Matt Hewson
After Little Malop hosts Geelong Jazz Day, Pistol Pete’s will serve up some of Geelong’s finest blues music when the Maskell-Love Band hits the stage this Saturday night (May 20).
Fronted by the highly regarded Pete Maskall on vocals and guitar and featuring the often-blistering, always authentic guitar work of Troy Love, the band also includes Adrian Gardham and Luke Hynes in the engine room on drums and bass, respectively.
Love, who will be familiar to many blues fans from his work with Australia’s darling of the blues Sweet Felicia, renowned blues and roots musician Wayne Jury and South West Victoria’s Fast Eddy Boyle, said the project had grown out of the need to relieve the boredom of COVID-19 restrictions.
“I’d seen Pete play years ago, and just before COVID he did a gig with Sweet Felicia and the Honeytones, that’s when I met him,” Love said.
“Then during COVID we had some free time and we’d catch up and just out of pure boredom we’d have a play. And we just loved it.
“At the time we weren’t thinking of having a band or anything like that; we were just having a bit of fun, just to kill our boredom and keep our chops up. And then as we kept catching up we thought, we should probably take this out sometime.
“I spoke to Pete from Pistol Pete’s and he said, when you’re ready come and have a play. So we called on a couple of friends to do the bass and drums, and it just clicked.”
Love has an obvious respect for his counterpart, both as a musician and a person, and said Maskell was a joy to play with.
“Pete’s such a great human being; he’s got such a relaxed, beautiful nature about him, and a great feel for the blues,” he said.
“He plays unbelievable lap steel and his voice just draws you in. I notice when I’m playing, all eyes are on the man, he’s just got that aura about him.”
Love said Pistol Pete’s was the perfect place to see blues music and somewhere he felt right at home.
“As soon as you walk in it’s the atmosphere, it’s just blues, it’s cool; you’ve got people that are there to hear music,” he said.
“It’s a place people go to see what they love, and you’ll see all sorts of things there. You don’t know, you might turn up and there’s a trombone there, oh, cool. Or there’s a three-piece with a dude on sax, a piano and a double bass.
“It’s one of those places that gives you a great vibe, a great sense of belonging. It puts you in the zone.”
