OK, my turn I guess....
My name is Gary Banton (a.k.a The Limey Doobie), I'm 29 years old (30 in
about 6 weeks time! aaaggghhh!! help!!!) and I live near Epsom, Surrey which
is just south of London in England! I was born and raised in Wimbledon,
London (home of the tennis championships) and have a brother Paul
(married/lives in Australia) and sister Debra (single/lives in London).
I am single, though in a serious relationship with a very exotic & beautiful
half-Balinese 'Tia Carrera' lookalike called Linda! YUM!! I still don't know
how I got her!!?!?!
My fave bands include The Doobies (of course!), Chicago, KISS, REO
Speedwagon, Steely Dan, Ambrosia, Queen, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin
Lizzy, Atlanta Rhythm Section & House Of Lords... I like most forms of music
except hardcore dance/rap...
I'm a semi-pro bass player in the evenings and I work in Music Copyright &
Royalties for PRS in the daytime. PRS is the UK equivalent of your ASCAP &
BMI. I play bass, as Gene Simmons, in the UK KISS Tribute Band 'Dressed To
Kill' (see http://www.kissinuk.com/tribdtk.htm) which has enabled me to
travel the world playing and firebreathing (!!!) at Fan Conventions and our
own shows in Japan, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Sweden & Norway.
I was also lucky enough to have a CD released with a band called 'Mystic
Game' which I also toured Romania & Poland with.
I had always liked the songs of The Doobie Brothers but up until about 5 or
6 years ago I didn't really know who they were. I first saw them live with
Foreigner at London Wembley Arena on a co-headline tour in about 95 or 96
and I was blown away by them! I immediately bought everything I could find
by them and especially fell in love with the Tom Johnston period up to, and
including, the classic Stampede. Tiran Porter's wonderful basslines
instantly elevated him to my 'bass hero' status alongside Peter Cetera
(Chicago) and Gene Simmons (KISS).
The next time I saw the Doobs was at the Saratoga Convention 1999 where I
had the pleasure of interviewing them all (including Tiran) and saw 3 great
shows. They were all very gracious with their time and I would like to thank
them ll again for their approachability. I returned about 6 weeks later for
3 shows of the Chicago/Doobie double bill (how could I miss this?!?) in
Virginia Beach VA, Bristow VA & Charlotte NC and had the privilege of Laurin
& Susie and Miles' hospitality during my stay. Most recently, I came over
again for the 2000 Convention in Saratoga. Unfortunately, due to poor
finances (I'm still paying off the last 3 trips!!) I won't be able to make
this year's LA Convention, a shame as I'd love to meet The Skunk!!!
I have met and made many good friends in the is fanclub including Laurin &
Susie, Miles Lumbard, Ed Contreras, Steve Wice, Marla, Marti, Doobie Dan,
Doobster, Nancy, Steve & Debbie, Rick Santangelo, etc etc (too many names to
list but you know who you all are!!) and have had a dream come true by
becoming very good friends with my bass hero... yes, the one and only Tiran
Porter! I consider myself VERY priviliged and try not to take ANY of it for
granted!
Well, that's me... sorry it was so long...hope I haven't bored any/all of
you..!!!!!
Take care all,
Gary (The Limey Doobie!)
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