Blues Bands

 

The Fat Walters Band

The Fat Walters Band was formed late 2004. This exciting new rhythm and blues band features:

Will Walters - lead vocal & guitar
Years of experience. Will has a deep tone. He has performed with Honey Boy Hicling, Bob Hokum and Tim Aves and the Rockin Armadillos.

Rick Parker- guitar, harmonica & backing vocal.
Even more years of experience with a unique style. He has played extensively nationwide and toured in Europe.

Paul Ellis - bass guitar.
A stalwart R & B exponent who has in the past won battle of thebands and played bass with Kenny Jnes amongst others.

Paul Bearman - drums
A bright young talent with a refreshinly individual technique.

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The Grapevine
Blues Band

The Duo
In February 1998 at a Blues Jam session, destiny brought together two musicians who were searching for new ways of fusing Blues with Jazz, Hip-Hop and even House Music - a potent cocktail of styles - in fact, Blues for the 21st Century! As a result, Dr Ika joined Grapevine Blues.

In November 1998 the first album 'Neo Blues' was born. This album contains not only original material, such as the darkly humorous and semi
autobiographical 'Immigration Blues', but also an outrageous arrangement of 'Cross Roads Blues' that would make Robert Johnson spin in his grave. Also included are other favourite Blues standards done in Grapevine's unique style.

Dr.Ika (pronounced Eeka) comes from Georgia in the former Soviet Union and was twice voted top guitarist in the U.S.S.R. before coming to the West. He has played with top jazz and blues musicians such as Jimmy Smith, Vagif Mustapha Zade, Richard Roberts, Tom Levin and has twice (once in Georgia and again in Sweden) performed with the legendary B.B.King - an unusual claim to fame from an ex- neurosurgeon.

Mike 'The Bear' Chase, after many years as a solo performer, was the lead
singer with the Mid Life Crisis Blues Band and has performed throughout the U.K., France, Spain, Belgium as well as Zimbabwe and South Africa, where he lived for several years, performing with artists such as Dollar Brand (better known now as Abdullah Ibrahim)

The Band
As well as playing as a duo, Mike & Ika are joined by fellow musicians Dave
Ashcroft , Dave Troy and Caz Devine to form the Grapevine Blues band.

Drummer Dave Ashcroft not only works as a drum teacher and session musician, performing with the likes of Hazel O'Conner but also has a BSc Honours degree in Applied Marine Biology - the essential ingredient lacking in most Blues Bands.

Dave Troy on bass has previously played with, amongst others, the great
'Bernie Devine Band' and we are pleased to have him on board.

Our newest member is Caz Devine (Sister-in-law to Bernie) on Tenor Sax. Caz adds a wonderful tone & texture to the band's overall sound and it's great to have her join us.

The Future
"Neo Blues" was just the tip of the iceberg. Dr Ika has just completed an
album of entirely original material called "Dr Ika's Blues..." featuring not
only Mike Chase but the superb Helen MacDougall and the great 'Papa' George. This album has just been released on the new 'Blues Matters' record label.

The Band has always enjoyed playing and recording with other artists such as Danny Bryant, Ritchie Milton, Tenor Sax player Andy Thompson (Dire Straits, Sting & Elton John Bands) and top international keyboard player Dave Lennox. The sensational new CD "Live at The New Crawdaddy Club" features Andy's superb sax playing.

Recent highlights include a meeting with the legendary Peter Green (Mike is especially proud of his beloved Telecaster since Peter signed it for him),
playing several major festivals and alongside people such as Wilko Johnson, Stan Webb (Chicken Shack), Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne and twice with the fantastic Gary Moore.

This year, as well as several festivals and some fabulous new venues,
they've also been booked to support the 60's super-group 'Canned Heat'.

In the meantime, Grapevine continue to gig, either as a band, or more
frequently as a duo, up to six times a week. They have been repeatedly
featured on radio programmes such as Paul Jones' 'Jazz me Blues' on Jazz F.M. & The Voice of America' plus many other radio stations in countries around the world including Alaska, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, U.S.A., and on both national radio and television in Ika's native Georgia

Grapevine Blues has recently performed their 850th gig - always being
rebooked at every venue. Not surprising when they sound this good!