Xander and the Peace Pirates - I'll Be Here

Xander and The Peace Pirates are currently the resident band at The Cavern in Liverpool on Sunday nights.  I would strongly recommend you check them out if you can.  Before last night I hadn't heard them play, but they were the support band for the wonderful Vintage Trouble and I have to say, they were fantastic.

If you like blues/rock with a little bit of funk thrown in for good measure then this band won't disappoint.  The fact that they have paid their dues at the clubs shows in the way they are able to work the crowd and they have a confident stage presence and excellent musicianship which is important in these days of wannabe pop stars/X Factor and the like.  To get a feel for them, check out the video of I'll Be Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxYqZO99X28

How about this for name dropping?  They have opened for Bon Jovi (they won the Real Radio Battle of the Bands competition to secure this slot), and have played alongside Keith Richards, Albert Lee, Jeff Beck and Steve Cropper.   Influences are Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bill Withers, Lenny Kravitz and John Mayer.   The band is fronted by Keith Xander "the one-armed wonder" who uses his left hand on the fretboard and a right prosthetic limb with a hook to play the strings.  In a recent newspaper article, his mum has said “Keith is remarkable to watch because he has no right arm and once I said he would never be able play guitar but now he really wipes the floor with everyone else. If there is such a thing as a God-given gift then he has it".

I was standing at the back during last night's gig and hadn't even realised for much of the set that he only had one arm.  You can't tell at all by listening, and all you notice is what a fantastic guitarist he is. What fantastic players they all are, to be fair.

Their latest album, 11, is available to buy on iTunes and Amazon and to listen to via Spotify.  Although great to be able to play their songs at home, it is really no comparison to the excitement created by the band playing live, so get over to The Cavern and see them as soon as possible.

http://xanderandthepeacepirates.com/