The Band

The band comprises Geoff Cripps, Kate Strudwick, Linda Simmonds, Meriel Field, and Chris Jones.

Geoff Cripps

Birth sign :Aries

What do you do in the day?
Artistic Director Cultural Services Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC

Favourite food? Michelle’s shepherd pies/my curries

Favourite drink? Tea/German beer/cabernet sauvignon

Favourite film? Lawrence of Arabia

Instruments: Guitars by Taylor & Rob Crocker; keyboards by Roland & Korg; Mandola & bouzouki by Fylde; Bass by Tanglewood

Desert Island Discs: “So Many Partings ” Silly Wizard; Bee Gees 1st; Beatles “Revolver”; Mary Chapin Carpenter “Stones in the road”; Jackson Browne “Lives in the balance”; Moving Hearts “The Storm”; Ar Log lV; Albion Band “Rise Up Like The Sun”

Favourite AYYF Gig/happening? Luxembourg Folk Club/“Belonging” launch night

Heroes/heroines? Aneurin Bevan; the Chartists; Jack King

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Kate Strudwick

Birth sign :Whatever

Favourite food? Sushi (honest) and mashed potato (but not necessarily together)

Favourite drink? Chilled Le Terroir cider on the harbourside at Lorient

Favourite film? Curse of the Were Rabbit / Night of the Lepus (there’s a theme developing here!).

Favourite touring confectionery? M&S Rhubarb and Custard/Thornton’s toffee

Instruments: Yamaha flute, Dixon whistle and various recorders including two Moeck descants(called “Sinistra” and “Destra”), another Adler descant (“Larry”), a silly blue plastic one from Korea (“Clark Kent”), a wooden instrument from the Czech Republic that has no name - just a symbol (“the recorder formerly known as Prince”), an Aulus sopranino (“the Kraken”) and a teeny tiny Aulus gartkleine flotlein (“the Rottweiller”) that the band won’t let me play indoors. I’ve recently introduced a classy Bach treble to the line-up (“Johann Sebastian”).

Desert Island Discs: Changes all the time, but favourites at the moment are “The Secret of Life” (Ukele Orchestra of Great Britain), “Burlesque” (Bellowhead), Show of Hands Double Album, Mozart Requiem

Favourite AYYF Gig/happening? Lorient on a boat, Rhug Farmers Market in a blizzard, David Morgan’s Christmas gift department, Strathaven Police telling us to keep the noise down (well it was past 9pm on a Saturday night, so we should have known better).

Heroes/heroines? All those people who are still doing their stuff (and doing it so well) without the celebrity fees. This includes the fantastically talented people who have performed in Caerphilly’s Library concert series. (Thanks Tom McConville, Brian McNeill, Alan Burke, Cheryl Beer, Rod Paterson, Robin & Bina Williamson — in a more just world, you’d be the ones getting the decent fees and the acclamation you deserve).

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Linda Simmonds

Birth sign :Twinkle, twinkle!

What I'd like to do if I didn't have a proper day job?
Travel & play music.

Favourite food? Do Ginger Bears count? / Spag Bol & Garlic bread with a good red wine.

Favourite drink? A pint of Guinness anywhere in Ireland / nose-numbing 'thick' G & T / a nice cup of tea & a sit down - with quality biscuits, not the pinky wafers!

Favourite film? Mama Mia (sing-along, naturally); Lord of the Rings (Hobbits are shorter than I am!); Life of Brian (what did the Romans ever do for us? John Cleese & the Latin lesson).

Instruments: Fylde Touchstone Mandolin (spares - a Rob Crocker & one from the Czech Republic made by someone with an unpronounceable name & bought from the same shop as Kate's recorder); Bodhran - a tuneable 'drwm' by Marcus Music ( South Wales) with neat wooden sliders rather than a tuning key, & a selection of wooden things to hit it with including a bundle of sticks which make a sound not unlike tap-dancing gerbils; Octave Mandola - Geoff's Fylde!

Top long distance driving music: Tom Lehrer “in concert”; Steve Earle “Copperhead Road”; Beethoven “Symphony No 3 in E flat Major”; Anything by Richard Thompson; Ice Age 2 soundtrack; Brian McNeill “the Back o' the North Wind”; Florence Foster Jenkins “Murder on the High Cs” (the quality of that voice certainly keeps you awake!).

Favourite AYYF Gig/happening? Nordlingen Medieval Festival, Bavaria, next to the have-a-go axe throwing, mouse roulette with real rodents & naked Germans in an outdoor hot tub (they kept their hats on, though); Wales Millennium Centre Tesco Stage (home crowd & people buy cds); Trowbridge Festival.

Heroes/heroines? Lifeboat crews & mountain rescue / Gwenllian, 12th Century Welsh Princess killed in battle leading an army against the Normans at Kidwelly ....there's your short history lesson for today / anyone who can eat a whole lemon without pulling a face!

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Meriel Field

Birth Sign :Aries

What do you do during the day?
Singing and Keyboard tutor in schools

Nationality :Welsh

Languages in addition to English: Welsh (speaking and singing), French (singing), German (singing), Italian (singing), Spanish (singing)

Instruments in band: Violin (German 19th century),Voice (female 20th century!)

Favourite Food? Vegetarian

Favourite Drink? Earl Grey Tea/ Cappuccino/ Smoothies

Favourite Countries? Wales, Canada, Brittany

Favourite Books? The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, Affluenza by Oliver James, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol.

Favourite Contemporary Musicians/Singers? Lang Lang, Alison Krauss, Martin Hayes, Aly Bain, Natalie McMaster, Ute Lemper, Andrew Parrott, Bryn Terfel are just a few...

Favourite AYYF Gig? Lorient 2008

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Chris Jones

Birth sign :A tail with a sting.

What do you do in the day?
Computer Software Engineer (so different from musician)

Favourite food? Pizza, and any italian food.

Favourite drink? Similar to Linda, Guinness anywhere in Ireland / German White Beer (thanks Thomas) / A good bottle of Red Wine.

Favourite film? Any Sci-fi film Star Wars Trilogy, The Matrix Trilogy, The lord of the Rings Trilogy, Pirates of the Carribean Trilogy. I think there's a theme here "Trilogy".

Instruments: A Miyazawa Solid Silver Flute (22 years old). It has had its fair share of knocks over the years. A Serenellini Piano Accordion 96 bass. I bought this a few years ago from Rob Beecroft at the Birmingham Accordion Centre. Dixon "D" Whistle and Low "D" Whistle, and 2 Shaw low "D" whistles.

Desert Island Discs: Any type of music.

Favourite AYYF Gig/happening? Our first concert gig near my home village Gilwern at the Abergavenny Borough Theatre. Concerts in Germany, and Brits Night this year at the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival.

Heroes/heroines? My parents who will always come and support me at any of the bands performances.

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