Shining Examples - latest news
Shining Examples are a new band based in the Midlands, playing all-original material influenced by rhythm & blues, funk, rock, soul, and what is now broadly known as Americana. The set list switches from neatly-crafted songs to extended guitar improvisations, pushed all the way by a powerful, swinging rhythm team.
The band is packed with experience. Members have played American, European, Japanese and UK tours. Former bands include Darts, Plummet Airlines, C Cat-Trance, Pugma-Ho, Visible Targets and Slip Hazard & The Blizzards.
Upcoming gigs
Saturday 12th March 2011
The Royal Oak
55 Green Lane, Derby, Derbyshire DE72 3SE
Details TBA...
Tuesday 4th January, 2011
See us live!
Happy New Year everyone, and we start the year with good news! The first gig of 2011 is being organised. It's at the Royal Oak in Ockbrook, a fantastic and friendly pub with great ales and a lovely atmosphere. We'll be playing there on 12th March. Details to be announced shortly... see you there, we hope!
Sunday 28th November, 2010
New studio tracks
Well, for all sorts of reasons, Shining Examples news has been a bit thin on the ground for a few months. But we're back! And with a couple of new studio tracks (streamable above). Not quite finished yet in terms of mixing but good enough for a sneak preview! Calendar Blues is a great prowling beast of a track marking the march of time and unfulfillment, and Roomful Of Flowers comments on man's inhumanity to the innocent set to a Fats Domino swing.
Let us know what you think!
Saturday 17th July, 2010
Demo / EP - the basics are down
A hard day's work in the studio yesterday (well, nine hours or so!), but the basic tracks for 'Calendar Blues', 'Paper Thin' and 'Room Full of Flowers' are down and almost complete. It went really well, and Quad Studios in Leicester is a great place to work. Just a few additional instruments and the voices to add before the mixing starts..!
Friday 16th July, 2010
Studio time!
We're all in the studio tomorrow recording three tracks for an EP / Demo... Exciting!
Saturday 6th March, 2010
Coco Montoya
Steve, Jon, Keith and Sharon went to see the brilliant Coco Montoya at the Flower Pot in Derby. Some astonishing, soulful, beautiful playing from Coco himself - truly one of the great blues guitarists - and from his wonderfully tight band. Terrific music, played from the heart - everything that music should be. And all really lovely people too. What a fantastic night!
Monday 22nd February, 2010
The Famous Five
We're really happy that Gregg Pinchess - an example to us all - is joining the band on a permanent basis as our keyboard player, bringing the core complement of the band to five! Gregg's keyboards make a big difference to the band's sound and we're all really excited by the way that the material's sounding. Welcome aboard Gregg!
Friday 12th February, 2010
Still alive and well!
It's been a while since we've updated. The band is rehearsing hard, including some great new numbers, and hoping to get into a studio quite soon to record a few tracks. We're also hoping to start gigging again pretty soon. So keep a look out for further updates!
Thursday 13th August, 2009
R.I.P. Les Paul and thank you - for the guitar you gave your name to and for the phonomenal playing throughout your magnificent career. You'll be missed.
Sunday 2nd August, 2009
Thanks to everyone who came to see us at the Runner on Friday night!
It was a great evening! And thanks to our special guests Sheena and Booba Dust too! Hope to see you all again soon!
Sunday 18th July, 2009
Derek Trucks
Keith, Steve and Jon went to the O2 Academy to see the wonderful Derek Trucks Band on Friday. Fantastic playing from everyone in the band, and the evening was made even better by the intimate space and us being right at the front. It was as if we were in their rehearsal room! A great night out.
Thursday 16th July, 2009
Thanks to everyone who came to the Dolphin last night!
We had a terrific time playing to you all, and the weather was kind too! Great pub, great beer and a great crowd. You were all shining examples!
Saturday 11th July, 2009
More guests for the gig at the Runner!
We're very happy that Booba Dust - a great duo playing foot-stompin' traditional blues and R'n'B - will be joining Sheena and us for the gig at The Running Horse on 31st July.
Wednesday 8th July, 2009
The gigs are coming in thick and fast!
Stop Press! We're playing in West Bridgford this coming Sunday evening, at The Test Match Hotel.
More details on the gig list page.
Sunday 5th July, 2009
Gig at Ye Olde Dolphin Inn in Derby - Wednesday 15th July
We're playing at the famous Olde Dolphin Inn on the first evening of the Dolphin Beer Festival. Shining Examples and a beer festival. Could life be any better!
More details on the gig list page.
Sunday 5th July, 2009
More gigs!
We've got some more gigs shaping up. Confirmed is Ye Olde Dolphin Inn in Derby (see above) on Wednesday 15th July. There's some others looking good too - keep an eye open for updates!
Saturday 27th June, 2009
The legendary B B King
The day after our gig at the Approach, Steve, Bern and Jon went to Manchester to see B B King at the Arena, supported by John Mayall. We should only hope we're as good at 83! The great man was in fine form and his band were absolutely awesome. A fantastic night!
Tuesday 23rd June, 2009
Great evening at the Approach
Fantastic night at the Approach yesterday! Even with competition from Neil Young, the rugby, a beautiful evening, barbecues and swine flu (yes really!) we pulled in an appreciative and vocal crowd. Thanks to all who turned up - you were all shining examples. And thanks to Mark at The Approach too...
Friday 19th June, 2009
We're featured on 'This Is Live'
There's a nice feature on us on the 'This Is Live' section of the Nottingham Evening Post website, including a video of the band being interviewed by Zoe Kirk intercut with us playing an 'unplugged' version of 'What To Believe' on stage at the Rescue Rooms.
Full article on the Nottingham Evening Post website.
Tuesday 16th June, 2009
New look!
You've probably noticed the website has had a bit of an upgrade. As well as the new look, there's some new content too. The 'songs & stuff' page has our set list on it with brief descriptions of the songs, to give an idea of what you can expect at one of our gigs. Plus there's new photos, and an updated gig list...
Let us know if you find any problems with the site...
Sunday 14th June, 2009
Sheena Holland supporting at the Running Horse
We're really pleased that Sheena is going to join us for the Running Horse gig. Sheena is an amazingly talented local singer-songwriter, and has been gigging for years. Her songs are delicate but powerful and she's a fantastic guitarist with an incredible voice. We're really happy that she'll be with us on the night!
http://www.myspace.com/sheena8.
Thursday 11th June, 2009
Interview and video for 'This Is Live'
The band spent some time yesterday being interviewed by Zoe Kirk for the 'This Is Live' section of the Nottingham Evening Post website. Zoe was great and we had a lot of fun. Honorary band 'archivist' Jemma Cox, whose fantastic photos can be found throughout this site, also filmed us playing an unplugged version of 'What To Believe' which will be up on the Nottingham Evening Post website, along with the interview, soon. We'll keep you posted!
In some other news we're hopeful that we've found at least one great support act for the gig at The Running Horse! As soon as it's definite we'll announce it!
Saturday 6th June, 2009
Gig at The Running Horse in Nottingham - Friday 31st July
We're excited to be playing at this famous music venue in Nottingham. Support act and details to be confirmed. Look out for updates!
More details on the gig list page.
Wednesday 3rd June, 2009
We're appearing at The Approach in Nottingham on Tuesday 23rd June
The Approach is a fantastic live music venue in Friar Lane, Nottingham, and we're delighted to be playing there!
More details on the gig list page.
Wednesday 20th May, 2009
What a great night at the Boat Club last Saturday!
A full house, great atmosphere and some great music from the three other bands on the bill. Shining Examples (with the wonderful 'Bad Examples' on aditional vocals!) played the night out, with the stage (literally) jammed with members of all the night's bands for the final number - a cover of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Worried Life Blues"!
Photos below by Jemma Cox. More pictures here.
Take a look at some of the numbers we played on the night!
All songs © Steve Mitchell & Shining Examples 2009. See larger versions of the movies at YouTube!
Calendar Blues
Whistle Stop Bliss
Love Under Pressure
Heading North
(Thanks Chic and Tom from Greensleeves Films)!