8 Ball Aitken
8 Ball Aitken (born 8 June 1981) is an Australian singer, songwriter and slide guitarist. 8 Ball plays country, blues, swamp & Americana music and he is notable for his fusion of country music with the genres of Australian blues and roots music.[1]
8 Ball Aitken has released eight albums: Behind The 8 Ball (2004), Odd Ball In (2006), Rebel With A Cause (2008), The Tamworth Tapes (2011), Alive In Tamworth (2012), A Bluer Shade Of Blue (2013), Southern Hemisphere (2013) and The New Normal (2015).[2]
8 Ball Aitken's 2013 album release titled Southern Hemisphere produced a number one hit song in the Australian Country Music Radio Charts with song 'I'm Going To Jail'.[3]
8 Ball Aitken's third album 'Rebel With A Cause' was produced by Garth Porter. 'Rebel With A Cause' was released in Australia by Phoenix Movement Records and MGM Distribution (Australia).[4]
The album Rebel With A Cause has produced two top 10 hits, 'Cyclone Country' & 'Hands On Top Of The Wheel' in the Australian Country Tracks Top 30.[5]
8 Ball Aitken has won several awards for songs from his album 'Rebel With A Cause'. His song 'Cowboy Movie' was nominated for the Australian Blues & Roots Song of the Year at the 2009 APRA Awards [6]
8 Ball Aitken has won two Q Song Awards. His song 'Yellow Moon', from album 'Rebel With A Cause' won the 2008 EMI Q Song Blues & Roots Award.[7] Another song, 'Outback Booty Call' also from album 'Rebel With A Cause', won the 2009 Q Song Country Award.
8 Ball Aitken was also nominated twice at the Golden Guitar Award in the New Talent category at the 2009 Tamworth Country Music Festival and in the instrumental categorie for a collaboration with Troy Cassar Daley[8][9]
8 Ball Aitken achieved Grand Finalist status in Toyota Star Maker at the 2008, 2009, & 2011 Tamworth Country Music Festival.[10]
8 Ball Aitken won the 'Rising Star Male Award' at the 2008 Southern Star Awards which are held in Mildura each year (also called the Australian Independent Country Music Awards).[11]
Aitken is also the founder of the Grass Roots Music Festival, funded as a special project by Brisbane's Lord Mayor Campbell Newman. The Grass Roots Music Festival has run for ten years 2005 to 2014 in the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens, Mount Coot-tha.[12]
8 Ball Aitken has toured and performed at festivals and gigs across Australia, Canada, Japan and throughout Europe.[13]
Discography
Album | Release | Notes |
---|---|---|
Behind The 8 Ball | 2004 | Produced by 8 Ball Aitken |
Odd Ball In | 2006 | Produced by 8 Ball Aitken, Bird Jensen & Marly Luske |
Rebel With A Cause | 2009 | Produced by Garth Porter. Musicians include 8 Ball Aitken - electric & acoustic guitars, vocals, harmonica, mandolin, banjo; Tony Mitchell - bass; John Watson; drums, Garth Porter - organ, backing vocals, James Gillard - backing vocals; Michel Rose; pedal steel. |
The Tamworth Tapes | 2011 | 8 Ball Aitken - vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, banjo, bass, drums, percussion and harmonica. Produced by 8 Ball Aitken, engineered by Steve Newton. |
Alive In Tamworth | 2012 | 8 Ball Aitken - vocals, electric & resonator guitars, stomp and foot percussion, and harmonica |
A Bluer Shade of Blue | 2013 | 8 Ball Aitken - (Best of blues tracks from all albums) |
Southern Hemisphere | 2013 | 8 Ball Aitken - vocals, Guitars (electric, slide and resonator), harmonica; Micheal Flanders - pedal stell, mandolin; Micheal Flanders - bass & acoustic guitar; Andy Hubbard - drums and percussion; Peter Keys - keys, hammond B3, wurlitzer; Chris Tuttle - hammond B3, piano, accordion; Tammy Rogers King: fiddle; George Jackson - banjo. Recorded in Nashville, TN, USA |
The New Normal | 2015 | 8 Ball Aitken - Recorded in Nashville, TN, USA |
References
- ↑ "8 Ball Music". 8 Ball Aitken. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "8 Ball Aitken". Waterfront Records. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "8 Ball Aitken: Bio". 8 Ball Aitken Homepage. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ↑ "8 Ball Music: Rebel With A Cause".
- ↑ "Archive". Country Music Radio. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "2009 APRA Music Awards: Nominees Announced". 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "Q Song 2008 award winners announced on". Fasterlouder.com.au. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ Moulder, Anna (2008-12-12). "Golden Guitar Nominations for 2009". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ Country Music Association of Australia, Country Music Association of Australia (2008-12-12). "Golden Guitar Nominations for 2009". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "Country Music Association of Australia". Country.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "Australian Independent Country Music Awards: Previous Winners".
- ↑ "Grass Roots: Welcome". Grassrootsmusicfestival.com.au. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ↑ "8 Ball Aitken op MySpace Music". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
External links
- 8 Ball Aitken's Official Website
- 8 Ball Aitken on Facebook
- 8 Ball Aitken's Youtube Page
- 8 Ball Aitken interview (Southern Hemisphere) on Ben Sorensen's REAL Country