Hello there.
My posting has been a bit sporadic, and we have a few new faces following this page, so this seemed like a good time to reintroduce myself:
I'm Ralph - how do you do? - I play the Blues, but I like to play it a bit differently, a bit darker and a bit weirder. Think Tom Waits or Nick Cave bumping into Howlin' Wolf and Son House on the midnight train to nowhere. I hope you'll enjoy the journey.
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#bluesmusic #bluesmusician #bluesmusicians #bluesman #bluesguitar #bluesguitarist #bluesguitarists #bluesartist #bluesartistsupandcoming #bluessingersongwriter #bluessingersongwriters #slideguitar #slideguitarist #slideguitarists #slideguitarblues #newbluesmusic #darkfolkblues #folkblues #independentartist #independentmusician #independentartists #independentmusicians #bluessinger #bluessingers #ralphbeeby #ralphbeebyandtheelephantcollective
LAMENT: a live-in-studio version of the instrumental which opens the album 'Magnolia Smoke.'
For the full performance, see https://youtu.be/yp9p4p-wugk (or link in bio for our YouTube channel!)
A dark and sinister Blues song about dark and sinister small-town goings-on. What *is* down in that well?
See link in bio to view the full video, or to get this song!
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#musicvideo #musicvideos #newmusicvideo #newmusicvideos #bluesmusic #bluesmusician #americana #gothicamericana #southerngothic #darkandsinister #darkandsinisterblues #lefthandpath #thelefthandpath #bluesguitarist #bluesrock #slideguitarist #slideguitarblues #darkblues #darkfolkblues #tremologuitar #bluessingersongwriter #greatlyrics #lyricist #lyricists #lyricblues #ralphbeeby #ralphbeebyandtheelephantcollective
You might recognise this tune...
"Long Road Home" is making a reappearance in an acoustic format, just to really lean into the Dust bowl Blues sound. It features the excellent @duncan_menzies on banjo and is available to preorder now: see link in bio!
TOMORROW!
Saturday 9th May is the Hanwell Hootie festival, splooting across a huge number of venues in Hanwell and Ealing.
I'll be playing a solo set on the Busking Stage (Hanwell Clock Tower), providing Dark Acoustic Blues and Gothic Americana from 6pm.
Hope you can join me.
LIVESTREAM NEXT WEEK: WEDS 6th MAY at 9pm BST
Over on our Facebook page, an hour of Dark Acoustic Blues and Gothic Americana - all free to view, of course.
See link in bio for the event page. See you there...?
As a slide guitarist, these are my three favourite tricks right now:
1. Instant Blues Chord
Play the top two strings (open G) or the 2nd & 3rd strings (open D) at the third fret - sounds good, right? Especially if you add an open string below.
2. Slide on the Top Strings
Leave the bottom strings open for bass lines with your thumb - and support for your slide melody on the top Strings.
3. Fret Behind the Slide
Slide up to any major chord - then use your free fingers to fret behind the slide. Flatten the third to make minor chords, or the octave to make dominant or major 7th chords ...or other shapes if you're feeling brave!
Hope you found this useful: don't forget to follow for more slide guitar content!
Seven years ago today, I released my second EP: An Imperfect Cadence of Gloom and Ennui. Seven acoustic blues songs built loosely around a theme of drinking to forget in a seedy dive bar.
I stuck with the minimal setup from the first EP - two mics, each track recorded as a single take. Fun fact: the EP includes the first song I ever wrote in open C tuning.
The songs still regularly crop up in my live sets today - it's nice to think that, seven years on, I can still confuse an audience by announcing that the next song is "The Yaddle of Bethanop."
