10 Reasons To Live - Carling Islington Academy

(Photo Source: Channel 4 - SlashMusic)

The lovely David Wilcox & me
The lovely Johno & me

Snippet of "She Likes It"

Snippet of "Breathe"
Believe it or not, I have a new favourite band!! They're called 10 Reason To Live ("10RTL"), they hail from Liverpool and yes, I do believe they're going to be huge! They have a single coming out in the summer called "Pretty Girls" (they've just wrapped up filming the video) and an album shortly thereafter.

I came across them on Myspace (click here for theirs) and was hooked after the first listen of their track "She Likes It". Basically, if you like stadium rock style bands (think Aerosmith, U2, Guns & Roses, the Stones, Goo Goo Dolls etc) with their hard hitting guitar-strong songs and power ballads ("Breathe" is gorgeous, listen to a snippet above), this is the band to watch out for. Matt and I managed to catch them at the Carling Islington Academy (where they were performing as second headliners) a short while back and they blew me away. 10RTL consist of 5 guys (David Wilcox - lead singer, Paul Garrett - rhythm guitar/songwriter, Johno - bass, Stevie B - lead guitar & Toby Smith - drums) although unfortunately, Paul wasn't well that night and couldn't therefore be there. Yes, they are a bunch of good looking blokes (which does not hurt when it comes to recruiting female fans) but there is no denying their musical talent. Toby drums with military precision and great force and if I knew the proper musical terms to describe how brilliant Stevie B and Johno are at playing guitar and bass respectively, trust me when I say that I would articulate it on this blog! Although Paul was absent, I must commend him for his songwriting talent; he clearly knows a thing or two about catchy tunes and heartfelt lyrics!

As for David Wilcox, what can I say? With lead singers, what you're looking for is talent, stage presence, charisma and someone who knows how to work the crowd, amongst other things. Mr Wilcox ticks all of those boxes, and then some! I am therefore not surprised that he has been likened to "a young Mick Jagger", as stated on the band's record label's website. And he looks better than I do in eyeliner!

After the gig, Matt and I managed to have quick chats with Johno and David, who, along with the rest of the band, were having drinks in the outside area and mingling with the crowd (and presumably their family, friends and long-established fans). They were really friendly and sweet and it is such a refreshing change to meet a band that makes time for the people who come to see them.

I haven't been able to catch them in concert again but trust me, like with U2 and Kasabian, this is a band that I will be checking out over and over again and I have my fingers crossed for their success in the charts. Do yourself a favour and go check them out too. Details of their gigs, tickets, tracks etc can be found on their Myspace and official website.