Available from Amazon UK. Russell Ballantine was born in the mining town of Whitburn West Lothian, Scotland in 1962 and was a relative latecomer to the guitar....... more
Available from Amazon UK. Russell Ballantine was born in the mining town of Whitburn West Lothian, Scotland in 1962 and was a relative latecomer to the guitar. However Interest quickly became obsession and within two years he was playing in the local club bands around the area. He found himself drawn to American blues music and became a formative member of the blues band Bo'Weevil who were in existance for around 15 years. Bo'weevil did some work with Linn records which eventually resulted in an independent album release 'Scoundrel Blues'.The album received excellent reviews from the music press.
The band then toured extensively throughout the UK and Europe and were regulars on the main stage at
the Colne blues festival. Lots of fun was had....... After Bo'weevil he concentrated on classical guitar playing completing an ABRSM performance diploma.He then joined the classical guitar trio Terz who were commissioned by Ralph Smith a member of the
Stuart Society to produce a CD 'The Music Of The
Stuarts' a historical perspective on the music created and inspired by the courts of the
Stuart Monarchy. The CD comes with a 16 page booklet which describes the music in a historical setting with reference to the Jacobite rebellions. The CD received excellent reviews from the guitar magazines and has been used by Stirling University and
the Chateau Gaillard Colloque conference as background music for some of their presentations and DVD's. Russell currently works as one half of the Albanach Guitar Duo who have recently released a debut CD. A solo CD, Palmyra Rain, featuring music for steel string guitar heavily influenced by celtic music and featuring arrangements of traditional tunes as well as original compositions, will also be released soon.
The new year will see the organization of tour schedules and gigs to promote both of these latest ventures.
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