MEET GRAM

Tell us a little about yourself in your own words: 

I’m an absolute music fanatic, from birth pretty much – Legend has it that I had a little red plastic radio from age about 2 which went everywhere with me, and my favourite songs were My Sharona and Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, both of which I still love! I don’t care too much for genres, and there’s only music I like, and music I don’t, with very few styles I can’t find merit in.  I’m always looking for new stuff to listen to, whether it’s hot off the press or very old, but new to me! The biggest tragedy of life, for me, is all the music I’ll never get to hear, but I’ll give it a bloody good go!!

  How did you learn to sing/play your instrument? 

I started playing brass instruments with the local brass band at the tender age of 6 (Tenor Horn, Baritone, Euphonium), and trombone has been my main instrument since age 10, so we’re talking 40 years now, and I’ve never really stopped! That thing has become part of my body now! My No.2 instrument is Sousaphone!  I think I first realised I could sing when I woke up one morning aged 17 surrounded by 3 cases of alcopops, which were apparently my winnings from the karaoke competition I’d ‘won’ the night before.  The winning song was ‘Two Princes’ by the Spin Doctors.   I wish I could remember it! 😊

  What inspired you to get into it and who are your influences? 

It was never gonna be any other way, music has been my oxygen for as long as I can remember.  My formative influences were Ian Dury, Kenny Everett, Evel Knieval, Freddie Mercury and Glenn Miller.  There are too many others to mention! 

  What's your favourite song to play live? 

In this band, somewhat controversially, it’s actually Sally Brown! It’s such fun, lots of energy, killer horn riffs and a healthy dose of humour.  I’m a big fan of improv and the school of ‘see what happens’ – This song’s great for that, as there’s lots of space to mess around with the arrangement in real time, and go off on tangents.  Also, I would very much like to have my own Cooka-macka stick!!

  What's your favourite thing about being in a band? 

Playing music is my primary means of communicating with other people – I much prefer it to a conversation – Haha!! And the magic of creating something special together will never fail to blow my mind! The energy between the musicians, throwing it out to the audience and getting it back in concentrated form, and round and round it goes – there’s literally nothing quite like it!

  What's the worst thing to happen to you at a gig? 

Some years ago, I arrived at a gig at the Blues Kitchen in Camden only to discover I hadn’t brought my mouthpiece. I proceeded to sing my horn parts, as there was no way I was watching the gig from the audience after travelling all that way! It was definitely a unique performance!

  What's your favourite lyric and how does it relate to you? 

It’s nothing close to Ska, and I’ve no idea how it relates to me, but I’d go with ‘She is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever’, from ‘Lover, you should have come over’ by the great Jeff Buckley. Beautiful.

  What would you say to someone that thinks ska is for old timers? 

I’d say given the audiences we see, it’s the young’uns who need to catch up with the oldies on the dancefloor, not the other way around!  Keeps you fit, all that skanking!

  If you had to pick a different genre to play, what would it be and why? 

I’ve honestly done so many other genres, it’s kind of a miracle I got this far in life without ever playing in a ska-adjacent band! I’ve done lots of original Funk and Soul, Afrobeat, Indie, Hip-Hop, Dub/Reggae, Electro, Rockabilly, Rhythm n Blues, Post-Punk, Jazz, Big Bands, Brass bands, Experimental weirdness, novelty oompah on stilts – you name it! I’m a huge northern soul fan and Co-founded The Croupiers in 2022 to focus on this kind of music. Every now and then you’ll catch us on the same stage as the Dekkertones, and that’s always a fun one!!!

  What's your drink of choice on gig night? 

It’s generally gonna be water or ginger beer as I drink very little, but if I need a little lift, every now and then, I’ll have a cheeky black sambuca before the first song starts!

  If you could collaborate with any ska legend, who would it be?

I’ve had some great collaborations over the years, including a few legends (I’ll bore you with that after a gig if you really want to know!) But if I had to choose one, or maybe two, again, not quite ska, I’d do anything to be part of a full album performance of the album Bass Culture by Linton Kwesi Johnson, or ‘Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires’, two of my all time favourite albums in the dub and reggae spectrum!