To book me for a paid gig, either ring 0792 627 8022, or email to bookings@ashmandrake.com . I don't use myspace for emails any more.
About Ash
This is a story of industrious energy, inner torment, and determination.
His mother knew how to enjoy singing; his grandmother was a Polish play write and composer. As a child Ash soaked up sounds from films - Cosaks, Gypsies, Zulus; the sound of Tarzan Yodeling and the super-human magic of Yma Sumac. By fourteen He’d acquired his first guitar. He was discouraged, but kicked back. By eighteen, he was soaking up Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Shostakovich. He’d discovered his voice and started writing songs. He was experimenting with unusual instruments and playing in bands.
However, for more than a decade, he lived with the uneasy tension between a true passion for creative expression and a powerful drive to achieve academically. He studied hard; science, humanities, management. He worked globally, in industry and universities; as a computer programmer, a teacher, examiner and manager. But he also worked for a while as a stripper/kissogram, and studied fine art. Eventually though, something had to give. And Ash gave in to just being himself and making music.
What a relief ! Lol.
With newer influences and discoveries like Bjork, Tim Buckley, Moby, and John Martin, Ash started to take covers out to open mics. He started customising instruments again and experimenting with sound scapes and vocal layering.
These days, He performs solo. “Working with other people can be great fun and really fertile creatively, especially if there is a deep connection. But performing every single night as a means to building a business is too difficult with a band”. Driven by the slightly reckless edge of the maverick, He has managed to unleash the gypsy in his soul. “Touring is proving to be the healthiest job I‘ve ever done, and that‘s probably because it’s exactly what I should be doing.“
His audiences are populated by colourful souls. They are drawn by the mix of emotion and mischief in the live act. They are delighted by the hats and costumes, the stories and the comedy. This act shouldn‘t really work in pubs, but it does. And that is testament to the seductive power of true innovation, quality and passion.
(Samantha Phelps: 2010)
Recent Gigs Include:
The Union Chapel, London
The Cheltenham Big Easter Gathering
The Bell Inn, Bath
The Musician and The Donkey, Leicester
the Running Horse, Nottingham
The Tower of Song, Birmingham
Ashton Court Festival, Bristol
The Royal Oak Folk Festival, Bath
Glastonbury Festival: Played 19 times including "The Left Stage",“The Band Stand”, “Avalon Café”, “The Fired Earth Cafe", "Small World Stage", "Green Fuse Stage”.
The Big Session and The Sumer Sundae, Leicester
Bath Fringe Festival
Circus Idilique, Radford Farm, Wilts.
