Growing up in South London in the sixties, in the days when you were either a Beatles fan or a Stones fan (but never both), Mike's main musical influence was probably his older sister, whose bedroom wall was covered with pictures of 'Mick & Keef'. Many happy hours were spent listening to all the Stones' 45s on the old HMV record player (as well as hits by Manfred Mann, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and many others). With the dawning of the 70's, andwith Mike now in his teenage years, came glam rock, prog rock, and heavy rock, all major influences in forming his eclectic musical taste. Particular favourites at this time were Free, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Robin Trower and Wishbone Ash.
Mid 70's and Mike made his first attempts to recreate some of the music he so loved listening to. Having first picked up the guitar (the obvious first choice for most people) he soon realised he was really drawn to the 'low end' and bought his first bass guitar from an old second hand shop in Windsor for a few quid. The next few years were spent jamming with friends, gradually improving equipment, and desperately trying to emulate Jack Bruce,John Entwistle, Andy Fraser and John Paul Jones (without much success!)
With the 80's came marriage, kids, mortgage, bills and the realisation that he was never going to be a rock star. Something had to give, and the precious gear was sold to help balance the books.
Roll forward to the late 90's and with a dramatic change in life came a renewed desire to start playing again, encouraged by a new circle of friends with musical leanings. A new bassguitar and amp were acquired and Mike soon picked up where he had left off. A year or so later and he found himself half of a duo (later a trio) playing occasional gigs in local pubs around Lincoln and Newark. This little band eventually broke up, as bands so often do, and Mike found himself looking for something new. This time though, he wanted a full band of like-minded people to play a slightly 'heavier', blues-influenced brand of rock.
Enter Unfinished Business...
Gear:
Jon Shuker custom bass
Fender Standard American Precision bass (sunburst)
Hohner Steinberg B2A headless bass (black)
Crafter acoustic bass
Ashdown ABM EVO 111
Markbass 4 x 10 cab
Markbass 2 x 10 cab
Ashdown 1 x 15 cab
Boss ME-50B
Line 6 Bass Pod
Audio-Technica wireless system
