The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 24th February 2010

Originally formed as a three piece back in 2001, indie rock band, Cyrano, soon became a foursome with the addition of lead guitarist, Karl Barton. From this moment on, their sound was born. With influences from bands like Pearl Jam and Elbow, Cyrano have crafted a unique blend of thoughtfully written songs, rock guitars and Tom Yorke-esque vocals resulting in a hugely melodic sound.The band are currently in the final stages of producing their much anticipated debut Album with London based producer, Paul Castle (Eminem/Blondie). The band’s line up is, Joe Ackerley on Vocals and guitar, Matt Wilson on drums, Tim Hubbard on bass and vocals, and Karl Barton on lead guitar.

Tom McHugh was born in Birmingham's Black Country. He had a Spanish guitar when he was seven - took it to a local luthier called Mr Cooper who showed him some finger picking. Tom's first two records were Abbey Road and the soundtrack to the Jungle book: " the Beatles took me away, and I thought Balloo was great but I didn't get why Mowgli left the jungle". Tom slowly changed his playing style from classic to other forms as he listened to more Beatles albums, Todd Rundgren and Little Feat.Tom plays once-a-month gigs in London from January to April and has recently been enlisted by the Sevenoaks band "Nathan Lee and Shrunken Heads". He cites Steve Howe, Albert Lee, Helen Durden and Marc Ribot as guitar heroes; and Morgan Taylor (creator of Gustafer Yellowgold), Bobby Long and Jonathan Richmann as singer-writer influences. "I've recently discovered Bob Dylan with Love and Theft and Donald Fagan is the guy I listen to every day".

Popular local acoustic band SW3 are comprised of Peter Taylor - vocals and guitar, Janemarie Taylor - vocals and Delby Edwards - vocals and guitar. Peter and his wife Janemarie previously played locally as the duo Sweetheart. After the addition of Delby they changed the name to Sweetheart + 1, then abbreviated to SW3.Their original songs move from country through americana to pop. The twin acoustics and vocal harmonies provide an uplifting mood to their great live shows. They also have regular contributors when playing larger shows. These include Jackie Taylor, Peter's sister, on Sax and flute and Bart Brummer on percussion.

Local singer/songwriter Dan Sumner, although still in his mid 20s, appears to come from a different age. He grew up listening to his Dad’s record collection, falling in love with John Martyn and Richard Thompson records and later taking inspiration from the likes of Prince and The Cure. He picked up the guitar at the tender age of 11, and went on to hone a unique style, fusing his folk roots with elements of Jazz, Pop and Rock into crafted arrangements. After a couple of years cutting his teeth on the London Folk scene, he moved to the south of Spain in search of brighter skies, but moved back a couple of years later with a new found lust for music. Having just released his debut EP, ‘Songs for the doomsday vault’, with his band, The Dan Sumner Quartet, he is about to embark on a summer tour of the UK and Europe, playing at festivals such as The Big Chill and Brighton Live. Catch him where you can! ‘Songs for the doomsday vault’ is available for sale on iTunes and Amazon MP3.