"South Australia's greatest contribution to blues-rock" - billboard.com
".......a great album. Much better than all the other limp blues guitar CD's people keep sending me. Please pass on my congratulations to Gwyn." - Well respected London promoter/venue booker, kept nameless for obvious reasons!
"Two-Man Blues Army is a masterclass in rocking garage blues, a feast of big riffs, killer guitar tones and searing vocals. More importantly, the record crackles with the raw, spontaneous energy of a live show, something often absent from many modern blues albums." - Guitar Buyer magazine (UK)
"The album (Two-Man Blues Army) roars into life with a raucous onslaught of soupy, swampy, scruff-of-the-neck revved up Hendrix-y electric guitar, as the appropriately-titled "Meltdown At The Hoo" hits top gear and hammers away at your senses! The whole album of killer tunes represents a definite melding of traditional blues-meets-the-21st century." - Gear magazine (UK)
"A two-piece blues avalanche for fans of records how they used to make 'em. There are plenty of sonic and tonal highlights for blues-rockers to get their teeth into. From the high-octane Texas-style blues of Meltdown At The Hoo to the slow menace of One-Way Ticket to The Blues, The standout moment being Cross Road Blues, where a hypnotic tremolo riff builds to a haunting harmonica-led breakdown. This raw showcase of a telepathic duo exploring their blues is well worth cranking up." - Mick Taylor, Guitarist
“Equipped with just guitar, vocals and drums, this duo march into battle taking on every blues-rock trick in the book, successfully blasting them to a new level. The duo format leaves plenty of room for Gwyn's muscular licks that induce the 'wow' factor time and time again. No-nonsense, brutal and invigorating.” - Steve Bailey, Guitar & Bass
" ...unlike many of his contemporaries Ashton does not resort to cliché, pomp and bluster, but lays down terrific riffs and inserts just enough light and shade to make him a leader in this genre...this is top drawer stuff." - Blues Matters (UK)
NEW - LIVE CONCERT FOOTAGE
GWYN IN PRAGUE - SOLO CONCERT AND INTERVIEW ON CZECH NATIONAL TV:
http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/308292320030001-blues-ze-stare-pekarny-solo-pro/
TWO-MAN BLUES ARMY AT BIRMINGHAM NEC: '08
http://www.licklibrary.com/videos/gwyn-ashton/929/music-live-2008-gwyn-ashton
GIG OF THE WEEK
Influences
Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, R.L. Burnside, Beatles, Stones, Ben Harper, Easybeats, Hendrix, Cream, Yardbirds, Hank Williams, Johnny Winter, Chris Finnen, Kevin Borich, CCR, Tony Joe White, AC/DC, Dick Dale, Elmore James, Son House, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, Free, Led Zep, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher, SRV, Buddy Holly, Les Paul, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Skip James.
Sounds Like
DOWNLOADS
And when you do buy the CD, PLEASE don't copy it for a friend. When you do this just ONCE, you've not only broken the law, but you've also stolen 50% of my sales. I don't make a lot of money from this and if you want artists to continually produce music for you to enjoy, it's not fair to share it around. If you download mp3s of this album, please do it from a recognized legal site.
Thank you.
MERCHANDISE
T-shirts M L XL only - £15
BADGES only with CD, Shirt or photo order
Two-Man Blues Army - £12
Prohibition - ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2007 - Guitar and Bass magazine (UK) - £12
Gwyn Ashton’s Two-Man Blues Army is taking the blues to an entirely new perspective, dumping it right in the middle of today’s alternative scene. This explosive power-duo takes no prisoners as it blows away the boundaries between blues and indie, crossing over somewhere between Seasick Steve, The White Stripes and Jimi Hendrix. This blend of great hooky songs and killer playing is hot stuff!
Inspired by the likes of Hendrix, Ben Harper, Little Feat and AC/DC, Ashton blends
lap-steel, bottleneck, 12-string acoustic slide and full-on battle-mode electric rock
with powerhouse drummer "Killer" Kev Hickman nailing the grooves to the floor.
These guys are Lo-Fi, analogue, wild and dangerous, as witnessed in Berlin at
Popkomm ‘08, broadcast across Europe by ZDF Television in ’08 and ‘09.
Also a solo artist, Ashton's one-man-band show is a blend of alternative swamp blues and boogie, all played on his resonator, lap-slide, 6 & 12 string guitars, harmonica and a homemade foot stomp board.
From opening for blues legends such as BB King and Buddy Guy to sharing the stage
and recording with members of Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Whitesnake, Ashton is
one of the few musicians today who can hold their own in either capacity and is
responsible for turning a lot of younger people onto the blues. He has been praised by such luminaries as Robert Plant, Johnny Winter and Eric Johnson.
Ashton has not only produced his last album, "Two-Man Blues Army", but was also MD, producer, arranger and played all the bass and guitars and did all the backing vocals on Peter Parker's "She's So Shy" and "There Goes Love", although Parker has removed all information about everyone who was involved and taken credit for the entire project.
Over the years Ashton has played onstage with Mick Fleetwood, Hubert Sumlin, Marc Ford, Jon Paris, Canned Heat and has opened for Rory Gallagher, Ray Charles, Robin Trower, Vanilla Fudge, Wishbone Ash, Van Morrison, Jeff Healey, Tony Joe White, Johnny Winter, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, John Hammond and Pat Travers.
He also appears and gives tutorials in numerous guitar magazines, has two of his songs in movie soundtracks in France and Asia, conducts masterclasses in Australia and Europe (inc GIT and Guitar X, London) and performs live on radio and television worldwide.
From supercharged four-on-the-floor rockers to gritty blues, Ashton's playing, songwriting and singing are in top form. This is in full evidence on his last release, Prohibition, whose guests include Chris Glen, Ted McKenna (Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Michael Schenker Group, Ian Gillan rhythm section) and Deep Purple keys man, Don Airey.
Welsh-born Gwyn Ashton migrated to Adelaide, South Australia in the ‘60s, picked up a guitar at 12 and from the age of 16, played every bar, festival and seedy biker show imaginable. Aussie audiences are tough and like their rock & roll loud, hard and fast. This is where Ashton learned how to play his ass off. Entertain or be beer bottled!
He relocated to Sydney in the ‘80s, playing stints with Swanee and Stevie Wright. With
his own band, he carved up stages nationwide – some in the middle of nowhere, fronted with chicken wire, sometimes driving for days through the outback to get to the next show.
In the 90s he moved to Melbourne, played with Jim Keays and Mick Pealing, recorded
his first 2 albums and opened for Junior Wells, Rory Gallagher, Steve Morse and Albert Lee.
Following record company advice to base himself where the best record sales were
happening for him, in ‘96 Ashton was UK bound to have a crack at the European market.
Promoting his album Feel The Heat, Ashton’s band opened for UK rock icons Status Quo on their 15-date British arena tour in ‘99. This included dates at Birmingham NEC and Wembley Arena.
In 2000 Ashton recorded Fang It! with Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O’Neil, former Rory Gallagher rhythm section now with Nine Below Zero. He then fronted Band of Friends, replacing ex Motörhead and Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson.
This was a tribute to Rory, with Gerry, Brendan, Lou Martin, Mark Feltham and Ted McKenna who all played with Rory over the years.
Gwyn Ashton is endorsed by: Fender (Australia), Vigier Guitars (France), Busker Guitars (UK), Fatboy Guitar Parts, Vintage Guitars, Jacques Stompboxes (France), National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Hiscox Cases, Koch Guitar Electronics, Graph-Tech Industries, Award-Session and Dunlop Strings.
†Album of the Month Oct ‘98 Guitar & Bass, FR
*Amazon France Top 100 albums - 2000
**Album of the Month - Sept 2000 Guitar, FR
††Album of the Year 2007 - Guitar & Bass, UK
Pressure Makes Diamonds - Jim Keays - '93
Real Australian Blues Vol. 2 - '94
Classic Rock coverdisc - Dec. 2000
Blues Guitar Heroes - '03
Resonator - Jim Keays - '07
Bone Rattlin’ Blues - '07
Hollywood Rocks - '07
She's So Shy - Peter Parker - ’07
GMT – GUY, McCOY, TORME IN SWINDON! SAT JULY 18TH THE FURNACE 73 COMMERCIAL ROAD, SWINDON, SN1 5NX TEL 01793 534238 TICKETS : £8 ADVANCE wegottickets.com/location/1188 £12 on door DOORS 7PM , BANDS 7.30-10.30PM ( 16+ ) GIG TICKET INCLUDES FREE ENTRY TO AFTER CLUB UNTIL 3AM (18+) PLUS SUPPORT FROM GWYN ASHTON’S 2 MAN BLUES ARMY www.myspace.com/gwynashtonmusic PLUS MOFO
SAT JULY 18TH GMT – GUY, McCOY, TORME POWER TRIO GMT , FEATURING BERNIE TORME (FORMER GUITARIST WITH GILLAN , OZZY OSBOURNE , DEE SNIDER) , JOHN MCCOY (FORMER BASSIST WITH GILLAN , MAMMOTH) AND ROBIN GUY (FORMER DRUMMER WITH IRON MAIDEN’S BRUCE DICKINSON , FAITH NO MORE). http://www.myspace.com/gmtrocks http://www.youtube.com/user/gmtrocks http://www.gmtrocks.com http://www.myspace.com/gmteviltwin
PLUS SUPPORT FROM GWYN ASHTON’S 2 MAN BLUES ARMY www.myspace.com/gwynashtonmusic PLUS MOFO
THE FURNACE 73 COMMERCIAL ROAD, SWINDON, SN1 5NX TEL 01793 534238 TICKETS : £8 ADVANCE wegottickets.com/location/1188
DOORS 7PM , BANDS 7.30-10.30PM ( 16+ ) GIG TICKET INCLUDES FREE ENTRY TO AFTER CLUB UNTIL 3AM (18+)
good luck Gwyn dunno why, but I was reminded one day last wk of the one and only 5 ? times we played together at that pub nr the cnr of the expressway downhill frm Parramatta. With Lennie Marx. I darnt even mention what year that was!!
