The Members Pages

Name :	Andy
Also known as :	"Drew"
Born :	1963
Instrument :	Bass
Joined Strangers :	1998

I was blown away on hearing "Rattus Norvegicus" for the first time. I'd been listening to A**a before that (their almost cool now - Ed). I soon got into The Pistols, Queen, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Genesis, Marillion, Rush and Floyd etc.

I'd always been quite musical and needed an outlet. I borrowed a mates Bass. After playing it for 5 minutes he was complaining that I was better than he was after 6 months of trying! I learned the majority of Live and Dangerous the first Christmas break, after getting my first Bass, in 1980.

Bands
In 1982 I was in a band with Stu - I don't think we ever settled on a name. We didn't have a drummer as long as I was in the group. Stu also stepped in for an impromptu gig at a joint birthday party for me and a neighbour in about 1987.

5 Minutes to Closing Time
Only gigged 3 times, one of which was my leaving party when I got posted (I did 16+ years in the RAF! You'd never think that to look at me now).

All The Kings Men
I loved playing in that band (despite the politics and in-fighting). We did an extensive set of original material, with some old faves ("Baker Street") thrown in. Got sacked because I couldn't "Go" with the band when they "Made It". Now that they're a household name (NOT) you can make up your own minds as to whether it was a justifyable decision.

Custom Shed
A Blues Brothers and Commitments style band. It was fun for a while but there were too many influences pulling us in every direction. The keyboard player was stuck in the late 50's early 60's playing Cliff Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and if the guitarist said that he wanted to play "Brown Eyed Girl" once, he must have said it 1000 times.

Barking Mad
We got quite a decent reputation for playing a good rocking set, including the likes of "Born To Run", "Sleeping in my Car" (what ? - Ed.), "Living on the Edge", "Word Up", "Steal Your Fire" and many others. I quit Barking Mad on being made redundant from the RAF in 1996.

Strangers
I never really auditioned. I came along to help out, as they didn't know any available Bass players, when they auditioned a couple of drummers. So I blagged my way in and have kept the job until they find someone who knows which end to blow into.

Influences
This might be a shock but my fave artist is probably Seal. I've seen him 4 times live and he's such a great performer. I used to perform Killer when I played with Barking Mad.

My fave girlie singer is Anastacia - what a voice. Once again a great performer.

My fave band would probably have to be Genesis, if I look back at the amount of time I've spent listening to their material. Take a look at my Precision - that'll tell you who my favourite Bass player is.... along with Geddy Lee and Mark King.

There are a few bands that I love maybe one or two tracks by - like Dire Straits, Lenny Kravitz and U2. I've fallen into the trap of buying an albumon the strength of one track, only to find the rest of it's pants too many times.

In the early years of my playing career, I played along with Rush, Lizzy, the Stranglers, AC/DC and Marillion, I suppose those would have formed the style of guy you see on stage with Strangers.

Favourite album(s) of all time.

Live and Dangerous - Thin Lizzy.
Seconds Out - Genesis.
Sheer Heart Attack - Queen.

Favourite track(s) of all time.

Dance on a Volcano - the live version from Seconds Out.

Gear File

Fender Precision
My first Bass was an Ibanez RS924TV. It was a nice guitar to play, but I'd always wanted a Black Fender Precision after getting into Lizzy. I bought it in May 1982 and it's still going strong (apart from a few minor repairs). I put the chrome scratch plate on a couple of years ago. I had to replace the bridge soon after.

Sei Bass
The Sei bass is hand made by Martin Peterssen of The Gallery in Camden. The body is Swamp Ash, with Spanish Olive Facings front and rear. The neck is Flame Maple with Wenge stringers topped off with an Ebony Fingerboard. The hardware is all ABM and the twin Bartolini "D" Types have coil taps with a two band EQ. I have found the L.E.D. edge position markers very useful on a darkened stage with the smoke machine going ape!

Gibson Explorer
Most recently, I started getting the urge to own a "Pointy" Bass, I tried a BC Rich Beast, which was lovely, but would not hang on the strap correctly. Shame - I really liked it. Then I saw the Gibson Explorer on Ebay and bought it. It's surprisingly nice to play, considering the wacky shape. Condition could be better but there again this is Rock and Roll!!

Amplification
I got the Ashdown rig, as it was the new kid on the block and I like to be a bit different from the crowd. Their stuff had been getting good reviews and I wanted to be part of that. As it happens, the likes of Jean-Jacques Burnel, Mark King and John Entwistle all followed suit.

Other Stuff
I use Samson transmitters - they're cool little things. They've performed faultlessly. I'd recommend them to anyone.

For effects I use a Boss GT6B. It's fantastic and'll do a lot more that I'll ever ask of it.

Strings - I use Warwick Reds. They stay bright a lot longer than most other brands I've tried and are reasonably easy on the fingers.