Fresh from supporting Badly Drawn Boy at Devon's LLAMA Festival, James and the Giant bring their original acoustic-pop to Edinburgh! Fronted by Dayve Dean, who launched his album Octagon at last year's Fringe.

Band biography, June 2009

James and the Giant have been busy climbing up the ladder of the local music scene in Cheshire and Staffordshire since they formed in late 2008.

The band plays a unique mixture of folk, rock and pop music, channelling the likes of REM, Tom Waits, David Gray and Neil Young into their original music. Whilst much of their material was written by Crewe based singer-songwriter Dayve Dean, they also have been known to throw in a few re-imagined and re-worked covers of famous songs.

Most of the songs played by James and the Giant come from singer Dayve’s second album Octagon, recorded in 2008 and produced by Nigel Stonier. Featuring backing vocals from award winning folk singer Thea Gilmore and recorded mainly in Liverpool at The Loft, Octagon is a collection of intelligently crafted pop songs with killer hooks and insightful lyrics.

The album was launched in 2008 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with Dayve playing solo for three weeks solid in Scotland’s capital city. He will be heading back to the scene of the crime - this time with the whole band - to play for three nights at the Free Fringe festival in August 2009.

Shortly after the festival finished, Dayve set about putting a band together to get the most out of the albums songs. Within a few months James and the Giant was formed, with music producer Dan Logan joining on drums along with guitarists Carl Hill and Steve Welch.

The band have been emerging on the local scene for nearly six months, becoming regular performers at one of the North West’s premier unsigned music venues, The Box in Crewe. They have been regular performers at venues across the whole of Cheshire and Stoke, but more excitement is to come over the summer months as the band get on the road to take in gigs all over the country.

James and the Giant have been confirmed onto the bill of the Lynton and Lynmouth Music Festival (LLAMA), where they will be joined by artists of the calibre of Badly Drawn Boy and David Holmes. The three day festival takes place in Devon in June 2009 and comes in the midst of a busy summer schedule that will see the band play dates in Manchester, Dudley, Edinburgh and Staffordshire.

Press Release, June 2009

James and the Giant bring their show to the Edinburgh this summer, taking in three shows at the Free Fringe Festival.

The band’s mix of folk and pop will be taking to the stage across the weekend of the 13th August at the Pear Tree. Their unique sound is built around numerous influences such as REM, Tom Waits and Neil Young with a strong acoustic presence in their hook-driven pop songs.

The gigs mark the return of lead singer Dayve Dean to the festival, having played a three and a half week residency at the Acoustic Music Centre at St Brides during last year’s Fringe festival. Dayve said: “Having launched the album at Edinburgh last year, the band obviously has strong ties to the festival and it’s great to be coming back. It’s been a busy year since and we’re looking forward to playing to great Edinburgh audiences again.”

James and the Giant’s performances at Edinburgh mark the end of a busy summer period, with the band is heading off to Devon to play the LLAMA (Lynton and Lynmouth) festival on June 13th alongside such luminaries as Badly Drawn Boy. They are also taking in summer shows in Manchester, Dudley, Stoke and participating in the Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival.

Links: James and the Giant: www.jamesandthegiant.co.uk  

Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/jamesandthegiantband