SHAUN ABELA

Shaun Martin Abela was born two weeks early on 15th September 1983. He was raised in Peterborough and Malta by his parents Steven and Jean Abela and has one younger brother, Nathan, 21.

Shaun was given his first guitar aged 4 and it wasn’t long before it became clear he was born to be on stage.

“There is a photo of me aged about 5-this little skinny kid standing on the stairs in my shorts with my guitar and my dads sunglasses on, pretending to be a rock star! My mum loves to embarrass me with it all the time”, he says sheepishly.

Shaun first began to learn guitar at the age of 12 and it soon became clear that music would be his first and biggest love. He meticulously saved money from various paper rounds to afford his first electric guitar; the fire burst Gibson Standard you see today at Responds shows.

He joined his first band aged just 14 and has played in various rock bands ever since.

At 16 he left school to study music at the Guildford Academy of Contemporary Music, and upon graduation in 2003, he was offered a place at the Los Angeles Music Academy.

With his trademark fearlessness, he moved to the U.S to further his studies and returned home months later a more confident, and driven young man, determined to make his name in the music industry.

Influenced by the likes of Slash, Joe Satriani, Santana and Richie Sambora, Shaun is well known for his energetic stage presence.

Along with his role as lead guitarist in Respond, Shaun is also the driving force behind much of the bands success to date, dedicating himself to the band 24/7.

“With me it’s all or nothing. You have to be 100% committed to something and I didn’t want anything to distract me, or any of us, from the bands future” He says “I don’t want us to miss any opportunity that comes our way. If something comes along then you have to go for it because you might not ever get that chance again.”

For more information on Shaun you can visit his personal myspace here