Funny man Fat G serving up musical tonic with Burnley album launch

Lee Gizon, also known as Fat G, will launch his Seriously Silly album during a celebratory gig at Old Fashioned Traditional Barbering in Burnley on Saturday, June 1st.

The singer-songwriter's new record is a party-fuelled mash-up of 15 tracks covering fun and wacky topics, from Gameboys and cowboys to coffee and 80s' hipsters. He hopes the album will help people forget their worries and escape into the fun and excitement of the weekend.

Lee said: "‘I tell funny stories while rocking on my guitar. Stories about life and the pains and joys of it.

"I love funny situations but life is all about serious things at the moment.

"I like music that gets to your soul and film or TV shows that make you think but it's nice to make people laugh. Think Tenacious D, that kind of sound.

"You've got to care about the environment and people's feelings but on a Saturday night people should be able to just have fun and let it all out.

"That's why I decided to be tongue-in-cheek with my sound. Some people might take offence but everything is in jest."

Lee has been playing music for 20 years, from the age of around 14 to 15-years-old, when he was influenced by the likes of Blur, Oasis, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

He then discovered the Presidents of the United States of America, an alternative rock band, who inspired his love of humour in music. Today his favourite funny men are Steve Martin, Ricky Gervais and the stars of Monty Python.

In 1998 while at college, he began forming bands and went on to perform as bassist with the group, Merry Men, for a decade.

"Talking about it brings back memories," he said.

"I had this cassette of Nirvana tracks and fell in love with their sound. They were raw rock in a time of cheesy pop.

"Now music is everywhere, not just on the TV or radio. You can access it instantly on apps and Youtube.

"Back then there were just four TV programmes to listen to it on, otherwise you had to either own a record, rent it from the library or borrow it from a mate.

"There's no anticipation to hear a song today. We have all this music to hand and we're still unhappy.

"Society's changed. We're very opinionated and we want everything now, now, now."

An Evening with Fat G & Friends kicks off at the Hammerton Street barbers at 8pm.

Also starring are the ballad-playing Gray Songs, as well as rock band Element Zero, who will be offering fans a rare acoustic performance.

To find out more about Lee and his material, visit: facebook.com/fatgmusic; instagram.com/fatgmusic; or twitter.com/fatgmusic