Brian Baker & The Memphis Knights
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Brian Baker & The Memphis Knights

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | SELF

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | SELF
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"Brian Baker"

Record Reviews by Larry Delaney

Brian Baker
Local weather

I think it was John Sebastian who said there was “thirteen hundred and fifty-two pickers in Nashville” in the Loovin’ Spoonfool’s classic 60’s crossover hit Nashville Cats...but he may have missed counting some of the all-time best who have graced the Canadian scene through the decades (Al Bruno, Red Shea, Redd Volkaert, Wendell Ferguson,etc.); the latest being Brian Baker out of Halifax, N.S.

Baker who is a first-call guitar picker for many East Coast recording acts, serves up his own collection of all instrumental tunes on Local Weather. The 8 selections featured include his own composition in the album’s title track, as well as some fiery efforts of Jerry Reed staples like Honkin’ and Jerry’s Breakdown; the Chet Atkins/Jerry Reed collaboration Baby’s Comin’ Home as well as some classic pop tunes like I’ll See You In My Dreams; and the mandatory Merle Travis guitar classic Cannonball Rag.

Brian Baker’s finger-pickin’ style will be the envy of most of today’s guitar pickers. - Country Music News


"Brian Baker"

Record Reviews by Larry Delaney

Brian Baker
Local weather

I think it was John Sebastian who said there was “thirteen hundred and fifty-two pickers in Nashville” in the Loovin’ Spoonfool’s classic 60’s crossover hit Nashville Cats...but he may have missed counting some of the all-time best who have graced the Canadian scene through the decades (Al Bruno, Red Shea, Redd Volkaert, Wendell Ferguson,etc.); the latest being Brian Baker out of Halifax, N.S.

Baker who is a first-call guitar picker for many East Coast recording acts, serves up his own collection of all instrumental tunes on Local Weather. The 8 selections featured include his own composition in the album’s title track, as well as some fiery efforts of Jerry Reed staples like Honkin’ and Jerry’s Breakdown; the Chet Atkins/Jerry Reed collaboration Baby’s Comin’ Home as well as some classic pop tunes like I’ll See You In My Dreams; and the mandatory Merle Travis guitar classic Cannonball Rag.

Brian Baker’s finger-pickin’ style will be the envy of most of today’s guitar pickers. - Country Music News


"Relentless rockabilly ramblers"

Relentless rockabilly ramblers

Memphis knights are reintroducing the genre.

George Barkhouse and Brian baker have brought a little piece of Lower Broadway back to the Maritimes.

The Halifax musicians are two thirds of rockabilly ramblers Memphis Knights, a band born out of their experience in Nashville’s historic entertainment district.

“We spent a week on Lower Broadway checking out bands the strip when we weren’t playing” said Baker, who was in the Ryan Cook band at the time along with Barkhouse.

“They were mostly all rockabilly and old school country bands, and on the way home we started thinking of putting something together. “That and the fact that there were not a whole lot of rockabilly bands happening here,” said Barkhouse, who yields an upright bass from the 1840’s. “That whole genre wasn’t strong, so we thought now would be a good time to introduce it.”

Formed last year, Memphis Knights has carved a name for itself with its country blues-infused rockabilly and relentless dance party live show.

The trio is rounded out by drummer Jordi Comstock, a five-time East Coast Music Awards nominee for musician of the year.

The band recorded their debut effort live in a bar in Coldbrook, N.S., last month. Alongside the original title track, “Do It Right,” the record includes covers of rockabilly pioneers such as Johnny Burnette, Stray Cats, Carl Perkins and Bill Haley.

Barkhouse said the band favors traditional, straight-up old school rockabilly music, but the crowd it attacks is truly ageless.

“We find the crowd mix is anywhere from 18 to 80,” he said. “ The folks in the 80 bracket used to dance when they were teenagers to this music; the younger folks like getting tattooed and dressing up and coming to the party.”

Do It Right is expected to drop in the middle of August. - Here


"Relentless rockabilly ramblers"

Relentless rockabilly ramblers

Memphis knights are reintroducing the genre.

George Barkhouse and Brian baker have brought a little piece of Lower Broadway back to the Maritimes.

The Halifax musicians are two thirds of rockabilly ramblers Memphis Knights, a band born out of their experience in Nashville’s historic entertainment district.

“We spent a week on Lower Broadway checking out bands the strip when we weren’t playing” said Baker, who was in the Ryan Cook band at the time along with Barkhouse.

“They were mostly all rockabilly and old school country bands, and on the way home we started thinking of putting something together. “That and the fact that there were not a whole lot of rockabilly bands happening here,” said Barkhouse, who yields an upright bass from the 1840’s. “That whole genre wasn’t strong, so we thought now would be a good time to introduce it.”

Formed last year, Memphis Knights has carved a name for itself with its country blues-infused rockabilly and relentless dance party live show.

The trio is rounded out by drummer Jordi Comstock, a five-time East Coast Music Awards nominee for musician of the year.

The band recorded their debut effort live in a bar in Coldbrook, N.S., last month. Alongside the original title track, “Do It Right,” the record includes covers of rockabilly pioneers such as Johnny Burnette, Stray Cats, Carl Perkins and Bill Haley.

Barkhouse said the band favors traditional, straight-up old school rockabilly music, but the crowd it attacks is truly ageless.

“We find the crowd mix is anywhere from 18 to 80,” he said. “ The folks in the 80 bracket used to dance when they were teenagers to this music; the younger folks like getting tattooed and dressing up and coming to the party.”

Do It Right is expected to drop in the middle of August. - Here


Discography

"Do it Right" Live at Lew Murphy's 2013

Photos

Bio

Brian Baker, a freelance guitarist in the Halifax country, rockabilly and blues scene, has toured North America with JD Clarke, Ryan Cook, Mark Cameron, Nudie and the Turks, and Michael Brennan. He performed at large festivals including the CMA Fanfare at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (Jamie Johnson), Cavendish Beach Country Music Festival (Taylor Swift; Keith Urban), and the Philadelphia Folk Festival (Taj Mahal), among others.

Brian Baker and the Memphis Knights, the infectiously danceable rockabilly band, perform high-energy rock 'n' roll combined with honky tonk attitude and swampy blues flavours and has quickly taken Atlantic Canada by storm! The band is known for adding a modern fiery punch to rockabilly standards by Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette, The Stray Cats and Gene Vincent. In 2013, Brian Baker and Memphis Knights released their debut album Do It Right" (recorded live at Lew Murphys Bar and Grill in Coldbrook, Nova Scotia.). The album includes the wildly popular title track that pays homeage to the bustling nightlife scene of Argyle Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Brian began entertaining Atlantic Canadian blues venues in 2004 when he joined the regionally popular blues, zydeco, and country band The Hill Brothers. Baker performed at jazz and blues festivals across Atlantic Canada with the Brothers, including headlining Quebecs Maximum Blues Festival. Baker developed confidence playing to crowds of thousands and met some of blues' greatest artists, such as Sugar Ray Norcia.

During these years, Baker developed a reputation for his exceptional fingerstyle guitar picking skills, eventually earning him the prestigious invitation to perform at the 2008 Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville, TN. This once-in-a-lifetime experience allowed him to participate in the tribute show for Chet Atkins lifelong side man Paul Yandell, demonstrate his skills in an evening showcase, and jam with guitar legend Nookie Edwards (The Ventures) and Thom Bresch (son of fingerstyle legend Merle Travis).

One of Atlantic Canadas most in-demand freelance guitarists, Brian Baker released his own instrumental fingerstyle guitar album in 2010, entitled Local Weather. The album features Brians own arrangements of classic Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, and Merle Travis tunes as well as his original composition, Local Weather. Local Weather gained recognition in the Canadian music industry, placed on regular rotation on CBC Radio and featured on CBC Weekend Mornings. Ottawas Country Music News gave a glowing review of the album, describing Brian Bakers finger-pickin style as the envy of most of todays guitar pickers.

During his various trips to Nashville for guitar conventions and festivals, Brian Baker always found himself deeply inspired by Nashville's signature rockabilly sound. During his last trip, he decided to bring it home. In Winter 2012, he went straight to work with the goal of creating a band that resembles the type of entertainment found on Nashville's Lower Broadway district. Teamed with bassist George Barkhouse (Darren Arsenault, Ryan Cook), and drummer Jordi Comstock (five-time ECMA nominee for Musician of the Year; Air Traffic Control, Acres and Acres), Memphis Knights was born.

Premiere events in 2013 for Memphis Knights include:
-MaRS (Maritime Annual Rockabilly Shakedown) Festival, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada
-Sweet Sassy Molassy Rockabilly Weekend, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
-Memphis Knights Rockabilly Rumble, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
-Green Goblin Customs 4th Annual Rockabilly Weekend, Canning, Nova Scotia, Canada
-Rockin Country Harvest Fest, Upper Stewiake, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Band Members