Mark Evans Vocals/Guitar Martin & Larrivee Guitars
Contact/Booking: redshoes@blueyonder.co.uk
Influences:
Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Byrds, Marc Bolan, John Fogerty, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Iain Matthews, Peter Case, Crowded House, Mike Scott, Alison Krauss, T-Bone Burnett, Van Morrison, Nick Lowe, Ray Davies, Tom Petty, Roger McGuinn, Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ray Davies, James Taylor, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Pete Townshend, The Beach Boys, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, Clive Gregson, Tony Rice, Linda Ronstadt, Clarence White, Robbie Robertson, Joe Ely, Tom Paxton, Joan Baez, Judy Dyble, McGarrigle Sisters, Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, Ewan McColl & Peggy Seeger, Ronnee Blakeley, Phil Ochs, Emmylou Harris, Maria McKee, The Band, Gram Parsons, Tim Buckley, Los Lobos, Iris DeMent, Ally Bain, Jerry Douglas, Peter, Paul & Mary, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Peters, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash - we could go on . . . . . .
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Sounds Like
Something you might have heard before, but haven't . . .
- "Beautifully realised collection of well crafted songs rendered in attractive, melodic folk-rock style" - Rock'n'Reel Magazine (R2)
"Producing and playing on the Red Shoes album was a real joy and I am very proud of this CD" - Dave Pegg
"Waited a quarter of a century to make this my folk album of the year! now make it yours too" - Mike Davies (Net Rythms)
"In one album, Red Shoes prove they are a potent force in English acoustic music - ‘Ring Around the Land’ - wonderful lyrics, superb songs, memorable tunes. What more do you need?" - Tim Carroll (FolkWords)
"A masterful piece of work" - Paul Flower (Sunday Mercury)
"Magical Album" - Electric Ghost
"An album of stunning beauty - FATEA Magazine
"The title track is surely destined to be an instant English folk anthem" - Mike Wilson (Folking.com)
"Melodic, accessible and universally appealing, well-crafted contemporary-folk" - Folk and Roots
"The Angels want to hear these Red Shoes" - MAVERICK Magazine
"Ring Around The Land is the real traditional McCoy. Beautifully constructed, recorded and delivered - an album made by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts" - Get Ready to ROCK!
"An emotional tour de force – A dream of an album" - Ken Miller - Ken's Folk Page
June 15th 2009 - RED SHOES album released - Titled "Ring Around The Land", produced by Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention, it contains 13 songs. All but one are originals written by Mark Evans and Carolyn Evans; the non-original song is Dave Swarbrick's "White Dress". Playing alongside Mark and Carolyn on the album are such luminaries of the Folk World as Dave Pegg, Chris Leslie, PJ Wright and Mick Bullard.
Recorded at Blue Moon Studios in Banbury
Engineered by Mark Lee
We have been so fortunate to have a gifted artist as a dear friend, Bobbie is renowned for painting beautiful pictures. Two of her watercolours feature in the booklet of our album. Click the picture above to be transported to Bobbie Cook's MySpace page.
RED SHOES were one of the featured artists on last years Fatea Showcase Session. This one was called "Duo's", and included our song "My Father's Green Beret", written by Carolyn Evans. The song went on to win a place in the FATEA AWARDS.
'White Dress' (Dave Swarbrick) - taken from the album 'Ring Around The Land' A labour of love involving very special people, all of whom worked on the making of our CD.
Biog -
They say fate moves in mysterious ways. They should add that it often takes a hell of a long time about it too.
Twenty-five years ago, Carolyn Cook, a young Birmingham folk singer with a voice to make angels weep, auditioned a guitarist named Mark Evans for her band. He got the job. And within a few weeks fired everyone but the singer. In came a new drummer, long serving bassist Derek Eynon and, inspired by Carolyn’s love of The Wizard of Oz, Red Shoes were born.
Gigs were played, demos recorded, reviews written and drummers changed. The word began to spread. In 1985, the word found its way to both Howie Klein, legendary San Francisco DJ, founder of 415 Records and future president of Reprise Records, and to Clive Gregson. Much impressed, the former gave them airplay and the latter produced two tracks, Jumper of Love (on which he also played guitar solo) and Playing Games for a local radio session. That same year, these duly appeared alongside All Fall Down, their debut single on their own Stepping Out label.
There were more gigs, more demos and another new drummer. The word continued to grow. In 1987, BBC Pebble Mill handpicked them to be filmed as part of a director training programme. They recorded eight videos. Seven were of the self-penned Her Song. The eighth (and here fate starts to turn the wheels as Carolyn’s passion for all things Fairport began to make its presence felt within the band) was their version of Sandy Denny’s By The Time It Gets Dark.
This would in turn become that year’s self-produced single on Mooncrest Records. It didn’t set the world alight, but it did get funding to record an album (the never officially released Kicking Up The Highways), attract label interest, boost airplay, and secure more gigs, including festival appearances and a 1989 Birmingham support slot to Green On Red.
And then, come the 90s, it all fell apart. Record deals never materialised. Gigs became difficult as, now married, Mark and Carolyn found themselves expectant parents, and drummer Nick Millward went off to become the highly respected sticksman with Kenny Ball’s Jazzmen. Things ground to a halt.
In November 2000, there was an encouraging sell out 3 piece acoustic reunion gig at Birmingham’s leading arts centre, but between having to share their bassist with another band and the practicalities of raising two kids, gigging proved almost impossible. So Red Shoes finally called it a day.
Well, kind of. Still rehearsing at home and doing the occasional singer’s night at local folk clubs, they’d also amassed a clutch of new songs. Prohibitive studio costs prompted them shell out for a 4 track recorder, but they were still unsure what to do with the demos.
At which point, fate invited modern technology to join forces. In 2007 daughter Megan built them a MySpace page and uploaded the old recordings. To their amazement, they started getting hits. And even more hits.
Having acquired a video camera, they now expanded their horizons into YouTube territory with simple living room recordings from the family sofa. The new songs started to make their cyberspace debuts.
They were now getting 100 or so hits a day from all around the world. There were even requests from other musicians asking to come and record on the sofa!
At which point, one of their MySpace Friends suggested they contact Dave Pegg from Fairport Convention. Deciding they had nothing to lose, they duly sent an e mail asking if he could listen to the MySpace tracks and, if he might be interested in producing some demos.
A week later, early January 2008, they had a phone call. Did they have any other songs they could send him? Then he rang again. Could they meet up and would they like to make an album with him, Fairport violinist Chris Leslie, and PJ Wright from the Dylan Project?
The answer to that question can be found on long awaited debut Ring Around The Land. Recorded in Banbury and released on their own Cedardwood Records, it features a stunning version of Sandy Denny’s immortal White Dress alongside Red Shoes nuggets old and new; from the deeply personal My Father’s Green Beret, written by Carolyn about her war hero father’s death from MRSA, to Two Sisters, a stark rework of Twa Sisters from the Childe Ballads, and the rousing Celtic Moon, penned as a thank you to the Fairport fan site for their help in promoting the music.
And then there’s the title track, written one 3am during the recording sessions to provide something upbeat and uptempo. With its chorus of "May is here again, our town will cheer again and we’ll all pull together hand in hand. To and fro we’ll pass the bow, summer seeds we’ll surely sow, bright blessings will ring around the land", it’s a rousing anthem of hope for the economic meltdown and a folk classic in the making.
Red Shoes. Try them on for size. They’re a perfect fit. .
Hi Sweeties ! Yes, we are gone with the wind, too- it has been like this for nearly two weeks now . Plus loads of rain, I´m waiting for good old Noah to pick us up on his arc any minute now ! lol Hope you are fine and busy planning your career ! Speak soon
Hey Mark & Carolyn, just checking in to see if all is OK in your neighborhood with all the historic flooding in Northern England and Ireland. Hope you are high and dry. I'm sending over canoes from Big Canoe to help out with the flooding, LOL. Might help you out on your Scottish fling as well. I see our favorite Viking has a No. One hit in Denmark, all the while chasing lovely maidens, eating cheese, drinking wine and enjoying life before the next Invasion. Have a wonderful weekend my good friends. Warm regards, big hugs, Bruce de Brus
Hi lovelies ! Hope you are fine and enjoying the warm autumn breeze . I wrapped all christmas pressies in a moment of insanity and started writing christmas cards-can´t get it into my head that it´s only a few weeks from now. Looking forward to seeing the family. Keep well and stay happy !
Hugs from Andrea and Buddy. Will contact you before christmas about pics and info for the posters. xxx
Thank you Carolyn & Mark! It is a great comfort to have friends like you and the miles seem like nothing...thank you more than I can say. Love you back! Charlotte
Hi Carolyn & Mark, thanks for dropping by........spot on with the umbrella weather..... :) Am afraid Oban radio doesn't quite reach this far, which is a shame, but if you ever get near the east coast let me know... Jan x
Unfortunately someone let Paul out on Friday, not only did he muscle in on a band but he told the whole audience off before bing captured and returned to the home!
- "Beautifully realised collection of well crafted songs rendered in attractive, melodic folk-rock style" - Rock'n'Reel Magazine (R2)
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