caller's blog

Heritage

What a great week! Graeme and I recorded Graeme's song The Bedfordshire Clanger on Wednesday at Steve's (our guitarist in Time of Your Life). With mics in the front room, multicore down the stairs and Steve in the "control room" upstairs, we made a successful recording (eventually!) and the post-production results are very good. We recorded it because a company called Five Feet Films is making a film called The Bedfordshire Clanger and they want to use the song as part of the action. They're also supposed to be filming Redbornstoke Morris this coming weekend, so more of that next time!

The music session at The Fox in Pirton last Wednesday was not as well supported as in the past. I went with Taz, and there were a few of the usual suspects there, but the atmosphere was not as highly-charged as it has been, and there was talk of the session folding soon. Still, there are two more sessions before Christmas, and the Guizers will be there on December 13th to perform the play as always.

I called at Friday Folk last week - an interesting and, I have to say, enjoyable experience. Although I was apprehensive about the evening, because I was concerned that my dances would not be challenging enough for the experienced dancers there, it seemed to go well. Certainly, the personal comments I've received from people who were there seem to suggest that they enjoyed the evening, and even that I may get a return booking!


Life & Times

And so to Saturday and the Leighton Buzzard Heritage Day. The theme this year was "The 50s" and we, as Life and Times were asked to perform in the street and in the church, singing our songs about Bedfordshire, but more specifically about the Brickworks of the county, as they employed a large number of Italian workers, and the diversity of the local workforce was one of the aspects of the 1950s the Heritage Day was focussing on. On the whole, it was quite a successful day out - we sold some CDs, met some old friends and made some new ones, and managed a pint of Young's Special in the Black Lion!

I rushed off to Ampthill to the Pie Festival, but missed the judging. Still, a pint of "Mrs. Miggins" with Dave made up for it wonderfully!

The evening was taken up with a ceilidh fo the ever-youthful Cardiac Friends in Hitchin. This is an annual event and, despite the history of heart-trouble amongst the organisation, they dance all evening and always seem to enjoy the event.


On Sunday, Life & Times played to a full Hitchin Folk Club, supporting the wonderful John Spiers and Jon Boden. It's always good to play to a full house, even when some of the material is being performed for the first time in public! The gig went well, and we had some really positive feedback from people there, especially about one of the new songs, Holes and Homes. The two Johns were very good - Graeme hadn't seen them before and was impressed! I bought the new Bellowhead CD, Masquerade. It's a fabulous production, even before you listen to it, as it's made to look like a book, with hard covers, lots of photos and excellent liner-notes. The set on the CD is mainly the one heard at live gigs this year - very left-field in places, but totally rooted in the Tradition. The range and blend of instruments in the band is exploited brilliantly, in places sounding like Brass Monkey, in others like the Dolly Collins arrangements on The Transports, but mostly just sounding like Bellowhead. A band with a future!!


Bellowhead

posted by caller @ 8:58 AM