Posted 04/08/08

Its been an interesting year to say the least and one I will never forget, I very much enjoyed the experience of playing alongside Martin Turner / Ray Hatfield / Rob Hewins & Dave Wagstaffe.

I have just recently passed my Microsoft Certified Professional Exam, which I have studied very hard to achieve over the past months, I now have a lot more options available.

The music side will very much continue, not ruling anything in or anything out, "watch this space".

Posted 10/05/08

Still Alive Yes very much alive and kicking, I have been weighing up mp my options musically over the past months and to be honest as Kevin Keegan said, never say never, of course I mean the Wishbone thing.

I am currently working with a very talented female vocalist / actress called  Reemer Jane Bailey, who has brought out the best in me, she has an amazing range vocally from rock / jazz / opera / classical and it has certainly steered my song writing into a new direction or dimesion, we plan some live gigs in the near future BUT! acoustic guitar and vocals only for the moment! that way we don't have to really on bread heads .

We plan to target theatres and pubs and we are currently recording a new album of our own music which Reemer has a massive contribution, it would be nice if MT could lay down some jazz / rock bass  though ( I SUPPOSE ILL HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF) "SHIT"

Thanks for all the support and if I find the right musicians Wishblowin will be back.

Posted 25/12/07

Looking Forward Christmas day has arrived and I am much looking forward to what the New Year will bring

I have been in contact and plan to bring a Female vocalist into my recording project with the view to doing some live work, so I am very exited at the forthcoming venture, unfortunately the Wishbone thing is on hold for the time being mainly because of the shortage of genuine musicians who want to play the music whole heartedly.

I will continue to support the Wishbone cause and this website will continue indefinitely, I may from time to time share some of my own music via this website but the main aim is for this site to function as a tribe to Wishbone Ash.

Posted 07/11/07

New Years Resolution. 2008 will be upon us shortly and I have enjoyed my time away from "WELL" lets not get into all that again, but yes I have certainly chilled a little since then and I look forward to 2008.

I have decided to take up the playing Banjo, mainly because I love the sound of the instrument and I think a bit of a change may be a good thing too as well as new challenge, I do intend though joining or forming a new band in the new year, and who knows it may be another Wishbone band, but for now I will continue with my original Acoustic CD project.

I have also recently purchased a new Taylor Acoustic and a Suzuki Classical Guitar, mainly for recording purposes, apart from all that I have been in very good health.

Posted 21/08/07

Guitarist Required. Wishblowin' Ash now only require a guitarist to complete the line up, I will look at the situation very carefully and choose the right type of player with personal qualities, I am very happy with the latest developments and the only thing that remains now is a bit of luck on my side, it is crucial I get the right people involved this time round, its never easy trying to get players whatever the situation musically, and in the case of trying to get a Wishbone ash tribute band together it sometimes seems an impossible task, the band I have lined will be capable of working with original material and CD production as well as the Wishbone thing.

As I said in my earlier postings I have received lots of support via e-mail, here is one I received earlier today.

Hiya Maurice,
 
Sorry to see what's happened to Wishblowin Ash, since I auditioned for
you I have watching what has been going on with the band, talk about
unlucky!!! anyway hope all goes well in the future, knowing the
dedication that you have put in to getting the band up and running, you
do deserve some reciprocal dedication from those involved!!!!
 
Best Regards
 
Baz

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Posted 20/08/07

New Developments Things have been happening thick and fast this week but for the time being I am playing my cards close to my chest, and when the time is right I will reveal more, all I can say for the moment is Wishblowin' Ash will soon rise for the ashes.

Posted 20/06/07

Martin Turners Wishbone Ash  Monday 18th June,  Dropped in at the Clunny Newcastle Upon Tyne to take a look at Martins band, tell you what! please go and see them they were very tight and really looked as if they were enjoying every moment, they were in great form and as usual Martins bass playing stood out, I was very impressed and certainly Lifeline was the one that stood out for me.

I got chatting to the band  later in the evening and I have to say what great bunch of lads, I had a lengthy and relaxed conversation with Ray Hatfield it seemed like we had known each other for years, Martin told the band that night he did have plans to get Maurice down to his for an audition when forming Martin Turners Wishbone Ash, but Ray Keith and Rob came onto the scene and Maurice narrowly missed out, well! at least for now.

Maurice Douglas.

Posted 11/11/06

Wishblowin Ash – Ashcon – Chesterfield – Saturday 04/11/2007

Ok, so you’re a Wishbone Ash tribute band, and suddenly you’re invited to play at Wishbone’s own fan convention. The reality of playing in front of hundreds of die hard fans, how do you feel? When I chatted to the guys from Wishblowin Ash on the Friday night, there was a mixture of emotions, excitement (obviously), apprehension (possibly), nervousness (only natural).
They need not have worried at all. From the moment they hit the opening notes of The King Will Come just after 1pm on Saturday afternoon they were an instant hit. Although they had to drag band leader Maurice from his sick bed (I think he was just using this as an excuse in case they bummed), you certainly wouldn’t have noticed he’d had flu all week. Great vocals, the twin guitar sound that all those fans in the hall had known through the years, all precisely replicated. To those present the songs were instantly recognisable. The set covered songs taken from the first 2 Wishbone Ash albums when they were in their heyday. By the end of their short (too short for some) set the crowd which by the was upwards of 400 +  by that time, were rocking along to each song, and they finished to rapturous applause. Many still talking about the great finale, Pheonix, which was oustanding, when the event organiser then asked the crowd, ‘Would you like to hear more?’. Of course they did. Only time for one song in the encore, Blind Eye (one of my fave tracks), again played note perfect, and then they left to a standing ovation.
I would recommend any Wishbone Ash fans out there in the North east to try and catch this band when they appear at a venue near you. Even if it’s not near you, or you aren’t a fan, still go, you

Posted 09/09/06

We are all absolutely overjoyed to receive confirmation that we are to play Ashcon 2006 on 4th of November with both Ben Granfelt and Wishbone Ash themselves! We'd like to extend the most sincere thanks to both Mr.Andy Powell for the support and enthusiasm and also Guy Roberts for setting this up for us.
This has been a real nice uplift for us, after the turbulent time we have had over the past 5 months with bass player difficulties and difficult situations that arose in the midst. We chose to make those difficult decisions and come off the road for a few months, to meet our goal objective which was to come out a stronger, tighter and more focussed band that shared the same aspiration, performing at a level that we ourselves are all happy with and most importantly, to do Wishbone Ash music the justice it deserves. So a big heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone for standing by us during our difficult (and to be honest, downright frustrating) period. Thank you all so very much. We intend to thank you all with our music!
Some more big news is that we (finally) are almost set to head into the studio to record Wishblowin' Ash FarGusT CD! This is to be done before we play Ashcon in November. We have already spoken to a certain recording studio about our requirements and have decided to go ahead with it, CD covers have all been professionally designed and been given the green light by all band members. More news is that we'll have Wishblowin' Ash front & back print tee-shirts ready very soon aswell, the designs are absolutely crackin'.
So that's about it for now, looking forward to seeing you guys on the road!