The Swamis

Location:
US
Type:
Artist / Band / Musician
Genre:
Acoustic / Indie / Rock
Site(s):
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Paul's musical career began at the age of 8, playing as half of an instrumental duo with his then 10 year old brother Chris. As Chris & Paul, before they had reached their teens, they entered the 1984 BBC Radio Cambridge sponsored national rock band contest which drew contestants from all over the UK and a few from the USA. Chris & Paul were runners up in their heat, coming a close second behind a mature eight piece line-up called 'The Exploding Hamsters'. In the final they won the 'Best Young Band' award. After Cambridge they were joined by 12 year old drummer, Rob Hall, to form 'Oasis' which was an instrumental rock/pop/blues band, years before that other well known Manchester outfit pinched their name! The original Oasis gigged for about 3 years doing pubs, clubs, private parties and charity events. On leaving school Paul founded two Bedford based bands, first 'Tree' and then 'Karma' performing his own songs. Later, Paul's interest in Indian music and culture inspired him to learn to play the sitar and he spent 5 years playing classical ragas with his Indian three piece band 'Om'. On moving to Buckingham, Paul met local musicians, Dan Buckland and Matt Banham and in 2004 formed 'The Swamis'. It was at a Swamis gig at the Buckingham Band Jam that Paul met Tom who joined the band on occasions performing in London and Cardiff as well as local venues. After four and a half years, The Swamis disbanded and two years later, in the icy winter of 2010, Paul and Tom formed 'The OmniVibes'.
Tom started playing drums when he was 11, after his parents became sick of him constantly tapping the table wherever he went! He quickly formed a covers band with two of his school friends, Eddie Judd and Calum Mackay, called 'The Psychedelic Monkeys' mostly covering songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers. They played at local venues such as the Buckingham Band Jam, which is where Tom first met Paul. Tom was a regular player at the Band Jam playing with many different musicians over the years and this was where he really developed his musical ability playing blues, rock, punk, jazz and reggae. When Tom was 15, he became a member of a ska-punk band called 'Kramit'. They gigged for two years, playing local venues and a small festival in Poole and in 2005, recorded his first EP called Tito Puente's Mixology. Alongside this band, Tom joined three girls in a grunge band called 'Ophelia', who also gigged locally for a year and recorded another demo in 2007 with them. After the demise of these bands in 2007, Tom had a small stint playing for The Swamis with Paul Jackson and Dan Buckland whilst they were in between drummers and played in London, Cardiff and local venues all over Buckinghamshire. It was on Tom's return from university that he permanently joined 'Lionsex', a local rock 'n' roll band that he was temporarily standing in for prior to this. They gigged all over the country as well as touring Finland and in 2009, Tom recorded his first album called 'Get It' with the band, which was mixed by Bullet For My Valentine's sound engineer. Tom left the band in 2010 and a few months later Tom and Paul formed 'The OmniVibes'.
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