Spring Antics.
Hello all,
Looking back over the last month or so it feels like a lot has happened in a small amount of time.
A lot of energy has been going into getting 'The Bonfire Radicals' of the ground. We had our first gig on the 4th of February at a Lunar Society event at the Hare and Hounds. Thankfully we were very well received and the gig was a sell out. As a result of that success we will be playing at the MAC on the 1st of May, Urban Fox Folk Club on the 2nd of May, Moseley Folk Festival on the 3rd of September and at Edale Folk Festival which runs from the 9th-11th of September. It would be lovely to see some friendly faces at any of these dates but if you can't wait until then you can hear the best bits of our last gig on Soundcloud.
A couple of weekends ago all of us Radicals ventured out to the back streets of Brum for a photoshoot with Colin Whitehouse. We were all quite nervous about the day- not being sure whether we would find good locations to shoot or whether our outfits were quite right- but Colin did an absolutely brilliant job and put us all at ease. In-fact it seems that some members of the band were clearly cut out to be models and career changes are in order! At the moment we are busy preparing for our first proper recording session with Sal Broughton on the 12th April. To be the first to see/hear the results why not follow us on Twitter or Facebook?
Last Friday the David Garside Band had a final rehearsal with Raphael Mann- our producer and the brain behind Frizz Records- in preparation for our recording over at Gizzard Studios in Bow on the 8th of April. The aim is to get all of the rhythm tracks finished so as everything else can be recorded on top. As usual Raph had a lot of helpful things to say and I came away with completely new drums parts to try and remember!
Aside from The Bonfire Radicals and David Garside things have been very busy at school and in my life as a freelance musician. Last week three of the classes that I teach had concerts all of which were a great success. As a teacher you can never underestimate the amount of inspiration you can take from your students. I was so proud to see them play and my love of performing was renewed by watching the joy and concentration on some of their faces. I have also been enjoying playing some jazz recently with a few gigs at Theatre Severn, some teaching at The Conservatoire Junior School and even venturing out to Hereford to play with Dave Price, Lee Goodall and Erica Lyons.
Last night I had a gig with Wildfire Youth Folk Ensemble- all the kids had come on a long way but I was particularly impressed with Rosie the percussionist who was the most confident I have seen her yet. It was a special treat for all as we were supporting the Urban Folk Quartet. It was great for everyone from Wildfire to see their leader Paloma Trigas play at her best and in my opinion they probably put on the most exciting live performance in the UK at the moment. If you have not heard them yet you should really check them out.
I will leave with a video of The UFQ live at The Cross in Moseley.
See you soon Lydia
