ROCK N BLUES BLASTS TO BEX MARSHALL

ROCK N BLUES BLASTS TO BEX MARSHALL

Organisers of the Carnivale Rock N Blues Bonanza have just announced UK’s Bex Marshall will take to the stage at Rex Smeal Park on May 23rd at this inaugural event. Kim Hurley from Radio Port Douglas said having Bex Marshall on the bill was a huge bonus, and resulted from a late line up change when Jesse Dean Freeman was unable to attend the gig. “Bex is currently touring Australia and we are smiling broadly that she is onboard!” said Kim Hurley.
Bex has been to Port Douglas once before and is thrilled to be coming back.

“I just visited recently and I played live on Radio Port Douglas in fact,” she says. “I had such a fantastic time in Port that I’m really delighted to be playing Rock N Blues – I was blown away by the whole laid back vibe and the top people I met there – this gig will give me time to rock out a bit longer with the coolest cats in Queensland. I think real roots blues goes down well in Port Douglas; no gimmicks people like the real deal and I aim to give it to em in abundance!” she said.

Described as “an explosion of blue hot acoustic slide roots/rock, poker twisted with a whippin’ of Bluegrass” Bex is a versatile guitarist with a unique earthy melting pot of a voice. Her outstanding virtuoso guitar playing is a mixture of exposed blues and ragtime frails augmented by her stunning whiskey soaked vocals and diverse, but always poignent writing.

A Devonshire lass now residing in London, she is the product of two completely different family’s, one blue blooded landed gentry, the other Irish Romany’s she had a great live musical background growing up, at every family gathering her uncles would play for the family, she was given a 1973 Gibson Hummingbird when she was 11, classical guitar playing was her first passion, she got hooked on instrumentals and classical guitar standards which stretched her fingers and gave her a great basis for her own musical creations to develop, flamenco, ragtime, country chicken pickin, rock and on to blues, roots and slide/dobro which she plays on an Ozark 3515E Electro Acoustic Biscuit resonater, wood body with a lipstick pickup and a cutaway through a Fender Frontman 25R (with reverb).

She always had a passion for travelling, its in her blood and she trainer as croupier 18 and began her travels around the world which inspired her song writing, from dealing illegal poker games in Amsterdam to hitch hiking the coast of Australia alone on cattle trains, always with a guitar on her back. She is an adventuress, a writer, seasoned guitar player and passionate vocalist, her musical influences are varied and many although comparisons have ranged from JJ Cale to Hendrix and Derek Trucks, and her music has been described a….“Bonnie Raitt and Led Zep jamming in an everglade moonshine joint”.

She is a troubadour, telling her tales with humour and wit, honesty and slang, a musical inspiration, poetry to blues, an instrumental turbine of melody, people gawp at her fearless playing.

Bex Marshalls recent Australian release ‘Kitchen Table’ is a mix of roots, rock rags entwined with bluegrass frails and home down blues slide and has recieved stunning reviews to date and has special guest players Don Wayne and Dale Reno from Hayseed Dixie.

Her song writing is highly praised in her latest album reviews….“Touches of genius” “Staggering” ‘Intelligent and interesting’, ‘Timeless’

‘…sounds like a breakthrough album’– Rock n Reel (R2) UK

‘…Marshalls album is of such class and maturity, without an apparent weakness or filler’ – Blues Matters UK

‘…As a writer she’s mastered the art of making new material sound like its been found in long forgotten vaults –Net Rhythms UK

‘..She has harnessed the power of the blues without resorting to cliche or plagarism – – Spiral Earth UK

Live she is outstanding, her solo show has the wow factor as her guitar playing is a totally unique fingerstlye incorporating blues slide, rock licks and bluegrass.

‘..Marshalls competent axework has Mark Knopflers feathery touch’ – LA Weekly US

‘…the blues ‘Black Guitar’ culminates in a slide guitar clamor Derek Trucks would be pleased to call his own’ – Downbeat Magazine US

..a younger version of Bonnie Raitt. Seldom do we hear such blues inflected rawness in female guitar players and its so refreshing to hear it done with such authenticity and assurance’ – Folk and Roots Magazine UK

Then there’s her voice….Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Joan Armatrading, Beth Hart, Bonnie Raitt….

‘…..Bex Marshall’s voice draws up the ghosts of old blues women’s heartaches’, Outlaw Magazine US

‘…the absolute stand out on this album is Marshalls vocals’ – Root of Rock Magazine NZ

‘….She has all those essential vocal frailties that make the difference between soul and soulful’, Folk and Roots Magazine UK

‘..deserves wider recognition for her spit and saw dust vocals and fluid resonator guitar licks…Classic Rock Magazine UK

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 9:31 pm and is filed under Blog, Media and tagged with concert, Dance, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.