With the newly emerged 2014 now peeping out shyly from between its pudgy fat fingers, as is customary on all leading Current Affairs channels, The Bold Parrot today briefly reflects back on 2013. A Round Macaw, if you will.
Statistics show it was one of the best BPS years, and certainly, as far as performance goes it was the best since we reformed in 2006. In a busy final flourish, we finished the year with a triumphal Christmas show at Church End Brewery Tap, and in a six-piece format. That was kind of significant, for in an earlier BPS phase, as a six-piece, fully amped-up Rock band, we had some heady moments too.
In 2013 we played several new venues as the featured guests, and at several others as part of the overall programme. We did a new Festival, in a wonderfully atmospheric setting. We introduced many new songs and resurrected some old favourites. Of the covers, "All Over Now" became an instant audience-pleaser, and "Folking Liberty" replaced the ubiquitous "Vacuum Cleaner" as the anthem.
Dave Parr and Malcolm Gurnham earned their gold badges and featured in much of what we did. At our final 2013 gig we welcomed the venerable and ancient John Meacham on concertina. During the year many other local musicians also jammed along with us. All of whom get an honourable mention on the website.
Ah! The website! We finally wrestled back custody of that, and got it back up on the Internet. Bigger, better and definitely more up to date. The old one is still whirling about somewhere in cyberspace too, like some renegade runaway asteroid, but we can as yet do nothing to halt or prevent its progress. Ignore it. It might go away.
For 2014? For us, certainly continuing the expanded instrumentation. Definitely including to perform "live" the mix of Traditional Folk, Delta Blues and Comedy/Parody. "Light and Shade" as we like to call it. "Bloody rubbish" as one or two other covetous Folk Luminaries prefer to label it. Hopefully, thinking about recording-another album perhaps? We have enough material to fill several, and most of our current set is not included on the last one.
And who knows-our 34th? 35th? attempt for Inclusion at a certain local Festival. O.k. Maybe a bridge too far that one. Hell has yet to freeze over. January 2014 will be quieter for us than usual due to some other commitments, although you can expect to see some individual band members doing solo spots in the usual places. Some "live" Radio work is promised round about March, some Club dates are yet to be confirmed and we hope to have access to new sound clips of BPS in the current format, and (excitingly) we met someone who claims to have recorded that earlier Rock format when we supported East Of Eden in the 1970's.
Big Love to those many people who continue to encourage, support and follow us. A loud raspberry to the tiny minority who promise us so much but deliver nothing. Rien. Nix. You know who you are. Onwards and Upwards. (Get back into bed, Mr. Crockett).
