Meet the Band
So, once upon a time Deb and Carol moved to the country and bought a house with a big log cabin at the bottom of the garden. They decided that every so often they would host a 'Cabin Session', inviting all their musical friends over for a jam. Their guests included Seffy and Ann, and Carol's daughter Emily. As the sessions continued, collaborations grew a little more polished, and before you know it - we were a band!
Carol levi
Guitar, banjo, vocals
Carol is a versatile musician who plays acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, and bouzouki. She cites her earliest influences as the Carter family, Ralph McTell, The Stanley Brothers, and Elvis. From there it was on to guitar blues, ragtime fingerstyle guitar, Django Reinhardt & Hot Club Jazz, and Celtic music of all types.
She has played with many bands including Kitchen Girls (who performed at many festivals including the Sidmouth, Shetland, Orkney and Rudolstadt Folk festivals), Isabella Connection, Check it With Charlie, the Al Start Band, and most recently In Cahoots and The Slow-Down Sisters, covering a multitude of genres including jazz, celtic finger style guitar, rockabilly, folk, bluegrass, and on and on…! She can often be seen playing one of the two beautiful guitars she made herself, under the tuition of luthier Richard Osborne.
Carol is a versatile musician who plays acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, and bouzouki. She cites her earliest influences as the Carter family, Ralph McTell, The Stanley Brothers, and Elvis. From there it was on to guitar blues, ragtime fingerstyle guitar, Django Reinhardt & Hot Club Jazz, and Celtic music of all types.
She has played with many bands including Kitchen Girls (who performed at many festivals including the Sidmouth, Shetland, Orkney and Rudolstadt Folk festivals), Isabella Connection, Check it With Charlie, the Al Start Band, and most recently In Cahoots and The Slow-Down Sisters, covering a multitude of genres including jazz, celtic finger style guitar, rockabilly, folk, bluegrass, and on and on…! She can often be seen playing one of the two beautiful guitars she made herself, under the tuition of luthier Richard Osborne.
Deb shurvell
Mandolin, vocals, percussion
A songwriter from an early age, inspired by punk, folk and pop, Deb joined her first serious band in 1989 in Brighton, When She Calls. Through the nineties Deb played with Nobody’s Sure About Lucy (with Seffy), and Isabella Connection and The Beanstalk Band (both with Carol), over time substituting her love of guitar playing with a new-found talent on mandolin.
While living in India and China for several years she started to record her solo album The Season of Wild Dreams, completed in 2015. She’s also performed and recorded with the Al Start Band, including a foray into the world of children’s music.
Back in Sussex, Deb continues to play with Carol in their duo The Slow-Down Sisters and is really excited about the formation of The Cheer Up Mollys, returning to play with Seffy, and also playing with Ann and Emily in this exciting new line up.
A songwriter from an early age, inspired by punk, folk and pop, Deb joined her first serious band in 1989 in Brighton, When She Calls. Through the nineties Deb played with Nobody’s Sure About Lucy (with Seffy), and Isabella Connection and The Beanstalk Band (both with Carol), over time substituting her love of guitar playing with a new-found talent on mandolin.
While living in India and China for several years she started to record her solo album The Season of Wild Dreams, completed in 2015. She’s also performed and recorded with the Al Start Band, including a foray into the world of children’s music.
Back in Sussex, Deb continues to play with Carol in their duo The Slow-Down Sisters and is really excited about the formation of The Cheer Up Mollys, returning to play with Seffy, and also playing with Ann and Emily in this exciting new line up.
Ann Borg
Vocals, glockenspiel, percussion
A musician since an early age, Ann rediscovered her love of making music in recent years as a member of several choirs, including the Martlets Hospice Good Vibrations Choir which she set up and now coordinates with musical director Aneesa Chaudhry.
After working out a few numbers with Seffy to perform at one of Deb and Carol’s Cabin Sessions, she realised how much she enjoyed singing and creating harmonies, and she’s super excited to be a Molly!
A musician since an early age, Ann rediscovered her love of making music in recent years as a member of several choirs, including the Martlets Hospice Good Vibrations Choir which she set up and now coordinates with musical director Aneesa Chaudhry.
After working out a few numbers with Seffy to perform at one of Deb and Carol’s Cabin Sessions, she realised how much she enjoyed singing and creating harmonies, and she’s super excited to be a Molly!
Seffy
Ukulele, guitar, vocals, percussion
With influences from classic seventies folk to nineties female singer-songwriters with a smattering of indie, rock and eighties pop along the way, Seffy started her musical adventures as a teenager in bands such as The Tide and The Ricochet Lemons. Through the 90s she gigged as a singer-songwriter in Brighton, often joined by Deb and Carol, and played in Nobody’s Sure About Lucy and Kaboodle. Taking a backstage role she formed Lone Coyote Productions, promoting regular acoustic nights and festivals.
These days Seffy can often be seen playing with Brighton 9-woman ukulele and vocal harmony band, Qukulele. With the Mollys she's enjoying rediscovering her folk influences and reclaiming the uke as a 'serious' instrument. Indeed.
With influences from classic seventies folk to nineties female singer-songwriters with a smattering of indie, rock and eighties pop along the way, Seffy started her musical adventures as a teenager in bands such as The Tide and The Ricochet Lemons. Through the 90s she gigged as a singer-songwriter in Brighton, often joined by Deb and Carol, and played in Nobody’s Sure About Lucy and Kaboodle. Taking a backstage role she formed Lone Coyote Productions, promoting regular acoustic nights and festivals.
These days Seffy can often be seen playing with Brighton 9-woman ukulele and vocal harmony band, Qukulele. With the Mollys she's enjoying rediscovering her folk influences and reclaiming the uke as a 'serious' instrument. Indeed.
Stephanie Shorey
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Bass
Stephie started playing bass at the age of 14 in a school band playing folk music. She then drifted into the pop music of the day playing in 2 or 3 different bands. In her mid-20s she moved to the Shetland Islands and gave up playing bass in favour of guitar. Back in England, a couple of decades on, she joined a blues band, Sweet Hove Chicago, playing at many of Brighton’s music venues, including the Brunswick, the Prince Albert and the Island. In 2009 she did a two-year full time jazz course at Chichester College. Since then she has met many fine musicians.
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EMILY JOHNSON
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Bass, vocals
Emily, Carol’s daughter, is a part-time Molly and you'll see her joining us as a dep from time to time. She grew up in Finland in a musical family; her father Ant is a jazz violinist and guitarist so she was immersed in music from a young age. She currently lives in Brighton where she is active in a number of bands including Carnival Collective, Kovak and The Al Start Band. She also studies jazz at Chichester College. |
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molly
Purrs, meows
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