Fay Brotherhood
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, songwriter.
Fay Brotherhood is a folk, prog and musical theatre inspired singer/song writer, guitarist from Leicestershire, living in Hertfordshire.
Performing regularly in at school, Fay practiced her vocals singing to the likes of Pat Benetar, Annie Lennox and the Beatles At 14, Fay taught herself to play guitar. Soon after she began writing songs.
At this time her music teacher pointed out her natural folk voice, prompting her to explore the genre and incorporate Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Melanie and Pentangle into her influences. She was further influenced by Tori Amos, Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, early Floyd and all the other wonderful 60’s/70’s prog and classic rock acts her parents were introducing her to going on to study perfroming art.
Fay has continued performing as a solo folk act, soloist and at folk, fairy and pagan festivals and performs regularly at Avebury stone circle.
Fay has four albums (available on bandcamp).
Fay is a professional ecologist and bat worker. Her interests often inspires her song writing, with its themes of nature, local legends and paganism and work as an accomplished fine artist.
Baz Cilia
Bass player and Vocalist and songwriter.
Having once retired from a successful kickboxing career,( now running a very successful Bracknell Kickboxing Club) and looking to replace the hole martial arts left, Baz threw his energy into learning the bass.
Together with his wife Maxine he was part of the covers band Hot Machero and then Stone Jesters which eventually led on to forming Spriggan Mist in 2008.
Over the years Baz has progressed from the back line and in the shake up of band members in 2011 took on more of the singing duties and has written and co written some of the Sprig’s songs including award winning " Polyphemus."
Ever enthusiastic and always driven, this reflects in Baz’s energetic stage performance!
Maxine Cilia
Guitarist, saxophonist, woodwind, vocals and songwriter
Max has had a passion for music since an early age. Her Dad used to bring home all different instruments for her to try out, such as a piano accordion , a Mandolin Banjo and whistles and wind instruments building her large repertoire of playing all kinds of instruments. Playing both traditional and classical music throughout her teens & performing in Orchestra’s and Big Band’s and in musicals, her passion was always to write and record songs. After playing Sax in a college Motown Band, Max had a huge break from playing music. She was encouraged to start playing the sax and electric guitar again by husband Baz. This lead to the formation of the covers bands Hot Machero and Stone Jesters & then her own compositions started to emerge.... & Spriggan Mist . Max still has a great passion for unusual instruments and writing songs about life & spirit !
The music Max composes is the heart of Spriggan Mist!
In 2019 Maxine Cilia released her first CD, called Be Curious. This was very well received and was recorded in Spriggan Promotions Studio with the help of her son Aaron Cilia - Sound Engineer and musician.
Neil Wighton
Guitarist, and songwriter
Neil hails from the land of the Beatles and other such
musical wizardry. Playing guitar from the age of 10 he had to have it surgically removed from around his neck in his late teens for a career in the Power Industry.
He learnt his trade playing in bands in pubs and venues on the Wirral and in Liverpool. He was taught
Classical Guitar by a gifted musician Chris Glassfield who went on to win the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Guitarist in the mid eighties asking Neil to takeover from him in his Jazz Rock band, called “Oasis” (no connection) .Neil chose his
Electrical Power Engineer career . Settling in Berkshire in the mid 90's he joined the rock band “Hang Fire” who enjoyed a number of years of local popularity mainly SE area. It was around this time that he became one of the first students at Guildford’s ACM, where he enrolled on the Guitar course. Since then Neil then joinedSpriggan Mist.
Neil’s early influences include Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix,
Rory Gallagher and Jan Ackerman of Focus (anyone
remember Sylvia). In the 90’s he discovered artists like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen and since then has had the overwhelming desire to widdle in public. More
recently John Petrucci and Guthrie Govan have given him
huge inspiration. Neil’s a rocker at heart with more than a
dash of Prog in the mix and a twist of Folk for good
measure.
As a writer and composer of songs and music Neil blends in well with the madness of Spriggan Mist!
Ali Soueidan
Drummer
Ali has recently joined Spriggan Mist full timr after joining as a Dep for two gigs. He fits with the madness well!
Ali, has grown up in south Hampshire, England. As a keen sportsman is his youngeryears, boxing and playing football, Ali started drumming lessons age 15 . His first pub gig was aged 16 with a college band!
Many things have influenced his drumming, including being half Lebanese, growing up listening to Lebanese drumming and the ‘dabkey’.
Ali was heavily influenced by many drummers such as Mike Wengren- from the band Disturbed, John Dolmayan of System of a down, Tre Cool from Greenday, and Clive Burr from Iron Maiden to name a few.
Ali played for a heavy sounding Bracknell based band, ‘The Whisky Knights’, and gained experience in pubs playing for covers band. He remains in side project, the drummer for a funky rap/metal band ‘The Final Clause Of Tacitus’ , who for various reasons have had a pause in 2024 from gigs. Ali says ‘I love playing fat back beats’ and he has a hard and powerful drumming style.
Gear: Pearl Reference one drum kit
Pearl hybrid exotic kapur/fiberglass snare drum.
Zildjian cymbals.
