Brave
Rival are the South East’s brand-new rip-roaring rock and blues
Machine. Hailing from Portsmouth, the UK Blues Award Nominated
band features the powerful and beautiful twin vocals of Chloe
Josephine and Lindsey Bonnick. On lead guitar, providing
dramatic guitar solos and crunching rock riffs is Ed “The Shred”
Clarke. And holding it all together is the rhythmic backbone,
the self-proclaimed engine room of Billy Dedman (bass) and Donna
Peters (drums).
Drawing influence from the likes of John Mayer, Aretha Franklin,
Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and Tedeschi Trucks, Brave
Rival offer a style and sound that you’ve always known, and yet
never heard before.
Since their inception in the summer of 2019, Brave Rival have
gone from strength to strength, featuring in Raw Ramp
Magazine as one of the 'Top 20 Bands To Watch In 2020' and
nominated for 'Breakthrough Act 2019' by Get Ready To Rock
Radio.
At the turn of the decade, hot off the heels from supporting
blues rock giants such as Stevie Nimmo and The Billy Walton
Band, Brave Rival captured their raw energy live by recording
their headline set to a gracious sold-out audience at Hook’s
famous Echo Hotel Music Club. This fabulous set of early
material was quickly released to critical acclaim as their first
Live Album ‘Brave Rival Live at the Echo Hotel Music
Club’. Keeping the momentum going, a Kickstarter was launched
for their first studio album with the target easily reached by
their loyal fanbase with time to spare. It was then time to
repay that loyalty with a studio album. Little did they know
however, that the world was about to change forever.
With the pandemic putting the brakes on recording plans, Brave
Rival spent much of the UK Lockdowns writing new material via
the power of Zoom calls and Google drive. The abundance of
material produced served them well for the eventual recording of
their debut album in the summer of 2021. Recorded at The Mayfair
Studio in the picturesque Surrey countryside with
producer/seducer Tarrant Shepherd at their side, Brave Rival’s
highly anticipated debut album “Life’s Machine” arrived on May
6th 2022 to critical acclaim. Emerging Rocks Bands Magazine said
it best when they described the album as “Boss blues energy from
start to finish”. Similarly, Powerplay Magazine finished their
ten out of ten review by saying that “Brave Rival have unleashed
one lean, mean and well oiled machine!”
Tipped as one of Joe Bonamassa’s “favourite discoveries this
year” the future is looking incredibly bright for this young up
and coming band. A successful set on the introducing stage at
the 2022 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Skegness saw
them win the competition, securing a deserved place on the main
stage in 2023. The relentless gigging and hard work in 2021 has
also paid off for the band with a UK Blues Award
Nomination for Best Emerging Blues Band.
Brave Rival are a band on a meteoric rise, firing
on all cylinders and are about to take the world by storm. Their
unique combination of beautifully harmonic, soulful vocals, epic
guitar solos, pounding drums and powerful bass serves up an
infectious sound that is not to be missed.
Iron
Maiden Founder and Bassist, Steve Harris and David Smith grew up
and lived a short distance from each other in East London -
Steve in Steele Road E11 and David in Downsell Road E15 and
importantly both went to the same School (Leyton County High
School for Boys).
Steve and David became good friends and when they
left school (in 1973), with both a passion for West Ham United
FC and prog and rock music, they decided to form a band. David
then helped Steve choose his first bass (a Fender Telecaster
Bass copy and then a Danelectro ‘Longhorn’ bass like Rinus
Gerritsen (the bassist in Golden Earring).
Determined to be a hard rocking band, they soon
found the fantastic drummer Paull Sears (who was a friend of a
bloke David worked with) and vocalist Bob Verschoyle (another
school friend of Steve) to join the fledgling outfit.
They formed Influence in the autumn of 1973 and
rehearsed (famously in Steve’s Nan’s Living Room and at Allan
Gordon Studios in Leyton) and played to family for a few months
before performing at a gig/talent contest in Poplar (organised
by Dave Lights) and then their first paying gig at the Cart and
Horses (in April 1974). Influence became Gypsy’s Kiss in mid
1974 adding Tim Nash as a second guitarist.
They had paying gigs mostly at the iconic Cart &
Horses and the Bridge House, Canning Town, where Paul Mario Day
first saw them play. Gypsy’s Kiss came to its natural end in the
middle of 1975, although they still remain good friends.
David was asked to reform GK many times over the
years so Maiden fans could finally hear ‘Influence’ & ‘Heat
Crazed Vole’ played live and finally agreed to play Burrfest in
March 2018 as a one off (including Bob Verschoyle on vocals). It
went so well that they played two more gigs in 2018 (with the
current line up). Overwhelmed by support from the Maiden Fan
Community, they decided to do it all over again. They have
gigged extensively since and have released a single and EP in
2019 and 2020 and their debut album ‘74’ released in 2021 along
with a UK Tour.
The current line up is David Smith (Vocals and
Guitars), Jonathan Morley (Guitars and BVs), Fraser Marr
(Guitars), Ross Hunter (Keys and BVs), Robin Gatcum (Bass) and
Stuart Emms (Drums).
Taking
up the guitar as a teen, Troy quickly absorbed his musical
influences of the early blues pioneers and the energy of the 70s
and 80s rock icons. The turning point came when he discovered
open tunings and slide guitar.
“I
immediately felt like I’d come home the moment I put a
bottleneck on my finger and started playing slide, it instantly
felt completely natural to me. This style of playing helped me
find my true voice on the instrument.”
His
talents quickly realised, he received endorsements from Ernie
Ball Strings, Airline Guitars and even has his own signature
glass blown slide made by world renowned slide manufacturer Diamond
Bottlenecks whose roster includes the who’s who
of slide guitar luminaries including the likes of Mark Knopfler.
Carving out a name for himself by relentlessly touring and
blazing a trail across the main stage festival circuits in the
UK, Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia, and sharing the stage with
the likes of Robert Plant and Dr Feelgood, Troy has worked
tirelessly to build a strong following of diehard fans who
gravitate towards his passionately honest, fiery performances and
visceral guitar playing.
In 2022, Troy released the album The
Wings of Salvation and completed four full UK
tours garnering an overwhelming response from music critics,
reviewers, and fans alike. He has toured with Robert Jon & The
Wreck, the Quireboys, The Sweet, and When Rivers Meet. In
October the same year, he embarked on a 12-date UK tour
supporting DARE.
Leading up to his 23 September 2022, release of his studio album The
Wings of Salvation, Troy released three singles and
accompanying music videos for “Come On,” “Gasoline,” and “Sweet
Carolina,” all of which have attracted heavy radio airplay and
have been featured on Joe Bonamassa’s popular Spotify playlists
Cutting Edge Blues, Epic Guitar Solos, and Ultimate Blues Rock.
In
November 2022, Redfern won Hard Rock Hell’s “Blues Artist of the
Year” Award.
On
Friday December 2nd, 2022, Troy performed at Planet
Rockstock. Later in the same month, The Wings of
Salvation featured in Rock and Blues Muse’s Top
25 Albums of 2022.
Troy
released a brand-new single entitled “The Fever” on 11 January
2023. The single was added to Planet Rock’s playlist, making
this Troy’s fourth single Planet Rock has playlisted, following
hot on the heels of “Ghosts,” “Come On,” and “Sweet Carolina.”
Troy followed this with a co-headline UK tour with Canadian
roots rockers, the Commoners.
In
October 2023, Troy released “Getaway,” the second single taken
from his forthcoming album Invocation. This
was the fifth single added to Planet Rock’s playlist. Troy
followed the release of the single by playing various summer
festivals including Steelhouse, Maid of
Stone, and headlined RAWA Festival in Poland.
In
November, Troy toured the UK with guitarist Philip Sayce and
played Planet Rock Radio’s Planet Rockstock Festival, followed
by Planet Rock’s Blues Power “Live” concert at Dingwall’s in
Camden Town, North London on December 7th.
On
January 4, 2024, Troy released the single “The Strange” taken
from his new album Invocation released
17 May 2024. The single was “Track of the Week” on Planet Rock’s
Blues Power Show. “The Strange” and ‘Van Helsing’ also won
Tracks of the Week on Classic Rock’s Louder Sound website.
Carrying
glowing endorsements and reviews from Dave Ling (Classic Rock) –
“Immensely promising quartet playing a confident, summery,
sometimes funk-fuelled style that will leave you grinning from
ear to ear” and Rob Evans (Powerplay Rock & Metal) – “The best
independent album I’ve heard this year”, This House We Built are
already on rock solid foundations on which to build a successful
career in the music scene.
The real bricks and mortar of the band
are a heady mix of bands from England’s Scarborough Strip (think
Sunset Strip but with less debauchery, more chips and an
untapped resource of talent since five Little Angels flew big in
88’). Players Scott Wardell (vocals guitar), Andy Jackson
(guitars vocals), Chris Mayes (drums vocals) and Wayne Dowkes
White (bass) finally came together just prior to the world
shutting down in 2020. Rather than dwell on not being able to
bring their collective talents to the stage, they started the
socially distanced writing sessions that bought the plot for the
house they were about to build. Each man brought a different
musical path to the band, and you can hear them all as the album
unfolds. Eclectic influences ranging from classic rock, funk,
emo, nu-metal and melodic rock are mixed perfectly across the
ten songs and brick by harmony laden brick they build a unique
sound that transcends all of the aforementioned genres.
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