Great fun at the Shetland festival
That was just one of the most fantastic times I have had at any festival. The people, the weather, the music. It was all just fantastic.I have to say a big thank you to the boys of boogaloosa for asking me along. Apparently we are on you tube. Alan Dave and Kevin I am for ever in your debt. I would also like to say a huge thank you to April’s folks for putting us up. It was braw.
What were the highlights? How do I pick them out?
The two young lads and their father from Stonehaven were just incredible. And they were filmed for a documentary in Denmark at 2am on Saturday night.
The Foyes concert where were lucky enough to see 15 minutes of all the other bands at the festival. Just a brilliant concept superbly accomplished over 3 venues by the Shetland festival committee.
I have to say for me that the biggest highlight was sitting and swapping tunes with Gary Peterson in a quieter half an hour at about 4am on the Sunday morning. I hadn’t sat and played tunes with him since 1985 in Aberdeen. There is nobody on this planet plays the banjo like Gary. What a privilege.
The Henrick Jansberg band were really good. They had Kevin Henderson in tow. And when they all got together with Home bru playing for the step dancers it was an incredible experience.
Our own Bleach boys Kevin Findley and Peter Gilmore got a huge cheer for their set.
There were silly moments too…The elevator session in the club with Braebach members will for ever go down in my mind as performance art. As we passed between the floors highland pipes, flute fiddle guitar and somebody else to press the buttons playing away, we picked up two member of the Mongolian band Hanngai and deposited them on another floor… this was such a hoot…Much to the amusement of Hanngai..
I have attached some excellent moments from the Orkney band “the chair”. Orkney and Shetland have a friendly rivalry. This is exemplified by the last 3 seconds of this “Kirkwall bay” song. I could be wrong but does this Orkney fiddler really say “get it right @@@@@@@ Shetland” in a neighbourly fashion? Watch and listen to the videos “chairscomplementstoshetland” “ferrychairchunes” and “chairindalounge”
Wighton Centre gigs coming up
wighton centre gigsWednesday 14th May 7.30pm Ivan Drever (songs/guitar) & Duncan Chisholm (fiddle)
Tickets £7.50/£5conc
Lunchtime Recitals 1.15 – 1.45pm, admission free
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May 7th Rachel Hair, harp
June 4th Baldragon Academy musicians
Cappuccino Concerts, Marryat Hall 10.30 for 11: (admission £4.50 to include coffee & newspapers)
Saturday April 19th Skelpaig, vibrant young traditional group
May 24th Brian McNeill, multi-instrumentalist
June 14th Madrigals to Musicals – Lawside Academy
July 19th Shona Donaldson & Paul Anderson
August 16th Sean Shibe, brilliant young classical guitarist
Tickets are selling fast for the Unicorn gig. 12 days to go.
Artists : National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music S6 pupils with the Tayside Young Fiddlers
Place : the frigate UnicornDate : Wednesday 16th April
Time : 7:30
Tickets £7:50, Concession : £3 Family (2+2)
Box office 01382 738486
Fantastic hour had with a single malt guitar from Fylde
update, apparently Phil is not the only person with this great guitar. KT Tunstall also given an identicla guitar when she played on Skye last Summer. follow this link :http://www.whisky-pages.com/stories/news-07-2007.htm
I had an amazing lunch time on Sunday Afternoon. We went to visit friends for lunch. It was very mellow. Good food, good chat, Friends. Petra and Phil’s daughter of 3 was occupying our wains too. We were all sitting having a happy time when Phil said he had won something in a raffle at celtic connection and wanted to show me.
He pulled out this :
A 12 fret parlour made by Fylde. That was fine enough but this was made from the wash backs of old Talisker and Lagavulin whisky barrels!!!
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I had a wonderful time trying it out.
If you buy a good off the shelf guitar (as I have done) like Norman, Simon and Patrick, Takemine or even splash out on a Taylor the purchase is always linked to what you can stretch to financially. These are all good guitars. Oohhhh but The premier league hand built ones really are incredible instruments. It’s a tone wood thing. It’s a level of finish thing. It’s the volume and sustain. This guitar is one of those.
Many might say because of its humble origins in terms of tone woods that it will not have the Sitka or redwood brightness. This guitar is a Fylde guitar. A Fylde guitar is a very good guitar in anybody’s estimation. This is no exception.
Unfortunately the wonderful aroma of whisky has been dulled over the first 2-3 years. And it is in desperate need to be played. But for the hour I got to play I was in heaven. It takes a little to drive it out of first gear. Because it is a 12 fret Parlour you don’t get the volume you get from a similar quality Dreadnought or 00. However it is still has plenty of oomph. If we sit and listen to Doug’s Maccaferre when he is playing his superlative best you get great tone out of that guitar. Doug revs that guitar quite hard. And this Fylde is similar. It has to be played up a bit. The top notes were clear. Harmonics were like a bell. The bass was more than adequate. This is beginning to sound like a malt whisky review….
I spent a couple of hours trying some of Fylde’s wares in Ullapool in October at the guitar festival. I think I enjoyed the playability of this Single malt guitar more than some that were priced at twice as much. But then maybe it was the company, the wine and the state of mind…..
There are loads of reviews on the web about this guitar.
Here is probably the best :
http://www.fyldeguitars.com/index1.html it’s a very honest assessment on the fylde website itself or here
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Phil thank you ever so much for letting me enjoy the guitar. If you feel comfortable enough with the thought, please bring the guitar to fish some night. We will look after it….
Paul