Matt Gresham

OK. It’s guitar fetish time (give me a break, I haven’t done this for a while)

Matt Gresham is quite an amazing guitarist. If you don’t like guitars then I would move along BUT if you do , check this guy out.

So the quick version of the bio – he’s 20 years old, been gigging for over 6 years, have a couple of albums out, a third in the pipeline, plays up to five gigs a week and has a huge following

Some hype from the website…

Pulling from influences which stretch back over the past half century Matt has a truly individual original sound with a positive message. He has a joyful, infectious and exuberant style which floats his audiences from soul to the packed dance floor. Spine-tingling vocals soar above Matt’s band which combines bass guitar, percussion and drums to intensify the dynamic feel of the catchy melodies and driving rhythms.

BUT skipping over all that, he was in Melbourne this week and I was lucky enough to hear him doing a live to air performance on 3RRR. ( I missed him playing at The Lomond Hotel on Thursday though)

I was even luckier to remember to press the record button.

Here are the three  songs he did.

Weissenborn guitar

First up was “Gracetown”, his reworking of the Paul Simon song played on his Weissenborn guitar. Glorious sounding guitar and just wonderful playing. There are bits sound just like he’s channelling David Lindley. I so want one of these guitars, and the talent to do it justice would be kinda cool too – I digress.
Gracetown –

Friends was the last track he did and it’s one of his own. This is also played on the Weissenborn guitar and is rapidly becoming my favourite.
Friends -

Just to show you he can also play a “normal” guitar, here is  “Give Some Good”.  Another original and damn he is a spiffy guitarist.

Give Some Good –

So there you have it, three live tracks as well as the material he has over at www.myspace.com/mattgresham

Highly recommended ( and I am seriously envious – I’ll get over it).

Cotton Jones

Cotton Jones are Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw and together they create a music that  mixes elements of folk, rock and gospel into a truly familiar sound. The guitars and voices blend together like old friends.

Hype from the website…

Paranoid Cocoon: the debut full-length for Suicide Squeeze.  It’s an album full of quiet, wooden psychedelia that reflects the duos’ casual pursuit of comfort and freedom under the mountains of Cumberland, Maryland, where creeks zigzag in the lonesome dark of the forest, and a red moon hangs overhead.  These are songs of leaving, of dreams both good and bad, sung from surroundings they’ve known their whole lives.  In “By Morning Light,” Nau and McGraw’s voices draw each other out of a contemplative melancholy and into a state of amazed gratification; the music here shimmers, always – the snare-drum cracks against the tug of the guitar – reaching the sublime crush of Yo La Tengo’s “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out.”  It’s simple, understated perfection: they sound timeless from singing together forever.

Cotton Jones – Blood Red Sentimental Blues [Live]

www.myspace.com/thecottonjonesbasketride

Liz Stringer

It’s turning into a catch up week. I just realised that I wrote up Dan Wilson and forget to write up Liz Stringer who was on the same Rockwiz episode.

Liz Stringer (who I might add plays guitar, five-string banjo, blues harp, lap steel, vocals… the words “over achiever” pops to mind.) walked out onto the stage and just wiped the floor with my head. Smart lyrics, great guitar and a voice to die for. My first reaction was “where the hell did that come from?”. I have the song playing in the background as I am writing this and I have to say she is quite awesome.

Seriously, head to   www.myspace.com/lizstringermusician and have a listen to “You Say So Many Things”. What a great song. and if you weren’t lucky enough to see the show, there is a clip at the Rockwiz site.

Highly Recommended.

Websites at www.myspace.com/lizstringermusician and www.lizstringer.com/

As an aside, the duet that Liz and Dan performed at the end of Rockwiz is a ripper. If you have heard Robert Plant and Allison Krauss doing “Killing the Blues”, you will love this version. Don’t miss it.

I will be the first to admit that this isn’t an easy listen, there is something disturbing about some of the images that are evoked by the lyrics and the minimalist arrangements. Another one for the “Hard Listening” category but it’s worth a listen. Ray Raposa is trolling some of the “dark” places and the sounds that he uses evoke an emotional response that can be suprising.

Recommended

Website at www.myspace.com/castanets

Here is some hype from his site…

Canadian slide guitarist Kirk Lorange arrived in Australia in 1974 where he has lived ever since, becoming a citizen in the early ’90s. He has contributed to scores of album tracks, dozens of TV and film soundtracks, countless commercials, and played in too many line-ups to name. Through his own album No Apostrophe and songs like Richard Clapton’s “Deep Water” and Marc Hunter’s “Big City Talk”, his distinctive sound has become engrained in the fabric of Australian Rock Music.

Here is a video from YouTube featuring Kirk and his band at The Gympie Muster…

There are some more tunes at Soundclick.com, have a listen to the first track in the player near the bottom of the page. It’s called “Changes”, a killer, slow, shuffling blues that has some of the best slide guitar you are likely to hear.

So my thanks to Allen for reminding me of Kirk’s playing. Highly Recommended.

Websites at www.myspace.com/kirklorange and www.kirklorange.com/

Over at www.myspace.com/finkmusic there is a an amazing live performance of his track “If Only”. I love the up close and personal vocals, the guitar is pretty cool as well.

Live footage of Fink at the Spiegeltent, Brighton – May 2006.

Highly Recommended

Websites at www.myspace.com/finkmusic and www.finkworld.co.uk/fink/

I was checking out the Fairport Convention site recently and noticed a mention of The Gathering, I mean let’s face it any band that has Jerry Donahue playing guitar is automatically worth a look. The band is comprised of members of Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Lindisfarne, Magna Carta, The Albion Band, Jethro Tull, and Pentangle.

I am going to be slack here and just whack up the various members bio’s but before I do I suggest you pop over to www.myspace.com/thegatheringonline and have a listen.

Lets start with…

Jerry Donahue – Guitars
From his early days in such bands as Fotheringay and Fairport Convention, to notable performances and/or recordings with Gerry Rafferty, Robert Plant, Joan Armatrading, Johnny Hallyday, George Harrison, Cliff Richard, Chris Rea, Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Hank Marvin, Roy Orbison, Nancy Griffith, The Yardbirds, and The Hellecasters, Jerry epitomizes the consummate guitarists guitarist. Jerry has combined the Celtic folk music of his adopted home in the UK with his American rock, blues and country roots to arrive at his own, unique, unmistakable style.

Rick Kemp – Bass/ Vocals
As a member of Steeleye Span for over twenty years, Rick Kemp earned a great deal of admiration from more than just the folk fans. Kemp’s intrepid, melodic bass playing is admired greatly among bassists for his ability to step outside the folk-rock genre to incorporate slap techniques and the use of a fretless bass in his work. In addition to Steeleye Span, Rick Kemp has played bass on a number of Maddy Prior recordings, and was a member the Maddy Prior Band in the 1980s.

Clive Bunker – Drums
It was as a drummer of “mix and match” description that Clive Bunker joined the fledgling Jethro Tull at the end of ’67 to accompany Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, and Glenn Cornick in the early, heady days of the post blues-boom years of Brit-rock. Never the self-professed technical drummer, Clive made his impact, based on his throbbing, gritty engagement with the essence of blues and rock and roll, moved by the work of Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell et al.

Ray Jackson – Mandolin/ Harmonica/ Vocals
Ray is a founding member of Lindisfarne, formed in 1969, which in turn evolved from Brethren, his first professional band. Lindisfarne had a very successful recording career with Ray as front man, beginning with the album Nicely Out Of Tune, continued with the ubiquitous Fog On The Tyne, and includes their hits Meet Me On The Corner, Lady Eleanor, All Fall Down and Run For Home. In The Night, a solo album, was released in 1980.

Doug Morter – Guitars/ Vocals
Doug Morter launched his music career in 1969, playing with Hunter Muskett, supporting a young David Bowie, and went on his first major tour supporting Ralph McTell. Following, he had many gigs in UK and Europe, with partner Richard Digance, with major tours supporting Jethro Tull, Joan Armatrading, Elkie Brooks, Richard Thompson, Supertramp, Sutherland Brothers, Kinks, and Steeleye Span. After playing with Richard, Doug recorded and toured as part of the Maddy Prior Band, and as part of the Michael Chapman Band, and, in 1979, went on his first tour as part of the Albion Band. Doug then joined Magna Carta full time in 1980, after guesting on an earlier record. After three albums and a lot of foreign tours, Doug left in 1983 to re-join the Albion Band until 1985/6.

Kristina Donahue – Vocals
Daughter of legendary guitarist Jerry Donahue, and granddaughter of the late 1940s/50s Big Band leader Sam Donahue, Kristina is a natural talent; singing and dancing before she could walk or talk. She made her rock and roll debut at the Fairport Convention Cropredy Festival in 1999 singing to an audience of more than 20,000 people. She was invited back the following year, performing a full set for both nights of the festival which garnered rave reviews from MOJO Magazine for her stage presence and versatility as a vocalist. “(She made) an immediate impression over the loudest band of the weekend, seemingly un-intimidated by such an extraordinarily difficult song or backing that bore the might of musical history.” She most recently sang “The Battle Of Evermore” with Robert Plant and Fairport Convention at the 2008 Cropredy Festival.

Not everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoyed it. Recommended

Website at www.myspace.com/thegatheringonline

“Tall” is 12 beautiful songs that recall folk from the 70’s or as I like to explain a bluesy roots rock. Whatever you call it, know that finding an artist like Josh is one in a million. He is a talented multi-instrumentalist who can also sing and write and just one of those folks that makes you realize your lack of musical talent.

The quote is from the press release and on the whole I enjoyed listening to his music. Sort of laid back and a little bluegrassy. The voice is rough hewn but perfectly suited to the instruments he plays and the material he sings.

Josh normally plays Banjo and Dobro in Tim Barry’s (another Suburban Homes artist) band. His solo album is a little uneven but basically there is some agreeably memorable material here. Head to his MySpace and listen to “Setting Up” or “Moses” or the lovely blues inspired “Come Down” which is the track that first made me notice Josh Small.

OK, here is another one of those songs that I had to find because of a bloody television ad (shades of Leslie Feist and 1234). This one is “1922” by Charlie Parr off his 2002 album of the same name.

Charlie Parr is a country blues musician from Duluth, Minnesota. His influences include Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Reverend Gary Davis, and Dave Van Ronk. He plays a National resonator guitar, a fretless open-back banjo, and a 12-string guitar.  in the piedmont blues style. Listening to him play and sing is like getting a primer in Americana and blues. His voice is near perfect and the picking style is just wonderful.

He also has a great sense of humour, this is from his website…

A confused and shy individual, Charlie Parr plays original and traditional folk and Piedmont-style blues, accompanying himself on National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and sometimes a banjo. Parr has failed at most things in his life. Music seems to have rendered him unemployable and is the only thing he’s ever done with any confidence. With an unusual surge of motivation, Charlie’s released somewhere around 6 recordings of questionable quality at this point; and with good intentions firmly in hand, intends to release yet another collection of hastily penned folk songs at the beginning of fall. A lot of folks have been saying nice things about Charlie, despite the lingering odors and indecipherable comments he makes. It says a lot about folks; they’re hanging in there with him, in spite of himself.

So if you want to see what all the fuss is about, here is a clip of him playing 1922 live and I so want that guitar…

Charlie Parr is  highly Recommended and shouldn’t be missed.

There are some free tracks over at Last.fm (dont miss Spike Driver Blues) and there is more on his websites at www.myspace.com/charlieparr and charlieparr.com/

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band – Blue on Black (Live DC 4/22/07)

His interpretation of the blues is not the scrubbed down, pitch corrected and normalised blues of the commercial world rather it is a authentic and heartfelt as he and his fellow musicians are.

In a genre populated largely by those of a more mature generation, it is fitting that the youthful Shepherd chose to record with some of the heralded musicians of that generation.

Shepard has produced a film and accompanying CD called TEN DAYS OUT: BLUES FROM THE BACKROADS that chronicals his musical journey around the US.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who ably walks the line between bandleader and accompanist, is joined by a stellar lineup of collaborators. His guests include some of the most renowned blues artists like B. B. King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Hubert Sumlin and more. Partial proceeds of this project are being donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to helping impoverished blues artists.

Rightly or wrongly the expectations laid on this bluesman are heavy, but listen awhile and decide for yourself if he lives up to the sorbriquet of “prodigy” Meanwhile check out his MySpace website.