I… Read Full Bio ↴1. Wood is an experimental noise/ambient music project started in 2023
2. Traditional Rock and Americana from James Maddock and company.
He's just an ordinary guy. We know that because he's forever telling us he's just an ordinary guy in that likable, down-to-earth, "fancy a drink, pal?" sort of way.
But how many ordinary guys do YOU know who amble nonchalantly on stage looking as if they're about to pick a fight with a karaoke machine and then sing with a sublime power that charms and chills in equal measure? How many ordinary guys do YOU know who write a whole catalogue of songs with such emotional depth that they sound like classics the instant you hear them?
He's a Midlands lad called James Maddock from the English city of Leicester, famous for... well, Leicester's not famous for anything at all really. But for years, he's had this unfeasible dream of making wonderful music under the name of Wood and, hey, dreams come true.... "We used to be called 'The Gift Of Love,'" he remembers, "and we were talking one night about music and I said, 'On all the records I really love -- like Dylan and The Band -- you can picture the room they're playing in and you can hear the wood.' And it suddenly hit me. WOOD! That was the name I wanted for my band."
James picked up his first instrument -- the ukulele that his granddad used to play in wartime bands -- at the age of eight. His dad, an optician, filled the house with jazz and if you venture into Leicester on a wet weekend you might still find Mr. Maddock playing in a jazz band in some remote corner.
"By the time I was 14, I started thinking seriously about being able to play the guitar," James recalls, "and I was pretty good at it. I had this great guitar teacher and at the end of a lesson he'd say, 'You should check out this record by Neil Young.... ' I worked on a market stall on a Saturday and I'd go in, get my wages, and then go and buy a Neil Young record. And the next week he'd say, 'have you heard Ry Cooder...?,' and it went on from week to week... The Eagles, Jackson Browne... and all the West Coast stuff...."
"Then I found Born To Run at a friend's house and it completely blew me away," he continues. "I was a big Bruce fan, still am. The Band's second album was a seminal influence on me too. Bob Dylan is a big hero for me."
James Maddock moved to London when he was 20 and served his apprenticeship in covers bands working the ...ahem... boisterous London Irish pub circuit. He played in the Arsenal Tavern, North London, every weekend for several years, an achievement that surely merits some sort of long service gold medal award. It was hard, the audiences took no prisoners and you could play there for a hundred years without being discovered, but James wouldn't have missed it for the world. And besides, from this unglamorous environment of beer, tobacco and loud covers of old standards and the hits of the day, the first splinters of Wood began to emerge about three years ago. "I took over as singer and started doing my favorite songs -- Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bob Marley stuff -- but all the time I was also writing my own songs."
They even recorded some demos of his material (at Abbey Road Studios, no less, where they fantasized about being rich and famous as they arrived to be gawked at and have their pictures taken by Japanese tourists) and waited for unspeakably lavish offers to flood in. Strangely enough, they didn't. But James somehow knew his music's spiritual home was America. "Two of the albums I most identify with are Late For The Sky (Jackson Browne) and Harvest (Neil Young). I love songwriters and I try to combine melodies and story. I've always liked my music to be quite gentle, with an acoustic, friendly feel...."
At a time when nothing got signed in the UK unless it came with nasal voices and loud twanging guitars and could be marketed as "Brit pop," James suddenly found himself flown to New York where a chance play of the demo sufficiently impressed Columbia Record executives to offer him a record deal. Classic songs. Beautiful melodies. Great lyrics. Choruses just made for dancing on the ceiling. A voice to sell your grandmother for. Where had this boy BEEN all their lives?!
"They got me to fly out there and do a gig in their offices!," James exclaims. "It was pretty scary! You spend all your life trying to get to this point and suddenly you're standing there with your guitar and it's all hanging on what you do in 20 minutes in that office."
The boy obviously done good. His old Leicester schoolchum, Bill Newsinger (guitar), and the other two Wood mainstays, Jim O'Malley (bass) and Steve Jackson (drums), found themselves finally summoned to Tongue & Groove Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to record, with producer Dave "Stiff" Johnson, the album they'd begun to despair would ever get made. "It really is a dream come true!," James admits. "When you've spent so long scrubbing around trying to get £50 together for rehearsals you think it will never happen. But when it does happen it's a huge responsibility. I'm learning a lot about myself through this."
The first Wood album, Songs From Stamford Hill, is not only full of unfeasibly memorable melodies and immaculately crafted songs, it has some telling lyrics. "I'd written hundreds of songs before," James estimates, "but when we called the band 'Wood,' everything seemed to fall into place." The album's title was inspired by the area of London where James was living at the time most of the songs on the record were written.
You may already know the opening track, "Stay You," which is featured on the best-selling Top 10 album Songs From Dawson's Creek (Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax). "Never Ending," the album's closing song, is another key track, a particularly poignant, nostalgic autobiographical song about growing up in Leicester and losing touch with schoolfriends. All of James' years of frustration are reflected in the lyric of "Knock It On The Head," in which he promises to allow himself just one last crack at this music nonsense before giving it all up to get a proper job. Then again, you don't have to spend long in his company to know he could NEVER give it up!
James has a rare way with a sentimental love song, as well. "I really love 'Our Time Has Come', it's so SOPPY!" he laughs. "There's only about three chords in it too, but there's a symmetry as well." And then there's 'You Make Me Feel Bad.' "Oh, that's about a girlfriend who made me decorate the apartment about four times," he admits. "I'd do it and she'd turn round and say, 'Oh I don't like that color!.'" All human life is here.
Wood. Crazy name. Perhaps. Ordinary guy. We think not!
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(3)Wood is rapper from Houston, Tx.
He is member of S.U.C. ( Screwed Up Click) & Half Dead Organization.
(4)Wood is also an instrumental band from Wheaton, IL. They are, what you call, like-minded forward thinkers. http://www.myspace.com/ourbandwood
(5)Wood is also a project by Wouter 'Wood' Loderichs, operating from Apeldoorn, The Netherlands . On his debut he mixes hiphop, funk, rock, blues and a tinge of industrial. More info can be found at his MySpace page.
(6) Wood is also a young Norwegian pop comet, also known as Elsa Marie Skjong. http://soundcloud.com/woodnorway/wood-honey-youre-a-dog
7. Stoner/Doom Metal from Rennes, France
Bandcamp
8. French rapper signed to GrintaRecords who started in 2020
https://www.instagram.com/woodsvs_/
Vrai poto
Wood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle s'fait des idées elle
Dans 10min j'la ken
Elle m'parle d'son mec c'est qui cet imbécile
A force d'être indécis tu sais plus à quoi j'penses
Tu sais même si c'est à toi qu'je tiens ou juste à ta présence
J'donne pas raison au daron j'sais qu'il a raison
Quand il disait qu'à force d'être impliqué, on tomberait pour l'réseau
Tu veux j'te parle de quoi d'autre
Sous tonkar enfoiré
Ça fait 2 piges j'nehess au placard
Le passé j'lai oublié
Partir ne plus revenir pour que tu aies souvenir lointain d'moi
Terrain m'fais manger fort plus foi en lui que en toi
A quoi ça sert d'être bon avec les gens qu'tu change pas
Quand J'béton et j'reviens et qui sont toujours tuba
Nique la spip, le gign, jreviens la haine
J'passe après l'midi minuit et j'donne ta paye comme à l'ancienne
J'men rappelle quand y'avait foye
J'passais mon temps à chercher toutes les failles
Petit gache pas ton temps avec toutes ces filles
Blesse pas ton cœur tu vaux mieux qu'tout ses chiens
Laisse les pas te faire croire que toi t'es rien
Ils vont peut-être capter si on sort les machins
Dans l'bolide bolide j'suis armé d'l'arme de poing
On disait qu'on s'reverra au terminus
On va pas on l'école on séchait on faisait des tours de bus
Y a qu'vrai poto qui peux m'assumer moi ma puce
En détention y a des photos qui s'rapproche au prix d'la touche
On disait qu'on s'reverra au terminus
On va pas on l'école on séchait on faisait des tours de bus
Y a qu'vrai poto qui peux m'assumer moi ma puce
En détention y a des photos qui s'rapproche au prix d'la touche
En bas d'chez moi y'a refou
Maman on va ou?
On va dans un endroit ou vous ferez plus trop les voyous
Tu veux toujours rajout
Sur la lamelle sale pince
Et nique ta mère vrai
Re fume ton paquet d'ginz
Économise ta cons'
J'parfume la pièce
A 7h comme a 14
Dans lA7 sport sur l'A14
Repasse au shop et prend ta dose
On loue les caisses catégories SUV
Faut l'utilitaire faut d'la ceupla pour tout parfumer
Quand j'ai pas 1 t'es pas là ça on la connait mais j'suis rodé
Quand c'est chaud on sait qu'tu vas donner
Le dangers les 100g l'enfermement
C'est quand c'est trop tard qu'tu vas y penser
Au moins tu verra qui t'apprécie
Quand on reti sur c'est précis
Fort on fait ci fort on fait ça
Pas dans l'fait pas ci fait pas ça
Vas y suce ma bite et casse toi
Prend ton cœur apaise toi
Ton vieux buzz tej le
Viens reprendre pasta
Viens reprendre temps d'jeux
Blesse pas ton cœur tu vaux mieux qu'tout ses chiens
Laisse les pas te faire croire que toi t'es rien
Ils vont peut-être capter si on sort les machins
Dans l'bolide bolide j'suis armé d'l'arme de poing
On disait qu'on s'reverra au terminus
On va pas on l'école on séchait on faisait des tours de bus
Y a qu'vrai poto qui peux m'assumer moi ma puce
En détention y a des photos qui s'rapproche au prix d'la touche
On disait qu'on s'reverra au terminus
On va pas on l'école on séchait on faisait des tours de bus
Y a qu'vrai poto qui peux m'assumer moi ma puce
En détention y a des photos qui s'rapproche au prix d'la touche
The lyrics of "Vrai poto" by Wood describe a complex and conflicted relationship. The song begins with the singer expressing frustration and confusion about his romantic partner. He mentions that she has misconceptions and imagines things, and he plans to have sex with her in ten minutes. However, she talks about her boyfriend and the singer questions the importance of this other person in her life. The lyrics suggest that the singer is unsure about his own feelings and whether he truly cares about the girl or if he just values her presence.
The second verse delves into themes of separation and moving on. The singer contemplates leaving and never coming back, hoping that this will create a distant memory of him for the girl. He mentions having more faith in himself than in her, emphasizing the importance of being true to oneself. He questions the point of being good to people who will not change and warns against wasting time with meaningless relationships.
The chorus conveys a sense of rebellion and resentment. The singer declares his defiance against the police and the system, boasting about coming back in the afternoon and midnight to collect his payment. He reminisces about the past, where he used to look for loopholes and flaws, and advises the listener not to waste time with meaningless relationships. He asserts that they are worth more than the dogs that try to belittle them and suggests that they may gain recognition if they show their strength.
The lyrics continue to touch on themes of rebellion, drug use, and the consequences of one's actions. The song also explores the idea of friendship and loyalty, with the singer highlighting the importance of true friends who accept and support him. The last verse depicts a scene where the singer's mother asks where they are going, and the singer assures her that they are going somewhere where they won't engage in criminal behavior anymore.
Overall, the song "Vrai poto" portrays a troubled relationship, individual struggle, and the complexities of loyalty amid rebellion.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans ma chambre, trop de décibels
My room is filled with loud music
Elle s'fait des idées elle
She's fantasizing
Dans 10min j'la ken
In ten minutes, I'll have sex with her
Elle m'parle d'son mec c'est qui cet imbécile
She's talking about her boyfriend, who is this idiot
A force d'être indécis tu sais plus à quoi j'penses
Because I'm so indecisive, you don't know what I'm thinking anymore
Tu sais même si c'est à toi qu'je tiens ou juste à ta présence
You don't know if I care about you or just your presence
J'donne pas raison au daron j'sais qu'il a raison
I don't agree with my dad but I know he's right
Quand il disait qu'à force d'être impliqué, on tomberait pour l'réseau
When he said that by getting involved, we would fall for the network
Tu veux j'te parle de quoi d'autre
What else do you want me to talk to you about
Sous tonkar enfoiré
Underneath the car, bastard
Ça fait 2 piges j'nehess au placard
It's been two years since I've been locked up
Le passé j'lai oublié
I've forgotten the past
Partir ne plus revenir pour que tu aies souvenir lointain d'moi
Leaving and never coming back, so that you have distant memories of me
Terrain m'fais manger fort plus foi en lui que en toi
I trust him more than I trust you
A quoi ça sert d'être bon avec les gens qu'tu change pas
What's the point of being nice to people you won't change
Quand J'béton et j'reviens et qui sont toujours tuba
When I struggle and come back and they're still the same
Nique la spip, le gign, jreviens la haine
Fuck the SPiP, the GIGN, I bring back the hatred
J'passe après l'midi minuit et j'donne ta paye comme à l'ancienne
I come after noon and midnight and I give you your paycheck like in the old days
J'men rappelle quand y'avait foye
I remember when there was a party
J'passais mon temps à chercher toutes les failles
I spent my time looking for all the flaws
Petit gache pas ton temps avec toutes ces filles
Kid, don't waste your time with all these girls
Blesse pas ton cœur tu vaux mieux qu'tout ses chiens
Don't hurt your heart, you're worth more than all those dogs
Laisse les pas te faire croire que toi t'es rien
Don't let them make you believe that you're nothing
Ils vont peut-être capter si on sort les machins
They might understand if we bring out the tools
Dans l'bolide bolide j'suis armé d'l'arme de poing
In the car, I'm armed with a handgun
On disait qu'on s'reverra au terminus
We said we'll meet again at the terminus
On va pas on l'école on séchait on faisait des tours de bus
We won't go, we skipped school, we took bus rides
Y a qu'vrai poto qui peux m'assumer moi ma puce
Only a true friend can handle me, my dear
En détention y a des photos qui s'approche au prix d'la touche
In detention, there are photos getting closer to the price of a touch
En bas d'chez moi y'a refou
At the bottom of my place, there's a crowd
Maman on va où?
Mom, where are we going?
On va dans un endroit ou vous ferez plus trop les voyous
We're going to a place where you won't be such troublemakers
Tu veux toujours rajout
You always want to add more
Sur la lamelle sale pince
On the dirty razor blade
Et nique ta mère vrai
And fuck your mother, truthfully
Re fume ton paquet d'ginz
Smoke your pack of Ginz again
Économise ta cons'
Save your consumption
J'parfume la pièce
I perfume the room
A 7h comme a 14
At 7am or 2pm
Dans lA7 sport sur l'A14
In the A7 sport on the A14 highway
Repasse au shop et prend ta dose
Go back to the shop and take your dose
On loue les caisses catégories SUV
We rent SUV cars
Faut l'utilitaire faut d'la ceupla pour tout parfumer
We need the utility vehicle, we need the drugs to perfume everything
Quand j'ai pas 1 t'es pas là ça on la connait mais j'suis rodé
When I don't have any, you're not around, we know that, but I'm prepared
Quand c'est chaud on sait qu'tu vas donner
When it's dangerous, we know you'll step up
Le dangers les 100g l'enfermement
The danger, the 100g, the confinement
C'est quand c'est trop tard qu'tu vas y penser
It's when it's too late that you'll think about it
Au moins tu verra qui t'apprécie
At least you'll see who appreciates you
Quand on reti sur c'est précis
When we fall back on what's precise
Fort on fait ci fort on fait ça
We pretend to be strong, we do this, we do that
Pas dans le fait pas ci fait pas ça
Not in the fact, not in this, not in that
Vas y suce ma bite et casse toi
Go suck my dick and get lost
Prend ton cœur apaise toi
Take your heart, calm down
Ton vieux buzz tej le
Your old buzz, get rid of it
Viens reprendre pasta
Come get some pasta
Viens reprendre temps d'jeux
Come regain some playtime
Writer(s): Franklin
Contributed by Julia B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.