Dominic Crane - Guitar and Vocals. Jo Nichols - Bass Guitar, Double Bass and Piano. Tim James - Drums and Percussion. Harry Boylan - Harmonica.
Influences
The Beatles.
John Barry.
Jaques Brel.
Burt Bacharach.
Stiff Records - indisputably one of the greatest rosta's ever. ( Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, Kirsty MacColl, Wreckless Eric, Madness, Pink Faries, Damned, etc, etc. )
60's Detective T.V. Theme Tunes.
10.cc.
Joe Meek.
Supergrass.
The Smiths.
Stephen Duffy.
Dusty Springfield.
The Shangri La's and George "Shadow" Morton.
70's Tamla Motown.
Radio Luxembourg.
Television (Marquee Moon).
Kate Bush.
Difford and Tilbrook.
Paul Simon.
Ray Davies.
Belle and Sebastian.
Wilco.
Tommy James and the Shondells.
Etta James.
Laura Nyro.
Ron Sexsmith.
Patsy Cline.
Tony Wilson.
The Pixies.
Cole Porter.
Buddy Holly.
Eddie Cochran.
Jim Webb.
Irving Berlin.
Musical Cinema.
Colliery Brass Bands.
Chuck Berry.
Tony Hart.
Oliver Postgate.
Graham Greene.
Peter Rodgers.
Ted Hughes.
Carol Reed.
The Boulting Brothers.
Dr. Seuss.
Stephen Grizzell and Jeremy Paige .
Fave Guitarists : Vic Flick, Jan Akkerman, George Harrison, Richard Thompson, Cliff Gallup, Mick Ronson, Wilko Johnson, John McGeoch, Frank Zappa, Denny Dias, Zal Cleminson, Jeff Beck, James Honeyman-Scott, Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessell, Pete Townsend, Thurston Moore, Andy Gill, Jonny Greenwood, Ronnie Wood, Amos Garrett, Link Wray, Dick Dale.
Sounds Like
Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith, The Beatles, Jon Brion, Crowded House, Ron Sexsmith, Squeeze, Belle and Sebastian, The Beautiful South, Jeff Buckley, Burt Bacharach, The Kinks, Eg White, Will Young, The Lillac Time, Sufjan Stevens, Teitur, Nick Lowe
I previously provided guitars and backing vocals for Rumblefish ( East West ) and Low Art Thrill ( Island ) with record sales, radio and press generating a modest amount of success. Rumblefish sold around 15,000 albums in The U.S. through college radio interest but due to a dispute between the label and the bands management, were dropped after their initial period and failed to tour. In the UK we toured extensively supporting The Boo Radleys, Slowdive, Shack, That Petrol Emotion, Ian Mcnabb, The Warm Jets and The Candyskins to name a few.
On Sunday December 6th I shall be competing in the Grand Final of The Open Mic Uk Competition. The competition started in September and myself and Harry Boylan ( Harmonica) progressed through the heats and the Regional Final in Leamington to become one of the final 20 in our age group out of an initial 9,000 applicants. The Final to be held at The Willows, Salford, Manchester, will result in the over all winner of the three age catagories getting a £20,000 recording deal.
During the competition we have had some great support from friends as well as local press and media, including a live session on BBC WM’S Introducing programme and airplay from Janice Long.
I am currently completing tracks recorded with Producer Jon Cotton (Scott Matthews "Passing Stranger" ) which are due for independent release early in 2010 as a CD album together with other tracks recorded by Thomas Johannsen ( Tom Baxter, Boy kill Boy, Shaznay Lewis ).
Recently joined an Agency in L.A. handling music for film and T.V. placement and had some great comments ..."compositions that are so beautifully layered and delivered. He has an intoxicating vulnerability to his voice" ... " he has an intangible aesthetic that he inhearantly understands that allows for keeping company with the likes of Nick Drake and Sufjan Stevens."
I started writing on my own in 2003 and brought my music to a reassuringly appreciative public via numerous Open Mic nights.
In 2004 I sent some demo's to Chris Difford of Squeeze and was invited to attend his writers retreat in 2005 in Kent, England.
I spent an unforgettable week with Chris and other writers including Marty Pellow, Adam Levy ( Norah Jones' Handsome Band ), Amy Wadge, Athena Andreadis, Geoff Martin, William Topley, Jen Clapp and Alice Bierhorst, writing, eating, drinking and sleeping music.
In September of the same year I put a band together both for recording purposes and live work. I am pleased to say the same people are still working with me four years later with the addition of Pianist / Keyboard player Martin Riley. Martin was recommended by bass player, Jo Nichols and amongst the list of very impressive credits on his CV was his involvement in completing The Charlatans classic “Telling Stories“ album during the recording of which, keyboardist Rob Collins was tragically killed in a car accident.
A tour is being planned to coincide with the release of the C.D.
Gigs have tended to be a bit sporadic over the last couple of years occurring mainly in London and Birmingham including a couple of festivals with The Bees, Seth Lakeman, Scott Matthews, Jose Gonzalez, Waterson Carthy, Davey Graham and Kate Rusby.
Although the CD scheduled for next year is officially a debut solo release I sold approximately 500 copies of an earlier 3 track sampler at gigs, entitled "Weeding Eden.
As a kid I spent a lot of time trawling through the record collections of my much older siblings( I was the solution to a parental mid-life crisis). The Beatles and their solo works, The Beach Boys, Nina Simone, The Kinks, Donovan and many more all contributed to shaping my approach to writing and the way I want to sound. Consequently I am inclined to take an old school approach to melody writing, usually constructing verse melodies from a sequence of 4 or 5 short phrases, rather than the rhythmic refrains which seem to be in wider use these days - which produce some really cool results.
I attempt to set the bar high with melodies and lyrics and strive to fill those 3 to 5 minutes with something poignant and meaningful. A performance can become almost effortless if the content is meaningful, making it easier to inhabit the song. I love the idea of creating something that could really resonate emotionally with the listener. My thoughts are never too far from vocalists such as Jaques Brell, Dusty Springfield, Sam Cooke, Mary Gauthier, Elvis Costello, Damien Rice and Levi Stubbs and the way they convey their phrasing with a passion that suggests a possible back story to their personal lives.
My lyrics often contain some narrative, sometimes with a pay off or consequence. I seem to write a lot about the struggles encountered in couple relationships but usually with some sort of positive outcome or message. I deliberately avoid popular cliches but strive to use other idioms and phrases often found in everyday life but not often associated with songs. I try to maintain a balance between poetry and plain English whilst playing with mid line rhymes, alliteration and the odd bit of humour and irony.
High on the list amongst my favourite lyricists would be Paul Simon, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury and Ron Sexsmith.
Musically, I tend to be a bit retro using modulating chord structures normally associated with composers like The Beatles, John Barry, Burt Bacharach and others of that ilk. I can’t deny they have all made quite an impression on my aesthetic sensibilities.
My personal ambition is to become a popular collaborative songwriter, working with established and emerging artists. My past collaborations have also included Stephen Duffy, Edwin Starr, Will Rendle ( Will and the People), Amy Wadge Emily Baker, Athena Andreadis, Matt Deighton and Chris Sheehan.
Hi Dom, will try to listen in on WM tonight, well done on getting the session. Hare and Hounds was good, some old friends like Mike Davies and Steve Morris came along as well . . . nostalgic! Nettlebed was a real blast . . . haven't come down yet. Definitely get along to one of your gigs in the near future, best of luck with the Open Mic. Cheers, Mark and Carolyn
Hi Dom, Just checking in to thank you for gracing our stage on Saturday night. You and the boy Harry were just awesome! It's rare to get two acts who seem to be right at the top of their game on the same night. You and Angie Palmer just blew everyone away. Like I said on the night - I'm from the back end of the Woodstock generation and I've seen many of the so-called greats and you guys are in the same class. Still - Neil Young has never played tHE mADhOUSE, so in my book - you're ahead!! Best aL & mIKE
are you excited for addy to move?i wasnt for keifer but i guess yesterday he went to go visit and refused to back to the 2s and stayed with sharen the hole day! i think addy will do fine because she is very sassy so the bigger kids wont pick on her:)she moves monday? you gonna be able to help her out? did you ever start on them online survey things i told you about? i hope you did, i just another check, this was for $237 from 2 weeks ago. if you didn't yet, pshhh, get on it; i guess you'll have to type the link into internet explorer or whatever, but here it is again:
Hey Dom - thanks very much for playing on Friday and for coming all that way - well worth it I think, you were awesome! Maybe see you back again soon? Sian x
oh that's awesome!! i really wanted to go again but i'm busy recording... let me know if you make it out there, i'd love to hear about it!
all the best, keep in touch and hope to cross paths soon. adam + chris are two of my faves in the universe, any friend of theirs is a friend of mine. :)
