Sydney duo Chickenhead came about as a kind of fun thing for guitarist Roy Payne and drummer Neville Anderson - a side project born out of a love for the old time country blues, and one that would offer something different from the country and hillbilly bands that would continue to dominate their time.
This was to be no blues-rock knee jerk to the White Stripes. In fact inspiration for the two piece format came from the legendary Tony Joe White, who has toured here on several occasions with long time friend and drummer ‘Boom Boom’.
R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford dragged the concept into the nineties, from as far back as the fifties and were an early influence also – the band lifting its name from a song by the latter called ‘Chickenhead Man’ – “..when you kill a chicken babe – save me the chicken head..â€
Although the band leans towards a more earthy ‘roots’ sound, there is a raw intensity that is never the less very contemporary.
Chickenhead blend their blues with tex/mex and hillbilly styles together with a grab bag of shuffles, rock and funk feels, and the motor beat of the early Flying Nun bands of their native New Zealand.
Payne’s distinctive baritone and fabulous musicianship, go far to establish their sound, but not so far as the actual sound of his instrument. Bought for forty dollars in a junk shop in East Maitland, this little acoustic guitar was made in Australia in the sixties by the Pacific Guitar Company for the mail order market – it is essentially a cheap ‘plywood box with strings’ as Roy puts it, and exactly the sound he was looking for. Amped up and overdriven it is at once raw and dirty, warm and resonating.
Chickenhead have a mini album (self titled) slated for release towards the end of August 2007, to coincide with the release of the Home Grown Roots Vol 2 compilation cd (foghorn records) on which the bands spirited reworking of the old Leadbelly classic ‘Ella Speed’ is included. It’s hoped that the release will help usher Chickenhead into the burgeoning blues and roots music festival scene.
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