Dave Hole

Dave Hole - The Live One - 2003 - Alligator Records

"..a one-way journey to sonic joy" - LIVING BLUES. "Exhilaratingly relentless, he produces solo upon blistering solo." © GUITAR WORLD

A brilliant album from Dave Hole. His slide playing technique is amazing, and this live album is a powerful testament to Dave Hole's high voltage guitar wizardry. Check out, "Purple Haze" and "Bullfrog Blues". This guy takes no prisoners! Buy his "Ticket to Chicago" or "Working Overtime" albums. If you are a Rory Gallagher or SRV disciple, you will really enjoy this powerhouse album. There's info on Dave's "Rough Diamond" album @ DHOLE/RDIAM

TRACKS

1 Intro
1 Jenny Lee
2 Demolition Man
3 Short Fuse Blues
4 Keep Your Motor Running
5 Every Girl I See - Dixon, Murphy
6 Up All Night Thinking
7 Purple Haze - Hendrix, Jimi
8 Berwick Road
9 Take Me to Chicago
10 How Long?
11 Bullfrog Blues - Harris
All somgs composed by Dave Hole, except where stated. Recorded live in Chicago, Illinois and Perth, Australia.

BAND

Dave Hole (vocals, guitar)
Bob Patient (keyboards)
Roy Daniel (bass)
J Mattes, Ric Eastman (drums)

REVIEWS

THE LIVE ONE (BCD 1008) is the record Dave Hole's fans have been clamouring for. Over the course of 7 studio albums and 10 world tours, the Australian slide guitar monster has received endless requests for a record that captures the full-on energy of his ferocious live shows. Bursting with hard-charging rockers and simmering slow blues, THE LIVE ONE delivers the goods. Recorded in Chicago and Perth, the performances are drenched in waves of fret-melting guitar riffs that infuse the spirit of blues-rock slide legends such as Duane Allman and Johnny Winter. On THE LIVE ONE , with his furious energy and amazing "over-the-top" style of playing, Dave Hole carves his own place deep in the pantheon of slide guitar greats. The album is released on Alligator records in the USA, Provogue Records in Europe and Black Cat (through Shock Records) in Australia. Jam packed with soaring slide guitar and passionate vocals it faithfully captures the full-blooded excitement of Hole's live shows and is bound to hit home with his many fans world-wide. THE LIVE ONE is truly a power-house representation of a one-of-a-kind talent. "Nothing interferes with Hole's searing guitar when he is in full flight," said Rolling Stone. Guitar World agreed, saying, "Hole produces solo upon blistering solo with slide work that is exhilaratingly relentless." © www.tourwork.net/Dave%20Hole%20Profile%20GB.htm

While subtlety isn't exactly his strong suit — especially live — it's also not what Dave Hole fans expect out of their Australian slide guitar slinger. The word "ferocious" best describes his over-the-fret, over-the-top technique, and what was merely intense on his studio albums gets kicked up a few notches in concert. Like George Thorogood, Hound Dog Taylor, or Rory Gallagher (whose vocal phrasing is also an influence), he's nailed his niche, best described as explosive Elmore James. Hole happily plays to his strengths without pushing the boundaries past where his fans comfortably expect. In other words, if you're already hooked through any of his six previous studio discs, you'll want to own this inflammatory live set. Even on a slow blues like "Short Fuse Blues," Hole cranks out squealing, screeching sounds with machine gun velocity. Covers of Willie Dixon's "Every Girl I See," "Bullfrog Blues," (a longtime Gallagher concert favorite) and a nearly seven-minute "Purple Haze" provide familiar songs over which he lays his slide shenanigans to deliver high-octane, crowd-pleasing thrills. Things calm down — temporarily — on the Celtic-styled instrumental ballad "Berwick Road," the album's only respite from the fuel-igniting guitar sparks that shoot out of Hole's frets. The super-charged performance is a lot to handle for all but the most committed. However, if you're already on the Hole-train, The Live One is a locomotive-sized dose of what you've bought a ticket for. © Hal Horowitz, allmusic.com

Australian Dave Hole is a guitar-hero-in-waiting of the first magnitude, it's just a matter of exposure. This guy's a monster." © JAZZ AND BLUES, U.S.A

..just take in the eight brilliantly sustained minutes of 'Up All Night Thinking' and prepare to hear your jaw hitting the floor." © BILLBOARD MAGAZINE, U.S.A. OCTOBER, 1993

Exhilaratingly relentless ... he produces solo upon blistering solo." © GUITAR WORLD

the man and his guitar were all-encompassing. This was exciting, not just for the Australian Blues-rocker but for the entire audience at 'Legends'. Hole burned down Buddy Guy's place Friday for two amazing sets. His lightening delivery and screaming slide, which sounded almost like a falsetto vocal at times, were works of art." © CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, U.S.A. - Live Review.

Fast, flashy, steel-cylinder-on-steel-string slide work ... clearly stresses the instrumental pyrotechnics of such guitar heroes as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey. Hole's distinguishing trademark is his ability to play melodic slide phrases with lots of embellishments over galloping rhythms." © WASHINGTON POST

Your jaw drops in amazement as you listen to the sizzling complexity of his playing. He sings with the same plaintive, sandpapery gruffness we associate with Eric Clapton or Robin Trower. As for his playing, Hole is just a natural blues-guitar star." © DENVER POST

"Years from now, Blues aficionados may still be talking about the time in November, 1993 when slide guitarist Dave Hole first came to town. An extraordinary musician and nascent star, Hole is often compared to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, but he plays with depth of feeling that owes more to early bottleneck men like Blind Willie Johnson." © NEW YORK MAGAZINE, U.S.A. - Live review.

Dave Hole is one of the best slide guitar players ever. His relentless slide strafes and searing single-line solos come at you like a runaway truck down a mountain grade." © DETROIT FREE PRESS

Yes, Dave Hole is that good. If this guy played with any more feeling, he'd have to go on Prozac. He is not only a superb guitarist with a distinctive sound, he performs heart-felt vocals with the depth and credibility of any blues headliner touring today ... hard driving rocking blues ... he is electricity incarnate!" © BLUES REVIEW

"Another sizzling side of modern blues-rock ... original, reverent solo and acoustic tributes to the rural and urban styles that inspired him. Hole sings with passion, but it's his ever -- fiery, Duane Allman-style slide that's the source of listener whiplash here." © GUITAR FOR THE PRACTICING MUSICIAN

BIO

Australian slide guitarist Dave Hole is noted for his energetic, high-volume rock & roll/blues music and unusual playing style. Though left-handed, Hole plays guitar right-handed and developed a technique to compensate for a finger injury in which he places his fingers over the top of the neck. He also uses a pick for a slide and utilizes fingerpicking when playing normally. Born on March 30, 1948, in England, but raised from age four in Perth, Australia, Hole became interested in blues guitar around age six after hearing a schoolmate's Muddy Waters album. He received his first guitar at age 12, but became discouraged trying to learn it by himself (teachers were in short supply in isolated Perth) and abandoned it until he was 16. This time, he began picking up riffs and techniques from records. Primary influences include Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Hole became a professional in 1972 when working with a band in London. Returning to Perth in 1974, he began his long stint touring the western Australian club circuit, playing 20 years in remote towns before making Short Fuse Blues, an album he financed, produced, and recorded with his band Short Fuse in three days in 1990. He then hawked the album during club performances and on a whim, sent a copy to Guitar Player magazine in the U.S. The editor listened to it, liked it, wrote a praise-filled article hailing him as the newest guitar wizard and comparing him to such greats as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King. He then helped Hole land a distribution deal with Alligator Records and released Working Overtime (1993), Steel on Steel (1995), Under the Spell (1999), and Outside Looking In (2001). With each new release, Dave Hole continues to build a respectable following in the U.S. and European blues scene that grows stronger every year. © Sandra Brennan & Al Campbell, allmusic.com

MORE ABOUT DAVE HOLE

Dave Hole is a real self-taught man because it was difficult to get any blues records on a regular basis in Australia when he was a child. At first, only Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix albums were easily available, so he listened to their records over and over again, absorbing all he could from these blues masters. Then, either by accident or by fate, Hole broke his little finger in a football game. The only way he could continue to play without pain was to play slide guitar and to put the slide on his index finger and hang his hand over the top of the guitar neck. When his finger healed, Hole never turned back. After self producing his debut album in 1991, a review appeared in the American "Guitar Player" magazine in April of that year, followed by a July 1991 feature story which launched Hole to stardom. Then Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer took a chance and signed the only non U.S. based artist in the label’s 30-year history. It wasn’t just the critics who were paying attention. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett named Dave Hole as one of his favourite guitarists, saying, "His slide playing kills me." And when veteran rock and blues guitarist Gary Moore heard "Short Fuse Blues" , he was so impressed he invited Dave to join him on two European tours. © Bluesweb.com Dixiefrog 2006