Feb 2012
Developing new material with Dave and it’s going extremely well at the moment. Just reviewing three ‘different’ takes on songs recorded a couple of weeks ago with Ray Philips from Welsh rock legends Budgie on drums. Starting to fell a nice swing to these tracks now!
New Recording Studio Rates for 2012
Monday – Saturday (9am – 8pm)
£ 25.00 per hour (2 hours minimum)
£ 150.00 per 9-hour day
£ 125.00 6 hour Singer/Songwriter deal (max 2 musicians) inc. mixing & 2 master CDs
£ 100.00 Evening Session (4pm – 8pm)
£ 75.00 – 4 hour Record your own ‘Star’ track to three backing tracks of your choice
Includes: recording, mixing, mastering plus 2 x master CDs
New Customers – Please Note!
We have had to apply a non-refundable deposit against cancellation of your booking with less than five days notice which will be deducted from your final invoice. This will be a minimum of £25.00 for an evening or ‘short day’ session and 25% for longer sessions!
All rates include engineer and studio equipment!
20% discount for three days and over, Musicians Union Members and under 18 musicians (please note this does not include ‘Backing Track’ sessions!)
Here & Now, a concert featuring (allegedly) ‘the very best of the 1980s’ takes place this weekend. The Lincolnshire Showground’s Epic Centre hosts a weekend of live music promoted by the former ‘head honcho’ from Lincoln Theatre Royal Chris Moreno. Moreno returns to the city (well – nearly!) with one of his regular summer Midsummer Magic extravaganzas on Saturday and Sunday!
Saturday night features Boy George, Jason Donovan, Belinda Carlisle, Curiosity Killed The Cat and The Real Thing and Sunday has a slightly more contemporary feel including ex – X Factor outtakes Stacy Soloman and the enormously versatile Jedward.
Returning to Lincoln shortly after last month’s Lincoln Theatre Royal show, Lancashire’s number one Soul Band, The Real Thing, open Saturday night’s event. The rest of the line-up however is a bit of a who’s who of re-habilitated and re-branded pop start from the 1980s. From Boy George and Belinda Carlisle’s very highly publicised ordeals with Heroin both in the UK and USA, and Jason Donovan’s self-confessions that it was only the birth of his daughter that stopped his own excessive use of Cocaine.
Sunday night, however, celebrates everything that is simple and uncomplicated with Irish brothers John and Edward collectively known as the heavily tonsured Jedward. The duo, are known and deeply admired for their distinctive blond quiffs and unique performances, both musical and otherwise! Since arriving on your TV screens in 2009 their first single, “Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)”, featuring the similarly talented ‘rapper’ Vanilla Ice and was released during January of last year.
Another X-Factor contestant Stacey Soloman, who actually can hold a tune, is also on Sunday’s bill. This ‘bubbly’ 21 year old from Dagenham most recently re-emerged with Shaun Ryder on TV screens in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here last November where she went on to be crowned “Queen of the Jungle”.
Additional entertainment on Sunday comes from ABBA tribute act Bjorn Again and doors open at 6:00 (5pm Sunday). The concerts are open to all the family (children over 5!) with ticket prices from £15.00, more details from www.midsummermagic.co.uk.
Heavy Metal stalwarts Iron Maiden are hitting the road around the UK as part of their incredible world-wide Final Frontier Tour which started in Moscow back in February and finishes in London next month by way of Brazil, Mexico, Australia and just about everywhere else in between! On Sunday you will be able to see they will be playing at the Sheffield Arena and next Wednesday at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena.
The Final Frontier World Tour is in conjunction with the band’s 15th studio album released in August and their most successful chart album to date, registering the number one sales chart slot in 28 countries around the globe.
One final point worth noting about Maiden is that ‘singer’ Lady Gaga once said Iron Maiden were her favourite band of all time and that she used to cover “Run to the Hills” in her live set!
Crash Doubt Promotions present a massive two-day Punk and ‘Hardcore’ festival at the newly opened Showroom Centre on Tritton Road, Lincoln this weekend. Featuring a whole raft of acts from all over the country as well as local favourites the event runs from Saturday through until Sunday night. Tickets are £15.00 for each day and are available on the door on the day. For more details and a detailed line-up go to www.crashdoubtfest.blogspot.com.
It’s Friday the 13th tomorrow and if you are not to scared of venturing out the marvelous Hot Club of Lincoln will be putting on the style at the Tap & Spile on Hungate. Specialising in adaptations of what is generally known as ‘Gypsy Jazz’ the guys put on a fine show of acoustic dexterity running through their ever-expanding repertoire of Reinhart and Grapelli as well as many well-loved standards. Free entry from 8pm.
On Friday evening Giles Robson and the Dirty Aces will be playing at Cleethorpes Pleasure Island. Giles is a young Jersey-based harmonica player and singer and has been making waves in the UK Blues circuit for the last couple of years. Not only working as frontman with his own band The Dirty Aces but also backing ‘Mud’ Morganfield one of Muddy Waters’ sons. Advance tickets are £8.00 and are available online from www.solidntertainments.com with the doors opening at 7:30pm.
This Saturday has a bit of a blues flavour for two of Lincoln’s more popular music bars. Well liked Lincoln outfit Blues Train will be serving up their own brand of Chicago-inspired electric Blues at the Tap & Spile. Always a popular band in the area the venue is sure to see a capacity audience so, as ever, get yourself down there in plenty of time to bag one of the ‘few’ remaining seats.
Also on Saturday the Jolly Brewer on Broadgate have Ecofest regulars Starvin’ Sid and his band on offer. Hopefully if the weather is fine they might play outside in the Beer Garden but even if not they are a fine alternative to the Blues Train guys if you can’t squeeze into the Tap.
Entry to both shows is free and the entertainment will start around 8:30 to 9pm.
Next Wednesday the Nick Svark Trio play the Tap as part of Lincoln Jazz week with Dave Walsh on drums and Gary Jackson on bass. No stranger to the city Nick is always a pleasure to listen to and is well known for his experimental approach and stylish playing.
Finally, The Treehouse are looking for a new member. Ideally someone who can cover a couple of different instruments such as guitar, accordion and mandolin as well as being in possession of a good strong harmony voice. You will also need to have a bit of a lateral view on life with a bit of a quirky attitude to music in general. For lots more information and the chance to hear and see more of the band go to www.buildthetreehouse.com and contact Markus directly!
Apart From Rod is a new outfit featuring three excellent British session and backing guitarists in the shape of Jim Creegan, Robin le Mesurier and Gary Granger. All three of them were previously members of Rod Stewart’s backing band from the 1970s when he went solo from his time with The Faces. As well as working with Rod as sidemen they were collectively also responsible for co-writing and arranging many of Stewart’s hits during his most successful period during the 1980s. Individually their credits stretch even further starting with Jim Creeggan’s timeless acoustic guitar solo on the Cockney Rebel hit ‘Come Up & See Me’ to Granger’s later work with Ringo Starr.
With vocal duties provided by the young Jim Stapely who has recently been signed up by actor Keifer Sutherland’s new label, the band will be playing in the decidedly un-rock ‘n roll surroundings of Cleethorpes’ Pleasure Island tonight from 7:30. Tickets are available from £10.00 either on the door or via www.solidentertainments.com.
On Friday night the Treehouse will be returning to the Tap and Spile on Hungate, Lincoln. This time around they will be ‘launching’ their new collection of recordings from the There’s A Fear (Part 1) EP as well as performing a couple of live sets. The CD mostly contains some of their newer material although there is also a re-working of the ever-popular Corrine. The entertainment will start around 8:30 but, as ever, if you want to be seated within earshot of the music it’s best you should get yourself down there early. For a preview of the new songs and some more information about the band in case you have never come across them check them out at www.buildthetreehouse.com.
A little bit of harmony comes to the sleepy village of Harmston on Saturday night in the shape of saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, Jo Freya and Dutch Folk Band Maastroom. Maalstroom have been steadily building a solid live-reputation, over the North Sea in their home territory of the Netherlands as well as Belgium, Germany and the UK. Building upon their reputation for their collaborations with artists from other countries, including Brian Finnegan from Anglo/Irish band Flook, they have now teamed up with Jo in this new venture. Saturday night’s concert takes place at the Memorial Hall in Harmston starts at 7:30 and the £7.50 tickets are available from Keith Elms on 01522 722462.
Solid Entertainments have another interesting show booked for Pleasure Island, this Saturday night with the instantly recognizable Fairbrass brothers in Right Said Fred on their “Night of the Living Fred Tour”. The show starts around 7:30 so for an evening teeming with their hits including “I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt”, “Deeply Dippy” and “Stick It Out” contact www.solidentertainents.com to book the £12.00 tickets.
Amongst the local shows lined up for this week Attila The Stockbroker will be astounding all and sundry in the wonderful Dog & Bone on John Street (Lincoln) next Wednesday night as part of the Lincoln Book Festival – Free entry!
If anyone was thinking of attending the Yorkshire International Blues Festival over this weekend and didn’t already know the news, it’s been cancelled! This was a new Blues festival for the UK set up to honour Alexis Korner the ‘Father of British Blues’ and was due to take place at the Magna Centre in Rotherham from Saturday 30th April. Sadly the 3 day event has been cancelled due to poor advance ticket sales and lack of sponsorship. This was a great chance to see some of the top artists to come out of the British Blues Boom during the 1960s including Jack Bruce, The Animals, Mick Taylor, Chris Farlowe, The Blues Band and a whole host of other acts including regulars on the Lincolnshire circuit – Alan Nimmo’s King King.
This first year of the festival had received great PR and interest to the international line up but advance ticket sales were unfortunately too slow and the organisers had to make the difficult decision to cancel the event. Event spokesman said “We had to make the decision as the financial implications of running the event without the support of advance ticket sales were too great. The festivals core aim was to raise money for really deserving local and national charities so this decision was certainly not taken lightly. People who have purchased advance ticket to the event will be contacted and ticket money will be reimbursed in full”. If in doubt about refunds contact the promoters at www.yorkshireblues.com.
Not quite so grand as the afore-lamented Yorkshire Blues Festival but still very much on schedule is Sunday’s Scunthorpe Blues Festival. Promoted by Solid Entertainments of Grimsby the show will take place at the Redbourn Sports & Social Club on Cemetry Road DN16 1NU. Featured headliner is the young Aynsley Lister who will be supported by Chantel McGregor and, amongst others, Cherry Lee Mewis from Wales a comparatively new face on the Blues. Running from 4pm until 11pm tickets on sale from £19.00 from www.solidentertainments.com.
Sleaford Live 2011 kicks off this weekend until next Sunday, 8th May with some travelling music from the Delta Dogs on the Sleaford Music Train. Departing from Sleaford Station at 6:55 bound for Bateman’s Brewery at Wainfleet via Boston and returning to Sleaford for 10pm this is a great way to kick start the weekend, and for that matter Sleaford Live 2011! Tickets can be purchased on the train, as can some of Mr Bateman’s finest and more information about the session and the Sleaford Music Live week can be found at www.sleafordlive.co.uk.
The previously ‘wrongly’ listed show from Mike Badger, co-founder of the Legendary LAs and his Shady Trio finally takes place at the Stag’s Head uphill on Lincoln’s Newport this Friday night. Supported on the night by one of our finer local outfits and country/beat pundits, Postcards From Places That Don’t Exist, this looks like a great evening of Country/Honk Skiffle with a smattering of Rock ‘a Billy – Free Entry and starts around 8:30pm!
Along with bunnies, chocolate and some unseasonably decent weather this weekend heralds the start of the 2011 festival season. Starting only three years ago this weekend’s outing is the first of four events planned by Alchemy across the summer months with further shows in June, August and September. Starting the season off this Friday they promise 22nd – 25th April – over 40 bands and DJ’s however their website is not the easiest to get information about who is confirmed from but if you go to www.alchemyfestival.co.uk you can at least see who is supposed to be playing this weekend!
Amongst the acts put forward on the publicity you can expect the likes of Here and Now, Nik Turner’s Outriders of Apocalypse and Zion Train. Other acts confirmed include The Monster Ceilidh Band, Tarantism and Flutatious although no other acts listed have yet been confirmed. Early bird tickets are available priced at £50 for an adult weekend ticket. An under 16 ticket is priced at £12. Under 5′s are free and don’t require a ticket. A car parking ticket is priced at £8, and a live in vehicle pass is priced at £20. The festival is sited at Tattershall Thorpe (LN4 4PD) near Kirkby on Bain which, of course, was previously home to the Small World Festival until it’s move to Badger Farm near Louth a few years back.
City-centre gigs this week include county blues band Gin House at the Tap & Spile on Hungate on Friday night. Formed in 1999 they always seem have a full schedule playing from the North of Yorkshire down to the South Midlands. Starting at 8:30 entry is free to the Tap and an early start is essential unless you fancy standing for the duration of the evening!
As ever with Bank Holiday weekends the Jolly Brewer on Broadgate (Lincoln) have a full schedule of activities lined up. On Friday night Undertone will be blasting their own brand fusing “Groovin Reggae, Hip Hop plus Drum ‘n Bass”. The undertone guys are seriously busy in the local dance scene promoting their own nights at various venues around the area and tomorrow night will bring their burning sounds to the Brewer. Saturday night has the acoustic trio Pennyless return to the Brewer with their ‘Foot Stompin’ folk. The trio are just about to release their new album, The Turning of My Days and you can expect some highlights from the new album as well as some of their favourites. The Bilderburg Group close the Brewer’s weekend entertainment with a selection of chilled grooves and fully-funked loops outside in the Beer Garden so let’s hope the wonderful weather holds out!
Finally, 80s Scottish guitar twangers Big Country are out and about again playing at Rock City on Saturday night. Quiet for quite some time now they still manage to come up with the goods and turn out a great show. This is an over 14s only show and tickets are £20.00 – www.rock-city.co.uk for bookings and information.
It’s a Folk Thing – official! On Friday and Saturday this small but ‘perfectly formed’ Leicestershire folk music festival returns to the village of Ashby Folville in Leicestershire. For the third year running this tiny village opens it’s doors (and gates) to more than 20 acts on the two stages in the grounds of the Carrington Arms with indoor stages as well as ‘open-mic’ slots on the Skittle stage for acoustic and folk / blues artists. There will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to join in the fun as well as showcase their own talents in the pub sessions as well as during the late night camp-fire gatherings.
This year Sheffield band Treebeard provide the headline attraction with support from Nottingham’s Marc Block and the Breezes plus excellent feisty Northampton trio Naseby Crossing, county based three-piece Pennyless and a whole host of others. Headliners Treebeard were formed a few years ago by brothers Paul & Chris McMahon, who were then best for their work with Haze and World Turtle. These days they play a mixture of their own originals as well as ‘not quite normal’ covers of numbers by Led Zeppelin, U2 and Steve Harley. They describe their unique style as ‘Heavy Wood’, with instrumentation that includes guitars, violins, mandolin, bouzouki and percussion.
There is a large on-site field available with plenty of space for tents and camper vans although the event in general has a gate limit of 300 so remember to either book as early as you can or contact the promoters to check availability! Tickets range from youth and student day tickets for £10.00 to an absolute bargain weekend rate of £40.00 for a family ticket (accompanied under 12s are free). To book tickets call Linda on 07954 993750 or Fiona on 07970 283731, or for more information about the other acts go to www.folkthing.co.uk.
The Tap & Spile in Lincoln continues what has now become a regular fixture with their regular long-weekends of live music! Paul Gibbard (plus friends) returns on Thursday evening while Newark’s excellent Love Boat Captains play on Friday night. The delightfully titled Shell Suits and Cowboy Boots on Saturday. As ever entry to all three shows is free and accompanied by a delightful menu of real ale and good humour!
If, by the end of the weekend you still haven’t had enough fiddle worrying and songs about dead sheep, lovelorn sailors and lonely widows, Feast of Fiddles return to the Drill Hall on Monday evening. Boasting a ‘musical extravaganza like no other’, six of the UK’s finest fiddle players join together in an eleven strong band including drummer Dave Mattacks Peter Knight of Steeleye Span and Chris Leslie of Fairport Convention. This unique collection of musicians bring their own individual styles together to visit almost every musical genre you can think of, in an entertainment that may have you dancing in the aisles and perhaps even shedding a tear! Tickets are available from the Box Office from £18.00 on 01529 873894,
Please note that the Mike Badger show with support from Postcards From Places That Don’t Exist scheduled for Saturday 9th April has been re-scheduled to the 30th April!. This has been wrongly listed on the Lincoln Bands Website and despite apparent repeated notices from the band is still advertising the 9th.
On Friday evening the outstanding Show of Hands are playing at the Lincoln Drill Hall featuring Steve Knightly, Phil Beer and Miranda Sykes on double bass. Knightley and Beer are widely acknowledged as possibly the finest acoustic roots duo in England and regularly pick up plaudits and prizes at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. A regular ‘third member for the duo comes in the form of Miranda Knightley their striking vocalist and double bass player. Please be warned, this is not folk as you know it and at the drop of a hat will pitch into anything from rock to blues, country and world music. Performing on a multitude of instruments from slide guitar to (armadillo free) cuatro this is possibly ‘World Music’ at its finest! Some delightful support for the evening will be provided by Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin and tickets are on sale at the venue (01522 8743894) from £18.00.
On Sunday night Bowling For Soup’s Jaret and Erik bring their informal acoustic show to the Engine Shed in Lincoln as part of their Spring Tour. It promises to be a fairly irreverent evening of comfortable seating, beer and anarchy with a sprinkling of BFS’ hits. Promising to be a bit of a night for one and all (ish), entry to the show is strictly limited to ‘over 14s’ and entry is £13.00 plus booking fee from the venue or online at www.engineshed.co.uk.
Other gigs in the area this week include popular young guitarists Elliot Morris & Joe Mac who will be playing as a duo on Saturday night at the Tap and Spile (Hungate, Lincoln). Starting at 8:30 entry to this show is free as usual.
Also on Saturday another popular local outfit, Blues Boy Kings will be knocking some out at the Gatehouse way down on Newark Road in South Lincoln from 8pm and back in the centre of town you can witness yet another semi-final for the Lincoln Band competition upstairs at the Duke of Wellington on Broadgate also from 8pm.
