Classic Rock's Mick Wall is a man who
savages three flash-in-the-pan buzz bands before breakfast. So when he
describes a fledgling outfit from the Welsh Valleys as "the best trio to
come out of the UK since Cream & the Jimi Hendrix Experience", you
should pay attention.
It's just a shame that rock press frothing doesn't translate into the trappings of success. "If he's kind enough to say that, then I'll go along with it", grins Chris Buck, the 19 year-old-guitar sensation with the Tom Hollister Trio. "But it's strange to receive such praise when we're still practicing in Abercarn Rugby Club in sub-zero temperatures. It doesn't necessarily filter back to the Valleys."
Things are warming up though. "We're still in our formative stages" says Buck. "We played as a covers band for months, touring the pubs and clubs in the Valleys, mainly playing classic rock like Free and AC/DC - but without the school uniform. There were some tough gigs and some quite hostile crowds but we've not been bottled off yet."
That nobody shouts for Back in Black anymore is testament to the band's original material that ultimately overpowered the covers; raw, soul-drenched Brit-blues played with the fat-trimmed intensity of the greatest power -trios.
"It's just really explosive", Chris says of the Trio format. Everything you do is under the microscope, so it just lets you shine. But you have to try not to screw up."
Standard protocol suggests we should be talking to vocalist Hollister himself but it's Buck who is the talk of rock aficionados. In last April's Classic Rock, ex-GN'R manager Alan Niven spoke of his friendship with "the best up-and-coming guitar player I've heard this century" and later backed up his hyperbole by signing the band. Watch Chris live and you'll see Niven's point; not since Bluesbreakers-period Eric Clapton has a white teenager squeezed as much soul from his fretboard. "Well, I played along to Clapton records" Chris points out. "Stevie Ray Vaughan was the other one I really latched onto. I guess British rock does need a new guitar hero" he agrees. "But whether I'm that person is another matter..."
Modest to a fault, Chris is not about to sign off with the typical grandiose mission statement of the green young band. "I think if you map things too much, you lose the spontaneity. It's about the journey, not the destination. It's just about having the common sense not to fall into any of the traps that a million people have fallen into before. You read enough horror stories - I don't think we want to add ours to the rock n roll legacy. In 2011 we want to avoid golf buggies" he adds. "We played Sonisphere a few months back and Tom got himself involved in an altercation with a Land Rover and we pissed a few people off!" HY
It's just a shame that rock press frothing doesn't translate into the trappings of success. "If he's kind enough to say that, then I'll go along with it", grins Chris Buck, the 19 year-old-guitar sensation with the Tom Hollister Trio. "But it's strange to receive such praise when we're still practicing in Abercarn Rugby Club in sub-zero temperatures. It doesn't necessarily filter back to the Valleys."
Things are warming up though. "We're still in our formative stages" says Buck. "We played as a covers band for months, touring the pubs and clubs in the Valleys, mainly playing classic rock like Free and AC/DC - but without the school uniform. There were some tough gigs and some quite hostile crowds but we've not been bottled off yet."
That nobody shouts for Back in Black anymore is testament to the band's original material that ultimately overpowered the covers; raw, soul-drenched Brit-blues played with the fat-trimmed intensity of the greatest power -trios.
"It's just really explosive", Chris says of the Trio format. Everything you do is under the microscope, so it just lets you shine. But you have to try not to screw up."
Standard protocol suggests we should be talking to vocalist Hollister himself but it's Buck who is the talk of rock aficionados. In last April's Classic Rock, ex-GN'R manager Alan Niven spoke of his friendship with "the best up-and-coming guitar player I've heard this century" and later backed up his hyperbole by signing the band. Watch Chris live and you'll see Niven's point; not since Bluesbreakers-period Eric Clapton has a white teenager squeezed as much soul from his fretboard. "Well, I played along to Clapton records" Chris points out. "Stevie Ray Vaughan was the other one I really latched onto. I guess British rock does need a new guitar hero" he agrees. "But whether I'm that person is another matter..."
Modest to a fault, Chris is not about to sign off with the typical grandiose mission statement of the green young band. "I think if you map things too much, you lose the spontaneity. It's about the journey, not the destination. It's just about having the common sense not to fall into any of the traps that a million people have fallen into before. You read enough horror stories - I don't think we want to add ours to the rock n roll legacy. In 2011 we want to avoid golf buggies" he adds. "We played Sonisphere a few months back and Tom got himself involved in an altercation with a Land Rover and we pissed a few people off!" HY