Sy started playing bass at the age of 14, this was not a decision based on love of the instrument, but one of necessity. Sy’s first band, Deadline, was in need of a bassist, so this was the route that was chosen. After a couple of years in Deadline the band decided split after only two or three gigs. This was the point at which Sy discovered ‘heavy metal’. At 16, he was recruited to a band called Tourniquet and the rock influences started to creep in.
Steve Harris was the first main influence. If you were in a rock band in the mid to late 80′s, Maiden had to feature in your record collection. It was the law!! What once was flowing, flowed no more and Tourniquet split up, again after only two or three gigs. Vendetta, a hair metal, Jovi-esq local band, was Sy’s next project. With the tunes of Van Halen, Cinderella, Poison and Motley Crue, blaring from the pokey garage at which they rehearsed, the American rock influence soon started seeping into Sy’s playing. However, once again after only half dozen or so gigs, Vendetta disbanded and reformed as Liaison (without Sy) and moved to Sheffield to seek rock glory from the Northern scene.
Hope ‘n’ Glory was next on the list. Featuring Kris Jones (Tortilla’s original drummer), this unit was by far and away the most professional sounding outfit that Sy had been involved with. Regular gigging ensued with H ‘n’ G, something that Sy had always craved. They had quite a large following for a local band. This was clear when they almost sold out the Kings Hall in Herne Bay (well, 650 tickets anyway). This had to be the band’s highlight, and is still a gig full of fond memories for Sy.
When Hope ‘n’ Glory split up in 1990, Sy was devastated. This band had finally seemed to be the creative outlet that he’d been looking for, and now it was gone. It was at this time that Sy discovered his love of Kings X. Which to this day, is still Sy’s main influence. Sy partnered up with like minded Phil Theobald, a talented young guitarist, from Herne Bay and formed the band ‘Jaded’. Originally a “white shirts, tight jeans, and hairspray” type of band, Jaded morphed into Mothers Ruin, a sleazy “lock up your daughters” affair. Influenced once again by the American sound, Mother’s Ruin took pointers from the heavier sound of Skid Row, and Guns ‘n’ Roses, and this showed in their flamboyant energetic live shows, often ending up in some kind of fight with a member of the audience. Dropping the bass for this project, Sy moved over to lead vocals for Mother’s Ruin, but still had his roots in the four string. Interestingly, Mother’s Ruin’s main rivals on the rock circuit was The Homeboys, featuring none other than Mik Gaffney on the skins. Mother’s Ruin gigged regularly on the circuit, but the highlight had to be a headline spot at the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden. The gig was immense. However, just after securing a headline spot at London’s Marquee club, the band split before playing the gig. The Marquee was a gig that Sy had always wanted to play and it was at this point that realisation hit, with each passing year, the dream of becoming a huge rock star was becoming less of an option.
Not to be kept down for long, Sy was keen to pick up the bass again and was given the opportunity to join local rockers (ironically just four weeks after they played the Marquee!), Crash Palace, featuring Jim Noble on guitar and Chris Smith on Drums (one of Mother’s Ruin’s many skin beaters). Recording an album over a long period was something that Sy had not done before, but Crash Palace were in the throws of doing just that, so Sy was thrown in at the deep end. A heavy gigging schedule was the trademark of Crash Palace. Averaging over 100 per year, mainly to pay for the recording. However, the band started to move off in separate directions, Chris and the Singer, Darren on one side, Sy and Jim on the other. The last few gigs were done purely to finance the album, and once this was paid for, the band split up. However, from the ashes of Crash Palace, came the first sparks of Tortilla Army. In 1998 Tortilla Army played their first gig at the East Kent in Whitstable. The rest is………..
Favourite bass players: dUg Pinnick, Steve Harris, Jaco Pastorious, Duff McKagan, Nate Mendel, Stuart Hamm, John Paul Jones, Chris Chaney, Rachel Bolan, Melissa Auf der Maur, Nick Oliveri, Noel Redding, Michael Balzary (Flea), John Pearce
Favourite drummers: Mik Gaffney, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, John Bonham, Kris Jones
Favourite singers: Jim Noble, dUg Pinnick, Chris Cornell, Corey Taylor, Adele, Elle Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Chris Robinson
Favourite guitarists: Joe Websper, Mattias Eklundh, Ty Tabor, Frank Zappa, Eric Johnson, Jimmy Page
Favourite bands: Kings X, Foo Fighters, Led Zepplin, QOTSA, Operator, Mute Math, Jimi Hendrix, Faith no More, Skid Row (Seb Bach days), Incubus, Reuben, Dinosaur Pile-up, Moth
Favourite food: Fajitas, Dominoes Pizza, Chilli, my Wife’s cooking!
Favourite drinks: Hobgoblin, Glenmorangie, really cold sparkling water
Favourite TV: Lie to me, Fringe, The Event, Hustle, The Unit, Bones, Wonders of the Universe
Favourtie movies: Inception, Apollo 13, The Boat that Rocked, the original Star Wars trilogy (apart from the fucking Ewoks), Shaun of the Dead, Paul, Hot Fuzz, the Bourne trilogy, The Dark Knight, Almost Famous
Favourite books: Anything by Lee Child, Clarkson books, A riot of our own
Favourite quotes: Let’s not kill the stupid people, let’s just remove all of the warning labels, and let nature take it’s course
Favourite waste of time: Modern Warfare 2, doing this bio!
