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Photo by Claudia Pinto |
MEMBERS/
MUSICIANS:
Jim Jones:
guitars, vox, harp
Graeme Flynn:
bass, vox
David Axford:
drums
HOMETOWN:
Aylesbury, United Kingdom
FORMATION
DATE:
2001?
WEBSITE:
www.blackmoses.co.uk |
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Once there was a time when Rock N' Roll was a
dangerous thing- sweaty, raunchy, delinquent
and sexy. At the risk of dating ourselves, some
of us here at Times Beach remember those days,
and -like a bunch of octogenarians at Monday
Bingo- we sometimes find ourselves reminiscing
and pining for those (mostly) bygone days. Imagine
our surprise when we wandered into a bar and
unexpectedly witnessed a return to those days.
The band was Black
Moses, an English outfit with serious
Rock pedigree, and they rocked the house... hard.
After a Hell of a Show- a brash, bawdy and riotous
set of R&B-inspired Rock-Noise, an exhausted
member of our entourage was heard to remark: "Wow!
They make me wanna go have sex with something...
anything!" Regardless that the actual quote was
more vulgar, or that his quest for consensual
love came to no fruition, ... well, suffice it
to say he had a more-than-valid point. Black
Moses was proud, loud, soulful, and very
randy.
Black Moses is comprised of three hard rocking fellows from Aylesbury, England: guitarist and singer Jim
Jones, former vocalist for Thee Hypnotics (btw, another band that knew that "rock n' roll" is an euphemism for "fucking"), bassist Graeme
Flynn, formerly of blues-punk band Penthouse, and drummer David
Axford, who has beaten the living crap out of the skins for bands as varied as The
Original Sinners, The Morgans and Gang
of Four. It should be obvious by reading that list that we are dealing with "lifers" here... no Sunday Sailors in this bunch.
That Black Moses chose to name themselves after an Isaac
Hayes record is telling. Their music could be described as "Hardcore R&B," "SoulRock," "PunkBlues," what have you- at times their performance feels like a Baptist Testimonial. Influenced equally by the British Invasion, Motown, and Detroit Rock of the White Panther sort, Black
Moses really are unclassifiable.
Black Moses' album Royal
Stink is a wonderful example of how a band that understands rawness,
performance and songwriting can eclipse other
similar minds with much greater budgets. Royal
Stink was tracked live in the back of a pub fer chrissakes! That's
keeping it real! Black
Moses are able to sound raw yet well recorded, assuring that they
will never have to hear the words "overproduced and slick" as a description
of their music. All we know is that when the
vocals howl, the guitars wail, the bass thumps,
and the drums kick like they do both on stage and on Royal
Stink, for us that is a magical combination, and we think you, too
will agree when we say that Black
Moses is a band that will restore your faith in Rock N' Roll...
the real kind. Amen and Hallefuckinlujah.
"To put it in short, Black Moses have on this record created a glam rock monster that kicks and screams like a baby with a temper. It has restored my faith in good, old fashioned rock'n'roll, and hopefully it wont be long before the population are once again collective believers, because Black
Moses are simply so rock'n'roll that they demand even Mick Jagger to raise one of his heavily dosed eyebrows."
-Matt Brown, Ewo-Punk.com, Feb 2005
"...Black Moses obviously believe in the same primal spirit of garage
rock, but they also have a renewed respect for
60s and 70s soul...underpinning
the blistering rock there is more than a hint
of the attitude and soulfulness that was a common
thread of Stax Records...if
you worship at the altar of the garage punk sound,
then this is about as good as it gets."
-John Doran, Classic Rock Magazine, Jan
2005
"...(Black Moses play) garage rock that captures all the rawness and
filth of classic Stooges and MC5 and makes it
sound as fresh and exciting as it would have
done thirty years ago...If you like
emo, acoustic guitars or whining twats singing
about how they can't get
laid, (Royal Stink) will make you cry...There
is no higher recommendation"
-Charles Butler, Static Domain, Jan 2005
"...we're front and centre watching Jones' new power trio. Like the
Blues Explosion channeling the
Stooges, MC5 and the
Sex Pistols, Black
Moses struts, spews and testifies - as exhilarating
a kicking out of the proverbial jams as we witness
during the entire SXSW festival."
-Fred Mills, Detroit Metro Times, April
2005
"...Jim Jones's mob demand you worship at the twin altars of rock and
soul. Are you ready to testify?
-The MOJO Playlist, April 2005
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