The SoundLounge

Geoff Achison

Geoff Achison has a reputation as a formidable acoustic and electric guitarist, a capable vocalist and a composer of good, funky songs without the cliches. IT'S BLUES JIM ... BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT! Having taught himself to play in the isolation of rural Australia, he has developed a blues/funk style all his own that can be delicate one moment and explosive the next. Unaware of how the sounds he was hearing on his limited record collection were produced, he invented some of his own techniques - without the aid of pedals or gadgets. As a result, watching this guy wrench sounds from his simple set-up can be something of a spectacle. Geoff also possesses a soulful voice that has evoked favorable comparisons to Joe Cocker or Warren Haynes. An award winning songwriter to boot, Geoff’s live set features an infectious mix of catchy original tunes, improvised jamming and inspired versions of blues & soul classics. He has toured regularly around the globe and won honours on 3 continents. Years of touring, recording and performing has seen him share stages and open shows with such high calibre artists as Jorma Kaukonen & Hot Tuna, John Mayall, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm and Delbert McClinton as well as top Aussies 'Dutch' Tilders, Phil Manning, Jeff Lang and Tommy Emmanuel. Growing up in the small town of Malmsbury, Geoff somehow developed a passion for American blues music and taught himself to play on a beat up instrument he discovered 'under the stairs' of the family home. In his early 20's he found employment as lead guitarist with Melbourne's top blues band 'Dutch Tilders & The Blues Club'.

Doc Span

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Doc made Chicago his home in the 1960’s and learned the harmonica at Blues Clubs like the Checkerboard Lounge and Ma Beas on the Westside, while working as a paramedic at the notorious Cook County Jail.

After a stint in the Navy, in 1972 Doc hitchhiked through 12 Latin American countries jamming with the locals. His move back to Chicago found him playing with Willie Kent and the Beehives. The band featured blues figureheads Fenton Robinson, Johnnie Littlejohn and many others.

Forming his own band, Two Fisted Blues, he made Santa Fe (New Mexico) his base for touring the Rockies to Alaska, playing hundreds of gigs at Rocky Mountain ski resorts. He also led a National Park trail crew, in the summers on the continental divide and played with the Summertime Blues Band at the Dew Drop Inn in Hungary Horse.

Doc arrived in Australia in 1987 via a route filled with adventures. Here he has played with Oz blues luminaries like Andy Cowan, James T, Fiona Boyes, Ross Williams, Jan Preston, Lil' Fi, and Kevin Borich. He’s played most major music festivals across Australia, thousands of live performances and dozens of recording sessions.

He has featured on many albums and released a few of his own, including the Sunnie Award winning acoustic blues CD, The Last Train, with Ross Williams. They are also published by Mel Bay USA with Blues Grooves..

Doc performs and records original and traditional blues with Doc Span Blues. He also performs in acoustic format, Delta Blues.