FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
1.
When are The Blues Band playing next near me?
If
you would like to be kept informed of the latest gigs keep
checking this website's Tour Dates or
Latest News pages.
2.
When are The Blues Band going to release their next album?
Keep
checking the Latest News page on this
website.
3.
Who do I contact to enquire about booking The Blues Band?
Please
refer to the Booking the band page on
this website.
4.
Does The Blues Band have a fan club?
The fan club has been in existence since 1980. Please refer to the
READY! Newsletter page of this
website.
5.
Why is the band's first album called 'The Official Blues Band Bootleg
Album'?
Towards
the end of 1979 the band were doing a lot of sell-out gigs and getting
plenty of coverage in the press etc. They wanted to record an
album and EMI expressed sufficient interest in the project for two
weeks' studio time to be booked for the only period (Dec '79) in which
the guys' other commitments permitted their coming together. EMI
supplied the champagne but then at the eleventh hour, during the
recording process, backed out on the basis that "the band's too
old"!
The
band completed the two-week period but since they now had no funds to
pay the bill they couldn't obtain the masters of the recording.
However, they did have some sub-master quality listening copies and on
the basis that they needed to sell some albums to pay the bill, elected
to bootleg themselves! Two thousand plain white sleeves were
obtained, together with a John Bull printing kit, and the name The
Official Blues Band Bootleg Album was created on the basis that that was
exactly what the record was. The band then spent what seemed like
weeks signing, numbering and stamping the title on each one. They were
fortunate in that the fledgling Our Price record chain and the equally
pubescent Virgin distribution operation immediately took several hundred
copies, which to everyone's surprise sold out within hours. More
copies were delivered to the shops and within two weeks the album became
what has been purported to be the first completely self-published album
to chart when it went into the Top 40 Album Chart in January 1980.
The
success of the album saw the same record companies who'd blanked the
band only weeks before when they were trying to replace the threatened
EMI financing falling over themselves for the guys' signatures.
The band placed the album with Arista Records and it went on to be a
major success in many markets. They'd only said yes to Arista on
the basis that it was the only company which hadn't previously turned
them down, and that was because the band had forgotten to ask them in
the first place! And to this day, some early Blues Band fans still
remember the day when, in order to save a bit of postage where fans
lived nearby, Paul, Dave, Tom, Gary or Hughie would have knocked on
their front door to personally deliver the album they had ordered at a
gig in late '79.......
6.
What on-stage equipment do the band use?
No,
not zimmer frames and oxygen but ....
Paul
Jones:
Hohner
harmonicas (Hohner endorsee)
Amp:
Fender Blues Deville Combo
Shure
Beta SM58 microphone
MXR
Chorus Pedal
Custom-made
noise gate
Tom
McGuinness:
Fender
Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Gibson
J50 acoustic guitar
Dobro
acoustic mandolin
Fender
Twin amplifier
Line
modulation pedal
Elixir
strings (Elixir endorsee)
(With
The Manfreds Tom also uses a Fender Twin amplifier and for both bands
he has a Peavey Classic 50 as his spare amp. On the new Blues Band
studio album, as yet unreleased, he used all these amps plus a Fender
Pro Junior plus a Fender Telecaster).
Dave Kelly:
Guitars:
Daves electric is a bit of a mixture. The body was made by Chandler's
of Kew. It was originally black with EMG pickups [treble active] but
Dave stripped it last summer and had Chandler's replace the pickups with
Seymour Duncan. He says, "I may go back to the EMG for the neck
pick up as the LA is too dynamic for that position. The original neck
was a heavy metal monstrosity made by Arrive, but I replaced that with
an ordinary Fender Strat neck this summer. It has a Trilogy bridge built
by Hipshot which is more efficient on the Fender neck as the strings are
in a straight line on the headstock. (On the Arrive they were out in a
fan shape). The Trilogy Bridge enables me to have three different notes
settings on each string which enables up to thirteen different tunings
(apparently) although I only use Open E, Open A, Open G, Concert and
dropped D."
Dave
also has two Gibson SGs which he no longer uses except as spares in case
of string breaks.
He
sometimes uses a Hohner 'stick' electric on solo gigs.
Acoustic:
1. Main one is a Gibson J45 circa 1964 which he bought at auction a few
years ago after his Guild was stolen. It has replaced the Guild,
surpassing all his expectations.
2.
A 1970 metal bodied Dobro which Dave gave to a technician last year, who
shall remain nameless, to have it set up, and it came back almost
unplayable. Hes had a go at it himself and it's a bit better.
3.
A 1935 Gibson Kalamazoo which lives at Daves home in France and is
his home guitar, but "it's so lovely I may use it on solo/duo shows
again soon."
4.
"A couple of years ago I was offered a circa 1941 Martin small
bodied acoustic (can't remember the model) which was reasonably priced
so I bought it. Haven't used it much as yet."
Strings:
"Whatevers on special offer."
Amps:
Fender Blues Deville 4 x 10 amplifier, but also still likes his original
1961 VOX AC 30 and Vox reissue circa 1988-ish.
Rob
Townsend:
DRUMS : DW [Drum Workshop ] - diamond blue finish
Tom Toms : 10" x 8" , 12" x 9" , 14" x 11" , 16" x 13"
Bass Drum : 22" x 18"
Snares : 14" x 5 1/2 " DW Maple Craviotto
14" x 5 1/2" Yamaha Brass Steve Gadd model
CYMBALS : SABIAN 14" Hi - Hats
" " 16" Crash
" " 10" Splash
" " 14" China
" " 22" Ride
" " 13" X-Hats
" " 20" China
STICKS : Vic Firth AS 5 A wood tips
Vic Firth Wire Brushes
HEADS [ skins ] : Remo Ambassador
PLUS : DW 5000 Hi-Hat Pedal
DW 5000 Double Bass Drum Pedal
Gary
Fletcher:
All
guitars mentioned are played left-handed but strung right-handed.
Left-handed
Westone Thunder 1A bass
Right-handed
Fender Jazz bass
Right-handed De Armond Ashbury silicon strung bass
Right-handed
Kramer acoustic bass
Left-handed
Fender Stratocaster
Right-handed Takamine EN10
Bass
strings: RS55 Rotasound
Guitar
strings: Ernie Ball regular
Lab
Series L2 bass amplifier
Lab
Series 1 x 15 Electrovoice speaker cabinet
Marshall
4 x 12 angle speaker cabinet
7.
I've seen the band on several occasions where guest musicians have
sat in. Who else might I have missed seeing/hearing?
In
terms of live shows, the band have enjoyed the company of Van Morrison,
Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Southside Johnny, Zoot Money, Mitch Mitchell,
Pick Withers, Bernie Marsden, Charlie Musselwhite, Long John Baldry,
Chris Barber, Ian Stewart, Alexis Korner, The Rumour Brass, Bob Hall,
Ray Beavis, Pete Fillieul, Graham Lyle, Benny Gallagher, Tom Robinson,
Lenny Henry, Suzi Quatro, Dino Baptiste, Jonah Lewie, Marcus Cliffe, Andy 'Snake'
Johnson, Phil May, and of course the late great Jo-Ann Kelly.
Most
Blues Band albums have featured guest musicians. The roll call includes
Bob Hall, Rockin' Dopsie, Chester Zeno, Ian Stewart, Geraint Watkins,
The Memphis Horns, The Kokomo Singers, Nat Adderley, Katie Webster, Big
Joe Duskin, Pete Fillieul, The Rumour Brass, Pee Wee Ellis, Peter King,
Guy Barker, Plas Johnson, Micky Sanchez, Georgie Fame, Mick Weaver, Alan
Skidmore, Beryl Bryden, Jools Holland, Lou Stonebridge, Mike Paice, The
Onslaught Brass, Chris Barber, Ian MacLagen etc.
Apologies
to anyone who may have been left off the list. Please let us know
if you have, on aroneco(at)yahoo.co.uk
Photographs
of some of the above can be seen on both the Friends
& Collaborators and the Life
before the band pages within the Photos section of this
website.
8.
I'm having trouble locating a Blues Band CD in the shops. What
should I do?
Please
refer to the Shop/Sounds page of this
website. If your enquiry isn't answered there then e-mail aroneco(at)yahoo.co.uk
9.
Who are AroneWeb?
AroneWeb
are a web design/management company specialising in music-related sites.
See www.aroneweb.com
