Wishbone Ash, one of the most influential guitar bands in the history of rock, returns to these shores in April 2015 for the first leg of their Pilgrimage North America Tour. Following spring and fall tours in 2014 that featured the group's best-selling “Live Dates” album, this year Wishbone Ash will present classics spanning their 46-year career and showcase selections from their latest release, “Blue Horizon.”
After
logging more than 20,000 miles touring North America last year, the
group will begin their 2015 spring tour in Vancouver, British Columbia,
winding down the West Coast of the US and then heading across the South –
hitting cities that include Portland, Seattle, Oakland, San Juan
Capistrano, Ramona, Phoenix, Austin and Dallas.
“The 'Live Dates Tour' went just
great,” says bandleader and founding member Andy Powell. “To play
Texas and California out West, and Mississippi in the Deep South, for
example, was really nice. You realize just how popular guitar-based
rock is in these places. We aim to repeat the experience and build on
it this year.”
The title of the 2015 tour is a nod to
the Wishbone Ash's beloved “Pilgrimage” album, but it's also a
fitting way to describe what has become an annual journey filled with
familiar faces and places. “Each year when we tour countries on
our world circuit, these visits feel like pilgrimages to all our old
haunts,” says Powell. “We visit venues we've performed in
multiple times over the years. We know the staff there, we often stay
in the same hotels, visit the same restaurants, we see the same folks
thousands of miles apart. The fans, of course, are the major
component. We catch up on their stories and their lives.”
In 2014, Wishbone Ash released “Blue
Horizon” (Solid Rockhouse Records) to international acclaim.
Praised for its stylistic variety and masterful performances, the
album features guest artist, Ireland's Pat McManus, on fiddle for two
tracks. “Blue Horizon” also includes two songs written by Aynsley
Powell (Andy Powell's son) and one by former Wishbone Ash guitarist
Roger Filgate.
According to Powell, the album's
diversity reflects the culmination of several factors. “The band
basically lives together year-round, so we have a very strong level
of communication that translates in our performances and recordings,”
he says. “We've come to an era where the industry has to pigeonhole
a band as Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Heritage Rock and so on. The truth
is that we have always kept our options open and always relied on the
musicianship of the players to lead the way. It's fun to be
stylistically diverse and this has, in its way, contributed to our
longevity.”
While they're making pilgrimages to
various parts of the globe, Wishbone Ash will undertake some live
recording projects, as well: one a vinyl-only limited release direct
from Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London; another to be recorded
over a three-day residency at Le Triton in Paris for a DVD release.
Powell also plans to publish his
autobiography this fall. “It's quite an undertaking to put 45 years
of being a touring musician in this one band into book form,” he
says.
Formed in 1969, Wishbone Ash has to its
credit 24 original studio recordings, 10 live albums and four live
DVDs along with a DVD rockumentary (“This is Wishbone Ash”). The
band is led by founding member Andy Powell on guitar and vocals,
trading licks with Finland’s guitar wizard Muddy Manninen. Bassist
Bob Skeat, an 18-year veteran of the band and in-demand studio
musician, sets the pace with Joe Crabtree, one of the best of
Britain’s new breed of drummers whose performance credits include
Pendragon and David Cross of King Crimson.
Lynyrd Skynyrd cites Wishbone Ash as a
primary influence on their style along with Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden
and, more recently, heavyweights like Opeth. All have been
transformed by the original, legendary twin-guitar approach of
Wishbone Ash. There is no other rock band in history that has done
more with the twin guitar concept than The Ash.
Longtime fans and new converts will
find that Wishbone Ash offers an undeniable concert experience.
Tour dates and more information can be
found at www.wishboneash.com
No comments:
Post a Comment