The High Plane Drifters

Bio:

Biography

The High Plane Drifters are a Psychedelic Garage Blues two piece from Nothern England consisting of Wesley John Stephenson on Drums and Timothy James Oxnard on Vocals and Guitar.

A Two Man Band With A Four Man Sound

Together they have inspired and excited many with their exciting live set, betraying their audiences ears with their full sound. Their music comes from so many sources echoing half a century of rock and roll heritage and more that it renders itself fresh, The High Plane Drifters are totally original.

Described as “like having all your birthdays arrive at once, well that’s if you like your tunes packed with what sounds like a bastardised concoction of raw as you like early primitive JMC going head to head with the more gritty garage ensembles, imagine John Spencer and Co dropped dead centre of the 60’s beat scene – yeah that f**king good, listen a little closer and the detachment of early Warsaw / Joy Division begins to eke into view”.

Their self released output of Two E.P's, an LP and final Download Single have sold around the globe. Although they have had interest from many major and minor record labels their LP was financed by the winnings of the PRS ATOM AWARD , a nomination only award that they won, being only one of three winners in the UK, the only band from the North of England to do so.

They also landed themselves a publishing deal in the United States with Hunnypot Publishing , based in Los Angeles, who approached them to sign the deal, they have had music used in C.S.I Miami and Breaking Bad as well as being touted for Tarantino movies amongst other things. They join a staple of artists as diverse as Clutch and The Victorian English Gentlemens Club .

Shortly before he died John Peel was impressed enough to play their demo version of “Trouble In Mind” , and this was long before they released any records. On the strength of their U.S Tour and Download Single "Sweet Poppy Jean / White Star Lightning" they performed a live session for the Marc Riley show on BBC6 in August 2009 having been invited by Vic Galloway, a strong supporter of the group. They have also been played by Mark Lamarr on Radio 2, Vic Galloway on Radio 1, Steve Lamacq and a heap of local BBC shows throughout the U.K, good underground stations like Artrocker and Resonance, Student Radio around the world plus a host of other stations in America, New Zealand, Ireland, Croatia, Portugal, France, Israel, Malta, Slovenia and Argentina not to mention The British Forces Broadcasting Service. .

They have toured all parts of the British Isles and most recently toured The United States after invites from promoters there including Chris Johnson from The Deep Blues Festival.. in Minnesota where the band performed in 2009 as part of their 16 gigs in 16 days in 14 cities covering 11 different States U.S tour. Having been "Recoginzed As Internationally Outstanding Performers In The Blues Music Field" by The American Federation Of Musicians. They have played gigs with Stateside bands such as the The Black Diamond Heavies, The Bohannons, The Immortal Lee County Killers, The Soledad Brothers, The Bravery, Cut In The Hill Gang, Left Lane Cruiser, SSM, The Hentchmen, Whirlwind Heat, Pearlene, Dooley Wilson who they also released a Split E.P with, as well as acoustic artists such as Benjamin Wetherill and Serious Sam Barrett...the list goes on.

“This pair sound like a three-, even four-piece band at times, and they achieve this more subtly than by just blasting the room with wall-to-wall racket. Drummer Wesley John Stephenson's fulsome and varied percussive palette is crucial to this illusion - as is frontman Timothy James Oxnard's use of his guitar alternately as rhythm engine, lead instrument, surrogate bass, even as a kind of modernist cello when he grinds a bow futuristically across six strings, propelled by appropriately Krautrock express-train drums”.

Considering this is a group that have achieved this with their self released records on their own label and have organised their own tours with limited resources and hard work they remain optimistic, open minded and excited about the future and what it has to offer.

RELEASES...

“Hot Property E.P” - Vinyl 7”

“The High Plane Drifters and Dooley Wilson Split E.P” - Vinyl 7”

“Georgian Ghosts, Archer Street Blues and The Candy Factory” - Vinyl LP and CDR

"Sweet Poppy Jean" and "White Star Lightning" Download Single

COMPILATIONS...

Blighty’s Still Smokin’ (Free Compilation with Issue 30 of Carbon 14 Magazine)

The Ballroom Of Romance (Free Compilation Issued at The Lower Deck, Dublin, 28th April 2005)

Spearhead In The City (Promotional Compilation sponsored by Orange and Generator North East)

TELEVISION and CINEMA

All tracks were released through Don't Tell Clare Records with a number of songs from the Debut "Georgian Ghosts..." LP have achieved sync placements with "Cry Like A River" featuring in CSI Miami (Episode 712 - Season 7 Episode 12 "Head Case" First Aired 12th January 2009), "Electricity In My Bones" featuring in Breaking Bad (Season 2 - Episode 11 First Aired 17th May 2009) and a number of other tracks have been featured in Fox Sports and other areas such as The Transmitter Studios Hot Rod Documentary Movie "Back From The Dead".

STREAMING and DOWNLOADS

Tracks are available for streaming primarily through myspace although they also feature other random internet sites. Contact Sound It Out Records in Stockton On Tees if you want some vinyl. The band have had quite a bit of airplay which is outlined in the Biography and includes BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 amongst other worldwide and internet stations.

CONTACT INFORMATION...

thehighplanedrifters@hotmail.com

The debut LP titled "Georgian Ghosts, Archer Street Blues and The Candy Factory" is now available to buy along with the previous “Hot Property E.P” and “THPD and Dooley Wilson Split E.P” . The records are available to buy online from the Sound It Out Records Webshop.

The High Plane Drifters have now left the building...

The High Plane Drifters are no longer together. Following the U.S Tour and 3 final U.K performances in Stockton On Tees and Newcastle Upon Tyne the group reached it's conclusion. Both members are continuing to work hard at their music however with Timothy Oxnard continuing to play solo and with his new group called The Approved whilst Wesley Stephenson has a number of projects on the go currently recording material with a new band and featuring on the second Das Wanderlust album alongside sporadic freeform performances!

If you have any Videos / Photographs / Reviews of The High Plane Drifters send them over we'd still love to see and hear them, hopefully there will be some post humous CD's of both live and studio recordings that never quite made it to press at some point in the future.

Thanks to everyone that came to see us, helped us out, bought the records and we hope you keep playing them! We appreciate it.

Member Since:

November 01, 2005

Members:

Timothy James Oxnard

(Guitar and Vocals)

Wesley John Stephenson

(Percussion)

Photographs by Lily and Chris - Jet Lag Photography.

There's plenty of pictures in our photos section but if you follow the link below you can also see some great photographs from three different performances at The Cluny in Newcastle by an excellent photographer called Chris Moody. The gigs were with The Soledad Brothers, Cut In The Hill Gang and The Jim Jones Revue. The High Plane Drifters by Chris Moody

Influences:

More influences than you can shake a stick at!

Sounds Like:

We like to refer to it all as Psychedelic Garage Blues music, although we also attempt to stick as many ideas into the pot as is possible, without keeping within personal boundaries too much, sprinkle a little freeness maybe? compose it into a piece of aural painting and Bob is your Uncle! Turn it up loud and beat it hard with a stick, lovingly of course to try and recreate the thunder of God. I think we'll stick to refering to it as Psychedelic Garage Blues music as that is our mystery, though meltdown is never far away.

The High Plane Drifters perform "Shake Shake" at The Glasgow Barfly

The High Plane Drifters live from The High Noon Saloon, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A playing "White Star Lightning" and "Despair"... more videos from this gig available on You Tube.

The High Plane Drifters tour of America with The Bohannons and The Black Diamond Heavies featured 16 shows in 16 days in 14 cities in 11 different States.

The High Plane Drifters appeared at the Third Annual Deep Blues Festival in Minneapolis in 2009, please click on the flyer for further details.

Download the new songs "SWEET POPPY JEAN" and "WHITE STAR LIGHTNING" from I-Tunes.

Record Label:

Don't Tell Clare