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I live in Coventry, in the United Kingdom - I've been a musician for 34 years, having begun to learn the violin at the age of 8 - I studied as far as grade 8 before packing it in for the sake of the guitar which was more "me" - I was 17 and the guitar had been my life since I was 14 (gonna be a big rock star) - I finally relented in the tail end of 2005 when I picked up the violin again, sadly for my family; neighbours and dog - they were kind enough to suffer in silence during the first six months when I sounded like I was drawing nails across a blackboard - and for that I thank them.
Throughout my time as a musician, I have been fortunate enough to have played on the classic 1981 recording by "I" namely "I for the I's"; also I appeared at the Pope's visit to Baginton (John Paul II); other highlights were to have made stage appearances with Nigel Kennedy at the Royal Albert Hall (back in the days when he spoke proper); played in bands too numerous to mention or even recall both original and covers; rehearsed and impromptu; recorded and disposed of; as well as appearing at festivals and gigs on the same bill as Shed 7; Wilko Johnson; Eddie & The Hotrods; Girlschool; The Blockheads; and The Enemy ; (before and since they were signed) and working in genres as diverse as soul; funk; dance; classical; avant-garde; rock; folk; jazz; improvisation; indie; pop; flamenco; blues & metal
You can find footage of my guest appearance with Jamsons Nook at the 2007 Godiva Festival here
, whilst stuff I've recorded with Russian Girlfriend you can find here . I played for Russian Girlfriend from 2000 until January 2007; the stuff on this page (that you're looking at now) was recorded in preparation for some solo shows I had in February of the same year
Right now, violin wise, I'm playing in "The Street Shepherd Band" , which was created in around June or July 07 as an experiment to see just how quickly I, a guitarist turned fiddle player could pick up a style of music I'd no knowledge of; had heard in limited generic doses (such as the adverts for Spanish holidays on the telly); and which had no ready space for an instrument such as the violin, anyway. We're currently adding a dance section to the set, and have joined ranks with Ana Garcia , who is highly regarded in flamenco circles, both within and beyond the UK.
I've been invited to perform with Declan Bennett , local singer songwriter done good and spread wings, when he returns to Cov late Feb 08 to promote his new album "An Innocent Evening of Drinking" by performing a musical pub crawl.
Guitar-wise, I'm working with Evil Dick & The Banned Members , in Leicester - an experience I expect to dramatically expand my musical horizons -
I've added songs from two of my earlier projects - I can't tell you too much about where either set up ended up, unfortunately - both were based in Coventry, neither gigged, at least whilst I was with them - The Kronic was fronted by Eli (Thompson?), whose claim to fame at the time was that he had opened shows for U2 whilst playing for his band "After Tonight" - Drumming was provided by Mike Wilson, who currently plays for the wonderful Decatone - The bass on the Keith Lawrence session was provided by Larry Lupin, ex-guitarist of God's Toys - At some time when I'm organised enough and have the time I'll continue to look out some of the historical material I've lost into boxes along the years - the reproduction may not be up to much, but you get the jist
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