A NEW local band who say their ethos is to “make quality music that isn’t too loud” are set to play their first gig at Ye Olde Fleece, Kendal, on Wednesday.

Fred and the Steam Machine are six talented musicians, aged from 58 to 70, who started playing together in a local guitar club.

“Three of us have been in bands together before but two of us took a long time out,” said singer Phil Hull.

“When I came back to Kendal I started going to the guitar club, and it’s evolved from there over the last six months.”

“The ethos came from the fact that we’re fed up of going into pubs and having our ears ripped out with loud music,” explained Phil.

“We don’t have a full drummer, for example, and we have one electric guitar and one acoustic, which is quite unusual.”

The eclectic bunch come from a range of musical backgrounds, with Phil starting out with rock/blues band Off the Back and then joining guitarist Dave Livingstone in Kicking Stone. Phil also sings with the Cottontown Chorus, one of Britain’s best barbershop choruses.

Dave Livingstone has played in a number of bands over the years, including the legendary rock/folk bands Parcel of Rogues, Kicking Stone and was a founder member of Ahab.

Percussionist Rod Carter plays drums with north Lancashire rock band 'The Hoots'. Rod has travelled extensively in India, Africa, the Far East and Amazonia.

When he is off on his not infrequent jaunts, Dave Pennington is his substitute.

Guitarist Steve Roberts has been in blues/rock bands since he was 17-years-old. He has done session work for the BBC and has written many pieces of chamber music, some of which was played at the Trinity College Music Festival.

Bassist Mike Sayer also started off in Off the Back with Phil. After a 10 year pause, he joined Pirate Coyote and now plays with Steve the Hat and the Dufflecoats, the Lost Bananas and, as an ongoing project, Winchester and Colt.

Fred and the Steam Machine have a broad musical base playing covers of songs by Fleetwood Mac, Hendrix, Dylan, Paul Weller, Neil Young and The Who, amongst others, all with their own arrangements and interpretations. Traditional folk songs also feature - although “traditionalists” might not recognise them - alongside some of their own compositions.