MyGen Profile GeneratorBiography
1985: Formed first band, International Situation, with friends from school. Line-up changed when I went to college, and played my first gig.
1987: After several name changes and gigs of varying quality, Disciples of the New Church was born. The original line-up was: Mark Boyle-Vocals; Jonny Holding-Guitar & Backing Vocals; Mike Iddison-Bass & Backing Vocals and Tom Iddison-Drums & Backing Vocals.
A disagreement mid-rehearsal, saw Mark leave the band and me step up to the microphone! The band continued to gig as a 3-piece outfit, until I left to go to Uni.
1988 - 1992: Studied Computer Science at North Staffordshire and then Teesside Universities, culminating in a project to write my own MIDI sequencer. Bought a 4-track recorder and a Commodore Amiga and began my long-term love affair with computer generated music.
1996: After 4 years of writing and recording music on my own, I became involved in a new band, Disillusioned. Probably the best band I've ever been part of, the original line-up was: Mark Boyle-Vocals; Mike Walker-Guitar & Backing Vocals; Jonny Holding-Guitar & Backing Vocals; Phil Dunn-Bass and Dr Rhythm-Drums & Percussion. Sadly, despite extensive rehearsal, the band only played live once.
1997 - 1999: By this time, I was using a PC to create music and I bought a program called ReBirth, a software synth based on the classic Roland TB-303 Synth and the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. I created my first CD Dystopia under the name lowlife.
ReBirth totally changed the way I wrote music and was the driving force behind Dysfunction, a 4-piece 'Groove-Metal' band comprising: Jonny Holding-Vocals, Guitar & Programming; Mike Walker-Guitar, Vocals & Programming; Phil Dunn-Bass and Karl Bavin-Synths. Percussion and backing synth parts were programmed and played back through a PC.
1999 - 2001: Karl left and the band changed names to Broken Halo. The PC now covered all percussion and synth duties, as well as doubling as a virtual recording studio. Using Cubase VST, we began recording material to release on CD. Also created 2nd lowlife CD: D-Jenerate
2001: A 3rd CD: Chemical, credited to Broken Halo was released but, as a result of Mike and I spending more and more time experimenting with the music software we'd acquired (ReBirth, Reason and Fruity Loops to name but a few), Broken Halo broke up.
At around the same time, all the mounting pressures and stresses in my own life came to a head, and I broke down...
2001 - 2007: My greatest weapon against my breakdown, and the depression/anxiety that followed, was my music. So I began a kind of self-help music therapy, writing about how I felt and how I perceived the situation around me. This became Project: Self.
Although Project: Self was a 1-off project, I am continuing to write in a similar style, as Phage.
2007 - ?: In the summer of 2007 I teamed up once again with Mike Walker to play guitar and backing vocals for his latest project Drone Wars , A hybrid mix of Ethnic/Tribal music and Grungy Rock, backed by digitally sequenced drum and synth patterns.
Completing the band are (in no particular order): Kev Serginson - Didgeridoo; Ian Waughman - Hurdy Gurdy/Djembe/Backing Vocal; Tim Croft - Bass and Hez Gell - Rhythm/Acoustic Guitar. Visit the MySpace page at www.myspace.com/dronewars
At the start of 2008, I went through an emotional breakup which has led me to write a series of songs for a new CD, provisionally titled: Catharsis.
Don't forget to visit the main site at www.glitchstudio.com
