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Andy Parker. (Guitar & Vocals)
Andy Parker. (Guitar & Vocals)
Andy Parker Guitar & Vocals (perfectionist & organiser) Place of Birth: Cuckfield, Sussex View Andy Parker's MySpace site. 
Andy Parker Guitar & Vocals (perfectionist & organiser) Place of Birth: Cuckfield, Sussex View Andy Parker's MySpace site.
Musical History Andy’s father was an aircraft engineer who had a passion for jazz and was a very competent piano player. His father’s love of music rubbed off on Andy from a very early age and he soon started taking piano lessons himself. As a teenager his love of music grew ever stronger, but inspired by his introduction to bands like Kiss and Iron Maiden, he decided to swap the piano for something more "rock" and bought his first guitar. Always a bit of a loner, he spent hours in his bedroom working out how to play the songs of his new heroes. This “self taught” method continued for some time. He started his first band called Vice-Versa at the age of fourteen. They soon changed their name to Vexile and started as a covers band with songs from the likes of The Sex Pistols, The Toy Dolls and The Cult. It was not long before Andy started writing his first songs and the band played their first gigs at local Schools and Colleges. Vexile soon became Funhouse and this band continued writing and gigging for a couple of years. When Funhouse split up due to “personal differences”, Andy joined an already successful local band called The Manor. This band got their name after rehearsing at “The Manor” owned by none other than Peter Grant who used to manage Led Zeppelin and who started to manage this band before a huge falling out! This liaison did not last long and the band split after just one gig. Undeterred, Andy and other members of The Manor formed a new heavy metal band called Kymera. During this time Andy met Bob Birthwright who owned Stanbridge Studios in Handcross, Sussex. Bob would become a close friend and mentor to Andy in the future. Kymera went through a number of singers and recorded a number of demo tapes but failed to find any real success. During the Kymera days, Andy was asked to play some guitars on the demo tapes of a band called Beijing Spring. Playing on the demos as a “session” musician with his main priority being Kymera, Beijing Spring went on to sign a major record deal with MCA. When asked by the same management company to be part of a new band they were forming, Andy decided to quit Kymera for the promise of better things. The new band was called Sunchildren and was signed to the same production company that handled Beijing Spring. Andy also quit his day job at this time and Sunchildren spent the next 18 months in the studio and on the live circuit. During this time they recorded over fifty songs. Sunchildren were offered record deals by smaller independent labels, but the management / production company held out for a major label deal. That deal never came and after much persevering, Sunchildren eventually split up. Although disappointing, this was an invaluable time in Andy’s musical life as it taught him much about the workings of the music industry and the art of songwriting and recording. Andy started writing some new songs using the new found songwriting maturity he had acquired with his time in Sunchildren, but in contrast to the musical constraints of being a musician within a production company, he now had the freedom to write the type of songs he would want to buy. Having to live back in the real world, Andy found daytime work at a record store and it was here that he first met Phil Newbery who was a local singer. The two of them became close friends and Andy asked Phil to sing on some demos he was working on. The chemistry clicked straight away and they recorded four tracks using a drum machine that would become the beginning of State Of Grace. They advertised in a local newspaper for a bass guitarist and drummer and received a phone call from Mark Lawson. Mark met with them and recommended a drummer that he had worked with called Johnny Tempest. The four of them booked a rehearsal at Stanbridge Studios and State Of Grace was born.... Personal History 
Also know as “Ray” to friends and family, Andy was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex.Andy was one of three children with an elder & younger sister. He grew up in Lindfield which is a small village on the outskirts of the satellite town of Haywards Heath. Although education started well for Andy, his love of music and his introduction to the guitar took priority over his studies and much to his parents annoyance he left college without the expected qualifications and university degree. During his last year at college, his younger sister died of a brain tumour and this had a profound effect on him. Realising the cruelty of life at a young age, he started to question certain beliefs and over time realised the importance of living in the "now". Andy was convinced that the road to rock & roll stardom lay ahead and got his first full time job whilst laying the foundations for his “real” career. He soon got a job in a record store that allowed him to be surrounded by different kinds of music all day long. During the next few years he worked during the day and spent every available free moment writing and rehearsing with whichever band he was in at the time. He quit his job when asked to join Sunchildren (see above), and considered this a real chance to be doing music professionally. He spent the next 18 months immersed in this project. This invaluable experience ended with Andy back at the record store, but undeterred and full of new knowledge, he carried on with new projects that would eventually become State Of Grace. Always striving to achieve the best possible results from his creativity, Andy is a perfectionist and finds it very hard to “put the brush down”. Forever in the pursuit of real happiness, over the last few years he has found inspiration for living life from the teachings of Buddhist theories from the likes of the Dalai Lama and certain Zen practices (although he finds it increasingly difficult to implement these in life in the western world). Trying hard to shake some personal demons, Andy has become more spiritual of late and as stated by one of his recent lyrics: “I’m still searching high and low for my state of grace….”
Musical History Andy’s father was an aircraft engineer who had a passion for jazz and was a very competent piano player. His father’s love of music rubbed off on Andy from a very early age and he soon started taking piano lessons himself. As a teenager his love of music grew ever stronger, but inspired by his introduction to bands like Kiss and Iron Maiden, he decided to swap the piano for something more "rock" and bought his first guitar. Always a bit of a loner, he spent hours in his bedroom working out how to play the songs of his new heroes. This “self taught” method continued for some time. He started his first band called Vice-Versa at the age of fourteen. They soon changed their name to Vexile and started as a covers band with songs from the likes of The Sex Pistols, The Toy Dolls and The Cult. It was not long before Andy started writing his first songs and the band played their first gigs at local Schools and Colleges. Vexile soon became Funhouse and this band continued writing and gigging for a couple of years. When Funhouse split up due to “personal differences”, Andy joined an already successful local band called The Manor. This band got their name after rehearsing at “The Manor” owned by none other than Peter Grant who used to manage Led Zeppelin and who started to manage this band before a huge falling out! This liaison did not last long and the band split after just one gig. Undeterred, Andy and other members of The Manor formed a new heavy metal band called Kymera. During this time Andy met Bob Birthwright who owned Stanbridge Studios in Handcross, Sussex. Bob would become a close friend and mentor to Andy in the future. Kymera went through a number of singers and recorded a number of demo tapes but failed to find any real success. During the Kymera days, Andy was asked to play some guitars on the demo tapes of a band called Beijing Spring. Playing on the demos as a “session” musician with his main priority being Kymera, Beijing Spring went on to sign a major record deal with MCA. When asked by the same management company to be part of a new band they were forming, Andy decided to quit Kymera for the promise of better things. The new band was called Sunchildren and was signed to the same production company that handled Beijing Spring. Andy also quit his day job at this time and Sunchildren spent the next 18 months in the studio and on the live circuit. During this time they recorded over fifty songs. Sunchildren were offered record deals by smaller independent labels, but the management / production company held out for a major label deal. That deal never came and after much persevering, Sunchildren eventually split up. Although disappointing, this was an invaluable time in Andy’s musical life as it taught him much about the workings of the music industry and the art of songwriting and recording. Andy started writing some new songs using the new found songwriting maturity he had acquired with his time in Sunchildren, but in contrast to the musical constraints of being a musician within a production company, he now had the freedom to write the type of songs he would want to buy. Having to live back in the real world, Andy found daytime work at a record store and it was here that he first met Phil Newbery who was a local singer. The two of them became close friends and Andy asked Phil to sing on some demos he was working on. The chemistry clicked straight away and they recorded four tracks using a drum machine that would become the beginning of State Of Grace. They advertised in a local newspaper for a bass guitarist and drummer and received a phone call from Mark Lawson. Mark met with them and recommended a drummer that he had worked with called Johnny Tempest. The four of them booked a rehearsal at Stanbridge Studios and State Of Grace was born.... Personal History
Also know as “Ray” to friends and family, Andy was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex.Andy was one of three children with an elder & younger sister. He grew up in Lindfield which is a small village on the outskirts of the satellite town of Haywards Heath. Although education started well for Andy, his love of music and his introduction to the guitar took priority over his studies and much to his parents annoyance he left college without the expected qualifications and university degree. During his last year at college, his younger sister died of a brain tumour and this had a profound effect on him. Realising the cruelty of life at a young age, he started to question certain beliefs and over time realised the importance of living in the "now". Andy was convinced that the road to rock & roll stardom lay ahead and got his first full time job whilst laying the foundations for his “real” career. He soon got a job in a record store that allowed him to be surrounded by different kinds of music all day long. During the next few years he worked during the day and spent every available free moment writing and rehearsing with whichever band he was in at the time. He quit his job when asked to join Sunchildren (see above), and considered this a real chance to be doing music professionally. He spent the next 18 months immersed in this project. This invaluable experience ended with Andy back at the record store, but undeterred and full of new knowledge, he carried on with new projects that would eventually become State Of Grace. Always striving to achieve the best possible results from his creativity, Andy is a perfectionist and finds it very hard to “put the brush down”. Forever in the pursuit of real happiness, over the last few years he has found inspiration for living life from the teachings of Buddhist theories from the likes of the Dalai Lama and certain Zen practices (although he finds it increasingly difficult to implement these in life in the western world). Trying hard to shake some personal demons, Andy has become more spiritual of late and as stated by one of his recent lyrics: “I’m still searching high and low for my state of grace….” Member profiles: Phil Newbery (Vocals & Guitar) Andy Parker (Guitar & Vocals) Steve Newbery (Bass Guitar) Mark Langner (Drums & Percussion) Member profiles: Phil Newbery (Vocals & Guitar) Andy Parker (Guitar & Vocals) Steve Newbery (Bass Guitar) Mark Langner (Drums & Percussion)
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