Pretty little ditties

Evening strumpets,



Guess who`s just figured out how to transfer video onto his Computer.

Learn something new,

Mark.

Blimey, Boro`s Got Talent!

Evening Strumpets,

This is true quality, andwhat you can expect to see at the open Mic night in the Crown on a Wednesday.




And then there`s these guys,



And this,



Can you say eclectic? It`s a Cracking night!

Mark

More jam with that?

Evening Strumpets,

I met up with the mean Dalton Bros last night and we had a Jam at T2 Studios in Stockton (Home of the mighty Journey South). I can heartily recommend this facility to any musicians in the area, really good studios, equipment, prices, and friendly staff.

This is a brief summary of what Occurred. Incidentally I don`t have massive bells for feet, i was stomping on the lagerphone which was placed on the floor. and if I`d not cut the Whoop song at that point Young Dalton would have made this the first X rated entry on the Strum, the guttermouth.



Till the next one,

Mark.

Getting Better.

Evening Strumpets,

Last Wednesday, I went to the Open Mic spot at the Crown, banjo and mix of stuff in tow. I got there and Jake (I suppose you`d call him the MC for the night, but the youth who may be reading this are probably laughing at Grandad Davies), greeted me,as always, with enthusiasm and encouragement. Like the Second week, when I`d gone on about fourth (as opposed to second the first week) he asked me if I`d mind going on a bit later so there`d be a few more people in to watch.

Three things happen here. First, woohoo going on later usually means a nicely warmed up and lubricated crowd. Secondly Not so woohoo, more time to be nervous, thirdly, about a million miles from woohoo, no drinking until I get off. I`m not good enough on the banjo yet to be able to play without really concentrating, and unfortunately drink tends to get in the way of that.

So the first couple of acts came on, and they were really good, Then a few more, then a few more until there was only me and a band called Bare Phut left to play. Bare Phut are incredibly talented, and play with hearts the size of spacehoppers. They played next. Blimey, I was going on last.

I got up just before midnight, and God bless them all, they were really sweet and supportive. What a night! Massive thanks to everybody there! Unfortunately i can`t get there this week, but I`ll definitely be there next week as they`re setting up a Kazoo challenge, and I have an idea which could be a doozy.

Till the next one always ask questions and learn something new,

Mark.

Nirvana!

Now then strumpets,

We have film night Fridays in our house! Here is a pic of why it`s so special to me! If you`ve not married, have kids, or been in love with the same person for as long as you can remember it probably makes no sense. But if you answered yes to two of the previous questions you`ll know why I think I`m the happiest bloke on the block!

The Beached Boys.

Here`s some audio which Northern banjo Boy has very kindly sent me from the "Jam" on Sunday night.


Jesse James


Cripple Creek


John Henry


Cowboy Waltz (copyright 2009) (Dalton/Davies)


Foggy Mountain Breakdown


Whoop Song (Copyright 2010), Dalton.


It`s really important to remember that Mark and Jonathon really had never heard these songs, and the whoop song was developed from a riff by Carl that evening.

Hope you enjoy, and learn something new.

Mark.

Old Romantics!

Very late evening Strumpets,

Grace had her Seventh birthday on Saturday, and for a treat we decided that we`d arrange for a trip to "That London" for her along with her Mummy. She loves girly shopping, and it`s an experience she will remember forever. We have a couple of really good friends who live in the Capital, and they together have made sure it was a dynamite couple of days for the girls.

However it did leave us with the fact that Valentines Night would be spent apart. We don`t really do Valentines in this house, so it wasn`t that bad. Then I had the opportunity to have Hal sleeping at his Nana Mal`s house. Blimey, that`s too good an opportunity. Empty house, off work the next day, Wifey and Daughter out gives me two options. Poker night, or Jam night. A coin was tossed, and it came down in favour of music (after a couple of practise go`s)!

Surprisingly it turns out most of the chaps are the same as me, and don`t really do Valentines with their partners, so a night was set up.

The first to arrive was Simon. he plays no instruments, but loves his football (incidentally a great footballer too), and thought he`d take the chance to come around to watch the Athletico Madrid/Barcelona game on the old SKY PLUS. Fair play to the lad.

Then Mark Dent turned up. Mark is and always has been the human equivalent of a metronome. He has a natural gift to keep rhythm coupled with an ability to let me and Carl know if something is good, or not so good with just a glance.

Then along came the Dalton Bros. They did not turn up empty handed. Johnathon accompanied them. I`d never met this guy before, and he came in wearing a Sunderland Home Kit, before telling me he`d been threatened with being jailed if he played his Guitar at home anymore, as he lives next door to a policeman, who was not a lover of the accoustic sound. Turns out he was a goodfella. Cider, wine, beer and coffee was quaffed by all.

Big thumbs up to Johnathon and Mark. They had never heard of the three songs in the YT clip below before playing on them. And if I`m not wrong, I think Johnathon has only been playing guitar since August last year, so fair play to him. I think th eclip get`s across just how much fun it is to get the instruments out and jam with pals.



Till the next one keep smiling.

Mark

This is my Hometown.

Evening strumpets,

At the weekend we took the kids into Town to have their feet measured for new shoes. Great news, they haven`t grown a bit, seventy of your new English Pounds saved for the Davies`s, woohoo! but it meant we had a bit of spare time on our hands. So what can you do on a rainy cold Sunday morning in Boro?

Surprisingly, quite a lot and relatively cheaply. In the Town Centre there has been a lot of work over the past twenty years into making it less of a place where you would avoid the dog turds, whilst simultaneously stepping over the drunks.

The kids had a play with the fountain, and from there we walked up to the bottle of notes, a huge sculpture, which like the Angel of the North either makes you think "what the..." or makes you think "Oooh I like that". This is situated next to a giant circular chessboard, and a little pond where you can feed the ducks. just over the way are the Law Courts, so often seen on the News when bad people do bad things. There`s a great sculpture outside (See above) which caused a bit of a scandal when it was first shown, as it was not long after the Cleveland Child Abuse scandal. luckily common sense prevailed and it remained.

From there it was over to MIMA, which was recently featured on "Top Gear".
This is the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, and it`s a cracking place. The kids love it, and get to really experience Art at their level. During a Bauhaus exhibition, Gracie asked what the picture was supposed to be? I asked her what did it look like, and she said "Spongebob kissing your Mobile Telephone" so that`s what it was.

Finally we have recently gathered a very large wheel. Not as large or as grand as it`s counterparts in London, or York, but lovely all the same. Great contrasting views of the Hills to one side, and the steelworks to the other, making me realise just why i love this Town.

It might be a Shithole, but it`s my shithole.

Till the next one learn something new,

Mark.

PS, I`ll be playing banjo at the open Mic at the Crown in Boro tomorrow if anyone is interested. The night generally starts about half nine, so I`ll be there for Nine.

ABC, simple as 123.

Afternoon Strumpets,

After a lot of oohing and aahing, I felt it was time to have another go at an open mic spot. As I`ve mentioned before, there is a pub called the Princess Alice in Boro, which is rough but canny. So on Wednesday along with a couple of mates (Gary and Jeff)I took a deep breath and away I went.

Except it wasn`t on. And I was in a rough pub, with a banjo in me hand. This did not seem good.

Apparently, Teesside Uni had set up an open mic spot at a pub called The Crown. The Crown is a place that has many happy memories for me. Previously it was a cinema called the ABC. Most people of my age and older will always think of it as such. it was there where I first experienced Superman take to the sky, Indiana Jones fighting Nazi`s, Jaws eating people, and of course Han solo fly the Millenium Falcon out of Mos Eisley!

Well, I had me banjo, the Crown is round the corner to the Alice, it made sense for us to go there. The Alice on a good open mic night probably holds twenty to thirty people. The Crown is a different matter. It has a massive floor space. I reckon by the time I got up, there was close to a hundred people in there. I started with That`s Entertainment, went on to Cripple Creek, Tune for Tom Didlick, PSB medley, and duelling banjos. I finished with S Club(as usual) and a very surprising thing happened. People started shouting for more. Blimey! I did ballad of jesse James, and left to a very nice applause.

Lot`s of really nice feedback throughout the night, and a canny lad (Rajmund Witt)from the uni who had been taking photographs sent me the pics that are at the top of this post. Apparently the best moments of the open mic nights will be on the Uni podcast at the end of the month, so you never know!

All I know is that it was a real buzz playing to so many people in such a large venue. I`m going again next wednesday, and hopefully I`ll be able to get something on tape to put on the old blog.

Till the next one keep on smiling, and learn something new,

Mark.