Touchstone (band) - Biography

Biography

Touchstone's first studio recording was an EP called Mad Hatters, in 2006. Its four songs included 'Misguided Fool' and 'The Mad Hatters' Song'. The EP was well-received, and spurred Rob and Adam to continue writing more material for the band. It is the only release to feature vocalist Liz Claydon and drummer Simon Cook.

Their first full-length album was Discordant Dreams and was the first to feature Kim Seviour and Alasdair Melville (later went on to become drummer for London band 'The Knights Of The Realm' from late 2011 to late 2012) on vocals and drums respectively. The album was praised as an improvement from Mad Hatters, and with tracks such as 'Blacktide', 'Shadow' and 'The Beggar's Song', it showcases the 'Touchstone sound'. The album was recorded by Ben Humphreys and mixed by John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Kino) at his studios in Reading, Berkshire, and performs a guitar solo on the song "Dignity".

Discordant Dreams was toured in September 2008 around the UK with It Bites on The Tall Ships Tour, with Touchstone featuring as support. The tour consisted of 12 UK dates and was a major success for both bands, the final night taking place in Brighton.

The album led the band to win the Classic Rock Society Best New Band 2007 award, presented by John Wetton of Asia.

Touchstone's next studio work was Wintercoast. Released in June 2009, it features an opening narrative from the Oscar winning actor Jeremy Irons, describing someone's life in a city and his desire to leave for a place "seen reflected in a dream", called 'Wintercoast'. The album was also considered 'a step up from their previous album'. In particular, it has more emphasis on keyboard melodies, giving a more Marillion-style feel (as can be heard at the opening of the track, 'Line in the Sand'). There is also greater emphasis on drums and guitars, which results in passages which would fit well into the Heavy Metal genre.

The band performed at the 2009 United States Rites of Spring festival (ROSfest) which takes place annually in Glenside near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first time they had played outside of the United Kingdom, and their performance was well-received, resulting in many positive reviews, including one by the website, USA Progressive Music.

Other recent performances of note were at Cambridge Rock Festival in 2009 alongside Asia, Uriah Heep, Focus, Mostly Autumn, Breathing Space and many others in support of Wintercoast - as well as a performance at 'CalProg' in Los Angeles alongside It Bites, Karmakanic and Agents Of Mercy.

In April 2010, Alasdair Melville decided to leave the band to pursue other musical endeavors - after an 18 month break from music, he joined forces with an old college friend to become drummer for London based band The Knights Of The Realm who in July 2012 headlined at the legendary 100 Club in Oxford Street, London. He has now moved on to solo work, and was replaced in Touchstone by Henry Rogers (DeeExpus) on a temporary basis. However, on 24 July it was announced that Henry would become a permanent member of Touchstone.

In July 2010, Touchstone released their first live album called Live in the USA which features songs from two festivals played in America; namely ROSfest 2009 and Calprog 2009. They played at the prestigious High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park, London and opened the Prog stage on Saturday 24 July, playing the first songs at the festival.

Throughout the remainder of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, the band took some time out to write material for their upcoming third studio album. A short tour called 'The Progressive Nation Tour' happened in March 2011. On 1 August 2011, Touchstone announced that they had signed to SPV GmbH's Steamhammer label. Their album The City Sleeps was released in October 2011 on this label, and entered the UK rock album charts at No. 36.

In March 2012, Touchstone did a mini-UK tour. In July 2012, the band announced a two-week European tour commencing in late September 2012, co-headlining with The Reasoning.

Founding member, Rob Cottingham, announced his second solo album project called "Captain Blue" on 13 July 2012, and announced drummer, Gary O'Toole (Steve Hackett Band) and bassist, Dr Goat Foot, on 20 July 2012. He also announced Adam Hodgson (Touchstone) on guitars, and Heather Findlay (ex-Mostly Autumn) on female vocals. Plus, as special guests, Steve Hackett (guitar solo on last track) and Shane Rimmer (voice over on first track).

The album is due out in January 2013 on the Heavy Right Foot Records label.