OUR groundbreaking new feature - The Base Sessions - is live and online to showcase the best from the region's music scene.

The Stourbridge News and its sister papers are teaming up with a leading studio complex in the town for best live shows from new and established performers.

Live footage from gigs at The Base Studios, Rufford Road, Stourbridge, plus features and interviews will appear here in a section dedicated to live music.

The pioneering collaboration, called The Base Sessions, is designed to make the most of the power of the internet to show off talent from the region recorded using the latest state-of-the-art video technology.

Warren Evans, from Base Studios, said: “The Base has got everything to offer, we are hoping to develop a complete media room for live gigs which will allow new bands a platform to raise their profile.

“The Base Sessions is a new idea which, like our live webcasts, makes the most of internet video.

“Noone else is doing this sort of thing at the moment and that is what makes it something we are all very excited about.”

As well as unsigned bands, live gigs at the Base are also attracting established musicians like guitarist Gwyn Ashton who has toured the globe with legends including BB King, Buddy Guy, Peter Green, Canned Heat and Johnny Winter.

The Stourbridge News is launching The Base Sessions with a gig by from Gwyn Ashton’s Two-Man Blues Army, a duo featuring the award winning Ashton and drummer ‘Killer’ Kev Hickman, who hit the stage at the Base on Saturday August 8.

The Blues Army is a music adventure designed to fuse traditional blues with modern indie rock.

Gwyn said: “We wanted to do something a little bit different with the blues and bring it up to date.

“It’s accessible for young people, not just old blokes with their hair falling out.

“This is alternative blues shaped by the raw passion and commitment of the late Hound Dog Taylor and infused by the adventurous spirit of The White Stripes.”

Gwyn has also been taking a high tech approach to recording his latest album ‘Two-Man Blues Army’ by using a laptop computer to mix the sound his way, rather than relying on a large recording studio and engineer.

The Aussie guitar hero says new technology means artists can create their own sounds without being influenced by record companies.

Gwyn said: “We have deliberately mastered this album with less level, nobody made it sound like I wanted it to sound.”

Gwyn’s use of technology to create his own album seems to have struck a chord with the critics.

Guitar Buyer magazine said: “Two-Man Blues Army is a masterclass in rocking garage blues, a feast of big riffs, killer guitar tones and searing vocals.

“More importantly, the record crackles with the raw, spontaneous energy of a live show, something often absent from many modern blues albums.”

New Base Sessions features and video will be appearing here regularly so check back soon.