D’Ska Assassins gigged at the Pilton Stage, Somerset, on Saturday, 30 Nov 19. Our regular drummer, Neil Harris, had a prior commitment so his place was taken by one of his most talented students, Ben Laver. Lloyd had submitted a video of the band to a competition to play at the Glastonbury Music Festival, 2020, and we were one of 30 bands shortlisted out of over 1,000 entrants submitted worldwide! The 30 bands were organised into half a dozen parallel ‘heats’ – live play-offs – between bands performing a strictly time limited, short set of original music in front of a panel of judges – no pressure! Our songs were: ‘Borders’, ‘Buzzin’ Like A Bee’, ‘King Kong’, One Shot’ and ‘Ska Party’. All these songs were written by Finn Panton except the last one which was our first genuine group composition – soon to be released on an EP! Although technically bands were in direct competition with each other, the camaradarie between them was fantastic. The venue was small, but equipped with a state-of-the-art PA and sound engineer. To cut to the chase: we didn’t win (don’t complain, don’t explain) however, we got some great feedback and it was an absolute pleasure and a privilege to take part! Our thanks to Kerry Collins for her super pics of the band.
