Whisky Blitz

If anyone were to suggest Whisky Blitz is different to your average band, they’d be pretty close to the mark in many ways. Behind the simplistic stadium rock delivery (a dying art itself) lays a message that urges you to enjoy the best time you’ve ever had and, whatever your walk of life, screams ‘you need this band in your world’. And that’s the initial spark behind the band’s creation.

Oxfordshire singer/songwriter Howard Timberlake brought the band together in the summer of 2007. Each band member bringing an individual quality to the group. No one in Whisky Blitz takes themselves too seriously and there is no room for egos. It’s all about giving something positive to the audience.

The master plan was to mix folk-inspired lyrics of ‘hope n’ history’ with huge clumps of rock. To drive home the message, each gig is played as if it is their last. For however long their set may be, you feel practically obliged to enjoy yourself. No shoe gazing allowed. The band played their first gig to a packed venue in Reading in late-spring 2008 and have never looked back.

All the band’s material is homegrown. Many of be song foundations, including lyrics, originate from songwriter Timberlake, but it’s the finishing touches, chemistry and creative input from Gillies, Andrews and Fletcher that makes life in Whisky Blitz enjoyable a rewarding for all members. It’s a good work ethic and that reflects how they like to be creators of their own destiny.

Howard Timberlake’s musical background is heavily folk-based, once even playing Irish & English folk music in local country pubs as well as founding ‘Goring Unplugged’ – a successful local music evening which has seen the likes of Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span) grace its stage. He continues to write solo material and record albums outside the band as well as act in various local stage productions. “One of the best things about playing in a band is that it’s not just you making an idiot of yourself, it’s four idiots keeping each other company” he says.