It’s been a week packed with “stuff” and activity. Sorry, but you really will need to check out the words as there’s some important information relating to The Acoustic Rotherham Third Birthday Party, The Rotherham Open Arts Festival and The Busking Day. And all that will be found amongst all the other News.
Let’s start on a high note. Another lovely evening of Folk on Monday at Nellie Folk. Good to see our friends from Derbyshire once again, and of course David Kidman from up North, all adding to a wonderful evening of song. Another full evening, but there is always room for more.
Monday was also the day that I nearly had a heart attack! A call from the Land Lord of The Queens to tell me that they had made a serious error and double booked the pub on the day of our Third Birthday!!! Was I pleased? Especially as for a change I am well ahead with the publicity this Quarter.
All’s well that ends well, as they say. Fortunately the Land Lords Hostelry Empire was able to offer a solution, and so THE ACOUSTIC ROTHERHAM THIRD BIRTHDAY PARTY ON 30TH OCTOBER WILL KICK OFF AT THE CROWN, RAWMARSH, 1:00PM. ALL DETAILS HERE.
Tuesday was the momentous day that we eventually got Roy Blackman into a proper studio. So now at least twenty six of his classic songs and poems about South Yorkshire and Rotherham in particular are now securely locked in digital form on Brian’s Computer.
We deliberately chose Brian Bedford’s Park Head Studio for the recording, as, if anyone could capture the atmosphere and nuances of Roy’s delivery then he was the man given his experience with Artisan and the many Regional stars that have been through his studio door.
And we gave Roy the Star treatment, chauffer driven to the studio (masher roadie in Chief Barrie Sutherland), admin Manager (me) in tow, and later, Mick the hat from ROAF who filmed Roy at work for posterity. The complete film will be on show in the Old Market Gallery, throughout The Rotherham Open Arts Festival.
We’re now into the work bit of this project. Brian is currently working on the production, and when the CD arrives on my desk we’ll be working out what to include and the artwork etc.
We hope to be able to take advance Orders from November, and we’ve already started planning the marketing, for example in December we’ll be off to Terry Ferdinand’s Folk Show on BishopFM. We hope to have more promo bookings on the diary soon.
What’s more as a first project for the Myke Barritt Music Trust the project demonstrates just what the Trust was created for. And if I know Myke as well as I thought I did then he’ll be up there cheering to see Roy recording his precious material; and seeing him made to work!!!
For “work” we certainly made Roy do. For a chap of 75 he held up well, despite the remains of a cold.
But typical of the man – since all this activity he’s nearly written enough songs for a second CD!! Watch out the Folk Clubs of South Yorkshire, new Roy Blackman material is heading your way.
Just an aside. You’d never guess who we saw when we arrived at the Park Head Studio, non-other than Anna Shannon!! I put !! because she told us in the strictest confidence that she would soon be back in the studio, I of course told her I would share the information with nobody as nobody reads our Blogs…………………………….. What a prolific songsmith Anna has become? She already has two CDs to her name this year, besides an incredible body of back catalogue material…………….. Keep it coming I say. Anna is one of our favourite artists and who knows we might be able to tempt her back to an Acoustic Rotherham very soon.
So a day to catch breath, and it was back to planning for the bit of The Rotherham Open Arts Festival that I’m inputting.
I’m still in awe of the wealth of talent that has volunteered it’s support to the concert season which is to run at the Old Market Gallery throughout November as part of the Festival, making the Concert Programme a joy to organise. It’s all laid out HERE and we’ll get the on stage times up as soon as we can.
The real work now has to go into the planning of The Busking Day on 29th October to launch the Festival.
It’s all going to be a bit of a rush. The Council has given permission and given us the places they will let us use.
THE BASIC FACTS
Date: Saturday 29th October
Time: Registration Office Opens at 10:00am Music from 11:00am Last Sets start 3:00pm
We have 150 X 30 minute slots to fill to keep the event running throughout the Town all day.
Ideally we want people to register in advance – just to help minimise chaos on the day.
We know the weather may not be ideal, so we’ll be looking to have some sort of warm up facilities where you can escape to between your allotted sets.
There’s a bit more information HERE and the Online Registration Form.
The key thing is to remember that this is for ALL ARTS – Street Painters / Break Dancers / Dancers / Street Theatre / Poets / Brass Bands / Choirs and is for EVERYONE – So please SPREAD THE WORD, and if you can’t remember the Web Address, get them to call me on 07507588694 and leave a message.
We really do need all your help with this one.
There are other opportunities to get involved!!!!
19th November, following the feature artists for the day at around 3:00pm there will be an Open House Festival within a Festival. Starting at the Gallery between 3-5pm and then transferring across the road at The Imperial Building until around 9:00pm. This will be run as an Open House Open Mic for all performing arts, from musicians to sketches and everything in between.
24th November there will be a special Candle Light Session where a few featured artists, so far Tim Cleverly, Rachel Barley and The Masher will be hosting an open house session between 7:00pm and 10:00pm followed by a massed gathering at The Bridge to join in the fun at The Thursday Session.
25th November will see a Special performance of Hearts of Steel at the Festival Gallery – a date that I know you will want to put in your Diary.
We also have a couple of really interesting Workshops to programme. One will be lead by Ray Hearne and will be looking towards creating Songs, verse and prose about how Rotherham Utd has affected the Community, and Paul Davenport will be running a Workshop based around the Gatty Collection of Songs from the Maltby, Stainton, Ravenfield, Braithwell area.
BEST OF ALL IT'S ALL FREE TO THE PUBLIC!!!
I cannot stress enough that this whole programme has been put together with a budget of nothing, demonstrating how the arts in Rotherham are prepared to showcase their talent, sometimes hidden. So please show support by spreading the word about all the events, and if you’re on Facebook and see various events advertised then “SHARE” the link, it only takes two clicks and can have an amazing effect on getting audiences into the venues.
While we’re on local talent. Karen Gilmore has just re-launched her own and Swansong’s Web Sites. If you’re looking for ideas for your Web Site or simply need a talented female studio singer or a seriously mad Rocking Band check the sites out Karen’s link is HERE and Swansong HERE
Another Web Site that has undergone a facelift is that of The Partnership, the publicity vehicle for The Wath Festival, Charlie Barker and Charlie Barker and Harriett Bartlett. Check it out HERE
The Acoustic Rotherham Web Site is still undergoing it’s reconstruction, so sorry about the current mess. The Diary pages have been fully updated, and I’ve tried to help with the Navigation of the page a bit to save having to scroll so much. Check the listings HERE
Once again I would ask Club / Session Secretaries to check their listings and advice if anything is different, it only takes an Email. Remember over two hundred people a week are checking the Diary pages so if the information is incorrect then your Club / Session will not be helped.
I’ve also revamped the Roy Blackman page. A page that will be very important over the coming weeks. If you’ve not been there it’s well worth a visit and have a listen to the rough recordings – imagine what many of those songs will sound like in studio quality. HERE
But to finish this week’s Blog just a few words about the Band at our Club, Rawmarsh Trades and Labour, that Mrs Masher forced me to sit through on Saturday. You know me, I’m always up for a bit of rough and tumble but I’m afraid at times this performance from The Hunter Band did not work on me.
It was all a bit strange. For most of the performance there were five members of the Band on stage, two guitars, bass drums and someone that seemed to his time darting between the sound mixing desk, talking to other members of the band – while they were trying to play – and occasionally adding one or two out of tune harmonies and I’m sorry to say when he took the lead vocals on Sex on Fire and Summer of 69 it was simply out of tune and a complete mess.
Indeed for much of the performance the Band were an excellent fun live music Band, but it seemed to me that as they got into the songs that they knew best as the second set wound down, their timing discipline which had been excellent for the early numbers, became very erratic, and as a result the numbers became a bit of a mess.
Once again SOUND raised it’s ugly head. Gone are the days when Bands could afford sound mixers sat in the Hall, now they seem to rely upon mixing the sound at Sound Check time making minor alterations while on stage, using their monitors as a guide, and as most of us know, what you hear in the monitor is not what they are hearing out in the Hall. I know it’s fiddly and not really what musicians are about, but if we want to be heard at our best we really do need to work on trying to set sound levels and instrument balance correctly.
A good fun evening enjoyed by most but spoilt by odd moments of madness with sound and singer.
This coming week. Tuesday we have the Red Lion at Braithwell Club, run by John Statter, a super singers and musicians Club to which everyone is welcome. It’s the Music Hall night at the Cross Keys at Handsworth, on Wednesday, always an entertaining evening and at the end of the week Friday, it’s not only my Birthday………. Eeek……………. But the delightful Florin are playing the Woodlands Club in Clifton Rotherham. Also on Friday, and well worth checking out Eskimo Kissed! Will be undergoing some sort of transition from duo to a Band by the name of Storm Trees in what promises to be an entertaining evening at Vascos in Wickersley. Also Friday The Derby Folk Festival get's underway. And if you fancy some complete madness then why not try Thawleys in Wombwell, on Saturday night where The Bar Steward Sons will be joined by Pocketful of N’owt. All that besides the usual weekly Clubs and sessions. And of course All the details HERE
So a week where once again we demonstrate that Live Music from the roots upwards still lives on.
Keep checking because events get added to the diary regularly, and please sign up to the Mashers Newsletter to keep up to date with everything that is happening in and around The Rotherham Open Arts Festival. Form can be found on most pages of the Acoustic Rotherham Web Site.
So plenty to get your teeth into again and whatever you are doing this week, HAVE FUN AND KEEP IT LIVE.
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