A big thanks to Centry Records, Norramic Records & Brasssax Production for the tracks. Music contained on this page is for promotional and not for sale or distribution.
Many thanks to The Bluesmothers for use of the pictures. http://www.myspace.com/7stringlesandthebluesmothers
I was born in Hong Kong in 1966, moved to England in 1967 and have lived in Kent ever since.
From an early age I became very interested in music.
I started playing the Clarinet when I was about 13 years at senior School, this was all thanks to the support of my mother and father.
I enrolled in the school orchestra and it was there that I started my musical adventure. I was given music lessons for some year by Arthur Brown an accomplished musician who inspired me to persist and gain experience, which made my parents feel it was all worth the effort they had put in.
Some years later I started playing the saxophone as a recreational pastime. I started to adapt a style of my own, the beginning proved to be quite painful for the neighbours, Playing mainly by using backing tracks and other methods to improvise with. The sax became more than a hobby, practice session were just not enough to fulfil my craving to play which is when I decided to take the plunge and join a band. After teaming up with a couple of mates who were in the same dilemma. We founded a group called - Beats Working
BEATS WORKING.
--------- Lee --- Me --- Gary --- Paul -- Phil -- Mike -- Tim --------
Beats working origanlly a 9 piece R&B Band was made up fromLead, rythem and Bass gutars, drummer, Keyboards, Alto, Tenor Sax and Two very tidy female backing singers, doing mainly soul, motown and the commitments cover tracks. The band split like they do leaving me at a loose end, Some months later i Joined the ERECTION SELECTION founded by Chris Driver. Chris was a well known and very Likable local buisness man out in Swampy Land Sheerness.
Driver a well know figure around sheerness played gigs in many of the local pubs .
He changed the bands name some mouths later to Srewy Driver and the minister's of Rock after he desided to become a Elected MP for the Monster Raving Looney Party of Queenborough Sheerness. After many exellant gigs later i decided to leave The ministers of rock to find other musical opertunities and now currently playing for the following bands, The Bluesmother, Crazy Man Crazy & Cimarron
The Bluesmother.
--------- Me - ----- Roger - -------Liz--------Lez----
I met Les of the Blues Mothers a couple of years ago by complete accident. Thinking I was at one of their jam nights, when actually they was jamming at someone else’s, which wasn’t a bad thing.
Not all accidents are bad. I feel rather privileged and grateful to have met 7 String. He is the only seven-string guitarist I know of.
There is something really unique about Les, an extremely versatile musician with a fantastic style. Having heard good and bad guitarist, to me 7 String is considered to be one of the best out there. Lez has introduce me to acclaimed & awsome musicians like Gary Barnacle, a World famous tenor saxaphone player. Ex Level 42 and other top bands. Currently a busy session musician
Damon Butcher Ex Beautiful South and Tito Lopez.
John Howitt World famous session bass player.
Since meeting Les I have come a long way. Les has generated moments that have produced some of the best results on my saxophone ever. Absolutely excellent jazz and blues guitarist , its always a real pleasure when he’s around. I consider his jams night the best around kent.
Cimarron .
---------- John - ----- Stuart - ------- Peter--------Don------Me---
The band got together in 2006 after meeting up at Jam nights run by Seven String Les (7), & Liz and the Bluemothers at Ryan's pub in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
John and Pete have been performing as a duo on the circuit for about 2 years providing good music and entertainment - they jammed parts of their set with various musos at Ryans, particularly Pete on bass and Steve Little on drums.
Impressed with the potential sound of their songs in a group setting, John and Pete enlist Stuart on drums, and Don from the Ryans jam on bass later in 2006. I joined on saxaphone in 2006, and together they developed a five piece version of the nucleus of the duo's set.
After some weeks & painstaking attempts to find a name for the band, Cimarron was born. The band's musical tastes all vary considerably and we all have very different musical influences making Cimarron’s music a great amalgamation of rock and roll, blues, soul and rock.
Pete's (Rythmn guitar/vocals) style is particularly rooted in rock and roll, being a big fan of Buddy Holly and Creedence CR amongst others.
John (Lead guitar/vocals) plays a mean lefty Telecaster across blues, rock and roll and other styles, with a particularly gritty vocal style, which can get very soulful (check out the vocals on the band's very subtle version of Paul Weller's Wildwood).
Don and Stu lock together as a great combination, having similar influences to the others but bringing in other ideas (Stu is a big fan of Billy Cobham, whilst Don is a soul/funk player at heart).
Crazy Man Crazy .
----------- Me- ----- Calum - ------- Trevor--------Nina------Mike---
Crazy Man Crazy got together in about 2007 and did our first gig in Southend.
Trevor Black- Lead Singer
Trevor formed the band back in 1998 with a friend, he's loves singing. Isn’t it strange, . Billy Fury is one of my favourites, along with Elvis, which is why we do as much of their material.
Mick Fallan- Lead guitar
Absolutely brilliant guitarist. As you can hear from the c.d. he can copy a lot of different style to a ’T’! Especially Scotty Moore. He doesn’t like to talk about himself very much, but he used to be a session player, played with Gene vincent in ’64, and Mud, to name just a few. Mainly played country when I met him, but always wanted to get into rockabilly, he’s top notch.
Steevo-Sound engineer
Steevo has a good ear for what sounds good and has been invaluable to the band. He’s very committed and reliable, and he loves doing it, which can only be a good this as it takes a lot of pressure off me. At the moment, he knows almost nothing about rock ’n’ roll or rockabilly, but he’s learning all the time. A very accomplished bass player in his own right, being influenced by Mark King. (level 42) Hopefully he’s going to get and learn standup bass soon, so we will then have a permanent stand-in.
The Piggets .
A mixture of talent selected to perform at the piggy's 50s gig at the Beacon cout.