Crimson Soul Food at Johnnie Lee Fongs

The Rogue Gene recorded their second album, "Soul Food at Johnnie Lee Fongs" in 2011, with Anthony Lychenko and Nicolas Wilson at Rockinghorse Studios in Coorabell. The CD features band member John Hill on piano and organ, Andy Thompson (Moving Pictures, Dire Straits) on saxophone, and guest appearance by Scotsman, now Byron Bay resident, Alan Park (Cliff Richard, Beggars Opera) on keys and organ. The driving rhythm section features Lenny Reilly (Bourbon Street) and backing vocals from Dee Dee Lavell. The album portrays a band in their prime, with Belle free to release her instincts for passionate soul and blues. Not since Suzie Quatro and Meshell Ndegeocello has a female bass player shown such vocal excellence and bass playing skill. Belle Hendrik and Hugh Milan met in Sydney in the late 90s. It was their experiences in music and their extensive global travels that moulded the nucleus of the Rogue Gene. Their first album, The Ballad of Sojourner Truth, drew on the electro-beats driving Europe and Asia and was to be nominated for multiple awards and critical acclaim when they brought it home to Australia. Their second release, "Soul Food at Johnnie Lee Fongs", reflected a new passion for the soul and blues music that first set Belle on a musical path. And their third, upcoming release, currently being recorded near Byron Bay, discovers new pop and indie roots that reflect the Rogue Gene's immersion in the vital currents of counter-culture at the heart of the Occupy Movement in the USA.