Liam Tarpey

I came across Liam Tarpey almost by accident. In the middle of a massive pile of review CDs, most of them too dull to mention, I found what looked like a home-made rough diamond of a disc and immediately found it was the best thing I heard that week.

Investigating a little further turned up the fact that young Liam is building a reputation around the London Blues scene and with links to the mighty Wampler Pedals the band now have some muscle behind them.

I took the opportunity to ask Liam some questions about his origins and music:


Music-News Liam, please could you describe your music and your origins

Liam Tarpey We play mainly Blues Rock, I guess I started off with a bit of everything but got hooked fairly quickly on my parent's record collection. My family are quite big on blues and 'guitar' music so I was surrounded by it from a young age.
MN What was the first thing that influenced you to take up the guitar?

LT My cousin played a black Strat and knew a lot of the Pink Floyd stuff, I remember wanting to learn the Time and Comfortably Numb solos more than anything!
MN. Did you try anything else before you settled on the guitar ?

LT Guitar was the first instrument I tried and I've stuck by it! I do enjoy trying out new instruments (such as the Banjo I received for my birthday :)) , but I will always be playing guitar. It'd take too long to get to a decent level on anything else and I'm fascinated by the electric guitar/amps/pedals so that helps I guess!

MN As a young musician, what have been the biggest obstacles to developing a career in Blues?

LT I would say one of the most difficult things was getting the album written, recorded and released. I did this all on my own and took a fair few weeks so that was pretty hard work! I guess a pretty big obstacle is getting people to trust you that you can put on a good show. When you're not very known, it's difficult for promoters to decide to work with you or not as they're unsure of how well you'll go down. Delighted to say that we've worked with some great promoters and I think they've been happy too with the result!

MN And your biggest successes to date?

LT We have recently secured an endorsement deal with Wampler Pedals.We are set to play the 100 club in Oxford St on the 28th February supporting the amazing King King. We're pretty happy with these after just being formed a few months, things seem to happening very fast!

MN And any pitfalls that a young player might need to avoid?

LT Whilst there's always guitarists you admire, don't go out of your way to sound too much like them. I spent a lot of time trying my best trying to sound like a particular guitarist, but I realised that no one wants to listen to someone who just copies a style. Create your own style!
MN There is a great deal of power and passion in your sound. How has that developed?

LT I'm not entirely sure, but thank you! I think it's just from listening to players that are absolutely passionate about what they do, I spend a lot of time playing and enjoy putting on a good show and I'm glad you think that comes across in our sound!
MN. Did you start out wanting to be a lead man or have you played ‘second fiddle’ in other bands?

LT I always wanted to be lead but never really had the confidence to try it out. I have had a few bands where I just played guitar in the past and I enjoyed them very much nonetheless!
MN What would you say was your greatest influence, musically or otherwise, as you began to find your own sound?

LT I would say Eric Clapton had a big part in influencing my playing, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan. However I've been listening to loads of Mark Knopfler and Brad Paisley recently so my style is changing slightly. I think it's good to always try to improve your style and introduce new and exciting elements and other genres. As I said above, I'm trying my best not to copy and of these players, but to take elements of their guitar playing and mix them with my own.
MN How long have you been together with your band? Where did you first get together?

LT We've only been together 3 months or so, we actually met via the internet where I posted an advert for a band. We went down to a great blues pub in north London called 'Round Midnight where we all got up for the jam night. We geled instantly so we just took it from there!
MN Do you play many gigs outside London? How have you been received?

LT We've played a few, and so far they've all been a sucess! It's great to have a different crowd. Hopefully we'll have a lot more gigs coming up this year that will be around the country!
MN How has the album been selling – did the Music-news review do you any good ?

LT The album has been selling well, and we've also released a free live album that's available on our Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/liamtarpeyband ) - they've both been incredibly well received and we thank everyone for that. The Music-News review did drive a lot of traffic to our site and increase sales - fancy working for us full time? :P
MN Is there anyone around at the moment who has been a major influence or mentor to you? By the same token is there anyone you would try to avoid playing with or supporting?

LT I'm very much a fan of Oli Brown, like myself a young Blues guitarist from the UK. I love what he's doing musically and his guitar style just blows me away. He's been doing this a lot longer than us and I'd love to get to the level he's at now. There's no one in particular we wouldn't want to play with, but I do like being on the bill of other bands of the same genre of rock and blues.
MN What equipment are you using at present? Why that in particular?

LT At the moment, I'm using a Fender Blues Junior amp with a Fender Telecaster guitar. For effects pedals I'm using Wampler Pedals (Ecstasy drive, Paisley drive and Ego Compressor) - they're amazing hand built boutique pedals from the USA and just sound incredible! I'd like to invest in some new gear (possibly a new amp/amp brand) but maybe when we're earning a bit more money!
MN Where do you see your career going, either in the short term or the long?

LT I would love to make it my full time career and make a living off of it. Anything more than that is a bonus! We've moved pretty fast in 3 months so I'm hoping bigger things are to come!
MN What sets Liam Tarpey aside from any of the other young guitar slingers about at the moment?

LT Difficult question to answer really! I would say that we're trying to forge a different style, always toying with new ideas and trying our best to bring originality to our songs.
MN What do you have coming up in the near future?

LT We have a gig at the legendary 100 club in Oxford St on the 28th of February and we're currently writing new songs. We're hoping to have a lot more dates booked around England soon, but nothing is confirmed yet!
MN And in the longer term?

LT We're currently actively looking for a record label and a booking agent, we'd love to get onto the Blues touring circuit around Europe, hopefully it's just a matter of time!


www.liamtarpeyband.com
www.facebook.com/liamtarpeyband
Twitter @liamtarpeyband
http://www.musicborn.com/liamtarpeyband


Photograph of Liam Tarpey Band - Matt Perkins Photography