BENEFIT JAM NIGHT
GREY HORSE 8pm

June 25th is a special CHARITY JAM NIGHT in aid of the natural
disasters in Burma and China.....
We are hoping to attract some of the top local musicians and bands to come down on this night and we hope to be able to raise as much money as possible to help....please please put this date in your diary and give us your support by turning up if you possibly can....
We hope to start the evening at 8pm with a short set by the house band....there will probably be no fixed admission charge as the jam is normally a free event but we would appreciate any donation you can afford..!!! a suggested amount of £10 would be cool!!!
We will also run a MEGA RAFFLE and would appreciate any donations...and we are looking into any other ideas for fund raising on the night....!

JAM NIGHT NEWS

After the initial charity Jam there will be a regular jam every wednesday at the Grey Horse...we will be taking turns to run the night alternating with Andy Cortes...our first night will be July 2nd and from then we will be there every other week....
So Wednesday night is Jam night at Kingstons premier Music Venue....please support us here....the successful format will be unchanged...if it ain't broke don't fix it...!!

2008 NEWS!

Switch on the Live!

Since the Band’s live show has evolved so much over the last few years, we are in the process of mixing our new live album ‘Switch on the Live’ featuring radical re-workings of our most popular, live ‘Showstoppers’ – this will be another double album and due for release end of Summer. For every copy sold of this and also the best-selling ‘Live Therapy’ CD, £1 will be donated to relief causes for the Burmese and Chinese disasters until the end of 2008.

We have also recently recorded an acoustic ‘Tribute to Fast’ gig which we are very excited about and will be made into another live album soon.

The end of 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of our debut album BLUE THRASH THERAPY'S release....to mark this, the album has at last been re-released, for those of you who have discovered the Band since this album sold out last time.....

On the Festival front, the Band played 8 gigs in just 5 days at the 9th International Guinness Blues on the Bay Festival in Northern Ireland during May. We went down a storm. The band have also received rave reviews from guest members on the Boogaloo Promotions website for their appearance at Farnham Maltings in April.

2007 NEWS!

2007 was a busy year with appearances in FINLAND in January, and mini tours of Cumbria and Northumbria in March and May, including the band’s first appearance at Blaydon RnB Club. On the festival front, The band appeared at the SWANAGE Festival, ROCKIN THE BLUES AT TRING, BLUES AT THE MILLS, THE CROWN MUSIC FESTIVAL and STAR BLUES FESTIVAL in August, WEYFEST in September and BEER IN OCTOBER and also Ireland in September… Not to mention the never ending tour of duty of the S.Eastern music circuit.... Robins acoustic album "FAST LIFE SONGS" has received critical acclaim and is selling well.

PAST NEWS!

BIBI MEETS BB

Robin played at the Albert Hall a while ago. He appeared as guest guitarist in BB KING's support band. It is reported that the great men met backstage for a few minutes. Robin (trying to act very cool meeting one of his heroes) coyly asked for an autograph. I'm told BB King said he would comply only if he could have a signed copy of Robin's own album 'Blue Thrash Therapy'

The Band completed their second Norwegian Tour and also played at many festivals in the UK such as the Maryport Blues Festival, Blues at the Mills, Colne and Burnley Festivals, the first Sugarhill Blues Festival in Swindon and The Boogaloo Blues Festival at Farnham Maltings....not to mention headlining at the Beer Festival in East Devon (The 7th year running the Band performed there!). In Europe, the band appeared at the Harelbeke Festival in Belgium, the Roots n River festival in Finland....as well as the circuit in SE England... During this time, Robin concentrated on developing his acoustic side more and performing duo gigs with Tony Marten who has recently bought a double bass, as well as duo gigs with other artists such as Nigel Bagge, Dr Noel Brown, Tim Hain and soul diva Maureen Anderson...Onwards and upwards!!

2005 was a great year for the band.....they played more new festivals as well as the ones already established and played some new and prestigious venues on a regular basis, such as the EEL PIE CLUB and the BLUESSCENE CLUB in Twickenham......Robin featured prominently twice in the entertainments pages in the local Guardian, complete with 1/2 page photo, concerning the ever popular Grey Horse Jam Sessions and also the fantastically successful Tsunami benefit concert, featuring Never The Bride, Good Men in The Jungle, Bad Influence, Andy Cortes, JP& The Wise Guys, Gary Brewer and the GB's etc etc. held at the same venue with Robin as the M.C......Possibly the busiest night ever at the Grey Horse in Living Memory(!!!) with well over 200 packed in and £2,500 raised on the night! Thanks everyone for that!!!

On the festival scene, Robin was booked as a Solo Performer at the Swanage Festival in March, Rocking the Blues at Tring, and in April, the band played yet again at the CELTIC WARRIORS BIRTHDAY BASH, on a bill including SPACE RITUAL (featuring nearly all the members of HAWKWIND) SAXON and WISHBONE ASH!!! In June, the band played a festival in Belgium, and in July a festival in Norway and also for the first time, the MARYPORT BLUES FESTIVAL in Cumbria...

Robin also flew out to ROVANIEMI, in the far north of FINLAND (LAPLAND!) to play at the ROOTS & RIVER FESTIVAL- their first International Festival... other artists booked included PHIL GUY( Buddy's brother, our own PAPA GEORGE, ANDY CORTEZ and some top local bands...
See pictures from the festival here


ROBIN’S POSTCARDS FROM AMERICA

What a Blast I had in my week in Atlanta, staying at the home of Lucy Piller (www.allrightnow.com ) and her family........!

On the Monday of my arrival, I was taken to one of the area's main Music Venues, Darwin's to check out the New Yankee All-Stars, the resident Rock-Fusion Band led by the highly gifted Guitarist Mike Martin......I was persuaded to jam with them for a couple of numbers which was great fun and gave temporary relief to the jetlag....!!
Tuesday evening saw us again at Darwins checking out the modern jazz session led by Dustin Sergent. (ex Motor City Josh)

On Wednesday we were again at Darwins (Regulars by now..!!) attending the jam session hosted by Mike Martin...I got up and played 3 numbers, one of which was the original song "Switch Off The Night" from the "Tribute to Fast" album which none of the other players had heard before...and didn’t they do a great job...!! Also on this evening I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Black, the great Blues Singer/Guitarist who was in the audience and who then asked me if I would like to go to another Jam session at Feelay Gumbo's. a short drive away.....so we duly went there and I had a good time jamming with Andrew, who has to have one of the best Blues Voices I've ever worked with...!!

On Thursday we were back at Darwins yet again to see the amazing Barry Richman and his Band....Barry is probably the most accomplished guitarist working in the Atlanta area, his playing is truly awesome...!!

On Friday night we drove across town to Motorheads to play for the band Bluescat in McDonough, whose singer Jeff Robinson was unfortunately recovering from throat surgery...I sat in with the band and sang several numbers including the original "Jelly Out" which the guys picked up brilliantly......

Saturday night was a "night off" so we went out to Feelay Gumbos to catch the very talented Guitarist/vocalist Derek St Holmes (ex Ted Nugent!)...and hey! we won a Bass t-shirt in the Raffle...!!

On our last day, Sunday, it was brunch at Front Page with Andrew Black playing modern jazz/funk and I was invited up to jam for a couple of numbers.... was invited to Barry Richmond's flat for coffee and to look at his amazing guitar collection, and of course we ended up jamming around some blues and some Django Rheinhart....and in the evening, one more jam session, this time at the Firehouse at Woodstock with Nick on Bass and The Monkeyman on drums......amazing.....!!

The BB Band have become truly international artists, picking up Airplay on "LOS AUTOBLUES" in Spain & also on KXJZ Radio, broadcasting from Sacramento, Northern California! This Station can also be picked up on the web by visiting www.capradio.org, selecting KXJZ and checking the listings... the D.J.is MICK MARTIN...

Photos from America

WORLD DOMINATION ONE STEP CLOSER!!

The BB Band have been generating considerable interest in the USA!

Radio station WRFG in ATLANTA, Georgia have been playing tracks off LIVE THERAPY, TRIBUTE TO FAST & LANGUAGE OF YOUR SOUL on their morning Blues show which goes out 5 days a week hosted by the resident DJ UK BOB who loves to feature music by contemporary British Blues Bands....
see the websites
www.wrfg.org
www.ukbob.com

And following a live Phone-in interview with Robin on UK Bob's morning show which caused a terrific response from an audience eager to find out more about the band and where they could buy CDs, the band have now signed a Distribution Deal with DWM Music for the USA!! We are now looking into the possibility of some Live work in the US when the time is right...!

see the website
www.DWMmusic.com

BLUES IN BRITAIN volume 1 issue 21

FAME AT LAST!!
We have made the Front Cover of BLUES IN BRITAIN September edition volume 1 issue 21!! Robin gave an interview to Bill Smith and talked about his influences, the London Blues Scene, his latest recordings, Jam Sessions, musical philosophy and plans for the future...!!

Please see our Link to Blues In Britain's website, www.bluesinbritain.org for details of how to purchase or subscribe to the Magazine which no genuine Blues Fan should be without.....
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