Primary Instrument: Band/ensemble/orchestra
DaylightSaving have a unique sound that combines elements of jazz, pop, folk and latin. Based in Kent, south east England, the band have a growing reputation for writing sophisticated, jazz-inflected songs and delivering exceptional live performances.
Hello! I'm Kate Lynn-Devere and I sing and play the flute (badly). My voice is a long, long way from perfect, but I don't use auto-tune or similar effects and never will, 'cause I think our imperfections are what make us who we are. I co-write our songs with Richard, with all the miserable lyrics and any really stupid chords being my fault. I met Richard in May 2008 after hearing his songs on MySpace and emailing him to ask if he'd like to get together and jam. We do our song-writing at my house, where Richard and Craig (who've known each other since primary school) play board games with my daughter (she thrashes 'em regularly) and they all get dressed up as princesses (photos coming soon)--Richard says he doesn't like it, but we don't believe him.
Richard Eady (guitars) says about himself--I already played the violin and piano before teaching myself guitar but it became my main instrument because it was the one I was most comfortable writing with. At school I played in a noisy band which changed its name far more often that it performed! I was originally inspired by artists like Michael Franks and Steely Dan who combined intricate jazz harmonies with pop hooks. Other influences include Jobim, Ivan Lins, Pat Metheny, Kate McGarry and Kurt Rosenwinkel. I spent many years writing and recording everything from commercial pop songs to full scale orchestral pieces, with some publishing success. After working alone for so long, I was dubious about collaborating with other musicians. But once I began writing with Kate I realised the music we were creating together was entirely new and unlike anything either of us would write on our own. Before long we had penned several songs and began performing as a duo, in my case playing live for the first time in ages. Being part of Daylight Saving is without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding experience I have had as a musician.
Craig Lloyd (keys) comes from a musical family, his sister is a successful opera singer, his grandfather composed hymns and his great uncle was the music journalist responsible for giving Louis Armstrong the nickname, “Satchmo”. He gave up piano lessons after grade 5 because he played everything by ear and found formal training restrictive. For many years he was in a rock band that played a combination of originals and covers. His diverse influences include Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Prefab Sprout, High Llamas, The Smiths, XTC and Nik Kershaw.
Ashley Smith (drums & percussion) has been involved with a number of artists and groups over the past few years; working with Evan Parker in Matt Wright's Contact ensemble, a member of St. Peters band, Junk Quartet, ska-covers band Skagen-Dazs and also Wicker Pig. Dave Jackson (sax) is an alto saxophonist from the Kentish coast. He began playing the sax at the age of twelve, and plays from the mind and the soul in equal measure.
Will Roberts (bass guitar, trumpet, tuba) is an enigma at the moment--he is very naughty and hasn't written any blurb about himself yet. We can tell you that he is a funny bloke and that he's not bad at playing the tuba.
Adam McCairn (lead guitar, trumpet) is another naughty geezer, so all we can tell you about him is that we like him, and you will too, once you've heard him play.
Stephanie Gardener (backing vox) is a blonde bombshell with a voice to match, but she's shy, so be very nice to her.
Kate, Dave, Will, Adam and Steph all met at university.
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