Hi everyone,

things have been a little quiet on the Luva Anna front for the past month or so. Whatever you've heard - IT WASN'T TRUE!!! Robbie has an allibi and the police no longer want to speak to him.

After a much needed break after a very hectic summer, the band feel a break is in order to work on some new material and freshen up the live set. Probably won't see us out gigging until Feb next year but in the mean time...

If you happen to have a television tune into 4 Music on Thursday or Channel4 on Sunday @ 12.40pm and watch Orange Unsigned act as we were chosen from over 7,500 bands to take part in the final 54 of the competition. This was very exciting and we had to wash Robbie and straighten Drewboys hair to appear on television as the producers of the show said they were morally insulted by both band members appearance. Dave even manages to keep his clothes on, which was a worry because he likes nothing more than to get naked in front of a roomfull of strangers and Billy...well Billy is the rugged hunk who wins over all with his manly ways and beating of the chest.

http://orangeunsignedact.co.uk/

Watch the show and let us know what you think.

Anyone want to guess which song we played...?

Luva Anna

xxx

Connect Festival: The Best Bits Of The Weekend

By Jamie Crossan

This summer, new festivals have seemingly sprung up everywhere, so what makes Connect – Scotland's newest three-day event - stand out from the rest? Well, for a start there's the beautiful backdrop of Inveraray Castle, situated in the stunning scenery of the West Scottish Highlands. But more than anything, it's the star-studded bill that makes Connect one of the highlights of the summer. The weekend boasted turns from the likes of Bjork, Beastie Boys and Primal Scream. Here are our top picks of the performances.

The Five Best Bands At Connect
1) Bjork
The Icelandic star wowed the thousands who had gathered to see her with a set mixing material from recent album 'Volta' with a selection of greatest hits. 'Earth Intruders' sounded epic with the help of a 10-piece backing band, but it was set closer 'Declare Independence' that received the biggest cheer of the night.

Best Song: 'Earth Intruders'
Best Moment: When the confetti rained down during 'Declare Independence'.

2) The Jesus And The Mary Chain
Their triumphant Friday night homecoming was the band's first Scottish gig since reforming for Coachella earlier this year, and they didn't disappoint. Their seminal 1985 hit, 'Just Like Honey, which famously featured on the 'Lost In Translation' soundtrack, proved to be one of the best songs heard all weekend.

Best Song: 'Just Like Honey'
Best Moment: The thrill of having the boys back onstage in Scotland

3) M.I.A
If only for the mass stage invasion, in which what looked like well over 100 people joined M.I.A. for her closing rendition of 'Galang'. Eventually organisers had no choice but to pull the plug due to the dangerous overcrowding, but it was still one of Connect's crowning moments.

Best Song: 'Bucky Done Gun'
Best Moment: That stage invasion.

4) Aereogramme
Favourites of fellow Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro and Mogwai, Aerogramme played an emotional final gig at Connect. By the end, some of the devotees in the audience were actually in tears.

Best Song: 'Simple Process Of Elimination'
Best Moment: When the band took their final bow waving goodbye to their army of supporters.

5) Luva Anna (!)
The pick of the new bands hidden away on the smaller stages in Connect's dark forest areas, Luva Anna may well be friends with fellow Dundonians The View, but their salty sea-shanties have more in common with The Coral. Definitely ones to watch,

Best Song: 'Wooden Shoe'
Best Moment: Stumbling across this band in the first place

Live Review: Luva Anna @ The Doghouse

So. Luva Anna. Luva Anna? A peculiar name, and what I'd heard from their MySpace page, they had the offbeat tunes to match. What does it sound like? Well….it's like….umm….: "The end of a hard day mining the coal from your bleeding gums". That'll do. Hmmm…. I was definitely looking forward to this one.

To the band. Comprising of Dave Webster on vocals/guitar (incidentally, the only time I'd seen him play previously was a couple of years back in The Reading Rooms when a faulty guitar lead meant an impromptu a capella performance ensued), 'Drew Boy Grazer' also on vocals/guitar, 'Afroman' Robbie Ward on Bass and Dougie Harley banging the skins, they bound onto the Doghouse stage amid frantic applause and a heightened sense of expectancy, looking as if they thought "This is gonna be the f*%$ing best gig EVER!"

(Man in crowd): "PLAY WOODEN SHOE!"

The very first thing that struck me about Luva Anna was not Rob Ward's hair, but how eclectic their sound is compared to most of their contemporaries on the Dundee scene. Although I'd never popped up at any of their gigs before, it was plain to see that sounding like The Libertines et al is off the menu, and infectious folk-rock was the Dish Of The Day. Nowadays, with all the soundalikes out there and very little true innovation shining through, comparisons between bands is always inevitable. Oasis & The Beatles. Arctic Monkeys & The View. Semisonic and a pile of shit. Luva Anna & ???? Hard to put your finger on this one.

"COME ON MAN, PLAY WOODEN SHOE!!".

As I mentioned previously, it's an indubitably diverse sound, and to pin it down to one genre or to compare their music to another artist would be to indulge in apathy. Personally, I would describe Luva Anna as a veritable mish-mash of everything you've EVER heard. The thumping bass lines, the infectious riffs, the ridiculous lyrics and even some comical Nordic/German accents. This, may I point out, is most definitely a good thing.

"PLEEEEAAASEE MAN, PLEASE PLAY WOODEN SHOE?!?!"

Most impressive about the Luva Anna set is the fact they write about things they know. This may seem like an obvious comment and not particularly contemporary, but with the amount of bands who write about love and being in love and losing people they love, it's a refreshing change to see a song written about one of their mates and entitled The Ballad O' Boaby Smith. Dedicated to one Boaby Smith, it's a nice acoustic tune showing off Dave Webster's arresting vocals which, on this tune at least, sound uncannily like Starsailors' James Walsh. Again, this is definitely not a bad thing.

"AWW FOR F*%$ SAKE, IR YI GONNAE PLAY WOODEN SHOE?!?!"

So as the first jangling riff of Wooden Shoe washes over the large crowd, the impatient moron persistently bellowing for it throughout has his wish granted. It's a lovely little folk tune with lyrics that mean as much to me as the exchange rate in Azerbaijan, but it demands your attention due to the enchanting harmonising, the pounding bass and just the sheer bloody quirkiness of it. One of their best and an instant crowd pleaser.

So whilst that imbecile got HIS request granted, on the very last song of the night, I got mine. Angry Fat Bouncer. Written about the knuckle dragging, sub-human species that we all know and love, it's an absolute cracker of a song. Roaring guitars, screaming vocals, anecdotic lyrics and it gets the crowd buzzing and bouncing, sending the people it was written about into a mild state of panic.

Panic over. Gig finished. Very successful show. Speaking to Rob afterwards he jokingly commented that "All people want us to play is Wooden Shoe!". Admittedly, every band has at least one song that folk long to hear more than others, but, in all honesty, Luva Anna are worth way more than just one song. It's about having a few drinks with your mates. It's about jumping around like a fool. Most importantly, however, it's about not getti