Solms / Germany 
Nancy, Paris / France
Vienna / Austria

Concert Reviews and Photos from  
TYA's  Europe Tour 2003/2004

TYA in
Hellendoorn / Holland

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The Writing is on the Wall


                                                                                                                                     Photo by Jacky Moutaillier

 

 Finally "Out of the shadow and into their own light"

 

 

"Ten Years After" is Front Page News in Germany -
Pre-Concert Announcement:

 


 
 

Post "Ten Years After" Concert Rave Review:  

 


click for english translation 

Herzlichen Dank an Michael Schmutzer und das Team vom LAHN-DILL-ANZEIGER

Thank You very much Michael Schmutzer and Team from LAHN-DILL-ANZEIGER



Concert Review for TEN YEARS AFTER in Solms, Germany, Dec. 15th 2003

                                                                       

Frantic Rejoicing to hits as "Love like a man"

Electrifying concert of the legendary "Ten years after"

From Sabine Glinke

 

SOLMS. About 250 people in the Taunushalle in Solms got totally all excited when Rock Legend "Ten Years After" did their concert there. The british band "Ten Years After" with their front man Alvin Lee got well known at the legendary Woodstock movie and Festival in 1969  and got to worldwide fame in the seventies.

Sometime Lee didn't feel like playing together anymore and left the band. Since then more than 10 years passed already, but it didn't stay quiet at all for the remaining three members of "Ten Years After" - Ric Lee (Drums), Chick Churchill (Keyboards) and Leo Lyons (Bass).  When they got the desire to play together again they searched for a new front man and found 25 year-old singer and guitarist Joe Gooch. As in Solms he not only succeeds to stir and thrill every women's heart, but continues on what Alvin once created, even more vividly.

"Ten Years After" did a rousing, dynamic live show on stage. Such a band like this hasn't been in the Taunushalle for a long time. The band plays the blues the way it should be played:  wonderful, breathtaking, thrilling, bursting with energy, and in it's own way electrifying from the very first minute on. 

You can hardly withdraw from the straight bass-lines of Leo Lyons' experienced fingers and Gooch's long guitar solo that stays in your head.

 

While they turned  each other on with their instruments, the energy was transmitted from the stage to the audience. From the first song the audience clapped their hands, sang along with them, heads were moving with the rhythm and they danced.

Joe Gooch, dressed in black leather pants and red shirt,  succeeded to attract every eye of the female audience with his sympathetic, smart smile. There is no one like him playing the guitar like he does. His fingers whizz brilliantly over the strings, draws blues tones, rock tones, and jazz  tones from his guitar. Hits like "Love like a man", "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", Going Home" caused the audience to rejoice as much as the quiet song  "I'd Love to Change the World" or the powerful new song called "Time to kill". A further highlight: Ric Lee - was showcased in a blue spotlight, as he gave a bewitching drum solo. The thunderous cheers  never seemed to end. Gooch also brought some interludes of unexpected joy, such as stepping up to Ric Lee's drums and beating on the cymbals.

"Ten Years After" proved that even if  they might not be a household name, their fans did not forget about them in the least. 

The whole audience once again  experienced a time when "Ten Years After"became stars back then and still are today.

 

The fans confirm that Ten Years After with Joe Gooch is great

 

 

 

 
 Thank You Patrick Bellier for sending us "CROSSROADS
magazine from France, January 2004

 

 

 
click pages to enlarge


NB the interview was in number 17 of the CROSSROADS magazine,
january 2004

Interview : Jean Do Bernard :

 

Imagine beginning the year with an interwiew of Ric Lee, TYA’s drummer, it is absolutely jubilant

I’ve known some less glorious new year’s beginnings… So speaking with Ric Lee in his country house in Great Britan and me in  my Aveyronnaises mountains (South of France) is comforting. We spoke about the present and a bit about the past.

 

 

 

Interview de Jean Do Bernard :                          (Translations by Patrick Bellier and David Willey)

 

: You started the year off being very busy : a live album and a studio CD  coming out soon, when will  it  be released ?

 

RL : The album will be ready very soon, we still have some  details to go over and  improve on. We’ll spend the entire month of January working together in the studio, because we’d like the CD to be ready and in the stores by March. I also would like to point out that this CD contains all new material with none of our old songs.

 

Q : The new live recording is your first with new guitarist Joe Gooch, this guy is particularly good, isn’t he ?

 

RL : (laughing) He is fantastic ! He is very young, he is only 26. Last year we’ve written new songs and Joe has improved the old ones. We began the tour after this live CD was recorded in a little German town called Twist in February 2003, and “Big Black 45” was recorded in Italy in march 03.

 

Q : Where did you find this fantastic guitarist  Joe Gooch?

 

RL : Well, when it was a fact that Alvin wouldn’t play with us anymore, and as Chick, Leo and I wanted to play together again, we had to find a new guitarist.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do because we had to find a guitarist as good as Alvin who could play the old songs, but with enough personality to do something else than just imitate him.  We tried two :  one was English, the other Italian, both were really very good but they didn’t see exactly what we wanted. One day, Leo’s son Tom who knew Joe because they attended the same school together said to us he was an extraordinary guistarist. Leo asked me : what do you think about him? I answered, let’s give it a  try.

Leo now lives in Nashville, so I contacted Joe and asked him to send me a CD with the song  “I’m Going Home” on it. When I got the CD, I was stunned because it was the first time I heard somebody playing like that. He also added  a version of the Jimi Hendrix song  “Red House” which was stunning too! I took my car and travelled accross the country to hear him play. When I went  back home, I phoned Leo and I told him  “He’s the man we need” and Joe sings very well.

His arrival gave us something fresh and that’s a fact, he leads us in very interesting directions, as he is very young it keeps things new and innovative in a positive way, Joe keeps pushing us forward.

 

Q : Isn’t it boring to play the same old songs every night?

 

RL : Not at all, for Joe all the songs are new, and now we play  each song every night in a different way, and you know, if we didn’t play those songs, the crowd could be disappointed. It’s not very easy for us and we don’t want to look like an old band  “on the return,” who can only play songs from their old success. It’s the reason why we play many new songs at our gigs.

 

Q : In this live CD we’re really surprised that Joe plays so very well, as good as Alvin, but Alvin played Jazzy in an easy way, where Joe is always playing in a rock and blues style.

 

RC : Yes, but I think it is because they are not of the same generation. Alvin’s guitar heroes came from the 50's and 60’s like Scotty Moore, but Joe’s favourites are Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

Q : Do you have any time to listen to other music, and if so  what do you prefer?

 

RL : (laughing) I can listen when I’m  touring, I take with me some CD’s I like jazz, some Coltrane, or Santana.

 

Q : Nothing quite new!

 

RL : The problem is I like some new stuff but I can’t remember their names, there are so many new bands and CD’s, my wife bought the “white stripes” CD that everybody likes now.

 

Q : And do you like it ?

 

RL : Yes, but I prefer a band like the “Manic Street Preachers”.

 

Q : Is it difficult on your family and for you personally to be so far away from your home while touring?

 

RL : It’s my job you know, and we like the new Ten Years After, it’s a new adventure, a new challenge. It is very exciting for each of us and it’s different now than in the 60’s / 70 ‘s. before we were on the road sometimes for 3 months, but now the dates are much closer together. You’re on the road 15 days or 3 weeks and then you’re back home again, so I can have time with my family, and I can find some time to have a little rest.

 

Q : Do you use free time to do a second solo album ?

 

RL : No not really, but I do I have some projects in the back of my mind, things that I’d like to do but really my priority is and always has been with Ten Years After. The problem now is I’m a sort of manager, I’m also looking after tour dates, taking care of contracts, and if it goes on like this I’ll have to drive the truck too. I figure if have some time left over, I’ll play the drums (laughs)

 

Q : What do you think about that stupid little war coming from the  “pro Alvin” side on the web, reproaching Ten Years After for still using the Ten Years After name?

 

RL : Nothing, because it’s not much of a concern for us, as it’s
only four or five fans, not more, who were angry that we’d go on playing without Alvin. We spoke with Alvin about the fact that we’d like to continue with the Ten Years After adventure, he wasn’t at all interested as he felt too tired to be on the road again with the band.

 

Q : Was the phenomenal success that you had after Woodstock  difficult to manage?

 

RL : Yes and no………..

After this festival things were different, that’s correct, but in fact the effect of Woodstock  was quite delayed because  right after the festival went back home to Great Britan.

Things became different in fact when the single  “Love Like a Man” came out and became a very big hit and success for us, the press, and the TV began to explode with interest and we couldn’t avoid them. Every time there photographs being taken of us, journalists for interviews, and it was almost impossible to have any kind of a private life. During this time my children were young, and it was very difficult, because I didn’t want photographs of us to come out and they wanted to take photos of us and of our house. Of course, we were proud of that  “Circus” but we had to take care to stay just like we were before our success, it was a question of equilibrium and trying to keep it all in balance and in a proper perspective.

 

Q : Today, does the Ten Years After’s public live in old folks homes? What is the typical age group that you see at your concerts?

 

RL : (he laughs) it depends on where we are at the time, in Germany, and in Holland, we meet people at our gigs who were the same age as us. We had a gig in December 2003 In Nancy, France and there the audience was a total mix of every age group, there were people fifty years and older and also many young people who love this musical style and it is very pleasant to see all those people of different ages dancing  to our music.

 

Ten Years After are planning an exceptionnal gig on 3th february 2004 at the “New Morning” in Paris,France 

 


Paru dans CROSSROAD,  Mars 04

(many thanks to Jacky Moutaillier)

 

Photos by Jacky Moutaillier

 

 

The following Photos were contributed by French Photographer Jacky Moutaillier

Merci Bien - JACKY

Dec. 12th, 2003

 

 

  Jacky's Website: http://www.ifrance.com/THEAGENCY/

 


                                                                                             Photo by Jacky Moutaillier

TEN YEARS AFTER with Christian Fix and Patrick Bellier 




Photos by Silvia:

  

TEN YEARS AFTER - The Only Band Where Lightning Struck Twice

 JOE GOOCH
    
     

Photos by Silvia

 

TEN YEARS AFTER

 

LIVE 

IN

VIENNA

 

2003

 

 

Thanks to Silvia

 

  

Photo  by  JACKY MOUTAILLIER

Please visit Jacky's Website for more photos and information: http://www.ifrance.com/THEAGENCY/

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