Want to hear some Pirate stuff? Go to http://www.myspace.com/captainrumbucket
Who am I? Good question. I am a singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Southend on Sea, Essex and I’ve played guitar and sung since about the age of ten excluding Sunday School! I am a guitar fanatic and have a range of acoustic and electric guitars that all get used. I don’t collect guitars anymore (although I did once) and would rather play them than look at them. Having owned a few over the years I’m thinking of listing them on my website www.roymette.co.uk
I enjoy creating songs and find the entire process most rewarding. I go off on a tangent sometimes and work on a particular project the most recent of which concerns pirates. I have now written some 29 songs telling true tales of the main characters and events of piracy and there’s many more to come (I hope). If you are interested you could go to http://myspace.com/captainrumbucket and take a listen - it’s quite safe.
My first commercially available disc was a 10 inch EP with Warrior released to a small but discerning following in 1980. There are now an additional eight full length CD’s and four mini CD’s cluttering up the front room – BUY ONE! Like all songwriters I enjoy the use of words and so far some 100 songs of mine are, or were, available as recordings – some, of course are no longer commercially available as steam driven record players are somewhat out of fashion.
What I play depends on where I play, solo or with a band.
Having played so long I have developed a fondness for a wide range of guitar based styles (some of which I play better than others) covering contemporary, solo blues, folk and electric blues. I’ve always written my own songs but usually include some covers in a live set. I enjoy covers but do them in such a way that the audience doesn’t immediately recognise the song until half way through the first verse – on an off night sometimes people don’t recognise them at all!
Somewhere along the line I picked up this love of live performance and do it whenever I can. I’m not so happy in studios; I get studio rot after any length of time. I particularly enjoy the freedom of solo work as I believe that is where individuality rules, allowing me to change the delivery of the song to suit the mood, running one song into another or simply varying the volume and intensity of the performance. I like to think audiences get their money’s worth. But electrically? Ah, that’s a different matter: I have two band line-ups and neither are particularly soft and subtle but both are good. The Roy Mette Band is a three piece blues/rock power trio in the truest sense that enables me to let off steam, turn it up and go for it! The other is Captain Morgan’s Rum Do which is a five piece of a more reserved nature featuring li’le ole me on vocals and acoustic guitar and (rather wonderfully) piano, bass, drums and a second, electric, guitarist.
Both bands have their own distinctive sets and sounds; the first incorporates Rory Gallagher numbers, volume, racier songs and more and longer guitar solos (don’t ask me why, but it’s my band so….). Captain Morgan’s in contrast has a more ‘loungy’ feel and is, well, more blues in the traditional sense.
Anything else? Oh yes, influences: acoustically it has to be Isaac Guillory, Neil Young and Bob Dylan (because I could play his stuff while I was learning): electrically I am more than happy to cite Eric Clapton (Cream, of course!) and Jimi Hendrix. Special note should be made of Rory Gallagher as I now realise I have stolen more from him than any other electric guitarist.
Oh, occasionally I still play covers in pubs to backing tracks but not often.
So. Now you know…. That’s me backwards in a shellnut.
Roy thanks for the teriffic show last night at the Red Lion!! Everyone had a great night! Your album must be good cause someone has pirated it! ha ha!! See you out there! Cheers! Mike
Just stopping by your page, it looks like you have a busy couple of months coming up. It will make a welcome change from all the recording, no doubt! Best of luck!
Allo Roy you old pirate! nice to bump into you at the Schenker gig- he werent too bad was he! Ill keep in touch what we talked about- love the new songs.
The 'Plugged' Album is FAB!!! 'One too many whiskeys' has got to be my favourite! I had no idea...but making up time. All the Best and keep the music coming.Please. Peace and Love, Suse
