Press
Nz Musician Fresh Cuts (February/ March)
Author: Anna Schlotjes
According to Joel C. Blood, Auckland four-piece Blue Blood are a band keen for pretty much anything. Boredom and conventionality however, not so much. “Blue Blood believe in the party gods. Life is too short not to enjoy it to its fullest.”
Accurately describing their sound as, “funky blues rock that moves the dance floor,” Blue Blood are a band that know who they are and celebrate it in their fun loving, party fuelled debut album ‘Top Shelf Woman’.
Inspired by a variety of artists including Soundgarden, BB King and Beck, Blood says the band’s message is to “… embrace the one shot you have at life, live the life you want to live and don’t settle for second best.” A motto that appears to be working for them, given the attention surrounding their work.
“There is never dull day in the life of Blue Blood, one of the greatest things that has happened to us has been becoming a Jack Daniels’ endorsed band. We’re also undertaking our national album release tour through February, and playing another tour with Aussie band The Eternal.”
On top of this, Blue Blood are in the works of negotiating with a major stoner rock label to tour Europe, and will start demoing again in March.
The release of ‘Top Shelf Woman’ however is at the forefront of the band’s mind. The album is funky, fresh and fun to listen to, a credit to Chris Winchcombe, Hayden Taylor and others at York Street Studio in capturing the band’s unique party vibe.
“Chris was fantastic, he has a great ear and worked his magic in mastering the album. Our secret weapon however is Hayden Taylor. Hayden was a great engineer to work with. He has fresh ideas and was a tireless machine on the Neve.”
So what’s next for this delightfully hedonistic band in their quest for good times and great living?
“We want to tour,” says Blood, reaffirming the band’s love for the good, old-fashioned rock star lifestyle. “We love the studio but the real fun is ripping up stages with other primed and polished rock’n’roll bands. We are hoping to get things finalised shortly for a European tour and have been speaking with a booking agent in the States to book dates there as well. So our mission is to rep NZ rock’n’roll worldwide!”
BLUE BLOOD: Top Shelf Woman
By Alistar Wickens of New Zealand Musician Magazine (April/ May)
Blue Blood are all about sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, with a 1970s flavour. From the cover art, to the Hendrix-inspired wah-wah solos this debut album drips with period influences. Tales of late night adventures fuelled by alcohol, narcotics, loose women and loud music combine with catchy riffs, sharp beats and a fun vibe that makes you long to join in their mischief making.
To their credit they’ve drawn on their influences without making them overly obvious. They recorded at York St and self-produced the 10 tracks, with Hayden Taylor taking a leading role. Unusually only three of the songs were ready to go when they hit the studio, the rest written on the spot.
The result is an album that has its roots in the sound of an era, but still sounds fresh; a tribute to hard-edged, bluesy rock, rather than a pastiche. It’ll be interesting to see if this Auckland five-piece can keep their music sounding new and original on future releases, but for now they’re doing a fantastic job of it.
Muzic.net.nz Interview – December 2010
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Don’t kid yourself. Be realistic about what it takes to be a recognised musician. In this day and age it is easier to become an internet millionaire then it is to become a recognized musician. Believe in yourself because no one is going to for a long time yet. Never give up and don’t take no for an answer.
How do you come up with your lyrics?
All the lyrics from this album come from true stories that the band has experienced. Blue Bloods lyrics are about sharing ideas and experiences that people can relate too. We are a people band.
Who would you most like to support live?
Jimi Hendrix playing lead for Cream.
What is the best part of being a musician?
Getting up on stage and moving people with sound. Giving people an outlet to release their frustrations and their satisfactions of living in a modern age. Also the sex and drugs are killer too.
What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?
Anything that pushes the boundaries and that represents us as New Zealanders. The kiwi pop charts are filled with cheap American knock off artists. Its fuckin weaker the weak.
What inspired you to become a start Blue Blood?
I have been in the music industry for many years, and I grew tired of hearing all these bands following the latest trend, regardless of genre. It seemed every time a major American artist was released it spawned a dozen New Zealand imitations. I just wanted to focus on the era of music that was real, vital and experimental .The era that defined modern rock music. To stay true to my roots but adding musical flavours of the past thirty years to add spice and adapt these 70s styling’s. Basically Blue Blood stands for Fuck pop bring back the Rock!
How did you come up with the name Blue Blood?
I have Blues in my Blood.
What rumour would you like to start about Blue Blood?
Rumours are for the birds. Blue Blood is a wild enough party machine of controversy without needing any propaganda to feed the gossip hags and scene queens.
Blue Blood is Joel C Blood (guitar, vocals), Digga Hole (drums, percussion), Nathan Cooper (keyboards), Matt Elston (bass) and Westie West (guitar).
Blue Blood – Top Shelf Woman Album Review
30 March 2011 review by River for www.music.net.nz
Blue Blood’s debut album Top Shelf Woman exudes good times from start to finish. Best described as a rock solid funkadelic escapade into jazzaliscious dynamics, with some stonking blues soul to get your heart pumping, it’s really something you should pick up today. I particularly like the tasty brass segments, sweet riffs and exceptional drumming that are designed to get you on the dance floor. The parts I don’t like so much are the somewhat formulaic rock and lyrics that haven’t moved fully into their potential yet. Having said that, Blue Blood certainly does the sex, drugs and rock n roll theme well and the angle of approach is original enough to make the release touch the ground in a most appreciated way.
This CD is all about partying. It’s not just crisp rock and roll with the tightest chops you could ever want; there’s an energetic funk factor and at times a slight glam or grunge aspect, which gives the album some healthy contrast. The mixture sure tastes good and it’s hard to believe this is their debut album. The professionalism, cohesiveness and talented song writing are far beyond what a lot of bands achieve with their third or fourth releases.
The high-energy vibe of opening track Red Light Woman draws on funk rock fusion to really get the party started. Then the particularly delightful self-tilted track Top Shelf Woman is a montage of styles somewhat comparable to Supergroove. The fourth track Magic Mary is a diverse dirty blues-rock song with some really hot drum accents and an excellent organ solo. Some other standouts are; Rock n Roll Romance with its ZZ Top influence, Liquored with its Red Hot Chilli Peppers dynamic, Lady Voodoo with an obvious nod to the guitar master Jimi Hendrix and It Was Never Love Pt 1 with some great key changes and excellent guitar work. With a Pink Floyd like resonance, the Outro track is an absolute stunner of infinite depth and space. Judging by this gem, I can’t wait for Blue Bloods future releases.
Top Shelf Woman is a fantastic feather in the cap of engineer Chris Winchecomb and the commercial potential shouldn’t be underestimated. Despite a slight hiccup with the track listing, the first-rate packaging, effective themes and polished performances make this well produced CD absolutely worth the entrance fee. If you’re ready to party, Top Shelf Woman is definitely for you.
Blue Blood Top Shelf Woman Review
Andy Bramwell of the Waikato Times 20th of April
The Auckland rockers’ self published February debut sounds a lot like a remixed 70s anthem collection. A familiar pleasure for those of us who like their “old school” new. Joel C Blood shamelessly admits the influence while also citing Jimi Hendrix and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. These are songs, real songs, written about ordinary events that happen to your every-day average rock god.
Pure adrenalin from the showy days of guitar heroes and brash Americanisms, it’s rock that leaves you heart in your throat and your knickers soaring toward the stage. This album needs to be appreciated in the same way it was created, a condensed intense experience from start to finish.
Legendary sound engineer Chris Winchecombe should be proud of the stunning mix that weaves melodic textures, heaves thunderous drums and intensely displeases my boring cardigan-wearing neighbours. If someone sends you a crappy MP3 from this album, bin it: this work deserves fidelity and the artists deserve your money. Available from JB Hi Fi and amplifier.co.nz
