Emerging Gold Coast-based blues rock five-piece BB Factory have evolved out of a fluid jam session line-up and have released the first single from their forthcoming album.
The band consists of vocalist Harold Jackson, guitarist Pedro Verhoeven, drummer Bevan Davison and bassist Craig Hamilton, with Bruce Crouch manning the keys.
Originally coming together through jam sessions, the band is now focussed on producing their own, original material. “Our real vision is to be just an original band in the long run, so that's where we're putting our energy,” Pedro says.
“In terms of the style, we're a blues band but I guess our original stuff does stray left or right of the blues, whether you'd call that contemporary or progressive blues or just blues roots. It's hard to define but I think it will definitely appeal to the people who like the other stuff that we do.”
{youtube}McH1yW6QlA0{/youtube}
BB Factory present an eclectic interpretation of the wide world of blues and blues-based music, with members coming from the USA, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia.
Pedro says it is both the combined experiences of the band as well as the individual ones of its members that gives BB Factory its specific blues flavour. “Harold is actually an ex-Marine,” Pedro explains, “so he's travelled all over the place and settled in Australia.
“He really brings an edge to what we do because he's got that whole blues thing in his blood. As a boy he was on the cotton fields so he brings a certain amount of credibility to the band.”
Their new single, 'Save Me', has been taken from their forthcoming debut album 'First World Blues' and is a good indication of the various styles and forms BB Factory work with in the composition. “For the chorus I really wanted something that went away from the typical,” Pedro says.
“The verses are a bit spoken, there's not that much melody in there and for the chorus I was really looking for something that was melodic, which took a different spin on it. Because the whole theme was a nightmare or dream that [Harold] Jackson had, for the bridge section I thought maybe something that was tinged a little bit psychedelic would work.”
{youtube}Potb2vRSFZs{/youtube}
The result is a hammering blues-rock track that sets BB Factory well on their way to their goal of being an active, professional, original band.
Ultimately, 'Save Me' sets the tone and expectation for 'First World Blues' that is due out around March next year. “The title is a spin on the first-world problems you hear people talk about,” Pedro says.
“You know: 'No wi-fi, life really sucks.' So it's a play on that and on both sides of the argument; it's a bit self-deprecating. A lot of our songs that we sing might be about relationship issues, but they're still first-world problems.”
BB Factory will being heading out for a small run of live shows in Queensland and Byron Bay to celebrate the new single, with the official launch happening at Retro Bar in Kenmore (Brisbane). “It's fairly limited,” Pedro says of the launch show.
“I think there are only 80 tickets available and we're giving a t-shirt to the first 50. It's a two-set show, so we'll definitely be playing a lot of originals there, then we'll also do some fun stuff for everyone to enjoy.”
BB Factory Shows
Fri 3 Nov - Retro Bar (Brisbane)Sat 4 Nov - The Rails (Byron Bay)
Sun 5 Nov - The Norville Hotel (Toowoomba)
Fri 17 Nov - Eat Street Markets (Brisbane)
Sat 18 Nov - The Soundlounge (Gold Coast, supporting Lachy Doley Group)
Sat 2 Dec - Brooklyn Standard (Brisbane)
Sat 30 Dec - Mt Gravatt Marketta (Brisbane)
