The Band

Despite forming in Brighton the band is comprised of a handful of nationalities: Latvian singer Liva Steinberga,

Scottish Bassist Gordon Duncan,

English (with a touch of Deutch) guitarist Olie Trethewey.

Ginger Drummer Harry Bland,

And Swedish Guitarist Yonnis Crampton. Yonnis was the final member to join the group. In desperation, with a gig booked and no second guitarist Olie passed Jon in a corridor noticing he had a guitar on his back, long hair and a leather jacket Olie stopped him in the corridor and the next day Jon joined the band for rehearsals, brandishing his cream Strat in preparation for their debut gig at the Komedia in Brighton, where it became apparent that by a touch of good fortune they had the right man for the job. The group continued to glue together with stints of shows around London’s rock circuit including the 100 Club, The 02 Acadamy Islington, The Big Red and The Intrepid Fox where Black State Highway continue to be a crowd pleasing regular and pick up handfuls of parking tickets in Olie’s less than inconspicuous multicoloured Citroen Picasso. For the band however none of these shows compare to belting out Highway To Hell in a church in Southampton in front of a handful of wailing children, angry dads and women with their hands securely fastened over their ears.



Amongst a wide and varied repertoire of influences, Black State Highway are heavily influenced by the old school 70s rock bands whom need not be named, but despite following this pedigree they stamp authority by stepping outside the boundaries of classic rock traditions with their own original brand of heavy riff based rock. The rhythm section promises sizable power and aggression that will shake the ground beneath the crowd. Coupled with the crunching riffs, relentlessly skilled solos, and not to mention the raw, melodic hooks of Steinberga's power-vocals, they create a ‘one off’ sound that has never been heard before.