The Kingsnake’s Keeping it Real, Keeping it Live! Paul Harrison at No.15
Charles Paxton December 6th, 2007
We saw Paul Harrison opening at the open mike event on November 15 at Penrith’s Cafe No.15. It was a great evening, we arrived to find the venue was again packed, and warmed by the expectant buzz of conversation. Paul Harrison was to open and Tongue Tied to follow. The tantalizing aromas of freshly cooked food wafted with each waitress’s passing; people settled as Paul took centre stage.
After the briefest of tune-ups the show began - and what a show! Man and music became one in a performance that was as astonishing as it was outstanding. “You sure that dude ain’t a Southern boy?” Kimmie queried after his rendition of Amazing Grace. Remarkably, Paul is local, but his music may well belong to the world. He’s a world class musician and could play anywhere unashamed.
We first saw Paul Harrison performing impressively at The Nine Standards
His set at No.15 this evening ranged from the light hearted to the weighty and complex and included some well known numbers such as spritely renditions of the star wars theme tune, Don’t Worry and Like a Virgin. Though virtuous and entertaining performances in their own right, uncontestably Harrison’s true genius comes across in the weightier bluesy stuff and thankfully this made up the bulk of the show.
Paul Harrison showed us an entirely new and majestic dimension of acoustic guitar
His Kingsnake song was a tour de force, and in showing us an entirely new and majestic dimension of acoustic guitar, it blew us away. It blew us all the way down to the deep south. We found ourselves back in Ol’ Dixie seeing the sleek, scaley form of the Kingsnake, sliding inexorably toward its prey through those notes. They conjour the spice of the swamp and set the fireflies dancing in our souls. Paul plays magnificent blues. He draws upon great traditions and improvises grandly, taking us where (to my knowledge) no hand has yet set foot.
Paul Harrison’s Kingsnake is a tour de force
Paul Harrison is a musician that you just have to see live, if only to experience how much a man and a guitar can actually do together. At times there’s a sense of being whitness to an out-of-body experience. It appears to be Paul who’s out-of-body, he’s leaning right back in his chair and the music has taken over entirely, his fingers work their magic on the singing strings as his leg taps to the rhythm. Who’s playing who? Is the music playing Paul, I wonder? Either way, believe me, it’s an experience not to be missed.
Paul thrilling us all at Cafe No.15
Paul was kind enough to participate in an email interview with us. Here’s the Juice:
The Juice: Can you tell us a short biography of your key life/music events?
Paul: Failed me a-levels due to taking up the guitar, bummed about for ten years then went pro guitar teacher in 2003. Started gigging solo in 2005 and gradually learned the ropes…It was when I met my wife, Linnhe, in 2004 that my life and creativity really took off.
The Juice: What inspires you to do what you do?
Paul: Everything.
Paul Harrison giving us some of his eerie guitar voice
The Juice: How does music affect you and the world around you?
Paul: Commercial pop music dulls the minds and spirit of the world around me, f***s individuality and turns kids (and adults) into slaves to corporate empires. Real music lifts, amazes, thrills and inspires me and the small portion of the world around me that isn’t following the X-factor.
The Juice: Do you have a personal favorite song?
Paul: No, because there are far too many to choose from.
The Juice: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Paul: My Wife Linnhe, Kirk McElhinney, Paddy Rogan, Dave Vanstone, the Mad Monks,Brian Evans, the Blues, my guitar students and some famous people like John Martyn, Nick Drake, Hendrix, Zep, Nick Harper, Wizz jones, 70’s jazz, blah, blah.
The Juice: I loved the way you played lead to your own rhythm, and your guitar song was awesome. How do you describe your music to people?
Paul: My music… I just try to incorporate everything I’ve heard and hopefully a bit of me into it, using every technique and sound and gimmick I can find or think of. I use a bit of technology- sticking the acoustic guitar into delays and sampling myself live to create loops. I despise purists.
The Juice: What image do you think your music conveys?
Paul: What image? Lots of blue and orange swirliness, I would hope….
The Juice: How do you go about writing songs?
Paul: If I sit down and try writing a song it turns out s**t. The best ideas just appear fully formed and take less time to write than they do to perform. Wish I knew how that worked…
The Juice: Please choose two of your own favourite songs. What specific themes do they cover?
Paul: Er… ‘Home’ is about a mate who f****d himself up on heroin. ‘Demons’, I didn’t play that at 15 coz it’s a quieter song that wouldn’t have worked so well in the rowdiness, people seem to think it’s my best song and I agree. Just a love song for my wife, who chases my demons away.
The Juice: What was your playlist for the cafe 15 gig? I know Like a Virginand Amazing grace, but I don’t know the other titles. Can you identify the covers, so that I don’t violate copyright laws on youtube.
Paul: The No.15 gig set includedHome (by me)Starwars theme/anji (John Williams/davey graham)Random blues improv (bits of old blues tunes, John lee hooker, Hendrix too I think)Aint No Saint (me, vaguely plagiarised from old blues stuff)Don’t wanna know (John Martyn)Kingsnake (me)Bioluminescence/hellhound on my trail (me, words by Robert Johnson)Don’t worry (Bobby McFerrin)Jesus is on the mainline/amazing grace (trad.arr me)Daydreamer (me)
Paul Harrison’s Magic Fingers
The Juice: What other live performance experience have you had?
Paul: Lots of pub gigs, some awesome, some horrible. If they want pop karaoke bullshit note for note covers I’m screwed, and unfortunatley lots do. I played a lot of the festivals this summer which was tremendous fun, especially Ravenstonedale with Mostly Acoustic Cumbria. Played a few folk clubs, often as support act for dudes like Gordon Giltrap, Wizz Jones, Preston Reed, Po Girl etc. I run a jam night every week at Dickies in Kendal which is fantastic at the moment- completley self-indulgent, loads of improv, musicians playtime with great players attending every week.
The Juice: What’s your live show like?
Paul: Quite energetic, improvisational, takes the piss, psychadelic, folky, bluesy… I’ve seen me on video and I look like some kind of spastic monkey, much to my dismay….
The Juice: (Laughter) How do you rate your live performance ability?
Paul: Improving.
The Juice: Who is your fan/customer? How are people currently reacting to your music?
Paul: My audience are those who are more open minded to stuff that ain’t just verse-chorus, though they like that too, as do I. Most of the time I go down well, sometimes I get that age old battlecry of the braindead: “Play something we know” to which I respond with a 20 minute improvisation. I recall one man who almost hit me because I refused to play the Proclaimers’ 500 miles.
The Juice: What is your best / most memorable experience as a performer?
Paul: Ravenstonedale fest… my friend Stuart roaming the Marquee riding an 8 foot tall flamingo just as I was about to play a really harsh folk song called “waiting around to die”…had to re-jig the set a bit! The 15 gig was great, though my tuning suffered due to the rumbunctious crowd… that’s okay though.
The Juice: If you could play to anyone, who would you like to have in the audience?
Paul: George W Bush and all the corporate magnates. I would have them chained to their seats and play deafening squeals of ear-splitting feedback for three weeks solid. As for heroes like Hendrix, I’d rather play with him than to him.
The Juice: Have you had any previous print or broadcast media exposure or reviews?
Paul: Lakeland radio played one of my songs, Demons, to promote Kirkland festival. A few newspaper write ups, the gazzette type of thing.
See Paul Harrison live for a “night of psychadelic folk-blues mayhem”
The Juice: Do you have any advice to share with aspiring artists?
Paul: Play what you want, not what you think is trendy or whatever.
The Juice: Have any of your songs been published? Like your CD (If so, by whom?)
Paul: Got two albums and a third in the pipeline, all available at p-harrison.co.uk. And of course http://wwwmyspace.com/paulharrisonmusic all published by me.
The Juice: What are your immediate music career goals?
Paul: To keep expanding my circuit of venues, play more pay on the door events, make better records, improve as a performer, keep it real and live….
The Juice: What are your long-term career goals?
Paul: I already make a living out of music, that’s all I ever dreamed of.
The Juice: Why is it that so much of the local music is better than much of what we see on TV and hear on the radio?
Paul: Because commercial music is just that: music made purely to make money. Did you know that big record companies use a computer program to select singles based on proven commercially successful rhythmic/ lyrical/ melodic content? Record companies are very cautious and narrow-minded nowadays with new music, so much so that truly good stuff can’t break through via that medium. Of course, now with myspace and youtube, original, heartfelt artists can bypass the big record companies. Many commercially successful acts maintain integrity nowadays by doing it themselves, no record company, like Radiohead, Marrillion, Peter Gabriel. With the internet you can download anything for free, the only way to make money musically now is increasingly through gigs. Copywrite may still be a law but it is an obsolete one that will end soon. I say when I sell my cd’s, copy it for your mates, it’s not piracy, it’s generosity (a phrase I borrowed from Show of Hands)
“You sure he ain’t a Southern boy?” Paul Harrison letting rip on the harmonica
The Juice: Tell us about your next shows and why people should be there.
Paul: Check out my website and myspace for gig guides, updated constantly. Be there for a night of psychadelic folk-blues mayhem!
The Juice: What is your latest news?
Paul: I’ve grown a small beard. Oh and my albums are called “How to Catch a Liquid Fish” and “Clockwork Bulldozer”. Cheers Charles!
The Juice: Thank you Paul for a fantastic night out and great interview!