Stuff and blethers

march 08

12th March -

I have just come back from recording a radio show with Anna Massie and Lauren MacColl.  It was for Bruce MacGregor’s Strings and Things show on Radio Scotland, which will be on air tonight (Thursday 13th) 8pm – 10pm.  The link to hear the show is here:   stringsandthings   The link is only up for a week so be quick.

Bruce has had some cracking people on the series – Andy M Stewart, Sandy Brechin, Angus Grant Snr., Rick Taylor.  Rick’s show was excellent.  I was able to score a few off my list, as he had picked them.  The show is about music that inspired us when we were young.  Anna, Lauren and I all went to Fortrose Academy in the Black Isle.  I was there a DECADE before they were though.  Jings.  Well, I have to say having 3 of us in the studio as well as Bruce throwing in a few tracks, plus us doing a couple of live things meant that we didn’t really have much time to really delve deep into anything.  It was really interesting!!  I came away from it feeling like I had said all the wrong things and none of the things I had actually planned to say. 

For instance, I wanted to mention the Clarsach Society, without whom, I wouldn’t have been able to continue playing the harp, as we were able to hire a harp from them for a number of years. And they are the charity behind the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, which is in a couple of weeks!!  I am doing two classes in Intermediate Scottish music, and stage-managing the concerts. And a Harmony Singing Workshop!!  Woohoo – I love them.  You should come along.   
Go and have a look at EIHF myspace or EIHF website

Alisdair Martin (husband of Christine Martin, who first introduced me to the harp and gave me the basics of playing) got a hard time only because the harp he BUILT which I used for a while exploded.  And I suppose I am glad they continued on their path of music publishing rather than harp building.  Taigh na Teud music publishers on the Isle of Skye Taigh na Teud link

And our music teacher, Miss Fraser, got a bit of a hard time too.  Oh dear.  Mainly because it was a nightmare learning music when I was there.  The department was crap, with one room and a cupboard.  And a portacabin that sat out in the quadrangle, with a window, but no heater.  All it had was a chair and a shelf you could use as a table.  That was the worst time.  And Miss Fraser was a lovely woman, whom I did really like, and felt quite close to, specially in my last year.  But lessons were crap.  The teachers were all striking at various times during my fourth/fifth years, and when we were sitting exams it got to be a bit difficult.  Especially since my dad was also an English teacher in a secondary school a bit further north.  And they were also trying to change the system of ‘O’ grades into ‘Standard’ grades.  Which meant neither the pupils nor the teachers had much of a scoobie as to what was going on!!  So my memories of school are not so good.  Learning music was an escape rather than a pleasure.  My happiest memories are of doing the musicals every Christmas.  I wanted to act more than anything.  Thought I would be an excellent stage actor.  I loved being somebody else, as you could be happy in your new persona, and pretend life wasn’t like it actually was.  And indeed that is what being on stage is still like.  Nothing much changes.  I realised that all the music I listened to when I was young is still what I am drawn to, in the harmony, the approach, the instrumentation, stylistically.  I am very lucky that my parents had brilliant music sense!  And spent money on records.  I will always be thankful to them for that.  Music can fill emotional voids in your life.  It can cushion the worst of times, and highlight the best of times.  Although cake works for a bit.

And I had great difficulty putting together a list of 6 tracks (and in the end I think three were played).  I mean HOW can you put a list together like that??  I had to cut it down from around 150 tracks.  Got it down to 10 only by going for the tracks that directed influenced me when I was just learning to play.  I have only learnt to sing harmonies through singing along to all these songs, trying to find more harmony lines that they haven’t used.  Another favourite pastime was singing a semitone or a tone out, all the way through, just to see if I could do it, and indeed if I could stand it.  And this has served me well in my professional career I must say.

So the influencing tracks in my youth were:
Rickie Lee Jones - Chuck E's in Love (my first single along with XTC – Blame the Weather)
The Roches - Keep on doing - The largest Elizabeth in the world
Tower of Power - Live and in Living Colour - Knock yourself out
The Easy Club - The Train Journey North
Oscar Peterson Trio (with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen) - We Get Requests
1964 - my one and only love
Elvis Costello & the Attractions – Shipbuilding (although I actually preferred Robert Wyatt’s version on the Old Grey Whistle Test, I think it was.  I’d wished Chet Baker had joined Wyatt’s version…)
Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G which was the most inspiring piece of music I’d ever heard.  That was the first piece of music I could see the relationship between music and art and my emotional response to it.

Harpers who were inspiring were Savourna Stevenson (I learnt Tweed Journey off the cd and relished in its complexity), Alain Stivell (learnt his album by heart too), Deborah Henson-Conant (doing something wacky!), Sileas (I’d never come across a duo of harps before) and Uschi Laar (very inspiring link with music and healing).  Later I found Laoise Kelly, Catriona McKay, Park Stickney, Cormac DeBarra, Andreas Vollenweider.

Later I would be utterly inspired when I heard:
Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story – brilliant writing!
Martin Hayes - The Golden Castle from album Martin Hayes (Bachue supported them way back in 1995 or 1996 at the Highland traditional Music Festival in Dingwall.  Blew me away.  They also completely silenced the Celtic Connections Festival Club one year, which had NEVER been done before.  For a whole 45 minutes, Martin and Denis Cahill played seamlessly moving from one tune to another, and the club was transfixed and silent.  That was a beautiful 45 minutes I’ll never forget.)
La Bottine Souriante - Le reel des soucoupes volantes from album La Mistrine (this was the moment I knew we could create our own big band, which would not rival Bottines’ as such, but would put Scotland on the big band map musically!)
The Two Duos Quartet - Half as Happy as We - The Shouter (Chris Wood is stunning.  I love the duos of Karen Tweed/Ian Carr and Chris Wood/Andy Cutting and this album was a dream.  This song makes me sing along in a heavy English accent, which is unusual)
Anything by Chris Wood actually.
And Aidan O’ Rourke and Lau. 

And the rest inbetween:
Anything by Rickie Lee Jones, and anything by Joni Mitchell (whole Blue album, whole Mingus album definitely), Carly Simon, Suzanne Vega (first album esp. Small blue thing, Luka, Marlene on the Wall), U2, Radio Luxemburg was an amazing link into music - I heard a lot on that which I would later learn to be things like Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie and his orchestra.  And Mike Westbrook Orchestra with Kate Westbrook, Keith Jarrett (my favourite is Personal Mountains), Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Loudon Wainwright III, Richard Thompson, Frank Zappa, The Cure (!!?), Howard Jones! Kate Bush!, Sandy Denny, Incredible String Band’s ‘First Girl I Loved’ and ‘Hedgehog Song’, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Sting’s Dream of the Blue Turtles, Laurie Anderson, Gil Scott-Heron’s Pieces of a Man, Silly Sisters, The Bothy Band, Tom Waits, Gil Evans Orchestra, Eberhard Weber, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Steely Dan, Paul Simon’s Me and Julio down by the schoolyard (in fact this whole album was great), Doris Day, David Bowie, Queen, Nirvana, Steve Vai, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells blew me away at a very early age, John Coltrane, Maria Schneider’s Orchestra, Prince!, Phil Collins, Gerry O’ Connor, Elton John (come on, some of his songs are brilliant!), Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Moving Hearts (toooooo much reverb though…), the Beatles, Marc Almond, The Smiths, Blondie, Bjork, (the Sugercubes then her own solo career), John Martyn, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bert Jansch, Bonnie Raitt, Led Zepplin, The Silly Sisters (June Tabor and Maddy Prior), The Police,

And then:
David Milligan, Martyn Bennett, Swap, Sweet Honey in the Rock, John Cage, Charles Ives, Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, Diana Krall, Lunasa, the Cinematic Orchestra, JPP, Varttina, Vasen, The Wrigley Sisters, Liane Carroll, Cassandra Wilson, Johnny Cunningham, Madeline Eastman, Fionna Duncan, Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Bad Plus Trio, Ray Brown, Gene Harris, Bill Evans, Jan Johanssen, Bella Fleck, Eric Bibb, Misha Alperin and the Moscow Art Trio, Huun Huur Tu, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Take 6, the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report, Yellowjackets, Roadside Picnic, Trilok Gurtu, Oregon, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, Aretha Franklin, Brad Mehldau, Liz Carroll, The Brazz Brothers.

Currently listening to my cat, purring on my knee.

february 08

18th Feb - Last Friday. Over the last few weeks I've been thinking on how short life is, and how fast it goes. Dear old Mr Pye died on Friday. He was a very special cat and had a big presence in our family. And now he's gone and the hole he leaves is large and at the moment gaping wide. But it will get smaller, and we all get used to him not being around. He had a long lovely safe and satisfying life, and a peaceful death in the arms of Jade. Can't ask for more than that.

You know Annie Grace was hit by a car on Friday, She was waiting to cross the road, standing beside parked cars, and someone reversed into her. The driver didn't see her, and only stopped when they heard the shouts from onlookers. Thank god for onlookers! All those people watching the world go by in snapshot moments. Would have been quite a story round a few kitchen tables that night! I think that feeling of fear, as a driver, that you could have just killed someone must be all-consuming. Well, Annie's hurt, but recovering well. Maybe you could send her a wee massage? Haha I meant a message. But hey - if you can send a massage through the postal service, or by email, then yes please send it. Wouldn't that be a beautiful brilliant present to receive? Wow. I am sure she will blog about it at some point, but at the moment needs rest to recover. She was a lucky girl to sustain only the injuries she has. Jings - what would we do without Annie eh??

17th Feb - It is Martyn Bennett's birthday today. Go and look at the Martyn Bennett site here. He was such a lovely man and the work that the Martyn Bennett Trust are involved with is worth supporting. There is a fund raising concert on 1st March at George Watsons on Colinton Road Edinburgh. There will be a concert showcasing some of Scotland's best young traditional musicians, followed by a ceilidh (with the 'Off Centre Ceilidh Band'). It will last from 7:30pm to 11:30pm, doors open 7:00pm.
To book a ticket please send an email to kirstylaw@hotmail.co.uk or call 01875-835-229 They are also available from CODA MUSIC, Bank Street on the Mound, Edinburgh. Admittance is FREE with donations to the Martyn Bennett Trust gratefully recieved on the night. Children are welcome! Please go along if you can - this is an important event.

2nd Feb - I run Harmony Singing workshops. They are much fun. This year for the CC Festival I had 103 singing in a 'Come and Try' Harmony Singing, and a much more modest 40 singers in the 'Already Harmony'. And from that, now comes EXTREME HARMONY!!! Taking to the edge, and jumping off with it! Harmonising up to the max. My workshops will never be the same again...

I am blethering too much so I will go.

january 08

CELTIC CONNECTIONS! Woohoo! What a lovely festival it was too. Was involved in organising "HARP HEAVEN" a twelve strong harp show. "Welcome to heaven, here's your harp! Welcome to hell, here's your accordion!" (Box night was on the night after.) Mary Macmaster, Patsy Seddon, Catriona McKay, Laoise Kelly, Cormac DeBarra, Jochen Vogel, Ailie Robertson, Fraya Thomsen, Gillian Fleetwood, Rachel Hair and Maeve Gilchrist. And me. I was a bossy cow that weekend but in the nicest possible way. And they responded beautifully, all doing their thing, but with an ear and eye out for everyone else. It was not an orchestra of harps (not really my thing) but a group of very individual players, all related to me somehow in performing buddies, or past pupils, or from meeting them at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival (particularly Cormac and Jochen). I want to take this to other festivals!!! All the harp festivals in the world should hear this! I have two minidiscs of music recorded from it, but no time just yet to get it transferred. Soon I promise.

And it was also the launch of the EIHF brochure for this year's festival. I have been on the committee since 2002 as an artistic 'advisor' to Isobel Mieras as Artistic Director, with a group of wonderful women all taking on roles to fulfill a good festival, in order to raise funds for the charity The Clarsach Society. This years festival is a splendid one! Have a look! Edinburgh International Harp Festival

Then the Unusual Suspects played. Two new members Ewan Robertson and Peter Tickell. And Iain Copeland on his first full gig. twas a lovely thing. We have some possibilities to visit Luxembourg and Norway in the coming year. Visit the website. Go on, you know you want to. The Unusual Suspects

Then Grace Hewat Polwart. We do make a nice sound. And we got an emailed phwhooarr from a wonderful voilin player. That makes it all worthwhile. Ha! We had such fun. the Celtic Connections staff, artist reps, marketing staff, and Donald and Jade who put it together are SO GOOD at what they do. What a legacy Colin Hynd has left behind him. It's an amazing thing he has created. And I thought that was the best one yet. I certainly felt more at ease with myself and the projects i was involved with. S'pose that's because I am off the pills now. Ha. We then went on to have a small part in a most wonderous show Voices of the World. I ended up coordinating it, which was an utter joy. And quite an undertaking. Of course though, all these women, from Italy's rice fields, to Bulgarians to Lewis Gaelic singing, to us. It was a wild variety of women and backgrounds, and yet we all had a common bond. They were a joy to work with and hear. I loved it. Read Karine's beautiful blog on it here There's no need to say any more really. She has a way with words eh? Makes me feel quite lacking on occasion.

And we had a surprise invitation to join Kirsty McGee on her Hobopop gig. It was a beautiful event, although putting Kirsty in front of Capercaillie I thought was a strange mix. The Capers are very much an 'electric' band at the moment, although still incorporating the acoustic instruments of Charlie McKerron on fiddle, Anna Massie on mandolin and Donald on accordion. Oh yeah and Manus Lunny. But I couldn't really hear him too well. We were right below the speakers at the front though, so that will have been a factor. Ewen Vernal was on electric and double bass - he is a great player - and there was a lot of room for him to solo which was excellent. But it's all getting very 70's retro just now. But still Capertastic.
Kirsty, Mat Martin and her band were very acoustic, rockabilly, rootsy, jazz tinged, 'hobopop'. Great songwriter. Go and visit her here.

 

december 07

The Scots Trad Music Awards started the month off well. The Unusual Suspects opened the proceedings with a set starting with Pressed for Time written by Gordon Duncan.  What a great tune that is.  We had Iain Copeland on drums this time round.  Sorry Alyn Cosker wasn’t able to make it, and he can’t do Celtic Connections either.  But Iain is a great substitute, very different, but great.  All the dignitaries and high heid yins were there.  And everyone has there own agendas.  And many a judement is made. It's a strange thing, but a very wonderful thing to be able to celebrate our culture and our music. We're all here for the right reasons. We're all trying our best. To survive, and thrive, and make some good come out of our being here. And give back what we have been given. Playing an instrument is a gift. Being able to sing is a gift. Being able to share it is a gift too. The Trad Awards are magnificent for bringing all the facets of the traditional scene together. Less judgements, more celebrating I say!

Flu – that’s what happens when a heap of musicians get together – all that snogging each others faces off in humble recognition that you are all still well, alive and coping.  So we all got flu. Wasn't it a hideous one this time round? Blaargh. *cough splutter

Did a lovely gig on my birthday for a couple getting married near Peebles in a beautiful place called 'Cringletie House'. Aw what a lovely place. The couple asked that I play a song they were fond of. And thus I was introduced to Lou Rhodes! Beloved One was the main one, although I ended up learning Save Me as well. What a low and mellow voice. I really enjoyed learning it. It was a beautiful wedding. I know Jodieanne and Marcus will have lots of happiness in their lives together.

Christmas - good times – singing with mum and jade.  Loads of carols, then onto “Our favourite songs” Needless to say we were quaffing back the champagne which made it all the more fun.  Although I couldn’t make it to the end.  Had to stagger to bed around 4am hearing Jade and mums voices fading as I tiptoed up the stairs.  It was fantastic to hang out with the two of them without work being at the root of it. 

And I am now the proud owner of a ukulele. And what utter joy it has brought me. I love it. Aaaahhhhh. I really do. I need a case for it. That's my excuse for not taking it out...

David’s granny turned 100!  How amazing is that?  Brought up in Dundee, and then went on to live in Burnt island, Fife, and the Borders.  She gave up after she hit the big century, and sadly died on New Year’s Eve.  Very long life, a beautiful daughter (David's mum) and a wonderful husband who was the station master.  Never watched television, hardly listened to music, rarely listened to the radio.  A very closed life, yet long and happy.  It was sad to see her go.

november 07

Harps North West – a lovely yearly course held by Harps North West at Higham Hall.  What a lovely place that is.  It’s situated off the A66, alongside Bassenthwaite Lake.  On way to Cockermouth. Of course I arrived in the dark and left in the dark, so the views, however tremendous I was told, I did not see.  Either way.  And I should have taken an early morning drive around, and trust me – I had this planned – but the first night of late chats and the second night of ceilidh and session pretty much took the next mornings out of me.  Higham Hall hold all sorts of courses, and welcome enquiries.  I see they have a “Recover From Christmas With Holistic Therapies” coming up tomorrow til Saturday.  Hmmm sounds very appropriate.  Go and visit the website www.highamhall.com 

Ailie Robertson and myself had around twenty harpers of all abilities attend.  The Hall provide superb home cooked food, and there is a tiny bar for later on.  The group separated into two classes; early beginners to intermediate and intermediate to advanced.  Some new tunes and old from the Irish and Scottish tradition were learnt and a good time was had by all! 

I admire anyone who takes up a new instrument – whatever age they may be.  When you are a child, it is one of the easiest things to do.  There is no expectation, no assumptions, no baggage, the brain is a sponge.  As we get older the brain is too full, life is too full, we become so self-critical, self-conscious.  And bones ache.  I admire everyone who took part with such enthusiasm, and congratulate them for attempting to learn aurally for a change, rather than relying on the music.  We started with an Irish jig “The Streets of Dublin” which Ailie had brought, but being an easy jig, it was quicker to bypass the complexity of the instrument and fingering, and just sing the tune til we had it in our heads.  Works a treat every time! Learning it on the harp was just a simple matter of placing fingers then.  … I can still remember it!  That’s good, as my head is like a sieve.  Names are elusive to me.  This doesn’t happen with songs, as I have a story behind it to hook the name on.  But tunes are harder.  I need to either find out what/who/why the tune is the tune, or make a story up.  Or I immediately forget it.  I’m a tad erratic. 

Here's a picture of my cat.
x



I spent the middle of the month writing some music for Donald Shaw's Argyll Suite. Just writing brass and woodwind parts - man, he writes some great tunes! I loved working on his material. I also loved being forced to write huge amounts of music very quickly. Although it wasn't my music as such. Hmm, kind of weird when I think of it. So that brought me to the realisation that I am doing nothing for me! I presume all women in their late 30's and upwards are sighing right now... 'good grief it took her this long??' Don't get me wrong, I haven't brought up a heap of kids, or donated my life to the joy of others. Oh no. I just play and write music. But I tend to want to get everyone involved. Music is no fun on your own. Well not for me. My joy is playing with others, creating music together. Writing tunes, songs, harmonising! How the hell does one harmonise on one's lonesome?? Well actually I like that. In the car on my own, I sing harmony to EVERYTHING! Obviously I travel on my own a lot.

Aanyway, I have been swithering between a purely harp album, or harp and voice. When I sing, the arrangement is solely there to set the scene, amplifying the words and sentiment of the song. When I play harp, I want to stretch the instrument. And myself, I want to dance with it, flirt with it. So the two disciplines are very different. I'm still swithering. Ah hah! A double cd. Hmm, now to look for a record company who will take that on.