BPS (Back) on The Road

It’s been good this week to get back on the Road again in any format, after the long lay off and circumstances which no-one would have wished for. At one stage the whole future of the band hung in the balance, but we seem resolved now to carry on, as long as people will have us.

On Monday, I was at Warwick Folk Club, where Norman Wheatley was the featured act. Norman had asked me to join him and Martin in a song called “We’re Still Angry Now.” Other than a Private Party in January, where three of us had run (shakily!) through some Parrot material, this was the first time I’d performed publicly since Bedworth Folk Festival in November 2008.
Norman played two typically entertaining and varied sets. He certainly mixed things up, with his own material, Tom Lehrer, Beatles, James Taylor and Dylan covers included. And the excellent Jake song "La Di Dah" which Norman does so well. Plenty to sing along to. He sprinkled other guests in with the repertoire too, adding musical accompaniment, vocals or both.
I usually manage to park o.k. at Warwick, quite near the club, but this time I couldn’t. I ended up scratching the car, in a Public Car Park, and skittering through unfamiliar streets to try to get there in time. I won a bottle of Leffe in the raffle, so all was not doom and gloom. And my part in Norman's song added to a rousing performance by the three of us which the audiencel seemed to enjoy.
As always, the other floor spots offered some interesting contrasts, though most concentrated on the one man and his guitar format. This still lead to a pleasing variety of material. In particular, it was good to hear my favourite Billy Bragg song “ Between The Wars” done justice. It seems so apt again, nowadays.
The People at Warwick were genuinely nice. Several asked how Arnold was bearing up since the bereavement, and Dave Fry the compere for the evening asked me on the Club's behalf to pass on everyone’s thoughts to him.

Then on Wednesday night two of us went along to support the Macmillan Nurses Fund raiser at Bedworth Rugby Club. This is basically an extension of Bedworth Folk Club, with Jill and Malc Gurnham hosting. This was to be Arnold’s first public performance since the Folk Festival last November. We’d asked if we could do a couple of numbers, but ended up closing the evening. (Of which more later).

These sessions tend to be a real shop window: a friendly, jolly, relaxed almost “workshop” atmosphere, and a real cross-section of performers. My goodness, I can’t remember all the songs, but we had spirited renditions from many different kinds of performers, of much loved works by artistes as diverse as Donovan, Lonnie Donnegan, Alison Krauss, Eric Bogle and John Martyn. Malc and Jilly were as pleasant to listen to as always, and I also enjoyed the very thoughtful mix of songs put together by the trio “Footnote”.
We were honoured to be invited to close, though without the instrumentalism of Mick and Eddie, both of us struggled to remember what the missing sections sounded like! Arnold fondly unveiled his brand new guitar, and we started off with “The Odeon” -which most people knew and sang along with. We followed that with a second airing of a new song, “Albert Balls.” (Last performed at the Festival) I think by the end of this, the few people who hadn’t seen us before had worked out that our material isn’t always entirely serious.
We then performed “Midlands Lullaby”, which also got a few smiling. Though it would have been punchier with that lovely East European medley we do at the end. We finished off with “ The Bold Pirate.” I had come cutlass-less, but a member of the bar staff fetched me one from another room! ( What do you expect in a Rugby Club?) The surprise ending caught a few out, and I bodged the words up twice, but basically we winged it.
The event had raised a fair old sum for Macmillan Nurses, and at the end of proceedings, Malc very kindly handed it over to Arnold. This will kick-start our “Concert For Judith “ campaign, where we hope to put our heart and souls into raising money to help others to make life comfortable for those who suffered like Judith.

Back on The Perch

Those of you who know the band (or of them) may well be aware of the tragedy that hit us amidships in February 2009. We cancelled all bookings, stopped rehearsals and really, for a while, it looked as if (for a second time), the band might fold. But I am delighted to say that we got together musically for the first time in 2009 last Monday. Mick and Arnold have bought new instruments, and it's all systems go again.
The wounds will take a long time to heal, but music will help.

We played some 17 songs, including some new material which is eventually destined to join the set list. "Maggie's Farm," for example, we'd been working on for a while. This will be our first Dylan cover since "Knocking on Heaven's Door," which we used to do in the 1970s and 1980's. We also returned successfully to " Man of Constant Sorrow."

There are a couple more Blues songs we'd like to do also-but we haven't neglected our Comedy roots either. "Poor Little Rhino " and "Albert Balls" are Northern parodies which we did at Bedworth Folk Festival in November. We consider them set regulars now. And we haven't given up completely on being the first Folk Band to do a Beyonce cover. Our haunting tribute to her, " If I were a Goat" is shaping up nicely.

Our first gig since Beduff will be at The Merchants Inn, Rugby on Tuesday April 21st. This evening is part of their Beer Festival-so it will be a damn good night all round. We'll be doing two sets, the first at around 9.15, the second starting around 10.30. Thanks to those in the Folk community who have given us such solid support during this bleak period. Judith wanted us to carry on after her untimely death, and that's exactly what we'll do. This one's for her.

Judith Chave R.I.P.

In what has been a terrifyingly quick chain of events, Judith, the wife of our guitarist Arnold, died peacefully in Myton Hospice only a few weeks ago. Her funeral was yesterday, and many Black Parrot Seaside followers were amongst a large congregation who attended.

For a while it had looked over the last few months as if the band would fold completely. But it was one of Judith's last wishes that "The Boys" as she affectionately called us, would continue. So we will.

We will be getting back together soon to rehearse, and as soon as we are back up to speed we will begin to fulfil bookings again. We have cancelled all performances but the one scheduled for the Merchants Inn on April 21st 2009-that will be effectively when we "get back on the horse"-and others will follow.

We intend to dedicate quite a bit of future time to fund raising for Myton Hospice and Macmillan Nurses. As part of the healing process we would like to commemorate Judith's brief life through a "Concert For Judith" to be held somewhere locally during the late Spring or Summer. Already, local artistes and Club organisers such as Kristy Gallagher,Norman Wheatley, Pete Willow, Gill Gilsenan and Malc Gurnham have pledged support. Anyone else interested in helping out should contact one of us through the usual channels. Judith loved her music, and this event will celebrate that.

An Update

Well it's been ten days since I last blogged, and things are if anything worse. I realise I am still talking in ambiguities here, but that is largely to protect the Band member who is facing the awful prospect of nursing his partner through the worst and most final of all illnesses.

The remaining three of us are meeting next week to bond, to share manly hugs, and to mull over what, if anything the future holds for what was up until so very recently a rejuvenated and rising B.P.S. We still have some bookings ahead which we have not yet cancelled. It is difficult to see at the moment though, how best can fulfil them.

The only faint beam of optimism has come from a fabulous review of our CD by David Kidman, which I received this week. It will hopefully be published soon on the Net Rhythmns Website and in Folk Roundabout Magazine. David had no idea of the trauma we were undergoing when he wrote it, but it certainly came as a tonic. Once it's published, I'll stick it on here, with links.

We have met David only once. This was at Bedworth Folk Festival last November, where he was compering one of the slots we were appearing in. He was so supportive, that night, we gave him a CD. I must share with you something he wrote to me a few days ago, after he had just learned about our current troubles.



" I can well understand the impact this has had on you all. Your group closeness was apparent on the one occasion we met, even to an “outsider” like me.For what it’s worth – my advice is don’t let this stunning blow force BPS to disband or pack in. The immediate cancellations, the taking stock, of course these are perfectly natural – and absolutely right – responses. But what I’ve found is that where there’s a common close bond that’s strong, that’ll be what keeps you going (in some form or other and whenever) – and quite apart from your friendship and closeness (which is way more than a bonus in a band situation) the music is one such bond too. Supporting each other in adversity, and playing together when you feel you can, will pull you all through this difficult time, I am sure of that. "


-Cheers for that David. Words of genuine worth from a top bloke.

Thanks for all those good wishes and messages of support. We will keep promoters Organisers and Band followers posted. If we do have to cancel, we will give as much prior notice as possible.

A TROUBLE SHARED

Many of us on the local folk scene were upset to hear about Linda Dickson’s serious illness. As it happens, I know Linda well, both as a family friend and an ex-colleague. My band, Black Parrot Seaside, have had more than enough personal tragedy over the last 12 months, and we were given a new cross to bear only last week. Our hearts go out to those in Ninepenny Marl and Pennyroyal therefore. Sometimes the cruel hand of random unfathomable forces defies any attempt to rationalise it. You call it what you like-I can’t see a pattern or a logic in any of this sustained cruelty and unhappiness, where good people go under, and others who don’t deserve it seem to be given chance after chance.

Of those of you who have been fortunate enough to be together in a band for any long period of time, some of you will also have been blessed with that special kind of cameraderie and communal joy which only such a relationship brings. You’ll understand what I’m about to say. Bands’ performances and music are often associated with conflicting egoes: with internal bickering: with division and dissent. It isn’t like that with us. It never has been. We’ve had personnel changes over the years, but the current line up as featured on our new CD and performing across the Midlands since 2006, is the same as it was 30 years ago, when we cut our first album on vinyl.
Such unity means that the good times are great. But it also means that the sad times are that much sadder. This is because when one of us hurts, the rest of us also suffer. When one of us grieves or mourns a loss, the rest of us share it. One of us had awful news last week, in a seven day period where the bad news just kept on coming. It meant that only three of us performed at a Family function on Saturday when all four of us should have been there. If it had been a gig, without doubt we would have cancelled it. But because our families and partners were there, and many of our friends, we carried on, after explaining to an audience why we were depleted, and why the set would only be very brief.

It’s a difficult thing to do, that is, to put a shadow over an otherwise very happy celebration, which you have personally contributed to and organised, and then have to give a performance when your heart is aching. But most of the people there knew the people involved: absent as they were and wrapped up in their own personal tragedy miles away. Guests had come from as far away as Yorkshire, The Isle of Wight and Devon. But as we finished, the wave of communal sympathy and warmth was not just for us. It would have travelled up the road to The University Hospital at Walsgrave with a strength that could have been picked up on the radar at Coventry Airport.

Black Parrot Seaside may not always be the most accomplished outfit locally, nor always the most sober. But we do have that kind of almost instinctive affinity which creates a bond. It is almost like having a second family. This doesn’t always work with bands, but with us it always has. We are a unit on and off stage. We share holidays, family functions such as weddings births and funerals, we see each other at Christmas and other celebrations. Even if we don’t perform or rehearse for weeks-months-years-when we get back together it’s always good, creatively, socially, musically.

So the Parrot is wounded. A wing is broken. ( You know when you’re driving and you think you’ve clipped a bird? You look in the mirror to check if it’s ok. Sometimes you just see a silhouette fluttering about in the road. Sometimes you see it staggering away. Sometimes it flies unsteadily clear and you hope it’s safe. That's how it is with us). We’re down at the moment, and we are suffering. I suspect we’ll be back again. But there’s some healing to be done in between. Bear with us.

The Personal Touch

One of the nicest things about distributing this first batch of the CD we’ve just released has been meeting Black Parrot Seaside fans in person. ( We always tend to use The word “fans” in a tongue in cheek context. They could much more accurately be termed “followers,” or “supporters” or in a few rather more distressing cases, just “stalkers.”) Tongue in cheek is just how we are. It’s what unites four diverse souls from different musical backgrounds, but with a common philosophy and a very slightly skewed outlook on life. And that’s the way a lot of the people who like our music or Live performances are.

That’s also the way a lot (but not all) of the Parrot material is written, arranged and performed. Essentially we mean no harm, but we want to make people listen, and perhaps reflect. We also want our audiences and listeners to have a good time. Sometimes our targets are the pompous or the opinionated, but sometimes our target is just to get feet tapping. Or to make people smile. Folk and Accoustic music has always been able to deliver this. The worst kind of Folk Music just preaches, for dour verse after dour verse. The best makes you react physically to the rhythmn or melody or both, or makes you incline your head to catch a meaningful lyric, and may well leave you still thinking about it long after the song has finished. I’m not saying we do any of this-but we try to.

Anyway, whilst handing on the CD itself, or one of the 6-track Samplers, I have in many cases got into a dialogue with Parrot sympathisers, either in person, or by letter or email or on the telephone. It’s been uplifting to connect with people we met on the circuit first time round, and who remember us with affection and at times, slight bemusement. This includes Promoters, Organisers, Artistes, fellow musicians, journalists, broadcasters and the general public. No need to name names here. You know who you are. Obviously however, we made an impression first time round, and at the time, we weren’t sure whether that was happening or not.

The most exhilarating encounters come when someone comes up afterwards and tells you just how much they liked a particular song and why. ( In the past we knew when people didn’t like a song because they threw things at us, or booed.) Surely you only get this kind of intimate encounter in the world of acoustic music? In small venues, where audience and performers mingle before and afterwards?

WhiIst waiting for a pint to be topped up, I once told a member of the Original Chicken Shack just how much I dug the band. I wasn’t being intrusive or sychophantic-I just thought he might like to know. He didn’t tell me to p**s off, but instead we had quite a coherent conversation about our favourite Blues numbers. ( And look what happened to them afterwards.)

Conversely however, it is possible to set up a false, cosmetic coterie of devotees who will do this sort of thing loudly and to order. I’ll give you an example. Within recent memory, I sat in a Folk Club, listening to a decent band I had some time for. Their material was good. Not exceptional-but well played and very listenable. I gave them what I felt was generous applause after each of their numbers. They were accomplished: pleasant: only occasionally bland.

Yet after each number and sometimes during them, a small strategically seated faction uttered loud and almost orgasmic exclamations such as, “ YES! Oh YES!” or: “ Oh I LOVE this song.” Quite apart from being a distraction, this level of fawning adoration was so obviously contrived it was embarrassing. Almost certainly related, these people were trying to formulate our reactions as an audience for us, and to pre-empt our reactions. I didn’t like it.

Not that it’s ever been a problem for us, but if you really think “The Bold Pirate” is crushingly satirical, or “ The Odeon” made you cry because it reminded you of going to The Pictures as a kid, do me a favour. Save it for the Interval. Or come up with a pint of Tribute as we’re packing away the mikestands and tell us quietly, if you liked a song or the performance. It’s far more intellectually stimulating than shouting stuff out virtually to order. And it's genuine.

Busy Weekend-Without even playing!

Here are some shots of six carefree young things taken at Hawkesbury Junction in the 1970's. I have also been playing with a Christmas Present-a machine which converts cassette tapes to CD format. Now, the only copies previously we have of the Black Parrot Seaside pictured above, playing as an Electric Six piece, (which played support to bands like East of Eden and the Darts) existed only in tape format. Up until now.

We never did get into a studio as a Blues/Prog band, which is a shame, as many of the fond memories people have of us go back that far. Epic performances at The University of Warwick for example, where Audience participation of a new and faintly disturbing kind led to armchairs being tipped over the balconies of the Elephant's Nest Bar. Or us being barred from Pubs in Birmingham and Coventry. ( Notably The Smithfield Hotel and The Ryton Bridge Hotel. Long since demolished. Serves 'em right!)

Some of the material in those days was, um, "experimental",to say the least! Generally, audiences loved it, but a few Club Organisers sometimes got a little uptight about it. On this CD, which was recorded at a rehearsal, are versions of remarkable Set songs such as " Small, Maladjusted and Mean," " Welcome to Sleep Town," " Brutus," "Audience," "Ordinary," " Chieftain Tank Boogie" and loads of others. "Small Maladjusted and Mean " featured a mock fight halfway through the number between me and drummer Vance Ectomy. On one occasion(one of the many gigs we played at The Golden Cross), we had forgotten to warn the Guvnor there. As the Drumkit went over, he leapt the bar counter armed with a baseball bat, and let his Dobermann out. All good theatrical stuff, and Gig resumed to thunderous applause, after a brief peacemaking session! Folk Club Organisers of 2009 PLEASE NOTE-we are now a sedate quartet of kindly, grey-haired old sweeties. Nothing of this sort happens at BPS gigs nowadays. Oh dear me, no.

On Friday I sent copies of our CD to that other Rochdale legend Mike Harding. Does he really have a sense of humour? We shall see! I have also been busy bagging up copies of our 6-track Sampler. Professionally produced by Spindrift Creativity, they are available free to Bona Fide Folk Club Festival or Club Organisers, along with suitable "Blurb"

On Sunday we featured again on BBC Local radio-this time a "Wedge's Warwickshire" which focussed on Wolvey.