Sonic Brew, how it came to be and what we are about


Sonic Brew was formed from the ashes of Devon based Ozzy tribute band
Ozzyrebourne. After a considerable amount of touring success Ozzyrebourne
were forced into a prolonged lay off due to the departure of their
guitarist. The job was filled temporarily for a while but traveling and
long distance proved impractical. After a lengthily layoff Steve (drummer
with Ozzyrebourne and Sonic Brew) received a call from Dave,
Guitarist/vocals with Sonic Brew, known to the band as "Zakk Dingle" (don't
ask). Dingle had heard from a mutual acquaintance that Steve was interested
in getting Ozzyrebourne back together so long as the guitarist was right for
the job. Dingle emulates Zakk Wyldes sound and playing very closely and so
was ideal for the job. The two were introduced and got together for a jam.

It was obvious that they both got along very well, both musically and
personally. What neither of them realized at the time was that they both
harbored an ambition to put together a Black Label Society tribute band.
Both Steve and Dingle are BLS/Zakk Wylde disciples to the bone.
Ozzyrebourne was reformed with the four original members, Steve/drums,
Monkey/Bass, Tim/keyboards Dave/Vocals (yes another Dave, and it gets worse
because there is another Dave in this story to come yet..LOL) and Dingle as
the new boy on guitar. From the outset of rehearsals it was obvious that the
vocalists heart was no longer in the band, and so it came as no surprise
when he decided to call it a day and left. Several weeks went by looking for
a replacement to no avail. In the meantime Steve and Dingle put into action
their ideas of putting together a BLS tribute band. As it happens Monkey is
also a BLS disciple and loved the idea so he was the obvious choice for the
job as Bass player. All that was needed now was a second guitarist. Enter
the Bulldog, (also called Dave, yep its all very confusing, far too many
Dave's). Dingle and Bulldog had known each other for about a year. Bulldog
had been having guitar lessons from Dingle and the two had become very close
friends. Anyone that thinks Bulldog was simply brought
in as a rhythm guitarist would be very much mistaken. Bulldog is a very
gifted guitarist in his own right and indeed shares a portion of the lead
work in Sonic Brew handling a couple of solos and doubling up with Dingle on
a few solos. It also helped matters greatly that Bulldog is a BLS disciple
through and through and had the right gear for the job. He was the natural
choice.

The only problem, and you would rightly argue quite a big problem was what
to do about a vocalist. Think about it, handling the vocals for a band that
is going to cover the whole six year career of BLS and plans to do tracks
from each one of the six BLS albums is no walk in the park. Zakk Wyldes
vocal range is phenomenal. Zakk is not just a six string wizard. In fact it
would be fair to say that Zakk Wylde is arguably the most talented
writer/musician in rock music today. Vocally he can sing like an angel with
feel and emotion when his songs call for it, or he can roar like a beast
from the depths of hell. In between that he can sing with the best rock
singers out there. His range of songwriting and vocal performance spans at
least 40 years of influences. Just listen to his albums, you can hear the
Beatles, Elton John, The Eagles, Lynard Skynard, Pink Floyd, and many many
more melodic influences. Then there's the rock/metal side of his writing.
Sabbath/Ozzy, Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, Alice in Chains, early Pantera,
Metallica...the list of vocal influences goes on. And yet no matter what he
sings, or what feel or style the song is, Zakk is unmistakably Zakk. Given
this you can guess having to perform his vocals is one daunting task.
To begin with Monkey had a go at handling vocals. After a couple of
rehearsals though, he decided that playing and singing at the same time was
not for him and he chose to concentrate on playing the bass.
Dingle was confident that he could handle the vocals, but singing and
playing at the same time was not something he felt confident he could do.
Lets face it, we're not just talking about bashing a few chords here and
singing along to a simple melody. Zakk Wylde is not regarded as one of the
worlds greatest and most gifted guitarists for nothing.

After several weeks of practicing along to BLS CD's getting the vocals and
playing nailed, Dingle did his first rehearsal as guitarist/vocalist with
the rest of the band. Thankfully all went well and so the band was complete.
Since then Dingles vocals have gone from strength to strength, the band is
as tight as a machine and now final preparations are being made to start
touring in August 2005.

Sonic Brew is our tribute to the music and genius of Zakk Wylde and his
Black Label Society. We are not just a covers band, we are a tribute band.
We believe there is a world of difference between a covers band and a
tribute band. A tribute band in our opinion is about paying tribute to a
particular artist or band. We have put a huge amount of work and spared no
expense to get Sonic Brew right so as to do justice to the music of Black
Label Society. We have chosen a set list of Zakks most well known songs and
rehearsed until we have dropped (literally) to get them nailed just right.
We have even included a Zakk style version of the Black Sabbath classic
Warpigs. We have paid attention to detail in all aspects of our show in
order to make it as authentic as possible. We don't do this and then next
day, put on a suit and go work in an office from 9-5, we eat, drink, sleep,
shit, bleed, fuck, booze, talk and play Black Label Society 24/7 forever.
Check out our gig list and come and see us. By all means come and share some
beers and some laughs with us, celebrate and pay tribute to Black Label
Society. If you are a Black Label Society disciple like us, we're confident
you will enjoy our show. See you soon.

P.S. For those readers that didn't take my advice and are asking "Who or
what the fuck is Zakk Dingle?", well here goes. If you live in the UK
chances are you will have heard of this character. If you don't then this
"nick name" is probably the least obvious. Zakk Dingle is a fictional
character from a TV show here in the UK. The show is set in the Yorkshire
Dales and there are lots of Farmers etc etc. During the bands first
rehearsal, Dave was just warming up playing some shit and someone said
"woah, Zakk Wylde". Dave lives on a farm, and on hearing this remark Steve
said "More like Zakk fuckin Dingle". Everyone pissed themselves laughing and
the name just stuck. There you go, mystery solved.

Update

Due to personal reasons between Bulldog and the rest of the band it was
decided on November 6th that it would be best all round for Bulldog to leave
the band, a decision not reached lightly due to Bulldogs excellent guitar
work in the band. It was however a unanimous decision after much discussion
about Bulldogs commitment to the band so far, and his ability to commit to
the band at the level required in the future. The news was given to Bulldog
on the November 15th after numerous failed attempts to contact him.
Understandably the news was not taken very well at all, and that's putting
it mildly. We do feel however that our reasons for reaching this decision
were perfectly justified in light of things that had happened during the six
weeks or so leading up to November 6th.
We also feel that the way in which the news was delivered was the only
option left to us given that no calls were answered or returned. Due to the
band being spread across two large counties, and the fact that we were
unable to get him on the phone to make sure he would be in, a visit to his
home was simply out of the question.
It was not something we wanted to happen, and every effort was made in order
to accommodate Bulldogs role in the band. Eventually however we were left
with no choice. We all wish him the best in the future and hope he can come
to terms with our decision in time. Bulldog is an excellent musician and in
time I am sure he will find a project that he can fulfill his ambitions
with.

His replacement is none other that Evil Pete. Pete was known to Animal and
Monkey through his involvement with Ozzy Rebourne. Pete helped out as stand
in guitarist for a period of six months. He was approached initially as a
stand in replacement for Bulldog while a full time replacement was found.
The reason being that Pete lives in south west Wales and so the distance
could be a problem. After Pete's 1st rehearsal with the band it was hoped by
the other three members that he would be able to join the band as a full
time member. To say it went well and he fitted in perfectly would be an
understatement.
After some discussion with Animal Pete agreed to join the band as a full
time member, a decision the rest of the band were very happy about. To date
Pete has done 3 gigs with the band. His performances have been awesome. His
presence on stage is immense. On a personal level he gets along great with
the rest of the band and vice versa. He is also a popular member of the band
with the people that have seen him. Due to Pete's awesome lead guitar
playing , in 2006 Dingle and Pete are going to rehearse some mind blowing
dual lead passages to include in the set. Just watching them swap licks
during the outro solo to warpigs tells you that this partnership is going to
be dam good.


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