Wood Wire and Words is a family band which grew out of regular, after dinner picking sessions.
The band’s first gig was in 2004 and signalled the start of a journey through the whole breadth of the acoustic music scene in this country and mainland Europe.
The material has bluegrass at its heart, but draws on styles and genres from all
corners of acoustic music; from traditional to self-
David started his musical journey at an early age, singing along to the radio & recordings
of artists such as The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Ralph McTell, Don McLean, Gilbert O'Sullivan,
The King Singers & Elvis Presley. At the age of about 9 he saved up and bought his
first acoustic guitar, the cheapest one he could get from the Argos catalogue, at
a cost of about £20. From that moment on he was hooked, and spent every spare moment
singing along with his guitar & writing songs, much to the annoyance of his 2 older
brothers. Some time later at school he & some friends decided to start a band, the
one thing they lacked was a bass player, so in a fit of madness he sold his guitar
to one of his brothers and bought a second-
Clare was introduced to the world of bluegrass music at a very tender age by her
mum and dad, who dragged her from one muddy field to another, along with her sister,
to watch her father, renowned dobro Player Pat Francis (Fingers & Co.-
This annual round of endurance tests, cunningly disguised as ‘camping weekends’ gave Clare a taste for the music, although she did not immediately pick up on playing the music. Instead, at school she started out by playing the Piano; working through the grades as far as grade 5 and playing at various concerts throughout her time at school. Clare’s acoustic upright piano was replaced eventually with an electric piano, which she still has and enjoys playing today. There was also an electric guitar for jamming along with various rock artists; her main love being Bon Jovi.
After years of going to the Bluegrass festivals and soaking up the many sounds and
styles of acoustic picking, she decided to try her hand at the Banjo, inspired by
the likes of Earl Scruggs and Bela Fleck. Listening for hours to countless bluegrass
albums and watching bands like the Johnson Mountain Boys and Hot Rize at the festivals,
she fell in love with the driving sound and at the 1994 Didmarton Bluegrass Festival
splashed-
Pat loves bluegrass, Americana and folk music because of what it represents as much
as what it sounds like. He loves the simple, plaintive, 'plum pitiful' music WWW
play because it confronts life’s realities and attests to the qualities he would
love to see still ‘alive and kicking’ in the world today.
Pat’s love for the music,
(which he sees as the essence of the ‘old times’, when people recognised the need
for looking out for each other), has been with him most of his life. For Pat, the
music reflects the good times, the bad times, the hopes and fears of ordinary folk
and he likes it best in a form that makes his fibres jump up and down. That's where
rhythm and melody come in. They are the prime movers for Pat. They salve his soul,
fire up his blood and make all sorts of things 'get better'.
Pat first dipped a toe
in the waters of country music in the early fifties, -
David Rozzell
Clare Rozzell (David’s wife)
Pat Francis (Clare’s dad)
Wood Wire and Words performing ‘Riding The Rails’
