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Plains drifter turned blues Priest, the Reverend Tony Baudelaire truly preaches the Blues. No-one knows when he became formally ordained in the Church of the Crossroads, and it has to be said that he still carries much of the aura of the dark mysterious stranger come to town to 'even some scores from a long time ago'. And maybe this is one and the same mission, realised through sermonising, singing and bottle-necking.
Tony's searing slide guitar playing is the Baudelaires' soul signature: as
Blake would have said, he marries Heaven and Hell. At once sublime and dirty,
it epitomises the band and their ethos: Hellhounds on the trail of Angels.
His songwriting is replete with biblical imagery and driving political polemic:
Testify my Rage is the blues equivalent of Christ turning the moneylenders
out of the temple. If the Birkenhead Blues is a new genre, then Tony's angry
stomp extends its boundaries: the vocal is burning and fierce. But bear witness
also to the elegantly stated A from M , the band's only recorded instrumental,
which shows that the Reverend has quieter moments too.
Tony's influences include Steve Marriott, Catfish Keith, Bukka White, Kelly
Jo Phelps, AC/DC and the Book of Revelations.
Tony is also a talented painter, and his murals are famous for their beatific
manifestations. The painting in the Iron Door, Birkenhead has begun to attract
pilgrims and those in need of Blues Healing.
Enigmatically, Tony has no interest in football.
Tony's favourite breakfast: milk and honey, manna.
~ Baudelaire Bo Diddley Beau Brummel ~