The Widowbirds

Australian Alternative/Rock/Soul Band Facebook Page Http //www.Facebook.Com/thewidowbirds
About The Widowbirds Hometown Sydney NSW AU Genres Alternative / Rock / Soul Members Simon Meli - Vox/Gtr Tony Kvesic - Gtr Steel Oneill - Percussion Lachlan Doley - Organs Simon WIiltshire - Bass The Widowbirds Were Born In Late 2010 From A Song Writing Project And Calling Of Heart For Long Term Brothers In Arms And Co Writers Simon Meli And Tony Kvesic. Living In The Inspirations Of Otis Redding Frankie Miller The Band And Neil Young The Widowbirds Now Deliver A Soulfulness And Truth That Seems To Be Missing Out There. The Band Delivering Such A Creed They Ruffled Their Feathers Introducing Their Debut EP. Their Early Release Speaks Of An Organic And Texture Woven Songs Jovial And Raw...Built On The Classic Premise That Love And Good Times Are All That Matter. The EP Was Independently Digitally Released With Successful Airplay On Roots N All On Triple J Regional Radio And Digital Stations Alike As Their First Preview Offering From Their Debut Album. But The Buzz Continued... As In 2010 The Collective Were Hand-Plucked By The Modfather Himself Paul Weller UK For His Australian National Wake Up The Nation Album Tour In October 2010. Forging Friendships Over The Common Love Of Soul Music The True Highlight Was When Paul Weller Joined The Band On Stage Started Tinkling On The Hammond. Taking Their Gritty Back-Boned Blues And Roots To Audiences Around The Country THE WIDOWBIRDS Have Continued In Garnering A Reputation As A Solid Opening Act And Festival Staple Joining Other International Greats And Australian Blues Rock Artists Around The Country. Appearances At Tamworth Country Music Festival 2011 In Their Maiden Year Was Another Great Accomplishment To Back Up Their First Ever Festival Performance At The Caloundra Music Festival In 2010 Alongside The Likes Of Powderfinger Dan Sultan Jon Cleary And Many More Greats The Band Took Many An Invitation To Tour With Our Home Grown Local Talent And International Greats. Supporting On Many Occasions Ash Grunwald National Album Tour The Backsliders The Badloves Chris Wilson And Mark Seymour It Was High Time The Widowbirds Made Their Mark By Recording Their Very Own Debut Record. As Soon As Debut Album Sparks Flew This Year The Band Were Successful In Supporting The Legendary Swamp Fox Tony Joe White USA On His NSW Leg Of His National Tour Bonding On Whisky & Roots They Were Again Invited To Support Him In Tasmania Whilst Recording Their Debut Album Continued. “You Boys Make A Real Good Noise...I Mean Real Good!” Tony Joe White '...I Was Instantly Moving Without Even Realising. It Was Almost Like We Were All Under A Spell. My God Were These Guys Great...' Vicki Grozdanovski | Sludgefactory.Com.Au| Tony Joe White Tour AUS 2011 '...There’s Only One Reason The Legendary Backsliders Would Hand Pick Their Support – The Chosen Act Must Live Up To The High Standards Set By Dom And His Band Mates! Well Rest Assured The Widowbirds Did Exactly That – And More! I Caught Up With Them At The Milton Theatre Recently And I Was Totally Knocked Out With Their Sound And Originality. It’s Been Too Long Since A New Band Has Appeared On The Scene That Manages To Grab An Audience’s Attention The Way This 4 Piece Sydney Outfit Did....' Julie Fox | Sydney Blues Society | Jan '11' “the Scruffy-Looking Widowbirds Drew A Warm Response To A Short Set Of Acoustic Blues And Soul Love Songs With Singer Simon Meli's Voice A Real Stand-Out.” Brisbane Times | Sydney Morning Herald | The Age | Oct '10' “rootsy Folk/blues-Rockers The Widowbirds – Are Quite All Right. Lead Singer Simon Meli Works His Powerful Raspy Pipes Channelling Robert Plant And Young Rod Stewart With Ease While The Songs Pack Enough Relaxed Old-School Groove To Warrant A Decent Listen”. Rave Magazine | Oct '10' Of Most Recent Times The Band Have Completed The NSW Tour With Legend Jeff Martin The Tea Party CA. With The Engaging On Stage Performances - Soaring Vocals And Junk-Kit Rhythms People Are Talking About THE WIDOWBIRDS. One Year On And THE WIDOWBIRDS Are Now Armed With Their Debut Record ‘SHENANDOAH’. Recorded By Simon Meli On The Fly From The Mountains Down To The Plains Of The West Invitations Were Extended To Many Great Musicians To Join The Band In Producing The Vision Of The Record. Syd Green Recorded Drums In Many Old Schooled Ways At MonoNest Providing The Soundscape With A Bare Boned Rawness. Lapsteels Dobro Guitars Gritty Southern Electric’s And The Roaring Electric Church Aka Swelling Hammond And Boogie Piano Completed The Bands Debut. Finally The Mixing Was In The Hands Of The Bands Biggest Brother And Dear Friend... Steve Balbi Noiseworks Electric Hippies . ‘SHENANDOAH’ Is A Record Of True Story. Lush And Textural The Debut Offering Is Modern To The Ears Yet Could Be From Anytime. Soul Deep And So Apparent Of Lives Lived Learned And Dreamt. THE WIDOWBIRDS Move Forward With An Invigorated BLUES ROOTS & HARD SOUL Sound In 2011 Mere SOUL-Diers With A Lot To Say About Love. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links My Mind Drifts Back To The Good Old Hopetoun Hotel That Sadly Now Defunct Rock Room Of Yore. For A Reason That Now Escapes Me I Had Gone To See One Of The Current Indie Darlings Who Were Supporting Sydney Rockers Ooh La La That Night. As My Mind Slowly Glazed Over Under The Lumpen Thump And Daft Poses Of The Aforementioned Indie Darlings I Decided I Would Just Have One More Beer And Go Home. Thank Goodness I Had That Lou Reed CD In The Car To Wash Away The Blahs. Thank Goodness Also That That Bar Staff Were So Slow – Making Me Wait Through Till The End Of The Band And Luckily Be Still There When Ooh La La Lit Up The Small Stage. The Band Were Great – Gritty And Hard – But It Was Their Singer Simon Meli Who Really Blew Me Away Leaving That Beer Flattening In My Hand For Three Songs Undrunk. He Hit The Stage As If Released From A Cage Hungry And Thin And Iggy-Intense. Within A Few Songs His Shirt Was Off And We Were His. But It Was His Voice That Left Me Open-Mouthed And Slightly Stunned. There Was A Time When All Rock’n’roll Bands Had To Have A Frontman Who Sang This Well – But That Era Is Long Gone I Had Not Heard A Sound Like This For Years. And It Was A Delight – Raspy Enough Honeyed Enough With A Range From Crooning To Howling. Comparisons Of Course Leapt To Mind – Early Rod Stewart Free’s Paul Rogers Definitely Steve Marriott More Recently The Black Crowe’s Chris Robinson – But Ultimately It Was Simon Meli’s Voice And No One Else’s. What A Pleasure It Is To Hear That Voice Again On The Widowbirds’ Debut Shenandoah. Meli’s New Thing Grown From A Songwriting Project With Longtime Cohort And Co-Writer Tony Kvesic The Widowbirds Frames That Voice Now In More Acoustic Country-Blues Colours – Helped Along On Shenandoah By Heavy Friends Such As John Cass Lachlan Doley Adrian Keating Who Contributes Some Superb Psych-Country String Arrangements And Steve Balbi. “on The Side Of A Mountain And The Plains Of The West” Shenandoah Opens With The Shout And Acoustic Chug Of “Dust And Stone”. Like All The Cuts Here This Song Captures A Wonderfully Live Feeling And Also That Most Elusive Of Qualities An Immediacy That Belies The Modern Recording Process. In Keeping With Its Very Much Old-School Flavour More On This Later The Album Sounds As If Recorded By A Party Of Good Friends Loose And Deep With Each Other. The Acoustic Guitars Help As Does Shane O’Neill’s “junk” Drum Kit – A Tune Like “Go Down” Rollicks Along On Clattery Ass-Shakin’ Traintracks Just Fine. Electric Guitars Are Used Sparingly But When They Surface They Leap Out Like Arcing Sunspots – John Cass’s Clapton-Ish Blues Howls On “My Time” And His Rotovibed Insinuations On “Tonight We Ride” Are The Right Tone In The Right Place. The Stonesy Hip-Swagger Of The Last Two Tracks – “Time We Gotta Move On” And “Lead Myself Astray” “I Been Waiting All Day To Lead Myself Astray…” Are Pushed Along With A Nice Guitar Chop And Slash With Meli Vocally In A Place He Obviously Relishes. In Shenandoah I Heard Vibes Of Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells A Story “Rumble In The Alley” And Ironically Ronnie Lane’s Rustic Contributions To The Face’s Ooh La La Album “Sweet Lady Mary” And So The Snake Eats Its Own Tail Grasshopper . This Style Of Music Is Now Beyond Retro Or Old-School – Like The Blues It Will Never Go Away Like The Blues It Feels Too Goods To Too Many People Young And Old. Shenandoah Puts The Widowbirds Squarely On The Australian – And Hopefully The World – Map. As A Debut It Is Scarily Solid And Fully-Formed. None Other Than Swamp King Tony Joe White Who The Widowbirds Supported On A Recent Tour Said “You Boys Make A Real Good Noise… I Mean Real Good!” As A Creator Of Real Good Noises Himself Tony Joe Should Know – In The Widowbirds’ Case He Is Right On The Money. read less