Millport Country Festival

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Jonathan, the demise of country music over the last 25 years or so probably deserves a topic of its own but my take on it is three main reasons, first one being bands playing it badly, The line dancers for picking over the bones of what was left of it (and then dumping it for anything with a beat! ) and finally the death through old age of our core supporters whose children and grandchildren have never been exposed to the real thing and know only canned "Country" Pop.
On account of this very few would now advertise for a "Country" musician the ad's now read alternative or Americana, I think they lust for country music but not the sort that is out there today.
When I was lucky enough to get Gordon's job with the Alabama Hayriders obviously the band took a hit with me trying to fill those shoes but we clawed our way back by trying to keep up the standard that had been set by Gordon and George Brown, After our introduction we would play ourselves on and off at the end of each set, if we had a good crowd dancing someone would shout a key change and we would not let them off the floor until we had played about three tunes, I can recall gigs at Beauchamp Roding where the place was so packed you could not fall over, the atmosphere,expectation and pressure on the band to perform was completely different to what I see today. I have worked in bands since then that some rate as good that in a laid back way will "play" the same old 20 to 30 songs that all the other bands on the circuit are playing in the same order off the same sheet night after night without much interest or ANY variation as is born out by the write ups you see in the country magazines.
I think that all of us that mourn Country Music should move to Texas (and listen to "The Yellow Rose Band" )

[Haddock]

Well apart from Elvis, the standard of music at the festival was way above what I expected. Some very fine players and songwriters and I’ll be going back next year for the full three day event. Would love to play at it and its now on the bucket list. Ashley Campbell singing Witchita Lineman was probably the highlight but we also had a good time watching Jonathans band. And some fine solo acts in the acoustic tent. Best thing overall though was the atmosphere. Everyone was there for a good time, even the security were really nice and no one stole the dinghy which is always a bonus! I reckon woman outnumbered men by about 3 to 1 which is nice too. And Indians as well as cowboys!

[jonshack]

Hi Calum, thanks for coming to see the band, it was really nice to meet you, sorry I didn't get to catch up with you afterwards, it was pretty much pack up, get a bite and back in the van to London.

Apart from a power cut half way through we had a good show and we're really warmly received. I think we probably were a bit of a novelty playing the 'old stuff'. Although we didn't get to see many other acts, everything I heard was guitar pop, 80's soft rock, Tom Petty-ish Americana or acoustic duos. Not really my thing but some very talented players and singers. I'm sure was a lot more to it - the organisers (and it was VERY well run) I think did make an effort to cover a range of what audiences consider country music. Steel guitars were thin on the ground, although the band before us had a very good steel player from Perth called Stuart, lovely bloke.

I would highly recommend any of you guys play the Millport festival, everyone we met was super nice to us, the accommodation was great, the food in the green room was fantastic, it was very professionally organised, all the security people smiled at you and said hello (!!) and the place is beautiful. So what if we can't all agree what country music is these days? Go out and find the bits you do like and hang the rest.

I hear what you're saying JD, we've just got to keep going out there, playing and exposing people to good country & western. There is a healthy flow of classic country and honky tonk coming out at the moment, we just need to look for it and support it. I don't go in for carping about the death of country as long as there are still bands out there to see and buy records from. As for what the country magazines say, they've never bothered to come and see us or review us so I don't know where we stand exactly but we do avoid some of the pitfalls which IMO may have put todays audiences off typical club bands: no charts/sheet music on stage, no 'madonna' mics, no iPads, no crooning, no loud drums, no confederate flags, no waistcoats, no backing tracks, no synths, no garth, no achy breaky. We play mostly hard core honky tonk, western swing, Bakersfield style and outlaw, a few well known classics and some lesser known gems and some originals. I can't tell you we're making decent money, or getting any glory, but we're out there giving it some passion and having fun.

All the best, Jonathan

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

I know you are giving it all and large! love what you guys do !! I am talking about some of the club bands that really don't cut it and don't really try, maybe they are doing the best they can? Hell I have even been out with a few myself to put bread on the table but there is not much pleasure in it.....
I just think there is a spark gone out of it somewhere and its a crying shame...just MHO.

[simon_f3]

The Millport festival sounds fantastic - and I reckon even if you only see a couple of bands who do stuff you really like, it's worth going to something like this. Jon, I haven't managed to see your band play live yet but I really enjoyed your video on recording at Sugar Ray's, and I think the self-penned stuff you are doing is exceptionally good. Definitely will try to catch you before too long!

Sadly, we musicians are often torn between playing the stuff we love (where it can be hard to find others who want to do the same, and hard to get paying gigs), and playing stuff we can tolerate but don't love (where it is easier to find others who want to do it, and easier to get paid gigs in clubs). I play rockabilly guitar, mainly, and on the 'scene' the full range of possible styles and abilities of bands is present. On top of that, some clubs are great, other less so, but we only do the material we genuinely like and after a few years we seem to have reached an equilibrium in clubs, where only those that like our stuff now book us!
From the Country perspective there is not a lot of 'real' Country going on near me, though I feel very fortunate to have fallen in with The Austin Pickers, where I get to play some great classic Country and Western tunes. And alongside JD as well, which is always a joy Did I mention it's tomorrow night in Bulkington?

I have generally found the festivals to elicit a much better response to less mainstream music than clubs, where by their nature (it's a club of people with things in common) the clientele are often quite aligned in their tastes But playing to even a few people who get it is better than not playing at all, and I cannot imagine a life that didn't involve packing travelling hours with masses of gear in order to earn enough to cover half the cost of doing it!

[jonshack]

Thanks for the encouraging words fellas! Are you guys time-sharing the steel guitar in the Austin Pickers? Not a bad idea.

I don't really want to bash club bands or the way they do things. It's a different scene from the pubs and bars. Which is different from festivals.

From an outside point of view the Rockabilly scene looks very healthy and entirely enviable. It would be nice to see one "classic country" festival get going that people could focus on and rally round.
In the meantime get yourselves down to Joe's monthly Honky Tonk Thursdays now at the Blues Kitchen in Camden. I'm often DJing there and there are two proper country bands every month.
https://www.facebook.com/Jambalayapromo/?tn-str=k%2AF

Jonathan

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

If Sid comes after my job with the Austin Pickers there will be wigs on the green !! ............

[simon_f3]

I'd need to get about 10,000% better to be able to do justice to John's playing - certainly a long way off any kind of time-share!!! John, your job is not under any threat from me!

That said, I am learning bits and pieces (by watching John!) at every gig, and my hope is to be able to get up to speed on a few songs so that I am ready to deploy when a suitable opportunity arises, in whatever form that may take. My 6-string guitar playing got LOADS better when I was singing and playing acoustic in a Country/Rockabilly band, with Darren Lince on lead guitar. Look for him on youtube - absolutely legendary player, and great guy too. Just watching and listening to him play several nights a week for a couple of years gave me so much to think about and to learn. I'm trying to do the same now with PSG, although I am starting pretty much from scratch so it's a steep learning curve.

Yeah, the Rockabilly scene is doing well - lots of bands doing really great stuff, with some exceptional musicianship. Plus there is some really good original material coming out which is a good sign of a healthy scene. We are planning on getting back to the studio next year to do the dreaded second album, but I want it to be 100% original songs rather than covers. Makes it a bit more risky, but with the possibility that people may play it more than once

Gratuitous link to our 'pop video' for the last album:

[jonshack]

Oops Sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion there!

Nice video Sid! I agree about doing originals, people don't seem to take cover bands very seriously which is another uphill battle for country bands today.