I have to confess to being somewhat selective when it comes to my musical tastes. Being a child of the seventies, I have lived through everything from Disco to Punk to Rap and know only too well that what is popular one minute will be laughed at the next. (Having missed all the free love on offer the decade before, I was obviously bitter and twisted for a while, but I'm OK now!) Rock music, however, seems to be as popular now as it ever was - at least judging by the feedback we get at Klubkat.

I've never been a huge fan of the "can't hear the person next to me" school of music, so when I was invited to review a band who describe their style as "Rock-Pop", I was in two minds - I mean, there is Rock, and there is Rock... but I had nothing to worry about.

Mainland are by no means new to the music scene, having been together for eight to ten years. Jeanette Disney (what a wonderful name, and she didn't even make it up) is the newest member, having joined the line-up just over a year ago, and she is now providing the lead vocals for Mainland's distinctive sound. The rest of the band consists of Andrew Smith on guitar, Paul Swatman on bass guitar, David Felmintham on keyboards and Tim Warnes on drums. - and when they aren't too busy impressing us with their instrumental skills, Andrew and David help out on backing vocals too!

Speaking to the band after the gig, it was clear that this is more than just your run of the mill group seeking fame and fortune. They genuinely enjoy playing their music, and to me are leagues ahead of many of the young bandwagon-jumpers in the music industry today. They all have their own favourite songs - Andy prefers more complex music which can be a challenge to play, whereas Jeanette goes more for the toe-tapping rhythmic numbers. This means that, unlike many other bands out there, Mainland do not have hundreds of songs in their repertoire which all sound exactly the same. I found every tune they played to be a different style of Rock, and this was refreshing.
This, of course, is all in the humble opinion of your reviewer - for balance, I ought to say that there were those at the gig who didn't like the sound as there will be with every band, but if you enjoy Pop-Rock music then I don't think you can go far wrong with Mainland. Have a listen to their music on this site from March 2000, and judge for yourself. A compilation album called "Shoot the Canary" was also produced a while ago as part of "Norwich Sound City", and played on Radio 1.

Ambitions?
Andy: A bit of a bite, and to get the next notch up.
Jeanette: To get signed. We put a lot of work in, and we would like to be recognised for what we do.

Homebase for the band is the Lowestoft/Norwich area, and that is generally where you will find them gigging. However, don't despair if you live further afield - they have been seen in Lincolnshire, and also get down to London from time to time.
"But I live in Scotland" you say? Well, you will soon be able to listen to the band right here on Klubkat as they will be appearing over in our bands section from early March. Kick up a fuss with those record companies if you like what you hear, and perhaps they'll get signed and be able to tour your territories in the future!

Embarrassing moments? "Introducing a song and then playing a different one." Yeah, that would do it!