Guy Blakeslee - THE ENTRANCE BAND

Not since Jimi Hendrix has somebody played the guitar with such reckless abandon and vision than the Entrance Band�s Guy Blakeslee. In fact, like Hendrix, Blakeslee�s psychedelic-tinged sound is informed by the Delta Blues and mysticism�and is mind-blowing to witness. After dropping records in 2003 and 2004, Blakeslee invited


Entrance is the musical vehicle for musician Guy Blakeslee (born April 29, 1981)Los ANGELES, California. His style is a sort of psychedelic folk music, often consisting of vocals and guitar with old, public domain blues songs.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Blakeslee first gained notice as a member of The Convocation Of.... He later left the band and moved to Chicago to pursue a solo career under the guise of the name Entrance. He performed regularly for the next 18 months at a bar called The Hideout, which eventually gained him the attention of Tiger Style Records.

Entrance has toured with Devendra Banhart, Will Oldham, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Cat Power. Blakeslee has released his music through Tiger Style Records and Fat Possum Records, as well through his own record label, Entrance Records, named after his musical moniker

Albums
The Kingdom of Heaven Must be Taken by Storm (2003) - Tiger Style Records.
Wandering Stranger (2004) - Fat Possum Records.
Prayer of Death (2006) - Entrance Records. Tee Pee Records


Track listing:

"Honey Moan (Entrance)" � 5:07
"Can''t Stop the Winter" � 2:00
"Lookout!" � 2:00
"Careless Love" � 4:37
"Come on in My Kitchen" � 3:32
"Simple Song" � 3:21
"Simple Song, Pt. 2" � 4:17
"Honey Drone" � 4:44
"Sunrise in Belfast/Sunset in Christiana" � 5:02

Guy Blakeslee a.k.a. Entrance, is a singer/guitarist who�s spent the past few years journeying and performing across America and abroad, playing on his own as well as opening for colleagues like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cat Power and Devendra Banhart.



Entrance�s raw materials are the basic vocabulary of vintage rural music, Delta Blues and the �folk� traditions that eventually gave way to honky tonk and C&W, but even more so the extraordinary fluidity and spontaneity that early blues and country performers lived and died by. His secret weapon is a remarkably powerful singing voice that he tends to wield with reckless abandon, soaring, howling, breaking into eerie falsetto.



The 23-year-old Baltimore native taught himself how to play guitar with no formal instruction and as a result to this day he plays with his acoustic guitar flipped over and strung upside-down. Whether there are two people or 2000 in the room; whether he�s alone onstage stomping a tambourine or supported by other hands and bodies��I always throw my mind out the window and close my eyes until whoever is in charge pulls the plug.�



Above all, his hope is for people to have a good time, their own kind of real good time. �I remind myself every night to present a glimpse of something crazy, fucked up, and real.�

Ah, lest not forget the other integral influences and styles of the Naturalismo. It�s been too long since I�ve addressed a psychedelic band. Entrance plays a blend of psychedelia and blues that owes as much to Hendrix as it does to T.rex but what they give back not only lives up to their influences but makes you wonder if they pose them a threat. I�ve been waiting for an excuse to mention the band Entrance for a short-while after I missed their opening set for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks back in January and have been embittered ever since. Entrance�s album �Prayer of Death� came out in July of 2006, but with no label backing was limited to a self-pressed CD run of 1000. With favorable press and help from a friend Entrance was able to release �Prayer of Death� worldwide in late November of 2006. Recently, Entrance, who fronts �Entrance(the band)� real name Guy Blakeslee posted 2 unreleased songs that weren�t featured on their newest album.

Entrance are not who you think they are. They are not a quiet, mellow trio nipping at the heels of the psych-folk pack mule, despite their long hair, skinny limbs, pale skin and bare feet (which make them look like they''re on their way to see the California country line-up at Topanga Days). As their set on Friday confirmed, they are thoroughly guns-blazing, balls-out rock n'' roll. How such a full-throttle wailing voice can come out of such a slim young man is a mystery, but the ferocity with which Guy Blakeslee ripped into songs off his 2006 rock opera album Prayer of Death managed to get me head-banging unconsciously � I didn''t realize what I was doing until I hit the guy behind me.

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