Deer Shedliners

The Busk Stop Stage 2010.

Evening Strumpets,

Here`s some footage of some of the amazing talent that appeared on the Busk Stop Stage at the Deer Shed Festival. Originally intended to be a sign with a couple of overturned boxes on, it became, thanks to the sheer number of artists wishing to appear at the Deer Shed Festival, the third Stage proper. I can`t tell you how proud I was to be a part of this, and to my eternal shame I managed to miss footage of Barbara Helen, The Band with No Name, Hope and Social, and an amazing song by Holly Taymar which brought the Stage to a close. These will live on forever in my memory of the day.













Good stuff eh?

Till the next one, learn something new,

Mark.

Alice Charmers again, but with less Norman Collier!

Afternoon Strumpets,

Noticed the last YT vid was a bit dodgy, so here it is proper and that!



Cheers,

Mark.

The Deer Shed Festival 2010.

Evening Strumpets,

I`m really pleased to be able to let you know that the Festival was a screaming success. We travelled on the Saturday Morning, having had our induction and pitched our tent the previous night. Now then, here`s the thing. Louise has never had the camping experience before, let alone the Festival experience. The thought of not being able to plug in her straighteners, and be susceptible to a thousand creepy crawlies has never really appealed to her funnily enough. I won`t get started on the toilet facility issues she has.

But she knew it was a big thing for me, and the woman that she is, she decided to give it a go. The time came to go to the Busk Stop stage and meet up with Carl, who would be sharing MC duties with me and Giles The sound Engineer. Giles was a really good fella, and during the course of the day had to get levels for, amongst others, a brass section, eurosynth, Glockenspiels, casio organs and of course the dreaded banjo.

The rest of the Alice Charmers appeared and we had a quick practice, before boom, we were off nd running. The set went really well, and really was a lot of fun to do. And then it was time for the MCing to start. Barbara Helen was a lovely woman with songs straight from her heart. Hope and Social ( abnd from Leeds) were something else. I will be genuinely surprised if they don`t have a big part on the main stage next year, and are definitiely a band to keep an eye out for.

The Band with no name came on board and played an accoustic set which like the weather, brightened the day, and Mark, who was a guy who just turned up on the day with his guitar, just in case there were any slots, got a chance to play to a festival crowd. The Glendale family are a group from all four quarters of the United Kingdom came on board and regaled us, before Jonny Glue (Previously Jonny Male from the band Republica) stormed a set with humour and pathos, and of course the Euro Synth! It was at this point that I noticed a very dapper Gent wandering overto watch the stage. As I walked over to ask if he was playing later, it dawned on me that it was Miles Hunt! But what a nice man he turned out to be. He`d come over becuse one of his signings for his record label was playing on the Stage next. A guy called Dirty Ray.

Dirty ray is one of the finest performers I `ve seen for many a year. He`s a mix between Howlin` Wolf and Tom Waits, and has the kind of voice that doesn`t come around too often. He was a really cool bloke as well. if you get the chance definitely go and see him. Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou from Danny and the Champions of the World then sang a sweet short set, as hannah was having extreme pain from her Wisdom teeth.

The night of the Busk Stop was completed by the Wonderful Holly Taymar, who along with Chris Bilton delivered as perfect a set as you`ll hear anywhere.

I`ve got some foot age of most othese acts, which i`ll be posting over the next couple of days, but for now I`m off to see my sweetheart cos I`m knackered.


The camping went great, apart from the fact we pitched the tent on an eariwig nest!!! Louise was not that chuffed!




Till the next one,

learn something new,

Mark.

Jesse James and the Dalton Brothers.

Evening Strumpets,

Here`s a vid from the other night. We met up at Andy`s Beautiful house in North Yorkshire for one last run through of the set we`ll be playing at this on July 17th at the Deershed Festival.



I think we`re pretty tight at the moment. We played the three songs we`ll be playing, and then had a bit of a mess about with the Ballad of Jesse James. However whilst we were getting ready to pack up Andy picked me guitar up, and Carl picked Andy`s banjo, and the lovely thing that follows Jesse appeared. Definitely worth watching throughout just to see this. The music didn`t exist ten minutes earlier.



Wish us luck for Saturday, and learn something new,

Mark.

Hundredth YT Post.

Evening Strumpets,

So I`ve chalked up a hundred You tube vid`s. It seem`s like yesterday that I was balancing me mobile on it`s side on top of the clock in the living room. I asked and what you`d like to see and you responded, I would have gone for Don`t Stop Moving by S Club with a drum Machine meself as voted by Northern Banjo Boy, or Flight of the Bumblebee dressed as a bumblebee as voted for by Chris.

This is what you asked for, in your sixes.



And here`s how it started.



Till the next one, in about five minutes, learn something new.

Mark.

Longlands in a dirty old town.

Afternoon Strumpets,





This time next week I will have the pleasure of being the MC on the Busking Stage of The Deershed Festival, and the Inaugral Act on the Inaugral Stage at the Inaugral Festival will be these.



Hope you like,

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

Longlands in a dirty old town.

Century

Evening strumpets

I`m coming up to my hundredth Youtube post. Send a song title, and an instrument on which to play it, and the winner gets a mention. Judge is to be my lovely wife!

Till the next one, keep smiling,

Mark.

Englands Lying Hearts.

Evening Strumpets,

It pains me to write this, but I no Longer love the English Football Team. A couple of weeks ago I was so excited. I even learnt Three Lions on the banjo (not easy by the way), to celebrate the beginning of the World Cup.

I sat full of anticipation believing that this year, this year could be the year that the sport I grew to love watching Boro Reserves on cold winter evenings in the early Seventies, surrounded by the fug of hand rolled cigarettes and pipe smoke whilst osmosing the foulest language I would only hear on the occasional "Play For Today" before Dad turned over, that sport could allow me to be a member of a winning team in my lifetime.

And it started so well. A goal, and a good one after six minutes. And then reality bit. I don`t hold with we`re not good enough. We are, pure and simple. I don`t hold with winter breaks. Tevez never had one. I do think there is some ground for looking at redeveloping Youth Football, but I don`t think that`s it either. I also don`t blame Fabio. You simply do not become a shit manager overnight.

I blame the players. I blame the fact that whenever anyone discusses their wages, they use the verb "earn". Stop me if i`m wrong, but they don`t "earn" the wages they are on, they are paid the wages they are on. I blame the fact that they are too busy making adverts, for more money, instead of training. I blame the fact that they employ Agents and PR personnel to make sure they have the correct image, in order to make more money. I blame the fact that they can assault people in nightclubs, ruin lives,even kill families, and still be welcomed back into Clubs, and cheered when they run onto a pitch. I blame the fact that when they`re asked to go for four weeks without any distractions, they can`t. I blame the fact that they spend more time on the front pages than the back. I blame the fact that Someone like Joey Barton, will be playing Premiership football in five weeks time. I blame the fact that in six weeks time, when the football season is well underway, people will forget just how let down we have been by these overpaid, overhyped, and overhere players.

It happened with Middlesbrough FC a few years ago. I realised that I should be the Fan that they deserve. I occasionally go to the odd match, if there`s a free ticket. To paraphrase Bill Shankly. "Football is not a matter of life or death, it`s much more profitable than that"

Here`s a couple of vids of the slide. Hope you like them,





Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.