Music

For those who have scrolled this far, a little about me...

My passion for music began early on in my life, despite never being particularly inspired by my parents' musical tastes. Dad's obsession with Elvis and Country & Western music or Mum's love for Robbie Williams never struck me as particularly 'cool' (although these are all not-so-guilty pleasures of mine now).

Ironically, it was Aerosmith that really kickstarted my life as a musician (in hindsight, Aerosmith probably aren't much cooler than any of the music my parents were listening to). I remember watching the episode of the Simpsons where they play an impromptu performance of 'Walk This Way' at Moe's Tavern and suddenly I felt like I knew what my purpose in life was. The scene was obnoxious and a little cheesy, but it looked like a whole lot of fun! Even though it was just a cartoon, the energy in that dingy bar showed me the power of live music and how it can bring people together. Until that point, I reckon most of my exposure to live music had been through Top of the Pops - I generally remember both the performances and crowds on that show being pretty stale.

Within a few weeks, at a meagre eight years old, I'd convinced my parents to buy me a guitar and start lessons at school. They were hesitant at first, but fast forward ten years and they're sat in front of me singing and playing rock classics in dingy bars myself - I'd made it! My first band played a lot of small shows and festivals round Oxfordshire, but my fondest nights were always at the Sprat in Didcot (gone but never forgotten).

At this point, rock music was predominantly what I was creating and performing live. However, I'd cultivated a love for all sorts of music during my formative years. Music was available from all angles - video games, record shops, or your mate's phone via Bluetooth. Speaking of video games, I particularly remember spending far too much time playing GTA: San Andreas at far too young of an age. Consequently, my prepubescent brain was exposed to a lot of sex and violence, but at least it was to a great soundtrack. K-JAH West was hands down my most listened-to radio station on that game - car chases became far less stressful to the sound of smooth reggae. Pressure Drop by Toots & The Maytals and Here I Come by Barrington Levy are two tunes that still live in my head rent free.

I also have my brother and his schoolmates to thank for all the CDs that were shared round and subsequently burnt and saved to my iPod. This was towards the end of the noughties so naturally included lots of indie, post-hardcore ('emo'), and dubstep. For me there were definitely a few standout albums that still resonate with me today though. Two of which were Hold Your Colour by Pendulum and Take to the Skies by Enter Shikari. I've spoken to many music-lovers my age who agree that these bands really bridged a gap between rock/metal and dance music. For me in particular it opened my eyes to the world of drum & bass and jungle.

My Story