Band Biog. From the Land of Fish, Chips
and Rock ‘n’ Roll, a group
Scarborians decided to get the
boat rocking in 2004.
The ‘not quite right’ five piece includes the chilled out Nick Butler on guitar, the eccentric John Thornton on Bass who promises to play a gig wearing only a kilt and cling film, Ad Mackenzie on drums, Si Vooght on keyboards and finally Darren Grant with the lyrics, vocals and signature Mohican.
Since forming, the band has seen several changes, mainly involving drummers. However, since early 2005 with Adam transferring from guitar to drums and the introduction of Si and his synths in the spring, The Variants were finalised. Since then the band have progressed significantly and have recently performed at various venues around the region.
With the late additions of the ‘V-Van’ and ‘Jenny the Generator’, the adventurous act have developed a local reputation for ‘Guerrilla Gigs’, setting up at various outdoor locations at short or no notice!
Having a cocktail of influences, it’s a unique blend or rock, indie and melodic punk that make The Variants hard to describe in black and white though interesting to listen to.
The band have great ambitions and are actively writing new material, with each additional track being more exciting than the previous.
The first 'big gig' came by August when the band opened Scarborough's Beached festival playing alongside a string of nationally and internationally recognised acts including Electric Eel Shock, The Bluetones, Northern Electrics, The Black Velvets, New Rhodes, Blunderbuss (ex-Terrorvision), Lee Latchford-Evans (ex-Steps), The Yards, Amsterdam, The Research and The Dean Howard Band.
Having recently supported up-and-coming bands such as Livingston, Puritan and Waster with gleeming reviews, The Variants have now been asked to support Toby Jepson (former Little Angels front-man) before his New Year tour with Thunder and are also the headliners of the twenty two act Scarborough Music Christmas Ball in December!
Their first year has seen the group's progress accelerate, the next promises no less.
