5/02/02 We are of course delighted that Brighton's Komedia is sold-out so far in advance, but realise this will disappoint many people who left it too late to get tickets. (There is currently a standby list of over fifty people.)
The good news is that for the lucky ones, this will be a really memorable night. We will be augmenting the second set with our horn section, The Brass Monkeys, which is a treat for all of us. Steve Lawless is unable to play this time, and his place has been taken by another ace tenor player, Simon D'Souza.
We will feature the brass on some of our favourite B.B.King songs, and one or two new numbers, giving us a chance to make the most of the arrangements.
We are specially pleased too, to be joined by Hattie Webb in both sets. Hattie is a fine vocalist, who has fronted her own jazz quintet previously, and is currently focusing herself on her venture with sister Charley, in alternative pop duo 'sistersweb' This will be an interesting departure for the band, and one that we are really looking forward to.
As if this is not enough, we are pleased again to have tempted BluesHarp maestro, Andy Bannister to sit in on some numbers. Andy is a bluechip player, with a refined technique that pays homage to Paul Butterfield.
For those of you unable to make it to The Komedia, we are delighted to confirm The Brass Monkeys will also be joining us for the gig at The Waterfront R&B Club, on Sat 16th Feb, in Bexhill. Thanks to Steve Hollamby for slotting this one in at short notice.
We have heard that the Boogaloo Blues Weekend down at Hayling Island in March is now also sold-out. We'll post a report on this event, once we've played it, but by all accounts, these are really good weekends.
Later in the year, we are sharing the Friday night stage at Blackhorse Festival, Battle, with the Bigtown Playboys, who will have to expect to have their bigtown butts kicked by us! Then co-incidentally, we are appearing at the formal Battle Arts Festival in June, provisionally with some or all of the Brass Monkeys, and maybe even Hattie.
Look out too for The Hawth Theatre gig in Crawley in July. Think we are sharing the night with John Crampton, and Big Joe Louis. The Hawth gigs are put on by/in conjunction with Tony Molloy of Crawley Blues Club fame, so have a well earned reputation for quality and variety within the blues scene
Old News Diary
24/02/02 The Komedia was a fantastic success. Thanks to everyone who came and contributed to a great atmosphere. We had such a good response(and justifiably so)to the added flavour that Hattie and our brilliant brass section added to the band, that we have asked them to join us for some more dates. Notably Battle Arts Festival on Fri 21st June, and Chichester Jazz & Beer Festival on Thurs 11th July. There is also the unlikely sounding probability that we will feature the full line-up for a one-off special gig at The Schooner Inn in Southwick, sometime in April. The manager there was so impressed with our last gig there, when Simon sat in on Tenor, that as soon as he found out we had the 'whole deal' he insisted on setting aside a special night for us.
13/01/03 Thanks to everyone who turned out for the excellent gig at Crawley Blues Club, on Saturday. We were not expecting a very big audience, on a freezing-cold night in early January. Did we (and Tony) get a most welcome surprise! There weren't even enough seats to go round. Terrific atmosphere, some excellent playing from Club-man Fred Harpo, who guested on a high-spot version of Mr Wolf's 'No Place To Go' We only planned to do one number with Fred, but it was such a pleasure playing with him, we did four. There were a lot of new faces in the audience, both to us, and to Tony. Where you all came from, we don't know, but thanks from the band, and Tony, for making it such a great night.
10/01/03 We had our first play on a blues radio show in U.S.A (albeit in a modest way)in December. UKBob opened his show on an Atlanta station with 'Three o'clock Blues' from 'Relatively Blue' The album has also had a very enthusiastic reception from another American based site ElectricBlues which catalogues and ranks guitar-based blues from around the world, and has been played on blues programmes in Macedonia(!) Holland, Belgium, Spain and Czech Republic.
Final bit of 'USA' news . . . This week we sold our first copy of the new CD to an American blues fan, Kevin White from Florida. Cheers Kev!
15/12/02 As mentioned earlier this year, we will be making a live recording of our gig at Crawley Blues Club on Sat 11th January 2003. Tony Molloy's club is the ideal place to record live, as it is small enough to have an intimate connection with the audience, and his club always seems to have an interested, enthusiastic and generous crowd. Tony planted the seed for this idea, when we played at his Blues In The Marquee session in the summer. The plan is to record the entire evening straight out of the desk, edit it down to a sensible CD length, and do the minimum of cleaning up and EQ-ing, so that it remains a 'live' album. If you fancy hearing yourself clapping and hopefully shouting for more, come along and make a noise (in the right places!) The club is a couple of hundred yards from Three Bridges Station, Crawley, W Sussex. For details see the link to C.B.C on our giglist or links pages.
Relatively Blue trivia. Due to some confusion somewhere down the line, there are some quirks in the second batch of production, which completists and trainspotters might like to know about! For some reason "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss" which was recorded, but is not on the CD, is mentioned in the Machine Room image on the artwork inside the liner. Paradoxically, the so called hidden-track 13 instrumental "Hideaway" which is deliberately not listed on the running order, was supposed to be included in the Machine Room diagram, but isn't, as a clue to it's otherwise clandestine presence 29 seconds after the 'last' track. Hidden-away, geddit? Also unfortunately, the crucial and much agonised over 29 seconds, has been shortened to about 2 seconds (!) by a presumeably well intentioned, but gormless pressing plant. Is this the destruction of Art, or creation of Art? or is this a supernatural rebuff to the existentialist precept of Relatively Blue (which confusingly was originally planned to be called Existential Blues) No wonder John always looks so worried . . .Incidentally, the album has been going well, and has had good reception in the States and Holland and Spain on various blues stations and programs.
28/11/02 Bluemoon Records have confirmed that all current and future production of our CD 'Relatively Blue'are verified as 'Red Book' standard, (i.e. they will play even on dodgy machines!)and will also include enhanced quality liner-artwork. Anyone who bought the CD mail-order, will be sent the latest production artwork automatically in the next week or so, with our compliments. Anyone who has bought the CD at a gig, should come up and ask for the new artwork if they want it!We are now able to accept credit-card payment for the CD on our BUY CD page on this site.
Duff CD alert: Via Morrisey The Consumer Monkey, we have learned that a few CD's from the first production batch may on rare occasions, with some CD players, not play correctly. If you have experienced this problem, we will of course happily replace your disc. Current stock is not affected. Please return the duff disc to us at address on our 'order CD page' (keeping the case and liner) and we will send you a replacement.
16/10/02 We are delighted that the Hattie Webb has now confirmed she will be joining us for our date at Brighton's Komedia on 31st Oct. 07/10/02 CD wise, we are working hard to have it mixed and polished to launch as a Limited Edition first-pressing at Brighton's Komedia on 31st October. Current working title is Relatively Blue, and it will feature around 13 tracks, representing our current set, and including the brass section on some numbers. Thanks to ace drummer Bradley Webb for sitting in with us on Sat 5th Oct, whilst Mick was elsewhere. We had an exceptionally good night. Brad's playing was spectacularly good, and enjoyed by band and audience alike. Thanks also to Adam Seigel, who joined us on sax for the second set. What could have been a 'regular Sat night gig', turned into a bit of a tour de force, as we were all inspired by the quality playing and the great vibe. If you were there, you'll know what we mean!
22/09/02 A quiet month for gigs. We are using this time to plan and record our new CD, with the intention of having it finished by the end of the year. This album will definitely feature The Brass Monkeys on some of the tracks. We don't have a title for the album yet. If anyone out there has a suggestion, let us know through the contact page. If we use your idea, we'll send you a free CD when it's available! Gigwise, we have a regular date at The Prince Albert, Eastbourne, on 5th Oct. Nothing remarkable about this, except that we will have the young and exceptional Bradley Webb sitting in on drums. More details about Brad on his website (see links elsewhere on this site)We are greatly looking forward to a reappearance at Brighton's Komedia on 31st Oct. This is always a specially good night. It will be the last time this year that we will be featuring the brass. We are trying to get Hattie Webb to join us too for this one, subject to her busy schedule permitting. If you are planning to get tickets for this event, don't leave it too late, as it has sold out, on the last three occasions we were booked there.
28/08/02 Just back from The 13th Great British R&B Festival in Colne. Hello and thanks to everybody who came to see us, and chat afterwards. We particularly enjoyed the Crown Hotel crowd in the afternoon, and made lots of new friends there. We were a bit naughty, as we did two encores, and over-ran our slot. This meant that breaking-down the gear was a real rush, as we didn't want to annoy the band following us. Consequently we weren't able to chat for as long as we would have liked, to all the people who came up to talk and say hello after our set. The evening gig at the Super Roadhouse stage went well, with much better sound than last year. Thanks to the stage crew, who were still doing a good job even after 4 long days. We played a good set, and got the impression that we made a pleasant change from many of the other acts that were on, who all seemed to be in a more heads-down rock out mode. Somebody from the audience even asked if he could have his photo taken with us! This was a first I think, along with autographing a few posters. We all went up the road to see King Pleasure's set, finishing off the festival. They were superb, and burst on to the stage at 11.30. Great playing and atmosphere, and justifying their headline status. Quite a few people asked if we had CD's for sale . . .Well' we are finally getting round to planning our next proper CD. In theory, this will be available by early Jan. We are also planning to record a live CD at Crawley Blues Club on Jan 11th 2003. More news on both these albums later.13/07/02 Not really news, just a report on a really great week for us, which started on Sunday with a really good night at Bob Brunning's Club in Colliers Wood. Bob sat in on a couple of numbers, and club lady Vicky also joined us to play some excellent harp on a couple of songs. On Thursday we were at one of the biggest gigs for us this year, the Chichester Jazz & Ale Festival, accompanied by The Brass Monkeys and gorgeous Hattie Webb. This was a great night, with some serious beer drinking by Martin, Simon and Claire. Very well run event, though the sound on stage was a bit poo. Martin nearly fainted when the smoke machine fired up just behind his amp, and made it look like it was about to burst into flame big time! Some great playing from The Brass Monkeys, and superb singing from Hattie.Top gig though, has to have been Blues In The Marquee, at The Hawth Crawley. Tony Molloy of Crawley Blues Club had put together a perfectly balanced programme, with John Crampton, us and Big Joe Louis. The weather was kind, and there was a great atmosphere, with a very enthusiastic full-house audience. One of the best.
31/05/02 Black Horse Festival ticket draw was won by Nigel Gunning of Maidstone. Sorry to the rest of you who asked to go into the hat. We had a great night, played a stonker of a set, which flew past. Compliments to the organisers, who took care of business in a very professional way. Great night had by all. We even got Jeff Beck's autograph! (er,perhaps he was just shy, but he didn't ask for Johns or Phils in return ??) 19/03/02 Colne Blues Festival update. Confirmed we are now playing a 'Roadhouse' gig in the best pub, The Crown, at about 3.30pm, then around 9.30 on the British Stage. Don't know who with yet, but will show them some Chinese boxing anyway.
12/03/02 The Elevators Big-Band special at Schooner Inn Southwick date is now Sat 18th May. Hattie can't make it. She's washing her hair Sinah Warren Blues Weekend Report: Our first time at one of these Boogaloo events. Compliments to Monica Madgwick for the excellent organisation, and great P.A. courtesy of Kevin. We played a strong set of hour and half to a very enthusiastic full-house, and were followed by The Nimmo Brothers, a great band from Glasgow playing harder boogie/shuffle blues. At midnight, John and Mart joined in the blues-jam in the bar, on and off for the next three hours! Have you tried to shut them up? This was hosted by Tommy Allen, a good guitarist, who never missed an opportunity for a solo! As one of our friends once said "lyrics? the dead bits between guitar solos" For a jam, there were some surprisingly good performances, which lasted till dawn nearly.As usual, John was given the 'duff' guitar and amp, as is tradition when inviting people up to jam! (At least that was his excuse)John and Mart also played a short low-key set the following day, and gave everyones ears and heads a rest from the heavy-guns. We couldn't stay for the whole weekend, but can strongly recommend these weekends to anyone who likes a varied live blues programme, and a friendly positive crowd. Top stuff.
05/03/02 It's official! We are 'sexy boys' (according to Hattie's Guest-Book entry, at least) Is she 'avin a larf? at Martin, Mick and Phils expense. (Editor's note: everyone knows that only John is sexy)
30/01/03 We are looking forward to Saturday's gig at Basingstoke Blues Club. According to John, the last time we played in Basingstoke was at 'Beanos' in 1994, when we did two gigs there (as Otis Lift & The Elevators of course)
Not sure whether Ted or Rex were involved in that particular club. Anyway, new venue and new audience to win over, so we'll be on our best behaviour.
Some new dates have been added to the giglist. Brighton's Komedia in what will be the new upstairs venue on Saturday 21st June provisionally with the brass and Hattie Webb, and a slot in the Crawley Festival programme in the afternoon of Sat 28th June. More details when they become known.
05/03/03 We had an excellent night at The Waterfront Club in Bexhill, our first outing this year in the Big-Band format. It was virtually sold-out, and we played till past midnight.
We are really pleased to have confirmed some other significant dates with the Brass for this year, which will also feature Hattie Webb again, if her diary permits. We are thrilled to be making our third (but first in Big-Band format)Blues-Night appearance at The Black Horse Music Festival, Battle on Fri May 23rd. Always a great sound, crowd, and atmosphere, (and the best sound ONSTAGE at any festival!!) In June we will be rolling the Big-band out again, for a trumpetant return to Battle Arts Festival on Fri 20th, then at Brighton's Komedia on Fri 27th. If you haven't yet seen us with the brass and Hattster, get yourself a ticket and come along! These are always top Elevators gigs. See the giglist page for weblinks to respective sites.
Hattie is playing a rare Jazz date with brother Bradley's excellent outfit at Pizza Express Music Room, Maidstone, on Sunday 6th July. They are all exceptional players, and the venue is a nice intimate place to enjoy some wonderful music (and a pizza!)Tickets via 0208-6885916
28/04/03 News is a bit short, as we've had a month off. Hattie Webb has just phoned from L.A. to say she will unfortunately not now be in England on 23rd May as planned, so will not be able to join us for the Black Horse Festival gig. She still expects to make the other dates as planned providing schedule allows.
25/05/03 We had a storming night at The Black Horse Festival. Great audience gave us s very encouraging and enthusiastic reception. The organisation and sound was as usual, superlative. The brass were on top form. Special thanks to Andy Castleton (? if anyone knows his surname, let me know and I'll correct!) who played some ace trumpet, standing in for Jane. Thanks to our regulars who braved the wind and rain, and special thanks to all the guys who make the festival such a success for bands and fans.
23/06/03 The Hattster has landed! Though she was sadly unable to be at the last two biggish band gigs due to commitments in USA, we are really pleased to confirm Hattie is on her way back, and will be with us at this Fridays Komedia gig in Brighton. She and sister Charley have just signed a professional deal in the States, so this is going to be the last time that we are able to feature Hatts in the band, and we plan to make the most of it!
We had an excellent night at Battle Arts Festival last Friday, with a lively appreciative audience! Thanks to all who came along, and to Marie Sansford for organising this event. Thanks too, to Dan Mahonie on Trombone, who stood in for Paul at short notice.
30/06/03 What a great weekend! Thanks to everyone who came to Brightons's sold-out Komedia on Friday. Needless to say, we had a wonderful night. It was a real pleasure to have Hattie Webb on stage (and in the dressing room, ahem) for one more time. She sang beautifully, looked gorgeous, and even smelled wonderful too!! It has been a priviledge to work with her, and though we may enjoy her presence again, we wish her very good fortune and happiness for her future. Thanks too, to Becky Rork on alto, who stepped in for Clair who was playing at Glastonbury. Becky played some great sax.
Saturday saw us back in our regular quartet mode at Crawley Folk Festival. We played a blinder in the open-air amphitheatre, still high from the night before, and helped along by a lovely sunny day, excellent organistation courtesy of Liz Hart at The Hawth, but in particular a stunningly good P.A.
07/07/03 M M M M, N I C E Oh Oh! John's come over all jazz since he did a guest spot at Hattie and Brads Pizza Express gig last night.
27/08/03 Back from the Colne Blues Festival. Thanks to everyone who bought our current CD at both gigs. Sorry we didn't have time to talk to you all. Our compliments to Pendle Leisure, and Gary Hood in particular, for fine organisation, and a special thanks to the sound crew at the Benedictine Stage for a superb PA. We had a great time, and felt very 'at home' this year. Andy Woods has taken some ace photos, and we will pick a few for adding to the site very soon.
A few people have asked what plans we have for a new CD. Well, we are in the early planning stages at moment for the next studio recording, and if we can pull our fingers out, should have new one out at end of December. Many have also asked what became of our planned 'Live CD' We have been compiling some best-bits from recordings made over this year, and may eventually get them organised enough to put together on a CD. The main concern is the variable sound quality that arises from live recordings (not to mention the equally variable playing quality!!)
20/08/03 We are very pleased to have been invited to play at The Jagger Centre in Dartford on Sunday Oct 12th, as part of their series of guitar concerts arranged by John Levett of The Listening Room. This will be a Biggish-Band night too, and will be billed as (though not exclusively) a "tribute to the music of B.B. King", a subject dear to Johns heart.
11/09/03 New photos added from Colne Festival
18/09/03 New 'printer friendly' versions of Gig Guide and Band Profile added
13/10/03 Quick report on the Jagger Centre, Dartford 'concert' last night. We all felt the same: that this was an exceptional night. Definitely one of the best environments we've had the pleasure to play in, and to a very appreciative audience. Compliments to soundman Frank, for doing a top-class job, Mike Taylor for organisation, and not least John Levett for promoting this event. The whole ambience and lack of background noise, allowed us to give the music some space to breath, and resulted in some very nice playing. Big thanks too, and compliments on his playing, to Trumpet maestro Andy Castleton, who stood-in at the last minute for Jane.
15/11/03 We've just learned that 'Mean Old World' from our CD Relatively Blue was recently voted number 3 in the Top Five (out of 275-300 songs) by EB Radio listeners in the States, over the past 30 days.
This month's LoBand Top five are:
1. Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan - Don't Lie to Me - In Session
2. Walter Trout - Red House - Life In The Jungle
3. Elevators - Mean Old World - Relatively Blue
4. Tony Janflone Jr. - Wish You Didn't Have To Go - Live At Blues Cafe
5. Ron Hacker - Hear Me Sing Like Elmore James - Back Door Man
Scores are compiled (by Live365) from clicks listeners make on the Buy,
Wish, Thumbs Up, and Thumbs Down links in the Live365 PlayerWindow.
Report is also accessible from the home page at ElectricBlues Radio.
01/12/03 Quick report on last night's date at Bob Brunnings Club in SW London. Micks windscreen wipers packed up in the very heavy rain on the way there (well, it makes a change from dropping a stick)and he had to turn round and go home to change cars. We still started on time. John and Phil both synergistically had new toys to play with. Phil has got himself a very neat extra Marshall cab, which he says is 'not louder, just gives more spread . .'and John has got himself a Matchless combo, which he says is 'not louder, just gives more spread . .' We played two great sets, and were joined by excellent harp player, Vicky Piper on three songs. We also met, by way of Vic, a Hammond player by the name of Rob Millis. Rob has all the right credentials, and we may well try to work him and Vicky into one or other of the upcoming Biggish-Band gigs.
06/01/04 Looking forward to 2004, with our first gig of the year at the excellent Crawley Blues Club. We'll have the brass for this one, though Simon (who will be away playing in France) is being depped by the excellent Joe Robinson on tenor, and Claire who is also playing elsewhere in France will be depped by Beccy Rork on alto. We'll also be leaning on Fred 'Harpo' Ball to join us for a couple of numbers on harmonica. This will be the first time at the club in the biggish-band format, and we are expecting it to be an excellent night. The 'guest tickets' draw for this gig was won by Dave Jones of Steyning, after original winner Steve Ripsher was unable to make this date. John has traditionally injured himself just before a CBC gig, thus conveniently having an excuse for his mistakes. He has apparently been coerced into a go-karting marathon this week, so look out for crutch and neck-brace on Saturday!
25/01/04 Wow!! What a great night at The Komedia in Brighton. The floor-manager asked us to play till half-past midnight. The band were on top form, including some very tasty and tasteful harp blowing from Fred Ball. We were knackered after three hours of playing our hearts out, but elated at the great atmosphere and enthusiastic audience. If you were one of them . . . Thanks!
12/01/04 We had a fantastic night at Crawley Blues Club. Thanks to a full house of enthusiastic blues lovers, and indeed to Tony and co for making it such a nice place to play. Though it's only January, we'll remember this as one of the best gigs of 2004. Compliments too, to Fred Ball for his harp playing, and also Joe Robinson on tenor, who did a brilliant job with so little prep. Photos by Jackie Ball
14/02/04 Brighton Blues! Tony Molloy in association with The Hawth in Crawley has put together a unique "Blues In The Marquee" for Sun 11th July. This will be a stonking night, as for the first time ever, The Elevators Biggish-Band will be sharing the bill with the highly respected Blackjacks and Smokestack. We are usually ships that pass in the night, and this will be the first time we've ever got to play alongside each other. Three very different styles of blues, will add up to a fantastic programme.
08/04/04 We played our first Essex gig at Blues At The Farm, Billericay on Saturday. Very nice welcoming and appreciative crowd made us feel at home, and allowed us to stretch out and have some fun too. Compliments to Roy Hands and his partners for getting it 'just right' and thanks too, to all the new converts who shelled out for a CD, and came up for a chat afterwards. We had a really good time.
17/04/04 Some nice photos added of our recent Komedia gig with the brass and Fred on harp. Couple of people have enquired about the Beatles Tribute day in Hastings on Sunday 4th April, mentioned on our Gigs page. We don't have a lot of info either, but gather this is an annual event in Hastings, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Trust. This is a full day event in the ballroom on the pier. Selected bands and soloists get to do whatever Beatles compositions or recordings they want for their 20 minutes. We are definitely The Dung-Beatalls, and will be sometime around 6pm or early evening at least. We will of course be brilliant, and have exercised our unique good taste and judgement in picking our set! Can you think of a single Beatles song that has a drum solo in it? Check this out!!
16/04/04 Brief report on our first and almost certainly last gig at "Aint Nothin'But. .The Blues" in Soho, London. Great little venue, with a very enthusiastic and appreciative audience. We played 3 good sets, to a full house, finishing at 00.45am. However: the 'manager' kept whining at us to 'turn-down' (we already had, again and again)to the point where his CD in the intervals was actually louder than us! We wouldn't normally diss a gig, but a great evening for us and indeed the audience, was spoiled by his totally uncalled for insulting attitude and bad manners. Definitely wins the ratbag-of-the-past-5-years award. He can shove his gig, and his crappy PA, and his 'blue light' Nothing personal you understand!
09/06/04 We have finally tied up dates for our mini-tour of the North-East (starting in Greys, Essex!)in November, playing Darlington R&B Club on Friday 19th, Ripon Black Sheep Blues Festival on Sat 20th, and Newcastle-U-Lyme on Sun 21st. We thought we would give Colne Festival a rest this year, but hope to see some of the Colne regulars at one or other of these dates. Delighted also, to have confirmed The Elevators Biggish-Band will be playing at Boogaloo's Blues Weekend at Littlecote House, Hungerford in January 2005. More details about this event will be published as they emerge. These weekends are always popular and usually sell-out. We did our first gig in Bristol last weekend, at Marlows Blindin' Blues and had a great night. A very hot cellar club, with nice atmosphere and on this occasion, eclectic mix of people! Thanks to the promoters Ric and Ian for making us very welcome, and running a nice little club. Phil, Mick and Mart particularly liked the flyers, as John's mooey was nowhere to be seen, starting rumours that John hadn't left the band, but was now considered too ugly to be on the posters!
07/07/04 Looking forward to our 'Brighton Blues In The Marquee' night at The Hawth, Crawley, W Sussex, this coming Sunday. The evening starts at 6.30, with Smokestack duo, followed by The Blackjacks, then The Elevators Biggish-Band. The brass will be our definitive line-up, as on our last CD, namely Jane Stimpson on Trumpet, Paul Satchwell on Trombone, Simon D'Souza on Tenor Sax, and Claire Matthews on Alto. Nice!
Early start and early (10.30) finish as it's a Sunday. There are rumours that Harp maestro Wilf from The BJs will sit in on a couple of numbers in our set. We understand that about 75% of the tickets have now been sold, so if you're quick you could still get in on this unique night of great blues. The Hawth box-office is 01293-553636. There is also a link to their online booking on our GigList page on the website. See you there then!
07/07/04 Blues In The Marquee - change of venue stop-press SOLD OUT
We have just resolved with the promoters that because of the higher than normal risk of lousy weather, high winds, rain noise, and puddles on the way to the bar, that the evenings performance will be transferred to The Hawth Studio. This is part of the main complex, with tiered seating and a rainproof roof, and it's closer to the bar! So Good News/Good News. The management were slightly concerned that the atmosphere would not be quite so 'mellow' but hey, it's only mellow when it's 68 degrees and the sun's going down!
07/07/04 Blues In The Hawth Studio - and finally . . A brilliant night for bands and audience alike. Tony Molloy had put together a superb programme. Smokestack and The Blackjacks were really excellent. Wilf from BJs joined us for the last three numbers and blew some very tasty harp, leaving nobody in doubt about his virtuoso playing. Compliments to the sound and light team too, who did a great job.
10/09/04 Have just been advised that the Ripon Black Sheep Festival is a dead-dog, through lack of support and funding. As a result, we are looking for a Saturday night gig to replace this one, somewhere between Darlington and Stoke on Trent. If anyone has any ideas, please get on to it!
22/09/04 Boogaloo Blues Weekends. We are delighted to be playing a Biggish-Band gig in January '05 at Littlecote House in Hungerford as part of Boogaloos series of really excellent Blues Weekends. These are great events. Click on this link for more info
27/09/04 Excellent gig at BB's in SW London last night. Pity there weren't more people there, as we had the pleasure of Richard Davies from The Velours sitting in on Hammond for some of the set. Rich fitted in very well, and it was a treat to have some nice swirly Leslie going on in the background, and some great soloing from him.
This brings me neatly to the forthcoming Biggish-Band gig at Brighton's Komedia on Friday 12th November. We always try to push the boat out for this gig, and we are pleased to say not only will Rich be joining us on Hammond, but also the brilliant harp player Wilf Taylor from The Blackjacks will be a very special guest too. This will be a bluestastic night indeed. Tickets are now on sale, and are likely to go fast.
08/11/04 Komedia Brighton. We've just had it confirmed by the box office that this date is sold out. Great news for everyone with a ticket, but not so good if you have left it too late. We could do with a spare ticket or two. If you happen to have one, please let us know via our Contact page, asap.
13/11/04 Absolutely superb night at Brighton Komedia. We played for nearly three hours to a very welcoming and appreciative audience. Our thanks to all our friends and everybody in the audience who made it such a pleasure, and not least to the players, all of whom turned in some outstanding performances. Charismatic Wilf Taylor's awesome harp tone was a very big cherry on the cake. Thanks too, to James who took care of the sound so competently and so amenably. Top of the range!
22/11/04 We are just back from our Travelodge tour of the North. Darlington R&B Club was a great second night. Our compliments to Mike Prendergast and Ian Ross, and others on the committee for running such a nice club in the arts centre. We played a superb set to a very appreciative full-house, and had a great time. Soundman Ian did an excellent job without a squeek. It sure was cold up there, but plenty of wine and an 'all you can eat' deal at the Pizza Express sustained us: even John who only had his Jackson Browne T-shirt to keep him warm. We all fell in love with Steve's gorgeous wife (sorry, we didn't get your name) who showed an exagerated interest in Martin, just because she was learning to play bass. Needless to say, the interest was reciprocated more than amply. Thanks and hi to all the new friends we made at this gig. We hope to be back some time. We finished the trip off with a Sunday night gig at The Old Brown Jug in Newcastle-U-Lyme. Thanks to Tone-The-Blueshawk for arranging this gig, and proprietor Nigel for running such a great venue. We had the pleasure of playing one of our best sets ever to a full-house. Great atmosphere and very enthusiastic audience. Again, thanks to all those who came up to chat afterwards. We had the traditional end-of-tour party, complete with a couple of 24/7 pork pies, some crisps, Mick's stale flapjacks and some Earl Grey. Life on the road is one long orgy!
30/11/04 A couple of January dates have changed. Update on the Boogaloo Blues Weekend at Littlecote House, Hungerford. There are still a few rooms available, if you hurry. This is a great venue with excellent facilities, and of course great music. Click on the Boogaloo link, or phone 01252 793430.
16/12/04 We are pleased to have confirmed a return visit to John Adam's Bottleneck Blues Club in Maidstone, Kent on Fri 11th Feb with the Biggish-Band. We last played at the club in summer 2001, and many people on our list have asked when we are going back there. Looking forward to this Saturdays date at Crawley Blues Club, also with the Biggish-Band (assuming any of them remember to turn up!)This is our last date before Christmas, so is a sort of unofficial party too! Serious blues and some good fun to be expected.
21/12/04 Thanks to everyone who came to Crawley Blues Club on Saturday on a very rainy night. We had a great time, in spite of the odd electrical problem. The mains shut down on us mid-song, and it took about ten minutes to get the power back on, during which time, the brass section came to the rescue with some impromptu carols and stuff! Simon and Claire were as good as ever, but special thanks due to Andy Castleton and Amy Ward on Trumpet and Trombone, who coped spectacularly well with the sets, whilst being talked though the arrangements by Simon during the verses and guitar solos! Thanks too to Fred Harpo Ball for joining us on a few numbers. Top gig! Mind your head Tony.
10/01/05 We have just heard from the organisers that the forthcoming Boogaloo Blues Weekend at Littlecote House is now SOLD-OUT
22/01/05 Just back from our most enjoyable time at Boogaloo's Blues Weekend at Littlecote House. The Biggish-Band were on top form, and at last we have a decent picture of the brass section all blowing at the same time! Very nice atmosphere and friendly people, made it a real pleasure to be there. There was some great playing in the bar during the late night jam session, very capably organised and rotated by the excellent Tim Aves from The Rockin' Armadillos. Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of our CD, and gave us a realy nice reception, and compliments to everyone involved in the organisation and sound.
08/02/05 Longway off yet, but in case you have already put it in your diaries, our Crawley Blues Club date in December has been moved to Saturday 3rd
12/02/05 Excellent night at John Adam's Bottleneck Blues Club in Maidstone on Friday. Some startlingly good playing from all the band, but special praise to the all the brass players, who turned in some wonderful solos. Particularly rewarding to play to such a quiet (during the songs!) but enthusiastic audience, and to see the surprise and joy on their faces when Simon or Andy were squeezing out excruciatingly high notes! Thanks to everyone who bought a CD, and all those who came up for a chat. We loved playing for you.
13/02/05 Very different set from last nights Maidstone gig, but what great playing at Saturdays Barleylands gig. Big, friendly crowd, who were lucky to hear what may have been John & Phil's best ever soloing. Either a result of euphoria from Maidstone gig the night before, or relief that it had been such a success! We'll be back!
17/04/05 Thanks to everyone who turned out for the charity Biggish-Band gig at the Hanover Centre in Brighton last night. We were delighted to see so many people, and lots of new faces too. Josie Emmins did a fantastic job on tenor sax, standing in for Simon without any rehearsal. Every one in the band and associated with organising the event gave their services for free. As a consequence the evening raised a fantastic £1,100 for mental health agency MIND, and everybody had a good time. Nice result. Special thanks too, to Bluemoonhire Sound & Light, who provided the PA and cool lighting entirely free of charge.
02/03/05 Blues In Britain magazine have done a feature on the band in the March copy, out now.
11/07/05 No news = no news! A belated thanks to Helen Rich who wrote a very nice review of a recent Eastbourne gig, for Blues In Britain, which followed on nicely from Keith Shackletons interview with John in the previous months edition. We'll try to post it on the site soon. Mart made it back from Peru safely, and after extensive research was able to proove beyond doubt that it was in fact Aztec blues-players who invented the electric bass hundreds of years before Leo Fender tried to make out it was his idea. On the lineup front, we are pleased to confirm that our next Brighton Komedia gig in October will feature at least four of our assorted brass players, as well as Rich Davies on Hammond, and Wandering Wilf Taylor on Harp. Wilf and Rich will be joining us again for a Crawley Blues Club special date on Sat 3rd December, where we will go back to our blues roots in search of recreating live, some of our favourite formative John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor moments. Wilf is of course a star player in his own right, and we will make sure he has plenty of opportunity to do his special thing.
22/07/05 Our appologies to anyone who turned up at Worthing's Shit Brick (previously Half-Brick) last night, just as we did, to discover that "Thursday night is karaoke night" This was in spite of the venue confirming the date was on just a few days ago, and that our posters were still up! Crumby behaviour from a crumby pub.
31/08/05 The long awaited Brighton Komedia tickets for Biggish-band Blues Revue on Sat 1st Oct are now on sale. As well as our regular brass players, we'll also be joined by the excellent Rich Davies on Hammond, and charismatic blues-harp virtuoso Wilf Taylor from The Blackjacks.
02/10/05 Fantastic night to a sold-out audience at Brighton's Komedia. Special thanks to James for doing such a good job on the sound and lights. We had many compliments about the FOH sound: top guy. The band were on ace form, with great ensemble playing and soloing from everyone. This was sadly the last scheduled date for the Biggish-Band line up this year, but we will be pleased to have Rich and Wilfs company at Crawley Blues Club on Sat 3rd Dec for a very special night.
07/10/05 A few people have asked what the deal is with the Pelham House gig at Lewes, E Sussex on Sat 8th Oct. We don't have much info, other than that it is part of a two-day programme with a mental health theme. We are on at 8pm for a 75 min set, followed by some fireworks (outside!) and then a Ska/funk band.
