Wayne McDonald - lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, effects, programming and a luvverly cuppa, biccies and inspiration...
Andy Callen - banjo, piano, guitar, backing vocals and enthused vim and vigour, plus oodles of fire.!
Influences
Johnny Cash, The Smiths, Television, The Damned, Lambchop, Giant Sand, Neil Young, Will Oldham, Sparklehorse, Can, Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Nick Drake, Sly & the Family Stone, Brian Wilson, Kinks/ Muswell Hillbillies, Phil Spector, Dolly Parton, Byrds, Captain Beefheart, Saturday Night/ Sunday Morning, The Fall, Sex Pistols, Queen, Dusty Springfield, Husker Du, Nick Cave, Motown, Black Sabbath, The Who, T Rex, Roy Orbison, Pebbles, Nuggets, Stax, Hank Williams, The Triffids , Sham 69, The Krankies, Big Star, The Monkees, The Stoogies, Dylan, Top of the Pops, Sinatra, Nancy and Lee, Tap, T` Street, Led Zeppelin, Smokey Robinson, Love, My bloody valentine, The Cramps, Hubert Selby jr, Rentaghost, Dexy`s, Sun, The Killers, The Small faces, Buddy Holly, The Pixies, Primals, John Coltrane, Otis, Rolling stones, Blondie, Aretha, Funkadelic, A lovely sunny day, Kate Bush, Abba, Chocolate, Patti Smith, Carry on... Basement jaxx, The Beatles, Disco, Ennio Morricone, The Grumbleweeds, The Ramones, Suicide, Edith Piaf, Sleepy sleep, David Bowie, Kasabian, Tammi Wynette, Marvin Gaye, Northern soul, A last minute winner, MC5, Flaming lips, Brel, Velvets, Thin Lizzy, Sonic youth, A smile, New York Dolls, Zippy, George and Bungle, Faithless, Muse, Throwing muses, Jimmy Cliff, Madness, Buena Vista Social Club, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Easy Rider, Hendrix, Early Alice Cooper, Wheeltappers.. Chemicals, Simon and Garfunkel, Specials, Frank Carson, American Graffitti, Arctic Monkeys, Arctic roll. Rocky, Soft Cell, Lee Scratch Perry, Lynn Perrie, Shirl, Giant Haystacks, Eric Cantona, Windows of the soul, A good chippy, Marlon, A kickin' dancefloor, Howlin' Wolf, White Stripes, Rain on the window, The Office, Cornflake Pie and Custard, Roland Rat, George Best, Rod n' Emu, Joy Division, Stevie Wonder, Spaced, The love of life, Posh crisps, New romantics, Little Richard, Rising damp, Brucie, Skin on skin, Springsteen, Air, Arthur Daley, Papa Lazarou, Pee Wee, Bernie Clifton, Wham!, Rolf, Coffee, That moment.. and a million more...
Sounds Like
You make up your own mind... but generally speaking our music sounds like psychedelic country with a dash of electronica. Our music at various times has been likened to: Jim White, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, Hank Williams, Lone Pigeon, Badly Drawn Boy, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Okkervil River (for Wayne's vocals), David Bowie/ Spiders From Mars, Brecht and Weill, The Cure (for Andy's guitar style), the list goes on... We both come from a background of playing in punk bands so there's a bit of that as well!
Manchester-based Picnic Area came together through a shared liking for the darker, quirkier end of country music. In their short history they have already played support to acclaimed American country singer Jan Smith, Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley, and top Manchester alt country band Bonebox.
Andy Callen is also a member of Shatner's Bassoon and The Spinning Fields, whilst Wayne McDonald came from the wrong side of town.
The journey is about to begin...
ABOUT PICNIC CLUB - Picnic Club is a showcase for acoustic/ Americana/ alt country acts we put on once a month at the wonderful Fuel Bar in Wilmslow Road in bohemian Withington in Manchester.
Oh Fuel, Fuel, Fuel...
...you have a golden soul, within them there walls..
All angels..
We put on local acts but also performers from different parts of the UK (and the USA as well!) who play a compatible style of music. A hearty hot, hot heat has risen above the badland skies of Withington. Beauty overising on every such moment.
............
We give you the moon on a stick.!
.........................................
Come play with us at our Picnic...
Via andylacallen@yahoo.co.uk - or by messaging this site if you believe in belief.......
OUR NEW CD ALBUM IS NOW OUT! - Picnic Area's debut CD "The essential Picnic Area" is now out on M60 Recordings, 21 great tracks for only £5. It sears the sound of passion, power, courage, hope and despair (to who knows where...?)
We're ready... see you there.!
Its the moment. the golden moment.
You can reach out at our gigs, or from Piccadilly Records in Oldham St, Manchester.
Or from Vox Pop in Hilton St, Manchester, or deep inside your heart. You can also buy online from Piccadilly Records - go to http://www.piccadillyrecords.com then search for Picnic Area. And for our fans in the London area - you can now buy our CD at the fabulous Time Bomb at 31 High Street, Croydon - purveyors of rock'n'roll clothing and accessories!..................
WHAT THEY HAVE SAID ABOUT THE ESSENTIAL PICNIC AREA: "The composition of the tracks is intelligent and inventive....'Disciplinary' is walking a very fine line between being adventurously bohemian or just plainly reckless" - MANCHESTERMUSIC.CO.UK.............
"Picnic Area have something of that Manchester swagger: why else call your 21 track 1st album “The Essential”? (coming in at 62 minutes, that’s a lot of essentiality.) .... It’s the channelling of some late 60s British psychedelia, the nods to T-rex and the sense of adventure which make the album worth listening to. .... for volume and force of ideas, it has something going on". - AMERICANA-UK WEBSITE..............
Forever love, forever more...
W & A.
x
OPEN MIC NIGHT - THIS WEDNESDAY @ EVERY WEDNESDAY @ ABODE CHORLTON! TONIGHTS SPECIAL GUESTS ARE LITTLE ENGINE!!! HOPE TO SEE PICNIC AREA SOON! CHRIS :)
Arrr sorry to hear your sick :( Hope yoour soon feeling fabulous again, and in the mean time get lots of guilt free rest and plenty of Vimto down ya! :) see ya soon x
NEW OPEN MIC NIGHT TONIGHT AT ABODE, CHORLTON! Starting tonight Wednesday 2nd July and then every Wednesday! 8.30pm - late. Get yourself down there!!!! Chris :)
"Drapes of Black" is the new single from Aidan Smith's new album, Allotments. It was played on Radcliffe and Maconie's show on Radio 2 on Monday and is in this week's Pick and Mix!
Go here to vote for Aidan to get played on their show every day next week!
Booking our Rock Star DJ's Now! Contact: justine@brave-music-agency.co.uk www. brave-music-agency. co. uk LIKE THIS IMAGE? Find more Rock Stars photos at WWW. IANTILTON. NET CHECK OUT the Hacienda Photo's!!!!!!!!
This is an unmissable show! After the rave reviews of Sam Amidon's last show in Manchester, where, in league with Red Deer Club, we arranged for Sam to play at the Unitarian Chapel with a string quartet, we couldn't wait for the opportunity to bring him back. Since that time, his album All is Well has been critically lauded and the media have finally caught on to the New Yorker's immense talent.
Incredibly, the opportunity that has arisen includes a touring party from Sam's Icelandic label, Bedroom Community. Sam will be performing with a six-piece band, including legendary producer and Bedroom Community chief, Valgeir Sigurðsson.
And if that isn't enough for you, Valgeir will also be performing tracks from his own album, Ekvílibríum, a critically lauded masterpiece of electronica-laced folk.
To cap it all, the night will be kicked off by support from Manchester's own acoustic-electronica maestro, Denis Jones; having waited two years to play in this wonderful venue, he will be playing his fourth show here inside two months, after support for Jack Rose, Phosphorescent and Chris Corsano.
On Wednesday May 14th we return to The Deaf Institute for an evening of lyrical, alternative and contemporary folk music and visual ambiance, in a modern modern setting, with pews, below a glass roof...........with Anna Kashfi, Dan Haywood's New Hawks and At Swim Two Birds who will feature a video projection of 'The London Nobody Knows'.
"The London Nobody Knows, a 1967 documentary stroll around the city with James Mason. No horseguards, no palaces, but Islington's Chapel Market, pie shops, and Spitalfields tenements. Carnaby chicks and chaps, the 1967 we have been led to remember, are shockingly juxtaposed with feral meths drinkers, filthy shoeless kids, squalid Victoriana. Camden Town still resembles the world of Walter Sickert. There is romance and adventure, but mostly there is malnourishment. London looks like a shithole".
what? the folk! gets under way at Odd Bar in the northern quarter on sunday 11th May then each first sunday of the month thereafter. From 8pm, Entry is FREE so get there early. jambone x
Ay-up guys... cheers for the comment... I am VERY keen to come see the former 'Arch Angels'... we were talking about them for weeks last time... absolutely superb!! Both Andy and the Arch's got a shout out on Roydans Salford Radio appearance - on his site if you wanna check out... will do my upmost to be there. Hope life in general treating you both well? Wots of Wub... Nic Nac xx
