RAG TAG MISFITS
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7 Aug 2017 Blog, Festival, Function, Functions, Uncategorised acoustic, baden powell, bear grylls, busking, celebration, cover music, drum, drum workshop, evening, event, festival, festival scouts, function, fundraising, guides, guitar, hire drum workshop, intenational scout jamboree, junk percussion, junk percussion workshop, kent international scout jamboree, kent jamboree, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, pop up acoustic, rag tag misfits, scouts, street party, surprise birthday party ideas, uk, unique, venue 0

Kent International Scout Jamboree – Drum Workshop & Live Music

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The Kent International Scout Jamboree takes place every 4 years. Playing host to thousands upon thousands of Scouts and Guides from all over the world for this week long event. We were contacted to provide some Live Music for the Kent International Scout Jamboree and also a junk percussion drum workshop throughout the daytime for the entirety of the week.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

The planning for such an event this size is enormous and a lot of effort and work goes into the organising, infrastructure and activities. The festival was huge. They have large festival style stages and smaller stages in every sub camp. They also have a fairground, rock climbing, science exhibitions, woggle workshops, craft tents etc., there is so much to mention. It’s like Glastonbury for the Scouts and Guides. A few celebrities (not us) to top the week off as Bear Grylls came and visited the camp.  In total there are six sub camps with different names including Africa, USA, Asia, Arabia and Europe. It was huge. There were lots of things going on during the day including water and air activities, you can guarantee most of the kids are wrapped up in their tents by 11pm, exhausted by the amount of activities on offer.

On our 7 hour journey down to Kent we had the van fully loaded with Congas, bins, shakers, tubes, buckets, bottles, bongos and all sorts of percussive paraphernalia. After the long journey down we arrived at approximately 5pm to find the dance tent and fairground rides in full swing. There were kids buzzing around all over the place.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

We were given a guided tour upon entry by Becky who seemed to have every responsibility under the sun who took us to the office for our passes. The organisers were so friendly and helpful seeing to our every need. This was very kind of them since we know how busy the team must have been. We would be here for five days so we had with us plenty of supplies, food, drinks and plenty of camping gas. The location of the site meant once you were in you had to get the bus at specific times that took you to the local supermarket.

After we met the organisers we began unloading the van in our very own marquee. This would be home for the next week. We were allocated a lovely spot in which we would run the workshop. It wasn’t requested but we felt necessary to decorate the marquee with pom poms and bunting to give it a welcoming feel for the morning drum workshop. We set up the percussion and bottles ready for the next morning. Drum sticks in the middle, we were ready to go.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

The organisers had provided straw bales and some bins in addition to our own equipment. The tent looked brilliant by the time we were finished. The junk percussion was arranged into a circular shape so we could teach the kids some basic rhythms and patterns as we all played in unison.

The first morning was a beautiful mid summer’s day and you really couldn’t have asked for better weather. We opened the doors of the marquee and put our musical rainbow bottles outside. The drum workshop was more like a drop in workshop rather than classes. The children could come and go as they pleased and it worked fantastically. A group arrived petty much straight away and had a look around. I said to them “do you want to learn some rhythm?” They looked at each other and said in a shy manner “OK what do we do?” I told them to pick up some sticks, grab a bucket, bin or shaker and we’ll take it from there.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

Despite there being so much to do at the Kent International Scout Jamboree, the workshop was really popular. It was brilliant, throughout the week groups of children kept pouring in and some familiar faces kept returning. On the third day we had keen percussionists sticking their head through the doors asking what time we would be open. It was very popular. I knew we had a performance on the big stage on the Friday so we asked the organisers if we could ask a select few children to join us on stage for the final song.  The answer was yes . We informed our regulars of this and they came back to practice every day in preparation for the big performance.

The enthusiasm to learn was astounding, they picked it up really quickly and once the session had finished we told them they were welcome to stay and play and gave them a drumstick lollipop each. We were pretty much left to it and we worked out a routine of busy times and quiet times and organised our breaks around that.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

Over the course of the week the workshop became more and more popular. We introduced the guitar to accompany the drums and the children were blown away at how a rhythm can sound when actually put in a song. It’s so satisfying being able to pass our knowledge onto children who are keen to learn. By giving them encouragement you can really give a child confidence and it’s a magical feeling to see a child who is usually quite shy brimming with confidence. The ages were mixed and we even gave a workshop to a group of leaders who we had a lot of banter with. Since it was quite popular the air was filled with the sound of drum beats.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

As the days went by we arranged to incorporate the live music aspect into the event. A sub camp leader got in touch and asked us if we could provide some music on their stage. We happily agreed and headed over to the sub camp to entertain for a set. For a few nights in the week we went to a sub camp and performed some upbeat cover songs for the kids. We needed to borrow a trolley as it was a good 10 minute walk with all the gear. As with every trolley we have used, it had a mind of its own.

Getting there was more of a challenge than setting up. Having said that it was a lot easier than our first attempt. We used rope to tie the bins down and dragged them across the field on the first afternoon as we decided to take the workshop into the camp. We later found out it was much easier to leave it at the marquee. The kids would know where to find us. We stuck with musical performances after that.

On the fourth day some regular kids kept returning with the anticipation of performing on the big stage for the whole camp to see. It was a huge stage similar to “The Other Stage” at Glastonbury. They were thrilled that they would get to perform on the last day with us. It was unexpected but welcomed by them. We decided to teach them a rhythm so they could perform “We Will Rock You” and “Bare Necessities” live on stage with us. They are popular songs that the children were familiar with and the rhythms are quite straight forward. The plan was for Andy to play the guitar and I would sing and drum with them.

The last day of the drum workshop had come around. The group had promised to come over in the morning after breakfast to go through the song once more. We waited and all was eerily quiet, it wasn’t long before we started to ask ourselves what was going on. As the fairground (that should have been really busy with a two week cue for the waltzers) was dead we started to question if were in a zombie apocalypse. We could hear plenty of activity in the sub camps but no one was seemingly allowed out.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum WorkshopIt seemed that someone had been very unwell during the night. Silly rumours were flying around about a sickness in the camps. To be 101% safe the organisers put a lock down on the whole event. It was a tough call but they wanted to more safe than sorry. They sent some tests off to a lab and within a matter of hours things were back to normal. It was an organiser’s worst nightmare but they dealt with the situation brilliantly. We took advantage of the lockdown took a walk up the radio tower. The camp hosts its own radio show KIJ LIVE. We climbed the scaffolding to a magnificent view of the camp.

When everything returned to normal so did the activities. The children who were promised the performance turned up. They told us they thought they wouldn’t get the opportunity to perform because of the lock down. The lock down was playing on their minds. We reassured them that it was nothing but a tummy bug and the show must go on.

Kent International Scout Jamboree Drum Workshop

We made sure everything was in place with the sound guys helping us set the mics up and giving us a great sound. Just as we were finishing our last few songs they came over and someone ushers them on stage. Their faces as they climbed the steps to the stage was a memory that will stay with me forever. They were so overwhelmed and remembered what I said about pretending the audience were teddy bears to avoid stage fright. To be honest, they got themselves together pretty well and focused on what they had to do. They were little superstars and I know it’s a memory that will last them a lifetime.

Huge thanks to the organisers and volunteers, especially to Andy and Becky for being simply amazing. You did a brilliant job in organising such a huge event. A massive thank you to all the scouts, guides and leaders who had a jam with us and an even bigger thanks to our little super stars who joined us on stage. You have all been utterly amazing.  We hope to see you in four years’ time for the next Kent International Scout Jamboree. Maybe you will have taken up the drums and can teach us some new rhythms.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

27 Jul 2017 Blog, Festival, Party acoustic, bedford, bedford bid, bedfordshire, buskers, busking, catle quay, celebration, cheshire, cover music, evening, event, festival, function, fundraising, guitar, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, love bedford, m6, merseyside, moto, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, pop up acoustic, rag tag misfits, river ouse, service station, summer festival, the embankment, the lanes, toddington services, uk, unique, venue 0

Love Bedford – Summer Festival – Bedford

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moto toddington love bedford city bid bedfordshire live musicAfter our afternoon at Beacon Fell Festival we headed straight down to Bedford in preparation of the Love Bedford initiative. We were booked to provide some live music to one of the restaurants in the inner city BID. Since we had just performed at Beacon Fell Festival it became apparent that Andy had left his jacket behind at the site. It was his favourite jacket so knowing we would be away for a few days we did a quick detour back to collect it.  Thankfully we didn’t get stuck in the mud this time. The jacket was retrieved and after saying “Bless Bless and Tak” to the Vikings we drove off into the sunset (sounds like a Mills & Boon novel). With no time to spare we reached the M1 services by nightfall and slept over at MOTO Toddington Service Station in the van.

As the sun rose, we did very soon after. We started to cook in the van from 7am onwards. I don’t mean cook food, I mean we literally cooked in the van. It was hot, very hot. Meaning we were like two little piggies in blankets. We quickly had some breakfast (good ole Shredded Wheat) and set our sat nav for Bedford. Crossing over the bridge of the River Ouse we knew that somewhere in the vicinity was The Lane Restaurant close to the Embankment area. Luckily we found a car parking space on the road, loaded the gear and sought to find the restaurant.

 the lanes embankment love bedford city bid bedfordshire live musicAfter finding The Lanes Restaurant in Bedford it was time for Rag Tag Misfits to setup. We spoke to the owners and arranged with them whereabouts he would like us to setup to play. We also met an artist called Jaie from Glitter Arty Face Painting. Jaie would be face painting children for free as the adults sat and waited. Since we set up and no one was about Jaie asked me would I like her to paint my face. Jumping at the chance I told her to paint away. I love face paint. I also love dressing up so if you’re having a party with live music and want a band in costume, look no further. If it’s a vicars and tarts night though I’m more likely to come as a vicar and Andy as the tart (ha ha I just made myself laugh writing that, oh the thought).

Jaie is extremely talented and arty. Her work is unbelievable and my face looked ace. Jaie isn’t your typical face painter and I would describe it as more high end face painting. There is some serious skill and creativity involved. Therefore she was very popular with the children and me ha ha.

face painting love bedford city bid bedfordshire live musicDuring the first set it was quite quiet and the rain was on and off, meaning we had to keep moving the equipment in and out from under the balcony. We played for a while and as people walked down from the River Ouse onto the Embankment, The Lane Restaurant began to fill up. The live music was attracting people as they coul;d hear the joyful melodies from around the corner. It turned out to be a lovely afternoon. Papa Johns was giving out free ice cream and with free live music, face painting and sunshine what’s not to like.

Throughout the day Bedford Bid had plenty of activities going on. There was a whole day filled with fun for the whole family. The aim is to draw as many people into the town centre as possible and also to promote the city and its retailers.

 love bedford city bid bedfordshire live musicBedford BID work hard to make Bedford a better place. It’s not always easy with huge retail parks opening up. Without City BIDs I fear town centres would be closing down up and down the country. No matter what retail park or shopping centre you go to though you can never get a real feel for a place unless you have visited the town centre. Each town has their own unique amount of quirkiness. If I were in charge of a town centre, I would be encouraging independent shops at reduced business rates and free parking. Oh and a market, everybody loves a market. Its starting it off though that’s the problem and Bedford BID are doing a great job.

Throughout the afternoon we met a nice couple who gave us their requests. They sat and watched us for most of the afternoon. It’s always nice when someone says, “we only stopped in for a coffee”. Before they know it they are on their fourth drink and ordering a meal.

 love bedford city bid bedfordshire live musicIt was a chilled out affair as people sat back and listened to the music enjoying their drinks and food. Our performance lasted approximately 4 hours with the hope of drawing in as many people as we could. After our session of live music we packed our stuff away. Now, where did we park the van again?

Thank you to everyone at Bedford BID for supporting live music and also for making Bedford a better place. Thank you to the people of Bedford for showing us your love. Also to the staff at The Lanes for providing us with shelter and drinks.

 

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

25 Jul 2017 Festival, Function, Fundraising, Party acoustic, beacon, beacon fell country park, beacon fell festival, celebration, cheshire, cover music, evening, event, falconry, festival, function, fundraising, guitar, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, pop up acoustic, rag tag misfits, skelmersdale, southport, uk, unique, venue, vikings 0

Beacon Fell Festival – Beacon Fell Country Park

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beaconfell festival skelmersdale lancashire live musicThe Beacon Fell Festival; situated in a beautiful country park in Skelmeradale, Lancashire is an annual event over two days. Throughout the day there are family activities including Viking Battle Role-play, Falconry, Live Music, a selection of stalls and various food and drink vendors. There is plenty to do for the whole family and its an event worth attending. Nestled in a 75 acre site of cycle paths and walkways getting into the festival proved quite easy. It was very organised. Just follow the signs and look out for the rangers (and any free range children).

Once we arrived we were directed by the HI VIS jacket crew who told us to park wherever you could find a space. We needed to be situated quite close with the equipment and noticed some mud on the ground. Just by looking the ground didn’t seem that wet. We spotted some gravel to park on but as we tried to get around the cars we lost traction and the front wheels started to spin. The more we tried to move, the worse it became. I jumped out in my sandals and my feet went into a pile of mud in the soggy ground. Great, just great.

beaconfell festival skelmersdale lancashire live music

Since we were due on stage in less than an hour we decided to go and find the organiser of music. The wonderful George and his beautiful wife Maureen. We unloaded the gear and sludged our way through the soggy ground. By the time we arrived at the marquee my feet looked like I’d been paddling in the porta-loos. The strap then decided to come away from my sandal so they started flapping away as I walked. It was like conundrum after conundrum. I was half expecting Jeremy Beadle to jump out from behind the bushes and say “Watch Out Beadles About”.

We found George who as well as being a fantastic musician drives a bloody great big tractor.  Sadly on this occasion, understandably George didn’t have his tractor with him ( I don’t think a tractor would be very practical for gigs). The rangers on the park did however have a robust Land Rover invented for predicaments such as this. They came to our rescue and with a few tugs we were home and dry. Armed with baby wipes to clean my feet and gaffer tape to fix my sandal we headed back to the marquee.

beaconfell festival skelmersdale lancashire live music

It wasn’t long before the live music started a people started to sit down and watch the live music, first up was Midnight Tim who started the afternoon off with some lovely acoustic music. As I think you may have worked out this isn’t his real name. He was crowned this name due to an open mic at The Junction in Rainford. Everytime he turns up his name is so far down the list he never plays before midnight. Hence the Midnight Tim.

Next up was George from Georges Big Shed (who actually owns a big shed, well more like a barn as practice rooms). I think most people on the local circuit have been in there at least once in their life. George is a brilliant musician and also a fantastic sound engineer. His music reminds me a bit of Seasick Steve with a moody texture and dirty bass riffs. After a short interval it was our turn to play to the crowd. It was a chilled out yet appreciative crowd and people enjoyed the live music as they had lunch and a beer or two. We sold quite a few CDs after our first performance and caught up with familiar faces. Andy then grabbed his favourite delight a pulled pork sandwich from one of the stalls.

beaconfell festival skelmersdale lancashire live music

The afternoon was finished off by some more live music from Midnight Tim and we cracked on with our second set. We needed to head off straight after our second set as we needed to be in Bedford that evening for a gig tomorrow morning. As the sun went down over the lowlands you got a glimmer of the sea in the background. We said our goodbyes and hit the road.

Thank you George (for giving us a great sound) and Maureen for booking us and also for being so lovely. Massive, huge and enormous thanks to the rangers at Beacon Fell Festival for pulling us out of the mud. You really did save our skin. Also a big thanks to our audience for your appreciation and support. Next year we will check the grass before we drive on. Lesson learnt. Oh yeah and thanks to the essential gaffer tape for saving my sandals.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

20 Jul 2017 Birthday, Function, Functions, Party 40th birthday party, acoustic, acoustic guitar, celebration, church, cover music, crosby, evening, event, festival, function, guitar, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, marine football club, merseyside, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, private function, rag tag misfits, service, social events, southport, surprise birthday party ideas, uk, unique, venue, venues in merseyside 0

Marine Football Club – Crosby – Birthday Party for the Durdeys

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Marine Football Club in Crosby a place we hadn’t played before. Last year we performed at a house party for a sweet couple, we now call The Durdeys. It was Tony’s birthday and we were booked by his lovely wife Joanne. It was in a heated Marquee in the back garden on a cold evening, we knocked on the wrong house and wondered why they weren’t up for a party, oops. That is a whole blog in its own entirety though and if you sieve back through the blogs you will find it there somewhere. The relevance is we were asked to return to perform, only this time it was for Joanne and the party was organised by her husband Tony.

sound limiter pain for musicians

Joanne decided to have her event at the Marine Football Club in Crosby and it was a new venue to us. When we arrived the room had been extensively decorated with balloons, white chair covers, flowers and party paraphernalia it looked really good. The venue itself was fairly long and the stage was also quite large. Volume wise we would need to be turned up quite loud.  Not quite as loud as Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future but we did need to reach the back of the room. No problem we have our trusty QSC’s and they can create a party in a castle.

As we started to bring the gear in we spotted it. Nooooooooooooooo the venue had a sound limiter. A little sneaky box on the wall similar to that of a traffic light. A great invention to thwart noise complaints from nearby residents. For the Rag Tag Misfits and musicians across the world this was a sworn enemy of the virgin musician. Sound limiters you see are usually set at pretty low levels and if your volume is above this level, then the electric to the stage is cut dead.  It meant that we would have to watch and monitor the lights on the sound limiter throughout the performance. Certain bass notes cut through and it’s a tricky situation. You have make sure you don’t go into the red and what the little box considers to be too loud.

marine football club crosby live music party band merseyside liverpool

Wooden dance floors can set them off too. At one wedding we performed using the pop up acoustic and they had a sound limiter. It really wasn’t loud but half way through a song all the electricity cut and the music went dead. What actually set it off was the audience stomping on the dance floor, so you can imagine how tricky and restricting sound limiters can be.

After we had set up on the big stage we spoke to Joanne about the order of the night and start times. We congratulated for her birthday and the room began to fill up with guests. The resident DJ turned up and set himself up on the stage just behind us. The DJ began playing the music and introduced us as we took to the stage. Once we were on stage we set the night off with some live music trying our best to reach the back of the room. With some minor adjustments we managed to get a decent sound and managed to stay within the amber zone.

marine football club crosby live music party band merseyside liverpool

As we finished off the first set all was going well and a good time was had by all. It was now time for the lovely buffet and it really was a lovely Buffett. More like a meal than just regular snacks. We see some buffets in our line of work and have become buffet experts. Throughout the summer our diet mostly consists of buffet and finger food. Joanne and Tony put on a beautiful spread and their guests seemed to be impressed.

Once the guests had eaten it was time for our final set. In between our break we couldn’t help but notice that the recorded music was very quiet. The DJ may have turned it down because people were eating so we thought nothing more of it. We took to the stage for our final set. We started with Happy Birthday and then it was time for the speeches.

marine football club crosby live music party band merseyside liverpool

The highlight of the speeches was the one from their son. He was pretty impressive and had the guests in stitches. He brought tears to eyes and summed Joanne up perfectly. With a rapturous applause for their son we began to play. We learnt a song for Joanne as she requested it a few months before. Blurred Lines was one of her favourite songs so we learnt a rendition of it just for her. Minus the naked ladies it went down pretty well.

We were informed by the manager earlier in the evening, the live music MUST be finished by 10.30pm. The words were stern and the consequences harsh. Joanne had a word with them and negotiated an extra 15 or 20 minutes past our deadline. We were told if we go any more over the electric will be cut off. Fair enough we will just have to try and make the second set count so a good time was had by all.

marine football club crosby live music party band merseyside liverpool

Overall it was a great evening and The Durdey’s friends and family are a lovely bunch. The DJ finished the evening off and although music was playing it was far too quiet. The sound limiter was in the green by this point quite low down. It really was restricted and just wasn’t rocking enough. We later found out he couldn’t go any louder because of the limiter. In a way it was a bit of an anti climax as we finished the live music set off with a bang, the rest of the night was mooted by the lack of thrust and volume in the recorded music.

Thank you so much again Joanne and Tony for asking us to celebrate another milestone birthday with you both. It was fantastic to see you both again. Thank you also to your friends and family. All the best to you and your family for the future and make sure your son follows his natural flare with an audience. I think you’ve got a natural comedian on your hands there. Peter Kay watch your back.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

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St Pauls Hall, Goose Green – Being Alive Party

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St Pauls Church Hall, Goose Green near Wigan is our destination tonight. Sometimes you just need a party for no particular reason. Such was the case with this party. We were asked to perform by the beautiful Jacqui and her friends of the church. When we asked what the occasion was she answered simply “nothing in particular, we are just celebrating being alive”.

st pauls goose green wigan church live music party

The party was for the parishioners of St Paul’s Church, Wigan and everyone was invited. When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely Jacqui who booked us for the evening. Jacqui was just finishing off some last minute alterations to the decor and it looked stunning. The tinfoil covering the stage opening was the best, it was so original and really effective with the lighting. We had to be very careful not to tear it as we set up. Lots of thought and love had gone into the decorations.

As people started to arrive we soon realised this party wasn’t your run of the mill, generic, conservative Christian type of event. Oh no this was a party for an upbeat bunch who wanted to party like anyone else on a night out. We were offered assistance with anything we needed. Jacqui previously arranged our favourite tipple was ordered in for when we arrived. Cold Guinness and cider awaited us in the fridge.

st pauls goose green wigan church live music party

The average age was mixed. They were certainly a mixed crowd and very energetic. So with the room full we started the background music in preparation for our first set. A large buffet was beautifully arranged at the side of the room, covered in cling film ready for the interval. Bottles of wine were opened, the stage lights were on and all you could hear was chatter and laughter. This was going to be a good party.

As we played our first set we noticed everyone joining in. From the first song people were on the dance floor and the percussion box was empty. We played our first hour and then it was time for the buffet and raffle.  Jacqui invited us to help ourselves to some food in the break whilst the raffle was about to be drawn.

Since they used our PA to announce the raffle we waited on the side lines ready to go straight into our first song of the second set. With a warm welcome we returned to the stage. They were straight on to the dance floor. They were all dancing along like it was the last day on earth. It was brilliant.

We donated a couple of CDs for the raffle and kept joking how we had donated a boobie prize. Obviously the whisky, wine and beautiful plants were the first to go. Then in our amazement someone chose our CDs and they were very happy to have received them. It was quite a giggle as there was lots of confusion with ticket colours and how many prizes people were entitled to. A couple of people shouting “Fix, fix, fix” as one of the organisers had a winning ticket. It was so light hearted.

 

st pauls goose green wigan church live music party

After the party we received so many compliments. Jacqui told us people were asking when we are returning for the next party. It really was a fantastic gig and such a pleasure to meet so many kind hearted people. The room was bursting with love. At the end of the night we had been given a beautiful arrangement of flowers and a bottle of wine to take back with us. A great gift, a great night for a beautiful bunch of people. May God bless you all. Until next time.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

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Parbold Festival – Sunshine Sunday

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Parbold Festival, Parbold. As the spring makes way for the summer it seems that towns and places adopt the word fest, stock, glasto or festival after its name. Driving along you will see adverts for different festival themed events. Lamp post Fest,  Pond Stock, Glasto table etc., (obviously I’ve just made them up, but your get the picture). In Parbold this particular festival is known to locals Sunshine Sunday. Some of the events are starting out whilst some attract lots of people. It is usually an opportunity to bring the community together and raise funds out of any profits for a local cause.

parbold village festival live music sunshine sundaySunshine Sunday is a festival in Parbold, Lancashire where we were booked to perform for 2 sets on a nice Sunshine Sunday afternoon. The location is Alder Lane playing fields in Parbold the music side of things was organised by Jed. The festival this year was in memory of a tragic and devastating accident where a young local teenage boy Louis Simpson lost his life in a fire in a barn. It was a heart breaking incident for his family, friends and the community as a whole. Jed informed us the festival was in his name we told him we would be honoured to play.

When we arrived we could see parking could be a problem. As we approached we drove name a narrow lane and approached some hi-vis gate security staff. We informed them that we needed to get near the stage. They told us to drive onto the field. They escorted us along the field passing hoards of crowds and straight through a football match. Erm…sorry about that everyone, we were just following the man in the yellow coat. Parking up just behind the stage gave us easy access to unload our gear and setup. It was really busy and there was lots of stuff to do with stalls and activities for the kids. The stage for the band was a curtain styled HGV in the middle of the field.

parbold village festival live music sunshine sunday

As we got our equipment on to the stage ready to play we had a few difficulties with the sound. It’s always difficult when someone else is doing your sound as we know exactly how we like it. The sound can make or break your performance. Trust me never rush a sound check. The audience won’t appreciate it and make no compensation. It really can affect your performance and for any musicians out there its handy to know your settings so you can relay to the sound engineer.

A sound engineer was sorting the monitors out for us and we had to put some effort in to get the sound just how we wanted. In the early days of performing, I’d be like “yeah that’s cool, that will do”. Several years (and sound checks) later, we are somewhat sound divas and like it to be spot on before a performance.

The sound engineer was happy to oblige. Once we were all set up we performed to a few hundred people who were as Kelly Jones would say “sitting back head on the grass, having some laughs”. My mum always says to me “don’t you get nervous playing in front of large audiences?” The truth is, it’s the more intimate audiences that are more nerve wrecking. I rarely get nerves anymore. Its more excitement which I think is good for any performance. It creates a nice energy on stage.

parbold village festival live music sunshine sunday

We mixed the songs up so everyone of all ages could enjoy. Our set went down well. We noticed the bar wasn’t that busy. This usually means  drinks are a bit pricey. It seemed that Bang Snaps were more popular. Kids throwing these snappers at any hard surface they could find.

After our first set we again adjusted the sound. Andy recently bought his pride and joy. A Gibson J45. This meant though he was still learning how to find the sweet spot. It was still a work in progress. Our next set sound was much better and we noticed our families had rocked up as well as some loyal friends. I don’t really like to call people fans. I’d sooner call them friends. We like to get to know people who come to our gigs. The beauty of social media means we are able to stay in touch.

After we finished our set we watched some more bands and soaked in the summer sunshine chatting to familiar faces. It was a lovely weekend and it was brilliant to see a successful and well organised festival in the name of a beautiful boy. Thank you to our lovely audience and to Jed for sorting the sound out. Well done to all the organisers and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Louis Simpson.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

8 Jul 2017 Birthday, Blog, Festival, Function, Functions, Party, Uncategorised acoustic, busking, celebration, cover music, crosshouse, crosshouse inn, crosshouse inn formby, evening, event, festival, formby, function, guitar, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, rag tag misfits, southport, surprise birthday party ideas, uk, unique, venue 0

Crosshouse Inn, Formby – Birthday Party – Dave

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Crosshouse Inn, Formby was our destination for this evening. A surprise birthday party was on the cards. The birthday boy was Dave and we had been in cahoots with his wife Pam for many months about live music for the event. With stealth phone calls and emails the time had come for the big surprise.

crosshouse inn formby live music merseyside

We visited the pub a few days before and met the landlady. Pam informed us that there was a discrepancy on our performance space. Informally chatting about the best place for us to play and the logistics of the night. Initially the landlady suggested we should perform in the main part of the pub. She informed us the acoustics weren’t too good in the back room. The private party was to be held in the back room and the suggested performance space seemed a million miles away from where the party would be.

Working out that the place in the main part of the pub would probably benefit them more and no so much the private party we decided to opt for the back room. We would simply alter our mixing desk to suit the room size. The landlady was really accommodating and helped us decide where tables etc., could go. There wasn’t too much room but it was plenty for us. We have performed in the corner of a living room before now. We are what you could call a compact band with a big sound. As it turned out this was a good idea as the party congregated mainly in the back room and also outside.

crosshouse inn formby live music merseyside

The big arrival of Dave was anticipated. There was a big curtain separating the back room from the main part of the pub and we all waited quietly. Trying to keep people quiet with drinks flowing is a task in itself. You get the “gigglers” and the “shussers”. With whispers of “is he nearly here?” “He’s coming, he’s coming everyone be quiet”. Its quite amusing to watch. Then back went the curtain “SURPRISE”. Cue the song “Surprise, Surprise” by the legendary Cilla Black. The reaction was brilliant. Dave looked like a rabbit in the headlights.

You never know how a surprise like that is going to go. Most of the surprise parties we do, the person booking it says “oh they hate surprises but I’m sure they will be fine”. This makes me chuckle and I’m hoping that we never experience someone fainting with an overwhelming reaction.

We played some recorded music as Dave got over the shock. It was a warm summer evening and the guests could still hear the music as they caught the last of the sunshine. We played to a backdrop of Dave’s classic moments throughout his life.

crosshouse inn formby live music merseyside

As we broke into our first set people started to sing along. We were trying to get everyone involved as it was a mixed crowd. Older people are usually more into live music and let loose. I think it may be due to instant downloads and music on demand for younger people. They sometimes seem embarrassed with live music. We eventually managed to get the “too cool for school” teenagers into the swing of things. If you mix a few modern ones in they usually warm to you.

During the break we put on some party classics that Dave & Pam requested. There was plenty of music for the break that we wanted to get through and as the evening went on the drinks were flowing nicely, perhaps too flowing as a lady spilt red wine all over her white pants. Everyone was shouting “white wine, we need white wine so it won’t stain” A lovely Buffett was served and the Cross House Inn did a fantastic job of the food.

I went outside for a breath of fresh air and I was talking to a little girl. She must have only been about 8 years old. I recently had rainbow colours put in my hair and she asked me “why does your hair look like a rainbow?” I told her that I like colours and everyone loves rainbows. She bluntly replied “I don’t” and walked off. Ha ha that was me told.

crosshouse inn formby live music merseyside Just before the last set Pam managed to gather everyone in for Dave’s speech, he came across very natural and gave a good speech. He thanked everyone for coming and gave a special thanks to Pam who organised the party on his behalf. He thanked us and asked his guests to give us a round of applause. We did our best bow’s and curtsies and felt as proud as punch.

As we started our last set our aim was to keep everyone inside and we managed to do so. We got them up on the make shift dancefloor and they danced the night away.

As we were packing up, Pam, Dave and a group of friends continued to party. They were sat having a few drinks and I could hear one lady who sounded like she’d had a few vinos telling a story of a hamster she once bought. She informed everyone in a voice of dismay “I bought the hamster for £4 which I thought was bargain, then I had to buy a huge cage. Then I had to buy the feeder, toys, food and all the bedding. It cost me a fortune and then 2 weeks later the bloody thing died”.

This cracked me up and I started laughing quite loud. I obviously wasn’t laughing about the hamster dying as I love animals. It was the expression of the lady. Because she initially bought the hamster thinking it would be a budget friendly option and she was now left with an empty cage and an assortment of accessories.

crosshouse inn formby live music merseyside

The hamster talk continued and Dave told me about a story he heard on the radio. Apparently a hamster escaped. The owner later found the hamster and put it back in its cage. Following the retrieval of the hamster the owner noticed the hamsters face stuck to side of the cage. He couldn’t work it out. To cut a long story short, he took the hamster to the vets (cage included).

It turned out that when the hamster had escaped it decided to put a fridge magnet in its mouth and store it in its cheek. When the hamster returned to the metal cage, obviously the magnet stuck through the cheeks of the hamster pinning it to the side of the cage. I’m happy to report that the hamster had the magnet removed and lived a long (although I’m sure traumatised) life spinning on its wheel. With a vow never to visit the fridge again.

We packed up the van giggling about the hamster stories and said our goodbyes. Thank you so much for booking us Pam, thank you to all your friends and family and huge congratulations to Dave on your birthday. Also we’ll raise a glass to the hamster who lived to tell the tale and to the poor one who didn’t.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

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29 Jun 2017 Birthday, Function, Party acoustic, birthday, bluecoat, bluecoat chambers, celebration, cheshire, cover music, dj, evening, event, festival, function, guitar, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, party, party band, party entertainment, rag tag misfits, uk, unique, venue, wedding, wedding band, wedding venue 0

Bluecoat Chambers – Party Vic & Lynne

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Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool. Our 3rd and final gig of the day. We arrived at the Bluecoat in a haze of traffic and a noticeable disregard for the highway code. It seemed the reason for the intense traffic was due to arrival of the tall ships in Liverpool. Proudly docked on the River Mersey  the tourists were flocking in to witness these magnificent vessels. The intense traffic also meant difficult parking.

blucoat party live music liverpool

The Bluecoat Chambers is an old listed building and a beautiful choice for parties and weddings. With a chilled out bohemian vibe right in the heart of the city centre it really is a stunning venue with great acoustics. Since we have performed at the Bluecoat several times before, we were familiar with the loading situation.  It’s a complicated process and can be quite time consuming. Firstly you have to drive into the pedestrianised area, through a set of pedestrian lights. This is a challenge in itself. Disgruntled pedestrians look at you in disgust. Shaking their heads at you as if you’ve just let your dog take a giant dump with no poo bags in the middle of a children’s play area in a park.

You have to see the funny side of the awkwardness of some people. This is their domain. A pedestrian domain and we are nothing but a smoking white van in their nice breathable environment. Apologising profusely you have to be very, very careful not to mow anyone down. You get the strangest of looks from people as you’re doing this with your hazard lights flashing. Next you have to walk around to the front and asked to be let in.

Eventually we gained access through the loading bay and we unloaded the van onto the infamous Bluecoat trolley. At this point due to time not being on our side we decided to split our duties. Since the equipment was pretty heavy in one load Andy decided to take the trolley and I would find parking for the van. Reversing out into the pedestrianised area is more fun than pulling in. At one point I was tempted to stick my head out the window and make a beeping sound like a reversing truck. Eventually I got back on the road with the mission to find parking.

bluecoat liverpool

In Liverpool on street parking is free after 6pm which can save you a small fortune. So feeling confident I drove around looking for a space to park the van. With the tall ships being on the River Mersey, parking was extremely limited. I would go so far as to say you had more chance of finding rocking horse shit in one of the Tall Ships.

After driving around for 15 minutes alas I found a space. I weighed it up with my (not so good) spatial awareness. Yes this will do. It was a busy road so I had to time it just right before I attempted a parallel park with this beast. Off I went. I swung it in and it was straight with approximately a 2 foot gap at either end. Andy would be proud, or maybe not. One problem. I was approximately 4ft away from the kerb and the van was now parallel parked but halfway in the road. It was then I realised I was stuck and I was on my own with this one. No Andy to give me hand signals on the gaps at either end.

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Starting to panic on this busy road I jumped in and out of the van like a frog in a kettle in between each movement. I was getting pretty flustered by this point. It was no good. Eventually the heavens sent me a relatively sober couple who spotted my predicament and helped me park up. The bloke said to me “I’d do it me self girl, but I’ve had too many bevvies” To all the non scousers out there this translates to “I would park the van up for you sweetheart, but I’m slightly inebriated”.

After finally parking up and half an hour later, thanking the couple over and over I ran back to the Bluecoat. It didn’t seem this far when I parked up. I was about half a mile away. Jogging back (well that pathetic jog you do when you half run) and wishing I’d kept a spare sports bra in the van I eventually made it to the Bluecoat. When I arrived I was sweating like a sumo wrestler in a sauna.

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When I arrived Andy was only just setting up. It seemed that he had been in a predicament of his own. We usually perform upstairs in the main room of the Bluecoat. Not this time. So Andy was searching the whole venue for our performance space with a dodgy trolley in tow. With no one in sight to direct him at the venue, finding the room was a somewhat troublesome affair. After some time and travelling up and down in the lifts trying the different levels with a trolley with no sense of direction he eventually found the room.

When we reconvened it was all hands on deck to set the equipment up.  Setting up as fast as possible as the guests were about to arrive, it was imperative to do a sound check and get the recorded music started ASAP. Lights, camera, action. Just as the guests arrived we managed to get the recorded music going just in time. Phew.

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As we tidied up with our old reliable gaffer tape (a must for every musician – I could write a whole blog on the importance and the many uses of gaffer tape in your gig bag) we met the lovely Caroline and her lovely sparkling personality. Such a sweetheart with a smile from ear to ear. She had put a lot of effort in decorating the room, pompoms and buntings galore. We discussed set times and she introduced us to her parents Vic & Lynne (who were also lovely people). Some people just stick in your mind with their positive outlook and funny antics. Tonight was going to be a good night.

 

We started our first set performing for around an hour. We always say the sets are 45 minutes but we like to go over if there is time. This way the client always gets value for money. It was a wedding anniversary and special birthday combined. The double celebration was off to a flying start. Everyone was singing along and there was lots of banter. I love banter as it helps to interact with your audience.  We stopped for a break and a buffet was served. The room filled with the scent of delicious food and there was a stampede to the buffet (there wasn’t really but I always imagine what it would be like if guests started to rugby tackle each other for the last pork pie).

blue coat wedding venue live music reviews party entertainment

During the break we played a couple of recorded songs Caroline had requested for her Dad. One that stuck in my mind is “Time in a bottle” by Jim Croce. I absolutely love this song and it was added to our “to learn list” after the gig.

After the guests were all munched out, we kicked off with our second set and the audience were in full swing. We started off with a rendition of happy birthday. In the key of C (as always) and we all sang the most recognised song in the world. Wouldn’t it be great to own the royalties to this song sat back on your yacht drinking a Pina Colada (I’ve never had a Pina Colada actually, I must put it on my bucket list). The cake was lit and a wish was made before they blew the candles out. Since the dancefloor was already full we kept the guests there for more stomp filled fun.

blue coat wedding venue live music reviews party entertainment

After we played our second set we continued the night with some party music until closing time at just after midnight. I won’t talk too long about the setting down and exit from the gig. In short it involved another pathetic attempt of a run back to the van, a dodgy trolley, driving down a one way street with the police at the other end (who luckily turned a blind eye) and the staff waiting outside to get the trolley back. It was a conundrum but well worth it. Our 3 gig day was done.

We would like to thank Caroline for booking us, your beautiful friends and family for their love and participation and The Bluecoat Staff for being so welcoming.  Huge congratulations to Vic & Lynne and we hope you have years of many more happy memories together.

 

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event, wedding or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

27 Jun 2017 Blog, Festival, Party acoustic, birthday, cheshire, cover music, event, festival, function, guitar, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, ormskirk, ormskirk beer festival, ormskirk festival, ormskirk gin festival, ormskirk rugby club, party, party band, party entertainment, pop up acoustic, rag tag misfits, uk, wedding 0

Ormskirk Beer & Gin Festival

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ormskirk beer gin festival live music lancashire rag tag misfits rugby club Luckily it wasn’t too bad for travelling time and we could get to the next gig on time. The Ormskirk Beer & Gin Festival at the Rugby Club in Ormskirk  had been underway for a few hours as we arrived. Parking was nightmare though. We had to double park to unload the equipment. Upon arrival the smell of frying onions hit your senses. The burgers and hot dogs were sizzling away and out into the distance was a scrum on the field. We carried our equipment over and setup in the Marquee provided to us by Julie the organiser.

There was a little marquee and a stage, but alas no electricity. Knowing that time was of the essence we searched around for the nearest electric point. It was a good job we brought a couple of long extension leads as the nearest electric point was behind the bar. Manoeuvring through the bar area amongst the punters armed with gaffer tape I set out on a mission to bring life to the stage.

ormskirk beer gin festival live music lancashire rag tag misfits rugby club

Moving a few tables here and there we set up in no time at all. We put on some background music to set the ambience ready for an afternoon session of live music with the Rag Tag Misfits. As the Gin and beer flowed, a lot of people turned up and were enjoying the afternoons lovely sunshine. We mooched around a bit to explore. There was an outside bar area selling an assortment of beers, ciders and gins and of course the burger tent.

I am related to the organisers so it was good to see them. They were busy cooking in the burger tent supplying burgers to the hungry crowds. We noticed a scraggly looking toy dog and were informed that this was the Rugby Clubs mascot. It brought entertainment to the toddlers who battled over who would get the next turn to push it.

After our first set we noticed our loyal and lovely fans Jess and Diana. They brought along their French friend who sadly we have forgotten the name of. We are terrible with names so we apologise in advance for this. The trick is to make an association with a name. We often joke about these associations. Andy just calls people Dave when he can’t remember names. Its like a scene from Only Fools and Horses.

ormskirk beer gin festival live music lancashire rag tag misfits rugby club

So for now let’s pick a French name out of a hat and call her Delphene for the time being. A few more familiar faces turned up to see our performance and encouraged the crowd to join in. Jess and Diana are keen on our original music which makes a refreshing change. They kept shouting “Three Steps Forward” and “Gypsy Girl” as requests. So we obliged and our own songs went down pretty well with the rest of the crowd too.

Having just finished our second slot it was vast approaching our deadline to leave and head over to the Bluecoat in Liverpool for our next gig. With little time to spare we packed our stuff up as fast as we could and swiftly headed for the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool for a party.

Thank you to all the organisers of the festival it was a pleasure to perform for you in the sunshine.

ormskirk beer gin festival live music lancashire rag tag misfits rugby club

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, wedding, event or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

26 Jun 2017 Blog, Festival, Uncategorised acoustic, aughton, busking, celebration, christ church, churches together, cover music, event, festival, function, fundraising, guitar, lancashire, live entertainment, live music, live performance, liverpool, merseyside, music, ormskirk, party, party band, party entertainment, pop up acoustic, rag tag misfits, sonshine sunday, street party, uk, unique 0

Sonshine Sunday

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Sometimes when you are in a rush and need a quick shower it can be very handy to use 3 in 1. Just one bottle lash it all over and your done. Three in one today was of a different kind as we had 3 gigs booked in.

Our first mission for the Rag Tag Misfits was for Churches Together taking place in Ormskirk town centre. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of local churches and encourage people to get involved with the church. “Churches Together” had a full day of entertainment lined up for the general public of Ormskirk. A puppet show was on the bill with also a set from Ormskirk Ukulele Band.

We met with the organisers of the church at 10.30am and played for an hour. A PA and a gazebo was provided (which is always handy with good ole English weather).  We entertained the morning crowd of this lovely Saturday market day in Ormskirk. All went smoothly and splendidly. We both grew up close to Ormskirk, both 10 minutes away but in the opposite direction. There were lots of familiar faces. A combination of a Merseyside Gal and a Lancashire Lad entertaining at a halfway point from home. It’s good to see events like this in towns. It brings a great sense of community.

Since we had two more gigs today we had to make a sharp exit. The little market town was in full swing when we left as we could hear the puppets singing down the street. So after we said our goodbyes it was a smooth transition over to the puppet show to carry on with the busy day that lay ahead of us.

We swiftly packed our equipment up and went to collect our full PA setup for the next gig at the rugby club.

ORGANISING AN EVENT?

If you wish to book live music for your venue, festival, event or party you can contact us HERE to check our availability

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