ando387337

SEEKING

Lead Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Background Singer.

ABOUT

Hi. I'm a singer/songwriter with plenty of songs looking for musicians bass/drums/keys/lead guitar/backing vocals to form a band in Reading. I'm in my 50s so it's mainly for the fun of playing live.

Screen name:: ando387337
Member since:: Jul 30 2020; Active within 1 week
Level of commitment:: Committed
Years playing music:: 35
Gigs played:: 50 to 100
Tend to practice:: 2-3 times per week
Available to gig:: 2-3 nights a week
Most available:: Nights

Influences

Elvis Costello, Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, First Aid Kit, The Staves, 60s, Dusty Springfield, Ricki Lee Jones, Motown, Paul Simon, Emmylou Harris

Instrument experience:

Acoustic Guitar:: Moderate

MUSIC

YOU STOLE MY DAY - FINAL 2 (MASTERED)

YOU STOLE MY DAY - FINAL 2 (MASTERED)
FOREVER GIRL (MASTERED)

FOREVER GIRL (MASTERED) Track number: 2 Year: 2019 Genre: Alternative
HUMMINGBIRD

HUMMINGBIRD Track number: 3 Year: 2019 Genre: Acoustic
HOW YOU FEEL

HOW YOU FEEL Track number: 4 Year: 2020 Genre: Alternative
STUCK IN LIMBO

STUCK IN LIMBO Track number: 5 Year: 2019 Genre: Alternative
SHOOT FOR THE MOON

SHOOT FOR THE MOON Track number: 6 Year: 2019 Genre: Alternative
Victoria
VictoriaFrom the slums of Victorian London to the pain of an unrequited love this was Little Idiot's Christmas non-hit of 1990! One line that stands out as poignant today as 30 years ago, "the future's just the sum of all our wasted time". Stuck for a bass player, Ben managed to persuade Bruce Thomas of The Attractions to step in with some lovely lines. Our closest brush with a pop hero. Recorded at The Spike studios and remastered here, it still holds its own, albeit for what now seems a very long intro and an incredibly loud and Hammond organ! I think we co-wrote this but as there will never be any royalties to gather, does it really matter?
A RAINY DAY
A RAINY DAYThe world is hurting. We've gotta come together to repair the damage between ourselves and our home, the earth. My gratitude to Rufus Barker for some sweet harmonies.
TELL ME
TELL MEA moody Christmas tune with a dusting of hope and retribution for two ex lovers. Sentimental, yet not sugar-coated.
TROPHY WIFE 25-11-2020 HD
TROPHY WIFE 25-11-2020 HDA clever and kind woman fulfils her dream to live and work in New York in the 1950s. She's smart, but it's an unforgiving man's world, a Mad Men's world in fact. Finding it tough to be heard, and falling for the wrong guy, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Featuring the blissful guitar of Ed Jack Barker (AKA Shedward https://soundcloud.com/user-220219446). Image Pexels/Pixabay.
Nichols Canyon Road
Nichols Canyon RoadIn and around 1991 I was in a band called Absolutely Sweet Marie. This song was written by Ben Lawrence, inspired by a poster of a wonderful painting he had on his wall by David Hockney called 'Nichols Canyon'. I still have the tape of the original, along with the cover which tells me it was recorded at Spike Studios in London. The singer was Pascale, Ben on keyboard, Derrick Sullivan on bass and me on guitars. We didn't have a drummer then(Graham White joined soon after)hence the drum box. Still one of our fave recordings, alas gathering dust rather than royalties!
WAY OUT WEST - REMIX 22 - 10 - 2020 HD
WAY OUT WEST - REMIX 22 - 10 - 2020 HDOriginally recorded in June 2019 when I was just getting to grips with GarageBand, I've added bass and remixed and mastered this track to add a bit more oomph and hopefully be better on the ear. Featuring Philly and Tina on oohs and aahs!
YOU STOLE MY DAY
YOU STOLE MY DAYCatchy, raucous guitar fun. Days are precious... don't waste them! Cover image: claudio-schwarz-purzlbaum on unsplash.com
HOW YOU FEEL
HOW YOU FEELI wrote this song in June this year (2020). This song is about me coming to terms with the fact that everyone is different and that this realisation is cyclical. Like most of my songs, it's not about any one person in particular. It is a collage of feelings and experiences, a patchwork quilt of memories and emotions. All my own work! Enjoy! Image: Jeremy Bishop, Unslpash.
Twenty-Five Quid
Twenty-Five QuidA second throwback track from The Obsessions in 1988. Ben Lawrence on vocals, keyboard and guitar, me on guitars and backing vocals, top Aussie Richard Holt on Bass and George Butler on drums. Produced by Rumour's Martin Belmont. Recorded at Abbeydale Studios.
Wanted
WantedA throwback to 1988. A band called The Obsessions, fronted by singer-songwriter Ben Lawrence, me on guitars and backing vocals, Richard Holt on Bass and W11's own George Butler on drums. Ben wrote this one, the track produced by English rock and country blues guitarist Martin Belmont, probably most famous for his stint in Graham Parker's band The Rumour. Recorded at Abbeydale Studios. Martin went onto even greater things, we didn't! But we had fun trying!
FOREVER GIRL / JAN MIX
FOREVER GIRL / JAN MIXA slightly different mix with a bit more of a groovy jig :)
STUCK IN LIMBO
STUCK IN LIMBOWhen you're trying to move on to somewhere else, sometimes life puts everything on hold and there's nothing you can do! My gratitude goes to Will Barker who composed and performed the amazing solo in this one. Thanks Will. Photo credit: Emile Seguin at unsplash.com
HUMMINGBIRD
HUMMINGBIRDHummingbird Hummingbird I kept my word But I can’t hang around Times have changed Shapes rearranged Fly by without a sound I won’t forget Our beautiful regret We can’t have lost what we never found Hummingbird Your face is blurred Just like your wings It won’t be long Before your song Is lost between these strings I won’t deny I tried to make it last But your movements were too fast Hummingbird The wind sweeps in To brush the clouds away And there’s no doubting we’ll live for another day Nothing’s gained No clarity observed Just the joy of a Hummingbird Hummingbird I overheard You’ve found another home I’m pleased for you If you’re happy to Leave my heart alone Hold your breath It’s wasted on me Hummingbird go silently
FOREVER GIRL
FOREVER GIRLThe rhythm of this track lent itself perfectly to my thoughts of travelling home on a train from a weekend spent with my girlfriend. Lots of my songs are about feelings, images and shadows from the past; I owed her one that was about the here and now. So, hey Philly, this one is for you! Image: Ronaldo Santos unsplash.com
WATER INTO WINE
WATER INTO WINEThis song seemed to be just waiting to be written. Like the sculpture sees a shape inside a block of wood waiting to come out. It all just came together painlessly in a few short hours. Thanks to anyone who has liked my tracks so far. Please let me know if you enjoy this one. All my songs are just demos created on GarageBand - feel free to share. Photo: Viktor Omy on unsplash.com
LAST WEEKEND OF SUMMER
LAST WEEKEND OF SUMMERI’d tried writing songs in my 20s when I was out to ‘make it’ in pop music with my friend Ben. The trouble was, I was the Andrew Ridgeley to his George Michael. I just couldn’t quite work out how to do it. One title I had tinkered with was ‘last weekend of summer’. I thought it sounded evocative of an ending, that sadness you feel inside when the days start shortening and leaves start turning. I can still hear the melody I wrote back then. But it wasn’t right. So I rewrote it. Turns out the birds know when it's time to go. Image: Frank Mckenna on unsplash.com
11:20
11:20Sunny days wandering the streets of Notting Hill, meeting friends in cafés for breakfast on Saturday mornings hoping to fend off the nagging remnants of a heavy night. The sounds of a city suburb softly impregnating the air with a culture mix of reggae, pop, rock, house, garage, you name it. Pop stars around every corner. And of course George Butler, our one-time drummer, who knew everyone and who everyone knew. You still owe me for about 360 pints of Guinness by the way! W11 was my home for nearly ten years. The first time I ever went there I thought it must be the centre of the known universe. And I nearly left my heart there. Sunny days wandering the streets of Notting Hill, meeting friends in cafés for breakfast on Saturday mornings hoping to fend off the nagging remnants of a heavy night. The sounds of a city suburb softly impregnating the air with a culture mix of reggae, pop, rock, house, garage, you name it. Pop stars around every corner. And of course George Butler, our one-time drummer, who knew everyone and who everyone knew. You still owe me for about 360 pints of Guinness by the way! W11 was my home for nearly ten years. The first time I ever went there I thought it must be the centre of the known universe. And I nearly left my heart there. Photo by Damiano Baschiera on Unsplash
SHOOT FOR THE MOON
SHOOT FOR THE MOONThis song is a complete fantasy. None of this ever happened to me. I’m putting it down to influences such as Betty Blue, Jamón Jamón, watching too many road movies, listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, and all my own crazy near misses! Everyone should be a little less sensible sometimes I reckon. Image: Jannes Glas, unsplash.com
WAY OUT WEST
WAY OUT WESTThis song began with a riff on 26 November 2017. I can picture exactly where I was as it was the day after my birthday and Philippa and I were in North Cornwall – our first time away together. The weather was cold but beautiful, the extraordinary sharp light that lures so many artists to the area, stunning. We were sensible enough to be well insulated, experiencing biblical winds and even sleet at times. My favourite walk is over the cliffs between Port Quin and Port Isaac. If you’ve ever done it you’ll know just how tough it is. On a windy day it’s exhilarating! But we managed it there, and back, with cider and chips the reward midway. Philippa’s 13-year-old dog Teddy made it too. (He passed on the cider though.) It was a perfect holiday and this unashamed love song tells the story.
LOVE ME RIGHT (SONG FOR GAIA)
LOVE ME RIGHT (SONG FOR GAIA)I wrote this song in October 2016. I’d enjoyed being in a band in my late twenties and had been thinking about writing and performing songs again for fun. So I bought a beautiful new Fender Paramount acoustic to encourage myself. (Not that I can really do it justice mind!) This was the first song that popped out. I was thinking about how tough recent romances had left me feeling and drew on Beatles inspired references of peace and love. But a second, hidden message emerged: a lament from our planet, how we don’t love it enough, and our ambivalence towards what’s going on. When a friend died in early 2017, the ‘wake’ was a musical celebration held in a church in the next village. I was asked to perform some songs so I played this one – its first public airing. Although nervous (I hadn’t played live for over 20 years) I really enjoyed performing again. Gotta do more of this, I thought. A week later I broke four fingers on my left hand. Thanks to P for backing oohs and aahs!
BRING BACK THAT DAY
BRING BACK THAT DAYRomantic reminiscences about friends, good times and bad, loves won and lost. London lives. Looking back with hindsight.
OUR HOUSE IS IN FLAMES
OUR HOUSE IS IN FLAMESMy song for Greta
STUFF OF DREAMS
STUFF OF DREAMSUnashamedly happy love song!
Mothers Day - 25:03:2019, 17.09
Mothers Day - 25:03:2019, 17.09For my mum.