Rob Holloway

Bass Guitar / Midi Pedals / Keyboards

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1969 – Born in Derby.  My mum was a classically trained pianist and a devoted fan of The Beatles.  My dad had no musical inclination whatsoever but was a skilled cabinet maker, which would come in useful later.

1975 – Moved to Hertfordshire, where I grew up.  I resisted any form of classical music training, which I would later regret when I tried to persuade my parents to buy me a Fender Strat.

1980 – Started at Knights Templar School in Baldock.

1983 – Began playing electric guitar, inspired by the likes of David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson & Steve Rothery.  It was a Hohner strat copy and my amp was an Ohm Hobo.  I saved my money earned working at the local pub and bought numerous analogue effect pedals.

1984 – My dad made me a guitar, a copy of a strat with a through-neck, Schaller machine heads and a Dimarzio Distortion Humbucker.

1985 – Joined Jazz, a 3-piece school band comprising guitar, bass/vocals & drums.  Not quite The Police.

1986 – Maximus Quasar Project, an experimental electronic and ambient duo comprising guitar, synths & effects.  In hindsight, this was quite avant garde stuff.

1987 – Went off to study architecture at Hull and stopped playing guitar.

1990 – Worked as a trainee architect in Hitchin during which time I bought a bass guitar, a black Yamaha RBX 240 and a Laney Linebacker 50W combo, undoubtedly one of the worst amps ever made.

1991 – Joined Brilliant things, a local Simple Minds/U2 style covers band before returning to Hull to undertake my post-grad diploma.  Bought a Korg M1 with my student loan which I used to programme drum & keyboard parts for Brilliant Things.  Traded in my Yamaha RBX for a Hohner Jack Bass, a headless bass that had really had its day by the late 1980s, but I liked it as it would fit in my old 5-Star guitar flight case.

1992 – Took out another student loan and bought a 1986 Musicman Stingray in trans red with a Modulus Graphite neck.  Now using a Trace Elliot 100 Watt GP-7 head and a Laney 4×10” cab.  In my last term at Hull I took my final opportunity to borrow money from the Student Loan Company and bought a Trace Elliot 4×10” cab.

1993 – Graduated from Hull and joined Colourhouse, a 6-piece Jazz funk band comprising vocals, backing vocals, guitar, bass, drums & keys/sax, playing a mix of originals & covers.  By this time I had sold the Korg M1 and bought a Trace Elliot 122HV 2×10” 200 Watt Combo to go with my 4×10” cab.  It proved to be extremely unreliable however and I traded the whole rig in for a Hartke 3500 350 Watt Head and a single Trace Elliott 15” cab.  Only later did I realise that I had mixed up my speaker cable with a 3’ patch cable; I can only apologise to Trace Elliot for returning the amp for repair every 2-3 months.

1994 – Joined G-Tone, a 4-piece funk/rock band comprising guitar, bass, drums & vocals.  Memorable gigs included Warwick University, The Rock Garden (Covent Garden) and The Orange in Kensington.  The closest I got to a full time career in the music business, or a lucky escape, depending on how you view these things.

1996 – After having finally qualified as an architect in 1994 I had been increasingly struggling to balance my passion for music with the relentless tedium of work.  On the one hand I wanted to be a muso full time but on the other I couldn’t see any way to make it pay.  I therefore embarked on what is generally referred to as “a career”.  For a few years.

2006 – Having done the whole career thing and got it out of my system, I decided it was time to set up my own company.  Now in control of my own destiny, I dusted off my bass guitar again and joined Royal Crush, a 5-piece Queen & Bon Jovi tribute act now performing as “The Hair Rock Experience” and got back into gigging again.

2008 – After 18 months or so playing Queen & Bon Jovi covers I was looking around for something a bit different and was approached by Angry Badger, a 4-piece band who played mostly original funk/metal.  I joined and played a number of gigs locally over a 12 month period before the band disbanded.

2009 – I was one of the original members of Abstract Eye, a 5-piece comprising guitar, bass, drums, Hammond and vocals, playing psychedelic rock covers from 1968-1972 with whom I played a number of gigs including the Ley Hill Festival in 2010.

2010 – After Abstract Eye called a hiatus I joined Sledgehammer, a 5-piece band playing classic hard rock and metal covers.  We played around 15 gigs in the local area and built up a good reputation.

2012 – I had already heard of The Kurmujun when Phil Morgan contacted me to see if I was interested in going for an audition with them as Pete Boyd, their original bassist, wanted to leave. I must have known a good third of their repertoire and the audition turned into what was effectively my first rehearsal as The Kurmujun bassist.  I am honoured to be playing with three such accomplished musicians and, after 30 or so years, I feel as if my musical “journey” has gone full circle.  I am out there playing the songs that inspired me to pick up a guitar in the first place.