CREEKE

It’s always great to be surprised by the ability of an unknown local band – this happened back in December at a charity event I was hosting at Canford Heath Community Centre. Amongst a host of well known (to me) local bands were a band called Creeke who rocked up with an army of enthusiastic fans and a set hearts racing with an exciting live set. Creeke started life when childhood friends Ryan Jaszek and Billy Jones started to discover music by playing the songs of some of their favourite artist which eventually started them on the road to writing some of their own creations. At this point their duo decided to form a band by recruiting Huw Tucker once they discovered his great abilities behind the drum kit. The line-up was completed one they later found and recruited bassist Rob Gjoka who sadly recently left the band. The band are now on the lookout for a replacement, however, for the time being “White Heat” bassist Ed Flynn has offered to stand in until their search for a replacement is over.

Creeke
After getting a series of gigs under their belts the band have recently released a couple of singles to give people a taste of what they are about. The first of these is “Circus” which shows the band bringing together all the traditional elements of rock music to create a tune that has a distinct 90’s vibe to it think something along lines of grunge meets britpop. Billy delivers a slightly gruff style of vocals combined with his rhythm guitar work which combines with the creative work Ryan Jaszek and this is all brought together by the impressive rhythm section. The lyrics are a hands in pockets style approach to hopes and dreams with downbeat lyric “We were nothing once, we’ll be nothing again, I just wanna be loved baby”.

Creeke
The next tune “Smokescreen” is a much more adventurous piece which is much more upbeat with an infectious guitar part running throughout the length of the song. In this, the guys really seem to be working together with all their collective abilities to start to carve out a sound for themselves. The tune is about a coping mechanism for anxiety, not one that singer Billy prescribes to, but something Michael Stipe (REM) said to Thom York (Radiohead) once, and so he wrote the lyrics around that. It then becomes quite obviously about a character who suffers from anxiety and “I’m not really here” is the coping mechanism that the character is using to protect themselves from everything, And it becomes quite an interesting read once you bear that in mind. Though it’s only early days for these guys, they after just a couple of singles are showing plenty of promise in creating an original tune, I look forward to their future output with much interest.

Band Members
Billy Jones – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Ryan Jaszek -Lead Guitar
Ed Flynn -Bass (Temp stand In)
Huw Tucker (Drums) - Chinners

The first of these is a band I had the fortune of catching when they played a charity event I was hosting back in December. Creeke are a four piece band from Bournemouth who were founded in 2018 by two childhood friends Ryan Jaszek and Billy Jones, who got together out of a shared love for music. The duo added Huw Tucker on drums and tonight their line-up features bassist Ed Flynn of “White Heat”. The guys open with their recently released single “Circus”, which shows their slightly grungy influences and obvious natural talent. Frontman Billy at just 17 shows a maturity well beyond his years with some really great vocal delivery. The original compositions include the dark and moody “Wolves”, along with “Cut me Loose” which features a well put together lead guitar piece. The band’s second single “Smokecreen” really sees them reach their stride with a great delivery of an infectious tune, that the audience seem to really enjoy. The boys save their best ’til last and play a new untitled tune that is really well crafted, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. They leave the stage after a memorable set to lots of positive noise from the audience. - Chinners

Creeke, the youngest of the three bands, mere teenagers I’m told, had the unenviable task of getting things underway. Their music veers between the occasionally poppy and the slightly grungy with occasional touches of anthem rock. In lead singer and rhythm-guitarist Billy Jones, they have an endearing frontman with a touch of Damian Albarn looks and charm and a soulful voice, when you can hear it. Their opening number ‘Circus’ had that poppy edge. ‘Wolves’ in 3/4 (in case you’re counting) was more menacing. ‘Cut me Loose’ featured a brooding bass riff whilst ‘Smokescreen’ was an up-tempo grunge-rock tune with an effective drop-out break and a neat ending. - Paul Kelly