In Very Good Company

It was sad to hear a few days ago of the passing away of James Cotton – a name synonymous with the blues harmonica. Cotton wailed with the greats – Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters – and played on countless recordings and gigs.

Playing the blues harp is as much about raw emotion as it is about technique. I occasionally get the chance to put down my sticks and play harmonica with Russ Payne and Unison Bends, and much as I love the drums, I always leap at a chance to try to emulate the likes of masters such as Cotton, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Paul Jones and Bob Dylan.

It was also quite a big kick to find that a track from our new album, 'Liquor and Iron', was going to get big exposure from being on the playlist at Digital Blues this week – alongside a couple of tracks by James Cotton. Now that is a real musical honour...

Complimentary Medicine

The last time I played drums on an album – 'In Love With Trouble' by the Shark Dentists – the reviewer in Blues Matters magazine complimented me... on my harmonica playing. That was, of course, welcome – although the drums are my first instrument, I do like to contribute a bit of blues harp on the side.

But it was good to find my drumming has finally been noted by Blues Matters, in its review of the new album 'Liquor And Iron' from Russ Payne and Unison Bends. (I did also play four bars of wistful harmonica to set the scene for the epic track 'Heading Out East' but, understandably, that didn't get a mention.)

Anyway, we're all grateful for the positive comments about our work. So here is the full review:

RUSS PAYNE AND THE UNISON BENDS

LIQUOR AND IRON

(Thousand Smiles Records)

The album opens brightly with the funky This Life (Gonna Be The Death Of Me), Russ Payne’s vocals and guitar riffs distinctive and engaging. Nigel Summerley’s infectious rhythmic drumming on Saskia’s Got A Gun provides the perfect backcloth to the conversational vocals and clipped guitar style. The pace slows with the balladic It Could Have Been Me; the textured vocal harmonies, Saal Seniveratne’s fluent keyboard skills and Payne’s soulful guitar interludes create mood-inducing crescendos. The clever tempo changes on All Talk add to the atmosphere of another good original song. The slower burning Waiting At The Gate, Certain Tears and the title track showcase the versatility of Russ and confirms his status as a very fine singer, songwriter and guitarist. Bassist Bill Keller and drummer Summerley maintain the high-energy grooves of Sometimes and Oughta Know By Now in the tradition of great, explosive power trios. Payne’s searing guitar solo and vocal harmonies with Jake Rousham stand out on the catchy, up tempo Good Luck. An impressive album, Liquor and Iron proves that the gap between relative unknown bands and those at the forefront of the current UK blues explosion is very narrow indeed.

Drumming Without Your Kit

I've been away... I'm back. And I haven't been drumming for a while, following the successful release and launch of the Unison Bends' album 'Liquor And Iron' at the end of November. As forecast, it was a night to remember, particularly as the amazing Alex Patterson graced the album launch with her vocals.

So no drumming for a week or two, apart from in my head. Which leads on perfectly to 'Inside Out', the brilliantly challenging book by drummer Billy Ward that does exactly what it says: explores the mental aspects of drumming.

Apart from making the oft-neglected point that drummers are musicians and have brains, Ward also looks with great honesty at the fact we are also human and beset with all sorts of failings.

There are almost no drum exercises in this book – it's all about you, your musicianship, your strengths and weaknesses, and how you get the best out of yourself in any situation.

When I get back to the practice studio, I know I'm going to be a better drummer – just from reading this collection of perceptive essays.

That's The Way To Say Goodbye

Russ Payne and Unison Bends shared the bill with Leonard Cohen at the weekend – courtesy of DJ Paul Mansell and Marlow FM radio. Paul – who has a John-Peelish quality about him – invited us to play a 'live' set from our new album 'Liquor and Iron' on his eclectic Magic Bus show.

But with Cohen having just departed, it was inevitable that Paul would lace the programme with some of his greatest songs So we kind of alternated.

When Paul took some time to enlarge on the genesis of the Cohen classic 'Suzanne', I was inevitably reminded of my first year at university in London; I lived in a hall of residence with cardboard-thin walls and a neighbour who had just one album, 'The Songs Of Leonard Cohen', which he played through the night. I more or less knew 'Suzanne' off by heart.

On the odd occasions when I saw my Cohen-obsessed fellow student, he looked wan and miserable. Perhaps no great surprise there. Cohen at that time had a reputation for being relentlessly doomy, but he went on to show he was at his best when combining darkness with light, and gloom with a wicked humour. At that, he proved to be the master.

Dream Gig

It seems that some rock 'n' roll dreams do come true... Alex KP, the remarkable singer-songwriter, mentioned on this blog in the summer, was not only persuaded to add her spine-tingling voice to tracks on our new Russ Payne and Unison Bends album, 'Liquor And Iron', but she has agreed to perform with the band at our 'live' album launch in Brighton on November 26.

It promises to be the most exciting gig that the band has done. I wouldn't want to miss it.

Tools Of The Trades

Only just seen this picture which was snatched at the Levellers' Metway Studios in Brighton, during the recording of the Unison Bends album 'Liquor And Iron'. This and more are on the UBs' website. 

It's the only time I think I've been captured with the tools of both my trades to hand – the one for writing and the one for playing.

The laptop and the drums. I can't imagine life without them both!

The Full Kit

Not more drum porn... but the view that I had for three days at the most excellent Metway Studios in Brighton which is owned by the Levellers.

I had the privilege of playing drums for the new album, Liquor And Iron, by Russ Payne and Unison Bends... and working with engineer Jake Rousham, whose CV includes the likes of Nick Cave, Fatboy Slim, Roger Daltrey and Wilko Johnson.

I think we made some great music... and yes, I did have the chance to set up and play the full kit – a pleasure that is so often denied in the small venues that we tend to play.

The Brighton sessions were memorable in many ways and I'll write more about this soon...