It's a funny thing - I like a good covers band, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see one necessarily unless a friend was playing in one, but I enjoy them if I'm already at a pub/party or function and one happens to be on. I like them when they don't play the same karaoke type hits that everyone seems to want. Fine at a party though!
People are dismissive of them - I think unfairly and I wonder what is the difference between a jazz or blues singer doing a 'standard' and a covers band? I mean it - quite often the people who are dismissive of covers bands are the same ones who revere jazz and blus arrangements of very well known tunes. I like covers bands that rework an original in a different way rather than do a carbon copy of how the original band did it. Then there are tribute bands who take the covers thing a step further and have massive followings themselves - I saw the Grateful Dead tribute band once at a festival, they were fab and did their own improvisations/jams rather than copy the Dead's versions; I may even book the Let's Zep act and have a themed evening based on it, so watch this space. And covers bands, well I'm working on a night where we have a line up of several - battle of the covers bands maybe.
Monday 18 October 2010
Wednesday 13 October 2010
What Happened Next - new job part two
Well, I'd given in my notice and started to plan for the next gig. I thought that the ideal thing would be to organise gigs and events featuring musicians I really like. One of my favourite singers is a very soulful blues singer, Dana Gillespie. I've been going to her gigs on and off since I was about 17 and hanging around with my friends Fran, Nick and Julian -that is Julian Clary - I met them all at what used to be the Group 64 am dram theatre in Putney, decided I wanted to be on stage and left school - anyway, I digress - I e-mailed Dana through her website telling her all this and the next day her manager/agent called me and we booked a date, this being 4th November - I was so excited! I set about booking the venue, got Matt to work on the flyers and started telling people about it. This has been interesting, and people have variously asked 'what Dizzy's sister?' or 'what, THE Dana Gillespie' which of course is great, because anyone who's been to see this woman perform will know how brilliant she is! Anyway while I've been planning that gig, more bands have approached me to put them on, many intrigued by the use of the Church as a venue; others less so, but still very keen to play in a big venue in west London now that the Red Lion has been replaced by MacDonalds and the live music part of the Watermans Arts centre is a restaurant. So following on from booking the Dana gig, I asked the Bitter Springs to do a gig with me - my hubby Phil is the fiddler with them and I think they're a brilliant, literary and slightly punky rock band, who at one time were an incarnation of Vic Godard's Subway Sect as well as themselves. The last time they played on their West London home turf was over 5 years ago, at the Brentford FC Stripes bar, so a long overdue return - they're going to have great special guest acts in Band of Holy Joy, and Kitchens of Distinction frontman Patrick Fitzgerald.
So what is my day like? well I get up at the same time I always have, check my e-mails, have a delicious coffee made for me by Phil and then plan the day. Sometimes this involves business lunches, Wow! A few weeks ago, Adam Donovan from the Jetsonics put me in touch with Toby Burton who has a networking website called Rock'til you Drop - a fantastic resource for the more mature musician, and also for promoters - he has a very lively forum and blog as well - (see my links page)
It was great fun meeting Toby on a sunny autumn day at the South Bank and knowing that this is an aspect of my work now. My first event in my new self-employed state is the WaterAid ceilidh this coming Saturday. I'm slightly nervous about it, as ticket sales have been slow, but many have said they're coming on the night! I had fun going to Majestic WInes and choosing booze for the occasion. I love a ceilidh and this will be the first one I've been to this year in spite of having been at Whitby folk week. My hip and leg have been so sore with bursitis and now sciatica that I'm in some doubt as to how much do-si do-ing there'll be on Saturday.
So what is my day like? well I get up at the same time I always have, check my e-mails, have a delicious coffee made for me by Phil and then plan the day. Sometimes this involves business lunches, Wow! A few weeks ago, Adam Donovan from the Jetsonics put me in touch with Toby Burton who has a networking website called Rock'til you Drop - a fantastic resource for the more mature musician, and also for promoters - he has a very lively forum and blog as well - (see my links page)
It was great fun meeting Toby on a sunny autumn day at the South Bank and knowing that this is an aspect of my work now. My first event in my new self-employed state is the WaterAid ceilidh this coming Saturday. I'm slightly nervous about it, as ticket sales have been slow, but many have said they're coming on the night! I had fun going to Majestic WInes and choosing booze for the occasion. I love a ceilidh and this will be the first one I've been to this year in spite of having been at Whitby folk week. My hip and leg have been so sore with bursitis and now sciatica that I'm in some doubt as to how much do-si do-ing there'll be on Saturday.
Saturday 2 October 2010
My new job part one
Once upon a time, I was a little girl who liked putting on shows at home with my younger brothers, for parents and random visitors - now I'm allegedly a grown up, I've given up my grown up job and started putting on shows again.
Why? well... I'm lucky enough to be married to Phil Martin - fiddle/guitar/tambourine and triangle player in a few great bands, past and present. He started composing some of his own stuff including a Nativity musical, and I thought Phil and some of the bands he's in needed a bigger audience. I organised a gig with Roy Hill about a year ago at our Church, St Paul's in Brentford, as a fundraiser for the Open House community cafe, and about 100 people came - Phil and I organised the support act with the Brentford Belles gospel group doing a few numbers with Phil - the gig was a great success and quite a few people said it seemed like a natural thing for me to be doing. Others commented that the Church felt lke a great place to have gigs in. It was so satisfying seeing the whole thing through, right from the buzz of contacting Roy, to the end of the night when we'd cashed up and were too hyped up to sleep. At the time of that gig I was having a hideous time at my day job, and organising gigs was like escaping to fairyland - a counterpoint to the everyday stresses I was dealing with. After that Phil and I started the open mic nights at St Paul's Church which have been so diverse and rewarding. I was on a roll! Throughout the 12 years I've been with Phil, I've harboured thoughts of putting on a gig with fellow Brentford resident, Nick Lowe . I put a note through Nick's door and asked him if he'd come and play at a fundraising gig, and he agreed - again a massive buzz which felt quite out of control in the build up at times as I had to hold back tickets as they were going so fast! - This was a major operation - I had to get a personal license, organise a bar and build a huge team of volunteers, now known as Hel's Angels to help on the night. I was aided throughout by my right hand woman, Rebecca David; engineer at Bulmers by day, rock and roll superwoman by night. Phil and I also built a brilliant support act, again with the Belles and Phil and I did a couple of duets - very exciting. We raised £6k on the night, and really it was all over for the day job - encouraged by a new locum boss, I started to plan - I signed up with a temp agency and handed in my notice - I set up Helen Martin Productions and here I am!
Why? well... I'm lucky enough to be married to Phil Martin - fiddle/guitar/tambourine and triangle player in a few great bands, past and present. He started composing some of his own stuff including a Nativity musical, and I thought Phil and some of the bands he's in needed a bigger audience. I organised a gig with Roy Hill about a year ago at our Church, St Paul's in Brentford, as a fundraiser for the Open House community cafe, and about 100 people came - Phil and I organised the support act with the Brentford Belles gospel group doing a few numbers with Phil - the gig was a great success and quite a few people said it seemed like a natural thing for me to be doing. Others commented that the Church felt lke a great place to have gigs in. It was so satisfying seeing the whole thing through, right from the buzz of contacting Roy, to the end of the night when we'd cashed up and were too hyped up to sleep. At the time of that gig I was having a hideous time at my day job, and organising gigs was like escaping to fairyland - a counterpoint to the everyday stresses I was dealing with. After that Phil and I started the open mic nights at St Paul's Church which have been so diverse and rewarding. I was on a roll! Throughout the 12 years I've been with Phil, I've harboured thoughts of putting on a gig with fellow Brentford resident, Nick Lowe . I put a note through Nick's door and asked him if he'd come and play at a fundraising gig, and he agreed - again a massive buzz which felt quite out of control in the build up at times as I had to hold back tickets as they were going so fast! - This was a major operation - I had to get a personal license, organise a bar and build a huge team of volunteers, now known as Hel's Angels to help on the night. I was aided throughout by my right hand woman, Rebecca David; engineer at Bulmers by day, rock and roll superwoman by night. Phil and I also built a brilliant support act, again with the Belles and Phil and I did a couple of duets - very exciting. We raised £6k on the night, and really it was all over for the day job - encouraged by a new locum boss, I started to plan - I signed up with a temp agency and handed in my notice - I set up Helen Martin Productions and here I am!
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