Hello everyone. Following on from my post yesterday, I thought you might be interested in reading this email correspondence I had with Howling Bells (former?) manager Grant Thomas, back in 2005/06:-
********************************
August 23, 2005
Grant,
Today I was searching for news on Juanita Stein and Waikiki and found they'd metamorphosised into Howling Bells. I then found this link
www.anrworldwide.com/column/2005/anrww/20050705/and your email address so I wondered if you had any news on their forthcoming album and whether it will be available in the UK. It's almost impossible to get hold of good Australian music in Britain and I am a massive fan of Juanita and her wonderful voice. I'd be very grateful if you could drop me a line.
Matthew Bell
********************************
August 25, 2005
Matthew,
Thanks for the note. The album won't be out until early next year but we plan on being in the UK so keep an eye on our website. There's a temporary one which will change in a couple of weeks.
www.howlingbells.com. Keep spreading the word on how talented this girl and band are.
Grant
********************************
January 27, 2006
Grant,
You may remember I emailed you last August asking about the Howling Bells, and you kindly replied. I've seen the UK tour dates and hope to catch them at a couple of the northern venues (Huddersfield & Leeds are easiest for me, but can't you slot one in in Sheffield?). I've now heard 4 tracks off the forthcoming album and they're all superb. The only question is when is its UK release date?
Matthew Bell
********************************
January 29, 2006
Matthew,
Thanks for the note. The album is coming out April 27th.The first single Wishing Stone comes out on February 27th. Sorry we can't get a show in to your town on this run. Who knows what we can do in the future. I'll tell our agent to get it together. What's the hip venue??? Hey tell all your friends about us will you.
Grant
********************************
January 30, 2006
Grant,
Thanks for the quick reply about the album date. Regarding the tour, because this is not Australia nowhere is very far away so I can get to two or three other cities in an hour, but for future reference, the best place for "up and coming" bands in Sheffield is the Boardwalk. See
www.theboardwalklive.co.uk There's also two universities that have regular gigs (Sheffield Uni and Sheffield Hallam Uni) and the City Hall, which holds about 2500. But next time the Howling Bells tour the UK they'll be worldwide stars and they can play Sheffield Arena, which is where Westlife, U2 and all those sort of people perform.
Matthew Bell
********************************
February 15, 2006
Grant,
Don't know if you've seen this review, which was in a local newspaper (The Metro) last week. Album of the Year they say! I'm going to see them in Derby tonight and hopefully to Huddersfield in a couple of weeks.
Matthew Bell
********************************
February 15, 2006
Matthew,
Thanks for the update. Wow that's amazing that they like the record that much. Of course I agree with them but I am biased. It is a brilliant record though. Enjoy the show.
Grant
********************************
February 16, 2006
Grant,
Went to the gig at Derby last night and it was great. The venue was tiny (the back room of a pub) and there weren't many people there, but that made it more intimate, which is much more preferable than vast impersonal halls. I managed to have a chat with Juanita and Joel afterwards, and very nice they are too. None of the Big Rock Star pretentiousness about them! Juanita was impressed when I told her I'd been waiting for three years to see them, ever since the early days of Waikiki. I also told them I'd been emailing you and I asked if they'd got any promotional material (posters etc) but unfortunately not, so I had to make do with the song listing, which is now up on my wall at home.
Matthew Bell
********************************
May 17, 2006
Grant,
I went to see Howling Bells in Derby last night and judging by the list of names signing up for the mailing list and the number of people there, word is getting round! I saw them at the same venue three months ago when there were about 15 people there, 3 of which were from one of the support acts, but last night it was pretty packed. I spoke to Juanita after the gig there back in February and again last night when she was selling T-shirts and she remembered me when I remarked that there were a few more there this time!
Matthew Bell
********************************
May 17. 2006
Mathew,
That's great news. Were they any good??? Thanks for the update and please keep spreading the word. I'll pass your comments on to the band.
Grant
********************************
May 17, 2006
Grant,
Of course they were good!
Matthew Bell
********************************
September 4, 2006
Grant,
Please find attached a review of the Howling Bells gig at The Plug in Sheffield on August 9th. It's from the free "Sandman" local music magazine.
Matthew Bell
********************************
September 4, 2006
Matthew,
Thanks for sending the review. Nice work. We'll definitely be back – in fact at the University on Thursday 12th October. Tell the world!!!
Grant
********************************
The world soon found out!!