Member Since: 5/2/2006
Band Website: greenmanrising.co.uk
Band Members: Steve Bentley
Bodhran, Vocals
Founder & originator of the band 'Greenman Rising'. Grew up on the edge of Exemoor in Somerset within a community who still 'brewed' Cider in old bath tubs, sang songs outside the Pubs (I know now this to be trad. material!!, at the time I just thought it had more to it than the crap on the radio.....), saw Morris & Maypole Dancing as a 'normal' part of Village life & also all turned out to see off the local hunt on Boxing Day. It was here he was first seen on stage in a production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Wood Nymph), not knowing that this would lead in later life to forming & becoming ' Producer/Artistic Director' of the 'Warwickshire Players' Theatre Company. Taking up the 'Bodhran' & delving deeper into folklore & traditions , the next 'project' was the 'Battle of Worcester Folk Club'; run for 5 years & host to many of the leading lights of both the British & international folk circuit as well as presenting Radio Wyvern's Folk Show (dropped for refusing to play Country & Western!!!) Playing in a number of bands, breaking into the Festival Scene as a member of 'Trad' 4 piece the 'Pagan Pigs'. After the dissolution a brief spell followed playing with the 'Aqua Sisters' (Deb Sandland... Phil Beere Band) then session work (inc. playing with Chris Green, ('Isambarde') & Mick Bisseker, '(Band of Rack & Ruin). Organising the world's first Bodhran festival, and forming 'Greenman Rising' (so far getting through 15 Bass Players!) the World is now wide open for adventure . . .
Sophie Matthews
Vocals, Bass
Anne Bowden
Flute, Cello, Whistles
After an appeal for information (any information!) about Anne, we recieved the following in an anonymous email. We leave it to you, dear reader, to decide upon it's veracity: "Anne was brought up in a musical family; her jet-setting, oil-tycoon parents decided their lifestyle was unsuitable for a baby girl and gave her up for adoption to The Osmonds. She still has to resist the urge to slip into "Crazy Horses" during the B-part of "Si Beag Si Mor". As well as a pretty regular face at any Irish-tinted music session (where faces are seldom pretty or regular), Anne has performed with various ceilidh bands but she finally achieved truly parochial renown with the band Harvest Moon. Fellow group members and audience alike have described her performances with glowing admiration as "punctual". Aside from obvious musical ability, Anne brings a welcome touch of diplomacy to Greenman Rising and is considering a new career as a hostage-scene negotiator."
Andrew Wigglesworth
Melodeon, Whistles
Often the one looking bemused when the rest of the band are discussing popular music, Andrew is our resident traditionalist. Talk to him about obscure East Anglian Melodeon players, the merits of different reed layouts or musicians who's names sound like they should have been quality controllers in a radiogram factory*, then he's on firmer ground. Brought up in a family suffused with folk music, Andrew was an early expounder of the tin whistle. This was joined by the melodeon a couple of years after helping to found local Border Morris team "Elephant-up-a-pole", in 1989. In the next few years this was followed by stints dancing Cotswold Morris, and playing for North West Morris and Rapper. A few years ago he emerged, for the time being, from Morris tartdom. Three teams on the go at the same time must qualify for the label "Morris tart". Other musical activities have included ceilidh bands (various including "Old Hog") the trio "Samain" with Gerry Bailey and Nigel Ward and as a stalwart of various sessions (from Morris tart to session tart in two easy moves!). Andrew was captured in his natural habitat (a dark corner of the Whitefriars music session, Coventry) on an expedition led by Greenman Rising's intrepid Steve Bentley. He has since been habiltated as a passable band member and his propensity to wander off into the more weird English dance tunes has been curbed (a bit). A little known side of Andrew is his illustrious acting career. Peforming alongside international stars such as Clive Owen (Arthur, Sin City etc. etc.) in showstopping renditions of...... oh OK then, Mr Owen was 13 (Oliver) and Andrew was 11 (orphan) in a school production of Oliver, the musical. What else is left to say, other than that Andrew has expressed his delight to be playing with such a wonderful, talented, inspired and plainly gorgeous set of musicians in Greenman Rising...... [goes off to buy shares in sick-bag companies].
Notes: * er, it's one of those things that if you know, you just know
Gerry Bailey
Guitar
Influences: The Wind blowing through a forest, the Light reflected by a Standing Stone (and too much time spent hanging out, listening to diverse bands & musicians.)
Type of Label: None