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Name:
Mikey
Role:
Emperor, keyboardist, Mexican
goat-farming taxidermist |
Mikey is the
almighty ambrosious one currently in charge of DFO's executive
type things. An expert jazz pianist, Mikey's love of bashing
those funky keys is matched only by his love of wearing women's
clothing on weekends. And taking the urine out of everything.
He provides a crucial component to DFO's sound with improvised
clav, organ and piano sounds.
|
 |
Name:
Penny
Role:
Main horn chief person, Queen of Funk, score writer, trumpet
player, manic cackler |
Penny is a jolly soul. Very jolly. Especially when you give
her lots of sugar and ice cream and biscuits, in which case
she can bounce off the ceiling (this is an hypothesis that we
are yet to test, but it's probably true). Coming from classical
orchestral roots, Penny provides some solid trumpet playing
to the horn section. She's really reliable and organized and
likes kicking people, so it's no surprise that she's the one
who keeps the horn section and much of DFO ticking. |
 |
Name:
Nick J
Role:
Guitarist extraordinaire, arranger, musical score writer, inspirer |
Nick
is a one-man army of talent, creativity, experience, motivation,
eccentricity, modesty and charisma. Anyone who says "nobody's
perfect" hasn't met Nick. His mere presence injects inspiration
and good vibes throughout DFO. He has the persuasive skills
to get the whole band working together, he regularly adapts
the structures of songs to best suit us, his guitar skills are
jaw-dropping, and his musical understanding is impressive.
|
 |
Name:
Phil
Role:
Bassist, fabled saviour of DFO |
Phil
is great. Phil is amazing. We love Phil. Phil is the solid core
to DFO; a safe pair of hands who drives the rhythm section.
Fooled by his modesty, it took us a long time to recognize his
talents, but now we realise how lucky we are to be united with
him. Chilling out away from the lime-light and behind rows of
singers and horns on stage, Phil's talent for tap-dancing and
juggling while playing three blind mice is rarely appreciated.
Together with characters like Rob, Phil's likely to be amongst
the next generation of DFO rulers. |
 |
Name: Rob
Role:
Alto saxophonist, alcohol smuggler, finest archer in the kingdom
|
Rob was pretty much a member of DFO before he'd even heard of
it; a brilliant saxophonist, Rob's reputation preceded him.
We were set on finding Rob and recruiting him as soon as he
arrived in Oxford. Like Penny, he provides some solid no-nonsense
classical experience and organisational skills to the horn section,
working well with the more intuitive styles of some of the others
in the horn section. He just so happens to be an all-round really
nice and popular guy as well, perhaps helped by the fact that
he can fit lots of booze in his sax case. |
 |
Name:
Mikey-boy
Role:
Drummer, master negotiator and diplomat, bringer of street cred |
Mikey-boy
is the only one in the band who can say "it's a London ting",
and "yes, mate!" with a straight face, given his true
London roots. Highly charming, no one's ever said a bad word
against him (and got away with it). He's been in DFO "bear
long time" now - out of the original 15 founding members
of 2004, he's the only one left. Bringer of "pro banging-bash
jiggy-wiggles", Mikey-boy confidently takes on the drums, and
he's darn good at it. Another thing he's darn good at is convincing
people to help DFO, be it through changing the rules, or convincing
people to give us money. A budding trade unionist in the making.
Or something. Perhaps. |
 |
Name:
James
Role:
Lead singer, impressionist, teller of sick jokes |
Hardened
by international tours with his former band Out of the Blue,
James confidently takes the lead vocals for many of our songs.
Although pretending to be from suburban London, occasionally
the accent slips and we've discovered that he's really a Rasta-man
in a very convincing disguise. Apparently friends with half
of Oxford, James has helped push the band to people in high
places. Now a veteran in his third year at DFO, James' lasting
commitment has really helped transform DFO and make it work. |
 |
Name:
Ash
Role:
Alto saxophonist,
cat in the hat |
Ash
likes soul. Growing up in the West London ghetto, its in her
blood. She enjoys dancing and singing when she's not supposed
to - most often during DFO gigs - and helpfully remembers to
play her saxophone from time to time too. When she's off the
stage, Ash can be found kicking footballs at people or harassing
them on the streets about the failures of capitalism…
but she claims that "it's always in a friendly way…
honest!" |
 |
Name:
Hannah
Role:
Lead and backing singer,
bringer of even more street cred, political activist |
Arguably
as cool and streetwise as Mikey-boy, Hannah can also get away
with calling everyone "bruv" and exclaiming "safe!"
Easy to get along with, Hannah is liked and respected wherever
she goes. She has an active involvement in many far-sighted
projects going on across the country, from teaching music to
detainees at Campsfield Youth Detention Centre, to campaigning
against nuclear weapons. And yet she manages to keep her good
nature and sense of fun with her at all times. You can hear
Hannah leading Nina Simone's 'Work Song', which suits her perfectly,
and she's a great backing vocalist. |
 |
Name:
Tornado Joe
Role:
Guitarist, master of disguise |
Tornado
Joe is a man of the people, neglecting his bands up North to
bring some grit to DFO. Of Welsh descent, he brings a Merlin-like
wizardry to his guitar playing, providing both a strong rhythmic
foundation for Nick’s pyrotechnics, and occasional lead
parts. Our very own Mr Tangerine Man - watch out for his orange
guitar! |
 |
Name:
Bailey
Role:
Singer/mime, tambourine player, wearer of oversized glasses |
Bailey
is a bonafide musician. She plays the tambourine, melodica,
triangle, keyboard, guitar, whistle, bongos, spoons... although
perhaps the safest instrument to hear Bailey play is her own
voice. She'd love to do opera but somehow she landed up doing
funk and she loves it just the same. In her native Bath Bailey
has gotten herself quite a reputation for her jazzy tunes. Check
them out at *shameless plug* www.myspace.com/baileykursar
*end of shameless plug*. She look
forward to making your acquaintance. |
 |
Name:
Caitlin
Role:
Singer, comedienne, football queen. |
Caitlin
is one of the newest additions to the band, not only wowing
DFO with her singing talent, but also with her valiant displays
of persistence, determination and bribery. For example, for
a whole year she was nagging *ahem* I mean asking to be in the
band, although if we’d known she was good at bribery we
would have let her in sooner. Caitlin has explicitly said that
she does *not* want to be called “pretty and clever”
like in some of the other namby-pamby blurbs here. So despite
what her gorgeous photos and wide successes might suggest, she’s
actually thick as a brick and we try to hide her behind the
drummer so that people don’t have to look at her. Also
hailing from London town, Caitlin's other talents include taking
to the football pitch every Saturday as the Patrick Vierra of
Wadham's football team. Although some would say she's more like
Roy Keane. Always smiling, Caitlin can also take the dubious
crown of being the comedienne of the band (sorry James), as
when she's not singing, she can be seen on stage with the Oxford
Revue. She likes long walks, dancing and you. |
 |
Name:
Hannah
Role:
Trombonist, RESIDENT HUMSCI! |
Hannah is a
fun-loving Wadhamite trombonist who likes dancing and singing,
however badly (!), along to the funky tunes DFO plays. She
comes from a classical background but is enjoying the new
refreshing life as a funkster! When off the stage, Hannah
is doing any kind of sport possible including football, netball
and tiddly-winks. She is a smiley person who loves life! And
Hannah brings something very special to DFO - she takes over
the mantle from Pascal of being the resident human scientist
(which just happens to be the most amazing course in Oxford).
|
 |
Name:
Nick K
Role:
Trumpeter, roaming funk master |
Another
American Nick, this one is here for a year, visiting from Columbia
University, New York. No stranger to the funk, Nick has his own
funk band back in New York which he ran and wrote music for. He
is fabled for his skill at improvising on the trumpet, and for
his uncanny impressions of Noel Edmonds. He has injected some
real energy into this year's horn section, helping to make it
arguably the best it's ever been. His moment of glory is while
taking the solo on Nina Simone's Work Song; he is *AMAZING*. |
 |
Name:
Martha
Role:
Lead and
backing singer, commissar of Russian railways, (away on year
abroad) |
Intelligent,
graceful and modest, Martha's traits let her get on well with
everyone in the band. If happiness is good health and a bad
memory, then Martha must be ecstatic; she can out-run most blokes
(which is rather frustrating when we play 'kiss-chase') and
she never remembers any conversations you have with her - she
blames alcohol for this. In the videos you can hear her leading
the Dusty Springfield classic "Son of a Preacher Man"
and it sounds amazing. Martha's a really good backing vocalist
as well. She's tooting de la fruit in France for her year away
at the moment... who knows if she'll make a comeback upon her
return? We hope so. |
 |
Name:
Faye
Role:
Tenor Saxophonist,
dragon rider, cuddle person (away on year abroad) |
Everyone
who meets Faye is charmed within moments. Her sweet smile and
sharp wit make for a killer combination - Faye and endearing
sarcasm go together like chips and cheese from a dodgy kebab
van. Stable and level-headed, she makes life look easy as she
juggles her friends, relationship and work. Kind at heart, she'd
never be nasty to anyone - except for her sax-buddy Danny, who
is just so fun to bully. In the mystical world of the medieval
DFO castle, Faye is the only one imbued with the powers to tame
and ride dragons. Faye's also off for a year doing whatever
it is that French lawyers do... but she loves DFO with all her
heart and will hopefully come running and screaming back onto
the stage as soon as her plane touches back down in the UK! |
 |
Name:
Helen Role:
Vocalist, international ambassador-in-chief, victim of violent
hugs, (away on year abroad)
|
Honest,
considerate, pretty, clever, and cuddly. A lover of Paris and
cats, Helen's beauty and charm have led her to apparently know
half the population of Leeds. Valiantly doing her bit to save
energy and recycle, the world would be a much better place if
everyone was like her. Quelle surprise, Helen's also on her
year abroad in France (do they have beer-flavoured nipples over
there or something?) Providing versatile lead and backing vocals
at the higher end of the scales for the past two years, and
really becoming a loved character and regular part of DFO, Helen
may or may not choose to return to the funk when she gets back.
It wouldn't be the same without her though. |
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Former
members |
With
the good times and success we've enjoyed in previous years,
many of the former band members are eager to make a cameo appearance.
This includes the founder Rob, the former core of DFO - Tom,
and the former leader of DFO who built it up to what it is today
- Pascal. |
 |
Our
friends: Breach of the Peace Samba |
Breach
of the Peace (BOP) are a bona fide big samba band making
noise at protests and festivals across the UK. These guys are
pink, loud, and awesome. DFO have collaborated with BOP at 3
festivals so far. You see, we thought that with only 17 members,
DFO might be a bit quiet and so we decided to team up with a
massive samba band for such songs as 7 Nation Army. As you do... |
