Irena and the Zodiacs..........................................
It was March and the winter chill had not yet blown out of Coventry, especially in the hearts of Sam Smith and Whippet. For the two musicians, hardly enough time had passed for them to get over the shock and pain of finding their fellow band mate Gus Chambers dead in his armchair.
On a frosty winters morning musicians and music lovers from Coventry and beyond gathered to pay their last respects and Gus was laid to rest. The band Mantra Sect could be no more than a memory and the music they’d recorded became their legacy.
Rock n Roll for all its energy, fun and inventiveness can also be a cruel business; we are all aware of the casualties and in so are also aware how it is also driven by fate and desire.
David West was also saddened by the shock and also felt the scene in Coventry was hurt by the loss, having spent a number of years playing alongside Sam in the Bonediggers he realized the horror that he and Whippet must have felt.
When Dave was approached by Irena about playing a few songs at the Zodiacs 50th anniversary party, the Voodoo Kings spirit had begun to work its magic. Only hours after the conversation with Irena, Dave was at the bar with Sam and the idea of rehearsing some songs together with Whippet on drums became a reality. Two weeks later the three piece performed four of their own songs and rocked the audience with their Voodoo vibe.
Word got round fast and the Voodoo Kings performed a longer set the very next night at a motorcycle club.
The band is still in its early stages but with Whippet’s agility and desire for original beats, Dave’s writing skill and Sam’s ability to arrange a melody an original voodoo rock n roll sound is rising up from the swamps. Audiences are growing in number, interest around the world is starting to bubble, the BBC have been giving airplay and five songs have been recorded and mixed and pressed for sale…..what happens over the next six months?.....the plan is to gig, record more songs and put the voodoo vibe on you all.
Oi! Oi! Cheers for the add guyz! I'm lovin the tunes and it'd be great to have ya playin a Punklet show someday! As much as the Punklets love rockabilly, we don't get a chance to promote it very often. We don't come across many good rockabilly bands but that's why we're so happy we found you! We hope you'll come up to dundee sometime soon n rock the socks off the locals for us!