Recording Jonathan

Today has been recording an excellent guitar player Jonathan Waller onto Zero Inches. So far I have 7 trumpets, tuba, accordion, several vocals and brushes on this track. Hoorah. Here he is looking nonchalant…

What Shall I do Tonight?

Fairport singing Bring Me Back My Feathers

Hoorah and hooray. Fairport Convention have been on tour – last gig tonight – and have one of my songs in their set. It is called Bring Me Back My Feathers which I wrote for my strange meddled-with Ozark banjo, and they’ve also recorded it on their latest album called Myths and Heroes. Fairport have recorded 2 others of my songs in the past – Sailing Boat and The Crowd. It is so nice that they liked another song though!

Here’s what I wrote about the song in the album notes:
I made this on an Ozark 5-String banjo which was purloined for me from an Oxfam shop in 1987. Needless to say the banjo has four strings which I didn’t remedy, and tend to tune it nowadays to CGCD which is a sort of bluegrassy mountain tuning.
This is the tuning I was fiddling about with using a flat pick when this simple tune popped up – I put in some place-holder words which had been made during a special needs project I do every year in Brum called Fox Hollies Summer Scheme (we produce a show from scratch making the story, drama, music, songs, dance and artwork, and then we perform it at the end of the week). The original meaning of the line was literal, the whole show being about a parrot! I meant to replace the words which turned out to be the title of the song, but this line stuck, and I’m glad it did as it’s slightly peculiar.

Handmade Business Cards

Hello I have made some lovely handmade cards for you.
Aren’t they nice.
Plus they have a surprise on the backs.
You will have to get some when you come to Hythe…

Cropredy Trumpet

Hello

At Cropredy this year I did a nice thing for people so that they could take full advantage of the brilliant festival in Field 6A. I did a lovely trumpet wake-up tune for them all at 8am…

Nursery Tavern Tonight

Nursery Tavern Tomorrow

For Friends: Cropredy 2014

I’ve been playing at Cropredy on the weekend! This was as a guest with Deborah Rose which has been lovely. I’ve met and played with some great musicians who have played with Deb – Martin Riley on keyboard, Heather Truesdall on cello and Tony Kelsey on guitars. I played the French horn, accordion, bodhran, udu, chimes (plus teaspoon) and vocals. Look at Deb’s website to find out more about her…

Also the festival was really fantastic with lots of good turns on including some prog-rock which I quite like. Fairport played a brilliant set which included a song I wrote called Bring Me Back My Feathers. It was a bit of a surprise they played it which I found out on last Tuesday when we did the warm-up gig at The Banbury Mill and they asked me into the sound-check to listen to their version of it which is all twiddly and banjo. I like the banjo. The banjo is the instrument I wrote the song for. They are recording it on their new album ‘Myths and Heroes’. And I am recording it on my new album which is not named yet…

Wonderful = I met up with lots of old friends including people who play music and people who like music. And people who have something to do with music. Anyway – mostly we met at the bar. On Thursday I drank beer and on Friday and Saturday I drank vodka.

On Thursday morning I did a good thing and helped people to wake up on field 6A by doing a waking-up call on my pocket trumpet. I think people were pleased because as there is a festival going on then people need to get up and do festival things. I also shouted to get up in case they hadn’t heard the trumpet as I am not sure it was loud enough… Me and my friend Ulla did tent-peering and programme-sniffing. You might’ve noticed if you went to Cropredy that the yellow pages in the programme smelt completely different to the purple pages which meant that you could tell with your eyes shut if you were on page 6 (yellow) or page 44 (purpley-black). You will  have to find out for yourselfs what tent-peering is.

Anyway – it was most enjoyifying. And so when I got home I made the above video for all the friends and people who like Cropredy and go to it if you feel like watching it…I have added some pictures I took of some of the people. Especially you might  be able to see yourself on the one I took of lots of people sheltering in the record tent when it rained rather a lot.

On Saturday night there was nearly a hurricane which actually turned out to be just slightly raining.

4Penny Shop and Cropredy

Er

…Fink I will go to the session at the 4Penny shop in Crompton Street Warwick in a bit e.g. 8.47pm I fink and I will take my accrordione, my gluitar and my trurmpet and Paul Elliott is going and he going to take his bass I fink so I fink I have pretty much decided I will go also Jonathan Waller and John Wright and John Wrong and John Black and John White and John Bongo and Nick and Harmonica Keef and Pete and Daff and who else might be there you never know…so I fink I will go and maybe I shall have a rum and ginger with a lime in it…

Cropredy and Warwick Festivals

All of a sudden I’ve got 3 gigs to report!

I’ve been invited to play at Cropredy as a guest on Deborah Rose’s set which is on Friday 8th August at 12.45. I’ve been working with Deb Rose for a few months since meeting her at the Spa Centre at a Fairport gig in January. We’ve been writing songs and talking and doing stuff together which has been lovely. At Cropredy I’ll be guesting on her songs. As part of this I shall also appear at Banbury Mill for her warm-up gig on Tuesday 5th August.

I’m also going to be playing Warwick Folk Festival which I haven’t done for a long time. I’ll be playing on Fri 25th July, Sat 26th July and Sun 27th July and making some unexpected appearances as well.

Exciting ay!

More Recording News

I have been doing more recordingy things at Heathcote Studios with the amazing Bill Bates.

I have recorded yesterday night my song called ‘Bring Me Back My Feathers’ which is for banjo tuned to CGCD plus me singing and there will be other instrument added to this one e.g. mandolin etc.

Bill very much enjoys doing drop-ins. Drop-ins are when you have done a perfect take except for one wrong thing. Then you do a drop-in. This is when Bill uses the sellotape to make the new track stick to the original track so it not notice at all that it’s a new track so everyone will think it was done in one take. NB you can use double-sided tape if you really want to but this obviously doesn’t work as well cos it’s sticky on both sides.

I have now recorded 4,762 feet of music so it’s going very well I think.

By the way – last recording session I learnt from Logic Pro that I was singing at between 44 and 47 miles an hour which is quite gratifying as I was always under the impression that I sang at 78.

The 4penny Clock

The Grand Union Melody Lounge TONIGHT

Hoorah I have a turn at The Grand Union Melody Lounge Leamington TONIGHT 9ish.

THIS is where it is…

Practicing For The Session

Thankyou Tump Folk

Well what a lovely time I had last night playing at The Tump Folk Club!
(organised by Karen) You can find the pictures on Facebook here…

It was quite a full night with me doing the headline but also Alkevan and Willow & Tool, the excellent Bill Bates and of course Keith Donnelly who played with me on a couple of my songs as well as doing a song of his own.

Here’s what I sang:

1st set
Zero Inches on accordion – currently recording at Bill Bates’ studio
Road on piano – newish song not recorded yet
Company Shirt on piano – currently recording
Reckless Blues on accordion and trumpet – recorded on my Live album
Live On Love on Joni-Mitchell-tuned tuned Stonebridge guitar – newish song
Bring Me back My Feathers on banjo featuring Noel Le Long on mandolin – currently recording

Then – more excitement I did ‘raffle’ music with Bill – singing the winning numbers and then Bill sang the parish notices – very fulfilling

Followed by my 2nd set
Paper Girl on keyboard – title track of last studio album
Everybody Loves You on piano – currently recording
Watching The Waves on keyboard – newish song unrecorded
Ready To Love on piano with Keith Donnelly on guitar – recorded on Paper Girl CD
Musicians on JM guitar – newish song on YouTube
Just Come Home on open G Takamine guitar – new song currently recording
Truly Divine on piano with Keith Donnelly doing stupid things – old song but unrecorded

So quite a short couple of sets in folk club terms but a very enjoyable evening and especially nice to see lots of people I knew and ones who’d seen me before at gigs a while back as well a new people to meet.

Everyone in the audience joined in with stuff and were very nice and friendly to me. The room is lovely too as it has great acoustics having a wooden floor and wooden stage to play on.

Thank you again to everyone who did stuff to make the evening work including Garry and Kev who did the PA, and Karen the organiser. I shall look forward to coming again!