I'll be drammed

                                 

On Monday night a friend and I were trying to find a bar to go to where we could sit and exchange some ideas on songs in the comfort of a nice pub. Our first choice Lauries, was ruled out as we discovered it was now closed on Monday nights, and then it came to me, Uisge Beatha -  a place where I've done that sort of thing before and always welcomes a jam session, so of we went to give that a go.

Upon entering we politely asked the barman in Dram (formerly Uisge Beatha) if we could sit quietly in the empty room and tinkle on our guitars exchanging some ideas. However, the barman pointed out that there was still 10minutes left of The Game on the multitude of flat screen tvs and hinted that it wouldn't be suitable for the handful of people that were in the bar to be distracted - non of whom appeared to be in the least bit interested in the football.

This new incarnation of Uisge Beatha seems a flat screen shadow of its much loved former rustic self,  with its 'made to look old' decor, the bar famous for its music  sessions, and thoroughly ancient decor seems to have lost what made it a great place to be in the first place.

ah well, off we went and were welcomed into the bustling Bon Accord where we enjoyed a beer and some chat about great songs and occasional non offensive (honest) light picking on the geetars.

Glasgow Americana Festival 2010

Keeper of the Americana flame in Glasgow  - Kevin Morris of The Fallen Angels Club has just delivered 5 days worth of Americana music to the city of Glasgow as part of the 4^th Glasgow Americana Festival.

I only managed to make it along to a few shows but enjoyed them all. One of which was that of Northern Irish songwriter now based in Nashville - Ben Glover, who had jetted in to open for Tift Merritt. Ben gave a storming performance of songs from his album Through The Noise, Through The Night with a brilliant version of Atlantic City thrown in to the mix for the CCA crowd. His cd is hot property in my household  - I love the lyric ‘she’s got the same last name as a well known whisky’ from the track Full Moon Child  - I’m convinced the surname in question is Grouse.

It was also good to see 2 Glasgow based acts take part in the festival on the final night at Stereo. Adriana Spina, who I’ve previously only seen as a solo performer, filled the venue with some glorious vocals complimented by some fine accordion and Cajon playing by her 2 bandmates. Going by what I heard, her soon to be released new album will be good’un.

Local lads Woodenbox and a Fistful of Fivers pack a mighty punch with their trademark live shows and they did not fail to disappoint. I’m convinced they caused some structural damage to the basement of Stereo such was they accuracy of their shooting high energy Mariachi flavoured songs into the crowd – definitely worth a few fivers more.

The screening of ‘The Duct Tape Messiah’ a documentary on Texas songwriter - Blazey Ford at the GFT brought another dimension to the festival and highlighted again the popularity of the Americana scene and its appeal to the Scottish audiences- long may the festival run.

This years acts included-

Tift Merritt
Eilen Jewell
Frazey Ford
Kevin Welch & Alana Levandowski
Gurf Morlix
Girlyman
The Southern Tenant Folk Union
Brian Houston & Yvonne Lyon
The Porch Song Anthology
Roddy Hart
John Taylor
John Alexander (yes me)
Full Tonne Kid, Stephen Maguire and Paul McLaughlan
Jake Cogan and the Liberty Roses
www.glasgowamericana.com



Stonemason's Blues

It was with great sadness that i learned of the loss this week of Scottish Bluesman Tam White.

He was a familiar face on the Scottish music scene and i had the pleasure of opening for him a few times. I first discovered his music at his gig on my 18th birtday in The Old Athenaeum in Glasgow. We had been given complimentary tickets as he worked as a stonemason for the same company as my mum. (i should add that whilst my mum is a Glaswegian she was not a stonemason - she did the bookkeeping!).  I was well impressed with his performance and  blending of jazz and blues styles with his usual Scottish take on things.  More recently I have seen him perform acoustically with fellow Scot and harmonica player,  Fraser Spiers, where these intimate gigs fitted perfectly with Tam's story telling and humour.

A great character that will be sorely missed in the UK music scene.

Tam performing Stonemason's Blues

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

A group of friends & I will be heading for North African for North African skies this summer and am aiming on climbing North Africa's highest peak - Mount Jabel Toubkal (4167m) which lies high in the Atlas mountains in Morocco. We will be leaving for this trip on the 8th July.

Through this challenge we will be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support who work tirelessly to improve the lives of those affected by cancer.

For an added twist to this adventure, i've had the crazy idea of playing a song on guitar at the top of the mountain assisted by Daniel on double bass.. ok ok now that would be impressive but seeing as he can't play that he has opted for the tambourine.

At the moment i'm still undecided as to what song is best suited or indeed on the practicalities of actually doing this... any song ideas? please leave a comment.

Please sponsor on my just giving fundraising page 

Thanks

John

No Passport Required

It's not often you get to leave the country and return home in one night, but that's what I did late on Thursday. A nice wee jaunt over the sun drenched hills at beattock summit on the M74 to the lovely village of Keswick in the Northern Lakes. 

Nestled in the winding streets of Keswick is Cafe Bar 26 - a great place for food, sophisticated beers, live music & great humour (that’s where I come in).

I always enjoy visiting the lakes & I’ve spent a bit of time there over the years, mainly in caravans - one time as a young ‘un holed up in a rain lashed caravan for my summer holidays and again in the summer of 1998 undertaking my final year mapping project for my Geology course - for which i was affectionately classed as a ‘rock tapper’ by the locals. But it seems to me that this part of England is largely forgotten about by the masses of Scots who head up north for hill walking trips, day trips and holidays.

It’s quick to get to via the M74 where you can blast past caravans and lorries – try doing that on the A82 to Fort William. So for an alternative day trip to another country, where the scenery is fantastic, the pubs are great and no passport is required. why not head south of the border for a change?