Along with our friends, Mike and Hazel Jessop, we went to see Cathryn Craig and Brian Willoughby who were performing at Rothbury Roots.
Rothbury Roots is "A monthly music evening run by people passionate about keeping music live, to bring you the very best in acoustic music". The evenings are held in small intimate room in the Queens Head at Rothbury.
We've seen Cathryn and Brian several times (even attending a recent workshop with them - see 19-Oct-08 blog) and they never disappoint - tonight was no exception, they were on great form... exceptional guitar playing, wonderful singing, stage presence and genuinely warm and friendly.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Rothbury Roots
Brian Willoughby & Cathryn Craig
Friday, 31 October 2008
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
28-Oct-08 Croxdale Folk Club
Another 80 mile round trip to the singaround at Croxdale Folk Club. It was quite a busy night with the likes of The Old Age Travellers (OATs), Phil Graham and Robin Bailey in attendance. Also there was a chap called John Kelly who played the harmonium! A nice change and a nice sound.
As always it was good to be able to catch up with Terry Ferdinand and his wife Catherine who regularly attend the Croxdale Folk Club. Terry does a great Folk Show on BishopFm on Monday nights 21:00 - 23:00.
The night was the usual format of two songs in the first half and two in the second and more for some, time permitting. Our songs were Ralph McTell's 'Maginot Waltz' and Emerson Lake and Palmer's 'Lucky Man' in the first half with Kelly Joe Phelps' 'Tommy' (for Terry as he loves it!) and Paul Siebel's 'Louise'. It was the first outing with Jimmy's Taylor 910CE-L7 following its recent surgery - all seems well and jiva's signature 'gentle blend of acoustic guitars and vocal harmony' was very much in evidence.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Croxdale Folk Club MySpace
Terry Ferdinand MySpace
BishopFM
As always it was good to be able to catch up with Terry Ferdinand and his wife Catherine who regularly attend the Croxdale Folk Club. Terry does a great Folk Show on BishopFm on Monday nights 21:00 - 23:00.
The night was the usual format of two songs in the first half and two in the second and more for some, time permitting. Our songs were Ralph McTell's 'Maginot Waltz' and Emerson Lake and Palmer's 'Lucky Man' in the first half with Kelly Joe Phelps' 'Tommy' (for Terry as he loves it!) and Paul Siebel's 'Louise'. It was the first outing with Jimmy's Taylor 910CE-L7 following its recent surgery - all seems well and jiva's signature 'gentle blend of acoustic guitars and vocal harmony' was very much in evidence.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Croxdale Folk Club MySpace
Terry Ferdinand MySpace
BishopFM
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
27-Oct-08 Taylor 910CE-L7 and Bose L1
It's been a difficult three and a half weeks for us as Jimmy's Taylor 910CE-L7 guitar has been away! We had been having problems with the original version 1 Expression System, and some surgery was required to fit the replacement version 2 Expression System.
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that for our recent gigs and visits to clubs Jimmy has been playing his old faithful Brazilian Rosewood Yamaha FG580 (his best friend for nearly 30 years). This meant we had to spend quite some time setting up the 'new' sound through our Bose L1 sound system.
When we picked the guitar up we also bought a second B1 bass module for the Bose system. So now it's back to the drawing board as the newly fitted Expression System on Jimmy's 910 produces a different sound again! And then there's the tweaking to make the most of the additional B1... So we'll be spending time getting the tonal balance right between the two 6 strings and the 12 string and 6 strings in good time for our gig at The New Inn in Rochdale on 7th November.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that for our recent gigs and visits to clubs Jimmy has been playing his old faithful Brazilian Rosewood Yamaha FG580 (his best friend for nearly 30 years). This meant we had to spend quite some time setting up the 'new' sound through our Bose L1 sound system.
When we picked the guitar up we also bought a second B1 bass module for the Bose system. So now it's back to the drawing board as the newly fitted Expression System on Jimmy's 910 produces a different sound again! And then there's the tweaking to make the most of the additional B1... So we'll be spending time getting the tonal balance right between the two 6 strings and the 12 string and 6 strings in good time for our gig at The New Inn in Rochdale on 7th November.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
26-Oct-08 Recording Jim Wigfield
We have been working on Jim's debut album throughout the year (including a live recording at Cramlington Folk Club). Today was his fifth recording session - we had a long day, but have sorted out a running order and had a listen to all the songs (while eating a very nice chicken soup provided by Jim!)... and it's sounding good.
You can hear some of the early mixes on Jim's MySpace profile.
Next step is for us to do some further tweaking and mixing to finalise the tracks - and, in parallel, design the artwork for the CD and the jewel case inserts. Then it'll be all systems go - ready well before the Christmas rush!
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
jiva design website
Jim Wigfield MySpace
Cramlington Folk Club
You can hear some of the early mixes on Jim's MySpace profile.
Next step is for us to do some further tweaking and mixing to finalise the tracks - and, in parallel, design the artwork for the CD and the jewel case inserts. Then it'll be all systems go - ready well before the Christmas rush!
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
jiva design website
Jim Wigfield MySpace
Cramlington Folk Club
Saturday, 25 October 2008
25-Oct-08 The Comrades Club, Whitley Bay
This was the fourth quarterly acoustic music evening run by John Jeffrey - and acoustic means just that, no PA even though the room is quite large.
All the performers had two songs/tunes each in the first half. We sang 'Back Home To You' and 'An Acquaintance Of Mine', both of which went down very well.
It was much the same for the second half and John asked us to finish the night... we were happy to oblige with 'Love At The Five And Dime', 'Best Friends' (a request) and 'Sonny'.
There was plenty of joining in on our songs in both halves, quite an achievement at this venue.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
All the performers had two songs/tunes each in the first half. We sang 'Back Home To You' and 'An Acquaintance Of Mine', both of which went down very well.
It was much the same for the second half and John asked us to finish the night... we were happy to oblige with 'Love At The Five And Dime', 'Best Friends' (a request) and 'Sonny'.
There was plenty of joining in on our songs in both halves, quite an achievement at this venue.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Friday, 24 October 2008
23-Oct-08 The Station Hotel, Seaton Carew
Our first visit to this Folk Club run by Hartlepool trio Skyran (Ronnie, Angie and Christine). We'd received a Facebook message from Ronnie inviting us to visit their music night and were happy to make the 90-mile round trip. Not many people there - perhaps the miserable windy weather kept folks indoors.
It was good to catch up again with Lawrence and Christine (The Crackpots) and Yorkie, and to meet Ronnie and Angie for the first time. We had a good old chin wag about guitars, music, PA, folk clubs, festivals... the usual stuff!
Skyran played four songs... Yorkie elected to only do two... then we played 'Back Home To You', 'An Acquaintance Of Mine', 'Different Dreams' and 'Some Way Home'... Lawrence and Christine finished the first half with four songs.
Yorkie started the second half with three... Skyran followed with three more... we played 'Love At The Five And Dime', 'Two Old Friends' and 'Best Friends'... Lawrence and Christine rounded the night off with a final three songs.
Although quiet it was an enjoyable night and we'll certainly take up the invitation to go back again before too long.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
It was good to catch up again with Lawrence and Christine (The Crackpots) and Yorkie, and to meet Ronnie and Angie for the first time. We had a good old chin wag about guitars, music, PA, folk clubs, festivals... the usual stuff!
Skyran played four songs... Yorkie elected to only do two... then we played 'Back Home To You', 'An Acquaintance Of Mine', 'Different Dreams' and 'Some Way Home'... Lawrence and Christine finished the first half with four songs.
Yorkie started the second half with three... Skyran followed with three more... we played 'Love At The Five And Dime', 'Two Old Friends' and 'Best Friends'... Lawrence and Christine rounded the night off with a final three songs.
Although quiet it was an enjoyable night and we'll certainly take up the invitation to go back again before too long.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
20-Oct-08 Lamplight Arts Centre, Stanley
We popped along to the Lamplight the previous Monday to take part in their Unplugged night and had been asked to come along on the 20th for a special night. The Lamplight Arts Centre have been running monthly Writers Open Mic' Sessions for people who write prose or poetry in any styles as well as other performers such as singer-songwriters. This was a special Open Mic as part of the Durham Book Festival 08 with guest poet/performer and stand-up comic Kate Fox who had been running a workshop that afternoon.
It was quite a different night from our usual music venues and it was interesting to see the spoken word being performed. Being the only musicians there we were 'interspersed' (to use the words of the MC, Allen) between the poems and short stories.
The atmosphere was great and we had a very attentive audience. We played two of our songs - 'Best Friends' and 'Some Way Home' - and they loved them! The applause we received for 'Best Friends' was, well, quite overwhelming.
Allen asked us to finish off the night with another of our songs, a song we had only 'taught' him last week, 'One More Song'. And boy did they join in! It was magical.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Lamplight
It was quite a different night from our usual music venues and it was interesting to see the spoken word being performed. Being the only musicians there we were 'interspersed' (to use the words of the MC, Allen) between the poems and short stories.
The atmosphere was great and we had a very attentive audience. We played two of our songs - 'Best Friends' and 'Some Way Home' - and they loved them! The applause we received for 'Best Friends' was, well, quite overwhelming.
Allen asked us to finish off the night with another of our songs, a song we had only 'taught' him last week, 'One More Song'. And boy did they join in! It was magical.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Lamplight
19-Oct-08 Brian Willoughby & Cathryn Craig Workshop
The day after our gig at The Smugglers Den in Morecambe we attended a workshop given by Brian and Cathryn at The Edge in Poulton-le-Fylde.
After their opening 'That Old Guitar' they split us into small groups where we could experiment with some of the guitar techniques that Brian had demonstrated. It was certainly interesting to have additional players jamming along with our 'Dream On', 'Love At The Five & Dime', 'Peaceful Easy Feeling' and 'Best Friends'.
Brian made sure that he spent time with each group, helping and encouraging throughout the afternoon. Then Cathryn and Brian performed 'House Of The Rising Sun' asking us all to try out different chord inversions with them.
We then had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with each of them. We've previously played support for them and they've also seen us do some floor spots so they're familiar with what we do... Brian likes our use of different capo positions to facilitate each playing different chords in some songs, and gave us some tips on transitioning between shapes... Cathryn complimented us (especially Val) on our vocal delivery and harmonies, giving us some breathing and warm up tips for the voice. She stressed that we're good at what we do and that we should keep on doing it!
The day finished with a 45-minute concert where Cathryn and Brian played many of our personal favourites.
Many thanks to Paul Roberts for organising the event - we had a great time, and will no doubt be back for more.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Brian Willoughby & Cathryn Craig
Paul Roberts MySpace
After their opening 'That Old Guitar' they split us into small groups where we could experiment with some of the guitar techniques that Brian had demonstrated. It was certainly interesting to have additional players jamming along with our 'Dream On', 'Love At The Five & Dime', 'Peaceful Easy Feeling' and 'Best Friends'.
Brian made sure that he spent time with each group, helping and encouraging throughout the afternoon. Then Cathryn and Brian performed 'House Of The Rising Sun' asking us all to try out different chord inversions with them.
We then had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with each of them. We've previously played support for them and they've also seen us do some floor spots so they're familiar with what we do... Brian likes our use of different capo positions to facilitate each playing different chords in some songs, and gave us some tips on transitioning between shapes... Cathryn complimented us (especially Val) on our vocal delivery and harmonies, giving us some breathing and warm up tips for the voice. She stressed that we're good at what we do and that we should keep on doing it!
The day finished with a 45-minute concert where Cathryn and Brian played many of our personal favourites.
Many thanks to Paul Roberts for organising the event - we had a great time, and will no doubt be back for more.
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
Brian Willoughby & Cathryn Craig
Paul Roberts MySpace
Monday, 20 October 2008
18-Oct-08 The Smugglers Den, Morecambe
Small pub, very low ceiling so could only use half the Bose L1 stack set up on a table. Coal fire - hot (especially for Jimmy as he was standing nearest). Jimmy using Yamaha FG580 as Taylor 910CE-L7 was in for repair/replacement of its Expression System.Three sets of 30-minutes each. (6 songs each set). 1st set - crowd of youngsters at big table in front of us were getting quite loud and raucous. We made the mistake of trying to compete with them! (Silly... and a lesson learned - don't do that again). And, so they played a noisy quiz machine game while we were doing second set!
But we played and sang everything pretty well - we enjoyed it and were still raring to go after our last set which ended at midnight! Landlord immediately said he wants us back next year, probably a couple of times. There were positive comments (even from the adjoining room), saying that the sound was great and crystal clear. One of them actually said Jimmy had a good voice.
So overall a much more enjoyable experience than anticipated... a gig in a pub bar, on a Saturday Night!
Set 1
1. Back Home To You (Allan Taylor)
2. An Acquaintance Of Mine (Anthony John Clarke)
3. Dream On (jiva)
4. Maginot Waltz (Ralph McTell)
5. Sonny (Ron Hynes)
6. Galway To Graceland (Richard Thompson)
Set 2
1. Yorkshire Romance (C.J. Rowe)
2. The Veteran (Allan Taylor)
3. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (Bob Dylan)
4. Passin' Thru (Randy Scruggs and Johnny Cash)
5. Louise (Paul Siebel)
6. Tommy (Kelly Joe Phelps)
1. Love At The Five And Dime (Nanci Griffith)
2. Two Old Friends (Chris Simpson)
3. Best Friends (jiva)
4. Different Dreams (jiva)
5. Some Way Home (jiva)
6. One More Song (jiva)
Links
jiva website
jiva MySpace
The Smugglers Den