I grew up in Somerset, not far from the ancestral home of our nation’s beloved Cheddar cheese.  From a young age, I was exposed to the musical musings of Jimi Hendrix, Courtney Pine and, on a Sunday, Charles Wesley.  Like many kids, I was introduced to the recorder and the piano at a fairly young age but my true passion for music began when I started playing Electric Guitar.  Despite my best efforts, my first band did not go for the name ‘The Josh Mallett Experience’ and I instead had to settle for fronting the band titled ‘Blue Addiction’.  We of course insisted on playing nothing but blues music – much to the delight of my Dad and much to the detriment of my achieving that teenage dream of ‘having a girlfriend’.  I briefly played bass for a sixth form band but quickly returned to my own projects and, by the time I entered the sixth form, I was fronting an experimental funk/rock fusion three piece.

It was in the sixth form that I was first exposed to vocal ensemble music.  I joined the school’s barbershop choir as a joke with some friends.  My mates almost immediately quit but I was totally enthralled by the allure of music with no instruments, despite the fact that I was stuck singing the tenor line due to the common lack of teenage lads who are willing to sing high.

After much deliberation, I decided to go to Birmingham and study Ancient History rather than pursue music performance elsewhere.  Whilst searching for a barbershop society to join, I quickly stumbled across The Sons of Pitches.  I was completely bemused when, during my audition, I was taught ‘to dubstep’ by an older member of the group but I soon fell in love with the creativity of the art form.  My main role in the sons is to eternally fail to get the boys to sing a jazz progression.  My crowning achievement to date was when I once convinced Novs to sing a 13th on the bass during a Christmas Medley.

Four Years since I joined the group, I am so excited to be touring the country with the boys! My fifteen year old self’s dream has finally been realised albeit with a disappointing lack of guitar solos.