i'm a musicians musician through and through. i try to keep everything fresh, so i don't get bored (if i'm bored how can i expect my audience to stay interested.) i like to blend everything together, but obviously in a way that sounds good. i play all sorts of music, (litterally, my band phragmipedium do a fat version of greensleeves, as well as a delectable rendition of twinklw twinkle.)
I started playing piano when i was about 5, (my rents got me lessons as it was the done thing in middleclass suburbia, which i passionately hated. but was made to put up with for about 2years.) it wasn't the instrument i hated, it was being taught, i found much more pleasure in so called 'pissing around' and just making up shit. i'm thankful for those lessons today tho, for reasons i'll explain l8r.
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then in year 4, (age8) i was given the oportunity to have saxophpne lessons in school. So i jumped at the chance. and boy am i glad, i could already read music (thus being one advantage of piano lessons) and my teacher was amazing. he was really encuraging, and we got on really well. i got up to grade 3 in my 2years with him. but then i had to change shcool and my new teaher was a boring asshole, so i dropped him like a hot potato. since then i've tried one other sax teacher in year 10.(age15) cos i was told i needed it to do GCSE music.(which subsiquently turned out to be a load of bollocks,{the needing to to do GCSE music that is} but still..) she was distraught by my intence ability coupled with my apathy and complete lack of commitment. (in the 3 lessons i went to, (over 2terms) i learnt and played better, the 4 piece's the other dude had been working on all term. and he'd never missed a lesson.) But she didn't realise that my complete lack of motivation was due to the fact she was getting me to play boring shit. if she had said go home and write a piece to a certain specification, then play it, i'd have done nothing else for however long it took. or even asked me what i wanted to play instead of shoving piles of ornate classical tunes under my nose. (not that i'm dissing ornate classical tunes, but its a saxophone for fucks sake! give me some jazz and some passionate wailing! not refined refraigned phrasing and less is moreness.)
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Anyway, after those lessons fell through i had one lesson with a piano teacher, which reminded me in grotesque detail of why i quit lessons in the first place.
Now, onto the important one. I got an electric guitar for christmas 2002, (coincidentially so did my mate Dave, and my other m8 Chris a bass) so i started learning guitar then. my mum plays kinda classicalesk old english folk guitar, and finger picks amazingly. so i got her to show me a few chords, (and this weird finger picky thing o this day i've never seen anyone else do) and i was away. i jumped on as many tabs as i could print off, and learnt a shag load of shit easy songs. (obviously i didn't think so at the time.) me and my mates started a band and practiced weekly. (we named it Severed Sympathy) and they were some of the most incredibly fun times ever. we didn't have a clue what we were doing, but it was fun. my parents bought me a new guitar for passing my GCSE's , (my beautiful epiphone SG400, Roxy) who is still my predominant love.
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i did one term of sixth form, but found it to be sucking my soul dry of everything that i found good and pure in the world. So i quit and dossed for about 2 years. (in which i smoked dubious amounts of skunk, and played atleast 6hours of guitar a day.)
Then one day i went over to my bassists house, (the original dude who i'm still with today, yeah, Chris, thats the one) to watch desperate house wives. and his dad gave me like a 2hour earful about how i'm wasting my life and shit. which i'm very glad for, cos if he hadn't i'd probably still be rotting away in my bedroom. so i decided to go to college and do a Btec National Deploma in Music Practice. which ive just started my second year of, and am enjoying fully and thoroughly.(here's to it lasting.) whilst there i've been playing alot less guitar,but got alot better at piano, started learning drums, and doing singing. (a compulsary but useful lesson.)
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i'm currently in 5 bands, Phragmipedium (my pub band blues freejam 2piece, cosisting of Karl Young on acoustic guitar and vocals, and my sweet self on roxy), Fusion Confusion, (my main College band, which consistis of phragmipedum with drums and bass, and some actual structure. although still not enough to fill your boots.) The Strange Fruits, which is another 2piece but much less blues orientated than phrag, very, as our name should imply, strange music. (consisting of me on electric, and Joe Onoufriou also on electric, and we share vocals when the need arises.)
This currently unnamed band i'm playing bass in.(also for college), And my main band, Which now has a name! We are Porky Alex! and i love it, and you should look out for us, cos were on myspace as soon as i get a free afternoon and prolonged internet access.(although don't exspect any music too soon, cos recording and mastering full band is a different kettle of fish from 2piece's.)
The music i've put on here is all my own work, predominantly stuff i've made on my own in the early hours, which is why it han't got anything but guitar, But also some college work (which i shall be adding to this year) and just anything that comes along really.
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