The Seattle-based Aaron English Band plays epic, world-beat-influenced art rock a la Peter Gabriel and Led Zeppelin, driven by Aaron English's vivid lyrics, acrobatic voice, and deft piano work.
The band's live show is a blend of high-energy rock, pulsing electronics, and instrumentation from five continents, featuring Aaron English on vocals and keyboards, Patrick Strole on guitar and hurdy-gurdy, Matthew Burgess on percussion, Mark Fauver on wind synth and electronics, Miguel Mateus on bass and Derek Munson on drums.
From 2003 to 2008, the band self-released two albums (2003's “All the Waters of This World” and 2007's “The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon”), and completed three tours of the U.S. In the summer of 2008, during their fourth American tour, The Aaron English Band's bus was involved in a catastrophic accident on a Midwestern highway. Their restaurant-grease-fueled tour bus and most of their musical equipment were destroyed, and the band’s touring career was temporarily grounded.
In the hiatus that followed, Aaron English toured solo and released a solo album, 2010's piano-driven “american [fever] dream”, which contained the U.S. Top 20 radio hit single “Believe”. Meanwhile, in the background, the band was working hard to recover from its losses and reunite.
At last, in February 2011, The Aaron English Band released the single "Norwegian Wood/Kashmir", a reinvention of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin classics that has been a staple of the band's live set for years. The single edit of Norwegian Wood got extensive airplay across Europe culminating in a #4 hit on Italian Virgin Rock Chart. The band's official video for this medley is a hit on Youtube, racking up just under 130,000 views as of Oct 2012.
Notable achievements:
- Semi-finalist, Coca-Cola/American Music Awards New Artist Competition
- Finalist, Atlantic Records’ Soul City Music Quest
- Top 5 finalist, 'Album of the Year', Just Plain Folks Music Awards
- Charted a U.S. Top 20 hit on the FMQB radio charts, peaking at #18
- The band's cult hit "The Lullaby of Loneliness" was name-checked in an episode of the Fox TV drama 'Bones'
Quotes:
"English’s album caught our attention - more like snapped our heads back...With a self-produced debut like this, we’re sure we’ll be seeing The Aaron English Band’s profile rising higher and higher." - Ken Hughes, Keyboard Magazine
"...remarkably mature and refreshingly original...should be required listening for any self-respecting music lover." - Duncan Glenday, Progressive Ears
“...A talented new artist in a class with other stylistically challenging singer-songwriters such as Peter Gabriel, Joseph Arthur and Perry Blake...Potent lyricism, eloquence, & beautiful sublime melodies that reach much deeper than simple pop songs...” - Mark Newman, Progression Magazine.
