THE BELLRAYS
The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) are an American group that combines garage rock music with soul singing styles. The band consists of Lisa Kekaula (vocals), Bob Vennum (guitar), Justin Andres (bass) and Stefan Litrownik (drums). The group, founded in the early 1990’s in Riverside, California, prides itself on its independence. (More from Wikipedia)
I am not the only one who feels this way about Andy Colquhoun; as Ken Shimamoto expressed in an online review of his solo CD, Pick up the Phone, America! (I sure wish I knew enough about music to write like this): “Nobody on Earth plays guitar like Andy Colquhoun. Well, maybe Wayne Kramer [of Detroit’s MC5 and another running mate of Mick Farren’s for several decades now] and Tony Fate (ex-Bellrays, current Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs) are in the same league, but Andy’s brand of over-the-top rock skronk and acid-blues is totally unique. As guitarists go, he’s got a deep trick bag: a huge sound, saturated with fuzz and Echoplex; a monstrous whammy bar attack that skews his snaky, vibrato-laden blues lines and monolithic octaves; ringing harmonics; a deft touch accompanied by a fine melodic sensibility . . . almost a bent-head Jeff Beck (always a name to conjure with in the gtr circles I run in).”
(August 2011)
