Tim’s bio - Update 08.11.2008

It is a little bit ordinary to say something like “music has always been part of my life…”, but in my case it’s true.

It started when I was 5 years old, when I started to learn piano with my mother. These long sessions on the piano with my mother were really useful because I learned the basics in harmony, musical theory, classical music… At the same time I was already listening to some rock'n'roll thanks to my older brothers John-Paul and David, who sometimes had to hide in their rooms in order to play things like Punk, Heavy Metal, etc…The good old times…

Then we moved out of the Parisian suburbs to a small village lost in the French Alps.
I continued the piano with my mother until I started a friendship in High School with some Heavy Metal fans who asked me to join their Hard Rock band, MACBETH, and this as a bass player. I will always remember that Christmas when my mother offered me an Aria Pro II electric bass and a small 20 Watts amplifier…Finally I could play some rock'n'roll!!! With MACBETH, the adventure of a French High School teenagers heavy metal band (!) will last about 2 years, then I formed another band (AUDREY ROSE) with a very good guitarist and Algerian friend of mine, Ali, both influenced by great bands such as RUSH, Led Zeppelin… At that time I start singing in the band and am still on the electric bass.

At the same time I dig deeper into Musical Harmony by learning Jazz at the « Conservatoire » musical school in Aix-les-Bains, and especially at the Chambery ARPEJS Jazz School… It was a very interesting period because when you’re in a jazz school you get to meet all kinds of different musicians with different personalities… I was also able to record some of my own songs in a Recording Studio in the Alps owned by some friends of mine. The name of the album is “Lost Years”, and it’s really a rare item, because I only printed out 50 artisanal copies ! It was recorded in 1997 when I was 22.

In Paris I decide to create a new band with my two cousins (and brothers) Matthieu & Cyrille Latour. I am now on the electric guitar and I sing, Cyrille holds the bass, and Matthieu plays the drums. We pick a historical family name for the band, “ALOXE”, and the band will get some support in the family on the occasion of some “mythical” gigs in Paris at “La Balle au Bond”, the “Gibus” or the “New Morning” in company of a talented female guitarist-singer engaged for the occasion, now known as “Mlle K…”

Unfortunately the band ALOXE can hardly survive when Matthieu has to leave to Switzerland. That’s why the band decides in 2003 to record one last album in order to have on tape some of the songs which couldn’t be found on the 2001 self produced LP “Au petit matin” …We bring all our gear in the family house in the Alps, empty at the time, no neighbours around, perfect conditions in for creating and recording all night long!

I will then experience a difficult period where I will remain for a few months alone in the house trying to advance with the CD project. Unfortunately I made at that time the bad choice of trying to record all these songs without using a computer (in order to correct and arrange the recorded tracks), which is nowadays a total “recording” suicide for an “amateur” band like us… So after a few months of hard work, I sadly realized that the result wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. And, of course, I also realized that the CD project was now mine, because Matthieu & Cyrille didn’t have time with their respective jobs to continue on helping me with the project. During this period of time I experienced some tough moments but also some good ones that you can find on the 2006 “Tim Chesley” 2 tracks LP (Alcool – Silent Waves).

The CD I was to supposed to record in 2003 with ALOXE finally ended in year 2006, as a solo project. It finally ended thanks to the efforts and great help of Eric Page (Olly Productions, Paris). And I end up that year (2006) choosing the stage name of “Tim Chesley”, “Chesley” being my mother’s first name, a way for me to pay to pay a tribute to her for everything I learned from her, not only musically.

In 2006, following my fiancée I move to Melbourne in Australia.
In Melbourne the idea is to find some gigs in order to play live the songs I had been working on all these years in France.

Since my arrival in Melbourne, I have performed at RRR FM, Manchester Lane, 303, Wesley Anne, Empress Hotel, at the “Chic Frog Festival” (the first French Festival of its genre in Victoria), etc. etc.
I have also recorded in June 2008 my first “Aussie” 5 track EP (called “Dreaming is the Way”), with the help of Cameron McKenzie, a great pro who has worked with the likes of Belle Roscoe, Mark Seymour from Hunters & Collectors…

The adventure continues!!!