The album opens up with “Sinner” a gritty mid tempo funk/blues song which typifies Fuschi4’s sound with bassist David Lloyd riding his own groove as only he can. “It’s Getting Warmer” is a laid back soul inspired musical ditty contrasted completely by the next track, a ZZ Top inspired uptempo version of “The Hunter”, a song more closely associated with Free. Moanin’ & Groanin’ is more of a medium fare blues/rock track with some excellent atmospheric vocals and keyboards at the rear of the mix

Undoubtedly the ‘pièce de résistance’ on this album is a wonderfully crafted song called “My Salvation”. This is an extremely soulful reggae stylised track which carries all the hallmarks of a talented songwriter in the form of guitarist & band leader  Paolo Fuschi, whose musical compositions are all permeated with passion, pathos and heartfelt lyrical content. “My Salvation” is reminiscent in feel to early Terence Trent D’Arby, but comparisons aside this track should be earmarked for further promotion as a single release due to its strong commercial appeal.

“Can’t Hold Out” is a fine example of the bands approach to blues composition, containing some sensitive slide guitar passages which is the icing on the cake, whereas “Sugar Free” is an additive free ‘souped up’ soul funkster bash, perfect groove fodder for David Lloyd’s bass riffs and licks.  

In summary this is an engaging, entertaining album which has elements of funk, blues, soul, rock & reggae offering the listener a true fusion of all those genres. The addition of Tim Moscrop on second guitar and new drummer Adam Dawson has given the band an extra depth and subtlety to their music.  As one would always hope, this album has exceeded all my expectations with vibrant vocalisations, quality songs and a natural musical chemistry which makes this album such a total and refreshing listening experience.

 Fucschi4 have arrived at ‘The Crossroads’ and it’s green for go!  Bravissimo!!

 Song samples on  http://soundcloud.com/fuschi4

“The Rock of Ages Radio Show” is my dedication to great musicians past and present who like myself also went through a ‘pain barrier’ of rejection and indifference to deliver ‘ground breaking’ musical triumphs which continue to reverberate to this day, they are the catalysts for others who have followed in their footsteps.

   “We are the Music Makers’ we are the ‘Dreamers of Dreams”

For further details about the show please contact Lucas Campbell at Twosome Productions UK email rockintheblues@btinternet.com

“Keeping ‘Live’ Music Alive”

On

Thursday 3^rd November 2011 at BJ’s Blues Club

,

The Hop Pocket, Carr lane, Chorley

9.30pm Start

Free Entry!

Lucas Campbell is proud to present

THE ADRIAN GAUTREY BAND

 Set your controls for the heart of the fun once again with some best driving blues/rock music you are ever likely to hear, with great renditions of Hendrix, Gallagher, Free & Led Zeppelin classics. In speaking with bassist Karl Nadin he informs me the band now have an even wider repertoire of material that will be unleashed at BJ’s. This band can really deliver the goods, can’t wait for this one!!

Arrive early if you want to grab a seat!

http://www.adriangautreyband.co.uk/

The Adrian Gautrey Band are –

Adrian Gautrey – Lead Guitar/Vocals

Karl Nadin – Bass

Naill Williams - Drums

This EP contains one ‘orginal’ song “Just One Good Cause” which opens proceedings nicely, best described as a mid tempo blues shuffle and is totally indicative of the bands ability to make this sound like a ‘oldie’ from the vaults which they have updated in their own idiom, therein lies one of this bands great strengths, a totally authentic sound.

Neil Partington is gifted with exactly the right vocal chords to exhort the power of the blues upon those who are not already converts to his natural guttural vocal intonations. This is apparent throughout the two cover tracks too which are more than competent versions of the Ray Charles song “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and an inspired version of the blues standard Forty-Four from which the band have derived their name. The latter contains some very sensualized and sensitive guitar passages by Paul Starkey, which is a welcome change from much of the soulless cliched blues licks that most guitarists can be guilty of.

The keyboards played by Glen Lewis are used sparingly and are reminiscent in style and sound to the early British blues boom outfits of the sixties. The killer punch of this band is the ’skin tight’ rhythm section driven by Steve Brown on bass and Nick Lauro on drums who provide the ultimate musical backdrop for the band to power forward.

It’s well worth checking this band out they are ‘live’ at BJ’s, The Hop Pocket, Chorley this coming Thursday 7th April at 9.30pm. They are superb musicians who deserve recognition for their dedication, talent, true grit and determination to make their mark! Long Live Forty 4!!

ps “Whitewood” CD’s should be on sale at the gig.

http://www.facebook.com/scarygoodmusic?sk=info

The first band to hit the stage were the Mighty Revelators from Bury who opened up their set with some uptempo blues/swing numbers which they delivered with some stylish and complementary guitar work from Rick Lucas and Mark Hopkins. In-spite of some initial teething problems with one of the mics the band soon stepped up into top gear and really proved why they had been chosen for this competition, living up to their reputation as an emerging ‘tour de force’ on the North West Blues circuit.

The second act to take the stage was Burnley chanteuse Lucy Zirins tipped by many for greater things. It was hard to believe that someone of eighteen years of age could sing the blues and captivate the audience with convincing interpretations of such blues standards as “Death Letter Blues”. Surprisingly it was Miss Zirins own material which was outstanding and bore the hallmarks of a first class songwriter who is developing her own engaging musical style. Sensitive guitar work and superior complimentay vocals won the hearts of the audience, but above all her stagecraft and natural rapport with the audience made this a memorable performance.

The Revenues were the next to ‘hit the boards’ and gave us a shot in arm of high energy R & B and were reminiscent in style to the early Yardbirds. This young band were undoubtedly one of the great musical revelations of the evening and performed some inspired original compositions which had pace and conviction sung with great guttural vocalisations by guitarist Joss Owen who drives the band hard with his infectious hard drinking carousings of youth. Their music has an immediacy full of boundless energy that delivers the goods, these boys are certainly a band to watch out for.

Lee Bates & Billy Newton were next to entertain, and that’s exactly what they did. This North East acoustic duo have been great ambassadors for the blues for many years. Lee Bates plays resonator and acoustic guitars and sings, accompanied by Billy Newton who plays harmonica to great effect. Lee Bates has a natural connection with an audience and is extremely adept as a raconteur introducing his songs and engaging the audience with gritty Geordie humour which was evident from the outset. One of the highlights was Brampton Blues a self composition based on the trials and tribulations of performing musicians. This duo are a great credit to themselves and the music they make and impressed us with their performance, their determination to be true to the blues, and above all a self belief in themselves as performers.

Chris James was the penultimate act to take the stage and is another seasoned blues singer and acoustic slide player who shouted class from his very first chord. Mr James is a superb guitarist with an equally distinguished and memorable voice to match. There were some very able ‘blues covers’ but once again it was his own self penned songs that won the audiences unwavering attention. There is a great sincerity in this artist’s music which makes him stand out from the crowd and this obviously stuck a chord with the competiton judges also.  

The Mark Thornley Band were the last band to take up position centre stage lifting off with a blistering powerhouse blues/rock set of three hand picked pieces of musical mastery which reminded everyone what a consistently dynamic outfit they have been over the last few years. Mark Thornley is the archetypal all action ‘guitar’ hero who somehow pushes his performance well beyond the known boundaries, becoming a musical demigod locked in mortal combat slaying his demons with every known guitar convulsion and sustained string bend in the book and a many that are not!  A truly stunning performance from this power trio which was a befitting grand finale to a fabulous evening of entertainment from the ‘creme de la creme’ of blues acts in the North of England.

The Competition Judges were always going to have difficult choices to make.

The judges for this heat were Lisa Gagnon who was representing New Brunswick Tourism. Mark Olly TV Presenter of “Lost Treasures” and Neil Aspinall local musician & educational music teacher.

The winner was announced at 10.30 by competition organisers Lee George and Lisa Gagnon.

Chris James was chosen by the judges to be the winning act with The Revenues and The Mark Thornley Band as runners up.

Chris James will now appear in the final at the legendary 100 Club in London on the 29th March.

The runners up will go to an online public voting system on  http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.co.uk/ 

This event ranks as one of the most successful and enjoyable musical evenings I have ever been involved with and my personal thanks and admiration goes out to everyone who was involved in the Northern Heats. In particular a great debt of gratitude is owed to Lee George and Lisa Gagnon for giving these musicians a platform and the exposure they so rightly deserve.

My special thanks and appreciation to everyone who turned up on the night and supported the musicians in our quest in “Keeping Live Music Live” at BJ’s.

Lucas Campbell

 Here is the line up for BJ’s with some ’web links’ for the acts 

19.30 THE MIGHTY REVELATORS  An impressive and versatile blues/swing combo from Manchester with twin guitar attack.

http://www.myspace.com/therevelatorsbluesband

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tI3ubphfaU  The Mighty Revelators do a Dick Dale!

20.00 LUCY ZIRINS  An extremely talented Burnley singer/songwriter who has tapped into the very soul of the blues.

http://www.myspace.com/lucyzirins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9VFQqxAa0I  A great version of “Trouble In Mind” made famous by Janis Joplin & Jorma Kaukonen ”The Typewriter Tapes”

20.30 THE REVENUES  A refreshing and interesting Burnley based 5 piece who are “first class exponents of modern day blues”.

http://www.myspace.com/therevenuesblues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp35XmP4h4k  A ‘live’ performance to savour from these boys.

21.00 LEE BATES & BILLY NEWTON  A North East based blues duo who have made a name for themselves throughout the UK

http://www.myspace.com/leebatesbillynewton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWf4GZ6ma0I  An excellent ‘live’ rendition of an Arthur”Big Boy” Crudup song.

21.30 CHRIS JAMES  An authentic and engaging solo guitarist who has been plying his trade for around the Carlisle area for the last twenty five years.

 http://www.myspace.com/chrisjamesblues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4Rv0XT5s0  Chris James ‘at home’ on stage with a vintage guitar and tone to match

22.00 THE MARK THORNLEY BAND  A Blackpool based blues/rock trio who have built their reputation on ’raw blues power’.

http://www.myspace.com/markthornley  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj9K0g4hMWg  Mark and the guys supporting Sherman Robertson.

 The winning band/act will appear in the final at the 100 Club, Oxford Street, London on 29th March 2011. The winner of the final will have the chance to appear at the highly prestigious New Brunswick Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in Canada. This is a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for one of these acts to gain international exposure for themselves and fly the flag for British Blues.

This event is a rare opportunity for us to indulge our musical passions and showcase some fine examples of the burgeoning musical talent we have here in Britain.

Thank you once again for your support.

Lucas Campbell

BJ’s Blues Club

Please check out www.TourismNewBrunswick.co.uk             In partnership with  www.bluesmatters.com 

Fuschi 3 could best be described as ‘The Kings of Funk Blues’, but in truth their talents and strengths lie much beyond any generic musical label or tag that could be used to ‘pigeon hole’ this band. In fact where as the average power trio tends to consist of a ‘front man’ posturing guitar player and two backing musicians, in Fuschi3 we really do have a band of three equally talented players. Paulo Fuschi is the vocalist and guitarist who is the catalyst bluesmaster whose warm personable character somehow belies his mastery of the guitar, the intensity of his music and the gift of song crafting. David Lloyd on Electric Bass is the ultimate funkmiester on four strings or more, taking his ‘bass groove’ much beyond reach of the average four stringer. Rick Hughes is a truly dynamic powerhouse drummer whose ‘fills’ and symbol work is second to none and completes this emerging musical ‘tour de force’.

The set was well balanced and contained a mix of ’standards’ covers and some of their own material which was equally well received by the musically perceptive and appreciative supporters at BJ’s, who tucked into a feast of musical delights savouring the flavour of each and every song. Highlights included a superb jazz funk rendition of “Summertime”, an earthy version of “Born Under A Bad Sign” with the self penned “2am” and “Salvation” offering a glimpse of the bands versatility to break new ground into other sub genres. With a forthcoming album recording session planned in November I look forward with relish to be swept away again by a wave of musical euphoria. “Give me an hour for magic!” It really has happened, the doors are wide open for the Fuschi 3!

Al is accompanied on these recordings by Hugh Bradley on Bass and Leigh Stothard on drums, augmented by Murray Grainger on accordion whose musicianship complements the songs so well. “Black Diamonds” is one of the stand out songs on this album, but there are others also that captivate the listener with equal intensity such as “Three Tastes” and ”Live By The Sword”.

 Above all else it is the sincerity in the voice of Al Dickinson that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries who are also exponents in this genre which I would classify as Roots/Country Blues. Al’s guitar work is wonderfully sensitive and slightly reminiscent of Mark Knofpler at times with a sweetness of tone that leaves you wanting more.

Al Dickinson is a modern day troubadour who wears his heart on his sleeve, never afraid to step out of the shadows into the limelight to show us all that ‘true grit’ and a passion to perform original songs really can win hearts and minds, “whatever next” for Al Dickinson.

The album was produced by Jonathan Taylor and Adam Medlock at Blacksail Records and available through Amazon. The CD dedicated to the memory of Brian “BJ” Jeffery the founder of BJ’s Blues Club.

Check out the Al Dickinson Band ‘live’ at BJ’s Blues Club on Thursday 30th September 2010.

The Sunset Festival takes place on the Wirral and has a number of headline acts, plus a tribute to John Peel. Although the fare on offer is more contempory than the music we play we would still love to give this event a plug as we know a number of our friends will be attending.

Here is a video update about the Festival….

The show is now available at the same time on both Tuesdays and Sundays, 7pm - 10pm british time and 2pm - 5pm USA (est).

Thanks again for your continued support!

]]> http://www.the-rock-of-ages-radio-show.com/music-heroes-blog/248/changes-to-our-radio-show-times-slot/feed/