I ran away from my Carnival parents and changed my name. Not really.Born in Manchester, growing up there, then Preston (where I was in my first band, the Fools featuring top artist Chris A Jones), Lancaster then stints in Cambridge, South-West Wales, India (ok only 3 months!) and Ireland.
Then back in Lancaster in '99, I formed the Wisemen (with Scott Morley), originaly acoustic, a couple of years of occasional rocking too as a 4-piece. At the same time I joined the alternative rock band the Puma-Sutras on bass/harmonies. We played many gigs and recorded 3 ep's and a single, lots of radio sessions etc. Should have been!
The Wisemen recorded 2 ep's, 2 mini-albums and more, culminating in their acoustic anthology "26 Songs". The Wisemen have a track out on Timbreland Recordings' compilation "Furthest Branches From the Trunk" released November 2006. It's available at all good independent shops as well as HMV etc. See the Timbreland myspace in the top 8.
The final Wisemen release and live performance occured on Friday 26th October 2007. We played both acoustic and electric sets, and released a ltd edition (50 copies only) mini-album which is available exclusively to Piccadilly Records, Manchester.
I helped form the Gokarnas, a three-piece indie-rock band in 2005 and who released a 3-track CD, "Dream a Dream" recorded at Ape Studios. We recorded 3 new songs in June 2006, which are on the myspace page (see top 24).
I have done a couple of gigs with Gokarna Steve "Quiet" Jones as Daffy & Dilly - singing our favourite classics by the likes of Fred Neil, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, the Flying Burrito Bros, and more with lots of harmonies.
I am currently a member of Dan Haywood's New Hawks - see myspace below. Initially on bass, now on guitar as part of the 6-piece line-up. Dan Haywood's New Hawks EP was released 8th October 2007 on Timbreland Recordings, distributed by Forte. Available at Piccadilly Records, Boomkat, Norman's, the Listening Post and Amazon UK.
I've also supplied some bass-playing to Little Hero (as a band with Pete and Ben McCabe on drums) and Joyeaux (with Pete n Punky Joe) which is a new challenge and great fun. More of that to come I hope.
Most recently, I've been playing guitar in Starless & Bible Black in their live incarnation, playing the Shhhh! Festival @ the Spitz, supporting PG Six in Salford, supporting Vetiver at the Roadhouse, and playing the Folkey Dokey stage at 2007's Greenman Festival, as well as a live session for (the legendary) Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6. Check out their debut album on Locust Music.
In my various guises, I've supported Vetiver, P.G. Six, Pamela Wyn Shannon, Baby Dee, Richard "GZM" James, the Memory Band, Nancy Elizabeth Cunliffe, Starless & Bible Black, Anna Kashfi, the MPE Band, David A Jaycock, Magic Arm, Ambrose Tompkins, Last Harbour, 7 Hertz, George Thomas & the Owls, David Thomas Broughton, Benjamin Wetherill, the Children, the Moulettes and many more...plus played at the Fence Collective's Homegames Festival 07.
Goldmundo is the chance for me to do a few songs in a different way. I'll keep posting new tracks, some in demo form, some more fulfilled.
I now have an armoury of guitars (acoustic/electric/bass), xylophone, autoharp (when it gets tuned!), ukelele, percussion, mandolin, melodica, old synth, stylophone and field recordings - and by god I'm going to use them!
On a personal level, I am a vegetarian, peace-nik CND member, pro-green, Free-Tibet hippy bastard. I want to call my child Ghandi. I write to my MP and he writes back opposing everything I stand for. I love democracy.
