AndyRob

AndyRob

last week it was the turn of Simon Oliver to have a member's featured evening at Havering Folk Club, and he borrowed my vintage Guild 12 string guitar for a few numbers which gave me the chance to sit in the audience and hear what it sounds like, unamplified, in the medieval pub room upstairs at the Golden Lion, Romford. Sounded pretty good to me, Well done Simon. I played "The Nutmeg Tree"

THE FOLKER(Fred Wedlock)Oh, my name is “Lead Fingers Murphy” and my story's seldom toldI massacre folk music with a yard of German plywood and a capoI do requests--just the ones that have two chords in them and I disregard the restNa na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .In the Seabeen Pub I clean forgot the 42nd verse,So I sang the 27th twice as loud and in reverse and no one notice.I laughed for hours the tears ran down me trouser legI thought I'd wet me drawersWell, I stand on stage the hero a martyr to me tradeAnd carry the reminders of all the gigs I've played in like the Irish ClubWhere I fled in mortal fear—with the imprint of a Guinness bottle stamped across my earNa na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .Seeking twenty with expenses I went looking for a gigBut I got no offers--just a come on from a groupie up in BoulderI do declare--I was feeling rather randy and I had her then and thereNa na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .Na na na-ya Na na na na na na na-yaNa na na-ya Na na na na na na na-yaNa na na-ya Na na na na na na na-yaWell, I've sung the folk tradition with my finger in my earCause half the stuff I'm singin'—I just can't bear to hear—it's a load of cobblersBar after bar--to the rhythm of an out of tune Japanese guitarNa na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .Well, I met this great guitarist and I asked him for adviceBut the message that he gave me--wasn't very nice or even civilStick it where--and if I did how could I tune it with it shoved way up thereNa na nya na na na na na na nya etc . . .Now I've got my thing together, man, I'm really freaking outReading “Melody Maker,” mainlining on draught stout and having hang upsAnd like the rest, I'm having trouble with my sex life since I fell and broke my wristAnd my other songs are twice as bad as this

AndyRob

Kew Gardens March 2010

Cropped from http://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/4399094447/

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

Last week I finally got around to taking my SAZ along to Havering Folk Club. It had been lying around sadly out of tune for months and then I managed to wrestle it back on form and tried out a few tunes on the Tuesday Night Show. There's a long story about how I bought the SAZ in Turkey and brought it back, the story used to live on a wiki of its own but now should be available on a blog post somewhere, I'll dig it out and link to it later. Anyway, in order to take the fragile instrument out on a journey I had to first give it a bit of s clean up with furniture polish and stuff, then figure out a way to make it fit in a guitar bag. The Saz is a long necked lute and a bout two inches longer all told than a 12 string guitar, but with a tear drop shaped bowl instead of a guitar body. I found that I could just get it into my biggest guitar case, the one I bought for the 12 string, sideways on and with a bit of strain on the zip. On arriving at Havering Folk Club, upstairs in The Golden Lion pub, Romford, I was pleased to find teh Saz was still in tune and signed up for a floor spot. I played a tune which I call "Istankoy" and then another which segues into a version of Buddy Holly's Rave On. Istankoy is in fact the Turkish name for the island known as Kos in Greek.IstankoyRave On

AndyRob

nuthatch

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob

AndyRob