Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Spriggan Mist Presents Podcast Dec 10
This month featuring . Savour the flavour, Scattered Few, Damh the Bard and of course Spriggan Mist
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Spriggan mist Presents Podcast Nov 10
On this episode, Spriggan Mist, All Things Considered, Tinkerscuss, Dragonfly Moon, Electrick Wytch and the Dolmen
Monday, 18 October 2010
Spriggan Mist at the Beeb
Spriggan Mist were interviewed on The Session on BBC Radio Berkshire by Jenny Minard..if you missed it check it out here, This link will stay valid until Sunday 23/10/2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00bj5mn/The_Session_17_10_2010/
hear us play a song live in the studio.....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00bj5mn/The_Session_17_10_2010/
hear us play a song live in the studio.....
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Spriggan Mist Presents Podcast Oct 2010
The first Spriggan Mist presents podcast featuring Mad Magdalen, Rosa's Daughters, Watching planes , Max cilia the Dolmen and of course Spriggan mist......
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Pays to be Posh!!!
Whilst playing at the Dolmen Grove's Tribal Dreams festival at the end of August I made a throw away comment that Spriggan Mist hailed from Royal Berkshire and Surrey cos we are posh!!!! sitting amongst the tents keeping warm...(twas a cold Dorset night) I heard a cheer.....it was indeed a very nice lady from Reading called Anne Marie Adams ....she has a spot presenting on Reading 4 U Community Radio and on her 16th of september show she is going to play some Spriggan Mist. click on link if you want to listen in.
http://www.readingcommunityradio.org/
Well the prep. for the inaugrual Spriggan Mist Presents night is in full swing.
http://www.sprigganmist.com/presents.html
should be a great night..we have a great lineup of musicians ..in no particular order...
Rosa's Daughters..
http://www.myspace.com/rosa39sdaughters
Rosa's Daughters are a harmony duo who love singing. Their repertoire covers Traditonal Engish songs,self-penned material through to contemporary singer/songwriters.Whatever catches their ears really. They play between them a variety of instruments including guitar,citterne,hungarian cittera, appalachian dulcimer and if the occasion arises......keyboards..plus a wide range of percussion stuff.
Mad Magdalen
http://www.myspace.com/madmagdalen
Mad Magdalen describe themselves as easy going, but professional performers looking for some space to offer some good quality tunes and songs for Earthy people. Loads of experience and well house trained......Having seen them at Tribal Dreams...they had the warmer weather and played open air on the friday they are a very talented folk band indeed. Their brand of folk will go down well on spriggan mist presents.
The LBM band
This is a 4-piece band fronted by Mike Peach, the organiser of the ‘Anchor’ Folk-Club in Byfleet. Mike has a distinctive, warm voice and the band plays a mixture of Folk and Contemproary standards. Spriggan mist's very own percussionist Andy Wilkin has been known to play for LBM aklongside Mike Bernie and Louise
Watching Planes
http://www.myspace.com/watchingplanes
http://www.myspace.com/watchingsomemoreplanes
Watching planes have had several changes in band members recently but one thing is constant, Kris Wilkins ...well two actually, the second being his absolute love of the Beatles. Kris will be joined by Nelson Aguilar to bring to us some Beatles inspired originals. the first link will show you how much Watching Planes do sound like the beatles (although Something has to fall is an original which is my personal fav.)n The second link is more of their original music.
Demios
With a collective age of 39 Paddy ,Carlos and Aaron have upstaged many a "grown up " band in their relative short musical career. This trio are hard to pigeon hole but their sound varies between the subtle keyboard playing by Paddy to to the more rocky sound Carlos and Aaron add to the mix. They play their own compositions which are both musically and lyrically ahead of their young ages.....get there autographs now !!!!
I urge all of you within striking distance of lightwater...(right on junction 3 of M3) to make the effort and come and support local music.....Mother Dearest will be in attendance so even if you are not really into the music for the princely sum of enough to buy a can of Newcy Brown mother Dearest will do autographs. unfortunately her sidekick and partner in crime Texas Pat is unavailable as she has chainsaw maintenance for pensioners club that night.
For all my Maltese readers..this weekend is the time to come to England.....Yes Mother dearest and Texas Pat are going on pub crawl to Malta.... Farsons(local brewery) and Marsovin( Winery) have been appraised to get more stocks and Maltese Police informed.......
Toodle loo
http://www.readingcommunityradio.org/
Well the prep. for the inaugrual Spriggan Mist Presents night is in full swing.
http://www.sprigganmist.com/presents.html
should be a great night..we have a great lineup of musicians ..in no particular order...
Rosa's Daughters..
http://www.myspace.com/rosa39sdaughters
Rosa's Daughters are a harmony duo who love singing. Their repertoire covers Traditonal Engish songs,self-penned material through to contemporary singer/songwriters.Whatever catches their ears really. They play between them a variety of instruments including guitar,citterne,hungarian cittera, appalachian dulcimer and if the occasion arises......keyboards..plus a wide range of percussion stuff.
Mad Magdalen
http://www.myspace.com/madmagdalen
Mad Magdalen describe themselves as easy going, but professional performers looking for some space to offer some good quality tunes and songs for Earthy people. Loads of experience and well house trained......Having seen them at Tribal Dreams...they had the warmer weather and played open air on the friday they are a very talented folk band indeed. Their brand of folk will go down well on spriggan mist presents.
The LBM band
This is a 4-piece band fronted by Mike Peach, the organiser of the ‘Anchor’ Folk-Club in Byfleet. Mike has a distinctive, warm voice and the band plays a mixture of Folk and Contemproary standards. Spriggan mist's very own percussionist Andy Wilkin has been known to play for LBM aklongside Mike Bernie and Louise
Watching Planes
http://www.myspace.com/watchingplanes
http://www.myspace.com/watchingsomemoreplanes
Watching planes have had several changes in band members recently but one thing is constant, Kris Wilkins ...well two actually, the second being his absolute love of the Beatles. Kris will be joined by Nelson Aguilar to bring to us some Beatles inspired originals. the first link will show you how much Watching Planes do sound like the beatles (although Something has to fall is an original which is my personal fav.)n The second link is more of their original music.
Demios
With a collective age of 39 Paddy ,Carlos and Aaron have upstaged many a "grown up " band in their relative short musical career. This trio are hard to pigeon hole but their sound varies between the subtle keyboard playing by Paddy to to the more rocky sound Carlos and Aaron add to the mix. They play their own compositions which are both musically and lyrically ahead of their young ages.....get there autographs now !!!!
I urge all of you within striking distance of lightwater...(right on junction 3 of M3) to make the effort and come and support local music.....Mother Dearest will be in attendance so even if you are not really into the music for the princely sum of enough to buy a can of Newcy Brown mother Dearest will do autographs. unfortunately her sidekick and partner in crime Texas Pat is unavailable as she has chainsaw maintenance for pensioners club that night.
For all my Maltese readers..this weekend is the time to come to England.....Yes Mother dearest and Texas Pat are going on pub crawl to Malta.... Farsons(local brewery) and Marsovin( Winery) have been appraised to get more stocks and Maltese Police informed.......
Toodle loo
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Spriggan Mist Present 8th October 2010
Spriggan Mist and The Crossley Club present
An Evening of Progressive Folk Music
Launch night - 7:30pm Friday 8th October 2010
The Crossley Club, Lightwater, Surrey
Admission £2
What is this event?
This is the launch of a new evening, which, if successful, will be run monthly or more often even.
How was it conceived?
The idea came about when the Lightwater/Bracknell-based folk-rock band Spriggan Mist were looking for a venue to play in full-electric mode on a regular basis, to keep in good gig-practice ready for events and the summer festivals. It occurred to them that other bands/combos in similar genres might also like to play at these events, so conceived these evenings.
As someone thinking about coming to watch, what will be happening?
It will be a varied evening of plugged-in folk-rock, folk and loosely related music (at our discretion, which we have loosely and ambiguously described as ‘Progressive Folk’), consisting of a number of acts playing short sets. Performers will generally be from the locality, and playing for free. It is not an ‘OpenMike’ though, and we will be trying to keep above a certain level of quality. We think it will be an entertaining evening – and if you don’t like one particular act, you don’t have to wait long for the next!
What format will the evening take?
The evening will kick off at 7:30, with hosts Spriggan Mist playing a short set – to get things going, check out the kit and try a few new songs in the ‘graveyard’ slot. After that there will be a series of acts performing in 15 or 25-minute slots, including a slot by Spriggan Mist, until the finish at 11pm.
As a band/combo – how does it benefit me to play there?
Bands will benefit from:
• a FOH soundperson, to make them sound as good as possible to the audience
• Full stage monitors, with a monitor soundperson so you can hear yourselves properly on stage
• Full-colour multi-unit LED stage lighting – to create that special ambience – under control of a lighting-person.
• The opportunity to get a multi-camera video of your live performance, including high-quality sound– more of that later.
All in front of a supportive audience.
Do we get paid?
No, not currently. Maybe in future events we may consider having paid acts, but that depends on the paying audience we can attract.
How long can we play for?
Generally, for acts who we have pre-arranged to play, we will offer slots of 15minutes, and a limited number of 25minutes.
Can I just turn-up and play?
We will generally reserve some time for floor-spots, though we cannot guarantee you will get a chance to play, and we will need to know you personally. If you let us know you are coming you will have more chance of playing. If you turn-up and don’t get a chance to play, then we will give you more priority at subsequent events.
Do we have to pay to get in?
There is a standard admission charge of £2 per person. Acts who have pre-arranged to play don’t pay that, and we will allow a certain number of band guests to also enter free, provide they are vouched-for. Also, if you are not booked to play and are chancing on playing a floor-spot, then if we know you personally, and you let us know in advance, you can get in free. As it is a members club, all non-members must sign-in at the door.
Can we bring our own instruments/kit?
Here are the rules:
• You bring your own instruments, we don’t provide any.
• We provide PA, DI-boxes, guitar and bass amps, mikes and stands, and a small house drum-kit.
We only allow 5minutes for set-up, so we are placing restrictions on what you can bring:
• The basic rule is, you must be set-up and ready to play in 5 minutes from the time the previous act finishes playing
• No drum kits-you must use the house kit. You can bring your own snare if you want.
• Generally, no guitar, bass or other amps – you must use ours unless specifically pre-arranged.
Any electrical kit that we do agree you can bring must be PAT tested, with a current valid sticker. If you need to get this done, then contact Spriggan Mist in advance, as Dave can perform the testing for a small charge.
What about the venue?
The Crossley Club is a social club in Lightwater, aimed at family membership. Club members get free admission to the event. They have agreed to stage this event on a trial-basis at no cost to us. They hope to make their money from the bar. Speaking of which, bar prices are subsidised, including a nice pint of London Pride and a guest ale.
More details on the ‘video’ facility?
Dave and Gill have been working on producing a multi-cam system which uses 4 video cameras with remote-controlled pan/tilt/zoom facility. This allows the video-producer to sit at a screen and choose shots/cuts/fades/pans/zooms etc, just like on a live broadcast of a concert. In addition, multi-track sound is taken from the PA feeds, and mixed into the video. This sound comes from an SSL-Soundscape system, and is of a very-high quality.
The idea is that we can produce a video ‘on the fly’ mixed at performance time, with no expensive camera operators, nor post-production man-hours. The system is used to produce an MP4 file, of high quality suitable for producing a DVD, or via conversion for lower bit-rate web videos (for YouTube etc).
The cameras used are DV consumer-camcorder-type, so are not the ‘ultimate’ in quality, and subject to some foibles, but a pretty good result is possible and, with the ‘professional’ look of multi-camera shots, stable pan and zooming, this should give a video of a level of quality which cannot be exceeded without major expense. Include with this the use of suitable stage lighting, and we hope to achieve something unique and special here.
Performers will be able to purchase the ‘total rights’ of the mixed MP4 videos of their performances (so that they can convert/upload to YouTube, create a DVD, sell or distribute for free).
Please note: you have a week from performance to let us know if you would like to buy the videos, after which we may delete them, to save disk-space.
Because these are mixed ‘on the fly’, they may well be subject to the odd ‘mistake’, as is true even of the BBC for live videos! As we can’t ‘remix’, as of yet, there is nothing we can do about this. As we get more practice at producing these videos, the quality will no-doubt improve.
Alternatively, the system is capable of also producing separate video files (as avi files) from each camera, and separate audio multi-track ‘stems’ for each instrument. This will allow performers to do their own mixing and post-production, if they have the time and facilities (something like Adobe Premiere, which sometimes comes packaged with laptops etc. or there are probably freeware software packages available). If you would like to pursue this option, then let us know in advance.
If you don’t wish to purchase any videos, then we reserve the right to use the videos in full or part ourselves for promotion etc UNLESS YOU LET US KNOW WITHIN 5 DAYS OF PERFORMANCE THAT YOU DON’T WISH FOR US TO USE THEM.
Can I help?
We would be delighted for volunteers to help in the following areas:
• FOH sound mixing
• On-stage Monitor sound and band set-up
• Running a raffle/jug collection
• Manning the doors
• Video production (though this will involve some learning time!)
************************************************************************
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Caught in a Spell review
Old readers of this blog will recall a character I worked with called Mr T. We have both since moved departments and buildings but last week I caught up with T and I gave him our CD to listen to ...Now two Yules ago T slated our single release Days of Winter he told us some home truths that hurt at the time but it was T at his most brutally honest. A Music afficianado he has been around the block a few times and has a great musical taste be it a little to Jazz in my opinion .The bloke knows what is what so I was surprised to get this unprompted review that I'd like to share......
T wrote.......
Bazza, I've listened to the whole cd twice since i got home. You should all be proud of what you have accomplished. It's meant to be MY album review so if you're not happy with it don't publish it(?) but feel free to to do with it what you wish.
Cheers T
Caught In a Spell Review
Have you ever had that Susan Boyle moment? You know what I mean, that moment when you see or hear something that you weren’t quite expecting and it makes your jaw drop and your conscience and mind, kind of goes into a spasm, not quite comprehending what’s going on.
Well I had my moment this afternoon on the M25 between the M40 and Heathrow whilst I was listening to the opening song, The Park, on Spriggan Mist’s new cd Caught in a Spell. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete nubie to the Spriggan, hey I was there (in spirit) at their inception and heard the inaugural songs, warts and all. But I haven’t listened to them for a long time.
No what I mean is I couldn’t get my head around how far they have come. The album exudes warmth and love and at times good old joie de vivre (take a bow Spriggan Dance). I had to keep reminding myself that the members of the band are not professional musicians and so much the better. For crying out loud they even have a six and nine year old making guest appearances!
The music comes from the heart and not the wallet.
The Park with it’s brooding atmosphere draws you in and entices the listener to behold the magical world of a faraway place inhabited by ‘ Faery’ folk and their ilk, before grabbing you by the short and curlies… the rest of you has to follow!
Earth Calling, dear old Earth Calling emits flavours of the East fused with the medieval troubadour sound embellished by 21st century artistry, again magical. Indigo Child, probably my favourite track. I once poured scorn on the vocals. I still stand by the criticism, but wow what a transformation , now the vocals sound warm, confident and strong, no longer a wannabe Maria Muldaur ( remember her). This girl can sing.
Faery Queen, melts the heart, a touch of genius to include Brianna’s vocal. Spriggan Dance closely follows Indigo Child as one of my favourites, played as tightly as any headlining band you care to mention. It made me smile and if I hadn’t been in the car I’d have grabbed the first woman I came across by the hand and led her a merry dance (or at least I’d have thought about it).
Overall a terrific first album and this coming from a jazz head. I have 10,349 tracks on my ipod it’s just gone up to 10,358. The band nestle between Special EFX and Spyro Gyra (Morning Dance anybody?).
If I have one criticism it would be that I never got a signed copy!
I’ll be dropping a fiver into the cancer collection box tomorrow in lieu of payment.
Mr T.
thanks T much appreciated
T wrote.......
Bazza, I've listened to the whole cd twice since i got home. You should all be proud of what you have accomplished. It's meant to be MY album review so if you're not happy with it don't publish it(?) but feel free to to do with it what you wish.
Cheers T
Caught In a Spell Review
Have you ever had that Susan Boyle moment? You know what I mean, that moment when you see or hear something that you weren’t quite expecting and it makes your jaw drop and your conscience and mind, kind of goes into a spasm, not quite comprehending what’s going on.
Well I had my moment this afternoon on the M25 between the M40 and Heathrow whilst I was listening to the opening song, The Park, on Spriggan Mist’s new cd Caught in a Spell. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete nubie to the Spriggan, hey I was there (in spirit) at their inception and heard the inaugural songs, warts and all. But I haven’t listened to them for a long time.
No what I mean is I couldn’t get my head around how far they have come. The album exudes warmth and love and at times good old joie de vivre (take a bow Spriggan Dance). I had to keep reminding myself that the members of the band are not professional musicians and so much the better. For crying out loud they even have a six and nine year old making guest appearances!
The music comes from the heart and not the wallet.
The Park with it’s brooding atmosphere draws you in and entices the listener to behold the magical world of a faraway place inhabited by ‘ Faery’ folk and their ilk, before grabbing you by the short and curlies… the rest of you has to follow!
Earth Calling, dear old Earth Calling emits flavours of the East fused with the medieval troubadour sound embellished by 21st century artistry, again magical. Indigo Child, probably my favourite track. I once poured scorn on the vocals. I still stand by the criticism, but wow what a transformation , now the vocals sound warm, confident and strong, no longer a wannabe Maria Muldaur ( remember her). This girl can sing.
Faery Queen, melts the heart, a touch of genius to include Brianna’s vocal. Spriggan Dance closely follows Indigo Child as one of my favourites, played as tightly as any headlining band you care to mention. It made me smile and if I hadn’t been in the car I’d have grabbed the first woman I came across by the hand and led her a merry dance (or at least I’d have thought about it).
Overall a terrific first album and this coming from a jazz head. I have 10,349 tracks on my ipod it’s just gone up to 10,358. The band nestle between Special EFX and Spyro Gyra (Morning Dance anybody?).
If I have one criticism it would be that I never got a signed copy!
I’ll be dropping a fiver into the cancer collection box tomorrow in lieu of payment.
Mr T.
thanks T much appreciated
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Strike a Pose
So dearest fans how are you all today?......good? What both of you? Fantastic! So here I am writing another exciting episode in the life and times of a bass player. It is my first day off today which means it’s my Saturday even though it is Thursday to the rest of the world! And my world is a wonderful place.....the children are off on their hollies and I am sitting awaiting the dress rehearsal of Brianna (aged 5 and 348 days old’s) one girl dancing show in our back room.....sound brought to you by her older brother aged 9!!!
So we have given Mother dearest the day off from her usual child care duties so she’ll be off down the common room of her detention centre aka old people’s sheltered accommodation where she will be playing cards with her green hatless peak , cigar out the side of her mouth and mountains of chips.........smothered in HP sauce of course!!!!!
So tonight I’m providing low end for the band at The Blue Anchor Folk club. In West Byfleet. The question is ....what do I wear.....toying with doing the whole Kilt thing....Dave reckons it won’t go down well (good job really cos that would be embarrassing) can’t just go in jeans ...wouldn’t be right not very Spriggan Mist.
So what about the Spriggan mobile I hear you say? Yes the sprig mobile is now sporting a new Kenwood.....I can make cakes on the go now .........seriously it charges me IPod and everything. Ok it cuts out going over big bumps and sometimes I have to turn the ignition on and off to get it to go on but it is in keeping with the character of the van!! Still awaiting some graphics from the Dark Marge for the side.....and a sticker saying
“ No musicians are left in this vehicle overnight”
Could you imagine how awful?
“Where’s Andy?”
“ Oh we had our van screwed last night ...stole our percussionist”
Then the endless trawling of the pawn shops for him...I said Pawn not Porn!!!!!!!
So an old friend from work who has since moved offices contacted me he is big into photography now and wants to add Spriggan Mist to his portfolio... ..Now his work is phenomenal his name is Glyn Dewis and he has some great ideas involving smoke bombs and ruins.....(ruins as in buildings not us) Anyway see his work here http://www.glyndewis.com/
Dave was showing some resistance but as long as he is “understated” he’ll be happy.
Now I really should be doing some bass work but my neighbour works nights and am a bit reluctant to make too much noise having done loads of night work myself. I actually miss nights that wonderful feeling as you are driving home of ....Bed! The drivers of the cars all around you have that look of “oh my god another early morning ..Work boring work.....” and then you are going to slip into your sack all snug......until some idiot fires up his bass amp that is!!!!!!
So we have given Mother dearest the day off from her usual child care duties so she’ll be off down the common room of her detention centre aka old people’s sheltered accommodation where she will be playing cards with her green hatless peak , cigar out the side of her mouth and mountains of chips.........smothered in HP sauce of course!!!!!
So tonight I’m providing low end for the band at The Blue Anchor Folk club. In West Byfleet. The question is ....what do I wear.....toying with doing the whole Kilt thing....Dave reckons it won’t go down well (good job really cos that would be embarrassing) can’t just go in jeans ...wouldn’t be right not very Spriggan Mist.
So what about the Spriggan mobile I hear you say? Yes the sprig mobile is now sporting a new Kenwood.....I can make cakes on the go now .........seriously it charges me IPod and everything. Ok it cuts out going over big bumps and sometimes I have to turn the ignition on and off to get it to go on but it is in keeping with the character of the van!! Still awaiting some graphics from the Dark Marge for the side.....and a sticker saying
“ No musicians are left in this vehicle overnight”
Could you imagine how awful?
“Where’s Andy?”
“ Oh we had our van screwed last night ...stole our percussionist”
Then the endless trawling of the pawn shops for him...I said Pawn not Porn!!!!!!!
So an old friend from work who has since moved offices contacted me he is big into photography now and wants to add Spriggan Mist to his portfolio... ..Now his work is phenomenal his name is Glyn Dewis and he has some great ideas involving smoke bombs and ruins.....(ruins as in buildings not us) Anyway see his work here http://www.glyndewis.com/
Dave was showing some resistance but as long as he is “understated” he’ll be happy.
Now I really should be doing some bass work but my neighbour works nights and am a bit reluctant to make too much noise having done loads of night work myself. I actually miss nights that wonderful feeling as you are driving home of ....Bed! The drivers of the cars all around you have that look of “oh my god another early morning ..Work boring work.....” and then you are going to slip into your sack all snug......until some idiot fires up his bass amp that is!!!!!!
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Midsummer Report
So summer is in full swing, the World Cup is a welcome distant memory for us English fans. The weather has been on the whole quite good which results in actually getting fed up of barbecue food, or is that just me? It has been a good summer for Spriggan Mist so far and with the CD selling well beyond our expectations and a memories of some great gigs we are now looking forward to The Dolmen Grove’s Tribal dreams festival where we are playing on Sunday 29th August more about that in a bit…
Caught in a spell, our debut album was officially released on 18th June 2010 at The 3 Wishes Faery Fest in Cornwall http://www.3wishesfaeryfest.co.uk/ where we played two sets. The first we did have a few technical hitches with some of the sound but put a good account of ourselves ,we really enjoyed the weekend, the Fae are a wonderful bunch and we have been asked back next year and it has been suggested a later slot which will be really cool. The CD sold really well at 3 Wishes and we have been touched by the great comments we are getting.
This summer has also seen the acoustic side of the band coming to the fore. We have played acoustically at the Anchor folk club in West Byfleet, Surrey. http://www.anchorfolk.org.uk/ Although we aren’t your traditional folk band these guys are quite broad minded and gave “Spriggan folk” a great reception. We are back there on 5th August , so if you are local pop down to the Blue Anchor in Byfleet for a drink and a relaxing evening of folk with somewhat a humorous slant with banter amongst musicians between the songs a must. We played acoustically at a couple of other venues to audiences that really weren’t expected to “get” our music and again were quite surprised at the reception. Personally I love playing the acoustic gigs although I am actually going through a Roland Micro bass cube just to cut through the acoustic guitars!! It certainly has added a new dimension to the band.
Tribal Dreams in Rodden Dorset http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/tribaldreams.html should be a great weekend. The Dolmen Grove http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/ sure know how to throw a party and to be asked to play on the Sunday night and contribute to an album that Taloch front man of Celtic rock band The Dolmen, http://www.thedolmen.com/index.htm is putting together. There have been some great comments on facebook coming from those quarters about Spriggan Mist and the CD so we are keen to put on a great show for them.
Right I’m off to play with my new Hartke bass stack......remember if you haven’t bought the CD you can do so at Tribal Dreams or get it now at
http://www.sprigganmist.com/cd.html
Regards Baz
Spriggan Mist’s Bass bloke
Caught in a spell, our debut album was officially released on 18th June 2010 at The 3 Wishes Faery Fest in Cornwall http://www.3wishesfaeryfest.co.uk/ where we played two sets. The first we did have a few technical hitches with some of the sound but put a good account of ourselves ,we really enjoyed the weekend, the Fae are a wonderful bunch and we have been asked back next year and it has been suggested a later slot which will be really cool. The CD sold really well at 3 Wishes and we have been touched by the great comments we are getting.
 |
 live at faery fest |
Caught in a Spell also featured on Toni Sant’s , Muzika Mod Iehor podcast http://mmon-podcasts.blogspot.com/2010/07/muzika-mod-ieor-ma-toni-sant-218.html which is a podcast aimed at Maltese music fans. Predictably Toni played Dragut’s Eye which is about Malta and features myself and my old friend Anglu Farrugia having a banter session on the phone in Maltese. he actually wrote in his blog
Spriggan Mist – Dragut’s Eye
Whenever I say the words Spriggan Mist at home, my wife starts singing Indigo Child by this band. They have now released a CD album called Caught in A Spell featuring that song and others they had uploaded to the MySpace page earlier, along with some new tracks that we had never heard before. Dragut’s Eye features the Marsa parish church bells, the legendary 17th century character from the failed Ottoman invasion of Malta, and a casual phone conversation between Baz Cilia and his mate Anglu Farrugia. Spriggan Mist is essentially a British band, but these elements make it more than worthy of inclusion on the MMI podcast whenever possible.
This summer has also seen the acoustic side of the band coming to the fore. We have played acoustically at the Anchor folk club in West Byfleet, Surrey. http://www.anchorfolk.org.uk/ Although we aren’t your traditional folk band these guys are quite broad minded and gave “Spriggan folk” a great reception. We are back there on 5th August , so if you are local pop down to the Blue Anchor in Byfleet for a drink and a relaxing evening of folk with somewhat a humorous slant with banter amongst musicians between the songs a must. We played acoustically at a couple of other venues to audiences that really weren’t expected to “get” our music and again were quite surprised at the reception. Personally I love playing the acoustic gigs although I am actually going through a Roland Micro bass cube just to cut through the acoustic guitars!! It certainly has added a new dimension to the band.
Tribal Dreams in Rodden Dorset http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/tribaldreams.html should be a great weekend. The Dolmen Grove http://www.dolmengrove.co.uk/ sure know how to throw a party and to be asked to play on the Sunday night and contribute to an album that Taloch front man of Celtic rock band The Dolmen, http://www.thedolmen.com/index.htm is putting together. There have been some great comments on facebook coming from those quarters about Spriggan Mist and the CD so we are keen to put on a great show for them.
 |
| The Dolmen at faery fest |
Right I’m off to play with my new Hartke bass stack......remember if you haven’t bought the CD you can do so at Tribal Dreams or get it now at
http://www.sprigganmist.com/cd.html
Regards Baz
Spriggan Mist’s Bass bloke
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Caught in A Spell Preview
Caught In A Spell ....the new Spriggan Mist album listen now by clicking on this link
Spriggan Mist
Or purchase the CD from
Sprigganmist.com
If you are at a loose end this weekend come and see us at the 3 wishes Faery Fest in Bodmin Cornwall
3 wishesfaeryfest
Spriggan Mist
Or purchase the CD from
Sprigganmist.com
If you are at a loose end this weekend come and see us at the 3 wishes Faery Fest in Bodmin Cornwall
3 wishesfaeryfest
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Caught in a Spell available now!
Ahead of the official launch on Friday 18th of June 2010 We can proudly anounce you can order "Caught in a Spell " from the below link
http://www.sprigganmist.com/cd.html
Monday, 7 June 2010
Acoustic Fantoostic
We played the Anchor Folk Club in Byfleet in Surrey....now bear in mind yours truelly is spinning Die So Fluid on the ipod at present I was kind of dreading sitting through a couple of hours of solo acoustic folk....but to my surprise it was actually a very entertaining evening. It was a first for Spriggan Mist because apart from me (I had my little battery operated Roland Bass Micro Cube) the rest of the band were completely acoustic. We did a small set and we appeared to go down really well. The people at the club were really brilliant and I'm sure we'll play there again.
The day after we did some intensive preparation for the next few gigs. Meeting up in the morning and rehearsing until the early evening. It happened to be a scorcher of a day and without the aid of roadies it was a triring but nonethe less an essential excercise.
Next stop, a private party in West Byfleet on Friday and then on to Faery fest to play two sessions plus obviously the release of Caught in a Spell while we are down there
The day after we did some intensive preparation for the next few gigs. Meeting up in the morning and rehearsing until the early evening. It happened to be a scorcher of a day and without the aid of roadies it was a triring but nonethe less an essential excercise.
Next stop, a private party in West Byfleet on Friday and then on to Faery fest to play two sessions plus obviously the release of Caught in a Spell while we are down there
Monday, 31 May 2010
June...A wonderful month
Well ok, June is when my birthday falls and that of my first born and Father's day and this year the World Cup....(Come on England!!!) but this year it is even more special...
We are playing a number of cool gigs leading up to the end of the month where we play 3 Wishes Faery Fest in Bodmin in Cornwall. We are playing twice there ,Friday evening and Sunday lunchtime....a chance to play a little more reserved on the Sunday lunch slot we thinks. We are also releasing "Caught in a Spell" our debut album all written by ourselves and recorded and produced by our very own singer ,guitarist, violinist Dave J. Lambert. The scheduled release date is June 18th whilst we are away with the Faeries.
Early indications of certain tracks we have sent out appear to have been well received. Faery Queen is a completely new song , we have one chance to gig it before Faery Fest (at a private function June 11th) ......and slightly re arranged versions of our existing sets are on the CD...so hopefully those of you out there that buy it will enjoy. You may see that some of the little gems we have done or some of the clever little bits Dave has added will creep into the live set.
This week behind the scenes at Spriggan Mist is like pre season training. We are having some quite intensive rehearsals and a live acoustic session at The Anchor Folk Club in West Byfleet. This will help us get completely gig fit for this summer.
We have submitted Solstice to The Dolmen Grove for that CD and are deliberating on which other song to record for them. We have also accepted to play Tribal Dreams in August ....
Phew.....it's all go at Spriggan Towers. Just a minor worry....like my voice hasn't comeback since the last blog.....you know I reported I had man flu....popping antibiotics like tic tacs but to no avail at the moment.
We are playing a number of cool gigs leading up to the end of the month where we play 3 Wishes Faery Fest in Bodmin in Cornwall. We are playing twice there ,Friday evening and Sunday lunchtime....a chance to play a little more reserved on the Sunday lunch slot we thinks. We are also releasing "Caught in a Spell" our debut album all written by ourselves and recorded and produced by our very own singer ,guitarist, violinist Dave J. Lambert. The scheduled release date is June 18th whilst we are away with the Faeries.
Early indications of certain tracks we have sent out appear to have been well received. Faery Queen is a completely new song , we have one chance to gig it before Faery Fest (at a private function June 11th) ......and slightly re arranged versions of our existing sets are on the CD...so hopefully those of you out there that buy it will enjoy. You may see that some of the little gems we have done or some of the clever little bits Dave has added will creep into the live set.
This week behind the scenes at Spriggan Mist is like pre season training. We are having some quite intensive rehearsals and a live acoustic session at The Anchor Folk Club in West Byfleet. This will help us get completely gig fit for this summer.
We have submitted Solstice to The Dolmen Grove for that CD and are deliberating on which other song to record for them. We have also accepted to play Tribal Dreams in August ....
Phew.....it's all go at Spriggan Towers. Just a minor worry....like my voice hasn't comeback since the last blog.....you know I reported I had man flu....popping antibiotics like tic tacs but to no avail at the moment.
Monday, 10 May 2010
The Dolmen
Sometimes in this funny old world of music you feel like you are running down a darkened corridor trying all doors which appear firmly shut. Then at other times every door you try seems to just fly open.....and the light of opportunity just floods out at you.......Lets say Spriggan Mist had a floodlit couple of days! even though rehearsals were cancelled this week due to yours truelly having the dreaded and deadly man flu.
Those of you who aren't familiar with Pagan folk rock band The Dolmen......you should become so ...hailing from Weymouth there brand of stompy folk rock spearheaded by their singer songwriter Taloch Jameson reaches out and makes you jump up and down as if wearing those fabled old red dancing shoes. More on that later.
Behind the folk rock side of things is an extended group of people (quite a large one too) called The Dolmen Grove. The Dolmen Grove was formed in Dorset England where by it still has its main HQ. Over the years the Grove has enjoyed a steady growth with a membership that spans Britain, Europe, America, Canada and Australia... The Dolmen Grove exists as a Spiritual meeting place for all people of all Nations of the Earth. The Dolmen Grove has no hierarchy and its members have no use or need for titles. People have no need for title or label to practice ones personal spiritual path if that path is based upon love and kindness then the heart is open to all things.
Max and I following having camped out at The Grove's Tribal Dreams festival last year were that impressed by it all became members, and have enjoyed the spiritual activities at The Beltaine spirit of rebirth camp recently as well as the cracking music laid on by the Dolmen and guests.
Well on Thursday Taloch contacted us and informed us that the Dolmen grove are going to release a CD were Grove members can contribute to help raise funds for the Grover to purchase their own land to run their own events and to build a place where spiritual practices can take place. He asked if Spriggan Mist would contribute two songs. At this time we will probably submit Solstice which is the last track on the new album due out next month and another not yet decided. the CD should be really good as I know that within The Grove there is some great musicians. To top this off on Saturday Max and I made an impromptu trip to Bookham in Surrey where Taloch and Dolmen lead guitarist Josh were performing as The Dolmen acoustic.
Apart from watching a great show ...(both the Dolmen and sections of the audience that is) we had a chance to sit and have a chat with them and their designated driver for the night Richard who is also a Dolmen Grove member. Taloch explained that at the next Tribal Dreams, he would like to put some bands on on the Sunday and invited Spriggan Mist to play. although I haven't confirmed officially yet we are still awaiting confirmation from Gill , it is highly likely that tribal dreams will be on our gigs calendar.......
but there is more .......Demios performed at St Srispin's School in Wokingham on Sunday and there is a chance of a trip to canterbury to play the Goddess show ...and of course the album is nearly there!!!!!!!!!!!.. but that can all wait for another blog
Those of you who aren't familiar with Pagan folk rock band The Dolmen......you should become so ...hailing from Weymouth there brand of stompy folk rock spearheaded by their singer songwriter Taloch Jameson reaches out and makes you jump up and down as if wearing those fabled old red dancing shoes. More on that later.
Behind the folk rock side of things is an extended group of people (quite a large one too) called The Dolmen Grove. The Dolmen Grove was formed in Dorset England where by it still has its main HQ. Over the years the Grove has enjoyed a steady growth with a membership that spans Britain, Europe, America, Canada and Australia... The Dolmen Grove exists as a Spiritual meeting place for all people of all Nations of the Earth. The Dolmen Grove has no hierarchy and its members have no use or need for titles. People have no need for title or label to practice ones personal spiritual path if that path is based upon love and kindness then the heart is open to all things.
Max and I following having camped out at The Grove's Tribal Dreams festival last year were that impressed by it all became members, and have enjoyed the spiritual activities at The Beltaine spirit of rebirth camp recently as well as the cracking music laid on by the Dolmen and guests.
Well on Thursday Taloch contacted us and informed us that the Dolmen grove are going to release a CD were Grove members can contribute to help raise funds for the Grover to purchase their own land to run their own events and to build a place where spiritual practices can take place. He asked if Spriggan Mist would contribute two songs. At this time we will probably submit Solstice which is the last track on the new album due out next month and another not yet decided. the CD should be really good as I know that within The Grove there is some great musicians. To top this off on Saturday Max and I made an impromptu trip to Bookham in Surrey where Taloch and Dolmen lead guitarist Josh were performing as The Dolmen acoustic.
Apart from watching a great show ...(both the Dolmen and sections of the audience that is) we had a chance to sit and have a chat with them and their designated driver for the night Richard who is also a Dolmen Grove member. Taloch explained that at the next Tribal Dreams, he would like to put some bands on on the Sunday and invited Spriggan Mist to play. although I haven't confirmed officially yet we are still awaiting confirmation from Gill , it is highly likely that tribal dreams will be on our gigs calendar.......
but there is more .......Demios performed at St Srispin's School in Wokingham on Sunday and there is a chance of a trip to canterbury to play the Goddess show ...and of course the album is nearly there!!!!!!!!!!!.. but that can all wait for another blog
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Waiting for a Dewdrop to Fall
Folking Live is held every last Thursday of the month at the Cellar Bar in South Hill Park Bracknell.
Spriggan mist played there on 25th of March 2010. they stripped down all the effects and went quite acoustic on the night. unfortunately in the video drummer Andy and bass player Baz are obscured by people and a column....some say this is an improvement to the band's look
Spriggan mist played there on 25th of March 2010. they stripped down all the effects and went quite acoustic on the night. unfortunately in the video drummer Andy and bass player Baz are obscured by people and a column....some say this is an improvement to the band's look
Monday, 3 May 2010
In the Line of Duty
Today guest writer our very own guitarist/violinist vocalist Dave J Lambert (aka Gizmo kid) describes his quest to find a standing stone on Exmoor.
Mrs Gizmo and I were on Exmoor, at one of my favourite places ever, on Horner Water, near Porlock. After having managed a couple of walks, we were studying the OS map to see where else we could explore, when we noticed that there were some Standing Stones marked on the map, high up on the moors. We thought that perhaps we could walk up there, and take some piccys for possible use by Spriggan Mist. Alas, the weather had turned bad (the wind blew cold on the moor that night) and we were going home the next day.
So, to next morning, about 7am, lying asleep in our camper. Now you should bear in mind that Mrs Gizmo is generally not very coherent at this time of the morning, so the following dialog is a bit surprising (maybe she was encouraged by her success the previous day in managing to get me to fall headlong into the mud at Bossington marshes - as she pointed out later, she did considerately ask me if I was ok, before lapsing into uncontrollable laughing). Anyway:
Mrs Gizmo: You could cycle up.
Me: Urrrrrh
(..couple of minutes delay..)
Mrs Gizmo: You should be back in an hour, and we could still leave early for home
Me: Urrrrrgmg
(..couple of minutes delay..)
Mrs Gizmo: You need your daily exercise - why not this?
Me: Urrrr-oh for god's sake
So somehow I fell (or was kicked) out of bed, still in a half-asleep trance, grabbed my cycle clothes and camera, and got on the bike.
For those of you who do not know this part of Exmoor, it is a glorious place IMHO. Clear streams falling off wild moors, into delightful wooded coombes, and with the sea close at hand. There are generally few tourists about, and even if there are, a short walk can achieve virtual solitude. For walking, horse-riding, or just chilling out it is a lovely spot. The one problem is this: the roads, especially the minor roads, tend to take the shortest route from A to B. When A is at sea-level and B is at 1600ft, this makes for some rather steep climbs on a bicycle. At this early hour I seemed to have forgotten this.
About 200yds out of the camp-site I hit the first climb. Normally I pride myself on not getting off to walk on any hill, no matter how steep. But the extra weight I had put on recently, plus being a bit out of practice, in combination with the early hour (and forgetting to have any breakfast), took their toll, and I was soon walking. This early hill soon become a 1-in-4 gradient. Wheezing and cursing, I managed to half-cycle/half-walk up the first 800ft or so of the climb, when to my horror, the road seemed to disappear in a near vertical drop.
This was Pool Bridge, and with a groan I remembered this from a previous visit. The road dropped to a very picturesque coombe and then rose vertically, cruelly, out the other side. As I descended, the bike accelerated to alarming speeds, and my hands could barely squeeze the brakes hard enough to stop it. As I came towards a halt, the bike decided it wanted to continue, and with the brakes locked and tyres skidding on the damp surface, I headed uncontrollably towards the river, just managing to avoid my second dunking in 24 hours. More wheezing and cursing as I pushed the bike up the other side, still not yet half-way to destination.
As I rose to meet the higher ground, the moor opened out, and the vista was glorious. I came to a fine sight, with a large herd of deer grazing virtually alongside a herd of ponies. As I got my camera out, the deer turned and fled, and didn't get too good a picture.
I came to the first site, where the standing stones were meant to be about 400yds off the road, but I couldnt see them, so went on to the next site just a few hundred yards off, where the stone was meant to be quite close to the road. I found the rough place where it was supposed to be, and 'rough' is a good description - very rough moorland pasture. I could see nothing resembling an ancient monument, but there was a fenced off area a few hundred yards off. I parked the bike and walked towards it. The field got boggier and boggier, and then I realised that the fenced area was around a full-on Hound-Of-The Baskervilles bog, with no stones visible.
So, reluctant as I always am to resort to technology(!), I got the GPS out and tried to hone in on the precise location. Still I could see nothing. I had a wander around, and just caught site of something sticking up above the moorland grass.
I walked over and found a forlorn little stone almost fallen over. Was this it? I could see no other stones of any description, apart from a little one alongside - of course, this was the seat for the Spriggan! I started to warm to this a little (a good job as the wind-chill was starting to take effect), Not exactly Stonehenge or Avebury, but an ancient monument all the same. Maybe it was used to train up novice Spriggan's, or to humiliate those Spriggan's who have fallen foul of Spriggan Law. Or maybe was this Sebastian's 'crap' monument? (to be explained at a later date...). I took a few pictures, being careful not to disturb anything and arouse the Spriggan's wrath, and set off back.
The ride back was a nice glide, followed by a hairy decent into Pool Bridge, a wheezing and cursing climb out, then steep descent back to base. Mrs Gizmo greeted me with a warm welcome, by pointing at her watch and saying "Where have you been? It's been nearly 3 hours!"
Mrs Gizmo and I were on Exmoor, at one of my favourite places ever, on Horner Water, near Porlock. After having managed a couple of walks, we were studying the OS map to see where else we could explore, when we noticed that there were some Standing Stones marked on the map, high up on the moors. We thought that perhaps we could walk up there, and take some piccys for possible use by Spriggan Mist. Alas, the weather had turned bad (the wind blew cold on the moor that night) and we were going home the next day.
So, to next morning, about 7am, lying asleep in our camper. Now you should bear in mind that Mrs Gizmo is generally not very coherent at this time of the morning, so the following dialog is a bit surprising (maybe she was encouraged by her success the previous day in managing to get me to fall headlong into the mud at Bossington marshes - as she pointed out later, she did considerately ask me if I was ok, before lapsing into uncontrollable laughing). Anyway:
Mrs Gizmo: You could cycle up.
Me: Urrrrrh
(..couple of minutes delay..)
Mrs Gizmo: You should be back in an hour, and we could still leave early for home
Me: Urrrrrgmg
(..couple of minutes delay..)
Mrs Gizmo: You need your daily exercise - why not this?
Me: Urrrr-oh for god's sake
So somehow I fell (or was kicked) out of bed, still in a half-asleep trance, grabbed my cycle clothes and camera, and got on the bike.
For those of you who do not know this part of Exmoor, it is a glorious place IMHO. Clear streams falling off wild moors, into delightful wooded coombes, and with the sea close at hand. There are generally few tourists about, and even if there are, a short walk can achieve virtual solitude. For walking, horse-riding, or just chilling out it is a lovely spot. The one problem is this: the roads, especially the minor roads, tend to take the shortest route from A to B. When A is at sea-level and B is at 1600ft, this makes for some rather steep climbs on a bicycle. At this early hour I seemed to have forgotten this.
About 200yds out of the camp-site I hit the first climb. Normally I pride myself on not getting off to walk on any hill, no matter how steep. But the extra weight I had put on recently, plus being a bit out of practice, in combination with the early hour (and forgetting to have any breakfast), took their toll, and I was soon walking. This early hill soon become a 1-in-4 gradient. Wheezing and cursing, I managed to half-cycle/half-walk up the first 800ft or so of the climb, when to my horror, the road seemed to disappear in a near vertical drop.
This was Pool Bridge, and with a groan I remembered this from a previous visit. The road dropped to a very picturesque coombe and then rose vertically, cruelly, out the other side. As I descended, the bike accelerated to alarming speeds, and my hands could barely squeeze the brakes hard enough to stop it. As I came towards a halt, the bike decided it wanted to continue, and with the brakes locked and tyres skidding on the damp surface, I headed uncontrollably towards the river, just managing to avoid my second dunking in 24 hours. More wheezing and cursing as I pushed the bike up the other side, still not yet half-way to destination.
As I rose to meet the higher ground, the moor opened out, and the vista was glorious. I came to a fine sight, with a large herd of deer grazing virtually alongside a herd of ponies. As I got my camera out, the deer turned and fled, and didn't get too good a picture.
I came to the first site, where the standing stones were meant to be about 400yds off the road, but I couldnt see them, so went on to the next site just a few hundred yards off, where the stone was meant to be quite close to the road. I found the rough place where it was supposed to be, and 'rough' is a good description - very rough moorland pasture. I could see nothing resembling an ancient monument, but there was a fenced off area a few hundred yards off. I parked the bike and walked towards it. The field got boggier and boggier, and then I realised that the fenced area was around a full-on Hound-Of-The Baskervilles bog, with no stones visible.
So, reluctant as I always am to resort to technology(!), I got the GPS out and tried to hone in on the precise location. Still I could see nothing. I had a wander around, and just caught site of something sticking up above the moorland grass.
I walked over and found a forlorn little stone almost fallen over. Was this it? I could see no other stones of any description, apart from a little one alongside - of course, this was the seat for the Spriggan! I started to warm to this a little (a good job as the wind-chill was starting to take effect), Not exactly Stonehenge or Avebury, but an ancient monument all the same. Maybe it was used to train up novice Spriggan's, or to humiliate those Spriggan's who have fallen foul of Spriggan Law. Or maybe was this Sebastian's 'crap' monument? (to be explained at a later date...). I took a few pictures, being careful not to disturb anything and arouse the Spriggan's wrath, and set off back.
The ride back was a nice glide, followed by a hairy decent into Pool Bridge, a wheezing and cursing climb out, then steep descent back to base. Mrs Gizmo greeted me with a warm welcome, by pointing at her watch and saying "Where have you been? It's been nearly 3 hours!"
Sunday, 25 April 2010
You're An Embarassment...!
I recently Purchased the 30 year re-release of Madness' now famous album absolutely.
The song you're an embarassment one of my faves.
Now apart from Spriggan Mist I help out with my 8 year old's band Demios. My budding little drummer is 6 years the junior of the other two lads that make up the trio. After another rehearsal where I thought the band did well, my little protoge turned to his mum and said he was fed up of rehearsing with Demios because his Dad ...aka ...me...was embarassing?!?!?!?.....
Mua?......the crimes I was committing?....dancing to their music during rehearsal...making large cymbal crashing movements with my hands telling him when to do fills....and shouting when it all goes wrong.....he felt like a little boy!!!!...yeah I know he is a little boy but try telling an 8 year old veteran of over 10 gigs ...that he is a little boy?!?!!?
But it didn't stop there.....apparently I look weird when on stage with Spriggan Mist too.....the kilt the colourful trousers....and the funny dance. We even analysed the video for choreographer extraordinaire to point out my failings!!!!
I then had to suffer him imitating me with his bass....
So that told me
It dawned on me that my son has reached the age of when not all that his Dad does is super cool....It hit me too at about his age when my Father used to do things in public that made me want to die there and then.....like cruising down Southsea front just by South Parade Pier in the car on a busy summer's eve with the Platters on at full pelt and my Dad singing along...oh did me and the Darkmagi (my brother) cringe and sink into the car seats before any of our friends saw us....
Anyway where Demios are concerned ...I'm going to take a back seat ...back off and let the boys sort it ..not be too happy and act broody and stroppy like a teenager....this should help.
As regards Spriggan Mist? the kilt is staying.
On that note thought I'd let you know all recording has been done and Dave is locked away in the studio mixing the album. Gill says he is coming out to eat apparently. Can't wait to hear the first mix?!??!?!
more news next week...
Going off to act more "cool" for junior.............
The song you're an embarassment one of my faves.
Now apart from Spriggan Mist I help out with my 8 year old's band Demios. My budding little drummer is 6 years the junior of the other two lads that make up the trio. After another rehearsal where I thought the band did well, my little protoge turned to his mum and said he was fed up of rehearsing with Demios because his Dad ...aka ...me...was embarassing?!?!?!?.....
Mua?......the crimes I was committing?....dancing to their music during rehearsal...making large cymbal crashing movements with my hands telling him when to do fills....and shouting when it all goes wrong.....he felt like a little boy!!!!...yeah I know he is a little boy but try telling an 8 year old veteran of over 10 gigs ...that he is a little boy?!?!!?
But it didn't stop there.....apparently I look weird when on stage with Spriggan Mist too.....the kilt the colourful trousers....and the funny dance. We even analysed the video for choreographer extraordinaire to point out my failings!!!!
I then had to suffer him imitating me with his bass....
So that told me
It dawned on me that my son has reached the age of when not all that his Dad does is super cool....It hit me too at about his age when my Father used to do things in public that made me want to die there and then.....like cruising down Southsea front just by South Parade Pier in the car on a busy summer's eve with the Platters on at full pelt and my Dad singing along...oh did me and the Darkmagi (my brother) cringe and sink into the car seats before any of our friends saw us....
Anyway where Demios are concerned ...I'm going to take a back seat ...back off and let the boys sort it ..not be too happy and act broody and stroppy like a teenager....this should help.
As regards Spriggan Mist? the kilt is staying.
On that note thought I'd let you know all recording has been done and Dave is locked away in the studio mixing the album. Gill says he is coming out to eat apparently. Can't wait to hear the first mix?!??!?!
more news next week...
Going off to act more "cool" for junior.............
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Spriggan Dance
This is Spriggan Dance live at Cancer Research concert Bracknell on 20th of March 2010.
Back for good
yo!
Good people of blogland ....took the little'uns to the cinema today and whilst we were waiting to see "How to train your Dragon" which is by the way an awesome film especially in 3D they were playing Take That's -back for good...which to my little ones's amusement I knew most the words.....Then this afternoon i thought what a shame I don't keep the blog up to date despite popular demand...so here we are...
Back for good.......although from now on it's all going to be band ....no pseudonyms
So this has been a great few months for Spriggan Mist ...had three very good gigs so far this year. A private leaving do where we supported the Buddy holly tribute band "Anybuddy out there" that was infront of 250 odd guests at a leaving do...some didn't get the spriggan mist sound whilst others loved it and asked for that elusive CD. Then March 20th we had our charity gig in aid of cancer research which with the help of Demios our support band who i assist (mainly cos Aaron my 8 year old is their drummer and they are a trio of really decent talented lads) we managed to sell out within 4 days.....the hall was packed to it's 150 capacity.
then we played Folking live a small gig in front of a very appreciative and respectful audience who listen to the music rather than talk over it..We stripped the sound down for that and played almost acoustic. I played mainly fretless which is a first and Max played 12 string semi acoustic...Dave played acoustic guitar and played the leccy violin be it with no effects...loved playing there and would love to play again.
So now it is all down to the recording of the CD album which we aim to release in June this year. as i type Max is laying down Electric guitar for most tracks and her vocals. She laid down all her other instruments yesterday.
Andy recorded his percussion this morning and Gill and Dave will be doing theirs as and when (it's being recorded on the whole at their studio) Aaron has added drums for The park and my 5 year old brianna has actually done a little narrative for a new song that will be released on the album....oh and me?
I'm going to lay the low end next week...
Darkmagi has started on the artwork which a concept of which has been given to him .....can't wait for the end product.
So an exciting summer for Spriggan Mist lays ahead.....and i haven't mentioned the gigs yet!?!?!
Good people of blogland ....took the little'uns to the cinema today and whilst we were waiting to see "How to train your Dragon" which is by the way an awesome film especially in 3D they were playing Take That's -back for good...which to my little ones's amusement I knew most the words.....Then this afternoon i thought what a shame I don't keep the blog up to date despite popular demand...so here we are...
Back for good.......although from now on it's all going to be band ....no pseudonyms
So this has been a great few months for Spriggan Mist ...had three very good gigs so far this year. A private leaving do where we supported the Buddy holly tribute band "Anybuddy out there" that was infront of 250 odd guests at a leaving do...some didn't get the spriggan mist sound whilst others loved it and asked for that elusive CD. Then March 20th we had our charity gig in aid of cancer research which with the help of Demios our support band who i assist (mainly cos Aaron my 8 year old is their drummer and they are a trio of really decent talented lads) we managed to sell out within 4 days.....the hall was packed to it's 150 capacity.
then we played Folking live a small gig in front of a very appreciative and respectful audience who listen to the music rather than talk over it..We stripped the sound down for that and played almost acoustic. I played mainly fretless which is a first and Max played 12 string semi acoustic...Dave played acoustic guitar and played the leccy violin be it with no effects...loved playing there and would love to play again.
So now it is all down to the recording of the CD album which we aim to release in June this year. as i type Max is laying down Electric guitar for most tracks and her vocals. She laid down all her other instruments yesterday.
Andy recorded his percussion this morning and Gill and Dave will be doing theirs as and when (it's being recorded on the whole at their studio) Aaron has added drums for The park and my 5 year old brianna has actually done a little narrative for a new song that will be released on the album....oh and me?
I'm going to lay the low end next week...
Darkmagi has started on the artwork which a concept of which has been given to him .....can't wait for the end product.
So an exciting summer for Spriggan Mist lays ahead.....and i haven't mentioned the gigs yet!?!?!
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Friday, 15 January 2010
Marbles 0 courgettes 1
Well I hope you all had a great time off over the festive period. The Sprigs had a testing time but on the whole peaceful time. Gramps' journey to France was scuppered by the snow. Easy jet said none shall pass. Gizmo kid was ill most of Chrimbo as was I, the children and Wifey to varying degrees over different parts of the holidays. Can't grumble all enjoyed the time off.
So 2009 has gone …..the year that saw Spriggan Mist venture into the live scene with a full band. The year of important facts such as Mother Dearest has finally lost her marbles and that Britain cannot cope when it is snowing……..and that Dark Marge doesn't wash his socks he just kind of wears them till they get more holes than material and then throws them away.
The snow …..beautiful as it falls ….takes you back to your childhood when you are playing in it….complete pain in the nether regions when trying to get from A to B which is why I offered to take mother Dearest to Tescos just before the Hollies for food shopping. I seperated from her for a while leaving her in the veg aisle as I met her there I saw her walking down the middle of the aisle holding a single courgette in the upright position in the front of her chest with her other hand grasping it and running up and down as if ….well do I need to explain more?
She walked about 50 feet looking around in a world of her own …….fondling this courgette.I didn't know what to do I felt the colour drain from my face. I checked around …thankfully everyone was head down and too engrossed in their shopping to notice…….Mother Dearest claims she didn't know she was doing it………..I nearly died …..then whilst at customer services she broke down into fits of laughter whilst looking at the feedback box……pretending to be sick into it…?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I did look through her cupboards the Christmas Sherry was still intact. Very bizarre . Then on New year's day as wifey spoke about the Blue Full Moon, Mother Dearest enquired "where is it?" Wifey straight faced retorted "well it's kind of in the sky"….
So quite a few gigs coming up.
This month January 28th to be precise ,we go acoustic at an open Mic at the Anchor in West Byfleet
February 22nd we may be playing at my boss' retirement do at Sweeneys' Pub Ruislip. Gramps is on hollies for that so Barabanshik ...remember him? drummer from Hot Machero and then Stone Jesters ......likes dressing up in uniforms for bedroom activities? ...(that jogged the memory didn't... it you saucey naives you)well anyway he is standing in ....
March 20th we host our very own Cancer Research gig at st Joseph's School Bracknell
March 25th we play folking live at South Hill Park...
then in june we have the Faery Fest and then fetes etc......
so we are ticking over nicely...
Anyway parental duties prevail better get binlids some brekkie
So 2009 has gone …..the year that saw Spriggan Mist venture into the live scene with a full band. The year of important facts such as Mother Dearest has finally lost her marbles and that Britain cannot cope when it is snowing……..and that Dark Marge doesn't wash his socks he just kind of wears them till they get more holes than material and then throws them away.
The snow …..beautiful as it falls ….takes you back to your childhood when you are playing in it….complete pain in the nether regions when trying to get from A to B which is why I offered to take mother Dearest to Tescos just before the Hollies for food shopping. I seperated from her for a while leaving her in the veg aisle as I met her there I saw her walking down the middle of the aisle holding a single courgette in the upright position in the front of her chest with her other hand grasping it and running up and down as if ….well do I need to explain more?
She walked about 50 feet looking around in a world of her own …….fondling this courgette.I didn't know what to do I felt the colour drain from my face. I checked around …thankfully everyone was head down and too engrossed in their shopping to notice…….Mother Dearest claims she didn't know she was doing it………..I nearly died …..then whilst at customer services she broke down into fits of laughter whilst looking at the feedback box……pretending to be sick into it…?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I did look through her cupboards the Christmas Sherry was still intact. Very bizarre . Then on New year's day as wifey spoke about the Blue Full Moon, Mother Dearest enquired "where is it?" Wifey straight faced retorted "well it's kind of in the sky"….
So quite a few gigs coming up.
This month January 28th to be precise ,we go acoustic at an open Mic at the Anchor in West Byfleet
February 22nd we may be playing at my boss' retirement do at Sweeneys' Pub Ruislip. Gramps is on hollies for that so Barabanshik ...remember him? drummer from Hot Machero and then Stone Jesters ......likes dressing up in uniforms for bedroom activities? ...(that jogged the memory didn't... it you saucey naives you)well anyway he is standing in ....
March 20th we host our very own Cancer Research gig at st Joseph's School Bracknell
March 25th we play folking live at South Hill Park...
then in june we have the Faery Fest and then fetes etc......
so we are ticking over nicely...
Anyway parental duties prevail better get binlids some brekkie
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