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This is the archive of the combined Barking Spider and Andy Broad Portsmouth Blues Site mailing lists.
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BAD INFLUENCE - Bullfrog Blues Club, South Parade Pier, Thursday 27th October, Southsea. Bad Influence are a UK blues rock band who have toured extensively and this year played the prestigious "Blues At The Fort" Festival- having been invited back to headline after playing support the previous year! This Thursday they're at The Bullfrog Blues Club on South Parade Pier - don't miss 'em! Fronted by vocalist Val Colwell, the band currently feature two members of top heavy metal band Thunder in their ranks - bass player Chris Childs & drummer Harry James. The Bullfrog's roving reporters (J.R & The Gnome) caught up with vocalist Val Cowell after the "Blues At The Fort" gig:. Q. Apart from headlining this great gig, what else are Bad Influence currently up to? Val: It's business as usual for the band, we have a 'circuit' of excellent venues we play regularly. We recorded a live session for the Paul Jones Show on BBC Radio 2 which was broadcast in February. We’ve released a live album and have just release a studio album featuring our original material, Q: What are your personal GOOD influences!? Val: My original influences were Joni Mitchell and Carole King, but latterly Bonnie Raitt of course…. and then I'd have to say my big brothers who are both musicians. A: Give us a brief history of the band, and a rundown on the style of music you play Val: Bad Influence formed ten years ago with me on vocals and guitar and Richard Hayes on lead and slide guitar. After a few changes over the years, the band has now settled with bass player Chris Childs and drummer Harry James completing the rhythm section. Our style is predominantly blues rock, with hints of country and funk. Our set list is original songs with some cover versions from bands such as ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers and Tom Petty. We've had the current line-up for sometime now so it's really tight and gutsy live. Q: What have been the highlights and lowpoints of your career to date? Val: Lowpoint is definitely playing The Marquee Club in London the day the Gulf War broke out having previously sold it out 12 times!!! High point is now really. We have a great band , play constantly and the Radio 2 thing is a good indication of things to come. Q: How easy do you find it to get gigs into today's live music scene? Val: We're lucky in that we've built up a reputation and a fan base at a level that works for us. Although we play smaller gigs, we're in the lucky position to be completely in control of what we do, to be able to do it all the time and to enjoy it as long as the fans keep coming out to see us. Although band members are often involved in other projects, like Thunder and Magnum, a long tour is often tricky to organise. That's why we love doing festivals like "Blues At The Fort", and it's always great to play friendly clubs like The Bullfrog in Southsea! Q: How did you get the Thunder rhythm section into the band? How does Harry James find time to drum for Bad Influence, Thunder AND Magnum? Val: Well., we were actually managed by the Thunder management team in the 90's but it was through a mutual fan coming to one of our gigs that knew I was looking for a drummer and Harry being the ultimate muso that he is started working with us as well as Thunder. We got Chris in about a year after that and here we are. It's actually quite easy for Harry and Chris to fit everything in as the likes of Thunder and Magnum do tours in short spurts so I can book the band around the dates pretty well! Q: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why? Val: My present band - with Bonnie Raitt on backing vocals! BAD INFLUENCE appear at The Bullfrog Blues Club, South Parade Pier, Thursday 27th October, Southsea. Tickets avail\ble or on the door - doors open at 8.p.m.