| CherryBlackStone | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Funk Rock |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | unsigned |
| Website | www.cherryblackstone.co.uk |
| Members | |
| ReDD Andrez Harriott Ashton Miranda |
|
| Past members | |
| Jade Jones | |
CherryBlackStone is a four piece British music group, formed in London in 2002. They are not to be confused with American rock band Black Stone Cherry. The group was founded by former Damage vocalist Andrez Harriott, his wife ReDD, and former Damage singer Jade Jones.
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Their aim was to create a new sound and to "make an album that lived up to its title: Forget the Formula. If we wrote something and it sounded good, we kept it. It has been very liberating just allowing ourselves to be artists and not over analysing the creative process".[1] The group describe their sound as "Phunk Rock" and according to Victoria Newton, entertainment editor of The Sun, the group resemble a "mix of Ike and Tina Turner, The Black Eyed Peas, and Prince".[2]
The focus of the group is primarily live performances, so throughout 2002 and 2003 they set about creating a live band that could "translate the emotion of the music to the audience".[1] ReDD and Andrez decided to go back to the college that played such an important role in their musical education, The Brits Performing Arts College, and held open auditions. They recruited Ashton Miranda (keyboards), Rupert Caney (lead guitarist), and Tom Driessler (bass guitar) to complete the line-up of the group, although Driessler subsequently left the band. Original singer Jade Jones also formerly of Damage is a previous singer in the band.
After a long period of writing, the group began the next stage of its evolution and began show casing its new material. The groups first gig was at the OTR Studio's in Hackney, London on May 18, 2005. From then they performed at several venues included The Cobden Club and The Metro Club. The group have also performed numerous gigs at the iconic Half Moon Pub in Putney, London - a venue which has seen performances from the likes of the Rolling Stones, Kate Bush and Elvis Costello in its 40 year history. CherryBlackStone also supported musician Jamie Cullum on his UK tour in July 2006 which included a performance at Delamere Forest in Cheshire.
The group released their debut single, "Kushti", via a download only format in November 2006. The song, which was available on leading download sites such as iTunes, was to be the first release from the groups debut album, Forget the Formula, although the album has yet to be released. The video for the single was shot in May 2006 in London and is styled upon the movie Eyes Wide Shut, where a crowd are wearing masks to hide their identity but while the band play the energy slowly overcomes them and they throw down their masks and party. The group also appeared in five episodes of the Channel 4 series Bo Selecta.
2007 ended with the band supporting Beverley Knight on her 30 date UK tour, after which Jones left the band after the borth of his son.
CherryBlackStone are still unsigned, quoted as saying " we are still looking for a record deal so we can take our sound to the masses".