The Devil's Spine Band Whelan's 30th January
Tuesday 30th January 2024
Whelan’s Main Venue
Album Launch Show for The Devil’s Spine Band’s highly anticipated double album Golden Arrows of the Moon. Leaning heavily into the genre of ‘Dark Cabaret’ – previously explored with The Whistling Girl (settings of Dorothy Parker’s poetry, with Honor Heffernan) – The Devil’s Spine Band is an ongoing project masterminded by Trevor Knight. The original inspiration came from Oscar Wilde’s culture-bending 1882 trip to Leadville Colorado, and explores all things ‘Cowboy’ and ‘Wilde-West’ in an Americana explosion heavily tinged with Knight’s unique innovative flair. The music features settings of a number of Wilde’s poems together with original lyrics. It’s edgy stuff, improvisational, rocking, at times ambient electronic and sometimes a whoopin’ and a hollerin’ kind of an affair, that takes the audience on a unique journey with some of Ireland’s finest musicians and performers. Much of the music was co-written with Ireland’s finest living blues guitarist Ed Deane (Skid Row, Frankie Miller Band, Dana Gillespie) who has featured in all incarnations of The Devil’s Spine Band.
The Band: Honor Heffernan (Vocals), Ed Deane (Guitar), Garvan Gallagher (Bass), Conor Murray (Drums) and Trevor Knight (Keyboards).
Trevor Knight’s storied creative career has seen him in a myriad of rolls such as: touring musician with legendary 80’s avant-pop outfit Auto Da Fé, composer, collaborator and theatre director and sound designer, Trevor is well known on the Irish scene as a constant innovator. Having received many accolades for his own works, he is also renowned for having rubbed musical shoulders with the productions of many household names: Paul Brady, Philip Lynott, Honor Heffernan, Mary Coughlan, Roger Doyle and Donovan.
Ed Deane Interview
YouTube Channel Pale Blooms and Beyond has interviewed over 70 musicians, past and present, primarily from the UK music scene of the 1970s and 80s… a Rock ‘n’ Blues Folk History of sorts…
Interviewer Greg Shanks (from Wylie, Texas) had a great chat recently with Ed Deane about his 50 year career as guitarist, composer and session man. Ed has amusing stories and character sketches from Dublin in the late 1960s and London in the 70s and 80s, including the time Skid Row were forced to play the Irish National Anthem by an IRA Active Service Unit. Bees Make Honey, Dave Robinson and Stiff Records, Graham Parker, Juice on The Loose, Dana Gillespie, Bap Kennedy, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham also feature. Have a good listen…
Original Soundtrack for A Passing Place
Ed Deane composed the original soundtrack for A Passing Place, the debut feature by Conor King which premiered at the 35th Galway Film Fleadh on July 12th.
Having grown up in London, Lucy is only just adapting to life with her estranged family on Achill Island when a mysterious object appears in the sky. The possibility of first contact sparks a new sense of motivation, leading her to explore the island on which she has been struggling to settle over the past few months.
Noel Bridgeman Tribute Concert May 4th 2023
Backstage (l-r) : Ronan Collins (compere), Ed Deane and a re-union of some of The Gentry showband (Noel was their drummer): Brian Harris (guitar), Gerry Mulryan (trumpet) and Donnie Devaney (tenor saxophone).
Ed Deane (left) playing the end of night song with Sharon Shannon and The Waterboys
Music
Ed Deane is a Dublin-born guitarist, singer and composer, rated one of the finest blues and rock guitarists to emerge from Ireland. He began playing blues with his own band at the age of 16 and has worked with blues and R&B legends such as Lowell Fulson, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, Mississipi Fred McDowell, Johnny Shines, Shuggie Otis, Richard Berry and Juke Boy Bonner.
Since the 70s Ed has been in continuous demand as a session player and slide guitarist. He has toured and recorded with many international artists including Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Geraint Watkins, Henry McCullough, Frankie Miller, Mickey Jupp, Dana Gillespie, Chris Jagger, Shane MacGowan, Paul Jones and Bap Kennedy. He played guitar on the soundtracks for Stormy Monday (alongside BB King) and Leaving Las Vegas, both movies directed by Mike Figgis.
His music style, based on the blues, encompasses many musical forms, including world music, rock and roll, folk and traditional, together with more avant garde forms including experimental theatre and free improvisation.