philosophy

TwiceRemoved knows that you have to play covers in order to get gigs, but, that some people think that playing other people's music means you are disregarding your own talent and originality.

Just because an artist has been the first to record a particular song, doesn't mean that it is theirs forever, this is a relatively new concept. There have always been multiple performers of genuinely good songs or pieces of music. If this was not the case, we would never get to hear any classical music, or classic blues or swing for example

We play covers for many reasons. For example, it is hard to get enough gigs playing only originals to satisfy our need to perform, or pay the rent,  or pay for studio time. We also play covers because we like the songs, believe we can make them our own, and, enjoy playing music we like to people who like it.

We also play originals. In a perfect world, we could earn a living  entertaining audiences solely with our own music, but we can't. We do try to do something different and diverse with our versions of other peoples songs, so that a TR show is not the same as every other cover band out there. We also try to pick a selection of songs that are not regularly covered by other bands, which we enjoy performing, and which we think will move our audience also.

When all is said and done it's about the music, and putting a smile on a few faces in the process



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History

Twice Removed came together at the turn of the millenium, from the remnants of Amput8 and Keeper  . Featuring FATMAN - Vocals, Bucko - Guitar, LongJohn Owen - Bass and Barefoot Gary Warr - Drums.

Predominantly writing their own Punk/Blues songs and re arranging classic blues numbers from the likes of BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn and progressive blues from the likes of Deep Purple and Whitesnake. Always carefully picking covers that were not regularly played by other bands, and adding their own raucous, high energy arrangements

LongJohn left to persue a more traditional blues project in November 2003, and we drafted in the, then, relatively inexperienced Clem "Eamon" Andrews on Bass. As Clem gained more experience, he brought a different colour to our sound, which allowed us to experiment with a wider portfolio of songs, but without comprimising the unique feel for which we had become known. Clem left us after just over three years, mainly due to heavy work commitments, but still joins us for the odd set here and there. Not only that but as a master electrical engineer, he has built us some exceptional guitar amps, and still maintains some of our valve gear to this day

By the time of Clems' departure in 2006, we had built up a circuit of 20 or so, venues covering Oxfordshire, Northants,North Essex and Suffolk and were playing 40+ gigs a year. We were lucky to find a virtuoso replacement for Clem, in the shape of Sean Murphy, the Funky Munky. Sean had years of experience, playing many styles, and had been a punk in the 70's and 80's, so also had the right attitude. He along with Gary form the backbone of the band, and you can be sure that if everything else is falling apart, this is one rhythm section that will keep it together, and will out perform the energizer bunny.

Gary has been playing drums for 40 odd years, and is as solid as a rock, just dont give him chocolate. A one hour set can be reduced to as little as 3/4 of an hour after a Mars bar. The effect can be so dramatic that we have dubbed it as Chocolate Speed. He has been known to hit his drums so hard, that earthquake detectors in Japan showed a seismic disturbance.

2007 was a bad year for the band. First came a sudden and severe bout of pneumonia for guitarist, and founder member,Martin " Bucko" Buckland, which put him in a coma for 3 months, and which led to his untimely passing 18 months later. His last gig was at Jaydeez Bar, in October 2007, a couple of weeks before his initial collapse. He remained hospitalised for the rest of his life, passing away, after suffering a relapse, just two days before he was due to come home, in May 2009. Martins guitar defined the sound of TR. He had been playing since the age of 9, and had toured across the world, including Europe and Japan, despite being wheelchair bound, for his whole life. He was very much our Brother, and will always be a part of TR.

The second kick in the teeth in 2007 was the smoking ban. Venues were closing and converting to carveries or being redeveloped at an enormous pace, and despite many full time bands folding, there just wasn't enough places out there to cater for the number of bands on the road. Those of us who had paying hobbies during the day were lucky to be able to keep our real work going.

We brought in John Longshanks, to cover for Martins, suposedly temporary, absence, and,what was supposed to be a six month cover, became an 18 month tour of duty. John is a phenomenal talent, and teaches guitar for a living, and, with his arrival, we moved towards a more traditional bluesey feel, but in January 2009, he decided that he needed to return to his Blues Band, which he had put on hold whilst depping for Martin

We brought in "Sweet Baby" James Wells in on guitar after Johns departure, and returned to a heavier rock sound, with James also taking some lead vocals. James is also a life long guitarist, and really should be playing full time in a touring band, but fortunately for us, he isn't. He kindly put his own band, Mischief, on the back burner to help us out, but, just as the market was picking up again, disaster struck. Within a 6 week period, our graphic designer, and unofficial musical director, Louis (18), and founder member Bucko passed away.

It took several months for us to decide whether we should keep the band together or split. By the time we had fulfilled our commitments in 2009, we realised that we had no choice, we are music slags through and through. The hunt for replacement guitars was on

We quickly found not one, but two guitarists, to join the TR family. JayGee is slightly more laid back and bluesy, whilst Gibbo, is a balls out rocker, a la Angus Young. James was able to return to Mischief, full time, but is our surrogate twanger, joining us on stage whenever he can.

JayGee and Gibbo complement each other perfectly in a Lizzyesque kind of way, once again giving us a chance to develop our sound, and create a new improved TR for the future.