The Art of Deep Purple in Cologne

Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, Steve Morse

This coming Friday sees me off on my travels for an exciting 7 days. The first few are dedicated to representing my partner Miki’s art at a Deep Purple exhibition in Cologne, Germany this weekend. She has 9 paintings on show, featuring many DP members, past and present, and artists from all over the world will be exhibiting. Miki will be busy working in Spain at the time so I’ll be seeing to her interests at the launch weekend.

Miki’s website:

Miki de Goodaboom

The venue awaits the exhibits

In addition to the many paintings and sculptures, there will also be a collection of Roger Glover’s basses on display, plus signed items from Joe Satriani and Don Airey. Roger also has a number of his own artworks on display.

Opening night sees a Deep Purple tribute band – ‘Demon’s Eye’ performing too, so I’m looking forward to that, and also catching up with drummer Mark Cross (Scorpions, Firewind) on the opening night.

Roger Glover signs stuff for the exhibition

The Exhibition runs from April 14 to May 12 – if you’re in the area, be sure to check it out!

 

THE ART AND HISTORY OF DEEP PURPLE

 

Kev Moore

Granbretan Invasion!

Graham Oliver and Me playing some Saxon classics

Not long ago, Witch Cross were approached by our Metal buddy Bart Gabriel over at Skol records to see if we’d be interested in contributing a song to a new tribute album to the glories of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Needless to say the answer was a resounding “Hell yeah!”

The choice of song was a no-brainer for us. In our live show, one of our encores is the SAXON classic “Strong Arm of the Law”. Luckily I was over from Spain at the right time and we got the track recorded, but there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to have my long time friend Graham Oliver, Saxon axe-wielder extraordinaire on the track!

I drove up to Graham’s place in Yorkshire while I was in the UK and we headed up to Beat Street Studios in Leeds to record his parts. He’s the genuine article, the real deal, and his playing brought the song alive.

Graham working his Metal Magic

We’re really proud of our contribution to this fantastic project and can’t wait to hear what the other bands have done. Besides Witch Cross featuring Graham Oliver, it contains NWOBHM covers from Cauldron, Crystal Viper, Enforcer, Gatekeeper, Helvetets Port, Hitten, Ironflame, Martyr, Savage Master, Substratum, Twisted Tower and Dire. The album will be out later this year – stay tuned! Big thanks to my mate Jase Brooks at Beat Street for fitting in with our tight recording deadline!

L-R Kev Moore, Graham Oliver, Jase Brooks, Oliver Sekunda

Kev Moore

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

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

Interview for the Almeria Life channel

Here’s an interview with me from my studio, The Indalo Cave, conducted by Almeria Life’s Catherine Eleman, in which I discuss my work across the different bands and genres. Enjoy!

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

CD round-up: Music I grabbed at Leyendas del Rock this summer!

I’ve been meaning to do a short piece about this for ages, but time seemed to slip away, and the Leyendas festival is all but a distant memory. However, the three albums I bought while wandering the stalls on the perimeter are still all getting plenty of play here at Moore Music towers. I wanted to share them with you. Firstly, we have a lovingly packaged Sentenced album, in a nicely illustrated cardboard slipcase, containing not one but two of their albums on one CD. Hailing from Finland, theirs is a tale that ultimately ended in a tragedy. They began as a melodic death metal outfit, morphing more into heavy metal later on.  The band hold some interest for me for many reasons, one of which is the fact that I spent a month in their hometown of Oulu many years ago, while touring with a band up around the Arctic circle. The main album on here, ‘Amok’, recorded in ’95, is widely considered to be their breakthrough album, and it is paired here with ‘Love & Death’, which features songs recorded around the same time as Amok, and a curious cover of Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’. Probably because the songs were all recorded around the same time, the two albums go well together here, and the band’s musicality is well to the fore – it’s a great listen.

The band finally split in 2005 and a mere four years later, Guitarist and founding member Miika Tenkula died, on February 19, 2009. He apparently had succumbed to a genetic heart condition. As a footnote, some months after Miika’s death, Sentenced released a box set of 16 CDs and 2 DVDs chronicling their entire career in a coffin-shaped box. The box-set also included rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Next on the list was Savage Souls from German band Mystic Prophecy. This version came as a ‘book’ CD – the album being in the front, and a bonus DVD in the back, featuring a live appearance at The Matrix in Bochum. The DVD’s a nice bonus, but it’s the studio album that really shines. formed in Bad Gronenbach in 2000, this release dates from 2006. they seem to have a lot of personnel changes, but the vocals and guitar work on this album are great. They’re like a cross between U.S. and European power metal. A nice surprise, this.

Finally, I had to invest in Accept’s latest release ‘Stalingrad’ after they delivered a blistering set at Leyendas. I really like Marc Tornillo’s vocals , shades of Brian Johnson- and a great fit for the band. Produced by Andy Sneap, Stalingrad is an album that shows a band still at the top of their game. There’s so many standout tracks on here. Not only that, i picked up the special edition, which includes a live DVD featuring performances from Bang your Head and Monsters of rock festivals in 2011 and 2010 respectively , and the music videos for ‘Teutonic Terror’ (one of my favourite Accept tracks) and the (dare I say, infectious?) ‘Pandemic’.

So, three beauties, and a great festival to boot!

Kev Moore