Ones To Watch:Wheeler Street
Wheeler Street are named after the road in Maidstone upon which the Greyhound pub resides, so kudos for that. The pub is renown for it's singers nights and is the first place where Wheeler Street played together as a band and where they can still be found in various combinations on singers nights.
The important phrase there is various combinations. As with so much, size really does matter and Wheeler Street clock up seven. Remarkably all are under the age of twenty and from so many different parts of the UK and further a field it's almost impossible to work out how and why they ended up in the same corner of Kent. Fate works in mysterious ways and always does things for a reason.
For Toby Starks(Bouzouki, Guitar, Vocals), Ben Insall(Acoustic/Electric Guitar, Vocals), Sophy Blundell(Whistles, Vocals), Callum Pope(Acoustic/Electric Guitar, Vocals), Jonathon Starks(Fiddle, Melodeon, Mandolin, Vocals), Jon Fuller(Bass, Vocals) and Pete Wheeler(Drums, Percussion, Concertina, Mandolin, Vocals) 2008 is proving to be a catalyst year.
Wheeler Street spent a hard summer of graft criss-crossing the country's highways and byways to play all manner of gigs, building and then enhancing their reputation as a live act. Strength in depth giving them the ability to change the focus of any given song across the band so that each song feels like an individual piece.
Further weight to their live credentials was given at Cambridge Folk Festival, where they delivered a storming set of their own in the Club Tent, but also proved their musical ability by playing a couple of their own songs and then joining other musicians in the Brian McNeill Session on Stage Two.
It was on Stage Two that they really stunned a number of, let's just say folk's older guard, in the audience, who shook their heads in disbelief at just how talented musicians get so young these days.
Somehow, they also managed to find time to release their debut EP, "Complaints & Privileges" on SNR, a release that took them to a wider audience and showed that it was just live they could set the sparks flying.
Both the live performances and their EP earnt them a place on the Fatea Showcase Session:Bandstand. By coincidence for part of the time the Showcase Session is out, work will be ongoing on Wheeler Street's debut album, a project that sees Jim Moray taking control of the desk.
It also means that they're in for a busy time in 2009. The first tour of the year is already booked for February/March., giving them the opportunity to take their contemporary version of folk rock another spin around the country.
Wheeler Street definitely have the potential and are already causing more than a few ripples on the folk scene. If it's not a curse, Wheeler Street are definitely a band to keep an eye/ear out for, particularly if the album lives up to the promises made by the "Complaints & Privileges" EP.
For more information about Wheeler Street, please check out their website, www.wheelerstreet.org or MySpace www.myspace.com/wheelerstreet