Andrew Winton (born February 1972, Perth) is an independent, solo, Australian musician, combining acoustic guitar, lap slide, dobro and seven-string lap guitar/bass (the Wintonbeast), with hollers and stomps to provide an engaging and authentic performance.
Winton's sound has been likened to a cross between Ben Harper, Sting, Kelly-Joe Phelps and Harry Manx. His performances are driven by infectious rhythms, stunning slide, bluesy vocals, quirky lyrics and storytelling.
Winton currently lives in Perth with Karen (his wife, manager and percusionist/vocalist), and their three children.
He is brother to famed Australian author Tim Winton and has a sister, Sharyn O'Neill, who is the current Director General of the West Australian Department of Education and Training.
Winton also works part time as a high-school chaplain in Perth.
Musical career
Andrew grew up listening to
Deep Purple,
Kiss,
Frank Zappa and
Johnny Cash, and started his musical life as a drummer. In his late teens he moved on to electric guitar, playing in bands and completing a Degree in Jazz at the Conservatorium of Music in Perth Western Australia. Andrew played guitar for a few years in Perth band
Hodad City with Adam Bruno who was to later become
Adam Brand (Multi CMA Golden Guitar Award winner), and then went on to have local success in
3Ph, a quirky funk-rock band with bandmates Stephen Kelly (bass/vox) and Paul Novosel (drums/vox) which won Western Australia's
The Next Big Thing competition in 1997. The band however disbanded a short time later when Novosel ('99) and Kelly ('01) moved to the east coast to do session work. After being invited to play drums with top Perth old-timey blues band
Tin Dog, Andrew was exposed further to the world of
blues,
roots and
folk music. After seeing UK musician
Rory McLeod perform in 2002, Andrew was inspired to take the solo songwriting road and began his successful transition to dobro and other lap style guitars, which are now his passion. He recorded his first solo album in 2003 with only 8 months of dobro playing under his belt. Predominantly self-taught, with a few masterclasses from Lucky Oceans thrown in for good measure, Andrew is now recognised as one of Australia's talented slide guitar players. He is also known for his eclectic mix of styles and songs, lyrics that are thought provoking, his humour and storytelling on stage, and his dynamic vocal range that has earned comparisons with
Sting,
Steely Dan and
Harry Manx. Andrew is a musician truly doing it for the love of it, what you see is what you get.
Awards
2006 saw Winton tour Australia for three months, play at numerous festivals, events and radio broadcasts, and take out first place in the Folk/Acoustic category of the
Australian Songwriter's Association awards for his song
Lucky Boy (as well as the award for best live performance at the awards night).
Winton was a feature artist on ABC Radio National's Music Deli program, and placed in the top 10 in the instrumental category of the
MusicOz awards.
In 2007, Winton was nominated for a WAMi
West Australian Music Industry Awards for best Blues/Roots Artist, again in 2008 for best Guitarist, and in 2009 received two nominations for best Guitarist and best Blues & Roots act. His third album
The Decompression Chamber received critical acclaim.
Live
Partner Karen on vocals and percussion, adding beautiful harmonies and layers, sometimes accompanies Andrew on stage. Since about March 2007, Andrew has been more regularly seen accompanied by flamboyant percussionist and longtime friend Paul Novosel on percussion/vox for most live performances. This lineup is often billed as the
Andrew Winton Duo.
Winton has performed at many festivals including
National Folk Festival,
Australian Blues Music Festival,
Fairbridge Festival,
Woodford Folk Festival,
Nannup Music Festival,
A Day On The Green Tamworth Country Music Festival, and
South by Southwest Festival.
For the first four months of 2009, Andrew and Paul toured most of Australia to promote Andrew's fourth studio release
Surface Tension. They can also be seen performing regularly around Perth and the southwest region. The duo are credited for inaugurating the
Blues on the Verandah Sunday session at the Settler's Tavern in Margaret River and have since performed there regularly with their dynamic semi-acoustic performances.
Albums
Surface Tension - album released January 2009
The Decompression Chamber - album released February 2006
Can't Slow Down - mostly live EP (2005) (out of print)
Barrel O Monkeys – album (2004)
Whalebone Surf Classic – DVD soundtrack (2004)
Singles
Love Paints A Picture - includes live DVD footage of the Andrew Winton Duo
External links
Official Site
Official MySpace page
References
Category:1972 births
Category:Living people
Category:Australian guitarists
Category:Australian male singers
Category:Australian singer-songwriters
Category:People from Western Australia
Category:Western Australian musicians
