*****South of England Steel Guitar Festival - 2017*****

[Ken Byng]

We are very fortunate to have Basil and Pat performing. For those who haven't seen or heard Basil play live, he is an outstanding player and musician.

I will declare now Basil - there is some shit kickin stuff in my program, but I promise to vary it somewhat.

[Basil Henriques]

I will declare now Basil - there is some shit kickin stuff in my program, but I promise to vary it somewhat.

If that's the case you won't be playing this one then, not with white socks, I can just imagine the effect..

Is it just old age or is this a bit 'pitchey' ?

[Will C]

Ken Byng said:

And remember - no heckling - the idea of playing in front of an audience of steel players and steel enthusiasts is daunting enough without brickbats!

I hope not, I still get so nervous about playing in front of other steel players, I think "I can bluff with others, but with steelies they will hear all the mistakes, there's no hiding place". I sorted out enough material for two slots of 25 minutes and possibly more, but even now I look at some of those numbers and think "How the hell does that go again?" The learning curve is still near-vertical!

But I'm looking forward to meeting friends old and new, and all experience is good experience...

[jonshack]

This is more like it, I knew there was some action out there! Thanks for the further info Bob, makes sense about the running order. I don't really mind when I play. I only have four songs ready (kind of) and it's ALL shit-kicking country

I've never really played solo instrumentals before, it's a whole other thing, good practice, very demanding. And yes, daunting.

Will, you have my respect if you know that much material but if I were you... give yourself a break and chuck a few songs out! It's enough pressure without doing stuff you're a bit iffy about, surely? Without wanting to sound glib, performance nerves are a symptom of how deeply you care about the thing and how it comes across. Why risk your security further for the sake of quantity? You're communicating the care you invest in playing your instrument more effectively by practicing and performing a few songs to your best ability, I think.

That said I will probably blow my 4 toons badly and then wish I had a few more in the bag to fall back on!

Anyway I hope your practice goes well and you don't get too stressed. I am trying to trick myself out by telling myself that I've already won by learning the songs and licks I wanted to learn, whether or not I can perform them flawlessly, under pressure, 1st time out, is by the by.

Come Saturday we'll know if that little mind game helps or if I'm just a wreck!

[Will C]

Well Jon, I do actually know them pretty well, but as I get older I get occasional moments when I think "what the hell comes next?" - when I have already done it in my sleep so many times. Maybe that's the trick: take a sleeping pill! Or have a drink beforehand... There's one I particularly want to play, my father loved the song, but I never plucked up the nerve to play it for him while he was alive. It is my own work from start to finish, and this will be the first time I have played it to anyone.

[jonshack]

I know exactly what you mean: suddenly the thing you've been playing on auto pilot all this time completely throws you because now you're concentrating on it so hard. Or maybe just 'concentrating differently' because it's a performance.

I try to practice everything in that performance headspace as much as possible (visualising the audience and the room) but constantly focus ahead to the next fret or phrase so that my muscle memory is still largely in charge of my hands, knees and toes. That's the theory, it doesn't always work because the adrenaline of playing live is so distracting and, apart from anything else really makes my hands sluggish. But it I think it does help with those unnerving memory glitches.

Looking forward to hearing that song Will. Don't play first though, not sure we will make it for 10am! Wish I'd had time to work up something completely original, maybe next time.

Anyone else doing original songs?

[Ken Byng]

Is it just old age or is this a bit 'pitchey' ?

Well it's live so it could be, but my ears aren't as good as they once were. The great Curly Chalker on steel there. I saw Johnny Russell once at the Ponderosa in Hampshire in the 1970's. He certainly had written a whole bunch of hit numbers, including Act Naturally.

I promise that I will be wearing blacks socks on stage at the weekend Basil, but maybe brown ones might be more appropriate.

[Will C]

Just to clarify, Jon: that song is not an original, it's a song from a West End show. But the transcription, the arrangement if you will, that's my own work - no guidance apart from my ears. No doubt Basil will pick me up on any bloopers, but that's ok. I just want to do it well.

[Basil Henriques]

Just to clarify, Jon: that song is not an original, it's a song from a West End show. But the transcription, the arrangement if you will, that's my own work - no guidance apart from my ears. No doubt Basil will pick me up on any bloopers, but that's ok. I just want to do it well.

Not so much pick you up, as help maybe ! what's the tune and key ?

[Ken Byng]

Looking forward to seeing my old buddy, Danny Hughes at the fest. Haven't seen him in years.