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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
Sinnerboy. Preview by Peter Ashton.
 Irish
blues-rock guitarist Rory Gallagher died ten years ago this June, but his
dynamic music lives on thanks to tribute band Sinnerboy who make their second
appearance at The Brook in Southampton on Wednesday April 6. Their debut last
year was a huge success with an enthusiastic crowd giving the Manchester-based
trio a great reception.
Whatever your opinion on tribute bands, there’s no doubt that Sinnerboy are one
of the best. They are up there with Limehouse Lizzy and T-Rextasy in terms of
professionalism and entertainment, and it seems to me that bands who play the
music of artists who are no longer with us are more valid than tributes to
groups and artists who are still performing.
Sinnerboy are Barry Barnes on lead guitar, Dave Burns on bass and Steve
Richardson on drums, all accomplished musicians who played in a variety of other
blues and rock bands before committing themselves to becoming the definitive
Rory Gallagher tribute act in 2002. Drummer Steve told me what playing Rory’s
music meant to him and the band.
“We've all been huge fans of Rory for many, many years and between the three of
us have seen him perform around 40 times. Barry being the 'old fella' in the
band saw him back in his Taste days. Dave and I got into Rory's music around
1974/75. He has always been a hero to all of us, as corny as that sounds, but
when you came away from one of his gigs you knew you had been given value for
money, and the man and his band had put everything into an unforgettable
performance.”
Steve continued: “Playing his music is something we all love doing. Until we put
Sinnerboy together we all played in various rock and blues bands, playing a few
Rory tunes. Now, playing in a dedicated Rory tribute band, is something we all
have total belief in. One of the best things about doing what we do is meeting
fellow Rory fans. They all have a love for Rory and his music and it's great to
talk after gigs and hear peoples’ reminiscences of Rory. He touched so many
people it's unbelieveable.”
Steve remembers one particular gig with relish: “When we were on tour in Ireland
last year we played a marathon gig in Cork city that lasted three and a half
hours! The audience had been with us all the way! Playing Rory's music is not
only fun but extremely challenging - a lot of it isn't easy to play, and you
have to keep your concentration up, but it's extremely rewarding and playing
Rory's music certainly gets the adrenalin rushing.”
Sinnerboy has been strongly endorsed by the late Rory’s brother and manager
Donal Gallagher who said of them: “Here is the proof that Rory’s music lives
on”! Donal selected Sinnerboy to headline his London Tribute Convention in
November 2003 at which the band recorded their excellent live album “Down and
Out In Hammersmith”. Sinnerboy have gained the admiration of many others
directly associated with Rory’s career and have had the pleasure of jamming with
the members of his original band.
Last year Sinnerboy were headliners at the main Rory Gallagher tribute events in
Ireland, the UK, Holland, Germany and Spain. They are currently gigging
extensively to enthusiastic audiences across Ireland and the UK, and recently
played a major tribute in Philadelphia, following which they travelled to
Holland for the Leeuwarden tribute last month. They are already heavily
committed to a series of events planned to mark the late Rory’s tenth
anniversary in June including headline gigs at the Sheffield, Ballyshannon and
Cork tribute festivals.
Tickets for The Brook gig are £7 through 02380 555366 - see
www.the-brook.com
Jacqui Dankworth. Preview by Peter
Ashton.
 When
you’re the daughter of legendary jazz pairing John Dankworth and Cleo Laine,
it’s not surprising that you should end up with a singing career. But Jacqui
Dankworth,
who plays a concert at Ventnor’s Winter Gardens on Friday April 8 as part of the
Isle of Wight Jazz Divas Festival, enjoyed a successful acting career before the
singing bug eventually hit.
Jacqui spent much of her childhood on the road with her parents or in the care
of a succession of Spanish nannies. There was never any question that she
wouldn't follow her parents into show business - the only surprise was into
which branch of the industry she would choose to go. Her first forays onto the
stage were as an actress - for many years Jacqui worked with the Royal
Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and John Dexter's Company playing a
multitude of critically acclaimed roles. Soon the plays turned into musicals and
before long Jacqui was playing leading parts in the West End.
Once Jacqui had decided to become a full-time jazz singer she toured with
brother Alec Dankworth's quintet, visiting Hawaii, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
Jacqui then appeared as everything but the soldier in a staged performance of
Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale at the Purcell Room, London and worked with
award-winning jazz composer and saxophonist Tim Garland on a song cycle - 'Songs
Of Love And Liberty', alongside singers Norma Winstone and Christine Tobin.
In early 1998 Jacqui was invited to be the guest vocalist on a major world tour
with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Her first album was a newly commissioned jazz reworking of A. E. Housman poetry,
as a guest artist with the New Perspectives Ensemble. The album was voted Record
of the Year in The Times. By 1999 her reputation was spreading and Jacqui was
asked to perform new arrangements of Gershwin's classics with the BBC Big Band
at the Barbican and Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Next, a project was formed which
she fronted until recently: Field of Blue, a simple acoustic band performing
mostly original compositions with Harvey Brough. Together they toured
extensively around the UK and Europe playing to packed houses. Field of Blue
recorded two albums, an eponymous CD in 1999 and the second, Still was released
in 2000 on Black Box records, both to wide critical acclaim.
Several albums later Jacqui started a side project, the three-part harmony group
The
Passion, with singers Liane Carroll and Sara Colman. The trio released the album
One Good Reason, and sang a number of songs from it at the Thornden Hall in
Chandlers Ford last year. Jacqui has also been involved in the world of cinema,
singing the titles on the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Martine McCutcheon
and also singing in the film Shoreditch starring Shane Ritchie and Joeley
Richardson. She has also found time over the last couple of years to release two
more solo albums, As The Sun Shines Down On Me and Detour Ahead, to host the BBC
Radio 3 programme Jazz Sirens with her mum Cleo, and to tour with the Brodsky
Quartet.
Rocky Athas. Preview by Peter Ashton. Photo copyright
Claire Edwards.
 Texan
blues-rock guitarist Rocky Athas who appears at Mr Kyps music venue in Poole,
Dorset, this month with his band may not be a household name, but he has rubbed
shoulders with some of the greatest names in rock in his long career.
A childhood friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan, a former member of the bands Lightning
and Black Oak Arkansas, Rocky has also shared the stage as a guitarist with the
legendary Bo Diddley. Amongst his British fans over the years have been Thin
Lizzy who wrote the song ‘Cocky Rocky’ after hearing him play in Dallas, and
Queen guitarist Brian May who incorporated Rocky’s unique finger tapping guitar
style on a Queen album.
Honoured as one of Texas’ Ten Best guitarists at the age of 23, Rocky held the
honour alongside greats like ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Johnny Winter.
Whilst with Lightning, one of the biggest draws in Texas music history he toured
with the hottest arena acts of the time including Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, The
Kinks, Rick Derringer, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and Peter Frampton.
At that time Rocky's fame was such that Guild introduced the Rocky Athas I
guitar, and Gibson honored Rocky by making him the only non-record label
endorsee in the company's history.
Rocky has also worked as a session guitarist for Polygram in Memphis' Ardent
Studios and released two solo instrumental albums as well as being involved in a
project called The Blues Berries with drummer Buddy Miles of Jimi Hendrix's Band
of Gypsies. After many years of recording with various musicians in various
bands mega producer Jim Gaines was brought in to help with what he felt should
be a showcase of Rocky's talents under his own name (hence 'The Rocky Athas
Group') resulting in the acclaimed Armadillo release “Miracle” in 2003. The
group has just finished work on a new recording entitled 'VooDoo Moon' and the
band will no doubt be featuring tracks from the album at Mr Kyps.
The gig is on Thursday April 21 and advance tickets are £7 through 01202 748945
or £8 on the door on the night. See also
www.mrkyps.net .
Eddi Reader. Preview by Peter Ashton
 A
candidate for the title of best British female vocalist plays a gig at
Portsmouth’s Wedgewood Rooms on Tuesday April 19. Eddi Reader is perhaps best
remembered as the singer with Fairground Attraction who produced that classic No
1 hit, “Perfect”, but she has developed into a great singer-songwriter, equally
at home in the pop and folk genres.
Amazingly it’s 17 years since “Perfect” spent 13 weeks in the charts, and
although Eddie hasn’t dented the charts as a solo artist, she’s built up a
towering reputation as a live artist and produced some quality albums. It’s well
documented that Eddi grew up in a violent and oppressive suburb of Glasgow where
she learned to use music as a vehicle for transcending her claustrophobic
environment. Apparently the family home was so crowded, she learnt to play the
guitar hiding away in a wardrobe!
In the early 1980s, Eddi travelled around Europe with circus and performance
artists
before moving to London, where she quickly became a sought after session
vocalist. She famously harmonised with Annie Lennox touring with the Eurythmics
following a spell with succesful punk outfit Gang of Four. But it was the
short-lived but fondly remembered Fairground Attraction that brought to the
attention of a much wider audience. The single “Perfect” came from the parent
album “First of a Million Kisses” which also topped the British album charts.
After going solo she made her debut album “Mirmama” in 1992, following up with
“Eddie Reader in 1994 and “Candyfloss & Medicine” in 1996. Having built up a
considerable reputation as a songwriter and a fluent interpreter of other
artists’ songs Eddi then delivered “Angels & Electricity” in 1998, - an album
which she expertly co-produced with her long term musical collaborator Boo
Hewerdine. The album “Simple Soul” in 2001 confirmed her songwriting skills, and
remains one of my favourite albums. Eddi has since toured in England, Scotland,
Japan, Australia, Spain, USA and Ireland, and appeared at all the top festivals.
Two years ago she released an album of material by 18th century Scottish poet
Robert Burns, recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. She had
performed two songs from the album at the Burns festival in Ayr in 2002
prompting the Glasgow Herald’s music critic to write: ”By any measure this was a
great vocal performance and writing this 36 hours later, I'm still haunted by
the sound and emotional depth of Reader's interpretation.'”
For tickets for Eddi’s Wedgwood Rooms gig ring 02392 293301 or see the website
www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk
Rebecca Carrington. Preview by Peter Ashton
 There
aren’t too many classical cellists on the comedy circuit, so a big welcome to
Rebecca Carrington who plays four gigs in the South of England over the next
couple of months - details can be found at the end of this preview.
A classically trained cellist who won a scholarship to study at the Royal
Northern College of Music and completed a Masters of Music at Rice University in
Houston, USA, Rebecca has been described as the Victor Borge of the 21st
century. In addition to being a gifted musician, she performs spoofs of
everything from Britney and Madonna to Mozart & Pavarotti. She also enjoys a
parallel career performing with many leading orchestras including the London
Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia and the BBC
Symphony Orchestras.
It was whilst studying music in the USA that Rebecca first became involved in
the comedy/cabaret scene, performing in clubs like The New York Comedy Club and
The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. In 1996 she won the university Mastercard
Talent Search and went on to perform her comedy act on CBS and NBC television
and performed her own Solo Show on National Public Radio. Radio appearances in
the UK include Loose Ends on BBC Radio 4, In Tune on BBC Radio 3 and Jammin’ on
BBC Radio 2.
Rebecca has also performed at numerous festivals, including the Manchester
International Cello Festival, Guildford International Music Festival, Cambridge
Summer Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she was a semi-finalist in
the Channel 4 "So You Think Uou're Funny" competition. She is also a talented
voice-over artist and worked on the comedy BBC TV show, "Double Take."
She is also a session singer and backing vocalist having sung with a variety of
jazz bands and pop artists. In 2001 she toured in Europe as a cellist and
backing vocalist with David Byrne (ex-Talking Heads). She has also performed her
"One Woman Show" at the Jermyn Street Theatre, Piccadilly, The Canal Café
Theatre in Maida Vale and at the Bedford, London.
You can see Rebecca at the following venues:
Friday April 15 - Quay Arts Centre, Newport, IOW - Box Office: 01983 528 825
Sunday April 24 - South Hill Park, Bracknell, Berks. Box Office: 01344 484 123
Saturday May 14 - Forest Arts Centre, New Milton - Box Office: 01425 612393
Saturday May 21 - Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - Box Office: 01329 310 600
Ethan Daniel Davidson. Preview by Peter Ashton
 A
real troubador takes the stage with his band at Talking Heads in Southampton
later this month - Ethan Daniel Davidson. Saturday April 16 is the date for your
diaries if you want to see a man who writes all his own material and sings in
bluesy style.
Currently residing in Alaska, Ethan was orginally born in a commune in Lansing,
Michigan and put up for adoption. He grew up in Detroit, left home at the age of
14, and has since lived a globetrotting life, learning and playing music. Always
with guitar in hand, he has travelled from the Golan Heights to Alaska, studied
at Harvard and the University of Michigan, has lived just about everywhere in
the USA, finally "settling" in a 10'X10' cabin in Wiseman, AK.
"I've been a hobo, more or less, since the age of 14," he says. Along the way,
he honed his chops playing first in punk bands, and then discovering folk music
by way of The Pogues.
Ethan went on to make four independently produced albums: "Alaska 11 North,"
"Ring Them Bells," "This Machine Kills Fascists," and "Live Bootleg Series
Volume One." He has spent the last four years touring incessantly all over the
USA, and has gathered a fan base of thousands. Ethan has played over 400 shows
in just under 36 months and has maintained this pace and list on his own,
without the help of the usual outside agencies like a record label. He has
opened for artists like Michelle Shocked, Robert Bradley and Sonic Youth and has
also been a featured artist at the New England Folk Festival, Seattle Songwriter
Showcase, and Tampa's Tropical Heatwave Festival, among other arts and music
festivals.
His latest release on Times Beach, "Don Quixote de Suburbia" is a journey
through all of American popular culture, from folk to gospel, jazz, country,
blues, rock and punk. Often overtly political ("I was always a fan of the more
socially conscious punk bands, like Minor Threat and the Dead Kennedys" he
says), at other times purely romantic, Ethan has a habit of wearing his heart on
his sleeve. "I was always a big fan of the Beatles," he says. "(I liked) that
their music got to be beyond 'entertainment,' they were expressing a fuller
range of human problems, and had more of a social consciousness. Audiences
aren't used to hearing that these days, so they don't know how to handle it."
He goes on to say that he tries " not to show too many opinions, but stick to
honest-to-God facts. I don't hear too many artists today dealing with politics,
but that's a dreadfully important thing, really."
Sounds like a “don’t miss” gig to me - entrance on the door is £5 and the band
kick off around 10pm. For more information ring 02380 678446 or see the Talking
Heads website on
www.thetalkingheads.co.uk
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Featured artists:
see POL Articles
Sinnerboy
The Brook, Southampton Wednesday April 6
Jacqui Dankworth Winter Gardens, Ventnor IOW
Friday April 8
Rocky Athas
Mr Kyps, Poole Thursday April 21
Eddi Reader Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth Tuesday April 19
Rebecca Carrington Various gigs throughout the Month
Ethan Daniel Davidson
Talking Heads, Southampton Saturday April 16
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