Gwyn Ashton

"Ashton breathes new life into bluesy rock with a vicious bang-up-to-date sting in the tail" - - Metal Hammer

"A two-piece blues avalanche for fans of records how they used to make 'em. This raw showcase of a telepathic duo exploring their blues is well worth cranking up!" - - Guitarist magazine (UK)

"Superb technique and an array of swampy, high-energy tunes.Think Rory Gallagher jamming with The White Stripes" - - Classic Rock

Hubert Sumlin, who fell through a window onto a stage at the age of 9 and played for 23 years as Howlin' Wolf's guitarist, is the man whom Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and countless others list as one of their greatest influences.

Arriving on stage wearing a grey suit, white fedora, Gwyn Ashton tee shirt and an enormous guitar-shaped tie, Hubert looked every inch the epitome of an old time Bluesman. He was later joined on stage by Gwyn Ashton who visibly enjoyed every minute of trading licks with the maestro, it seemed as if they could have played all night and we could have happily watched. A great weekend was had by all and we hope to see you at next year's Bury Blues festival. - www.bluesfreepress.org.uk

The opening ceremony included live music from the popular Bulgarian band D2 and legendary Gwyn Ashton Band from the UK. Rising Force Co. brought a wonderful music program and extraordinary atmosphere during the special guitar Fender contest. Mr. Christopher Thomson from Bearing Point won the contest and a professional guitar. Six awards were given at the Jack Daniel’s BBQ party. - American Chamber of Commerce

..."virtuoso guitarist and dynamic performer equally at home on his beaten up old Strat or his National steel guitar, and this is in full evidence on his latest release, Prohibition which runs the gamut from supercharged, four-on-the-floor rockers to gritty blues." - Classic Rock magazine (UK) 2007

" ...unlike many of his contemporaries Ashton does not resort to cliché, pomp and bluster, but lays down terrific riffs and inserts just enough light and shade to make him a leader in this genre...this is top drawer stuff." - Blues Matters magazine (UK)

"Ashton doesn't just sing and play, he grabs his music by the throat and squeezes every ounce of life out of it." - Maverick magazine (UK) 2007

"South Australia's greatest contribution to blues-rock" - Billboard magazine (USA) 2007

"The press release informs the uninitiated that Gwyn Ashton has toured the globe with the likes of Status Quo, Johnny Winter, BB King and Jeff Healey.

On ‘Prohibition’ guitarist/ harmonica/ electric sitar player Ashton is accompanied by Chris Glen and Ted McKenna of The Famous Alex Harvey Band (I still remember with fondness the album ‘Fourplay’ they made without Alex).

From the first bars of ‘Get Up, Get Over It’ you realise you’re in for a rock rollercoaster ride of the nicest kind (ie. Not too scary!!), phenomenal playing! A nicely crafted guitar solo on ‘Come On’ segues into ‘Don’t Walk Run’, vintage heavy blues rock.

The heavy rock riff perpetuated by the likes of AC/DC will be familiar on ‘Back to You’. There is bonus cameo from Don Airey on piano on ‘Castaway’ and an excellent cover of Rory Gallagher’s ‘Secret Agent’. The blues stomp of ‘Ain’t My Style is another gem!

I never tire of the Bo Diddley ‘Not Fade Away’ vibe (actually of tribal origin I would guess!) and Ashton unleashes some serious harmonica to accompany the beat and Liz McLaughlin provides backing vocals on ‘Prohibition’.

The autobiographical ‘The Road is my Religion’ is a charming, self revelatory number, done many times before in different guises certainly but still relevant and pertinent. On ‘Ball ‘n’ Chain’ it’s a case of ‘Did Jimi Hendrix really know what he started?!

The band reaches a phenomenally frenzied peak of heavy blues rock on the extraordinary ‘Guitar Town’. Finally, the 7 minute ‘Rest in Paradise’ is a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan and shows great subtlety as it builds slowly and expressively to a crescendo of fretwork fireworks (with some slide guitar of course!) before returning whence it came respectfully and reflectively with some very Peter Green like echo guitar arpeggios- a fitting tribute!

The first bonus track is a sitar/ slide guitar traditional blues (‘Judgement Day’- very Rory Gallagher/ Elmore James), the second the rock ‘n’ roll boogie of ‘Shake It Down’.

The music on this CD is right up my street- thanks to GFT Promotions for another timely reminder of classic heavy blues rock the way it should be played- with no holds barred! Compliments also to Riverside Records for the neat fold out slipcase presentation.

(Not due for release until 18 June but well worth waiting for)

(Riverside Records RRUKCD 14)"

- Zeitgeist, Phil Jackson

"If you watched Life On Mars on the telly recently, you'll be aware of the resurgence of all things '70s - and one of the big things in music, particularly in the early seventies, was the blues-rock power trio. And here's Gwyn Ashton with an absolute belter of an album, which doffs its cap to the power trio genre, (Taste and Rory Gallager in particular) yet manages to sound contemporary at the same time. It's some trick - and it works.

Ashton is an Australian-born guitarist of real power and he's put together a band with Chris Glen (ex SAHB, Ian Gillan, etc) on bass, and, perhaps more importantly, Ted McKenna, who toured and recorded for over three years with Rory Gallagher, on drums. There's no mistaking the Rory connection - he's got a battered Strat, a love of the blues, and hell, he even looks like Rory - but forget any ideas of this being some sort of tribute band - he's very much his own man.

There's twelve tracks on offer here and it's all killer no filler as someone once said.

The album kicks off with the classic blues/rock rifferama of 'Get Up, Get Over It' which sets the tone for what follows. There's blistering fretwork from Gwyn all over the place, but for me there are four standout tracks.

A great cover of Rory's 'Secret Agent' gives a strong reminder of what we've been missing since Rory passed away, 'Ain't My Style' has a classic Stevie Ray Vaughan riffalike, and 'The Road Is My Religion' which I rattled my brain to remember what it sounded like (don't be put off when I tell you it's Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead Or Alive'!).

However the track that takes the biscuit is 'Rest In Paradise (for Stevie), which, when I read it was a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, I got that sinking feeling that it was going to be one of those maudlin ballads full of sanctimonious, claptrap lyrics that have you reaching for the sick-bag. How wrong can you be - it's a superb, wholly instrumental tribute to SRV which has familiar Stevie licks weaving in and out all over the place. I don't think Stevie could have had a better epitaph than this.

All in all this is a great album and if blues/rock fretmeistery is your thing, well, what more can I say - buy it!" - Alan Jackson

- Get Ready to Rock

‘Prohibition’ is easily Gwyn Ashton’s best ever album, bringing out the best in both his own playing and his stellar rhythm section.
UK based Aussie guitar slinger Gwyn Ashton has been round the block a few times, building up a strong following in both Germany and France, where he has worked in the footsteps of Rory Gallagher with Band of Friends. Meanwhile he’s cleverly retained his stronghold back down under while adding to his profile in the US with tours of Texas and the west Coast.. Stylistically he’s always straddled the Rock Blues divide, with a slight leaning towards the blues camp. A superb guitarist and passionate player, ‘Prohibition’ is perhaps the album that he’s threatened to make for years. Together with the former Rory Gallagher/Alex Harvey rhythm section of Chris Glen and Ted McKenna, and together with a helping hand from Don Airey on keys and Liz McLaughlin on bv’s, he’s come up close to fulfilling all that early career promise.
Undoubtedly more rockier and heavier than anything he’s done before, Gwyn shows the full repertoire of his guitar talent.
While the blues influences remain, Gwyn seems to have toughened things up enough to readjust his focus to the rock market. From the tub thumping slide-led opener ‘Get Up, Get Over It’ with its AC/DC inflections through Rory’s ‘Secret Agent’ to the heavy duty shuffle ‘Ain’t My Style’ on which the rhythm section is in its element, Gwyn rocks out to great effect. On the wild slide shenanigans of ‘Ball And Chain’ he emulates fellow Australian Dave Hole with a virtuoso slide guitar performance, which is a rare example of a live wire performance in the studio.

Also check out the occasional thinly disguised rock references most notably the ‘Hey Bulldog’ riff of ‘Come On/Don’t Walk, Run’, and the Hendrix ‘Machine Gun’ riff of ‘Are You Lonely’.
Aside from some scintillating playing as on the Johnny Winter derivative ‘Guitar Town’, on which he delivers two full blooded, big toned solo’s, there can rarely have been an album that has benefited so much from a thunderous unrelenting rhythm section such as this. Yes the ghosts of Rory and SRV may loom large in the life of Gwyn Ashton but with ‘Prohibition’ he can take his career to a new level. The bonus tracks showcase some neat dobro playing and some nifty licks on a closing red hot boogie workout which is the perfect rocking end to a fine album that will appeal to all guitar fans.
****
- Pete Feenstra