Makes You Stronger (available now) is the third studio album from the award winning writing team of Ron Sayer Jr & Charlotte Joyce, and a continuation of their alternative blues style.
The album follows on from Better Side (2011), Hard To Please (2013) and Live At The Little Theatre (2015). Containing a diverse selection of all out rockers, powerful blues ballads, country shuffles, haunting laments, fusionesque funk and roots rock, Makes You Stronger interweaves Charlotte’s soulful, dynamic vocal with Ron’s incendiary, yet classy guitar.
The album also marks a new phase in the Sayer & Joyce story as Charlotte provides lead vocal on all tracks, thus leaving Ron free to concentrate on delivering what he does best; guitar, guitar and more guitar! In fact the pair cover most duties between them on this album with Charlotte supplying vocals, Hammond B3 and piano while Ron contributes electric and double bass lines, percussion and additional keys as well as guitar.
Long-standing drummer Paul Wooden lends his talents to the mix, and another first for the new album is the addition of a brass section (Dave Land, Clive Hitchcock) not to mention Charlotte’s own choir members joining in for the roots-rock of the song Life Is What Happens.
Ron has many endorsements from the music industry and respected names such as Blackstar Amplification, Rotosound Strings, Bare Knuckle Pickups, Wampler Pedals, RealtoneFX and their cumulative talents and tone can be found in spades on Makes You Stronger.
Sayer & Joyce
Charlotte Joyce:
Award winning Charlotte Joyce has been a professional singer for all her working life and is vocal coach and choir leader to many other professional singers. She has won awards for her songwriting & was inaugural winner of the Acoustic Guitarist Of The Year in Guitarist Magazine. Charlotte was also runner up in the keyboard category in the 2014 British Blues Awards. Holding professional qualifications, not to mention an unmistakable talent for both singing and keyboard, Charlotte had been Ron’s ‘right hand man’ for years in the Ron Sayer Band. She provided backing vocals on Better Side (2011) in addition to dueting with Ron on ‘My Mother In Law’ from the album. Charlotte also co-wrote the British Blues Award nominated album Hard To Please, taking vocal duties on half the album. She has worked with/supported the likes of Paul Jones, Dr. Feelgood, Clem Curtis, Jo Harman & Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Ron Sayer Jr.
Ron Sayer Jr. is the consummate ‘Guitarist’s guitarist’. As a trained music teacher having influenced the learning curves of the likes of Oli Brown, Sol Philcox, The Sharps & Mark Howes of Dove & Boweevil he’s now a mainstay on the UK blues circuit. He was nominated for no less than four awards in the British Blues Awards in 2013 in the album ‘Better Side’, band, song ‘Don’t Make Me Stay’ and guitarist categories walking away with runner-up in band of the year, he also co-wrote Oli Brown’s third album ‘Here I Am’ and won another British Blues Award for co-writing the title track. He was voted Guitarist Of The Year by Guitarist Magazine, was voted 4th Best Bassist in Blues Matters Magazine and has a degree in classical music to boot. He has worked with/supported Buddy Guy, John Mayall, Matt Schofield, Nine Below Zero, Ten Years After, Robin Trower among others.
“Charlotte strikes a balance between sophistication and simplicity of expression.” Pete Feenstra, Ready To Rock
"Full-on Blues with power and soul – what's not to like?" - Andy Snipper, Music News
“Always dapper & powerful" - John Mayall
“There isn’t much risk-taking in the blues field these days, which makes Hard to Please, the latest effort from Ron Sayer Jr. and Charlotte Joyce, such a bracing alternative.” Stacey Zering, No Depression
"Ron Sayer is a clever and unpredictable songwriter" - Martin Townsend, Sunday Express
"..genuinely classy, modern blues" - R2 Magazine
" It's as if a chef has taken some good ingredients and transformed them into something sublime"
Ian McHugh
"One of the few guitar heroes I have" - Oli Brown
"Ron Sayer is a mighty fine player with lovely touch and tone............a most enjoyable release, which I've enjoyed more than most this year!" Grahame Rhodes, Blues In The North West
"Really tasty stuff, some lovely guitar playing! A very talented guy indeed!" Gary Grainger
www.sayerandjoyce.co.uk
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