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Olive's Army

Biog

Katrina and Gary came up with the concept of GRASP whilst working in Brighton, Summer 1995. They wrote songs and began busking, with a dream of turning GRASP into a gigging and recording band on their return to The Lake District at the end of the Summer. That Autumn, they had their first of many successful interviews with The Westmorland Gazette, but struggled to complete the line-up. Undeterred, they went into Southlake Studio and recorded their first EP, "Too SHORT TO WASTE".

Gary adeptly switched between lead and bass guitars, while Chris Evans of local blues/folk band The Menu stepped in to provide the drums and percussion. Shortly after release, the Rainbow penned "HAVELOCK ROAD" was picked up by MUSIC & ELSEWHERE, and GRASP became the first 'guest band' to feature on an M&E AUDIOZINE. Rave fanzine reviews and more appearances on underground compilations followed, and while they struggled on to find the perfect band, Katrina and Gary pushed forward and recorded two more EP's: "ESPURIOS" (1996) and "COSMIC CAMPING" (1998). These were shortly followed by the rarest GRASP release to date, "SKYLARKING SOUTH" (1998) (a cassette single limited to only 30 copies!) The odd live performance was achieved by using the old "Can we borrow your drummer and bass player?" trick!

Most notable gigs include a headline slot at Carlisle's RICHMOND HALL, a triumphant reception at THE MANCHESTER BOARDWALK, an acoustic set at TAYLORS of Soho, and third place in the FURNESS BATTLE OF THE BANDS '99. Biggest disappointment came when they just missed out on a development deal with GUT RECORDS after the A&R rep who was due to sign the band left the company! Further releases followed, with 25 RECORDS featuring "CELEBRATE THE EARTH" on it's big selling compilation "OLIVE'S ARMY", and ADDICTION RECORDS including "SOME KIND OF HERO" on their showcase of top unsigned acts, "FROM OUT OF NOWHERE". ADDICTION were so blown away that they went on to release GRASP's debut album "DIFFERENT WAYS" in July 1999. At the end of that year, Katrina and Gary were joined by drummer Andy Marshall and bassist Matthew Potter for a run of successful north-west gigs and the last EP to date, "MY PSYCHIC SIDE-KICK".

Unhappy with the musically unfriendly territory of Cumbria, Gary and Katrina relocated to Sussex, Spring 2001 to touch base with some of the many contacts made over the past few years. Now, just about ready to start a big 'recruitment drive', they plan to build upon the exposure generated by their EVENING SESSION airplay, and re-approach the companies which have showed interest in the past. These include: RAK PUBLISHING, INDEPENDIENTÉ and CHRYSALIS RECORDS.

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Feel free to contact any of the bands at 25 Records anytime for interviews/Band features/ gig info etc. at: 25 Records 60 Tollard Close, Poole, Dorset, BH12 2AU, England.