Paul Fenton
Peter Lazz

Rattlesnakin' Daddy

self-published  2008 CD (Canada)

 Two of Paul Fenton's most important musical "imprintings" came when he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 and when he heard Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones play slide guitar on "Little Red Rooster."

Brian played slide in Ottawa in 1965. The first time he heard Mississippi Fred McDowell on slide and Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd were equally inspirational. Some of Paul's favourite slide players are (in no particular order): Tampa Red, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Rory Gallagher, Duane Allman, Johnny Winter, Elmore James, Brian Jones and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. Paul plays open tunings exclusively, among them: G, D, E, D modal, a D minor 'drone' tuning (taught to him by bluesman Guy Davis when they played together at the Ottawa Folk Festival in 1999), C and more.

Paul is entirely self-taught on slide guitar and began with the decision to take out several "how to" play slide guitar books from the local library. Most decisive of all, Paul was hooked for life after the time he ventured down Highway 401 to see and hear the explosive blues rock of 'modern-day Robert Johnson', Rory Gallagher in 1973 at the Colonial Tavern - with "King Biscuit Boy" (Richard Newell 1944-2003) opening up, backed by McKenna Mendelson Mainline.

After the Gallagher concerts, Paul decided to make music his life. Some thirteen years later, he would repay Rory by giving him a Supro Dualtone guitar as a thank you gift (Paul had also opened for Rory in Montreal at the 1,100 seat "Le Spectrum" in 1982).

In between, Paul had become the 'charge' of older brother John, a serious rocker and excellent guitar player in his own "rite". John, the 'Godfather' of the Fenton musical clan (which also included bassist and youngest brother Michael) began his own career with Ottawa heavies Avalon in the mid-70's, recording at Montreal's Tempo Studios the same time as Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. Around 1977, after hearing an English punk music collection LP via a friend of Ted Axe's who worked at Treble Clef (a local record store), Paul and the legendary band The Action merged the sounds of the Stones, Gallagher and Status Quo with the nitro of the mid-70's London punk rock movement.

This album recorded in 2008 in Canada features Peter Lazz on vocals and acoustic guitar, Matt Wood on drums, and Kenny Kanwisher on bass and keyboards.

The tracks are all covers of blues classics like the title track originally by Blind Boy Fuller, and include Willy Dixon's Little Red Rooster and Robert Johnson's Queen of Spades.

CD in a jewelcase with insert sheet is NEW and SEALED