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Subject: An Oysterband Survey From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 02 Jun 09 - 05:33 AM Today, the sun is shining here in Sidmouth, in more ways than one! I've just had a surveyor round to make sure my house is worth every penny that the Woolwich is about to give to my buyer... So, in he steps, wonderful Brummie accent filling the rooms...but he's a little Seriously Surveryorish, in a grown up kinda way. I offer him tea, but he declines, and so, I accompany him around the house as he ticks his formal boxes, in his formal manner, with his 'Best Suit and Tie' formal voice on..... And then........... :0) Just as he's about to leave....... :0) :0) ...he stands in my front garden, saying how he loves my house..how he loves Sidmouth, finds it the loveliest East Devon town of all of them. "It's even better when the Folk Festival comes here" says I... "Oh, THANK YOU!" says he..."I need to get some tickets, there's a band I want to see." "Really?" says I, warming to this man....."And who would they be?" "A band called The Oysterband" says my surveryor, and the merest hint of bright colour is beginning to appear on the left shoulder of his dark grey suit... :0) "THE OYSTERBAND????" says I! :0) :0) :0) "Yes, I expect you've never heard of them, they're fantastic." says he....as peacock blue starts to creep over his right shoulder.... "Never HEARD of them????! I ****LOVE*****THEM!!!" says a very Happy Surveyed Lizzie :0) :0) "You DO?" says my Sparkly Surveyor...now dressed in a rainbow coloured jacket..... "I ADORE THEM!" (woops, WPA - Worried Phil Alert!) ;0) There then followed the most colourful of conversations, about favourite songs, favourite festivals, places he's seen them, how he travels around the country to catch them...How he was blown away by them the first time he ever saw them.... And so I told my surveyor, who now stood dressed in his Coat of Many Colours all about Those Gorgeous Oysters, about John Jones walking/singing tour, about their myspace pages, about Youtube..He didn't know about Myspace...WHOA!!! He does NOW! :0) he even knows about Mudcat! :0) :0) Hell, I even threw caution to the wind, checked to make sure Steve and Phil weren't behind my hedge listening, and told him about 'they who must no longer be mentioned'... "Hey!" he beamed...."I've heard about 'they who must no be mentioned! I've got friends who are CRAZY about them, sing their praises all the time. I HAVE to get to see them!" And I smiled at my Surveyor of Smiles, as he went into Full Festival Mode, saw him itching to remove his shoes and dance around to the beat of those Fabulous Oysters! He had a friend who had the opportunity of being their drummer, around 10 years or so back...but..he decided to turn it down..and has been kicking himself ever since... Anyway, I told him to make sure that he sees 'they who must no longer be mentioned' with his heroes, if ever he gets the chance, as they all ROCK together... And then....THEN...the sun came out EVEN brighter...because he said to me...beaming... "You ever heard of Seth Lakeman!" :0) :0) :0) :0) Whooaaaaaaaaaa! Is the Pope........? ;0) I stood there LONGING for a video camera! Wishing I could have played it back to you all... "I really dig Seth's music. I saw him up in Brum a while back, with some rapper musicians, doing something really different. His music blew me away too, bought his CDs. Still not seen him live yet though" he said....now totally stripped of every ounce of greyness...... And then, he told me that my house was worth every single penny, told me that it was special....and I grinned at him, knowing I'd found a kindred music spirit...one who LOVES the music, loves music that makes you move, makes you want to dance....We spoke too of Cara Dillon and Kate Rusby..and he said what fabulous musicians he was finding down here in The West Country... :0) :0) :0) Then, off he hopped, happily, back into his car...and away to the seafront he drove, to survey the sparkles for a little while...without realising that he was already Filled With Sparkles, put there by the music...Music made by these wonderful guys, who've brought so much pleasure to so many people, and who love their fans. THE GORGEOUS OYSTERBAND SETH & MALIK from Moorish Delta 7 |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: GUEST,Neil D Date: 02 Jun 09 - 02:11 PM I turned my youngest onto Seth playing with MD7 on Youtube last year. He never listened to folk music but he was floored by that video and started checking out other Seth Lakeman music. |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Folkiedave Date: 02 Jun 09 - 03:06 PM That's a great story Lizzie. You ought to mention it to the Oysters - they might pass it on to their publicity person. Likewise the Sidmouth stuff - looks like a good news story to me. |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: ClaireBear Date: 02 Jun 09 - 03:26 PM Can you please give those of us who live in benighted California and haven't seen The Oysterband since the Freedom and Rain tour the vaguest clue who "They Who Must Not Be Mentioned" are, and why They must not? I know, I know, you can't mention Them, but still... C |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Folknacious Date: 02 Jun 09 - 03:45 PM Poor, poor little Oysters. People, remember, it's not their fault. They are but molluscs in the winds of fate . . . |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 02 Jun 09 - 03:47 PM Sorry Claire, here you go.... John Barleycorn - The Oysterband and Show of Hands |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: ClaireBear Date: 02 Jun 09 - 03:58 PM Thank you, Lizzie! Mystery solved. Now, if only I knew who the Oxford girl was... |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Folknacious Date: 02 Jun 09 - 04:11 PM I met a man . . . |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Rifleman (inactive) Date: 02 Jun 09 - 04:35 PM "Poor, poor little Oysters. People, remember, it's not their fault. They are but molluscs in the winds of fate" the mollusc-type creature is the only oyster I care for. |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Dave the Gnome Date: 04 Jun 09 - 09:57 AM In around 1989 or so we had the Oysters - as a ceilidh band - on at Swinton Festival and until then I had not realised that they were the (in?)famous Fiddlers Dram minus Cathy LeSurf! Oddly enough I may be one of the few people who will admit to enjoying Day Trip to Bangor:-) I have enjoyed them ever since and I went to the Big Session last year (2008) but couldn't make it this year:-( And my niece is at DeMontfort uni in Leicester so I could have bunked down close by! Missed my usual annual Steeleye Span or Carnival Band concert before Christmas as well. Ah well, c'est la vie as they say in Scunthorpe. Memo to self - Give up shifts that clash with concerts... :D (eG) |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Folknacious Date: 05 Jun 09 - 07:55 AM I think there were only 2 or 3 in common between Oysterband and Fiddler's Dram, but you'd have to ask Lizzie - she knows EVERYTHING about these "geriatric boy bands" ;-) |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Tug the Cox Date: 05 Jun 09 - 03:27 PM Nice story Lizzie, glad a smile has been restored to your face after a couple of rough journeys, no pirates onthe horizon yet. |
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Subject: RE: An Oysterband Survey From: Dave the Gnome Date: 05 Jun 09 - 05:38 PM Line ups courtesy of Wikipedia so they could be proved wrong! I think in this case though it os pretty verifyable. Fiddlers Dram line-up - Cathy Lesurf - vocals, bodhran Alan Prosser - guitar, fiddle, bowed psaltery, bones Chris Taylor - bouzouki, harmonica, appalachian dulcimer, mandola, tenor banjo Ian Telfer - fiddle, bowed psaltery, viola Will Ward - Bassoon, Crumhorn Dave Arbus, violinist with East of Eden, was a founder member but left before the band achieved success. Oysterband mark one line-up - Cathy Lesurf - vocals; John Jones - melodeon, vocals; Alan Prosser - guitars, violin; Chris Taylor - guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, one-row melodeon, mandola; Ian Telfer - violin, English concertina, saxophone; Chris Wood - bass guitar; Will Ward - bassoon, recorders, crumhorn, keyboards 5 our of seven 5 is pretty close I think but, as you say, only 3 of the originals now remain. Oysterband current line-up ~ Chopper - bass guitar, cello, vocals John Jones - melodeon, lead vocals Alan Prosser - guitars, viola, vocals Ian Telfer - fiddle, English concertina, vocals Dil Davies - drums Dan Donnelly - mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, vocals (additional touring musician, not considered a member of the band) Remember the 'family tree' on 'History of Fairport Convention' where it showed who was in Fairport/Steeleye/Albion/Tull etc? I think it would be realy intersting to do another and see just which musicians belonged where and when!:-) Cheers DeG |
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