In Review : Blogs 1-25....and what's next??

Tuesday February 20th 2024

So, I started blogging November 23rd last year, that’s one blog every 3.56 days. Is that sustainable? I have no idea! I write when I want to write. Two per week feels right…

First off though I’d like to thank everybody who’s commented or contributed in some way to any of the pieces so far. Special thanks to Trevor Hood (19/01, “Hey! Teacher!”), Keith Toop (28/01, “George Harrison’s Contribution”) and Steve Twinley (16/02 “It Takes Blood & Guts”) for their willingness to join in, those blogs would not exist otherwise!

There were six blogs about general music topics, six blogs on songwriting, three on playing live, four on tuition, three on gear, two on classic songs, plus however you’d describe this thing that you’re reading right now. Each blog has at least a few subject tags, in case you hadn’t noticed…. Look down the lower right hand side if you’re searching for something specific. There's also a list of the first 25 blogs at the end of this blog too, newest to oldest.

So going by number of views : 

Most Ignored Blog Winner :

#001 “Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself”

(I possibly should have expected that.

I didn’t tell anybody I was doing it….)

Most Adored Blog Winner :

#014 “Hey! Teacher!” Unmissable Pink Floyd tracks

In fact, lots of people volunteered their top 5 Pink Floyd tracks, I was going to tell you about them in this particular blog, if case you'd missed them in the facebook chat. Honestly though, there’s a few too many for that, and I don’t want to leave anybody out, so in the next few weeks there’s going to be a follow up. If you have a top 5 unmissable list of Pink Floyd songs, it's not too late to share yours…

So…what’s coming up in the next 25? Well it’s partly up to you! There’ll be more Pink Floyd (as mentioned) and the second part of Keith’s blog on George Harrison. I did a strumming workshop for a local guitar group the other week, there’ll be some follow up on that, and I’ll be looking ahead to REMbrandt’s 10th birthday show at The Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Southampton on Sunday June 23rd - with special guests BEMIS and Sophie Hodgson. More collaborators, eager to share some different topics are in the pipeline too, but I’m not going to spoil it ALL in advance. 😉

Thanks for reading so far, don’t forget if you’ve got an idea for a blog or want to join in in any way, get in touch!

Cheers

Jon

Behind The Scenes : Dover Booking Hall

Behind The Scenes : Dover Booking Hall

Monday February 5th 2024

Last Saturday night we, (REMbrandt), played at The Booking Hall in Dover as part of a double header tribute gig with our friends, U2 Tribe. There are photos and video from the gig on our facebook and instagram accounts (links below), but what I wanted to share in this blog is some of the stuff the average punters don’t see. So here we go, sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, and access all areas!

Tonight’s window into the star spangled showbusiness world of 21st century gigging begins over 160 years ago. The Booking Hall may be a live music venue today, but it was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company as Harbour Station in 1861. The station was positioned on Elizabeth Street by the docks so that passengers arriving on the ferry could catch connecting trains with the minimum of fuss. The structure was built to impress, in the Italianate style, with an imposing clock tower. The clock itself however, was notoriously slow, and was eventually removed, following a successful legal action by a local businessman who missed his train. Anyway, we’re digressing, buildings are interesting, enough history, the point is, many grassroots music venues were not built as such. These venues are not only providing essential access to the arts, they're repurposing buildings and maintaining their history. Support them......anyway, on with the show!

Soundcheck

For shows like this, the venue typically supplies the sound system and a soundman, who really needs to immediately become your best friend, or all hope of sounding any good disappears rapidly. We don’t have roadies, so it’s a question of getting all the instruments and amps in ourselves, connected and tested, and running through a few songs. The two bands share a certain amount of gear (like the drum kit) for practicality, but it’s typically an hour to load in, then 45 minutes to soundcheck each band, being sure to finish before the doors open to the public at 7pm. What the room sounds like now, will not be what it sounds like when the audience is in, and every room is different, so it’s important to get as settled in as you can while you have the chance.

The Green Room

Some venues sadly have little or no hospitality towards musicians. The Booking Hall I’m pleased to say is not one of those. Backstage we have a lounge area, kitchenette, toilets, a shower and a fridge with something actually in it. It’s not the Ritz Carlton, and it is being shared between nine blokes, but it’s clean and it’s comfy. Between arriving and actually playing can be three to four hours, there's quite often a bit of time to kill and a lot of waiting around. I don’t think anybody actually played the MarioKart.... A few people did trudge up to the garage on the corner to get cheese sandwiches. Uninspired by cheese sandwiches, The Edge chooses to drive into town to find a Burger King. Discussions generally revolve around travel times, people’s ages, good cups of tea, divorces and weird gig experiences, like being supported by The Cheeky Girls...

Anyway, It’s 7:45 and it's time to go on. Better head over to facebook and instagram for those pictures!

www.facebook.com/remgb

www.instagram.com/remgb

www.remgb.com

With thanks and acknowledgements to:

Mark at The Booking Hall and DCR Radio 104.9FM

thebookinghall.com

db Rising Audio Engineering and Acoustics

doverhistorian.com

u2tributeband.co.uk

Musical Highlights 2023 (Part 2)

Musical Highlights 2023 (Part 2)

Wednesday December 27th 2023

Hope you're all having a good Christmas!

Last week I shared some of my musical highlights from the first half of the year. Whether or not that was a good idea for a blog or not is irrelevant, because I’m now legally obliged to follow up with part 2. 

Before I do though, I kind of feel some additional, honorable mentions are due, but I’m scared of leaving people out, so I’m going to bottle it. If you’re reading this, consider that fact alone enough to get you on the list, fair enough?

August 2023

Victorious Festival, Southsea

Locally this is the big one. This year’s headliners were Jamiroquai, Pete Tong, Kasabian and Alt-J. On a stage somewhat smaller, in a somewhat quieter corner of the common, on the quietest day, just before lunch, Andy and I played some original songs we’d been working on, and some R.E.M. covers. It was awesome.

September 2023

I Hear That Train A Comin’

It’s open day on the historic Watercress Line in Hampshire and 75% of The Alabama Stills are sweating it out playing to a small collection of bemused, beer loving bystanders in the engine repair shed. It is the hottest day of the year, and we’re spending the afternoon in a giant tin box. My favourite gigs are often  the unusual one offs though, they're the ones you remember the best. All the gear had to go on bin liners because the floor was covered in oil and engine soot.

October 2023

The Tony Tour Concludes

A few years back, a member of my guitar club sadly passed away as a result of Motor Neurone Disease. We had been taking the club to venues closer to his home as his ability to travel slowly diminished…. We called it The Tony Tour. In October we held a memorial concert for him in aid of MacMillan, featuring past and present members of our guitar and ukulele group, his widow’s acapella group, and his guitar tutor’s covers band. I can’t express how much I’d like to thank everybody

who helped that day.

November 2023

Double Header Tribute Nights

Our band REMbrandt plays double header tribute nights with our friends U2 Tribe. The real R.E.M. and U2 have a fair bit of shared history, both arguably reaching their commercial and artistic peaks in the late 80’s / early 90’s. Whilst R.E.M disbanded in 2011, U2 still record today, and if you haven’t seen any videos on youtube of their current residency in the Sphere in Las Vegas, you probably should.

Our shows are very much “greatest hits” affairs, played in theatres and clubs. It’s brilliant to connect with so many like minded musical fans and share something a bit special. Next up, Dover Booking Hall in February!

www.remgb.com

www.u2tributeband.co.uk

A personal note to anybody who knows me : December 9th in Oving was very special too, but it’s pretty recent history! A heartfelt thanks to everybody who made that happen. Like I said in last week’s blog….I appreciate everything you do, we all need to be told that a bit more often. No maybes about it.

Wishing you all the best for 2024!

Musical Highlights 2023 (Part 1)

Musical Highlights 2023 (Part 1)

Sunday December 24th 2023

Two thousand and twenty three. Has it been a good year? Well…. no pandemics so, that’s something. Musically, I’ve had one of my most interesting and productive years ever. That’s the positive spin, but in truth the highs have been higher, and the lows have been lower. I know somebody who would attribute that to ‘cosmic balance’ but it’s probably just life proceeding as normal. Some people in my life are having it a bit tough at the moment…. I appreciate everything they do, but maybe we all need to be told that a bit more often.

In the spirit of positivity and celebrating the good stuff though, I thought I’d dedicate a blog or two to some of my musical highlights this year. If you’re a part of anything I do musically, you’re already a highlight! but for the sake of not boring your novelty Christmas socks off before Santa has even arrived, I’m going to try and limit my ramblings to a few specific examples.

January 2023

Grant Lee Phillips, live at The Railway Inn, Winchester.

I always list Grant Lee Phillips as one of my favourite songwriters of all time. His songs are poetic, emotional, and often richly descriptive. He also appears to be such a thoroughly good natured bloke, with an amazing voice and a knack for storytelling, it’s very hard not to like him. This video I filmed is of “Fuzzy” the title track of his band, Grant Lee Buffalo’s first album, which Michael Stipe of R.E.M. described as the best album of 1993, hands down. This was a great gig to see, and it certainly shows that no matter what level you perform at, stuff’s going to happen, and you need to laugh it off.

Find out more...

www.railwayinn.pub

www.grantleephillips.com

March 2023

In The Stables

I haven’t really talked about the bands that I play in, but this was a special, acoustic lineup for The Alabama Stills we pulled together for our friend’s birthday. Mr & Mrs K. are really well connected musically, and loads of people performed, so it was an honour to be asked to perform as the de facto headline act in their half constructed stable block. The unfinished, silver insulated walls gave our Americana & Country set a vaguely 70’s disco feel - never to be repeated! The amount of cake laid on that day is also,

probably, never to be repeated.

June 2023

Different Band, Different Farm

REMbrandt R.E.M. Tribute at The Hanger Farm Arts Centre, north of Southampton. It’s a beautiful venue operated by The Minstead Trust, who do great work with people with learning disabilities. It’s always a special night, a far better than average gig, but next year the band is 10 years old and we’re playing  a special anniversary gig there. It’s on Sunday June 23rd. Hit me up for tickets ;-)

Find out more...

www.minsteadtrust.org.uk/hanger-farm

www.remgb.com

July 2023

Hotham Park Country Music Afternoon

Back to The Stills again - this time with the full and proper lineup on the bandstand in Hotham Park courtesy of the Rotary Club of Bognor Regis. It’s a glorious two hours of sitting in the sunshine beneath the trees on a summer Sunday afternoon. This year we were supported by UK country radio star Helena Mace, which is somewhat ironic as she has a far bigger following than we do.

Find out more...

www.helenamace.com

Record Time

...probably isn’t necessary is it? I’ve given you some great artists to check out, some live venues worthy of your hard earned ticket money… get out there in the new year and support some live music! More 2023 highlights next week…… and obviously, Merry Christmas for tomorrow!