The Start

We play a mashup of music, both new and old, with a British theme. A lot of 80s classics, mixed in with the odd Beatle or Kinks classic, along with some newer hits of today.

The Start was created in 2009 out of a shared love of British music. Whether they were born there, lived there or have simply visited, The Start's members have all found common ground in the sounds of the UK.

Graeme Weeks – Vocals, guitar
Graeme was born & raised in Essex, East London & played in some of the toughest venues in front of some of the roughest crowds in London! Arriving in Canada, firstly Quebec and now Ottawa, he’s sung & played in numerous outfits including the much-travelled The Jet 200s before finally finding a home when he founded The Start.

David Little – Lead Guitar
Having lived in the UK, this former web guru finds a home in The Start with his punk and indie-influenced guitar work. David started playing guitar in the late 80s (new wave and punk) and moved to Halifax to take part in the early grunge/indie explosion in 1992 (Who remember's The Double Deuce and The Flamingo?). He's been in a variety of bands here in Ottawa until the late 90s, and after a ten year hiatus, he's back to his English roots with The Start. In true British fashion, when his amp is not cranked to 11, he can be found puttering in his garden and drinking copious amounts of tea.

Nathan Hoedeman – Percussion
Nathan, a former soccer mate of Graeme's, spent his teenage years in Glengarry County, a region renowned for the Highland Games, caber tossing, kilt wearing, scotch drinking, soccer playing and British music! Countless hours of being exposed to the popular British invasion hits of the 70-80-90's from The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Clash, The Stones, The Jam, The Knack and Led Zepplin, fueled his passion for British music, especially for the RnB infused songs that get people up and grooving away. Nathan's motto is simple: Life's too short, get on the dance floor already!

Liviu Pavel - Bass Guitar
Born and raised in Romania, Liviu started playing bass at weddings and clubs at the age of 16. Since then, he has travelled the world, performing in the show bands of luxury cruise ships; playing bass for albums recorded in Romania, Spain and Canada; providing funky bass lines for TV shows, music videos and stages across Europe; and touring with superstar Elena Gheorghe.
Liviu's musical style is a combination of pop, funk and jazz in which he plays both bass and double bass. His biggest influence? "Just good music."

Marianne Dumas - Keyboards
Marianne Dumas' musical path started as a drummer and percussion player, but realized that the best possible medium to link rhythm, melody and harmony would be the piano. Marianne pursued her musical studies in Pop-Jazz piano at the CEGEP. After perfecting her technique with Luc Beaugrand from U.D.M, she came back to Gatineau to involve herself in different projects (Destiny, Sans Foulard, YAO, Les Mosquitos, BillyLoveBand) that allowed her to discover the programming of keyboards, sound creation, and developing her live playing experience.