ALLEYCATS STRING BAND

~ ALLEYCATS STRING BAND ~

Photo courtesy Helen Neuendorf

(L-R: Tony O'Neil, Dave Hubbard, Paul Pyle, Peter Somerville,
Paul Neuendorf & Hamish Davidson; 21 March 2004)

The Alleycats String Band formed in 2002, performing at festivals and in and around the city of Melbourne. This eclectic lineup draws from their many influences and healthy music careers to produce some vibrant and soulfull sounds. Genres covered include Country Roots, Old Timey, Blues, Cajun, Western Swing and Bluegrass Music. Mmmm... Sounds good!

Paul Neuendorf is the principle lead singer of the group and picks lead guitar. He is the front man and the driving force behind the Alleycats, although each member has an important role. Paul is a bit of a musical chameleon, performing with many other bands: The Dancehall Racketeers, Blues Before Sunrise, Texicali Rose, Blow It Out Your Brass Band & Zydeco Jump. Dave Hubbard contributes great vocal harmonies and plays rhythm guitar. An original member of Captain Matchbox's Whoopee Band, Dave contributes many years of experience to the band. Peter Somerville is an excellent banjo player and many people would know him from playing with Gerry Hale's Uncle Bill, who recorded with Paul Kelly on his Smoke album. Paul Pyle has a lot of experience as a bass player, featuring on the original Slim Dusty recording of I'd Like To Have A Beer With Duncan. He also won a Golden Guitar award in 1977 with Saltbush for 'New Talent of the Year', then another for 'Vocal Group of the Year' in 1979.

Tony O'Neil, a popular instrumentalist, plays mandolin with the Alleycats, although he is equally proficient on guitar, fiddle and bouzouki. He performs with the Idle Diddlies and has done time with The Bushwackers. Hamish Davidson is the most recent member, having joined the band halfway through 2003. He plays fiddle primarily, but often gets out the banjo for some twin-banjo action with Peter Somerville.

The Alleycats released their debut CD titled Let's Roll in 2004. It is available at good record stores. There was some mighty fine pickin' and a singin' on the can in Paul Neuendorf's recording studio. Promises to be chock full string-band goodness!