Barry "The Fish" Melton and Stephane Missri, with special guests including THE GREEN RAY
Woodstock Festival hero Barry Melton, founder member of Country Joe and the Fish, one of the most influential psychedelic bands that emerged from the San Francisco during the 1960s.
Barry's on tour in the U.K for a few selected dates in August, with the French guitarist and banjo wizard Stephane Missri. They'll be joined by special guess ex Country Joe & The Fish bass player Bruce Barthol San Francisco Bay area singer and guitarist Natalie Martel, and the superb psychedelic rock band The Green Ray.
In May 1967, Country Joe & The Fish released their debut album, "Electric Music For The Mind & Body". It was a chart success, has never been out of print and unfailingly appears in lists of the top psychedelic albums ever made. It was consistently featured by John Peel on his B.B.C radio shows.
During 1967’s “Summer of Love” Country Joe and the Fish played Monterey Pop Festival together with The Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who - and a relatively unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. However the band's most famous appearance was 1969's legendary Woodstock Festival immortalised in the "Woodstock" film, on of the best music films ever released.
From 1970 Barry Melton released a number of solo albums, recorded two albums with Man, and toured extensively in the U.K, France the Netherlands, Ireland and even Thailand.
In the 1980’s, Barry formed the San Francisco supergroup, The Dinosaurs, with members of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother And The Holding Company and The Grateful Dead's lyricist Robert Hunter.
Barry now fronts his own band in the U.S.A, and in France is lead guitarist with Jamasutra, who also feature virtuoso French guitarist and banjo player Stephane Missri, who joins him on this, the last gig on the 2022 U.K tour.
Also appearing as special guests on this tour will be Bruce Barthol, the former bass player of Country Joe and The Fish, and Canadian singer/guitarist Natalie Martel, both of whom have a long history of involvement in the San Francisco area music scene. Also "The Fiddler's Elbow" gig is the ONLY date on the tour which will also feature The Green Ray who epitomise the spirit of both the '60's San Francisco sound and the U.K counterpart of that era. . The Green Ray have appeared with Barry 'The Fish' Melton on a number of occasions, by special request from Barry himself. The Green Ray's last appearance with Barry & Stephane Missri was an unforgettable and incendiary gig at The Fiddler's Elbow.
The Green Ray's original line up included two ex-members of 1970's rock bands Man and Help Yourself (Ken Whaley and Richard Treece) who played at the first ever Glastonbury festival . Sadly They are no longer with us, but ,Ken's brother, the guitarist Simon Whaley, is still a mainstay of the band, together with Martin James Gee, Mark Cullum, Dave Mackenzie & Mitch Brooks
The Green Ray have also supported The Electric Prunes and Man, and both Robyn Hitchcock from The Soft Boys and Nick Saloman from the Bevis Frond have guested with them. The recent Green Ray CD "Five Points of Light " merited a 5 star revue in "Shindig!" magazine.
Check out The Green Ray on
www.webplus.barkingspider.abelgratis.com
Tickets are on sale now for just £9 advance from via secure Paypal link, or £10 on the door subject to availability.
Source: The Fiddler's Elbow website
