The 109s

The 109's are a Hampshire, England based four piece band putting rock riffs back where they belong. Their music prowls loud and high in the mix, clawing and stomping its way through the speaker cones to grab listeners by the throat and pummel them into submission . . . The members of the band are Steve Collings - drums, Damian Shelley - voice and guitar, Pete Smith - bass and Matty Pritchard - guitar and voice. They've taken everything good about Zeppelin, Sabbath, Royal Blood, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, MC5, The Stooges, Soundgarden and The Black Keys and distilled a 100-percent-proof moonshine-mash all their own - a heady brew that kicks like a mule, burns like a mother, but has everyone asking for seconds . . .

The 109s write as a collective. They start with a decent-sounding riff then hammer it out between them. The essence of those jams are the boiled down into short, punchy structures. They tend to stick to the song structure but leave a bit of room for leeway. Steve's drumming style combines the best of Moon and Bonham, so if he feels like scampering off on a juicy fill, the rest of them stay solid keeping the song anchored. Matty structures some guitar solos for improvisations.

Cut Me Loose - Classic rock with great riffs. Fast as a bullet you head west towards the setting sun. Set me free, cut me loose from a dead end noose.

Leave A Light - Progressive riffs to a grueling rhythm. There's a light on but nobody's home. There's a feeling somethings going on.

Stakeout - With heaven on his mind he can take you anytime. With luck on his side he can stakeout and wait for you.

Hijo - An acoustic song. Energetic.

Open Road - Pulsing drum beats. Slide guitar rock. When given the room, he'll take advantage of it.

Stooge - Feeling like a doormat he was played for a fool. He's not seen as he really is.

Turn It Around - Stomping the ground he'll be high and dry in order to meet you there. Won't touch bottom until we hit the ground. Rock and rhythm.

Seethe - Anger builds because they had a deal. He waits by the phone alone. He calls and no one answers. He's had enough.

Hija - An acoustic song. Meaningful.

Creeping - He's creeping towards the door. He's been seen. He wants to be in a different place now but he stays for more. No hope now.

No Shame - You can cry but there's no use in praying about it. Broken wings because no one is listening, time to go.

Taint - Melancholy acoustic. Upside down. Inside out. Cut to the middle of his broken heart. Things used to be fine but he doesn't mind the feeling anymore.

A multi-talented artist, lead guitarist, Matty Pritchard, is also an author and member of the UK Crime Writers Association. He has published three novels in the UK to date - Scarecrow, Broken Arrow and Werewolf - under the name Matthew Pritchard, and was nominated for the CWA's Gold Dagger Award.

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Matthew has had three novels published in the UK so far by Salt Publishing: Scarecrow and Broken Arrow, the first two Danny Sanchez novels, and Werewolf, which is set in Germany during the aftermath of WWII. The German version of Scarecrow, Die Stunde Des Puppenspielers, is published by Goldmann. This publishing house has also issued a third Danny Sanchez novel rejected by my British publisher, entitled Die Toten Von Almeria. To find out more about Matthew and his crime novels go to:

https://matthewpritchard.co.uk/

http://www.the109s.com/

Denise L. @DL7855 2017