Mitch Laddie

Mitch Laddie - This Time Around - 2010 - Provogue

A North-East of England native, Mitch Laddie is just 19 years of age. When you hear this album you will share my complete shock and awe at the talent of this boy at this age. He's only been playing the guitar seriously for 6 years and learned his chops by copying the riffs of Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix. However, his love of the blues was kindled when he heard Stevie Ray Vaughan. A listen to BB, Freddie and Albert King, Albert Collins and many others focused him on the genre. Walter Trout invited him to play at one of his gigs in 2006 (he was only 15 or 16) and his life changed forever. His debut solo album opens with Awakening (intro), which starts like a leviathan rising from his sleep. Laddie builds layer upon layer before unleashing a pulsating, rocking instrumental. He is technically superb as he slashes his guitar. The smouldering Here's A Drink is bluesy but shows that vocally, he is still a bit raw. However, he has all the attributes and stands up to the current best in the genre. Get You Back is a hi-paced blues from an exciting new kid on the block but he slows it down again for I Need Your Love. Float On By has a staccato delivery but shows that he is a real talent. He keeps the solos on this to a good length, something he doesn't always do. Punchy drums and piercing bass from Lee 'Cliffy' Clifford and Rhian Wilkinson respectively. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag is not as frenetic as the James Brown original but he does make it his own – not an easy thing to do with a song like this. The eponymous title track has funky beats as he puts his soul into it with his wailing guitar a stand out. There is a barrage of notes at times and he may have to take up the new Joe Bonamassa philosophy that sometimes less is more. Miss Supernatural has pounding drums and sustained guitar opening this full on rocker with fuzzed vocal. Two Years is an upbeat swinging blues with stinging guitar whereas Mr Johnson is a complex instrumental that shows his fretboard skills. The latter is perhaps a tad long at 6 minutes but that's only a small criticism. All I Have has a pleading vocal -- a bit mainstream but in the upper echelons. Rock Me Baby is the old BB King song and this live version with Walter Trout is turned into a slow, driving blues with guitars a plenty (10 minutes of them). It's good to hear what he's like live as I intend to seek out his next visit north of the border immediately. © David Blue April 2010 © http://www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviewsl.html#mitch

21 y.o Mitch Laddie has played guitar seriously since he was 13. He first met Walter Trout at a gig in Sunderland in the mid 2000's. Walter was impressed, asked Mitch for a CD and soon after invited Mitch to guest at his 2006 Colne gig in. Mitch and Walter regularly play UK gigs together. Mitch's first band was Vanilla Moon in 2006, becoming The Mitch Laddie Trio in 2008, with the original Vanilla Moon bass player Rhian Wilkinson and drummer Lee "Cliffy" Clifford. The band is based in County Durham but Mitch prefers to be linked to Newcastle.The trio have had considerable success on both the MCC Rally and festival circuit playing a mixture of originals and covers. His playing is influenced by greats like SRV (Mitch's fav album is SRV's "Texas Flood"), Eric Johnson, Hendrix, Eric Gales, John Mayer, Robin Trower, Peter Green and many more, but Mitch has his own unique style. When asked about the type of music his band play, Mitch said "Blues rock of course. But we are prettily heavily funk influenced and I’m quite into my fusion and jazz too. I’d say we generally just gather our influences and throw them all together and see what happens. "This Time Around" has soul, jazz, blues, rock, fusion and ten of the tracks are Laddie originals. On the cover notes to Mitch's great "Burning Bridges" album, Walter Trout wrote “I first met Mitch Laddie when he was a young lad of sixteen years. I heard him play his guitar and was knocked out by the authority, command and finesse he displayed. It was beyond his years – he sounded like somebody who’d been at it for forty years!" Speaking about blues music in general, Mitch says "Even if players are similar, they’ve still got their own touch that makes the hairs on your arms stand up. It’s not just the guitar side of it; the diva blues singers do it too. It’s the raw emotion and the feeling that is put into it and you just don’t get that in other types of music. The passion is always there. It’s real". Mitch is another of the new breed of young British blues stars in the making. He is an exceptional talent and a guy who is heading for recognition as one of the British guitar greats. "This Time Around" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Mitch's "Burning Bridges" album and support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size =140 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Awakening [Intro] 4:03
2. Here's A Drink 6:07
3. Get You Back 4:07
4. I Need Your Love 4:31
5. Float On By 4:28
6. Papa's Brand New Bag 4:26
7. This Time Around 4:45
8. Miss Supernatural 4:31
9. Two Years 3:37
10. Mr. Johnson 6:00
11. All I Have 4:59
12. Rock Me Baby (Live) 9:57

All songs composed by Mitch Laddie except Track 6 by James Brown, and Track 12 by BB King

MUSICIANS

Mitch Laddie - Guitar, Vocals
Rhian Wilkinson - Bass
Lee 'Cliffy' Clifford - Drums
Walter Trout & Band on "Rock Me Baby" recorded live with Walter Trout's band at the Opera House in York in October 2009

BIO

Mitch Laddie was born in the North East of England on 24th September 1990. Drawn to music from an early age, Mitch listened to Country greats with his late maternal Grandfather. Hypnotised by the sounds he began building his own record collection at the early age of 3 years old, moving from Country into Blues, Motown, Soul & R&B. Fascinated by the guitar he heard on records and his Father’s that lay around the house, Mitch always knew what lay ahead. Although it wasn’t until the age of 13 Mitch began playing guitar seriously after suffering a sporting injury, which led to several months in hospital reduced to traction. The musical journey upon leaving hospital has been a fruitful one for Mitch. During the early days, Mitch was introduced to one of his guitar heroes, the great blues legend – Walter Trout. After sitting in with the band many times, Walter then introduced Mitch to Ed Van Zijl of Mascot/Provogue Records after a guest spot at the Paradiso, Amsterdam. Mitch signed a deal with Provogue Records at the age of 17, releasing his debut in early 2010 to rave reviews and critical success from magazines like; “Classic Rock”, “Blues Matters” and “Guitarist” saying “”Laddie technically hits the same notes as a thousand hack guitarists, but strokes & strangles them from the fretboard with rare soul”, “It is always pleasing to hear home-grown talent producing high quality music and Mitch certainly is doing that.” And “He shows he’s an exciting prospect not afraid to stretch the boundaries of pentatonic blues” respectively. Having toured alone and with Walter Trout, in both the UK and Europe; the Mitch Laddie Band are stirring up a lot of excitement in the modern Blues genre and receiving rave reviews wherever they play, with their music being described as “Very diverse, lulling you into a false sense of security and then WHAM, it hits you full-on like a freight train.” Mitch’s guitar playing has been compared to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Philip Sayce and Greg Howe, describing this mix as “making his playing style both complete and unique, but it also makes him a joy to watch. It really is hard to believe that this guy is still only 20 years old. Definitely one of the best young British blues players I’ve had the pleasure to see in a very long time”. Walter Trout championed Mitch to a European crowd as “The best young guitarist in the world” and having said previously in an interview “Mitch is amazing. If you close your eyes when he is playing he sounds like a guy who’s been at it for Forty years and has had all these experiences and maybe come out of some Classic Rock band and has all this authority in his playing. I heard that when he was fifteen. I knew when I heard him at fifteen he was going to be a great artist. He has an incredible gift.” Now 20 and in 2011, Mitch is planning his follow up album and major tours for what looks like a very exciting and prosperous year in this young man’s career. © 2012 Mascot Label Group. All Rights Reserved http://mascotlabelgroup.com/mlg/artists/mitch-laddie/