The Detours

HE is Bruce Springsteen's right-hand man in the E Street Band and starred as Silvio Dante, the consigliere to mob boss Tony in The Sopranos.
Add to this his own Underground Garage radio show heard by millions around the world and you could be forgiven for thinking the legendary Steven Van Zandt has had fun with three of the best jobs on the planet.
In fact, the star - also known as Little Steven to millions of Springsteen fans - loved the long-running crime series so much he has returned to playing a mafia gangster in a new Nordic crime series called Lillyhammer.
Soon he will be back on our television screens as Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano - who enters the witness protection programme after ratting on a mob boss - and requests a new life in a small town in Lillehammer, Norway.
Reminiscing in Oslo about the decade he spent playing Silvio, he explained: "The Sopranos was one of those things. We had a really good run and you couldn't be too sad about it. I mean, we did seven seasons in 10 years and 10 years is a big chunk of your life.
"It was probably time to move on. I wouldn't have, of course. I would have played that gangster for the rest of my life. I loved that character. In fact, I loved it so much, I took this other job playing a gangster here in Norway.
"I play a New York gangster who goes into the witness protection programme and chooses Lillehammer, Norway.
"It was such a good idea because Norway is a very straight place. It is a real monoculture of five million people.
"They follow the rules and my guy is dropped into that and he doesn't follow any rules. It's sort of a funny idea so we worked on the script for a couple of years.
"I became one of the writers and one of the producers and I am the lead actor in this crazy Norwegian show where everybody speaks Norwegian except me.
"The first season is only eight shows and we won't be on until next January but here we are filming it right now."
Despite his enjoyable roles as loveable rogues, Steven insists his love for music is as passionate as ever.
Having grown up with the Jersey Shore music scene in the 1970s, he was a founding member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and several of pal Bruce Springsteen's early bands before joining the E Street Band in 1975.
He said the Boss showed today's youngsters how to rock 'n' roll when they played Glasgow's Hampden Stadium a couple of summers back.
Steven, who turned 60 in November, added: "Us old geezers feel sorry for these young kids. They are all kind of soft. They are not men's men like our generation was.
"The energy you feel when you come and see us is the same energy we had at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park where we had to make 300 people dance. That has never changed, plus our standards were set by the 1960s which, of course, was a renaissance period and when the greatest music ever was made.
"As far as Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are concerned, we will never quite equal the standards of our heroes, of our mentors and the artists we grew up with."
As a judge in the latest Hard Rock Calling battle of the bands contest, Steven insists the mistake most of today's hopefuls make is not paying their dues as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band did.
But he added that Scottish rockers The Detours have a "real shot of going all the way". They are one of 40 bands from across the globe who have reached this year's finals, competing for your vote on http://www.hardrock.com.
At stake is a chance to make it to the big stage and perform live at Hard Rock Calling 2011 in London's Hyde Park - alongside headliners including The Killers, Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks.
Steven said: "I am one of the judges and a lot of this has to do with supporting rock starting with my radio show.
"We are now on more than 200 markets all over the US and Europe and that, of course, has to do with bands that have record labels and are at the next level.
"We've broken a few of these new garage bands through like The Hives and White Stripes in the States. But, with the hard rock thing, we are looking for ways of supporting bands at the ground level, before people have found record companies and producers.
"That's where the Battle Of The Bands stuff comes in with Hard Rock. You can't establish a standard by the current scene.
"If you want to go achieve greatness, you have to go back to greatness and study it, analyse it, worship it, imitate it and steal it.
"Everyone has to do the same thing the Beatles did in Hamburg, the Stones did at the Crawdaddy club, in Surrey, and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes did at the Stone Pony club in Jersey.
"It is one of those things you can't skip. Then you have to find a way to build your base locally and establish yourself locally as a person who can make a living playing music.
"If you can do that, you are ahead of the game and ahead of the industry. By the time we got into the music business we were making a living live and we were fantastic live.
"We didn't really need the industry to make a living. The records became a whole new craft we had to learn. Eventually, we did. It took us five albums."
When I mention that he seems to have had at least three of the best jobs in the world, taking into account the E Street Band, Sopranos and his radio show, he said: "I have to agree with you. It is split into thirds in terms of what people talk to me about in the street.
"Some people talk to me as a DJ, some as an actor and some as a guitar player. Everybody has potential to do probably a bunch of things and it's nice.
"I feel quite lucky. I have been pretty much doing what I love since the mid-70s and that means it has been a 35-year run of pretty much working around the clock doing the things I love." - Daily Record

EAST KILBRIDE band the Detours are back on the road to success with their new frontman.
The local rockers saw their singer Danny Shah depart earlier this year.
That followed a period of success for the group, which included a triumph at the 2009 Live & Unsigned competition.
But now they’ve confirmed Matt Littlefair will take over on vocals.

And the new quintet are back on the gigging trail with a support slot alongside Yashin at the Cathouse on Friday October 1.
Guitarist Michael Smith explained that it was Matt’s drive and energy that won him the job.
He said: “We’d put an add up on GumTree and got a decent response, but it was really Matt’s enthusiasm for the music that won him the job.
“He seemed really into it, and he’d sent over links to him singing with his previous band, so we liked him right from the start.
“Then when he started singing we were just really impressed.”
The band also consist of Ally Graham on bass, Chris Mackenzie on guitar and vocals and Ross Neilson on drums.
And although they’ve now got Matt in place, Michael believes the core of the band will remain the same. He said: “As four of us are still there, the music will remain along similar lines, it’s just that Matt will be bringing his own personalty to it.”
Last year, they won the Live & Unsigned talent competition, playing before a selection of judges that included legendary Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale.
They also made it through the audition stage of the Orange Unsigned Act, that was won by fellow Scot Tommy Reilly.
Tickets for their Cathouse comeback gig alongside Yashin are on sale now, priced at £8.
Further information on the Detours can be found at www.myspace.com/thedetoursinfo. - East Kilbride News

The Detours are an East Kilbride five piece who were orignally put together eight years ago for a talent show.

STV East Kilbride caught up with the boys to find out more.

THE HISTORY

Who are the members of The Detours? Ally Graham (26) on bass, Chris Mackenzie (20) on guitar, Matt Littlefair (24) who does vocals, Michael Smith (20) on guitar and vocals and Ross Neilson (20) on drums and vocals.

Can you tell us about how the band was formed? Ross had to put a band together for a talent show so he asked Mike and Chris as the other guitarist. Then through the years after a few different bassists we found Ally and just recently recruited Matt as frontman. We've been together between seven and eight years, although this line up has been together since summer 2010.

Where was your first gig? Unofficially it was the Village Theatre, officially as The Detours was the Murray Owen Centre.

THE SOUND

What is your sound? Hard rock, with big harmony guitars and even bigger harmony vocals.

Who are your influences? Nickelback, Foo Fighters, Black Stone Cherry, Dream Theater, Rush, Biffy Clyro, Goo Goo Dolls and Avenged Sevenfold.

What makes you different from other bands? It would have to be our live shows, we are always trying new things and there's such a level of energy on stage, if you mix that with the level of musicianship within our songs then you get The Detours.

Who would you love to do a session with?

Mike: John Petrucci, just to see how the guy plays so well.

Ally: Dave Grohl, cause he is a genius and is the best drummer on the planet!

Matt: I would have love to do a collaberation with Slash, that album released last year was actually my fave album of 2010. Failing that a song writing session with Johnny Reznik from Goo Goo Dolls would be a close second.

Ross: Would have to be John Fred Young, the drummer from Black Stone Cherry, it might not be much of a session, more of an ear-destroying drum orgy but he's such a brilliant player (much better than Dave Grohl, Ally!).

Chris: Slash. He is the man!

What, in your honest opinion, is the band's best song?

Ross: We are working on some material at the moment that is really exciting but our best song to date that we have actually gigged, in my opinion, is Release Me.

Matt: The one for me has to be 'White Line' I love it live, feels sexy and rocky at the same time. I'm saying no more though haha.

THE FUTURE

What has been your proudest moment to date in the band?

Mike: For me personally, it was probably going to record in Longwave Studios just because it all felt so professional and makes you think 'yeah I could do this for a living'.

Ally: Yeah, Longwave was a proud moment, it was the result of a lot of hard work we had put in to make it happen!

Ross: As a band we've had so many proud moments - winning Rigrock, being on national TV on Channel4 and 4music, winning the biggest competition in the UK for unsigned bands, recording with Romesh at Longwave studios, winning rock radios' competition, performing in the final of Redbull bedroom jam, taking over a nightclub, putting on our own festival, signing to BRM records... But my proudest moment to date was playing a sold out comeback gig and after months of struggling to secure a new line-up, watching as the place went mental from the very first note.

Matt: Cathouse, October 2010 with Yashin. The crowd blew me away. My first Glasgow gig with Detours and the crowd were in love with us. I was taking aback but fell in love with them all at the same time. They were proper reaching out to touch us, I was like 'yup lets do this everyday for the rest of our lives'.

Chris: Getting signed. I was so proud of the band at that moment.

Which band would you aspire to be like?

Mike: I would probably say Biffy Clyro at the moment, because they've done the Glasgow circuit and worked hard and now are selling out the SECC in their home town.

Ross: I do think Biffy are doing incredibly at the moment but not to be predictable I'm going to go with AC/DC... a million years old and the guys are still selling out stadiums worldwide!

Matt: If I can make it as long as Mick Jagger I'll be doing it right.

Chris: Nickelback. They have great songs, a great sound and a great live show.

What does 2011 hold?

Mike: Fame and fortune hopefully. More recordings, a festival and a support tour. That would be my ideal 2011.

Ally: Recordings, videos, photos, tours, festivals....oh and some money would be nice too!

Ross: All of the above - although no-one promised me money.

Would you consider going on a X-Factor style talent show?

Mike: NO.

Ally: Been there, done it, got the t-shirt.

Ross: What I haven't told the rest of the guys is that I have actually entered us into Xfactor 2011 where we will performing as a five piece vocal/dance troupe called "Road closed - in 100 yards, turn left".

Chris: Never!

Will you keep on rocking until you're old and grey?

Mike: Oh yeah! Probably wouldn't have as much energy as now but I'd certainly give it a good shot.

Ally: I am old and grey!

Ross: I'll try but I may experience liver failure in my early twenties.

Matt: There's nothing that would take me away from the thrill of being on stage, certainly not a little thing like age.

Chris: Until I am to frail to pick up a guitar.

THE RANDOMS

What was your best aftershow party and why?

Ally: Mine would be an after recording party we had in Bristol which involved phones going missing, dodgems, the creation of the Detox (lethal drink!) and forward flips over railings onto main roads! Good times.

Ross: The night in Bristol was a tough one to beat but D@The Park was pretty special too - we put on our own festival to raise some money so the lethal detox made a comeback and everyone had a good time - or so I was told by Michael (who consumed no detox).

Who would play you in a biopic?

Mike: Keifer Sutherland.

Ally: Ryan Reynolds.

Ross: Pamela Anderson - I'm always being told that I'm the glamorous, sexy one in the band.

Matt: Nicholas Cage but he'd have to get the hair plugs in.

Chris: Going to have to be Jason Statham.

Have you ever trashed a hotel room, rockstar style?

Mike: Nah we can't even afford hotel rooms!

Matt: Comming soon to a hostel near you...The Detours.

Skinny jeans - love them or hate them?

Matt: Don't get me started on conforming to trends. Pass! Hate. Pass.

Complete this sentence: Music is...

Mike: A release from everyday life.

Ally: Inspirational.

Ross: Whatever you want it to be.

Matt: Personal. Something you relate to or speaks for you.

Chris: A lifestyle.

To hear The Detours sound visit their website. - STV

The Detours pulled out all the stops to impress a panel of music industry professionals judging the Hard Rock Café Battle of the Bands in Edinburgh and came out top.

The Detours are now Scotland’s representatives in the global round of the Hard Rock Café’s competition to play at Hyde Park with Bon Jovi in June.

The Detours will be up against the winning bands from the other 71 Hard Rock Cafes around the world.

Voting will commence online in the near future.

Chris Mackenzie guitarist in the Detours said after the gig on Thursday: “It was quite an overwhelming experience to play in front of a packed venue in Edinburgh’s George Street with judges from Rock Radio and even Biffy Clyro’s manager!

"Perhaps the pressure made the adrenalin flow cause we came out on top.

"The other bands were amazing too."

The next opportunity to hear The Detours perform live is on Thursday, March 24 at The Cathouse in Union Street, Glasgow supporting Glamour of the Kill.

Tickets are available online.

The Detours can be found on Facebook. - STV

Finally, the top of the bill arrived onstage, THE DETOURS and what a performance they put on. Matt, Ally, Ross, Chris & Mike are 5 lads from East Kilbride who took Rock Radio’s Mockfest by storm and on this Saturday night, they just surpassed that gig with ease. The band had played a gig the previous night at the Towler and lost none of its cutting edge despite having to drop a couple of songs. Both the gig at the Towler and Moho Live were organised by Daniel Clifford from MANCHESTER ROCKS who deserves the thanks and appreciation of all concerned for putting on such a brilliant night of rock. The Detours just get better and better at each gig they play and for me the first highlight of the evening was their cover of the KANSAS song Wayward Son. It went down a storm here as it does everywhere they play it. They also played the tracks of their current cd which included Ignite & Free. The second highlight was the song they ended the set with and their current single One Last Chance, which was received with great enthusiasm and finished off an awesome night of pure rock. I would recommend any of these bands to every true rock fan as a must see event and I will remember this night at MOHO LIVE for a very long time.
for more info on the detours:
www.wearethedetours.com
www.facebook.com/thedetoursuk
www.twitter.com/thedetours
see the photos here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.175302755866322.48221.100001597954734 - Manchester Rocks

Artist: The Detours

EP: Ignite

Personnel :
Matt - Vox
Ally - Bass
Michael - Guitar & Vox
Chris - Guitar
Ross - Drums & Vox

Track Listing:
01 – One Last Chance
02 – Ignite
03 - Free

Stand Out Track: One Last Chance

Review:
The Detours are a five piece alternate rock band from Glasgow who have produced a fast paced, catchy three track EP called ‘Ignite’

The first track, ‘One Last Chance’ hits you from the off. The guitar riff gets the foot stomping and the head nodding. The very catchy chorus has some great harmonies and a very solid rhythm section which holds the penetrating guitar work and passionate vocals together. Fast paced pure ‘punk-pop-rock’ that rocks from the start and just builds and builds.

‘Ignite’ starts with a raw guitar sound that steams into a metal riff. It’s a harder, heavier song than ‘One Last Chance’, but still with a great hook and catchy chorus. The distorted vocals are a nice touch and the guitar solo will make you bring out the air guitar from your cupboard.

If you juiced Fall Out Boy, Extreme, The Beastie Boys and Green Day together, you’d end up with ‘Free’, the third track on the EP. Once again it’s another energetic, catchy rock song that has all the makings of a great live anthem.

Overall the EP bodes well for the debut album. The Detours are an exciting, energetic band with a great future ahead of them if they keep producing music of this quality. - ireviewrock.com

Edinburgh’s Hard Rock Café is to stage a live music event to raise awareness for breast cancer and contribute money toward The Caron Keating Foundation.

For the 12th year the worldwide restaurant chain hosts PINKTOBER which presents an evening of live music to support breast cancer charities and raise awareness for one of the most common forms of cancer.

Music at the event on Thursday, October 20 at the branch on George Street will be provided by the local winners of the Hard Rock Café Battle of The bands, The Detours and special The Gospel Truth Choir.

Proceeds from the event will benefit The Caron Keating Foundation, Set up by Gloria Hunniford and her sons Paul and Michael.

Throughout October, Hard Rock Café will be serving non-alcoholic pink drinks and offering a special pink menu. There is also special merchandise on sale including the limited-edition 2011 PINKTOBER pin.

Proceeds from the sale of PINKTOBER products will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (US) and The Caron Keating Foundation (UK) with 75 percent of the retail price of each pin and 15 percent of the retail price of other products going directly to the cause. - STV

THE DETOURS are just days away from landing a £20,000 record deal. The EK metal band will travel to Portsmouth on Saturday to battle for their dream prize in the final heat of Live and Unsigned.
The local boys beat off stiff competition from 10,000 bands and solo acts to reach the final 64 in the competition. But they will now have to impress a tough judging panel which includes former Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren and Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale.
After impressing audiences with rocked up versions of ABBA's pop classic Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Lady Gaga's chart topper Just Dance, The Detours hope their hottest single Bull Rider and mystery cover of a classic pop hit will lead them to victory in the final stage.
Drummer Ross Neilson said: “We have to play a cover so we looked for some old pop songs and rocked them up a bit. They go down really well.
“A lot of the bands sound exactly the same. We try and make it our own.”
Frontman Danny Shah added: “This is the furthest we have came in a competition because we are a heavier band. I think this competition is different though, they want a proper rock band, not a middle-of the-road pop act.
“If we win this can only be a step in the right direction for us. A recording contract is what we've been working towards.”
There is still time to support the boys big shot at fame by texting your vote. Text Unsigned 13 to 84222.
The Detours are running a midnight bus from EK Civic Centre to Portsmouth on Friday. The £40 fare includes your ticket to the full live event. Visit www.myspace.com/thedetoursinfo for more info.
- East Kilbride Mail

EAST KILBRIDE band of the moment The Detours are flying high after putting pen to paper on a £20,000 record deal with Future Music.
The five-piece metal band emerged triumphant at Sunday’s UK Live & Unsigned grand final in Portsmouth where they fought off stiff competition to clinch first place in the rock/alternative category.
Bassist Ally Graham said: “We are over the moon.
“Most of the guys are tucked up in bed now recovering from some heavy hangovers. We haven’t had much sleep since the after party celebrations.
“It was an incredible day. The noise and support from the crowd was incredible. The judges kept us in agonising suspense before they announced that we had won.
“Future Music have already given us things to do so we can’t wait to throw ourselves into it all.”
The Detours battled through several preliminary rounds before reaching Sunday’s final. Cheered on by family and friends who had made the 350 mile trip south, the band raced through a set which included their unique cover of Michael Sembello’s smash hit Maniac, from the film Flashdance and their fans favourite single Bull Rider.
The boy’s originality and energy clearly left most of the competition judges, who included Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale, impressed.
However, Ally says pop music impresario and ex-Sex Pistols boss Malcolm McLaren proved unpopular amongst the finalists.
He added: “He was really pompous giving blunt one word answers like “terrible” and just “no”, and didn’t speak to any of the bands backstage.
“But the other judges were great and really supported us.” Live & Unsigned is the largest event of its kind, and offers fledgling bands the chance to land a deal and get on the road to stardom.
Now the EK band are looking forward to mixing with stars like the Kings of Leon and the Pussycat Dolls at the Vodafone Music Awards later this year as their win automatically awards them a new artist nomination.
Ally added: “I heard last year’s winners got to walk the red carpet with the Pussycat Dolls so that would be pretty great. We are now drawing up a plan for next year. We plan to go on tour in the next couple of months and release our first single in the new year.”
You can catch the boys at a celebratory gig at Glasgow’s King Tuts in the coming weeks. Their winning moment will be uploaded to their myspace page www.myspace.com/thedetoursinfo later this week.
- East Kilbride Mail

East Kilbride rockers The Detours are plotting a course for the top after securing a place on the bill at a prestigious music industry gig in Glasgow. Playing their high-octane brand of metal and heavy rock, the five-piece will feature at a showcase gig for the JAR Music Group (JMG) at the Classic Grand on Friday, March 21.
JMG are one of the world’s leading music groups providing production, development, entertainment consultancy and sponsorship.
They are affiliated to a number of record labels including Sony, Roasting House Records, Emunity Records and J Records and their operations also include festivals, media events and music publishing.
The Detours are made up of four former Duncanrig high school pupils and their Glasgow-based front man Danny Shah.
The group was formed in 2003 when childhood friends Michael Smith (guitar and vocals), Chris Mackenzie (guitar and vocals) from Westwood and Ross Neilson (drums) from Auldhouse, came together with the aim of doing something original and fun. Danny saw the fledgling band play a gig at the Cathouse in Glasgow and approached the guys to see if he could join the band as the singer.
Bass player Ally Graham completed the line-up shortly afterwards and The Detours soon set out to play gigs in East Kilbride at the Key Youth Centre, Crystals and the Westwood church and then into Glasgow at venues such as the Cathouse, Rockers and Barfly.
Last year the band, who cite their major influences as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dream Theater, Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver, won Rig Rock 07, a battle of the bands competition organised by Duncanrig secondary school.
The Detours fought off competition from seven other local bands to be crowned champions.
At the end of last year the boys sent off their demo Spit Me Out to JMG and waited to see what would happen.
Michael said: “After months of hearing nothing we were amazed when we received word from JAR that our demo had been successful and we were invited to take part in this showcase where record companies, promoters and radio stations would be present.
“Naturally, we are excited about the prospects. We hope that the people of East Kilbride will give us all the support and encouragement we could ask for.”
The Detours will be on stage at the Classic Grand on Jamaica Street around 8.45pm on Friday, March 21. Tickets are £6 in advance and can be bought through the band’s website at www.myspace.com/thedetoursinfo. - East Kilbride Mail