Hello Secondhand Stringbanders!

First things first – tonight we’ll be playing some bluegrass music at The Great Eastern on Trafalgar Street tonight.

It’s been a long time since we were there and we’re excited to be playing at where I think was our first ever Brighton pub gig.

In fact – here’s a very crooked photo from that first gig nearly 3 years ago:

Bluegrass music at the Great Eastern, Brighton

The line up has changed a little since then, but no by a lot, and it feels like Tim’s been with us longer than 2 years.You can also see how we had to balance the speakers on tables and chairs… You’ve never seen a more nervous customer than when you set up your bluegrass instruments and plonk a speaker right near them.

Fortunately tonight we come prepared with speaker stands.

In other news I am looking into packaging the album and getting copies printed. If anyone can recommend a good duplication and printing service, that would be awesome.

New Bluegrass tunes for you tonight

We’re debuting some new tunes tonight for you which we’re really excited about so keep your eyes ears out for…

• Long journey home
• That’s what you get for loving me
• Walking the dog

Can’t wait to see you there!

 Other British Bluegrass News

The Orwell Bluegrass Festival kicks off the British Bluegrass festival season and it’s one of the festivals I’d love to go to but haven’t been yet – it’s pencilled in the calendar for next year.

There’s a cracking line up including:

• New Essex Bluegrass Band (I love these guys!)
• Lynne Butler & White Star Line
• The Kent Carters
• Down County Boys
• A Band Like Alice

And a whole heap of other Bluegrass bands. The festival runs from Friday May 11th – Sunday May 13th and you can find out more here.

Till next time my little Bluegrass fan.

Amy.

Hello stringband fans!

Well this is it, I’ve set myself the challenge of updating the website once a week, and letting you know more regularly about our upcoming bluegrass gigs in Brighton and the like.

To find out about booking us as a bluegrass support act in Brighton and East Sussex, you can use the contact page or the details listed below.

So what’s going on in the world of secondhand strings?

2012: quiet year for festival gigs, more local folk clubs

We’re just starting to pick up more dates for the coming months after a quiet period from recording the album. Playing the Cornish Bluegrass Festival last year was our last big Bluegrass gig, and since then we’ve stayed closer to home. We’d love to play the British bluegrass festivals again, and we’re still waiting to hear back so will have to wait and see!

It’s been a real joy to reconnect with some favourite local venues and debut at some new ones as well!

Some upcoming gigs we’re looking forward to include:

The Willows Folk Club – Wednesday August 1st

At the beginning of this month we played at The Blue Coconut Club in Pulborough, home to the resident band Way Out West, and run by the legendary Jimmy Lee.

This is probably one of the coolest venues I’ve ever been to. It’s off the beaten track in the woods and has been purpose built for artists and musicians. It’s an infamous venue for those who have been frequenting it for many years, and it’s just beginning to gather a new crowd, meaning exciting times ahead.

It was at this gig that I finally met Chris Davis in person who runs the Willows folk club. Chris has bundles of energy and is so passionate about music I think I read somewhere that he’s in about 7 bands… I struggle to organise myself in one!

Chris has now booked us for the Willows Folk Club on the 1st of August 2012 and we’d love to see you down there. I’m really looking forward to this gig, last time they had Bluegrass shows they had around 100 people through the door so it should be a really fun night!

The Great Eastern Bluegrass gig – Thursday May 10th

That’s right – we’re back to our old stomping ground of The Great Eastern pub at the bottom of Trafalgar Street in Brighton.

We used to play here a lot in the early days and we were missing the place! I’m even more excited about playing here because we’re coming equipped with speaker stands so we no longer have to balance speakers on tables. It should give us a lot more room and help us raise the volume in there!

We'll be cranking up the bluegrass volume with these!

Album recorded – now naming and design!

Finally the full album version has been recorded (watch this space if you already own the 6 track version as you’ll get the full one at a reduced rate).

The album took a lot of weekends, tea and biscuits to make and we’re in the final stages of getting it designed and printed before we can start bringing them to gigs for you to check out.

We do have a name that we’re toying with, but it’s very hard to come up with something that hasn’t been done before or that doesn’t sound incredibly cheesy. If you have any suggestions for naming our bluegrass album, we’d be open to them!

To book us for a gig

We are now taking bookings from June 2012. for a bluegrass support act, you can contact me on 0787-553-7636 or info(@)secondhandstringband.com.

For weddings and private parties you can also fill out the contact form and let us know the dates and time of your event and I’ll get right back to you with availability.

I’m going to sign off for now, but I shall see you next week when I’ll be writing the next blog post!

Hola Stringband Fans!

Just a quick update (and a last minute one – slap my wrists) to let you know we will be playing at the London Unity this evening in Brighton for their Folk and Ale night.

We also recently received some lovely pictures from Amy and Simon, the lovely couple whose wedding reception we played not long back.

We scrub up quite nicely – although I look a little confused by my Mandolin, which isn’t unusual…

Tim, looking very smart...

Dan, looking over to his left...

Malc looking thrilled...

Me, looking lost and confused...

Phew! Just got back and settled after playing at the Cornish Bluegrass Festival down in Newquay this weekend.

It was the first time we played this festival and we were made to feel very welcome and were extremely spoiled and looked after by the organisers. Big thanks go to Carolyn, Nigel, Moss and the rest of the Cornish team who made our stay so enjoyable.

Relaxing after the gig - the ties were quick to come off bless 'em

There were some nerves goung round n the Friday night as we had the opening slot for the festival. A last minute practice had us warmed up but there were still butterflies as we waited behind the stage getting ready to go on.

Purple was the night's theme

The set went well and I think we managed to enjoy it whilst we were playing, instead of being petrified from start to finish. I thought the guys looked incredibly handsome in their suits and I was incredibly proud to be playing along side of them.

The crowd were just the best you could have – we didn’t realise it at the time because of the lights, but we were told there was standing room only by the end, so a big thank you goes to those who came in and stood up to hear us play!

They even had a photoshoot for us to do the next day

The rest of the weekend was just as fun. There were some top bands (including my personal faves The New Essex Bluegrass Band and Heather Bristow) and some newish acts that were really impressive such as Kidnap Alice, and of course the incredibly popular Flatts and Sharps. Dan and Max were all eyes and ears watching Steve Kaufman play and my dad picked out Stompin Dave Allen as one of of his “shit hot” acts.

Heather Bristow and the New Essex Bluegrass Band

All in all, a fantastic weekend – we just hope they’ll have us back!

Last Saturday we were lucky enough to support the Water Tower Bucket Boys when they came to Brighton as part of their UK tour. We’ve seen the guys play here a few times before and were delighted that the guys at Drifter Promotions decided to put us on the same bill.

Watching the Bucket Boys on their sound check from the balcony area

The whole night was a real buzz. We had our own mini dressing room, some beer kindly provided by Martin and Ian from Drifter, the sound guy was so patient and enthusiastic at our requests (his standard response to our “is it possible to..” was “easily!” We liked him a lot).

Relaxing in the dressing room with our tins of Abbot Ale...

It was great to see so many people turning up early to see us and even through the dry ice (yes, you read that right) we could see friendly faces which really meant a lot and gave us our energy whilst we played. A couple of the Water Tower boys had kind words to say about our set and playing, and we beamed at that!

Say cheese....

Afterwards, the Bucket Boys came on and absolutely rocked the socks off the place with their signature high-energy performance. Exciting harmonies, breath-taking playing and solid Bluegrass tunes set the pace for the evening. The only downside was having to leave the venue early to make room for the 80s club night that followed…

Thanks again to everyone who came out and hope to see you soon!

Sad News

We received sad news last week that banjo maker and restorer Barry Murphy passed away unexpectedly. Barry was a well-loved and well respected figure in the local music circles. He had a rich, musical background and was an incredibly talented musician and passionate maker. He will be very much missed and our thoughts are with his wife Mary and his family at this time.

Hello again – so soon I know, but I needed to update you all on tonight’s gig.

There’s been a double booking unfortunately, so our debut at the Snowdrop in Lewes won’t be this evening I’m afraid, but we will be there very shortly and will let you know when to update your calendar.

Sorry about this folks, it’s such a good venue and will be a great night when we do get down there.

Thank you so much for understanding. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Dan's thinking of Spinal Tap right now, I can tell...if only I'd seen it I could laugh along too.

Good evening Stringband friends!

We’ve got a couple of fun gigs coming up for you this week whether you’re looking for a late night on Friday or a chilled music night on Sunday.

Friday

This Friday we’re playing for the first time at The Hydrant pub, on London Road. It used to be the Hare and Hounds and is fast becoming a hot spot for some of the unique Brighton bands such as The Bobby McGees who we saw playing earlier this year, and who were (as always) just bloomin’ brilliant!

It’s got the makings of a great night, least of all because we don’t have to get up for work the next day so can let our hair down.

Sunday

We’re back at The Foundry on the 16th which is a great night if you’re looking for something live and acoustic to make you forget about work the following day. Get down, try one of their amazing pizzas and relax with some twiddly-diddly guitar and  biddily-widdly banjo.

Other News

Last Sunday at The Hand in Hand I busted out my Mandolin for one song. I’m a total beginner and the guys are  encouraging, but they do insist that until I watch Spinal Tap, I’ll never really be part of the band. The Mandolin only gets me so far into the inner circle. One day, I will know what they’re talking about when they mention Stonehenge and start giggling till Dan can’t even drink his tea.