Andy's Whiskey and Go Go!

In reply to a post on here as to "How many bands have I been In?", I thought I would post a brief history, form my failing memory. lol! Updated July 2007 as things returned to haunt my memories!

 * = see posting elsewhere on this site for more details or pics.

During my last couple of years at Secondary School I began to get into all types of music that was around me at the time and my influences probably originated from there. I'd been into listening and copying Elvis Presley since as far back as I could remember but the combination of Rock and Roll,Heavy Rock/Metal, Punk, and even Pop music, at the time started me on the road, for the need to be in a band, but firstly try to write songs (which incidentally I still ain't mastered/managed).* I remember sitting in class writing these stupid lyrics and while walking from block to block in the school between lessons, I'd hum or sing the tunes to myself.  

The year was about 1978 and I met up with some guys, from the year below me at school, during my final year at school. They had a common interest with me to form a band. My first band then,playing Rock music, was Phaze lV. * We never got past rehearsal stages though and fell out with each other and split up. We couldn't really play that well but we learnt as we went along. Rehearsals began in the front room of my parents house. Felt like a fish bowl though as I lived on a main road with cars, buses and people walkin past all the time. We had the guitar/bass rigged to play through my Dad's stereo. My Dad was a hifi buff and had built these massive 4x4 speaker cabinets to listen to his music through. It was the same hifi that I'd listened to the 1st Van Halen album on, with the volume pumped up. We eventually started rehearsing at a school classroom not far from where I lived and relyied on the guitarists dad to give us a lift there with the equipement we had now built up. Icidently it was this 1st band that I was also playing bass guitar in, as well as singing. We'd got some guitar cabs and mics etc by the time we'd got ourselves into rehearsing at the school.

It was around 1980 and I heard via a friend down our local drinking haunt The Lady Godiva Pub (nicknamed The Dive) that a band were looking for a singer as their current singer had been sacked / left. Turned out though he had become the Manager of the band and helped me with my singing also.  So the second band I joined after an audition, was the heavy metal/rock band Malias. *  I dropped playing the bass guitar at this point which was stange as they auditioned a new bass player at the same time (Just happened to be Black Paul who' I'd hook with again many years later in The Gutter Cats) I got to play my first two live gigs with this band which was fun and got me into wearing my 1st pair of spandex trousers (A sky blue colour!) Things didn't last long  though and the band split up due to personal issues. From memory a couple of rehearsals were tried with a rejuvenated line-up of Malias members and new personnel but nothing came of it.

So in limbo around 1981, I auditioned to join another band, that was being formed by Clive Skellon (drummer) who went on to be a well known local dj on local radio station, Mercia Sound. He had all the songs written (and carried them round in a brief case, all professional like!). He had some recording and rehearsal time booked in, at Roger Lomas' (Ska producer) home studio's. We went up there a rehearsed a few times but for whatever reason it all fell through.(I have a feeling that his girlfriend got pregnant and he decided to call it a day with the musical career)  He seemed so confident and knowledgeable to me at the time, but things weren't meant to be!  

My third band took a while for me to find.Again it was through a friend of a friend drinking at the Dive, that I found myself auditioning for my next band. This was another metal band who tried to attract a biker type audience.They were all greasy long hair and dirty deniums and leathers. The band were called Firefly. *  My musical tastes were changing at this time with me listening to the likes of Twisted Sister Hanoi Rocks and Wrathchild. Gig wise I moved up a notch. I played more gigs than I thought were possible at the time and we got to play to larger audiences including a support slot with Bernie Torme at the General Wolfe and suppports with local Biker/NWOBHM band Chainsaw. But things were not meant to be again. I got myself a red leather biker's jacket and was sacked for becoming too glam for the bands image. They continued for a short while with a new singer, before calling it a day and splitting up. 

So on the rocks for a while, with idea's for a new band with a new glam direction. So after some advertising I hooked up with a guy called Dave, oh! and his drum machine. There was a Chinese/possibly Thai guitarist also, that was into the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper, who became part of this practicing band. Although practicing was a loose term as I don't think it ever got further than rehearsing in Dave's bedsit or my bedroom. The band split when the guitarist left and Dave tried getting off with my then, girlfriend.

So after some advertising in local music shops and an ad in the local paper , band number four  emerged, arising from a guy called Fred contacting me. An exmember of Coventry Oi1 band Criminal Class. He'd had some connections with Roddy Radiation (from The Specials) and played in some bands with him. So anyway it was around 1984 now and we formed a band called Inzane Dice, *  influenced by New York Dolls, Thunders, Hanoi Rocks and The Babysitters. We found a drummer called George and a young kid, 16/18 years old (by our standards anyway) to play bass. And for me at this point he hair became bigger and the eyeliner began to appear (for me anyway). See pics*. We rehearsed harder than I'd done with any other band previous. Fred was a great songwriter/arranger and had a bunch of songs ready to go. He pushed us hard with getting the songs right at rehearsals. But we called it a day after several gigs and a last minute change of name (Fridays Angels from the Generation X song), possibly the night before we split. The reason for the split escapes me now?

So 1985/1986 and it was back out looking for a new band again. Anyway, band number five was just over the horizon. Advertising myself as a Fridays Angel looking for band members, a guitarist named Russ contacted me and so started the auditioning again. The audition tookplace at the old Horizon studios (where again The Specials connection lies as they used the place too.) Obviously I got the gig and 1st or 2nd rehearsal in, 'Who's She Killin Now?' was written. Russ decided he liked the name Fridays Angels.So after a few letter changes so as to cause no trouble with my previous band, Fridayz Angelz*  the glam band were born. The band had been together in various forms before I joined and played a mixed bag of tunes, including a Rush Tune and a Stooges tune. The writing of songs began quite quickly and gigs soon followed. The hightlight of being with this band was getting to support (amongst others) The Babysitter's at the Legendary Marquee Club in London. I got to get into the studio with the band for the 1st time also. The band last a few years and was my heart and soul of life during that time.  So after several years of ups and downs, demo's and line-up changes the band split up due to the poaching of two members of the band by up and coming Birmingham Band The Brooklyn Dogs. One final line-up of the band was put together and lasted several rehearsals before splitting up through lack of direction and enthusiasm from the line-up. The final nail, was losing our then, new bassist, to ex-Tigertailz singer's new band St Jaimz, in London.

1988 and the time had come to sit back and recharge the batteries. My personal life took over for a while and interest in being in a band was low.But then band number five and a half came along... Now it becomes a little vague around here as to whether there was another band! But, thinkin back... there was, and it came about by some guy, that had seen me years ago with Firefly, came lookin for me, to get me,  to join a band he was putting together. I believe at this point there were some rehearsals with this rock type band, and they just happed to be at the same church hall that I'd practiced in with Fridayz Angelz in years previous. Iain and Stevo were also involved in the band.  I didn't know Stevo at this point.

Stevo takes up the story for this bit,

" From what I can recall (names have been forgotten to protect the innocent) I'd been rehearsing with a bass player, who was into classic rock, and a lead guitarist who had been a rockabilly but now thought he was Slash!!!
Anyway we were auditioning for a singer when Andy & Iain turned up, Andy only prepared to join if Iain was taken on as well! It never got beyond the rehearsal stage, which is just as well as the choice of songs were a little bit eclectic, ahem. Think we had Wishing well, Out in the Fields, Shadowplay, Fool For Your Loving, Here I go Again, Sweet Child of Mine & maybe Paradise City, roughly there, before Andy & Iain joined. I think we rehearsed a couple of Fridayz Angelz songs as well (Johnny B Bad?, All My Love and possibly Who's She Killin Now?).

Anyhow, Andy & Iain only rehearsed for maybe six weeks with us then left, the band broke up & coupla months later Andy approached me at Busters Nightclub in Cov. where I was one of the Dj's (the better one!) and asked me to join his new acoustic based band, 'The Gutter Cats' (still think its an appalling name!) and the rest they say is history! or is it?"

Was it a case of musical differences that caused the split?

During my wilderness years,away from singing in bands, during the early 90's, I'd tried learning to play acoustic guitar, with the help of my friend Iain from Fridayz Angelz. I'd mellowed out a bit and started listening to acoustic rock tunes, that seemed to be a plenty of at that point. i.e. Poison, Extreme, Dogs D'Amour and even Guns and Roses. This gave me the idea for what was to follow......

On to band number six, The Gutter Cats, who Stevo has already mentioned above, which only started out as a bit of fun with me and my friend Iain. We thought we'd support a mates band, Shady Deal, and do some acoustic and vocal cover tunes. We enjoyed it so much that we began to form a band along the way. So during the next few gigs. Stevo was signed up and another guy called Fred (real name Steve, we couldn't have 2 Steve's in the band), (so he was rechristened 'Fred' after the band 'Right Said Fred', for obvoius reasons! Check out the current Daz Washing Powder advert on TV). 

The history of The Gutter Cats is a chapter in it self. I've begun writing it but it's incomplete and memories are needing a jolt to complete it! (Come on guys...type some thoughts down please) So after many gigs, demo's, fallouts, line-up changes, hilarity we called it a day, although we did three reunion gigs we eventually split up. This was the most enjoyable and relaxed of all the bands I've been in, and all the guys that were involved in this band, and I say a big Thank You, to!  But there's still time for some more...... Never say Never!!??! 

There were some attempts at a kind of Gutter Cats mark 2 in between all the reunions but they never took off during rehearsals. Possibly around this time band number seven emerged Midlife Crisis and was probably just that? We rehearsed loads and played a few gigs but the band seemed to have no real musical direction with the mixed bag of influences. During which time when the band had rehearsals booked and people didn't turn up myself Stevo and Paul would rehearse with a drum machine attempting to produce some new direction in the music we were playing. A kinda heavy industrial sort of thing it seemed. It all came to an end and Midlife Crisis split off into two factions.

That was for me, more or less the end of my band career, apart from the 3rd Gutter Cats reunion at Stevo's wedding. *  But we proved we still had it in us and we could do it again!

So apart from singing the odd karaoke song or joining in with a few Thai rock bands in the bars of Bangkok, my band days seem to be at an end for the time being..... or are they???   

So 2007 and band number 8 came along and I was approached by an old band friend, Tony Lowe from Malias, about singing again.He was putting together a band for a bit of fun and possible gigs.

Rewind slightly to 2006 and Tony had contacted me to sing on some demo's he was putting together, recording various songs he had written. I went along a gave it a try but I found his song writing had not progressed any further, than it had from the Malias days. It all seem a step back in time for me.   

Anyway, I did a few rehearsals with the band and things were beginning to gel, gigs were are a long way off. Regular attendance of the drummer at rehearsals, didn't help things though. The band played mainly old cover songs of rock tunes, from 20 years ago. The band name became 'Sweet like Honey' but the ups and downs of getting regular rehearsals and a set of songs that we were all happy with, took it's toll on me. My enthusiasm for the band faded. With no real direction and being told to learn songs I had no feeling for, I quit.

The band found themselves a new singer and also a drummer who they could rely on. They are currently rehearsing and getting ready to gig in September 2007. A change of name for the band too.... Splif Vica... 

Keep watching this space for band number 9..........