After a brief spell of incarceration, Hoax Kirkby was born on the stroke of midnight, 1st July 1983.
Legend has it that during his arrival, 3 cloaked men travelled by horseback from Aigburth Vale to Croxteth Mill Lane Hospital to commemorate the birth. 
Each provided an offering of a cassette tape: one - a copy of sergeant pepper’s lonely hearts club band, another - a copy of the dark side of the moon, and the other - a copy of his own music which wasn’t very good.

Hoax’s talent for music was recognised at a young age, when at the age of 2, he exchanged his Formula 1 scalextric for a 1967 Gibson Les Paul. This guitar would become the catalyst of Hoax’s music career.

Following spells in numerous bands and touring extensively throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s, Hoax was sent into rehab at the age of 9 to battle his long-standing addiction to alcohol and drugs. 
His agent at the time, Jonathon Table, revealed that Hoax spiralled out of control after a bitter, divorced, middle-aged drunk woman told him that Father Christmas didn’t exist. 
This coming from his mother left Hoax confused, and consequently - a frown appeared on his forehead, which is still visible today.
As traumatic as this experience was, it would become the stepping stone behind Hoax’s natural ability to describe feeling and emotion through the art of music.

On exiting rehab in 1994, Hoax became a recluse, with one close friend saying that he was ‘listening to a lot of Smiths at the time’.

To counteract his rock n roll past, Hoax decided on his 11th birthday that he would banish his songs from the public domain, and locked all previous recordings into what he would personally refer to as his ‘vault’.
Vast amounts of mediums and clairvoyants attempted to predict the amount of songs that where held within Hoax’s vault, with estimates ranging from 23-47, to as high as 80-110. Many magically-minded celebrities of the time provided figures, including Mystic Meg and Paul Daniels, who predicted exact figures of 66 and 67 respectively. Hoax would later confirm that ’Daniels got it right’.

But now, 20 years on, and following a lot of contractual and financial guarantees  from a leading record company, Hoax has agreed to re-open his vault and release a selection of his songs for people’s ears.
As time progresses, more will follow …

website: www.reverbnation.com/stratusrocks
www.facebook.com/stratusrocks
twitter: @StratusR0cks
Email us at stratusrocks@hotmail.co.uk

STRATUS ROCKS! Ring any bells? Well that’s about to change! After many years of building their solid foundations in the secretive shadows, Stratus Rocks is claiming centre stage. With their unique outlook on classic rock and 90’s grunge mixed with that something different, the band play the music that they want to hear!

Stratus Rocks from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK, was started by a chance meeting between Stu (Guitar) and Lee (Vocals) during a football match at the pub. Although their opinions on the beautiful game differed substantially it wasn't too long before talk moved onto music, a subject they definitely saw eye to eye on. Both with a love for classic heavy rock and a feeling of deep dissatisfaction about the current musical scene they decided to get together for a jam. This proved difficult because of commitments with other bands. However, when they did finally get together in Lee’s hallway, it was clear that the chemistry was definitely there.

For two years Stratus Rocks (or Stratus as they were known at the time) grew from strength to strength wowing audiences with their explosive and passionate performances mixed with exquisite musicianship and talented song writing. They won new fans at every event leading to their first independent EP release of "Society's Leper". With hundreds of copies and downloads sold the forth track "The Medicine" appeared on BBC Essex's "introducing" radio show. Then just as Stratus Rocks' success had reached a point for them to head back into the studio to work on their second EP,” Hindsight Beyond Hindsight”, a clash of personalities led to their bass player and drummer leaving the band. Stu the bands’ guitarist, co-songwriter and co-producer, stepped in and played bass guitar so that "Hindsight Beyond Hindsight" actually happened.

Promoting the EP was helped by the addition of Lee's sister on bass and her boyfriend on drums. With a complete line up, Stratus smashed every gig they had with truly memorable performances. Unfortunately, they left the band in early 2012 to seek lifetime ambitions to travel.

Lee's distinctive voice, on/off stage charisma and ability to captivate his audience knows no bounds, especially when combined with Stu’s electrifying solos and mind shattering riffs. As a duo, Lee and Stu were noticed, talked about, and full of promise, the only hindrance was finding other permanent band members that shared their chemistry.

Then the strangest of things happened…
An old mutual friend (who knew of Stratus Rocks’ predicament with the impending departure of their bass player and drummer) bumped into Alex (Bass) and thought this was too good a combination to miss! He re-introduced the incredible bass player Alex to Stu. Alex and Stu first met in 1997 via an advert for a band in the local music shop window. They went on to learn their craft and hone their skills playing together as teenagers in their successful Southend band Backlash, who most notably had air play on Radio Caroline.
A jam was then arranged with Lee at a local studio. It had been 7 years since Alex and Stu had played together, it was like a missing piece of the puzzle and Alex joined the band.

Stratus Rocks went on to write and perform new acoustic material whilst they looked for the drummer that would tie them all together. Dan was recommended by an old school friend of Stu’s, and was put through his paces facing some tough competition during auditions. Having played since he was 13, Dan has developed a style that is both classic yet modern, fitting in with and completing Stratus Rocks’ diverse and talented background.

The band decided to change its name from Stratus to STRATUS ROCKS in January 2013, feeling that the new band members signified a new approach and era in the bands history. With new material having airplay on the MTM Rock Show with Jaspa, and a live appearance on Phoenix98Fm’s Musical Meanderings show STRATUS ROCKS are set to rise and rise.

This extremely talented quartet are writing their most exciting material to date!!


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rockin tunes a story to every one follow my journey from start to latest band making great music with great people with exeptional skills.

RAINBIRD ARE A FOUR PIECE ACOUSTIC BAND FROM LIVERPOOL
KEITH LALLY  GUITAR/ VOCALS
ANDY GLOVER BASS/ BACKING VOCALS
JAY McCLEARY GUITAR/UKULELE/HARMONICA.
MICK BIBBY CAJUN DRUM/ PERCUSSION.

Pretty much all of the songs i put on here are are recorded on my phone and written by me with me playing all of the parts. none of them are in their finished or most polished state, get over it,

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