Dave Whetstone has been on the cutting edge of British folk music since the mid-'70s when he performed with Hemlock, a group featuring his future Cock Bull Band bandmates Paul Martin and Brad Bradstock. Whetstone continued to play with Martin and Bradstock in the 1978 offshoot the Hemlock Cock Bull Band and, joined by Jean Pierre Rasle, in the Cock Bull Band. An extremely melodic accordionist, his playing played a major role in the band's debut album, All Buttoned Up, reaching the folk charts compiled by Melody Maker. A subsequent two-year merger between the Cock Bull Band and the Albion Band resulted in the memorable 1985 album Eyes Closed Rocking. Whetstone, who left the Cock Bull Band in 1985, was a founding member of Waz, a British folk band he shared with ex-Fairport Convention multi-instrumentalist Martin Allcock and bassist, woodwind player, percussionist, and vocalist Pete Zorn. His playing helped transform the trio's self-titled 1998 debut album into a groundbreaking event. Leaving the group shortly afterwards, his place was taken by British guitar wiz Steve Tilston. Several of Whetstone's original songs -- Rhythm of the Time, Red and Gold, and The Five Seasons -- were covered by Fairport Convention. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi