Bands And Music Projects Over The Years

Two men taking a selfie, one with a mohawk hairstyle and multiple chains, the other wearing a hat, both in casual clothing.
Two men taking a selfie together in black and white, one with a mohawk hairstyle and multiple necklaces, the other wearing a hat.

Hammond & Reed

Although not a band Hammond & Reed was a song writing duo working from my home studio. the main aim was to write music to be features in TV adds/programs, films, games basically any media that required music. we wrote a fare few tunes in many different style some of which are unfinished due to this day. the Co Vids pandemic put a stop to it and we never carried on after due to other commitments that had filled the gap. only recently have I revisited some of the tracks to remaster them and put them up online. to the left is a music video I created for one of the tracks and a couple of remastered songs…

A caricature of a band called 'Tanquility' playing on stage with a drummer and two guitarists, one singing into a microphone with a guitar and the other playing a bass guitar, all depicted with exaggerated facial features and energetic expressions.
Three young men sitting inside a rocky cave or overhang. They are dressed casually and looking towards the camera. The background consists of rugged, light-colored rock formation.

Tranquility

Tranquility was an Indi rock band I played with back in 2003 until roughly 2006. we had a large repertoire of original music but sadly only recorded a few tracks two of which can be found on the YouTube links bottom left. We gigged extensively in the years we played together. I have many VHS recording of these gigs and looking to convert them to digital media in the future. we reformed some years later for a one off gig for the old fans but sadly it ended there

Text reading 'Long Time Dead' with decorative swirls on a dark background.
Group of five young adults standing together, in front of a metallic, spiral background.

Long Time Dead

Long Time Dead were an original classic rock band formed shortly after Tranquility in 2006/2007 I played with this band for some years and also played an extensive amount of gig all around the south coast and London we had a fairly big amount of original music of which only a handful was recorded. Two can be found in the YouTube links

An illustration of a ticket with the text 'The General Public' in bold, stylized letters.
Four people sitting on chairs in a room, smiling and engaging in conversation. The person second from the right is holding a large, round, pinkish-yellow lamp. The room has patterned walls and colorful striped fabric on one side. A bottle of water is visible on the floor to the right.

The General Public

The General Public was a band formed of the back of another band called The Gadabouts. the band has stopped performing for some time and then decided to go along to a open mic night at the Portman hotel (The Greenroom) as known to many locals. this was the first open mic night id been to so the organize suggest I jump up with them and it instantly gelled. and they asked me to join. sadly that collective didn’t last to long do to some members personal commitments but some of us carried on and changed the name to The General Public. the old songs took a new form and we quickly build up a decent repertoire of rocky/funky ass songs along with some poppy/ballard type songs mostly written by the frontman Mike then we all added our own elements. we played many gigs around bournemouth and surrounding areas during the time we were together.

Wall with graffiti-style painted text reading 'Yet cheers of the Adverse' with red and blue paint splashes and black tape lettering.
Four young men sitting on a sofa in front of a wall with graffiti text reading 'Secrets of the' and a lightning bolt design.

Sketches Of The Adverse

Sketches Of The Adverse were an Indi pop rock band which I joined after id been in general public for some time. same as all the other bands we played many shows in and around the area had a decent amount of songs to our name. mainly originals with a couple of covers. We got offered a distribution deal for a single and the company decided it would be a good idea to change the name of the band to The Flyaways……..

Neon sign displaying the words 'The Flyaways' with winged design elements.
A live band performs outdoors on a rooftop stage against a white brick building with musical decorations, while a person stands nearby, and a blue car is parked in front.

The Flyaways

The Fly Aways were the same band as The Sketches Of The Adverse but as I said above we changed the name upon the distribution companies request. Recorded and released the song Bills And Beer Cans but sadly the band came to an end shortly after due to members personal commitments and travel. I don’t have any promo pics as under that name so the picture on the left is from a cool gig we done on the roof of the witches tavern in Burley situated in the New Forest.

Xander Allen & The Keys band logo in black text
Three men standing side by side against a dark background, looking at the camera. The man on the left wears a dark jacket, the man in the middle wears a dark shirt and jacket, and the man on the right wears a furry hat and a graphic t-shirt with tattoos visible on his arms.

Xander And The Keys

Xander And The Keys were also and Indi rock band with I joined a little time after The Flyaways ended. this band played a mixture of covers and original music. we also played many gigs during my time with them and even stretched as far as Shropshire and recorded a music video for one of the tracks. at the time I was asked to join another band called Pachango as the bassist sadly died so I played in both bands for some time.

Logo featuring a stylized mouth with red lips, white teeth, and a green interior, with text reading 'Pacchango' in bold yellow and pink, surrounded by words 'Skate,' 'Reggae,' 'Funk,' 'Fusion,' 'Hip-Hop,' 'Cube' on a circular black banner, all on a blue background.
A group of ten people jumping in the air on a park pathway surrounded by trees with yellow and green leaves.

Pachango

Pachango was a 11 piece fusion band playin a mixture of original music and some reworked covers. fusing funk, reggae, ska and hip-hop with a cuban twist. the band had been together for many years before I joined due to them loosing their bassist and I played with them for many years after playing many gigs in and around the area and London along with many other areas. we also played a lot of festivals each year sadly the band came to a end due to indifferences between some members. the majority of us continued to play together and formed what is now know as The Midnight Alliance. since then Pachango has reformed in recent years and continue to gig and promote the first album Tricks Of The Trade.

Text that reads 'HOPE and the NEW FLOWER generation' with a sunflower replacing the letter 'O' in 'HOPE'.
A four-member band performing on stage in a small venue. One person is playing bass guitar, another is singing into a microphone, a third is playing drums, and a fourth is playing keyboard. The background features artwork of a woman's face with a swirl design above her head, and the setting is dimly lit.

Hope And The New Flower Generation

This band I was asked to play with some time during the same time period as Xander and Pachango and this band was and Ambient chilled pop ensemble. fronted by the pianist from The General Public. we had a small selection of original song and a couple of covers.

A group of five young people sitting together in a room, with musical instruments including a guitar and keyboard, engaged in conversation.
Two musicians performing on stage: a female singer with shoulder-length hair wearing a white t-shirt and white pants, and a male guitarist wearing a hat, graphic t-shirt, and jewelry, with a bass guitar.

Ami J And The Boys

This was a brief college band back in the day and played mainly covers and only giggled during the college productions.