Little Bushman to perform at NZ International Arts Festival
15.02.08
Little Bushman will envelop the Pacific Blue Festival Club with their remarkably layered, textured sounds reminiscent of the electric innovations of rock and jazz from the late 60s. Little Bushman frontman Warren Maxwell (ex-TrinityRoots and ex-Fat Freddy's Drop), formed the band with drummer Rick Cranson, bass player Tom Callwood and guitarist Joe Callwood, who all met at Wellington's jazz school in the mid-90s.
The group fuses their jazz and rock influences, creating a sound that echoes the musical vibe of Hendrix, Marley, Led Zeppelin, Coltrane and Miles Davis … with an extra, unique Bushman-esque twist. "I am very anti-formula and always stepping either side of that very fine line and creating that grey area", says Maxwell. "If something starts to sound too much like something I've heard before I will try and change it."
Always pushing the boundaries, Little Bushman keeps audiences on the edge as their repertoire slides from blues, to prog-rock, to Latin, constantly creating sonic tension and release, complimented by the hypnotic and heated vocals of Maxwell. Each musician's explorative, artistic nature lends itself to creative improvisation, with some tracks lasting an intensive 15 minutes in length.
"[Little Bushman] just happens to be my ultimate rock'n'roll sounding band because you've got the best of both worlds - a solid rock sound with a lot of improvisation", says drummer Cransen. "[It] is an amalgamation of all sorts of things … you can't really pinpoint just one or two influences in our music – it's like a melting pot."
Little Bushman perform on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March 2008 at 7.30pm at Pacific Blue Festival Club.
