ECLECTIC GUITAR - Key Persons

David Halliday is a self-taught guitarist and has been playing the electric guitar for over 17 years with a finger-picking style similar to the man who inspired him to learn the instrument, Mark Knopfler. At school his skills with the piano were promising and the guitar was not a source of interest, but when he heard Sultans of Swing shortly after leaving school he bought a guitar and learned the studio version by ear. Knopfler continues to be a strong influence in both his playing style and musical tastes, and he still relies on playing by ear when developing new material.

Tom Kater has many years of musical experience and is a multi-instrumentalist. As well as the 12-string acoustic guitar (his main performance instrument), he plays the mouth organ and mandolin. Musically he was influenced by many artists and the classics of rock when they were first released, but never settled on one genre to the exclusion of others. The most prolific and long-lasting influence turned out to be folk music, however. He has been part of several line-ups and has performed in innumerable pub sessions.