“Utility (Useful, especially through being able to perform several functions) Blues (The kinda stuff I play)”
"I was pretty chuffed when I came up this album title" says David, "Pretty fitting for a Blues playing ONE MAN BAND don't ya think!"
UTILITY BLUES is the cranking new album from genuine ONE MAN BAND - LI'L CHUCK THE ONE MAN SKIFFLE MACHINE aka Christchurch based musician David Thorpe.
Passionate about sticking to the traditional one man band (OMB) format, David recorded this album entirely alone in his studio with all instruments and vocals recorded simultaneously. No edits, no overdubs. "I was just trying to capture the best performance I could" says David.
In addition to playing all the music, in true OMB style, David played the part of roadie, recording engineer, and composer of 11 of the 12 tracks.
As most are aware, it is a tough era for the self managed, self funded independent musician. Li'l Chuck has taken the opportunity to create a Pledgeme crowd funding campaign to assist the release process. He says the recording is the easy part.
David is looking to raise $8000 over 30 days on Pledgeme to cover the costs of mixing, mastering, art, design, pressing and marketing - all which will be done in NZ.
"The album is recorded and mixed and will be ready for release once I raise the money by pre selling the album. In addition to the album, I am offering loads of other great rewards - Harmonica lessons, house concerts, even a recording session with tea and home baking at my studio" says David.
The campaign will be launched at his 'Utility Blues Pre-sale Party' at Blue Smoke, Christchurch (Woolston Tannery) on Sat 26th November 8pm. And it's free!
David will be playing his old favorites plus all the tracks from the new album - live and OMB style!
"My OMB journey started over 20 odd years ago after I saw a one man band busking on the streets of Manchester, England in the late 1980's. From that moment I was spellbound and inspired and spent the next years honing my OMB craft" David enthuses. "My first album was released in 2013. It was met with such enthusiasm, and great reviews it gave me a massive boost of confidence and I couldn't wait to get those hands and feet stamping out a new record"