Below is a photo from the 2011 tour of the Middle East (Bahrain) along with Jimmy Thomas (former singer with Ike & Tina Turner), Natashia Meister (an excellent 20 year old singer/guitarist from Canada now residing in Cape Town, South Africa) and the Crossroads Blues Band.
In addition to the videos on this site, Roachblues have 5 more films from other sources that I saved in My Favourites. Here is one from a Michael Roach Band gig performing 'High Heeled Sneekers' with special guest Michael Messer on the slide guitar at the Norden Farm Arts Centre, Maidenhead, UK in 2009:
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Here is a 3 minute video I produced about the annual 'Blues Week' programme. The dates for next year (our 13th anniversary) are from Sunday 29th July to Friday 3rd August 2012.
Blues
Week provides a great opportunity for acoustic blues enthusiasts to spend a week together learning to play the blues and make new friends. It's a residential programme held at the University of Northampton, which is central in the UK and only a one hour drive from London Heathrow Airport.
There are classes for blues harmonica, bottleneck slide and
country blues guitar, keyboards and vocals. I am the Director of the programme. Also, I teach
country blues guitar for beginners and conduct
the vocals class. For further details, here is a link: http://www.euroblues.co.uk/
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My 6th album
on Stella Records is out and receiving some excellent reviews in publications such as 'Living Blues' (USA) and 'Blues & Rhythm' (UK). It is called
'Innocent Child' and it is a combination of traditional blues
and spirituals. With the passing of Jerry Ricks and John Cephas,
I decided to dedicate the album to their memory. Copies can be
purchased online through the Stella Records website. Here is a
link: http://www.stellarecords.net/releases.htm.
I have dedicated
twenty seven years of my life to recording, performing and promoting
country blues. I must admit that when I bought my first guitar
twenty six years ago, I wanted to learn how to play soul, jazz
and funk music. I never did. It just so happened I met the old
timers (as mentioned on the 'Why' page) and I promised to stay
true and committed to traditional music. In interviews, I always
say the blues chose me, I did not choose it! Over the years, I
questioned myself on numerous occasions but could never stop 'picking
that guitar'.
Once I formed
'The Michael Roach Band', it was a natural transition for me
to go from my years as an acoustic performer to leading an 8 peice big
band. To everyone who supported us, "Thank You"!
Regarding
the band, copies of the debut album,'I Betcha!', is available online and you can order the CD by clicking on this link: http://www.stellarecords.net. To view video footage of the band performing 'Downtrodden Woman' 'Live at the Spitz', London Oct 06, click on this link: Downtrodden
Woman. Here is another link to some video footage (filmed on a camera phone) from a recent gig at the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead February 08 with guest Michael Messer on slide guitar: High
Heeled Sneekers. For more information on the band, here is the website link: www.michaelroachband.com. Also, there is film footage of two songs 'Downtroddend Woman' and 'People Get Ready' on the band's MySpace site. Here is the link: http://www.myspace.com/themichaelroachband.
There are 2 films of the band from a 2008 gig in Spain on the 'Video' page of this site. Check out 'Bring It With You When You Come' and 'Diggin My Potatoes' with guest Johnny Mars on harmonica. I hope you enjoy it.
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For years, I have been asked to give private guitar lessons outside of my work with the European Blues Association, Euroblues Promotions Limited and public performances. With this in mind, I filmed
a tutorial DVD called 'An Introduction to Country Blues Guitar'. I also co-produced another called 'An Introduction to Blues Slide Guitar' with Michael Messer. It was so successful, we produced a follow-up called ''An Introduction to
Lap Steel Guitar'. The DVDs contain all the basics along
with close-up demonstrations to provide the perfect lesson. They
are for sale through the website of Euroblues Promotions. Here is a link: http://www.euroblues.co.uk/merchandise.htm
