Al Baker profile picture

Al Baker

Troubacore!

About Me


"Radical folk singer extroadinaire...a good showman" - ListenTo Manchester
"Sensational songs about present issues...Baker's views are as daring and diverse as a St. Trinian's trip to Tynemouth...should be in the top ten of everyone's ipod" - Sandman Magazine
"Accomplished, gripping and in this day and age, entirely refreshing" - Manchester Music
"Al Baker is...possessed with urgency and a righteous anger, but manages to distil it into a collection of upbeat and spiky originals...vibrant, intense and most welcome" - Rock 'n' Reel Magazine
"Baker is an intelligent lyricist, marrying the poetic honesty of Bob Dylan with the social conscience of Joe Strummer." - Rock Out With Your Wallet Out Zine
"There’s a smile to the sound, just as wide as the fist to the stomach is hard." - Chris Long, BBC Manchester
"Hard hitting lyrics so well penned they would make TV Smith proud with a wry humour that even the most jaded revolutionary can’t help but smile at...despite the reminders that this world’s pretty much fucked you can’t help but feel uplifted as you listen" - That's Not Skanking Magazine
My latest CD is available now!
Al Baker & The Dole Queue: On The Use of Jack Boots
The tracks are all available to download from my Soundclick site. Click Here .
Or you can order the CD now for £4 from Four Dogs Music - the music wing of the Ethical Wares online store.
If you want to get a reduced price one drop me a line or pick a CD up from me at a gig.
Fill out your details to receive advance information of tours,
releases and anything else I think is worth your time to read

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/29/2006
Band Website: albaker.co.uk
Band Members: Al Baker on Acoustic Guitar and Vocals

The Dole Queue:

Ali - Vocals

James - Lead Guitar

Tom - Drums

Fran - Accordion

Andrzej - Bass

Influences: All the great riot folkers - Bobby Dylan, Billy Bragg, Phil Ochs, Robb Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill, Leon Rosselon et al, Pogues, Christy Moore and Johnny Cash. I'm also heavily influenced (in attitude if not music) by the Legends of the Clash and Joe Strummer, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, Dead Pets and all other balls to the walls punk music. All my friends in the DIY community, some of whom I've met, some I haven't, the Riot Folk Collective, Defiance Ohio, Erik Petersen and Mischief Brew, Russ Substance, James Black, David Rovics, Atilla The Stockbroker...and the not so DIY community of The Mountain Goats, Neutral Milk Hotel, Against Me! And of course all my real life friends, family, lovers, communities, towns and beliefs.
Sounds Like: Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg, Tom Paxton, Ani DiFranco, Utah Phillips, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Christy Moore, Richard Thompson, Pogues, Riot Folk, Defiance, Ohio, Atilla the Stockbroker, Mischief Brew, Erik Petersen, Dan Bern, David Rovics, Robb Johnson, Bruce Cockburn, Clash, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Al Needs A New Band - The Saga Continues

Hey all! Well, the Dole Queue reshuffle is going rather better than I had expected. The new band thus far consists in the same singer and drummer as before (the wonderful Alison Cegielka and ...
Posted by Al Baker on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:47:00 PST

Split EP with Andrzej Stepien released on Sunday! Download it now!

It's finally happened!The "Clowns To The Right Of Us, Jokers To The Right Of Us" Split EP with Andrzej Stepien will be released on Sunday, available for the first time at our very first gig in London ...
Posted by Al Baker on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:51:00 PST

Competition Winner!

Well, after two weeks or so and literally *nineteen* entries I've got a winner to my competition!Congratulations to Sara from Denmark who's won my next two releases.For anyone who's interested the top...
Posted by Al Baker on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:57:00 PST

Christmas, Releases and a fun competition!

Hey all! First things first, I've got an extra special christmas gig this year in Hereford, it's gonna be a cracker so turn up if you can :-)Secondly, I've got two spanking new releases comin...
Posted by Al Baker on Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:15:00 PST

What’s Going On...

Hey everyone! Just realised I haven't posted on this blog for ages and ages, so here's what I'm going to be up to for the next period of my life so you can all be happy, informed peop...
Posted by Al Baker on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:35:00 PST

IMPORTANT: justmusicstore.com

Hey all, This is just a quick one.It was pointed out to me a few days ago that the website www.justmusicstore.com is selling the 'Fear of Fables' split that I released with Russ Substance and ...
Posted by Al Baker on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:32:00 PST

Tour Time Again!

I'm going on tour again!I'm going to be going for a fortnight this time, mostly with my friends and fellow Wildcat musicians Andrzej Stepien and Phil Bailey.The towns we'll be visiting include (provis...
Posted by Al Baker on Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:49:00 PST

On The Radio and the price of my CDs

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, not since the tour in fact, so I thought I'd let you all know what's going on in my own little world.I did my tour of the UK and Ire...
Posted by Al Baker on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:41:00 PST

Tour Changes and Cancellations...

Hey all, Be aware that a few of the tour dates have changed, and Ireland may very well be off because of a lack of confirmation from the venues. I'll be over soon as I can, don't worry!Some ...
Posted by Al Baker on Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:02:00 PST

New Song an' ting

Hey, my good friend David just sent me a CD of some recording we did when I was in Alabama, so I've got one of the tracks up here on MySpace ('One Man's Terrorist') and all three up on my SoundCl...
Posted by Al Baker on Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:24:00 PST