I was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Stoke about my latest music video ’24 Hours from Tunstall’.
The interview went well and as an introduction they played all my previous songs as well as my latest song. I was able to mention how the ideas for the songs have come from suggestions sent in by listeners. Hopefully the listeners will contact the radio station with their ideas so that I can record some more songs. Perhaps I’ll be able to get enough ideas for an album which I could entitle ‘The Potteries Songbook’. During the interview I was even able to get a shout out for my wife Val who was in another room listening to the radio.
It was interesting to note that we did the interview via a Zoom link on the computer rather than down the landline phone. I used the condenser mic from my PA system as it gives a good quality signal.
The All About Uke group performed at the ‘There Is No Planet B’ Environmental Arts Festival that was held at St. Chad’s Church in Stafford. Here’s a clip of Joni Mitchell’s song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’.
I’m sitting at the back of the group playing my bass ukulele. There was the usual issue associated with playing in a large building such as a church. The sound tends to travel upwards into the roof space rather than go forward towards the audience in the pews. However, the event went well and we performed a set list of songs about the environment.
I’ve just been invited to appear on Moorlands Radio on Friday 10th February at 2:35pm. It’s their afternoon Focus Show with Simon Jones, so if you’re able to tune in or listen online then that would be great.
Moorlands Radio is a community radio based in Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands and it serves the main towns of Leek and Biddulph together with the surrounding villages. They responded to a Press Release I sent to them about my latest music video ’24 Hours from Tunstall’. I have been invited to talk about this video and also about my music.
It should be great fun chatting to the host and a chance to tell more folk about ’24 Hours from Tunstall’.
As a member of the “All About Uke” ukulele group, we visited County Hospital, Stafford, to perform some Christmas songs for patients, staff and visitors.
I was playing the bass ukulele and added some extra percussion with a foot tambourine. We were playing in the wide corridor near the main entrance of the hospital and folk were able to stop, listen and sing along with us as they passed by.
A smaller group from “All About Uke” had also visited the hospital the previous week when they went round the various wards and departments.
As well as playing the ukulele with the Stafford based All About Uke group, I’m also a member of the Stone U3A (University of the Third Age) Ukulele Group. It’s an opportunity for me to take along a tenor ukulele and join in with the strumming and the singing.
We performed a concert yesterday in Stone (Staffordshire) for the local Alzheimer and Dementia Support Group. It was a different kind of concert but in many ways it was the most rewarding. The audience consisted of people affected by Alzheimer or Dementia together with their carers. Initially they were quite subdued listening but as we started playing they became more involved. We performed a variety of Music Hall and War-time songs which they joined in with singing and clapping along in time to the music. Then, when we played some rock’n’roll numbers they got up and started dancing. This just shows the power of music, their faces lit up and just for a few moments they were transported back to how they were all those years ago. They thoroughly enjoyed the performance and we found it to be a very worthwhile experience.
Meanwhile, with the All About Uke group, where I play the bass ukulele, we’ve a number of gigs over the next few weeks so we’re busy practicing our Christmas songs. It only seems like five minutes ago when we were last playing them. Whilst we’ll be playing the usual favourite Christmas songs which people expect to hear, we’re also learning a couple of new songs. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some photos or even some video which I can include in my next post.
I’ve just finished recording my latest song which is a parody of a well-known pop classic but with a Stoke-on – Trent twist.
For the recording I use the Logic Pro software which I have installed on my iMac and here’s a screenshoot showing the various tracks. It’s great fun recording these tracks and gradually building up the song. I tend to start with the drum and other percussion tracks as these give me the tempo of the song and it’s something for me to lock into as I record the other tracks. On this song I’ve included a couple of ukuleles playing the rhythm tracks and used my bass ukulele for the bass track. With regard to the vocals, I’ve recorded a main vocal track (with some reverb for extra depth) which I’ve also doubled tracked for the choruses. To make it more interesting I’ve had a go at recording some backing vocals, some “oohs and aahs”, which I then had to transpose. Finally, for the instrumental verse I’ve included a piano effect from a keyboard. It’s been quite a production, very enjoyable to do and it seems to sound OK. Whilst I could continue with twiddling with mixing the various tracks, I’m getting to the stage where I think it’s about as good as it’s going to get – so perhaps it’s time to leave it.
Meanwhile for the video, I visited a location in the Stoke-in-Trent area to shoot some exterior scenes during the summer. For continuity reasons I wanted to film the scenes while the trees still had their leaves and the flowers were out in the sun. The next stage will be filming the interior shots of me singing the song and playing a ukulele. I’ll be doing this at home using a black back-cloth and a set of video lights. Hopefully this will done over the Christmas holiday as I rely upon the assistance of my younger son who lives on London and works as a film and photo editor – so I fit in with his work commitments. When we’ve finished the filming and edited the music video, my elder son who works as a communications officer will be assisting me to promote the video and upload it onto YouTube.
We produce these videos purely for fun and hope that people enjoy watching them. There’s no particular timescale involved but I expect that the final video of my new song will be finished early in the New Year.
There was great fun at Sandon Village Stores this weekend. I had been invited to provide some music as Plinky Plonky Pete. During my performance of “Never On A Sunday” folk got up and started Greek dancing. I also included a number of sing-along songs and during my version of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” there were arms in the air and folk waving them in time to the music. Great fun and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
The local village stores are holding a Greek Night next weekend and I’ve been invited to perform the after meal music and entertainment.
So I’ve been busy trying to find some Greek songs but I’ve only found two, “Never on a Sunday” and “Zorba’s Dance”. In my set list are also a number of other songs such as sing-along classics (e.g. “Sweet Caroline”) and I’ll be ending with some Queen (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”) and some Status Quo (“Rocking All Over the World”).
If the weather is fine the Greek Night will be held in the gardens of the village stores and if it’s wet we’ll be in the village hall. The organiser said that at their last event they had seventy people attending, it was over-subscribed and they’re expecting a similar number again this time. With such a number of people and also with it possibly being held outside, I reckon that I’ll need to use my busking amp which has two channels, one for an instrument and one for a microphone.
For a bit of support, I’ve decided to use my looper station on which I’ve recorded some backing tracks for the songs. This means I’ll be able to strum along using my tenor ukulele which has a pickup. In the picture you can see the looper station on the right and to avoid confusion I’ve put a green label on the play/recorder footswitch and a red label on the stop footswitch. The microphone will be sent through my vocal harmoniser pedal, not to add any fancy harmonies but to add a touch of echo to enhance my voice.
I’m quite looking forward to the event and hopefully I’ve included some songs that people will not only know but will also sing-along with. If my set goes down well, there may even be people who get up and start dancing. The organisers of the event asked if there’s a fee for my services and I replied that there’s no charge, but as it’s a Greek Night I’ll accept a glass of ouzo.
On Saturday morning (2nd April) the All About Uke ukulele group performed in Stafford Market Square to raise money for the British Red Cross Appeal for Ukraine. It was Ukes for Ukraine and here’s a video of us playing “Hi Ho Silver Lining”.
I was playing the bass ukulele and as there was no mains power I used my battery powered amp. Fortunately the amp has two channels, so I was able to also bring a microphone for our leader Rachel to use. We played a set list of songs from various genres such as country, rock’n’roll, pop and music hall. There was quite a crowd of people who stopped to listen whilst they were shopping in town.
We all really enjoyed performing and it was also worthwhile raising money for such a good cause.
