ROADHOUSE (3)
''SEA OF SOULS''
2008
53:53
1 - Sea Of Souls/3:42
2 - Lights On The Water/5:40
3 - The Answer/6:15
4 - Voodoo Dance/6:44
5 - House Of The Rising Sun/5:30
6 - The Lying Game/4:41
7 - Dark River/5:15
8 - Tumbling Down/3:51
9 - The Dark Of The Sun/6:19
10 - Preacher Man/5:50
REVIEW
By Colin Palmer
Roadhouse are clearly keen to make up for lost time. The London-based blues rockers now front three female vocalists and surprisingly, it works, with the singers taking it in turns on House Of The Rising Sun, The Lying Game and Tumbling Down to pitch for the kind of damaged souls who inhabit the small hours.Everything within this band serves their songs, so when the guitar burns, or the cymbals crash, it means something — it stokes the fire, builds the tension. Even more than before, Gary Boner's lyrics capture the feel of the emotionally and materially desperate, adrift in their own land, revealing the
plight of a man at times very close to the abyss, as he struggles with the task of eking out a living for his ragged (and totally copacetic) little band.
There are some people out there who, myself included, appreciate songs that reach further inside, due to the lyrics or sincerity of the singer’s voice. If you understand, then you’ll need to discover this work of distinctive mournful majesty.
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
Roadhouse was formed in 1991 by Gary Boner, ably assisted throughout by the driving bass of Bill Hobley and the the powerful drumming of Roger Hunt. Seizing on an eclectic mix of influences from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Creedence Clearwater Revival, the band has developed a sound all of its own. In the words of a recent Blues Matters review: “They veer towards the rocky side of the Blues, but are clearly Blues based and play in a punchy style with musicianship of the highest quality”.
Having played over 1,500 gigs in the years since (more than 800 of which have been on the London circuit) the band have kept their sets consistently thrilling, mainly thanks to prolific songwriting from Boner and a carefully tailored mix of original and cover material. The band’s gig diary is peppered with dates at many prestigious venues, such as The Marquee, The Cartoon, The Borderline, The Worcester Park Club – and the band recently enjoyed lengthy residencies at The Bulls Head in Barnes, a renowned Blues and Jazz Club currently celebrating it’s 50th year of live music, and The Torrington in North Finchley. Over the last 24 months, Roadhouse have also played at many major Blues festivals, including The Guiness Blues Festival, Castlebar, Ireland; The Merton Abbey Mills Blues Festival, London; The Boogaloo Blues Festival, Bognor; The Isle Of Wight Blues Festival, Norton Grange; The Colne Blues Festival, Lancashire; The Festival of Blues and Rock, Skegness. 2004 has seen reappearances by the band at Colne and the MRA Hickling Blues Festival, amongst others.
The band has also built up a successful routine of album releases, having recorded and released six albums independently since 1995. Since signing to the Blues Matters! record label in 2003, a live album Roadhouse & Friends was released in January 2004, followed by the band’s latest studio album No Place To Hide in May 2004 – to an overwhelmingly positive reaction. “The whole CD is a wonderful and varied collection of songs played to the highest standard by a group of fine musicians. It deserves to take the band on to a higher level. I strongly recommend it” – Blues Matters! Magazine review.
The previously released albums have all been featured favourably on both National and International radio stations, including Paul Jones’ JazzMeBlues show on JazzFM, BBC Radio Lancashire, ResonanceFM, KJLU Missouri, KXJZ California, KEGR San Francisco, and others in many countries including Australia, Denmark, Italy, Croatia and Macedonia.
Over the years, the band has toured and supported with several renowned Blues “names” including Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones), Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy), Paul Jones (Manfredd Mann/The Blues Band), Otis Grand, 9 Below Zero, The Pirates, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, Walter Trout, and The Yardbirds. Having received such good reaction at these and their own gigs, the band now has a computerised mailing list, sending newsletters to over 1,100 recipients spanning 7 different countries.
In October 2005, 4 new musicians joined the Roadhouse family, the latest additions being Canadian guitarist Drew Barron, and vocalists Mandie G, Fiona McElroy, and Suzie Dingle. This band recorded the album “Broken Land” in early 2006 to critical acclaim.
''SEA OF SOULS''
2008
53:53
1 - Sea Of Souls/3:42
2 - Lights On The Water/5:40
3 - The Answer/6:15
4 - Voodoo Dance/6:44
5 - House Of The Rising Sun/5:30
6 - The Lying Game/4:41
7 - Dark River/5:15
8 - Tumbling Down/3:51
9 - The Dark Of The Sun/6:19
10 - Preacher Man/5:50
REVIEW
By Colin Palmer
Roadhouse are clearly keen to make up for lost time. The London-based blues rockers now front three female vocalists and surprisingly, it works, with the singers taking it in turns on House Of The Rising Sun, The Lying Game and Tumbling Down to pitch for the kind of damaged souls who inhabit the small hours.Everything within this band serves their songs, so when the guitar burns, or the cymbals crash, it means something — it stokes the fire, builds the tension. Even more than before, Gary Boner's lyrics capture the feel of the emotionally and materially desperate, adrift in their own land, revealing the
plight of a man at times very close to the abyss, as he struggles with the task of eking out a living for his ragged (and totally copacetic) little band.
There are some people out there who, myself included, appreciate songs that reach further inside, due to the lyrics or sincerity of the singer’s voice. If you understand, then you’ll need to discover this work of distinctive mournful majesty.
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
Roadhouse was formed in 1991 by Gary Boner, ably assisted throughout by the driving bass of Bill Hobley and the the powerful drumming of Roger Hunt. Seizing on an eclectic mix of influences from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Creedence Clearwater Revival, the band has developed a sound all of its own. In the words of a recent Blues Matters review: “They veer towards the rocky side of the Blues, but are clearly Blues based and play in a punchy style with musicianship of the highest quality”.
Having played over 1,500 gigs in the years since (more than 800 of which have been on the London circuit) the band have kept their sets consistently thrilling, mainly thanks to prolific songwriting from Boner and a carefully tailored mix of original and cover material. The band’s gig diary is peppered with dates at many prestigious venues, such as The Marquee, The Cartoon, The Borderline, The Worcester Park Club – and the band recently enjoyed lengthy residencies at The Bulls Head in Barnes, a renowned Blues and Jazz Club currently celebrating it’s 50th year of live music, and The Torrington in North Finchley. Over the last 24 months, Roadhouse have also played at many major Blues festivals, including The Guiness Blues Festival, Castlebar, Ireland; The Merton Abbey Mills Blues Festival, London; The Boogaloo Blues Festival, Bognor; The Isle Of Wight Blues Festival, Norton Grange; The Colne Blues Festival, Lancashire; The Festival of Blues and Rock, Skegness. 2004 has seen reappearances by the band at Colne and the MRA Hickling Blues Festival, amongst others.
The band has also built up a successful routine of album releases, having recorded and released six albums independently since 1995. Since signing to the Blues Matters! record label in 2003, a live album Roadhouse & Friends was released in January 2004, followed by the band’s latest studio album No Place To Hide in May 2004 – to an overwhelmingly positive reaction. “The whole CD is a wonderful and varied collection of songs played to the highest standard by a group of fine musicians. It deserves to take the band on to a higher level. I strongly recommend it” – Blues Matters! Magazine review.
The previously released albums have all been featured favourably on both National and International radio stations, including Paul Jones’ JazzMeBlues show on JazzFM, BBC Radio Lancashire, ResonanceFM, KJLU Missouri, KXJZ California, KEGR San Francisco, and others in many countries including Australia, Denmark, Italy, Croatia and Macedonia.
Over the years, the band has toured and supported with several renowned Blues “names” including Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones), Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy), Paul Jones (Manfredd Mann/The Blues Band), Otis Grand, 9 Below Zero, The Pirates, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, Walter Trout, and The Yardbirds. Having received such good reaction at these and their own gigs, the band now has a computerised mailing list, sending newsletters to over 1,100 recipients spanning 7 different countries.
In October 2005, 4 new musicians joined the Roadhouse family, the latest additions being Canadian guitarist Drew Barron, and vocalists Mandie G, Fiona McElroy, and Suzie Dingle. This band recorded the album “Broken Land” in early 2006 to critical acclaim.
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