Ok... I am so totally in love with life and music... I play any musical instrument i can get my hands on .. The electric bass is my instrument of choice... the thing about bass for me is this.. As an electric instrument, the bass is merely 60 odd years old! I love being able to take part in this initial, fast moving evolution of the way an instrument is played.. I CAN'T GET ENOUGH MUSIC IN MY LIFE!! really.. I work @ Derringers Music half the week and play and teach around Adelaide the other half, when tour Gov with John Woods.. I head to Woodford to play in the Mal Webb Band.. A festival band made up of three fantastic muso's from around Oz and me, playing Mal's tunes and taking instrumental experimental to the extreme!
HISTORYBy age...13 I was performing in my brothers blues band 'Epsilon'. Great fun! I remember one year into playing, I had a revelation... We were playing at the late Victor Harbour Folk Festival..Headlining in the blues tent. One of the most memorable gigs of my life... I was fourteen playing Cream, Hendrix, B B King, The Doors and the likes. The tent was overflowing! I was shitting my pants! But somehow i loved it more than anything I'd ever experienced! (yes I was still a virgin..but even if I wasn't!!!) I realised that night that this was what I wanted to be doing for THE REST OF MY LIFE!
SO! Then Josh (my bro) and I did the teenage brother thing & decided to have fisties at the drummers place and broke up the band.. I wanted to play funk and Josh still had the blues... Well that's kinda how it went. Then one day an amzing thing happened... My good friend and drummer Matty Collier found Billy Cobhams 'A Funky Thide Of Sings" and MAN!!! Did we go funk crazy or WHAT! I took that record to TWO very important people, who I hold responseable for my musical 'developement. Those two people were, Simon Funkwig and a guy at a book store in Unley (you know your name). When I showed it to the bookshop guy, requesting.. "MORE stuff like this!!!' He promptly flicked thru his very small collection and sold me Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Beyond Nothingness to Eternity', Weather Report's 'Black Market" (RIP JOE Zawinal) and Return to Forever's 'Romantic Warrior'!!!!! FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD!! I was blown away (and kinda wierd'd out at first) but that began my ventures into Jazz and fusion of the 70's. The OTHER guy, Funkwig, when I gave it to him he said.."Yeah that's funky...but you need to borrow these!!' and he lent me Parliaments best of and also the best of 'Kool and the Gang'.. So really that's where my tastes grew from 70's blues /rock to just music. THANKYOU FUNKY AND BOOK SHOP GUY! this story is getting out of hand... *pant pant* So then after many attempts at funk bands and Jazz wanna be sessions, Social Change formed -in my friends box! check em out! There you will find a bio as long as this one :D
I have played Many a style in many a band but I must make mention to a few that have and/or still do move me or had a huge affect on my musical growth. So after Epsilon (blues/rock) and Social Change Funk Movement (Live Hip hop/funk) I played with Papa Kwasi and the Irie Ites (Roots Reggae-WOMAD), Funkwig deNorthwode (Thebbie theatre supp. Grand Master Flash and Jurassic 5) Caliente (Acoustic Brazillian Jazz), Brazza (Latin big band), The Rest (good stuff- Annerndale Syd), and many more WORTH mentioning but I'm not goig to..sorry guys..Happening NOW! (you better believe it's happening)The John Woods Band is my musical mission at the moment.. And I can see myself playing and writing tunes with John for many years to come! He's a total champion and has a knack for writing tasty as, hooky tunes! I love singing good songs! Nothing better. We've got a lot of support from a lot of very good friends.. I'd like to mention a few names.. Emma, Foz, Joe, Tom, Cristo, Darrel and Nat, Daniel and Stephanie, Nico, Josh, Gav, Dave, Laura, Tony,
Yep that oughta do it. Oh.. and I'm a total gear head.. I play (a lot)_a Fodera Monarch dlx 4 string.. I have six string Fodera Emperor also.. and an old music man.. and a fender Jazz which I'm thinking of making into a fretless.. hmmm. I dream of Aguilar amplification making my Fodera sound as it should.. One day! :D and uh.. I have way too many FX pedals.. come and se me at Derringers if you wanna talk bass gear! PEACE AND MORE TREES!
