Hi Everyone Another great week. Spittalbrook was buzzing on Tuesday – great to see so many people enjoying the music there. The Rose and Crown is doing well, but could still do with a bit more support – this is a great place for anyone who plays anything – all genres are welcome and they are a great bunch of people. Give it a try! Thursday at the Crown was another one of those quite memorable sessions – even though we did not have the full Ragmans Trumpet contingent there, the place was heaving with great quality musicians and singers. Nice slow session to start the night off too, we will try to get the dots out much earlier for next time. Next week’s diary and then a few announcements. Monday – Four Crosses Club at Cannock – free entry and musicians, singers and listeners all very welcome. Tuesday – Regular weekly Spittalbrook session – mainly folk biased, but everyone welcome. Wednesday – Rose and Crown – Mixed Acoustic Session – everyone who plays or sings anything very welcome. Thursday – Junction at Norbury – it’s not as far as you think and it is a great venue with great real ales. Please come along and give it a bit of support during its early days – you’ll be glad you did! Dates for your Diary; April 2nd Arthur Doherty Band at the MET April 4th A rare treat!!!! Chris Truman – the renowned Classical Guitarist is performing in St Chads Church at 7.30pm. This from Chris himself – “£10.00 £8.00 concessions Kids Free. Come and enjoy some beautiful music in a beautiful setting! A rare thing indeed... PROGRAMME: 5 Preludes - H. Villa Lobos Hika A Tribute to Toru Takemitsu - Leo Brouwer BWV 998 by J.S.Bach INTERVAL (FreeTea and Biscuits) BWV 1001 by J.SBach La Cathedral - Agustín Pío BarriosAsturias - I.Albeniz (it will be filmed and recorded so please bring your vuvuzelas and be sure to wear your onsie) Ill be having drinks at the Swan (opposite) from 9. *optional. Hope to see you there!! May 10th Urban Folk Quartet at the MET (Selling out fast!!) May 21st Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar at the MET Also, you may now know that the concert in memory of Hywel Evans is ON and will be at the Morris Man on 21st June, please contact Jeff if you would like to make a musical contribution (or any other offer of help) 01785 664629. Stafford Morris are having a bit of a recruitment drive at the moment – this side was started in its present form back in the 1950’s and now needs a few members as some of the original ones (yes, they are still with Stafford Morris!) are getting a bit worn out. Here is a message from Gordon; “Morris dancing is an important part of our folk heritage and culture, and of course incorporates fantastic folk music. Stafford Morris men are looking to recruit new men, to help us promote and continue this important British folk tradition. We are a very welcoming and friendly bunch, and our main aim is to enjoy the dancing and music. There is a tremendous amount of encouragement, support and help for new members, which I can personally vouch for, as a relatively new member. We have some great times performing at differing venues, accompanied by family members, so it’s also like a friendly social club. Please give it a try. You can contact Gordon at [email protected] or 01785 259812.” I would highly recommend it. Most of us old folkies have done our share of the dance and found friendships in it that have lasted a lifetime. And there is nothing quite like a Morris Tune – I love them all! Now a word from me with my MC hat on. As any regular attendees of our many varied sessions throughout the month will know, there are two formats, one is a completely unmoderated ‘free for all’ type, which many people enjoy, like the Spittalbrook, The Rose and Crown and The Junction, the other is MC controlled like the Lamb and Flag and The Crown. I won’t go into all the reasons for the moderated type of session, but basically it is there to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance and helps ‘mix up’ the music a bit so do don’t get a string of tune sessions or a string of unaccompanied ballads or anything else for that matter. It is just to make the evening go a bit smoother and help everyone to have a fair go. It is not there for and arbitrary censorship or favouritism. However, with the best will in the world, it is quite possible for an MC to drop a clanger and miss someone out or forget to make an announcement. If this should happen at either session – a poke in the ribs to the presiding MC with a sharp stick will normally cure the problem! Pete Wallis – Update. Pete’s fellow band members went to see him on Friday. As you may or may not know, Pete is a bit poorly at the moment and is staying at Burton Hospital till they can complete his melodeon transplant. Pete is suffering from a few long standing issues that he has had for quite a while and will no doubt be bouncing back soon. He was dead chuffed to receive the Get Well card that everyone signed at the Crown session, but as any of us that have had to spend any time in Hospital knows, despite the very best care and attention from the medical staff, they are pretty lonely places and are probably the very last place that you feel you want to be in when you are not well! The good news is Pete does have access to his emails and I know that he would be delighted to hear from anyone. Now, it’s probably not a great idea to publish his email address here, but if you email me on stephengullick@btinternet I would be happy to post his email address on to you. And let’s spare a thought also for Christina – it must be a worrying time for her and travelling back and forth to Burton everyday cannot be much fun. Best wishes Pete and Christina from everyone on the Folk list, I know that you do read this. I think that is about it for this week unless I have missed anything again! Hope to see you at one or more of the above. Cheers Steve
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 10:33:48 +0000
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