History
The Nuns originate from the town of ‘Alesham where they met as members of the Sisterhood of OccasionalAlcoholism and the Brotherhood of DespicableSmoking.
‘Alesham is a small village in the county of East Sussex, England dating back to the days of the Norman invasion and has a convent on one side of the town and a monastery on the opposite side.
The monastery is the home of the Brotherhood’s of DespicableSmoking and CardboardCreations and plays a significant part in the Nuns story.
The Nuns came into being in 2011 after several Friday evenings spent worshiping in the convents public communal out-reach rooms known as The Grenadier. Here the Sisters and Brothers would meet after Evensong to discuss and solve the troublesome problems of the day. The Sisters and one of the Brothers had a common frustration with the musical content of their daily Worship and decided they should try and develop their own musical direction.
So, Sister’s Phyllis, Martina and Kimmie met with Brother Joshua to undertake some experimental musical creation and found that their combined talents resulted in an audibly acceptable cacophony of classic rock music and the 4 Blind Nuns were born.
But why the name 4 Blind Nuns when clearly the story so far shows there are 3 Nuns and a Friar, and none of them have a sight impediment? Read on dear worshipper and the story will unfold….
The Nuns were always accompanied by Sister Jeneveve at their performances who along with Brother Pete from the Brotherhood of CardboardCreations assisted with technical issues and she effectively was the 4th Nun. In 2014 Sister Jeneveve’s previous commitments at the convent (cleaning the chicken coups) came to an end and she was free to spend more time with the band and became officially the 4th Nun.
Sister Kimmie is the bands singer providing a powerful voice to lead the rock quintet’s melodic sound. She is no longer a resident at the convent following an incident with Brother Smythe from the Brotherhood of DespicableSmoking. This resulted in the production of Novice Phoebe and Sister Kimmie was expelled as a result. However, Sister Kimmie is frequently seen in the convents public out-reach rooms The Grenadier and is happy to recall factual historical stories and offer religious guidance for the price of a pint!
Brother Funk The Monk joined the order in search of solace and peace following years of failed penance wandering in the wilderness performing in such musical quintets as Glass Ceiling and Tin Roof. However his talents as a keyboard player, guitarist and vocalist have meant he has been inducted into the Nuns and now forms an integral part as the 6th member of the group.
Brother Joshua is the youngest member of the band and is rather shy and struggles to come to terms with his commitment to the Order at his tender young age and prefers to remain quietly in the background when performing, shedding his normal robes of worship in favour of a more discreet string vest. Hence, although a significant original member of the band, the bands title makes no reference to him – “4 Blind Nuns and a slightly embarrassed Friar” had no real ring to it as a band name! Brother Joshua performs primarily on the drum kit, but occasionally and reluctantly is drawn from behind the safety of the kit to tinkle on the ivories (something which often gets him into trouble in the Monastery and results in him frequently having to partake in penance in the rectory).
Sister Martina is the bands lead guitarist and was instrumental in forming the band in 2011. Despite a brief respite from the band to undertake a pilgrimage to visit the brothers of the order of St Francis in 2014 (when Sister Harriett kindly filled the habits), Sister Martina remains a committed member of the band providing organisational skills alongside musical capabilities.
So why “Blind” in the bands title when there are no obvious sight impairment in the bands members? This relates to the “Blind” faith the band place in the belief that playing music live is essential to entertaining people and growing the musical talents of local musicians.
So if you believe in the Nuns “Blind" faith then please help keep music live by booking the band and donating to the bands most worshipful coffers!