the players thus far:-
>leon:guitar/vocal/some percussion
>rory:guitar/mandolin
>kieth;drums/percussion/thumb piano
>phill:keys/hammond>jim:bass/double bass
>emma:backing vocals/some percussion
>nicola:backing vocals/some percussion and cheers to kath from skyhook for the fiddle on 'my needs'!
Influences
detest jame's blunt but love:bert jansch,john redbourn,pentangle,roy and nick harper, john martyn,nick drake,eliot smith,rory garfourth,tim buckley,love,beach boys,brian willson,louis jordan,some diseney,the flaming lips,creation,world music,bob dylan,herbie hancock,nina simone,ella,leonard cohen,dylan thomas,dave brubeck,beck,sqeeze,pualo conte,vista social club,air,gotan project,the stones,the who,tom waits,janis joplin,joan baez,ben and jason,dan hicks and the hot licks,james brown,death in vagas,miles davis,crosby stills and nash,neil young,dori previn,issac gillory,devendra banheart, far far too many to mention and i'm sure there's many ive forgot and many still to come...anything that make's me want to pick my own guitar up and play...
came to music quite late (was about 20)untill then wasn't really botherd about it,but then i hit college and i er,changed,suddenly i couldn't get enough and have been writing and singing ever since,dont really know what made me start or why i do it somtimes but it's the only thing that seem's to have stuck,my first little go at being a pop star was in a mod band called "the farthings" who got a bit of interest off the labels,but fell apart when we realised we didn't like each other any more,the whole damd thing getting far too serious,after that i took a more laid back aproach to things and went acoustic having desided the pop world wasn't for leon,never really looked back,i have spent about five years playing up and down the country in a folk/roots band"hotelbrown"but have now been solo for about a year,im really enjoying the solo stuff it has took me to some great gigs(glastonbury included)not that botherd about getting a record deal any more and i think my songs have changed because of that! not really sure what i want to do at the moment,i suppose i can only look forward......could i just say(to save any confusion) that me and rory(and the rest of hotelbrown) are still very good friends and never fell out!well here they all are! the new photos,with the amount if stick i got from the old one,i thought it was about time i got some new un's,not bad either eh? (my mum took them!) and yes! i do hang around old abandend fatories!,and can be seen walking through woods carrying a guitar quite regually,so all in all i think she captured me quite well,good old mum!...you may also have a nice game of tetris while listening to the songs...we aim to please!!
heres a little bit about the songs.....
(she desided to walk)
well this is a song from my younger days,and though i find it regretable it is quite fare to say that i havent always been a nice person!, this song came about after being slapped by a girl in a night club, and though in the song i try to gain sympathy by not seeming to to know quite what ive done to deserve this,in truth i new exactly what i'd done,and so did she! so she walked,and i was gutted,lesson learnt!
(with the lights on)
this song is about those times we all have every now and then,when we all worry about getting older when we don't quite feel a hundred percent with ourselves today (you know the feeling)well it was on one of those afore mentioned days that i wrote this song and it fair cheered me up! hope it has the same affect on you....
(lost socks)
haveing fallen out with a friend over a sausage (yes a sausage!) it was the typical falling out really,you know things are said no-one means,no-one wins!
we didnt talk for nearly a month,well during that time we both felt like there was something missing,like we were indeed lost socks,one useless without the other,im a glad to say we are still friends to this very day,though we dont talk about sausages any more we do talk about a great many things...(my need exceeds my skill)well,this one is about being stuck in a relationship that (through no fault of any bodys) has stalled,your not quite sure what move you want to make,carry on or start anew,but lack the skills in doing either,weve all been there,some of us are there now,i know ive been there,so i sung about it...if anyone should wish for me to come and play for them please dont be afraid to ask
Don't know if you are thinking of going to Holmfirth - we're running a concert club at stamps below the postcard friday 9th - we have to put on official festival guests but have a few short slots. And then the fun bit - we're leading a session at the cricket club Saturday 10th from 8pm(by the official campsite), come along, do some songs, join in etc, let me know if you're interested.
Once drove an old sedan, up north, From a place in Sydney to Cairns; Then to Kuranda I went forth, By train, to look without set plans.
I browsed through the trendy market, With fresh fruits of tropical kind; Walked to the creek through lush thicket - Nature’s hand giving peace of mind.
I dined in a scenic cafe; Then, outside, as I wrote for yen, Some passing Kooris called-out: “Hey, You go walkabout with your pen.”
Request or question, I don’t know - Assured voices, elderly men. That’s now several years ago, And I’ve seen the world - with my pen.
Smoke Feathers have been invited to play at the INDY Music Awards media launch and short list announcement party on Wednesday April 2nd 7pm at the Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London.
It’s no guarantee that we have been shortlisted for the final, but we hope it is a good sign....
you coming to one of these gigs?? check out 6th march - the blah bar 7th march - the norman, monk b 9th march - manchester irish fest 13th march - croatian tour for 5 days 29th march - the dards, cudworth 30th march - sturdy lads - monk b 5pm start
don't scare me, i'm moving over in april and am not too keen on earth quakes... so what have you been up to, other than letting mother earth shake you? xx dee
