..Biog:
Like many of his generation, Dave had to build his first bass guitar, because in 1961, real bass guitars were financially out of reach of the average schoolboy. Actually, they were financially out of reach of extraordinary schoolboys too, but I digress. There were no such things as bass amplifiers either, and so the radiogram (remember them?) had to suffice, using a doctored tape recorder as a pre-amp.
In 1962, he and the awesome Rusty Moorcroft formed Rusty & The Druids at Farnham Grammar School for a school dance; Dave remembers "I think we only did about 2 or 3 gigs, and then O-Levels took over." It is not recorded whether O-Levels were an educational milestone or a rival band.
Truly smitten by the music bug, Dave watched as The Beatles changed the face of popular music forever. Another band was formed:
"I think we started as The Clique, then became The Elite, and somehow ended up as The Elite Clique. It was R&B in the style of The Yardbirds, Stones, Kinks and Downliners Sect. Most of our kit was home-made, the PA speakers came from old TV sets, and I built a copy of a Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet. My mother had lent me the money to buy a Framus bass, and we played the Farnham area."
However by 1966 the nation's musical tastes had changed. They became a soul band, were extremely underappreciated, and Dave gave up music to get a proper job.
Fast forward some twenty-odd years and Dave bumps into the same Rusty at a wedding. Rusty claimed to be still singing, and ever the one to rise to a challenge, Dave raced off to buy a real bass guitar and amp - the emotional stress of having to build pretend instruments had taken its toll.
Music career 2 started with Jam Sessions at the much-missed Blues Tavern in Upper Hale and brought about a meeting with Denny Laine (Moody Blues/Wings). It also acquainted Dave with several local musicians, amongst them Ronnie Nutt, whose house band he joined.
It was at this time that Dave signed up for a course at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford on the recommendation of a friend. His tutor turned out to be Matt Pegg, son of Dave Pegg out of Fairport Convention, which begat just about every known band on the face of the planet. Whilst at ACM, Dave met his now friend and mentor Paul Geary , the highly accomplished musician and musical director:
"Paul's great, because he's always pushing me. He's right most of the time, but we do have a difference of opinion about R&B. He reckons it's the modern Craig David sort of crap. I reckon it's the Yardbirds and the Stones."
Editor's note: Dave is right on this one. The Who promoted their Marquee residency under the banner "Maximum R&B". The idea that this could have been a terrifyingly loud version of Craig David is too hideous to contemplate.
In 2000, Dave became a founder member of The Micky Kemp Band. As well as the usual local gigs, they played further afield, supporting the likes of Dr.Feelgood, and producing some excellent CDs including the acclaimed Blue Fades To Black which Dave co-produced with Micky.
Micky Kemp Band, Bognor Live 2002
Needing broader experience in early 2003 Dave joined local wall-of-sound specialists Old Blue Moses for a 2 year stint belting out their fine style of Blues.
Old Blue Moses, Rudgwick Music Festival 2004
In 2005 he returned to the Micky Kemp Band . That was a busy year. I think I did about 80 gigs in total up and down the country. The one that sticks in my memory was at the International Festival of the Sea in Portsmouth Dockyard. The crowd were mental and we played for 4 hours without a break. After it was over the guy in charge asked if we could come back and do it again on Sunday. Of course we did. Brilliant.
International Festival of the Sea, Portsmouth Dockyard 2005
By the end of 2005 he felt the need for a change again and took over bass duties with Second Time Around . Its a little less intensive and we play numbers that other bands don't automatically cover which makes a refreshing change.
Second Time Around
All good things come to an end and, after playing a last gig on January 11th 2008, Second Time Around will call it a day. We've had some great times but the band has just run out of steam. I'm available and looking for a new challenge.
(biog written by ezal with special thanks to Ron Hall for his inspiration and contribution)
Equipment:
Basses: Musicman, Lakland, Fender
Amplification: Epifani, Ashdown, Sound City, Trace Elliot
Effects: Electro Harmonix
Cables: bassic-bits
bassic-bits:
Since retiring after almost 40 years in broadcast engineering I decided to put my knowledge to good use and started a business making and selling bespoke cables for musicians. This includes:
* Loudspeaker Cables using extremely high quality Klotz 4 sq.mm. cable and Neutrik connectors.
* 9-volt adaptor cables for non-Boss pedals
* Instrument leads using Vandamme cable and Neutrik connectors including the excellent self-muting jack plugs which enable you to swap instruments in complete silence.
* Pedal board patch cables
* Wireless guitar leads
* Pedals boards cable looms (Pedal Pythons)in fact almost any sort of cable assembly.Details at bassic-bits
