FANZEYEVIEW
Tour Dates 2012
Friday, June 1st, 2012 - The Blues Bar 8.30pm 4 Montpellier Parade,Harrogate HG1 2TJ
Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 - Hebden Bridge Blues Festival Time onstage TBC Holme Street, Hebden, Yorkshire HX7 8EE [map] Price: £10
Cherry will be headlining the Women of the Blues Night. Tickets NOW available from here - http://yorkshirebluesfestival.co.uk/tickets
Saturday, June 16th, 2012 - Bluesnights @ Dorchester Arts Centre 8pm School Lane, The Grove, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XR Price: £12 ADV
Cherry will be performing with her trio set up. For tickets contact the box office: 01305-266926
Friday, June 22nd, 2012 - Keighley Blues Club 9pm KEIGHLEY COUGARS RLFC, HALL OF FAME BAR, ROYD INGS AVENUE, Keighley BD21 3RF
Price: £10 For tickets, email bbj21@btinternet.com or phone 01535 600310.
Saturday, June 23rd, 2012 - Puzzle Hall Inn 9pm 21 Hollins Mill Lane, Sowerby Bridge, nr Halifax, West Yorkshire HX6 2RF [map]
Saturday, July 7th, 2012 - Blues On The Meadow Festival Aldermaston West Berkshire [map] Price: Advance tickets £20
FOR TICKETS - http://www.bluesonthemeadow.com/Booking.aspx
Friday, August 17th, 2012 - The Flowerpot 9pm 25 Tavistock Street Bedford . MK40 2RB GB [map] TRIO gig!
Sunday, August 26th, 2012 - Rhythm Festival (Rhythm 'n' Blues Stage) 4.30pm Mansion House @ Old Warden Park Biggleswade, Bedfordshire SG18 9DX [map] Cherry and the band are delighted to be playing at this year's RHYTHM FESTIVAL on the Rhythm 'n' Blues Stage after their
successful appearance in 2010. Early bird tickets for the whole weekend are now available -http://www.rhythmfestival.com/buy-tickets
Saturday, September 1st, 2012 - The Soundhouse @ The Bull 9pm 2-4 Crouch Street, Colchester CO3 9ES [map] This will be a TRIO gig (Cherry, Max - guitar & Robbie - double bass)
Friday, September 21st, 2012 - Blakeney Harbour Rooms 8pm 139 -141 High Street, Blakeney, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7NU [map]
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 - Danny's Bar 5pm 60a Bromham Road Bedford MK40 2QG GB [map]
Saturday, October 27th, 2012 - "Best of Blues" @ The Ent Shed 8.30pm 118 Castle Road, Bedford MK40 3QY [map] tickets only from michael@pipeavn.fsnet.co.uk or 07923 621140
Sunday, December 16th, 2012 - Danny's Bar 5pm 60a Bromham Road Bedford MK40 2QG GB [map]
Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 - Malt Shovel Tavern 9pm 121 Bridge Street Northampton NN1 1QF GB [map]
HEARD IT HERE FIRST OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
It's
2012. It's the third time around, and CHERRY LEE MEWIS means business. The 5ft-nothing, power-house singer songwriter has grabbed the musical bull by the horns, and together with her smokin' hot band including long time collaborator and guitarist Max Milligan, has produced an exquisite and exciting self-penned third studio album; the aptly titled Heard It Here First. An 11-track-breath-of-fresh-air in a somewhat predictable blues music scene. This album takes the solid roots of Cherry's debut album; 2007's Little Girl Blue and the foot-stomping vibe of her sophomore, 2009's Southbound Train, then pushes the boundaries even further, taking in the best of musical influences while still keeping that elusive Cherry Lee Mewis treatment that gives the record a real punch.
10 of the 11 songs are brand new original cuts, the one cover being a version of the 1920 ragtime skiffle of Papa Charlie Jackson's Keep It Clean, which slots in quite nicely among the 10 new stonkin' gems that make up Cherry's third blues effort.
"On this album, we really went to town with it, had fun with it and poured our heart and soul into it, and I feel it really takes you on a journey," explains Cherry. "You can dance, you can sing-a-long, or you an chill out and reflect. There's songs about good times, love, jealousy, humour and ends with a tribute to my grandad who I lost last year. There's even a short instrumental where my dobro player Nick Slater beautifully chills you out before the album's final track, a pick-me-up after the rollercoaster! This album feels like a life raft because I was in the middle of it - it was all done in real time - while I was writing it, which was a different experience than writing in retrospect like I had done previously."
On Man Overboard Cherry writes of sinking from the realisation she's been in this position before' in a relationship and admitting needing 'rescuing' from a partner that ends up being the 'thorn in her side' and the 'ball to her chain'. All done very light-heartedly of course. "It's actually a feel-good uptempo number that has been going down great at the gigs. It was inspired by our 11-hour ferry trip to the Orkney Blues Festival , which should have only taken 6 hours! So we sank a few jars and Man Overboard was born..." It has a can't-help-but-sing-a-long chorus of 'all this water!' that will stay in your head long after hearing it.
If you're planning on a trip to Memphis and the Mississippi anytime soon, throw away the guide book! Just have a listen to Goin' Down (To Memphis Tennessee) and you'll instantly be transported to the deep south as Cherry sings of her recent experiences in the land where blues began. The driving bass line and funky galloping groove help paint the picture of standing on Beale Street and 'dancing in Rum Boogie' before 'heading to BB King's', but she'll give you a stern telling off for not tipping the band! "After two trips to Memphis and Mississippi in under a year, I had so much to sing about! I need a whole album just to document those trips! But I wanted to give a 'tipping of the hat' to the fantastic blues players I met out there at the Thrill at the Grill which I
mention in the song and the classic southern hospitality I received from the people in Columbus Mississippi where I had the amazing experience of playing.
Not to mention just the history of the place, how could I not write about it?!"
On the gypsy jazz sound of Long Distance Lover...", Cherry sings of a failed faraway romance, too many miles getting in the way of a long time love. "I felt like I had to write this song because the relationship didn't end on my terms and came to an abrupt finish which was so out of the blue, it made me get a lil' crazy, but I got creative with it...!"
Hunt You Down - a toe-tappin' groove of hot-wired jealousy.."this is classic green eyed monster syndrome!" laughs Cherry, "we've all been there, if only scratching the surface. I actually don't get jealous with the other person usually, but i've had that over-bearing, being-held-tighter-will-make-them-stay-behaviour aimed towards me and it does quite the oppositeThe pure, beautiful tell-it-like-it-is honesty the only two ballads, Way To Your Heart & Just Can't Live Without You, accompanied by the classic acoustic guitar sound of Max Milligan, tell of a love that longs to happen and all that's being asked for is a way in and a wounding heart that tries to move on but simply can't without it's soulmate.
All it takes is band member Robbie Stewart-Mathews's growlin' blues harp and Max's slick slide guitar together with Cherry's turbo-lunged vocals on the song On Loan to really get your mojo working. Not to mention the shufflin' jug band influenced, eyebrow-raising He Wants More - a woman's humorous perspective of being exhausted by continually having to fulfill the needs of her lover! "It really tells a story, each verse is like a soap opera, you have to tune in to hear what happens next in the song! I think this is more reminiscent of the traditional blues songs which were wonderfully narrative and had a beginning, middle and end."
Anchoring all 11 songs together are Cherry's firin' band who Cherry describes as being the 'lighter fluid to fuel my fire'. Accompanying collaborator and producer Max on acoustic guitar are, Nicky Slater (dobro), Robbie Stewart-Mathews (double bass, blues harp & backing vox) and Flow (drums), her 'Blues Gems' as she calls them; Cherry feels a real drive behind her at the live shows.
The album closes with Legend - a tribute to her grandad who passed away just last year. With lyrics that smart like a fresh paper cut, accompanied by just a sparse, haunting banjo, you feel like you're the friend who Cherry spills her heart out to in this one and a half minutes of pure openness and vulnerability. "These are actually my dad's words. It's a poem he wrote that stunningly sums up one of the fantastic male role models i've had in my life and I wanted to share them on a wider scale so Robbie and I put the poem to music of which we used an old traditional mountain song melody and totally stripped it to just Robbie's banjo and I'm extremely pleased with the result. It was hard to sing and not bawl my eyes out, we both did the song in one take and that was the take that we went with."
So there you have it, a set of sleek blues-tinged songs steeped in soul with a band so tight and electric, you don't know what's hit you, topped with Cherry's versatile, throaty yet warm, beltin' yet rein-tightening vocals that get you straight through to the core proving that that's what will keep her star rising on the blues and roots scene for a long time coming. Get to a live show - you'll feel you've witnessed a real lightning-captured-in-a-bottle moment.
"I recognise that in the fickle world of the hustlin' music game, an artist's strongest asset is their music - songs that will move people long after the image fades. That's what I keep coming back to," she says with a knowing smile, "that's all that matters...."
© 2012 Cherry Lee Mewis. All Rights Reserved
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE
10 of the 11 songs are brand new original cuts, the one cover being a version of the 1920 ragtime skiffle of Papa Charlie Jackson's Keep It Clean, which slots in quite nicely among the 10 new stonkin' gems that make up Cherry's third blues effort.
"On this album, we really went to town with it, had fun with it and poured our heart and soul into it, and I feel it really takes you on a journey," explains Cherry. "You can dance, you can sing-a-long, or you an chill out and reflect. There's songs about good times, love, jealousy, humour and ends with a tribute to my grandad who I lost last year. There's even a short instrumental where my dobro player Nick Slater beautifully chills you out before the album's final track, a pick-me-up after the rollercoaster! This album feels like a life raft because I was in the middle of it - it was all done in real time - while I was writing it, which was a different experience than writing in retrospect like I had done previously."
On Man Overboard Cherry writes of sinking from the realisation she's been in this position before' in a relationship and admitting needing 'rescuing' from a partner that ends up being the 'thorn in her side' and the 'ball to her chain'. All done very light-heartedly of course. "It's actually a feel-good uptempo number that has been going down great at the gigs. It was inspired by our 11-hour ferry trip to the Orkney Blues Festival , which should have only taken 6 hours! So we sank a few jars and Man Overboard was born..." It has a can't-help-but-sing-a-long chorus of 'all this water!' that will stay in your head long after hearing it.
If you're planning on a trip to Memphis and the Mississippi anytime soon, throw away the guide book! Just have a listen to Goin' Down (To Memphis Tennessee) and you'll instantly be transported to the deep south as Cherry sings of her recent experiences in the land where blues began. The driving bass line and funky galloping groove help paint the picture of standing on Beale Street and 'dancing in Rum Boogie' before 'heading to BB King's', but she'll give you a stern telling off for not tipping the band! "After two trips to Memphis and Mississippi in under a year, I had so much to sing about! I need a whole album just to document those trips! But I wanted to give a 'tipping of the hat' to the fantastic blues players I met out there at the Thrill at the Grill which I
mention in the song and the classic southern hospitality I received from the people in Columbus Mississippi where I had the amazing experience of playing.
Not to mention just the history of the place, how could I not write about it?!"
On the gypsy jazz sound of Long Distance Lover...", Cherry sings of a failed faraway romance, too many miles getting in the way of a long time love. "I felt like I had to write this song because the relationship didn't end on my terms and came to an abrupt finish which was so out of the blue, it made me get a lil' crazy, but I got creative with it...!"
Hunt You Down - a toe-tappin' groove of hot-wired jealousy.."this is classic green eyed monster syndrome!" laughs Cherry, "we've all been there, if only scratching the surface. I actually don't get jealous with the other person usually, but i've had that over-bearing, being-held-tighter-will-make-them-stay-behaviour aimed towards me and it does quite the oppositeThe pure, beautiful tell-it-like-it-is honesty the only two ballads, Way To Your Heart & Just Can't Live Without You, accompanied by the classic acoustic guitar sound of Max Milligan, tell of a love that longs to happen and all that's being asked for is a way in and a wounding heart that tries to move on but simply can't without it's soulmate.
All it takes is band member Robbie Stewart-Mathews's growlin' blues harp and Max's slick slide guitar together with Cherry's turbo-lunged vocals on the song On Loan to really get your mojo working. Not to mention the shufflin' jug band influenced, eyebrow-raising He Wants More - a woman's humorous perspective of being exhausted by continually having to fulfill the needs of her lover! "It really tells a story, each verse is like a soap opera, you have to tune in to hear what happens next in the song! I think this is more reminiscent of the traditional blues songs which were wonderfully narrative and had a beginning, middle and end."
Anchoring all 11 songs together are Cherry's firin' band who Cherry describes as being the 'lighter fluid to fuel my fire'. Accompanying collaborator and producer Max on acoustic guitar are, Nicky Slater (dobro), Robbie Stewart-Mathews (double bass, blues harp & backing vox) and Flow (drums), her 'Blues Gems' as she calls them; Cherry feels a real drive behind her at the live shows.
The album closes with Legend - a tribute to her grandad who passed away just last year. With lyrics that smart like a fresh paper cut, accompanied by just a sparse, haunting banjo, you feel like you're the friend who Cherry spills her heart out to in this one and a half minutes of pure openness and vulnerability. "These are actually my dad's words. It's a poem he wrote that stunningly sums up one of the fantastic male role models i've had in my life and I wanted to share them on a wider scale so Robbie and I put the poem to music of which we used an old traditional mountain song melody and totally stripped it to just Robbie's banjo and I'm extremely pleased with the result. It was hard to sing and not bawl my eyes out, we both did the song in one take and that was the take that we went with."
So there you have it, a set of sleek blues-tinged songs steeped in soul with a band so tight and electric, you don't know what's hit you, topped with Cherry's versatile, throaty yet warm, beltin' yet rein-tightening vocals that get you straight through to the core proving that that's what will keep her star rising on the blues and roots scene for a long time coming. Get to a live show - you'll feel you've witnessed a real lightning-captured-in-a-bottle moment.
"I recognise that in the fickle world of the hustlin' music game, an artist's strongest asset is their music - songs that will move people long after the image fades. That's what I keep coming back to," she says with a knowing smile, "that's all that matters...."
© 2012 Cherry Lee Mewis. All Rights Reserved
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE
CHERRY LEE MEWIS
2012 is just around the corner...
Well, well, well! What a year 2011 has been! So much has happened that Cherry and the band don't know where to start! From performing at some of the biggest
blues festivals in the UK including the Great British R'n'B Festival, Maryport Blues Festival, Cropredy Convention, a return trip to Shetland Blues Festival,
touring with Robin Trower, Mud Morganfield, a guest appearance onstage with Walter Trout at The Stables in Wavendon, to flying back out to Memphis to
perform at BB King's on Beale Street and the Market St Festival in Columbus, Mississippi with her US band, Cherry has had a year to shout about!
A great end to the year was being personally asked by Paul Jones to perform with the house band at his annual Christmas charity show at Cranleigh Arts
Centre on 20th December! See the pic below of Cherry backstage with Paul and Bernie Marsden from Whitesnake who also performed.
"I want to say a humongous THANK YOU to you all for supporting me this year, well from day dot really," says Cherry, "each year has got bigger and better and the feedback this year has been fantastic. It's been a jam-packed 2011 and i'm so ready for what 2012 has to offer me and the guys. We've got the new album coming out in February and i'm excited to see what response we get from it...it's our best work to date so I hope you all enjoy! Also want to say a BIG thank ya'll to my band - Max, Robbie, Nick and Flow who continue to inspire me everyday...we'll see you all in 2012! It's going to be a corker! HAPPY NEW YEAR YA'LL! Have a happy and healthy one..."
The diary is already filling up for next year so be sure to check www.cherryleemewis.com to see where Cherry will be next!
All that's left to say is thank you again for your support and have a very happy new year!
CherryJam Team x
The diary is already filling up for next year so be sure to check www.cherryleemewis.com to see where Cherry will be next!
All that's left to say is thank you again for your support and have a very happy new year!
CherryJam Team x
Cherry's hoping to return in October, with a trip to Nashville also on the cards. More on that as it arises! Footage from the Market St Festival will be on
youtube over the next couple of weeks or so.
Cherry and her bass player Robbie Stewart-Mathews, were invited to be special guests of the recent Hebden Blues Festival on the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Robbie swapped instruments and played guitar for Cherry as they did 3 acoustic sets on 3 different stages and then finished off with taking part in Paddy
Maguire's Midnight Jam Session also with Clare Free guesting. Special thanks once again to Roger Allen and Paddy Maguire. A fantastic time was had by
all, click the link below to watch the jam -
http://youtu.be/7jffGLTnrEM
youtube over the next couple of weeks or so.
Cherry and her bass player Robbie Stewart-Mathews, were invited to be special guests of the recent Hebden Blues Festival on the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Robbie swapped instruments and played guitar for Cherry as they did 3 acoustic sets on 3 different stages and then finished off with taking part in Paddy
Maguire's Midnight Jam Session also with Clare Free guesting. Special thanks once again to Roger Allen and Paddy Maguire. A fantastic time was had by
all, click the link below to watch the jam -
http://youtu.be/7jffGLTnrEM
