The Brew at Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - Interview

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by Andy Coleman (subscribe)

I'm a freelance writer living in Birmingham. I like Classic Rock, 70s pop music, football and interviewing celebrities. Follow me on Twitter: @andycoleman9

Event: 17/02/2018

Raise a glass to success in Europe

Grimsby rock trio The Brew are toasting their success in Europe - and will begin 2018 with a British tour that concludes at Wolverhampton Slade Rooms on February 17. They have also just signed to Napalm Records so new music is imminent, to add to the six albums already released.

The Brew, Tim Smith, Kurtis Smith, Jason Barwick, Slade Rooms Wolverhampton, Napalm Records

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In Europe fans and critics hail the band as one of the most exciting live rock acts around. With influences ranging from The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and Kula Shaker, the outfit has a real Classic Rock feel to it. Formed in 2004 by bassist Tim Smith and his son Kurtis on drums, with singer and guitarist Jason Barwick joining 12 months later, things took off in 2009.

''We were asked to do The Rockpalast show in Germany, which was broadcast live on German TV,'' recalls Tim. ''Also on the bill was Joe Bonamassa, who for reasons best known to himself decided he didn't want to have his set shown on TV that night. So they asked us and the other artists on the bill if we could do an extended set, from 30 minutes to one hour. It took us a millisecond to say yes. They also said there was no room for an encore, but the crowd went mad and they couldn't refuse! It was amazing.''

The Brew: Tim Smith, Kurtis Smith, Jason Barwick

In Germany, Kurtis has since been voted one of the top three rock drummers, Jason was voted one of the top three guitarists and the band was named one of the top three live acts.

Poland is another European country that has become intoxicated by The Brew. In 2014 they were the only UK band to play at the country's Woodstock festival which attracted an audience of 250,000 people.

''I think people in Europe, of all age groups, are still looking to seek out new music and are prepared to pay to see it, whether it has been hyped in the media or not,'' reasons Tim. ''They seem to support all forms of art and culture. I think they look upon going to a gig as a great social event, a quality night out, not just throwing money over a bar. The UK was like this in the 70s but has been in steady decline since. The whole of Europe still regards the UK as the home of Rock 'n' Roll, yet touring bands have such a hard time here getting in front of an audience. It just isn't like this abroad.''

The Brew 2018 tour dates:

Jan 25: Komedia, Brighton;
Jan 26: Giants of Rock, Minehead;
Jan 27: The Musician, Leicester;
Feb 1: The Haven Club, Oxford;
Feb 2: Warehouse 23, Wakefield;
Feb 3: Borderline, London;
Feb 9: Nice 'n' Sleazy, Glasgow;
Feb 10: Bannermans, Edinburgh;
Feb 16: Bodega, Nottingham;
Feb 17: Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton.