Rod Jones and Music Like A Vitamin

Music Like A Vitamin, the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival’s key music event, is making its return this month after a year’s absence.

The gig will showcase a number of Scotland’s up and coming music talents as well as one-off collaborations between acts, all in the aid of raising awareness of the charity.
Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones has been the driving force behind the event since it began in 2008 and will be performing at this year’s show with his new band The Birthday Suit.
Alternative folk outfit Sparrow and the Workshop, indie-rockers Fatherson and the melodic Withered Hand will also take part in proceedings, providing a diverse and exciting line-up.

It is the first time that any of the acts will have performed at the show, adding a fresh perspective to this year’s event at Edinburgh’s Picture House.
When asked by the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival to curate a gig five years ago, Rod Jones had to gather a selection of bands through what contacts he had available.
Rod, who suffered from depression in the past, said: “Originally, I asked friends in other bands to do me a favour and we ended up selling out the ABC in Glasgow.
“Now when I’m thinking of who to ask I like to keep things different, and this year we’ve picked four really good bands who are doing well. It’s an excellent cross-section of music.”

The success of the annual Music Like A Vitamin concerts spurred Jones on to co-found the Fruit Tree Foundation with singer Emma Pollock.
The Foundation went on to release the critically acclaimed album “First Edition”, which featured 10 musicians writing together for a week in Perth. Sparrow and the Workshop’s Jill O’Sullivan, Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit and the Twilight Sad’s James Graham were just a few of the names involved in the collaboration.
The Fruit Tree Foundation, who will be presenting this year’s event, want to send a clear message that music can be key in the treatment of mental health issues.
Rod said: “Music has so much power, and it helps capture everyone’s imagination.
“It’s such a positive thing to have bands performing for such a good cause. The concerts help to raise awareness of the charity and get people talking about it.
“Mental health is something that is close to anyone’s heart, either through themselves, friends or family. It affects everyone and the show promotes what we want to do.”

The Fruit Tree Foundation has also branched out its work, setting up a mentoring programme for hopeful musicians to help raise awareness of the work that the charity is doing.
Scottish acts such as James Yorkston and Withered Hand’s Dan Wilson worked alongside Rod to help young people write and record their music, as well as play a live show.
“We started the mentor idea in three sessions alongside the festival last year,” said Jones.
“Young musicians would send in their demo, and we would pick the strongest and most creative to work with. We are now planning to do one a month, starting early next year.”

Unlike conventional gigs, the running order of Music Like A Vitamin is not selected until the night of the show to ensure that there is no hierarchy. Rod stresses that the focus of the gig is not on any band in particular, but on mental health awareness as a whole.
Rod said: “It’s a collective effort, with all of the bands coming together and bringing their individual crowds together.
“There’s always a great community atmosphere for an extremely important cause and I would encourage anyone to come along.”

Music Like A Vitamin takes place at the HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on Thursday, October 25. Doors open at 6pm and tickets cost £5.
For more information visit www.fruittreefoundation.com and www.mhfestival.com
Andrew Ferguson [email protected]