DAVE STEVENS

Dave Stephens(guitar)BORN:United kingdom1955 - MUSICAL HISTORY:Started playing guitar in early teens and graduated from playing pop/rock to jazz/rock and from there to bebop and beyond. Received critical acclaim from top American jazz producer Michael Cuscuna. Recorded various limited release albums over the years and also contributed to jazz magazine radio shows during the 1980's and 90's. Recently contributed and performed on accompanying CD to Adrian Ashton's 'The Bass Handbook' (Backbeat Books). also recently released a CD of piano and acoustic guitar duets with pianist Paul Smail to great acclaim by top musicians, composers and fans alike (see myspace.com/smailandstephens).

Dave also does selected solo concerts on acoustic guitars. Various solo CDs are available by contacting Dave direct. "Great playing & fantastic sound!" (Peter Oxley) "Nice Sound" - " Flying the flag for creative and melodic improvisation"(John Etheridge) "Sensitive & exciting - eloquent guitar!" (Teignmouth Jazz festival) "I really enjoyed the playing" (John Scofield), "Very nice.....I like your material! (Eumir Deodato)

Dave has recorded and released two new solo albums of original material, “Summer Nights” and “Impressions of Wes”.

Also during the year Dave and pianist Paul Smail have been working on the follow-up to their 2007 CD “Red Boats & Blue Skies”.

The new CD, scheduled for release, summer/autumn 2010 will feature special guests and will focus primarily on Paul and Dave’s interest on music from around the globe.
Also during the year, Dave and Paul had the thrill of seeing and meeting one of Dave’s big heroes, Al Di Meola in Geneva. A concert that was simply staggering in it’s beauty and technical prowess. Truly magical!!
Watch out for further update

http://www.myspace.com/davestephensuk

http://www.davestephens.org.uk/index.html

ARTIST OF THE MONTH NICKY SWANN

Nicky Swann is developing into a fine singer-songwriter. Her delivery is warm, soulful (sometimes gritty) but always spiritually tinged. She lists Patsy Cline, Carole King and Janis Joplin as her big three. A passionate performer, she uses elements of folk, blues and country to tell her tales of love, hope and death.

After splitting from her covers duo and long term guitarist in 2006 Nicky searched for a replacement but was disappointed by those she auditioned. Determined to continue, she decided to take on the role of guitarist herself and quickly expanded her three chord repertoire and was gigging again after six months. She started to write new material and relaunched herself as a singer-songwriter.

Since then she hasn't looked back and her achievements to date include, recording with the top multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (Show of Hands), winning the Artsbase singer-songwriter award, supporting many top UK artists including Clive Gregson, Roy Bailey and Megson as well as American artists Corrine West and Brooks Williams. She has headlined the acoustic stage at Transition Festival, supported Show Of Hands at Chagstock and is a regular performer at Dartmouth Music Festival. She has also performed for BBC Radio with the award winning folk singer and fiddle player Jackie Oates.
She is currently working on her new album "Matches and Dispatches" due for release in March 2010. It is, simply put, a collection of songs about love and death. Eleven original tracks, a reworked cover of The Beatles classic "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (given new life away from its pop origins) and a new arrangement of the traditional Welsh poem "All Through the Night" (Ar Hyd Y Nos). The album was recorded at The Sawmills Studios in Cornwall and features performances from double bassist Rick Foot, cellist Bethany Porter, and pedal steel player Alan Cook.

She has achieved a growing, well respected reputation in such a short space of time, singing from the heart and captivating audiences with her emotionally honest delivery.
The new album "Matches and Dispatches" will be released in March 2010 with live dates and radio throughout the year.

www.nickyswann.com or http://www.myspace.com/nickyswann

BAND OF THE MONTH DISSONANCE

About Dissonance

Dissonance are an extremely talented four-piece rock band, hailing from the south west of England. Within a year they have played over one hundred live gigs all over the UK, having gained a reputation as being one of the hardest working, tightest and most energetic live acts around and have built a dedicated following.

Dissonance have a style all of their own, blending hard rock with melodic harmony vocals, dual guitars, blistering solos and a level of creative ability that belies their age.

Formed in April 2008 from a shared desire to perform and write interesting rock, Aaron and Sean had been working together on projects previously but really came into their own with the addition of John and Kit Hardee who add real depth and creative flare to the band.

Aaron and John met whilst attending a BTECH music course at Exeter College (graduates include Matt Bellamy of Muse). John Hardee and Kit Hardee are brothers who have always played music together for many years. Previous song writing and ideas have been a large part of Dissonance’s music. Vocal harmonies have always come very naturally to them, which sets dissonance apart from the majority of established acts in the same genre. Sean Davies and Aaron Preston have been friends for many years through writing and performing music in various projects, honing their musical skills to a razor edge.

Dissonance work so well together due to the inter-play between the band, exchanging ideas and writing a range of diverse new material. The band have recently recorded a 7 track E.P showcasing a breadth of their material in a professional studio (Riviera Recording Paignton) This E.P includes the title track of the E.P “Want It All” which has strongly become a fan favourite at their live performances. The E.P has received heavy radio play in local radio stations and rave reviews from local music industry workers and musicians.

Dissonance are not just a band, they have created a very strong personal and professional bond between them. Each with an understanding and a burning ambition to go all the way to the top……

FOR ALL FURTHER INFO:-Tel - 07791755543Email - dissonanceuk@hotmail.co.uk http://www.myspace.com/dissonanceuk

BAND OF THE MONTH VIVID SKY

Vivid Sky were formed back in 2007, the band have since had 1 lineup change, the band now consist of Lewis Burks on Vocals, Matt Chalk on Guitars Dan Huggins on Bass & Dec Vaughan on Drums.The band have many influences ranging from Funk, Blues & Jazz, to Heavy Metal, Hard rock & Progressive Rock and Metal.

This is a review of us by Mairtin O'Riain

A few weeks ago I was asked to check some cover songs by a young and very short haired teenage band from Torbay. Even though I was listening on poor quality speakers at the time and was being partially distracted by screaming children, dogs, cats and neighbours at the time, I initially thought that they'd just taped a couple of Led Zeppelin tracks, uploaded them to their MySpace and were pretending to be brilliant musicians and vocalists! It was only when I saw the video footage of them playing AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie that it suddenly dawned on me that a) They were telling the truth and b) they really were brilliant musicians and vocalists ...they're aren't many vocalists in the world who can pull off Robert Plant and Bonn Scott so convincingly and the fact that the band members are all between the ages of 15 to 19 makes their music even more of an exceptional talent. The band is called Vivid Sky and currently comprises of Matt Chalk on Guitars, Lewis Burks on vocals,Dan Huggins on Bass and Dec Vaughan on drums...every single name of which will be well worth keeping an eye on for future mind numbing rock god performances as every single member of the band is quite simply way ahead of their years for technical skill and musical ability. Chalks guitar work isn't too far behind the likes of Pat McManus and Gary Moore which is pretty outstanding for a 15 year old, Huggins sounds like he's fresh from a John Entwhistle Masterclass and even Vaughan seems incapable of putting a foot wrong. After spending some time performing covers that make 99% of professional cover bands seem a little embarrassing the boys era now tackling their own catalogue of all time greats so expect to see them sharing a stadium with the likes of The Fores, Killers, Oasis or even perhaps AC/DC or Zeppelin at some point in the next five years as this is quite literally a top Supergroup in the making right now...Find Vivid Sky here www.vividskyband.co.uk or http://www.myspace.com/vividskyuk

BAND OF THE MONTH TEMPORARY MIND

Lead vocals & Rythm guitar - Paul Hibbett
Lead/Rythm Guitar & Backing Vocals - Sam Robins
Bass Guitar - Callum Thompson
Guitars used -Fender and Dean Electro/Acoustic

Influences

hmmmmmmmmm! how do you fill out this when you have so many? Ok... we are into METAL in a big way (not that you can tell by the music WE play), Bauhaus, Metallica, In Flames, Motorhead, Killswitch Engage, Twin Method, God Forbid, Testament, Machinehead... the list goes on! Then there are the bands whose music we play in the pubs... Peter Murphy (of BAUHAUS fame), Coldplay, Muse, Snow Patrol, Turin Breaks, Oasis, The Jam, et. etc. But I think, LIFE has influenced what we write! Our lyrics are about what we and other people have been through, so a lot of people who listen to our songs can relate to them!

CD AVAILABLE FROM http://www.myspace.com/temporarymindmusic or Teign Music

Our first band of the month is The Quails. The MP player on our site will play songs from their latest CD " I've heard it's all Rumours" ( you have to prompt the next song- sorry a glitch we are trying to sort out) Here is a review from a recent London gig.

The five-piece, from the sleepy Devon seaside town of Teignmouth, blasted through a fantastic set of danceable, quirky indie pop songs that left the audience breathless and begging for more. Front-man singer/guitarist Dan Steer may look like a badly drawn boy but he sounds like the finished article and guitarist Max Armstrong stunned the crowd with some amazing chunky riffs, while every hit-you-where-it-matters song was underpinned by the tightest rhythm section outside an atomic clock, courtesy of bassist Sam Banks, drummer Chris Prentice and rhythm guitarist John foulkes. Talk about a Wall of Sound! Phil Spector, eat your heart out, because these boys sounded like Heathrow the night before a bank holiday.Teignmouth already has one band that are doing reasonably well for themselves - I think they're called Muse. But here's a tip for you: The Quails are coming, and if anybody asks you how you know, tell them a little bird told you.”For a fresh sound that hasn't been heard this decade, comprised of melodic soulful tunes, and mind blowing solos, this wall of glam rock and roll energy is laced and intertwined with awesome anthemic vocals and lyrics . Look no further, just remember the name, The Quails."

Hey were chasing Hollywood four guys from the south west who enjoy playing music togetherWe began our quest early 2007 and began writing songs that mean something to usWe do it because we love it We are now mobile, so hopefully should be playing somewhere near you soon!We're up for a mission so spread the word yo!We were able to record our first tracks at coombeshead studios we hope you enjoy listening to the as much as we enjoy playing them!come hang out with us at our next show!

mmmmmmmmmmm lovely !!! Good spirited songs, catchy riffs, quality vocals 10 points to Chasing Hollywood Pity only 2 songs - get some more up there dudes!! Nice stuff - good band!! Like it!! :)"

http://www.myspace.com/chasinghollywoodmusic