Rafael Miranda
Thu 20 Apr 2023
Hello guys!
It's that time of the week again, and over the last few weeks we've been publishing a series of blogs about our band members, the "Getting To Know Black Wolf Blues" series.
This will be in the form of an interview about their musical career.
Today's band member is bassist Liam Hutchinson.
Photo credit: Grace Hutchinson
Liam Hutchinson is responsible for holding down the low end for the band. Also from London, UK, he is not only a bassist but a great guitar player as well.
He began studying and playing the guitar at the age of 12, after becoming friends with Cameron during their time together at school. Liam had been playing with both Jake and Cam for over 6 years by the time they all joined Black Wolf Blues in early 2022.
He really enjoys being on stage as well as being involved in the band's music writing process. He is influenced by everything from rock and metal to jazz, soul and blues, including bands and artists such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ACDC, SRV, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, The Marcus King Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Stevie Wonder and Tom Misch, to name a few.
Liam is pursuing his studies in music at college as of 2022.
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How did you first get into music?
My family have always been big on music so music has always been around. But when it comes to playing music it has to be when I met our drummer Cameron at school in year 7 and he asked me to play guitar.
What instruments can you play?
Guitar, bass and a little keys.
What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist?
I have a wide spectrum of musical interests, so I feel I can take inspiration from all those different styles.
Who is your favourite musician?
For me there is never just one. But my favourite band of all time is Gojira for the rawness and power in their music, there’s just something different about it. Also at the moment I am listening to a lot of Turnstile, Linkin Park and Periphery, for similar reasons to Gojira, however on the other hand I also am into nerding out about music theory and music composition, with artists like Snarky puppy and Jacob Collier. Finally for the guitar nerdery I like to listen to Marcus King, Mark Lettieri, Ariel Posen, Derek Trucks, Guthrie Govan, etc.
What is your proudest accomplishment as a musician?
We are performing at the Hope Hoot in a couple days time, which helps raise money and awareness for Allergy UK. I personally lost a good friend to allergies so this means quite a lot to me.
What interests or hobbies do you have outside of music?
I like riding BMX bikes and watching films and series, especially when they have good music in them.
What is your creative process when making music?
I usually try to start with a riff or some kind of chordal idea then build off that. Although if it's creating for a band then I like to get in a room with the other guys and bring ideas to them and work on it together.
Tell me about your top performances.
It has to be our most recent performance at the Fiddler's Elbow, we were all real tight and we got the crowd moving pretty good.
Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?
I know that the other guys and I are pretty big fans of Rival Sons and The Black Crowes so if we could work with them that would be incredible.
Who has been your most influential teacher or mentor?
I had a guitar teacher for about 4 years called Harry Hayward who is a great musician and has helped me progress over the years. I would also say the other guys in the band have been some sort of teachers/mentors to me as we’re always learning things from each other.
What are your favourite venues to perform at?
At the moment a lot of the venues we’re playing are pretty similar so I don’t think there’s really one that sticks out, however after seeing Gojira play at Alexandra Palace I would love to have to opportunity to play there.
What inspires you as an artist?
To make good music and getting out there and perform it.
How do you nurture your own creativity?
I'm always coming up with little ideas and recording them into my computer.
Do you have trouble with performance anxiety?
Not really, I have been performing with Jake and Cam for about 6 years now, so it feels really smooth/natural and even though we have only been playing with Rafael for about a year it also feels equally as natural.
What are your favourite musical genres?
I enjoy everything from funk and jazz to rock and death metal.
How do you differ from most other artists?
I have a wide range of influences so I hope to bring some of the more heavy feel from my rock and metal influences whilst also keeping the sound of the band intact.
How do you think your previous bandmates would describe you?
Pretty chill and hopefully professional.
Photo credit: Neil Hughes @concertinaphoto
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That's it guys, hope you enjoyed the interview!
The exchange we have with our supporters is one of the most important things for us as a band, and that's why we want to share a little more of our personal history with you.
We're very proud to say that our next gig is this Saturday 22 April at The Hope Hoot, an anual charity fundarising event in connection with both Anaphylaxis UK and Allergy UK. This will take place at Blackheath Halls in Blackheath, Lonodon. Doors open at 7:15 PM. Check out our website and social media for more details. We would love to see you there!
Check out our Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for more. A new video is uploaded to our YouTube channel every Tuesday, don't forget to like and subscribe so that you don't miss out on new content weekly.
We also publish a new blog every Thursday, and next week's will be about our performance at the Camden Rocks Presents festival earlier this month. So stay tuned, rock on and have an amazing weekend!
Black Wolf Blues
Rafael, Jake, Liam & Cam