Gig at Manor Club, Chatham - 23/10/04

Our story takes place at the Manor Club 2004 but to uneducated eye it could have been JFK airport 1964 (the start of Beatlemania). This is Contrast, the pride of Medway. I was on edge as their time came to blow us all away as they had done so many times before. My lovely girlfriend, her sister, Peter and I gathered at the front for what was going to be the height of the evening.

Their energy on stage is intoxicating. It flows through the crowd and pulls you in. Their image owes a debt to the 60’s, and as a MOD myself I find it hard not to admire them. Mat is looking as sharp as ever in his pin-stripe suit and James in white jeans and shirt, a la Marriott.

The songs are always well structured and written (Storyteller being a notable highlight) and the guitar solos are inspired by a great rhythm section who seem unshakeable. A dedication to James’ long term partner Sarah ensured and a number of adlibs from Richard made the performance stand out. Richard’s skill on the kit is seldom beaten.

At the end of night calls for encore after encore where echoing around the club. After their set I met them by the bar and shared a drink with them. It was the least I could do. If you haven’t seen Contrast yet, go and see them. These boys are going places, and quickly. Remember …………. you read it here first

Darryl Hill

Oct 2004.

Decibel – A Music Fanzine for Local Music in the Medway Towns – October 2004

Contrast Launch Their New EP

They say if you remember the sixties, you weren’t there. Twisted warped psycho art, smart straight cut clothes, hippies sitting in circles singing to their bonged out lovers. And that was just Jim Morrison and friends !! But one great thing that spawned from the sixties was the music. Small Faces, Martha Reeves, The Who, all great bands that fell into the mod scene. Mod was the new cool. And rightly so. With trim cuts, vespas and great northern soul all-nighters, who would want to miss out on the in-crowd? Not me, so when I heard that a local mod club had opened locally, I began attending, to find more than I bargained for. Lines of dazzling, chrome-plated Vespas sitting proudly side by side, parkas blocking the faces of old school mods, Northern soul blasting out the doors of bar M.

Needless to say, I had a fantastic night, but what was more outstanding was the live mod band that entertained the crowd. They had the sound of the sixties mod bands all neatly wrapped up into their smooth tight fitting suit shirts, polished shoes and Rickenbacker bass. They were the Contrast. A group of young guys who seemed to take a tangent on the local music scene and opt for the bliss sound of Northern Soul/Mowtown Mod Rock. As impressive as they were, I honestly didn’t think a lot to come of them. As mentioned before, the local music scene seemed a little bit more rock/punk orientated, and demand for a mod band seemed to be small. However, I was proved wrong. Last night, (Thursday 7th October) the Contrast blew everyone present away, with the launch performance of their new EP. With opener U R The 1 (actually it was Time Machine) blasting through the lug holes of mod-goers, everyone stood up to take notice. Rich (drummer) had outstanding taste in his shirt, and Mat was smoothly dressed as always. James strummed his sunburst Les Paul, until his blues effect was screaming through our eardrums.

Shout it Out followed, with its intermittent beat and backing vocals from Rich. It all went quite for 20 seconds as everyone clapped, then the song continued to the end, with a great finish. Never before have the chords A, C and D been used to such great effect. New tune My Religion has a great Motown ring to it, holding everyone with the harmonic backing vocals, clean bass, and a great smooth guitar riff. The song was more like a late sixties revival tune with a bass fill half way through. The song ended on a crescendo of crashes and chord chugging action. Other new tune The Street sounded very much like it was penned by a collaboration of The Who and Martha Reeves, with an awe inspiring Pete Towshend style solo to cap it off.

Then came everyone’s favourite (after much encouragement from the crowd). The opening riff of Storyteller had everyone enthralled as they watched the band play what is arguably their best song to date. It’s fat bass and strong swipe chord playing was pants-pissingly-good, and I almost felt a tear well-up in my eye. Catalogue of life, another new tune (well not really, but never mind), had an almost funky feel to it. I got a feeling of Led Zepplin creeping into the influence books as the chunky Kinks-esque chords and Jimmy Page solo ripped through the bar. And much like the aforementioned rock Gods Zepplin, the song was succeeded by possible the best drum solo I have ever seen. Rich pounded and thudded his way through almost a minute of trip-hop-comes-mod beats whilst James tuned up, much to the applause of the inspired crowd (after they picked their jaws up from the floor!). And who can blame us. After seeing a blow away set like this, I can’t see why the band won’t do well in the local music scene. It’s what Medway needs and has finally achieved. A band totally different to the local styles, fighting against conformity of other local venues that won’t give them the chance. These guys know their sound and play with such a flare, it almost begs to be played in front of a crowd of thousands. We are the mods. Yes, they are the mods.

The Command House, Chatham 14/08/2004

This is not the first time I’ve seen Contrast, but it is my first look at their new drummer, Richard Sage, and for this reason it feels a lot like I’m witnessing a new band.  Sage has an energy that their former drummer didn’t have.  He is a rock drummer – someone unafraid to hit things hard and fast – and three songs in I realise why I’m enjoying myself so much: tonight, for the first time since I began following Contrast, I am watching a fully-formed band.

From the opening chords of ‘Shout It Out’ – an upbeat, perfectly paced appetiser – I find myself focusing on things I hadn’t paid much attention to before.  Bassist Mat Stanley – very much a periphery figure in their early shows – is suddenly more assured, and the songs, most notably ‘U R The 1’ and curtain-closer ‘Loaded Gun’, benefit from his subtle contribution.

Contrast have always been good musicians, but now they are comfortable with it, and confident enough to outdo each other.  Close your eyes and you can hear the parts; open them again and everything fits perfectly. They are also a band that knows how to play the crowd.  After kicking the set off with two chunks of brisk mod rock, they slow things down with the contemplative ‘Storyteller’, before raising the bar with a rapid-fire cover of Wilson Pickett’s classic ‘Midnight Hour’, a version so snappy and effective as to suggest Contrast are a band who can’t – and won’t – wait for anything.

Of their new material, ‘My Religion’ is the standout track, but it is the older, more familiar songs that reveal how much this band has grown.  ‘Just Do It’ – an introspective look at following one’s dreams – sounds fresh, and Sage’s improved drum solo is a welcome addition to a track I have always admired.

So what of the lyricist, the frontman, the guy central to the whole performance?  Why haven’t I mentioned him?  Well that is the joy of tonight’s gig: his bandmates have followed his lead. James Dand, Contrast’s singer and guitarist, has always stolen the show.  His frenetic solos and original songs have consistently been THE reason to pay your entrance fee.  But now Contrast is the reason – all three of them. When the band encores with ‘Loaded Gun’ – a powerful solo-laden number that perfectly demonstrates the skills and importance of each member -it is exciting to see how far they have come.

For the first time their moniker seems less than accurate, because from here on in this trio look set to perform as one.

By Vince Ralph

Decibel – A Music Fanzine for Local Music in the Medway Towns – August 2004

Contrast @ 60s Party

It took a few goes, but The Contrast finally bypassed their feedback problem during their sound-test. The guys sounded on top form tonight, with a hundred strong crowd squeezing into The Command House basement to savour the sounds of the sixties. Opening with new hit “Shout it Out”, a hint of songs to come, they had the crowd in their grasps. Like a reborn Townshend, James kicked into Decibel favourite “Time Machine”, while Rich pounded away making me think that his drum skins would give way. “Storyteller” rang out to the crowd with smooth enveloping guitar riffs and sliding bass lines. With their cover of Wilson Pickett’s “Midnight Hour” and other Decibel favourite “U R The 1”, The Contrast ploughed through enjoying every minute of it. They had a great set and it followed with Ant (from Maker) playing a fantastic 60s music DJ set which had us all twisting and jiving. A fantastic night. And maybe I had a bit too much to drink.

Junior

Decibel – A Music Fanzine for Local Music in the Medway Towns – 4^th June 2004

Contrast @ Bar M – 3/6/04