Monthly Archives: August 2013

Album review: EAST TOWN PIRATES – Seven Seas Of Sin

EAST TOWN PIRATES - Seven Seas Of Sin

The look of this band, and the album cover, may not initially excite.  Skulls and cross bones.  Piratical tales.  What’s new?  Well nothing really but there is a certain infectious charm to this second album from East Anglia’s bunch of … Continue reading

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Gig review: REO SPEEDWAGON – Empire Rockfest, Belleville, Canada, 25 July 2013

A couple of hours East of Ontario, Belleville is a modestly sized city of only around 50,000, but for three days it was the AOR capital of the world. Somehow the organisers, the local Empire Theatre, had lined up Journey … Continue reading

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Album review: STEVE CICHON – Meltdown

Stephen Andrew Cichon [Release date 03.06.13] Florida’s prog/fusion guitarist Steve Cichon’s last instrumental album ‘Cranial Feedback’ was notable for its inventive guitar playing, shifting tone colours and vacillating twists and turns. ‘Meltdown’ extends his penchant for relentless guitar pyrotechnics with … Continue reading

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Album review: EVILYN STRANGE – Mourning Phoebe

Evilyn Strange

www.evilynstrange.co.uk [Release date 13.07.13] There is evidently some humour in this band and their publicity, describing  themselves as part Beatles part Black Label Society.  Philip and Al Strange (I assume brothers but let’s take nothing for granted here) are joined … Continue reading

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Interview with GARY BONER (ROADHOUSE) – 2 August 2013

22 years into their career, the hard gigging Roadhouse release ‘Gods & Highways & Old Guitars’, the best album of their career on Krossborder records. It pays homage to the darker elements of the American south and would fit into … Continue reading

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Album Reviews: DODSON & FOGG – Dodson & Fogg,Derring Do,Sounds Of Day And Night

Dodson & Fogg

Wisdom Twins Records  [Released 2012/2013] wisdomtwinsbooks.weebly.com/dodson-and-fogg.html Despite having a name that sounds like an engineering firm making flanges for the automotive industry, Dodson & Fogg are essentially one person. His name is Chris Wade – a multi-instrumentalist par excellence who … Continue reading

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Album review: BUDDY GUY – Rhythm & Blues

RCA Silvertone [Release date 29.07.13] The cornerstone to Buddy Guy’s first ever double album is the relatively late definition of the term blues.  The music he first started playing was R&B – CD1 provides the rhythm and CD2 the blues … Continue reading

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Gig review: STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL – Ebbw Vale, 27 July 2013

Steelhouse Festival, 27 July 2013

High up in the hills, at Hafod-Y-Dafal farm in South Wales, the third annual Steelhouse Festival is now an established Rock and Metal weekender. Tickets were modestly priced at £65 all weekend or £40 a day, including adult and family … Continue reading

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Gig review: HEART, JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE – Toronto, Canada, 23 July 2013

Heart,Toronto, Canada, 23 July 2013

Molston Canadian Amphitheatre While Heart came to the attention of the majority of UK fans for their big power ballads and soft focus videos in the eighties, the band prefer to see themselves in their earlier guise in which, with … Continue reading

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Gig review: MOONDANCE JAM – Walker,Minnesota,USA,18-20 July 2013

Moondance Jam, USA, July 2013

Few festival experiences can match the vibe of Moondance Jam. Set among the beautiful woods and lakes of Northern Minnesota, somehow the tiny town of Walker plays host to one of the Mid West’s premier rock festivals and draws crowds … Continue reading

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Album review: PETE THOMAS & THE HORNS APLENTY – Big

Mermaid Records [Release date 22.07.13] To say that the opening track on Pete Thomas & The Horns A Plenty’s ‘Big’ has swagger, is to underestimate the title of the album that is big in tone, intent and performance. ‘Big’ brims … Continue reading

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Album review: STEVE COCHRANE – La La La: Variations On A Happy Song

Spirit Compass Music [Release date 02.07.12] ‘La La La: Variations On a Happy Song’ is Canadian prog rock artist Steve Cochrane’s metaphorical meditations on the human condition. It’s a thematically linked suite spread over 9 tracks on which sharply contrasting … Continue reading

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Album review: ROOMFUL OF BLUES – 45 Live

Alligator [Release date 29.07.13] If Roomful of Blues are the kind of band who are labelled as Heritage Music, then their historical take on American music is one dominated by horn led blues and swing. They consistently have one eye … Continue reading

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Album Review – EARTHEN GRAVE – Earthen Grave

    Ripple Records ( Release date – out now) Formed back in 2008 and led by former Trouble bassist Ron Holzner, Earthen Grave have honed their sound over the last 5 years. This is the band’s first album and … Continue reading

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Single & EP reviews: COLOUR THE ATLAS, LISBEE STAINTON

COLOUR THE ATLAS - Building Skyscrapers

COLOUR THE ATLAS Building Skyscrapers EP The new EP from Colour the Atlas, a young quartet from Swindon, is a corker. Following on from their eponymous debut EP, the band are writing and vocal partners Jess Hall (vocals) and Alex … Continue reading

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Album review: BRANDY ZDAN – Lone Hunter

BRANDY ZDAN - Lone Hunter

  Cavalier Recordings [Release date 09.09.13] The Canadian folk scene that is a hotbed of talent that will launch an ‘ABC of Canadian Music’ tour in October featuring Brandy Zdan (as in Zinedine), Po’ Girl Awna Teixeira, and Cara Luft … Continue reading

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Gig review: THE LEVELLERS – Leamington Assembly, 28 June 2013

The Levellers - Leamington Assembly, 28 June 2013

I have been covering shows at The Leamington Assembly for over 4 years and this was by far the wildest night I have witnessed, the music and the crowd did not drop pace for a second after show time on … Continue reading

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