BIOGRAPHY
Drums & percussion - Phil
Phil has been playing drums since age 12, playing at school, and other local events. He played in a couple of bands while at Uni, and did some recording and gigs. With a slight break for a few years of being an occasional “spare bedroom” drummer, he got back into live drumming through some theatre work, and regularly does work for musicals and pantos around the Berkshire area. Phil also has an interest in live sound (particularly sound in a local theatre), and is also has an interest in the art of recording, and started this interest with primitive 4-track recorders in the 80’s! Influences are a mix of rock, progressive rock, pop and modern jazz. Anything with a good interesting rhythm!
Keyboards, Guitar & Vocals - Gary
Gary has been playing in various covers and original material bands since the age of 12. He started out playing trumpet in his secondary school band and later turned to playing guitar and keyboards . Gary also became the frontman of a couple of bands through the 80s and turned to DJing fulltime and playing in bands on the London West End hotel circuit and music venues including: The Café Royal, The Waldolf, Hyde Park Hotel, The Grosvenor Hotel, The Cricketers (Newington Butts), The Mean Fiddler, The Marquee, The Elgin (Ladbrook Grove) & Blenheim Palace. After a 10 year break from the industry he's back and nothing gives him a better buzz than playing live gigs.
Influenced by The Blues, Jazz, and a 'big sound' he loves listening to: Paul Weller, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, BB KIng, Diana Krall, Stan Getz, Jools Holland, Elbow, Stereophonics, Pete Murray -(Aussie artist), Angus Stone & Ben Howard.
Bass Guitar & Vocals - Mark
For his 8th birthday, Mark's parents bought him a classical guitar. After several lessons he was puzzled why he wasn't being taught how to play the songs on the radio and promptly lost interest. Aged 11, he stumbled across a "Teach Yourself Guitar" book in a local shop and discovered that he could play most of the Top 20 hits with just 4 chords! Having cracked the code he has never stopped playing. Later in life he was asked to deputise for a bass player and enjoyed the experience so much that he adopted the bass guitar as his main instrument. Appearing in various covers bands and tribute acts, he has entertained TV and sports celebrities, played the part of Bill Wyman in the Rolling Zones, performed to huge crowds at festivals and theatres as well as playing bass in a Pink Floyd tribute show. His wide range of influences include the late great James Jamerson, Carol Kaye, Donald Dunn, John Paul Jones, John Deacon and the amazingly versatile Pino Palladino.
Lead Vocals & Rhythm Guitar - Chris
Chris studied 3D Model Design at Cardiff University. Chris found his love of music when at the age of 15 he sang at his school end of year performance and also that same year sang acapella at his Grandmas funeral. Then, as many budding singers do, he tried his hand at karaoke, progressing on to open mike nights in local venues.
An important step in his development was taking singing lessons with a voice coach Lisa Faye at the beginning of 2014, he then went on to get himself a fantastic name on the Swing and contemporary / soft rock circuits and over the last 2 years things have really started to take off for him as a soloist performing at corporate events, summer balls, charity events and friends parties.