The Outcast Band

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Outcast Band


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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Woking, England
Genre = Alternative rock, Folk-punk
Years_active = 1991 – 1996
2007 – present
Label = Art&Soul
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URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Damien Kay Paul Godfrey Dave Browne Miffy Davies Phil Mills Ryan Daniel Mike Agate Mark Edwards Jake Gosling George Whitfield Dominic Coles Tom Price
Notable_instruments =

The Outcast Band were an alternative roots rock band from Surrey, England who notched up over 500 live shows around the UK and Europe across their five year lifespan from 1991 to 1996.

History

The Outcast Band first got together in 1991, in the studio at Paul Godfrey's parents house in Chobham, Surrey. Dave Browne, Paul Godfrey, Damien "Tex" Kay, and Ryan Daniel all knew each other and had played in various rock, punk and blues bands together before. Paul was originally a drummer.

Having been out of touch with each other for a year or two, it was a great surprise to learn through friends that Paul had dropped his drumsticks in favour of learning the fiddle, and that Tex wasn't concentrating on the blues anymore but had started listening to The Waterboys, Steve Earle and other "rootsy" bands. This prompted a jam session between the two of them which went on all night, and half the next day. The energy of these first sessions was immense, and fellow friends were quickly brought in to form the nucleus of a new band. Local adverts for a drummer yielded Mike Agate, and Miffy Davies and Janet Beale turned up to a session one day, and stayed.

The band began busking in Guildford and Farnborough and soon realised that there was a great future for the band. Tex's inspiration for songwriting was unstoppable, and a demo was recorded within the first few months. This consisted of:

* "The Letters That You Wrote Me"
* "Country Girl"
* "The Natural Bridge Reel"

Janet left the band towards the end of 1991, and was replaced by Jake Gosling in time for the band's first gig.

After exactly one year with the band, Mike Agate had to leave due to a repetitive strain injury to his wrist. Mark Edwards became the new drummer in November 1992. Pete Catania also became the full time sound engineer.

In March 1993, Ryan Daniel and Jake Gosling departed, after deciding a life on the road wasn't for them. Soon after, ex-Colour Mary guitarist Phil Mills joined, and quickly took over the main guitar role. Phil injected a new sound into the band which can be heard on the "Face the Rain" EP. His melodic mandolin style was welcomed into the new sound. George Whitfield from PressGang replaced Jake Gosling in a part-time capacity, but a permanent replacement was never found. Also in 1993, a dedicated merchandiser (Alan Baxter) and a stage assistant (Matt Procter) joined the touring crew.

Sometime in 1994, after the Outcast Band's German tour, Alan Baxter was joined by "Pink Lynne" Devey (with pink dreadlocks) as the band's merchandising team. In the summer of 1994, Phil and Mark left the band to form a new group with John Forrester called Sunspeak. Weeks of auditions were held at AlleyCat in Reading to find new members; the band was joined by Tom Price on guitar and Dominic Coles on drums.

This lineup supported one of the busiest times for the Outcast Band, including 1995's 55 date UK tour sponsored by Murphy's Irish Stout. Things changed again in early 1996, when Dominic Coles left the band and Mark Edwards made a triumphant return for the band's last few gigs.

Reunion

In 2007, Damien Kay and Paul Godfrey had been playing a number of gigs as "The Wreckage", including some acoustic versions of the old Outcast songs. Following auditions held in early 2007, Andy Wickson (drums) and Mike Edwards (bass) were recruited into the band. Tom Price (guitar) was rediscovered and brought back on board by late 2007, as well as Pete Catania, the sound man. The band performed at the Stroud Fringe Festival in September 2007 (as The Wreckage) and then some lower key gigs tuned the band up for performances in the summer of 2008. The Outcast Band was officially named again in July 2008 when they once again played GuilFest on 5th July and Monmouth Festival on 1st August 2008.fact|date=August 2008

Personnel

Like most bands, the lineup for The Outcast Band was constantly changing.

* Damien Kay – vocals, guitar, mandolin (1991 – 1996, 2007 – present)
* Ryan Daniel – electric guitar, vocals (1991 – March 1993)
* Janet Beale – accordion (1991)
* Miffy Davies – flute, whistles, recorder (1991 – 1996)
* Dave Browne – bass guitar, bousouki (1991 – 1996)
* Mike Agate – drums (1991 – 1992)
* Paul Godfrey – fiddle, Zeta violin, mandolin (late 1991 – 1996, 2007 – present)
* Jake Gosling – accordion (late 1991 – March 1993)
* Christy Pollard – sound engineer (late 1991 – 1996)
* Mark Edwards – drums (November 1992 – summer 1994; 1996)
* Pete Catania – sound engineer (1992 – 1996, 2007 – present)
* Phil Mills – electric guitar, mandolin, vocals (1993 – summer 1994)
* George Whitfield – accordion (1993 – 1996)
* Tom Price – electric guitar, vocals (1994 – 1996, 2007 – present)
* Dominic Coles – drums (1994 – 1996)
* Andy Wickson - drums (2007 – present)
* Mike Edwards - bass guitar, vocals (2007 – present)

Other (non-musical) personnel

* Alan Baxter – merchandiser (1993 – 1996)
* Matt Procter – lighting engineer (1993 – 1996)
* Lynne Devey – merchandiser (1994 – 1996)

Discography

External links

* [http://www.outcastband.com The Outcast Band website]