About Me
Illya Szwec can't sing - but he can play guitar! He has spent some years working for KATE MEEHAN, TJ BLANCH FILE, Don Hopkins' TRIBUTE TO FATS DOMINO, BRIDIE & THE BOOGIE KINGS, CONTINENTAL ROBERT, and his own group ILLYA SZWEC'S GROOVE DEPOT......Illya has performed at all of the major Blues festivals on the East Coast of Australia, including Thredbo Blues Festival, National Rock & Blues Festival, Blues at Broadbeach, Great Southern International Blues and Rockabilly Festival, Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival, Bellingen Blues Festival, Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival, as well as playing support act for a variety of visiting American musicians, including Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Lynwood Slim, Steve Arvey, Kirk Eli Fletcher and Alex Schultz ......Illya has also had the privelege to have regularly performed - either onstage or on CD - with the likes of Felix Bloxsom, Sam Boyd, Al Britton, George Brugmans, Jamie Cameron, Ian Collard, Jacob Cook, Pete Cornelius, Leo De Castro, Clayton Doley, Darren Heinrich, Wayne Jury, Declan Kelly, Sally King, Ron & Jeff King, Troy Lever, Chris Mawer, The Red Beans, Margaret Roadknight, Richard Ruhle, Wendy Saddington, Doc Span, Ross Ward, Dave Weir, The Wolverines ...... Musicians like to jam, and Illya has also had the pleasure of being onstage with Kyla Brox (UK), Ivan Zar, Virna Sanzone, Katie Noonan, Rai Thistlethwaite, Phil Stack, Dave Wray, Ginhouse Blues Band, Damon Davies, Rick Dempster, Jeremy Edwards, James T & the Last Volunteers, Gumbo Fever, Adam Pringle Band ...... A sample discography includes 'ILLYA SZWEC'S GROOVE DEPOT' (2005), 'WOMEN'N'BLUES' (2003), KATE MEEHAN 'SOULSHAKER' (2003), THE WOLVERINES 'WOLVERINES AND ROSES' (2003), KATE MEEHAN 'AS LONG AS I'VE SUNG THE BLUES' (2000), TJ BLANCH FILE (2000) ...... ILLYA SZWEC'S GROOVE DEPOT is like a revolving door, and who knows how many people will swing through for any one gig - it might be a trio of organ, guitar, drums, a sax or 2 might be added, a guest vocalist might be there on the night. ILLYA SZWEC'S GROOVE DEPOT have played at a variety of venues throughout the city of Sydney, including The Basement, the Macquarie @ Surry Hills, the Blue Chip Bar @ Bondi Beach, the Coopers Arms @ Newtown and the Rose of Australia @ Erskineville. The South Coast has not been untouched by those funky grooves, with performances at the likes of North Gong Hotel, Balgownie Hotel, Towradgi Beach Hotel, as well as shows in the nation's capital at The National Press Club, The Old Canberra Inn and The Yacht Club ...... ILLYA SZWEC'S GROOVE DEPOT - where all things Swamp Pop, Boogaloo, Soul-Jazz, Memphis R&B, New Orleans R&B, Gospel and Soul meet ......Les Pauls, Tone-Benders, MusicMan 4 10s, semi-hollow bodies, hollow bodies, Danelectros, Fuzz Faces, Leslie simulators, Strats, Small Stones, Teles, 12 strings, wah wahs galore are just some of the gear at Illya's disposal ......Who knows what type of band he'll show up in - Soul? Funk? Reggae? Blues? Psychedelic? 50s R&B? New Orleans Fonk? Southern Rock?
