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On Life In General
Life's a bitch and then you die. And that just about sums it up really.
A bottomless pit of negativity, I keep the rest of the band in high spirits by being so miserable!!!!
Mother Nature saw fit to rob me of my hair (the bitch) so I shaved it all off to beat her at her own game.
I now replace my once golden locks with a scarf and hat - which is slightly more in keeping with that '70's look'!
Outside of the band I only really have three interests - music, motorbikes and rugby - all fast, loud and heavy! But more on that lot later....
On The Band
I met Nick years ago - we were looking for a drummer in my first band - around 1986.
When that band split up, I joined a blues band where I met Neil - I lasted in that band for about 15 years before being kicked out. It was either that or quite literally die of boredom!
Neil, Nick and I had also just got Taste Of Purple together by then so, musically speaking, I had my sights set on much greater things!
I met Paul when we auditioned for a guitarist and the rest, as they say, is (fairly recent) history.
Living as far apart from one another as we do, we don't get together and just hang out as much as I'd like but we all get on really well and that's what counts - a band should be a group of friends having a good time together and we do just that!
On Music
I've always been into music and got into the heavier stuff (the heavier the better!) at a very early age thanks in part to my brother who introduced me to several bands, one of whom was Rush....
I'm into all the usual suspects from Free and Led Zep through to Priest, Slayer and Lamb Of God . Generally, if you can tag it with a heavy badge, I probably like it, although I have to say, when this genre of music (like any I guess) gets popular, it produces a lot crap.... I shan't shame the shameless by naming names, but you'll know who they are in five years time because you will have forgotten all about them!
One of my earliest influences was AC/DC and I think Highway To Hell may have been my first heavy album.
I got to see them at Donington in 1984 which also happened to be my first ever gig - what a way to start! AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne (when he wasn't a twat), Gary Moore, Y & T (GREAT band), Motley Crue and Accept .
Nikki Sixx fell over running onto the stage - hahaha - serves the talentless poser right - and although I will admit I actually quite liked them on the day, it was not enough for me to buy any of their albums!!!
I do also like some softer stuff but I can't stand crappy love songs - there are very few bands
who can write a decent ballad eg. Journey and early Scorpions , but pop rock bands like Bon Jovi and talentless shite like Motley Crue make me want to puke....but I like bands like Ratt and Winger - go figure!
Picking a list of favourite bands is nigh on impossible - I have literally thousands of CDs - like I said, if it's heavy, I probably like it!
Throughout the years I've collected many more favourite bands, one being a certain Iron Maiden whom I was a devotee from the early years through to the height of their popularity and up to Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son .
After that, they started to go downhill in my opinion. Bruce Dickinson's solo material is far superior, especially Chemical Wedding - that has got to be one of the best albums of the decade and I think will go on to be one of the great albums of all time (on my list anyway - and yes, it's a very big list!!!!!)
Of course Deep Purple have always been in there and I was lucky enough to be one of the few (!) fans who got to see them at Knebworth in 1985
and, although they were brilliant, the mighty Blackfoot stole the day for me (even though Ricky Medlocke had a bad cold).
On Influences
I have heroes across the whole spectrum of rock and metal, not just limited to bassists or vocalists, so I'll try and keep this (relatively) short and sweet and give you the hows, whys and wherefores for just a few of them.
Bass
As far as the bass goes,
Geezer Butler, Steve Harris and Geddy Lee were probably my earliest and biggest influences (aim high!).
I was then introduced to Billy Sheehan, thanks to Dave Lee Roth after he split from Van Halen.
And then along came Dream Theater and the mighty John Myung....
But great bassists (and any great musician for that matter) is not based solely on technical expertise.
Check out Neil Murray's playing on Whitesnake's best album Come And Get It - simple, yet involved, and weaves seemlessly in and out of songs rhythms to give the album a subtle funky groove.
Great Basslines:
Stu Hamm - Always With Me, Always With You
The Faces - Stay With Me
John Paul Jones - Ramble On
Neil Murray - Come An' Get It
Geddy Lee - YYZ (OK, anything by Rush!)
And anything by Dream Theater too....
Geezer Butler - I Witness
Flea - BloodSugarSexMagik
Vocals
Vocally, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Hogarth, Geoff Tate (to name but a few) are awesome.
I've never really seen myself as a vocalist - I don't really like the sound of my voice - does anyone? (I mean the sound of your own voice, not mine!!!!)
I sort of fell into it with this band while we were looking for a vocalist and seeing as our search ended in vain, it just kinda stuck....
Guitar
Their are many great guitarists out there, put not all of them can write a good song or legendary riff.
For sheer riffage: Dimebag, Scott Ian, Tony Iommi, Brian Tatler, Dave Mustaine.
Class and technical wizardry: Michael Schenker, Neil Schon, EVH, George Lynch,
Joe Satriani, Alex Skolnik, Yngwie, Vinnie Moore, Marty Friedman. Actually, you can put any of those names in either list....
And for sheer funked up funky grooves there is no one better than Stevie Salas.
Great Guitar Riffs:
Anthrax - We've Come For You All - Nobody Knows Anything
Megadeth - Rust In Peace - Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
Testament -The Gathering - D.N.R.
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn - As The Palaces Burn
Rainbow - Rising - Stargazer
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti - Kashmir
Thin Lizzy - Fighting - Fighting My Way Back
Great Guitar Solos:
Dave Gilmour - Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd - The Wall)
John Sykes - Don't Stop By (Tyger Of Pan Tang - Spellbound)
Drums
Burn is one of my all-time favourite albums for drumming - I don't like (any instrument) being stuck in the background doing something that might almost not be there - PLAY THEM!!!!
Dave Lombardo - huge drummer - vicious battery with a great groove
Neil Peart
Mike Portnoy
Buddy Rich - amazing stuff from your grandad in his Sunday best!
Motorhead's Mickey Dee on 'Sacrifice' - especially the off-beat 'Over Your Shoulder'
Drummers porn
Keyboards
There are not many keyboard players that really set my world on fire, but Jon Lord is one who really makes keyboards exciting for me - it's the Hammond organ sound that gets me going - you just can't beat it. I also think the Mini Moog is quite cool (Stormbringer).
Another guy is Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess because he's such a virtuoso and is someone I could watch and listen to all night long.
But when it comes to heavier music though, I'm not a great fan of keyboards. One reason being the sounds they use - like a cheap childs toy from Woolworths and added as an afterthought or to fill out the sound.
I'm sure if they used a Hammond it would sound a thousand times better!
Some Of The Greatest Albums Of All Time
Rush - A Farewell To Kings
Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith
Rainbow - Rising
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
Dio - Holy Diver
Thin Lizzy - Renegade
Great Covers
Judas Priest - Green Manalishi (Fleetwood Mac)
Testament - Sails Of Charon (Uli Jon Roth)
Testament - Rapid Fire (Judas Priest)
Sepultura - Orgasmatron (Motorhead)
Thunder - Stay With Me (The Faces)
Dream Theater - Dark Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd)
Metallica - They're a great covers band (!) but just to pick out one....
Metallica - Damage Case (Motorhead)
Motorhead - Whiplash (Metallica)
Thunder - Stay With Me
Rush - The Seeker
Great Bands You've Never Heard Of!
Cry Of Love
Firebird
Life After Death
Engine
Grand Magus
Harem Scarem
Threshold
On Hobbies
Music
Music, and lots of it (did I tell you I like music?) - has to be my main hobby as I do it all the time (a bit like watching the telly really).
I'm a music fan and have thousands of albums - I never really understood musicians (whatever style they play) that have no record collection to speak of - I don't get it - if you love music so much that you want to play it then surely you want to listen to as much of it as possible too....
For me (more so in years gone by when heavy music wasn't fashionable and a 15 minute fad for some spotty adolescent) being into heavy music is a way of life and not a fashion statement.
Bikes
What can I say about bikes - you're either into them or you're not, if you're not then you don't get it and if you are then you do!!! I've never understood when people say it's about freedom though - perhaps someone can explain that to me....
The bike in the picture is a Ducati which, although I loved it dearly, I don't have anymore as it kept breaking down. Typical Italian build quality - 'form over function' - still, if you're going to break down all the time, you may as well look good doing it!
I now have a couple of rice-burners - Suzukis to be exact - an SV1000S for the road and a DR-Z400E for dirty weekends away! (That's off-roading for the un-initiated).
Next, I want to add a Triumph Rocket III to my garage so I can go cruising (for what, who knows?) Hmm, maybe I should start playing the lottery....
Rugby
I like all sports - bike racing and rugby. There aren't any others. Who do I support? Anyone playing Leicester Cheaters, sorry Tigers, er no - I got it right the first time....
Films
Lord Of The Rings
Snatch
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Plunkett And Macleane
Saving Grace
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Books / Authors
Terry Pratchett
Michael Crichton
Michael Slade
I was a big fan of Clive Barker, but his later books are a bit of a disappointment.
Bruce Dickinson's 'Lord Iffy....' books are also good for a laugh....
And Finally....
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