The ‘A’ Facor has now completed two hugely sucessful years…
The bands who took part in 2011 were….
Hot Enounters
Hot Encounters are from Halifax, West Yorkshire and got together in late 2009 when
we were still all at school. Our style can best be described as indie rock and we started
off playing mostly covers of bands like Paramore, Kids in Glass Houses and Mayday
Parade. In 2010 we started writing our own material and are looking forward to doing
more gigs in 2011.
Andrew Dawes
Since being inspired to teach myself guitar by the sounds of The Alarm and The Jam, I’ve been playing live from the fens of Lincolnshire to the mountains of North Carolina, from beaches on Orkney to the London scene, from folk clubs to night clubs and from church halls to festivals. Highlights include supporting Mega City Four and The Levellers. Reviews have described my music as ‘impressive’,’inventive’ and ‘notably melodic’ and myself as a ‘talented all round musician’.
Pete Guy
I am a singer/songwriter and can’t wait for my first Gathering, I first saw The Alarm in 1985 when I was 15 and the music and songs have always stayed with me and been an inspiration to want to give it a go!
Punk Jock
Punk Jock were born over a few “we could do that” beers at the “A factor” 2010 competition at last year’s Gathering and with us being Scottish and liking Punk….the name was obvious!!!!!
The band consists of guys born and bred in East Kilbride, Glasgow
· Paul Byrne (charisma, guitar and backing vocals)
· Stuart Carey (Devilish good looks and vocals)
· Steven O’Neill (Youth, energy, drums and backing vocals)
· Tony Coffield( Design, experience, Guitar and backing vocals)
· And Brian Byrne( Wikipedia knowledge of punk rock and Bass guitar)
With no experience of playing in a band..ever….and all the wrong side of 40 (except Steven the drummer who brings the average age down considerably), forming a punk band was in no way a collective mid-life crisis (we covered that with tattoos ,motorbikes etc).
Under the banner of “Never signed. Never mind” Punk Jock have plundered the set lists of all the classic Punk Bands of the late 70’s and early 80’s with even finding the time to throw in some tunes of their own.
Our aim is to get to get at least one person pogo-ing like a loony…….JOB DONE!
We are about to play a self promoted SOLD OUT gig at the East Kilbride Arts Centre in October, lined up to play at King Tutts as part of the Joe Strummer-Strummerville-tribute night in December and looking forward to playing at the Gathering in 2011.
Vicious Liberty
With a sound born from a love of classic Punk Rock, Vicious Liberty formed in early 2010 playing local venues around Derbyshire. Coming from a mixture of musical backgrounds, Matt Peach, Ed Watkins and Edd Ody are three young musicians who have worked with one another many times in the past. Together, they produce a punk damaged brand of high-octane rock and roll incorporating reggae and pop into their songs.
In 2010, Vicious Liberty released their first EP, ‘One Last Summer’ on their independent label , F.O.S records. The CD’s are available from the band members or at gigs for only £6.
Vicious Liberty are currently working on songs for a feature length album to be brought out in 2011. The new recordings will see the band push their roots in punk even further and explore some new influences in current artists and reggae.
http://www.myspace.com/viciousliberty
The Twangmasters
The Twangmasters are a new red hot rockabilly band which write and perform their own songs.
While very much influenced by 50,s music clothes and culture we do have a modern take on rockabilly/surf/country music and manage to mix the old and the new. We play live all over the country and have just brought out (jan 11) a new cd called ALL BROKE DOWN that comes with a 10 track dvd.The band consists of the classic line up of drums (Paul Couser) …..Vocals (Paul Barton)….lead Guitar (Alan estlin) and Doghouse Bass (Carl Gunther).We have been together nine months and have a new website www.myspace.com/thetwangmasters or all the guys and band can be contacted via facebook.
Wet Bandits
Members :
Vocals and guitar : Gary Whitehead
Bass : Will peters
Drums : Ryan Williams
Genre : Rock/Punk
Bio: The wet bandits are a Rock/Punk band who formed in late 2010 in Rhyl, the 3 members realised their potential as a band in the pub, since then they have been practicing whenever possible, The band play a mixture of old and new songs but give them their own twist.
Fortnight Friday
The band is called “Fortnight Friday” and has been going since August 2009. We have played at several charity events and also at house parties. The largest audience so far has been 140 people so to play at the Gathering will be a brilliant experience and we would like to thankyou for this opportunity.
Craig Jones – Guitar
Mark Mayers – Drums
Rob Grey – Vocals
Matty Enticott – Bass