"Wonderful, soulful, and hopeful" E. L'Hulliere, Music Review, Bendigo, Australia
“I have been playing Carol’s music on my Americana Show for the last 10 years and would have to say that she has finally reached a peak with this album, wonderful dirty guitars and wonderful songs. She is definitely our Queen of Alt Country/Blues.” Shady, The Americana Show, www.RadioActive.co.nz Sundays NZ Time 2-4 pm
Carol Bean was born in Manchester England, raised in Ontario Canada and was in Los Angeles California by the time she was 11. As a teenager she spent most weekends at the legendary Ash Grove music venue in Los Angeles listening to blues musicians like Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscome and Lightin’ Hopkins. This is where she spent a year learning guitar from David Cohen (Country Joe and the Fish and had lessons from Ry Cooder (The Rising Suns, Buena Vista Social Club) at McCabe’s Music Store, which is still going strong as a major music venue today.
Carol has been in NZ for over 30 years. She has raised a family, been a teacher, an arts advisor and now has a company called Press Go PRoducions making music videos. She travels back and forth to California to visit family and friends and will launch her new album in LA next year. Her first album (Read the Road Signs, 2006) had rave reviews from NZ Musician Magazine, Australia Hi-Fi, and Indie-CDs Australia. It gained radio play and sold two songs to a Hollywood film called Player 5150.
In 2007, Carol was a featured artist at both the Auckland and Wellington Folk Festivals.
She has fronted two bands
Blue Highways (Ray Ahipene-Mercer, Jim Nicolson, Lester Mundell) have performed for 10 years at various events such as the Wellington’s Summer City Festival, the Martinborough Wine Festival, corporate events at the Westpac Stadium and Overseas Terminal, Wellington’s legendary South of the Divide Concerts, and many Roomfulla Blues gigs for the Capital Blues club nights.
Mt Misery, (Richard Klein, Costa Botes, Andrew Delahunty, Barry Carter, Jesse Melrose) an alt country string band has played two years running at the Wellington Folk Festival and at Wellington’s Bluegrass Society.
CONTACT DETAILS:
PRESS GO PUBLICATIONS
Ph +64(0)4 9707850
Cell +64 (0)27 3590884
Web www.carolbean.com
www.myspace.com/carolbeanmusic
Postal: 92 Burma Rd., Wellington NZ 6035
More bio:
“My songs are not all about love and romance, each one of them is a different story. The album ranges from blues, to alt country to rock. On Mt Misery for instance, Richard Klein’s slow fiddle waltz has resurrected an old timey brooding sound similar to Remember Me on my first album Read the Road Signs. The fiddle and banjo on Kicking & screaming sets up a cool Dixie Chicks sound. I dare you to buy the song girls.”
Carol specialises in playing funky blues riffs and soulful West Coast rhythmic rock. Carol plays a 1957 Gretsch Duo Jet bought at the Guitar Centre in Hollywood, October 2005 and a 1954 Martin 0021 that Ry Cooder spotted for her at Reno’s Music Store on Pacific Coast Highway, Manhattan Beach in 1963. She plays through a Fender Deluxe amp uses a TS9 Tube Screamer and AKG mics.
Her acoustic style includes Travis picking and her rhythmic-hooks are accented by quirky turn-arounds. She draws on a variety of influences for example: Debbie Davies (guitarist for Albert Collins and Coco Montoya), James McMurtry, Lucinda Williams, Eliza Gilkyson, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Patti Larkin, Mary Gauthier, John Doe, and of course, the Rolling Stones.
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