The Juice ‘Contemporary Media E-Zine’

Charles Paxton May 10th, 2008

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Charles Paxton April 27th, 2008

   Rory Connor continued the tradition of combining live performance with fine dining on Friday, April 25, at Appleby’s trendy music cafe, Bojangles. This event, the third in a so far very exciting series organized by Eden’s new multimedia company PhasingHz, was also distinctive in several ways. First it was a chance to hear this up and coming acoustic indie-folk artist in the very convivial circumstances of Appleby’s award-winning music cafe. Secondly it was an opportunity to hear some new songs that will be included in Rory’s forthcoming album and furthermore it was the first time that we have seen a single artist performing here.

Rory was kind enough to provide our first five minute video interview before the event to explain who he is and to tell us about some of his music. Please, see the video below.

  Rory Connor at Cafe Bojangles, April 25, 2008

Five minute chat with Rory Connor before the show

It struck me after the event that it might not be a bad idea to properly introduce the acts to the audience just before the show, so that everybody knows who and what they’re listening to. I think it would make the experience a whole lot more meaningful and perhaps a bit less of a battle for attention for the performer.

This evening the musical soiree comprised nine songs divided roughly into two acts of about 20 minutes, ample opportunity for Alston’s increasingly famous singer/songwriter to demonstrate his characteristic vocal finesse and the kind of live performance aplomb that has earned him lavish praise in the music press, a growing following in the northwest and an ‘Ammy’ award for best live performer. I do admire singer-songwriters. Hearing someone do a really good cover is great in its own way and requires talent - but hearing original music direct from the author is like sipping a good wine in its very vineyard, or eating a slice of fine cheese overlooking Wensleydale.

This evening at Cafe Bojangles we were at the Rory Connor well-spring, and all the grandeur of the sweeping Pennines was condensed in the clear sparkling waters of acoustic indie folk that he outpoured for us. 

Rory opened well with a superb introductory song “Won’t Stay For Long”. Check out the video on this one, folks. Here Rory’s fine, soulful voice and skillful guitar work are very nicely demonstrated. Rory’s vocals are powerfully emotive, distinctively his own, but reminiscent of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.  Rory’s music is drawn from the depths of his passionate soul-well.

The crowd obviously enjoyed themselves thoroughly too and seemed to have a great deal to say to one another! Though it is very much up to the artist to engage the crowd, I would say that talking loudly all the way through a performance is disrespectful.

Rory performing his original composition ‘Won’t Stay For Long’ at Appleby’s hip venue, Cafe Bojangles.

Rory followed with Waiting, Butterfly, Secrets, Turn Round, She Looks Good in Yellow, For The Last Time, Half Full Glass and Falling From Trees to provide a very well rounded set. Keep a look out for that lass wearing yellow, because if she inspires music this good, she must be quite a looker!

For more on Rory including the latest news check out his myspace.

For more on Bojangles including reservations check their site.

Check here for more PhasingHz events. 

Don’t miss Jon Astral playing at Penrith’s No.15 on May 22 or playing at Bojangles next on May 30 with support from the excellent Ethan Thomas!

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Charles Paxton February 24th, 2008

 Wow! Rob Heron’s done it again.  We have another main act double-bill at Penrith’s No.15 and again it is a very nicely balanced offering. First, it was Ulverston’s slinky and soulful Louise Mary Martin with backing from Barrow’s Jay Rollins and then some gutsy but melodic acoustic power performance from Christian Moss to follow.   February 15 marked a double debut for both acts at Penrith’s hip music cafe. The candle-lit tables were filled, the atmosphere charged with expectation as Louise and Jay took their places under the bright lights.  Louise describes her set as eclectic and engaging. “As a performer”, she says ” you want to drag people into your own little world. It pays off to really listen; there’s so much to hear and so much to feel”.   In terms of style she talks of her music as a mixture of styles influenced by soul, Jazz,  and R&B. She’s sweet-voiced, sometimes edgy with a great range, tuneful throughout, and holds her long notes very well. Amongst her influences she lists PJ Harvey and Erykah Badu, expounding further, along with R&B she says “our influences go into ambient, electronic, experimental, indie, rock, metal, shoegaze, trip-hop” and her lyrical composition is influenced by literature and poets such as Carol Ann Duffy, who Louise says “writes about love in an incredibly fresh sort of way”, as does Louise herself.  If good songs are fine poetry set to music then Louise and Jay’s songs qualify.  The self-taught Louise has been singing live from age 5, at school, in talent contests and so forth and it’s clear that she loves it. She and Jay started playing together two years ago and they’ve been writing their own music since they met.  They’ve played around Barrow and Ulverston and now are testing the water further afield. This show is exemplary of the duo’s plan to play to a lot more people this year. They are spreading their wings and ready to soar.A five star song! I love the bouncy calypso beat and uplifting, lilting vocals in ‘Mask’. This band’s got hit potential.   Can you feel some Spanish influence in Louise’s sweet and soaring vocals? They contrast well with Jay’s Staccato guitar in ‘Reeling’. Louise spent a year in Spain before hooking up with Jay. Louise and Jay opened with ‘Control’, a superb song that is very representative of their innovative and soulful R&B. How is she going down with her public? Her eyes shine as she describes some of the positive feedback that she’s had about her live show, “I get a lot of compliments on my voice particularly”. When I put it to her that their act looks pretty well-polished she smiles and says “We’ve worked very hard and it’s there. Now we are just about where we want to be, performance-wise.” Louise has a lot of style, she sometimes swings and sways seductively as she sings, using her upper body and arms naturally as the music moves her, Jay giving her sound backing on guitar and sometimes with confident and competent vocal percussion. Tonight they used the loop machine for one song for the first time in public and perhaps that was the only element that could have done with a bit more familiarity. I still enjoyed that song a lot and I expect it will emerge as one of their most popular numbers, it elicited enthusiastic applause. 

Eclectic their set was, and the variety was refreshing, their fifteen songs included: “Control”, “Onestar”, “The Sanctuary”, “Lonely Man”, “Yoga” (a Bjork cover), “Deeper”, “Shapes”, “Your Music”, “Revelation”, “Mask”, “Pic Doves”, “Favourite Drug”, “Rewind”, “Beauty” and “Reeling” (one of Louise’s favourites). I particularly liked “Control”, “Mask”, “Favourite Drug” and “Reeling”. I loved the bouncy calypso beat and sweet lilting vocals in ‘Mask’. The resounding applause was well deserved.

For More on Louise Mary Martin see her Myspace

  Then for quite a change in tone and mood, Christian Moss took the stage. With a five track CD titled Miscast Rhinos to his name, I expected something quirky and feisty from this alternative rock-hard singer songwriter — and that’s what we got.  A super set of original no-nonsense acoustic songs that varied greatly in terms of theme but cohered in their honest derivation from Christian’s personal experiences.  Before stepping under the spotlights Christian shared half an hour with me in an interview that was as relaxed and affable as the man himself. His family background is musical, his aunt’s an opera singer and while his mum favours classical music and his dad likes old school rock and roll, he is a fusion of them both.  He started playing music 12 years ago in Manchester and the past nine years he was in Newcastle, which has a very active music scene. He studied Zoology there and hooked up with an alternative rock band “Columbus Dixon”.  He likes to listen to a lot of rock music: ACDC, Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath for instances, he also likes Bluegrass.  Christian’s tastes are “open to most genres” and so his influences are broad. He writes at home, all his own material as well as stuff for Columbus Dixon. Since moving to Penrith he’s been working for Cumbria County Council in their transport section and is now becoming musically active here. He’s played at Penrith’s Plug and Play and intends to do more gigging as he has amassed a good repertoire.

 Christian Moss’s playlist this evening included: “Brick Wall”, “Scrape Escapes”, “Headwound”, “Control”, “The Odds”, “Sideline/Temp God”, “No Connection”, “Killing My Time”, “No Pianos”, “The Flies”, “Celebritedium”, “Lungful” and “I Need”. Commenting on two of his songs he said Celebritedium is about celebrity fatigue, it’s unscathing, but an amusing and mild indictment of the media obsession with the current hatch of somewhat mediocre, minor celebrities. His song Lungful is more upbeat and advocates not taking anybody for granted.

Describing his live performance as “relaxed, good natured and no-nonsense” he served us a varied set that was melodious, entertaining and well received.

Christian Moss performs “Brickwall”

Christian Moss getting out of trouble in “Scrape Escapes”

Imagine finding yourself a deity for a while? Christian imagines what that might be like in “Temp God”

Christian Moss muses upon his unwarranted injury in “Head wound” 

It was a fine set and I particularly liked Headwound and Temp God. The first about an unwarranted and unexplained  concussion that he had received in a Newcastle Nightclub and the latter about what it might be like to suddenly find yourself a deity for a while! His work is obviously experimental in terms of thematic exploration, but the performance is polished, guitar work distinguished, and his voice has a very mellow tone, making him sound at times not unlike REM’s lead vocalist Michael Stipe. I enjoyed his part of the show too and didn’t neglect to purchase his five track CD Miscast Rhinos not least because I was fascinated by the title. Was that a harking back to his zoological background, I wondered ?  Well that may have had some bearing on its selection, but he informed me that it is one possible anagram of his name. The insert has a great list of others that could also have been selected, some of them are very amusing and a touch riske. Buy his album for more insight and some cracking good songs. It’s a snip at £3.

 For More on Louise Mary Martin see her Myspace

 For More on Christian Moss see Open Mike’s Plug ‘n’ Play Review  

For No.15’s Myspace 

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High resolution Poster of Louise Mary Martin at No.15

High resolution  Poster of Christian Moss at No.15

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Charles Paxton February 3rd, 2008

Matt Woosey performing at The Nine StandardsI first saw Matt performing on Mostly Acoustic Cumbria’s stage at The Nine Standards music festival. Impressed by his skillful guitar work and phenomenal vocals, we wanted to interview him then and there, but he had to dash, so I asked him some questions by email instead. Since then we’ve seen him at Cafe No.15 and we’ve heard that 2008 promises to be a good year for Matt. Here’s the juice …The juice: Can you tell us a bit about your background?Matt Woosey: I started musical life as a drummer, playing in a Thin Lizzy tribute band in South Wales called Black Rose. As I got more and more into the guitar I slowly lost interest in the drums and the guitar became my instrument of choice. I had lessons at school but found them to be somewhat of a chore and it wasn’t untill I left school that I really started to develop my passion for playing.Matt Woosey performing passionately at No.15The juice: What inspires you to do what you do?Matt Woosey: Other musicThe juice: How much impact does music have on your life?Matt Woosey: It’s always there in my head 24 hours a day, I get frustrated if I’m bored and I don’t have a guitar to play. I’m constantly singing to myself and imagining being on a stage.The juice: What music do you currently listen to, and why?Matt Woosey: Soundgarden, Fleetwood mac, Free. These are the bands I have listened to so far today. And why? Because I like them!The juice: Do you have a personal favorite song, could be your own or someone else’s, and why?Matt Woosey: NoThe juice: Who are your musical and non-musical influences? I can hear some Jim Morrison.Matt Woosey: Yes, I love The Doors, (best thing to come out of America!). My first musical love has always been Led Zeppelin. Others include Peter Green (fleetwood mac) Rory Gallagher, Sun House, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul Kossoff (free). I could go on and on but these guys are a constant in my musical life. non-musical: Me Dad, (he’s always bloody right!) My Girl.Portrait of Matt Woosey performing at The Nine StandardsThe juice: How do you describe your music to people?The result of a combination between old school blues artists, a lot of blues since, and Rock and roll, from Buddy holly and Gene Pitney to Canned Heat etc. This combined with my own personal take on life, and experiences in love and the world in general give my music a feel of its own. I would broadly describe my music as covering a large array of acoustic temperaments, but always grounded in the blues in one way or another.Matt Woosey’s strongly grounded in the BluesThe juice: What image do you think your music conveys?Matt Woosey: An honest portrayal of who I am.The juice: How do you go about writing songs?Matt Woosey: No one way, some songs I’ve written in 5 minutes in my room, others are the result of many different parts coming together over sometimes years. I just like things to come to me rather than search for them so they don’t sound forced or pretentious.The juice: What was your hardest song to write and why?Matt Woosey: Lovin me Aint Easy is completely different to most of my other stuff, and it is brutally honest so it’s kind of an open wound when I play it live.The juice: Can you tell us a bit about the set that you played for us in Cafe No.15? How many songs? Are there any anecdotes associated with any of them?Matt Woosey: I did about 15 songs. No real anecdotes associated with any of them really!Matt Woosey entertaining at No.15 The juice: Please choose two of your favourite songs. What specific themes do they cover?Matt Woosey: Million Miles is a song about being away from someone who makes you very happy. Neon To Wood (in the city) describes my dislike of living in and/or going out in a city.The juice: Where have you performed live?Matt Woosey: Too many to mention, some of my favourites have been The Clapham Grand, The West Malvern festival and the Pig and Rat, Keele university.The juice: What’s your live show like?Matt Woosey: I put myself 100% into my playing and try to allow the lyrics to come through as much as possible to tell the story. Some say it is pretty intense but I like to think of it as involving for the audience, if you play songs which reside very close to your heart people generally find it captivating to be allowed into somebody else’s life for a while.The juice: How do you rate your live performance ability?Matt Woosey: Getting better with every experience, taking the good and bad from each performance allows me to improve.The juice: What is your best experience as a performer?Matt Woosey: Playing to 4000 people at the west Malvern festival with my old band Taxi.Matt’s vocals are rich, melodic and commanding.The juice: What is your worst experience as a performer?Matt Woosey: Getting too drunk and falling off my stool. (On more than 1 occasion!)The juice: If you could play to anyone, who would you like to have in the audience?Matt Woosey: Rory Gallagher. He is a huge influence on my acoustic playing.Matt playing ‘For You’ at No.15The juice: Have you had any previous print or broadcast media exposure or reviews?Matt Woosey: Yes I have a live session on the BBC website (just search for my name on their homepage)The juice: What are your immediate music career goals?Matt wants to play to as many people as possibleMatt Woosey: To play to as many people as possible.The juice: And your long-term career goals?Matt Woosey: The same, to play to as many people as possible.The juice: For the latest news?Matt Woosey: Check out my new website www.mattwoosey.co.uk and my new Myspace www.myspace.com/mattwooseyandthestrangerainThe juice: Thank you very much Matt. Here’s wishing you large audiences and a happy and prosperous 2008!Matt Woosey performing passionately at Nine Standards

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Charles Paxton January 18th, 2008

Rory Connor at the Piano at Penrith Playhouse’s Plug and PlayRory Connor on piano at Penrith Plug&Play (High def poster)When we heard that Rory Connor was headlining the January 6th Plug & Play event at Penrith’s Playhouse, I was determined to see him in action having heard his name around and about, along with praise of his musical talent. I’m very glad that I attended what proved to be a very convivial evening - see Open Mike’s Plug and Play review for a detailed account of what transpired. It was my first time to attend Penrith’s P&P and was extremely impressed by this music community, not just by the very high quality of the talent (a real bargain for £3), but also the friendly, laid back and genuinely encouraging atmosphere. Everyone was very welcoming and the mood was warmly inviting. People enjoyed the music, a drink or two and some very cheery social interaction. It was great to see musicians turn up, plug in and play. I recommend musicians and the general public to go along and give it a try. For details and directions see their website.Before the show started I talked with Rory and learned more about the award winning performer and his music. He’s a pleasant fellow, amiable and easy going. Born of a musical father, who also happens to be folk oriented, Rory Connor, the talented singer-songwriter from Alston Moor (up high in the Pennine mountains) has been gigging since he was fourteen! Needless to say he loves it and is getting pretty good at it by now. Rory won an AMMY (The Alston Moor Music awards 2007) award for best live act in conjunction with The Roads. Educated in Performing Arts in Carlisle he split from the band ‘Zeus’ last August and is now making a name for himself as a solo performer, an experience that he describes as “quite liberating!”His progress is also exciting increased popular media interest. He’s featured on BBC Radio 2, Radio Scotland and Radio Cumbria and has been reviewed in The Herald and enjoyed centre spread coverage in The News and Star. Influenced at least subconsciously by the 70’s folk superstars like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, he’s an artist totally immersed in his craft, “I’m constantly surrounded by music, if I’m not writing or performing, I’m listening to it,” he smiles, “constantly.” He describes his music as “acoustic based indie folk” and says it has been likened to that of Nick Drake and John Martin whom he greatly admires. He writes all his own stuff and his composition occurs in “loads of different ways. There’s no set process, sometimes I start with the vocal line, sometimes the tune, sometimes the whole song comes out, you know?” It’s not always easy emotionally though, his song “Australian Wine” was hard to write being concerned with the difficulties of enforced proximity. His two favorite songs are “Half full glass” and “Butterfly”.Rory performing ‘Butterfly’ at Penrith’s Plug & PlayRory performing ‘Australian Wine’ at Penrith’s Plug & PlayHe is very modest about his talent on the guitar, saying ” It’s fairly basic guitar, my voice is the highlight.” His guitar work is more than adequate for  supporting his vocals, but indeed it is his voice that is outstanding. He elaborates ” I like to use open tunes (Juice: High Tenor?) and sing a lot in D major.” Check out the videos and his Myspace recordings and you’ll see what he means. His vocals are rich, passionate and distinctive, we think the tone very reminiscent of Eddie Vedder’s of Pearl Jam. Rory performing ‘Waiting’His live show normally differs from the plug and play act in several important ways. The show I saw this evening was very intimate, in concert obviously there’s a lot more to see as he performs with a band and he plays to a larger crowd. As he plays the festivals his fan base is very broad, ranging in age from about 20-60. His fondest experience as a performer so far has been headlining the last night on the drystone stage at Solfest as there was a really nice crowd, a fantastic atmosphere and his music went down really well.Rory performing ‘Won’t Stay’ at Penrith’s Plug & PlayRory wants to build on this success and play lots more festivals this summer. His long term goals are to gain more recognition and earn a bit of money. On that subject, you’ll be interested to know that his EP was recorded in June by Richard Evans (Peter Gabriel’s producer) and it features backing guitar from Joss Clapp exmember of Tarras. Five songs for a fiver seems like a very good deal. We’d like to see this lad hit the big time as he’s got the talent. May fortune favour him!Rory Connor performing his composition ‘Half Full Glass’ at Penrith’s Plug and Play recently.See his MySpace for a preview and purchasing details!Rory Connor on piano at Penrith Plug&Play (High def poster)

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Charles Paxton December 15th, 2007

Electro dance band and circus acts - Circosis provide a feast for the senses

The fantastic new Cumbrian dance band Digitalis have teamed up with Appleby’s Euphoric Circus troop to produce what has to be the most electrifying live entertainment combo event we’ve ever seen. Dubbed Circosis, this is a brand new hybrid entertainment concept marrying the live dance music of Digitalis with the circus skills of Euphoric circus. And it’s a marriage made in heaven, folks. Olly and Chris “People juggling” as Gema sings

      Toni on trapeze

Digitalis provide the powerfully atmospheric musical element

For one thing, this is the kind of music that the circus folk love to perform to, and for another, the dance band Digitalis like to conjour the maximum atmospheric impact in their gigs. There’s probably no better way to do that than to have glow-in-the-dark psychedlic punk acrobats performing death-defying acrobatics to your music - and don’t forget the graceful trapeze artist. All told, it’s a pretty heady experience!

Ryan and Olly are Lords of the rings

There’s a lot of skill and concentration involved in speed juggling! Practice helps too, lots, to help develop dexterity and muscle memories. When it comes to people juggling, you need considerable physical strength too. However, all you wannabe circus performers should note that it’s no longer necessary to run away from home to join the circus. If you’re within driving distance from Appleby in Westmorland and you have the dedication and determination to keep at it, then you too could practice with this amazing training troop. See their Entertrain website for more info.

 Ben Parkinson (aka Smokey P) seen here enjoying the company of a young fan between bouts on the drums.

I’d seen both Euphoric Circus and Digitalis performing separately on different occasions (The Nine Standards and Appleby’s amazing Halloween festival respectively) and was highly impressed by both acts. In unison though, they are an awesome combination and we can’t think of a better way to have fun than to dance the night away in their company.

How did a circus come to be based in the small market town of Appleby, you may wonder. Well, it’s mainly thanks to a nice hook-up between Centre 67 youth centre and Toni Spence, creative director, head of aerial skills and health and safety at Euphoric Circus. She has been a circus performer since she was 17. She’s toured with big circuses throughout Britain and mainland Europe and is the founder of Appleby’s Euphoric Circus, a movement that is as much about public education in circus skills as it is about entertaining the public.As I interview Toni an hour before the show, her eyes are gleaming with anticipation. She explains “I’m very excited about the show this evening because it’s a pilot program with Digitalis.” If it goes well, they might do some touring together.There are five core members of the circus: Toni, Chris, Mark, Ryan and Olly. “We really do most of our work on training the younger kids, but public performance is an important outlet for the workers. Working with Digitalis in the Circosis project is very inspiring. They have a really nice sound and that is exactly the kind of sound we love to work with,” Toni tells us. Check out the video of Olly performing the Spanish Web act to the Digitalis song Vocate the premises and you’ll see how well they go together.Olly performing The Spanish Web to Digitalis’s song Vocate the Premises.  Toni describes their show as “a mix of juggling, people juggling, silks, acrobatics, trapeze skills and the Spanish Web.” Accompanied by the digitalis music and with judicious use of black light, the impact is impressive. “We practice every day,” Toni tells us. Amazingly, she continued to practice through pregnancy. That’s some dedication!Toni has trained some of the acrobats and they in turn have gone on to train others in an outreach program that brings the glamour of circus skill development to schools and youth groups in the region. To give some idea of how good her proteges are becoming, Chris Hodder was ranked in the top 100 out of the 54,000 who entered the Britain’s Got Talent TV contest and he hasn’t stopped improving.Chris has wanted to be a circus performer since he was five and a half. He joined the troop at age 15 and hasn’t looked back; he’s now Head Coordinator, and as we whitnessed this evening, he’s very versatile and particularly adept at people juggling. Combining considerable strength with dexterity and skill, he wowed us all with his acrobatics and juggling, his fancy dance moves and flashing hair and trousers. The show opened with ‘Play’With Euphoric circus students ranging in age from 5 to 75, Toni says that anyone can be a circus performer if they put in the time and effort that the training requires, though “you have to be very able bodied for the high level stuff.”I then snatched a short interview with Gemma Web, Digitalis’ principal singer and high priestess of dance. She laughs when I call her that and says, “Ah, you’re refering to the Digitalis dance?” and gives us a few of the characteristic moves along with a coy smile, “in fact, I’m responding to what’s happening in the audience, to the feedback from the crowd. I see someone like Zoe dancing and that sets me off!”Well, it’s certainly an excellent positive feedback loop. I first saw them perform at The Nine Standards and was very impressed - the acid test of a dance band is how swiftly they can generate a sustained general audience dance reaction and Digitalis seem to consistently achieve this quickly.Gemma’s enthusiasm about tonight’s experiment echoes Toni’s, “Circosis is really exciting,” she explains, “I like the diversification, the circus acts are another element and they work perfectly, I enjoy the integration.” Tonight’s show is also symbolic of much of what the Centre 67 youth centre was established to do, to focus and foster local youth talent. “We want to pull off a good bash for Sue Bennet.”Gemma goes on to explain the potential for touring, perhaps starting with Kendal Calling and Solfest. Solfest had a Circus Big Top and Circosis would suit it highly. “I love bringing something exciting to Cumbria. It’s loads of fun doing that, and being local. This project is linking up creative people and producing something fresh.”Of their set this evening she particularly likes Vocate The Premises, it’s a good example of Digitalis’ music “that’s different, jumpy, daring and edgey, it sometimes floats, it comes and goes, you know?” Having seen it now, I must agree that it is and does all that, it generates awesome atmosphere and works very well with the Spanish Web act.I ask whether they’re contemplating producing a CD yet and she laughs, “Oh yes, we’re thinking about a release. The problem is too many tracks, and how best to divide them.” Well, a band could face worse problems than that. These are early days for Digitalis (formed in February 07) and the portents look promising. Is the production process that fast? I wonder out loud. “No, that can be a long process. Rob tends to write the notes and then we get together and key in the others, that’s what takes time.” Well, it’s a complex process of course and it’s time and effort well spent, that’s for sure. Now my belly growls indicate that it’s time for us to explore the bar and cafe menu. Mmhmm!PhasingHZ laid on an excellent bar and Centre 67’s chefs cooked up a fine menu for the guests.Savoury aromas from the kitchen have gathered a crowd. We order one of everything from the smartly attired chefs and while we tuck in, we see Zoe applying some hair and make-up magic to Olly. She’s good! His face soon sports the sort of vivid pattern of multiple pairs of eyes that could keep a Carib cannibal tribe from eating a pirate captain. Impressive enough under the regular lighting, Olly looks slinky, spikey and demonic under the black light’s freaky ‘fluence.

Circosis is a brand new and evolving live entertainment project, so we can expect to see differences from show to show, but the Juice says that their debut was fantastic fun and a fabulous tribute to the late Sue Bennett, the visionary who wanted to bring together all the creativity that has made this Centre 67 event such a resounding success.Next time you see or hear of a Circosis event, clear your diary, call to invite your friends, book the tickets, dress up prettily for the black lighting and prepare for an evening of integrated live dance and circus tricks that you’ll never forget! This is the last article of 2007 folks. We’re on holiday now. We’d like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and Happy new year!
 

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Charles Paxton December 6th, 2007

We saw Paul Harrison opening at the open mike event on November 15 at Penrith’s Cafe No.15. It was a great evening, we arrived to find the venue was again packed, and warmed by the expectant buzz of conversation. Paul Harrison was to open and Tongue Tied to follow. The tantalizing aromas of freshly cooked food wafted with each waitress’s passing; people settled as Paul took centre stage.

After the briefest of tune-ups the show began - and what a show! Man and music became one in a performance that was as astonishing as it was outstanding. “You sure that dude ain’t a Southern boy?” Kimmie queried after his rendition of Amazing Grace. Remarkably, Paul is local, but his music may well belong to the world. He’s a world class musician and could play anywhere unashamed.

We first saw Paul Harrison performing impressively at The Nine Standards

His set at No.15 this evening ranged from the light hearted to the weighty and complex and included some well known numbers such as spritely renditions of the star wars theme tune, Don’t Worry and Like a Virgin. Though virtuous and entertaining performances in their own right, uncontestably Harrison’s true genius comes across in the weightier bluesy stuff and thankfully this made up the bulk of the show.

Paul Harrison showed us an entirely new and majestic dimension of acoustic guitar

His Kingsnake song was a tour de force, and in showing us an entirely new and majestic dimension of acoustic guitar, it blew us away. It blew us all the way down to the deep south. We found ourselves back in Ol’ Dixie seeing the sleek, scaley form of the Kingsnake, sliding inexorably toward its prey through those notes. They conjour the spice of the swamp and set the fireflies dancing in our souls. Paul plays magnificent blues. He draws upon great traditions and improvises grandly, taking us where (to my knowledge) no hand has yet set foot.

Paul Harrison’s Kingsnake is a tour de force

Paul Harrison is a musician that you just have to see live, if only to experience how much a man and a guitar can actually do together. At times there’s a sense of being whitness to an out-of-body experience. It appears to be Paul who’s out-of-body, he’s leaning right back in his chair and the music has taken over entirely, his fingers work their magic on the singing strings as his leg taps to the rhythm. Who’s playing who? Is the music playing Paul, I wonder? Either way, believe me, it’s an experience not to be missed.

Paul thrilling us all at Cafe No.15

Paul was kind enough to participate in an email interview with us. Here’s the Juice:

The Juice: Can you tell us a short biography of your key life/music events?

Paul: Failed me a-levels due to taking up the guitar, bummed about for ten years then went pro guitar teacher in 2003. Started gigging solo in 2005 and gradually learned the ropes…It was when I met my wife, Linnhe, in 2004 that my life and creativity really took off.

The Juice: What inspires you to do what you do?

Paul: Everything.

Paul Harrison giving us some of his eerie guitar voice

The Juice: How does music affect you and the world around you?

Paul: Commercial pop music dulls the minds and spirit of the world around me, f***s individuality and turns kids (and adults) into slaves to corporate empires. Real music lifts, amazes, thrills and inspires me and the small portion of the world around me that isn’t following the X-factor.

The Juice: Do you have a personal favorite song?

Paul: No, because there are far too many to choose from.

The Juice: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

Paul: My Wife Linnhe, Kirk McElhinney, Paddy Rogan, Dave Vanstone, the Mad Monks,Brian Evans, the Blues, my guitar students and some famous people like John Martyn, Nick Drake, Hendrix, Zep, Nick Harper, Wizz jones, 70’s jazz, blah, blah.

The Juice: I loved the way you played lead to your own rhythm, and your guitar song was awesome. How do you describe your music to people?

Paul: My music… I just try to incorporate everything I’ve heard and hopefully a bit of me into it, using every technique and sound and gimmick I can find or think of. I use a bit of technology- sticking the acoustic guitar into delays and sampling myself live to create loops. I despise purists.

The Juice: What image do you think your music conveys?

Paul: What image? Lots of blue and orange swirliness, I would hope….

The Juice: How do you go about writing songs?

Paul: If I sit down and try writing a song it turns out s**t. The best ideas just appear fully formed and take less time to write than they do to perform. Wish I knew how that worked…

The Juice: Please choose two of your own favourite songs. What specific themes do they cover?

Paul: Er… ‘Home’ is about a mate who f****d himself up on heroin. ‘Demons’, I didn’t play that at 15 coz it’s a quieter song that wouldn’t have worked so well in the rowdiness, people seem to think it’s my best song and I agree. Just a love song for my wife, who chases my demons away.

The Juice: What was your playlist for the cafe 15 gig? I know Like a Virginand Amazing grace, but I don’t know the other titles. Can you identify the covers, so that I don’t violate copyright laws on youtube.

Paul: The No.15 gig set includedHome (by me)Starwars theme/anji (John Williams/davey graham)Random blues improv (bits of old blues tunes, John lee hooker, Hendrix too I think)Aint No Saint (me, vaguely plagiarised from old blues stuff)Don’t wanna know (John Martyn)Kingsnake (me)Bioluminescence/hellhound on my trail (me, words by Robert Johnson)Don’t worry (Bobby McFerrin)Jesus is on the mainline/amazing grace (trad.arr me)Daydreamer (me)

Paul Harrison’s Magic Fingers
The Juice: What other live performance experience have you had?

Paul: Lots of pub gigs, some awesome, some horrible. If they want pop karaoke bullshit note for note covers I’m screwed, and unfortunatley lots do. I played a lot of the festivals this summer which was tremendous fun, especially Ravenstonedale with Mostly Acoustic Cumbria. Played a few folk clubs, often as support act for dudes like Gordon Giltrap, Wizz Jones, Preston Reed, Po Girl etc. I run a jam night every week at Dickies in Kendal which is fantastic at the moment- completley self-indulgent, loads of improv, musicians playtime with great players attending every week.

The Juice: What’s your live show like?

Paul: Quite energetic, improvisational, takes the piss, psychadelic, folky, bluesy… I’ve seen me on video and I look like some kind of spastic monkey, much to my dismay….

The Juice: (Laughter) How do you rate your live performance ability?

Paul: Improving.

The Juice: Who is your fan/customer? How are people currently reacting to your music?

Paul: My audience are those who are more open minded to stuff that ain’t just verse-chorus, though they like that too, as do I. Most of the time I go down well, sometimes I get that age old battlecry of the braindead: “Play something we know” to which I respond with a 20 minute improvisation. I recall one man who almost hit me because I refused to play the Proclaimers’ 500 miles.

The Juice: What is your best / most memorable experience as a performer?

Paul: Ravenstonedale fest… my friend Stuart roaming the Marquee riding an 8 foot tall flamingo just as I was about to play a really harsh folk song called “waiting around to die”…had to re-jig the set a bit! The 15 gig was great, though my tuning suffered due to the rumbunctious crowd… that’s okay though.

The Juice: If you could play to anyone, who would you like to have in the audience?

Paul: George W Bush and all the corporate magnates. I would have them chained to their seats and play deafening squeals of ear-splitting feedback for three weeks solid. As for heroes like Hendrix, I’d rather play with him than to him.

The Juice: Have you had any previous print or broadcast media exposure or reviews?

Paul: Lakeland radio played one of my songs, Demons, to promote Kirkland festival. A few newspaper write ups, the gazzette type of thing.

See Paul Harrison live for a “night of psychadelic folk-blues mayhem”

The Juice: Do you have any advice to share with aspiring artists?

Paul: Play what you want, not what you think is trendy or whatever.

The Juice: Have any of your songs been published? Like your CD (If so, by whom?)

Paul: Got two albums and a third in the pipeline, all available at p-harrison.co.uk. And of course http://wwwmyspace.com/paulharrisonmusic all published by me.

The Juice: What are your immediate music career goals?

Paul: To keep expanding my circuit of venues, play more pay on the door events, make better records, improve as a performer, keep it real and live….

The Juice: What are your long-term career goals?

Paul: I already make a living out of music, that’s all I ever dreamed of.

The Juice: Why is it that so much of the local music is better than much of what we see on TV and hear on the radio?

Paul: Because commercial music is just that: music made purely to make money. Did you know that big record companies use a computer program to select singles based on proven commercially successful rhythmic/ lyrical/ melodic content? Record companies are very cautious and narrow-minded nowadays with new music, so much so that truly good stuff can’t break through via that medium. Of course, now with myspace and youtube, original, heartfelt artists can bypass the big record companies. Many commercially successful acts maintain integrity nowadays by doing it themselves, no record company, like Radiohead, Marrillion, Peter Gabriel. With the internet you can download anything for free, the only way to make money musically now is increasingly through gigs. Copywrite may still be a law but it is an obsolete one that will end soon. I say when I sell my cd’s, copy it for your mates, it’s not piracy, it’s generosity (a phrase I borrowed from Show of Hands)

“You sure he ain’t a Southern boy?” Paul Harrison letting rip on the harmonica

The Juice: Tell us about your next shows and why people should be there.

Paul: Check out my website and myspace for gig guides, updated constantly. Be there for a night of psychadelic folk-blues mayhem!

The Juice: What is your latest news?

Paul: I’ve grown a small beard. Oh and my albums are called “How to Catch a Liquid Fish” and “Clockwork Bulldozer”. Cheers Charles!

The Juice: Thank you Paul for a fantastic night out and great interview!

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Charles Paxton December 3rd, 2007

The Ups and Downs and Downs and Ups of Andy Halsey, Songwriter-SingerNow Director of the MusicLinks charity, Andy Halsey is a Song-writer Singer of distinction. A skilled acoustic guitarist with a broad vocal range, he works for charity by day and entertains and inspires where ever he plays. He’s played venues huge and tiny, “I don’t want to come with a price” he explained in interview after the Appleby gig. As such he’s no slave to any particular genre. He plays a broad range of music and as a songwriter is eager to find inspiration and experiment with new things. His answer to our query sums this up “My favorite song? I suppose that would be the next song I write.”To put that idea into perspective, I should say that he’s written some pretty good ones already, a lot in fact … about 60 per year!On Friday, October 12, Andy regaled us with a superb acoustic set of 8 songs that briefly encapsulated the accumulated experience of his lifetime in the music business so far - a wild roller coaster ride that at one time saw him signed with RCA and published on labels such as Beggars’ Banquet and touring widely supporting a number of successful artists and at others serving as an inspiration and musical mentor in inner city schools and now as Director of the Cumbrian based MusicLinks Charity. Here he’s enabling greater public access to music and expanding opportunities for musicians.Andy performs ‘Beautiful Things’ at Centre 67 Youth Centre, Appleby.A musical sojourn with Andy provides a good ration of acoustic folk, alternative and blues. He’s a versatile vocalist - well in control at the extremes of his range, skilled acoustic guitarist and entertaining raconteur.This man is a practiced educator, he meets his audience eye-to-eye and respecting their intelligence, shares his own. I feel he would be equally at home busking to a small audience or centre stage in some enormous stadium. Either way, it would be an intimate experience. Andy opens himself up to his audience and an evening with him provides insights into his own life journey and also perhaps pause and cause to reflect on ones’ own. Andy may make live music performance look easy, but like everybody, he’s had his ups and downs. As a prolificly productive song-writer singer - his may well have been more intense than most. Here’s the juice …The Formative YearsGrowing up in Harpenden, Hertfordshire and schooled at St Dominic Infants, a glorious convent that had donkeys in the field out back, run by a lovely nun called Sister Mary Vincent, Andy had a good start. At Roundwood Primary Andy’s early scepticism emerged alongside an experimental light fingeredness in the tuck shop that got him in to a touch of trouble and proved educational in terms of hard knocks. St George’s Secondary School followed with a certain amount of suspension, six of the best, boredom and associated disruptive tendencies. He had a great bunch of mates there and couldn’t care less what the teachers said. Leaving school with a hopeless o’level count including art, music and English he was ready to skip some higher schooling, so …. at College level he ran away to Holland from St Albans Further Ed, then he never really turned up to St Martins, then followed Goldsmiths and he never really turned up there much either. Other loves in his life eclipsed academia well and truly.Andy had started writing songs at 15, and was amazed at the dramatic effect this was having on his life. Suddenly finding himself able to voice his dreams and take a fresh look at his feelings and attitudes was enlightening and empowering. Music brought him into contact with all sorts of new, and thankfully less macho and wayward mates. It also worked wonders with the girls. T’was amazing!He followed his dream of becoming the best songwriter in the world all around Europe, from the age of 16 he busked through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria - what a trip! And for the next four or five years he spent months down in the South of France making a great living and sleeping on the beaches. The mold was cast. He has been obsessed with song writing ever since.Andy Halsey performing his semi-autobiographical ‘Give the game away’ at Appleby’s Centre 67 youth clubMusic Career Gaining MomentumSigning to Momentum Music at age 22 was a dream come true. Andy now enjoyed a regular wage doing what he loved most on a Development deal for a few years before being signed to RCA in New York. From there he flew back and forth playing showcases, industry trade fairs and plenty of gigs, and was wined and dined by the great and the good. Andy made his recording debut with the great man and producer, Paul Hardiman (The The, Kate Bush etc.)Fate Kicks Andy Where It Hurts, Twice, In Rapid Succession.Things were looking really good. Andy jammed with Mick Ronson (Bowie’s guitarist) and they were due to co-produce an album, but tragically Mick died before completion. Eighteen months later the album was recorded but unfortunately his current manager then died and relations with RCA broke down as a result. In spite of a new and highly regarded manager, a reconciliation with RCA was impossible and this effectively buried the “Walk The Big Circle” album. It was bitterly disappointing. The pre-release whispers had been great and it really was his “Portrait of the artist as a young man” - labour of love. Andy was pretty down at that point, but his new manager and soon to be new label offered some hope. It took another three years, two EP’s “In The Middle Of The Ocean” and “Swim”, plus yet another buried album “Periscopes” to bring Andy to a state of abject poverty with a massive debt to his publisher.Andy Goes AmphibiousAndy had managed to free up enough cash from his various deals to buy a narrow boat, and subsequently he adopted an amphibious lifestyle and went into hiding in Camden. There were some high points though, “there’s nothing quite like messing about in boats”, as Ratty put it and he had the peace and quiet required for the composition he loves. Around this time he was whisked off to MIDEM in Cannes by the PRS and the MCPS to headline the Best of British Acoustic Showcase. The response was great, but yet again his manager fumbled the ball by daring to be different. He decided that the best way to respond to the rush of interest after the gig was to throw his business cards on the floor for people to pick up if they were interested. This bold (and one off?) experiment in musician management predictably had the opposite effect. Sheer hard work and prodigious output was the order of the day.Andy writes around sixty songs a year and he was already the most prolific writer on Warner Chappel/Momentum Music’s roster by the time he was 25. They had around 200 of his songs by then and as his accomplishments mounted and fame and fortune continued to dance, tantalizingly, just out of reach he developed feelings of unbelievably intense frustration from a young age. This frustration at the lack of cohesion in his career still haunts him today. Andy’s nadir, at 32 came with his split from his teenage sweetheart after eleven years. Things are always darkest and coldest before dawn and you can’t bounce until you’ve hit the bottom. Yep, times were so hard that something just had to change. Change for the better, they did, at last. At this point Andy’s friend, Bobby mentioned that he was currently teaching a Music Tutor Training Course being run by CM in SE London. Andy’s ears pricked up at the sound of this, he fixed up his boat and sold it off.Andy Halsey performing one of his favorite songs, ‘Listen to the rain’ at Appleby’s Centre 67 youth clubBack to Earth - Andy Finds Success Through Service To OthersAndy started studying in 1998 and by 2000 he was running his own community project in Camden and teaching in six or seven schools a week. As a qualified music Specialist he could teach in Primary and Secondary schools and was also trained to set up community projects. The course changed his life. A year or so later in response to an advert in the Times Educational Supplement he successfully applied for the post of Music Development Officer with the Westmorland Music Council.Now working as Director of MusicLinks (Westmorland Music Council’s Contemporary Music Arm) Andy feels fortunate to be providing a wide range of opportunities for musicians of all ages throughout the County. The Music Bus, a mobile venue to enable access to remote rural communities has been such a great success that they are now following up with a new Digital Arts Van.Andy performing The Fugitive at Centre 67 Youth Centre, Appleby.Watch out for his forthcoming new album of the same title The FugitiveWith Andy at the helm they have also set up the CumBrio Music Network, The MusicShare Network and had a helping hand in getting Mostly Acoustic Cumbria established. Service to others has in no way diminished Andy’s obsession for music, and thankfully the songs have never stopped coming. He has recorded with friends in the meantime, resulting in an album called “Basement Snacks” and more recently his “The Fugitive” album project is in the last stages of completion. Another album, one that he composed for children, is called “The Washing Machine and Other Songs”.As a mature Artist, Andy has a lot to say and plenty of work to do if he wants to secure an audience for his music. He has overcome personal tragedy (he was alone when he witnessed his lovely Mum die suddenly at the age of 19) and has struggled with confidence and some of the other traditional music industry pitfalls along the way. Unlike some stars that have crashed and burned on the rock and roller coaster ride, however, Andy Halsey has bounced and he seems to have now found a surer footing in Cumbria. Andy Halsey enjoying good times again in CumbriaPhotographs Courtesy of Andy Halsey.For more on Andy, see his Avenue 67 event review and his website

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Charles Paxton November 3rd, 2007

Al Horton and Oye Katura are Alliez, avid observers of the human conditionThis week the Juice gets cosmopolitan with a feature on Alliez, one of Africa’s best pop duos. Alliez are from Namibia, the Southwest African country of sunshine and sand that’s famous for its diamonds, deserts and amazing wildlife. Described by some as “Africa for beginners” because of the excellent infrastructure (working phones, good roads and potable water etc.) along with its easy going people; Namibia also enjoys some of the best racial harmony in Africa now, if not the world.Alliez, comprised of Al Horton on vocals, guitar and keys and Oye Katura on vocals, is a great example of the ivory and ebony harmony in action and their music gives us all a tatse of El Paradiso, the paradise that is Namibia. Their album El Paradiso is for sale on Cumbria’s Music horizon download store. We interviewed them by email to find out more about themselves and their music. Here’s what transpired:The Juice: Thank you both for agreeing to tell us about yourselves and your music today.Al: Sure. No problem.Oye: Yeah. It’s always fun to talk about music.The Juice: OK. So, first I wonder if you could tell us a bit about yourselves? It’s great to know about the artists behind the music, so to speak. To begin at the beginning: Where are you both from?‘Alf’, Al Horton of Alliez Al: I was born in Cologne, Germany, but I’ve lived 20 years in Namibia. Oye was born Namibian but lived for many years in Czech Republic.The Juice: That’s amazing. How did you and Oye first meet?Al: When we did the first Album 5 or 6 years ago, I met Oye at the National Theatre where she was busy taking part in Hair, the musical production, that’s also why she couldn’t take part in that CD.The Juice: What are your hobbies?Alliez: Boating, waterskiing, wakeboarding, reading, cooking, walking with the dog, my girlfriend and of course music.Oye Katura of AlliezOye: I like reading, relaxing, going out and of course music.The Juice: That all sounds great. No wonder your music’s so positive and upbeat, Wonderful Things for example, your lives are full of wonderful things. How do you like to relax at the end of a long day?Al: Cooking a nice, special meal or relaxing in the swimming pool.Oye: Going out with friendsThe Juice: How do you like to spend holidays?Alliez: On the coast in Walvisbay where we have a house.The Juice: Sounds like paradise to me. From your photos and video you seem very good with children. Are they an important part of your life?Alliez: We both like kids a lot and have lots of friends with kids, although we are not parents ourselves.The Juice: What are your favorite genres of music?Alliez: We both like a lot of different genres from pop to rock to classics to R&BThe Juice: If you could see any other musician/s in concert, who would you choose?Alliez: Simply red, Mike and The Mechanics, anybody well known and also anybody yet unknown. I’m always curious how other guys are doing a gig.The Juice: What is your favorite movie?Al: We have a huge DVD collection, but mostly I like adventurous movies like Steven Spielberg’s or George Lucas’s movies. Last week we watched ”Zorba the Greek” again–it was fantastic.The Juice: Do you have a favorite comedian?Al: Ben Stiller was funny in “Along came Polly”.The Juice: I’ll watch out for that one. For those of us interested in astrology, what are your Star signs?Al: Mine is Taurus.Oye: I’m a Virgo.Al: Oh, I didn’t know that!The Juice: Isn’t it surprising how much there is to learn about even the closest people around us? Now, let’s talk about your musicality. You both have beautiful voices, does musical talent run in your families?Al: No, except a grandpa that sang in a choir.The Juice: How long have you been singing?Alliez: We both started in children’s choirs.The Juice: What does your music do for you?Alliez: Relaxation, happiness, it’s a good feeling of success after a gig that went especially well.The Juice: What types of musicians are you? ie: How do you define yourselves as musicians?Alliez: We’re music entertainers that sing popular music with guitar and keyboard backing.The Juice: Where do you write your music?Al: At home in Windhoek or Walvis Bay after I made notes on a Dictaphone while travelling or where ever.The Juice: Is it a painful creative process (like giving birth to a baby) or is it joyous?Alliez: It is mostly fun and joyous but some songs take longer until the wording, harmonies and music feel right.The Juice: If your music was a kind of food, what kind of food would it be?Alliez: Sweet fruits.The Juice: We feel from your music that you have a very positive and uplifting (and yet realistic) outlook. Would you say that was true?Al: Most definitely, we are both very happy chappies.The Juice: How did that outlook develop?Al: I think it is in both our characters. But I also make a conscious effort to be always positive and enjoy every day.The Juice: How do you hope to influence the public?Al: I don’t think about influencing anybody, but some songs sound like I would like to wake people up to how beautiful our lives really are if you don’t concentrate on negative things.The Juice: Right that message comes through really loud and clear with songs such as . A lot of people udio anti-depressants We really like your latest album, El Paradiso. Can you tell us about it and its creation?Al: I have been working on some songs for 1 or 2 years and had the guitar work and rhythm section for El Paradiso was ready for some time before I finally hit on the title. We also have Portuguese speaking friends because that is the language of our neighbouring country Angola.Alliez - El Paradiso Album CoverThe Juice: Aha. What are the ideas behind the title song “El Paradiso”?Al: When the working day is over, go out and have some fun and sing and dance.The Juice: Sounds good to me! Do you have a favourite song from the album?Sample of El ParadisoSample of El Paradiso, Copyright Alliez 2006, All Rights Reserved.Al: “El Paradiso” is positive and bouncy; “Show a Little Faith” gives a positive message, and I think our voices go very well with the song (a favorite for live gigs). “How I miss you” is the most technical and difficult song, and is my personal favorite; “Goodbye” is a very moving song with Oye’s characteristic voice.The Juice: What sort of range of responses do you get from the songs when they’re played live?Al: People definitely look up every time we sing a chorus in harmonies. We get lots of compliments during breaks and after gigs and of course everybody loves Oye.The Juice: Some of the tunes are extremely catchy, e.g. “My Heart Goes ‘Ting’”. That one really resounds through my head. Did the tune come first and then the lyrics, or did they evolve together?Alliez: The tune was first but after the first few words the song wrote itself.The Juice: Was it as fun making the music video as it looks?Alliez: Yes, immensely!The Juice: “How I miss you” is the first song I’ve heard that is really up-to-date in terms ofreference to modern communications technology. Did you set out, in effect, to update “the love song”?Alliez: Not really, but you are right that I wanted to bring some modern element into a song, it’s also realistic. Do you know any lovers that don’t write SMSs?The Juice: Good point. You have maintained a clever balance of male and female interest in the album, did you set out to balance the types of song for guys and gals intentionally?Alliez: Yes, but we first made all the songs as they came or were in essence, finished in words and music in the studio, and decided the sequence at the end.The Juice: A lot of these songs seem to have been written just for me. With my situation in mind, for my education, my comfort, my salvation. Have you been reading my diary or is it that you guys are great observers of the human condition?Alliez: We’re avid observers of the world and people around us. We sometimes come together for band practice, but end up sitting on the veranda and talk the day away about ourselves, people and everything. We also agree very often on how we interpret events and people.The Juice: Thank you, Al and Oye. It’s been a pleasure interviewing you. We look forward to hearing more of you and your music.Alliez: Cheers!My own favorites from the El Paradiso album are: I wanna know a song about the quest for truth, The Sun Shines the musical equivalent of prozac,El Paradiso Al’s mix and Anything you want - a song that inspires optimism. Kimmie loves Yesterday’s blues.Yesterday’s blues sampleYesterday’s blues sample Copyright Alliez, all rights reserved.Alliez El Paradiso album is available for sale as Mp3 downloads from Read more about Alliez at their website.

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Charles Paxton October 21st, 2007

“Carry Me On Your Wings” - Andy Halsey Inspires Avenue 67

They say good things come to those who wait, and Andy Halsey’s headlining gig for the plug and play at Avenue 67 Friday 12 was no exception. It was an inspiring evening, and one of considerable intimacy. Yet again, I ended the evening with the eerie feeling of having been unnaturally privileged to be so close to a musician of distinction. If you’ve ever been to an art gallery and stood face to face with an Old Master - you’ll know the feeling that I’m talking about here. Its the feeling you get when your face is just a few feet from the textured oil/tempura/whatever, of a Rembrandt or Da Vinci with nothing but air in between to separate you from the geat work.

Andy regaled us with a superb acoustic set of 8 songs that briefly encapsulated the accumulated experience of his lifetime in the music business so far - a wild roller coaster ride that at one time saw him signed with RCA and published on labels such as Beggars’ Banquet and touring widely supporting a number of successful artists and at others serving as an inspiration and musical mentor in inner city schools and now as Director of the Cumbrian based Music Links Charity. He doesn’t just talk about charity either, I saw him giving his evening’s earnings right back to the youth centre. He walks the walk.

It was a fine set, and all original bar Mike Nesmith’s Monkees’ song A different drumwhich is one of his all time favourites and was also performed extremely well. He opened with Give The Game Away, a somewhat wistful and thought-provoking song, partially autobiographical, about a musician asking a girl to give up her world to join his life of rich experience and financial uncertainty.Then he followed with a song for this age - Twenty-One Visions, a better than average anti-war song in that it doesn’t merely oppose war without proposal of alternatives. In fact it is all about alternatives.

Wistful and thought provoking, Andy Halsey performing ‘Give the game away’ at Appleby’s Centre 67 youth club

Skillful fingerwork
Next, The Need To Know Song, which he described as “a country, gospel thing” was a beautiful insight into his experience and values as a student and musical educator. Andy has seen education from both sides and this song is educational as well as beautiful in its own right, musically and in terms of lyrical content.

Andy Halsey, pleasing and thought provoking at Avenue 67

Then followed one of his favorite songs, Listen To The Rain, a beautiful song and something of a landmark in his life. Andy explains “I learned the pitch when I was 18 or 19 from a bloke called Steve Tilston, but it took me fifteen years to actually meet him, and play him this riff. Thank God he likes it. I’d be gutted if he didn’t.” After hearing it myself, I don’t see how he could fail to like it. I loved the fifth song, Beautiful Thing, which Andy wrote and performed for inner city kids one Christmas time to cheer them. It is about recapturing, as an adult, the sense of wonder experienced in childhood. It is a gentle, beautiful song that shows off his versatile vocal range well and carries you along on waves of sweet music and reflection.

Andy Halsey plays ‘Beautiful Things’ Live at Avenue 67

His next song, a reworked version of a song that he had published through A&M records, In The Middle Of The Ocean was also quite brilliant. This one is very vibrant and gets your pulse racing.Then followed Automobile, the song that got him signed with RCA records and so “brought me some money… and some exasperation” - he had performed this one, just like a busker, in the center of a broad circle of record executives. They liked it. The modified version went down well at Avenue 67, too.

Andy Halsey, a Song writer-singer of outstanding talent and amiable personality performing ‘Listen to the rain’

Penultimately he played a haunting ballad entitled The New Day and then finished off with an excellent new song, proof that this songwriter-singer is still producing the good stuff.

It’s an exciting funky-bluesy piece called The Fugitive, and its about the feeling that a move from one environment to another is fragile, could be undone and you could find yourself dragged back to a place that you hoped you’d successfully escaped from.

Andrew Halsey plays his new song ‘The Fugitive’ at Avenue 67 youth club
It was a fun show, with good music punctuated with warm repartee and explanation of each song. This man is a practiced educator, he meets his audience eye-to-eye and respecting their intelligence, shares his own. I feel he would be equally at home busking to a small audience or centre stage in some enormous stadium. Either way, it would be an intimate experience. Andy opens himself up to his audience and an evening with him provides insights into his own life journey and also perhaps pause and cause to reflect on ones’ own.

Andy Halsey, seen here live at Avenue 67, is a driving force behind music development in Cumbria
There’s no question that Andy is one of the finest musicians in Cumbria and watching him perform is a real treat. He’s a great guitarist and versatile vocalist. He lists The Beatles and Miles Davis among his influences and describes himself in lyrical terms as sharing anti-establishment affinities with John Lennon to a certain extent.
“I have no loyalties to any particular genre” he explains “My music is an open book, it has integrity, that’s what I’m driving for.”

On that subject, he is also the driving force behind The Music Bus, a community music project that seems ideally suited to meeting the geographical challenges of Cumbria. This mobile venue brings musical events to any part of the region. It’s a great idea and gives further weight to my suspicion that this dynamic and acomplished performer has some of his best work ahead of him.

Fancy a good evening out in Camden? Andy will be performing in Camden’s The World’s End pub on November 25th.For more on Andy and his work as Director of Music Link, Cumbria’s music development charity, check out his Music Links page and his Myspace site.

Also watch this space for a forthcoming Artist profile of this man of depth and broad vision.

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