Martin Clarke - Bass, Guitar, Bass pedals, Vocals

I was born in Shoreditch - a real cockney! - but moved to Essex as a boy, where I have lived ever since. I studied 'cello at school but spent more time with the thing on my lap trying to use it as a bass. So much so that at the age of 13 my Dad advanced me the amazing sum of £70 (£700 inflation adjusted - crikey) to buy his first bass guitar, a Wilson - cheap - a Fender was unimaginable! I played in various schoolboy bands before settling down to a career and family at a ludicrously young age. Drawn to the world of international banking (why?) I enjoyed a career in the City trading Eurobonds, made stupid amounts of money and ended up running the securities trading subsidiary of a major US bank in London. Well past my 'sell by' date at the age of 43, I gave up worshipping at the shrine of Mammon and downsized, which process was made easier because my children were young adults.

As the demands of my career made band commitments impossible, I remained an enthusiastic bedroom player and jam sessioneer, keeping my playing skills up to scratch by emulating the great bass players in the Jazz, Funk and Rock genres (thank you Mark King!). With the end of my city career however, I was quick to join a pub & club band renamed The MeerKats with my long time friend and guitarist Warren Davis. The MeerKats quickly earned a reputation in East London as a slick, well rehearsed and entertaining group which kept the same line-up for 4 years. It was while auditioning for another band that I met Steve Webb - the band actually broke up during the audition - a surreal experience. We realised that we had a common passion - to produce extraordinary music with no compromises; and thus was born ToKaMaK. Steve and I were lucky enough to stumble across ace drummer John O’Neill who had advertised his availability (tart!) on an internet site.

John and I work well together as a rhythm section, so when Col had to leave the Los Endos project it was obvious that John should ask me to join the band and fill Col’s shoes – although the guitar and bass pedals were a daunting prospect! It was a great opportunity to make a unique twin neck guitar though....

I am a part-time management consultant specialising in risk management and a part-time guitar repairer and luthier which enables me to hang around with musicians!

Equipment List :

Guitars:

Custom twin neck guitar 5 +6, with chambered walnut body and flamed maple face, maple necks and ebony fingerboard and binding. Hand rubbed oil finish. EMG & Indie Extreme pickups and Schaller, Gotoh and Artec hardware.

Zon Legacy Elite V 5 string bass

Indie Sun Extreme guitar or Fender custom shop 1962 Stratocaster

Electronics:

Elka 18 pedal MIDI foot controller

Roland JV-1080 synthesiser with Vintage expansion card

Behringer V-Amp Pro Guitar processor

Behringer Ultralink Pro and Ultra DI Pro

Behringer FCB 1010 MIDI controller

Amplification:

Hartke 3500 Bass Head, 350 Watt, dual transistor & tube pre-amps, 10 band EQ, 2 Band contour Hartke 2 x 10" and 1 x 15" Transporter Cabs with Aluminium cone speakers