymoon

Below are two pictures of Noel and Sarah Gallagher on their honeymoon in Italy, who were spotted by a fan.

Thanks to Margherita

On This Day In Oasis History...

The videos below are from the 26th June 1994, when Oasis played at the Glastonbury Festival.

Video: Beady Eye In Philadelphia

Below are a few few videos from Beady Eye's gig in Philadelphia yesterday.

On This Day In Oasis History...

The videos below are from the 25th June 2004, when Oasis played at the Glastonbury Festival.