Warren (Wozza) Mee

Playing the part of Rick Buckler

At what age did you start playing the drums? 

My mum and dad bought me a drum kit, a faded opaque, cream coloured 4 piece Edgware Boosy& Hawkes kit, with one bass drum mounted cymbal for my joint 12th birthday / Xmas present….. and it’s the best present I’ve ever had!!!

Musical influences

I was first inspired to play the drums when I heard / saw Adam and The Ants!! I was completely fascinated by the tribal like rhythms and the fact they had two drummers. However, once I started playing, I used to love a bit of metal and funk (and later grunge) and was hugely influenced by Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Mudhoney, Nirvana and The Red Hot Chili Peppers…… although I loved The Jam and for a good period of time, I used to play along to every song on the SNAP cassette on returning home from school each day!!

What attracted you to The Jam?

The older lads at the cricket club, where I pretty much spent my childhood, used to always play The Jam on the jukebox, and I thought they were cool and I wanted to be like them….. so I kind’ve got into it that way….. but I grew really keen on all of the songs and lyrics. I was just that bit too young to see them live and they’d split up by the time I was 9.

What other bands have you been in? 

These will be meaningless but some of my fave bands I’ve been in over the years are Mind Over Matter, Mosschops, Positively Negative, Dirty Sandwich, Great Imitation, Kid Ego, Maximum Jam, The 45’s and the Red Mock Chili Peppers

Where did you grow up / live? 

I was born in Leicester, grew up in Ibstock (centre of the earth!!) and have lived in Ashby de la Zouch since 2011

What’s your greatest Jam memory? 

Seeing them on TOTP’s playing Eton Rifles!!! I was in complete awe!!

How did you end up in Band Called Malice?

I was already playing for a Jam trib called Maximum Jam and depping for the drummer of a Foo Fighters tribute band at Fake Festivals and got chatting to their manager, who was looking to put a new Jam tribute together with Andy. She spoke to Andy after seeing if I’d be interested, and Andy called me up and I joined!

Did u know any of your band mates before joining? 

I knew our bassist, Matt, as I train with him at the same gym in ADLZ. He depped for my previous Jam trib a couple of times and we had to drastically up our game, as he wore the suit and knew the songs better than us!!

Do u have any memorable / funny stories from your time in A Band Called Malice

Every journey to a gig in the van is a funny story, whether its Matt consistently telling me to turn left when he means right and then asking why I turned left, Chris pretending to be Freddie Mercury or having in depth conversations with Steve about paint markings on sheep. We also love to wind Andy up during sound checks. But one of my favourite gig memories is seeing a big, 60 year old bloke stage dive at The Fleece in Bristol. The people below him were fearing for their lives!!

What’s your most memorable musical achievement / highlight

My greatest musical achievement is opening my own musical school / rehearsal studio, after taking the risk to quit a good career as a Quantity Surveyor to do something I loved. It’s so fulfilling to teach others and see them progress as drummers and get the best out of them.

Gig wise, I used to be part of audience and look at the band and think I’d do anything to play on that stage, and now I’ve ticked off quite a lot of them, and it feels great to be up there.

I don’t have a particular favourite gig, but some that really stand out for me are playing Carnaby Street outside the Lambretta shop; selling out Half Moon Putney on the first gig we played; playing The Flowerpot in Derby which is quite local to me and a venue I always wanted to perform at; the Scotland trips (great laugh) and playing Malta about 5 times when I was in the Red Mock Chili Peppers.