New type blog
Well, I think the time has come to change the nature of this blog. Instead of just doing the monthly ‘parish notes’ for the Green Note Blues Night, I’m going to widen it out to cover a variety of things.
One reason why I haven’t updated it for a few months is that two things have taken up the time that might have been allotted for it. One is the thorny business generally known as ‘earning a living’. Unless you make some key decisions at a very early age that are flukily proved to have been the right ones, the earning a living thing is likely to prove much harder and more relentless than you had been led to believe. Even if you like what you do (exit stage right a large proportion of the populace), mere survival at whatever level you find yourself is a hard slog. An awful lot of your time is spent running on the spot, while the wolves howl and whimper in the outlying forest.
The other reason why this blog has gone into abeyance is a much happier one: I’ve been spending far too much of my time playing music to leave much time for writing about other people playing music. I got my CD out at the beginning of the summer and since then have been doing quite a lot of gigs of one sort or another. All sorts of things have developed over the past year and, while they may be regarded as inhabiting the perfectly respectable area known as obscurity, they’ve put me in the category of someone who spends quite a bit of time as a musician.
So I’m going to cover a range of things in this blog, including what I’m doing musically and what’s going on in London, and in bite-sized chunks too. To kick things off, I’m going to get up to date with what happened in 2010, after which there will be much smaller postings from time to time.
Band
I’ve been playing this year with as fine a band of musicians as you could hope to find, and it’s great for me that they like playing my stuff. They are:
Charles Benfield: double bass
Charles produced the CD, meaning he did absolutely everything on it to make it as good as it is. He mixed it and mastered it, and as well as double bass and bass, he also played keyboards and percussion on it and sorted out some of the arrangements. He’s a terrific musician, who knows everything about everything I don’t know – a pretty broad field that appears to be getting bigger all the time.
Will Greener, aka Captain Bliss: harmonica
Will is an extraordinary harmonica player who is a complete individualist. He doesn’t just play brilliantly, he does things that are both unexpected and just right. He doesn’t just do his own thing, he does things that will lift all the rest of what’s going on. So he contributes both skill and thought, as well as a huge amount of energy. And a positive attitude that of course mirrors my own.
Ryan Carr: mandolin
Ryan is an amazing mandolin player and the instrument flies in his hands. He adds something to the mix that’s an integral part of the sound, and people stare in astonishment when he goes off on a mandolin break. He is also from Canada, leading to almost infinite comic possibilities based on linguistic differences, and our ribs tickle as we exploit these to the full.
And sometimes
David Atkinson: mandolin, dobro
David is a great musician, with top-notch guitar skills and a terrific understated style when playing mandolin and dobro. He played mandolin on the CD and made a major contribution to the tracks he appeared on.
At some of the events we play at, Ryan and Will also do their own sets. Ryan does material that includes murder ballads, his own songs, bluegrass tunes and the like, and he also does his legendary audience participation song Working on a Building – this often seems to me to be an act of reckless bravery but I have yet to see it die on its arse. Will does harmonica and a capella singing numbers, some drawn from the well of old blues and gospel, Both of them grab the audience’s attention and keep it.
We are therefore able between us to provide a whole evening of music, and a varied one at that.
CD - Watching The Parade
We recorded the CD in two days, an ambitious schedule that we managed to stick to, but which left Charles with a mammoth mixing task. He did it brilliantly.
Then
Andy Hall and
Rick Webb of
wearefrank did me a simply brilliant cover and booklet containing the lyrics and photos. (Rick founded the
Blues in London website and the Green Note jam, and so is responsible to a very large degree for the fact that I’m doing any of this music malarkey.)
In addition to the musicians mentioned above,
Jim Ryan played drums and percussion and
Beth Packer sang backing vocals.
The CD is called
WATCHING THE PARADE. It’s got 14 tracks, all my own songs, and a variety of themes, styles and instrumentation. It’s way better than anything I could have hoped to produce and people seem to like it. I got it around the middle of the year and set about ‘launching’ myself and the band.
I’m trying to do something different and interesting within the general area of blues/folk/roots, and to write ‘proper’ songs that have something to say, away from standard fare. So, while the music has a firm foot in the past, it’s all brand new.
The CD is available at
Amazon,
CD Baby and
Red Lick, its on all the download places (iTunes, Spotify, Amazon mp3, Last fm etc, etc). And you can get it from me if you email
markharrisonmusic@live.co.uk , for £10 including postage.
Gigs
with The Holmes Brothers @ The Luminaire
When I got the CD, the first attempt I made to get a gig was to support the quite wonderful
Holmes Brothers at The Luminaire in July. It was a great thrill to get the slot and do the gig. I did it in trio form, with Charles and Will.
Everything about it was just right. The venue had just the right attitude towards musicians and audiences, a combination of decency and professionalism, and the sound was great, with a no-fuss sound check (very sadly, it has now closed down). The audience listened, many of them coming to sit down at the front. Some good friends came along too,
much appreciated.
We got on great with the Holmes Brothers, who sat through our sound check and made very complimentary comments. They also came out front to listen to the set while we were on. They are one of my favourite acts, and if you don’t know about their unique blend of blues/gospel/roots, you need to check them out pdq. Now well into their 70s, they kick ass and spread joy around them. Bass player Sherman performed the extraordinary feat of being first to the bar during their break between sets, despite giving the entire audience a head start – it was as if Usain Bolt had put down his bass and sprinted there.
It was a wonderful gig, and a great start. It was ‘proper’ in the best possible way, and just the sort of thing we should be doing, in just the sort of world we should be doing it in.
Folk in the Foyer @ The Artsdepot Finchley
We headlined at this excellent monthly event in September, and it was a fantastic evening. The sound was great, and oozed around the spaces of the venue. A good-sized audience came and a good time was had by all.
I did this in trio form, with Will on harp and David Atkinson making a welcome appearance on mandolin and dobro. He is a terrific, and subtle, musician, adding something special to all the songs.
Again, this was ‘proper’ in the best possible sense. Our set went down very well with an audience of all ages and we got a genuine encore. Afterwards, people asked me about the songs and said how much they liked them, which is very gratifying. J J Dunne, who puts the event on, deserves thanks for doing so. We’ll be back there soon, so please come along when we are.
with Doug MacLeod @ The Green Note
In November, in trio form (me, Will & Ryan), I supported the fantastic
Doug MacLeod at the Green Note. Actually, a while back I gave Risa, one of the owners, a list of American acoustic blues acts I thought could (and should) play the venue and this was the first of those recommendations to turn into a date.
It was a tremendous success and a memorable night for all concerned. The place was packed, the audience lapped up Doug’s highly individualistic performance and we went down very well too. It was a great joy to meet him for us and in fact we kind of huddled together as a team for the evening. Doug is in the front rank of American acoustic blues artists, does just about all his own material and, in the best traditions of this kind of thing, isn’t like anyone else.
He was particularly pleased to play there, not just because it’s such a perfect place for that kind of thing, but because like many other terrific US artists, he never does a central London gig when touring Britain. Well, hopefully he’ll be back there on his annual trip, and it also seems possible that other US acoustic blues artists of his calibre will be playing there too.
Upstairs @ The Ritzy
I played here three times this year and really enjoyed each one. It’s an upstairs bar/cafe with balcony above the Ritzy Cinema, one of London’s oldest and recently done up. Brixton certainly appears to have changed since I lived there back in the riot days of the early 80s, when I rather liked it. Now it’s all Euro and piazzas, at least on the surface. There’s a really good atmosphere at the venue and we had appreciative audiences each time. Ryan arranged these gigs and we did the first two as a duo. The third time we played as a four-piece, with Charles and Will.
Regular events
Round Midnight 
In October, I started running and playing at the Round Midnight Acoustic Sessions
every Monday, with Charles, Will and Ryan. The venue is a really good one, where I’ve been one of the regulars at the Tuesday night jam. Mike and Michelle Berk have done the heavy lifting at making this a place that’s both successful and pleasant – it’s one of the three shiny new blues venues that opened up in the second half of 2009. It’s a music pub that takes the music side of that seriously and that aims to get a good thing going for punters and musicians alike. It’s good to play there.
At the Monday event, the drill tends to be that we do a set or two in band form, and me, Will and Ryan often do solo sets too. There’s a jam element to it – if someone comes to sing, an ad hoc band is formed to accompany them, and any musician who comes just to play is accommodated too. Top-notch performers such as Phil Hughes and Barry Jackson often do their own sets too.
It’s a blues & roots night and anyone in that broad musical area can come down and play. Actually, what I’d really like there is to see more instrumentalists coming along to play such instruments as banjo, mandolin, fiddle/violin, brass and woodwind. It’d be great to try out all sorts of combinations.
Anyway, it’s a good event, and always a night of good music. We’ve had appreciative audiences (and not bad size-wise either, granted it’s on a Monday). It would be good to build it into something really special.
Green Note
There’s something magical about the Green Note and long may it continue. The monthly Blues at Green Note night (
every second Wednesday) goes on being good, and audience members come up and tell me how much they’ve enjoyed it at the end of each one. Some events are busier than others but none of them is ever duff. Whether it’s packed or quieter, the same excellent atmosphere prevails, and it has the not inconsiderable advantage of being a place where the people who are there are actually there to listen.
To bring up to date the school magazine type thing I was doing for this, last done in September:
The house band continues to include when available:
Ryan Carr - mandolin
Will ‘Captain Bliss’ Greener - harmonica
Dave Forristal - keyboards
The rhythm section is regularly provided by Massimo on bass and Martin on drum.
In October, November and December, regular performers (surnames where known) included:
Phil Hughes, whose solo vocals and harp renditions of mostly 1920s and 1930s blues and gospel numbers transfix the audience every time
Barry Jackson, who sings and plays a wide repertoire of blues and roots numbers with any and every combination of instruments
Rick Webb, who started the whole thing off in 2007, and made a very welcome appearance on harp in November, as well as kindly helping out with the running of what was the busiest night ever
Phil Thorne, doing acoustic blues classics by the greats, solo or with others
James Daniell, often bringing a welcome New Orleans slant, usually with Chris on guitar and Ian on drum
Simon, who grabs hold of audiences, almost literally, with a fair dose of showmanship
Julian, with his driftwood guitar and tales in the Manx language
David Guzman from Chile, sometimes with his Dad
and there were also sets by:
Ray Wallen, top-notch vocals and harp
Pete Vardigans, on an acoustic he acquired specifically for this mission
Harry, dressed like a 1930s pimp and doing an excellent reproduction of a Blind Blake song
Davide and Fabio, friends from the electric jams who fronted up to playing acoustic and did so very well indeed
Nunzio, also crossing the bridge to sing at an acoustic event
And Ryan and Will did their own high-quality sets too.
If I’ve forgotten anyone, well .... I’ve forgotten them.
We had all sorts of combinations and all sorts of styles, and as usual there was much to enjoy each time. The November one was particularly packed, at least in part because it was the night that Charlotte Street closed down, of which more later.
The Queen’s Head
Also in October, we started a monthly blues & roots night at this really nice Victorian pub in King’s Cross. We’re doing it
every third Thursday. It’s a place that’s how pubs really ought to be. Owned by Nigel Owens, it’s been up and running in its current form for a relatively short time. It’s a very atmospheric room and a very nice place to play.
We’re doing this as ‘An Evening Of ...’ rather than a jam of any sort. We do a couple of sets in band form (me, Ryan, Will, Charles) and Ryan and Will do their own sets too, sometimes together. We also have guests doing sets from time to time, including Panama Dave, who comes and does his fine guitar instrumentals as well as playing bass.
This venue, and the event, both have great potential and it would be good to build it into something special too.
The Victoria
This is a very interesting and quite unique venue in Mile End, where Alfie and Ben are getting something very good going. As the name suggests, it’s a kind of recreation of a Victorian pub, and all kinds of things go on there aside from gigs – there are film nights, jumble sales and you can have your hair done there sometimes. We did the very busy and successful open mic as featured act there as a band in the summer and since then we’ve played the All-day Sunday Breakfast Blues event a couple of times.
We’ve done those gigs in four-piece band form and it’s a very enjoyable place to play. We’re now doing that on a regular basis, once a month on
every third Sunday. We start at 6 and do two sets, finishing at 8.
Charlotte Street 
During the first half of the year, I ran and played at the Charlotte Street Sunday Acoustic Night every other week, and also played at it on the alternate Sundays when Guy Bennett was running it. It was always a good night, though it would be fair to say that the place wasn’t usually exactly packed to the rafters. But it was a wonderful opportunity to play regular, long sets in a good venue and particularly with a fantastic sound system. When we were playing as a band, the music often took wings and flew, and the sum was much greater than the parts. For six months it was our regular fixture and we got something really good going there.
Other gigs
I’ve played a few times at
Proud Camden, the photographer’s gallery at the top end of
Camden market. I’ve done the Sunday afternoons there, solo and in duos with Will and Charles (and once as a trio). I also did the support slot on two occasions on Sunday evenings, at the blues nights organised by Rob Fleming of Bluesmix. The first time, I supported Phil Hughes’s excellent band, 11 Foot Sack, (who sounded like a great, authentic record from the lat 50s/early 60s out of the speakers near the Gents) and the second time I opened for Paul Garner, who has something different, interesting and dynamic to offer. There were decent audiences for both gigs and they went well (despite the fire alarms going off the second I started playing on the second occasion; I soldiered on like the seasoned pro I’m not).
Rob Fleming then asked me and Will to do the opening slot at
The Troubador, the legendary
venue in Earl’s Court, where all the great names played back in the 60s (Dylan, Paul Simon, etc, etc). We did that in October and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a good crowd, the sound man did a fine job, and we went down well. Some weeks later I was back there doing the opening slot as accompanist to
Phil Hughes, joining him on some of the terrific early blues and gospel numbers he does so well solo. Phil demonstrated an impressively cavalier approach to rehearsal and sound check. And so I was basically busking it, but we did a fine set and I hope I added something worthwhile to what he does.
, an event run by Carl Chamberlain, who seems to know exactly how to run these things and make them into real events enjoyed by all. He does them with great gusto and good will, without ever straying into the area of tweeness. Will and I did a Sunday afternoon slot at the Imperial in October, and as we went along the set developed into a really feel-good one that brought the best out of the pair of us.
On the other side of the coin, Will and I did another event, a sort of open mic, though the slots were pre-selected and pre-booked as if it was a sort of proper gig. I am ashamed to report that we giggled rather a lot during the event, like small boys at an elderly aunt’s funeral. Our two short sets were fine, but the individual running the thing had a routine of interviewing each act on stage after they had finished. His line of questioning amounted to the single entendre of asking them if they liked playing with themselves or preferred other people to play with them. This was meant to have a high snigger factor, though it was rather cringeworthy, especially as it got repeated for each act. We were last on, and as we came off, he approached me for the ‘interview’. Let’s just say that no interview took place.
I had a lot of contact with Charlotte Street – I played at and ran the Sunday Acoustic night every fortnight for 6 months, and I played quite a few times at Sam Hare’s jams on both Wednesdays and latterly Mondays too. I went to a few gigs there too, notably to see John Mayall, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Harry Manx. That short list of artists itself says rather a lot about the ambition and variety associated with the place.
I guess The Faces were my last ‘favourite group’, as I got too old to have such a thing. Much as we all loved Rod-nee, at least before he went off into showbiz and celeb-land (and his early albums remain great, unique examples of roots music at its finest), it was Ronnie Lane who always seemed like the heartbeat of that band. Ronnie was wholly unpretentious, and in an era before it was de rigueur to affect or bang on about working class credentials as a kind of one-upmanship, he exemplified a genuine working class sensibility of a kind that no longer exists. The song Debris, that he wrote and sang on one of the Faces’ albums, remains a great portrayal of London working class life, minus the mawkish and bogus sentimentality that now accompanies such things.
