I'm also a promoter and engineer for Acoustic Brew UK along side Sam Williams, Sam Parkes, LC, Russell Preston and Wes Smith.
We have had a brilliant year and have made some brilliant friends along the way, loads of great gigs and a few perroni's. This year we have put on the 'Atticus All Dayer' great day, we did the acoustic brew tent at 'Sounds in the park' working with Surge Music, wet but equally brilliant, We joined the Jamplant Gang in Wolverhampton for Bantock Park, Stourbridge's Xmas lights Switch on in the town Centre for Beacon Fm and Surge, very very cold but really nice day, Acoustic Brew on WCR radio in wolves, with Tim Parkes, Alex Lanyon, Alex Moir and Dale's Band Raging angel unplugged on The Spencer Carter Show, we've been played on monochrome museum and i won top of the bats with 'Say a Prayer' also i recorded a track for Sam Parkes also winning Top of the bats i also had the honour of becoming a Global Village Member and in August 2007 was made artist of the month, Stagemanagment at Christmas by the Cut at stourbridge Town Hall for the Ian Parker gig with Monochrome Museum and George Tortoise Promotions a well as being part of the Elite fest special In Cornwall, thanks to all you guys down there in Penzance, Two day festival called winterwonderlan where we put on bands acoustic artists and some cracking choirs in the band stand at Mary Stevens Park and we still have the xmas all Day special left to do at 'Atticus' on the 23rd December, phew on top of that we have put on over 200 gigs at the 'Selly Sausage' 'Atticus' 'The Corner House' and 'The Station' Dale's gigging constantly solo and with the band and we have new venues and engineers joing the team in the new year. We love all this and we hope you all do to, 2008 is looking rosy The unsigned market had never been more vibrant.....Big thanks to Jon and Moll at Monochrome Museum, Brumcast, Andy, Si and Peej At Musoplex, George Tortoise Promotions, Mick Willits at Surge, Ian Cole and Tom at the bunker, Matty at Nuventure, Clive Live, Elite Fest, Rob & the gang at Atticus, Andy, Andy and Paul at Atticus, Tracy At The Selly Sausage, Dave at The Corner House, all the artists, especially Dan Hartland, Alex Moir, Alex Lanyon, Mark Newell, Adam Daly and Colin Hall for just being ace and getting us out of the crap more than a few times, Theatre of the absurd, Laura and Ben Calvert for a very drunk night after The Selly Sausage, I'll get back on here when i've remembered more people to thank... The To be Continued
This track was my first self produced song and my first video made by Peej at musoplex.
There is a New Kid in Town...And he's Smokin' Ray Burnt. He is a Smokin' young guitarist from the highest peaks of the Smokey Mountains. He is a real throwback to the good ol' days of the Instrumental Blues. Is he the next crazy Hendrix or the younger soul of a B.B. King? Maybe.. Go on, Find Out for yourselfAnd So it Begins...Smokin' Ray was born on June 1, 1977, high on top of Smokey Mountain. His Mother and Father were both musicians ( His father played the fiddle, his mother played the accordion.) They had a decent life, poor but not without. As the story goes, Ray was struck by lightning and burnt nothing but his soul. Something came inside of him and now he is what he is. He wasn't hurt...He was just destined for something... He was destined to play the guitar. So from high upon the tree tops the first song he ever heard was the soft/heavy tone of B.B. King's, 'The Thrill is Gone'. That was like magic to his ears. The next? Jimi Hendrix, 'Red House'. 'WOW! He thought to himself, 'I have to do that'. And so he did. He studied all the greats, even as far back as the great Robert Johnson. He learned from John Lee Hooker, SRV, Leadbelly, Chuck Berry, and many others. Lightning Hopkins, 'Lonesome Dog Blues' scared him to shivers. Tucked away in a little studio he recorded by himself. No one could ever guess what would come out of there next. His tone could fall a mountain, his playing could hypnotise you. His brain...insane.Over his short span of playing I think that he really developed his own style. Is he Chicago? Maybe more Texas Style? Perhaps Modern Electric Blues? I don't know, Whatever it is, He calls it the 'Smokey Mountain Style'. Whether SRB is playing clean or dirty you can tell it's him. As you can tell from his acoustic picture and the way he plays, he likes Heavy Metal, Rock and Punk. He is very much influenced by such bands as Metallica, Megadeth, Nirvana, Green Day, AC/DC, Guns & Roses and more. But his true calling is the blues. All you have to do is hear his songs and you will be shown.Where does all this lead up to? I don't know. Maybe something new or maybe just a blip on the radar. We will have to see.Some day his Guitar will quit burning,But until then... Keep on Smokin' Ray Burnt.Available music is Awesome
Stage lights illuminate Love and Mathematics. Squalls of effects-dappled guitar wash over an unsuspecting crowd. Swelling keyboards rise forth and create a kaleidoscope of dizzying sonics. As the lush atmospherics begin to lure listeners towards a dark place, a jubilantly melodic bass guitar intercedes. Drums join the fray, bashing out tribal beats and creating a pulsing rhythm that sets the dance floor writhing. A vocalist wracked with twitching intensity takes to the microphone and casts a hypnotic spell. A second voice chimes in. Working in tandem, they conjure a choir of celestial songbirds.
Esoteric yet immediate, cataclysmic but celebratory, paradoxical Love and Mathematics play spacey psych-pop at its most apocalyptic.
The Vancouver band can trace their beginnings to a longstanding partnership between Ian Somers (vocals/guitar/keyboards) and Shane Turner (bass/vocals). When the pair recruited Lucas Rose (guitar/keyboards), they found his monolithic, dissonant guitar work muddying their pristine pop stylings. Rather than reining Rose in, they embraced the opportunity to reinvent themselves entirely and explore a dynamic new direction. The sea change was complete once the three collaborators discovered talismanic drummer Kyle Koenig. Koenig’s controlled-chaos kit attack brought an urgent energy to the group. Christened Love and Mathematics, the four-piece drew from Built to Spill’s angular melodies, Mogwai’s textured mediations and Animal Collective’s spaced-out oddity to forge a sound distinctly their own.
Adjourning to Vancouver’s storied Hive studio, the band worked with producer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Pretty Girls Make Graves) to record a four-song, self-titled EP. Rather than duplicating their oceanic live sound, Love and Mathematics opted to explore a more nuanced approach with the recordings. The final result reflects a band invigorated and inspired by the wealth of new ideas and possibilities presented to them.
Out of the gates, the propulsive “Remember to Masticate” lashes into the listener with discordant guitars, lilting harmonies and rhythms that turn on a whim. “Copper Coin Bikini” brims and bristles with skittish energy as lyrics sketch out an abstract rebellion: “You are the emissary; I am the socialist; Gather the troops and rally outside the capital.” The disc’s most cathartic track, “Plan for a Better Year,” punctuates its emotion-saturated vocals with wails of buzzsaw instrumentation. Finally, the swirling “A Fight Between a Crow and a Seagull” ascends and cascades with an airy grace.
At present, Love and Mathematics are at work self-recording their full-length debut. On their off-nights, they can likely be found upon a darkened stage. With a live set hailed by Exclaim! and The Georgia Straight, the band has shared the limelight with Vancouver’s finest bands – The Book of Lists, You Say Party! We Say Die! and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – as well as touring acts Nada Surf, Okkervil River, The Rosebuds and The Appleseed Cast.
Having established themselves as fixtures of the Vancouver scene, Love and Mathematics have only begun to explore their potential as a band. The remainder of that self-discovery should prove equally enthralling for both the musicians and their listeners.
SkyRyder was created as a jam band in the summer of 2006 when Greg Pierson on bass, Kevin Pierson on lead guitar and Cody Campbell on drums got together. After a year of searching Tanner archer added the last piece of the puzzle on vocals. We have recently started doing more live shows and hope to expand our fanbase as much as possible. SkyRyder combines old school classic rock licks and vocals with new age and more aggresive percussion. We are here to bring back the legitimacy of Rock and Roll in this world.
