STOP PRESS - - STOP PRESS - -
Please note that there will be NO WEBSITE COVERAGE of the Blues Jam on March 2nd
and possibly March 9th, as our webmaster Ken Cumberlidge will be in hospital.
Ken is hoping to resume normal service by March 16th.
Leytonstone (Central Line) 4mins walk
Our fortunes appear to be heading upwards with another good attendance, which pleases me, especially on a night when we had the superb talents of Conrad Di Ianni, who gave us another sparkling display of fingerboard gymnastics. It was also nice to get off to an early start, which allowed Vera to put together seven jam sets (all three numbers per set) …and with plenty of time left for extra numbers from Conrad at the end of a very busy night.
Conrad arrived with seven numbers on his setlist, beginning with the instrumental “Spinning Rock Boogie” before breaking into “Have Love Will Travel”. He must’ve had Boogie on his mind because his follow-up was “Choo-Choo Boogie”. Conrad rarely does “slow”, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Peter Greene’s “Love That Burns”, which conveniently allowed my fingers to cool down after a blistering three numbers. Conrad wrapped up the opening set with a Chuck Berry version of “Shake Rattle & Roll” before giving way to out awaiting jammers.
We saw more of Conrad during the jamming session when he performed on Billy Sharpe’s second jam set, and the icing on the cake at the end of the night was pairing him up with Kevin Molyneux as Mike Dearing graciously stepped down from the houseband. Kevin sang two numbers, and Conrad sent us off home happy with “She’s Dynamite” – a glorious way to end a great night!
Amazingly, we attracted three jamming drummers this week, which included the ever-present Marc Turner, the now regular Tom Gilley and newcomer Damien, who we were pleased to give a second jam set. However, I was kept busy throughout the night playing bass, as was Mike Dearing, due to the no-show of bass-players - that was until the very late arrival of Joe Larner, who appeared to be out of sync with GMT Ha! Ha! But we had a nice selection of jammers for Vera to juggle with, including the welcome return of Ben Shadbolt after a fairly long absence – we’re still trying to persuade Ben’s dad Alan to play bass but he still insists on a definite no! I just wish we could attract more bass-players, so come on bass-players – where are you all hiding?
Getting off to an early start certainly contributed towards seven jam sets being played. Also, the fact that most of our jammers were already tuned up and not milking the solos – so let’s hope this trend continues as we slowly look forward to longer days and less of the wet stuff from heavens above …hopefully! Meanwhile, I must thank our galaxy of stars who put in some excellent jam sets and, last but not least, our houseband guest Conrad Di Ianni, who I’m sure will be back here soon. Time to call…
The Roll Of Honour:
This week’s batch of mp3s will soon be uploaded by our Webmaster Ken Cumberlidge, but Peter Harvie’s batch of photos can be emjoyed on Our Facebook page.
Many thanks to Keith Ellwood for his help in setting out the backline, and special thanks to Kevin Molyneux for his help and staying late to pack it all away at the end of the night while I was reminiscing so long with Ben Shadbolt concerning our mutual friends.
Next time at Leytonstone Blues Jam:
Next week our houseband guest will be James Daniell after a shameful absence due to my forgetfulness. It’ll be great to see him back here, so please make him welcome by turning out in droves - and also bring along at least one jamming bass-player.
Something for the weekend:
Every Thursday, drummer Phil Overhead hosts his Blues jam at The Three Compasses, 62 High Street, N8 7NX starting at 8.30pm – free entry, plus a very competent houseband and backline provided.
Blues nights continue this week at The Southgate Club on Friday 27th. Their featured band will be “The Proof featuring Paul Cox “ plus support from “Chris Hargrave & John Clare” starting at 8.30pm. For further details, check out www.stharmonicas.co.uk
On Saturday 28th February at The Manor Arms, 150 East India Dock Road, E14 0BP, Keith Richmond will be guesting with Ronnie Collins’ Last Project. Keith will be playing a rich mix of Pop, Country and classic Rock from the 60s onwards. - - 3.00pm-6.00pm. Please use beer-garden entrance after 3.00pm. No charge at the door.
Thanking All Our Jammers and Listeners,
