JACK
DOB: 27/08/73
MUSIC BACKGROUND: Always a drummer, Jack went through music college and then headed to London to the Drumtech Drum and Percussion School. He then returned to Leamington to set up his own private teaching base, Time Studio, and now also teaches in local primary schools.
MUSIC INFLUENCES: A lifelong fan of Stevie Wonder, Jack grew up to the sounds of Jimmy Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, but now finds himself liking country music, listening to a lot of Alison Kraus and Nickel Creek
FAVOURITE LEERE TRACKS: The Avenue
FAVOURITE TRACKS TO PLAY: St Catherine
JON
DOB: 08/01/79
MUSIC BACKGROUND: Since first picking up a guitar at the relatively late age of 16 Jon has been in several different bands, including some which he describes as “really bad”, but more recently he joined band The Gash at gigs and on tour. Since becoming a part of leere he’s also begun to play the mandalin, which is slowly working its way into more of the group’s music.
MUSIC INFLUENCES: All sorts from metal to jazz to bluegrass, but he’s not a particular fan of “Garth Brooks type country stuff” as he puts it
FAVOURITE LEERE TRACKS: St Catherine, The Avenue
FAVOURITE TRACKS TO PLAY:
SIMON
DOB: 25/09/69
MUSIC BACKGROUND: Growing up in Liverpool with friends who all played instruments, music has always had a part to play in Simon’s life. He taught himself to play the guitar, starting with only three or four chords and picking up the rest from tunes and melodies he heard. Since he first began to write songs at age 16, he has continued to do so, about anything and everything – “people, nature, a book, a cup”.
MUSIC INFLUENCES: The full range – American folk, blues, The Beatles, “bands with a sense of melody” – but especially The The, whose lead singer Matt Johnson wrote about things which he was also particularly interested in.
FAVOURITE LEERE TRACKS: Courage, New York of the Isle
FAVOURITE TRACKS TO PLAY: The Avenue, Bound to Beat You Back
WAYNE
DOB: 14/01/78
MUSIC BACKGROUND: Since the age of 5 when he first picked up a recorder, Wayne’s life has been coloured with music, and by the age of 9 he was also playing the viola and bass guitar. He attended the Coventry School of Music and later joined the Coventry Youth Orchestra. He played in a jazz trio, sang in a choir, and took both a GCSE and an A Level in music before heading to the Leeds College of Music for a degree. He then joined a band called LSK, which was signed by Sony and featured on the various TV and radio programmes worldwide, including Trevor Nelson’s Urban Choice. He’s now a music lecturer at both Rugby and Warwickshire college, and is part of five different bands, including leere.
MUSIC INFLUENCES: Jazz, soul, funk, classical, blues, Latin – he’ll listen to most things
FAVOURITE LEERE TRACKS: The Avenue, Hazel, Radius
FAVOURITE TRACKS TO PLAY: Radius, The Avenue