The Fruit Tree Foundation - Music Like A Vitamin gig reviews.

Back in October Ralph blogged about the Fruit Tree Foundation's Music Like A Vitamin gig at The HMV Picture House Edinburgh on Thursday 25th October.  It featured Withered Hand, Sparrow and the Workshop, Fatherson and The Birthday Suit.  Needless to say there was a few wee surprise guest appearances to look forward to including Marie Collins and Emma Pollock.  Now given that Edinburgh's a long way for a Jack Russell to walk to, so guest reviewers Alexandra Watson and Tom Wheeler were good enough to stand in plus photographer Chris O'Sullivan took some outstanding photographs on the night which unfortunately I can't use at the moment. 




Review by Alexandra Watson.....

Which came first, The Fruit Tree Foundation, or Music Like A Vitamin?  It’s the age old question.  First organised by musicians Rod Jones (Idlewild) and Emma Pollock (The Delgados), Music Like A Vitamin concerts have been showcasing Scottish indie musical talent annually since 2008.  In 2010, The Fruit Tree Foundation (made up of artists already involved in the Music Like A Vitamin gigs) was officially founded, and the members collaborated on an album of original songs entitled First Edition.  Although the Fruit Tree Foundation was not formally named until that year, it essentially began with the start of Music Like A Vitamin, whether the contributors realised it at the time or not.  The main purpose of both the concerts and the collective, however, has always been the same: to raise awareness of mental health issues and to promote the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

Despite dreary weather and an early kick off, the large venue was bustling by the time Sparrow and the Workshop (fronted by Jill O’Sullivan) took to the stage.  Powerful bass and drums were accompanied by entrancing, husky vocals, creating a pleasurably moody sound, verging on ‘90s grunge at points.  On finishing her set, O’Sullivan immediately proved her versatility by performing country influenced duet ‘Dead Leaves And A Swollen Leg’ from the Fruit Tree Foundation album with Rod Jones.  Over the course of the evening, 
we heard several such refreshing snippets from First Edition, as contributors performed one or two songs in between full sets.

Next up, The Birthday Suit, fronted by Rod Jones, an all-electric, pop/punk joy to see live.  He exuded energy, but lyrics like ‘I don’t want to do this on my own’ could hint at the musician’s own struggle with loneliness and depression.  Not only showing their support for the SMHAFF through their music, each individual performer also mentioned the subject on a personal level.  Dan Willson of Withered Hand said: ‘A lot of us walk the line every day’, encouraging his audience to be open and supportive when it comes to mental health.  The genre defying Willson clearly has a sense of humour (proven by a spontaneous on-stage striptease), but like Jones, the subject matter of his songs suggests an inner battle with both confidence and happiness. He led sing alongs with crowd favourites ‘No Cigarettes’ and ‘Religious Songs’ and, left us demanding ‘wan more choon’.

Arguably the star of the show, young singer-songwriter Marie Collins followed Withered Hand.  Marie was mentored by Dan Willson on behalf of the Fruit Tree Foundation as part of their New Branch mentoring scheme in 2011.  Reminiscent of KT Tunstall, but with a thicker brogue, Collins gave a light, bright and above all strong performance.  Finally, young Kilmarnock band Fatherson brought the night to a euphoric end, filling the Picturehouse with their enormous and eclectic sound.  With haunting vocal harmonies and a unique melancholy energy, Fatherson effortlessly personify the originality of the Fruit Tree Foundation and the spirit of Music Like A Vitamin.  Clearly, there will always be talented Scottish musicians to carry on the support of Music Like A Vitamin, and both Rod Jones and Emma Pollock should be proud of the musical legacy that they have created.

Review by Tom Wheeler.....

Do you remember the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” thing? The idea was that you could link anyone in the film industry to Kevin Bacon in six steps.  Shift from Hollywood to Scotland, and from movies to music. And for Kevin Bacon, read Emma Pollock. From the Delgados to the Burns Unit, via all things Chemikal Underground, there’s an Emma connection to most of the good things you could possibly do to your ears. The difference is that there are rarely so many as six degrees of separation. Often, as was the case tonight, there are no degrees of separation at all. And when you’ve paid a paltry fiver to see four of the most exciting bands in the country, and the First Lady of Scottish music pops onstage for an unbilled appearance, you know you’re in for quite an evening.

The songs she performed, alongside her Fruit Tree Foundation co-founder Rod Jones, came from one of Emma’s more recent collaborations: the excellent First Edition album, one of several arms of this remarkable project to raise awareness of mental health issues through music.

Rod himself had just concluded a storming set with his band The Birthday Suit – loud, melodic and tight as a gnat’s proverbial, and rounded off with a triumphant take on Snap’s 90s “classic” Rhythm is a Dancer (This led me to tell Bart Owl that Eagleowl should have a go at covering Ce Ce Peniston’s Finally – a challenge that he has yet to accept formally).

By that point, we’d already had our collective socks knocked off by an electrifying set from the surely-about-to-go-massive Sparrow and the Workshop. Jill O’Sullivan sings “I will break you”, you believe her, although the reality is that you couldn’t wish to meet a nicer person.

Not content with solo and full band incarnations, Dan (Withered Hand) Willson split the difference tonight and appeared as part of a three-piece, following in the revered footsteps of Hüsker Dü, Nirvana and, er, Bananarama. In a nod to one of his own lyrics, Dan was sporting some rather fetching eyeliner – by which logic, we should probably be grateful that he didn’t dress as the back end of a pantomime horse (As someone who’s actually been the back end I can tell you it’s not all it’s cracked up to be).

After a thoroughly entertaining half hour of old favs and instantly memorable newies, Dan was joined by the hyper-talented Marie Collins, with whom he’d worked as part of the Fruit Tree Mentoring initiative. They played two of Marie’s songs, explaining that they hadn’t played or practised together for over a year, barring rehearsal on the fire escape earlier. Well, they could have fooled us. 

Incidentally, Marie told me that she’s off to the legendary Chem 19 studios next month to record her debut EP (and here I refer you back to my Six Degrees of Emma Pollock theory). When it comes out, buy it immediately. That is all.

Follow that, we said. “Right you are”, replied Fatherson, and proceeded to bring the evening to a stirring, foot-stomping conclusion. Referring to their Cat Stevens-influenced name, they told us they named a song after the man himself in the hope of upping their YouTube hits. I suspect they won’t need to worry about profile-raising techniques for too much longer.

And so we wandered out into the night – or, strictly speaking, into the pub next door – and reflected on an exhilarating evening. That wasn’t just down to the quality of the bands on show, or to being reminded again that there’s no better place in the world to be a music fan. More inspiring still was the fact that so many talented, creative people had devoted their time and energy to such an important cause.

Mental health isn’t sexy. You can’t highlight it through dramatic, heart-rending images on the TV. Mental health problems are generally unseen and unheard, often until it’s too late. Millions of people downplay the significance of mental health issues, and some – the 21^st century equivalents of the flat earth brigade – continue to deny their existence.

But the truth is that there isn’t a soul in Scotland – or anywhere else for that matter – who hasn’t been touched in some way by mental health problems. The Fruit Tree Foundation exists because two amazing people understood the positive impact that music can have on mental health. If there’s even one song in your record collection that reliably brings a smile to your face, you’ll appreciate the truth of that premise. 

And if you were at the Picture House tonight, you’ll understand it all the better.

So I’ll end with a couple of pleas. To Rod, Emma and all the brilliant people who made this happen: keep going, because the work you do is as special as it is vital. And to everyone else: support the cause of mental health in any way you can. Challenge preconceptions; donate money; lend an ear; seek out support when you need it; and remember you’re not alone. Because, as Dan Willson summed it up perfectly tonight: “A lot of us walk that line every day.”

Just in case you wondered, and before you say anything, the pictures are in no particular order but big up to Chris for the quality of the shots.

Since 2008 the music events of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival have grown in size and popularity.  In order to build on this success and increase the awareness of The Mental Health Foundation, Scottish Wave of Change and Breathing Space Scotland a number of luminaries of the Scottish Indie and Folk music scene got together to develop a project called 'First Edition'.

The Fruit Tree Foundation would like to invite you to find out more about what they do by having a look at the websites..... Breathing Space Scotland and Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival where you will find lots of excellent information about mental well-being and accessing of support.

The Fruit Tree Foundation is a constituted group, which currently operates under the auspices of the Mental Health Foundation. 

A steering group leads the project.....

Rod Jones (Musician)

Emma Pollock (Musician)
Isabella Goldie (Head of Mental Health Programmes Scotland, The Mental Health Foundation)
Lee Knifton (Festival Director, Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival)
Pamela Clarke (Festival Manager, Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival)
Virginia Anderson (Volunteer & Charity Consultant)

The gigs, the album and their awareness raising programme would of course never have been possible without the musicians who dedicated their time and energy to writing, recording and performing the initial project – the album 'First Edition'. To create this piece of work, they had the pleasure of working with the aforementioned songwriters.....

James Graham 
Scott Hutchison 
Jill O'Sullivan 
Karine Polwart
Jenny Reeve
Alasdair Roberts
James Yorkston

They would like to thank them very much for their dedication and support during the past year in helping 

us to fulfill the Foundation's first ambitions.

The Fruit Tree Foundation would also like to thank the following organisations for their support.....

A Scottish Wave of Change

Awards for All



Breathing Space



The Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival



The Merchant's House of Glasgow

You'll find links to all of them on their home page.

If you'd like to contact them, please email.....

Pamela Clarke

The Mental Health Foundation
Merchants House
30 George Square
Glasgow
G2 1EG
0141 572 1662

The Mental Health Foundation is a charity registered in Scotland (SCO39714) and a registered company. (No. 2350846)