Bedlam in Ridge Lane

    As I approached Church End Brewery Tap last night, dodging the puddles weaving through the angry stair rods of rain, I was running the gauntlet of debris flailing from the trees cloaking the road, as they  whirled like dervishes, tormented by an  Autumn storm.   It seemed entirely apposite then, that the featured guests tonight would be the less than staid Green Man Rising ,joined by ourselves and a few other Lords (and Ladies) of Misrule.

    Bedlam did indeed later ensue, indoors as well as outdoors, but in a very organised and proficiently choreographed form.  Mad Tom of Bedlam, specifically. One of my favourite songs, well-performed and innovatively sung. And especially relevant as, a week earlier, I had been on the site of this very Sanatorium, in its present guise of the Imperial War Museum. Of which, more later.

    Reduced by Man 'Flu and prior commitments, the ranks of BPS had been whittled down to two of the Originals by the time we assembled at Ridge Lane. The ever-improving Finger In The Jar opened proceedings, with some nicely worked-out harmonies. Followed by John and Elaine Meechan. We were third up, Arnie and I, "Ack Arrot Easide" with a hastily re-scribbled set list in my top pocket. We went for safety, opening with "All Over Now," and  the audience joined it with what is by now customary gusto. Most  knew all of the songs we followed with, all of which had choruses, so the floor singing was pretty good. Only one or two didn't, so it was interesting from my perspective, to see how they then coped with "If I were a Goat."  One or two Newbies looked rather startled as the Community Bleating began, but eventually most present got in touch with their Caprine side.

  We managed five songs, four of them original, before Phil sensibly dragged us off.  The only notable moments were when Arnie accidentally let his plectrum sail across the floor and when my new dentures snuck loose during a chorus of The Odeon. Oh...and when I looked up and caught sight of what looked like Phil playing Cats Cradle with the wires trailing from his Mixing Desk.

 

      Rich McMahon followed, and I immediately took to his likeable delivery of finely-crafted new songs using an old metier. Like ourselves, he wasn't averse to seeing humour in the more traditional aspects of Folk Culture. I'd not seen or heard him before, but hopefully we can drag him out to Nuneaton Folk Club some time.

 

    And so, after the Interval, it was time for Most Of The Green Man Rising. I'd seen them before, but even so I particularly enjoyed this set. Loud and raucous as always, but with some real thought put into some of the arrangements and a high level of musicianship on show, involving a plethora of instruments. Nuneaton's own Lizard King, Steve Bentley, prowled and stamped about the stage area with the usual mixture of benevolence and malice, whilst clouting that bloody big drum of his in a way that was difficult not to resist. It was All Of the Green Man Rising eventually, as a fifth member finally joined them, having got lost out there in Mirkwood. Easily done, on a filthy night like this if you don't know the roads. Considering the journey she must have had, I thought her composure as she joined them was excellent. I'd sat in the car crying for ten minutes after I'd parked up earlier. ( Well..five, then).

     If it were possible to add more instrumental talent-she did, and her vocals were also very enjoyable. I loved their version of Tom Of Bedlam. An eerie, disturbing song when done by Steeleye-but that edgy uncomfortable edge-of-the-seat mood was also well captured well by GMR. One final thought-with not one but two female fiddle players-should it really be Green Men and Women Rising? I'll leave that one with you.

Ride a Cock Horse ..to Banbury Folk Festival Part 2 Come in out of The Reine. Deer.

    Saturday afternoon saw us rendezvousing in Banbury's  picturesque Castle Street Multi Storey Car Park and then crossing the road to enter the absolutely rammed (it often is) Reine Deer Inn. Alas, not all those shoehorned into this fine old pub had come to hear the music. Many had come to sample the delicious  food and selection of Hook Norton beers, too. (I confess-it's a pub I've visited before). As it happened, due to the attentive mixing from our sound engineer,they had little choice but to listen to us, unless they were hiding in the toilets.

      The "stage area" was occupied by the excellent Gregg Cave and Nick Ellison as we arrived. I enjoyed their set immensely. And told them so. So we traded CD's.  However, as we edged elbow to elbow round the Front room, it became apparent that whilst two performers would fit behind the mikes quite snugly, four gentlemen, one or two of whom were, um, "substantially built" was going to prove more challenging.

     Watching us set up must have been like watching an episode of The Cube, as we passed Instrument cases over our heads and back into the audience. Very cosy. Our set was basically the same as the previous night, with the addition of two slide guitar  numbers-"If I Had Possession" and " Vigilante Man", and " Albert Balls." I had to position my vocal mike behind a speaker, and I sang the entire set leaning languidly up against the exterior wall. Still, it all went jolly well, and we got a good reception. And there were definitely some people who we'd seen at our Banbury gigs before-who had kindly turned up to see us. A noisy bunch who empowered the singing- " Folking Liberty" was particularly raucous, and the harmonies employed in well, just bleating, during "If I were a Goat" never cease to amaze me.

     We had originally invited Malc Gurnham to join us on bass for this slot-but a good job he declined, as with his delicate frame added to our numbers, he would have had to have played out in the street. Where, afterwards, we met the Thrupp'nny Bits (and Spangle) and some nice people from Crediton Folk Club, who I think we later saw busking. Our set impressed the people running Jerusalem Folk Club so much that they offered us a gig there and then, joining them on the 23rd of this month. I had originally thought this was based in Nottingham, but no, it is actually out in the Middle East. Clashed with my flu' jab I'm afraid, and Arnie has to get his bunions done on that day. I suppose if they paid our flights....

     So-an enjoyable and eclectic weekend, spent in the company of some very talented, knowledgeable musicians and enthusiastic audiences. Oh-and Dave Cameron was there too apparently. I thought it was the sewers backing up. (Good job our paths didn't cross, eh?)  On to Bedworth Festival now, next month. Thereafter...hmmm...any more Midlands-based Folk Festivals out there in 2015?  

Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Folk Festival Part 1. Carry On Camping.

This weekend, courtesy of the lovely Derek and Mary,  saw our four man format complete two missions, as our first ever contribution to  Banbury Folk Festival. On Friday night, a 30 mile round journey outward saw us arrive (on time!) at Drayton Leisure Camp site, on the outskirts of the town. Here, most of (all of?) the Happy Campers were assembled. Not literally, because some had pitched tents and lowered the steadies on their Avondales and then taken the shuttle bus into town. But a small but perfectly formed crowd had assembled in the clubhouse to hear an assortment of singers-and us-entertain them.

    Using Malc Gurnham's previous route, we managed successfully to chop a few minutes off the journey on Friday night, by sneaking off the A423 and doing a bit of Rally Cross via Hanwell. This meant we arrived on time  at the soon-to-be rationalised Drayton Leisure site. Sobering to think that somewhere in those fields, Malc Gurnham's Winnebago was probably tethered. ( Malc was unable to guest on bass with us that night, (as he did last time we visited Drayton),  because he had sensibly bagged  the plum job of compering the Main Concert in The Town Hall.  Featuring Isla St Clair, Linda Watkins and John Tams with Barry Coope, it looked a good line-up. I expect he'll boast all about it when we hook up with him next week. 

    As we were on time,  I even managed to try the Hook Norton,  obtain  a programme, and buy a Festival t-shirt before getting to the music room. The latter two sold to me by a delightful couple, stolidly manning the door, who told us they were from Minehead Folk Club. Lucky chaps.

    In the jealously guarded Inner Sanctum  we found that  Derek Burgess and Kitty Vernon were hosting an evening which was advertised as being us, Hector Gilchrist and Dave Taylor. In fact, it featured a whole lot of other people too, and a very excitable butterfly, which emerged during our set. Our performance time had been also re-adjusted, and this was complicated a little further by an invitation to join in the singing in the round early on, as a sort of appetiser for what we would be doing later. So we ran " It's All Over Now" by them ,and as we always find with Banbury audiences, they joined in with the choruses most enthusiastically.

    Dave Taylor I'd bumped into previously, at Atherstone's Larder Café, when I was doing a sneaky solo spot there. I quite like his stuff-he did a funny song about ill fitting trousers, and a rather good Bob Dylan parody. Hector gave us some very soothing and rather wistful ballads, beautifully sung and accompanied by a very interesting guitar. In between there were lots of other songs by other people. One lady who arrived quite late sang an excellent song called " Pity the Poor Landlord " which we all thought was rather jolly. Our guitarist Dave was also very taken by a version of "The Hiring Fair"-but I don't know who that was.

    Eventually it was us. We romped through "The Odeon", "Courting", "Down Our Street" ,and "Need Your Love So Bad." Then it was time for "If I were a Goat," which, when it started in our set was a bit of a risk, but now seems to be catching on everywhere we go. Probably because the chorus is so easy to learn. There was some proper good bleating coming from around that room, and most of it was aimed at us, but our slot had passed all too soon, and Derek was suddenly signalling one more. At least, I think that's what he was signalling. Anyway we concluded with "Folking Liberty." The audience managed to negotiate that without anyone causing a public order offence.

     We thought maybe as it was advertised in the programme as 8.00-11.00 and we'd finished on eleven at the dot, there might be an encore and then "Good Night Campers" but far from it. As we packed our gear away it became evident that the bar was still open, another sequence of singaround was in hand, and further, a large number of returning folkies were gathered outside looking revved up for a party. That provided us with a dilemma. Should we stay? Or go? We chose the sensible option and drove home. After all, most of these people only had to stagger across the grass and into their tent whereas I got home at 1.30am which is quite early for me nowadays.

" GOOD EVENING Nuneaton! ".....

NunFest:   Folk returns to Nuneaton

Of course, it had never really been away-just fragmented a little and lacking a central base for a while. Perhaps a fitting way to start this account is to acknowledge the input of the people who couldn't be there last night-Dragonhead, for example, Nuneaton based, and flying the flag with their Beacon Folk Club, when no-one else did. ( Come see us soon, guys).

   But although we had guests from as far afield as Coventry and Coleshill, last night was an unashamed celebration because the biggest town in Warwickshire without one had re-found its Folk Club. A lot of work went into this launch, beforehand and during the evening. The massive turnout last night justified all that. Collectively-we knew there was a void and that we could fill it. We were proven hugely, massively, gratifyingly correct last night. 

    This huge audience was edifying given that on the same night, Quill were round the corner at The Abbey Theatre, and a much-respected fellow Club, Hinckley Act, was in session up the A5. As soon as we launched into " All Over Now " and the audience bellowed back the chorus lines it was obvious it was going to be a good night.

    Dave Webb then bravely followed us: a veteran of the local Folk Scene who'd been away for a while. Finger in The Jar followed, and they were remarkable, given that one of them,  Phil Benson, had been slogging away on the P.A. system since well before 7pm. Each time I was on that stage I could see the faraway shape of Phil, picked out in the lights like some demented Rick Wakeman, his hair standing on end with sweat and static, flailing away at the sliders and  buttons. It was just 10 minutes before the start that Phil finally coaxed this monster into life. (The dramas audiences and performers don't see!).

    Sue Sanders followed FITJ and played us two haunting, traditional tunes. Mr Moonlight David Parr then performed two completely apposite songs including the " Molecatcher's Song."  Katherine Fear gave us a lovely solo song and was then joined by Simon and Sally Anne Veasey who made a right proper Folk Noise together. They should go out in this format more often. It rocks.

     Doyen of next month's guests Sly Old Dogs (and many other Folk Bands) the irascible Bob Brooker then showed us just how well instruments can be played. He defiantly wore his stunning shorts on the first night of October, meaning that some photos of him playing whilst seating will have to be airbrushed. Still-he sold some CD;s and donated one to the raffle. Simon and Sally Anne returned for their slot, adding another genre-atmospheric country to the proceedings. Wonderful. And it was left to Karen, one half of K.C. Jones to conclude the half with a couple of powerful songs, one of which she'd written. Those of us who had not seen her before realised where the accolades we'd heard had come from.

 

    The audience were buzzing during the interval. I don't think anyone had expected it to be quite that good. As we furiously tore up an ice bucket full of raffle tickets, Thrup'nny Bits opened the second half with their remarkable three-part harmonies. The raffle prizes took rather longer than anticipated, and we had to hold some over, so many were donated. John Kearney then (literally) took the stage-almost into the bar below as he demonstrated first Pogo and then Irish Dancing. I've never had a song written about me before but " Jolly Boys" was bloody hilarious. You left out The Mankini and the Male Nudity though John-it needs another verse.

    Light and Shade was the theme of the night. The divine Terry and Jan followed John's irrepressible County Nuneaton good humour. They have been on the Folk Scene even longer than us. They did two sophisticated, almost jazz-oriented songs. Terry's solo brought a spontaneous round of applause from an audience who seemed hardly able to believe their good fortune in finding this treasure trove of talent in Treacle Town-and for FREE!  Rock Chick Maria Barham (our guest along with her mate Carole Palmer in December) followed.Another powerful voice with incredible range. She played a rock and roll medley which the audience adored. Swing those pants, Madge! Could it get any better? Oh yeah. Malc Gurnham and Gill Gilsenan closed the Guest slots. Quality as always. Two people who have given BPS such support over the years.

    And so we came to the end of a marvellous night. We closed with " Folking Liberty" and " Go Lassie Go." The former perforated by some Pete Townsend windmilling from an increasingly tired and emotional Dave Parr. I bet he has a headache this morning.

The latter making the windows shake-much as we had hoped. A tremendous start. Three figures raised in the raffle, which will go towards keeping admission free. The room full throughout. We ran out of glasses (occasionally-replenished due to the hard work of pot collectors), we ran out of chairs, with them standing four deep at the back.   Deep, deep joy, and thanks to all who contributed and participated.

Credits; BBC CWR, Coventry Telegraph and Nuneaton News for their superb advance publicity. Abbey Theatre, Hinckley Act, Bedworth Folk Club and Atherstone Folk Club for their goodwill messages and determination to work co-operatively with us . Julian Harkins, guvnor at The Crown and his hard working staff. For having the vision to offer us their venue and then backing our night with extraordinary enthusiasm.  The lovely ladies who helped us with the raffle tickets. And the performers, who demonstrated that this part of the Midlands is packed with music talent.

Folk's Got Talent? The "F" Factor.

Folk and Acoustic Club Protocols: Further Tips for Floor Spots/Potential bookings.

    Never, since I first started singing in public, have I been so popular. Has this anything to do with ( I wonder)  the fact that my name is now amongst those linked with the launch of a new Folk Club?  Odd really, because this isn't the first one we've run. The other one did not seem to attract the same manic attention,however. And when we weren't running one-we had to work very hard on establishing ourselves on the Folk scene. By performance, not advertising.

Most of the attention has been most welcome. Much of it has been well intentioned. Some of it has been aggressive marketing strategy which will not advance the causes of those promoting it relentlessly one iota. Some of it has emanated from sources claiming to be well versed in Folk etiquette, when clearly, by their pushy, boastful, almost hostile pressure selling, they haven't a clue how the whole organic thing works. And in a few instances, some approaches  have constituted harassment. I have taken action to suppress those, as we live in a free and equal society where pestering insulting and stalking people is a criminal offence.

   The World of Folk is generally a lovely one. Best encapsulated by the Fairytale Goblins and Witches of the Incredible String Band, the Fey wispy singing of Kate Rusby: the abrasive social comment of Dick Gaughan: and a host of others.

    At our level (which, readers, don't delude yourselves, is Grass Roots level) , I never cease to be surprised by the rich veins of undiscovered talent constantly to be seen and heard in local venues. Recording has changed so much since we were offered a recording and Publishing contract in the 1970's. Now anyone can manufacture their own CD.

    I always find modesty an attractive trait in a performer. Those who bang on and on and on and bloody ON about who they've met, where they've been, how their 23rd album is doing...etc...I dunno...there's something very off-putting for me personally about that. Even if it's all true-I'd rather experience it for myself in public than have my personal space invaded by endless diatribes about how great you are. I'll decide that, along with other band members.

"Living Legacy"- a new CD by Brian and Marie Phillips

Emphasising the depth of local talent that you can see or hear in any Folk or acoustic venue, this 14 track CD encapsulates fully the entire breadth of this talented duo's repertoire. Containing many favourites from their "live" performances, it captures both the excellence (and range) of Brian's musicianship and the depth of Marie's distinctive vocals.   Their arrangements of several songs have previously made me go off hunting for versions of them. So it's good to find many of them conveniently listed on one album. Their treatment of some of my personal favourites like Lindsey Buckingham's " Never Going Back Again,"  Dougie McClean's other classic, " Garden Valley" and Iris Dement's prophetic " Our Town" are part of a very satisfying listen.

 

     The album was recorded mixed and edited by Norman Wheatley, who also did the honours on our last CD. Kevin Dempsey  adds guitar on two tracks and Maria Barham provides backing vocals on a couple, too. Brian fairly spanks out a solo version of Davey Graham's instrumental "Anji " and takes lead vocal on John Martin's "Fairytale Lullaby." There are also covers of songs by Dan Fogelberg, Stevie Nicks, Kate Rusby and Jez Lowe, included, amongst others. 

 

Highly recommended. You can find how to obtain it  it here.  http://www.brianandmarie.co.uk/

 

 

 

" Warwick is Our County Seat" *

* a line from "On Bedduth Bank"

 

    En route to Warwick last night we worked out that this was the fifth format which Black Parrot Seaside had brought along to entertain the erudite and enthusiastic audiences of Warwick Folk Club.  Solo appearances, duos, trios, four pieces-but this was the first time myself, Dave, Arnie and Mick had played it. What a fine town our County Seat  is. How well we always seem to go down with audiences there.  ( Hmmm.........what can any of us learn from this?)....

    We'd been expecting a whole host of floor singers before our first spot, but instead we just had a brief couple of songs from M.C. Michael before being ushered forward. There were some familiar faces amongst those present, so the invitation to get singing with us was taken up heartily and immediately, as we opened with "All Over Now."

     Ditto "The Odeon " and " Down Our Street," both of which appeared to stimulate those Nostalgia glands which would be titillated further by the Main Guests, Andy Casserley and Chris Lowe. We calmed things down with a version of "Need Your Love So Bad," and then wheeled out " If I were a Goat. " I have to say that the audience also tackled that (none-too-difficult) chorus with slightly eerie gusto. Indeed, there was some improvised bleating which strayed in true caprine style from the straight and narrow.

 

 " How Silly! and yet...lovely" enthused Michael, thanking us before introducing Andy Casserley.  ( What a commendable resume of the BPS oeuvre that is!)

 

       Andy had a fine singing voice and a whole host of squeezy things with bellows which he played extraordinarily well. Later he would play other instruments just as expertly. His first half comprised some nicely-judged traditional tunes, most of which included dire fates and lessons for us all. Michael began the second half and then BPS returned to soften up the throng before Andy's second slot. This time he would be accompanied by his mate Chris Lowe.

     We did "Courting is a Pleasure," and then thought the audience sufficiently relaxed to air our paon to Folk Singers everywhere,"What a Folking Liberty!" All was going swimmingly well until I had a complete "A" moment in the final and climactic verse. I got my Banjos, plectrums and Occarinas hopelessly mixed up, and lost the story I was telling. All that finely tuned innuendo was also lost, whilst the other three looked on in resigned shock. As I wallowed in the pit of amnesia. Nonetheless, it seemed to go down all right, even though I had to have several runs at finishing it even adequately.

     Andy and Chris then completed the evening. Chris had a very finely honed sense of comedic visual presence, and a good voice for Music Hall. Which is perhaps as well, for that's what they did. Back came the concertinas and melodeons and Andy also played the banjo on several numbers. They opened with "Pickled pork" and continued the theme with songs about Dicky Birds, Tram Journeys and general Variety Sauciness. They finished with "Proper Coffee Pot," as the audience tried gamely to match their flawless enunciation of each chorus.

     We'd played the same bill as the fabulous Cosmotheka many years ago. They were well loved, and rightfully so. They certainly influenced several of our songs, and our stage performance. We still occasionally do "Beside The Seaside" and "Houses in Between." Like ourselves, Andy and Chris didn't plagiarise, they adapted and arranged songs, so that any Dave and Al songs they did had their own stamp on. The outcome was a very atmospheric and pleasant experience.

     All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening. " Come back soon!" a very nice lady called out to us as we packed the instruments away afterwards. I think she meant it, too. We'll do our best.