By skamonic
We had another terrific location for the wedding gig we played yesterday.
Yet again we were in a historic building. This time a 15th century manor house Birling Manor very close to Beachey Head.Indeed you could see the lighthouse from the very beautiful grounds.
Best of all was the selection of sausage and bacon sandwiches that were served between our sets.We hope to post some photos late when we have more than a mobile connection.
We had a great time, and were happy to help give Adam and Ellie a great party on their wedding day.
By skamonic
Here’s a great opportunity.
Legends of Ska is a new documentary about the roots of the music we love. While the film has all been shot, it needs further financial support. For the next week ska fans have the opportunity to pledge support here.The money will only be collected if the fund-raising target is reached.
You can watch the trailer here, but visit the site to find out more about how to back this great project.
By skamonic
We’ve moved the Skamonics blog from its old home at wordpress.com to integrate it with the rest of the Skamonics site.
Ideally no-one will notice.
But if you’ve ever been to http://skamonics.wordpress.com in the past, don’t do so in the future.
We’re now at http://www.www.skamonics.co.uk/
By skamonic
We’ve moved the Skamonics blog from its old home at wordpress.com to integrate it with the rest of the Skamonics site.
Ideally no-one will notice.
But if you’ve ever been to http://skamonics.wordpress.com in the past, don’t do so in the future.
We’re now at http://www.www.skamonics.co.uk/
By skamonic
What instrument(s) do you play? Bass guitar
Do you have any other role in the band? I enjoy writing arrangements, running the website and writing the blog. I’m less keen on fixing rehearsals and running the PA – but they have to be done.
Do you have a favourite tune in the Skamonics repertoire? My favourites are the original 1960s ska instrumental tunes such as Alley Cat Ska, but I also enjoy the extreme covers such as The Model and Can’t Get You Out of My Head.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played with the Skamonics? with other bands? I enjoy any gig when everyone dances all the way through. That was true of our most recent gig at Last Days of Decadence, gigs we have done at Hootananny and many of the wedding gigs we have done. I once did a gig with a soul/pub-rock band in the South of France which was huge fun.
How did you learn to play? I had piano lessons when I was young and did A-level and lots of music theory exams. I taught myself to play the guitar at the same time, mainly playing folk but then stopped in my twenties. I then took up the bass in my thirties. I’m basically self-taught on that too, though I did go to three evening classes before it was cancelled for lack of students. I’m also a self-taught arranger – though I have lots of books.
What else do you do musically? I play in a couple of jazz big-bands, who also sometimes play my arrangements and compositions.
Who are your musical influences on your instrument – and more generally? I suppose I’m meant to come up with a list of flashy bass players, but in most styles of music – including ska – the job of the bass is to keep the rhythm going and not show off. So I admire players like Duck Dunn (who played with Booker T and the MGs on countless Memphis soul records) and of course Lloyd Brevett of the Skatalites. Gary Crosby of Jazz Jamaica is an obvious role model. Reggae bass playing has made a huge impression on me – Aston “Family man” Barrett with Bob Marley was the first I heard. When I started to play jazz someone suggested I listen to Ray Brown playing with Oscar Peterson to understand how to swing – and that was brilliant advice.
My favourite arranger of all time is Gil Evans.
As well as ska, what other types of music do you like, and who are some of your favourite bands or musicians? Loads of different things, though I listen to more jazz than anything else. My one Desert Island disk would be Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to (where you weren’t playing?) There are too many to single one out, but here’s a random highlights selection. Kando Bongo Man with Diblo Dibala on guitar at the Town and Country Club, Flaco Jimenez at the Half Moon Putney, John Martyn at a venue I can’t remember when I was a student, Betty Carter at Ronnies, EST at the RFH – and Richard Thompson many times.
What do you do when you are not playing music? Unlike some in the band I have a full time day job, so music is mainly what I do when I’m not at work. But I also have a half share in a canal boat.
What about you would surprise other members of the band? I can be quite pleasant when I’m not setting up the PA, I make all my own bread, I once played the tympani in Westminster Abbey, I failed my Grade 6 piano exam the first time (OK that won’t surprise anyone …)
By skamonic
Our CD is not on Spotify, but we have put together a playlist of the original versions of some of the songs we play.
Much of it, naturally, consists of the first recordings of the ska and two-tone classics we play. You won’t be surprised to find the Skatalites, the Specials and Madness. For one or two of the tunes we’ve put in other cover versions of the originals so you will find an Amy Winehouse obscurity.
But as we specialise in devising ska versions of songs from a very diverse range of different musical genres you will also find the ska punctuated by Kraftwerk, Kylie and The Shadows.
By skamonic
We’ve got a new Zoom H2 recorder (well, actually a refurbished one off Ebay).
It had its first try-out at last Saturday’s gig.
We thought we would share a couple of tunes via the blog.
But first a health warning.
We simply stuck the recorder on a mic stand in the middle of the stage area.
The sound the band hears on stage has very little relation to what the audience hears out front.
This is because the horns and vocals are being projected by the PA. On stage we have monitors for these, but the sound can’t be too loud or we would get feedback. That’s a particular problem with the vocals. Not only was Veronica the furthest from the recorder, but the horns, who are naturally louder anyway, were much closer.
No bass, drums or guitar go through the PA so they have to be loud on stage so that they project with the PA into the audience. The recorder was also close to the drums and bass.
And of course any commercial recording is carefully mixed before issuing. You can’t do that when you just stick a microphone up in the middle of a band.
So if you’re prepared to use lots of imagination to imagine what the sound was like on the dance floor, here’s Man in the Street. This is one of the 60s ska original instrumentals we play, so the very quiet vocals are not a problem here.
Next up is our version of Kylie’s Can’t get you out of my Head – this is one of our bonkers covers.
By skamonic
We are all just back from playing a wedding gig in Herefordshire.
It was a stunning setting – a group of buildings dating back to the 14th century that are situated in beautiful countryside a few miles from Leominster.
We had a great time, and had the chance to dig out some tunes that we’ve not covered for some time as were playing three sets, including a first laid-back jazzy one in the afternoon immediately after the ceremony.
The venue
The weather was less than stunning however. We had sunshine, showers and everything in between, with our last set played in almost total darkness – not always a recipe for hitting the right fret.
As we were playing outside (a very sheltered outside for the band) it meant we were playing to an audience that could one moment be basking in the sun, and the next rushing for shelter or grabbing umbrellas.
Our stage
This was certainly our first experience of playing to people who were dancing in the rain.
We don’t have any photos of that, as of course, we were playing at the time. But we did take some between sets.
DJ Andy on the decks
We often work with a good DJ friend of ours for weddings and other functions. So here’s a picture of Andy. You can’t really see, but he’s stuck between a fig tree and some antique agricultural equipment. This is a bit of a change from some of the sweaty clubs in which we play.
Our drug of choice
All bands like to play up the rock and roll lifestyle, but actually our drug of choice is coffee and lots of it. This is also the first gig where we have been provided with venison sandwiches.
Brollies at the ready
And did we say it rained?
We at least are all dry, while Andy who took this photo is out front getting wet.
Annie and Veronica
We had a special guest on trombone, Annie, who is seen here chatting with Veronica.
Frank and Mark
Here are a few more photos of the band between sets.
Leah and Steve
Nigel looking his usual relaxed self when setting up the PA
By skamonic
What instrument(s) do you play? Saxes, Misery Stick… and bassoon for non-party situations. Piano in times of desperation.
Do you have any other role in the band? Nagging Mark to use a cowbell at every opportunity. Insisting that Frank should be referred to as ‘The Doctor’. Trying to insert quotes from the Rite of Spring into every gig (not that anyone ever notices!).
Do you have a favourite tune in the Skamonics repertoire? Dr Who – it defines ‘sexy slow groove’ !
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played with the Skamonics? with other bands? Erm, probably the one in the barn because the local ale and cider was grand! And I felt like I was on form.
Hard to pick best gigs, so many to choose, but I guess you could say that playing at Buckingham Palace for Princess Anne was a particularly nice one.
How did you learn to play? Very carefully.
What else do you do musically? eg other bands. Musical Director of The Blue Flamingo Big Band, created by my company Blue Flamingo Entertainments which I co-own with fellow Skamonista Leah! I really enjoy my new funk outfit, Last of the Blue Flamingos. Founder member of reed trio, W3. Have been lucky enough to enjoy playing with a wide array of groups and organisations really… for example I had some experience with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which was great.
Who are your musical influences on your instrument – and more generally? This list could be endless, so I’ll keep it to two! Tubby Hayes on Sax, definitely. More generally, I owe a lot of my soul to Tord Gustavsen.
As well as ska, what other types of music do you like, and who are some of your favourite bands or musicians? All kinds. I mostly listen to jazz, but I trained classically. Erm, avoiding the ones I’ve already mentioned, some of my current ‘most played’ list are: The Mingus Big Band, Jake Goss’ Banyan, Stanton Moore, Don Byron, Curious, Arturo Sandoval, Gwilym Simcock, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro, Gergiev and the LSO, Avishai Cohen….
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to (where you weren’t playing?) Can I have two?! Seeing Tord Gustavsen was stunning. And the other would be the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band, doing a night of Dizzy Gillespie stuff – the guest trumpeter wasn’t on form, but the band were incredible that night – especially Dave O’Higgins!
What do you do when you are not playing music? Arrange it instead. Or teach it. Or travel somewhere, inevitably en route to play more of it. Or listen to it! I also run my businesses obviously, which is pretty full time – I do a lot of promo stuff daily for that. I guess my other big interest is my motorbike which I blast about on (it’s a bright green Ninja for those who care!).
What about you would surprise other members of the band? The contents of the shoebox in the bottom of my wardrobe.
Think of a question that has an interesting answer (and preferably answer it?) I guess the inevitable question will now be ‘What is in the shoebox in the bottom of your wardrobe?!’
By skamonic
We’ve added the Skamonics to Last.fm.
The best thing about this is that you can now listen to Skamonics radio – a stream of tunes either by the band or by similar artists. Given a few plays, it is clear that Last.fm has some fairly eccentric views about what music is similar to ours, but has also led to some interesting discoveries particularly in Europe.
Go on, give it a try.
You can find the Skamonics at Last.fm here: http://www.last.fm/music/Skamonics
