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<Updated Oct. 24th 2010>
Convulsions at John O'Gaunt, Lancaster, UK 2010.
Photo Emily

“I have never seen anyone playing a harmonica at that speed or anyone play a Hammond organ at that speed. But Ben the lead singer did both AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!”

“My mate and I both stood there like the rest of the audience, grinning from ear to ear at a jaw dropping performance”

“ The audience were absolutely spellbound . . . . . simply awesome!!!"

Comments on the Dundee Blues Bonanza website last year. Hopefully we can top that with the acrobatic stage choreography we've been rehearsing at LUDUS (joke)

"Sprightly Anglo-US outfit inventively blend classic Windy City blues with Sixties soul, British R&B and a Nineties punk energy."

The Independent, Five Best Music (UK).

 “The live show is that by which we compare every other band we look at.”

Rob Gillis of Waterdog records.

"the hottest, punkiest, funky British Rhythm 'n Blues available in the USA. This ROCKS!!!!!!!"....

Berlin DJ Lord Litter.

“My favorite Blues Punk Band”

Buzz Kilman, WCKG.

“Combination of Mick Jagger and David Byrne . . . spastic harp . . . I was instantly riveted”

Mike Harris, Editor Chief, Illinois Entertainer.

“. . . my word these lads were AWESOME! The set climaxed in a pool of sweat that flooded the stage.”

Diane, Sister Feelgood – British RnB Festival Review in Blues Matters,

“Frenzied punk-funk fusion with attitude, this bebop meets Godzilla with harp-o-batics from hell”

Judge Jones, UK Blues Free Press

“ . . . sweaty, US blues punkers.”

Timeout Magazine

 

MUSIC - Hear clips on the harmonica above and go to SOUNDS if you want to buy this (or any other of our super duper adventures in blisteeeering punky blues and high energy Brit RnB!)

MOVIE FEATURES AND RADIO PLAY

- Airplay now in MACEDONIA!!
MOJO BLUES 94.1 FM, Radio 2 in Skopje started playing us in February 2007 (Sundays 6-8pm).
The 4th February 2007 playlist included no less than three Convulsions tracks: Kowtow, Smoking In Germany and Watch Your Step.

- Several tracks from our "Shaken and Disturbed" album are on the Resurrection Mary movie soundtrack: (http://www.resurrectionmary-movie.com). The movie can be watched for free at FEARnet.

- The track "Don't Know What To Tell You" is reputedly part of the soundtrack for CVP studios' "On the Road Trip" which turned out to be a porn movie and was then apparantly changed to "Adventure Sex 1" on DVD from Hustler studios. As the original agreement did not include rights to sell the soundtrack there are lawsuits pending initiated by other artists - all interesting stuff, and no, we haven't seen a copy yet as we were meant to receive free ones and did not!

- Airplay now in Holland and Belgium on Milo FM 103.1 every Thursday 7-10pm!

- BERLIN airplay! See DJ Lord Litter on line at www.Lordlitter.de

- BELGIUM and ARGENTINA radio stations play us!! The Buenos Aire's RnB Hour started playing us Saturday, July 27th 2003 with "Good Times Blues" shortly following. Yeah!

AND "Blues at Sunrise" on Austin KVRX 91.7 FM Wednesdays 7-9am.

Line up (from left to right):

Jonny Huck - drums
Joe Cutler - bass
Ben "Shakey" Ruth - harmonica/vcls/organ
Jason Wilkinson - guitar/keys

Back to top:

NEWS
Click here for older news

We're back in Sweden! Nov. 17th through 19th at Stockholm University and 20th at Wirstroms Pub. And we really are in the process of recording a new album but the timetabling is proving harder than we thought.

Nov. 2010 GIGS

06-Nov-10 9.30-11.30pm The Piel Castle Pub, Ulverston

09-Nov-10 9-11pm The Junction, Otley

14-Nov-10 8-11pm The Dalton Rooms, Lancaster. We're hosting the Lancaster Funk Club at the Dalton Rooms new Sunday jazz series

Nov. 17th - 20th. Sweden (see above)

Oct 2010 GIGS

Lancaster Music Festival as above - rest of the month we're concentrating on the new recordings. Normal service resumed Nov.!

Sept 2010 GIGS

10-Sept-10 9pm John O'Gaunt Pub, Market Street, Lancaster

17-Sept-10 7pm Main Stage Smokie Blues Festival, Arbroath

August 2010 GIGS

15-Aug-10 Sun Fletcher Christians (4-7pm) 55 Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 9JS
20-Aug-10 Fri Patriots MC Main Street, Crumlin, S. Wales NP11 4PQ
21-Aug-10 Sat Palladium Lower Gunstone, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2DE
22-Aug-10 Sun Coopers 39 Ball Rd., Pewsey, Wiltshire, SN9 5BL
23-Aug-10 Mon Bell Walcot St., Bath, BA1 5BW
24-Aug-10 Tue White Hart Atworth, nr. Melksham, Wilts, SN12 8JR
25-Aug-10 Wed Old Duke 38 Pickwick, Corsham, Wilts, SN13 0HY
27-Aug-10 Fri Royal Hotel, Silverdale, LA5 0RA
28-Aug-10 Sat Great British RnB Festival 4.30pm Rugby Club, Colne
28-Aug-10 Sat Great British RnB Festival 10pm Colne Legion

July 2010 GIGS

Sat. July 3rd: Grad Bar Extrav, Lancaster University 8pm

Sun. July 4th: The John O'Gaunt, Market St., Lancaster 9pm

Tues. July 20th: The Junction, Otley 9pm

Sat. July 24th: Dukes Corner, Dundee 3-5pm (Dundee Blues Bonanza)

Sat. July 24th: Guager, Dundee 10-12pm (Dundee Blues Bonanza)

Wed. July 28th - Mon. Aug. 2nd: Wirstroms Pub, Stockholm, Sweden

Sat. July 31st: Gula Villan, Svante Arrhenius Väg 33, Stockholm, Sweded (University campus)

May 2010 Ukraine Tour slide show is <here>

June 2010 GIGS

Sat. June 19th: Charity Bash at Royal Hotel, Silverdale (5-6pm)

Sat. June 19th: The Piel Castle Pub, Ulverston (9pm - late)

The Meadowlands Festival was wet but what a gig! Released some of the new material and it went down a storm. Maybe a bigger stage next year???

May 2010 GIGS

Ben is running the CME Spring UK Tour with Red Gap from Isle of Man and Miss Quincy from British Columbia May 6th - 15th but we will be joining both acts Friday May 14th at Crows in Lancaster

Fri. 14th, Crows, King St, Lancaster 9.30pm - 1am (with Red Gap and Miss Quincy)

Sun. 16th, John O'Gaunt, Market St. Lancaster - Honka Monka Club deep funk jam & vinyl spin 3pm - 6.30pm

Sun. 23rd, John O'Gaunt, Market St. Lancaster - Honka Monka Club deep funk jam & vinyl spin 3pm - 6.30pm

Fri. 28th, A barn party in North Wales (seriously). Contact us for invite

Sat. 29th, The Meadowlands Festival - see flyer opposite. 2pm

Sun. 30th, The Bassetts Arms (part of the 'Blindhouse Reject Tour 2010'). Contact us for invite!

April 2010 GIGS

Wed. April 7th: The Porter Club, 3-A Mishugi str., Kiev, Ukraine

Thur. April 8th: Agata Club, 11 Pevolution str. Kharkov, Ukraine

Fri. April 9th: The Liverpool, 131-A Artema str., Donezk, Ukraine

Sat. April 10th: Dikiy Club, 66 Preobrazhenskaya str., Odessa, Ukraine

Tues. April 20th: The Junction, Bond Street, Otley (9pm)

Sun. April 25th: The John O'Gaunt, Market St., Lancaster

Fri. April 30th: George & Dragon, The Quay, Lancaster

Sun. 11th, 18th, 25th: John O'Gaunt, Market St. the Honka Monka Club deep funk jam & vinyl spin 3pm - 6.30pm

March 2010 GIGS

Sat. 6th: Grad Bar, Lancaster University

Wed. 17th: Penny Bank, Lancaster

Sun. 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th: John O'Gaunt, Market Sq, Lancaster - the Honka Monka Club deep funk jam & vinyl spin 3pm - 6.30pm

January 2010 GIGS

Sun. Jan. 17th: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

Thurs. Jan. 21st: The Grad Bar, Lancaster University, LA2 0PF (9pm - 11ish+)

Sat. Jan. 23rd: The Piel Castle, 37 Market Street, Ulverston LA12 7LG (9pm - late)

Sun. Jan. 24th: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

Thurs. Jan. 28th: John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (9pm - 11pm)

Sun. Jan. 31st: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

December 2009 GIGS

7-Dec. Wed. Grizedale College Christmas Party

22-Dec. Tues. The Junction, Otley 9pm

26-Dec. Sat. John O'Gaunt, Market Street, Lancaster 9pm to 12

27-Dec. Sun. Palladium Club, Lower Gunstone Lane, Bideford. 9.30pm

28-Dec. Mon. Two Pigs, Corsham, Nr. Bath. 9-11pm

29-Dec. Tue. Queens Head, Box, Nr. Bath. 9-11.30pm

30-Dec. Wed. Old Duke, Bristol. 9-11pm

31-Dec. Thu. Gregson Centre New Year's Eve Party with Real Music, Moorlane, Lancaster. Tickets £10

November 2009 GIGS

14-Nov. Sat. The Stonewell Tavern, Lancaster, 9.30pm (free)

21-Nov. Sat. The George & Dragon, Lancaster, 9pm (free)

October 2009 GIGS*

03-Oct. Sat. One Planet Festival Concert, The Park Hotel, Bowerham Road, Lancaster, 9.30pm (FREE)

09-Oct. Fri. Lancaster Music Festival, The Park Hotel, Bowerham Road, Lancaster, 9.30pm (FREE)

11-Oct. Sun. Lancaster Music Festival, The Gregson Blues Festival, Main Hall, 8-9pm (£5)

11-Oct. Sun. Fletcher Christian, Cockermouth, Cumbria, 5pm - 7pm (FREE)

September 2009 GIGS:

02-Sept. Wed. Penny Bank, 51 Penny Bank, Lancaster. 9.30pm

13-Sept. Sun. Birmingham Artsfest 2009, Victoria Stage, 12 noon. Also playing at Rhubarb Radio After Festival Party Sat. 12th, late night time and venue tba

20-Sept. Sun. Afternoon Funk Jam with Honka Monka Funk DJs and band . Penny Bank, 51 Penny Bank, Lancaster. 4-7pm

August 2009 GIGS:

Sun - Tues, August 1st - 3rd: Stockholm, Sweden

Fri. Aug. 7th: Dickie Doodles, Strickland Gate, Kendal
9.30pm - late

Sat. Aug. 8th: The Central, Egremont
9pm - 11.30pm

Tues. Aug. 11th: The Junction, Otley
9.15pm - 11.20pm

SW UK Tour:

17-AuMon. Aug. 17th: Two Pigs, Corsham, nr. Bath
Tue. Aug. 18th: TBA
Wed. Aug. 19th: The Bell, Wolcott St., Bath
Thurs. Aug. 20th: Old Duke, King St. Bristol
Fri. Aug. 21st: Queens Head, Box, nr. Bath
Sat. Aug. 22nd: Miners Arms, North Molton, Devon
Sun. Aug. 23rd: Coopers Arms, Pewsey, nr. Marlborough

Fri. Aug. 28th: Peterborough Beer Festival (see opposite)

Sun. Aug. 30th: Great British RnB Festival - The Dresser's, Colne. 9pm - 12

July 2009 GIGS:

Tues. July 7th, Park Hotel Function Room
- Jam, Rehearsal, Ales -
8pm - Midnight

Tues. July 14th, Park Hotel Function Room
- Jam, Rehearsal, Ales -
8pm - Midnight

Sat. July 18th, Piel Castle, Ulverston
9.30 pm - Midnight

Tues. July 29th - Tues. Aug. 4th Stockholm, Sweden. Thanks to Big Walker and the Blues Souls!

June 2009 GIGS:

Fri. June 5th: Keswick Beer Festival

Tuesdays in June: Rehearsal at the Park Hotel, Lancaster with gig option after (7-11pm)

Fri. June 19th: Grad Bar Beer Festival, Lancaster University (SW Campus)

Wed. June 24th: Penny Bank Pub, Penny Lane, Lancaster (9.30pm)

Sat. June 27th: Dundee Blues Bonanza - 2-4pm The Doghouse, 10pm+ Nether Inn

Tues. June 30th: Junction, Otley, 9pm

Older News:

We played at the Lancaster Music Festival (opposite) both under our own name (Penny Street Bridge, Sat. Oct. 9th 9-11pm) and as host of the Lancaster Funk Club jam session (Crows, Sun. Oct. 10th 2-6pm). Thank you to the nearly 200 folks who turned up at Penny Street Bridge!

Ukraine Tour slide show is <here>

And we're going back 2011 (one of us is going back mid-May)!

Isle of Man Blues Festival feedback pending - by heck what a groove!!! Thank you Val and Barry (Red Gap and Jeceris) for an unforgettable weekend and superb music! XX

We've been invited to play the New Year's Eve gig at the Gregson Centre, Lancaster which would be our first choice in this town!

Honka Monka Club - every Sunday afternoon at the Penny Bank (4.30-7pm) we get together with other musicians to play deep funk and 60's garage. Yours truly spins old funk and soul records in the breaks

We have a Bluesbunny Review for Lancaster Music Festival! Click on the the bunnies!!!

Click here for festival review

Hmm, we appear to be on Last FM - not sure how that happened! http://www.last.fm/music/The+Convulsions

One Planet Festival a blast too! Though knackering as most of it was powered by bike (by you know who - with some guest legs the loveliest of which were Dawn's from One Planet Festival's committee who managed to power an entire song before we reverted to mains electricity)

Birmingham Art Fest a succes. The trio went over there too.

Work starts on the re-recording of Hole in the Head for the video. Recording starts in Oct. and hope to have the video mastered by December.

We have a spotter looking for a possible deal for us.

Peterborough Beer Festival - what a superb organisation. Thanks so much to Mike Lane for being a superb host. We came, we played, we drank an awful lot of excellent ale. Hard life, someone has to do it!

SW Tour. This band keeps getting weirder and weirder. Wondering why my right arm was a bit stiff today I remembered it was probably due to swinging from a lamp post with it while playing gobiron with the left Sun. 23rd. Then there was the traffic cone on the head during 'Don't Need No Doctor' (no, just a psychiatrist) a constant stream of inane babble. A third of a bottle of port preceeding, two pints of Twiddly Dike right before then double brandy redbull and pickled egg during. When in the SW of this country it's hard not to go native and join in the exuberant strangeness and good humour that survived the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, the Danes, Normans and grockles of the twenty first century in craven caravans.

The Swedish tour was a revelation. Thanks very much to Derrick Walker of Big Walker and the Blues Souls for putting us up and up with us and the same to the marvelous Wirstroms Pub in Gamla Stan (Old Town) of Stockholm - Ian you were a life saver, Royce you're a chef par excellence (fish and chips in an Irish pub in Sweden and the fish comes from New Zealand!) and Sigfrid you are the most sparkle barmaid in northern Europe!

We also learnt to play a new style. The first night we had no guitarist (Mo couldn't do the tour so Derrick was to provide us Diamond Dogs, ex Johnny Thunder rocker Stevie but was his birthday). It worked so well, we developed so many on the fly technique we chose to play the entire week without a guitarist.

And it WORKED! Boy, did it work - we even wrote two new songs on the spot and created a 12 minute funk medley narrative involving a bit of Memphis Soul Stew, Money, Shake Your Money Maker and Land of 1000 Dances!!

Lips are still scarred though!!!

he last installment of the Bristol video shoot. Very "sweet and sour experience" (bad pun - see "China Gets It" by way of explanation in appalling taste)

What next? Re-record the song with the new lineup that's what (and a few new ones to boot - great that Mo's actually an engineer)

They liked us in Dundee (Dundee Blues Bonanza - June 27th 2009!

"Sat Late at The Nether Inn
Was recommended by a colleague to drop in to catch a band called The Convulsions. Am soooooooooo glad I did. I have never seen anyone playing a harmonica at that speed or anyone play a Hammond organ at that speed. But Ben the lead singer did both AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!.

This is a band that puts so much effort into their performance, it simply defies belief. They delivered an astonishing blues and funk mix in a style that I would describe as having a large helping of Dr Feelgood and another of The Ramones. My mate and I both stood there like the rest of the audience, grinning from ear to ear at a jaw dropping performance that kept us there right to the end. The audience were absolutely spellbound by a band that we sincerely hope will be back next year.

One of the biggest highlights for me, simply awesome!!!"

We've been picked out of over 100 acts to perform at the Peterborough Beer Festival on August Bank Holiday Friday (see opposite). And having found the camping bug at Off the Tracks last month we're bringing the band tent!

Actually, beer festivals seem to be a new niche for us. Keswick Ale Festival June 5th went down really well (as did the superb ales)!

 

 

 
 
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