Spoilt for choice on a busy Friday evening of local rock'n'roll I left the warm, balmy Scunthorpe night behind to join a lively
crowd in the Tardis-like Class 6 where Crazy Dayz were playing the first of two weekend gigs. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know
an awful lot about the band beforehand (even though we always try to do a little research) apart from the fact that Rachel Day, a
well established entertainer in her own right, fronted them and that they had a growing reputation in town for putting on a
good show.
Joining lead vocalist Rachel, in what I later found out was a very experienced and talented Crazy Dayz line-up were
Rich Noble on guitar, Mark Alan (keyboards & vocals), Tony Ilkiw (bass) and Rodney Moody (drums).
It was a late
start but come 10:30pm a good sized crowd had gathered for the band's first set and they kicked off with Rainbow's "Since You've Been
Gone" and The Who's "Pinball Wizard". Yes it was loud, but it was crystal clear, it was punchy and the band were as tight as any I'd
heard for a long while. Rachel Day was the focal point and was clearly enjoying fronting her own band as she struck up an immediate
relationship with her audience and playfully flitted between messrs Noble, Ilkiw and Alan. Ms Day is certainly on top of her game
and her strong polished vocals shone through well sitting nicely over an excellent mix - nice tanbourine playing too.
reviews
Crazy Dayz - Class 6 4th July 2008
Opening the second spot with Van Halen's "Jump", Crazy Dayz carried on from where they'd left off - or so I thought - from an initial
rock/funk feel the set gradually became more, dare I say it, well yes I dare, "dancey", with an up tempo Amy Winehouse version of
"Valerie" being a real stand-out number for me. In the bandana-clad Rich Noble, who I'm ashamed to say was previously unknown to me,
the band have a first class guitarist who demonstrated that he is equally at home playing any genre with tremendous presence punctuating
the set with some fine licks and solos.
In short, the band totally blew me away. I really couldn't fault this performance. I might just have seen the best local gig of the
year which is saying something because I've seen a few good ones up to now. Make no mistake, Crazy Dayz have raised the bar another
notch.
PJF
The dreadlocked Rodney Moody used only 3 mics on the kit - bass drum, snare and overhead - which produced a wonderfully bright sound
combined with that delightful click on the bass drum giving us all a perfect lesson in the black art of mic positioningand Journey's
"Don't Stop Believing" gave him the opportunity to show it off with some neat cymbal work.
Keyboardist Mark Alan took the lead
vocals on "Africa" after a tantalizingly long intro and the band showed their vocal pedigree in the Bryan Adams/Mel C collaboration
"When You're Gone". Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends" brought what I thought was a disappointingly short first set
to a close but it gave me the opportunity to grab some much needed fresh air - and a drink.
Rachel Day, Rodney Moody & Tony Ilkiw
inch of a very wide fretboard with the minimum of effort. I later asked him how he manged to play a 6-string (yes 6-string)
bass and he told me he only plays one string - but I watched him, and he plays 'em all!
Mark Alan is a real talent and as well
as playing some mean keys he can certainly sing with soul as he demonstrated in the last number of the night, James Brown's "Sex Machine".
Great stuff!
Some musicians are great to watch and bassist Tony Ilkiw is one of those. He played most of the gig with eyes closed, characteristically
swaying his head from side to side in his own little bass world, not a plectrum in sight and covering every
