Mole Man
Well-known member
Dear Tokai Forum Folk,
Apologies for the short notice:
"We'll be louder than hell! Louder than that!", guitarist/vocalist and sole original member Del Bromham announced at a gig earlier this year. He was so right! Both Del and the band are at the top of their melodic hard rock game currently (as anyone who saw their recent performances either at The Cambridge Rock Festival or else co-headlining with The Groundhogs will tell you)!
STRAY will be playing on Fri 17th March (?10 adv, ?12 door). Doors 8:30pm till 12:00, pub bar prices:
Tropic at Ruislip
Ruislip Social Club
Grosvenor Vale
Ruislip (NW London)
HA4 6JQ
http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk
Ticket Line: 01784 460094
Information: 07956 553609
The band have a brand new Chris Tsangarides-produced studio album to promote, 'VALHALLA', and will be playing songs from the album on the night. One of the great guitar bands of the 1970's, STRAY's 8 album back catalogue has been reissued by Sanctuary.
Both band and venue appreciate your support!
Best regards,
Darren
http://www.stray-the-band.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/delbromhamstray
Saturday, February 21, 2009
REVIEW OF CHISLEHURST SHOW BY DAVE LING - 20th FEB Friday 20th February Last night was spent in company of The Groundhogs and Stray at the Beaverwood Club, on the borders of London and Kent. Due to wrongly advised running times and a Number 160 bus that seems to reach Chislehurst via Guatemala and the Outer Himalayas, Stray were already into their stride by the time my friend Andy Beare and I arrived at the Beaverwood, a warm and welcoming, if slightly makeshift-looking, cricket pavilion-turned-suburban blues emporium that?s run by promoter Pete Feenstra, an industrious bloke whose network of eight clubs has helped to keep blues-rock alive within the M25 perimeter.
Starting with a support slot to Saga at the Lyceum in February 1981 (a show that also featured the semi-legendary Quartz), I?ve seen Stray many, many times. In fact, for a while there I probably overdosed on them. Strictly my own fault, I know. But the band?s new album, the Chris Tsangarides-produced ?Valhalla?, has renewed my enthusiasm for their music. Del Bromham might be the last remaining original member of a group that has made records since 1970, but the enduring guitarist/vocalist has surrounded himself with able and (comparatively) young talent in John Bonham-obsessed drummer Karl Randall and a Steve Harris lookalike bassist called Stuart Uren. Three universally-themed songs from ?Valhalla? ? namely ?1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?, ?Free At Last? and ?Harry Farr? ? justifiably stood their ground in the set. Bromham largely resisted the temptation to showboat, but as the performance closed with the Iron Maiden-covered ?All In Your Mind? he threatened to remove ceiling tiles by waving around his axe, depositing it atop an amp and controlling its feedback with a lead. The audience responded warmly.
Which, sadly, is more than can be said for The Groundhogs. It pains me to say this, especially having enjoyed their set at Shepherd?s Bush Empire on the ?Classic Legends Of Rock? tour last November, but it?s easy to see why Tony ?TS? McPhee and company are now considered an underground band. McPhee?s 40-year track record of speaks for itself, and though the ?Hogs still include material from their seminal ?Split? and ?Thank Christ For The Bomb? albums (1970 and ?71 respectively), his plectrum-less picking technique is a thing that the listener will love or loathe. What its wide-tread, high-density effect lacks in accuracy is compensated by sheer power, but the band?s songs are hardly big on hooks and, now in this mid-60s, the guitarist?s nonchalantly delivered vocals are another big minus point. It can?t have escaped McPhee?s attention that much of tonight?s initially sizeable crowd sidled exit-wards considerably before the show?s end
Dave Ling writes for CLASSIC ROCK & his diary can be found at: http://www.daveling.co.uk/diary.htm
Apologies for the short notice:
"We'll be louder than hell! Louder than that!", guitarist/vocalist and sole original member Del Bromham announced at a gig earlier this year. He was so right! Both Del and the band are at the top of their melodic hard rock game currently (as anyone who saw their recent performances either at The Cambridge Rock Festival or else co-headlining with The Groundhogs will tell you)!
STRAY will be playing on Fri 17th March (?10 adv, ?12 door). Doors 8:30pm till 12:00, pub bar prices:
Tropic at Ruislip
Ruislip Social Club
Grosvenor Vale
Ruislip (NW London)
HA4 6JQ
http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk
Ticket Line: 01784 460094
Information: 07956 553609
The band have a brand new Chris Tsangarides-produced studio album to promote, 'VALHALLA', and will be playing songs from the album on the night. One of the great guitar bands of the 1970's, STRAY's 8 album back catalogue has been reissued by Sanctuary.
Both band and venue appreciate your support!
Best regards,
Darren
http://www.stray-the-band.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/delbromhamstray
Saturday, February 21, 2009
REVIEW OF CHISLEHURST SHOW BY DAVE LING - 20th FEB Friday 20th February Last night was spent in company of The Groundhogs and Stray at the Beaverwood Club, on the borders of London and Kent. Due to wrongly advised running times and a Number 160 bus that seems to reach Chislehurst via Guatemala and the Outer Himalayas, Stray were already into their stride by the time my friend Andy Beare and I arrived at the Beaverwood, a warm and welcoming, if slightly makeshift-looking, cricket pavilion-turned-suburban blues emporium that?s run by promoter Pete Feenstra, an industrious bloke whose network of eight clubs has helped to keep blues-rock alive within the M25 perimeter.
Starting with a support slot to Saga at the Lyceum in February 1981 (a show that also featured the semi-legendary Quartz), I?ve seen Stray many, many times. In fact, for a while there I probably overdosed on them. Strictly my own fault, I know. But the band?s new album, the Chris Tsangarides-produced ?Valhalla?, has renewed my enthusiasm for their music. Del Bromham might be the last remaining original member of a group that has made records since 1970, but the enduring guitarist/vocalist has surrounded himself with able and (comparatively) young talent in John Bonham-obsessed drummer Karl Randall and a Steve Harris lookalike bassist called Stuart Uren. Three universally-themed songs from ?Valhalla? ? namely ?1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?, ?Free At Last? and ?Harry Farr? ? justifiably stood their ground in the set. Bromham largely resisted the temptation to showboat, but as the performance closed with the Iron Maiden-covered ?All In Your Mind? he threatened to remove ceiling tiles by waving around his axe, depositing it atop an amp and controlling its feedback with a lead. The audience responded warmly.
Which, sadly, is more than can be said for The Groundhogs. It pains me to say this, especially having enjoyed their set at Shepherd?s Bush Empire on the ?Classic Legends Of Rock? tour last November, but it?s easy to see why Tony ?TS? McPhee and company are now considered an underground band. McPhee?s 40-year track record of speaks for itself, and though the ?Hogs still include material from their seminal ?Split? and ?Thank Christ For The Bomb? albums (1970 and ?71 respectively), his plectrum-less picking technique is a thing that the listener will love or loathe. What its wide-tread, high-density effect lacks in accuracy is compensated by sheer power, but the band?s songs are hardly big on hooks and, now in this mid-60s, the guitarist?s nonchalantly delivered vocals are another big minus point. It can?t have escaped McPhee?s attention that much of tonight?s initially sizeable crowd sidled exit-wards considerably before the show?s end
Dave Ling writes for CLASSIC ROCK & his diary can be found at: http://www.daveling.co.uk/diary.htm
