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.
Monday, 31 May 2010
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!"
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