Alex Grayson, Garry Wonfor, Lyndon J Connah - three lead singers playing two acoustic guitars and keyboards, occasionally augmented by drums, bass and saxophone. The sound evokes the spirit of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and, equally, Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan. Little Richard and Stephen Sondheim also make an appearance.

Great harmonies, a little reminiscent of Crosby Still & Nash; lyrics from strange dark places with bright sunshine bursting through every crack; music from a past, or a future, where bands think not of fashion but of borrowing from everywhere and everyone and creating a magic all their own.

The Interview

1. Location

Lyndon: London
Garry: South East London
Alex: Beside myself (my favourite position)

2. How did the band meet/form?

Garry: Pass.
Lyndon: Inside a lion's mouth.
Alex: I know, I know!!! Garry & Alex met at a jam night in south London.
Lyndon was a friend of my wife. We all met in the middle.

3. Music Genre?

Garry: Pass.
Lyndon: The genre that elicits a "What? Wow! Who?" response.
We like the first two exclamations especially.
Alex: Rootsy pop. Songs and singing in that order.

4. How long have you been together?

Alex: The last two months.
Lyndon: About 17 feet, end to end.
Garry: Seriously? 5 years.

5. What's your favourite piece of gear/equipment?

Garry: Mostly that which I can't afford.
Lyndon: A piano.
Alex: A Guild acoustic guitar through a big Electro-voice PA system.

6. What is the best album/single you ever bought?

Garry: "Action Man Battle Sounds"
Lyndon: "Abbey Road", The Beatles
Alex: "Court and Spark", Joni Mitchell and "Sunday in the Park with George", Stephen Sondheim (original cast recording).

7. What is the best band you ever heard of?

Garry: The Beatles.
Lyndon: The Beatles or Weather Report.
Alex: The Beatles.

8. If you were suddenly the most influential people in the music industry what would you change about it?

Garry: Its destiny.
Lyndon: I would dismantle the music industry and start again with people who know what they are doing.
Alex: It would be ridiculous, as if I was suddenly the most influential person on a bus travelling at high speed. My first responsibility, as the most influential person on a bus travelling at high speed, i.e. the driver, would be to stop the bus as safely as possibly, get off the bus and sack myself, because I have no interest in buses and I am not compelled to drive them.

9. What's your philosophy on life?

Garry: Love and let go.
Lyndon: (a) Do as you would be done by and (b) Eat as much chocolate as possible.
Alex: Sing about nothing. And everything.

10.What do you think is important for a band to stay together?

Garry: Friendship and creativity.
Alex: Friendship and some financial success.
Lyndon: Friendship and success.

11.What's your most treasured possession?

Garry: Marbles and odd socks.
Lyndon: All my recordings and writings because they are irreplaceable.
Alex: Guild JF4 and JF55 guitars. Triumph 2000 Mk 1 cars.

12. What would you like to achieve in 2004?

Garry: Beating my top score on my mobile phone snake game.
Lyndon: A completed album.
Alex: Financial stability.

13. Where was your most memorable performance?

Garry: Cub Scouts Gang Show, Rothwell Scout Hall, 1965.
Lyndon: Watford Palace Theatre, 1978, with my own band, 64 Spoons (me on drums).
Alex: Mouse Parties 5 and 5.1, February 2004.

14. What's your biggest fear?

Garry: Loss of marbles and odd socks.
Lyndon: Losing my passion for music and having nothing to replace it.
Alex: Nausea and death.

15. Who do you admire and why?

Garry:Teachers, because they teach.
Lyndon: Victoria, my other half, for being a really good person and able to inspire me.
Alex: I admire my wife. She is truly kind.

16. What is your worst or funniest experience whilst performing?

Alex: Nothing worse or funny has happened to me ever.
Garry: Introducing a bride by the wrong name.
Lyndon: The funniest and most ironic moment was in Marbella, when the cheap and knackered P.A. system exploded 10 seconds into our first number as Shirley Bassey took the microphone, at Adnan Khashoggi's 50th birthday party in 1985 (then the richest man on the planet).

17. What/who influences your music the most?

Garry: Alex Grayson and Lyndon J Connah.
Lyndon: My parents (classical musicians), The Beatles and fear of failure.
Alex: My biggest fears.

18. What does success mean to you?

Garry: The absence of failure.
Lyndon: Being able to choose the people I spend time with.
Alex: Being able to make music with the best equipment, playing with the best musicians. Having an effect with tunes and words. Having some money.

19. What would you like to be remembered for?

Garry: A mountainous legacy of unpaid tax.
Alex: Good grammar.
Lyndon: Being remembered is quite enough.

20. What advice would you give newcomers to the music industry?

Lyndon: In the studio wear brown trousers if you've never seen a red light.
Alex: Buy 3 Blind Mice's albums.
Garry: Look, listen, learn, love it, loot it and leg it!

Thanks to 3 Blind Mice for the brilliant interview :) You can also visit them and buy their albums on their website at catsaway.com

IF YOU would like the chance to be a featured artist on Melodrift Productions, just send your answers to the above questions, plus a pic of yourself or band, to contact@melodrift.com

 

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