Showing posts with label Billy TK Jnr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Billy TK Jnr. Show all posts

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Billy TK Jnr - Presenting Billy TK Jnr

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 54:35
Size: 125.0 MB
Styles: Rockin blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Do You Remember
[4:42] 2. Bring It On
[6:26] 3. Goodbye Baby
[3:00] 4. Dance With Me
[4:08] 5. Nothing But The Blues
[6:06] 6. Flag A Ride
[6:05] 7. Why Wait
[5:27] 8. Saturday Night
[5:25] 9. Everythang Gonna Be Alright
[6:54] 10. When I Dream
[2:26] 11. Island Exit

It's odd that this album should be called "Presenting" given that Auckland-based guitarist Billy TK Jnr has been taking his brand of tough Texas blues around the bars and clubs of New Zealand (and to Texas) for about two decades.Perhaps the reason he isn't a household name is that he has been known to take sabbaticals and go get "a real job" (banking once if I recall, the army another time), and that this kind of music grounded in Stevie Ray Vaughan and drinks from the top shelf isn't popular at most radio -- and certainly not on television music shows.

My guess is that people in government funding agencies don't get it either and probably feel it a bit common and beneath them. Billy also has another problem: he is an absolutely extraordinary guitar player who is as hard as nails and can make that thing scream and cry -- but he makes it all look too easy. I saw him launch this album in Auckland and he peeled paint off the walls -- yet did it with barely a grimace. A younger player in a rock band would have made expressive faces at every effortless bend of a note.

So there are the problems facing Billy -- yes, the son of famed Human Instinct/Powerhouse guitarist -- but here is what he has in his favour: he plays exceptional blues guitar, delivers an intense live performance, has a cracking band, and now has an album of tough-minded originals as a launch pad when he tours the country in the coming weeks. On the night of the launch Billy -- who is also a gentleman -- acknowledged the presence in the crowd of two people he looked up to and respected: Hammond Gamble and Midge Marsden. It was a genuine gesture and my guess is that among the people gathered there were a few looking at Billy with a similar kind of respect. As they should. ~Graham Reid

Presenting Billy TK Jnr mc
Presenting Billy TK Jnr zippy

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Billy TK Jnr & The Groove Shakers - Blues Benediction

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:17
Size: 115.1 MB
Styles: Blues rock
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:04] 1. Flyin' Kiwi Shuffle (Waitara Shuffle)
[4:59] 2. Bubba Rhumba
[5:41] 3. Love Me All Over
[7:53] 4. In The Middle Of The Night
[3:15] 5. Hideaway
[5:25] 6. Phonebooth
[8:37] 7. Little Wing
[3:46] 8. G String Swing
[7:33] 9. Stevie's Good Night Blues

Hailing from New Zealand Billy TK Jnr has toured internationally since 1993 and has earned himself a reputation as a genuine guitar hero in the electric guitar blues scene as well as having video hits with ‘mainstream’ songs.

He has toured and worked with artists like George Thorogood, Jimmy Barnes, The Neville Brothers, Ian Moss and Junior Wells and has performed in the USA, Japan, Australia and around the pacific and has just returned from performing at the Fiji 2012 International Jazz and Blues Festival. Billy TK Jnr with the Groove Shakers made such a great impression with the promoter and punters at the Sydney Blues Festival in 2010 they have asked him to return to the festival in 2012 to be one of the headline acts. Billy first came to prominence in Australia in 2006 via a standout perfromance at the Narooma blues festival, following this Billy made an indent on the Australian tour circuit.

This album has had it’s own story behind it with the sudden and tragic death of his producer BenStockwell, just before finishing the final product. Billy has dedicated one of the album tracks‘Stevies Good Night Blues’ to Ben. After Ben’s tragic death Billy then had to make some serious decisions about the album and it’s direction. He met up with engineer producer of the year Andrew Buckton of 203 Studios in Auckland and decided to re record all the tracks. Billy feels he has a totally polished album ready for the global market place.

“They say that everything is about timing and this album feels like it has 'arrived' at the right location at the right time - I have recorded 2 albums in the past but none of them have ever felt or sounded as good as this - it is kind of a reflection of where I am at in my life' 'The album took 12 months to do - we recorded a first version of it and then lost the use of almost all of those tracks when Ben died'. ‘Sooo we re recorded everything in 4 days and what we have now is better than what we had before' - 'A strange and sad story but with a wonderful ending - I am very proud of this album and what I now have for the world to listen to is up there with the music of my heroes who inspired me to play.” ~Billy TK Jnr

originally posted by kamane in TBC.
Blues Benediction