THE DUKES OF STRATFORD

My name is Reid Mansell. I'm a human caucasian male of average size. I’ve been playing rock and roll for 20 years to (for all intents and purposes) no one. I do it because I love it. Music is my life, my soul and every atom of my existence. I write what I want to hear.

I don’t sound like anyone else. I was weaned on Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and KISS. I spread my wings when I discovered Let’s Active and the Hoodoo Gurus. Redd Kross and Jellyfish changed my life. My music is me…but I am bits and pieces of every band and song that has ever made me reach for the volume knob.

I’m a perfectionist…but only because I’m an artist. I “see” a vision in my head of my songs and the challenge is making that “vision” a reality. I love having a band. I love being a part of a band. I love writing with people and collaborating, but with my last couple of records it has been more important to me to make sure I fully realize my vision of each song. So I felt it best not to hand over the “paintbrush” to anyone else. So pretty much all that you hear on my recordings is me. Does that make me an egomaniac? I don’t think so, but you make the call.

My new record is called Pose Or Go Home (say it fast and you’ll get my drift). It was recorded at my kitchen table from February through May 2010. It was a true labor of love. I got back to basics and composed, performed, recorded and produced from the gut. And my gut is evidently filled with really loud guitars and a desire to rock uncompromisingly. I’m thrilled with the results and feel like it is the best realization of my vision to date. I hope you feel the same. Many of the songs came out of a really tough 2009 and lyrically you’ll probably get the point.

So enjoy. And in the words of Marty Dibergi, “Hey, enough of my yacking; whaddaya say? Let’s Boogie.”

Reid Mansell

June 16, 2010