The Briefcase Blues Brothers, Oct. 2002.
(l-r) Me, Kylan, Dan, Maz, Matt, Simon.
I got the call to join Mario in The Jansons in June 1994. Maz knew
me from having provided PAs for my old band, Loose Tourniquet, though it
wasn't until he called me that I knew he played in bands too. In the
beginning we were a four-piece, with Chris on bass and Andy sharing the
guitar & vocal duties with Maz. Andy left after nine months, and we
continued as a three-piece. Chris remained with the band, and the various
other bands that were spawned from it, until the beginning of 2001.
The three-piece Jansons were essentially a pub covers band, and tended to be anarchic rather than slickly professional. Having taken that as far as we could, we started acquiring extra musicians and putting together more serious lineups. Eventually we reached our current situation, which is a pool of musicians, (a core group plus several extras who stand in on occasion), and several different bandnames under which we perform.
The Jansons / Anthem / Here & Now
Three slightly differing bands which play anthemic, singalong/danceable rock and pop songs. Anthem is a five-piece band with two guitars and keyboard. The Jansons and Here & Now are four-piece versions, the former without the second guitar, the latter without the keyboards.
The Briefcase Blues Brothers
A tribute to the Blues Brothers (surprise, surprise!), this lineup consists of Jake and Elwood plus guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. We're more rock-based than the classic film lineup, but we've augmented the lineup with a horn section when requested, and it sounds wonderful!
C.B.S. (Committed Blues and Soul) / Loveshack
Bands with female lead vocals. The former performing soul music á la The Commitments, the latter a function band playing disco and other party music.
Jake & Elwood, a.k.a. Dan and Maz
Outside of Mario's various bands, I'm also involved with
X-sTatiC
X-sTatiC are a tribute band to Swindon's Finest, XTC.
Since retiring from live performance just as they were on the verge of becoming a major name in 1982, XTC have continued to produce albums of lovingly crafted music to the delight of a small core of devoted fans and the complete ignorance of the greater public. X-sTatiC aim to remedy this deplorable situation, or at least to have a great deal of fun trying.
X-sTatiC is the brainchild of Dan. Dan is a multi-talented git instrumentalist who was recruited by the Briefcase Blues Brothers to be a dep drummer for occasions when I wasn't available. However, he subsequently ended up also taking the role of Elwood in the band, which meant I ended up playing drums behind him. And that was how we met.
When he first put X-sTatiC together he did so with himself as the drummer, but as it progressed he became more interested in being the guitarist and frontman, and when he discovered I was also a fan he saw an opportunity to do exactly that. And the rest is history.
We made our live debut at the Hope And Anchor, Islington, on September 21st, 2002. Thanks to the Chalkhills website the word spread among the hardcore fans, and the event was a complete sellout. Long may this tradition continue!
To find out more, visit the X-sTatiC website.
