acoustic monthly oct 12
DESCRIPTION
Acoustic Music Monthly MagazineTRANSCRIPT
Acoustic Monthly October1st
Cover and article images taken with kind permission at York Castle Museum. See rear cover
On-line Acoustic Music Magazine
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Form some solid stone from York.Earthy with a twist
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Shows us a series of acousticmusic genres through make-upstarting with all that jazz.See pages 10/11
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Very Unique Performer fromCanada
●Scott CookCarrivick SistersLook Out For……Acoustic FeaturedAnd Lots, Lots More
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Nigel takes a look at theMahogany Dreadnought
2 www.theguitarworkshop.co.uk
GuitarsBadenCraftonLRGLarriveeTurner
Pick-upsFishmanB.Band
The Guitar Workshop stocks a huge range of guitars from starterkits to top brands, from the likes of LRG, Taylor, Takamine etc...See our guitars page for more details. The range is growing allthe time.
ONLINE SHOP TUITIONSERVICE
Telephone01530 260984
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In this issueHi All!
Welcome to the second issue of AcousticMonthly!
It's been a fantastic month! Our team had alot of fun in The Castle Museum and Gar-dens in York with Holly Taymar and ChisBilton, be sure to check out their interviewon Pages 6 and 7.We have got some fantastic write-ups onartists this month, (Really enjoying TheMandolinquents at the moment!) but wewould so love to hear from you! We wouldlike articles, write-ups, gig listings andmore from all over each and every country!We are looking for journalistic teams whowant to get involved with interviews andreviews, do you think you have what ittakes to join the team? Please get in touchwith [email protected]. Wewould also love to receive your albums!Email us for the forwarding address andYOU could be reviewed next month!Finally, have a great month everyone,there's some fantastic gigs lined up so dotell us where you've been!
Get some punch into your act
Our cover this month
Goes Celtic
Scott Cook’s moonlite rambles
Very unique performer
The Carrivick Sisters
Singer/Songwriter November/December tour
Celtic rock!
We take a look at the Baden D Style
A little help for those newbies just setting out
A look at new performers on the scene
A riot of music, song, and humour
Avalon is upon us !!
Brazilian Beauty
Talking to the dead
an Acoustic Percussionist
Train ride changed my life
What’s coming up soon. (More on the web-site later)
Our version of the Classifieds
If you didn’t advertise in
this month, it’s because you didn’tcontact Shelley.
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some years later. Bassey was theirbefore I played any instrument andI was looking at both singing andperformance. Over her time as oneof the great performers Bassey hasworked incredibly hard to enter-tain, she uniquely makes each songher own. The song becomes Basseyand Bassey the song. It really doesnot matter if you have heard thesong sung or perform by someoneelse because when she sings it, she
owns it. There is an acting ability inher performance, but you wouldnever think of it has acting becauseof the sincerity in the delivery. I wasjust starting to sing folk music at thattime, very different to the genre butI knew that the same would apply.There are many greats like ShirleyBassey who have both dynamicsand phrasing. Have a listen to Fami-ly from the late 1960’s, early 70’s. ¾time and 4/4 time in the same songone moment you are waltzing anthen, almost rocking, all with greatlyrics to make it all worth listeningto. There are far to many to list and
The Wikipedia says this about Dy-namics (Music) “In music, dynam-ics normally refers to the volume ofa sound or note, but can also referto every aspect of the execution ofa given piece, either stylistic (stacca-to, legato etc.) or functional (veloc-ity). The term is also applied to thewritten or printed musical notationused to indicate dynamics. Dynam-ics are relative and do not indicatespecific volume levels.”So what exactly does it mean. Yesevery one who has looked atputting any kind of dynamics intotheir performance knows only towell to lift the evening with a fastsong, something with a little rhythmto it that stops your audience drop-ping off to sleep, bring it down alittle with something sad or melodicbut remembering to bring themback up. Look at the sentence fromWikipedia again though and notice“execution” & “stylistic”. There’smore mentioned here. I was a veryfortunate guy and was taught this asa young boy by my farther who wasa great singer and musician. PHRAS-ING; yeah I know the subject was“Dynamics” but these two are in-trinsically linked because phrasinggives each line of a song dynamicsand keeps audience attention evenwhen you sing the same verse twicefor emphasis . Phrasing is thereforeimportant to get dynamics into yourperformance
I’ve been asked over the years“who are your influences” and sinceI do Blues, Folk and a little of myown songs, people look at me alittle sideways when I say ShirleyBassey. Well yes “Leadbelly” (Hud-die William Ledbetter) was later tobecome a great influence but it was
Dynamics
looking through the scores of per-formers out there on the worldwide web, we come across manyartists of varied talent and percep-tion. One thing we come across farto often though are artists whosound the same from track to trackto track. It’s one thing to developyour own unique sound, butuniqueness dose not mean youhave to sound the same throughone endless song to the next. Ifyour putting songs on yourMySpace and your Websites to getnoticed, the last thing you want isfor club owners and potential giggivers to notice how boring you canbe. Show them your uniquenesswith the quality that says“I WILL NOT LET THE AUDI-ENCE GO IF YOU GIVE ME THECHANCE AND BOOK ME” .Keeping a level of entertainmentand individuality is a lot to do withthis thing called dynamics.
Bob Spencer
Talks about
Dynamics
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come right through to the presentday. Just to get back to a few whoare acoustic music though, try theobvious Simon & Garfunkel, MaddyPrior, June Tabor,Richard Thomp-son etc etc.
Dynamics should also be present ineverything you do on stage. Look-ing dynamic and even your speechin between your songs etc. shouldhave an edge that keeps your audi-ence interested. Tell them a littleabout your song, tell them a funnystory, live the story to give it dy-namics. When ever you are to goout on stage remember that theOlympian runner does not just goout with the power in their legs butalso with power in their mind. Ifyou want a compelling perform-ance you must feel compelling. Thisdoes not happen by accident or is italways a gift and some of the besthave got there through years ofhard work and and treading theboards.
The Acoustic Knights Clubweb-site had been waiting
from April for a write-up andphotograph from a band whowas headlining the Club. Witha week to go we had still notreceived anything. I asked ayoung lady (last Min) if she
would like to do the gig afterlistening to her recordings on
her web-site. The returnemail nailed it in one . She saidyes please, what time wouldyou like me there, put thewrite-up in the email alongwith a correct photograph.
A big thank you toKim Lowings
& the Greenwood
Guitar Repairs LeicesterBob Dayfield
Proprietor
Hand Built Guitars
Repairs to most fretted
Instruments
Tel: 0116 2 671 028
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In between locations and whilstpassing (amongst other things) thecell where Dick Turpin spent thelast two nights of his life, I was ableto chat with Holly Taymar andChristopher Bilton to find out alittle about them and their music.
York Castle is sited between tworivers, where the Fosse flows intothe River Ouse. Very apt, Ithought, as it transpired that theduo’s music sits very much be-tween the confluence of their twovery different music backgrounds.
Holly’s music loves as a youngsterwere from the pop world of TheSpice Girls and Take That. Sheloved singing along with them.
York Minstrels
Recently a small task force fromAcoustic-Monthly breached the an-cient city walls of Eboracum tomeet up with two of its currentinhabitants. We were welcomedwarmly by the management andextremely helpful staff of the YorkCastle Museum who had kindlygranted us permission to conduct aphoto shoot there.
Mike Tupp
Introduces
Holly Taymar&Chris Bilton
However, she has never reallywanted to be in a band. She muchprefers the simplicity and naturalpurity of acoustic instrumentation.One of her favourite gigs is thevoluntary work she does at YorkHospital; “Just 5 or 6 patients (notall of whom want to listen!) beauti-ful acoustics and me playing withnothing in between us”.
In contrast Chris comes from aband background, having cut hismusical teeth on drums and bass.He has a wide taste in music andwill “listen to anything. Good musicis good music”. He likes more thanone genre and plays more than one,being an ardent fan in particular of‘classic’ Hip-Hop.
The in-car entertainment on theway to a gig, though varied, fea-
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formed at a ‘house con-cert’ which theyenjoyed and bookingsthis year have includedthe High Barn in Essexlast spring, the StainsbyFolk Festival in Derby-shire and the MusicportFestival in Bridlington.See their website forgigs coming up.
Thanks to our twoYork Minstrels whowere a pleasure tomeet, the staff of the York CastleMuseum and the two grey wagtailswhich were a delight to watch asthey danced along the banks of theFosse.
tures Iron and Wine quite predom-inantly and normal routine is to getinto the zone as the gig gets nearerwith a few blasts from 50 Cent
Holly describes her songs as ‘bio-graphical’ although she likes listen-ers to interpret them in their ownway. One song, The Bush Song’, forexample, is literally about cuttingdown a bush but she tells me thatmany fans have commented on itbelieving it to be an allegory aboutthe breakup of a relationship.
Holly writes and records her songsas demos. Chris then goes into hid-ing while he adds his input to thenumber which he then presents toHolly for the final ‘shaping’. Oh tobe a fly on the wall at some of thosesessions!
The final results are very muchbased on Holly’s vocals. She has agorgeous soft tone combined witha strong delivery. With Holly’s gui-tar and Chris’s varied instrumentalaccompaniment their songs arevery approachable, easy and de-lightful to listen to. Part two of theirdouble EP, ‘Never Winter Mind’ isnow available. I particularly like thetreatment of the backing vocals in‘The French One’ and the harmonywork in ‘At All’. Check them out.
Gigs
It’s no wonder then, that they don’tseem to struggle for gigs, especiallyas they manage themselves and fiteverything in between their parttime jobs. Holly prefers smaller gigsbut Chris doesn’t mind the size ofaudience provided they are thereto listen. . They have recently per-
Go towww.hollytaymar.com
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The Acoustic Festival of Britain 2013music at its very best.
The Acoustic Festival of Britain is a 3 Day music festival with
camping and an eclectic programme of Unplugged and Acoustic
music from the genres of Folk, Roots, Celtic, Blues, Pop, Rock,
Ska, Burlesque and much more.
A great family event, with 4 stages, Craft Stalls & Displays,
Juggling Schools & Soccer Workshops, Yoga Classes, Belly
Dancing, Morris Dancing, Story Telling & Comedy Real Ale Beer
Tent, & Exotic Foods.
Uttoxeter Racecourse May 31 - June 1 - June 2, 2013
A limited supply of Weekend and Camping tickets are now On Sale.
The Acoustic Monthly journalistic team will be there, will you?
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Maryna Samokhina
www.facebook.com/Model.kimberley.Dunn
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In this issue, we present the reader with an idea of creativemakeup inspired by the Celtic Warrior Women and Celtic art.The Celts were an ancient group of Indo – European people whooccupied the most of Europe between 700BC and 100AD. Theyshared the common language and exquisite culture, rich in theuse of symbolism. Despite being in the early days of humanhistory, The Celts dedicated an important place in society towomen. They could own property, had a right to divorce theirhusbands and took an active part in the political, spiritual andjudicial aspects of the society. Moreover, Celts were a warriorculture and it was common for women to become warriors andeven lead armies.
Women of those times decorated their bodies and armors withbeautiful ornaments, which would lack straight lines andsymmetry. These ornaments acted not as a pure decoration butrather as protectors. The most common symbols includedcrosses, swirls, spirals and rays.
Face
For a more authentic “warrior princess” look cover your faceand body in a light blue paint, which you can get from a FancyDress Store. Apply the second layer of the same colour with amakeup-up sponge as a contour onto your cheekbones.
Eyes and lips
Fill in your eyebrows with a pencil or eye shadow to avoid theAvatar ‘no-eyebrows’ look. Use the same blue colour into thecrease of your eye to create a more dimensional eye. Apply blackgel eyeliner along the upper lashes to define your eyes. For yourlips, use a peachy nude lipstick or leave them bare.
Patterns
This is the most important part of the look, which dependsentirely on your creativity. You can find many resources onInternet with the meanings and designs of Celtic Symbols.Choose the ones you like and use a white eye-liner to draw asketch on your skin. After that, use a blue or black eyeshadow/eye-liner to go over an already defined shape.
Creative Stage Makeup: Celtic MotivesA very charismatic acoustic performer, Steve Cartwright once said that he usescreative makeup to keep his audience guessing. Indeed, many musicians haveused makeup to draw attention to themselves and create an appropriate moodfor their songs. David Bowie, with a light bolt across his face representing glamrock; Kiss, and their Iconic makeup designs, mimicking their favorite comiccartoons; Bob Dylan, with a white powdered face and many other artists haveturned to this creative tool.
Celtic Motives
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extensively across Canada, the USand Asia, and is currently touring insupport of his third album,
, a collection of road sto-ries, existential musings, and socialcommentary which hometown re-viewer likened to
Three-timeJuno winnersummed it up thus:
Prairie Balladeer
Canada's own prairie balladeer is a tirelessly travelling
songwriter with heart forever onhis sleeve. He brings honesty, hu-mour, years of roads and a deeplove of humanity to his songcraftand storytelling. His straight-talkingtunes weave together folk, roots,blues, soul and country influences,with spacious fingerpicked arrange-ments. Cook is a fixture on theCanadian circuit, averaging a dozensummer festivals and 150 clubshows a year for the last five years,and in 2012 he was awarded the
for for his hard work.
He has been making a full-time liv-ing at music since 2007, touring
Thursday 4 The King Arthur
Friday 5 The Full Moon Club
Saturday 6 , King’s Cliffe Community Centre
Sunday 7 The Windmill,
Monday 8 Woodburner - location TBA
Wednesday 10 Magic Garden Pub,
Groove Revival
GRP005
September 24 2012
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playing clubs and the streets. This iswhere Awna first learned to playthe Gutbucket Bass. They spenttheir days bedazzling tourists andnights singing for the bar crowds.After a year, Awna and some of themembers from the Derby, startedthe Alt-country band "The RedEyed Rounders." They premieredon the streets during the CalgaryStampede and due to a huge re-sponse, they recorded their Indierelease, "Milk River Breakdown." Ina short time, they toured Canadaand The Western States. It was dur-ing a preposterous adventurethrough the back hills of Montana,that they decided to take a longwinded break and part ways.
Heading back to the good ol' up-stairs, Awna teamed up somefriends and started the Country-Folk band "Barley Wik." They re-leased two full length albums andtoured nationally for three years.During this time they received great
Awna Teixira
When Awna realized the worldwasn't what it seemed from an ear-ly age, she packed her suitcase withher comics and a bowl of rice. Bythe age of six, she left home tocircle the streets until night fall. Shewould only return home to play hergarage sale organ and spit spadda-dle her trumpet to songs shelearned off the radio. After leavingher young life of music, Awnawound up pursuing a life of crime.Hanging with the Robin Hood sort,she honed her driving skills as agetaway driver and perfected theimage of innocence it took to walkaway unscathed.
Just over a decade later, Awnafound her way back to a world ofsongs and stories. In 2001, shejoined the West Coasts' favouritestreet singers "The Derby," andthey went on to release their Indierecord "Cyborg Love Songs." 'TheDerby' toured throughout Canada
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recognition and support from theVancouver Island Music Awards.Barley Wik was addressed as the"Album of the Year", Most Listena-ble CD, and Best Acoustic Act.Their songs also appeared on threedifferent music compilations nationwide.
In 2004, Awna decided to branchout and start her solo career. Thatventure was cut short when she raninto Allison Russell of Po'girl. Thetwo hit it off right away, and madeinstant plans to collaborate. Po'girloriginally formed in Vancouver B.C.in 2003, at a time when Vancouver'sroots music community was reallythriving. When Awna met up withthe band, they had started touringmore internationally and needed abass player that was able to live outof a suitcase. Feeling really comfort-able with the idea, she joined themand hit the road the following week.Now seven years later, they haveseen a bit of the world together.Po'girl has travelled 15 differentcountries on 4 continents. Theyhave played everywhere from thestreets in Australia to festival stagesin front of 20,000 people in Cam-eroon, Africa. Since Po'girl toursmostly ten to eleven months out ofthe year, there has been little timefor other things. Po'girl has releasedfive albums since Awna joined theband and she has moved far andbeyond just playing bass. Awna hasrecorded many of her own compo-sitions, has been an active arrangerof all Po'girl material and has greatlyparticipated in album production.Artistically, she has honed her skillsas a photographer, painted albumcovers and worked on art design forthe band. Awna plays and recordswith guitar, banjo, electric bass, gut-bucket bass, ukulele, keys, accordi-on, glockenspiel, harmonica andpercussion.
Since Po'Girl is slowing down theirtouring until 2014, there will bemore time for Awna to pursue herplanned solo projects which havebeen on hiatus for these past fewyears. She has been working onwriting some children's stories andher 'How to Guide' for the Gut-bucket Bass is now for sale! She hasjust recorded and released her de-but solo album called "Where TheDarkness Goes"! A mixture of allher musical influences and instru-ments she plays, the album will takeyou from old time mountain musicto Accordion driven European folk.It is currently available for down-load at www.cdbaby.com.
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- 2007, "Jupiter's Corner" - 2009,and "From the Fields" - 2011) tomuch critical acclaim, with "Fromthe Fields" having been played onnational radio.
The Carrivick Sisters first startedperforming as a duo in 2006, origi-nally as buskers before starting toplay more and more proper gigs,turning professional when they leftschool in 2007. In 2007 they wonthe South West Busker’s andStreet Entertainer’s Competition,gaining themselves their first spotat Glastonbury Festival. In 2008Laura achieved 2nd place at theRockyGrass Fiddle Contest inAmerica. The Carrivick Sisterswere finalists in the prestigiousBBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards2010 and were named Band/Duoof the Year in the 2011 FATEAAwards. Most recently Charlottewon first place in both Old-timebanjo and fiddle at FOAOTMAD'sfestival in Gainsborough 2012.
The Carrivick Sisters
The Carrivick Sisters are one ofthe UK's top young bluegrass andfolk acts. Twins Laura and Char-lotte perform their original songsand instrumentals along with a fewcarefully chosen covers on guitar,mandolin, fiddle, dobro, and claw-hammer banjo. Their busy touringschedule is rapidly building them areputation for engaging and enter-taining live performances with tightsibling vocal harmonies and multi-instrumental virtuosity. Havinggrown up in South Devon, an arearich in folk lore and legends, muchof their original material is inspiredby their local surroundings and his-tory.
As well as touring all over the UK,the Carrivick Sisters have per-formed at major festivals in Canadaand mainland Europe. They havereleased four CDs ("My Own TwoFeet" - 2006, "Better Than 6 Cakes"
Having wanted to play violin sinceshe was about 4, Laura finally gother first fiddle at 9 or 10. Startingout with strict classical training,she soon tired of this and startedlearning folk fiddle by playing alongto Chieftains CDs. Several yearslater however, she found bluegrasswhich seemed even more fun!Bluegrass led both the twins toSore Fingers Summer Schools in2003 where they heard the dobrofor the first time when Sally VanMeter was teaching there. Laurawas hooked and decided to take itup about a year later. In the duoLaura also plays guitar, as wellplaying some mandolin and cello athome and attempting to learn thepedal steel. In 2008 she achieved2nd place at the RockyGrass FiddleContest in Colorado, America.
StuartDuncan, Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes,Ben Sollee, Brad Paisley, James Tay-lor, Alison Krauss.
a Custom made Raycoresophonic guitar, a Sonic violinand a Guild GAD-30 guitar.
Clyde Street, Leicester :Tickets: 0116 251 0080
Bingham, Nottinghamshire :Tickets: 01949 875685
York, North Yorkshire :Tickets: 01904 632922
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Charlotte started out on classicalguitar when she was 9, partly selftaught and partly taught by herDad. When Laura joined the schoolfolk group, Charlotte followed andpicked up the mandolin, also selftaught until she attended MattFlinner’s mandolin course at SoreFingers and realised she had it allwrong! Soon after, with her man-dolin playing back on the righttrack, she started to flatpick theguitar. In the summer of 2008, shetook up clawhammer banjo. InFebruary 2012 Charlotte wasawarded first place in theFOAOTMAD Old-Time Banjo andOld-Time Fiddle contests afterhaving only taken up the fiddleseriously in September 2010.
Matt Flinner, Adam Steffey, MikeMarshall, Chris Thile, David Grier,Kenny Smith, Bryan Sutton, AdamHurt, Tim O’Brien and Clyde Dav-enport.
a custom FyldeFalstaff Guitar, a Krishot Telluridemodel mandolin, an unknown banjowhich says "TR" on the head-stock and endorses BlueChipPicks.
Tucked away in a quiet back street inthe heart of Leicester, The Musician isthe Midlands premier independentmusic venue. With live music at leastsix nights a week, it holds 220 peopleand features comfortable seating, fulldisabled access, easy parking and aselection of real ales.
Since opening in 2000, The Musician'sreputation has been built on presentingthe very best home grown and interna-tional performers in a relaxed andfriendly environment. With a supremelyeclectic booking policy the venue reg-ularly features everything from con-temporary singer-songwriters to rock,blues, folk, ska, punk, world, bluegrass,reggae, metal, soul, indie, avant-gardeand Americana.
THE MUSICIAN VENUE & BARClyde Street
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www.aleximurdoch.com
the United States in North Caroli-na, where he had heard there wasgood mountain countryside. Hecurrently lives between New Yorkand a small house on the remotewest coast of Scotland where hespends his days writing and workingon a small wooden sailing boat.
To date, Murdoch has released twoproper recordings and one sound-track. All his music has been self-released--on his own Zero SummerRecords--with various partners.
(2002) was a four songEP released on the site CD Babywhere it was, for a bit of time, thesite's all-time number-one sellingrecord.
, a traditional eleven songrecord, was released in 2006. It wasone of the most licensed albums ofthe decade, receiving placementson dozens of films and televisionshows, making Murdoch that rareartist who is known almost entirely
Alexi Murdoch
Alexi Murdoch is a singer-songwrit-er. He was born in London andraised in Scotland, Greece andFrance then attended university in
Alexi Murdoch
Singer/Songwriter
Thursday, Nov 24 - Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM @ The Haunt...
Friday, Nov 25 - London, UNITED KINGDOM @ Union Chapel...
Saturday, Nov 26 - Glasgow, SCOTLAND @ Captains Rest…
Sunday, Nov 27 - Glasgow, SCOTLAND @ Captains Rest...
Monday, Dec 5 - Dublin, IRELAND @ Crawdaddy...
Wednesday, Dec 7 - Berlin, GERMANY @ Heimathafen...
Thursday, Dec 8 - Cologne, GERMANY @ Kulturkirche...
Friday, Dec 9 - Stuttgart, GERMANY @ Cann...
Saturday, Dec 10 - Zurich, SWITZERLAND @ Kaufleuten...
Sunday, Dec 11 - Munich, GERMANY (Private)...
Monday, Dec 12 - Salzburg, AUSTRIA @ Rockhouse...
Wednesday, Dec 14 - Vienna, AUSTRIA @ WUK...
Friday, Dec 16 - Rome, ITALY @ Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Studio.
for how his music actually sounds.A number of new songs are pre-viewed in the 2009 movie
, a film created by directorSam Mendes and written by hus-band-and-wife team of Dave Egg-ers and Vendela Vida. Thesoundtrack featured nine of hissongs in total. In 2011 Murdochreleased his third recording,
.
Alexi's European tour is well under-way and so far Alexi has played tofans in Finland, Sweden, Denmark,Germany, The Netherlands, andBelgium. This week marks the startof the UK dates which will be fol-lowed by December shows in Ger-many, Switzerland, Austria, andItaly. UK folks, please note! Last weheard, the second Glasgow showwas almost sold out, and Londonwas not far off. We strongly suggestyou secure tickets for all shows inadvance...
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tional ballads, and the fifth to bereleased on the band’s own label,Lost Again Records.
“Twigger and I returned to Ireland,driving around the entire coastlinein search of Irish music,” saysPatrick. “Going back was great andwe got some good stories and ideasfor songs.”
“That was a really important trip tous,” agrees Steve, who producedthe album with help from Patrickand drummer Ryan Lacey. Stevesays the journey back to their musi-cal home informs the new album.“The idea of home is all over
. Whether home is whereyou were born or where you makeyour living, that theme runsthroughout the album.”
Rounded out by drummer Ryan,piper Pete Purvis and fiddle playerJessie Burns, Gaelic Storm has
Gaelic Storm
Through the course of nine albums,the core of Celtic-rock group Gael-ic Storm—frontman Patrick Mur-phy and guitarist-vocalist SteveTwigger—have lived, written andrecorded in the United States, farfrom the overseas environs ofPatrick’s native Ireland and Steve’sbirthplace of England. So when itcame time to find inspiration forGaelic Storm’s new album, thegroup’s chief songwriters decided atrip back across the pond was inorder.
The result is the dazzling, a heavyweight record that
comes out swinging with a mix ofempowering anthems and tradi-
Gaelic StormBiography
earned a reputation as one of theworld-music scene’s preeminentCeltic bands. With catalog sales ofmore than 1 million, the group hashad two albums debut at No. 1 onthe Billboard World Albums Chart,2008’s and2010’s . The latter re-mained parked in the top slot forthree consecutive weeks.
The group’s ability to deftly incor-porate a rock sensibility into theirsound affords them rare crossoverappeal. In recent years, they’ve per-formed on the same bill with actsranging from Zac Brown Band andthe Goo Goo Dolls to EmmylouHarris and Lyle Lovett, at events asvaried as the Telluride BluegrassFestival and Milwaukee’s Summer-fest.
“At the end of those shows, I waslike, ‘Lads, that was unbelievable!’”Patrick says. “We fit in very well
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with those other artists and we’redefinitely moving more into themainstream. Our music is Celticand Irish, yes, but on this album, wesee just how far we can take it.”
That sense of musical adventure iswell represented in
’s lead-off track, the live-every-moment rocker “One More DayAbove the Roses.” Hammered outby Steve and Ryan during a particu-larly rewarding jam session at TheZone studio in Austin, Texas,where the band records, the songis a defiant boot-stomper, withPatrick announcing:
The lyrics are a tribute of sorts tolegendary Irish folksinger PaddyReilly, who gave the group someinvaluable advice when GaelicStorm was adapting to the instantfame brought on by their cameo inthe 1997 blockbuster “Titanic.”
Guitar Repairs LeicesterBob Dayfield
Proprietor
Hand Built Guitars
Repairs to most fretted
Instruments
Tel: 0116 2 671 028
22
The finish is excellent, very plain withlittle decoration (no fretboardmarkers with simple binding andpurfling around the soundhole) theneck is a little chunky butcomfortable with a nut width of42mm, nice low action very easy toplay with low frets and no sharpedges. I like the strap button at bodyend of the neck for me that makes iteasier to stand up and play, I don'tlike laces round the nut end.
The Guitar Review
Baden D-Style Mahogany Guitar
Welcome to this month’s guitarreview with thanks again to TheGuitar Workshop IbstockLeicestershire for lending us thisguitar for review
TJ Baden is inspiration behind Badenguitars and is the former vicepresident of sales and marketing ofTaylor Guitars. This month’s guitar isthe very different looking Baden DStyle Mahogany dreadnoughtacoustic-electric guitar featuring solidone piece mahogany neck and bodyand a solid Sitka spruce top, with arosewood fingerboard and Fishmanelectrics hidden in the soundhole. Ithas a natural gloss top and bodyfinish with satin finish neck, whichhas a lovely low action, according theinformation in the case Baden makethe bone nut low to give easyplayability which it certainly doe's.
Baden GuitarsBaden D-Style Mahogany GuitarWelcome, this month we look at a quality Baden with thanks to The Guitar WorkshopIbstock Leicestershire for lending us this guitar for review.
Sounds
The guitar has a very responsive livelyopen and precise sound with naturalsustain and reverb, both acousticallyand plugged in. Acoustically it's quiteload with wonderful bass responseand great string separation which iswell balanced, great for finger pickingand strumming I also tried abottleneck on it, even with the lowaction it sounded great. Plugged in
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the Fishman produces a great sound,as you'd expect very even and thenatural sounding very good for eitherfinger picking or plectrum work.
Finally
This is an excellent guitar with adifferent look, so if you're looking for
a guitar that sounds and plays greatbut is not the norm check Baden outthey also do a style A which is a cutaway guitar built to the same specs,which I've also played recently andwas just as impressed.
See you next month when maybe we'lltry an entry level guitar
Nigel
Build QualityPlayabilitySoundValue for moneyLooks
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FactfileBaden GuitarsStyle D MahoganyTOP- Solid SitkaBACK & SIDES MahoganyNECK-Mahogany, 648mm scale,bone 42mm nut
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HARDWARE-Ping Chrome tuners
Two strap buttons
ELECTRICS-Fishman hidden insoundhole
FINISH-Gloss top, back and sides,satin neck
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24
and brain are busy doing this, yourenergy will be flowing in their di-rection.
Do not keep apologising toyour Audience
When you are nervous, one of thecommon faults is to keep apologis-ing to your audience e.g. “I’ve notbeen playing for long” or “I’ve got abad cold this week”. If the audiencewere mean enough they could say“well why are you here then?”. Itdoes not matter that you are newto this, your audience will probablyknow that and will not mind. Visual-ise your performance and see your-self for Focus on thisthought “
”,just be you. If you keep apologisingto your audience you will makethem nervous and focus on yourmistakes. With all their energy di-rected into your problem, they willlose the focus of the music or songthat you wish to share with them.
Take Care of the Little things
Simple rules may seem a little sillyto mention here but, how manytimes do you see people getting upon stage and then starting to tunetheir instrument. You may say thatmany seasoned performers do this,however their confidence will allowthem to do this easily while they tella joke or funny story. If you’re notready to do this then make sureyour instrument is ready beforeyou go on. If time is short, it is evenmore important. Guitarists can al-ways purchase a clip-on electronictuner for about £15 that will letthem silently tune up at the back ofthe room without disturbing any-one.
Hints & Tips (Beginners)
Many young budding singers,guitarists or performers of all kindsoften ask me “could you give mesome pointers to get me started?”.I’m sure that all performers wouldanswer this in their own way buthere are some of my simple guide-lines. As with all guidelines based onrules some can be broken, but firstlearn the rules and you will knowhow to break them later.
Nerves make natural adrenalin
When you first enter the spot lightit can be very daunting and we allget nerves at this point, but I wouldactually say that if you are not nerv-ous then you lose the edge to yourperformance. Top performers of allgenres have nerves as they entertheir performance if they are notnervous it’s probable that they donot care any more. Natural adrena-lin is a good aid to a good perform-ance. Note that I say “natural”because any other kind of aid catch-es up with you sooner or later. Allyou need to do is to keep thenerves under control and learn touse them to your advantage by di-recting the energy into your per-formance. One way is to lookdirect at your audience even if youcannot see them fully through thelights. Make contact with them, thiswill cause your thinking process toconcentrate on the very cause ofyour nervousness. While your eyes
Just a few littlepointers to helpthe Newbies getunderway
We are now well intoour second year of Folkmusic every Thursday atthe Lyceum Tavern inMalpas Road Newport.The Function Room thatwe use was refurbishedlate last year and the at-mosphere at the club isterrific. Come along andsee for yourself!
http://www.lyceumfolknewport.org.
Www.cambridgefolkclub.orgcontact: [email protected]
Telephone 01638-603986
Do not give yourself Distrac-tions
One of the most common distrac-tions is to have your words on amusic stand in front of you. Someperformers fall out with me overthis one, but going back to what Isuggest in the first paragraph, yourenergy is now focused on a pieceof paper in front of you and youhave lost all contact with your audi-ence. If like me you forget the firstline of a song, do a song list with justthe first line, by the time you havetold your audience what song youare about to do, you are alreadymaking contact. Imagine being onanother planet saying halo to analien while you’re looking at yourrocket ship, Alienate him is whatyou’ve just done.
Know your Music and Songs
The line of a Bob Dylan song reads“But I'll know my songs well beforeI start singing” (hard Rains A-gonnafall) and it is the best way. Yes! Weall forget lyrics even seasoned per-formers forget lines of a song. Keepgoing, hum, do anything, make itinto a joke but learn your songs wellbefore you get out there and youwill have less problems. I see manynew performers singing four or fivesongs from bundles of music bywhich time their audience is halfasleep. A very seasoned performer(Sam Spencer my farther) once saidto me “Always leave them wantingmore”. Go for quality not quantity!My advice is
get out there and letyour audience know .
Keep it live
Pen Pusher
UK Acoustic Clubs Open Mics.
every 3rd Wedof the month
£ 2 Admission
Main StNewbold Verdon 8 PMTel: 01455 891333 (day)01455 290758 (evening)
Acoustic-Knights
An Acoustic Music Eveningevery
1st Tuesday of the MonthStarting at 8-30pm at the
Royal ArmsMain Street, Sutton Cheney,
Nr Market Bosworth.See web-site for full details and map
Floor singers/musicians from all genrePlus Guest Artist/s
£2 ADMISSION
Grayshott Folk Club
www.grayshottfolkclub.co.uk
Check out the web-site for more information
The Great kNight Folk Club meets on the1st and 3rd Tuesday evenings of themonth at The Old White Hart, Far Cotton,Northampton, NN4 8BS. Doors openround about 8pm and we kick off at8.30pm
Floor singers are always welcome. If youwould like a spot just turn up and we willtry to fit you in. Alternatively, drop us anemail and we may be able to reserve aspot for you.
This Month:02/10/12 Dave Jolly
16/10/12 John Connolly
Www.greatknightfolkclub.co.uk
Although she only started learning to play the guitar a couple ofyears ago Kaitlyn performs with a confidence and vocal deliverythat belies her years. Early favourite bands were Pink and WithinTemptation and she found a like for Country and Americanathrough listening to Taylor Swift. The first song she learnt to playwas Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ and her repertoire now in-cludes her own compositions and songs from Perry and MirandaLambert amongst others. With a clear and sweet toned voice isshe one to watch out for over the next few years?
Acoustic Newcomers
Newcomers to the acoustic Music sceneWe are sure that all over the world we have real talent that is just starting to reach out to thieraudiences. We want to know who they are so contact us by our web-site .
Ruthie sings and has played guitar for about 20 yrs. Amongst herinfluences are Dylan, Nick Cave and early Springsteen. She nowalso plays ukulele and mandolin in July 2012 and teamed up ArtPridmore (Cahon, vocals) and Les Eastham (Guitar, harmonica andvocals. A Leonard Cohen song featured in the spot I listened torecently along with two self penned numbers (which held up verywell against the maestro’s, I might say) ‘Who Do You Think YouAre’ and ‘White Horses’. Ruthie can be found on facebook and youcan listen on reverbnation.
Many thanks to http://clipart.edigg.com/ for the page header clipart
This Page should be many Pages but we are not getting the response from ourreaders.
There are many new artists out there around the world and we want to knowwho you are!
So come on give our office a bad time and send in your 90 word article and apic. Details on our web-site.
It would be great to see you all next month!
Our current shop stock includes Larrivée, Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Tanglewood, Yamaha,Takamine and many more. Should you not find the guitar you are looking for then simplyget in touch with us at our Bristol store and we will do our best to help. We have accessto many guitars both new and used across the world and regularly import guitars from theUSA
Here at Treblerock we do not just sell guitars and amplifiers, we listen to you, talk overyour requirements and work with you to provide you a guitar, amplifier or both that isexactly what you want. Using our vast knowledge of guitars, amplifiers and effects we willhelp you choose the equipment that is right for you and will provide you many years ofpleasure. We will even help match amplifiers and effects to your new guitar or existingguitar. Our service extends to aftercare of instruments and equipment, servicing andrepair along with tuition and consultancy…....
call us on
0117 9737666
Opening Hours:
Monday: 12pm - 6pm
Tuesday: 10:30am - 6:30pm
Wednesday: 10:30am - 6:00pm
Thursday: 10:30am - 6:30pm
Friday: 10:30am - 6:30pm
Saturday: 10am - 6pm
Sunday: CLOSED
29
the mandolin is undergoing a reviv-al in folk and indie bands as well asin classical circles, with CaptainCorelli's Mandolin adding to theinterest. In the USA it ranks along-side pizza and Frank Sinatra as oneof Italy's greatest exports, whileback in Europe, despite Hitler'sattempt to ban it (he consideredthe tiny instrument a threat toThird Reich!!!) there are now 476German mandolin orchestras. TheUK has been a bit slow on the up-take, but years of confinement toback bedrooms, where legions of
The Mandoliquents
The Mandolinquents featureeverything from hot swing and rag-time instrumentals from the man-dolin orchestras of the 1930s:Irving Berlin, Mozart, Ravel andTchaikovsky to lively reels andbeautiful traditional Irish airs toChinese and Brazilian folk tunes.All this played with infectious fun,off-beat humour and stunning vir-tuosity on mandolin, mandola,mandocello, mandobass and classi-cal guitar, with the occasionalburst of song or fiddle.
In the 1930s mandolin orches-tras were all the rage - every self-respecting town had one. Today
Britain’s FirstModern MandolinQuartetThe Mandoliquents
A riot of Music,song,andhumour.
30
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When the music press describes someone as an 'Incredible acoustic talent'and 'Peerless - no other word for it...' and when people like Jean-Christo-phe Novelli and Madonna are booking that same someone for their privateparties then you know that something pretty special is going on. Welcometo the world of UK acoustic guitar phenomenon Clive Carroll...
Clive has a vast musical palette and a sweeping creative vision. Adept atbanjo, flattop, and nylon-string guitar, and equally at home playing finger-style or wielding a flatpick, Carroll creates music that defies categorization.
Acoustic Featured
Jon Gomm is a singer-songwriter and acoustic solo performer, with anincredible virtuoso guitar style, where he uses one acoustic guitar to cre-ate drum sounds, basslines and sparkling melodies all at the same time.The emphasis is still on the songwriting and soulful vocals however, andhis original material is influenced by everything from Robert Johnson toRadiohead, Roni Size to Prince.
'Chris Woods is one of the UK's most exciting instrumentalists. His per-formances are a blend of endearing stories with ear bending drop tunedgrooves. Displaying dazzling creativity and skill, by mixing emotive andimaginative sounds with stunning technique. You wont forget what youhear.' Chris Woods has taken 'string slapping' into another dimension ofpercussive effects on acoustic guitar by combining elements of finger tap-ping, rapid drumming on the belly and lower bout of the guitar with 'nor-mal' finger picking resulting in a tour de force of original technique':Acoustic Guitar Mag. Book your tickets now!!
Award Winning Celtic Music Band Govannen are one of thegreatest Celtic music bands in the UK, blending jigs & reelswith traditional & contemporary Irish songs.Ranging from live pub recordings to atmospheric Celtic chill-out music have sold over 10,000 copies worldwide. Their al-bum Celtic Fire won a COVR Award in Denver Colorado forbest world music album. "
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the first she had heard of jazzplayed by Ella Fitzgerald. Anasaid when she heard theAmerican singing, it was deeplymoving, and felt that “Everythingis clear in my heart, in my soul."
After that, Ana began singingjazz by night in São Paulo. Sheperformed in bars and hotelsand was hired by the renownedBaretto (Hotel Fasano), in theheart of the exclusive Jardinsneighborhood, among itsresident artists, Chico Buarqueand Paulinho da Viola.
"Amor e caos" (“Love andChaos”) was released in 2007.The album featured Ana as asongwriter and has clearinfluences from jazz and MPB(Música Popular Brasileira - It isnot a distinct genre but rather acombination of originalsongwriting and udated versions
Ana Cañas São Paulo Brazil
It is common to see an artistsaying they learnt to sing or playan instrument from an early age.Or even became involved withmusic since five, six years ofage because of their parents orrelatives. It's so unusual to heara story like when an artist says itwas only after discovering theirvocation twenty years of age!And that's exactly whathappened to Ana Cañas.
Ana actually started doingtheater at a young age andattended scenic Performing Artsin ECA-USP. It was there thatshe came into contact withmusic, to audition for a musical,
Ana CañasBrazilianBeauty
of traditional Brazilian urbanmusic styles like samba andSamba-canção withcontemporary influences, likefolk, rock, pop and jazz.)following this, the singer wasnominated as a great promise ofBrazilian popular music by manycritics.
In 2009, the second disc of thesinger went on sale, titled"Hein?" (“Huh?”)Which made itclear that Ana Cañas can notsimply be labeled 'this' or 'that.'The album, produced byLiminha, has influences fromRock and Reggae, as well as the
Brazilian Beautywith a gentle butpowerful Voice
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collaberation with Gilberto GilArnaldo Antunes in five of the 12songs on the album. The albumalso introduced Ana's biggestsuccess so far, the ballad"Esconderijo" (“Cache”).Written by Ana, the song waspart of the soundtrack to theglobal novel “Viver aVida”("Living Life") and achievednational prominence.
Aside from critics and fans, whowere also charmed by Ana,Nando Reis, who wanted tocontribute to her 2009 album,'Drês '. The song “Pra VocêGuardei o Amor” ("To LoveYou I put") was the theme of thenovel and played on radiostations across the country. In2010, the singer released thesong “Luz Antiga” ("AncientLight"), Nando had writtenespecially for Ana.
Ana released her third and longawaited album, Titled "Volta"(“Back”), in June on her newlabel Guella Records. The workwas recorded entirely live andfeatures some unreleasedsongs and covers of musicclassics ("La Vie En Rose,""Stormy Weather," "My BabyJust Cares For Me" and "Rockand Roll "Led Zeppelin).
Compre No (Available On)
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Contact
Olivia Dunn
07748 [email protected]
Catch your guests' attention with music that's unique, entertaining andmemorable. Whether you're planning a wedding, party, function or anyother event, We can find you the perfect musical accompaniment.
The Acoustic Music Company provides musicians who can:-
● play acoustically (no PA) for unobtrusive background music, indoors oroutdoors.
● play amplified (with PA) for something a little louder, without blowing theroof off!
● learn any piece of music you'd specifically like to hear
● be flexible and adaptable, friendly and professional
If you are a passionate artist and have.
● Current good quality demos and/or videos
● Up-to-date Public Liability Insurance
● Fully PAT-tested equipment
Then we would love to hear from you to join the Team
A different angle – sparkling livemusic for weddings, events andoccasions across the South WestThe Acoustic Music Company specialises in:-
● toe-tapping, stylish traditional acoustic folkmusic.
● classical ensembles from soloists to stringquartets and beyond.
● folk bands, ceilidh bands, covers bands,soul bands & blues bands.
● blistering jazz combos
www.acousticmusiccompany.co.uk
35
the House Jacks) and The Tubes.They gig regularly throughout theUnited States. ’current schedule is posted atwww.therusticators.com. Forbookings, call (540) 885-8241 oremail [email protected].
The entire album is a joy to hear.The lyrics, production and per-formances are top class and de-serve to be heard by a wideaudience. - ,Rambles.net, Ireland.
The combination of beautiful har-monies, intelligent lyrics andpeaceful grooves makes “TalkingWith The Dead” a winner. -
, The Buzz, Australia
It’s not often that independentmusic by a duo gets you thinkingabout all sorts of things so when itcomes around you’ve got to reallyhang on and pay full attention.” –
, Smother.net, Virginia, USA
This is stirring, melodic musicthat's a great soundtrack for asummer day, and I recommend thisto anyone who likes good music ofany genre. - ,Utter Trash, Ohio, USA
The instrumentation was great.The harmonies were perfect, andthe lyrics were some of the mostpoetic I've ever heard - ,Dallasmusic.com, Texas, USA
www.therusticators.com ~ 540-885-8241 ~
fan, Abbey Linfert,and joined
. His in-fluences rangefrom Miles Davis tothe Monkees. Hehas played in vari-ous projects fromHeavy Metal toSurf to traditionalJazz and was thedrummer for theSan Francisco pro-duction of Hedwigand The AngryInch. Abbey Linfertis a singer, song-writer and mandolinplayer. With a pas-sion for acousticmusic & harmonies,Ms. Linfert's rootsare in old-timecountry, folk androck-n-roll. KUSPDJ Tom McCartercompares Abbey'ssound to that ofsinging great Em-mylou Harris. Hersongwriting stylehas been describedas a melodic story-teller's voice filledwith the emotionsof everyday livingand honesty.
Talking with the dead is the Rusti-cators’ most recent release. Aneclectic mix of all-original tracks,this album highlights exceptionalsong-writing skills that span sev-eral genres and include folk, rock,pop and country. Produced byAmsler, the presentation rangesfrom scaled down acoustic songsto full band productions.
’ self titled debut CD wasreleased in the fall of 2002. Sinceits release, the album has receivedcritical acclaim and radio play inthe US, Europe, Australia and NewZealand.
have had thehonour of sharing billing with somenotable acts, including Box Set,Shana Morrison, Austin Willacy (of
draw up-on sounds from traditional & con-temporary folk to California pop,integrating a wide range of stylesto create their own unique brandof Americana that emphasizesharmonies.A native of southern California,Christian Devin Amsler has been acomposer and multi-instrumental-ist for over 20 years. Early in 2001,Chris met fellow Gram Parsons
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noon tea and homemade cake tofollow ...
… sometime later I return to thecar and retrieve my Roland electricpiano, to play a mellow set withsinger/songwriter in theyurt – the bougarabou (Africancowskin hand drum) will also fea-ture … the bougarabou is said to bethe precursor of the conga drum,with a much more mellow soundthan the djembe …
… at the end of a warm and lazyday of music in one of Leicester-shire's finest countryside locations,the car is reloaded and I travel toLutterworth to play some rousingpop covers with at a
Saturday …
The sun's shining, the car's loaded,off I drive for today's first gig at
in Sileby, for a day ofMusic in the Garden, showcasingmusicians from the Midlands.
– my communitydrumming group – is opening theevent at midday. We unload djem-bes (goatskin hand drums) anddoun douns (bass drums playedwith sticks) into the shady glade infront of the main stage, where I'mdue to lead the group and entertainthe crowds with traditional tunesfrom the West African diaspora –we have a great relaxed gig, plentyof banter, with the bonus of after-
wedding reception – time to intro-duce the cajon
andtoday favoured by many acousticdrummers for its space saving ver-satility in live gigs) … and of course,a mouthwateringly delicious hotand cold wedding buffet ...
Sunday …
A most unusual booking – off toKetton Burial Ground to provide adrumming and percussion sound-scape for a traditional Nigerian bur-ial service, devised by the familywho live in England, based on ritu-als that their tribe would have fol-lowed in Africa … a vibrant andtouching celebration of life, and asymbolic start for the soul to con-tinue its journey onwards ...
… after a selection of traditionalhomemade African and Germandelicacies prepared by the family,I'm back in the car and on anotherjourney, this time to SwithlandWoods near Loughborough, to playwith a 12 piece band for a Circle
37
ally rehearsal nightfor
, so Bob's signedus up to play, whichis good practice in agreat venue withproper stage, light-ing and excellentsound system. Al-ways a good nightout, great audiences,wide variety of mu-sic and always aheadline act worthwatching. I've been privileged to beinvited to play a couple of songswith (we go back along way!) and with
(who I'd nevermet before), as well as with someof the regular floor spot musicians -it's always a great challenge to beput on the spot, sometimes a littlescary, but always fun!!
Wednesday …
Off to nearStamford, Rutland, for their annualmusic festival – a great outdoorvenue and well organised by
, where local primaryschools come to watch local youngmusicians perform on the mainstage, and take part in a variety ofmusic workshops throughout theday – I run West African drummingwith groups of about 25 children,the tantalising aroma of organicburgers and the thought of icecream from the local farm distract-ing me ... Cheque in pocket and carloaded by 4pm, I head for the A1Mfor the next leg of my week's jour-ney ...
Thursday ...
… a day of workshops for infants at in
Golders Green – exploring tradi-
Dance Picnic – dances and musicfrom around the world, rhythmsand people swirling to waltzes andpolkas and eastern european 7/8s… keeping 2 guitars, 3 fiddles, cel-lo, banjo, flute, 2 recorders, harmo-nium and 2 itinerant handdrummers plus 40 dancers in timewas an interestingly provocativechallenge! My reward was to grazeat the table of the “bring and share”picnic, having more than my fairshare of the most yummy chilli andchickpea salad and gooey home-made flapjack I've ever tasted ...
Monday …
Not far to drive to for some peripatetic
djembe lessons, then on to recordpiano and percussion for an up-coming cd with Phil. Time then fora short meeting with Dave Ledsamat to discuss arecent project and photo shoot at
and buy afew Talking Drums, before rushinghome to a bowl of pumpkin soup(courtesy of Phil's allotment) ac-companied by my home bakedseeded bread. On to
open mic night –the opportunity to socialise and jamwith some local musicians, andhopefully win the chocolate prize inthe raffle.
Tuesday …
More teaching, today atand primary schools,then home to plan a project work-ing with puppeteers in Yorkshire,catch up on the week's emails,planning, invoicing and accountsand update my blog, throw togeth-er a quick stir fry then head off to
for the first Tues-day of the month – Tuesday is usu-
tional drums, balafons and assortedhand made percussion from Africa,creating a noisy soundscape to ac-company traditional chants, withmuch fun and laughter along theway! Oh – and who would turn
down the opportunity of a 21st
century school dinner – sweet po-tato and legume curry followed bysticky toffee pudding and custard …
Friday …
Drive home exhausted after a longand varied week, wondering whenon earth I'm going to have time torefuel and do my makeup, hair andnails – let alone write an articleabout a snapshot of a week in thelife of an acoustic percussionist … Ijust hope nobody asks me to keepa food diary!
www.juliewrightpercussion.co.ukwww.completewasters.co.ukwww.backwatermusic.co.ukwww.soarvalleymusic.co.ukwww.montysmusic.comwww.acoustic-knights.co.ukwww.chrisconway.orgwww.kimlowings.com
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While travelling in Peru at age32, took a train ridethat would change his life. On aclear cool morning in Cuzco in thesummer of 1986, Sam boarded apassenger train that was blown upminutes later by terrorists. Initially,seven died. The dead included aGerman boy and his parents whowere sitting with Baker in the car.Baker survived, but with lastingdamage - deafness, a mangled hand,a mangled leg, and brain damageaffecting speech and memory. At58, words are still occasionally un-remembered, requiring extensivesearch. However, during thesesearches, he finds other words.From these other words, he findsother stories. And with these sto-ries come characters from otherplaces and times.
The trilogy
The trilogy is its own making.(2004) attempts to come to termswith the flash of impact - the quickviolence and the eerie post-blastquiet. It was written as a singlepiece of art attempting to makesense of sudden death and the lot-tery quality of shrapnel: the deathof some and the survival of others.In the interim, while sorting out lifeand death on the train, other char-acters appeared- an ironworker,
Turner Guitars42CE Grand ConcertTOP- Solid SpruceBACK & SIDES-OvangkolNECK-Mahogany, 648mmscale,bone 45mm nutFINGERBOARD-20fret,Rosewood with offset pearldotsBRIDGE/SPACING-Rosewood,bone 55mmHARDWARE-Die-cast“Grover” style tunersTwo strap buttonsELECTRICS-Fishman Isys+preamp with volume, treble,bass, phase reversal, tunerand battery check.
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Train Ride Changed My Life
39
kids playing baseball, an old widow-er on a beach. Beauty appears andprevails.
(2007) exploresgratitude, obligation, and again,beauty. It forms itself as a bookendto . Other characters debut:the son of an oil baron, a man in ablue suede cowboy hat, a woman ata swimming pool.
(2009) is the last (andperhaps most difficult) piece of thetrilogy. The cost of forgiveness isweighed against the cost of not for-giving. Other characters walk ontothe stage: a field hand, a pulp woodlogger, a serving girl, a young Men-nonite. Once again beauty is a con-stant.
Baker’s music is authenticatedby experience. Seldom in modernmusic is the listener able to hear aunique voice with an uncommonstory. As told through Sam’s voicehimself: “
Image by Donna Meier
Train Ride Changed My Life
•
took a trainride that would change
his life
40
What’s On
The Bruff Bluegrass MusicFestival
Main St, Bruff, Co. Limerick
41
What’s On
www.sheehans.com
Whispering Voices * Kolin Durier * The Delta Beltas * Pepper & Shepherd
* *
***ALSO***
ACOUSTIC SESSIONS
Jurnet's Bar, Wensum Lodge, King Street, Norwich
42
What’s On
Acoustic-Knights
An Acoustic Music Eveningevery
1st Tuesday of the MonthStarting at 8-30pm at the
Royal ArmsMain Street, Sutton Cheney,
Nr Market Bosworth.See web-site for full details and map
Floor singers/musicians from all genrePlus Guest Artist/s
£2 ADMISSION
www.acoustic-knights.co.uk
Also Open Mic every Wednesday: 8pm -1am, food served until 10pm
O'Neills, Town Centre, Peterborough,PE1 1SQ
Tel: 01733 553 142
43
This year's event will be onthe 2Oth and 21st October.
Many acoustic acts from all overScotland taking part.
Saturday and Sunday afternoon willbe held in the:-Aroma Coffee House44 Stewarton street, ML2 8AN
Saturday night will be held atThe Rat Pack,57-59 Kirk Road, ML2 7BL
http://www.thewishawacousticfestival.com
What’s On
MigrationsGlobal GatheringSun 14 Oct 2012
Tel: 0845 40 24 001http://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/events/migrations-global-gathering
The Global Gathering is a celebration –through music – of the exhilarating cosmo-
politan diversity of Bristol and the SouthWest. Packed full of music, St George’s
comes alive with the most eclectic line-up oftop-class world musicians, drawn from many
of the great migrant cultural traditions.All for free!
Both Gigs are in the town centre
44
www.dawsons.co.ukFor musical instruments and recording equipment
Tel: 01925 582 420
Www.chimesmusic.com
Www.fiddlersgreenmusic.co.uk
Acoustifieds (Classifieds)
45
www.southamptonmusicshop.co.uk
The MusicShop
New & Used
Group
EquipmentTel:02380 437 937
Acoustifieds (Classifieds)
The Musicians No.1 Superstore
Order by phone7 days a week
58 & 59 Woodbridge Road,
Guildford, Surrey GU1 4RF
Tel: 01483 456733Fax: 01483 456722
Email: [email protected]
The leading specialistMusical Instrument Insurer
Whether your instrument is stringed,
woodwind, electronic or digital,
check out our specially designed
policies, created with the music
world in mind and find the right
policy for you.
www.allianzmusicalinsurance.co.uk
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Opening Hours:
SalesMonday - Friday 9.00am - 5.30pmSaturday 9.00am - 5.00pm
SupportMonday - Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm
By Telephone:Freephone - 08000 281415
By Email:Sales Team - [email protected] Team - [email protected]
Originally established in 1959 Normans has grown to become the UK's pre-eminentspecialist supplier of musical Instruments. We supply Pupils, Schools, Local Education Authori-ties and Professional Players all over the UK, and across the world.Top Musical Instrument Specialists based in Burton On Trent - From Brass,Music Tech, Woodwind, Guitars, Drums, Keyboards to Repairs, Lessons, Educa-tion and percussion we supply it all.Originally established in 1959 Normans has grown to become the UK's pre-emi-nent specialist supplier of musical Instruments. We supply Pupils, Schools, LocalEducation Authorities and Professional Players all over the UK, and across theworld.
Acoustifieds (Classifieds)
47
We have Music Stores inNEWCASTLE - GATESHEAD - DARLINGTON
www.jgwindows.com
Acoustifieds (Classifieds)
8 & 9 WestgateGrantham
LincsNG31 6LT
Tel: 01476 570 700
Massive Selection of Instruments and Accessories.Fast UK Delivery
Sales: 0845 458 4583www.djmmusic.com
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Epiphone HummingbirdCherry Sunburst Finish
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The independent music storeEstablished 1982, 8 fully-stocked depart-ments, 15,000 sq ft showroom space.82 Copley Road, Doncaster, South York-shire DN1 2QWCall us on 01302 369 999
, but we could not let this issue go bywithout mentioning the “The York Castle Museum” and its personnel. The museum is a tribute to their hard work anddedication. The Staff are incredibly friendly and will welcome all into the solid York Stone domain. One of their latestadditions to the grounds is a wonderful wild life garden next to the river where we were privileged to shoot thismonths cover article. We give our whole appreciation to the staff and hope one day they may find a small bit of gardenwhere Acoustic-Monthly could maybe hold an acoustic festival. We would truly love this., Where better to revive thetraditions of the troubadours, the folk singers or telling the news in music. York Museums Trust can be truly proud ofthis outstanding facility.
Many thanks from all the staff at www.acoustic-monthly.com
York Castle Museum is one of Britain's leading museums of everyday life. It shows how peopleused to live by displaying thousands of household objects and by recreating rooms, shops, streets- and even prison cells.
The new chemists' shop on Kirkgate
It is best known forits recreated Victo-rian street, Kirk-gate, which hasbeen made biggerduring 2012 withnew backstreets toexplore, moregoods on displayand real stories ofYork people andbusinesses to discover.
The museum's room settings include aVictorian parlour, an 1850s Moorlandcottage, Jacobean and Georgian diningrooms, a 1940s kitchen and a 1950sfront room.
The museum, which opened in 1938,was named after the former York Cas-tle, which stood on the site.
Raindale Mill and the riverside area
Remains of the former Castle walls canbe seen outside the museum next tothe River Foss and our Victorian water-mill, Raindale Mill.
, Eye of York, York YO1 9RY +44 (0) 1904 687687