Bob is known as a member of BluesBand197 the well known blues outfit and Band197 the 4 piece Rock'n'Roll band. Here however is another side to Bob's many talents with his new album "The Ramblings of " being a purely acoustic compilation of songs both personal and haunting. Some of his classics include The Song of Leaving" which also featured in one of his earlier Bands - Northern Lights.
By returning to a more 'Roots' approach, Bob allows the strength and quality of his songs to speak for themselves.
From Brian:
I was born in 1960 and grew up in South-East Michigan. Growing up in the Motown area, part of my musical background is that I started practising percussion at nine and was playing drums professionally when I was 13 years of age. During my teens, I was lucky enough to begin my musical career playing and singing with Jack Ries and the Michigan Weekenders. This was an unusual blending of older and younger musicians as well as older and newer music. I played with Jack's son, Tim, who went on to play saxophone with the Rolling Stones. During the same time period, I was playing with a rock band, Bittersweet, with one of my older brothers. Between the two bands, I was playing around 200 performances a year. While I was playing in these two very different genres, due to my brother's influence, I learned to play stringed instruments, which allowed me to enjoy and expand my musical growth. I have continued to perform for the past 40 years and still have a lot longer to go.
My father, a jazz trumpeter, sparked all of our interests in music. It was not a question of if we were going to play, just what we were going to play. My biggest influences were my older brothers. They had natural abilities which they developed further through practising and performing and I followed their lead. I was raised with an eclectic assortment of music, so my musical influences range from Miles Davis to Jeff Beck to John Coltrane to Elvis Costello to Santana to the Tower of Power to Deep Purple, and the list just goes on. Being from Detroit, I was, of course, influenced by Aretha and many others who produced the Motown sound. I would be lying if I told you that The Beatles were not a huge influence on my musical life. As corny as they were (sorry about that, Roger.), they changed the way I looked at and listened to music. Being influenced by a wide variety of artists helped me to create my own musical style, which takes into account the five Ts (tuning, tone, technique, taste, and talent), which I use whether I am performing a cover song or my own original songs. My first original, “Changes in Me,” was written about my father, but I did not think that it would change me personally 20 years after I wrote it.
I moved to Florida in 1981 and, after thawing out, found myself with an acoustic guitar on the beach, where I belong. During the late 1980's and early 1990's, I took a break from music to raise my daughter while I was waiting for “music” to return. I found myself disenchanted with the digital reproductions of synthesizers and midis. The idea of perfection through digital did not sound real to me, coming from a big band background. I re-entered the music scene with solo acoustic performances and duo work. I went on to play with some great musicians, like Phil Stokes (Pure Prairie League), Johnny G. Lyons, Eddie Rey (The Jeff Lober Fusion), as well as my own band, Sharp Project, but I always kept my rhythm and blues roots. I still live in an analog world and still play 30-year-old Stratocasters through Marshall amplifiers (no digital!).
I do not consider myself a religious man, but I do believe Aretha Franklin is God. That being said, I have been blessed by working with some of the greatest musicians and producers in the world and also by the love and support of my family and friends throughout my life and would not be here without them. (You know who you are.) I am also happy to say that we have started production on my new studio album due for release in early 2014 on the Isis Record label with tour to follow.
Thank you for listening.
ISIS Records run many projects involving both their signed and unsigned artists. Each year ISIS are also involved in organising music events for charity fundraisers. This produces many and varied music collections spanning a whole variety of musical styles. Some are published here, feel free to contact us for more details.
If you are interested in becoming an ISIS records artist, contact us for an application for an audition.
"Hold Tight ! all my people, yeah, this one's for you. The ones who stuck with me through thick and thin. This is how we do.
An' all the people who said I wouldn't make it, ha! here I am. All the people who said I couldn't take it, here I stand."
@Olliewillobooby for all you Twitter folk :) Ollie Bond - Vocals, Guitar, Ukelele, Banjo Wilfred Bizzle - Vocals, Djembe, Mandolin, Cajon, Random percussion instruments :)
Also www.facebook.com/ollieandwill
Description:
Ollie and Will's first connection was through a dead leg. This lead to a realisation that they had a lot in common, especially music. Ollie has recently been improving Will's guitar playing and vocal harmonies, this is in return to Will giving Ollie many music theory tips in English class...
I like bagels.
Aka Jam Dude.
Hailing direct from Tampa USA, Peter is a songwriter, musician and entertainer of outstanding quality. He has been recording his new album in Biggleswade over the last two months and his music has already been enjoyed by many at local venues. ISIS are delighted to announce his signing to the label for two albums. The first entitled “The Fall and Rise of Zeet the Bum” is a gritty mixture of Island, Blues and Hard Rock tracks which tell the story of ‘Zeet’ the guitarist who fell from grace.
Phil Romeo (born May 1, 1988) is a British singer-songwriter with a taste for electric guitar and a theatrical flair.
After failing his music GCSE, Phil still managed to gain entry to a musical college on the merit of his voice alone. Performing for several bands of varying genres, developing and honing his skills, Phil developed his abilities with the guitar and became a musician in his own right.
Throughout his time in college Phil was introduced to life as a professional musician, when traveling to Germany on a college trip it was clear that Phil's down to earth nature made it easy for him to strike up a conversation even in the face of language barriers.
Coming out of college Phil was met with the opportunity to join a metal band as lead vocalist. With a melodic sound underlying the more generic heavy sound the band quickly took off as a popular local band with a varying fan base. As time went on the band grew to a "make or break" stage and it was then after years of gigging and trying to develop their own niche in the genre that the band parted ways.
Phil then went on as troubadour, playing acoustic gigs, performing at 'Rhythms of the World' and even dabbling in Function music. It was during the hiatus of his professional performing that Phil started up a series of "Open Mic and Jam Nights" at several pubs with much success, but this was not enough to fuel his personal career, Phil soon found himself in a rock band rehearsing his own music. After being approached by Isis Records he began compiling and recording his songs and resulting in the album "Colour of Madness". – Release date expected 17 Dec 2011.
Will is a keyboard wielding solo artist singer-songwriter, with his own unique brand of original soul/funk/pop. Will’s influences include jazz king Jamie Cullum and soul dude James Morrison. With funk flashes, jazz touches, and pop sensibilities, Will creates soulful grooves, and wraps heartfelt, profound lyrics around them. ISIS are delighted to announce his signing to the label his first album release is anticipated Dec 2009.
Bob is known as a member of BluesBand197 the well known blues outfit and Band197 the 4 piece Rock'n'Roll band. Here however is another side to Bob's many talents with his new album "The Ramblings of " being a purely acoustic compilation of songs both personal and haunting. Some of his classics include The Song of Leaving" which also featured in one of his earlier Bands - Northern Lights.
By returning to a more 'Roots' approach, Bob allows the strength and quality of his songs to speak for themselves.