PEOM - The Gene Drayton Unit is a band, not a solo project is that right?


Mark Norton - Absolutely, there is a misconception that it is a solo artist. Do you know where the name came from?

PEOM - I have done my research and I am fascinated by the origin of the name. The name came about from a jacket purchased in a thrift store and you found the owners name, 'Gene Drayton', embroidered inside the jacket. Have you managed to track down the original owner of the jacket?

Mark Norton - No, to be honest. I tried a few searches on Google, but to no avail. It would be quite nice if he knew that we exist and were making good music under his name. We thought it really suited the style of music we were making.


PEOM - He might sue


Mark Norton - Who knows?


PEOM - That is beauty of charity shops. You can always find a little gem.


Mark Norton - Yeah, I have always worn vintage clothes and you can always find something special in a second hand shop. I grew up in the 60's and the clothes that I am wearing now are the same as my parents and their friends wore back in the day. I said to my mate the other day at an R'n'B night that we now look like our aunties and uncles.


PEOM - Keep it in the family so to speak?


Mark Norton - That is one way of looking at it.


PEOM - Seriously, I was looking at pictures of The Action and The Creation the other day. All the clothes they wore back in the sixties, you can still wear today with pride.


Mark Norton - That's right, and I think it is style over fashion. 60's clothes are good quality, they are a good cut, nice shape. and you look great.


PEOM - However I do think being driven by trying to look like something from the 60's and keeping it as a 'Mod' faithful can be a little bit extreme.


Mark Norton - I agree, it can be obsessive. Mod is a code. Its things that you like that define you as Mod, it shouldn't be the other way round. You don't say "I am going to be a Mod, what do I have to buy". I have had a Vespa since I was 19 and I drive a Mini. I recognise these vehicles as the best of what I like and that's the code that I live by.

PEOM - Why do prefer Vespas to Lambrettas?


Mark Norton - Because they look more like woman.


PEOM - Fair enough. Going back to Gene Drayton, who is in the band and what instruments do they play?


Mark Norton - I play sax, flute, and harmonica and I do a little bit of singing. Toby Kinder plays Hammond Organ and Electric piano, Phil Clark on bass, Mark Claydon is our drummer and the new bloke, Clinton Hough is the guitarist. His background is in classical and jazz; until only a few years ago he didn't used to play electric guitar. He's an amazing player and a brilliant addition to the band.


PEOM - I understand that you got involved in music around 1987. Was it a question of working with different musicians until you found the right formula?


Mark Norton - The formula we have now is untouchable. Our original drummer who left to go to Australia, came over to visit last year and was blown away by how good we are now. Toby and I have been working together since 1987. I have been playing the saxophone since I was twelve - that was a long while before 1987!


PEOM - How did you meet Toby?


Mark Norton - We met through a mutual friend


PEOM - Not at a summer fete?


Mark Norton - No nothing that exciting. In 1987 a mate of mine asked along to see his mate's band. He said they were really good, but would be even better if they had a sax player (me). I went along, and was introduced to Toby and the others. We hit it off straight away, and the rest is history.

PEOM - I presume that you still have a good working relationship with Toby?


Mark Norton - Yes indeed, we are very good friends, and in the 19 years we have known each other we have always been in a band together. He's one of my very best mates. He's still the principal songwriter in the band and he's very creative as a musician. He likes to express himself via the music. The rest of us interpret his tunes and turn them into live music.

I like to play music more than compose, but what Toby likes to do is write and arrange for the band. We have done a few numbers that I have written, but they are a tiny proportion of the numbers we do.


PEOM - With regard to ideas, do you and Toby swap records that you adore and try to emulate that sound?


Mark Norton - We do talk about tunes all the time. What we are listening to influences what we write and what we play. One of the big things that unites the band is that we have so much in common in our musical tastes. You can't buy things like that. If you are lucky, you meet people who have that got common interest.

So when it comes to making music, you don't have say I want to do this and play it like that. You can explain with passion by using examples from records that you love, like musical shorthand.


PEOM - That's the way a good band should be. If you go on stage, regardless of what musical genre it is and if one member ain't playing his or her instrument with passion or understanding the music, then you might as well forget it.


Mark Norton - A bit harsh, but true. and it happens all the time.


PEOM - You stated that The Gene Drayton Unit are mainly an instrumental band, even though a few tracks feature vocals such as '11 Minutes From Soho'. Do feel you might be restricting the band in terms of mass commercial success that is, staying as an instrumental band?


Mark Norton - We started as an instrumental band. We are not bothered by commercial success, but obviously we want people to be into what we do. We are players, we are not really accompanists, that's a whole other set of skills. With the front line that we have now, Toby, Clinton, and me. We have got good performers who are strong enough to execute a song to perfection. Mark and Phil too are great players and performers and we didn't need a singer to come along and spoil it. And anyway, there are enough massive egos in the GDU already.

PEOM - Being an instrumental band and the line up you have, would you label The Gene Drayton unit as jazz band or is your sound more complex to put such a simplistic tag on it?

Mark Norton - We are a Rhythm and Blues band really.

PEOM -An authentic R 'n' B band as you once described your sound?

Mark Norton - That's what someone said about us and it became a convenient tag. Because the band's sound is constantly evolving and we are putting new material in, it is hard to pigeonhole, so consequently we do find it hard to find gigs at times. We are too jazz to play rock clubs and blues clubs, to loud to play jazz clubs, you couldn't eat your dinner listening to the GDU.

The places that we are playing are the venues with open-minded music policies, such as The Jazz Café where we supported The James Taylor Quartet. The Hammond scene unites bands from all different genres and has developed its own live circuit, and all the bands know each other.

PEOM - Are there certain makes of instruments that The Gene Drayton Unit use to captive your unique sound? Obviously the Hammond Organ.

Mark Norton - Phil plays mostly Rickenbacker basses and uses a Fender Bassman amp. Clinton plays Fender Telecaster and also Fender amps. Premier drums and Bosphorous Cymbals sponsor Mark. I play Lee Oskar Harmonicas, a Selmer Super Action 80 tenor sax and a Yamaha flute.

Using certain instruments does change your sound, which results in you changing your style of play. My old tenor sax was a big fat 30's Conn, with a much more rootsy sound, like the 50's rock and roll guys used to play. The Selmer is more nimble, and actually suits what we are doing these days much better.

PEOM - Definitely. You can tell the difference between a Rickenbacker and a Gibson SG.

Mark Norton - You certainly can.

PEOM - Where was The Gene Drayton Unit first gig and how did the band go down?

Mark Norton - Our first gig was 5 years ago on 23rd March 2001, so it's Gene Drayton's 5th anniversary this year. The gig was at a fantastic little place called BB's in Forest Gate, which is the best kept secret in London. It's a little dance club, which is the middle of all these terraced houses. It was converted into a dance hall in the forties, with a nice bar and a small stage, and a proper sprung dancefloor. Our first gig was amazing and we went down well, though we did struggle to get the Hammond on the tiny stage..

PEOM - Are your gigs laced with blood, sweat, and tears?

Mark Norton - Yes, literally. I have played numerous times with a busted lip and Phil has got bleeding fingers. Mark has been known to break his drumsticks and himself whilst playing. I reckon it must be really exciting to watch.

People always say to us after the gig that we look that we are having a good time. We put a physical and soulful performance and I think that comes across.

PEOM - Worst gig and best gig?

Mark Norton - Our worst gig was the Modstock Festival in 2004, and that was purely down to equipment failure. Toby lent his Hammond to the guys who were doing the event. The band who used it the first night blew it up, so Toby had nothing to play for our gig, except the tambourine, not good for a Hammond group.

As far as best gigs go, we love doing the 100 Club. Every time we play there, there is a buzz. It's difficult to say what's our best gig because there have been many. Later this year we will be doing our 100th gig since forming. We always enjoy playing the South London Pacific in Kennington, Phil, and I DJ there too.

We enjoy performing, so we could play in an empty room and have a good time. But if you're playing in a club and you're getting a good response, that energises you and you play better. It really is very much a two way thing.

PEOM - Who would be your ideal support with, alive or dead?

Mark Norton - What we need and what we would like are two different things. We did get offered support to Ian McLagan at the Astoria, but we couldn't because one of the guys was out of the country. I was gutted about that. That would have been a massive gig.

PEOM - Playing with an ex Small face, every Mod's dream come true.

Mark Norton - Yeah, I passed that one on to my mate's band, Little Barrie, who rocked the place. We also got offered the chance to back PP Arnold when she was going to play at in the UK a couple of years ago. But she couldn't make it that year as she lives in Spain. When she did get over, she bought as her backing band from Spain a full soul group with a brass section, called 'The Teenagers'. We played with them at the Gijon Weekender , they are well worth seeing.

PEOM - Her song with The Small Faces 'If You Think Your Groovy' is a mind blower

Mark Norton - Brilliant record.

PEOM - Do the band socialise a lot out of work?

Mark Norton - Yeah we go out quite a lot, we like a lot of the same sort of music. We go to places like Ronnie Scotts, Jazz Café and anywhere that's got a Hammond band on. As I said earlier Phil and I DJ together, and that's always fun.

PEOM - As the band is getting a taste of touring aboard. What parts of the world would you like The Gene Drayton Unit to play?

Mark Norton - New York is a big yes.

PEOM - Have you tried to get The Gene Drayton over to the Big Apple?

Mark Norton - It's too expensive at the moment. With the gigs that we do we often barely cover expenses. Costs that we would need to cover in taking a Hammond organ over the Atlantic would be vast.

We have done many gigs on the Mod Scene with The New Untouchables. This has given The Gene Drayton unit an opportunity to visit and play other countries. We've been to Sweden, Italy, France, as mentioned before, and Spain.

PEOM - Looking at press shots of the band, all of you sport some sharp suits. Is being a snappy dresser part of The Gene Drayton Unit agenda?

Mark Norton - Now that is the part of the band that is ruled by an iron fist. I think it is important for a band to look they have made an effort when they get on stage.

PEOM - That's right, a band has to look like they read same books, watch the same films, listen to the same music and go to the same clubs. Would it be fair to say that you have used the Mod aceface look for The Gene Drayton Unit?

Mark Norton - Not as such. The Mod style is an important influence, because of the sort of music we play. We just want to look sharp.

PEOM - You mentioned that you have had support from the Mod organised The New Untouchables. What about websites such as Mod Culture have they been supportive of The Gene Drayton Unit?

Mark Norton - Yes, they have been. We have had good reviews and support from David who runs Modculture. The Uppers organisation too has spread the word.

PEOM - I understand you have a fetish for expensive shoes, how many pairs do you owe?

Mark Norton - I have lost count.

PEOM - Outside of music, what other interests do you have?

Mark Norton - I don't really have time for much else. I like to go to the cinema and gigs. I occasionally play sax in Long Tall Shorty, who used to be a Mod revival band but they are shifting into the British blues sound. Done the loads of gigs with them and played on the album. Now I have switched to playing mostly harmonica as Jeff their usual harmonica player is often out of the country due to work commitments.

They are a great band. They have their own club night in Soho, once a month. It's called 'The Piccadilly Blues Club'. You should check it out.

PEOM - Good to see the blues scene is thriving in the UK. I always thought it was a crying shame that Nine Below Zero never achieved worldwide success.

Mark Norton - I liked and still like Nine Below Zero. Mark Feltham is a genius on the harmonica.

PEOM - What about football or any other sport?

Mark Norton - Toby and Clinton are football nuts and play regularly, but not me. I like to watch it though. I've never set foot inside a gym. Playing saxophone a couple of hours a night is a good aerobic work out.

PEOM - What is your favourite place in England or the world, which you like just to hang and forget the world?

Mark Norton - Soho, if I want to be with people, Regents Park if I want to be alone.

PEOM - Finally, What one song inspires you and still shivers down your spine each time you hear it?

Mark Norton - It's tough to restrict it to one song, but if I must, it's got to be "I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" by the Four Tops. It never fails to give me goosepimples.

PEOM - OK , I'll be generous you can have a top ten

Mark Norton - Cheers, here's the first ten I can think of in no particular order.

I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind - The Four Tops

More Today Than Yesterday - The Spiral Starecase

Whoever - Lewis Taylor

Gave It All Away - BBH

98 cents plus Tax - Detroit City Limits

Pick Up the Pieces - Average White Band

Get Carter Theme - Roy Budd

Green Door - Wynder K Frog

In Love - Tony Galla

It's Getting Better - Mama Cass

On first assumption PEOM thought The Gene Drayton Unit were a collection of 'musos' who wanted to show off their musical ability to whoever would pay to see them. PEOM holds its hands up and we can honestly say we were wrong. The Gene Drayton Unit are hard working musicians who deliver a performance with passion and pride.

Their respect for the beat, jazz and blues combos of the sixties is inspiring, and gives the band a feel of seediness. Images are conjured up of band breaking into a sweat in some back street strip club in Soho, just to earn enough money to get a meal. Or standing outside a public pay phone in pouring rain waiting for a promoter to return their call, just to say they have got a gig in Lewisham social club. Romantic I know, but never the less thrilling.

They are playing homage to the pioneering days of The John Mayall Blue Breakers and The Rolling Stones with Brian Jones. In doing so they remind us how that playing in a band helps to escape the mundane existence of everyday life.

The Gene Drayton Unit have been around for five years and they will not go away in a hurry. Mark Norton states that they are not interested in commercial success. That might be the case, but they certainly deserve it. A slow burner you could say. All it takes is a radio DJ to be brave and champion the band. So the world can hear their exceptional sound of sax, harmonica and the Hammond organ.

The Hammond organ has come a long way from 1935. When it was first conceived as a cheap replacement to the church organ. Maybe if they had become popular in the churches, most of us would be there on Sunday morning.

Matteo Sedazzari