| May
2008 |
29th May There is a video of the Down Trodden String Band performing in the BBC Radio Nottingham studio after they did the Mick Smith country show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ol7kQNkoU ************************************* Bill Skelson will be on his summer holidays cruising the River Avon and River Severn on his 60 ft narrow boat, from June 7 till June 29 - it is his intention to stop at The Wharf at Holt Fleet for the weekend of 21 & 22 June - anyone fancy coming along for a picking weekend? This is the venue for the Bluegrass Tel Fest and he knows in the past some FOAOTMAD members have attended this festival. (The Festival was the other weekend by the way). There is camping at this site. ************************************* People going to the Catthorpe picking weekend on 27th - 29th June 2008 need to ring Phil the pub landlord on 01788 860430 to book a tent space behind the pub or to contact the site for caravans and campers 100yds down the road. Pennie can't do this! Also ring Phil if you are going as he needs to know how many loos to book in! THERE IS A BEER FESTIVAL AGAIN!' Otherwise enquiries by ************************************* The second UK Autoharp Day of 2008 is on Saturday 5th July and is being held in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, at the Goring Community Centre, Station Rd, Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire, RG8 9ES. The day’s workshops will be followed by the A.G.M., which they hope UKA members will attend. The programme will cater for all levels of player from the absolute beginner to the more advanced. There will be loaner harps available if you need one, and non members are welcome at the event. Alec Anness (www.alecanness.co.uk) has kindly agreed to be Mr Fix-It for anyone with a minor problem with their harp. Other instruments are always very welcome both in the Workshop sessions and for the Open Stage, and non players often return from a day out in the area to the concert. Goring on Thames is on the borders of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, with Reading and the M4 about 10 miles south and Oxford with the M40/A34 16 miles to the north. Goring and Streatley Parkway Station is ¼ mile from the venue and is on the main Oxford to Reading line. Directions, plus railway station details and an accommodation list will be sent to you. If you need further local information please contact Rebecca Joisce on 01491 875333. Tea, coffee and cold drinks will be available at all times. * The Community Centre is in the centre of the village close to shops, a cafe and pubs. A raffle for club funds will be run, and contributions of prizes will be much appreciated. To reserve your place, please complete the booking form which is on the UKA website, www.ukautoharps.org.uk and send it to: Rebecca Joisce, Ashcote House, Streatley Hill, Streatley Berkshire RG8 9RD. ************************************** The Whitetop Mountain Band is a family-based band from the highest mountains of Virginia. Whitetop, Virginia is an area rich in the old time music tradition; this band has deep roots in mountain music. The members have done much to preserve the Whitetop region’s style of old time fiddling and banjo picking. The band originated with Albert Hash in the 1940s and in the 1970s he was joined by his brother-in-law, Thornton Spencer and his wife, Emily Spencer. The current line-up is Thornton, Emily, daughter Martha, Jackson Cunningham, Spencer Pennington and Debbie Bramer. Between them they play fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass and most of them are involved in clogging and dance. http://whitetopmountainband.tripod.com/index.html Sept 11 Islington Folk Club, London Sept 12 Bluegrass Plus Club, Coulsdon Sept 13 Linlithgow Folk Festival, nr Edinburgh Sept 14 Laurie's Bar, Glasgow Sept 15 Ex-Servicemans Club, Helsby, nr Chester Sept 16 Wildwood Mountain Music Club, South Molton, Devon Sept 18 Acousticart, St. Ives, Cornwall Sept 19-21 Cornish Bluegrass Festival, Newquay, Cornwall Sept 23 venue TBC, Pembrokeshire, Wales Sept 24 Square and Compass (TBC) Worth Matravers, Swanage Sept 25 Bournemouth Folk Club, Bournemouth Sept 26 Special event Milford, (Surrey?) Sept 27 Cellar Upstairs, London ************************************** 22nd May Keith and Cathy would like to thank everyone who helped make their wedding at the FOAOTMAD Sewerby weekend a special day. Special thanks go to John Yeaman, who made it all possible, Pete Budd for a scrummy orange cake, and the 'orchestra' that provided the music. They now have some pictures on their website, courtesy of Gary Morrison: www.keithandcathy.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk A plea to friends who took pictures on the day - they'd be really happy if you emailed the nice ones (full size please) to them. There is a link on the website for this. They'll then add them to the web page. ************************************* The homeless Taunton session is homeless no longer. As of Tuesday May 27th they meet fortnightly at the Lamb and Flag, Blagdon Hill. ************************************* Crabshell Concert #10 - JEFF WARNER (USA) Sunday 1st June, 8.00pm. Tickets are £8.00 on the door or £6.00 in advance from the Bar or booked from Neil White on 01548 856 601 for more about Crabshell Inn music, follow the links at www.kebc.co.uk Neil White reports... Having sold out 7 of the previous 9 concerts in the Crabshell traditional music series in advance (and done well with the other two), with only two weeks to go we've only taken 8 reservations for Jeff Warner. Usually, by this stage we'd have sold most of the seats. We need to have enough bookings by Sunday 25th May to be sure it'll be worthwhile for Jeff. Otherwise, to be fair to him (and his petrol bill), we shall have to cancel. Many of you will recall being delighted by Jeff last May (yes, he's the one with the dancing doll!) and this is his only westcountry gig on this tour. Do let Neil know if something has put you off this time: cost, concerts too frequent, poor publicity, competition; or have we just picked a date when you're all on holiday? Thanks to those six regulars who have already let me know that they can't come this time. TO GET THERE - find Kingsbridge in south Devon, then take the clearly signed road towards Dartmouth (A379) with the Estuary on your right for about 600 yards. The Crabshell is part of the first group of buildings you'll come to on your right. By the Crabshell sign, turn right into the pub's (free) quayside car park. THE CRABSHELL does food - full menu available from 6.00pm from about £6.50 upwards. To book a table, telephone the pub on 01548 85 2345 ACCOMMODATION: phone Neil 01548 856 601 for a Kingsbridge area list. Next Crabshell Concert Sunday, 8.00pm, 5th October: Debby McClatchy (USA) solo this time by popular request. p.s. Neil keeps his email away from spammers - if you wish to email him reply to this and I will forward it. Nick ************************************** Dave Dry is doing a report on the Sewerby weekend for the Old Time News but is short of photos of the dancers as he was playing for them all the time. If anyone took any good shots of the dancers could you send them to him as j-pegs in medium format with view to publication in OTN.
************************************** The May 2008 edition of Worlds of Trad Internet radio is now uploaded, will be on-line until Wednesday June 11th, and features three hours of the very best in traditional folk, ethnic, world, roots, blues, old time country and early jazz; in fact traditional music from absolutely everywhere. This month there's several tracks from recent Cds by Sara Grey, Kieron Means and the Downtrodden String Band. And these splendid country pickers are further enhanced by Dwight Diller and the Dixon Brothers. To listen to the programme, go to http://www.live365.com/stations/oneworldmusic , and click on the yellow speaker button If you haven’t listened before you’ll need to follow the onscreen instructions to download the station player Then wait a moment for the ads to clear, press the green PLAY button and the station will be on the air. The programme is a minimum of 3 hours long and it’s on a 24/7 continuous loop, so you can pick it up at any time and hear the whole show right through. What’s more, the music is great, listening is free and they are always glad to receive requests. ************************************** NEW! Foghorn Duo Album "Lonesome Song!" Stephen "Sammy" Lind and Caleb Klauder of the Foghorn String Band are releasing a new cd. The album is a good cross section of the music that they have been playing for the last seven years, both with and without Foghorn. The CD will shortly be available at CD Baby, County Sales, Elderly Music. For more information go to www.myspace.com/foghornduo ************************************** If you like Cajun Music, the new CAJUN COMPANY cd, "LA PRAIRIE RONDE" (producer Dirk Powell) is now out. If by chance you are in Amsterdam, Netherlands, there's a cd release party at Paradiso on Sunday, June 1st. Doors open: 15.00, Concert: 16.00. Admission: 10 Euro. If you want to make reservations, check: http://www.paradiso.nl Information about the band and the new CD: http://cajuncompany.net ************************************** Colm Daly found a couple more clips of The Chocolate Drops: also more old-time at http://blip.tv/search/?topic_name=old-time%20music and for a laugh ************************************** Don't forget the HOSPICE HOOTENANNY! Saturday, 14 June 2008 commencing with an American Shapenote Singing Workshop by the lovely Cathy Tyler, then an Old Time/Bluegrass/American Roots Session at a local pub in Torrington (the Black Horse), finishing with an amazing concert from 7 pm, featuring Kate Lissauer & the Buffalo Gals, Cloudy in the West, the Carrivick Sisters and not forgetting, the Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys. What a night this will be! Don't miss this charity event, raising funds for the North Devon Hospice. Get your tickets soon as we have been told by The Plough Arts Centre (Box Office 01805 624624) that they are selling fast! Check out their site for ticket prices, etc at www.plough-arts.org/ ************************************** Here's a couple of interesting releases from Robert Webb who not not only is highly rated as a shantyman and singer of seasong but also includes a health mix of old time in his repertoire. He is also the author of Ring The Banjar!: The Banjo in America from Folklore to Factory "From Salthouse Dock" - Bob Webb with Stormalong John and “Shanty Jack”. A digital remastering of a 1995 recording this CD includes both popular and unusual shanties sung a capella, plus mainhatch songs accompanied on concertina, accordion, bones,and fretless minstrel-style five-string banjo. And - perhaps more interesting to us Waiting for Nancy: Old-Time Country Duets - Curt Bouterse & Bob Webb This long-awaited album celebrates the music of two friends who have played traditional American folk songs together for four decades. Curt Bouterse is a pioneer of the hammered dulcimer, the first musician in the American west to adapt fiddle tunes to the instrument. He is also known for making and playing fretless “banjers.” Curt Bouterse is also the composer of 'Waiting For Nancy' which many of us play. Vocal and instrumental music accompanied on hammered dulcimer, MacCann-duetconcertina, fretless and gourd banjos, khaen, autoharp, guitar and Jew’s harp: Sweet Sunny South, Otto Wood, Mississippi Sawyers, I Only Want a Buddy, A Long Time Ago, Gypsum Davey, plus Curt’s own Waiting for Nancy and nine more. Purchase on line (Paypal accepted) at www.richmondwebb.com *************************************** There's a brand new exciting website up and running for Going To The West Fest! Please take a look at it: www.goingtothewestfest.com It probably has a number of errors on it at the moment - feel free to inform them. If any of you have links you would like added to the links page / events to the events page let them know. Also the tickets are now printed, so for those of you who have sent cheques you can expect them in the post imminently! For any of you who haven't yet bought tickets and would like to, a reminder of the address: PEMS, 14 Courtyard Flats, Stackpole, Pembroke, SA71 5DE. Weekend ticket: £27.50 (£21 concession, £65 family of 2 adults plus children) Evening ticket for Friday or Saturday: £8.50 (£6 concession, £20 family) Please enclose a SAE if you can. Jo and Jackie look forward to seeing some of the Pembrokeshire locals at Fishguard Folk Festival this weekend! (don't forget, Beverly Smith & Carl Jones will be there too). **************************************** Crooked Still are on tour in the UK and Ireland. May 30 Glasgow Americana Festival Glasgow May 31 Jumpin' Hot Club Newcastle June 1 Glor Ennis, Co. Clare June 2 Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co.Cork June 3 De Barras Clonakilty, Co. Cork June 5 The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim June 6 The Cherry Tree, Dublin June 7 The Crane Bar, Galway June 8 The Crane Bar,, Galway June 9 Dolans, Limerick 15th May Bruce Greene interview on BBC radio - if you are quick you ought to be able to 'listen again' to this although as it is the last of the series it may stay there a little longer. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 and somewhere top left is 'listen again'. That takes you to a page with an alpha index. Select M and look near the end for Musical Migrants. You can then listen to the program, either with the built in BBC player or using Real Player. It's about 14 minutes. ************************************** There's a session at The Bar Deux, Sherwood Rise, Nottingham on Mondays at 8:30. Contact 01273 475401 or ************************************** Kitchen Taps cloggers of Otley, West Yorks. meet on alternate Saturdays at Clifton Church Hall. More details 01943 465342 ************************************** The Down Trodden String Band have solved the replacement venue issue for the New Deal String Band - they will now play the Devonshire Arms, Baslow (near Chesterfield) on Sat 7th June instead of Sun 8th - so they now have a little 2 night northern tour! Extra diary date for the DTSB - they'll be playing as part of the Nottingham City Pulse Festival, Mon May 26th. They're on, together with the Kittyhawks, at the Robin Hood Statue, by the castle - the whole show is from 12.30-4.30. Details on www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/ ************************************** May 30-June 1, Friday-Sunday, there will be a 'Picking and Teaching Session' in Wadebridge, with Kate Lissauer and John Whelan as guest teachers. In a mill house looking out over the Camel Estuary, you will be well looked after with home grown food, sea breezes and lots of music. They invite folk, not big numbers, to come along to play during the day and have whatever one-to-ones or group sessions they wish to arrange, and then a barbecue and play in the evening, outside if the weather allows, or they have various good places for sessions, including a Victorian railway waiting room that has exceptional acoustics and a very good view. Carhart Mill, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7HZ. For further information, fees etc, contact Stephen Frankel , 01208-816818 *************************************** Debby McCatchy's Autumn Tour Aug 29-31 Fylde Folk Festival, Fleetwood, Lancs Sept 1 Sedbergh Village Hall, Cumbria Sept 5 Heart of England Bluegrass Club, Stockport Sept 6-7 North Devon Music Festival, Ilfracombe Sept 12-14 Sweet Sunny South Festival, Hastings Sept 14 Walthamstow Folk Club, NE London Sept 28 Sproughton Folk Club, Ipswich, Suffolk Sept 30 Dartford Folk Club, E London Oct 4 Western Hotel, St. Ives, Cornwall Oct 5 The Crabshell Inn, Kingsbridge, Devon For further info contact Emerging Music at 01237 451 933 or www.emergingmusic.co.uk 8th May Kay Stamper has put one of Art's fiddles up for sale. She wants it to be played by somebody who really loves his fiddling. It started from 1st May and will end 11th May. If you are interested, please check ebay. As I write it's at $1200 ************************************** Dana and Susan Rbinson are on tour May 7, Chanticleer Folk Club, Dorking May 8, Folk at the Oak - The Royal Oak Corsham May 10 Nova Scotia Folk Club Bristol May 11 Twickenham Folk Club, Cabbage Patch, Twickenham May 12 Tudor Folk Club Chesham May 13 Dartford Folk Club, Working Man's Club Dartford May 15 Folk at the Royal Oak, Lewes May 16 Bacca Pipes Folk Club, Ukranian Club, Keighley May 17 Davy Lamp Folk Club, Washington Arts Centre, Fatfield May 18 Guisborough Folk Club, Guisborough May 19 Colchester Folk Club, Arts Centre, Colchester May 20 Brown Cow Folk Club Mansfield May 22 Black Swan Folk Club, York May 23 Brewtown Folk Club, Old Cottage Tavern, Burton On Trent May 24 Red Lion Folk Club, Birmingham May 25 Cleethorpes Festival, Cleethorpes May 27 Leith Folk Club, Edinburgh May 29 The Acoustic Music Club, Kirkcaldy Jun 14 Gower Festival, Heritage Centre ************************************** Clarke Buehling or The Skirtlifters is making plans for a short UK tour coming up this summer. He has have room to add a few events at either end of the schedule but must buy his plane tickets soon. Here's what he currently has: June 27 Dog & Partridge, Bollington. 28-29 Bath Banjo Festival 30 OPEN DATE July 1 Banjo workshop/concert at Fiddlers Green, Leicester. 2 Rainham Oast Folk Club, Kent 3 OPEN DATE 4 Spa Hotel, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. His program includes several antique styles of playing the 5-string banjo. These include mountain, minstrel, ragtime and maybe some light classical peppered with humorous songs, monologues and a little history. If you are able to help, please contact him at buehlingbanjo@pocketmail.com but please note that (from memory) pocketmail is not designed for lengthy email texts - keep it short and sweet! www.playprettyproductions.com may be found gracing YouTube at times. ************************************** Down Trodden String Bnd news... The Peak Village dates are now ALL off! The centre has decided to cut back on expenditure Because of this they are trying to find a booking for the New Deal String Band on Sat 7th June - they are booked for Friday evening at the Tom Travis bluegrass club in Stockport and Sunday at the Devonshire Arms - and need a Saturday evening to make the trip worthwhile ************************************** Another Carolina Chocolate Drops clip at http://blip.tv/file/171508 A bit better quality than Youtube and a couple of minutes of Doc Watson at *************************************** Next session at the Walnut Tree Inn, Blisworth, Northants is May 19th, 8.00pm start Contact Andrew Metcalfe Next Country and Bluegrass Session at the DownUnder Bar, Wellingborough Road Northampton will be 7th May. Contact Richard Loeber *************************************** JEFF WARNER AT THE CRABSHELL INN, KINGSBRIDGE Sunday 1st June, 8.00pm. Tickets are £8.00 on the door or £6.00 in advance from the Bar or booked from Neil White on 01548 856 601 more info at www.kebc.co.uk Jeff Warner delighted a Crabshell audience last May. He’s the son of the eminent collectors of early American music, Anne and Frank Warner, and continues to expand and build on their work. He has a most engaging and warm stage presence and is a very fine interpreter of the old songs. He’ll be playing banjo, guitar and concertina, and watch out for that dancing doll too! TO GET THERE - find Kingsbridge in south Devon, then take the clearly signed road towards Dartmouth (A379) with the Estuary on your right for about 600 yards. The Crabshell is part of the first group of buildings you'll come to on your right. By the Crabshell sign, turn right into the pub's (free) quayside car park (overflow parking opposite}. If you're coming by boat, high tide is at 10.45pm. THE CRABSHELL does food - full menu available from 6.00pm from about £6.50 upwards. To book a table, telephone the pub on 01548 85 2345 ACCOMMODATION: call Neil for a Kingsbridge area list. Next Crabshell concert Sunday, 8.00pm, 5th October: Debby McClatchy (USA) solo this time by popular request. *************************************** For sale: Fairbanks Vega Whyte Laydie conversion by Kevin Enoch. Original 1922 "style R" pot 11 13/16" dia. with original wood dowel stick. Serial no. 49915. Two piece maple neck with ivoroid binding, scale length 26 ¼". Engraved diamond position markers with star at 5th fret. Beautifully carved heel with engraved inlay on ebony heel cap. Engraved "Warthog Gryphon" on headstock. Fiberskyn head. No Knot tailpiece. Built in 1969 for Kevin's personal use. Recently refretted. Hard shell case. Photos at http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i179/davidmarshall_photos/whyte%20laydie/ Location Farnborough , Hampshire, England $3500 or £1850. Contact: David Marshall, tel 01252 657609 Dave will be taking it to Spring camp in case there is any interest. *************************************** The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Our gigs for May to July 2008 are listed below. May Thu 8th Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5A6 Sat 10th Blackheath Halls, 23 Lee Road, London, SE3 9RQ Thu 15th Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 7AY Sat 24th Tewkesbury Festival,The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 5NX Sun 25th The Stables Theatre, Wavendon, Milton Keynes MK17 8LU June Sun 1st The Guardian Hay Festival, Hay-On-Wye Thu 19th Bacon Theatre, Dean Close School, Cheltenham, GL51 6HE Fri 20th Grassington Town Hall, Skipton, N. Yorks. BD23 5AU Sat 21st Ashbourne Arts Festival, Queen Elizabeth School, Ashbourne DerbyShire, DE6 1EP Sun 22nd Beverley Folk Festival, Beverley, East Yorkshire Mon 23rd Ludlow Festival, St. Laurence's Parish Church, Shropshire, SY8 1AN July Fri 4th Framlingham Festival, Porter Theatre, Framlingham, Suffolk, IP13 9EY Sat 5th Lichfield Festival. Sat 12th Civic Centre, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 1UF Sun 13th Worthing Pavillion, Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3PX Thu 17th Deal Festival of Music and The Arts Fri 18th Cambridge Summer Music Festival, Guildhall, Cambridge. Sat 19th Oundle International Festival, Oundle, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, PE84 Sun 20th Brampton Live Festival, William Howard Centre, Brampton, Carlisle 3rd May Beverly Smith and Carl Jones Workshop - New Radnor (25 miles from Hereford). Nigel Dodman is planning a close-harmony workshop for Sunday 18th May. Please ring him on 01544 350407. |