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David has been a music journalist since the late Nineties and was the London Evening Standard’s pop critic for over 20 years, travelling the world to interview A-list musicians and review their gigs and albums. He has conducted in-depth conversations with rock stars such as Dave Grohl and Ozzy Osbourne, pop artists including Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, and rappers like Stormzy and Dave. Today, he writes about music for the Financial Times and about sport and fitness for Runner’s World and Men’s Health. A university lecturer since 2011, at WaterBear he teaches anything that might involve writing an essay.
A classically trained cellist, Phoebe began performing with orchestras across Manchester from the age of eight before going on to study Music Production and Composition at Leeds College of Music. Her early experiences in both classical and contemporary settings laid the foundation for a career that bridges performance, songwriting, and the use of music technology including Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and Videosync.
Phoebe has collaborated with a wide range of artists and projects, from recording library music featured on Audio Network to working with electronic pioneers 808 State. Her performances include opening the Manchester International Festival, appearing on TED Talks, performing at multiple Manchester Jazz Festival stages, and showcasing her work on the BBC Introducing stage.
As a solo artist, Phoebe explores innovative intersections of sound and image, specialising in visual and audio mapping to create immersive live experiences. Alongside her own creative practice, she is committed to empowering the next generation of musicians through her work as a freelance lecturer. She is based in Manchester.
Joe is a drummer, drum teacher, and recording artist. He picked up his first pair of drumsticks at the age of 13 after receiving a battered, second-hand drum kit for his birthday. Two years later, he started the band Milburn with a couple of friends. In 2001, Milburn signed with the record label Mercury, and the band went on to release three albums worldwide.
Thanks to Milburn’s success, Joe extensively toured Europe and Japan, playing and supporting many bands, including Arctic Monkeys, The View, The Rifles, and The Libertines. In 2011, Joe earned a First-Class Honours Degree in Music Performance and Professional Practice from Sheffield Hallam University, where he excelled in developing the skills to collaborate with other musicians and perfected various teaching techniques.
Milburn reunited in early 2016 to perform a 10th-anniversary show for their first album, Well Well Well. The band sold out four nights at the O2 Academy in Sheffield, selling over 10,000 tickets. These gigs led to the recording and release of Milburn’s third album, Time.
Joe is currently involved in several projects and continues to play live and record regularly.
Owen has performed on numerous radio and TV shows in Europe and America including: ‘Top of the Pops’, ‘TFI Friday’, ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ and ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’. He has worked with many artists and bands such Echo and the Bunnymen, Oasis, David Gilmour, Blondie, Fish, Beck, Spice Girls, Blossoms, Ocean Colour Scene, BB King, Paul Weller, Jamiroquai, Steve White, Giles Martin and Sir George Martin.
Over the years he has toured extensively across Europe, North and South America and Asia, with multiple concert appearances including Glastonbury Main Stage, Reading, Roskilde, CBGBs, Great American Music Hall, The Fillmore, RFK Stadium, Brixton Academy, The Hacienda, Barrowlands and Wembley Arena.
He has written and produced award-winning TV shows, films and theatre productions and been nominated for an Ivor Novello. As an educator, he has taught vocals, artist development, live performance, stagecraft, songwriting, music to picture and personal development at some of the UK’s most prominent music colleges.
Georgia has worked with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Amanda Palmer, Ben Folds and Matt Lucas. She is a longstanding music industry professional and founder of Hookers Songs, a publishing company and songwriting collective of 20 songwriters, vocalists and producers. Georgia has worked as a professional singer, songwriter, musical consultant and vocal coach for over 15 years and achieved chart success as a performer in 2011. After touring the UK with songwriting legend Burt Bacharach, Georgia became part of the writing team at Xenomania (Girls Aloud, The Sugarbabes, One Direction) where she co-wrote the title track for the 2016 Kaiser Chiefs album ‘Stay Together’, peaking at Number 4. As well as songwriting, Georgia specialises in vocal technique and performance and has established vocal coaching practices in Brighton, London and Rye.
John was a member of the self-managed group Edward II, with whom he toured the world and signed deals with Cooking Vinyl, Pure Bliss (Big Chill), Zomba, and BMG publishing before setting up the band’s own label. The band members then managed the whole portfolio of the band, licensing albums into several territories with some 200-plus performances per year. As Edward II disbanded in 1999, John moved into music education. For 5 years he was part of the senior management team at Access to Music, during which time he managed the New Deal for Musicians provision in the East Midlands and set up the Artist Development Programme. John now splits his time between lecturing in the music business and working as an artist and artist manager, as well as running numerous freelance projects.
Jana has a background in classical music, having trained as a flautist and pianist in her home country of Slovakia, as well as in Vienna and Aix-en-Provence, France. She has since developed a flourishing career in the UK as a singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her debut album, Foreigner Face, produced by Fred Mollin (Jimmy Webb, Billy Joel), was top-listed in the ‘Best Emerging Act’ category of the British Blues Awards. Her sold-out headline tour included her first collaboration with the Varga Quartet Vienna, a noted Austrian classical string quartet. As a guest vocalist, she has been part of the internationally acclaimed Joni Reimagined show, a homage to the songs of Joni Mitchell, alongside platinum-selling artist Rumer.
Starting in Music Theatre, Lucy’s background lends itself to bold strokes and a love for the live. Being surrounded by the Math Rock world for a long time, she really believes DIY is always the way to go. Confidence and Adaptability are the best skills to have as a musician and that is exactly what Lucy wants to share with her students. Lucy’s work has been hailed by the likes of BBC Radio 1, Noisey, Dork, Upset and many more. Her musical outfit, Orchards have performed all around the world including SXSW, 2000 Trees and New York’s New Colossus Festival.
Steve Jones has worked in the music industry since 2009 specialising in music events, festivals, and digital marketing. He is the founder of the Shakedown Festival that ran for five years. It was one of the largest festivals in Sussex and attracted over 20,000 people featuring artists such as Chase & Status, Dizzee Rascal, and Ed Sheeran. He has also led on marketing campaigns for Boundary Festival and Brighton Pride. More recently, he has had various research papers published that focus on safe spaces and mental wellbeing in LGBTQ+ venues.
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