10th August 2008: Supporting Cara Dillon, Broadstairs Folk Week, Kent

This is it, this was what we had been looking forward to, and boy did we enjoy it!
Tam Lin have played the Broadstairs Folk Week for many years and Alan and Sue Hewson had invited Rob and I down to join them not only to play as Tam Lin but also to do some na-mara gigs as well. Indeed, Rob was also leading a mandolin workshop as well. So, we set off early on the morning of Sunday 10th August (me fresh back from holidays overseas and frantically hardening those finger ends up again) to join Alan, Sue and Georgina at Broadstairs for our first folk festival. As mentioned previously in this blog, the real na-mara highlight for the few days we could be at Broadstairs, was that we were going to be the first of two support acts for ...Cara Dillon in the main marquee on that Sunday night! To suggest excitement was high would be an understatement to end all understatements.
So, after a two hour drive we reported to the conference organisers, were given a key to our accommodation, where we went straightaway. Fiona’s sister Rhona welcomed us into the house and, it still being reasonably early, we took the chance to do an hour’s rehearsal before setting off to join Tam Lin for our first gig of the day, at a nearby pub. I think we all agreed afterwards that that was a swell as the new Tam Lin has played and the modest but enthusiastic sized crowd really lapped it up.
Then it was straight off to the mandolin workshop that Rob was running. Rob had decided to introduce budding (and as it turned out, some pretty experienced) mandolin players to Asturian music. I went along to just play some of the accompaniment. Rob did really well to engage 20 people of markedly different standards of playing, for a 90 minute session. (I’ve only seen one blog of the Broadstairs festival and to Rob’s credit, it mentions his mandolin workshop directly as one of the events the blogger had really enjoyed.)
Then it was time to grab a nice cup of tea and ready ourselves for the big one. So, we headed back towards the marquee area –we wouldn’t want to be late would we? – and found a nice little cafe to wind down a bit. And then we went over to the marquee to find Cara Dillon and her band doing their sound check. Alan and Sue had kindly taken the bulk of our stuff straight there from the Tam Lin gig.
The marquee had seats for c 550-600 as far as I could estimate and there, at the front of the then empty auditorium was Cara herself just watching her partner Sam Lakeman and the others get the sound right. This was great experience and I enjoyed watching the pre-show show. Clearly, we didn’t want to bother anybody but Cara gave us a nice smile and seemed very approachable.
As is usual in these circumstances, the top of the bill does the sound check first, the warm up acts then do theirs in reverse order. So, we were doing our check last after the other band on the bill – the excellent and phenomenally talented (and extremely nice and supportive) Skyhook.
Time passed and time passed and, of course, when it came to na-mara, there was already 500 people outside queuing up to get in. So, I think we might have had three minutes - but our needs are simple and we were done fine and luxuriously. One mixing desk for the front of house and another for the monitors....wow.
And then, fifteen minutes later, the crowd had come in and filled every seat in the house, Chris Sandler had introduced us, and we were on. Interestingly, the increase in numbers – this was by far the biggest gig na-mara had played – did not translate directly to an increase in nerves and I have to say we both felt pretty relaxed. We kicked off with Three Bonny Ships which we knew well and was a cracking starter. We followed that with Anada Pa Julia – to slow the mood down. We then played Solo Por Tres Meses, which we knew would go down really well with the sort of listening audience that would typically come to see the wonderful Cara Dillion. Then we finished off with Willy Taylor. And that was us – off we came. We felt we had done really well and the sale of CDs and the requests to have those autographed, and the insistence of one lady that we had been ‘fastastic’, were all huge fillips for us.
So, with a benign smile on our faces we proceeded then to watch the rest of the show for the ‘green room’ just to the side of the stage, behind the banks of speakers. Skyhook were hugely talented and did a lengthy and powerful set, and then Cara came on. Her band started with She Moves Through the Fair, the first atmospheric minute or two of which she stays off stage. So, Rob and I had the pleasure of her company before she went on - to give a sublime performance both of that song and many more. Interestingly, since we are now singing it in our Tam Lin (and occasionally na-mara) repertoire, she is now doing The Verdant Braes of Screen. I notice she doesn’t do the sixth verse that we do – I’ll have to research that one.
Then, it was time to go home (Fiona and Rhona’s) for the night. Thankfully Skyhook had organised transport to get themselves home and they very generously helped us shift some of our stuff. By the time we got home, the house was quiet and given Rob and I were completely knackered, it was probably a blessing that we just went straight to bed and switched the lights off. Usually I can’t get off to sleep after playing – but that night, I was straight out.

19th July 2008: International Brigade Re-union and memorial, Jubilee Gardens, London

As a follow up to the gig that Rob and I played at in London to celebrate the Spanish Republic, we were kindly invited by the organiser Marlene Sidaway, to play some music as people assembled for the Annual Re-union of the International Brigade. This year it was in Jubilee Gardens in London, near the statue commemorating those Britons who gave their lives to fight fascists in Spain in the 1930s.
Clearly, this was a great honour. Marlene had sent us a DVD of the event the year before and whose face should be on the front (and who were following in the footsteps of – none other than Billy Bragg. So, we certainly wanted to do something special and Rob worked hard to gather together some Spanish tunes to ensure that we did an entirely relevant Spanish set. So, we needed to rehearse pretty hard for this and I’m pleased to say that we played well. The place we were playing was right next to the queues for the London Eye and so we not only had the 200 or so people who had come to the memorial service but another couple of hundred people queuing up. The leading war veterans were there, including Jack Jones. The Spanish Ambassador was there and gave a brief speech, and some leading Labour politicians also spoke. Rob and I then returned to lead the communal singing with the soldier’s song The Valley of Jarama and, of course the Internationale.
We then returned to a nearby hotel and had a buffet lunch and, as we do find these days, Rob and I fell into an interesting conversation with an Irishman who had been passing the event and had got completely involved in what, for him, was a story that he knew virtually nothing about. This well read man knew very little about the Spanish Civil War, the role of Britons in that fight or that Irish fighters had fought on both sides of the conflict.
Marlene and the organisers kindly gave Rob and I a commemorative mug to thank us for our involvement. Amazingly, given that we had only met Marlene once before, it turned out that she had lived in my home town of Middlesbrough and knew my half-brother. It is indeed a small world.
Despite threats of showers, it turned nice in the end and was a boiling hot afternoon - and I’m afraid my thinning locks did nothing to save my emerging pate from a good roasting. Just what I needed before going off on holiday!

2nd July 2008 : The Sunrunner, Hitchin

Thanks to our good pals Alan and Sue Hewson, na-mara played a two hour set at the Sunrunner pub in Hitchin town centre. On a balmy night, the pub was packed inside and three deep outside. Alan and Sue provided the p.a. and many of our friends form the Baldock and Letchworth Folk Club came along to support us – which was really nice and gave us a wonderful lift. There were also some friends from my workplace who live in Hitchin, some people that I had met at a party a few weeks before who seemed interested in hearing us and had made the journey to Hitchin to do so and our very good friend Robert Taylor travelled up from St Albans.

Two hours worth of stuff is pretty demanding on the old brain cells but, again, allowed us to try out some new material . Rob has been working on a couple of Greek tunes which are real toe-tappers (and a sod to play). So, they had an outing. Thanks to Alan and Sue for an excellent job on the p.a. and, as they say, a good night was had by all. We hoped we might follow the gig up with a slot at the Hitchin Rhythms of the World festival but somehow, it never came to pass.

Late June - gorra lorra work on

Late June saw Rob and I doing a range of things. I'm working on a number of tunes and songs from the fabulous Canadian band Le Vent du Nord - if you haven't heard them, you are missing a treat. Take a look on the ubiquitous You Tube.

We have also been doing some recording with Tam Lin ahead of their and our trip down to the Broadstairs Folk Week in August. We have put together four more tracks to add to the four we have recorded with Tam Lin before and Alan has put these either side of some earlier recordings done with the now sadly missed Paul Gunningham, to create an album called The Bridge. Some of the output can be heard on the Tam Lin myspace site but will be available to buy by the time we get to Broadstairs.

I hit the CD shops in Paris in a lull on a recent work-based visit. It is increasingly difficult to keep track of all the material I have now assembled and which is my essential research materials - so some wet winter Sunday will need to be given over to sorting it all out and getting greater clarity on what my work priorities on it might be in the future. But for now Le Vent du Nord, and some work on a variety of new song ideas will keep me busy! Watch this space in the Autumn.

Finally, Rob and I are preparing to do some work with the da capo foundation on some music learning materials for toddlers. I have contributed some words to this project before, but now Rob and I are going to play some of the tunes planned for the kids. From what we know so far, this project will be great fun.

11th June 2008: Baldock and Letchworth Folk Club

A return to our old friends' Alan and Sue Hewson's excellent Baldock and Letchworth Club to support the excellent Vikki Swan and Johnny Dyer who were over from their Essex (?) base.

We started the evening off with some material that was new to Baldock which was very well received. We are making some real friends there now.

Vikki is of Swedish extraction and played a variety of instruments, including the nickelharper. Rob, polylinguist that he is, had some banter with her in Swedish and the audience was treated to some great ballads and some wonderful Scandinavian tunes. This was very opportune really given that I was off to Stockholm for the first time ever, early the next morning. In this regard, as per usual, I managed to find a few minutes in a busy work schedule to try and get into a record shop and check out more of this fabulous music. Sadly, the local information I was given was poor in that, having gone up five escalators in a major Department Store, found only workmen at work, refurbishing the floor and the music department was shut. By which time it was necessary to dash to the main station and get back out to the airport - sweaty and unsatisfied. But, so wonderful was the music we had heard from Vikki and Johnny, that I intend to pursue more bands and artist to hear more.

5th June 2008: Charity gig with a difference

For the fifth or sixth time, I played a role in the famous Party Near the Park event. This is an annual event raising money for Land Aid - the charity supporting homeless causes in the UK and developmental work in land in Africa. A semi-pro jazz-rock band supports a dozen or so acts drawn from well known figures in the property industry. Rehearsals are extensive - this is more than rock karaoke given that 1300 attend - and the night is fantastic because everyone at the sit down dinner in Old Bishopsgate fish market wants you to do well.

In the past I have been Tom Jones, Love Affair, Liam Gallagher - this time it was Otis Redding 'Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay'. Just a wee bit away from my usual, but fantastic fun being dressed up like a reject from 1970s Miami Vice. As ever, the evening was great fun, made more so given that, for the first time, my wife was able to attend.

A new baby - June 2008

Rob returned home from a family holiday in Spain with a very big smile on his face - a new addition to the family - the na-mara family! Whilst in Madrid, a city that he knows well and where he has many friends, Rob had been tempted into buying a bandourria - a ten stringed (I think) cousin to the mandolin, that is about five inches deep. It is a very sweet sound and something that we hope to build into our act in the coming weeks and months. The stringing seems very cleverly efficient but will require Rob to think in a different way when playing.

I am the indirect beneficiary of this since, space constraints at home have meant one in - one out chez Roberto. As such, my Irish Bouzouki has come home - giving me the chance to start learning it again. (Add that to the fifty things I would to be spending time on currently.)

17th May 2008 - Party Time

Up early after the late night trip home from Cambridge and, for me at least, a quick turn around to visit family in the north. After an afternoon catching up with family, it was party time for my sister-in law's birthday. Playing with my brother and his friends it was boozy rock and roll into the wee hours and then mu brother and I ducked off into another room and did an impromptu folk session - great fun. Another late night and another early drive all the way back to St. Albans.

16th May 2008: Cambridge Folk Club

Once again we had been asked to do a showcase set at the Cambridge Folk Club - always a pleasure and this was no exception. The club is starting to know is and our music better now and so we had a couple of requests we were asked to play. We also took the opportunity to try out some new material. We were extremely happy with what we did and got some excellent feedback from the modest but enthusiastic audience.

The welcome was as friendly as ever, and we began the evening. We were then followed by Samantha Marais who was described in the programme as having a voice that was 'lighter than a Malteser in a flotation tank'. Ethereal indeed and she is clearly going places, destined for an outing at Glastonbury this year! We wish her all the very best.

The evening was concluded by local club favourite Robert Brown. We had seen Robert before at the Cambridge club and looked forward to seeing him again. He has a terrific voice and a great guitar player - so, it is puzzling as to why he isn't better known than he is. He did a terrific set and included some traditional material in his set of self-penned songs and occasional covers. He was playing with a similarly talented guitarist and gave a great set.