A (band)

A (later changed to A + R) are a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, that formed in 1993. They have released four albums, and two live mini-albums.

Shortly after releasing their fourth album, Teen Dance Ordinance in 2005, the band took a hiatus. In 2007 'A' reunited for a one-off gig, and have been touring sporadically ever since, most recently with Bowling for Soup, on their October 2010 UK tour.

History

Formation, How Ace Are Buildings and A vs. Monkey Kong (1993 - 2000)

The band formed in Suffolk, England in the early 90s, as 'Grand Designs'. The band was founded by twins, Jason and Adam Perry, and their friend Mark Chapman, with bassist Stevie Swindon, and the twins' younger brother Giles Perry joining in the early 90s. The members cited their influences as: Rush, The Beach Boys, Van Halen and the Beastie Boys.

After changing their name to 'A' in 1993, and abandoning their early progressive rock-inspired sound for a more punk rock style, they signed a European recording contract with Warner Bros. Records UK in 1996 and released their debut LP How Ace Are Buildings in 1997. Also in 1997, the band briefly appeared in the music video for "Anthem" by The Wildhearts. The band found a healthy underground reception and even had a couple of low-charting singles in the UK. After the mild success brought to the band by How Ace Are Buildings, bassist Stevie Swindon decided to quit the band. He was replaced by bassist and future BBC Radio 1 Rock Show DJ Daniel P Carter. A licensing agreement for the American music market was reached with the North Carolina-based Mammoth Records. Future releases would be distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Mammoth. A second album 'A' Vs. Monkey Kong followed in 1999. The band then toured the world and enjoyed a small degree of success worldwide, especially in Germany. They released a live album, Exit Stage Right in 2000.

A band

A band may refer to:

See also

Sarcomere

A sarcomere (Greek sarx "flesh", meros "part") is the basic unit of striated muscle tissue. Skeletal muscles are composed of tubular muscle cells (myocytes called muscle fibers) which are formed in a process known as myogenesis. Muscle fibers are composed of tubular myofibrils. Myofibrils are composed of repeating sections of sarcomeres, which appear under the microscope as dark and light bands. Sarcomeres are composed of long, fibrous proteins as filaments that slide past each other when a muscle contracts or relaxes.

Two of the important proteins are myosin, which forms the thick filament, and actin, which forms the thin filament. Myosin has a long, fibrous tail and a globular head, which binds to actin. The myosin head also binds to ATP, which is the source of energy for muscle movement. Myosin can only bind to actin when the binding sites on actin are exposed by calcium ions.

Actin molecules are bound to the Z line, which forms the borders of the sarcomere. Other bands appear when the sarcomere is relaxed.

A band (radio)

The NATO A band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 0 to 250 MHz (equivalent to wavelengths between 0 and 1.2 m) during the cold war period. Since 1992 frequency allocations, allotment and assignments are in line to NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA). However, in order to identify military radio spectrum requirements, e.g. for crises management planning, training, Electronic warfare activities, or in military operations, this system is still in use.

References

A Band

The A Band are a British musical collective formed in Nottingham in the late 1980s. In 2005, The Wire compared the band's importance to that of AMM and SME, and noted their lack of musical training.

The line-up of the group has never been fixed. New members are always invited to join the band.

History

Some of the early A Band members had previously recorded material in the 1980s as Well Crucial, a group scattered across the UK and, in some cases, collaborating by post. A core of members was based in Kettering, Northamptonshire around Neil Campbell, Stewart Keith and Stream Angel, with other contributions by Richard Youngs. However, by 1990 these members had moved to Nottingham and the focus shifted there, with Well Crucial effectively ceasing to be.

The A Band itself was founded at the behest of saxophonist Vince Earimal, who required a backing band, and the unit quickly became an ever-changing, freeform improvisation unit, able to play without Earimal, who, despite eventually never performing with the band, is credited with their formation. Youngs joined upon moving to Nottingham and he recalled in The Wire (also issue 259) that Jim Plaistow and Campbell were the only constantly present members. They could number up to 18 on any given occasion. The original collective came to a halt around 1994.