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BACKGROUND |
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first piece of the puzzle I turned up was "Hoi Polloi", a rocking
psychedelic outfit that did a few radio sessions. There he was - "Maz
Mitrenko - Guitar". Seems they replaced a couple of members, changed the band's name to "Titan" and cut a single. That enterprise ended when singer "Rocky Shades" quit to join glam rockers "Wrathchild". Bass player for Titan was one "Barry Floyd"...coincidence? Looks like Mitrenko then laid low for a while. It was seeming like the trail was going cold when, out of the blue, I caught up with him again. "The
Handsome Beasts" were local heroes with a bunch of records to their
name. It was all starting to make sense, when suddenly, everything changed... "The Trevor Burton band" were one of Birmingham's best kept secrets. Their mix of spontaneous rock, blues and grooves with little or no rehearsal was wowing crowds all over the city and beyond. I reckon it's a dead cert that our man saw this band and was inspired to travel a new road. In due course, Mitrenko joined Burton's band and over the next 12 years appeared not only with him, but also alongside the likes of Steve Gibbons, Richard Tandy (ex ELO) and Steve Ajao, all the while developing what one review called "a unique improvisational style" I also found a lot of evidence that, during this time Mitrenko had visited the USA on a fairly regular basis. He'd played solo acoustic gigs in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco and even appeared on stage in Clarksdale Mississippi with James "Super Chikan" Johnson, a genuine modern day Delta bluesman. I guess Mitrenko is just dead serious about playing the blues for real. Now he's got his own band and that just about brings the story up to date. |