Lancelot

Once upon a time in a land far, far away... there was born a manchild that would travel the world preaching the religion of funky grooves to all who would listen. Lancelot left his native Ireland at the ripe old age of 13 to pursue his dream of seeing the world whilst playing the music he loved. He and his best friend soon landed in England with 100 pounds, the clothes on their backs, and their instruments. "I had the shoes stolen off my feet our first night in London!" Lancelot recalls "I guess someone needed them more than I did!" Living in London wasn't easy for two Irish lads. They supported themselves by playing on the street, the tube, in pubs, and anywhere there were a couple of pounds to be made. "We even played funerals and wakes." Lancelot said, "Many times for food and drink as our only payment." They eventually put together a band, signed a record deal and left London on a tour of England that would change everything. On the way home from the tour's last show in Manchester, a crash involving the band's van fractured Lancelot's collerbone and took his best friend's life.The dream, it would seem, was over. After an eight week recovery the wallet grew thin, so Lancelot started knocking on the studio doors of London looking for work. Within months his playing had graced dozens of records and he was picked up for several tours which turned into three years on the road and left him in Austrailia. "I had a pocket full of money and time on my hands" Lancelot muses, "so I decided I'd spend them both on an education." Three and a half years later he emerged from university with a B.S. in electronic engineering and an M.S. in computer science. Immeadiately following graduation corporate America called and he was off to chase the American dream. Although also educational, two years in the corporate trenches left him wanting something else. "I resigned my position," he tells us "just burned out on the whole affair, went back to England, but after two weeks decided the states were where I belonged and returned."He ended up in Miami, Fl where while enjoying a pint at the legendary British Pub The Hungry Sailor witnessed the doorman being dragged out of the club by a group of hooligans. "I thought he was a nice guy and needed a hand" Lancelot recalls "so I sat down my beer and followed the action out to the arcade hallway where I assisted the fellow in dispatching the troublemakers." The doorman was shaken up and immediately quit, prompting the club's owner to offer the newly vacant position to Lancelot. "Every English pub needs an Irish bouncer" the owner , Dave Harris, said and Lancelot became head of security. "The Sailor had the best music" Lancelot remembered, "Reggae, jazz, latin, british new wave, and after a while word got around that I was a musician and the bands started inviting me up on stage to sit in. The crowd loved seeing the doorman jam with the band!" Soon after, gig offers started coming and the choice had to be made, stay on at the club or become a full time musician again. Lancelot chose music and has since played for thousands of music fans, worked on hundreds of recording projects, and the rest, as they say, is musical history! Check out Lancelot's web site at: http://members.aol.com/addmuzic/