THE MARK KEEN BAND The Band was formed in 1999 after I deputised for Stewart Collier. His band then were called the Rock & Roll Fugitives ~ Terry Slade on Drums, Martin Berry on Bass. They had played together for a couple of years - mainly rock and pop covers.
One day Stewart rang me and said he was stuck. He had a booking but couldn't make it and would I sit in for him. I was initially reticent; I knew the venue, and the crowd that usually followed Stewart, and felt that perhaps a hastily cobbled together evening of essentially 12-bar blues was not going to go down too well ... how wrong was I!
What a night we had. We managed to jam some blues and some Hendrix and we gel-ed together so well that Terry thought it was a good idea to re-book us. The proprietor obliged and The Mark Keen Band was formed.
Initially we weren't called the Mark Keen Band but went out under various ridiculous names. The audiences didn't know if they were coming or going with all the name changes and so it soon became apparent that we'd have to call ourselves something ~ anything would do. We all agreed that Mark keen Band was the best solution and so in 1999 that's what we became.
We rapidly became one of the bands to watch on the local scene - pyrotechnics, elongated jams on classic blues riffs, and plenty of Hendrix thrown in for good measure. I also managed to get Terry & Martin to rehearse - no mean feat apparently, and I taught them a few of my simpler and more hectic blues/rock songs. What a combination, Terry's 'Ginger Baker'-esque power house coupled with Martin's incredibly solid and unfussy style literally pounded out an irripressable Steam Train of a rhythm section whilst I glided along on top. We were a team ... no doubt about, certainly I felt that I had found the perfect rhythm section for this particular facet of my musical adventures.
There were loads of gigs, too many, and eventually, after about 18 months, I managed to get them into a studio were we recorded 12 songs live. We recorded the drums on 7 channels with a guide track on the 8th and then I took all the tapes back to The Mill in Runcton where we spent the next couple of months editing the drums and then overdubbing live the guitars, bass and vocals. What an amazing time we had ... I even managed to get the pair of them to sing!!! Only backing vocals but on a couple of songs ... great fun, I can tell you.
So, on Hallowe'en 2001 we released 'It's A Shame'. An eight song album of 5 original songs and 3 fully licensed covers. Here's the blurb ....
Mark Keen - Guitars/Vocals Picked up the guitar in his mid-twenties and hasn't put it down since. He has played many acoustic and electric gigs in the UK and abroad writing original material and playing it whenever and wherever he can.
Terry Slade - Drums One of the originators of the Rox Music & Arts Festival, Bognor Regis, Sussex, now in it's 17th year. Has played extensively in Europe and the UK and recorded chart hits in the 60's and 70's with various groups. He is still as energetic as ever and has never lost the passion for music with which he was evidently born.
Martin Berry (RIP 2003) - Bass Played extensively in Europe and UK with various bands over the years. Was been part of an extremely successful rhythm section with Terry Slade for many years and they are two of a kind. He has toured with Mike Read, Formula +, and the Primitives and others in a long and successful career. He is greatly missed.
They are essentially a psychedelic blues band playing exceedingly tight original tunes and excellent covers of Hendrix, Cream, Tom Waits, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley to name but a few; The live show has to be seen to be believed. As one music journalist put it,
"Jeezus H jumped-up Christ man, I've got to hand it to them - that was one mind-meltingly awesome performance last night. Completely blew me away.... (It was interesting to observe crowd reaction, too.) That is exactly how an electric guitar should be played." Gary Crossley, Independent
Featuring five stunning original songs and licensed covers of Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits and Albert King, this is the bands first release. From the psychedelic 'Freedom' to the acoustic version of 'Sunday Chile' recorded live at Spirit 96.6FM, the band have managed to produce a recording that captures some of the sheer energy, intensity and passion of their live performances. For all other info please visit http://www.myspace.com/markkeen . Cheers, Mark
If you want to buy any music first try HERE and if you can't find what you want ... email me!
