MEET THE BAND
Brian Thomson
LEAD GUITARIST / VOCALS
In the 1960s Brian was a prolific guitar player during the Blues era in and around London. After he retired from being a Mechanical Design Engineer he decided to form the Wave Blues Band in 2012 alongside David Drife.
Wave Blues Band have gone through many changes in ten years and are still strong and raising the roof every chance they get!
David Drife (aka Davie "sweet lips" Daydream)
HARMONICA
Born on the Salisbury Plains of Africa (so he says), a wanderer all his days David finally settled down in Dumfries and Galloway. Ten years ago David started Wave Blues Band with his friend Brian Thomson.
Blues isn't Davie Daydream's only love, he also enjoys playing Eastern European and Folk music on his harmonica.
His hobbies include paper mache, interpretive dance and espionage.
Make of that what you will.
His favourite songs to play in the Wave Blues Band repertoire are Going Up the Country and Smokers Dream.
Susi Briggs
VOCALIST
Vocalist: Susi Briggs joined the band in 2019 after a chance encounter with the Wave Blues Band when they played in Kirkcudbright Galleries.
Her favourite songs to sing with the band are Hound Dog , Voodoo Woman and I'd rather go Blind.
Susi is a freelance artist in many different ways. She is a Scots language activist and is a published and shortlisted children's author and podcaster.
Eric joined the Wave Blues Band to play when their regular drummer was not available in 2017.
At the time Eric was drumming for another local band who played hits from the sixties and he figured he had time for both band, so he decided to stay. Eric discovered his love of the blues after hearing the Rolling Stones perform Little Red Rooster on Top of the Pops in 1964.
The blues was the foundation for most of the music in the sixties but it was only recently that Eric got to know and enjoy the original blues singers.
Eric played drums in a band as a teenager but it wasn’t until his mid sixties that he picked up the sticks again. He has enjoyed perfecting the rhythms of the blues with The Wave Blues Band. Eric cannot choose what song is his favourite to play but really enjoys the challenge of playing the drums to songs he would not normally choose to listen to himself. Especially so when he sees that the other band members and the audience enjoy it.
Ken Gouge
BASS GUITAR
Ken is the newest member of the band. He played bass with a number of blues based bands around West London in the late sixties. He played with local bands Under the Hammer and Loose Wheels before joining Wave.
Ken says, "I'm so pleased to be playing in a blues band again, particularly as these guys are such great musicians."
Smokestack Lightning is one of Ken's favourite bass lines to play in the Wave Blues Band sets.
Photos by Kim Ayres Photography