Back in 2000, Peter Connell placed an advert in a music shop window……”Bass Player seeks other players for joint project playing classic Rock, Pop and Blues”……simple and rather uninspiring, (“a bit like me…”) Peter thought at the time. A year passes and the advert is entirely forgotten until, by chance, it was seen by Andy who then replied, closely followed by Terry who had also seen the same faded advert two weeks later. It is rare that a chance occurrence like this results in anything worthwhile. But this is what happened when Peter Connell met Andy Michalkiewicz and Terry Rogan in Jan 2001. Instruments were drawn from old battered cases, tentative chords were played and hey presto a band called Blue Tooth was born. Having set together the basic elements of Bass, Rhythm and Lead, the trio needed a strong drum force to support the embryonic driving sound that was starting to blossom. Instead, the three were joined by a firth of fourth, Scott Liddell, who added the bands trademark percussive sound (and obscenities) that became the two main features of Blue Tooth’s live performances. Early agreement was reached that Blue Tooth would focus strongly on all the classic rock and pop numbers that littered music history from the 50’s, onwards towards the present day and it was clear from the very outset that the band wanted to perform live music the way it always should be played, with power, drive and passion. After a few weeks the decision was taken to advertise again, but this time for a lead vocalist and it wasn’t long before Michael Kane joined the band. Michael, a Geordie, stayed with Bluetooth for nearly 18 months until other opportunities, a complicated love-life, daytime television, and the police beckoned. Once again the band advertised and a couple of girl singers were tried, tested, despoiled and discarded by Scott. Finally the band were joined by Dan Martindale, who, despite Scott’s advances, has remarkably remained with them ever since. Dan’s youth, tempered by the rest of the band’s alleged maturity, has resulted in a high energy and high performance level of musicianship rarely seen in semi-pro bands. In 2011 Peter moved to Cambridge and the search began to find a new bass player. This proved surprisingly hard but after two years of auditioning and making do we found Oto, a Czech artist/musician/gardener/alcoholic who fitted right in. We also took the opportunity to change the band’s name to something more edgy, more representative of who we are. Instead we chose Graffiti Tree. And then, bloody foreigners!, Oto left to pursue a project with Greenfire (check them out at reverbnation.com/greenfire). Our current bass man, and hopefully with us as long as we exist, is Mark Ward, an extremely talented and extremely nice guy. The noise we make together is therefore now extremelyexcellent! In June 2016, 15 years after that initial advert, the original tub thumper, Scott decided to hang up his sticks so the search for a new drummer began. Many were tried and many passed by the wayside until by luck chance Mark stumbled across an old friend, Gary Merrit. After just 4 rehearsals Gary played his first gg, which was a huge success for all involved. Graffiti Tree now boasts a 120+ number repertoire, a loyal local fan base, pro PA and lighting and a desire to perform at the top level. We have performed all over the UK in places ranging from the back room of a pub to football stadia. Graffiti Tree can create a music set based around your own likes and dislikes, matching the type and style of performance around the audience’s age range and social tastes. I you agree that live music, when played well, can be such an inspiring enjoyable experience, whether it is performed at a pub ,wedding, corporate or party function, and especially when performed by musicians who enjoy sharing their genuine feeling that the music must come first, then give us a call!
