Eugene
is a nomadic musician living his life on the road. His
home is wherever the next performance takes him, and
every year this is from America through Europe to
Australia with many other stops in between.
Son of the blues guitarist Hideaway Slim, Eugene is the
fourth child of five. His mother was from the Bullock
family (the same as Anna Mae Bullock better known as
Tina Turner) and Eugene claims he got his guitar skills
from the Bridges side and his voice from the Bullocks.
At five he was already playing with his father around
Louisiana. With his brothers as The Bridges Brothers he
sang gospel and was the musician of his church touring
with the Pastor, Elder A A Edwards. At thirteen Eugene
was entering R&B talent shows and had formed his first
R&B band The Five Stars.
Eugene moved to Texas to join the Air Force at sixteen,
playing in the Air Force band for the next three years.
On leaving he joined The New Chosen on guitar and vocals
and went on to play with The Mighty Clouds of Joy.
Following a move to Houston, Eugene released Blues,
Gospel and R&B recordings by the three bands he was
running at the time. These included the first line-up of
the Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges Band. They toured the USA
from coast to coast.
Eugene then travelled alone to Europe, where B B King
Bassist Big Joe Turner spotted him in Paris and offered
him the position of Guitarist / Vocalist with Big Joe
Turner’s Memphis Blues Caravan.
A year later Eugene left to work under his own name
again and formed The Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges Band.
Signed to the Blueside label, Eugene recorded Born to be
Blue, produced by Mike Vernon. His live performances
received rave reviews and Eugene was awarded UK’s
Blueprint magazine Vocalist of the Year. He also won The
Trophees France Blues 99 Chanteur De L’Annee.
In 2000, Eugene signed to Armadillo and released his
next CD, Man Without A Home, which got worldwide
airplay. Eugene appeared, often headlining, at major
festivals in the USA, all over Europe, Singapore, New
Zealand and Australia; whipping up a storm wherever he
went with his distinctive southern sound.
The 2003 release, Jump the Joint, reached Number 4 in
the US Living Blues Charts, charting for three months.
Eugene’s songs also appear regularly in The National
Association of Rhythm & Blues DeeJays charts. He was
nominated for three 2003 US Cammy Music Awards.
In September 2004 Eugene recorded his next CD, Coming
Home, at The Zone Studio in Dripping Springs, Texas;
using a full horn section led by Seth Kibel, on several
tracks. He also has Texan guitarist and friend Rocky
Athas joining him on two cuts.
After four CDs recorded with a full band, for Eugene’s
next self titled release, Eugene ‘Hideaway ‘ Bridges, he
went into the studio with friends and fellow musicians,
met on the road. Lucky Oceans, co-founder of the Western
Swing band Asleep at the Wheel, plays Pedal Steel on
three tracks and Texan legend Ray Wylie Hubbard lays
down some fine Slide Guitar on I Can’t Wait. This CD was
nominate for two 2008 US Blues Music Awards.
March 2009 saw Eugene in San Antonio to fulfil his fans
wishes for a Live CD. With the line up of Bobby
Baranowski – Drums, Eric King – Bass, David Webb – Keys,
Seth Kibel – Sax and Justine Miller – Trumpet, you have
the real deal. Live in San Antonio has now been
nominated for a 2011 Blues Music Award in the Soul Blues
Album Category and Eugene has also been nominated for
Soul Blues Artist. Eugene is currently recording his
next CD scheduled for release in May 2011.
http://www.myspace.com/eugenehideawaybridges
James
Hunter is one of the best (and one of the few) British
blue-eyed soul singers to emerge in the late 20th
century. Hunter began his roots music career in the
1980s under the name Howlin’ Wilf. His solo recordings
feature rhythm & blues in the style of the 1950s,
pitched between R&B, early rock & roll, and early soul.
His 1994 solo debut, …BELIEVE WHAT I SAY, had guest
appearances by Doris Troy and Van Morrison and Hunter
appeared on a couple of Morrison’s mid-’90s albums, as
well as performing as part of Morrison’s Rhythm & Blues
Revue. James has toured and opened for Van Morrison,
Etta James, Boz Scaggs, Robert Cray, Bryan Adams, Los
Lobos, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy and even the Queen of
Soul herself, Miss Aretha Franklin.
Hunter, also a skilled guitarist, wrote most of the
material on his 2001 release KICK IT AROUND. Go
Records/Rounder picked him up a few years later, and he
released his third full-length album, PEOPLE GONNA TALK,
in 2006. The album went on to be nominated for a 2006
Grammy Award which put James on the World map and took
him from being “one of the best voices, and best kept
secrets, in British R&B and Soul,” as Van Morrison puts
it, to a proving major breakout success in 2006 and
steadily continuing throughout 2007. The album reached
Number 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart; and Hunter has
enjoyed both National and International TV appearances.
PEOPLE GONNA TALK not only earned Mr. Hunter critical
acclaim, but also garnered a huge, adoring, and
ever-growing fan-base.
The indeed very extraordinary and very British James
Hunter, who possesses a “tight, slithery soul groove”
and a “sweet growl” (NY Times). James and his very merry
and equally talented band with whom James has
collaborated for nearly two decades have extensively
road-tested 2008 album THE HARD WAY while criss-crossing
North America and Europe.
Rolling Stone exudes James Hunter is “A treat not to
miss” and recently quoted: THE HARD WAY as “Unbelievably
awesome!” And the new CD debuted in America June 10th,
2008 and promptly zoomed to Number 1 on the Billboard
Blues Chart where it remained there for six solid weeks
in a row! USA Today raves about James’s “Sublime soul.”
The praise continues to roll in as if a juggernaut. But
you be the judge …
http://www.jameshuntermusic.com/
The Martin Harley Band are a uniquely
talented acoustic trio whose musical palette
incorporates all the best roots music styles, from blues
to jazz to folk, yet are masters of their own art. With
tender acoustic balladry, hot-blooded blues, complex
rhythms and gorgeous three-part harmonies and an almost
boundless energy, the Martin Harley Band effortlessly
challenge expectations of what a three-piece should be
capable of.
Having spurred prominent music magazines to proclaim
them “shining talents in the British acoustic
scene…definitely ones to watch” (Guitarist Magazine) and
declare “in the Martin Harley Band the future of British
roots and blues is assured” (Blues Nights), there now
appears to be a healthy buzz growing around the band.
With an ever-expanding fan-base, reams of plaudits and
acclaim and a constantly ascendant profile, this band
are beginning to reap the rewards for years of toil.
Unwilling to wait for lady luck to find them, the band
have always preferred to gig and tour almost
incessantly. Audiences across the world can attest to
the energetic entertainment spectacle that is a Martin
Harley Band gig.
As a live act, the Martin Harley Band has a pedigree
that takes some beating. Every show, no matter how many
they play, is an event, be it in the intimacy of a tiny
West-Country pub or the grandeur of the Royal Albert
Hall. In the past year or so, they have notched up
scores of UK gigs from Penzance to Shetland, yet still
miraculously found time for tours in France, Germany,
Italy, Barbados and Australia.
http://www.martinharleyband.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/martinharleyband
Dale Storr’s musical journey has taken
him from his rural Lincolnshire upbringing to his own
musical mecca, New Orleans. Dale’s early musical
interests were inspired by his parents’ record
collection of early rock’n'roll and country music. His
interest grew deeper when he began playing the piano at
the age of six cocking an ear to the piano-based music
of Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino. The
slip-note piano of stylist Floyd Cramer was also another
influence that had entered Dale’s musical
sub-consciousness.
As a young boy, his emerging talent led to him winning
numerous school and county music competitions as a solo
instrumentalist. He also started performing live in
local venues at the age of ten, playing organ. His
ability eventually took him away from home to the city
of Sheffield. Here he performed with a series of local
bands most notably, Sheffield’s own rock’n'blues legend,
Frank White.
Other performers who benefit or have subsequently
benefited from having Dale play alongside them are
acclaimed British blues exponents, Alan Nimmo (the Nimmo
Brothers) and Kevin Thorpe, 60′s icon Dave Berry,
American soul star Earl Thomas, Texas guitar legend
Rocky Athas (Black Oak Arkansas), and US R&B giant
Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges, supporting along the way, the
likes of Duke Robillard and highly acclaimed New Orleans
pianist Henry Butler to name but a few.
The evocative music of New Orleans became a passion for
the young musician who immersed himself into the styles
of other heroes like Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen
Toussaint, Tuts Washington and James Booker. The latter
performer became a particular source of inspiration and
resulted in Dale studying the sometimes complex
technique of this legendary pianist/singer. Although he
himself would probably down-play it, Dale has indeed
encompassed much of Booker’s music and style in his own
playing.
In March of 2006, Dale’s passion for New Orleans music
saw him perform his debut theatre gig as a soloist,
concentrating on the New Orleans piano styles of his
afore mentioned influences. The success of that
performance led to further dates and Dale is now
focusing his efforts in this area. More recently, Dale
has added another dimension to his solo performances by
bringing in vocals, and also adding a full line-up of
Drums, Bass and Horns consisting of some of the cream of
the British Blues scene. Dale’s ambition has always been
to play the music of New Orleans, which can be anything
from a classically influenced minuet, a latin rhumba, a
back o’ town junker blues to a frenzied boogie woogie.
As seen with every Dale Storr performance, he’s
certainly fulfilling that ambition.
Band Members: Dale Storr – Piano/Vocals; Ian Sanderson –
Trumpet; Kim Mayhew – Saxophone; Dave Raeburn –
Drums/Percussion; Chris Chapman – Bass; and Jeremy Meek
– Bass
http://www.myspace.com/dalestorr
Currently Grainne is finishing tracks
for her second album, as a follow up to her stunning
debut album Out of the Dark which was released to warm
reception which included her being asked to appear for
three days at Glastonbury 2008 Festival. There she was
lucky enough to share the stage with such wonderful
artists as Joan Baez, Suzanne Vega, Sinead O Connor,
Seasick Steve and The Blockheads to name but a few.
Alongside appearing at many of Ireland’s leading
festivals Grainne was also approached by the BBC to
record a track, ‘Get Here’, for their T.V. promotion
campaign in George Martin’s Air Studio in London which
was then aired over the summer on BBC 1 and BBC 2.
In 2010 she has taken part in two T.V. shows for R.T.E.
One of which is for the highly acclaimed music programme
Other Voices along with Eric Bibb, Christy Moore, Duke
Special, Elbow, Lisa Hannigan, Mick Flannery, Billy
Bragg and many more and she also took part in an
interview with RTE’s John Kelly. The second is a
documentary piece for the most watched R.T.E. series
Nationwide, both of which will be going out early this
year.
Grainne will be appearing alongside Paul Brady for the
re opening of the newly refurbished Ulster Hall and also
at the renowned Celtic Connections Festival in Scotland
and other leading European Festivals among other
projects in the coming year.
http://www.myspace.com/grainneduffy
The band was started nearly ten years
ago, and despite the usual line-up changes over the
years, we have been consistently entertaining audiences
with only the best soul classics!
Their brass section is made up of some of the Island’s
best musicians and they don’t let them stand around!
They always pick songs with great brass lines, in
particular Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Wilson Pickett
and Sam & Dave. They also do a few numbers like Booker
T’s Green Onions and Van Morrison’s Moondance to give
them the opportunity to solo.
The rhythm section is made up of the usual; drums, bass,
guitar and piano, and they like to keep things tight and
get that classic Motown sound. Lead singer David Holland
has a powerful voice, and isn’t afraid to sing the most
feared of soul music and in the original keys! As a
whole they like to really capture that sound and
hopefully fill the dance floor while they do it!
http://www.soulsuspects.co.uk/ |