peter daffy cut his musical teeth in the wild world of the Irish music revival, playing and singing long nights in Melbourne's ex-pat pubs. His love of blues, country and world music led him out of the pubs and he has earned a reputation in Australia as one the country's great singers and guitarists. Peter's long collaboration with Steve Gilchrist consolidated his love of bluegrass music and they can be heard in the band the Forward Backsteppers. Peter and Luke formed the FSB in 2000 and since then the band has toured extensively in Britain and Australia and released three albums. Peter is also a world class luthier and his instruments are played by musicians on three continents.

www.daffyguitars.com

angus r grant began his musical career playing traditional ceilidhs alongside his father, the internationally renowned left handed fiddler Angus Grant Snr. With a firm grounding in the West Coast tradition Angus left the highlands for the hotpot of music to be found in Edinburgh's famed sessions. In the early nineties he joined the infamous psychobilly band Swamp-trash. Out of sessions that followed the untimely demise of this band Shooglenifty was born. Recordings such as Venus in Tweeds and A Whisky Kiss have established Angus as a leading exponent of Scottish fiddle playing and Shooglenifty to be key innovators in the genre of instrumental dance music. Despite a now saturated market, Shooglenifty remain leaders in the field due to fiercely energetic live performances which have taken them many times around the world. Outside of Shooglenifty Angus is a keen composer with his tunes played and recorded by bands from around the world including Lunasa from Ireland and Jackie Tar from New Zealand.

www.shoogle.com

jamie jauncey played in Scottish country dance bands as a teenager in the days when Jimmy Shand was still all the rage. He graduated to rock'n' roll and released two singles as a singer-songwriter in the late 70s, while also playing piano, guitar and accordion with 60s legend Peter 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely' Sarstedt. Today, after 12 years with his brother Simon in the Jauncey Brothers Band, he plays on the ceilidh circuit with exotically-named bands such as Ceilidh Minogue, Bella Macnab's Dance Band, The International Ceilidh Collective and The Amazing Jimmy Shandrix Experience.  The grandad of the Funky String Band, Jamie was invited along to make sure the others change their socks, eat their greens and go to bed early. A musician by night, Jamie is a writer by day.  His latest novel The Witness is published by Young Picador.

www.jamesjauncey.com

luke plumb is a brilliant young musician from Hobart, Tasmania and one of the most electrifying mandolinists in the world today. He plays anything that isn’t nailed down but his instruments of choice (for the moment) are mandolins by Peter Daffy and Steve Gilchrist and a mongrel tenor banjo (with a neck by Daffy). Shooglenifty were lucky enough to find Luke in Tasmania through a chance meeting between him and their former bass player Conrad. A few weeks later Luke was waiting at the airport as Shooglenifty flew in to Devonport and surprised them all by not only joining the band on stage that night but, in fact, playing the whole gig. He’d got hold of a couple of their albums and learned the lot!  Also an exceptional tunesmith, Luke formed the Funky String Band in 2000 with Peter.

www.shoogle.com
www.myspace.com/lukeplumb