"Righteous Big Bill" Mousley, vocals and harmonica
So called because he is big and his name is Bill, Big Bill fronts Foolish Behaviour with the supreme confidence of a Southern Baptist preacher in mid wail. Bill honed his commanding vocal skills through endless hours of practice with a home Karaoke machine and in his day job as a top flight hanging judge. Despite desperate cries from the audience of "Hang em high, Bill !!", Big Bill controls the jukebox jury from the front with a gavel of iron, meticulously passing sentence on the groove, while the clerks of the court gape in awe. Big Bill also blows a mean harp, following in the footsteps of that Chicago great Junior Wells (it is a pity that these footsteps are just so small and difficult to find......), and is rumoured to be almost ready to showcase the black art of the triple kazoo.
Steve "The Chordmaster" Shaw, guitar
A throwback to the 60's heydays of English folk music, The Chordmaster has adapted his encyclopaedic knowledge of chords and musical structure to Foolish Behaviour's particular and peculiar brand of blues. This serves the band well, as he seems to be the only member of the ensemble who actually knows what is going on at any given time. Hear the plaintive cries of, "What key are we in?" or, "How does this one start?" Unfortunately The Chordmaster suffers from a serious and incurable debilitating condition which afflicts many guitarists and is commonly known as GAS (Gear/Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). He can often be found, all bug eyed, in England's finest guitar emporium, Hayward Guitars in Winchester, scrounging cups of tea while earnestly fondling guitars and other equipment. The band's first album "Shoe-Less At Sheila's" was inspired by practice sessions in Steve's wife Sheila's kitchen. For all those enquiring minds, with Sheila's patient help, Steve is recovering nicely from his self inflicted wrist wounds at the Bishop last May - click here to see his nasty injury.
Miss Katie "Messaround" Carslaw, keyboards
Miss Katie holds down two jobs in the band as keyboard diva and tea / drinks monitor. Regarding the latter role, the rest of the band are thankful that it is usually Miss Katie who is first to glue her lips to the neck of a newly opened wine bottle to cries of, "Steady on!" from the other band members. On the keys this devoted disciple of Mr B3 himself, Bruce Katz, lays down some truly righteous blues, switching effortlessly between electronic Hammond and piano as the mood dictates. As the only trained musician in the band (not that the others let it show, much) Miss Katie brings her experience and skill to bear on the band's musical development. For example, she was the first to introduce innovative musical concepts like, "Why don't you all stand over there and give me some space !"
Lee "The Rock" Atkinson, drums
Whippet thin and with a mind like a confused West Ham striker on the transfer list, "The Rock" is the true bedrock of Foolish Behaviour's top class rhythm section - this has now been confirmed - Ed. He can hit the right groove from a freezing cold start, forcibly reining in the band from their first fumbling note. He can often be seen locked in ferocious eye contact with Dr Blues and The Chordmaster, "Try to change MY rhythm? Don't even think about going there........" Noted for his flamboyant finishes, towards the end of numbers the rest of the band can often be seen looking around in confused terror, "When and how will it all end......?" On the odd occasion The Rock's sociable nature leads him to lose the beat, taskmaster Katie has been known to sneak up behind him to monitor the situation.
Dr "Blues" Carslaw, bass guitar
Dr Blues lays down a bass foundation so thick and deep it could rip the feet from beneath a charging rhinoceros. His solid groove, alongside Lee "The Rock" Atkinson's drumming, just about manages to keep the rest of this rhythmically challenged bunch of misfits on track. Previously a highly talented bagpipe player, Dr Blues was forced to give up his promising wind instrument career after a nasty accident involving an unusually large scottish octopus, some bagpipes, heavy duty party balloons and a gallon of Mazola corn oil. Having been shacked up with keyboard player Miss Katie for a number of years, Dr Blues is off-limits to the huge number of groupies who prostrate themselves at his feet. A dedicated disciple of the school of amp twiddling, Dr Blues most cunning Frankenstinian creation to date solders together A Carlsboro cab, Crate amp, and a sinister looking collection of ancillary sub-amps, industrial hearing aids, cables and treble boosters aimed squarely at his hippocampus.
Hugh "The Man" O'Neill
Hugh's soaring guitar solos have been known to bring tears to the eyes of even our most hardened fans, usually empty oak chairs at the Black Boy. Don't take our word for it, come and hear him at said pub, (see Gigs). He changes guitars more often than the rest of the band change their socks, still searching for that perfect combination of tone, timbre and timber.
"Lowering the average age of the band was my goal from the start, but I don't think the wig fooled them, and it made me sweat even more so it had to go...."
"The next idea, to bring the music to all age groups, young and old, seems to have backfired..."
