2017 in review

It’s only a couple of weeks old, so it’s probably harsh to try reviewing 2017 already, but I know there are a couple of things coming up I wanted to muse on, so here goes.

[tl:dr Reflections on stuff that’s coming up, a couple of name drops and a quick delve through recent events. Normal service continues sometime soonish.]

Advertisement

Shameless Promotion

I love the Blues. I love the feel, the sound and the raw emotion.

I also love playing the Blues, and last year I played with the Grey Goose Blues Band. It was immense fun and I was very sorry to have to knock my participation on the head.

However, I still try to keep up with their latest movements. They played at the Chuckery Festival in Walsall Arboretum, and they’ve played a couple of gigs at the White Lion that I’ve been able to get to.

Today, I discovered they’re on Bandcamp, advertising their 2012 album “Beat the Devil out of me” which you can buy and download. Go and have a listen on the site. There’s some magic in that music.

(You won’t find me listed in the credits. Recording finished on this before I joined. Can’t wait to hear their next offering.)

Blues in a Bandstand

I went to the Churckery Festival gig yesterday at the Walsall Arboretum Bandstand. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was happy to be in a place where my boys could come along and listen too. We even saw half of the Grey Goose Blues Band set. Being able to name the members and say I’d played with them was very cool.

Running Café Church … in a café

I went to church tonight. Except it was in Starbucks. Although it was definitely church. But the drinks were definitely by Starbucks.

Oh boy, another long winded rambling post about church and music and stuff. You can have the tl:dr version here: “Church in a café still looks and smells like church, which confuses me a bit.”

There.

Or read on to find out where I’m going with this.

Day 9 – Sunday 21st July – Chuckery Festival 2013

Another gig at the Bandstand? As if last weekend wasn’t good enough, there’s more.

It’s great to see the Chuckery Festival using this venue in Walsall Arboretum. It’s been getting a lot of use since the refurbishment, and what’s particularly special about this event is you can catch the Grey Goose Blues Band and Walsall Jazz Orchestra on the same bill, closing with Fat Lip and plenty of other musical gems to keep you entertained all afternoon.

I can’t recommend this line up enough, and according to the Met Office there might actually be a bit of Sun in our Sunday.

Worship Musicians Unconference

We’re going to host the most chilled out grass roots worship music event I’ve ever heard of.

Good Friday – and Rock and Roll is also Dead.

In the beginning there was music. And it was mostly good. Except for the music that was bad. And you could decide for yourself what was what. So long as your mates didn’t find out you’d bought an Osmonds LP / Bros tape / Take That CD / One Direction download with your pocket money.

OK, further back than that was rock and roll. It deserves capital letters. It’s a proper noun.

Rock and Roll.

Developments to Bandcamp – from a novice

I use Bandcamp to sell my music. On my “business” website, I embed a Bandcamp player to promote my latest work. All this is a little one sided. You hear my stuff, and choose to download or purchase it. Well, it works the other way too, and Bandcamp have just upped their game in that sphere.

Greenbelt – camping, mud, music, and children!

We’ve just returned from Greenbelt 2012. It’s not our first visit, but the first time we camped with the children.

Messing around in Notes

Improvisation. Why is it when I want to, I can’t, and when I do, it’s almost unexpected? I have been improvising all my musical life. It started by swinging the quavers in simple melodies in the very first piano books I was given to learn from, and continues to this day. I love to sit down for half an hour or so and just let rip.