Jeff Lang - singing, all kinds of stringing, stomping and farmyard tool bashing.
Influences
Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, David Lindley, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Ry Cooder, Tom Waits, Neil Young, The Harry Smith Anthology, Bert Jansch, Bill Frisell, Rainer Ptacek, Charles Bukowski, John Fahey, Dirty Three, Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers, Warren Zevon, Chris Whitley, Los Lobos, Debashish Bhattacharya, Willie Clancy, The Rolling Stones etc... etc... etc...
Sounds Like
"Is he... rock... blues... country... folk... from Mars? No, actually he's all of the above - if not quite extraterrestrial - and a lot more... a one of a kind."
The Australian (newspaper that is)
"Jeff Lang has cultivated one of the most soul-shaking slide voices in recent memory.
Were treated to moody atmospheric textures, ripping electric lap-steel riffs, delicate acoustic picking, trippy backwards leads, oddball percussion, throbbing tremolo, and unconventional lyricsall of which Lang blends like some crazed sonic alchemist. Langs music is as fiercely original as it is moving." Guitar Player Magazine (USA)
Singer-songwriter Jeff Lang has built up a reputation for startlingly original performances, working without a set list, allowing the unique energy of each night to shape the songs. While Lang will talk of his admiration for the elemental blues of Skip James, the raw gospel of Blind Willie Johnson, the devastating guitar work of Jimi Hendrix, the masterful slide guitar of Ry Cooder, and the sublime songwriting of Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson, comparisons to these artists fails to paint an adequate picture.
Jeff Lang is critically acclaimed as a truly great guitar player. The unusual thing is that the guitar playing never gets in the way of the music, nor overshadows his gift for hauntingly poetic songwriting. As a live performer Lang is only satisfied when something truly inspired takes place. This restless striving for the sublime pays great dividends for audiences that join him for the ride.
He has delivered show-stopping performances at festivals as diverse as Port Fairy, Woodford, Byron Bay, Mudslinger and Livid in his home land of Australia. On US radio he has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and Acoustic Caf, and he has performed at such festivals as the Dublin Blues Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Quebec City Music Festival, Falcon Ridge, Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival, Blissfest, and the Ottawa Blues Fest.
He has toured with Ani Di Franco, Chris Whitley, Albert Collins, Bob Dylan, Loudon Wainwright III, Richard Thompson, Greg Brown, Kelly Joe Phelps, Dr. John and Bob Geldolf, while his unique musical vision
easily finds a home in myriad venues, from a large festival stage to a small Irish club to the Sydney Opera House. In addition his 2002 collaboration with Bob Brozman won an ARIA award (Australia's equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Blues and Roots Music album. Jeff Lang has achieved what is a rarity in the cluttered world of contemporary sounds: his own voice.
The recent Jeff Lang releases are:
Half Seas Over (out through ABC in Australia),
Dislocation Blues by Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang (through Rounder Records),
Whatever Makes You Happy through Proper Distribution in the UK.
To listen to a recent live recording of Jeff Lang visit
http://www.newfoundfrequency.com/concert/2007-05-05/Jeff_Lang
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