Tinyfish is an English progressive rock band, founded in 2004. The band members are Simon Godfrey (lead vocal, guitar), Jim Sanders (lead guitar, backing vocals), Paul Worwood (bass), Robert Ramsay (spoken word, harmonica) and Leon Camfield (drums, backing vocals).
Tinyfish | |
|---|---|
 Tinyfish in 2009 (l-r) Jim Sanders, Paul Worwood, Simon Godfrey, Robert Ramsay, Leon Camfield | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | progressive rock |
| Years active | 2004-present |
| Labels | Lazy Gun Records Festival Music (F2) Metal Mind Productions |
| Members | Simon Godfrey Jim Sanders Paul Worwood Rob Ramsay Leon Camfield |
| Website | tinyfish.org |
Band history
editFormation
editTinyfish was formed in September 2004. [1] Simon Godfrey, Jim Sanders and Paul Worwood were all members of Freefall, described by Simon as "our first prog band" [2] , and which also featured Simon's brother Jem Godfrey (now of Frost*) on keyboards. After Freefall split in the early nineties Simon played drums in a number of bands while developing his songwriting talents in the guise of Men Are Dead[3] (with Robert and Paul) and playing the open mike spots of London as Simon Walsh.
First album
editThe band released their eponymous debut album in 2006 to critical acclaim. Geoff Barton gave the album 8/10 in Classic Rock Magazine [4] , and the magazine ranked it 15 in the best albums of the year [5] . The songs on the album are shorter than is often the case for progressive rock (with the exception of the 'mini-epic' All Hands Lost) with an emphasis on tightly-written songs rather than long, self-indulgent solos and unorthodox time signatures. The album features no keyboards, which is again unusual for the genre, instead using guitar synthesizers to produce musical textures. There are three spoken-word tracks performed by Rob Ramsay, who is also the principal song lyricist for the band.
Live performance
editTinyfish played several shows throughout 2007 and 2008 in support of the album, including three shows at the Peel 'House Of Progression' [6] in Kingston upon Thames, and at the 2007 Summer's End progressive rock festival. The core line-up was supplemented by drummer Leon Camfield when playing full electric band shows, although the band also performed - and occasionally still does perform - as a four-piece acoustic line-up.
Curious Things
editIn early 2009 Tinyfish released a mini-album, Curious Things, comprising a number of 'rarities' written over the previous few years, and produced by Jem Godfrey.
One Night On Fire
editLater in 2009 the band released a DVD and live album, One Night On Fire (on the Metal Mind label), recorded at a performance at the Wyspianski Theatre, Katowice, Poland. The DVD contains performances of songs from both of the previous releases together with material from the yet-to-be-released Big Red Spark. Rob's spoken-word performances are a particular highlight, accompanied for the first time by the use of costumes to enhance theatricality. The DVD garnered more positive reviews[7] [8] .
The Big Red Spark
editOn 19 April 2010 the band announced [9] that their second full-length album, The Big Red Spark, would be released by F2 Records in September 2010. After a long period of recording the album was mixed and mastered in June 2010 at Wolf Studios [10] by Dominique Brethes, with Mike Varty as co-producer. The album was publicly available for the first time at a launch concert on 10 September 2010 at The Luminaire [11] in North London, and was officially launched on 13 September 2010, to critical acclaim, Classic Rock magazine awarding it 9 out of 10 stars.
Summer's End 2010
editOn 8 October 2010 Tinyfish once again played at the Summer's End [12] festival. It was after this concert that Leon Camfield joined the band as a full member, having previously played drums for live dates only. On 13 October the band announced [13] that "Leon Camfield is now a full time member of Tinyfish and...he will be contributing not only drums but will become part of the writing team for the next album".
RoSfest 2011
editTinyfish played the Rites of Spring Festival RoSfest in Gettysburg, USA in May 2011. This show (along with a short tour of the UK) completed their promotion of the Big Red Spark album.[14] .
Celebr8 2012 and retirement from live performance
editThe band played at the inaugural Celebr8 progressive rock festival on 8 July 2012 at the Hippodrome, Kingston upon Thames. This is likely to be their last full electric show for the foreseeable future, as on 12 May 2012 an announcement was made that due to the onset of tinnitus Simon Godfrey would no longer be able to perform 'at volume'.[15] The band still exists as a recording entity and plans to make an announcement concerning its future in early 2013.
Discography
edit- Studio albums
- Tinyfish (2006; Lazy Gun Records)
- Curious Things (2009; Lazy Gun Records / Festival Music)
- The Big Red Spark (2010; Festival Music)
- Live albums
- One Night on Fire (2009; Metal Mind Productions)
Line-up
editCurrent members
edit- Simon Godfrey (vocals, guitars, guitar synthesizer and drums)
- Jim Sanders (guitars, guitar synthesizer and backing vocals)
- Paul Worwood (bass)
- Rob Ramsay (spoken word, harmonica)
- Leon Camfield (drums, percussion, backing vocals)
References
edit- ^ "Tinyfish Documentary Part 1". youtube. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ "Tinyfish forum posting". Tinyfish. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ Ritchie, Jason (January 2008). "Get Ready to ROCK! Interview with progressive rock band Tinyfish". Interview. getreadytorock.com. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ Barton, Geoff (August 2007). "Tinyfish - Tinyfish". Classic Rock (108).
- ^ "Best albums of 2007". Classic Rock (114). 2008.
- ^ "House of Progression". House of Progression. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Sea of Tranquility review of One Night On Fire". Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Green Man Music review of One Night On Fire". Green Man Music. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Forum announcement of release of The Big Red Spark". Tinyfish forum. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "Wolf Studios". Wolf Studios. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ "The Luminaire". The Luminaire. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
- ^ "Summer's End". Stephen Lambe. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ "Tinyfish forum". Tinyfish. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ "RosFest". RosFest. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ "Simon Godfrey to withdraw from live electric performance". Tinyfish. Retrieved 30 July 2012.