Country Blues
primitive one man experiment

Hailing from Rome (Italy), The Blues Against Youth is a one-man band project led by Gianni TBAY who performs vocals, guitar, bass drum, hi-hat and whistle simultaneously.

TBAY’s sound, although being deeply rooted in the Outlaw Country and the Delta Blues, has developed over a ten years career, in different directions. All those trails have been hit, throughout countless tours that brought Gianni TBAY to play over 1,000 shows in the whole of Europe and part of the USA. This relentless live activity allowed him to build a solid fan base, gaining a name in the scene and a reputation as a rambling man, constantly travelling as a modern troubador driven by some kind of spiritual vocation and a daemonic possession.

“The Blues Against Youth’s raison d’être is to distil the essence of the past into something once more pure and while the sound might well be dirty, the concept is as pure as the driven snow all the way through these twelve bars.”

Bluesbunny.com‍

An accurate (backwards) music research is also a distinct feature in TBAY’s music, as he’s constantly pulling into his sound patterns and styles from a forgotten past, paying tribute to his heroes as well as complementing his original compositions. The discovery of John Fahey,American Primitive Guitar and Doc Watson was the definitive point of no return for Gianni TBAY, who has developed a severe addiction to finger-picking style (“I can’t stop doing it” he would state) and the mindfulness that the call of the road is just too loud to not be heard.

TBAY is a prolific artist. Since 2009 his discography includes five full length LPs and five 7”, out on several independent labels, praised by the international press and extensively promoted on the road through non-stop tours that have seen Gianni TBAY take part in prestigious festivals like Binic Folk Blues and Bielersee, sharing the stage with the likes of Water Melon Slim, Bob Log III, Reverend Beatman, CW Stoneking among others. TBAY is a prolific artist. Since 2009 his discography includes five full length LPs and five 7”, out on several independent labels, praised by the international press and extensively promoted on the road through non-stop tours that have seen Gianni TBAY take part in prestigious festivals like Binic Folk Blues, Relache in Bordeaux and Norderzoon in Groningen, sharing the stage with the likes of Water Melon Slim, Bob Log III, Reverend Beatman, CW Stoneking among others.
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In 2014 Gianni moves up north to the city of Turin, and although he spends the best part of the year on the road, this home base change will be crucial for his next compositions. The winds from the Alps blow cold, the sun seems trapped in a grey curtain and the hard rain feeds the city river as it runs straight-face scanning days, months and quarters. The third album “Apprentice” (Beast Records, 2016) shows up more inner-looking lyrics and arrangements that toy with the traditional elements, giving shape to “the rarest of the beasts: a blues album that appeals to purists and neophiles alike” (Harmonic Distortion UK).

The one man band formula has been long-explored so that, with his fourth recording effort “Good Morning, Bad Feeling” (Best Records,2017), TBAY pulls more human elements into the equation and together with Guglielmo Nodari (lapsteel /guitar) and Andrea Cruciani (harmonica, washboard) gives birth to the infamous Restless Livers Collective.

“…all the right ingredients are there for you to say that, yes, this is cool, but why should I be interested? Because the well-known components are there to be toyed with, and the end result is a catchy, dirty and sweaty beast of a record.”

Allaboutjazz.com‍

The intense touring keeps the “country blues primitive one man experiment” quite busy on the road for the whole of 2018, bringing around his main project as well as Lost Heydays, an extemporary duo collaboration with guitar /banjo player Joost Dijkema. In the summer of 2018 Gianni performs at Wild Dogs Festival in Hannover, got an opening slot for Bob Wayne at Academy Islington in London and embarks on a little US incursion playing Chicago, Nashville, Austin and a few bluesmen graveyards while travelling through Mississippi all the way to New Orleans.

Being exposed to so many different and new musical influences pushes TBAY to write “Evil Flatmates”, his 5th full-length album . This time round Gianni TBAY teams up with Stefano Isaia (Movie Star Junkies, Lame) who sits behind the drums, and together they arrange ten new songs, enter Rubedo Recording Studio in Torino and nail them tracks down on tape with the guidance of Manuel Volpe (Rabdomantic Orchestra) at the mixing board. Other friend musicians are involved in the recording session: Manuel Volpe (bass), Maria Malloy Mayo (backin vocals) and Max Scocca (guitar noise) from Lame, Victor Sbrovazzo (harmonica) from Dirty Deep and Craig Bjerring (backin’ vocals) aka Oldseed.

Evil Flatmates marks yet another trail in TBAY’s production and leads to new territories, musically and lyrically. Gianni TBAY still holds tight the country/blues and occasionally takes some steps out of his comfort zone with unpredictable and engaging results. The sound is fat and obscure and the atmosphere in constant change. The past and the future are melt down into one another as they’re both unknown to most and the whole compound conjures up ghosts and memories from highways, gas stations and railroad tracks.

Salmon Roastbeef Jr. Greenwich, 1971