31 May 2010

In an action and fun-packed month we:

• Topped the bill - jiva in Concert - at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre
   
• Played three 30-minute spots at Clennell Hall Festival
   
• Played support for Ulli Boegershausen at Edinburgh Folk Club
   
• Performed a 35 minute hot spot at the Friday Folk Club in Guisborough
   
• Performed a 25 minute spot at the Comrades Club in Whitley Bay
   
• Performed at singers nights in:
  • Guisborough Folk Club
  • Cramlington Folk Club
  • Monkey Folk Club, Whitley Bay
  • Foresters Folk Club, Coatham Mundeville
  • Beamish Mary, No Place
     
• Played in two care homes - one we'd visited previously and one new to us
   
• Hosted Terry Ferdinand and Gary from Bishop fm in our Blue Room as they interviewed and recorded (audio and video) Steve & Kristi - we took some video for Bishop fm and some for Steve & Kristi to use later
   
• Travelled to a school in a remote village to record the children singing some Jim Wigfield songs for his latest CD project
   
• Saw Megson at the Davy Lamp, Washington
   
• Saw Julie Felix at the Durham Gala Theatre
   
• Saw Steve & Kristi Nebel guest nights at four folk clubs: Netherton, Foggy Furze, Cramlington, Cutty Wren... we video'd two nights and did floor spots at three!

It was great having Steve & Kristi stay with us - we played some music together, shared their exploits with their new satnav, visited a few folk clubs together (and we're sure they'll be asked back for their 2011 tour), talked about songwriting, performance craft, recording, publicity... the whole works. We also took them to Tynemouth, to Prudhoe, to Blanchland for typically English afternoon tea, to the Derwent Reservoir and enjoyed celebrating their wedding anniversary with a meal at one of our favourite Indian restaurants. During their stay we video'd a number of their performances and they now have a few hours of video footage to help in their possible documentary on their experiences of the UK folk scene.

Towards the end of the month we took a trip to see Anthony John Clarke in Liverpool, delivering pre-release promo CDs and taking the opportunity to record a short video clip for Anthony John's website homepage. We also took a day out to sort a friend's computer/broadband/phone setup.

Planning continues for our June/July north west expedition - a sort of busman's holiday in Liverpool and the surrounding area. With the possibility of some more local gigs we're now delving into the intricacies of public liability insurance and risk assessment, PAT testing, etc. So much to think about in addition to writing songs, rehearsals and performances...

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