ALMOST FAMOUS

Based in Cape Town

‘This band is energetic, fun and most of all…talented. With a perfect mix of professionalism, experience and youth they are designed for success, engineered for accomplishment and endowed with the seeds of greatness’ – Chad Saaiman

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‘ALMOST FAMOUS’ is a funky, dynamic, slick and extremely well polished professional 5-piece outfit from Cape Town. Their diverse and well thought out repertoire is currently creating quite a stir in the Western Cape’s corporate market. The bands motto ‘let us entertain you’ stands true when you watch this fun-loving and energetic act explode. 

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’ focuses exclusively on performing at corporate functions product launches, conferences and special functions including weddings and birthday parties. Their chemistry and presence on stage is unstoppable and comes alive as they take their audiences down memory lane performing all the well-known party hits from past to present. With a very versatile repertoire consisting of songs from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s 90’s as well as some current hits there is something for everyone to enjoy.

All the musicians that form part of ‘ALMOST FAMOUS’ have many years of experience in the music industry and are dedicated to their art form and love entertaining their clients with a very ‘tight’ and visually vibrant show. The band always has fun on stage and their passion for interacting with their audiences is always evident as they embark on a musical journey through time, which always tends to leave the pumped up crowds chanting for more!

The band comprises of Tina Gordon and Valentino van der Schyff on lead vocals, Sean Dunn on Bass, Charles Knighton Pullin on lead guitars and Sean Nunan on drums. The powerful vocal duo of Valentino and Tina has tremendous charisma and style. Their voices compliment each other well when sharing the lead vocals in the songs, especially when performing duets. Their harmonies are strong and they have a great vibe, which audiences relate too, and they project an incredible energy on stage.

The Sean’s and Charles provide the driving rhythm section for the band. They are well seasoned musicians and this fact shines through all their music. Sean’s impeccable timing and energetic drumming combined with Charles’ melodic solos and fiery guitar riffs together with Sean’s solid bass grooves and the band’s powerful backtracks complete this ‘in your face’ star studded line up.

Tina Gordon started performing in front of live audiences at the age of 13. She is a gifted vocalist and outstanding performer that oozes charm and charisma every time she takes centre stage.  Some of her career highlights include:  Forming the all female vocal group:  “Essential”.  Their first hit single, Give me back my love, sold over 1000 units in the first week of its release. Tina has also performed live on the TV game show, Bambanani, and has done numerous radio and television interviews.  These include Intertainment Africa, an entertainment programme, which flighted on E-TV. 

Live performance credits include the Sun City Superbowl 1998, featuring guest star Austin Peck from the soapie Days of our Lives, where she performed in front of a 6000-strong audience. Tina was also a featured guest artist on O’Ryan Winter’s (who was also known for his role in the series Backstage) first album, The Dawning.  Other notable performances include the Meridian Cup Soccer Night of Stars which featured Jason Brookes, the Annual SAFA 1999 Awards alongside Mark Lottering, as well as the Millennium New year’s Eve Party at Ratanga Junction, which received rave reviews in the Metro, Die Burger, Sunday Times, Cape Argus, Cape Review as well as many of the other Cape Town local newspapers.

During the course of her illustrious singing career, Tina has performed and shared the stage with the likes of Devanti, O’Ryan Winter, Cool Funk, Black Noise, The Rockets, Frank Paco (drummer from the band Tucan Tucan), Camillo Lombard, Alistair Isabel, Brenda Fassie, Tembi, TKZ and many more. She has also performed with the Afro Cuban band, Salsa Candela, as lead female vocalist.  Together they performed alongside the likes of legendry drummer and academy award winning percussionist, Efrain Toro. “Being exposed to music all my life, I think it was inevitable that I chose music as my career” says Tina, “and I don’t think anything is more powerful, moving and rewarding than performing in front of a live audience”.  Tina believes that with all the talent, passion and dedication within the band we’d soon have to change the name to “Already Famous”.

“The chemistry between us was evident from day one and it has only increased with time. Quite a while back I was part of Mike Mc Callagh’s famous ‘80’s show’ which I thoroughly enjoyed as I have never been part of an act of that nature which had such energy and power, but that of course has faded as a distant memory since being the leading lady in ‘ALMOST FAMOUS’. I believe ‘ALMOST FAMOUS’ will become an integral part of the South African Corporate entertainment scene because of our energy, experience, talent and our constant desire to improve our show so that it remains fresh for our audiences. I also believe there is no limit to what the band can achieve because all we want to do is to make a huge positive contribution to the South African music industry.”

Valentino van der Schyff was born on May 9, 1984 into a musical family. His father was a one-man-band musician who also played for many other bands in the past. It is this musical background that would ultimately influence Valentino and encourage him to follow his passion for music and more importantly, singing.

Valentino fell in love with singing at the age of 8 and at the tender age of 9, he started performing with his dad at many pubs and clubs. The father-son duo travelled to Port Elizabeth where they stayed for 7 years, playing various gigs and building up a fan base. Moving back to Cape Town after that time, Valentino joined a band and started performing in shopping malls and coffee bars.

He finally joined Prompt (Professional Music Performance and Technology) music college. While attending Prompt, Valentino performed as part of a group at a few jazz festivals. The burgeoning, young vocalist and writer then moved on to form part of another band at the college. It was in this band that Valentino held a few months’ worth of performances at club Cinnamon. 

He has also had the amazing opportunity of opening for bands such as Virtual Jazz Reality, Tucan Tucan and Freshlyground at the Party in the Park event. Other live performances include the annual Community Chest Carnival in Cape Town, where Valentino formed part of a band last year and this year, he was the show-stopping memorable solo act of the Carnival's main evening line-up. For Valentino, the hard work of creation and practice all becomes worth it the second he steps out on stage to applause, screams and just plain appreciation of his work. He loves live shows but also understands that the real work happens off-stage and is 100% committed to making his dream come true.

When he is not writing music (which, according to Valentino, is almost all the time), Valentino follows a rigorous daily work-out routine and enjoys spending time with friends and family. However, anyone who knows him will vouch for the fact that he can always be found singing - whether at work or at home. The charismatic, passionate artist has a stage presence that few can compete with and is truly set to be one of South Africa’s greatest musical offerings. He is currently in studio recording his original album. Valentino says, “Music is my life. It was my father’s and I’ll carry on doing what I love to do until I reach the top. Never stop until you’re there.”

Charles Knighton-Pullin began playing the piano at age 8. After playing piano for about five years he decided that it was not the instrument for him. One year later (at age 13) he picked up a guitar for the first time, and has never looked back. Charles took music as a subject in high school and became so involved in it that he set off to study music at the University of Cape Town UCT. Charles has a Performers Diploma in Music (PDA) in classical guitar. He is currently teaching (just about full time) at two high schools in the Cape Town region namely Bishops High and Hershel High.

Charles has played in one cover band and various original bands since being involved in the music industry. Most notably was his involvement in a Sonja Harold’s musical production that was featured at The Grand West Casino in Cape Town. He has also appeared on Natalie Chapman's first CD release (which has been receiving regular air time on various radio stations in Johannesburg), in which he is credited for all the guitar work (acoustic and electric) as well as bass guitar.

Charles has a deep passion for what he does. It is obvious in the time and effort he has placed into moulding his craft. His practicing schedule at one point was just about 6-8 hours daily for over two years.  He cites various "guitar heroes" as his major influences including Jason Becker, Steve Vai, Michael Romeo, Yngwie Malmsteen, Reb Beach and Joe Satriani. To Charles, his love for music is not a choice, it is simply part of his genetic makeup: "Music, to me, is so rooted in my whole being, that it would be unthinkable to choose any other career. I find it to be the most challenging task I have ever attempted to take on, and the beauty is that it's one that is never ending."

Charles's musical taste ranges from Turkish folk music to death metal. "I think variety is what makes me a special guitarist. It is important to learn from as many sources as possible especially if you are in a cover band or session player." Charles has spent many years, and still is, focusing on his technique. "My main aim (starting out) was to be able to play anything I wanted or needed to." He specialises in alternate picking, economy picking, sweeping, tapping, harmonics, whammy-bar usage, legato as well as various classical right hand techniques.

Charles' thoughts on Almost Famous: "I am so blessed to be a part of this band. I have been involved in various other bands that never grabbed me the way that this one does. The chemistry, and the fact that we are all very competent musicians, is what makes me believe that this is one of those relationships that was just meant to be. We went from strangers to friends by our second rehearsal.

I love the format of this band. Having two vocalists, male and female, means that we can cover a vast amount of songs, which is a great advantage over other bands that would only have male or female vocals. Some people may criticize the use of backing tracks, but the fact remains that it just isn't plausible to have a six or seven piece band these days, there would be more mouths to feed, which means that we would have to increase our price (which isn't attractive for the client). More people on a stage doesn't necessarily translate into better entertainment. I am very blessed to play with a drummer like Sean Nunan. We think in a very similar way and it is easy to read him whilst playing. I believe this band will go very far."

Sean Nunan, founder member and brainchild of ‘ALMOST FAMOUS’ who came up with theconcept of putting together a corporate band with a difference started drumming at the age of 17 and turned professional in 1988 with a band called Shout!, which was a 5-piece pop /rock original outfit that mainly played at major festivals and varsity campus gigs around the country. The band released an EP called Guns & Games and two singles namely 'Don't Dance' and 'Reaching Out' had chart success on 5fm. The band also appeared on SABC's popular music video show 'Fast Forward'. The highlight of the bands three years together was a 6-week national tour of South Africa with the Celtic Rumours and the Psycho Reptiles on the same bill. After Shout split up at the end of 1990 Sean joined a cover band called Shy Moon. A couple of month's later Sean and guitarist Kevin Reed were approached by Brian O Shea to join Shifty Henry. Sean spent 3 very successful years with Shifty Henry, touring both locally and internationally, gigging on average 5 nights per week and also enjoyed major chart successes as well as widespread radio and television coverage in the form of interviews and personal appearances.

When Shifty Henry finally parted ways, Sean and Kevin formed the ever-popular Johannesburg cover band 'Avalanche'. Sean spent 5 years as drummer for the band before moving to Cape Town in 2000 to concentrate on teaching and fulfill his passion to become a better all round drummer, Sean also performed in a show called 'Disco Inferno' which was a tribute to the seventies disco era featuring Samantha Peo, Neil Paich and Helen Du Boir. After a successful season, which took the show around the country as well as to Namibia and Botswana, Sean re-united with Craig Parsons from Shy Moon in another cover band called 'Scandal'.

In 2002 he joined the original rock band ‘Natti Simonne’ and played with the band till 2006. The band described their music as 'chick rock' and attracted wide spread audiences of all ages. Sean is also an in demand session drummer and has performed on various albums and jingles. “ I think my strengths as a drummer are the fact that number one I grew up playing to a click track, which has helped me get a lot of regular studio work, and I am also passionate about all aspects of our art form. I am eager to learn, and Google is my best friend. I love practicing as well as performing and I want to see all SA drummers succeed. Drumming to me is journey and not a destination, and the longer you play the harder it gets!”  (How cool and frustrating is that!) An interesting observation is that Sean is one of the few left handed drummers in South Africa.