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Clive

Reg

Ray

Jamie

 

For more info see - http://www.raybartrip.com

 

Ray "Chigwell Fats"Bartrip

I began playing the piano in 1958, having classical lessons.

In 1964 I started my first blues band, it wasn't very good but what we lacked in ability we made up for in enthusiasm. Most of the kids in our audiences liked it too, We started our own blues club in the backroom of a pub and charged half-a-crown to come in.

In 1965 I teamed up with a couple of blokes, with whom I'm still good friends, and we formed "The Worrying Kynde", a blues, R'n'B and, eventually, soul band, typical of the 60's.

We played most of the trendy London clubs (the Beatles came in, one night!) and toured France, Germany and Poland. We supported quite a few big names like Alan Price, The Searchers, Cliff Bennet, The Kinks and The Scaffold and often did double header gigs with other bands on our agency, like The Artwoods (Jon Lord on organ) and Dave Anthony's Moods (Reg Dwight on organ), I had a lot of competition!. We made a couple of records but only one was released which, strangely enough, has turned up on a recent compilation cd of obscure stuff from the 60's.

The 70's saw my gradual transition from soul and R'n'B to progressive rock and heavy metal, screaming hammonds and such, largely inspired by Jon Lord who I had got to know in the 60's. The Band was called "Big Daddy". But by the end of the 70's the punk era was well and truly under way and, anyway, I was too fat for the spandex trousers so I stopped playing.

I lived in the USA for a while in the 80's and I played blues piano in a bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in my spare time. Eventually, back in the UK, I met up again with Fig, the guitarist from "The Worrying Kynde", we started a blues band in 1988 called "Junkyard Dog". This lasted a couple of years and, with one or two personnel changes, became "Chicago Shouthouse", a good, tight, popular blues band which lasted until the mid 90's. Following the breakup of this band and a bit of illness, I joined the house band at the weekly blues jam at "The Heathcote" in London's East End. The was the "Blues Revue" band and I stayed with them for about 4 years. Through the Jam I met many blues players and jammed, played, rehearsed and recorded with several of them. I met the phenomenal slide guitar player Martin Fieber and joined "The Customtones", we recorded a CD in 1998 called "Brassfinger" and we still do gigs together, when I use my old white Hammond.

In 1999 came the fruition of around 20 years dabbling about with songwriting when I made a cd of my own material called "35 years, Man & Boy" (see CD page).

Through a  friend I met Adam Norton, who struck me as a very capable and enthusiastic young harp player. He wanted to start an Essex based blues band and I agreed to join. This was "Bad Town Blues". As soon as I met Clive I felt a rapport between us in how we liked to play and what we liked to play, this together with Adam's powerful harp playing and a good solid rhythm section means that the band has gone from strength to strength.

I have tried to work a bit harder at writing, than before, and I am pleased that I had a few songs on our debut album "Down in the Alley" and also a few on "Oblivion Road", our latest album. 

Equipment I have used includes a modified white Hammond T400 and Leslie 760 (Cut Down),  A Hammond T200, A Hammond M100, A Hammond TTR100,  A Hammond M3, Two Leslie 760s ,a Leslie pre-amp, A Gibson G201 combo organ, A Kurzweil SP88 stage piano, Ohm amp and Yamaha cab, a Yamaha P80 stage piano, a Roland KR33 piano, and various other vintage keyboards and amps that I have collected over the years. My latest Aquisition looks likely to be my main organ from now on, it's a Hammond XK1, one of the latest  range of keyboards to be brought out by Hammond. It has digital tonewheels, it's light and it sounds fantastic.

My personal Keyboard heroes are (in chronological order as I was influenced) Will Bradley, Mose Allison, Ray Bryant, Ray Charles, Otis Spann, Jimmy Smith, Memphis Slim, Dr. John (Mac Rebennac), Professor Longhair (Roy Byrd) and the great James Booker (who must have been born with 3 hands to play the way he did). and, of course, not forgetting the current Maestro: John Cleary.

 

 I occasionally get calls from other bands to dep for their regular keyboard player and occasional TV or radio work and I enjoy doing that, but out of all the material that I play, I suppose that the style of "Bad Town Blues" is really where my heart lies. Just got to keep on doin' it!

In 2005 and 2006 I was lucky enough to receive awards in the "Digital Blues Awards" keyboard player category. Thanks to all those who voted for me.

Also, in 2005 and 2006, the compilation CDs I produced "Essex Delta Blues" and "Essex Delta Blues Vol II" also received awards in the "Favourite CD" category, wich I was very pleased about.

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