whiskas biography
When whiskas was 18 he was in a French punk rock band called les Flames! who the NME said had A&R men camped out in their back garden ready to sign them. They weren't. As the same time, he was promoting gigs in Leeds, eventually establishing the short lived city centre venue 'The Vine' which featured early gigs from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Subways, Mystery Jets, as well as local lads The Pigeon Detectives and The Sunshine Underground.
With the rapid emergence of such local talent, whiskas and The Vine's showcase night 'Transmission' morphed into the Dance To The Radio record label - while les Flames had given way to a new band, ¡Forward, Russia! In tandem the two had great success, with two Top 40 singles and worldwide tours for ¡Forward, Russia!, who went on to sign deals around the world with Mute and Cooking Vinyl and record with legendary producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Blood Brothers, Isis) in Seattle. Dance To The Radio signed The Pigeon Detectives, who went on to sell half a million records, selling out massive venues all over the UK, as well as continuing to work with other upcoming bands from around the world.
The last couple of years has seen whiskas move away from the front line, leaving his involvement with DTTR and Forward Russia taking a hiatus. Not resting on his laurel, he has gained an MA in Music Production, and produces bands regularly, gaining radio play over all the major BBC stations His views on independent sustainability in the music industry, has led him to be invited to speak at numerous events, notably alongside Geoff Travis (founder of Rough Trade) at In The City 2009, as well as a regularly at Leeds Metropolitan University. As of 2010 he's curated the annual Unconference, part of the Live At Leeds festival, and is involved in setting up new Leeds Music Hub project. Somewhere inbetween, whiskas still writes songs for his Honour Before Glory project.