One day past the solstice so it's probably safe to go out again near ancient monuments. And it's downhill now to, you know, the C word. Nights drawing in, winter draws on ... the old ones are the old ones as Pete would say. Dammit he's got us saying it now. And following the earthquake we have had the floods following a most humongous storm on Tuesday night when a lot of Kent lost power for the night affording the great opportunity for we few, we happy band, of making entertainment with acoustic instruments by candlelight. Aren't we lucky.
A quiet-ish normal-ish week this week session-wise. A welcome return of Andybanjo to the Irish session after a well deserved holiday in the exotic environs of Suffolk. Gateway to .... well nowhere really. A week of stalwarts (not a nasty type of accordion complaint) rather than surprise guests and enjoyable for that.
The mixed lumpy which is the Bear was particularly enjoyable as we sailed through many a tune and set that does not normally form part of the repertoire for the Thursday session. And quite right too. My partner in crime, Six String Shelagh and I were remarking on the need for something new in the session as we headed the wagons through the Dunkirk gap.
I find playing with Ralphie a delight. Not only are they beautiful tunes, beautifully executed, but there is always something else going on with variations of one kind or another. Ralph and I were discussing the fact that some tunes have innate tempo and rhythm and when you get it, it just feels fantastic and the tune flies ... errr even if they're slow. Well it feels right anyway - there's a built-in pulse which only seems to emerge when you get the tempo just right and the tune becomes the lovely little thing it was meant to be.
Sadly, we do tend to play many tunes too fast and with only a fairly light passing nod to the time signature in some cases (and key in others - yes thumpy has returned with his avant garde approach to the one string fretless bass aka rubbish bin and broom handle). Our other sin is to create what I call Cortina sets - you know, the bad back street weld where the seam shows after a cut-and-shut operation. I do believe that Ralph and I might found The Lumpy Traditional Tune Preservation Society to try and avert these ravages.
It really does pull some of these fine tunes out of shape if they're played too fast. And to bring us full circle, it's often the Irish (tunes) that get beaten up the worst - maybe because they're the hardest to play and decidedly not lumpy. I don't think you can actually play them on a D-G melodeon unless you're Tim Edey. By the way Tim, we think your latest CDs are great - don't listen to fRoots - what do they know?
Sunday session at the Anchor, Faversham on the 24th from 8:00. Strictly Irish.
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well now, your man at the Anchor was distinctly at variance with the last sentence above, having laid on the local blues band for the same time & venue .... sudden dislocation being called for, the short-notice possibilities were necessarily restricted - viz: ursus mankissimus, the lowest ceilinged, smokiest pub in the whole of christendom. it boiled down to the choice of playing the music or breathing - it being near impossible to do the both - and the breathing won out. what joy awaits us on the glorious whatever-it-is of july when the un-kippered minority of the ex-sessioneers may well poke their heads out from under their respective stones and crawl forth to smite the ungodly wreckers of the lumpy music in their lairs - and maybe play some west cork & kerry music music at the proper speed, to boot ........
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