Hi All,

Mike here. Old bugger living in Melbourne Australia (OK, 38 so old(ish))

Amongst other things I've been around the music scene for a looong time. First gig was Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, London Wembley Arena in '88 (Anthrax as support - Persistence of Time tour). I've seen every major Maiden tour since!!!

For my sins I played drums in a band during my teen years, and never learned enough to be much good. In '91 I did 2 weeks work experience at Metal Hammer Magazine in London, and went on to become a freelance writer and photographer. In '97 I started an e-zine called Ftang Online, and continued that until 2002 when my kids started school and I got sensible(ish). During those 11 years, I reviewed and photographed some of the greatest bands of all time (Maiden, Priest, Motorhead, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer etc), and had an absolute ball.

Another 10 years on, my kids are way too cool to hang out with me, have given up BMX racing and left me needing a hobby. And so I come back to what I love - music. I got a cheap Strat copy a year ago (Harlem) and a Peavey practice amp. Teaching myself, but considering lessons soon. Not yet got any effects pedals, but have a Line6 UX2 USB jobbie running Pod Farm 2. Strings are Ernie Ball Power Slinky's in standard tuning.

Looking forward to picking up a whole bunch of help & tips, plus sharing what I can of my music industry knowledge and photography.

As an aside, my other great love is motorbikes. I have a 2007 Kawasaki ZX10R Ninja on the road, and a CBR600 track bike. I hope to be adding to my collection over the next few years, starting with a dirt bike.