Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Back Door Slam's Davy gets a call from a hero

ORIGINAL: IoMToday.co.im
By JOHN GREGORY
03 June 2008

BACK Door Slam's Davy Knowles received the surprise of his life when he received a phone call from one of his all-time heroes.
The guitarist, 21, who enjoyed a short break in the Island recently before returning back to America for another tour, returned home from the Albert in Port St Mary to find a message from Gerry McAvoy on his answerphone. Gerry was Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher's bass player for 20 years and is currently the bass player in legendary R&B band Nine Below Zero who will be performing at Paramount City, Douglas, tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow Wednesday. Davy – who is a huge Rory Gallagher and Gerry McAvoy fan – said: 'I went to the pub with my mum and dad and when I came back there was an answer machine message from Gerry McAvoy – I was thinking "oh my God!"'I rang him back and he was soundchecking at a gig but he said he would love to have a chat and he is going to call me in the States. I'm buzzing!' The call happened as promoter Kevin Madigan, of West Hill, Castletown, is a friend of Gerry's and recommended he should check Back Door Slam out on the internet. Gerry did and was highly impressed by what he saw and volunteered to give Davy a call. He has also offered Davy a chance to jam with the band and play some Rory Gallagher numbers. Davy, who has read Gerry's book, Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero, is now back in America.

He should be getting used to meeting – and playing on the same bill as – his heroes. In New Orleans Back Door Slam supported legendary Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and Davy had a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by him. The very next day in Memphis he met the great blues piano player Pinetop Perkins. Davy also has emails from The Who guitarist Pete Townshend – BDS supported The Who in Peel last year – and the band will also be on the same bill as another of Davy's favourites, John Hiatt, later in the year and will be supporting Joe Bonamassa, who the band are also a fan of. They have played on the same bill at festivals as some of the biggest names in popular music, gaining many new fans along the way. And, with US nationwide TV appearances under their belt, sold out shows in their own right and their debut album Roll Away reaching the top five of the Billboard blues chart, their success shows no sign of slowing down. http://www.backdoorslam.com/http://www.ninebelowzero.com/
The full article contains 452 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated: 02 June 2008 3:04 PM
Source: n/a
Location: Isle of Man