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Joe RyanInstrument: Guitar Born: pre-1950 Place of Birth: Hornchurch, Essex |
At the age of 14 Joe started playing guitar under the guidance of the local Station Master's son in West Horndon , Essex. His first guitar came via mail order from a shop in Surrey and cost about £14. Later Joe graduated to a Watkins Rapier 33 electric guitar and joined a high school band called the Buccaneers . He soon traded his 33 for a '62 Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster as used by his hero Hank Marvin. After the Buccaneers Joe joined a group from Dagenham called the Ou-de-Bees , named after a race horse. This lasted until 1968 when Joe and drummer Roy Morgan joined Southend band The Tender Trap . Initially Joe played bass before swapping instruments with Dave Mayes to become the lead guitarist. The band was fronted by vocalist Norman Kemp and featured Frank Crawford on keyboards. After The Tender Trap Joe teamed up with Norman, his brother Martin and John ‘Big Figure' Martin in a band called The Exploding Monocle . Joe's musical alliance with Martin continued through various line ups resulting with Angel . See Martin's biog. for more info on Exploding Monocle, Trampus and Finian's Rainbow. See Brian's biog. for more info on Pebbles. Since 1979 Joe he has been in California where he has played various genres of music including Rock, Country, Blues, R&B and Salsa. He currently plays with Sage, one of Silicon Valley 's most established party bands. Joe now lives in Castro Valley , California with his wife, two children and two Labradors; he also works as a computer software architect and programmer.
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