User:Carloselprez

Skills To Pay The Bills;

Founder members: Carl Solomons (Vocals and later Rhythm Guitar) Helen O’Hara (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals) Lewis Walters (Sitar and Thermin) Joe Ronan (Percussion) Grace Turner (Keyboards) Dan McEvoy (Bass Guitar) Frankie (Saxophone) Claire (Oboe)

Albums: Showboys, Cowgirls and Indians  (UK No. 13) Helen’s Diner (UK No. 1) Good Mourning (UK No. 2) Phil Me In (UK No. 1)

Principal Songwriters:

Carl Solomons 	(Music and Lyrics) Grace Turner	(Music) Regarded by many as the best British songwriting duo since Lennon and McCarteney. Solomons and Turner were always the principle songwriters of S.T.P.T.B but many believed their partnership was far more than professional, even after Solomons’ high profile marriage to Regina Spektor.

Influences:

Arcade Fire Queen The Jam Regina Spektor The Verve The Stone Roses London Philharmonic Orchestra

Order Band members Left:

Helen O’Hara (Drug Addiction) Claire (Joined London Philharmonic Orchestra) Dan McEvoy (Suicide) Tom Kelly (Murdered- See attempt on Solomons’ life) Lewis Walters (Suicide) Frankie (Found God)

Band History:

The original line up of Skills To Pay The Bills got together to win a Batlle of The Bands Competition at Chinnery’s, Southend. A local band, The Balsamics had won the Battle of The Bands for 3 years running and several competitors were getting fed up with it. Dan McEvoy decided he could win the competition with a patchwork of performers from other local bands. Recruiting Carl Solomons, lead singer of The Piers and his band mate Frankie on the saxophone. Joe Ronan was next drafted in from The Aggregates and Helen O’Hara, guitarist and vocalist of White Vinyl also added to the bill. Holding an open audition for new members, the band chanced upon Claire on the oboe. She wowed the rest of the band and was straight away signed up. The next major member joined two weeks later when Solomons and McEvoy saw a small band called Sergeant Revolver, a Beatles tribute band, with Lewis Walters on Sitar. As soon as the set finished, they asked Walters to join. Going out to dinner to celebrate their unification Solomons and Walters noticed the restaurant’s pianist in the corner of the room. Initailly not thinking her to be that talented they ignored her but as the group were leaving she came over to them. Her name was Grace Taylor and she had recognised the band from a recant gig, pleading to be given an audition Solomons accepted the proposal, nearly entirely because he fancied her. But in her audition she blew the band away with her own written material. They welcomed her in there and then. The path to fame and fortune was hardly a fairytale for the group. A local radio DJ, who has always remained nameless was sleeping with Ronan, without the knowledge of his wife. The rest of the group asked him to “encourage” the DJ to get their demo played on the air. As you can imagine, he agreed quickly. This playing of the band’s first rcorded single; Impromptu Hot Tub Party led to Phil Blake, persuade his record label to sign the band. Immediately, the band set about wrting songs for their debut album, but it soon became clear that the two main writers and lyricists were Solomons and Turner. Together they wrote 11 of the 14 tracks on the album, the other 3 being written by Ronan and O’Hara. The 2 tracks on the album written by O’Hara are considered by many fans to be some of the band’s greatest early work. Birthday Girl and Dressing Up are songs that really touch the soul of the listener and are insights into Helen’s troubled mind.

Early on fame went to the head of Helen O’Hara, she soon found herself addicted to heroin and alcohol, despite having drug problems before the bands launch these really became an issue after their initial success. The rest of the group decided that it would be best if Helen were to undergo drug rehabilitation and leave the band for the time being. As such Carl Solomons, the group’s lead singer, became the band’s guitaist as well, pushing the Sitar of Lewis Walters to the fore.

In tribute to their departed bandmate the group decided to name their second album after Helen; “Helen’s Diner.” It was at this time that the band began to cross over to the main stream, pioneering the second period of Cool Brittania. The album reached No. 2 in the UK charts. Following this success Solomons wrote a song which had a duet in the vocals, intending for Turner to accompany him. However, the then largely unknown Regina Spektor contacted Solomons and persuaded him to let her sing the accompanyment with him. The song, “Bottle Caps In The Park” became the group’s first No. 1 single and saw the rise and rise of Regina Spektor’s career. Rumours of a relationship between Solomons and Spektor were everywhere and the two confirmed this after marrying in Sri Lanka. It was around this time that Claire began to become disillusioned with the band. Claiming she had been promised far more classical style music would be played and that the egoes of Ronan, Solomons and Walters in particular were overwhlming her. She left the band and joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In her second year with them she won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra in a film. An award was also in store for S.T.P.T.B when they were nominated for and won the NME Best Band and Best Album trophies. In collecting the awards Lewis Walters and Carl Solomons thanked their next of kin, Amir Patel and Regina Spektor respectively.