Q. If you weren’t working in music what would you be doing?
A. "Before the idea of being a musician took me over, I always loved aviation and wanted to be a pilot, or engineer in some capacity, especially motorsport and racing. I still think vintage racing cars and bikes are gorgeous and have the best colour schemes…can we get some Aston mics in limited edition Yamaha yellow?"
Q. What would your fantasy mic be? (i.e. not one currently in existence!)
A. "I’ve always imagined being able to capture things I hear and see, exactly as I hear and see them, i.e a camera that would capture exactly your viewpoint, in the same colours, focus and blurring, so you could just, click! …and have that image forever. And the same with a microphone, one that just grabbed that moment in time, the sound I was hearing of the player, the room, the acoustics, all in one perfect and beautiful moment. If that’s impossible then maybe a mic that can replace any banjo with complete silence automatically."
Q. What are the 4 words you’d chose to describe Aston, or your experience with the brand?
A."Top Blokes, Top Mics….or more usefully…uncompromising, characterful, imaginative, quality."
Q. What was the first song that made you cry?
A. “I’m not sure, thinking back over the various points of trauma in life and attempting to remember the soundtrack to those particular moments is the healthiest way to stay a day, and in a close second was Barbers 'Adagio For Strings' due to its aching melancholy, but I’ll go with Oasis ‘Don’t Go Away’. They always had tough guys with feelings thing going on, the swagger of anthemic choruses giving way to heart-wrenching emotive strings that made it seem ok to get emotional to music. I remember a particular two week period where I transferred to a new school and for the first time was separated from the friends I’d grown up with my whole life, and that song just killed me! In fact so much so that I transferred back to my original school and stayed there utill I left for University.”