Taking The Long Road

I have been notably remiss in posting on here of late. No, scratch that – I’ve been bloody useless. In my defence, it’s been a time of turmoil, change and soul-searching, but it’s no excuse, not really. I am a creator, and I need to share that creativity with the wider world, whether the reaction be good, bad, or indifferent. I suppose it’s driven by that old philosophical adage:  “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?“

Anyway, I may revisit some of the things I’ve been up to in the intervening couple of years, but for now, I want to share this with you.

In recent months, I’ve been doing some co-writing with an old friend, Steve Bonham. (Our connection goes back so far we’re into counting half-decades!) We last wrote a song together when we were about fifteen, so, as Steve likes to joke, we’re not what you’d call a prolific writing partnership.

Nevertheless, when he approached me to become a part of The Long Road, we began exchanging ideas.

We recorded over thirty songs at Woodworm Studios in Oxfordshire with Stuart Wood for a huge Anglo-Americana project, about half a dozen of which are co-writes between me and Steve. Woodworm is a studio steeped in history. Once owned by Dave Pegg, it has heard the talents of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull among others, and the ghosts of their songs move through the walls.

One of the songs we wrote was ‘The Girl with the Rattlesnake Heart’ and it’s a song that had some interesting beginnings. I wrote the music back in 2010, in the shadow of the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue in Austin, Texas. I’d been watching a squirrel playing in the trees and had the fanciful notion that it was a blues aficionado, influenced by SRV. I named him Nutz McGee.

Me and SRV…..

It was a frivolous lyric, and needless to say, it didn’t make it onto my ‘Blue Odyssey’ album of the same year. But I always kept coming back to the music, knowing I could use it some day.

When Steve approached me to see if I had any ideas this one came to mind. “I’ve got a song about a blues squirrel,” I said, straight-faced. When he’d stopped laughing, he gave it a listen. He came up with a fabulously evocative lyric that dovetailed perfectly with the mood of the music, and ‘The Girl with the Rattlesnake Heart’ was born.

I remember the recording session for the song. I was like some kind of long-haired Basil Fawlty, running up and down the studio stairs like a lunatic, recording drums, then bass, then guitar, then backing vocals! I like the juxtaposition of the two guitar solos, mine, then John Humphreys slide solo, a nice contrast. The minimalist low bass note on the piano from Chris Lydon harks back to my Blue Odyssey album. When I’d visited Sun Studios in Memphis, I’d learned that Johnny Cash used to do this to add gravitas to a track. I think it sounds great on this.

A couple of weeks ago, the band came out to Andalucia, and we filmed a trilogy of videos for the project. Here is the first of them. ‘The Girl with the Rattlesnake Heart’

We still call it The Squirrel Song. 🙂

Straight Shooters at The Grand Pavilion, Matlock Bath

Matlock, and its surrounding area, including Darley Dale and Matlock bath, in the heart of Derbyshire’s Peak District is somewhere dear to my heart and inextricably linked with both my Mum’s and Dad’s side of the family, all of them hailing from there. The Grand Pavilion, a Georgian building that stands imperiously by the river side deep in the gorge where Matlock Bath sits, has long been a focal point for entertainment. In the post-war years, my Dad well remembers attending concerts and watching Dance bands there. In the 1980’s, I performed there myself with my band Tubeless Hearts.

Matlock Bath Pavilion

So it really piqued my interest when my Dad mentioned that it had been at considerable risk of demolition in recent years, and was now in the hands of a trust committed to saving this historic building. I’d been canvassing around to fill out dates for my visit from Spain in June, when, with our new project Straight Shooters, we’ll be making a special appearance at the Quad in Derby, and also in Burton -on-Trent, but more about those shows in another post.

After connecting with Andie Brazewell at The Pavilion, we now have a date in place for Straight Shooters – Friday June 6th – we’re hoping everyone will come along and support the event – priced at just £5 a ticket, and help fund the restoration of this beautiful venue.

You’ll be in for a night of classic British 70’s rock, courtesy of the music of Free and Bad Company!

STRAIGHT SHOOTERS

THE GRAND PAVILION MATLOCK BATH

Kev Moore

Singing for The Rams Collection

L-R: Mike, Stef, Kev

I was recently invited to perform at the opening of a Museum exhibition. Now, having been in the Music business professionally for nearly 35 years, this might be something I could take offence at! But, this is no ordinary exhibition. It is The Rams Collection. Curated by Andy Ellis, author of several Derby County books and a lifelong Rams fan, it is an extraordinary hoard of Derby County Football Club memorabilia that reaches back into the 19th. Century and takes your breath away, particularly, if, like me, you have supported The Rams all your life. Collections like this are fascinating. It is not always the ‘grand pieces’ that draw the gasps, it can be the discarded golden goal ticket, one of so many thousands that lay strewn across the terraces following a match. It evokes a memory, a passion from the past, perhaps something that provokes conversation between Father and Son, as the younger generation finally gain an insight into what it was like to support the club in yesteryear. During discussions about this exhibition which I sat in on with Andy and Peter Bonnell, Curator of The Quad, I saw some amazing stuff! -But i won’t spoil the surprise, come along to opening night and see for yourselves!

Andy Ellis. Picture: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk

It was C. V. Wedgwood who said: ‘Without passion there might be no errors, but without passion there would certainly be no history‘. – Well, there’s no passion like that of a football fan, and DCFC’s history will be on display at The QUAD, Derby for all to see for 3 months during the summer. I’ll be taking a small band to open the exhibition performing tracks from my DCFC CD “Fan Fayre for the Commons People” live for the first time, comprising Mike Koch my musical cohort from B.C.Sweet and Witch Cross on guitar, my lifelong mate Stef Cybichowski (After the Fire, and soon to be BCS!) on Drums and special guest Tom Leary (Lindisfarne/feast of Fiddles/Clem Clempson) on fiddle. Derby County Club Captain Shaun Barker will be doing a DJ set to follow.

Tom Leary

For our part, while I’m over from Spain, we’re hoping to turn it into a fun little ‘micro-tour’. – On Saturday June 7th, Me, Mike and Stef under the name of ‘Straight Shooters’ will be performing an exclusive set of Bad Company and Free numbers at the Uxbridge Arms in nearby Burton -on – Trent, and we’re looking at a venue to host us on the Friday night too. to complete a hat-trick, if you will!

Kev Moore

Keep it True – The Album!

Witch Cross were recently invited to participate in a new Metal compilation album project, and in this instance, we had no hesitation in accepting, and were honoured to have been asked. Entitled Harder than Steel, the new album celebrates the bands that have appeared at the legendary KEEP IT TRUE festival at the Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen,  Germany, and indeed, the festival itself. This is where Witch Cross performed the first comeback show in 2012 – and was the springboard for relaunching the band, our new album Axe to Grind, and a string of appearances across Europe, so the festival, and its organisers are very dear to our hearts.

Bart Gabriel

Masterminded by our friends Bart Gabriel and Oliver Weinsheimer, the album aims to showcase bands who have appeared at the festival covering other well-known metal bands’ songs who have also appeared, and grew out of an original idea of Bart’s. We chose ‘Angel Witch’ by NWOBHM Stalwarts Angel Witch and are very happy with the result, and feel we are in good company with the other bands that have contributed to this fantastic project. Of course, the cover art is by Dimitar Nikolov, long associated with the festival, whose artwork we admired so much we commissioned him to create the cover painting for our own ‘Axe to Grind’. A festival in its eleventh year, KEEP IT TRUE maintains a special relationship with both the fans and the bands, and it is entirely appropriate that the ethos of the festival be commemorated in this way. This is a VERY LIMITED EDITION. There is a run of  only 500 copies, which can be purchased by attending this years KEEP IT TRUE festival, which runs from April 25th to the 26th….so what are you waiting for? Get yourself over to Germany, bang your head and buy the album!

Me with Robb Reiner from Anvil at KIT XV

TRACKLISTING:

01. ATTACKER – “Fire Down Under” (RIOT)
02. PARADOX – “March Of The Saint” (ARMORED SAINT)
03. CRYSTAL VIPER – “Night Of The Demon” (DEMON)
04. WITCH CROSS – “Angel Witch” (ANGEL WITCH)
05. OSTROGOTH – “Plan Of Peace” (LETHAL)
06. JACK STARR’S BURNING STARR – “Children Of The Storm” (VIRGIN STEELE)
07. SACRED STEEL – “All For One” (RAVEN)
08. NIGHT DEMON – “Axe Crazy” (JAGUAR)
09. WIZARD – “Mind Body Spirit” (VIRGIN STEELE)
10. BORROWED TIME – “Bound To Be Free” (SAVAGE GRACE)
11. SATAN’S HOST – “See You In Hell” (GRIM REAPER)
12. DEADLY BLESSING – “Notorious” (LIZZY BORDEN)

Kev Moore

01. ATTACKER – “Fire Down Under” (RIOT)
02. PARADOX – “March Of The Saint” (ARMORED SAINT)
03. CRYSTAL VIPER – “Night Of The Demon” (DEMON)
04. WITCH CROSS – “Angel Witch” (ANGEL WITCH)
05. OSTROGOTH – “Plan Of Peace” (LETHAL)
06. JACK STARR’S BURNING STARR – “Children Of The Storm” (VIRGIN STEELE)
07. SACRED STEEL – “All For One” (RAVEN)
08. NIGHT DEMON – “Axe Crazy” (JAGUAR)
09. WIZARD – “Mind Body Spirit” (VIRGIN STEELE)
10. BORROWED TIME – “Bound To Be Free” (SAVAGE GRACE)
11. SATAN’S HOST – “See You In Hell” (GRIM REAPER)
12. DEADLY BLESSING – “Notorious” (LIZZY BORDEN)
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/keep-it-true-festivals-official-tribute-album-artwork-and-track-listing-revealed/#avvaUpEm10z1UpyF.99

01. ATTACKER – “Fire Down Under” (RIOT)
02. PARADOX – “March Of The Saint” (ARMORED SAINT)
03. CRYSTAL VIPER – “Night Of The Demon” (DEMON)
04. WITCH CROSS – “Angel Witch” (ANGEL WITCH)
05. OSTROGOTH – “Plan Of Peace” (LETHAL)
06. JACK STARR’S BURNING STARR – “Children Of The Storm” (VIRGIN STEELE)
07. SACRED STEEL – “All For One” (RAVEN)
08. NIGHT DEMON – “Axe Crazy” (JAGUAR)
09. WIZARD – “Mind Body Spirit” (VIRGIN STEELE)
10. BORROWED TIME – “Bound To Be Free” (SAVAGE GRACE)
11. SATAN’S HOST – “See You In Hell” (GRIM REAPER)
12. DEADLY BLESSING – “Notorious” (LIZZY BORDEN)
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/keep-it-true-festivals-official-tribute-album-artwork-and-track-listing-revealed/#avvaUpEm10z1UpyF.99

01. ATTACKER – “Fire Down Under” (RIOT)
02. PARADOX – “March Of The Saint” (ARMORED SAINT)
03. CRYSTAL VIPER – “Night Of The Demon” (DEMON)
04. WITCH CROSS – “Angel Witch” (ANGEL WITCH)
05. OSTROGOTH – “Plan Of Peace” (LETHAL)
06. JACK STARR’S BURNING STARR – “Children Of The Storm” (VIRGIN STEELE)
07. SACRED STEEL – “All For One” (RAVEN)
08. NIGHT DEMON – “Axe Crazy” (JAGUAR)
09. WIZARD – “Mind Body Spirit” (VIRGIN STEELE)
10. BORROWED TIME – “Bound To Be Free” (SAVAGE GRACE)
11. SATAN’S HOST – “See You In Hell” (GRIM REAPER)
12. DEADLY BLESSING – “Notorious” (LIZZY BORDEN)
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/keep-it-true-festivals-official-tribute-album-artwork-and-track-listing-revealed/#avvaUpEm10z1UpyF.99

A weekend to remember!

A trip back to the UK from Spain is not unusual for me, but this week’s adventure is worthy of special mention. Some months ago, Bootleg Counterfeit Sweet were booked to appear at the Yesterday Once More 70’s festival in Brean, Somerset, on Sunday 23rd March. My partner Miki discovered it coincided with the weekend my beloved Derby County played our arch-rivals Nottingham Forest at home, and she very kindly gifted me a ticket for the game. Following this our gig was brought forward to the Saturday – catastrophe! But… all was not lost. It emerged that due to TV scheduling, the game would be played at the unearthly hour of 12.15. I quickly calculated that I would be able to attend the match, run to the train station, and jump on a train down to Bristol, there to rendezvous with our guitarist Mike and continue on to the gig, arriving in time to perform. To this end DCFC were very helpful and arranged for me to leave my bass guitar with security at the stadium, so I could grab it on the way out! But more about that later.

I arrived for my flight from Alicante in good time on the Thursday afternoon, and having cleared security, made my way to peruse the screens to get an idea of if I had time to grab a coffee before boarding. Oh, I had time all right. So much time, I could have grabbed the coffee in Brazil. Looking up at the screen, under the ‘Expected’ column it said, inexplicably “00.35”.  It took my brain a while to get around this. Finally, with a sinking heart, I realised that, far from departing at 17.40, my flight wouldn’t even arrive in Alicante until a full seven hours later!

As I slumped down in a chair, I ran through this in my mind: The flight time is only 2 hours 20 minutes from the UK, so where the hell was the plane? Given that this was all happening while MH370 was missing, it was, I thought, a pertinent, if ultimately unspoken, question. It transpired that ‘technical problems’ with the original plane had led to them searching a replacement, which clearly, they had yet to succeed in doing. However, given the ongoing tragedy in the Far East, a long wait is preferable to an endless one.  For our troubles, we were furnished with (gasp!) a €10 voucher with which to fill those long hours with comestibles of our choice. My voucher stretched to a sandwich, a coffee and a cookie, and even then I had to add 50 cents.

Official confirmation, as if I bloody needed it, that I had landed in the middle of the bloody night.

To cut a very long story short, I eventually touched down at East Midlands airport at 1.45am local time. I waited an hour, then caught a bus into Derby, which deposited me in a wind-chilled, deserted and darkened metropolis at around 3.30am. I walked the 4 miles to my Dad’s house in Mickleover. Call me daft, but I can’t countenance paying more money to enjoy the company of an East-European taxi driver on a 4 mile journey than it has just cost me to fly the 2,000 miles from Southern Spain.

The following day, I attended a meeting at the iPro stadium, home of Derby County, relating to a matter which I will expand on in later posts here. Friday evening I had a lovely time with my Daughter, her partner and my Grandson when I took them out for a meal at an American diner. Upon returning back to my Dad’s place, I also managed to fit new pick ups and bridge to my bass guitar before going to bed, and prayed it would function at the gig on Saturday night!

Saturday morning, Dad and I headed down to the stadium, for this, one of the great local derbies of English Football. To Derby and Forest fans, there is no bigger game than this one, fuelled by years of passion, and the unique love-hate relationship between the clubs, who have shared managers and players alike over time. So much so, that every time these two great clubs play each other, they compete for The Brian Clough Trophy named after the legendary man who managed them both, and gave both of them their greatest achievements. Today, they were managed by our ex-manager the reviled and diminutive Scot, Billy Davies, and we were managed by their ex (albeit short-lived) manager , Steve McClaren.  The last time the two clubs met resulted in a 0-1 defeat for us, and also in Nigel Clough losing his job. What would happen today?

Dad enjoys the moment

As I took my seat in the stand, the roar of the 33,000 washed over me, filled me up. Pride, sentiment, nostalgia and passion welled up inside me. A Football stadium is a modern Church. This is where we heal the hurt. The attendance today was the fifth-highest in the land, including the so-called ‘big boys’ in the Premiership. This town lives and breathes its football, it always has.

From the off, we were all over them. Within minutes we were 1-0 to the good, and the signs were there that Forest, inexplicably, were just not up for it. We ran them ragged, notching up a 5-0 win, Craig Bryson scoring a hat-trick, Johnny Russell a sweetly hit strike and Jeff Hendrick yet another. I had witnessed history. Until that day, no living Derby fan had seen a player score a hat-trick against Forest. It was our biggest win over our bitter rivals since 1898, when Derby and England legend Steve Bloomer scored a hat-trick! To complete the beautiful symmetry and humiliation of our neighbours, within a day Billy Davies had been dismissed as manager of Nottingham Forest. They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

I fairly flew out of the ground at the final whistle, grabbing my bass from security, and jumped on the train. Fast track to 8.30 that evening and we took to the stage with Andy, a drummer I’d barely met, who handled the tricky BC Sweet show with aplomb, and we had a storming night. We drove back to London that night and spent Sunday rehearsing a new project. I just had time on Monday to do some voiceover work with Mike before heading up to Stansted for my thankfully on-time flight back to Spain.

What an enjoyable, productive weekend it was! Now it’s time to work on the songs we made a start on on Sunday in rehearsal, and also re-acquaint myself with the Witch Cross set as we prepare to play the Very ‘Eavy festival in Holland in April.

Kev Moore

Vagabonds of the Western World – Recording in Cong, Ireland by way of South London

Last Thursday I set out for Alicante, spending the night in a nearby hotel in order to feel remotely human when I caught the 7.30am flight to Stansted, England. This however, was not my final destination, but any further headway would be denied to me until gone 5 o’clock that afternoon. Faced with a mind-numbing day in this most soul-destroying of airports, I had sought alternative possibilities, and given that Witch Cross had been invited to participate with a track for a new German release tribute album, I jumped on the train down to South London, where our guitarist Mike Koch has his studio. “I can give you two hours” I said, and we set to work laying down as much vocal as I could manage. Things went so smoothly, he even had time to make me a ham and cheese bagel, so, a good result there!

Speeding back to Stansted I cast off my cloak of metal and surrendered to the folk music demos that my old friend Steve Bonham had furnished me with. As I escaped the hubbub of the city for the countryside, greenery flashing by, it seemed that my environment was mirroring this musical transition. I’d lived with this collection of Steve’s songs for a week or so, and had spent time in my studio firstly playing along, then expanding and weaving my own bass ideas around the well-crafted songs and lyrics. The last time Steve and I had collaborated musically seemed like, and in fact was, a lifetime ago. There was still an Iron Curtain, a Yugoslavia, and a Shah of Iran. The Beatles were all alive, and perhaps even more scarily, had only broken up a mere 3 years or so previously. We were young lads, stumbling over our instruments in the confines of our various parents’ garages, and it was a lot of fun. We didn’t play by the rules, because we didn’t have the slightest idea what they were. As I think I’ve mentioned before, it is a source of immense pride to me that our little village and surrounding environs on the outskirts of Derby has produced so many musicians and songwriters. Adrian Foster and I went on to perform in 80’s band Tubeless Hearts, and we still play together in ‘Yellow River’ hitmakers Christie to this day. Steve, and another couple of friends from those days, Tim Gadsby and Paul Bunting, went down the Folk route, culminating in a successful band with a number of album releases under their belt – Firkin the Fox. Enlisting the services of Fairport Convention/Jethro Tull stalwart Dave Pegg to their cause certainly did them no harm at all, and boosted their credentials. Steve and I may generally follow different musical paths, but scratch the surface and the similarities are surprising. there is a mutually deep respect for the written word, the importance of a lyric, the unwavering conviction that the ‘story is king’. It’s something I like a lot in Steve’s lyrics. They evoke emotion, create imagery, as all good songwriters strive to do.  It was a deep pleasure to be asked to perform on this collection of songs, closing a musical circle that’s been left open for some forty-odd years.

Tom & Steve in the control room

As the plane came into land at the fantastically remote Knock airport, I surrendered to the moment, and embraced this land of myths and legends, of tall tales and romantic visions, of relentless green and rushing rivers. From the moment ‘Matt the Taxi’ greeted me, I was among friends, some old, some new.

King Canute required….

Mountain View studios awaited…but not before a meal in Ryan’s Hotel on the Friday night, when we ate, drank and were indeed merry!

Me & Tim

So good to see dear Tim Gadsby again, who had generously lent me his basses for the session. Robbed of his ability to play the bass as he did so well due to the effects of Ataxia, I was honoured to have him by my side casting a watchful eye over proceedings as I laid my parts down. More than anything, I needed him to be satisfied with what I’d done.

Laying down some bass with Pat Coyne at the desk.

I connected wonderfully with Tom Leary, a superb guitarist and fiddle player, who tours with the likes of Lindisfarne and Clem Clempson. We swapped stories, songs and generally had a great time.  I was stunned by the talents of Pat Coyne, who, in between making sure everything was recorded correctly, would  randomly pick up a banjo or guitar and play like he was hard-wired to heaven. Similar moments that had me scraping my jaw off the floor were the arrivals of Stephen Doherty….a likeable lad who wandered in and played the flute with such feeling and grace that I began to believe in the supernatural.

Whistle while you work…

This train of thought was further strengthened when Jimmy Higgins arrived and raced through his percussive bag of tricks, layering a Celtic groove rich with the sounds of brushes, snare, bodhran and shakers that alternately caressed and drove the songs in equal measure. To say he was ‘on the money’ would be an understatement.

Jimmy on the Bodhran

The atmosphere in the sessions was relaxed, though workmanlike, as there was a lot of stuff to get through, not least of which a new song that Steve dropped on us upon arrival! Chris Lydon, a.k.a. ‘The Bishop’ provided a steady hand along with Pat marshalling the sessions to maximum effect and getting the very best out of everyone for the good of each composition.

On the Sunday morning, I stole a moment after breakfast to explore the village of Cong, where Mountain view studios is situated. Despite a grey veil of drizzle and the intent of the lakes and rivers to take over the roads, I found it a charming place, boasting a beautiful old Chapel, and a myriad of brightly coloured cottages that seemed to be only outnumbered by the local hostelries! There was a statue near the church, of a smiling man holding a laughing woman in his arms.

The face seemed familiar, as did the name of one of the pubs I had just passed – ‘The Quiet Man’. The penny dropped. The statue was none other than John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, who had starred in the film of that name, which was filmed in this very village. Matt the Taxi told me, as he drove me back to the airport after three wonderful days, that he’d had a call some years ago, enquiring if it would be possible to book a room at his Bed & Breakfast for a lady.  He’d asked the name as he took the booking and, upon hearing it, refrained from making any humorous comment, which turned out to be a wise decision, because the lady in question turned out to be Maureen O’ Hara herself, revisiting the site of what she refers to as “….my personal favourite of all the pictures I have made. It is the one I am most proud of…”

Matt himself was most impressed that she would want to stay in a B&B , and not one of the fancy hotels nearby, and indeed he describes her as a lovely down-to-earth lady. As I write she is still with us, aged 93, and I wish her good health. I understand why she would want to come back here. I do.

L-R: Chris “The Bishop” Lydon, Tim Gadsby, Tom Leary, Me

Kev Moore

Real-world shopping: Buying CD’s in Gran Canaria – Part One

I’m not a total Luddite, I embrace the internet, downloads and mp3’s…but, apart from my vociferous anti-piracy stance, I can honestly say I get very little pleasure from music as bunch of ones and zeroes.  even though i have an extensive collection spread between mac, ipad and ipod, I find myself yearning for the booklet to thumb through, the artwork to look at, and before you say “they have the artwork”, i mean, bigger than a friggin’ postage stamp!

So, our regular trips to the Canary islands afford me the opportunity of rummaging around the now dwindling record racks in search of interesting CD bargains. Well, the trip to Gran Canaria in January was extremely rewarding, as I returned with Eight albums in all, the first four of which I’ll discuss here.

SLASH feat. MYLES KENNEDY – Apocalyptic Love

I recently finished reading Slash’s autobiography, so this one jumped out at me from the shelves. Most other copies in the store were around 17 euros, but this one was going for a very reasonable 11 euros, and complete with a bonus DVD, too!

BLACK SABBATH – Greatest Hits

I don’t have much Sabbath, but tracks from their first four albums featured heavily in my youth, and although I have (and love) the new album ’13’, I thought this 14 track beauty was well worth the €5.99 I paid for it!

THE DARKNESS – One way ticket to hell…and back

Although this proved to be the archetypal ‘difficult second album’ for Lowestoft’s finest, I could resist it for just €5, and truth be told, it does grow on you. Worth it for the title track alone, and the mentalist that is Justin Hawkins.

APOCALYPTICA – 7th. Symphony

Unfamiliar with this – it was real find. For just €7 I was taken  on a musical journey of grandiose proportions, sledgehammer riffs battling with sumptious and sinister strings, and a sprinkling of guest appearances from the likes of Gavin Rossdale, Brent Smith of Shinedown, and best of all, a wonderful performance from Lacey of Flyleaf. Musical graduates from the Sibelius academy in Helsinki, Finland, these four cellists started out covering Metallica! Fabulous album.

Perttu Kivilaakso of Apocalyptica @ Ilosaarirock 2009 – from Wikipedia

In Part Two: A Guitar God, a 70’s Rock Classic, some hardcore American and the band that became a Soap-opera!

Kev Moore

 

Diamond is a band’s best friend…

Last weekend saw another jaunt Northwards and an appearance at The Diamond in Sutton-in-Ashfield for Bootleg Counterfeit Sweet. The Diamond is an unassuming venue, yet one steeped in music history, some of the great rock bands of the last few decades have trodden its well-worn boards. We rattled off the Sweet canon in fine style, energized by our fans, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Jersey for the gig. The people who put this kind of commitment, effort and expenditure into supporting what we do are the lifeblood of any band, and we salute them!

Playing a venue so close to my hometown also gave me a chance to catch up with family too, so that was cool.

2014 will see B.C.Sweet step up its on the road activities – see you further on up the road!

Kev Moore

Our friends in the North…

I’ve recently returned from two wicked shows in two of Scandinavia’s capital cities: Copenhagen in Denmark, and Oslo in Norway. Witch Cross have their heartland in Denmark of course, and it was wonderful to see fans & friends old and new rocking out at the gig in Stengade. It was a full-on metal night with sets from Wasted and Death rides a Horse as well as our own.

We all de-camped to Lars’ house where as usual he didn’t disappoint in the breakfast department – fresh coffee, bread, eggs and pastries!

The Friday morning saw us flying to Oslo, a city I hadn’t performed in for more than 30 years, and Witch Cross as a band had never played in Norway. We arrived at the venue – Revolver – early in the afternoon and were excellently fed by the Australian chef from the restaurant above!

Heavy Metal Demons @ Revolver, Oslo!

We were supported on this show by Magister Templi, and by the time we arrived through the sub-zero Oslo night, the venue was rammed. It was incredibly moving to have all these headbangers in our face, wearing our name, singing along with every word. There were also fans there who’d seen us at Muskelrock in Sweden earlier in the year. It totally justified the hard work put into finally getting over there to perform. All we can say is – Witch Cross will be back, and it won’t be 30 years!

Kev Moore

Scandimania! – Witch Cross set to rock Copenhagen and Oslo

This week is a busy week for Witch Cross. I fly out to Denmark early Wednesday morning to meet up with Viking Metal buddies. An evening rehearsing and then we have shows in both Denmark and Norway’s capital cities. I’m absolutely buzzing at the prospect of delivering songs from ‘Fit for Fight’ and ‘Axe to Grind’ live again! Since the band re-formed, we still have relatively few live appearances under our belt, so it’s always good to crank up the guitars and get into the metal groove – we grow stronger with every show. If you’re anywhere near Stengade in Copenhagen on Thursday, or Revolver in Oslo on Friday, get yourselves down and rock the night away with us!

Photo by Sandro Chiozzi

2014 promises to be an even busier year for Witch Cross, we have a few cool things in the pipeline, so check out our website to be kept up to date with what we’re up to.

WITCH CROSS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Kev Moore