Music:
Member Since: 2/12/2007
Band Website: Watch This Space!
Band Members: Just me & my old Guitar!
Influences: Living in London late 60's early 70's , I got peripherally involved in the folk scene with my early heroes being Davey Graham , John Renbourne & Bert Jansch
I also admired , Wizz Jones my one regret was I never did get to see 'live' Jackson C Frank who wrote Blues run the Game'
I used to frequent all the legendary clubs like Les Cousins & the Troubador & stay sober just enough to see these phenomenal guitarists play close up so I could steal their licks. Also the early rehearsals of Pentangle (at I think the HorseShoe Hotel in Tottenham Ct Road) with people like Roy Harper dropping in ..Amazing times!
I played at quite a few clubs myself 'smalltime' with a guy called Biff Rose,whose speciality was over the top 'fall about' impressions of Bob Dylan & Alex Campbell & also once with, Ron the bassist with the Strawbs in the interval at the opening of the 'Don Quixote' club in Old Brompton Rd.( before they became famous )
I remember a little 'hazily' Biff & myself once being dragged off the stage in a pub in Chalk Farm by Johnny Silvo with yours truly on Mandolin & Biff on Guitar a little drunk & a lot more out of tune - we were having a good time even if the audience weren't!.
They had to keep buying us drinks to keep us off the stage!
Sounds Like: I still can’t get enough of the old great blues accoustic players who remain my biggest influence to this day like,Bill Broonzy, John Hurt , Brownie Mcghee, Memphis Minnie , Lonnie Johnson, Son House , Muddie Waters, Lighting Hopkins, Merle Travis , Doc Watson, Stefan Grossman a great teacher & Willie McTell, the modern revivalists like Dave Van Ronk, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal & Michael Bloomfield as well as the more home grown early blues inspired fingerstyle pyrotechnics of Davey Graham , Bert Jansch & John Renbourne.
I also dig the more contemporary six string innovators like ,Leo Kottke, Tommy Emmanuel, the late great Eric Roche , Michael Hedges, Preston Reed , Chet Atkins & in the jazz Field Lenny Breu, Martin Taylor , Joe Pass going back to the seminal influences of Charlie Christian , Django & Eddie Lang & on Classical John Williams , Alirio Diaz & Julian Bream & Flamenco Paco Da Lucia.
’I got it bad ’ is my tribute to Billie Holiday who I can still listen to for hours & find something new & inspiriing in her voice...the same goes for Madeline Peroux & Lil Harding
Lately my son’s involvement in Gypsy Jazz * in Italy( My Music Space Marcin Wright ) has revitalised my interest in the genre, my favourites,,Birrelli Lagrene, Angelo Debarre & Jimmy Rosenberg ( catch Jimmy in Frank Vignola’s Gypsy Jazz jam ) & off course the multi-talented John Jorgenson
Away from the Blues one of my earliest influences that first got me strumming the guitar was Bob Dylan who remains ’Forever Young’
Record Label: Still practicing !
Type of Label: None
