Zoë Schwarz & Rob Koral - Blues, roots & originals

A very young Zoe's musical journey started by being brought up at a convent boarding school singing sacred music in church several times a week.  A natural singer, Zoe was chosen as a regular soloist, and also often conducted the schola.  Zoe broadened her musical intake by defying school rules and listening to John Peel under the bed-cloths late at night on a tiny transistor radio (and loving bands like the Stranglers).   Zoe was introduced to Billie Holiday by her uncle Colin in her early teens, this was inadvertently the crucial stepping stone to Zoe's natural home of singing the blues.  By the time Zoe left school she had achieved grade 8 piano, clarinet, music theory and singing (not to mention hours knocking around on an acoustic guitar when ever possible and dabbling in early song writing).  From here on the journey started ...

Rob says.... "When I first started playing guitar at school, the challenge between us guitar-playing rebels was to see who had the sweetest vibrato. Who could bend the string up a whole tone, and hold it with the most control.  Playing the Blues must be the most natural way to start playing guitar. It gives you an understanding of the relationship between the string, the wood, and the amp. The amp is not just to make the guitar louder, but is an integral part of the instrument... it’s a partnership between the guitar and amp, and is a tool to help you achieve your stylistic goals....