The Wrinklepickers is made up of several experienced, professional and ageing musicians, we tend to have 3 to 6 members playing at any one time. The idea for the band and the name The Wrinklepickers was formed over ten years ago and gradually came together as we found the various members, especially our lovely stand-up bass player. We're quite lively and fun and try not to take ourselves too seriously; we do miserable songs cheerfully performed. As a band we've been together for about 6-8 years although the individual members have been in the music/performance industry for about 160 years altogether!
Our style is country, bit of bluegrass/hillbilly/rockabilly with close vocal harmonies, stand-up bass, percussion, fiddle and a couple of guitars. On gigs, the majority of our set are our own songs, although being modest we tend not to tell anyone unless they ask. People often try to sing along even though they've never heard the songs before, or we get folks holding up their smartphones trying to get their apps to recognise what we’re playing... so we reckon our songs are actually pretty good!
The band’s Scary Dreams album was launched in February 2016 –it was made through a Crowdfunding project. The idea was to record live versions of a dozen original songs as a sample of what the band sounds like on a gig, therefore with minimal post production
The core band members are: Brian and Krysstal - guitar, tambourine, vocals (and also a comedy duo). In the UK the other band members were: Ian Newman - stand up bass (aka the Bass Whore and half of The Anti-Poet), Asher Rikayzen - fiddle, Paul Eccentric - percussion (and the other half of The Anti-Poet), Toby Deans - guitar (also plays with Oselot and Lobby Lud and the Ludites). Others are recruited as needed.
Here's a review from when we played at a jam session : "Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it did. Up stepped the Wrinklepickers performing as a five-piece and presenting a fabulous mix of blues, folk and gospel. Lead singers Brian and Krysstal were simply fantastic as they offered a great selection of numbers including "I Love You" and "Keep On The Sunny Side". I would love to see the Wrinklepickers 'in concert' after watching this taster." Colin Fenn, DJ, journalist, Thu 28th Aug 2014 for Lemonrock (http://www.lemonrock.com/greendragonopenmicwithbobthomson?page=reviews)
Apart from a few private functions and local gigs The Wrinklepickers have played numerous times at The Grey Horse, Kingston-Upon-Thames; The Horns, Watford; The Plough and Harrow, Harpenden; the Rickmansworth Festival and Harrow Sports and Social Club. Brian and Krysstal perform as The Wrinklepickers duo at various functions and festivals including the Edinburgh Festival 2016.
From 2023 the band will be reconstituted in Australia by the founders Brian and Krysstal - they have found a double bass player and are looking for other members to join them in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney. They will be looking to play at pubs, clubs and festivals in 2023...
The Wrinklepickers Duo
The Wrinklepickers are a harmony duo. Playing mostly covers from the 50’s to the 90’s, they incorporate styles such as:
Classic Country, Rock, Popular, Golden Oldies & Singalong.
In other words, “old stuff with the odd original song.”
They cater to most audiences, but are more suitable for a 40 plus age group. They can also provide entertainment for various theme nights, such as Country, Retro 50’s and/or 60’s, Corporate Parties, Birthdays, Funerals, Anniversaries and Special Occasions.
The duo use an electro-acoustic guitar and percussion for a very live feel, blending with their close harmony vocals. They also occasionally use a drum machine and/or their own backing tracks and can throw in the odd comic/silly song as well as some of their original compositions.
