BloodandGuts Management was formed in 2004 following the demise of London rock outfit JOSKi . I went to work for JOSKi in Autumn 2002 by constructing and spearheading the JOSKi E-Team/Street Team.
At the time of my arrival the band had already released 2 EPs. 2001's lesser known "Breathe" EP and the extremely successful "Direction Finding" released at the end of the same year. Around 2000 EPs ended up in the cd players of kid's rooms across the UK.
In 2002 JOSKi landed an independent record deal with Copro with a view to releasing a sequence of singles and shopping them to major labels.
In March 2003 the video was shot at The Peel in Kingston for the debut single "Chorus", the video shoot was attended by 100 fans and all filming wrapped up the same day. With the video done and single release penned for July 2003 it was time to hit the road. We toured the UK that Summer to successful responses at every venue the band visited. With cds and merch selling out like crazy, the Street Team now with over 200 members and JOSKi receiving regular airplay on Totalrock, XFM and Radio 1 things had never looked brighter.
Unfortunately the band split up in September that year. I was extremely dissapointed as I firmly believed they had the songs and the ability to have become one of, if not the biggest band in the UK. The majors were calling, it was all a matter of time. Unfortunately, these things do happen.
Utilising the experience I had gained in roadie-ing, promotions,advertising and contacts throughout the industry I decided to go into management. Knowing the markets and knowing how the industry works can only be learned through experience and keeping an eye on the ever shifting musical trends.
The first band to be taken on under the BloodandGuts Management umbrella were Emo-screamcore 5 piece Ran For Days from Kent in October 2003. They were an excellent band, fantastic performers and their music was very much in the vein of what was currently popular. I honestly didnt think they were committed enough though, they were young and they were wild so I didnt manage them for long. They needed someone who had been in the business a lot longer than I had. In fact in the Summer of 2004 they went on to record one of the best demos I had ever heard by an underground band and then unfortunately (and as I had suspected would happen) split up.
With background experience in the Industry I decided I needed to begin my Management with a lesser known band who would vitally need my help to get them off the ground and in late 2004 took on Bristol alt-rockers Angry Panda. A band still at the raw stage, a band completely untapped and unaware of the ins and outs of the Industry. They really needed a platform to begin their career on so I set them up a website and started booking them gigs all around Bristol to build a local buzz whilst in the meantime they went on to record in May 2005 their first ever EP "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die". I booked them a tour nationally that Summer which included taking in cities such as Liverpool, Derby, Reading, Sheffield, Plymouth, Bristol and the Southwest.
By the end of 2005 Angry Panda were a band with an ep under their belt, had received rave reviews from BristolRocks, Venue and Evening Post magazines and were building a national profile.
2006 kicked off with an incendiary debut gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, a gig which will not fade in the minds of those in attendance very easily.
In April 2006 I took on Sheffield indie-rock 4 piece Dead World Leaders who were in the middle of negotiating a deal with Independent record label Cargo Records. Upon first hearing their 2nd EP I knew this was a band with real talent and that could definately go places. They had a strong profile in their hometown of Sheffield but they needed to breakout so in September 2006 I booked their first national tour, an 11 date trek across the UK including support slots with Little Man Tate at the Sheffield Octagon and Reverend and the Makers at the Nottingham Social.
The debut double A side "Start of the End Begins/Still I Think What I Think" is released on February 5th 2007 and is available exclusively on Itunes now.
Meanwhile Angry Panda released their 2nd EP "Fifth Column Gospel" with an extremely successful launch night at the Fleece and Firkin, Bristol Friday 5th January 2007.
BloodandGuts continues to grow, attracting label interest to the bands on it's roster along with SKY Sports and even Management requests from many UK bands along with International requests from as far as America and Sweden. BloodandGuts was also mentioned and thanked on the inside sleeve by Shortie's 2005 release "Without A Promise" on Earache Records.
Dead World Leaders will tour the UK in April and May.
