The Makings Of A Supergroup

At the turn of the century, the original rhythm section of the legendary “Whitesnake” rock n’ blues powerhouse got together with other stellar musicians and formed ‘The Company Of Snakes’.  Touring across their native UK, the assembled minstrels consistently brought the houses down with their versions of such ‘Whitesnake’ standards as “Trouble”, “Don’t Break My Heart Again”, “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” and others.  “The Company Of Snakes” released two cd’s and a DVD, chronicling their ascent into the stratosphere of Hard Rock n’ Blues.

Ten years later, we find two of these minstrels teaming up with four other renowned British musicians to begin a brand new chapter in British Rock n’ Blues.  Micky Moody; guitarist extraordinaire, and stellar Bassist Neil Murray, (Whitesnake), have joined with Harry James, an unbelievable powerhouse drummer from ‘Thunder’, and Laurie Wisefield, another astonishing guitarist.  Filling out this supergroup in the making, Chris Ousey fronts the band with his distinctive vocal style, while Adam Wakeman reinforces the sweet sounds of ‘Snakecharmer’ with his skilful tinkling of the ivories!

Snakecharmer has a musical pedigree that resides in the upper echelons of British Hard Rock.  Laurie Wisefield was a long running member of the cutting edge group ‘Wishbone Ash’.  Adam Wakeman cut his teeth with none other than the juggernaut Ozzy band.  And yes, he is the son of Rick Wakeman!  The finely tuned voice of Chris Ousey can be heard on numerous Rock records, including Vancouver’s own Kenny Koas, in Canada’s  ‘Poker Face’, plus his own ‘close to the heart’ outfit “Heartland.  These six musicians have created a Rock outfit that promises to elevate the heartfelt Rock n’ Blues genre back to the upper reaches of the musical sky.  These combined musical troopers have contributed, in the past,  to many a group and artist, including the likes of Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Annie Lennox, and many more.

Photo: Contributed

Snakecharmer are an absolute, bonifide, dyed in the wool supergroup!  One that will not supernova, like so many before them.  Why?  Each of these highly esteemed musicians are from the old school.  The school of hard work, hearfelt creation of music and feet firmly on the ground.  There will be no ‘egos’ to contend with, just exceptional musicianship, songwriting and singing!  The ‘Snakecharmer’ live shows will lift your heart and soul, bring you to tears and at the next moment have you feeling so strong, that at the end of their performance, you will be left breathless.  Each group that these guys started in rocked to the n’th degree, and that is what happens now, and, recently,  they have been able to capture all of that in the recording studio!

Frontiers’ Records have just recently announced that the debut album of ‘Snakecharmer’ will have worldwide release in early 2013!  Currently, the group are polishing up the record, and preparing for a wide reaching tour to begin in early ’13 as well.  We can look forward to towering vocals, dynamic rhythms, regal interplay between the keyboards and twin guitars, and all anchored by the powerhouse rhythm section of James and Murray!  Hard Rock n’ Blues is about to get two shots in the arm! and 2013 is starting to look incredible!!

- Bruce E.J. Atkinson

Under the Lights

Upcoming Club/Concert Highlights:

The Blue Gator:   Moni Funk:  Sept. 28^th/29^th    Zamboni Brothers:  Oct. 5^th/6^th                       Studebaker John:   October 12^th/13^th    JW Jones:  Oct. 19^th & 20^th    Fighting Orange:  Oct. 24^th       Zamboni Brothers:  Oct. 25^th    Random Act:  Oct. 26^th & 27^th

Gateway 21:     Truly Tina: (Tina Turner Tribute)   Oct. 19^th & 20^th    Reflections In Black; (Tribute To Johnny Cash)   Oct. 26^th & 27^th

Minstrel Café:   Manfred:  Friday Sept. 28^th    The Blue Healers:  Saturday Sept. 29^th    Devon Coyote & The Gentleman:   Sunday Sept. 30^th    Maria  Muldaur:   October 4^th     David Gogo Acoustic Trio:  Oct. 11^th   Calum Hughes Collective:   Oct. 12^th   Papa Dawg Blues Band:   Oct. 13^th  The Strawbs:   Oct. 23^rd

The Pheasant & Quail Pub:  Donovan Sweet:  Sept. 28^th/29^th   

The Streaming Café:   Michael Bernard Fitzgerald:  Sept. 27^th    The Jon Cohen Experimental:  Sept. 29^th     The Sumner Brothers:   Oct. 6^th

Notable Concerts:  

Minstrel Café:   The Strawbs:   October 23^rd

Kelowna Community Theatre:   Andre-Philippe Gagnon:  November 9^th    Colin James:  November 12^th     

Prospera Place:   Russell Peters:  October 2^nd    Journey/Loverboy/Night Ranger:  December 1^st

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.