Well, Happy Christmas, a Happy New Year and a Happy Everything Generally to BPS followers near and far, young and old, past and present. It's been a while since the last Blog, primarily because of Festive Stuff. Band members tend to use December as a bit of a Lardfest generally, reducing the performing opportunities to a minimum whilst maximising the social occasions.
Shortly after the most recent post above, for example, I went off to The Harz Mountains in Eastern Germany, for a birthday treat. I'm a bit of a railway fan, so hammering up through the snow-covered pine forests to a white-out at the summit of The Brocken was damn near an orgasmic experience for me. Beer,Sausages,Steam Trains-come on-it doesn't get much better than that.
At the same time, Arnold was in Kracow, I think. And Eddie's just come back from Madeira. So no time for much practical music making in between. I squoze in a couple of local solo spots before Santa came, but nevertheless, we also managed to fit in two seasonal BPS staff "do's." One before Christmas at Wood Farm Brewery Tap, and a New Year session last week in the wonderful Byatt's Kingdom of Whitefriars Alehouse, Coventry.
Today I'm delighted to say that we finally got back down to the serious business of music making. A full rehearsal of the four piece format. And a jolly good work out it was too. Interestingly, we selected all cover versions to work on today. They were: "The Poacher's Lament": "Man of Constant Sorrow": " The Bonny Black Hare": "Courting is a Pleasure": "Requiem for Steam" and "Over The Hills and Far Away". The last few are regulars: the first two are very close to being new additions to the current set. We've done the Poacher publicly before-but we're working on a longer version now, with four-part harmonies and "The Foxhunter" and "The Galway Hornpipe" as two instrumental pieces added at the end of the vocals. MOCS is the song made famous from O Brother Where Art Thou. A Good excuse for some good Ol' Country Music whilst slugging from a jug of Chicken Whisky. or something.
It looks like the first airing for the two new songs could be The Cock at Rowington in February-unless of course, someone out there has an earlier opportunity they'd like to float past us?
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
The Gravy Train
On a day like today, after the working public have been trashed as militant money grasping scum by POLITICIANS ,( erm...pot, kettle,black?) I thought it appropriate to post on here the full lyrics of one of our most popular ditties.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming,but it's not for you and me
It won't stop at your station, unless you're an M.P.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming, hear it rumble down the track
It's loaded with our money which they say they're giving back.
If you're standing on that platform just wave as it goes by
At all those smiling faces subsidised by you and I
You cannot have a ticket and you do not get a ride
All seats reserved for the privileged just sitting there inside
Don't trespass on that railway line it isn't very safe
Unless you're flipping mortgages whilst acting in good faith
They claimed lots of expenses whilst "sticking to the rules"
And if they think we'll swallow that they must think we're bloody fools
The Gravy Train is coming, it's all weighted down with cash:
-Allowances and handouts for Opportunist Trash.
Ministers and politicians of every shade and hue,
Their second homes and Porno films paid for by me and you.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming! Can you hear the whistle blow?
They say there's an enquiry-but we'll never get to know.
They will hope we've all forgotten when next time to vote has come
And if you do not vote at all in come the Nazi scum.
We need a revolution, let's roll those tumbrils out,
They're the perfect resolution for a mud encrusted snout,
For those with a flat in Chelsea and a farm in Warwickshire
Who say they're living hand-to-mouth on a hundred grand a year.
( repeat First verse).
words are copyright of BPS 2010. Can be reproduced-but only with my permission.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming,but it's not for you and me
It won't stop at your station, unless you're an M.P.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming, hear it rumble down the track
It's loaded with our money which they say they're giving back.
If you're standing on that platform just wave as it goes by
At all those smiling faces subsidised by you and I
You cannot have a ticket and you do not get a ride
All seats reserved for the privileged just sitting there inside
Don't trespass on that railway line it isn't very safe
Unless you're flipping mortgages whilst acting in good faith
They claimed lots of expenses whilst "sticking to the rules"
And if they think we'll swallow that they must think we're bloody fools
The Gravy Train is coming, it's all weighted down with cash:
-Allowances and handouts for Opportunist Trash.
Ministers and politicians of every shade and hue,
Their second homes and Porno films paid for by me and you.
Oh the Gravy Train is coming! Can you hear the whistle blow?
They say there's an enquiry-but we'll never get to know.
They will hope we've all forgotten when next time to vote has come
And if you do not vote at all in come the Nazi scum.
We need a revolution, let's roll those tumbrils out,
They're the perfect resolution for a mud encrusted snout,
For those with a flat in Chelsea and a farm in Warwickshire
Who say they're living hand-to-mouth on a hundred grand a year.
( repeat First verse).
words are copyright of BPS 2010. Can be reproduced-but only with my permission.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Barking at "The Bell"
Last night I was in the company of the Sly Old Dogs and Friends at The Bell, Monks Kirby. It drew a hectic (for me!) but comforting programme of four live performances in seven days to a close. In contrast to some other pub venues I've sung in recently, a welcoming host, free food (offered without demanding gratuity or reward), and a building overflowing with customers on a cold Sunday night out in the Warwickshire Tundra. Good to see some friendly faces fresh from our, erm, experience last Monday there, too.
I do like this particular venue. It reminds me of the Folk Clubs of my youth. A huge room, with good acoustics, and a separate bar. Plus, the singing from the audience here really is rather good. This all seems to lift the performers, and they respond with spirit. The musicianship is accomplished and varied, reflecting a group of friends who are obviously relaxed in each others' company. There is good natured banter between the audience and the performers. The material is mostly(but not exclusively) traditional-but the format is refreshingly fluid. That fluidity is infectious. I went along with a set idea of what I was going to sing-but changed it completely over the course of the evening.
I had been working hard for example, on resurrecting one of my favourite folk melodies recently-the bittersweet “Peggy Gordon”. I renewed acquaintance with this song, after seeing a disturbing version of it during that excellent Ray Winstone film “The Proposition.” I'd thought about giving it an airing last night. But the guy next to me sang it as I was thinking! How often this happens when trying out a new song. It was a slightly different version to the one I've been working on-so I might still give my version a go if they'll have me back. And I managed to sing along with every verse, without the words and from memory. (Wonder if I can do that solo!)
My first song instead was therefore the blatant crowd-pleaser. “Black Velvet Band”. Although this is on our 2008 CD, I'm just not allowed to do it with the band any more. BVB was one of the only songs I sang in public during the couple of decades when the Parrot were “resting”. It was one of the first I remember hearing sung in Folk Clubs. Belfast, a Partitioned Ireland, petty street crime, Alcoholism and Transportation are perhaps things the Guardian-Reading, Knit your Own Tofu Tree-Huggers would probably rather not think about. But Hey! That's Folk Music-sometimes it speaks the unspeakable! I suspect the other Parrots feel it's dated, schmaltzy, corny and just too, well, Irish. It may well be,but the audience didn't seem to mind, roaring the choruses out with gusto. Despite me pitching it down in a vocal area Pete Willow later described as “Lee Marvin/Paint Your Wagon territory”. That's just one of the challenges of not playing an instrument, and in singing unaccompanied when you've spent the last thirty years or so fronting a band. As the nice lady sitting next to me very kindly said, “ it must be very difficult.”
It is. Little voices in your head say, just as you're standing up and clearing the tubes, “ I think it's about here.” Once under way, the nerves kick in, and the same voice mutters “ Are you sure? Is that not a little too high? Too low? Too fast? Too slow?” (With a band intro, you follow whatever tempo and key they begin in!) In the third verse I also inexplicably and incorrectly referred to the “roving black eye “ of the thieving miscreant luring young country boys into trouble on Broadway, as a “roving glass eye.” Well that got a good laugh, didn't it!
Along with some country influenced stuff , came another one of my favourites, “The World Turned Upside Down. ” I have always really liked the Dick Gaughan version of this immensely. Now that's what I call ANGRY! Along with a couple of excellent comedy songs, we then seemed to hit a seafaring patch, trading songs about whaling, trawling, and angling for Perch in the Oxford Canal with a stick float and a size 14 hook. (Actually I made that last one up). It was good to hear " The Little Pot Stove", popularised on the Nic Jones's Penguin Eggs album, given an enthusiastic rendition here.
Inevitably with a seafaring theme, Yarmouth got a few name checks. Three songs at least, as I made a late decision to drop "Vigilante Man" and do “Shoals of Herring” instead. (a request!). Got hoisted by my own deck winch there as it happned, as I'd left the full lyrics at home. Ewan McColl is another folk voice I grew up enjoying. Both Shoals and The Thirty Foot Trailer we used to do, when we ran the Folk Club in Brinklow many years ago, It was always a truncated version of Shoals we did. The full radio documentary version is quite long, but since I've started doing solo spots, I've revisited it. However, confidently striding out to the car during an interval, I realised that it was this full version I'd left on the music stand at home, after using it as my “warm-up” piece this week! Ah well. Our Drifter didn't quite make it to Canny Shiels, but the audience didn't seem to mind a shorter version. The little voice in my head incidentally, this time suggested pitching this one a little too high, so my eyes were watering by the end.
I must mention the magnificent medley of Morris tunes which the ensemble plays during the third part of the evening. Featuring a brass section, and a Tuba sustain note which just goes...on and on. Remarkable. And very foot-tappingly infectious.
We'd already had songs about a Teddy Bears Orgy and a monumental pub crawl of Manchester. ( Took me back to the stag “do “at Nottingham Beer Festival in October!) So I felt it appropriate to do a medley of erm, adapted and personalised Christmas Songs as my finale. Well it was Advent Sunday. This is a little collection BPS have put together over the years, as part of a Christmas Party package. That raised a few laughs too.
The company finished (as they always do) with a version of "Wild Mountain Thyme." This is a very different version to the (Alex Campbell?) one I've learned and performed over the years. There must be half a dozen versions of this song doing the rounds in Folk Clubs, but in most venues, it's always belted out magnificently by all. I really enjoyed the evening. Thanks to all The Dogs and the Audience for indulging me. Hope to see you again soon.
I do like this particular venue. It reminds me of the Folk Clubs of my youth. A huge room, with good acoustics, and a separate bar. Plus, the singing from the audience here really is rather good. This all seems to lift the performers, and they respond with spirit. The musicianship is accomplished and varied, reflecting a group of friends who are obviously relaxed in each others' company. There is good natured banter between the audience and the performers. The material is mostly(but not exclusively) traditional-but the format is refreshingly fluid. That fluidity is infectious. I went along with a set idea of what I was going to sing-but changed it completely over the course of the evening.
I had been working hard for example, on resurrecting one of my favourite folk melodies recently-the bittersweet “Peggy Gordon”. I renewed acquaintance with this song, after seeing a disturbing version of it during that excellent Ray Winstone film “The Proposition.” I'd thought about giving it an airing last night. But the guy next to me sang it as I was thinking! How often this happens when trying out a new song. It was a slightly different version to the one I've been working on-so I might still give my version a go if they'll have me back. And I managed to sing along with every verse, without the words and from memory. (Wonder if I can do that solo!)
My first song instead was therefore the blatant crowd-pleaser. “Black Velvet Band”. Although this is on our 2008 CD, I'm just not allowed to do it with the band any more. BVB was one of the only songs I sang in public during the couple of decades when the Parrot were “resting”. It was one of the first I remember hearing sung in Folk Clubs. Belfast, a Partitioned Ireland, petty street crime, Alcoholism and Transportation are perhaps things the Guardian-Reading, Knit your Own Tofu Tree-Huggers would probably rather not think about. But Hey! That's Folk Music-sometimes it speaks the unspeakable! I suspect the other Parrots feel it's dated, schmaltzy, corny and just too, well, Irish. It may well be,but the audience didn't seem to mind, roaring the choruses out with gusto. Despite me pitching it down in a vocal area Pete Willow later described as “Lee Marvin/Paint Your Wagon territory”. That's just one of the challenges of not playing an instrument, and in singing unaccompanied when you've spent the last thirty years or so fronting a band. As the nice lady sitting next to me very kindly said, “ it must be very difficult.”
It is. Little voices in your head say, just as you're standing up and clearing the tubes, “ I think it's about here.” Once under way, the nerves kick in, and the same voice mutters “ Are you sure? Is that not a little too high? Too low? Too fast? Too slow?” (With a band intro, you follow whatever tempo and key they begin in!) In the third verse I also inexplicably and incorrectly referred to the “roving black eye “ of the thieving miscreant luring young country boys into trouble on Broadway, as a “roving glass eye.” Well that got a good laugh, didn't it!
Along with some country influenced stuff , came another one of my favourites, “The World Turned Upside Down. ” I have always really liked the Dick Gaughan version of this immensely. Now that's what I call ANGRY! Along with a couple of excellent comedy songs, we then seemed to hit a seafaring patch, trading songs about whaling, trawling, and angling for Perch in the Oxford Canal with a stick float and a size 14 hook. (Actually I made that last one up). It was good to hear " The Little Pot Stove", popularised on the Nic Jones's Penguin Eggs album, given an enthusiastic rendition here.
Inevitably with a seafaring theme, Yarmouth got a few name checks. Three songs at least, as I made a late decision to drop "Vigilante Man" and do “Shoals of Herring” instead. (a request!). Got hoisted by my own deck winch there as it happned, as I'd left the full lyrics at home. Ewan McColl is another folk voice I grew up enjoying. Both Shoals and The Thirty Foot Trailer we used to do, when we ran the Folk Club in Brinklow many years ago, It was always a truncated version of Shoals we did. The full radio documentary version is quite long, but since I've started doing solo spots, I've revisited it. However, confidently striding out to the car during an interval, I realised that it was this full version I'd left on the music stand at home, after using it as my “warm-up” piece this week! Ah well. Our Drifter didn't quite make it to Canny Shiels, but the audience didn't seem to mind a shorter version. The little voice in my head incidentally, this time suggested pitching this one a little too high, so my eyes were watering by the end.
I must mention the magnificent medley of Morris tunes which the ensemble plays during the third part of the evening. Featuring a brass section, and a Tuba sustain note which just goes...on and on. Remarkable. And very foot-tappingly infectious.
We'd already had songs about a Teddy Bears Orgy and a monumental pub crawl of Manchester. ( Took me back to the stag “do “at Nottingham Beer Festival in October!) So I felt it appropriate to do a medley of erm, adapted and personalised Christmas Songs as my finale. Well it was Advent Sunday. This is a little collection BPS have put together over the years, as part of a Christmas Party package. That raised a few laughs too.
The company finished (as they always do) with a version of "Wild Mountain Thyme." This is a very different version to the (Alex Campbell?) one I've learned and performed over the years. There must be half a dozen versions of this song doing the rounds in Folk Clubs, but in most venues, it's always belted out magnificently by all. I really enjoyed the evening. Thanks to all The Dogs and the Audience for indulging me. Hope to see you again soon.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Gig Update
London Bus time. Very quiet then three gigs come along at once.
Starting Monday with The Boat at Newbold. With our good friends Borderline Crossing as hosts. And with other good friends Brian and Marie Phillips and Malc and Gill playing there also. Sizeable BPS following swelling the numbers and putting lots of money over the counter. Singalonga Parrots until....
Only managed eight numbers-which were very well recieved. Encore demanded but not able to oblige due to change of management in the morning. All over before drinking up time. Odd. At least it wasn't about us, or our material. Apparently. Even though " Poacher's Lament" went a bit awry. More work on that required-relegated to the Sub's bench for Friday (see below).
Friday 25th saw us paired up again back to back with The Borderlines (Mmm. Bagsy being next to 'Chelle!). We warmed up a decent audience for them with about the same number of songs. Once again, demands for "Vacuum Cleaner" overlooked due to time constraints. Good crowd, excellent beer (three from Church End), fine communal whistling and a morale booster after some recent experiences.
Saturday saw us back at Bedworth Folk Festival. A more traditional set than last night. Good sized audience sparked off a good performance from us. Good to hook up with all kinds of people at BFF this time round-from the past, Enchante,Rob Armstrong,Mr. Donnelly and Mr. and Mrs. Melodeon. New friend-Ali O'Brien. All thoroughly nice people. Loved the Craft Fair. And the Appalachian Dancing.
Starting Monday with The Boat at Newbold. With our good friends Borderline Crossing as hosts. And with other good friends Brian and Marie Phillips and Malc and Gill playing there also. Sizeable BPS following swelling the numbers and putting lots of money over the counter. Singalonga Parrots until....
Only managed eight numbers-which were very well recieved. Encore demanded but not able to oblige due to change of management in the morning. All over before drinking up time. Odd. At least it wasn't about us, or our material. Apparently. Even though " Poacher's Lament" went a bit awry. More work on that required-relegated to the Sub's bench for Friday (see below).
Friday 25th saw us paired up again back to back with The Borderlines (Mmm. Bagsy being next to 'Chelle!). We warmed up a decent audience for them with about the same number of songs. Once again, demands for "Vacuum Cleaner" overlooked due to time constraints. Good crowd, excellent beer (three from Church End), fine communal whistling and a morale booster after some recent experiences.
Saturday saw us back at Bedworth Folk Festival. A more traditional set than last night. Good sized audience sparked off a good performance from us. Good to hook up with all kinds of people at BFF this time round-from the past, Enchante,Rob Armstrong,Mr. Donnelly and Mr. and Mrs. Melodeon. New friend-Ali O'Brien. All thoroughly nice people. Loved the Craft Fair. And the Appalachian Dancing.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Rowing Against The Tide
Bit of a cliché this, but I have some really good friends who run pubs. Isabel and Bloc at The Blue Pig, and Julian at The Crown in Nuneaton for example. Both establishments support live music, both serve fabulous beer, offer decent honest grub and have helped me personally with various projects. Their boosers are popular, welcoming and busy. What can we learn from this? We can learn that “Manager” means someone who manages. Having a B.Phil (hons) degree in Management and Organisation, I can tell you that a good definition of management is “getting things done through people.” Not “to” people, or “despite of” or even “with.” But through. Using them as a conduit for successful communication. Important distinction, that.
Pub rock has uncovered and showcased some of the greatest music acts in the U.K. We were never one of them, but we've played in pubs, Inns, taverns and beer festivals all over the place. Mostly for free and usually just for fun. Am I imagining it, or are some places getting greedier as the Recession bites? They invite the public in, are happy to take their money over the counter, but then also want them out again as quickly as possible. Providing a few trays of leftovers meantime, warmed up in ancient deep fat, is looked upon as a privilege on a par with a knighthood. There's a little more than that to being a good host than that.
I've been a singer in bands providing live entertainment since 1975. Admittedly with a few gaps in between. Over that time I've seen all kinds of irrational behaviour exhibited in pubs, and not just by the audiences! We've been made really welcome in loads of venues, and have often received fabulous hospitality. We've also occasionally been treated as if we were somehow inferior. That strikes me as silly, because many British pubs are in deep, deep trouble. Publicans with “attitude” don't help. I love pubs and I don't want any to close. But sometimes you're in one,and you just get a premonition. You think, suddenly, with a bit of a chill, “ Here's another one on the critical list. Lots of bluster here, but these people really haven't got a clue.”
You get used to various reactions over such a long period of time. Alongside all the many triumphs and exhilarating moments there are a handful of memories one might rather forget. I've seen fights break out Blues Brothers style on the dance floor in front of us. We've been turned off by sound meters, halted by Bingo sessions and paid to leave by a back exit. We've been barred for swearing (tame stuff by modern day standards). We've been told “never come back” purely for playing a reggae number. We've sent (accidentally) a firework into a hastily evacuated police tent. But mostly these incidents ocurred at bigger venues than a pub.
What some publicans fail to understand is that it's a two way street, pubs and music. Putting on Live music, especially where admission is free,carries few overheads. Especially in establishments where P.R.S. and M.U. are just abbreviations. Publicising events properly can fill an unused room on less busy nights. Musicians, and the audiences they bring in will buy drinks and bar snacks. If free food is offered, it may well encourage potential customers to drink more, and to come back and have a meal. In a busy pub, visitors who are there solely for the music may also note other forthcoming future attractions and may return. If the beer is half way decent, real Ale followers may come back to sample it again. All a lucrative return just for making people feel welcome. Conversely if staff make it plain that punters are only there on sufferance and are viewed purely as a wallet on legs and a transient nuisance, then that too is noticed. Takings will dive eventually and people will simply stay away.
Pub rock has uncovered and showcased some of the greatest music acts in the U.K. We were never one of them, but we've played in pubs, Inns, taverns and beer festivals all over the place. Mostly for free and usually just for fun. Am I imagining it, or are some places getting greedier as the Recession bites? They invite the public in, are happy to take their money over the counter, but then also want them out again as quickly as possible. Providing a few trays of leftovers meantime, warmed up in ancient deep fat, is looked upon as a privilege on a par with a knighthood. There's a little more than that to being a good host than that.
I've been a singer in bands providing live entertainment since 1975. Admittedly with a few gaps in between. Over that time I've seen all kinds of irrational behaviour exhibited in pubs, and not just by the audiences! We've been made really welcome in loads of venues, and have often received fabulous hospitality. We've also occasionally been treated as if we were somehow inferior. That strikes me as silly, because many British pubs are in deep, deep trouble. Publicans with “attitude” don't help. I love pubs and I don't want any to close. But sometimes you're in one,and you just get a premonition. You think, suddenly, with a bit of a chill, “ Here's another one on the critical list. Lots of bluster here, but these people really haven't got a clue.”
You get used to various reactions over such a long period of time. Alongside all the many triumphs and exhilarating moments there are a handful of memories one might rather forget. I've seen fights break out Blues Brothers style on the dance floor in front of us. We've been turned off by sound meters, halted by Bingo sessions and paid to leave by a back exit. We've been barred for swearing (tame stuff by modern day standards). We've been told “never come back” purely for playing a reggae number. We've sent (accidentally) a firework into a hastily evacuated police tent. But mostly these incidents ocurred at bigger venues than a pub.
What some publicans fail to understand is that it's a two way street, pubs and music. Putting on Live music, especially where admission is free,carries few overheads. Especially in establishments where P.R.S. and M.U. are just abbreviations. Publicising events properly can fill an unused room on less busy nights. Musicians, and the audiences they bring in will buy drinks and bar snacks. If free food is offered, it may well encourage potential customers to drink more, and to come back and have a meal. In a busy pub, visitors who are there solely for the music may also note other forthcoming future attractions and may return. If the beer is half way decent, real Ale followers may come back to sample it again. All a lucrative return just for making people feel welcome. Conversely if staff make it plain that punters are only there on sufferance and are viewed purely as a wallet on legs and a transient nuisance, then that too is noticed. Takings will dive eventually and people will simply stay away.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
REMINDER: NEXT MONDAY AT THE BOAT,NEWBOLD
Well we had our last rehearsal today pre-Boat next Monday night. (Have I mentioned that at all?). I can reveal, without giving too much away, the proposed running order next Monday.
1. BONNY BLACK HARE our new version with "The Gravel Walk" added at the end.
2. RAILWAY MAGAZINE. Well-loved BPS singalong tune about saucy books in Newsagents.
3 WEE MIDNIGHT HOUR BLUES Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr Blues number:
4. BOLD PIRATE. BPS original about Health and Safety Bureaucracy gone mad:
5. WAG of SHOP 14. A request. Featuring The Ryton Spanner Dance and a Lathe Shanty
6. POACHER'S LAMENT trad. New extended version. First airing in public.
7. SEPTIC MONKEY The Folk Club from Hell: features a raffle no-one wants to win:
8. THE GRAVY TRAIN Tumbril-laden irony about greedy, grasping, cheating politicians:
9. THE WHISTLER Singalonga Parrot (and whistle with us too?)
ENCORE-unlikely, but if asked, is likely to feature a Vacuum Cleaner somewhere. Mobiles in the air:swaying audience:emotional chorus singing.
1. BONNY BLACK HARE our new version with "The Gravel Walk" added at the end.
2. RAILWAY MAGAZINE. Well-loved BPS singalong tune about saucy books in Newsagents.
3 WEE MIDNIGHT HOUR BLUES Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr Blues number:
4. BOLD PIRATE. BPS original about Health and Safety Bureaucracy gone mad:
5. WAG of SHOP 14. A request. Featuring The Ryton Spanner Dance and a Lathe Shanty
6. POACHER'S LAMENT trad. New extended version. First airing in public.
7. SEPTIC MONKEY The Folk Club from Hell: features a raffle no-one wants to win:
8. THE GRAVY TRAIN Tumbril-laden irony about greedy, grasping, cheating politicians:
9. THE WHISTLER Singalonga Parrot (and whistle with us too?)
ENCORE-unlikely, but if asked, is likely to feature a Vacuum Cleaner somewhere. Mobiles in the air:swaying audience:emotional chorus singing.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
THREE chances to take flight with BPS in November
Oh you lucky people. Not one, not two but THREE opportunities to catch Black Parrot Seaside in ONE WEEK during November 2011. We must be mad! They must be mad! Even the keenest parrotophile will surely be sated by 26th November?
BUT! We offer you three different sets featuring 20-30 different songs. (Though obviously not all at the same time-that would be just too much for all but our small army of stalkers!) With a promise to include something to please everyone. From the well-loved anthems such as "I am a Vacuum Cleaner " and the oft-requested "Wag of Shop 14 " with it's now historic Ryton Spanner Dance. To more recent arrangements such as "The Gravy Train" "Courting is a Pleasure" and "The Poacher's Lament." Our usual mix of Traditional Folk with Jigs and reels, waspish satire with silly choruses and spoof raffles, and localised parodies. Blues,Social Comment and Group Whistling. Who could ask for more? Songs about Risk Assessment, Coventry's Car Industry, and one of only two known songs written about Bedworth.
First off is Monday 21st November which sees us return as the featured act at The Boat Inn, Newbold. A canalside pub with loads of parking,good ale,a friendly crowd and free food. What more could anyone ask? And it's FREE admission! Plus the evening will undoubtedly feature one of our favourite bands, the resident hosts, Borderline Crossing. Let's get there in numbers people and give this excellent venue a night to remember! Share a car, hire a minibus-but get there.
On Friday night, 25th November, we'll be mobbing up at Bedworth Civic Hall. We'll be in the Touch FM Lounge between 22.25-22.55. Once again we'll be in the company of Borderline Crossing, this time warming the audience up for them before they conclude the evening session there. This is the first of two stints for us at the 2011 Bedworth Folk Festival. We reappear the next day, at another session in the Touch FM Lounge between 1pm and 1.45pm. We intend to perform two different sets at this year's Festival-so it could be a collector's item. Even if you catch us at the Boat-there will be many additional and different BPS songs-both covers and originals-featured over the two days.
Festival details at www.bedworth-festival.info or by phoning 07519787469
Finally if anyone is still lusting after the last CD-produced in 2006 and launched at Bedworth Folk Festival, they'll be on sale for a fiver at all three sessions-but we only have about 25 left. So hurry! (Re-print? Or new album?)
BUT! We offer you three different sets featuring 20-30 different songs. (Though obviously not all at the same time-that would be just too much for all but our small army of stalkers!) With a promise to include something to please everyone. From the well-loved anthems such as "I am a Vacuum Cleaner " and the oft-requested "Wag of Shop 14 " with it's now historic Ryton Spanner Dance. To more recent arrangements such as "The Gravy Train" "Courting is a Pleasure" and "The Poacher's Lament." Our usual mix of Traditional Folk with Jigs and reels, waspish satire with silly choruses and spoof raffles, and localised parodies. Blues,Social Comment and Group Whistling. Who could ask for more? Songs about Risk Assessment, Coventry's Car Industry, and one of only two known songs written about Bedworth.
First off is Monday 21st November which sees us return as the featured act at The Boat Inn, Newbold. A canalside pub with loads of parking,good ale,a friendly crowd and free food. What more could anyone ask? And it's FREE admission! Plus the evening will undoubtedly feature one of our favourite bands, the resident hosts, Borderline Crossing. Let's get there in numbers people and give this excellent venue a night to remember! Share a car, hire a minibus-but get there.
On Friday night, 25th November, we'll be mobbing up at Bedworth Civic Hall. We'll be in the Touch FM Lounge between 22.25-22.55. Once again we'll be in the company of Borderline Crossing, this time warming the audience up for them before they conclude the evening session there. This is the first of two stints for us at the 2011 Bedworth Folk Festival. We reappear the next day, at another session in the Touch FM Lounge between 1pm and 1.45pm. We intend to perform two different sets at this year's Festival-so it could be a collector's item. Even if you catch us at the Boat-there will be many additional and different BPS songs-both covers and originals-featured over the two days.
Festival details at www.bedworth-festival.info or by phoning 07519787469
Finally if anyone is still lusting after the last CD-produced in 2006 and launched at Bedworth Folk Festival, they'll be on sale for a fiver at all three sessions-but we only have about 25 left. So hurry! (Re-print? Or new album?)
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