Hot off the back of a barnstorming set at HRH AOR, Manchester’s dirty southern rock n roll blues mavericks, Gorilla Riot release a new single, Half Cut, on Fri 29 March. It’s taken from their forthcoming album which is slated for release later this year, in Digital, CD and Vinyl formats on Off Yer Rocka Recordings (OYR).
In true maverick Gorilla Riot style, the song is an eclectic mix of free-flowing consciousness; no linear narrative, no chorus, and a huge chunk of guitar awesomeness.
Mainman, Arjun Bhishma, said, “At the time of writing I was heavily into Contraband by Velvet Revolver. I love that record and I think you can hear some influence from that style of ‘machine’ rock. Once I came up with the riff I still wanted to embed the song into some blues, so the verse riff is just a play on a simple riff with the gain cranked up. The solo came after I gave the song to the boys. It’s not usually the style of song that Charly would get to solo on but we chose to mix it up and he just ran with it, creating this behemoth of a guitar piece.
He added, “The song is a small window into experiences that I have had. It chronicles certain nights/days of revelry, highlighted with splashes of chemical colour. Without going into any specifics, the lyrics are simply supposed to provide a setting for the listener to interpret as they see fit.
“The recording process was the same as always for us. We get the drums and bass down at Futureworks studio with our engineer Carl Brown. The rest we do in our living rooms, surrounded by incense and cucumbers.”
Gorilla Riot are a 5-piece dirty rock n’ roll blues machine from Manchester, England. Using a 3-prong guitar attack with multi-part vocal harmonies; they play raucous blues-based rock, combining elements of grunge, stoner, and country to create a full-on high energy show.
Created by mainman, Arjun Bhishma, he surrounded himself with the best talent in Manchester to form Gorilla Riot. Arjun, Liam Henry (guitars & vocals), Charly T. (guitars & vocals), James Degnen (bass), began songwriting and soon entered the studio to record their self-titled mini-album. This set them on their path to delivering their blues-drenched dirty sound that evolved into the acclaimed EP, Six Shots Down in 2017.
Equally at home acoustically or electrically they released their next studio work in May 2018. American Honey Vol 1 saw the guys extend their sound and song-writing prowess with 3 new songs plus an exquisite re-working of their hit song, Last Hymn.
Gorilla Riot recently announced that they have signed a 2-album deal with Off Yer Rocka Recordings, the first of which will be released later in 2019.
Recent highlights:
LIVE DATES:
MARCH
Fri 29th NEWBURY – The Canal Bar (Acoustic) – Crazy Cowboy Festival Warm Up Show
Tickets: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/461698
Sat 30th READING – Crazy Cowboy Festival 3, Facebar
Tickets: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/443551
APRIL
Tues 2nd EL PUERTO SANTA MARIA, Spain – Milwaukee
Tickets: https://entradium.com/events/concierto-de-gorilla-riot
Weds 3rd SEVILLA, Spain – Sala X
Tickets: https://www.ultimaentrada.com/comprar-entradas/concierto/gorilla-riot-en-sevilla
Thurs 4th PLASENCIA, Spain – Sala Impacto
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Fri 5th BÉJAR, Spain – La Alquitara
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Sat 6th ALLARIZ, Spain – Bule Bule (Acoustic)
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Sat 6th LUGO, Spain – Club Clavicémbalo
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.es/e/entradas-concierto-de-gorilla-riot-uk-en-lugo-52791887958
Sun 7th VALLADOLID, Spain – Kafka Underground (Acoustic)
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Sun 7th ALDEAMAYOR DE SAN MARTÍN (Nr Valladolid), Spain – El Zagal
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Tues 9th SANTANDER, Spain – La Tribu
Weds 10th VITORIA, Spain – Urban Rock Concept
Tickets: On The Door
Thurs 11th BILBAO, Spain – La Nube Café Teatro
Fri 12th ZARAGOZA, Spain – La Ley Seca
Tickets: On The Door
Sat 13th LLEIDA, Spain – Café del Teatre
Sun 14th TARRAGONA, Spain – La Traviesa
Fri 19th CRUMLIN, Nr Newport, Wales – TMR RockFest, The Patriot
Tickets: FREE ENTRY
Sat 20th MANCHESTER – Rebellion w/ Tyla’s Dogs D’Amour
Tickets: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Manchester/Rebellion/Tylas-Dogs-DAmour—Plus-Gorilla-Riot/13476652/
Fri 26th – GRAVESEND – Leo’s Red Lion w/ Bad Touch
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/kent/leos-red-lion/bad-touch
Sat 27th – GIVENCHY EN GOHELLE, France – Salle Des Fetes – HRB Festival
Tickets: https://www.helloasso.com/associations/handirockbike/evenements/hrb-festival-avril-2019
Formed: 2013
Hometown: Manchester, England
FFO: Dirty Southern Blues Rock
Discography:
Gorilla Riot LP (2014)
Eve Tapes Live EP (2014)
Six Shots Down EP (2016)
American Honey Vol 1 EP (May 2018)
Half Cut single (Mar 2019)
New album slated for Winter 2019 on Off Yer Rocka Recordings
Gorilla Riot are:
Arjun Bhishma (vocals/guitar)
Liam Henry (guitar/vocals)
Charly T. (guitar/vocals)
James ‘Deggy’ Degnen (bass)
LINKS:
www.gorillariotband.com
https://www.facebook.com/GorillaRiot
https://gorillariot.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/gorilla-riot
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu3mgyWoJtmDNK-4YBrnPMA
https://twitter.com/GorillaRiotRock
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5OiiGa3KynCIy8wvrXpVKY
