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 Steve
Steve can always remember
singing. From the point of his first memories to now, his love
for singing has, if anything, grown stronger & stronger. However, it was
only when his brother got a guitar that Steve realised, as so
many little brothers do, that he wanted to play too.
Whenever his brother was away, Steve would play his guitar until
getting scared of being caught. 2 years later, and much to his brothers
relief, Steve got his own.
Steve, over the years, dabbled with his
creativity, "singing" to "acting",
"pantomimes" to "modern opera", before realising that
"Bands" & gigging were his definate
"first" love.
Joining Redline, a Kendal band, he met a like minded
musician by the name of Neil Gibbons. Striking up an instant friendship and
similar love for music, it's no surprise that, 12 years
later, Neil and Steve are still working together.
Whilst Steve has always longed to be rich beyond belief, his only brush with
possible fame came when Virgin Records heard a recording from
his "Off the Record" days. Sending a "scout" from Los Angeles
to Bowness, "Virgin" decided that the band had not
got enough "original stuff".
True and fair... But... Maybe one day...
 Neil
Neil’s initial claim to
fame was his first job when he was one of the stunt drivers in the hit BBC 70’s
police drama series ‘Z Cars’.
Seldom seen on the set
whilst the cameras were rolling, as he was actually operating the control pedals
for the car from the passenger footwell, actor Frank Windsor had not passed his
test at the time and was unable to operate the vehicle, so in effect Neil's
hands became Frank’s feet.
 Darryl
I started my
illustrious bass playing career at secondary school. I would
like to say I had loved music from an early age and that
it was seared into my very genes when I was in the womb with my mother
listening to early Bernard Edwards recordings on an old gramophone. The reality
was that I just wanted to be like my mates (my best mate started playing
guitar and needed a bass player). This coupled
with my logic (I figured that a 4-strings instrument would be
33.3% more easier to play than a 6-string one) persuaded me to pick the
bass up... and I've never quite managed to put it down since.
I was lucky enough to meet up with Steve,
Howard, and Neil about ten years ago and since then we
have been playing live for most of that time. I think we are
all pretty lucky to be able to be together for so long and still not want to
kill each other (almost unheard of in bands) - and playing live
with them is more enjoyable than ever.
The recent joining of Lucy on keyboards has
just added to the band (both musically and
socially)
Cucumber sandwich and a flask of tea anyone?
 Howard
I first became aware of the
drums at an early age; my Uncle Mike who had played for the Nolan
Sisters had given me an Olympic kit which gathered dust for several
years. It was only when at age 11 we moved next door to my new drum tutor
Terry Turner that a fire was lit! Terry was a huge influence on
my playing style, introducing big band, jazz and Latin to the dance band style
my uncle had started. The music I was listening to at the time featured drummers
(Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Clem
Burke, and Ian Paice) who understated their craft leaving me with a dislike of
Shed Builders’ (technical term for heavy handed drummers) to
this day. I can still see Terry screaming at the other Students in the
class when they failed to see the obvious link between percussion and female mud
wrestling. Oh happy days!
During my teens and early twenties I played in a huge number of bands playing
diverse forms of music from Country (when it was deeply unfashionable) through
Blues and Swing to Dance, Pop and Rock. My musical influences in the
Eighties were dominated by the Indie Music scene and I saw a lot of great bands
close up before they made it big. R.E.M. in the Gallery - a very small
club on Peter Street in Manchester (don’t bother looking for it; it’s not there
any more). The Smiths at their second Hacienda gig and later at Lancaster
University. The Stone Roses, James, Primal Scream and the Happy
Mondays all at the Bluebird Club, Barrow-in-Furness in 1986. Seeing the
Stone Roses was like being transported to the Cavern club in 1962 – The
Beatles for a new generation. Seeing the Happy Mondays however
was like waking up in a Hieronymus Bosch painting.
My musical tastes have broadened over the years and below is a selection of
what I am currently listening to:
All things must pass – George Harrison
Pet sounds
session’s box set – The Beach Boys
The Greatest – Ian
Brown
Sinatra live at the Sands
Mercy Mercy – Buddy Rich
("No beards allowed")
Side two of Abbey Road – The Beatles
(when am I not listening to this)
Flight 602 - Aim
Bitches Brew sessions –
Miles Davis
Foo Fighters
Albert Lee
Crosby, Stills and
Nash – eponymous
Saucerful of Secrets – Pink Floyd
I have been playing with the musicians from The Mustard
Cutters for a decade and I am enjoying it now more than ever especially
as Lucy adds so much musically and fits in so well socially. Long may it
continue!
 Lucy
Surrounded by a
musical family, Lucy began piano lessons at the age of eight.
She discovered electronic keyboards and synthesisers at the age of 12 and by 15
had done her first gig with a band made up of
friends from school.
That was many, many years ago (Lucy sobs quietly in the corner…) and since
then she has played in numerous bands and
performed and recorded in the USA, Germany, Yugoslavia, London,
Birmingham, Manchester, Burneside… the list goes on.
She has worked professionally, semi-professionally and just for
fun since leaving school and along the way has recorded two albums with
different bands and also written the scores for two stage musicals.
Following a brief rest from the music scene she is now
thrilled to be back on stage with a group of professionally
minded, talented and genuinely nice guys (yes, she really said that!)
Lucy also says, "The Mustard Cutters have a great
philosophy: to enjoy what we do, to do what people want to hear, and above all,
to do it well".
So far so good...
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