An Interview with Rob Clarke

Rob Clarke is a Liverpool based singer/songwriter his new album Portraits was released early 2010. His work has an honest tone and quality which makes his finely crafted music all the more listenable. The Liverpool Echo has praised his work as being “memorable songs that… evoke the spirit of Liverpool.” Rob spoke to me about his upcoming album and about how he goes about writing. So in the beginning, what made you want to write your own songs? I was listening to Gimme Shelter by the Stones – had it on downstairs loud enough I could hear it upstairs in the bath- I knew some other people who played guitar so I’d thought I’d leave that to them – didn’t want to follow the herd so to speak – but then it just suddenly struck me I was prepared to do whatever it took or spend any amount of time to play guitar even a bit, even just a few notes or chords… Who influenced you as you began writing? Do these people still influence you? From there I always wanted to write songs, everyone that I admired did that and it became the biggest part of it almost straight away – I was trying to write songs before I could play to any standard at all really and I soon found that was pretty much the best part. Have you read Shakey?(The biography of Neil Young by Jimmy McDonough) To me if

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ALBUM REVIEW Artist: Rob Clarke Album: Portraits MySpace: myspace.com/robclarkeunplugged

Portraits is the second album by Woolton singer songwriter Rob Clarke. In many ways this is even more stripped down and introspective than his previous collection Long Way North. The set was produced by Fran Ashcroft at The Garage Studios last year. The program begins with North To West, a short piano ballad that picks up where the previous CD left off by informing listeners that he’s changing course. A mellow, sensitive mood is maintained throughout, with songs that are often dark and intimate. Clarke keeps the instrumentation to a minimum, so that his message comes across. Highlights include Spike and Tracey Emin’s Blues. Other songs worth a look are the deceptive Our Friend in America and The Heirs Of Johnny Cash which is played in the spirit of Cash’s American Recordings. However the song that may be closest to the author’s heart is Ball Of Fire a tribute to the Everton Football legend Alan Ball, who steered the team to the League title in 1969/70. The program ends with a short reprise of North To West. Overall this is an understated collection that thrives on melodic introspection.

The album is available to buy by clicking the link on Rob’s MySpace profile myspace.com/robclarkeunplugged

You can buy the download from iTunes.

© 2010 Stuart Todd – stuart[at]liverpoolacoustic.co.uk Liverpool Acoustic – liverpoolacoustic.co.uk

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Liverpool Acoustic is THE central resource for

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There’s a fantastic gig coming up this Friday 2nd July at Liverpool Hope’s new Capstone Theatre at its Creative Campus in Everton. Neil Campbell is a talented and respected composer-guitarist from Liverpool, whose classical crossover guitar music has drawn sell-out audiences in Merseyside and beyond. He will be playing a selection of his solo guitar music, as well as music from a special collaboration with composer and vocalist Perri Alleyne-Hughes (Sense of Sound), who will also be appearing on the night. In an innovative change to the normal classical concert format, soloists and ensembles from the Liverpool Guitar Society will be playing a support slot, warming up the audience and kicking off a great night of top quality classical guitar music. On the programme is a mix of beautiful music including a new work by local Composer and Society member Richard Harding. The concert starts at 8pm sharp, tickets are £8 (£6 concessions and £5 for Guitar Society Members) and are available through Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Box Office, Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BP. Tel: 0151 709 3489 or book on-line here .

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Gig review: Phill Franey @ Little Green Cafe, Aigburgh Thursday 3rd June 2010

On route to Lark Lane we stopped for a quick drink at the Little Green Cafe Bar on Aigburth Rd. The menu looked good so we decided to eat and my girlfriend asked the waitress, “When is your acoustic night on?” “Tonight” came the reply, “A guy called Phill Franey is playing”. Faced with the choice of either walking to Lark Lane or staying put, drinking draft Staropramen and listening to free music we decided to stay put and it turned out to be a great decision. I’d not heard of Phill before and he came on at 8:30pm on the dot and was fantastic from the first note. He started off with an excellent version of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’. I texted my mate Jonathon who’s a big Van fan and asked if he’d heard of Phill. ‘He’s my mate’s cousin’ came the answer, adding that ‘the family are musical and his brother is a pianist. It’s a small world. Anyhow Phill continued with songs from The Animals (House of the Rising Sun), U2 (Angel of Harlem), Nilsson (Everybody’s Talking) and the Beatles (This Boy) in between his own songs such as ‘Bifter’, ‘The Ballad of Snakehips’ and ‘The Attention Seeker’. The venue, although small had a good sound. Phill put a lot of energy into his playing and the sound from his Taylor acoustic and Marshall amp was crisp and clear. Phill’s vocal range

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