P-A-U-L

St Annes Castle

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I last saw this band at the Fleece. All the way from Detroit to Great Leigh’s come this fantastic three piece group who play what I can only call a blues, rock, funk fusion. They are really loud and play hard rock and I think Paul, not the group, but Mr Eagle had it about right, they sound a bit like Pearl Jam with Motown thrown in. They have a sound which has got a lot of Detroit influences in it and they are all excellent musicians. The singer and guitarist Paul Lamb, certainly can play a good riff and played a riveting solo on one of their blues numbers, something about telephone lines being down in Texas. To be truthful I didn’t know many of the songs from the main set. I can remember “Detroit’s on fire” from the first time I saw them but my memory of anything more than 2 weeks old is rubbish. The bass guitarist, I think it’s Joey Spina (apologies if that is wrong), is a great big honey monster guy. Lots of Curley hair topped with sunglasses, a great player who certainly anchors the group with a strong bass line, he also takes the vocals on Stevie Wonders “Superstition.” Drummer Layla Hall is certainly something else. A small lady, who keeps the rhythm of the band going and is nonstop energy, I think to be truthful we have been ever so lucky to see a band of such quality twice in such small venues. The only down side to the evening was the poor turnout. It’s not often that you have a chance to see such a band for nothing. Most of the audience were old fans as most had seen them play before. I think they have played the Barhouse twice, The Bassment and definitely the Fleece They did pass round a hat at the end and I think they then got their biggest compliment then, Maurice actually put a fiver in, we all nearly fainted. After the gig he then harassed the poor bassist with questions, poor bloke thinks he has a stalker. I will be on the lookout next October to see if I can catch them again as it looks as though it is becoming another one of our annual gigs. I bought their latest CD so will review that a later date but as another one of Detroit’s finest bands sang “who says a rock band can’t play funk music.”

Duncan, October 2010.

CD Review P-A-U-L

Gunshot Lullaby

This is the CD that I promised myself last year after seeing them at the Golden Fleece in 2009.They played St Anne’s this month, so for the princely sum of a tenner I bought it. It’s supposed to be blues rock, whatever that is, but what you get is good rock music, tinged with funky bass lines with just a little bit of blues. The songs are mainly about living in a rough part of Detroit with the last song called “behind the brothel.” a good song, funky, it could be a Temptations backing track from the 70’s and reminds you of Meadgate shops. One of the best tracks on the CD is “I ain’t giving you up,” a great track, lots of girl backing singers and great guitars at the end. “Martyred eyes” is another winner. To be truthful the whole album is good and has a lot more layers and depth than heir fantastic live act. “ I will never tell” is a great track and it is very hard to pin down who they sound like as there are a multitude of influences in the music. You can hear Country, Motown, Blues, Heavy rock in the songs, there are spacy guitar solo‘s such as “rattle snakes and butterflies” a bit of Eddie Hazel influence there, and full on rockers like “Detroit is on fire. A good CD and if you get a chance to see them live, do it, you wont be disappointed. I will deffo be looking out for them coming back to England next November.

Duncan, Oct 2010