Liverpool based Xander and the Peace Pirates are a testament to great musical integrity and personal strength. Combining soul, blues and rock, their pervasive blend of inspired song writing and stunning performances has already seen them enrapture audiences from around the world.
After sharing the stage with legends such as Bon Jovi, Buddy Guy, Van Morrison, Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy) and Joe Satriani they are back with their new single Fire taken from their album 11:11 released on November 20th, coinciding with a launch party at the infamous Cavern Club.
Brothers Keith and Stu Xander were discovered on YouTube by Gibson Brands CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, and during their subsequent performances for the company at numerous international events, the band caught the attention of not just an ever-growing collective of fans but also industry legends.
Front-man Keith Xander is a virtuoso musician in his own right and his playing rivals the best in the industry. The fact that he was born without a lower right arm hasn’t hindered his playing whatsoever, his unique picking via a plectrum attached to a hook on his prostatic arm, pays testament to his stunning playing abilities. This band certainly kickass live, and continue to share their musical passion to standing ovations! You can check out Fire below!
We managed to catch up with the band about their upcoming release, tour, fans and more!
HOW PROUD ARE YOU OF THE UPCOMING RELEASE OF 11:11?
KEITH – Very proud and grateful to all those involved in the making of it.
JOEL – I’m dead proud
STU – Yes, immensely proud as we feel it sounds so great and real and that it’s been a challenging 2 years of hard intense work – first securing the right deal and then actually physically recording it. We did it in two 11 day sessions in 2015 and 2016 and during this period so much has happened in our personal lives – 2 births, sadly some deaths and what’s most insane is how the spiritual and political changes globally are right in line with the lyrical and symbolic subject matter – watching the madness with Brexit, Syria and the Trump/Clinton insanity makes us see this album was meant to come out now.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM THE ALBUM?
KEITH – Rain. It’s my favourite because of the truthful lyrics, it is an account of waking up from our personal story that many of us have presumed is our life, the realisation that we are being dreamed, that we are not really our story at all, we don’t have a life that we can lose, we are life, we are a silent unknowable presence. The song captured the magic of this revolutionary recognition, and I just like the sound of it too.
JOEL – Dancing in the light
STU – Dance with The Devil. We are currently shooting a video for it directed and filmed by some of the guys who have worked on Peaky Blinders.
WILL THERE BE A TOUR WITH THE ALBUM?
KEITH – Yes we start off by supporting our friends and legends Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in Germany this year and then next year off we go.
JOEL -Yeah, first in Germany and then the rest of the world but the Germans get us first for some reason
STU – We have the album launch showcases in November at The Cavern Club Liverpool (20th Nov), Zoom in Frankfurt (13th Nov) and The Melkweg in Amsterdam (14th Nov) and then in December, as Keith said, we support Manfred Mann Earth Band on their German dates before Christmas, which is gonna be awesome! By spring of 2017 there will be UK and European tour dates announced so keep an eye out.
HOW MUCH DO YOUR FANS MEAN TO YOU GUYS?
KEITH – The fans are as important as the music, the music unites us.
JOEL -A band hasn’t got anything without their fans. Just loneliness and longing…
STU – Over the years of playing every single little venue and bar we have made many friends and recruited many more Peace Pirates. Without them we are just five blokes in an empty room playing guitars to a wall.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A BAND?
KEITH –Actually making the album 11:11 and having the opportunity to record with the Metropol orchestra.
JOEL – When we missed the ferry coming back from Holland and spent the day in the Hook of Holland sampling the local produce, which ended up making my brother and our drummer Adam quite scared!
STU – That’s tough, so many amazing things have happened – from playing at the Peace one day event in Dubai to being the only artists handpicked by Gibson CEO Henry to represent them for 2 years running in LA and Frankfurt.
My personal one is being approached for a photo by Robbie Krieger for a photo at a Gibson event in California. Of course the release of our album 11:11 eclipses everything else though!
WHAT’S IT LIKE PERFORMING ALONGSIDE THE LIKES OF BON JOVI AND VAN MORRISON?
KEITH – it was wonderful, 50k people singing along when we supported Bon Jovi will always stick with us.
JOEL – We have supported so many legendary people it’s hard to believe really.
STU – Yes it’s crazy! Playing alongside the likes of Whitesnake’s Bernie Marsden, The Hooters, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani, Alice Cooper, Marillion, the list goes on and just sounds bizarre, we have been very fortunate.