Bay debut for new drummer
Friday, December 11, 2009, 10:03
TORQUAY band The Humanitarians are back in the Bay tomorrow night with a host of new material and a new man behind the drum-kit.
The popular rock outfit are at Molloys in St Marychurch for a gig which will feature songs from the album, Born, and will give new drummer Hayden Jones his first major outing with the band.
The album — their CD debut — was recorded earlier this year, with three tracks laid down at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, where the Arctic Monkeys recorded their debut album.
The Editors, The Darkness and Gun have also recorded there over the years.
The tracks were produced by Nigel Stonier, who has also worked with the likes of Fairport Convention, Thea Gilmore and Martha Wainwright.
The project was completed at Mill Studios.
The Humanitarians have been playing, writing and performing together in one form or another for the past seven years.
The hub and songwriting heart of the band has always been John Matthew and Matt Woffindale, and Geoff Dally has been on bass for the last five years.
Drummer Dave Penna left the band earlier this year, and Hayden Jones has taken his place.
The band is managed by Chris Clark and Ste Gould of Movement in Sound.
Chris said: "Over the last few months the band have been working with Hayden and formulating a new set.
"Hayden is a new band member and we wanted to bed him in, and now we feel we are ready to push on and get the album out there.
"The guys have been working extremely hard in rehearsals and playing some low-key gigs as a way of finding their feet again and tightening the set.
"We have managed the band from day one, and we've had so many setbacks along the way, but we keep going because we believe in The Humanitarians and what we all trying to achieve together.
"John Matthew was involved in a very serious car crash a few years ago, and his recovery took a long time. He used music as part of his therapy while he was recovering, and there have been many other setbacks along the way.
"But now we feel the time is right for The Humanitarians and we are all extremely positive about the future.
"Coming back to Torquay to launch the album is what everyone in the band wanted. The band have always been well received in the bay, and they were very keen to return with the album in hand, as a way of thanking the town for its support."
A single from the album will be released soon, and the band are planning a UK tour which will take in a number of festivals appearances.