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26 Feb 12 - 08:54 AM (#3313579) Subject: I love my job. From: GUEST It doesn't get any better than this. Charlie Watts once said something along the lines of., "Been with the band for 35 years. That's 5 years of work and 30 years of travelling/hanging around". As old age beckons and I still find myself with the enthusiasm to stagger up, I check in the mirror for missing parts and hit the road for a long weekend of small solo shows, I look forward to, once again, seeing old mates and meeting new folks and playing in some new territories. I don't relish the driving and am in fact unable to both do a coherent gig and a journey without a sidekick. In this instance, Kev the roadie has already had a better offer from a certain Mr Knightley so my agent/manager Vicky Whitlock is designated general helper for this week. I firmly believe that agents should ALL periodically come out on the road for a few days to just meet people and to encounter what I encounter. It can only assist in them doing a better job for both me and the gigs concerned. We leave form Exeter at midday and drive all the way to Martletwy in distant Pembrokeshire. There were many folk clubs out here in the 70's which I played regularly in the Downes and Beer era. Its a beautiful, wild part of the world and I like it. The gig is a new one and a stunning revelation. A bunch of good folks have banded together in this community to refurbish an old Methodist chapel both as a place of worship but also as a concert venue. We arrive in the mist and rain around 5:30 to discover this lovely old building on a remote windy, mist covered hill. There's only one other farmhouse anywhere in sight but some kind soul has actually put two traffic cones outside the venue to prevent the ravening hordes from stealing our parking space. Keith the organiser is there to let us in. We walk through the door and step back 150 years in time. It's just the venue to die for. (Or in) I sing three or four notes and decide to leave the P A in the van. These places were made for singing after all. Not for me the excesses of folk and roll. We are treated to flasks of tea and home made welsh cakes. The audience turns up by 7:30 and I'm delighted to discover almost an entire new capacity audience who are from the community and supporting the venue and don't have much idea about me or what I do. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted to have a modest following and certainly some old mates turn up here as well but all of us need to play to new people to keep the ball rolling. There's no bar and we start on time to allow the show to finish by 10 to facilitate everyone heading to the nearest pub for jar. I enjoy myself so much that I lose track of time and nearly deprive everyone of that pleasure. A quick pint and a chat with the entire audience in the bar before decamping back to Cardiff and the obligatory Travel Lodge. Late up and off down to Cardiff bay for a stroll. Tonights show is there at the lovely Norwegian Church. Its and 'own promotion' We've hired the venue, internet box officed it, and its nearly sold out. I hear too many artists wingeing about not having enough gigs. Everyone has the power to change this. If you're a young band, set up a regular residency in a pub or something similar. You get to rehearse and play a gig at the same time and it builds a core following for what you do. If you want to play somewhere where you think you might pull a few people and no-one wants to take a punt on you, do the same thing. Set your own gig up. Its not rocket science! (Actually, it IS rocket science. W Von Braun) No-one has expressed any interest in putting me on as a solo artist in Cardiff at any time. I know there is a core audience here so thats why we've done this. We are 10 short of a sell out and very happy with the result. Another lovely place where I have played a lot but not recently. I decide to record tonight and drag out the mics and a laptop with pro tools on it. Well well. I still like my job. A great night with a nice bunch of folks and possibly a good live recording. Record the audience singing 'Happy Birthday' to my old friend and musical partner Colin Wilson who's 60th I'm missing tonight. Allow myself a glass of wine. (I know how to live) One of the 9 days of sunshine in Cardiff the following day so meet up with mates for outdoor breakfast by the harbour. They include Thys who has come over from Utrecht for the weekend. Bemoan the fact that we simply no longer have time to visit Holland anymore. (Shame) On to Shropshire. Oh joy. M50 closed but this forces us to go the pretty way up through Ledbury/Leominster/Ludlow. Sun shining and I'm almost enjoying the journey. We get to Broseley about 5. This is a funny old community centre/am-dram theatre venue where Mike Kaiser has been putting on folk and roots music concerts for many years. Its just been refurbished and Mike is getting into full swing with a series of shows. We are sold out (130) and people are traveling some distance to come. Mike is delighted because our personal promotional work has brought in new people who are now aware of a comfortable and friendly place to enjoy music. When musicians say they can't afford to run a mailist there is only one possible reply. You can't afford not to!. And I do mean snail mail as well as email. You'd be amazed how many fans are our music are not internet savvy. More old mates and, best of all, local boy Bill Caddick is the compere and his witty banter and introduction is always a source of great hilarity and entertainment. SOH used to do a song of his called 'Won't you stay on the line' We must revive it. Couldn't have had more fun unless I'd been sailing Pegasus in the Baltic! Pack up and say goodbyes and very amused that a mates husband has chosen Rammstein at the NEC tonight rather than coming here. If it had been me, I'd have gone to the Rammstein show! Those boys know how to entertain. A 60 mile drive to deepest cheshire to a friends house where I will play in their front room to 50 people. These gigs are just wonderful and there are more of them appearing as time goes on. They are often run by people who used to run folk clubs and just want to keep the ball rolling occasionally. Its a common feature in America now and slowly catching on here. Thats it really. Cup of tea. Bowl of porridge. Sun over the dales. Changing some strings and learning a new song for tonight. Far too much wingeing, carping and curmudgeonliness on some of these internet boards sometimes. Not enough about the positive and life affirming side of music which is,for me, the entire point of it. Tell you what. I love my job! |
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26 Feb 12 - 09:00 AM (#3313581) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Will Fly And Phil (I assume it's Phil), we love you doing it! |
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26 Feb 12 - 09:06 AM (#3313586) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Phil B Whoops. Apologies. Yes tis I. Have a good day! |
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26 Feb 12 - 09:08 AM (#3313587) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Phil B I certainly am! |
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26 Feb 12 - 10:11 AM (#3313613) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,alex s (no cookie) are you coming up to the Burnley area any time soon? |
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26 Feb 12 - 10:30 AM (#3313618) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Philb Love to. Where do you suggest? Mechanics is great but too big for a solo show. Needs a 100 seat venue of some kind. |
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26 Feb 12 - 11:17 AM (#3313632) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,alex s (no cookie) The Ace Centre in Nelson would be great. Contact me via Burnley Folk Club. |
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26 Feb 12 - 12:41 PM (#3313656) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: DebC Thanks for this, Phil. I love my job as well and I cannot imagine that I tried at one time to do anything other than sing. There are certainly "bumps in the road" (pun intended) and I have put a fair share of miles on both my personal vehicle and the hired ones. I gotta say, you folks in the UK certainly have some challenging ways of getting around, but I always love my time over there. Debra Cowan |
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26 Feb 12 - 01:02 PM (#3313666) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Will Fly Phil - I seem to remember that you and Steve K once did a "Village Hall Project" series of talks about bands going out to village halls and setting up their own concert, doing their own thing in fact. Our own band has started doing this and it's a great way to get gigs and get paid with little interference from outside - just a bit of hard work and organisation required. |
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27 Feb 12 - 05:27 AM (#3313941) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Phil B Way to go. The point of doing it was to empower people to put on gigs. The most common moan is, 'you never play anywhere near us' so we threw it back at people and said, 'find a village hall and get on with it' We backed them up every way we could with our own publiciity and posters flyers and relevant material and we did two long tours of shows like that. There are regular gigs from that period in existence now because people enjoyed doing it and carried on. Everybody wins. Anyone who hasn't got the gigs they feel they should have or need could do the same. Village halls are excellent because they are underused and cheap to hire. If you can also mobilise a community to be curious about such an event then even better. Best of luck. |
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27 Feb 12 - 06:51 AM (#3313955) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Richard Bridge I thoroughly enjoyed your show in the tiny Man of Kent - I'd have liked more hard core English Traddy but your choice was very sensible for a pub. You left out another good bit - wonderful guitars are tax deductible! Oh, which reminds me, I hope Reg is happy to hear that the Hagstrom J-45 I bought off him is making steady progress back towards sounding like it did when new.... I think a neck set will be next, and a replacement inner bridge plate, both of which will improve energy transfer at the saddle. |
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27 Feb 12 - 08:38 AM (#3313991) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Big Al Whittle Call that a job! A job!.....y' young bugger! When I were a lad, me dad's mandoline was kept in a cabinet in the front room and only taken out on Tuesdays when Me Mam used to polish it, after a shift down the pit and getting back from church. No one was allowed to listen to music til we'd listened to the Clitheroe Kid and fought the Second World war. |
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27 Feb 12 - 08:55 AM (#3314000) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Will Fly Mandolin? Luxury! We had to make do with an empty tortoise shell strung with nose hairs! |
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27 Feb 12 - 10:49 AM (#3314055) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: Dave the Gnome Nose hairs? Nose hairs??? Errrr, I think I'll let it stop there... :D tG |
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28 Feb 12 - 12:10 PM (#3314620) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Phil B Aha. Should have incorporated the previous two gigs in my post. The other thing I like about what I get to do is the diversity of it. The previous two shows were in the lovely Whitstable Playhouse the saturday before and the 'Man of Kent' in Rochester on the sunday. . These little victorian theatres are very atmospheric but you have to sometimes patiently do battle with their custodians to get your hands on them. usually worth the effort though. This one is on the upeer end of what I like to do, size wise. My solo show is fairly informal and intimate and the antithesis of what we do with SOH. My average comfort zone is around 100 seats. The Playhouse holds about 180. Loved the night though. Jointly promoted by my management who happen to be based there anyway and Debs Earl from ' Folk in the Barn' who put on lots of gigs in that part of Kent. Its about atmosphere and intimacy for me. Thats partly why I do very few solo festival gigs. The thing I do isn't really suitable for those types of gig. The sunday was for friends Heather and Rob who put on a lot of music in their pub. A very different and lively place. Good gang of folks apart from the idiot photographer who seemed to think that the gig was solely for his purposes. Had to stop mid set and get rid of him. Didn't mar the enjoyment though. Richard. There's no compromise in any set I play, no matter what the circumstances. I play what I set out to play. People have to like it or lump it. No strings to pull here. Will convey your message to Master Reg next saturday when we do a double bill at Ebbesborne on saturday. Sounds like you have a great guitar collection. |
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28 Feb 12 - 12:12 PM (#3314622) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Phil B Thats upper! |
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08 Mar 12 - 12:07 PM (#3319894) Subject: RE: I love my job. From: GUEST,Chris M As far as the Broseley gig is concerned all thanks go to you for a brilliant night. Come back soon |