Guitars In the Sky: A Tribute to the Records featuring Holt Evans as Phil Brown (bass, vocals), Mitch Easter as Huw Gower (lead guitar, vocals), Shalini as John Wicks (vocals, guitar), Chris Garges as Will Birch (drums).

Video:

Press:

She's still spinning from long-ago 'Disc' by David Menconi, Raleigh News & Observer
Shalini in the sky with guitars by David Menconi, On the Beat blog

Guitars In the Sky: A Tribute to the Records was formed in 2006 as a way for a group of Records nuts to fulfill one of their long-lived dreams. Specifically, Shalini Chatterjee (easily) talked her friends Holt Evans, Mitch Easter and Eric Marshall into this project and booked a few shows. The first rehearsal was fun. So was the second. A new tribute band was born!

Guitars In the Sky: A Tribute to the Records is the only Records tribute band on Earth. The Records, for those who don't know, were a powerhouse of late seventies and early eighties British pop rock. Their main hits were "Starry Eyes" and "Teenarama." They made great recordings, and you should check out the recent reissues at
www.therecords.com, where you can also read the band's interesting rock history and experiences.

Will Birch, co-founder and drummer for the original band, is amused at this venture.

"The Records are astonished that out of the blue come Guitars In The Sky, named it seems after a track on our second album, Crashes. We wish GITS (for short) lots of luck and thank them for bringing our songs, maybe, to a
new audience, as well as a few old fans."

Q & A with Will Birch
January 2007

1. Were you surprised to hear a group of musicians in North Carolina wanted to form a Records tribute band?

Totally surprised, confused and flattered. I heard there were some bands in Spain doing our stuff and they even made a tribute album covering the whole of Crashes, but to see a band out of the USA doing it also is great news.

2. What were your favorite songs to play live and why?

The easy ones, or should I say those that always seemed to find their groove: "Rock'n'Roll Love Letter," "Teenarama," "Hearts In Her Eyes," "Rebel Rebel" (a David Bowie song).

3. Do you know of a British Records tribute band?

No, GITS are totally exclusive at the present time. And selective too!

4. Would you add anything to the set list (see below) to make it an authentic Records set, or do you think all the basic songs are there?

Basic? Well, I guess they are quite straightforward songs. As I mentioned above, we did cover "Rebel Rebel" for a while (an encore), plus other covers including "1984" (Spirit); "Have You Seen Her" (Blue Ash); and when we re-
formed briefly in 1992, Tom Petty's "Listen To Her Heart." "Up All Night," "Girls That Don't Exist" and "The Same Mistakes" were usually in our set, as far as original songs go. Otherwise, you have it right there, I think.

Show Log:
Sept. 2006: Debuted at Sparklefest, Raleigh NC
Oct. 2006: The Garage, Winston-Salem NC
Feb. 2007: Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
Dec. 2007: The Garage, Winston-Salem NC
Jan. 2008: Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC

Set List:
Hearts Will Be Broken
Hearts in Her Eyes
Starry Eyes
Girl in Golden Disc
Al Messed Up
Head Held High
Affection Rejected
See My Friends
Teenarama
Guitars in the Sky

Links:
www.therecords.com
www.willbirch.com
www.myspace.com/therecordsmyspace
www.myspace.com/willbirchsongs