TAYLOR-GRACE - VOCALS

Truth be told I don’t have any experience on the music circuit other than with Not Now Norman. I didn’t sing in the school play other than in the choir, I didn’t start a band in High School or anything like that. Growing up I spent a lot of time singing to myself in my bedroom where no one could hear me. My Dad, Zander Brown, has been in a few bands and I used to tag along and watch the show. One of my earliest memories was Zander playing guitar on stage in Aberdeen. I used to daydream that one day that would be me on stage but back then I was too shy to mention it. I remember when I was little, my Mum would blast P!NK and The CuLT in the car when we were on our way to hospital appointments and I would picture the same thing.

I graduated college in 2016 and started looking for work, but with having disabilities I found it difficult to find employment. It started to take its toll on my mental health so to try and lift my morale, I started recording sessions with Zander. We started with Sweet Child O Mine, one of my favourite tracks. Half way through the first take, Zander stopped the recording and said ‘You didn’t tell me you could sing’. And thats what started this whole thing. I went to Newcastle to learn how to sing properly and we started writing our own tracks. The rest you could say is history.

ZANDER BROWN - GUITAR

I’d all but given up on guitar and performing with it. Id even taken up drums as a new challenge. Taylor-Grace changed all that. The first song I remember where I went ‘wow’ at hearing the guitar was Sparks track - ‘This Town Aint Big Enough For The Both Of Us”. I was 13 and would jump around playing the tennis racket to the sound of that guitar riff. A year later Black Sabbath released “Sabotage”. As soon as I heard that album that was it, I had to play guitar. I wore the album through I played it so much. I even bought a second copy as the first became so worn. That sound was impossible to reproduce without huge amps and even bigger volumes so I had to settle for learning more subtle fare for a while.

There was no way to learn any guitar other than classical in my town, or learning songs other than learning them by ear so I guess you can say I'm self taught. I got most of my early inspiration from Black Sabbath and I will always be a huge fan but the release of Van Halens first album turned the guitar world on its head. I spent years learning to play the stuff on that album. I was devastated when Eddie Van Halen died in 2020 and can only be glad that I was fortunate to see the band once. After playing in various cover bands for many years, I depped for a band called Pyre where I met our drummer, Dougie. We hit it off immediately and shortly afterwards he rang me and asked if I wanted to form a band with him. We had a fantastic time for about a year and a half then he announced he was emigrating to Mongolia!

I spent a few years after that trying to recreate that spell but after a while just gave up, unable to find a settled line up with commitment. Enter Taylor-Grace. When you hear the sounds of your old Guns n Roses albums coming from your daughters bedroom you can’t help not to smile. When you try out a new recording system then your daughter walks in and sings Guns n Roses you smile even wider. When you listen to the recording back and listen to that voice you decide ‘Thats it, I'm back in the game”. I'm happier playing guitar now than I have ever been.

DOUGIE SCOTT - DRUMS

I started playing drums for a high school band, I'm self taught as you can tell and I've playing on and off for just over 30 years. My first band was named 'Wild Angels' which was a 5 piece band based in Hawick, mainly playing 80's American glam/cock rock (Motley Crue, Poison, Cinderalla, Faster Pussycat etc). The original singer left around 1989 and the band had a couple of new members and a new name, 'Jane Doe'.

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Although I'm a glam/cock rocker at heart, I got into grunge at the beginning and started to listen to bands such as Mother Love Bone and  Soundgarden. I wanted to start playing this new genre of music locally but the other members wanted to stick to their roots, I eventually left and formed a new band named Icer. We weredescribed as a 'Super Group' during a write up in a Scottish newspaper, the band would play a mixture of covers by bands like The Wildheats, Nirvana and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Unfortunately Scottish promoters weren't into this new 'grunge' music so the band eventually folded in 1995. The band reformed for a one off gig in 1996, after this gig, it was discussed about forming a function band and Pyre was then formed, I played in Pyre between 1998 and 2008 before meeting Zander and jumping ship and joining a band called 'She' in August 2008.

In late 2009, I accepted a job offer in Mongolia so ended up quiting 'She' and moving to Mongolia in January 2010. Due to covid restrictions, I've has been unable to return to Mongolia so I relocated back to the UK and where Taylor-Grace and Zander managed to talk me out of retirement - I'm now firmly installed as the stereotypical crazy drummer that Not Now Norman needed.

LARA 'LAMPY' HINDHAUGH - BASS

I've been interested in music as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of time growing up listening to a wide range of music that has had a huge influence on my sound. As I'm always working to develop my skills as a session bassist, I've become accustomed to playing many different styles and genres of music. Although Rock is my main genre, I've also drawn influences from Blues, Funk, Acid Jazz and Ambient Lo-Fi music which has helped me develop my sound as a whole and allows me to have experience playing differing styles and genres. 

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Before I joined Not Now Norman, I played in the local jamming band in Berwick. There was a lot of playing 'on your toes' and adapting to changes on the fly. I also played in a funk band called Crown of Feathers. Before the pandemic hit, Not Now Normans original bassist, Jimmy Manningham, was pulling out of music for a while to become a father. I went for an audition and well... here I am!