Tudor Folk Club
Chesham, Bucks, England

Archive July to December 2002

1st July 2002 - Kate Howden, Paul Jones & Tony Taffinder

A talented Lancaster based trio who have recently made quite an impact in the region's folk clubs and farther afield with their thoughtful and quietly compelling brand of contemporary acoustic songwriting. Their sound world is characterised by a blend of soft-hued twin-guitar work and well-harmonised vocal lines with alternating leads. Their well-observed and crafted songs have an assuredly melodic quality. Kate and Paul don't feel the need to need to prove their instrumental capabilities, so there's no bravado or blustering display of technique, just unobtrusively accomplished playing of filigree intricacy. Tony Taffinder adds a diversity to their arrangements with guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, mandola, fiddle, flute, whistles, harmonicas, bodhran, bass guitar and voice.

8th July 2002 - Atlantic Crossing

Vermont's top contradance band performs songs and instrumental music of New England, Quebec, Maritime Canada, and the British Isles, as well as original material inspired by these musical traditions. The band’s arrangements feature rich harmonies and driving rhythms, showing a deep love for the tradition along with a high level of creativity, emotional expression, and just plain fun. They are:

• Brian Perkins (bouzouki, tenor banjo, mandolin, feet, vocals) who is a versatile performer, music teacher and sound technician, as well as director of Burlington’s popular Celtic College workshop series.
• Rick Klein (guitar, vocals) wo has developed his powerful rhythm playing through years of work in dance bands of all types. A licensed skipper who has lived and worked on the sea, he has a natural affinity for maritime music.
• Viveka Fox (fiddle, bodhran) who has played American, Scottish and Irish music since childhood, and especially loves the music of Cape Breton for its Gaelic soul and North American exuberance. Her solo recording 'Shores of Champlain' was released in 1993.
• Peter Macfarlane (fiddle, vocals) who joins them seasonally from Oxfordshire, U.K. where he plays regularly for dances, weddings and other events throughout southern England. For 10 years, he organized and led the Aylesbury Fiddle Rally, an annual fiddler’s gathering.

22nd July 2002 - feature night with Dave Ellis and Boo Howard.

Welcome back, Dave and Boo. Great stuff! A singaround format, but Dave and Boo will do the last 30-40 minutes in their inimitable style.

29th July 2002 - feature night with Francis Elder.

Born in Cornwall, bred in Blythe, a mining and fishing village in Tyneside, Francis became a sailor in the Navy, before becoming an itinerant. He lists Afghanistan as a favourite.

9th September 2002 - The Simon Care Trio

Mad Simon, ex-Albion Band, ex-Edward II, current Pink Tickler, he of the Moulton-eating melodeon, kick starts our Autumn season with Tickled Pink (lite). Comprising Simon, plus one of the finest piano players in the country fellow Tickled Pink person Rob Kay and on acoustic guitar the incredible Gerald Claridge.

Drawing on a repertoire of familiar Traditional and Contemporary English Country dance music, this mostly acoustic line up still has the punch and drive associated with its big brother, Tickled Pink.

23rd September 2002 - Alien Folklife

Alien Folklife is the acoustic folk music duo of Canadian Paul Mercer and New York state native Joan Kosby. Their repertoire of original material combines contemporary and traditional folk music influences with a healthy dose of offbeat humor. They are equally at home with an evocative story song, an upbeat tune or a quirky humorous piece.

Paul Mercer was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He grew up hearing the traditional music of this Canadian province, as well as that of Ireland and Scotland. Joan Kosby grew up on Long Island, New York, in a household of dueling musical tastes. Her mother, whose father had been a professional violinist, loved Mozart and Beethoven. Her father, whose mother had sung in British vaudeville, preferred cowboy songs and Mitch Miller. And her older brother was a rock'n'roll and Kingston Trio fan.

Kosby's passion for traditional music led her to Newfoundland to study folklore, where she met Paul Mercer. The two started the St. John's Folk Music Club, a weekly performance venue that is still going strong. During this time they began performing together, and appeared at the first Newfoundland Folk Festival. After completing their master's degrees, they married and settled in upstate New York.

Over the years they have gradually moved from a repertoire of traditional and contemporary British, American and Canadian music to one of original matenal. Alien Folklife's current sound blends all these influences to produce songs that are at once fresh and familiar. Combining sensitivity with a sense of humor, they bring a love of music and a feeling of sharing to their performances.

7th October 2002 - Artisan

Artisan are Hilary Spencer, Jacey Bedford and Brian Bedford. They are three friends who decided to sing together for fun way back in 1984 in deepest darkest Yorkshire. "It was pure luck," says Jacey, "Our voices blended so well, right from the start, that we had lots of encouragement from friends and that prompted us to work really hard. Within a couple of years we were being invited to festivals and events all over Britain. By 1988 we were getting so much work that we either had to give up singing or give up the day-jobs. Finally in 1989 we became full-time vocal harmonists. "

Here's an extract of a review of a gig in Newton Aycliffe on 6th June 2001. It's by David Jones in Folk North West, Winter 2001 edition:

21st October 2002 - Sid Kipper

Sid started singing at school, and was sent home immediately. He didn't let that put him off though, and in 1984 he and his old father, Henry, were discovered by local song enthusiasts, and toured extensively as The Kipper Family. In 1992 Sid went solo, and since then he's never looked back.

Sid's performances typically consist of a mixture of songs, stories and folk wisdom which hold audiences enthralled whilst simultaneously entertaining them enormously. He will take you down the Trans-Norfolk Highway to the village where Rev 'Call Me Derek' Bream cycles from Dunsinnin to the village hall for the Over Eighties Aerobics; where PC Chubb relentlessly trails Cyril Cockle, who is quite innocent, and is therefore arrested for wasting police time; where Dot Kipper thinks that watching Neighbours means getting out the binoculars for a bit of a snoop.

A bit of background on The Kipper Family:

Discovered in 1978 by Norfolk singers Chris Sugden and Dick Nudds, the Kipper Family were originally founded by Ephraim Kipper in 1837. After a number of personnel changes over the years, the remaining duo of Henry Kipper (b. 4 August 1914, St. Just-near-Trunch, Norfolk, England; vocals, tremelodeon) and Sid Kipper (b. 3 September 1939, St. Just-near-Trunch, Norfolk, England; vocals, accordion, Trunch blow-pipes, walnut shells) continued the family tradition of keeping alive the songs from their native village.

Nick Beale in March 2001's fROOTS says of his album, "East Side Story":

A link for Sid stuff. And another one.

28th October 2002 - Come All Ye + feature night with Le Ann Etheridge

So: what do you say when Nanci Griffiths' sidekick asks if she can do a floorspot? Well, after gasping for breath, and thinking "you kidding?", you say "Oh, yes, please. Rather."

Invited to join Nanci Griffith's "Wall of Women" Tour in 1997, this led to a permanent position singing and playing rhythm guitar in the Blue Moon Orchestra and appearing on Nanci's last three records.

In autumn 2001 Le Ann completed her first CD "Half A World Away" produced by Pat McInerney and Clive Gregson. Ten original compositions are featured along with covers of Michael Nesmith's "Some of Shelly's Blues" and Pete Townshend's "Blue, Red and Grey". There is ample backing on the CD from Nanci Griffith, James Hooker and Ron de la Vega from the Blue Moon Orchestra and help from session aces Kenny Vaughn and Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson.

4th November 2002 - Jon Boden & John Spiers

Yes: the seriously amazing BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Horizon Award nominees John Spiers and Jon Boden...

Here's what I said to them when I first heard them:

And since then I've been asking/telling everyone I meet about them. Nancy Kerr & James Fagan are extremely enthusiastic...

Mike Harding had a long feature on Squeezy and Jon on his show on 16 October 2002; playing three tracks from "Through and Through" (Rambling Sailor, The Quaker/Brighton Camp and Boston Harbour) and talking with them about their approach and influences. Here's what Mike had to say by way of introduction:

"Now, at the end of last year, a new act burst onto the folk scene: John Spiers and Jon Boden - both wonderful musicians and a breath of fresh air for English Folk music. But I have to admit something: when I first heard the album that they released on Fellside Records, I did have some reservations because I actually found the recordings, I've got to say, a bit harsh and uncompromising. But, having seen the lads play live and listening again to the album, I've got to say I was wrong and I'm now a total convert: the energy and vitality which they put into their music jumps out at you and it is this which is making them one of the most inspirational live acts around..."

and the Beeb's Folk site reviews the album:

"Strong vocals, excellent musicianship, dynamics, drive and passion - and great production from the aforementioned Mr Adams: crystal clear, sparse and as if you're sitting in the same room. Grand. Their names might not be well known yet but it's only a matter of time. "

Also the Beeb's Folk site interviews Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson:

NW: "Oh, yes. There's some young performers doing some really good stuff. John Boden and John Spiers, they take risks, which is what we did. It doesn't seem risky now, but when the Watersons came along, nobody was singing unaccompanied apart from the traditional singers and people like The Copper Family. We really like it when there's something wild about what the young people do, and there's a few around like that, which is great. "

MC: "The only reservation I had about a lot of the crop of the new singers was that they were all tremendously accomplished and there was not one hint of a risk anywhere, and performing is about risk. But people like Boden and Spiers really are risky. They may make mistakes, but by God, the passion's there, and that makes up for a lot. But they both happen to be very good instrumentalists and very good singers."

Latest News:

"We're just back from Sidmouth having narrowly escaped the mud (well not quite! - Squeezy's melodeon case is still caked in the stuff!). We had a great time at the festival and thanks to everyone who helped make it a success for us. Rumour has it that our album was the top seller at the festival! With all that dashing around to Cambridge and back we'll be glad of a quick breather before we play at Wallingford! However, we will be at Towersey in different guises: Jon B will be running sessions and as ever you can buy all your folk instruments from John S at The Music Room stall...... See you there!"

John Spiers (melodeon) and Jon Boden (fiddle) are an exciting young duo who play a lively mix of folk songs and tunes mainly from the English tradition. They hail from the musically famous "amber triangle" in East Oxford and can often be seen frequenting the local sessions. Since the release of their first album, Through & Through, in the Autumn of 2001 they have aroused much interest on the UK folk scene including a nomination for the BBC Radio 2 Horizon award 2002 for best newcomers, a runners up spot in the BBC Radio 3 World Music award and lots of very positive reviews in the folk-press.

The two J's first met up in 2000 at the famous sessions at the Elm Tree on Oxford's Cowley Road. They decided almost immediately that it would be a good idea to work together as both of their styles seemed to have the same high-energy approach to the music. Their first public performance was in the August of that year at the Mayflower Folk Club in Cambridge where John learnt to play in front of an audience.

Since then, John & Jon have played a number of folk clubs in the South East and have left audiences in no doubt that they have witnessed something a bit different!

John Spiers (aka Squeezy John!) (26) started playing the melodeon while studying genetics at King's College, Cambridge. At first it was because of necessity, he played piano already and found that one was not freely available, the squeezebox was simply a way of not going mad! However, to his suprise, he found he could play it quite well and he seemed to know an astonishingly large repertoire of morris dance tunes which had gone in to his system while watching his dad dance as a child. Folk by osmosis! After university, John honed his skills down at the Fir Tree sessions every Tuesday night. Because of the large number of particularly talented individuals at this session, he had to advance rapidly to keep up! He joined a local ceilidh band called "Fiddle & Squeeze" and started to gig around folk clubs with Ian Giles, singer with the band Magpie Lane. Working with Ian helped him to learn to work on stage, as did playing in a short lived band with Ewan MacPherson and Marguerite Harrington.

Quickest off the mark to spot their potential was Martin Carthy ("Norma and I saw this lad called Jon Boden playing at the Lewes folk club down in Sussex and we were completely blown away by him. This lad was wonderful")

Technically they stand head to head with the best of their generation: "Jon Boden plays fiddle with an earthy vigour that's utterly compelling and sings in a frantic breathless manner as if the hounds of hell are taking lumps out of his backside, while John Spiers harmonises and plays urgent driving melodeon to a very high standard indeed." ..."halfway to reinventing the style without even realising it...a significant new act has landed" fRoots magazine.

The originality, conviction, energy and technical ability of this young duo has already won them a prestigious nomination for the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award, a shortlist position in the BBC Radio 3 World Music Album of the Year, and they are already in great demand on the club/festival scene.

18th November 2002 - Roy Bailey

The legendary Roy Bailey.

Colin lrwin in December 2000's fROOTS says of his album, "Coda":

Other good links for Roy: BBC Radio 2's Folk Artist database entry; and some nice recent pictures of Roy at last year's Fylde festival

2nd December 2002 - Tom McConville & Pauline Cato

It's a few years since Tom and Pauline have been at the club: too many, in fact. I MC'd for them at Swanage last September, and they really are very good. When I mentioned them at Tudor, everyone said "we must get them back." And so: we have.

Nick Beale in January/February 2000's fROOTS says of their album, "The Surprise":

16th December 2002 - Belshazzar's Feast

Paul Hutchinson (accordion) and Paul Sartin (oboe and fiddle) play like no one else you've ever heard. Their musicality is breathtaking and wickedly inventive and the between-tunes interchange as intelligent and hilarious as the music. But don't let me give you the impression they're a lightweight comedy act: they include spell binding music, too. They play mainly English music but will include anything that's entertaining.

Susan Mallett reviews their album "Mr Kynaston's Famous Dance" in issue 70 (Sept-Dec 2000) of Shire Folk:

More surfing has turned up the following: Radio 2's review of their Sidmouth gig and Fo'c'sle Folk Club's preview