Newport Bush Orchestra at Maldon Folk Festival - A Quick Reflection

Folks

Just winding down from the Maldon festival so I want to thank all for a very successful performance on both days as well a terrific session in the street on Sat night. The barbershoppers also went down a treat. I will point out again, that although it appears that we are making it up on the spot (and indeed we are to some extent), the ability of the group to operate under very different circumstances was amply demonstrated on the weekend for the very reason that we can adapt on the run.

This adaptability enabled me to include all sorts of people, many of you have never met before and of all different levels of ability, giving you and them a chance to meet and get familiar with each other. It will in the future open up many opportunities for musical growth. These beginning friendships might go on for a lifetime.

My enthusiasm sometimes ran away with itself and  got us into musical difficulties a couple of times but it paid off! The audience appreciated the ad hoc spontaneity...........I think! So what we do may look and even sound a bit shambolic but that is the very quality that makes us accessible and believable and encourages positive reaction and new members.

I walked up and down the main street on Sat night  and as I did I said hello to a score or more of people who I have built friendships with over the years doing just this sort of thing. I used to be one of those people who thought (sub-consciously) that the only way to elevate my own social status was to bring other people down (a terrible family trait). Not a nice thing to admit to but happily I changed as I belatedly observed it was those who congratulated others on their skills, abilities and achievements who were having the better time of it. Some of those people who influenced me were there at Maldon. Harry Gardner, Tom Walsh, Maggie Duncan, all the Gay Charmers and their partners, Peter Ellis to name a few and that is why I was so keen to get you to play with them. For me the real payoff of these festival is the wonderful people I meet and interact with. I have long since stopped worrying about seeing the hottest new band or meeting the latest hot fiddler, but I do enjoy playing with talented, likable, emotionally centered people and I love searching for them.

In a similar vein, you might not have seen her, but at the pavilion concert Sarah Busuttil came and played with us for an hour . Sarah is highly trained classical fiddler who was at the festival in the Wishing Well band. Have a look at the site and the video, Sara lets loose at the end.  http://thewishingwellband.com/  What motivated her to come down to play with us? Well she is one of the most positive, open and friendly  young people I know and she seems to think we and the whole folk club as well are OK.. If only I had had her attitude at her age. I find it humbling  to be inspired by  people younger than me.

I also found it inspiring to hear the sound we were making. It was excellent, warm and invigorating. I must have received 30 comments from the listeners over the course of the festival.

One last thing, we had a low key jam in the main street at 6pm Sunday. As we were winding down a woman sat down at a nearby table. I jokingly asked her if she was waiting for a bus or some such thing. She replied that she and her partner had been searching for a place to have dinner when they heard us playing and decided to have it listening to us.

One last thing which is not a criticism, but I want to keep things in perspective, so I will point out......  had we paid for tickets, brunch (which I hope you got to)  and camping, the cost would have been around $2600. So although real money is not in the equation we need to remember that the organizers expect a certain outcome. I am proud and pleased to say they I think they got it in spades.

So well done everybody!

Greg O

Hope to get some photos up soon.

Club Night October 2009 - Halloween!

It was a night of people trying new things - always fun, sometimes surprising, sometimes challenging.
Alan and Christine had a go at All I Have To Do Is Dream in 2-part harmony, which worked...some of the time...and then everyone joined in for Jambalaya. John led us all in a swing version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot with some nice harmonies emerging from the crowd. Frank, famous for his self-penned witty songs, gave us instead some instrumentals with Moira doing the honours on fiddle - there was one nice little tune called Nice Little Tune, and another one whose name wasn't quite so obvious, so I've forgotten it.

With the Spring Racing Carnival coming up, of course Jackie's poem Phar Lap The Wonder Horse was an obvious choice, and beautifully performed too.
Adrian gave us Neil Young's Heart of Gold, which got many of us singing along.
An impromptu gathering of the string players (double bass, 2 cellos, viola and 2 violins) gave us a delightful rendition of Handel's Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and a couple of Irish tunes.
It was a good night for poetry with Dave recounting the famous rivalry between Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson in the pages of the Bulletin in the late 19th century. He recited Paterson's Clancy of the Overflow and excerpts from Lawson's The City Bushman. After the break he gave us the "7 ages of man" speech from Shakespeare's As You Like It, using audience members as living examples of the various ages from the "whining schoolboy" to the "justice in fair round belly" and beyond.
There were lots of join-in songs, from Chris K's Country Roads, Alan's Wimoweh, Christine's Mighty Quinn to Greg's I Remember You. Great to see (and hear) quite a few of the Bush Orchestra people there, especially since they were all off to Maldon the following morning for a couple of gigs. Another night of great music and socialising, with lots more musical events coming up in the next few weeks, too - see the calendar.

RSL Wed night 28 Oct

'Blackwaterside' aka Neil, Maryanne, Greg Hammond and Steve performed at Newport RSL last night as part of the regular program of Wednesday nights and monthly Sunday BBQ gigs organised by Don Gula. Thanks to performances by many artists, including a good number from the NFFC, the RSL has been able to keep out the dreaded pokies and still survive financially by attracting a crowd to enjoy these free music events.

Last night, Maryanne was sporting a new banjtar or guitjo - ? I am not sure what to call it. I think she will need a pair of overalls and change her name to Daisy-May to go with that new hillbilly sound (sorry M-A, I couldn't resist that cheap shot!).

The Newport RSL made us all feel very welcome as usual, and made sure we did not go hungry or thirsty. These gigs are a great way to get some practice at playing with an audience. I am sure Don will be looking for more volunteers next year, and I hope the NFFC can provide some fresh talent to fill the bill as players improve their performance skills at the club nights and gain the confidence to venture outside the Newport Hall.

I hope to see some of you at Maldon this weekend. Have a good one!

Steve M

Newport Bush Orchestra in Growth Mode?

The Newport Bush Orchestra had a different feel tonight - 5 new fiddlers came along to check out what was happening. As you can see from the pictures, they were happy to be playing along with the team, and at the same time decreased the average age of the NBO by a significant number of years. Let's hope they become a regular part of the Newport Music Making on a Monday night.

Present: Greg O, Bruce, Simon D, Christine H, Christine McD, Nancy, Wendy, Marilla, Annette, Kathryn, Dave I, Michael S, Michael de V, Alasdair, Leonie, Mary Anne, Chris K, Pam, Rod D, The Abatayo family: Evelyn, Zion, Czarline, Czarina, Gyrah, Zymone, AJ.

The rhythm crew ran through some of the American repertoire including: Old Joe Clark, Over the Waterfall and then had a look at the lovely waltz Midnight on the Water.

The melody group ran through Old Joe Clark.

After the break we all got together and played Old Joe Clark. As a finale, Michael S led the way in a 'folkey' line dance - the 'Nixie Polka' - backed by fiddles. Talk about bang for your buck - free dance lessons thrown in!

Choir 14 October

Christmas still seems a long way off but we are already preparing with Silent Night now sounding great after only 2 rehearsals and another carol on the agenda for next week. Lovely to see the familiar faces and welcome to newcomer Marilla, already getting into the swing of it amongst the sopranos.

Our South African number Sinje-Nje-Nje is really coming together now after a very productive rehearsal focussing on the tricky pronunciation and trying out a new arrangement.

Keeping up the language challenge, we also worked on Dimna Juda - always challenging for new singers but simple enough after a bit of practice. It really has some dynamics now and sounds great. We finished up with Shut De Door, an oldie but goodie ...one of these days we'll sing it absolutely perfectly but it sounds fantastic just as it is!

Any basses out there who are thinking about having a sing? We'd love to have you! Norm and Mark are doing a great job but another bass or two would give us a perfect balance. See the Activities page for details.

Bush Orchestra Monday 12/10/09

Present: Bruce, Simon D, Christine H, Nancy, Rhonwyn, Wendy, Marilla, Annette, Kathryn, Dave, Michael, Greg O, Alasdair, Christine McD, Leonie, Mary Anne, Chris K.

Tonight we all worked on that classic old timey and bluegrass tune 'Old Joe Clarke' in A.

After the break we ran through a wild medley of 'Old Joe Clarke' (A), 'Jambalaya' (D), 'Bonaparte's Retreat' (D) and finally 'Over the Waterfall' (D).

After the official finish for the night the informal jam session kicked off with the following:

Leonie and Bruce - 'Cluck Old Hen' (A)

Michael - 'Kiandra'

Simon - a great old Irish song that I forgot to write down

Greg O then played a banjo tune - but my pen broke and I couldn't write it down (and now I can't remember what it was - or what else was sung. I'm still too upset over the busted pen - and wondering whether anyone is actually going for these sad old excuses). 

Next week I'll have new pen in hand and promise to faithfully jot down all tunes that are played.

Bruce

September was another great Club Night get-together success - a turn out of about 45 people, very surprising considering it was a very wet night and Grand Final Eve. Christine and Alison arrived early just before 7.30pm to open up with at least 8 peple already waiting outside. Thr troups got to work immediately setting up chairs and the night kicked off at approx. 7.50pm. Interestingly most of our regulars weren't there - Alan ha a choir gig but arrived just in time for the 'Parting Glass'. Michael was overseas this month and in his abscence Christine hoted the night with the support of Alison and Jackie keeping tabs on 'who sang what'. The night finished just after 11pm with about 20 people stil keen to kick on. By 11.30 'closing time' had to be called - that's always a sign of a good nitht! More details of the night still to come - stay tuned.