Gwyn Ashton's one-man-band solo show is a blend of alternative swamp blues and boogie, all played on his resonator, lap-slide, 6 & 12 string guitars, harmonica and a homemade foot stomp board.
His latest project is an alternative guitar and drums blues and roots/rock power duo with drummer Kev Hickman, making creative use of fuzzed-out bottleneck slide, octave dividers, delays, loops and drums, kicking the blues into the 21st century. Like a band possessed, Ashton’s fiery 2-man combo pulls no punches and delivers the goods every time. These guys are Lo-Fi, analogue, wild and dangerous, as witnessed in Berlin at Popkomm ‘08, broadcast across Europe by ZDF television.
From opening for blues legends such as BB King and Buddy Guy to sharing the stage and recording with members of Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Whitesnake, Ashton is one of the few musicians today who can hold their own in either capacity and is responsible for turning a lot of younger people onto the blues, as well as appealing to an older audience. He has been praised by such luminaries as Robert Plant, Johnny Winter and Eric Johnson.
Over the years Ashton has played onstage with Mick Fleetwood, Hubert Sumlin, Marc Ford, Jon Paris, Canned Heat and has opened for Rory Gallagher, Ray Charles, Robin Trower, Vanilla Fudge, Wishbone Ash, Van Morrison, Jeff Healey, Tony Joe White, Johnny Winter, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, John Hammond and Pat Travers. He also appears and gives tutorials in numerous guitar magazines, has two of his songs in movie soundtracks in France and Asia, conducts masterclasses in Australia and Europe (inc GIT and Guitar X, London) and performs live on radio and television worldwide.
From supercharged four-on-the-floor rockers to gritty blues, Ashton's playing, songwriting and singing are in top form. This is in full evidence on his last release, Prohibition, whose guests include Chris Glen, Ted McKenna (Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Michael Schenker Group, Ian Gillan rhythm section) and Deep Purple keys man, Don Airey.
