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I was born in 1966 and raised in Stockton on Tees in the North East of England.
I began playing the drums in 1977 at 11 years of age after seeing Stewart Copeland
and the Police on TV. My first main group was a Ska group called 'Catch 22' that lasted
for a couple of years and played in local schools. I then went on to play variety with
various musicians in bars and clubs for a while.
I started to pay more attention to the role of the bass in the mid 80's and purchased
my first bass, a cream Ibanez Roadstar '2' in 1985. However, it was right handed and
i became frustrated and sold it after a few years. I continued to play drums in a group
called 'Transfige' following a move to Paris. We made 1 CD and the group lasted several
years. After a move to Cannes for work reasons, I had no group to play in and no place
to practice my drums. I sold my drums and turned back to the electric bass, and after
almost 5 years of solid practice (on a lefty instrument this time!) i play fretted
and fretless basses. I play in a local jazz fusion group with work colleagues called
e-BIZ.
Sound:
I prefer a modern almost 'hi-fi' jazz sound rather than a traditional roots sound.
Equipment:
I own a lefty Musicman StingRay Fretless 4C and a 1981 lefty Ibanez RS 924 Fretted
Roadster (a fabulous bass and one of only 250 made!). I have been looking for a a lefty
Ibanez MC924 lefty for 4 years, but without any luck so far.
For amplification I use a Hartke HA4000 amplifier and a Hartke 410XL cabinet.
My influences:
My main influence is a great fretless bass player called Jimmy 'Flim' Johnson. Jimmy
was a memeber of Flim and the BB's and is known for his work as a session player with
the likes of Lee Ritenour and Stan Getz.
My other main influences are Paul Soccolo, Jaco, Sting, Pino Palladino and Jean-Marc
Jafet. |
