Inspiration:

– Roger Webster (especially when playing ‘Napoli’)
– Philip McCann
– Mynton Marsalis
– Louis Armstrong
– Miles Davis

Best Gig:

Nantwich Jazz and Blues are always mega especially if we play the opening gig on the stage in the square.  I’d have to agree with the others in Nakatcha was an amazing gig.  Playing on stage at Birmingham ICC was also a gig that hits the right note!

Most Embarrassing Moment On Stage:

Breaking a finger while jumping off stage at the Whitchurch civic hall ……Ouch !!

Most Irritating Time:

Most irritating time is being cursed by Jackie’s bloody handbag as I’m setting up the pa, lights, instruments etc!!
I’m convinced it’s stalking me 😳😳😳😳😳

Favourite Trombonist:

Fred Wesley

Favourite Solo:

James Brown – “People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul” (Fred Wesley)

Best Moment On Stage:

– Hard to say… The Nantwich Jazz ‘n’ Blues are always good gigs. I think I’d have to agree with Steve our guitar man, Nakatcha 2010 was awesome. I was a keen 18 year old at the time, the crowd was jam packed into the venue to the point where nobody could move never mind dance! But man, what a vibe.

Most Embarrassing Moment On Stage:

Blozone, Albright Hussey 2009, Wedding. During the “brass choreography” bit of “Let’s stick Together” (Roxy Music), the table that I was standing on collapsed causing drinks to fly (mostly red wine) all over a brand new white carpet. I ended up with a busted lip and the band was billed £45 for the drinks and broken glass. There was also a booze soaked digital camera to top it all off! The owner wasn’t best pleased and wanted to bill us for the full price of the carpet! Good job our drummer at the time was a lawyer… No more dancing on tables at that venue!

Gary Meek, Maceo Parker, Charlie Parker, Joshua Redman

Velo – Gary Meek (Multiplicity Album, Dave Weckl Band)

Not quite on stage, playing at the Nantwich Jazz and Blues Festival, we were opening the festival on the main stage. Typically I needed the toilet right before starting and ran to the mobile public toilet with an electronic door. After doing my business I went to open a now broken electronic door! Feeling trapped nothing more would do, with no phone I ‘screamed’ for help. A policeman, crow bar and a now accumulated crowd of people cheering I ran to get on stage to a set that had already started!

Inspirations:

John’s inspirations for singing his soul out with BrassMonkees have to be the soul legends that are Otis Redding,  Wilson Pickett and  Al Green.  True to form his favourite belter and all time party stirrer is Mustang Sally.

Best Moment On Stage:

A big softy at heart, spotting his daughter gazing up at him adoringly in the crowd during his set has to be one of his best moments on stage.

Most Embarrassing Moment On Stage:

The worst has to be when other band members needed to stop midway through a song for an urgent toilet visit! (Not Brass Monkees we hasten to add)

Charlie Parker (Legend)

Johnny Rocko from Widnes (Ex Factor legend) best seen after 15 pints!

– The proudest and most emotional moment on stage was playing at my son’s wedding and the fact he wasn’t embarrassed but it. Priceless.

– Also performing on stage in the ICC Birmingham in front of 1,500 people. (Awesome!)

 Steve Lukather

Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne (Larry Carlton)

– Blozone, Nantwich Jazz ‘n’ Blues, Nakatcha, 2010. The crowd were queuing down the street (way past the Indian Ocean) to get in. Couldn’t hear anything on stage after the first three numbers, the audience were totally into it. Best £20 I’ve ever earned! Fantastic!

Hollow Ian Band, Raby Castle, Christmas 1990. Maggot’s Gran (the leader singer… Maggot that is!) had got us this gig for her old folks’ home. The disco, the xmas lights, and all the band (including the pyrotechnics) were all plugged into this single 13 amp wall socket. We shuffled onto the stage after their xmas meal (extra soft sprouts of course) and the first thing Maggot shouts down the microphone, in his most patronising voice, is ‘HAVE YOU HAD A NICE TEEEEEEE?’. This causes the rest of the band to corpse… but worse is to come. Maggot then launches into the intro of the first song…’And a 1,2,3,4,5 o’clock rock’ which sets in motion the obvious car crash in about 3 bars time. It was just possible (through the tears) to see the audience start switching off their hearing aids and start ‘signing’ before the RCD tripped out and plunged the hall into darkness. All true. Polygraph available on request.

Favourite Bassists:

Charles Mingus, James Anderson, Les Claypool, Flea and Stuart Zender

Music career highlights:

Convincing the socially awkward Spanish teacher to sing Paradise City by Guns ‘n’ Roses for my friend’s A-level music performance.  Could barely hold it together as it was so funny!

Headlining Hornsea Music Festival in 2005 and rocking out to Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hendrix to an audience with an average age of about 70.

Landing a residence at a bar in Central Durham which provided a free pizza and beers every night we were on.

Musical Lowlight:

Arriving at a jazz jam night with a terrible cold and fever and having the pianist call the first tune at roughly 700bpm.  I had no idea what I was doing!

Favourite Players:

– Bill Bruford
– Brian Downy
– Neil peart
– Billy Conway
– Dave Mattacks
– Phil Collins

Best Moment On Stage:

– Most memorable moment on stage would be difficult due to having very little memory but the ICC gig with Blozone in the early noughties was good. Also playing in Birmingham at St Patricks celebration with U2 band was cool…15000 folks there..so l was told.