 | 2 December 2009 Accessibility help Text only |
|
|
| BBC Homepage | | |
| |||
| Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend! | | |
Your StoriesYou are in: Tyne > People > Your Stories > Darren Grainger  Darren loves playing his sax Darren GraingerDarren Grainger will spend 2009 having treatment on a tumour in his knee. The part-time teacher would love to earn his living from playing saxophone.  By day I teach maths, by night I've been known to play sax in various bars/nightclubs across Tyne and Wear and beyond. I've played sax in soul bands, jazz bands and as a solo artist. My picture appears on page 48 of Bobby Robson's new book - Newcastle My Kind of Toon! As the economic downturn has an impact on the night-time economy, bookings have dwindled but I'm still playing sax for the Spheres. We played three music festivals in 2008 and even ended up on Tyne Tees news in September! I've recently had extra roles for two forthcoming BBC Scotland productions, The Old Guys and Hope Springs.  My dream would be for The Spheres to have a hit with the single We Change Lives. Jocelyn Brown has agreed to record it with us once my treatment is complete. Hopefully this will raise plenty of cash for Macmillan charity, The Royal Marsden Hospital, The Freeman hospital, The Northumberland Cancer Care group. In addition, it may raise the profile of the Spheres as we have been trying to get signed by a major label. The Spheres to play on Jools Holland and the big music festivals this year. I would also love to make my living as a musician, and to play as a solo artist at Ibiza or other dance music festivals. My biggest fear is continuing ill health stopping me from working. During 2009 I will be having ongoing treatment for a tumour in my knee.  Teaching - seeing kids succeed. Music - making people smile because of my sax playing.  The negative and ungrateful attitude of some pupils and parents who expect to be given everything because they are here, think the world owes them a living. But often once you work with them, their attitudes will change.  All forms of ignorance, greed, people who aspire to material things. X Factor - guitar hero games - we are training the next generation of musicians to think they can play guitar like Slash by waving a piece of plastic in front of a TV.  Like the park.  Loyal, creative, content.  James Brown record, Miles Davis A Kind of Blue.  Marta, my saxophones, my cats, my jeep.  A tennis player.  Love them all.  At 16 I was sales assistant in Harrods – I sold tennis rackets in the Olympic Way Tennis Department.  The pain from my bad knee.  Michael Parkinson - he would have many interesting stories.  Indecisiveness.  Determination, loyalty.  Recording Rejoice In Righteousness for Acid Jazz records.  Not studying music at college.  Harnham Monastery.  To play Local Hero on sax at St James’ Park as the players are coming out onto the pitch To make a living from playing music - either as the Sax Machine or in The Spheres To buy Marta's mum a house in Poland. Her mother is in a wheelchair with MS and lives in a first floor flat with no stairs. She has been out four times in the last 10 years. Disability services in Poland are lacking, but it is a very beautiful country - the food and people are great.  Bialowieza National Park (north-eastern Poland) in the snow in January 2006 - it was heaven. Getting paid to watch tennis at Wimbledon - I worked in the Crows Nest as a scoreboard operator.  I would reduce taxes on petrol/re-nationalise the fuel companies and redistribute the wealth that this country has - how can the government afford to give the banks £50m to bail them out, yet our school has to bid for money for a minibus from the Lottery Fund. ________________________________ The people taking part in 100 Lives have all given their own account of life as they see it and the views expressed are their own and not those of the BBC. last updated: 01/05/2009 at 15:20 SEE ALSOYou are in: Tyne > People > Your Stories > Darren Grainger |
| | About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy |
