Adam Hooton
Adam’s passion for music sprouted at the age of 11. A year later he had developed a healthy obsession for the guitar which lead to over 2 years of study with top session player and Guitarist Of The Year winner 1994/95, Dave Colquhoun.
2 years on after those first notes and months of habitual practice, Adam himself became a runner up in the ‘97 Young Guitarist Of The Year finals, at the tender age of 14.
By 1999 Adam had completed his music studies at the BRIT School of Performing Arts and proceeded to focus on building his student repertoire both privately and at a handful of schools. He quickly established himself as a popular local guitarist and tutor, specialising in pop/rock/heavy metal styles but with an understanding and ear to adapt to other tastes and genres.
Current involvements with music consist of dividing his time between teaching and various musical projects, most notably – progressive metal outfit, Neoentity. He is a keen performer, writer and possesses some expertise in the fields of music recording and production.
With an assured knowledge that covers all levels of technique and theory, Adam provides a lucid teaching approach to both the fundamental and somewhat overlooked playing topics.
Ben Allison
Ben started playing guitar at the age of 9 but it wasn’t until he was 11 and started lessons with Realistic Rock founder Robin Henderson (and later with Geroid Grant & Adam Hooton) that his real passion for music began.
Formed and managed by Richard & Robin Henderson, Ben became lead guitarist with The Flaming Monkeys in 2004. Just over a year later TFM won Xfm’s Rock School competition and went on to support the Kaiser Chiefs, Editors and Hard-Fi at Xfm’s Winter Wonderland at the Brixton Academy. This opened doors to TV & radio (including Blue Peter), a feature in the Daily Telegraph magazine and other national publications. Ben became the band’s lead singer at the end of 2007.
Other credits include playing to Jimmy Page at Gibson Guitars London HQ, a tour of Scotland where they played to over 60,000 people, O2 wireless Festival (2006), Reading (2007), the Birmingham NEC, filming for itv.com’s ‘Web Lives’, winning the Kerrang! Award for Best Live Unsigned Act at the Vodafone Live Music Awards 2007 and the Kerrang! Kerrademy Award for the Best Unsigned Act 2007.
Ben is a keen songwriter and has collaborated with Richard & Robin, Chris Leonard (Son Of Dork), Dougal Donnelly, Cliff Jones (Gay Dad) & The Collective (A). All of this by the age of 15!
Ben left TFM in 2008 and now focuses on writing & recording his own music as well as playing with ‘First Strike’ and is currently studying at the Academy of Contemporary Music.
James Robinson
Having developed a love for music early on, James (Jimmy) started guitar lessons at the age of 11, later studying under Gearoid Grant and Adam Hooton. Instantly an intuitive player, he enrolled for Realistic Rock Academy’s ‘Get in a Band and Play’ summer course. Under the guidance of Robin and Richard Henderson, James formed and fronted his own band, Kalashnikov in February 2005. 8 months later Kalashnikov won the Under 18s Category of the annual ‘Sutton’s Best Band’ competition, a feat he would go on to repeat with his subsequent band Xenon in the overall category in 2007. Xenon acted as a showcase for James’ growing talents as a fast, melodic guitarist and charismatic frontman.
James was invited to join The Flaming Monkeys as a guitarist and singer, paired with Ben Allison, and made his debut at the Reading Festival 2007. During his time with the band, The Flaming Monkeys made several television appearances, played showcases for Gibson Guitars and played at the Birmingham NEC. They won two Kerrang! awards: one for Best Live Unsigned Act 2007 at the Vodafone Live Awards and the other a Kerrademy Award for Best Unsigned Act, all before James’ 16th birthday.
While further developing his gift for writing and producing, James has formed First Strike with fellow ex-Flaming Monkey ,Ben, sharing lead guitar and singing duties. His natural grasp of harmony and melody make him a strong songwriter, and his charisma and singing ability add an exceptional dimension to First Strike’s brand of rock. James is currently studying at Wallington County Grammar School Sixth Form, but plans to enrol at Guildford Academy of Contemporary Music at the end of his senior year in order to pursue a career in music.
Matt Steemson
Matt first started playing guitar age 14 and started playing in a local band soon after. With high aspirations to develop his musical skills, he started singing and song writing, becoming the front man and creative force behind his band.
Matt went on to study at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) earning himself a Diploma and Higher Diploma in guitar. During this time he was chosen to sing and play guitar at the Music Publishing Associations (MPA) 125th birthday party as well as perform at the Guilfest festival in 2006 alongside Billy Idol, Gary Numan and The Stranglers.
During Matt’s guitar studies at ACM, his vocal talent was recognised from stepping up to front many college bands. He received special recommendation from ACM’s head vocal tutor Nic Rowley to proceed onto studying a BA (Hons) Degree in Vocals and graduating in 2009.
Matt has extensive live, studio and audition experience as well as playing on BBC radio, Red Funnel ferries and UK Entertainment TV. He has also worked as an Artist Liaison for the Great Escape Festival and Oxjam events with such bands as Kasabian, The Maccabees, Kissy Sell Out, Metronomy, Dan Black, Mumford & Sons, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, ABC and White Denim.
