Stephen Dunn - Vocals & Lead Guitar (his own description). Stephen has a daring dash of poptastic ski pants to accompany his slalom disco moves.
Andy Cairns - Keyboards. A recent addition to te band and has replaced the good Dr Chris Harty. Andy's tinklings are done without the aid of any props.
Andy Harper - Bass and Backing Vocals. He has the ability to look cool in the warmest of places and has good "pop" hair.
Neil Fraser - Drums (loud, noisy things) and Backing Vocals. "A singing drummer", I hear you exclaim....exactly. Every band should have one. Recently voted band bastard at the exclusive GLOS awards.
"Big" Al Branstone - Trumpet and grown up conversation. he sometimes whistles and is the best dressed of any of us. He is also sensible and I dare not say anything bad or he'll bash my 'bone (tut at you)!!
Chris Riley aka The Deadone - Trombone and manic Salvation Army Tambourine. Handsome, debonair, witty and all round good egg! Tends to wander during gigs...usually to fix bits of equipment, straps, etc.
The band Stephen Dunn, lead vocals and guitar, Neil Fraser, drums and backing vocals, Andy Harper, bass and backing vocals and Andy Cairns, keyboards and backing vocals are completed by the Randall & Hopkirk Orchestra (AKA Alan "Shut It" Branstone on trumpet and Chris "The Dead One" Riley on trombone). They describe their music as clap and spin, which gives a hint of the happy, up-beat music they make. Hailing from Carlisle in the North of England, the band have been together for 4 years. Theres no doubt that they have a good time on stage & Giant Loop favourites, such as 'Somethings Bothering Me', always sees a full dance floor. A recent gig recent review said "I defy anyone of any musical persuasion not to love this band and leave, at least, smiling or with aching feet".
Many thanks to the good folks who organised the TGM Awards and all those that voted for us. Much to our surprise we managed to pick up three awards -
BEST BAND (North Cumbria)
BEST BAND (Judge's Choice) - thanks judges!
and the prestigious (and this is 'crack up', as the veritable Mr Dunn would say)
BEST BAND OVERALL - for all of Cumbria & South West Scotland!!
Amazing stuff.....many thanks for your votes and your appreciated support.
The video below is an excerpt from a TV series we took part in called 'Still On The Road', filmed by ITV Border. The very talented producer John Harkins was the winner of the Best Drama Or Entertainment Production Award (Low Budget) for this series at the recent Royal Television Society Awards......congratulations John.
It was in The Shed, nice gig although I had no voice!! lol Had a cold!! Anyways how are you? Hope your weekend is great, I'm singing at a wedding tonight in Gretna, then On Sunday during the day got band practice... I'm part of a six piece rock band that plays original material!!! :-D Hugs Shelly xoxox
Kaikoura have (by far) the freshest, most dynamic and vibrant sound on the scene right now, you'd be hard-pressed to find any other current band who epitomise the fury of intense live energy that Kaikoura achieve.
Tripdash waste no time laying out blistering, hooky hardcore punk anthems, each one sure to inspire pumping fists and mosh pits, and hell - maybe even a sing along or two. Unapologetically political, Tripdash is sure to please fans of the melodic hardcore punk genre.
Support from Battle To Exile and Obvious Outcome.
Tickets available now from: 8 Treasury Court Fisher Street Carlisle
Driven beyond doubt by an innate passion for the music they play, Blast Stereos Loud combine emotive lyrical hooks with haunting chord progressions that will rip your heart out, tattoo their name all over it and staple it back, while you, unknowingly, continue to tap your pink converse on the sticky floors of the venues they lure you into...
Everything Burns are a vocal driven sound house, with epic guitar riffs, stomping bass lines and thunderous drums all compiled together to create an explosive sounding band.
None The Less singer, Ant, sounds like a cross between Charlie Simpson from Fightstar and Daniel Johns from Silverchair. It TOTALLY works. They're working their arses off and getting in people's faces at the moment. Awesome, awesome band.
One of the best up and coming bands to come out of the North east this year. Using a great mixture of sounds from melodic tunes to amazing rock tracks to keep the crowd going To Save A Soul are definatly a band to watch out for this year!
Tickets available for £5 Adv from 8 Treasury Court Fisher Street Carlisle
Hey there brothers and sisters, come check these out!
Saturday 12th April: Andy Votel Lambhuna and friends present Twisted Nerve’s supremo and crate-digger supreme, showing off a masterclass in psych, funk and freak folk - with LA’s Gaslamp Killer and Lambhuna residents
Monday 14th April: Mystery Jets Eel Pie Island’s fave oddballs bring the irresistible pop joys of their new album ‘Twenty One’ to the Brickyard stage
Friday 18th April: The Sugars Solfest faves, these fuzzed-up doo-wop sweethearts kick out bluesy duets of heartache and jealousy. Support from Carlisle’s own Cosmic Cat and the Parlotones
Saturday 19th April: Exit Calm Holy Are You present Exit Calm, the perfect prescription for the recovering Verveaholic. With garage rock from Night Of Sevens and drones courtesy of The Lucid Dream
Monday 21st April: Danny & The Champions Of The World The new psychedelic folk-pop megagroup of Danny Wilson (of Grand Drive) featuring members of Goldrush, Brakes and the Electric Soft Parade. Support from Fading Face and the Cotton Controller as deejay
Tuesday 22nd April: Envy & Other Sins Eccentric Brit indie winners of Channel 4’s MobileAct Unsigned – with homegrown indie-pop masters Indigo Skins and the still-irrepressible Test The Tone
Thursday 20th March: Lambhuna and friends Your Easter weekend warm-up with Lambhuna, Chairman Blau and Gamma Jack playing wholesome servings of funk, psych, freakbeat, reggae and bags more.
Good Friday 21st March: Falling Red Launch party for the Penrith rockers’ new album “If You Ain’t Down With The Rock…” – free copies available on entry, with live Falling Red and Worthless Diamonds sets, and DJ Sam spinning rock / metal power moves til 2am.
Saturday 22nd March: Team Waterpolo A party for your feet, ears and brain all at once, Team Waterpolo come to the Brickyard ahead of a slot on 2008’s NME New Noise Tour. Isosceles from Edinburgh are supporting, and Club Olio / Krftwrk Orange DJs will man the decks. The pop of tomorrow!!
Easter Sunday 23rd March: Lost And Found / Dub’d Out With a live Dubdadda set featuring brass, female vocals and an MC. Combining old school dub mixing techniques with new school sounds and technology, the Dubdadda has made his mark on the soundsystem scene. Also featuring Chiv & Brains and Jinx’in Dub.
Monday 24th March: Flatlands Roadface promotions presents Flatlands, Montana and the return of Reluctant To Speak. Underground music for fans of Dischord Records, epic drone and serious heaviosity.
With another year winding down to the end comes the end of year awards - and the return of the TGM Awards. The awards are back for its fourth year, hoping to be as successful as last year's.
To anyone who is new to this, the TGM Awards is an annual end of year awards event, which celebrates the best local bands in Cumbria and South West Scotland. And with many local acts battling for awards, there is so much to choose from.
We can confirm that Giant Loop Of Sound have 1 nomination:
* Best North Cumbria Act
Voting will begin on Saturday 17th November and close on Sunday 16th December, and the winners announced in the run up to Christmas.
This is the uber art for the UK October Tour - be sure to come and say hello if you get the chance..... Full gig listings on the main myspace page. Vib Gyor central x
