Our next guest contributor is Richard Bolwell; we’ll let Allan tell you about him. ‘I first met Richard at a Sound of the Sirens record launch in London and since then we try to meet up for a beer when he’s shooting a gig in town. Since that meeting he’s started up his own website MNPR Magazine packed with news, reviews of live and recorded music from all over the world and, of course, photos. He’s a cracking live music photographer and, in common with most people who have that vocation, is passionate about music. He’s also a bloody good bloke’. We don’t know if it demonstrates in-depth knowledge of their subject or it’s just showing off, but both Allan and Richard managed to shoe-horn Weissenborn guitars into their High Fives pieces.

I have a soft spot for the violin, especially when used in the crossover, upbeat Celtic Punk-rock/folk genre. This image is of Hannah Johns from the Weston-Super-Mare based band ‘The Leylines’ at the beautiful Carnglaze Caverns near Liskeard in Cornwall, a disused slate mine. Many of the images from the gig feature the beautiful surroundings of the ancient cave, but I was pleased to be able isolate Hannah and capture her in all her glory and in ‘the zone’.

My job as a concert photographer (and I am reluctant to call it a job because of the sheer enjoyment I get from it) takes me to many places, and leads me to cover many genres of music. This image of Nashville based country-blues singer-songwriter Austin Jenckes is typical of the style I have developed over the years. There is only so much you can do when the artist is a sitting down with just a guitar and his voice for accompaniment, but I feel this image captures the sheer emotion of the song, and the sheer force of his voice, another example of the artist being in ‘the zone’.

I am a huge supporter of new music, and up and coming talent, so let me introduce Charlie Louise, a young singer-songwriter from Cornwall. Charlie has the voice of an angel, and can silence a crowd with just a piano, or a guitar, and her voice. The nature of my work takes me to many a dive-bar, with less than favourable lighting. Whilst taking this image of Charlie, I was blessed with beautiful lighting, and was able to capture this image of the young songstress. Although there is no instrument present in the image, I feel the simplicity, and the negative space I composed in the framing adds to the overall feel of the shot. Charlie was performing as part of an ‘Introduces…’ series, and this image invokes great memories of a great evening of local talent.

This image is from the same gig as the previous Charlie Louise shot. As previously stated, the lighting was particularly good that night, but this black and white conversion really showcases the mood and atmosphere of the gig. The subject in question is Tom Bushin from Devon based alt-indie rock band The Kaizens who were playing a special gig with the Devon Youth Orchestra. Another reason for my love of the image is that it is reminiscent of the iconic Kurt Cobain from way back when.

Again, this tight headshot and use of negative space is indicative of my photographic style. This image of Wille Edwards was taken during his recent solo tour, raising money for, and awareness of, the homeless crisis sweeping this country. Edwards is the frontman of internationally acclaimed acid-roots rock band Wille and The Bandits and it’s rather rare to see Wille playing solo, let alone doing a full-blown solo tour. I had the pleasure of following Wille on this tour, and there were so many images I could have chosen from, 5 of which will be auctioned to raise money for his chosen charities. Again, as a singer-songwriter, seated during his performances, there are only so many angles and shots one can capture. Edwards has a strong, deep, husky voice, and this shows the emotion and heart he puts into every song and every note on his signature Weissenborn lap slide guitar.

Let’s just say that my preconceptions have been well and truly shaken up. Two songs in to the latest offering from Wille & the Bandits, and I was on the verge of filing it under ‘generic Southern rock/slide guitar’, but we don’t give up that easily at Riot Towers. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with the slide and Hammond (courtesy of Don Airey) of “Miles Away” or the Dire Straits meets Pink Floyd of “Hot Rocks”, with its congadelic breakdown, but they have the feel of a starter before the main course, “Scared of the Sun”, which brings all of the elements at the band’s disposal into play.

The dynamics are perfect, from the quiet intro with gentle keys and to the full-on anthemic chorus. We hear the full range of Matt Brooks’ six-string bass, particularly at the upper end of the register acting as a second guitar part, Andy Naumann’s drums power the verse and chorus along and Don Airey adds some Vangelis-like like sounds to the mix. Meanwhile Wille Edwards is doing his guitar thing (ok, things with electric, acoustic, lap steel, Weissenborn and Dobro) and delivering a vocal that’s as close to very early Bob Seger as anything I’ve ever heard. And here’s the real surprise; it’s a song about global warming. I’m not an expert on Southern ‘rawk’, but I’m guessing that environmental concerns aren’t high on the list of lyrical topics. It’s probably quite a way behind highways, Harleys, guns and Saturday night.

The instrumental inspiration for the album is the American south in the seventies, so the song “1970” should come as no surprise; driven along by drums and a pumping bass, it mourns the passing of that era while extolling its virtues (‘Good times, love and peace’) in a seventies rock style. If the environmental concern wasn’t enough of a shock, there’s a song written from the point of view of a refugee from a war-ravaged country. “Crossfire Memories” begins with quiet acoustic guitar and builds through the addition of a Matt Brooks string arrangement and slide fills to a big slide solo to close out the song; it’s powerful stuff.

The playing is every bit as good as you would expect from the people involved in this album, and it’s worth listening to for that alone, while the presence of some lyrical content that steps out of the usual limits of the genre gives it an undeniable edge. I have a sneaky feeling these guys will sound even better live.

“Steal” is released on Friday January 20^th on Jigsaw (SAW 6).