A Stonking Good Time With 3 Mile Smile - Penrith Plug and Play Celebrates A Decade of Fine Live Music.
Charles Paxton May 10th, 2008
Watch this space! More videos will be added as they’re edited.
When Phil Caton welcomed us to the last Plug and Play of the season at Penrith’s Playhouse with the promise of a fine evening of musical entertainment he wasn’t lying. With over 60 people in the audience, the room felt comfortably full as Carlisle’s Christian Moss kicked off the fun with a superb three-song set that earned vociferous applause.
Phil Caton founder member of Penrith Plug & Play welcomes Christian Moss
With his rakish, almost piratical looks, this modest, down-to-earth and talented singer/song-writer, presented us with an excellent set of his own compositions.
Christian was kind enough to give us a five minute interview before the show in which we learned that he was originally from Manchester, then studied Zoology in Newcastle for a while and he’s now working by day in the transport section of Cumbria County Council. At night, and on weekends he’s a musician of considerable talent. Influenced by Led Zeppelin and Metalica he describes his music as “… fairly lively, quite feisty, melodic, hopefully a little bit different, a bit quirky and a bit thoughtful.” It certainly is all that. Christian’s gutsy and melodic power performance packs quite a punch and it is enhanced by his air of gentle modesty. His live act he describes as “good natured. I try not to wallow in the whole singer-songwriter thing too much,” not at all, in fact, for an artist of such substance.
Christian opened with Scrape Escapes, a beautiful, thoughtful song about getting in and out of trouble, followed with Brickwall, a feistier song inspired by his student experiences of people who despite their best preparations get tripped up by surprise events in life (I can relate to that), and he finished off with a newer fast-paced song that he wrote for a whole band to perform titled I need. It was fine music, passionate, powerful and thematically relevant.
The excellent Christian Moss performing his catchy and quirky acoustic compositions
Off to a great start, the event maintained adrenaline levels with the next act, performed by the inimitable Greg Wilson who teamed up with Chris Walker for a highly energetic and captivating original set. Looking like a cross between Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston, Greg projects himself powerfully through guitar and the kind of vocals that grab and hold your attention.
Greg’s vocals enthrall
When Greg drops his jaw, that sound is unstoppable. He’s a very good composer and guitarist too, but it’s his vocal power that enthralls. He’s not holding anything back. His performance is lively and dynamic and I think his enjoyment of live performance is very contagious. The crowd were well pleased and impressed. I enjoyed his last three songs especially, they were particularly fine compositions. Enjoy the videos!
In a warm, frank and forthcoming interview Greg informs us that he has been playing off and on for about twenty years now and has had a close encounter with a record deal. Working for Life Events (www.lifeevents-uk.com) organizing creative event solutions for corporate clients, Greg has spent a while away, but now he’s back in the live music scene, playing local gigs and encouraged by the good reviews he’s been getting. He’s setting his sights on the northwest gig circuit now: Manchester, Lancaster, Preston etc. and with an original set of this quality up his sleeve - be sure that Greg’s dynamic brand of folk/pop will be well received. Chris Walker’s supporting guitar was brilliant, especially in Impressario.
First they performed Let the good times come, then So Far Beyond Emotion, followed by Something Like This and culminating in his tour de force “Impressario” - magnificent music! I thought the last three songs especially, had everything going for them. Fine tunes, great lyrics and performed with vigorous aplomb. The evening was turning out to be truly special.
Greg Wilson and Chris Walker provided a fine double act
Rebecca Sullivan singing like an angel
In the true spirit of Plug and Play, the next act, Rebecca Sullivan of the band Ember, just turned up, borrowed a guitar and blew our minds with two magnificent songs that showed off her vocal finesse very nicely. Described as “contemporary folk music, with an edge”, Rebecca charmed the lot of us with two lovely songs. The crowd reaction was highly enthusiastic. The first was a superbly soulful blues number titled Abundance Blues (from Ember’s third album “Spark”.
Her second song was a gloriously tragic Mexican folk song, La Llorona, traditional Mexican song that she learned from the singing of Joan Baez on her album
“Gracias a la Vida”. If you are sensitive, you might need to keep a hanky on hand when you watch these videos. The applause was deservedly uproarious.
Rebecca is from Utah, but normally resident in Wales, where she usually performs with her Welsh band partner, Emilly Williams. Together, as Ember, they have recorded no less than four albums already and toured widely in the UK and internationally. Rebecca sings like an angel, with a sweet strength and sensitivity that’s powerfully expressive and emotive. Abundance Blues (from Ember’s third album “Spark”)
The Revolution playing passionate Indie punk pop
Then for a change of mood, the penultimate Plug and Play act gave us a chance to enjoy the feisty and fearless Indie/punk/folk rock threesome known as The Revolution. Describing their music as “Four chord Indie punk pop that’s passionate and real with a depth to the lyrics we find people connect to”, this Penrith and Lowther band is composed of - Jeeves (Jamie Ayers) on Lead Vocals, McFlurry (Rick Trowbridge) and Swedish Paul (Paul Crompton) on guitars. Jimbo (James Watson) on Bass and Benj ( ‘Crumblin’ Ben Cuthberston) on drums. As just three of them were here this evening- Jeeves, McFlurry and Jimbo they played unplugged versions of two songs beginning fast paced with “Sundown an’ Feeling”, which I really liked, and then following with a slower, more sultry and emotive number titled “Laura MacLeod”.
McFlurry (Rick Trowbridge) great on guitar and backing vocals
Jeeves (Jamie Ayers) on Lead Vocals
Jeeves kindly put the songs in context “Sundown Feeling is a song I wrote a few years ago and I suppose I would say it’s about trying to make a better day, and the importance of hope and belief in achieving it. Laura McLeod is a dear friend of mine and that song is about me and her and anyone who has someone to guide them through the darkness.” Watch those feet tapping in the video! Also come along and watch them playing at Penrith’s Blues Nightclub swan song on May 17.
I asked the lads to fill me in a bit on their background. Jamie explains, the band was “founded in 2007 for about three gigs, now infamously named ‘The too pissed to play tour’, and that speaks for itself really. The current line-up has exsisted since Valentine’s day this year and I think basically we all wanted to be in a band and fate and love kind of dragged us together into what we are.” With a live act characterized by “passion, energy and love” they’re inspired by a medley of influences, but find common ground with Euphoria.
3 Mile Smile in interview before the show
Andy Johnson, plays excellent bass
Now we were all well and truly primed for the headline act — Penrith’s own Blues Rock / Classic Rock phenomenon, The 3 Mile Smile. Named after an obscure Aerosmith song, by founder member and writer, Chris Walker, the four “man” rock act draws upon the strengths of Chris Walker on lead guitar, Andy Johnson on bass, Gordon Duckworth, the “Skin-Ninja”on drums and Nina Murdoch on vocals. They hit us with a very nicely tailored set that included blues, rock, heavy metal, a mellower acoustic guitar phase and some punchy, hard rock to finish up with leaving us all on a high that may very well last us until Plug and Play opens again in September! At very least until Jon Astral headlines a Plug and Play event at Penrith’s Cafe No.15 on May 22.
Chris Walker, skilled and versatile guitarist and singer
3 Mile Smile’s 18 song set included a prodigious inclusion of their own songs, both electric and acoustic. The electric contribution included their opener, Lost and Found, One Last Day, Torn,Tired and broken, Skin and Bone, Bad Talkin’, Soul Shy and He’s Good For Me. Their original acoustic offerings provided us with some, softer mellower material, Burning Tree, Live On and You Thrill Me. These videos offered here for your delectation. See for yourselves, the compositions are top class and the quality of performance is outstanding.
About a year later serendipity strikes - a bunch of friends, who just happen to be capable musicians, were looking for a lead singer to join them; they ask another friend, Nina, to sing a song and she turns out to be pure dynamite! The band changed bassists a few times, and they changed its name to 3 Mile Smile. Their current line-up is eight years old and rock solid, united by their love of Rock. Influenced by the Likes of Tom Petty, Free, The Black Crows - you know they’re going to play some good stuff. Chris explains, “The songs are a reflection of the stuff we all like. As long as it grabs people and gets their toes tapping then that’s the sort of stuff we want to write.” Songs like Soul Shine, that Nina lists as one of her favorites, get people moving.
Watch the videos and I think you’ll concur that Nina isn’t just a great singer, as a Janis Joplin style rock Goddess, she’s the real deal. She’s got the moves and the stage presence. She’s very dynamic, spinning, kicking and gyrating, and her voice has everything you could ask for in a blues rock lead singer — good howl, good growl, great gravel and gravitas.
Nina is always in motion
Andy Johnson, ex-Royal Navy, holds it all together on the bass, his favourite cover song is “Radar Love” and you just know that he loves what he does, and is good at what he loves. Operating under the Nom de plume ‘Open Mike’, as Plug and Play’s principal reviewer, Andy Johnson’s reviews are packed with detail and informed observation.
Gordon the drummer has been accused of looking miserable all the time, but as the photo below attests, this just simply isn’t true. When this ex-Para plays, he’s concentrating hard, keeping a flawless beat and whacking the seven bells out of his drum kit — yeah!
3 Mile Smile’s Ace Drummer, Gordon Duckworth in action
And Chris, well, he’s a Penrith man born and bred, the song-writer and lead guitarist. He seems supremely versatile, moving between acoustic and electric with equal grace. His fingerwork is very deft and his backing vocals leave nothing to be desired. I knew him as a good guitarist, now I see him as an accomplished songwriter too. He’s establishing an impressive original repertoire for the band. Check out the 3 Mile Smile website to see when new supplies of their CDs will be available.
Gordon does smile!
Together, this band works really well. We like them - a lot. They’re interactive, confident in their respective skills and in each others’. There’s no waffle between the songs. They’ve got stamina too, they’d prepared for a 22 song stint with extras up their sleeves, but the full plug and play turn-out squeezed them for time.They’re gigging in various local pubs, clubs and bikers festivals. So far their best performance experience ever was a gig at Monroes’ in Workington. Nina sums it up as “Stonking”.
There have been downs as well as ups in their career. “We’ve sung to the bar staff,” Nina laughs at the reminiscence of one memorably tough night doing a Children In Need charity gig at Rheged. “That was funny, we thought we’d be on TV and everything, but because they ran late… it was just, you know, tumble weeds and cleaners!”
Life’s all about contrast. As for this evening, it was very well organized; act following act in a smooth progression with fine introductions by the event’s founder, Phil Caton, and the bare minimum of waiting between acts. The sound quality and lighting were wonderful thanks to Tom Corda-Stanley, and Chris Archer of PhasingHz.
Penrith Playhouse’s Plug and Play is one of the region’s finest assets! At only £4 a ticket - anyone can afford to enjoy this live music experience. For more about this fabulous live music institution please see the Plug and Play Website.
www.plug-play.co.uk
For more about the formidable 3 Mile Smile, please see
For more about Christian Moss, please see www.christianmoss.co.uk
For more about Rebecca Sullivan, please see www.embersong.com
For more about The Revolution see their Myspace www.myspace.com/ayersrockrevolution and mark the 17th in your diaries for Their Blues Nightclub gig.