Latest News

We’re now able to announce the name of COAST’s new long term lead guitarist…..step forward Mr Charlie Goodall!

Charlie hails from Wales and has had much studio experience as a producer and performer. He has run his own studio facilities as well as working freelance in various studio projects spanning a variety of genres.

Charlie entered into partnership with Bev Jones in the mid 90s to establish Recordiau Awen Records, associated publishing house and studio facility. Awen released Duffy’s only Welsh language project to date in 2005 featuring Charlie on guitar on a song called ‘Hedfan Angel’ (listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leiPemYDg-8). This, of course, is the same project that COAST lead singer Paul Eastham co-wrote, co-produced and played keyboards on.

Charlie has played guitar for a number of bands in live or studio projects over the years. He has also done freelance compositional and production work for the BBC and other TV channels. He was the composer for Lleifior 1 & 2, a flagship drama series for S4C as well as composing for documentaries, animations, sports programmes and adverts.

Welcome aboard the good ship COAST Charlie!

At the same time, everyone associated with the band would like to extend their sincere thanks and best wishes to Russ Barnes who stepped into the lead guitar breach for the Tønder Festival at the end of August.

Due to other commitments Russ is unable to join the band on a full time basis but his dedication to the cause over the last couple of the months has been a lifeline to the band and his performance at Tønder will live in the memory for a long time.

On a less upbeat note, it is with regret that we also have to announce that acoustic guitarist Al Stone will be taking a breather from COAST for the foreseeable future. This is due to a problem with his hearing that needs some medical attention. Al will still continue to be involved with the band behind the scenes and helping out where possible. A huge thanks to Al for his immense input into the band and we wish him the best of luck and hope that he is able to return to the fold sometime in the future.

Rest assured that despite the recent line-up changes COAST continue to go from strength to strength with lots of exciting developments on the horizon. Writing and recording of the next album is well under way and promises to be an epic! Live dates for 2011 are also being finalised so look out for announcements on that front over the coming weeks too.

We look forward to meeting as many fans as possible at one of the UK shows between now and Christmas – check out the website for dates. Don’t forget you can talk about all things COAST on the official forum: http://coast.top-forum.net/index.htm and Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/COAST/20432127016?ref=ts

7th September 2010

SAY HELLO, WAVE GOODBYE

Interview for Danish National Radio Station

Friday Performance

Friday Soundcheck

Folkstone, England

COAST hopped aboard the tour bus leaving their hometown of Southampton just before dawn on Thursday 26^th August.

They were bound for their first ever non UK show at the Tønder Festival in Denmark, a small matter of 1,235 kilometres away.

After 16 hours, several ‘refreshment’ stops and 6 countries later, COAST arrived at the festival site, their entrance serenaded by the familiar stomping sound of Runrig who were half way through their headline act.

COAST were treated like stars from the off. The festival organisers couldn’t have been more welcoming. Equipped with their ‘Access All Area’ passes the band headed backstage via the Runrig auditorium to soak up the superb atmosphere.

Friday 27^th August and COAST headed back to the festival from their German hotel mid-morning on Friday, ready for their lunchtime sound-check. A heady mixture of intrepidation and excitement started to kick in!

The sound check went smoothly and lasted about an hour. It was attended by some diehard Danish, German and Scottish COAST fans. With everything set up it was a case of waiting for the band to open the evening’s show at 8pm local time.

Later that afternoon, the band recorded a video interview for the Tønder Festival website. Watch here: http://www2.tf.dk

The band were not sure what to expect in terms of attendance numbers as Wolfstone, the main act, were not due on stage for a few hours yet. However, anxious peeks outside the main tent at the length of the queue were soon replaced by amazed expressions as the c.3,000 capacity auditorium started to fill up as kick off time approached.

The compere duly introduced COAST bang on 8pm. The band entered the stage to the bellowing sound of “Song of Angus” accompanied by a huge cheer from the Danish crowd!

COAST kicked off their one hour set with a rousing rendition of “Big Blue Sky” followed hot on the heels by “These Walls”. The festival programme listed COAST’s music as “very loud”. The audience certainly received what it said on the tin!

The band then brought things down a notch or two with the ballad “Keep Loving”. Next up was the haunting song “Ghost of Dan the Boy” which is destined for the band’s second album due for release in 2011. Another song destined for the next album, and instant crowd favourite, came up next – “The Docks of My Hometown”. This song is about the band’s hometown of Southampton although COAST were starting to feel very much at home in Tønder by this stage of the evening!

In what seemed like no time at all it was time to enter the home straight and next up was the band’s signature tune “Oceanos”. It was at this point that COAST and their long time fans realised that the band had gone up a level as Paul interacted with the Tønder audience in ‘rehearsal’ for the song proper. Never has the “OOOOOOOOOCEANOS” chant been sung by so many people in one place before! Indeed, it was vast and there were thousands...!

COAST then wrapped up their main set with, of course, the 9 minute epic “America”. The band received rapturous applause as they headed off stage but a quick about turn brought them back out for their well deserved encore. And what an encore….

The band were now joined on stage by internationally renound fiddle player and Wolfstone front man Duncan Chisholm who played on the new song “The Beat of You”, co-written by Paul Eastham and Runrig’s Iain Bayne. The stirring ballad brought a hush amongst the crowd and collective goose bumps could be felt around the auditorium. The band then launched into a rocky outro to bring their performance to a close.

If there’s a higher cloud than No.9 then the band were flying high above it! The Tønder audience seemed to really appreciate what they had seen and heard and the guys were both humbled and proud by the reception they received.

Straight after the show COAST were ushered to the CD signing tent where they were ambushed by fans old and new wanting to get their hands on a signed copy of the debut album. At one point the crowd was 10 deep!

A truly memorable day.

Saturday 28th August - the morning after the night before.... A well deserved lie in was in order before heading back to the Festival site to record an interview for Danish National Radio.

In the afternoon some of the band were given a tour of Tønder town by long time Danish fans Winnie and Mogens. This gave rise to one of the more surreal moments of the band's trip - walking down the main street they came across a busker who, upon seeing the band, broke out into a spontaneous rendition of Oceanos....with COAST swiftly deployed as impromptu backing singers!

Sunday 29th August. After a quieter evening the band awoke to the day of their 2nd stint at Tønder - a slot at the Festival Ceilidh. After a short sound check the band peformed a shorter 3 song set in front of the quieter, but still appreciative, packed house.

They kicked off with live favourite "Oceanos" followed by another rendition of "The Beat of You", again joined on stage by the superb Duncan Chisholm on fiddle. COAST wrapped up their Danish venture with "Big Blue Sky", somewhat ironically as the storm clouds loomed overhead.

The band, having received a very warm reception from the Sunday lunchtime Tønder faithful, packed their bags and jumped aboard the tour bus again for the 16 hour return trip, reflecting on what had been the pinacle of their perfoming career so far during a whirlwind 4 days.

The Tønder Festival organisers were first class and the audiences warm and appreciative which all adds up to an experience the band will cherish for years to come. Hopefully this will act as a springboard onto bigger and better things as COAST embark on the the next leg of their musical journey, starting with a long slog in the recording studio crafting the next album alongside preparations for further live appearances in 2010 and 2011. Very much a case of "Watch this space"!

31st August 2010

DESTINATION DENMARK

R2 (Rock 'n' Reel) Magazine have reviewed COAST's debut album in their latest issue.

The July/August 2010 edition of the UK's best selling eclectic music magazine features a glowing report by Oz Hardwick.

Oz writes: "It's big, windswept, crackling with barely-contained emotion, rippling with muscular arrangements that lap the shores of melodic prog rock."

In his 4 star review Oz continues: "A little touch of later-Horslips here, perhaps a whiff of Big Country and Runrig there...and more than a smidgeon of Manic Nirvana-era Robert Plant."

And Oz concludes: "...strident acoustic guitar, walloping drums and either swaggering accordian or graunchy rock guitar...songs to bellow along to in a field while you throw your arm around - and your cider over - your new best mate."

To read the full review order a copy of issue 22 of R2 magazine here: http://www.terranovamusic.com

More information on R2 Magazine is available here: http://www.rock-n-reel.co.uk

21st August 2010

4 STAR REVIEW

The Beat of You.mp3

Oceanos.mp3

COAST Rehearsals: Hamish Ferguson, Russ Barnes, Paul Eastham

New COAST line-up (left to right): Chris Barnes, Hamish Ferguson, Mark 'Mongo' Mongan, Paul Eastham, Alec Stone, Russ Barnes

It's only been two weeks since COAST announced that Chris and Adam had decided to leave the band after nearly

three years together, but in that short space of time two new recruits have already been installed into the hot seats.

Taking a break from rehearsals, members of the band appeared on Wave 105.2 radio station earlier this evening where they played a selection of acoustic tracks, including brand new song "The Beat of You" which was co-written by COAST's manager Iain Bayne and Paul Eastham.

The two new band members were officially unveiled on the Andy Jackson show. Step forward and take a bow - Russ Barnes on lead guitar and Hamish Ferguson on bass.

In true 'keeping it in the family' fashion, Russ is the third Barnes/Eastham brother to join the band alongside stalwarts Chris and Paul. However, due to other committments, Russ will only be on board for a few months to tide things over until the long term replacement is able to join the band full time later in the year. More news on this over the coming weeks.

Hamish hails from the band's hometown of Southampton. The band were quick to quash rumours that the band only signed up Hamish because of his Scottish sounding name!

The band now return their attention to their next live appearance at the Tønder Festival on 27th August. A 'COAST News' roving reporter attended last night's rehearsal session and writes: "The band are sounding great with Russ and Hamish gelling really well with the established members. Fans should rest assured that the unique COAST sound and passion remains intact"

Keep eyes peeled here for further COAST news as it happens.

Downloads from tonights show (thanks to Silke):

14th July 2010

NEW FACES

COAST will be appearing on the Andy Jackson Radio Show on Wave 105.2 next Wednesday 14th July.

The band will play an acoustic set live on air as well as being interviewed by Andy on his 8pm to midnight show. The band are due on at 10pm.

You can listen to Wave 105.2 online here: www.wave105.com

Email andy@wave105.com to get a message read out on the show.

8th July 2010

RADIO WAVES

The COAST news desk is happy to report that the band were back in rehearsals yesterday in preparation for their appearance at the Tønder Festival next month.

COAST are scheduled to appear on Friday 27th August, sharing the same bill as Scottish celtic rockers Wolfstone and Orkney band The Chair, kicking off at 8pm in Tent 1.

In order to bed in the new band members, COAST have cleared the decks between now and Tønder and as such there are currently no gigs planned before then, however watch this space for the possibility of one or two warm up gigs that may be arranged at short notice.

COAST HQ would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has signed up to the COAST email list via the website over the last few months. Regular news updates and exclusive announcements will start to be released via this channel in the not too distant future. Stay tuned!

7th July 2010

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

We regret to announce the recent departure from COAST of Chris Lappage and Adam Bowden.

The band would like to thank them for their valuable contribution to the sound of COAST, and all remaining members wish them all the very best in the future.

The band will continue to thrive, and with replacements already in place, COAST is looking forward to fulfilling it`s commitments this year and building towards an exciting future.

Work has begun on the next CD, and it`s shaping up to be a great album.

COAST embark on their first foray into Denmark this summer, and already there are dates confirmed for Germany next year.

The band is excited about seeing all the fans again, making new friends on the way, and playing with renewed vigour.

Onwards and upwards. Watch this space for more news coming soon.

1st July 2010

COAST ANNOUNCEMENT

will be now be playing at the renound Tønder Music Festival this year.

The event runs from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th August 2010 and COAST will be sharing the stage with artists such as The Chieftans, Runrig, Eddi Reader, Wolfstone and Luka Bloom to name but a few.

It is yet to be confirmed which day of the festival COAST will be appearing so be sure to check back here for an update soon.

More festival information is available on the Tønder website: www.tf.dk

It has been confirmed that COAST

9th April 2010

COAST TO PLAY AT DANISH

TØNDER MUSIC FESTIVAL