2 posts in one day – aren’t you feeling spoiled!

Well, this is to let you know that our 6 track EP is now on sale (UK only for now I’m afraid!)  for just £5 (plus 50p postage and packaging).

This could be yours...

The tracks included are:

• John Hardy
• Honey You Don’t Know My Mind
• If It Hadn’t Been For Love
• You Don’t Miss Your Water
• Leavin’ Home
• Set Your Fields On Fire (that’s the popular one where we all sing different bits on the on/off beats!)

You can grab your copy by clicking on the buy now button below, paying securely with credit or debit cards or PayPal.

It just makes Secondhand Stringband Sense!

Yes please! I’d love my very own 6 track EP from the Secondhand Stringband for just £5.50.

I can’t wait to impress my family and friends and break the ice at any party with this Bluegrass delight:

Two blog posts in one day, why ambassador we are spoiling you…

In a few weeks time after we return from playing the Cornish Bluegrass festival, we are playing a set as part of a plugged-in showcase at the O2 Academy in Islington.

We’re playing alongside acts including: Natalie McCool; who has been tipped for big things by Mark Radcliffe and Chris Martin from Coldplay, and indie-rock-pop-dance quartet Stealing Signs as well as a couple more acts to be confirmed.

We would love, love love, for our London fans to come out and support us for this one, and we have a limited amount of tickets available.

There's a spot on the dancefloor with your name on it...

We’ll be rocking a similar set that we played for the Water Tower Bucket Boys gig so expect it to be fast-paced and fun. And of course, we’ll be around all night to generally spoil and make a fuss and spend time with people who have come to see us.

Tickets are already selling, and at just £6.00 if you buy directly from us (or £6.50 if you buy online to cover PayPal fees) it’s an affordable treat for a Tuesday night out.

Details are:

Event: Jar Music Presents “Plugged-In Showcase”

 Bands Playing: Click on this link to find more details about the event

Venue: O2, Academy, Islington, 16 Parkfield Street, N1 Centre, Islington, London, N1, 0PS

Nearest Tube Station: Angel (Northern Line)

Parking: N1 Centre, Islington – http://www.n1islington.com/n1_islington/parking.html

Tickets are available from us here and will either be posted out to you before the event or left at the booking office for you to collect (I will be in touch to let you know which one):

Tickets: £6.50 ea

Well, it’s been around 6 months since we last updated the site… It feels a little like we’ve been in hibernation with playing just a couple of gigs this year so far, (including my birthday back in January – overdue post about that gig to come soon) but all with good reason.

How many mics does it take to record Bluegrass?

Instead of being out playing, we’ve been inside recording. What started out as a 3 track demo has now swelled to a 10-12 track Bluegrass Opera… Well, not quite an opera, but we are having a lot of fun and struggling to strike off songs from the list of what we want to record.

We’ve been setting up in Dan’s flat (The Stepney Court Studios) and sometimes Tim’s, with all the equipment we can get our hands on and enough bacon rolls, tea and coffee to keep us going.

Taking no chances, toes must be behind the line at all times...

We’ve got a couple of gigs coming up but mostly our energy is going into recording at the moment. You might also see us busking in May in Brighton as we go on location to get some photos for the CD design. It feels like we’re coming alive for spring and I’ll aim to keep you posted more often!

To find out the latest news from us, check back here, or to make it even easier, sign up to our newsletter using the form on the right. I mail it out only when there’s news you need to know, so you don’t have to worry about getting inundated with our every move.

Dan relaxes between takes as Tim sinks the latest track in "the pocket."

Cornish Bluegrass Festival

Oh, and we just got confirmation that we’re playing at the Cornish Bluegrass festival in September, so if you’re going do get in touch and say hello – that’s going to be a great weekend!

Till next time,

Amy.

As promised in the previous post, about our recording antics here is the missing post about the band playing at my party back in January…

In January, the band were kind enough to play at my birthday gathering and it was a blast. It had been a while since we’d played with each other due to the Christmas break and it was great to be playing together again.

It was such a fun night, and people even ate the sandwiches, even though I warned them they had been made by my fair clumsy hand.

We were even lucky enough to have the super talented (and incredibly wonderful people to boot) Amy Hill and James Bandenburg play a short set on the night.

To top it all off, the very generous and easy-to-get-on-with-but-ultra-professional Sussex photographers Funmi and Adrian from FOPhotography were there to capture the magical moments.

Fun was had by all, and here are some snaps you might enjoy!

amy and James kick things off and set the party "vibe"

Dan. The man behind the beard.

Big Earl (now known as Big Pearl...)

The lovely Tim

Even my dad joined us for a solo on Wildwood Flower

A very happy me.

Action shot...

It was a magical night and I like to think fun was had by all. The venue (upstairs at Circus Circus) was perfect and the staff were an absolute dream!

Nervous? Us?

Howdy!

Well we returned from playing at the Didmarton Bluegrass festival last weekend and had a blast whilst we were there.

Cool as a cucumber

We played on the Ogri stage Friday afternoon to a lovely crowd who were tapping along and smiling. It was a bit strange for us having separate mics as we usually like to huddle round the one mic and find safety in each other’s company. Going from that to having separate mics does make you feel a little more exposed.

Tim never let his knocked bass bridge affect his performance. He rose above it.

But the crowd was absolutely fantastic – it’s such an amazing atmosphere at Didmarton and whilst we were definitely more jittery than when playing our fondly familiar venues, this was still a whole heap of fun.

I’ve put up some pics, and you can catch the videos of the festival here if you look for the “Didmarton 2010” series of vids.

There were some amazing acts on over the weekend including The Peter Rowan Band, and the stunning Scoville Units.

I also enjoyed the lovely Lynne Butler’s performance (on her own – how brave). Lynne hosts a radio show on UK country Radio and you should definitely check it out (not just because she plays us on there )

The New Essex Bluegrass Band who I’m personally very very fond of were there on top form. As always they gave a tight performance with spinetingling harmonies. One of my favourite bands at the moment is The Biggin Hillbillies and I absolutely love Heather Bristow with her beautiful original songs.  And there was our good friend Mo Jackson playing with her partner Colin and Lucy Ray as the Lil Kitties with great clawhammer banjo, mandolin, guitar and sweet

Malc's excited face

harmonies.  Definitely check them all out if you can!

Oh, and the weekend wasn’t without a little drama. Just before we were about to go on stage Tim noticed the bridge on his bass had been knocked considerably.

He consulted Malc for some expert repair advice and Malc duly whacked it till it moved (almost) back in place.

Then, on the Sunday, after discovering that there were no taxis on the Sunday, Malc and I had to hot foot it through trees and along the verge frantically trying to hitch-hike the 2.3 miles (thanks Google maps) to the train station.

I'm desperately trying to remember the next chord / words

We failed miserably at the hitch-hiking, (something to do with carrying a banjo and mandolin?)  but as we arrived on the platform to see the train pulling away we yanked on all the door handles until it stopped… How the conductor laughed! (he didn’t – he was very angry…)

Hope to see you soon!

Well, a lot has been happening this past month so I’ll give you a quick round up to bring you up to speed and then let you know what’s coming up on the Stringband agenda.

Malc with the lovely Casey Henry and Rachel Renee Johnson from The Dixie Beeliners

Dan’s hand is healing nicely after he broke his hand and we’ve been able to play gigs again which is great. He has now earned the nickname of Dan “nine knuckles” Edwards.

Last weekend we played a gig up in Reading supporting the fantastic Dixie Beeliners and the renowned Bluegrass band, The Coal Porters. Malc interviewed the banjo player of The Dixie Beeliners, Casey Henry for his new banjo repairs website (he bribed her with beer) and you’ll be able to read the interview there in the not too distant future! It was a really fun night and we were joined by bassist Nik Funke who kindly stepped in to help us out and did an awesome job, stealing the show with his solo singing part in “Cocaine blues”. Nik can usually be seen playing with the lovely Danni Nichols down at the Foundry every Sunday night.

The Coal Porters Closed The Show In Reading

Speaking of which, Dan, Malc and I will be playing with Nik again at the Foundry tomorrow night (Sunday 22nd) which is always great fun and it would be lovely to see you there.

At Reading we also were introduced to the lovely Lynne Butler, who hosts a great bluegrass radio show Butler’s Boudoir Bluegrass and she’s super passionate about spreading the word of the UK Bluegrass scene. Lynne will be playing and broadcasting at the Didmarton festival so we’re looking forward to bumping into her again!

Last Thursday we were at The Great Eastern, where my amp decided to die last minute. Malc disappeared over the road to The George and the lady there was kind enough to lend us a teeny tiny amp that really helped us out!

So, what’s next? Well we’re going to be playing at The Didmarton Bluegrass Festival on Friday the 3rd of September, which we’re really looking forward to, and then we’re at the Horse and Groom on the 10th. I’ve updated the gigs list so check that out and do come along, see us and say hello!

Hope to see you soon.

Playing at HazelFest on the Summer Shed Main Stage...

Well, it’s been a month, sorry about that!

Just a quick update, the Hand in Hand gig tonight has had to be canceled as Dan has hurt his hand

But we did get a call this morning from the lovely people at BBC Sussex who want to play one of our recordings tonight on their show for local unsigned bands.

We are very excited and Malc squealed.

If you want more details aout the show, here’s the link! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0090xn7

Hello again,

Been a couple of weeks since my last post and I hope you’re well.

The Shoreham Folk festival was an absolute blast, I completed my half-marathon (thank you to everyone who donated) and we’re getting ready for the summer gigs ahead.

Hopefully we’re playing this Sunday for a fundraiser organised by the Hanover Day committee. Hanover Day couldn’t go ahead this year due to a lack of funds which is a real shame as it is a fantastic day. Fingers crossed it happens next year!

I’ll be writing more soon I promise, but if you fancy seeing us play on the 14th of August alongside the Coal Porters and the phenomenal Virginia based Dixie Bee Liners, get your tickets here:

http://www.wegottickets.com/event/85991

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Amy Harrison and the Secondhand Stringband Newsletter

Latest News Hello you! Forgive the rough version of our newsletter, this is something we’re working on improving for the future so that it’s a joy to read when it hits your inbox! Well, in the Secondhand Stringband world things are getting busier but first things first, I need to wish a big happy birthday to Tim and Malc! Last Saturday we played at Tim’s birthday party which was great fun and a Godsend for Tim who had no idea where to get hold of a band that would play for a couple of cans of Oranjeboom. We happily stepped in. This Thursday it’s Malc’s birthday which starts off the celebrations for 3 gigs this weekend (more information about that in the Upcoming Shows section below) In other news, we’ll be playing at the Didmarton Bluegrass festival this year. We’ll also be sharing a bill with The Coal Porters and Virginia band The Dixie bee Liners in August in Reading at what should be an awesome gig! hope to see you soon! Upcoming Shows Okay, this is where you can find us hanging out in the coming months!: Date Venue Friday 18th June The Ranelagh Arms, Brighton Saturday 19th June The Horse and Groom, Brighton Sunday 20th June The Bridge Inn, Shoreham Sunday 4th July The Hand in Hand, Brighton Saturday 17th July The Great Eastern, Brighton Saturday 14th August Cold Dog Soup, Reading 3rd-5th Sept Didmarton Festival Friday 19th November St Julians Club, Sevenoaks Monday 6th December The Lord Nelson Other News If you’ve visited the website recently you might have read that I’m raising money for Marie Curie Cancer care by running a half marathon at the end of this month. I’m travelling up north to see family and go on a 13.1 mile jaunt. All money I earn from gigs in June will be donated to Marie Curie and I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at The Great Eastern who kindly donated £40 towards the pot.

Thanks to everyone in The Great Eastern Pub last night at our gig who donated their spare change so generously.

At the end of this month, I’m going to be running a half marathon to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I’m donating all the money I earn from our gigs in June and had a little jar last night to collect additional donations.

So far, from gig money and donations I’ve raised £66.31 and have 3 gigs to go next weekend!

If you fancy making a donation, just click on the donation box to the right.