This coming Saturday, 21st July we will be playing at Lincoln Drill Hall's blues weekend. The Michael Roach Band kick off the weekend with a gig on Friday evening. On Saturday at 10 am we will be giving a workshop where we'll show how we take a song and arrange it for a three-piece band. In the afternoon there will be a number of acoustic acts and then from 8.00pm will be the evening concert featuring Aidan Marshall, The Eddie Tatton Band and Slim-Line Papas.
Last night we had a great gig at the Mezz Bar, Lincoln with our occasional sax player Rick Woolgar. This looks like becoming a regular gig. Unfortunately it also seems to be students only.
The new spam-proof guest book is now up and running. Give it a try.
Well, we've made it to youtube. This is a clip from our Upto Collective gig at Croft Street Community Centre, Lincoln in November http://youtube.com/watch?v=KTcUl9fZdww. The clip is two songs run together - T-Bone Shuffle and Long Legs.
We're having a quiet January gigwise and are rehearsing new material most of which is original.
In view of the overwhelming presence of hawkers, charlatans and medicine men abusing the guest book as advertising space, I've suspended this page for the time being.
Well, it's been a long while since the last entry, as pointed out by guest book commentators Samantha and Pete Watson. I've been busy. If you've looked at the guest book recently you may have found it resembling something more like a travelling medicine show with all and sundry advertising their wares. We clean out the crap several times a day, so don't be put off leaving us a message. The real stuff will survive.
I'm looking through my paper diary for events of note from the last three months. On 13th August we were invited to play at the Bartons Arms in Aston, Birmingham and this turned out to be our most scantily attended gig to date. The size of the crowd vacillated between two and four people. It's always difficult when the band outnumbers the audience, particularly when you're a three-piece. As the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band once said "I don't think we'll be going again."
At the end of August we played at the wonderful Colne Rhythm and Blues Festival. We played two sets at 8.00 and 12.00pm on the acoustic stage, which was rather odd, but nonetheless very fine. The beauty of that venue is that it's not too big and it's possible to build up a rapport with the audience, which is not so easy on the bigger stages. The first set served to advertise the second set and we had a great turnout of gyrating groovers. Sam alerted me to the presence of a clothing stall on the street that sold 'your kind of shirts.' Further to investigation this turned out to be the case and I picked up a fine golden shirt with an Indian design in black and wore it for the second set. Often when we play in this part of the country we meet up with our old friend and harmonica demon Junkhouse Dog and this was no exception. We got him up for a few songs at the end and as always he added his sparkle.
The following weekend we played at the Worlds End in Knaresborough on the Saturday night and the Blues Bar in Harrogate on the Sunday afternoon. Great gigs both, but I mislaid my new shirt. It turned out later that our hostess, Sharon, had removed it from its hanger and stuffed it behind a piece of furniture thinking it belonged to her husband Simon, with whom she was having a game of hide-the-shirt. After several calls, emails and texts it arrived a little crumpled in the post and we were reunited.
We are now doing a regular monthly gig (with a break over the Christmas period) at Dogma night club in Lincoln. Because this is a local gig we've been playing as a four-piece with our good friend Rick Woolgar on saxophone. The dynamics are somewhat different and it makes for a refreshingly different sound. Next one on 30th November.
At the end of September we played our first Warner Blues Weekend at Nidd Hall, Harrogate. This is where the inmates spend a weekend immersed in blues with bands on every night. We played with Sherman Robertson and Blues Move, his British backing band. We enjoyed getting to know them over dinner and they did a wonderful set later.
A couple of weeks ago we played at the Global Village Peace Gathering near Conningsby in Lincolnshire. It was a great festival atmosphere and we filled a tent with a great mass of chilled out bodies. Over the PA was playing the sound of tropical surf and there were home made palm trees around the stage. 'That ain't the blues' I hear you cry. Well we don't care, it makes for an atmosphere conducive to inspired music making.
The following Tuesday we played support to Hayseed Dixie at the Drill Hall in Lincoln. We had a half hour spot on a stage the size of some of the venues we play. This meant a short sharp set rather than the usual build-up over one-and-a-half to two hours. The acoustics left a lot to be desired and coupled with a snatched sound check of about ten minutes, it was a struggle at times to keep together, but we were very well received and made a lot of new friends.
Before we went on there was a brief set from Broadsword from Grimsby. They play a very spirited folk style which you should check out if you get the chance.
Hayseed Dixie played for about an hour and a half. They are excellent musicians and put together a very professional show playing bluegrass versions of heavy rock classics. Nice people.
By complete contrast Pete and I were at the Drill Hall again this last Tuesday as warm up to the screening of Jailhouse Rock. We played half an hour of rootsy 50s songs with a little help from Drill Hall caretaker Keith Lucky on guitar and Roger on harmonica. Very refreshing. Hmmm.
We feel like we've acquired a new lease of life, as we've started writing a load of new songs, with a view to recording a CD of original material before the year is out.
Over the last month we've played a weekend in North Yorkshire thanks to Simon and Sharon Colgan who run The World's End in Knaresborough, where we played on the Saturday night and The Blues Bar in Harrogate which we did on the Sunday afternoon. We're repeating the jaunt in September. Thanks to Simon and Sharon for their warm hospitality.
Also of note has been this last weekend, when we performed two gigs with our old friend Rick Woolgar on sax; firstly at Dogma in Lincoln on Thursday, which is a late gig starting at 10.30pm, and secondly at The Navigation Waterfront in Newark on Sunday night. Playing with a sax player gives a more jazzy, swingy feel to the band, which we really like. It's also interesting for me, as a guitarist, to have another soloist to bounce ideas off. I'm not playing harp on these gigs. We hope to involve Rick more in the future and if you're interested in booking us as a four-piece let us know and we can price accordingly.
Don't forget that we're selling tickets for the Hayseed Dixie gig at Lincoln Drill hall on 18th July, so get in touch soon if you want to go, as our fee depends on how many tickets we sell. Tickets are selling fast.
Last weekend was the Norfolk tour, taking in Dersingham and Tivetshall St. Margaret and a weekend of great hospitality from our hosts. Friday night at the Coach and Horses was a good steaming night. It was a pleasure at the end of the evening not having to embark on a two-hour drive home, but bedding down at the pub. We slept with four fans. They were decorated with Chinese scenes and were pinned to the walls. Crumpet for breakfast.
On Saturday we went to Norwich for a look around and had a field day in the army surplus stores buying jeans, tee shirts and surgical instruments. We then moseyed on down to Tivetshall St. Margaret to the village hall. This was the location for the local beer and curry evening with R&B chutney. The beer was from the local brewery, literally just down the road, and was very tasty. The local ladies (why no men?) had created a dozen different curries. Mmmmm. We were well received and got most people up dancing by the end. Long drive home.
During the week we were offered a support slot with Hayseed Dixie at Lincoln Drill Hall on 18th July. Hayseed Dixie is a band we've been interested to catch for some time http://www.hayseed-dixie.com/ . They do heavy rock songs in a bluegrass style, so we're really looking forward to that. If you're interested in coming please contact us for tickets, as our fee depends on how many tickets we sell.
This last Friday we played at Lincoln University for a Greenpeace fund-raising event. There were four bands on. The first band were quite grungy with a kind of Foo Fighters thing happening. The singer and guitarist has a great voice. Shamefully I've forgotten their name, but will amend this if I find out. Second were our old friends Reform, who I'd not seen before and was intrigued to do so. They're kind of part of the family: guitarist Andy Wheeler and percussionist Richard Bett used to play with Pete in the previous incarnation, Freeform Fork; I played with bass player, Malcolm Tent in 4,000,000 Telephones many years ago, and Andy and I made an acoustic album and occasionally perform together. The music is improvised around Andy's guitar tunes and Malcolm's samples performed by the on-stage laptop. One of the songs, which was particularly wild and cacophonous in the best sense, turned out to be caused by Malcolm selecting the wrong sample and the band rolling with it. Next up was the amazing human beat box who went by the name of Mark O'Brien - and a geordie too. We speculated that he may have been Pete's long lost great uncle sixty-four times removed. His set was remarkable, particularly as he hadn't been expecting to perform. He was soon doing songs and vocalising percussion, lyrics and scratching all at once.
We took to the stage about 11.15 with no sound check as such: Nathan, the sound engineer, who we've worked with several times, did a fantastic job as ever. We launched into our set and the audience were amazing. We'd noticed an increasing number of students at our recent local gigs and it seemed like the word had got around. As we mainly play the music of people who're long dead, it's a great feeling getting through to young people. We got Mr. beatbox up for a couple of songs and had a lot of fun mixing up what we do with what he does. After our set, that had got everybody all frenzied up, came Temple Music, who play seriously ambient music. This was a great strategy as it brought people down gently at the end of the night.
It was a wonderful occasion and raised over £1000. Long live Greenpeace, who are simply bringing to public attention the kind of abuses that affect all of us. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/
On Saturday we were looking forward to a nice relaxed gig at The Red Lion in Baumber - not far to travel and a cosy little pub. As we got set up and soundchecked a lot of people we knew rolled up. In the first set our good friend Bob Reid got up to play some harp. During the break another bunch of friends turned up hotfoot from a Hank Wangford gig in Hemingby village hall about two miles away. Hank Wangford is a great country singer and doctor and I was sorry to have missed him. Among this entourage were a few musicians and during the second set we had some of them up to play. Nigel Whatsisname played guitar while I played slide and Bob played harp - all through the one amp. Then we got Martin Scutt up for some duelling harmonica with bob. What a hoot! During the night Pete managed to dislodge a roof tile from the strange indoor roof above the stage and narrowly missed knocking me out - better luck next time. Also of note is that there appears to be a tree growing out of the floor and up through the ceiling next to the fireplace masquerading as a stage. The land lord said this was his best night since he took on the pub and wants to really go for live music in the future, so if you're in the area on a Saturday night, lend your support.
Last Friday we played at The Ivy Club in Wragby. This is as local as we get for Sam and the club was full of very local people. It was a good gig with a bit of frisson provided by one particular loony looking for a fight, who Sam assured us was not local at all but an OUTSIDER.
Saturday's gig was one we were very much looking forward to as it was the Burnley Blues Festival. We got in the mood on the journey listening to Howlin Wolf, inspired by Radio 2's recent two excellent programmes on the great man. On arrival at The Inn on the Wharf we learnt that we'd be playing downstairs in a sort of wooden stall thing in the middle of the room instead of the function room upstairs, which had been let out for - yes - a function. At first this seemed not so good, but it became clear, as we discussed moving the games machine with the landlord, that this was actually going to make for the kind of intimate atmosphere in which we thrive.
Before the show we bumped into our old friend Junkhouse Dog, who plays harp with The Roach Twins, and had been playing the night before. Apart from being a fine gentleman, Junkhouse is a wizard harp player. Also spotted before the gig were The Cadillac Kings who Pete knows from playing with them a few times.
As the gig got under way we realised this was going to be a night to remember in the now-bursting-at-the-seams venue. We were right on the ball and glad to have had a warm-up the night before. Mr. Junkhouse got up and did a couple of songs with us. We were both playing through my AC30 and as Mr. J wailed, the guitar sound sagged, but what's a bit of sagging between friends? For the final number Pete persuaded not only the Junkhouse Dog to return to the stage, but also ace harp player and Cadillac King, Gary Potts and CK's singer Mike Thomas to join us. What followed was a riot. We had duelling harps from two of the country's best players, quadruple vocals and all manner of solo spots going down. It was great to meet the Cadillac Kings afterwards. Nice people. Have a look at our photos page for a visual record.
Sunday saw us driving down to the other side of Worcester to play at a bike rally. I thought they were called the MRSA, but this may be just a disease. We arrived at the appointed location to find a large white tent in a field of smaller domestic tents. The due support band had not turned up so we were able to set up straight away with the intention of playing earlier and thus leaving for the long trek home earlier. This was when I missed my favourite brass slide, last used in Burnley. The stage was set up on a slope so that all the gear was leaning back at an angle of around 3.5 degrees. This made the use of a guitar stand impractical. As it came time to play it was getting very cold so we had to play with vigour to keep warm. The audience, numbering around 10 gradually swelled to about 15 by the end. However they seemed to enjoy it and were enthusiastically supportive. We got away by 11.00 and were making good time, when after an hour or so we got a phone call saying we'd left one of our PA cabs behind. Luckily the DJ, whose name is Creature, lives in Lincolnshire and kindly offered to bring it back to the home county. Thanks, creature. Not a good weekend for not losing stuff. We got an email this week from mine host at the Inn on the Wharf saying she'd found my slide and would post it on. Bless you.
life on the road
Last weekend was a splendid affair, starting on Friday night at The Tap and Spile in Lincoln. We got into a fine groove and stayed with it all night.
Saturday was the aforementioned final gig at the Running Horse in Nottingham under the landlordship of Barry Middleton. Barry has been putting live music on there virtually every night of the week for twelve years, so this was a special occasion marking the end of an era. There were a couple of acts on before us: first, Colin Staples on harmonica and a guy called Henry on piano. These guys played some great rootsy blues. Next came a band who's name I didn't catch, but this was their first gig, and what a debut! This was full on blues rock with two great guitarists. We hit the stage at around 10.30 ish I think and did a single set the was cooking. Colin Staples joined us on harp for a few songs. The set was recorded and filmed, so we may release some material from this gig in the future.
After our set, the stage was open for jamming. Our good friends The Melt had come along to watch the fun and games and Pete persuaded them to get up and do a setlet. They were on absolutely top form and just get better and better. It was great for me to watch and listen to someone else play my guitar and coax different sounds from it. Ash is a stunning player. After this there were various combinations of musicians on stage doing all kinds of bluesy stuff. At one point I joined Ash on one guitar - he took the top three strings, me the bottom three. By 2.30 everyone was jammed out and we loaded the van and set about locating the owners of the cars that blocked our van in the car park. Got home about 4.00 am.
On Sunday morning we had to be at the Radio Lincolnshire building by 9.15 before the roads were closed for the 10k running race around uphill Lincoln. The guys from the station erected a stage at the roadside and we got set up. The runners were to pass by twice during the race and our job was to give them a shot of rhythm and blues. Playing started out a bit stiff as we eased into action after about 3 hours sleep and tried to get warm. We were soon in the swing of it and played on and off for a couple of hours while Melvyn Prior from the station did a commentary in between. We played extended versions of a lot of the songs and the runners seemed to respond well to their double dose 10 seconds of live music. Afterwards, when we were packing up, many of the runners, wrapped in baking foil, stopped on their way home to say the band had buoyed them up on the final stretch.
After each having an afternoon nap we headed off to Broughton for the evening gig at the Dog and Rat. This was a somewhat tired but well-oiled affair and was even attended by one of the morning's runners.
©Tony Winfield
We played the Tap and Spile the other week and played with gay abandon - daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. Abandon of Wiltshire. We had a couple of friends up to jam: Chris Robinson on guitar and the ubiquitous Bob Reid on harmonica who just goes from strength to strength each time he plays with us. Thanks boys. Also had another good gig at The Kings Arms, Newark. It was a bit slow to start with, but by the end the house was rocking.
Our 7th April gig at the Running Horse has been cancelled as landlord, Barry, is leaving on the 3rd. We're hoping to re-schedule for the 1st April. Barry is moving to a new place, The Maze, Sherwood St., Nottingham, where he intends to carry on with the kind of live music he has done so well a the Running Horse for over a decade.
We have a weekend off coming up, as I'm off to Hargate Hall near Buxton to spend the weekend with a load of acoustic guitar players as guest luthier. It also gives us time to check over and repair the gear which gets a fair old hammering.
We've played some great gigs in the last month and seemed to have moved imperceptibly to a new level of spontaneity.
We bumped into rockabilly band, The Houndogs, who came to see us at The Riverside, Sutton Bridge and The Comet, Dogsthorpe. Both these gigs were greatly enhanced by their enthusiastic support as well as some crazy rockabilly dancing and jostling. We can't wait to see them play as we talked muchly after the gigs, trading musical ideas and so on. There is a plan afoot to do a gig with them in Nottingham later this year.
The King's Arms in Newark is shaping up to be a fine gig now that it's been moved from Sundays to Fridays. Our home gigs in Lincoln at the Tap and Spile, Jolly Brewer and Jailhouse Rock Bar have been as enjoyable as ever. These three venues have all done a sterling job of championing live music.
Also worthy of mention is The Blues Bar in Harrogate, which puts on live music just about every night of the week. This is a small bar with a wonderful atmosphere due to the music-loving punters who support the place, as well as owners Simon and Sharon's dedication, making it one of the top music pubs in the country. Sharon's also a fine jazz singer and always gets up with us for a song.
Last on the list is Charters Bar in Peterborough. This is a grain barge moored on the river by Town Bridge and the bands play downstairs in the bar. This is a late gig starting at 11.00, which, after a one-and-a-half-hour drive home makes for a late night, but enjoyable nevertheless.
A few people with serious-looking cameras have been taking photos at a couple of recent gigs and have promised to send us copies, so I should be posting fresh pics on the photos page soon. I must start taking my camera to gigs again to liven up this page for your visual stimulation.
I've just read Lynn Truss's excellent book, Eats Shoots and Leaves about punctuation and found myself to be as sad and pernickety as the lady herself. I have to have a quick moan at all the venues that get our name wrong. We don't have an apostrophe at the end (Papa's) nor a double p (Pappas). However, the prize for the most cocked-up spelling has to go to the Burton Arms in Lincoln, who once billed us as the Slimeline Papas.
Last Saturday we played at The Clinton Arms in Retford. We'd only done two gigs since we last played there. It's beginning to feel like home and is building up into a really good gig for us. Landlord Paul is always very welcoming and has his own PA, so it makes our set-up easier.
My daughter, Rose, has done a great paint job on my strat, which I re-assembled this week - photos to follow as soon as I've worked out how to install the photo card reader on this newfangled thinking machine. I'll probably give it a spin at the Tap and Spile tomorrow - possibly our favourite venue of all. I've been playing my semi-acoustic almost exclusively since I finished it over a year ago, so it'll be quite a change.
We received confirmation this week that we'll be playing both the Burnley and Colne festivals this year.
Egly
Health is restored among the band although it was a long and tenacious bug and the break we've had was much needed.
Last week we had a rehearsal, which we hadn't done in a while. We jammed around some new songs including some original stuff. It was great to go freeforming around after a couple of weeks' break and ease back into it. At the end of the session Pete discovered a long crack in the side of his beloved bass. I fixed it up the next day with vinegar and brown paper. Maybe it's getting a bit old for all the acrobatic demands of its master.
On Saturday we played a 50th birthday party at the football club in Collingham. Everybody enjoyed it and there were enough sandwiches to build a barn.
The band is rife with disease - well Pete and I have have picked up a nasty virus and have consequently had to cancel our gig at the Farm, Chapel St. Leonards tonight.
A happy crisp mouse to all our readers.
On Saturday night we played at the Shoulder of Mutton in Ruskington. It was one of those gigs where the band feels like the locals find them an irritation in the corner. Still, thanks to the few who sat and watched.
Sunday was a much more productive day as we drove down to Wisbech to play at the Sunday afternoon blues club at Elme Hall Hotel. What a contrast to Saturday night. Here we had an audience who had turned up specifically to see us and were very enthusiastic. We draw the same old faces back here as well as Slim-Line virgins and several people availed themselves of the new CD. It's quite a family orientated gig and it was good to see so many kids enjoying the show - the under 10s hogged the dance floor for the entire second set and then proceeded to make paper aeroplanes with Pete after the show.
Just one gig this weekend at the Dog and Rat in Broughton. It was great to see so many people who had come specifically to see us either because they'd caught us there before or had been told they should get to see us. Consequently, feeling buoyed up by all this, we played a fine gig. Egly
Saturday saw us going to play at The Anchor in Friskney. Friskney is in fen country between Skeggy and Boston and involves driving for miles along the edge of dykes on unfenced roads. When we arrived someone said that if you drive too fast you bounce off the road into the dyke. Hmmmm. A small but perfectly formed audience were in attendance and it was a nice intimate gig. Back along the dyke road at a very steady pace with ice on the ground and fog in the air.
On Sunday we were at The Navigation in Newark. This is an old warehouse that backs onto the canal. Enjoyable gig. Egly
On Saturday night we played at The Turk's Head in Balderton on the edge of Newark. This may well be Britain's smokiest pub. People were cutting blocks out of the air and building igloos with them. I was feeling pretty crap after a bout of mini-flu and it didn't help not being able to breathe. Anyway the audience seemed to have no problem and were very lively and fond of shouting.
Sunday was Farnham Blues Festival. I was feeling a little better today. After a four hour drive we arrived at 2.00 in good time to play our allotted slot of 3.45-5.15 in the cellar bar at Farnham Maltings. This was our first time at this bastion of the blues and in fact our most southerly gig in England.
The timetable was pretty tight with only 15 minutes for changeover between bands. However we got set up with military precision and off we went. Great sound, great audience of maybe 200 - in short a recipe for a great gig, and so it was - and what a pleasure to play a smoke-free venue (sorry if I sound evangelical about this, but it really bugs me.) The hour and a half spot was soon over followed by much applause and CD buying. It's always good to talk to the audience afterwards and listen to everybody's take on what we do - quite surprising sometimes. We enjoyed imposing our own particular musical lunacy on a new part of the country.
The first part of the return journey was a slow crawl round the M25 followed by a return visit to the South Mimms truck stock for a deliciously dried up and stringy serving of fish and chips. Lord of the Rings was on the telly - a classic truckers film methinks, Mr Frodo. Then homeward up the A1. Egly
7th November
We played at our amazing drummer, Sam’s 21st birthday party on Saturday at Wragby Town Hall with the totally awesome Geoff Middleton doing the sound - that’s the cool dude who recorded and mixed our brand new CD. Loads of people came to support Sam on this special occasion and fun was had by all. Sam's other occasional band, King Edward and the Maincrop, were also there and there was jamming aplenty on stage - Rick Woolgar on sax, Martin Scutt on harmonica and Nigel thingy on guitar - which was loved by all that took part as well as the crowd.
Sunday night we played the jailhouse rock bar in Lincoln. We love playing there - it's got a real honky-tonk feel to it and is set up in a 1950s style, which I really like, with some pictures of the greats of music painted on the walls as well in frames. It always helps if you're made welcome when you play a gig and you always feel, as the great Eddie Cochran would say, “something else” thanks to Steve and his lovely new wife for Sam’s birthday cake. It was a lovely gesture and was much appreciated. Pete
30th October 2005
We played a great gig at the Clinton Arms in Retford last night. It was very relaxed and there was plenty of spontaneity going on between the three of us. Some gigs just seem to set you up for this kind of performance - usually the small intimate sort of venues.
We've received some very positive feedback about the new CD. It still sounds great to us after the intense scrutiny involved in the recording/mixing/listening/assessment process associated with putting a CD together, which is a good sign. Egly