Aubrey Dayle is the new drummer for GSW, and an old friend of Dan, Lo and Aaron's. Here in his own words is...

All About Aubrey

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS

Music is something I have been involved with for most of my life. I started playing the accordion at age five. That was the beginning of a journey that would eventually bring me to playing with GSW.

My parents (especially my mother) were very focused on the development of my fundamental skills. We were fresh immigrants to Canada from Jamaica and they were determines that their children were going to be ready for the challenges and opportunities of North America. My mom was a high school teacher and my dad was in real-estate. They were really big on education and private tutoring. That attitude was a pain at times but when my mom signed me up for accordion lessions I actually was excited. The discipline of practising was hard to deal with at first, but it soon became a permanent part of my life.

I played accordion for eight years then switched to piano and drums. The drums soon became my pricipal instrument. I simply felt the most relaxed, confident and natural playing the drums. My mom saw that I was very devoted to the instrument but probably wanted to see me learn more about playing than I was getting from playing songs by The Ramones, Rush, Led Zeppelin, or Black Sabbath (although I felt that I was learning a great deal). She enrolled me in the McGill Conservatory of Music. This changed my life forever.

While at the conservatory I studied classical theory, ear-training and percussion. I really focused on all the main percussion instruments in classical western music; snare drum, timpani and mallt instruments (xylophone, marimba and vibraphone). Six years later I graduated from McGill University with a bachelor degree in music performance. Although I loved playing classical music I never felt comfortable in that sceen. I grew up in a West Indian home listening to ska, reggae, jazz and r&b. That was the way I wanted to express myself musically.

I focused on the drum set again for two years by studying in Toronto with a great teacher named Jim Blackely. After that my wife convinced me to move to New York City where I attended the Manhattan School Of Music. While I was there I played in school ensembles and several out of school bands. One in particular was a band called Da' Tokens led by bass player Vatel Cherry. Aaron Maxwell was also in this band and we played together for about a year.

I had not heard from Aaron for eight years. All I knew was that he was in a very cool group called God Street Wine. and that they sounded great and were doing well. During that same period I was a freelance musician in New York City. I played on records with jazz artists like James 'Blood' Ulmer, Lonnie Plaxico and Tony White; opened up for Peter Gabriel with a North African band called Zahar; played with singers like Garland Jeffereys; worked as a pit musician on Broadway (Bring on Da' Noize Bring on Da' Funk) and toured Europe, Australia and North America several times. While I was practising one day I got a call from Aaron asking me to come and audition for GSW. It turned into more of a reunion than an audition because I also went to school with Dan and Lo. I joined the band and love it.

GSW lets me play the way I love to play. The music is very dynamic. I can play as softly as a whisper one minute and then really lay into the kit the next. Each song has something to it that makes it interesting and unique.

Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 180
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Dark Brown
Date of Birth: 9-17-64
Astrological Sign: Virgo
Where you were born: St. Joseph's Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica
Where you grew up: Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada
Nickname: Aub

What was the strangest God Street Wine show ever?
I have had plenty of crazy experiences before I joined GSW, but so far the first gig I did at the Rhinecliff Hotel was the strangest one I have done with the band. The way all the sound and light gear was wired in the place was not the best (I guess) and we blew a fuse so we had no stage lights early on in the evening. We played the whole gig with what seemed to me to be on 60 watt light bulb in the middle of the room. That was strange allright! We had a great gig anyway, despite the 'Twilight Zone' like lighting.

What do you like to do when you're not thinking about music?
Trying to stay in shape, hang out with my wife or try to imitate Bob Bila around my house and take care of my 3yr old son; sometimes all of the above at the same time!

Who did you look up to as a kid?
-My parents
-Bob Marley
-Ken Dryden (Goaltender for the Montreal Canadians during the early to mid 1970's)
-Billy Cobham
-John Bonham
-Art Blakey
-Neil Peart

What is the best thing about being in God Street Wine?
Being amongst friends in a business that can eb very unfriendly

What would you be doing if you weren't in God Street Wine?
Continuing to freelance ina nd out of New York City

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
Practice diligently and study as many approaches to writing and playing music as you can. This will increase your chances of becoming a full time musician, for you cannot know what musical situation you will find yourself in. What we listen to in the west is a small fraction of what is out there.

Aaron- I always found Aaron to be a very talented musician. However, since I joined GSW I see that he has become more than talented. He is an awesome singer and guitar player who's technique, feel and sensitiity is nothing less than monstrous. He has also matured into an even kindler and more jovial person than I knew when we were in Manhattan School of Music.

Dan- I have worked with several bass players as a freelancer in New York. Some of them are known to be among the best in the world. Dan is a bass player who performs at or above par with the best of them. I love the energy with which he plays. He is also incredibly organized and trustworthy.

Lo- I remember playing a compositiion assignment he had played by the Manhattan School of Music big bands. It is so cool that we are now playing together. Lo is extremely intelligent and logical. I love working with people like that. Especially when they are the primary composer in the project. He is a very giften musician.

Pete- Pete is a new friend and I am glad to have met him in GSW. He is also very gifted. Pete is a great composer as well as a strong drummer (I want to do a double drum piece with him one of these days), guitar player and of course a wonderful keyboardist. He also has one of the greatest sense of humor I have seen.

Favorite meals? Captain Crunch, Ackee and salt fish, Rice and Peas, Roast Bread fruit, Jerk Chicken, Pancakes, Filet Mignon steak, Tandoori chicken, Apple pie, Vanilla ice cream, Broccoli
Favorite beverages? any juice available, V8 Splash, Gatorade.
Favorite movies? Hunt for Red October, All the Star Trek movies except V, Hiroshima Mon Amoure, Do The Right Thing, Boyz in the hood, Hollywood Shuffle, New Jack City, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Favorite TV shows? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, Star Trek (all of them), King of the Hill, The Simpsons, Charlie Rose, Nova, Frontline, Sesame Street
Favorite books? Reggae International by Simon & Davis, The Master and Margarita by Mikial Bolgakov, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkein, Mystery and Imaginiation by Edgar Allen Poe, All H.P. Lovecraft, Miles the Autobiography by Davis and Troupe, Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonegue, Africa by Hal Blaine, Frank Herberts Dunne series, Portraite of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and several others.
Favorite philosopher? Descarte
Favorite albums (rock/pop)? All Bob Marley as a featured artist and witht he Wailers. Led Zeppelin I, II, III, Zoso, Houses of the Holy. The Chick Corea Electric Band. Any Ray Charles, Salif Keita Sosa, Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" with the Boston Symphony Orchestrra; Herbert Von Kerajan conducting. All Weather Report.
Favorite albums (other music)? North African Gnawa music, Calypso & Reggae, West African music and anything that touches me and is honest.
Favorite GSW songs? Stupid Hat, When She Go, She Comes Up Softly, 8-Ball, Burger Special
Favorite bands? Hassan Hakmoun & Zahar, Living Colour, Fishbone, Blackstreet, Mint Condition, Soundgarden, Black Uhuru, Salif Keita, Youssou Endour, Pat Metheny group, Rush, Delmar Brown and Bushrock, The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, The Berlin Philharmonic, Weather Report
Favorite sports team/athletes? Montreal Canadians, Mohamed Ali, the 1972 Team Canada hockey team
Favorite websites? GSW, Rockey Shells, Modern Drummer Magazine, Parents Magazine

What do you wear to bed? Boxers on the road, nothing at home.
What is your worst habit? Biting my fingernails
What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Camry wagon 1989/Honda Civic hatchback 1991
What pets do you have? cat
What medications are you currently taking? Ventoline
What kind of condoms do you use? Only my wife and I know the answer to that question.
What kind of animal would you like to be? A Cheetah
What skills do you have that no one knows about? I have been able to jump over a ple four feet in the air whele skateboarding.
What do you eat for breakfast? Cereal, Juice, bagel, tea, and a multi-vitamine

Per Ardua Ad Astra/With hard work you will reach the stars.