Birthday boy Ron

There was yet another Birthday this week and this time it was the turn of loyal club supporter Ron Lester celebrating the big day. With posh, specially made cakes and a super spread of sandwiches-pies-rolls and volleyballs etc.

Ron has been an ever-present since first attending  the club.

We also welcomed to the club Ann & Mike who traveled from the midlands to be with us and what a talented duo they are.

Mike is a virtuoso of the blues/jazz guitar and possesses a perfect gravelly voice, the opposite of Ann’s smooth cultured pipes.

Ann and Mike

The wonderful Peter Stevens was with us again and gave us ‘ The Contender’ & ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ …..Marvelous!

Our friends Dave King & Derek Smith from Conwy Folk Club popped in with Derek getting the crowd giggling with ‘On Again-On Again-On Again’ in the style of the late, great Jake Thakery.

Dave gave us ‘Kind Hearted Woman’  and Love Machine’ in his own inimitable style. 

Annie & ‘Throbbin’ Bob  were their usual brilliant best, with Annie’s voice recovered from laryngitis.

Derek Smith

We had a guitar medley from  ‘Fingers’ Bill Conde and Geoff Hollis gave us ‘Only Remembered‘. Chris ‘B’ did Merry Hell’s ‘The War Between Ourselves.’

Richard & Wendy up next with ‘You’re My Best Friend‘ and Wendy sang superbly,  ‘Tonight The War Is Over’.

Tom & Linda refrained from doing any rain dances and the evening came to an end with Peter & Tom on Spoons & Ukelele respectivly.

Frank, John and Andy,  aka Welcomme Finnan & Chrimes were our special guests and now we know why we added special to the titles.

The multi talented musicians were very special, not only as performers but as people and blended in seamlessly to the ethos of the club and it’s members.

With John Finnan as the main lead vocalist he was suitably supported by the brilliant harmonies of Andy Chrimes and Frank Welcomme, but both also took turns to take the lead  giving the sets variety.

Not only vocally perfect, the band displayed a copious array of instruments – John on Guitar and Auto-Harp, Andy with Guitar, Mandolin, 5 String Banjo, and Accordion and Frank with Upright Bass, Guitar, Harp and Accordion, with the last two playing a super medley of Deep in The Darkest Night &  A Whiter Shade of Pale.

John, who is by the way,  a cousin of the dearly missed club favourite  Margaret Mealey, did one of her standards the Richard Shindell’s number,  Mary Magdelene.  All in all a superbly crafted performance from this unassuming trio.

The evening also delivered support from our regulars, two of which were celebrating birthdays  (yet more cake)  Geoff Hollis and Anne Taylor, we never disclose a ladies age, but it was Geoff who had the 6-5 special.

View the “supporting acts” gallery

More Next Week Folks With Singers Night.

There was a familiar face in the line up for last week’s guest spot. We’ve met Skeet Williams before. He has graced our singer’s nights on a couple of occasions recently with his exquisite fingerpicking and wowed us with some of his self penned numbers.

It is barely two years since Skeet had a chance meeting with Liverpool singer/songwriter Gary Edward Jones at a festival on the Wirral.  They jammed. They gelled. They hooked up with  freelance bass player Oscar South and the Gary Edward Jones Trio was born.

Gary is an extremely accomplished writer of original songs containing beautiful meaningful lyrics.   He has a warm, honey-soft voice and a relaxed easy listening guitar style.  Skeet’s effortless mastery of the fretboard adds intricate and delicate riffs which together with Oscar’s solid and steady bass line, perfectly compliment the main man’s own guitar skills. Rarely do you get three musicians that gel together so effortlessly.

The three have just released their first album, The Cabinet Maker, which is being officially launched at a special event in St Georges Hall, Liverpool on November 15th.

The album is good. Very Good. And unlike many artists, it is not all down to sound engineering wizardry. Their live performances are every bit as good!

What we experienced during their performance at the club sounded just like the immaculate, professionally engineered recordings but with the added multiple dimensions that you only get when listening to music live.  No pedals. No effects. Just one voice, two guitars and an acoustic double bass in perfect harmony.

Their two 45 minute slots included many of the songs off the album and a couple that were a sneak preview of what we can expect from the second album next year.

We heard one of my own personal favourites, Free Falling, and Dreaming which was the very first song that Skeet and Gary jammed on their first meeting.  They performed a varied set which even included a “folk reggae” number!

Gary’s girlfriend Elizabeth added a touch of glamour to the stage, providing some  lovely backing vocals, taking some time off from performing in her own right as part of the duo “Grace and Danger”.  When I asked Gary if she was Grace or Danger, he told me with a wry grin that the clue was in colour of her hair!

Many of the club regulars performed between the two slots  and a really nice touch, appreciated by all who played,was that Gary, Oscar and Skeet remained in the audience, attentive and appreciative during our performances.

It truly was a magical evening of music.

We had some delectable delectation from the delicious singing equestrian- Elaine Walker. Her varied and entertaining  ‘Showcase’ spot included self penned numbers and some  favourites from Joni Mitchell among others, including Big Yellow Taxi.  Elaine was ably assisted by hubby Bryan as personal rodie when switching to her drop-tuned parlour guitar. All in all a smashing set from the ever popular organiser of Denbigh’s The Lighted Stage and the annual Oakfest in Bettws y Coed.

We also had our regular floor-spots and one of the highlights was Bill Conde & Terry Mealey as a duo, combining music and mirth to entertain the happy crowd. Also on the list was Wendy & Richard, Tom & Linda,  GeorgeLive, and Chris ‘B’ who again did the M.Cs job in the absence of Neil who unfortunately reported sick following his recent trip to Otley in  ‘God’s Country’.

Don’t forget folks, our next Guest Night is in two weeks on the 10th. October with the absolutely fabulous Gary Edward Jones Band, a night definately not to be missed and one of the highlights of the year. Check them out on our Video’s tab tab.

Singers Night Next Friday as Normal

It was a brilliant night at the club with old friend Phil Townson doing a ‘showcase spot’ in aid of  ‘The Alzheimers Society’.

It was no surprise to find that Phil has lost none of his considerable talents as a singer/songwriter, and highly enjoyable to be reminded again by his visit.

On the night, one hundred & seven pounds 50p was raised for the society, so a big thank you to all that attended and to those that purchased Phil’s fund raising C.D. One Man and One Guitar.

As usual our own talented members filled out the rest of the evening.

Wendy & Richard added the North American ‘Kazoo’ to their box of tricks,of course it was easy to see that Wendy was a proficient exponent of this highly regarded instrument. 🙂

We also had Kevin Wardman, Elaine Walker, Geoff Hollis, with GeorgeLive  off the wall as usual, Chris ‘B’ and the well behaved Tony Grant completed the line-up.

The picture of the birds is the swallows nesting in the rafters at the club entrance.

A super shot of the 2nd clutch of the season of our cosy visitors. How  many tail tips can you count?

More Music And Merriment next     Friday folks,