Tim Ward (singer in John Peel favourites, Elevate) aka Lord Ward, recorded and produced his 2008 album, 'Drawed Sword' with Lynn Wright (And The Wiremen, Gachupin, James Hall, Bee and Flower). Also featured on the record are Jon Petrow (The Cloudroom, Gachupin) and drummer extraordinaire Chris Michael.
Having moved from London to New York in 2000, Ward initially performed under the name 'Lord God', releasing his debut solo album - also recorded and produced with Wright - 'The Billionth Record Ever Made' (2006) on Townhill Records in the UK. A 7" single recorded in 2004 by Kevin March (Guided By Voices, Shudder To Think, The Damnbuilders) and mixed by Carl Glanville (U2) came out on Campsie Records in the UK in 2007. These full band recordings saw Ward expertly accompanied by March, Kevin McGinnis (Drug Models Love, Ursula Points, New Rising Sons) and Graham Miles (Elevate, Flacco Rivera).
Lord Ward is currently preparing to record his third album in May of 2009.
LORD WARD - ape and pony
GUARDIAN REVIEW
May 31, 2007
Every day Paul Lester worships at the altar of music, praying for a fine new band to show him the way and guide him down the path of righteousness. And lo, this chap from the States came to pass.
Hometown: New York (New York).
The line-up: Tim Ward (vocals, guitar), Graham Miles (guitar), Kevin March (drums), Kevin McGinnis (multi-instrumentalist).
The background: Lord God is a busy fellow. Apart from being the Almighty who created the sun, the moon and the earth - with the exception of certain parts of north London such as Burnt Oak and Borehamwood, which were created by a fool - he is also a painter (see www.tbward.com) who, for some bizarre reason, sells well to the medical profession. And when he isn't bestriding the universe like the supreme deity that he is, or doing nice watercolours by the river for doctors to hang on their waiting-room walls, he's also a musician operating under the disconcertingly earth-bound name of Tim Ward, performing songs that sound like Blur, David Bowie and T-Rex.
He's a wry old fruit, is Ward/Lord God. He's already recorded one album called The Billionth Record Ever Made, while a second is on its way, tentatively titled Do They Mean Leviticus? "I'm a waster/I'm a tragedy/I'm the patron saint of malady," he sang on last year's shoulda-been global smash hit Living Easy, while on new single New York New York (no relation to the Frank Sinatra or Ryan Adams eulogies of the same name) he yawns: "New York, New York, New York, who cares anymore?" It deploys driving rhythms to ram home an almost frighteningly sharp hook. It also features the sort of guitar solo that rock critics generally describe as "blistering". Double A-side (as they might call it in the Old Testament) Hawaii, meanwhile, has a glam swagger that only Pop Levi has managed this year. These two tracks add up to six minutes and 20 seconds of cocky pop thrills. Recorded by Kevin March and mixed by U2 engineer Carl Glanville, they should put Lord God on the map, if not New York and Hawaii (although strictly speaking the latter already are).
Ward is a cheeky chap with a chequered past. Yorkshire-born, he fronted John Peel favourites Elevate and Flacco Rivera in Britain. For Lord God he recruited former Elevate guitarist Graham Miles plus two New Yorkers: Kevin March, who also plays with Guided By Voices, and Kevin McGinnis (New Rising Sons, Dopo Yume and Ursula Points). Early gigs supporting the likes of J Mascis attracted considerable attention among New York audiences, where Ward has been compared to Marc Bolan and early 20th-century American modernist poet Wallace Stevens (although mainly to Bolan).
The buzz: "Hallelujah! It's T-Rextasy once more!"
The truth: The 30th anniversary of Bolan's death is but three months away. Lo, he has risen! ["That was Jesus, not God" - Guardian Unlimited Religion Ed.]
Most likely to: Spend most of the week performing acts of creation.
Least likely to: Do much on the weekend, especially Sundays.
File next to: Blur, Bowie, Bolan, Pop Levi.
What to buy: New York New York/Hawaii is available as a 7" from Campsie Records, and as a download from iTunes and most other digital retailers, from June 4.
