Artist description Standing on solid ground!

Music Style Blues and Rock n ´Roll

Musical Influences All blues and rock greats´

Similar Artists Ourselves

Artist History BRICKYARD started as a group in 1988, but Örjan, Mattias and Ola have been playing together in different bands way before that, ever since their early school years. Today Brickyard is a quartet and the newest brickyarder is Martin Larsson from Kiruna,on the piano and Hammond organ.Their music is a mixture of root, jump, rock n´roll - and even some country originals, which makes their sound more or less unique. When playing live they also throw in some covers of various blues greats' numbers to the playlist .The debut CD "Blues In Pajala" was recorded in 1996,and in December 1999 the follow-up, "Exit:Bluesland" was released.Brickyard has through the years proven to be among the coolest blues & rock n ´roll bands in Sweden, with an ever-growing following.

Group Members Mattias Kauppi, Örjan Mäki, Martin Larsson, Ola Kauppi

Instruments Guitar, Dobro, Bass, Piano, Hammond, Drums, Vocals

Albums "Blues In Pajala" Byard01 1996, "Exit: Bluesland" Byard02 1999

Press Reviews "Brickyard is a swedish act that displays a crisp retro sound on "Exit: Bluesland". Örjan Mäki sings and rips out tight, smart guitar solos, while keyboardist Martin Larsson spins classy, tasty chords. A bakers dozen of upscale originals. Best Cuts: "Jr. Stomp" (a raging boogie) and the instrumental "Swing for B-O" (casual, cool jazz)." Ed Ivey, Blues Revue Magazine, Issue no. 56, April 2000 Tim Holek -Blues On Stage:http://www.mnblues.com/cdreview/brickyard.htmlIf people from Sweden can master North American games like hockey why can’t they master our music as well? A group of 4 guys called Brickyard from northern Sweden are out to do just that. They laydown some dirty blues and boogie on their sophomore CD called Exit: Bluesland. The blues boogie woogie laden disc kicks off with "Checked Out At Six" with its Johnnie Johnson influenced keyboards. The track’s guitar solo features some classic Chuck Berry licks. The swing craze surfaces with "Jr. Stomp" featuring more fine tingling of the ivories. "Time To Move On" has a real blues bar groove to it. The disc’s longest track, "Blues All Around" is used to showcase the guitar talents of Orjan Maki and piano works of Martin Larsson.Orjan’s playing on the tune strays into rock and roll but stays true to the blues. The blues-rock rich "Don’t Bet" continues and itis a nice segue. Some acoustic slide takes over on "Get Me My Suitcase." This heavily Delta bluesbased tune must surely melt a little northern Sweden snow when performed live. The journey to the Delta continues with "Out On The Road" but it seems to lack the energy of its predecessor. Straight back into the Texas blues with "Voodoo Woman." The track features guitar work very reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan. More Texas rock’n blues boogie woogie, this time complete with slide guitar on "Mama’s Got A Son." "When You’re Gone" features one of the CDs many catchy riffs. The disc wraps up with an instrumental called "Swing for B-O" which presents the jazzy side of swing. Brickyard proves to be a very versatile band with their second release. A full cross section of various blues styles such as: Texas blues, Delta blues, swing and rock and blues is well represented. Who is this CD for? That’s easy – blues guitar, blues boogie woogie piano and roadhouse blues fans. The vocals are clear and easily understood (given the fact that English isn’t the bands first language) but they could be a bit stronger. Many pictures of the band in the studio are featured in the CD’s liner in addition to the song’s lyrics. The CD features 13 very solid originals, quite an accomplishmentin itself as most new bands rely heavily on the safety of covers. Most impressive is the guitar and keyboard work. The band bases itself in a tiny town called Pajala which is located 50 miles above the Arctic Circle! They formed in 1988 and claim to have "our roots buried deep down in a huge pile of snow". "It seems the leap from 110 degrees out in the American cotton fields to minus 40 and tons of snow in northern Sweden is shorter than you would expect". Exit: Bluesland proves just that. Brickyard does not break any new ground musically on this disc. However they do prove that there are no borders when it comes to the blues. If you are looking for some superb roadhouse blues, then this disc is for you. For CDs, booking and information, write to: Brickyard, Tornedalsvagen 1, 98431 Pajala, Sweden. Tel +46 (0) 978 10742.E-mail: brickyard@writeme.comWebsite: http://go.to/brickyard This review is copyright © 2000 by Tim Holek, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Terry Clear, BluesBytes:http://www.bluenight.com/BluesBytes/wn1299.htmlBrickyard is a very accomplished blues band from Pajala, Sweden. Their latest CD, the follow up to the excellent Blues In Pajala, is a good mixture of different blues styles. EXIT: Bluesland opens with a really nice rocking blues, "Checked Out At 6," and moves through tradtional blues, jazzy blues and funky blues - a total of 13 tracks, all written by members of the band. For me, the CD is worth buying for track five alone --- "Blues All Around" is well written and well played with a great arrangement and some fantastic guitar work from Orjan Maki. This track is seven minutes of pure electric blues heaven. Having made the comment about track five, I think I'd also buy the CD for track eight alone! This track, "Out On The Road," has some great slide guitar work which runs alongside the strong piano work of Martin Larsson. Sweden isn't somewhere that blues fans naturally associate with the blues, but on the basis of listening to this band, I think we should all be taking some notice! Terry Clear- BluesBytes

Location Pajala, BD - Sweden

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