| Name : | Rachel Myles |
| Also known as : | Bob |
| Born : | 1970 |
| Instrument : | Vocals |
| Joined Strangers : | 1993 |
I was musical from a young age. There was a piano at home when I was growing up so I learned to play that and then learnt recorder, guitar and clarinet (I'm a grade 5) at school. As a result I can pick up most instruments and get a tune out of them.
I could always hold a tune as a singer but never dreamed of taking it any further. One day I got bullied into singing at Karaoke. A bloke came up and asked if I fancied joining a band ! The rest is history.
Bands
Gob Smacked
A sixties band aimed at the club scene. Therre was a male singer too so I learnt how to do harmonies (which has been useful over the years).
Black Velvet
Set up by the drummer from Gob Smacked, we played pop rock like Belinda Carlisle etc. This is where I met Stu (he answered the ad for the guitarists job). The band split when Stu and I became an item (the drummer didn't like it much - he was my boyfriend at the time !).
Strangers
Stu and I were looking for a band and Graham (Bass Player for Perfect Strangers) had been looking at joining Black Velvet. So when that all fell apart he invited us to audition for Perfect Starngers instead. This was October 1993 and we're still here (although the name got shortened and the line up has changed a few times since then).
Influences
I can honestly say that there aren't one or two people who have influenced the way I sing. Each new song or artist brings their own style , difficulties or techniques which I try to learn from. So the way I sing is a bit of all the vocalists I've listened to thrown in together.
I find it hard to believe now that when I first started I had a pure "girly" voice. I couldn't get a rough edge and certainly couldn't sing falcetto !
Singers I admire are;
Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Danny Bowes (Tunder)
Justin Hawkins (The Darkness)
Matthew Bellamy (Muse)
Favourite album(s) of all time.
"Metallica" (Metallica)
"Jagged Little Pill" (Alanis Morissette)
"Permission to Land" (The Darkness)
and any albums by "Thunder", "Muse", "Bon Jovi" or "Extreme".
I have to confess I tend to like "Best of . . ." albums (which is a bit of a cop out) like;
"Best of the Best" (Iron Maiden)
"Big Ones" (Aerosmith)
"Greatest Hits" (Queen)
Favourite Track(s) of all time.
I couldn't possibly narrow it down. Just too many and for different reasons.
Gear File
When I started singing I vowed never to buy a Shure mic. It stands to reason therefore that I was made to eat my words !
My current mic is a Shure Beta 87 Radio which I bought after using one at the BMF Memba Rally in 2004.
Shure's I had used before that hade been 'thin' and unresponsive. The Beta 87 is pretty 'ballsy' and has a better dynamic response.
As well as being good on stage, it doesn't tend to cause too much feedback.
The downside is that the bass response is not as good as my old Sennheiser, but that lacked top ! I guess a blend of the two would be my perfect solution.
As far as PA goes, I cannot believe the changes over the years. I remember when I started singing a the PA was a 100 watt Carlsboro running a couple of small cabs. We now run over 3000 watts ! Funny how things change.
