BRIAN CAIN BLUES HARP RHYTHM GUITAR AND VOCALS

Brian, Singer, songwriter blues harp player, self taught vocalist developed as part of the Adelaide pub rock scene and was assisted in early stages by Opera teachers from Uni, attending opera classes for 3 months in 1981 but opting out when asked to take up an opera singing scholarship. The Italian Opera teacher whom spent time with Brian passed away in 2005 she was 98. When Brian left her classes she asked he keep singing whatever he loved so his voice did not go to waste, Brian held this in his heart and regrets the day he had to walk away from her, a person Brian describes as one of the biggest influences in his life. Brians favorite instruments are 10 hole diatonic blues harmonica and his voice. He cannot remember how long he has played blues harp, his first recollection being at the age of 11 swapping a giant ball bearing his father had given him for a hohner blues harp in the playground at school, a bold move when you are 11 as a giant ball bearing is a status symbol at the age of 11 when playing marbles. Brian found he could play a single note and bend the notes immediately. One can often find their destiny on the road they took to avoid it.

Brian spent his life developing a unique style and sound applying the instrument to initially loud heavy southern rock, boogie blues, later acoustic traditional and contemporary styles with the assistance of players Australian and overseas artists. Brian went to school in south east England and experienced the influence directly of Dr Feelgood, the first live band Brian ever saw at the Kursal Southend-on-sea,Essex, UK at the age of 13 after climbing through the toilet window of the Kursal Ballroom and avoiding the doorman. Fr Feelgooda powerfullEnglish rythum and blues band.

Brian listened to a new radio station called radio Caroline in the 60s, blues, rock and roll, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Muddy Waters were just some of the bands played non stop by the station that he could hear on his tiny transistor radio. He would walk to the end of Southend-on-sea pier where he lived and could see the ship it was broadcast from out in the Thames River estuary between Essex and Kent. For some time the ship was anchored there and serviced from the many piers and jetties dotting the Essex coastline, as it would move around by being towed to avoid the authorities, they were great DJs and lousy sailors. The big Jolly Roger flag was clearly visible from the top of the ships mast. Brian had no idea of the significance of this ship in bringing rock and roll to the masses of London. The Jolly Roger flag took on a new significance for Brian as time went on as the plain black flag was traditionally used by the sailing ships of the British fleet from as far back as the 14^th century to warn the enemy they were to be engaged but quarter would be shown if the ship surrendered, if a plain red flag was shown no mercy would be given. There is no evidence that a black flag with the skull and crossbones was ever flown by pirates of the early years but the black flag was commonly used as most pirates were x captains of the British realm ousted by the government, but still used and employed when it suited them. The skull and crossbones on the Jolly Roger is believed to have been an identification mark given to pirates in the film making process of Hollywood.

Picking up on those influences forged a musical direction that continued when he moved to Australia. Brian bought his first drum kit from Steve Hopgood, ex Masters Apprentices in Adelaide about 1976 whilst Steve was a member of Marshall Mainline. He then became influenced by harp player Uncle John Ayers of Mickey Finn and Dave Blight x Cold Chisel, they set a local standard as good as anywhere and gave Brian goals. Brian now tutors harp players all over the world and has become the most subscribed to Australian musician of all time on you tube. Brian fosters new project boogie band Indiana Phoenix from his studio in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. Brian is a member of the Australian Performing Rights Association APRA/AMCOS. Brian performs withlive bands all over Austrlaia, with his ownband INDIANA PHOENIX, does solo acoustic shows and conducts blues harp workshops.

Over the past 20 years Brian Cain discovered things that would make his path a lot clearer and answer some questions that puzzled him. In the 80s whilst with Terra Firma in Adelaide Brian would often notice blood on the microphone from his throat whislt performing. When he had his throat checked by a specialist they found he had unique vocal chords as in he only has one large set of vocal chords where the norm is upper and lower chords, this is where the deep tone comes from. They could not answer the question about why his throat would bleed other that over work. His opera teacher form the early 80s was so impressed with his voice that she attemped to have Brian take a uni scholarship, whilst singing opera he did not have to attempt to sing over a loud band and found it somewhat easier to hear himself with the limited hearing ability he had at the time. It was not until the 90s that the cause was revealed. Whilst watching TV one evening in the mid 90s his wife at the time told him she could not stand the volume of the TV that loud anymore and arranged for him to have a hearing test. The test revealed he was profoundly deaf but only in the outer ear. A specilist diagnosed bone fusion of the styrup and anvil bones connecting the eardrum of the outer ear to the inner ear. This was corrected by surgery that confirmed the diagnosis and also found Brian had been deaf in the left ear since birth. After the surgery his hearing was restored in the left ear and it took 3 years to get used to. At first Brian could not even walk along the street without hearing protection and sufferd disorientation until he got accustomed to the new hearing level 95% more than he had ever experienced. The right ear was then fixed finding the same problem only not so accute. When Brian returned to singing in the early 90s he could hear so much more of what he was doing and no longer pushed his voice that hard that in an effort to hear himself. The large single vocal chords give Brian a unique tone and rasp with no effort on his behalf to achive it. Other singers often comment he is straining his voice to achive this but this is not the case. His vocal ability is rare and he understands why singers such as George Thorogood, Dutch Tilders and Jim Barnes sing like they do, because they can. It is this rare and difficult path that has given him what some have commented on as the voice of a V8 chain saw. Why does Brian sing like he does, because he can.

This hearing problem also pushed his harp playing towards methods outside of traditional roots of the blues based instrument to direclty challenge the role of lead guitar in heavy rock and boogie bands. Why does he play so many wild licks in succesion with super modern digital equipment that takes the traditional tone of the blues harp into the volume and punch of lead guitar. Simple, Brian Cain found equipment that he could hear above the band while he was profoundly deaf, this took his open minded use of amplification in a diffrent direction on the basis of need. His knowledge and use of this equipment over many years brought him to the unique sound and playing teqniques he now uses. Why does he play and sound like he does, because he can. His location, direction, early disabilities and dedication has forged a totaly unique product that is Indiana Phoenix. A player that can tell the story of blues from the very early acousticdays of its dark roots, to modern day in Australia where he has forged his own directon.

THE BAND NAME INDIANA PHOENIX

During the 70s and 80s Brian Cain had the nickname Cowboy, this was actually given to him by members of the motor cycle club he was a member of in the early 70s and carried across to a band stage name with Adelaide bands The Others and Terra Firma. Brian was never fond of the name as a stage name as it sounded a bit country and Brians bands could hardly be considered country. When he first posted film clips on the internet the same thing happend as Europeans and Americans thought he was a country artist due to the name Cowboy. Brian withdrew the film clips and thought about renaming himself under the new circumstances of the world wide web. In his novel Circles Of Fear available for free download from the author page of this site the harp player in the book is called Indiana. Brian liked the idea as he likened the fight of the American Indians to that of battling to learn to play harp, considered a bum with nowhere to live. At least the state of Indiana in the USA bears the name of the indigenous people who looked after it so well for so long. The name immediately came to mind when he considered changing his stage name. Over the course of a few days Brian pondered the thought of a second part of the title. On the wall to the entry hall in his home hangs his family coat of arms traced back to the 11th century when his ancestors were fighting the holy wars in the middle east, it just happens to be the phoenix rising. Indiana Phoenix now meant something to him and the band name Indiana Phoenix was born. Americans appear to think the name is taken from the names of the American states (as lot of people do not only Americans) but the holy wars were fought in the 11th to the 13th century long before Christopher Columbus made his voyage in 1492 to what is now the USA. The native indians were also there a long time before Christopher Columbus sailed into view. Graphic designer Andrew Carrarofrom Australia came up with the band logo of the blue and white Phoenix with the words separated underneathand the i letters of the name turned upside down to represent the land down under in what is considered to be names iconic of the American states but with such different meaning in this case. Brian Cain wore the colours of the Australian aboriginal flag on his arm aspart of his band uniform long before the Australian government made a public apology to part of the worlds indigenous people who have suffered under the modern industrial revolution. Indiana Phoenix music for the working class supporting the efforts of those who died at the Eureka Stokade, Bakers Hill in Ballarat Victoria, 1854 to establish democracy in Australia.