Angus Grant and Luke Plumb (Shooglenifty) and Australia's Peter Daffy have been joined by keyboardist extraordinaire Jamie Jauncey from Birnam for their new album "And You May Find Yourself…" They are launching the album with a Scottish tour which kicks off at Glen Urquhart Public Hall, in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness on Friday November 2nd. "Luke's been planning this since the Funky String Band were here a year ago,when they were about to record the album," says Hall promoter Jennie Macfie, "and it's been worth the wait. When I heard the final track on the CD, I was rolling around on the floor laughing", but she refuses to say why. "You'll just have to come along and find out".

The album reflects their combined eclectic tastes skipping between Celtic, American and European traditions, as the band roam around the songbook, finding old favourites to spruce up and new songs to attack from a totally unexpected direction. Laidback, funky, fun and superb musicality combine with beautiful melodies and songs old and new.

The band will be touring Scotland playing in Drumnadrochit, Achmore, Skye, Stobo, Edinburgh and Birnam, where they will, very fittingly, hold the official CD launch, as Birnam is where it was recorded last year. There are also plans for an Australian tour in 2008.

LUKE PLUMB emerged into the Australian music scene in 1998, winning the Declan Affley Award and becoming a regular of the festival and session circuit. With a wide range of musical influences he developed a very recognisable and inventive style. Equally at home playing melody on the banjo and mandolin or accompaniment on the bouzouki and guitar. He collaborated with long time friend and singer Peter Daffy to create the Funky String Band, a collection of original and old-time tunes. It was this album that came to the attention of Shooglenifty, who recruited Luke for a gig in his local state of Tasmania. This chance meeting led to a full tour of Australia and an invitation back the UK to join the band full time. Since then Luke has toured the world, playing and teaching with Shooglenifty.A keen composer, his tunes are featured on the latest Shooglenifty album, "Troots".

ANGUS R. GRANT began his musical career playing traditional ceilidhs alongside his father, the internationally renowned left handed fiddler Angus Grant Snr. With a firm grounding in the West Coast tradition Angus left the highlands for the hotpot of music to be found in Edinburgh's sessions. In the early nineties he joined the infamous psychobilly band Swamptrash. Out of sessions that followed the untimely demise of this band Shooglenifty was born. Recordings such as 'Venus in Tweeds' and 'A Whisky Kiss' have established Angus as a leading exponent of Scottish fiddle playing. Outside of Shooglenifty Angus is a keen composer with his tunes played and recorded by bands from around the world including Lunasa from Ireland and Jackie Tar from New Zealand.

PETER DAFFY served a musical apprenticeship with the hardworking bands in Melbourne during the Irish music revival when he took up bluegrass music. Singing bluegrass around Australia and America, Peter has established himself as one of the leading exponents in the field, recording with members of the Del McCoury band in Nashville and with the award winning band the 'Forward Backsteppers'. He is equally at home singing old rock 'n' roll, traditional celtic ballads, bluegrass yodels and country music and when Peter met Luke at the Cygnet Folk Festival they decided to form the Funky String Band - a band in which they could compose and play music with no pigeonhole restrictions.

JAMIE JAUNCEY who plays piano for the band, first played drums in a Scottish dance band when he was 13. He soon moved on to piano and guitar and released singles as a singer/ songwriter. He also did regular sessions with the group Softrock, as well as recording and touring with Peter (Where Do You Go To My Lovely) Sarstedt. He ran a ceilidh band, The Jauncey Brothers Band with brother Simon for 12 years. It was a meeting at the local Monday night traditional music session in the Tap Inn in Birnam, Perthshire where Jamie became involved in the Funky String Band. When not performing Jamie earns his living as a writer.

TOUR DATES

Fri 2 Nov, 8pm Glen Urquhart Public Hall, Drumnadrochit (with local
support)

Sat 3 Nov Strathcarron Hotel, Achmore

Tue 6 Nov Kilmuir Village Hall, Skye

Fri 9 Nov Stobo Village Hall, Stobo

Sat 10 Nov, 8pm Carrying Stream Festival, Edinburgh Pleasance

Sun 11 Nov Birnam House Hotel, Birnam

"And You May Find Yourself…" is recorded on Shoogle Records. Catalogue No. SHOOGLE07007. The album will be distributed by Proper Music www.properdistribution.com  , Highlander Music, and available online at
www.shoogle.com