The Izzys Irish Tour

jmc

THE IZZYS, Irish Tour, May ‘04
Thursday, May 27th – Dublin – Eamon Dorans.
Friday, May 28th – Cork (Myrtleville) – Pine Lodge.
Saturday, June 29th – Cork City - Half Moon Theatre.

"Whereas many of their peers look to the seedy 1970s CBGB’s scene for inspiration, THE IZZYS instead have turned their attention to good old Blighty and sound remarkably like the Rolling Stones when they were at their hungriest and most creative. Tumbling catchy guitar lines and a healthy dose of attitude are the order of the day … this release has a definite air of the manic frenzied about it” – KERRANG!

"NYC three-piece that mixes The Strokes with the Stones and will guarantee… a frenzy at their UK gigs in May…" - NME

"… their bluesy, narcotic rock has enough jangle and hooks to win them a spot in the hearts of folks searching for strident Stones worshippers…" - TIME OUT NEW YORK

"Like a pot of baked beans on an open fire, The Izzys is alternative country the way you like it, fresh, hot and mean" – CMJ

“We're talking Rolling Stones post-Altamont; almost exactly at the midway blues point of Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main St, a point in which they were allowing a slick-studio-polish to their guitar work to further remove themselves from the Klein era, with added dirty blues riffs and tight musicianship replacing raw, often grungey mono singles. Listen to The Izzys on your stereo and you will think you are standing next to the front of their stage. What makes them sound so fresh, and more importantly so exciting, is their ability to fully indulge in rock virtuosity without the need to overdo the noise-levels…”


THE IZZYS are:
Mike Storey: guitar/vocals
Joe Cooney: bass/backing vocals
Tim Kuhl: drums

A brilliant and mercurial thread winds through the landscape of the American songbook like a Cadillac on a lost highway. Chameleon-like, sometimes it shows itself as the high-lonesome yelp of Bill Monroe or the haunting misgivings of Robert Johnson.

Other times it is the reverb-drenched bravado of a Sun rockabilly record. And sometimes it's the can't-stop-dancing boogie of any number of dance tunes by Rufus Thomas, The Mighty Hannibal, or Prince. This thread is timeless; it is the quintessence of The American Song.

The Izzys are a fully realised rock and roll outfit - cast in twang, thunder, and boogie — is driving this thread forward.

Their namesake comes from an Alan Lomax field-recording and an obscure slave term referring to the friction between sexual and spiritual love, the distance between the sacred and profane; it’s a theme that rock and roll simply couldn't exist without.

Mike Storey first picked up on this thread hearing live bluegrass music in his neighbour's yard as a young boy growing up in Maryland. He started on the guitar and mandolin in his early teens, learning the sounds and cadences of blues, country, soul and rock and roll, writing songs that would lay the architecture for what would become The Izzys.

Fast forward to New York City a decade later. Storey joins with fellow Marylander Tim Kuhl who plays drums. Though jazz trained, it didn’t take long for Kuhl to adapt his proper jazz style into free flowing, hard hitting rock. Joe Cooney of Philadelphia is the salty, cool bass player singing country harmonies to boot.

The Izzys play rock n roll that paints the landscape of America’s hidden roads, juke joints, church basements, country fairs and carnivals that you can’t help but sing and dance to.

* Tickets for The Izzys’ Dublin show at Eamonn Dorans are €13.50 (inc. booking fee) and are on sale now from Road Records, Soundcellar, Ticketmaster and usual outlets nationwide. Special Guests to be announced. Doors open at 8.00pm. Over 18s, Garda approved ID required. Tickets for The Half Moon and Pine Lodge (free show) are available from the venues.

The Izzys release their self-titled full debut album this Friday, May 14th ’04.

Also available is last year’s seven-track ‘Fast And Out of Contrl Wins The Race EP’.

www.TheIzzys.com

http://tgrexfilms.com/izzysDreaming.html (Izzys video link)