With an original ambition to be an opera singer, KERI started singing at a very young age, but only started having lessons at the age of 16, passing her Grade 8 less than a year later with the highest mark in the country . She then went on to study Musical Theatre at Mountview Theatre School in London.She has won many awards and competitions, including a NODA award for Best Actress in a musical in 2003 and fending off competition from 25000 others to win a national contest Pubstars, consequently recording a cd at Tin Pan Alley studios in London. She taught singing for 7 years, and has performed regularly throughout the county and beyond, recently being chosen to sing the part of Lulu in the professional Take That show at the Sands Centre. Keri still loves performing classical music and operatic solos, but believes she has found her niche in the rock/ blues genre, and loves nothing more than to put her whole heart and soul into the performance of a great song.
JAMIE started playing guitar at the age of 9, playing his first gig aged 12. Living in Maryport, he was always surrounded by fantastic blues music and amazing guitarists, and it was this which inspired him to practice so hard and keep trying to improve on the guitar. His efforts have certainly paid off - he passed his Grade 8 at the age of 16, is a prolific song writer, has already played several gigs at Maryport Blues, and has been a member of 3 successful bands. Because of his love for Blues, Jamie was delighted to join South Quay.
TOM started playing the drums at the age of 13, passing his Grade 8 aged 15. He played regularly for the Whitehaven Brass Band, whilst also playing in numerous punk and rock bands. He later left the brass band and played with Wyndham Wind Band, in addition to being a member of jazz band "Disband" and Latin band "Los Huevos Banditos". He tries to fuse most of the styles he has experienced into his playing with South Quay, whilst still trying to remain individual and original. He is currently studying Civil Engineering at the University of Newcastle, so come and talk to him after the gigs before he graduates and becomes an extremely boring engineer with lots of fun facts to tell.........
PAUL's interest in music began when he started playing piano at the age of 5. He then progressed onto playing bass guitar age 11, picking up an electric guitar along the way and still continuing to play piano and keyboard. He began writing and recording songs, sending them off to record companies, and when he was told his songs were good but he needed a band behind him, he formed successful local band Mingo's Locker. He has played for several years in the pit bands for companies in Whitehaven, Maryport, Keswick and Workington, where he first met Keri and Tom, and is looking forward to performing original material with South Quay.
Pics by
www.briansherwen.co.uk
, Tony Winfield (www.bluespics.com)
SOUTH QUAY AT THE MUSIC FARM STUDIO
Sneak preview of Jamie......
Come see him playing live.....
Influences
Many and varied. Any music which inspires an emotional reaction. The great rock and blues guitarists, and any vocalists who can really wring the passion out of a song.
Four piece rock / blues band South Quay stunned the crowd at the opening night of Maryport Blues Festival with their powerful opening set, supporting acts such as Gary Moore, Van Morrison and Eric Bibb. Since then, the band has had a very busy schedule, going down a storm with the crowds wherever they play. South Quay’s unique takes on unusual and lesser known rock / blues songs have proved extremely popular, inspiring adjectives such as “amazing” and “awesome” from enthusiastic audience members, with the band being proclaimed “the best live band to play round here for years” after a recent gig in Carlisle.
Their distinctive musical style fuses Keri Farish’s powerful, emotive vocals with truly impressive performances from all band members. Songs such as the immensely popular “ Whipping Post” effectively combine innovative guitar work with the fantastic Tom Oldfield on drums, with Paul Williamson providing a solid bass line which moulds the whole sound together perfectly. In contrast, in the emotional “Stay With Me Baby” and the band’s own version of “Summertime”, Keri’s vocals have been said to “make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end”, and have drawn comparisons with Maggie Bell, Sam Brown and Elkie Brooks.
Their limited edition debut cd of rehearsal out takes sold out virtually immediately, and demand has been such that further copies of this cd were made available, and are already selling very quickly.
Whether you prefer full on rockin’ blues, emotional ballads, funk, good old rock n roll or just a good mixture, South Quay’s set has something for everyone. A couple of impressive surprises are slotted in for good measure, and this is most definitely a band to watch out for in the not too distant future.
Oooo you're in the bounty? We're singing in Flimby Social tonight so during the break we might pop over, hopefully you'll be on!! Would be great to finally see you's xx
Well I'll say it again: you can really play and, Keri, you can really sing. If you need any new songs, take a look at mine: my blogs are full of lyrics, some of which have music I can send you somehow. Meanwhile, I'll be dropping by again soon for the pleasure. Tim
Hi Keri - thanks for the add & thanks for your reassurance regarding the wisdom tooth :0) Saw you in the Vagabond last Sunday, your voice is awesome!!!! Girl power!!!
Hi Keri, thanks for the add and hope to catch up with you and the guys over the summer (MP blues and CockRock). Appreciate your feedback on BOTB and we really enjoyed ourselves even though we were pipped at the post. See you soon, Mark (Vertigo)
THANKS FOR BEING A FRIEND. COOL TUNES, TOTAL QUALITY. ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO HAVE AN ATTRACTIVE FACE ADORN OUR PAGE AND BRING SOME GLAMOUR TO OUR SITE. HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING OUR MUSIC. FOR MORE BLUES CRUISE SONGS PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR OTHER SITES ON OUR TOP 40 FRIENDS. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO LOOK AT OUR FAN PAGE WITH DETAILS OF HOW TO PURCHASE OUR DEBUT ALBUM 'CRUISIN THE BLUES' AND ROBBIE'S NEW ALBUM 'BERT ZANG AND THE AFAN DELTA OUTLAWS' . ALSO CHECK OUT OUR NEW USA FANBASE. TAKE CARE, THE CRUISE
Bonjour Keri & South Quay, merci pour la requête, votre musique est géniale (surtout la voix !) et si vous venez jouer en France un jour je serai la première à prendre ma place !! A très bientôt -------------------- Hey Keri & South Quay, Thanks for the request, I love your music (great voice !!), if you ever come in France to play I'll be the first to buy a ticket :) Keep in touch !
Hi & Thanks for finding us, Great sounding band, Love that voice,Superb, Hope to catch you on the circuit somtime,Regards Melvyn, Mark Ian & Elrad Chicago 9 Cheers!
Hi Keri. Thanks very much for the request. Excellent music. I hope to see you play our club some day. Keep in touch. Peace, Love & Music, Electric Dave Host BB Kings NYC
I can't believe it, the next couple of times you are playing in Maryport, including my local The Bounty I am away in Wolverhampton and Manchester both those nights! :-(
Hi Keri, Love your the Whipping Post version very Scentious ...Do you ever perform it barefoot? I would like to introduce WinterCream a band that I manage on my page ...Please listen to Rollin' Tumblin' I think you would like them as well. Best David
