Posted by Jerry on April 23rd, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Music
Another wonderful St Albans Folk Festival 2007 has come and gone. Highlights included the delightful crowd that attended my fiddle workshop and the really responsive crowd at our Full Circle concert at the Fickle Wombat restaurant. This is a really friendly folk festival – small enough to meet old and new friends, and big enough to hear some great musicians.
The setting is delightful – nestled in a gorge not far from Wisemans Ferry in NSW (about an hour from Newcastle) and the morning mist makes the place quite magical as the first morning flutes and fiddles announce the new day.
We found a campsite conveniently opposite the Fickle Wombat venue
The first stop after setting up camp was to head off to the main festival ground and get a good hot cup of coffee – and a bacon and egg sandwich. Both were warm wet and filling.
But the folk/blues coming out of the main marquee quickly set the scene for a night of great music. I ran into the excellent fiddler Tony Pyrzakowski and he was keen to play a session after his gig with the inimitable Wheeze and Suck Band. They’re terrific if you haven’t heard them – and great to see live as they really get the audience going. You’ve got to hear Tony’s new five string electric fiddle – it’s light; it’s got a great sound; and it has the viola C string as well as the normal violin ones. And in Tony’s hands he makes it really sing. That’s a Guscott fiddle – light weight (the pre-amp goes on your belt, not in the fiddle – and the fiddle is made from lightweight kevlar).
We had a blistering ‘dueling fiddlers’ session at the Settlers Arms pub – a grand old country pub – perfect spot for a music session. There was trad session in the back room then when the pub closed it was everyone on the verandah until the wee hours. Tony and I played and members of the Mothers and Wheeze and Suck and Full Circle – it was terrific and there were several other fiddle and whislte players joining in – and that’s what it’s all about – the sharing of the music. I had a few songs with Nigel ‘Muddy’ Waters – great guy.
Settler Arms Hotel, St Albans
When the cool damp air started playing havoc with my bow – the wood expanded until the bow would no longer keep the hair stretched tight – it was time to call it a night.
Next morning with the light mist keeping the dust down Sharon and I headed up to the Fickle Wombat for the Poets breakfast and then over to the Gallery – where my fiddle workshop would be held – and had a lovely fresh brewed plunger coffee and chocolate slice for morning tea, then after checking out the paintings and handcrafts we headed back to the main venue to hear some music and take a few photos.
The fiddle workshop was well attended and I took them through some technique training and some stretching exercises
Jerry’s fiddle workshop, St Albans Folk Festival
Then it was down to the pub verandah for a bit of a warm-up session with the rest of Full Circle Band before grabbing a bite to eat, some music at the main marquee and then off to get our instruments to the Fickle Wombat ready for our concert.
The Fickle Wombat, St Albans NSW
These guys deserve a lot of praise as they supported the festival throughout and worked 18 hour days tirelessly to keep everyone fed and coffee’d – Well done!
Other highlights – the Mothers of Intention with their Karifolkie (see it to believe it!) They played at the Fickle Wombat before us and set the scene for the concert to follow
Mothers of Intention – Karifolkie
Then it was our turn, and we soon had the crowd stomping and dancing and singing along. Tony told me after that as he was walking away to do a Wheeze and Suck gig he heard us start up and he kept wanting to go back and listen to us! We played for a good two hours – which flew by – it seemed like half an hour to us, and the packed audience were really responsive – a truly lovely festival crowd. We were called back for three encores and it was a real high note to end the concert.
The old van went well – with the minor irritant of a short circuit in the headlights to make our arrival in the evening a bit interesting. And we passed a milestone on the speedometer – 400,000kms – in the the van we’ve had since new
With the final morning dawning it was time to pack up the camp, listen to the poets breakfast and say a few farewells before heading back up the road via Wiseman’s Ferry and homeward to Canberra. Interestingly, Wisemans Ferry is the oldest continuously operating ferry service in Australia having run since 1827.
… and that sign is in miles! It’s actually 21 km to Wisemans Ferry.
Anyhow, congratulations to Alison Boyd and all the organisers for a great festival – hope to see you all there next year!
It seems that the lead singer is 90 years old and there he is singing “I hope I die before I get old…” I like their attitude – and I like their visual take on the Beatles Abbey Road cover image too!
Here’s what the YouTube notes say about this group:
Lead singer Alf is 90 – and he’s not the oldest – there are 99 and 100-year-olds in the band!
The Zimmers will feature in a BBC TV documentary being aired in May 2007. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely old people – those who can’t leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes.
The finale of the show is this group of lonely old people coming together to stick it back to the society that’s cast them aside – by forming a rock troupe and trying to storm into the pop charts.
There are all sorts of things one could sy about society’s marginalisation of the senior population – but above all this is just great fun and they obviously loved doing it 🙂
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on April 15th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Woodwork
Many of you will be familiar with my peg stilts instructions. And the more my daughter and I use them, the more the design is being refined.
One of the weaker points of the design has always been the straps used to attach them to the legs. As velcro wears, it has become more and more necessary to augment the straps with ‘gaffa’ tape – you know, the stuff bands use, cloth adhesive tape.
Well that is about to change. The latest modification to the design will be revealed here first, then added to the existing stilt design.
The woodwork is just the same. Only the straps are different. And the knee pads. One of the issues with the existing knee pads is that the PVC pipe segment is of too narrow a radius if your legs have well developed musculature – so they can dig in uncomfortably. And the one thing you want is comfort in order to increase the safety of the stilts.
I was in Bunnings today and found some industrial knee-pads. Until now, we have used knee pads in addition to the stilt leg-cups. But I had an idea – why not attach the knee pads directly to the stilts and beef up the straps with non-slip tie-downs buckles.
I had previously solved the foot straps with these and now the time had come to do the same with the upper legs.
Here is the heel strap arrangement heel straps
and the toe strap stilts toe strap
I laid out the upper straps with the buckle forward of the knee pads, located the knee pad in position and drilled and screwed the knee pad in place through the straps
knee pad
So the upper straps now work this way stilts upper straps
So the stilts are complete – and more secure than before. One of the joys of being chief engineer is that I get to test the toys to ensure they are safe 😉 And I gave them a fair workout for 20 minutes before declaring them safe for my daughter to test. The straps do not slip – and the straps are quickly adjusted for any slack – even while on board the stilts.
For Australian readers, the knee pads are called ‘Protector Multi Purpose Knee Pads – available from Bunnings Warehouse for about AUS$10.50
And the straps are Lion brand ‘Super Cam Buckle’ available in 500mm, 1 metre and 3 metre lengths. The straps are rated to 1000kg, and the metal buckles have spring-loaded teeth that bite harder the more you try to pull them apart – they do not slip. But the spring buckle allows quick release when you want to remove them.
And with the integral industrial knee pads they are more comfortable than before. Enjoy them – safely!
Posted by Jerry on April 14th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Music
Having just spent four days doing street performances with Will o the Wisp musical circus, I was intrigued when Sharon spotted this article in the Washington Post online. Take one virtuoso violinist and place him out of his usual context playing to sell-out audiences in the US and Europe’s finest auditoriums and place him in a subway station in Washington DC and observe how people react.
The result is amazing. Watch the videos and see the reactions – or almost complete lack of reaction! I know how he feels: I reckon street performance is one of the hardest genres. As violinist Joshua Bell notes
“When you play for ticket-holders,” Bell explains, “you are already validated. I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I’m already accepted. Here, there was this thought: What if they don’t like me? What if they resent my presence . . .”
And he was playing a 1710 Stradivarius violin!
Some say my style is …well…vigorous – and that’s because I began my musical career by busking. Very quickly I learnt that if you move with the music people get more responsive. It’s that immediate that you can learn a lot from busking. You get instant feedback on what works and what doesn’t – at least when there is a responsive crowd of passers by.
I suspect there is also a bit of commentary here on US culture – people being utterly absorbed in their own worlds that it takes a lot for people to take in their surroundings.
The article is a fascinating insight into art and context.
Posted by Jerry on April 10th, 2007 — Posted in Journal, Music
Well, the Australian National Folk Festival has come and gone for another year, and soon I’ll catch up on some sleep – but not before I’ve told you how wonderful this festival is.
This year there were several great highlights – and it was great to be performing with my daughter as part of Will o’ the Wisp musical circus.
The campsite was a brisk short walk in the chilly evening (okay well into the morning) after a night playing in some amazing Irish music sessions – and the up-and-coming young players give great hope for the future of folk music in Australia.
The festival is set in the Exhibition Park grounds on the northside of Canberra and it has come a long way from my first National Folk Festival in 1977. The venues are well signposted and the festival atmosphere is deliciously enhanced by the myriad food stalls and exotic clothing, jewelry and musical instrument makers.
And session bars provide great spaces for singing and swapping tunes across musical styles from bluegrass, to hungarian to various flavours of celtic music and jazz and blues – this festival has it all and the fusion of styles shows the folk tradition at its best.
I was pleased to see that a new session bar has been opened up and dedicated to the memory of the late Billy Moran
Between performances with Will o’ the Wisp I managed to see several great concerts and see some emerging talent at the blackboard events. Martin Pearson did a great satire on the daVinci Code, Mothers of Intention launched their new CD and there was a breathtaking array of amazing fiddle players from around the world.
Mother of Intention
I did the Chris Duncan Fiddle Workshop where I learnt a couple of great Scottish tunes, and got to see Chris’s style up close.
For me there were three stand-out performances – The first was to see the amazing Dave Swarbrick on his ‘Lazarus’ tour – just several months after his double lung and heart transplant – his style is smooth and whimsical – and yeah he’s still got that swing! Sadly, the performance I saw turned out to be the only one he gave at the festival – knowing how tiring it is to tour, I felt privileged just to have heard him once. He played with singer-songwriter Allistair Hulett.
The second was the Festival Fiddlers concert, featuring Jane Unger (daughter of the writer of the tune Ashokan Farewell); Kevin Burke (legendary Irish fiddle player); Nancy Kerr (English style); Lisa McIsaac (Cape Breton fiddler, member of Mad Violet, and sisiter of Ashley McIsaac); and Chris Duncan (Australian Scottish fiddler). It was great to see all these leading exponents of their respective styles in one concert!
The empty chair next to Chris Duncan was reserved in case Dave Swarbrick was able to return.
Jane Unger performed her father’s tune and then did some nice Appallacian style fiddling
Jane Unger
Kevin Burke has a smooth Irish style that made even the most dramatic reel seem effortless
Kevin Burke
Nancy Kerr was described as having two brains – for her ability to sing one tune while playing a different accompanying tune on the fiddle and plucking a third rhythm – all at the same time! You have to hear it to believe it 🙂 Nancy Kerr
Lisa McIsaac is closest to my style of playing – attacking the fiddle with gusto and moving with such energy that the chair was just there to keep her on the ground. Her Cape Breton style is amazing – although her bow hair expenses will be very high: hair was just fountaining off the bow as she played! I’m not sure whether it was Jane Unger of Lisa McIsaac who was given an excellent piece of advice when beginning the fiddle – “either get mad at it or don’t play fiddle at all” Lisa certainly embodied the passion in the music.
Lisa McIsaac
And Chris Duncan provided some Pagannini moments showing his technical skill to considerable effect on a range of Scottish tunes.
Chris Duncan
The third particular treat was Mad Violet – haunting ballads and furious Cape Breton fiddling.
In the session bar Tony Pyrzakowski and I turned a few heads with our duelling fiddlers routine – just nudging the speed a little 😉 We were both practically airborne and still going note for note so you could hear each note of the tune clearly defined but at breakneck speed! Both fiddles were practically smoking by the end!
I only saw the sun come up on the second morning – the rest were comparatively early nights finishing between 5.00AM and 6.00AM most nights.
I came away with a few new tunes and some great memories.
See you all next year! Or in two weeks time at the St Albans Festival in New South Wales, Australia
