Vote Music

13/12/2019 The Blue Yellows at Tom’s Tap and Brew.

It was with exceptionally heavy hearts that we gathered in the lovely environs of Tom’s Tap and Brew following the devastating win for the right wing Conservatives; a win for bigotry, for lack of empathy for those in most need and for monetising everything that moves including basic public services, and cutting those that don’t make a direct profit, no matter how important.

Yes, it looks like the nasty party are bedded in for years to come.

It was heartening to know that Jacqui and Sean who run the place feel the same way.

It was a nice crowd, noisy  but appreciative, the gang played really well, we drank some of the most gorgeous beers imaginable and met up with some great friends.

Thank you all,
spirits - lifted (for now).
J X

Broken, but a blast!

The Blue Yellows at the Alsager Music Festival.

Having had a weird virus giving me the strangest bunch of uncomfortable and exhausting   symptoms since May the 3rd on and off, it was nice, at last, to play a gig while feeling well (though the virus had ‘gone under’ for a couple of days at a time in the past before returning with renewed vigour so... touch wood!).

In an ideal world, bands would get an hour or so to sound check, and I’ve even worked with pro bands who have taken up to two and a half hours to perfect their sound to the venue and iron out any problems, so these festivals we often play where you get a really quick turnaround, it’s a big challenge to try and get it right for all involved, and our sound engineer Matt, stage manager and whole team did a great job!

However, I did manage to snap a string in the first few seconds of the opening song (first time in quite a while as I’ve been using these NY Elixir strings which have an extra carbon component, and so are extra strong ((and expensive!)) ). So while I ran off stage, grabbed the spare guitar and tuned it, Em played the intro to the next tune over and over for a bit, until I was ready.. such pros, this lot on The BYs. 

We also got a brand new song into the set, ‘Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?’ and the gang played it so well, sounded pretty raucous from where I was anyway, in fact the whole set did.

It was great to catch good friends in The Dying Lights who sounded more laid back and melodic than usual, but in a good and groovy way. Good friends were all around the seating areas in fact, so nice to see you all and have at least a tinsy catch-upette. 

The Dying Lights on flowering form.

It was a blast!

Spot the new song?

Video Killed a Barbeque Star.

Last night we descended on the location for the first video-shoot for The Blue Yellows   since  'No Tobacco'. The setting was a real-life BBQ at our very own drummer Dave's place with Rob and Ang behind the cameras.

I travelled there with Rob and Ang who, like me both suffer from Social Anxiety,  so normally the thought of going to something like a BBQ could be quite a daunting ordeal. In addition Ang and Rob were both exhausted after full days and I was still feeling ill(!).

Nevertheless our lovely hosts and jovial atmosphere made it a joy, now the real work begins, the endless hours of editing for Rob! Thanks mate!

Sublyme in the Windy City.

Photo by Pete Alcock

Soundcheck-selfie by Dave
L-R; Me, Em, Simon, Dave

Although May, and following some exceptionally warm weather, the sunshine belied the freezing cold Northerly winds, exacerbated by the fact that this part of the world is very hilly, windy and has it's own micro climate. 

This was the Lymelight Festival in Stoke On Trent, we arrived early, some using the extra time to catch a local cafe. Both Em and I were a bit under the weather, Em with some stomach pains and me with a sore throat. This didn't effect my singing though at one point, in between verses I thought I felt my throat feel as if it were about to disintegrate or something, but it lasted the set, thankfully, though not the following day!

Harder to deal with was finger dexterity for playing, I don't think I made any mistakes but may have missed out some of the 'notes in between the notes' sounds and the like. The weather also ensured that the crowd was both smaller than you would expect and very wrapped up! I should've worn my extra-warm beany hat, I'd assumed the sun would've managed to make a bigger impact on the temperature.

Nevertheless, a well organised gig and a great sound on stage too. Thank you Lymelight!

Blooming Beautiful!

Aug 6th, 2017

Another August and another lovely invite to Martin and Elaine's friendly hospitality and mini-festival no less, in their gorgeous back garden. Playing with The Blue Yellows of course, or at least 3/4s of us while Em is away on holiday.

I feel I let the Yella Fella's down somewhat with a voice totally under-powered and under-tuneful almost from the off, however... something I realised later might be partly down to being generally dehydrated from having run out of drinking water at home (I live on a narrowboat, keep up!) and not having had time to replace it, or, therefore, drink very much at all that morning, my own stupidity at not realising this getting in the way then, really.
Nevertheless, it was a truly lovely, gentle day again in the most gorgeous garden, yummy food and very good company.

One of the most memorable performances came from songwriter Tim Lee, in fact I had that experience of completely forgetting where I was and totally existing inside the music as he played his song, 'A Curious Cure'. This is a common experience I have regularly when I play music (in fact I think musicians should aim for this state) and quite often when listening to great music alone, but rarely when feeling more nervous and conscientious when I'm with people. Anyroadup, Tim also made a really comprehensive write up of the whole day, and some very special performances, right HERE if you want to read more.

Many thanks to all involved and especially Martin and Elaine... Special!

Musician for Hire!

July 22nd 2017

Now that music forms the main part of my income, I have to get used to the idea of very short notice gigs from time to time, luckily my semi-acoustic and acoustic guitars were already packed following a more technically full-on rehearsal than usual with Rickety Wireless the night before. 

If it had been a gig with The BYs for example, I would've needed maybe an extra hour to get stuff unpacked from my strat/SG bags and into the acoustic/semi set up.

Here's what I said on my instagram account about this gig supporting the opening Mexon Street Market Thanks very much to the team there who rallied round for me and really looked after me, not something you take for granted in music!:

Making it Up in CW6

A pre soundcheck shot

  Sat, April 22nd, 2017

The CW6 Festival was the first Tarporley gig (well, nearly) for this Tarplee, here!

With The Blue Yellows, we were playing this picturesque and incredibly bijou festival, complete with pristine weather and plenty to do for all, especially if you love getting your sparkle on (most of the band did!), as it was all run by the lovely people at The Make Up Project and for a wonderful cause, St Luke's Hospice.

Thanks for having us!

A big thank you to Rik too, from event planners Speeches and Cream,  who did a superb job with stage management and sound engineering on the PA with top-notch equipment. Check the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/speechesandcream

It was nice that my sister Suey, and music-mad niece Indigo (who was in a Merry Hell video shoot today!) could make this one, too.

Chilling with the band

A rough stage-plot 

Photo-Shoot with the band.

11/02/17

We really needed this as we realised we (The BYs) still hadn't got a single decent photo of the band since Dave The Groove Coomer joined us on the bangy things.

Kirsty and Chris from KR-PR Services did a great job on a freezing February day. They made it great fun doing it too, in spite of the cold, as you can probably tell. Dave also did us proud!
Below are some of our favourites from the day, and you can also see the whole lot HERE):

Photo by KR-PR Services

Photo by KR-PR Services

Photo by KR-PR Services

Photo by KR-PR Services

Photo by KR-PR Services

Spring Dates with the band...

There's been more going on than I've been able to keep up with on here to be honest, in the meantime though, here's some Spring dates with The Blue Yellows!

Toasting the night.

The Crown Ballroom, Nantwich

There are gigs and there are gigs.
Last night I was back with my gang, The Blue Yellows for a very special one indeed, as our show was just a small part of the celebration of the marriage of two wonderful friends, Lucy and Tim... Tim being a part of the extended Blue Yellows family, having joined us on stage, and worked on production for us for some tracks coming out in 2017 among many other things.

We had a go at covering a couple of Tim's songs; You Saved Me (as requested) and Crazies, and although we are not a cover-oriented band, it also felt fitting that the last song we played in 2016 was a tribute to the late, great David Bowie.

Set List - Tim & Lucy Wedding.

Post sound-check selfie

Time for a T?

Band T shirts from https://musicglue.com/blueyellows 

Just out! A new range of @TheBlueYellows Ts, from just £8. You know you want to! Which is your favourite design? #fashion #tshirtdesign pic.twitter.com/PfC5li48QB

— The BlueYellows (@TheBlueYellows) October 9, 2016

Recording begins with The Blue Yellows; Session 1.

26th June 2016

Our friend, top-songwriter guy Tim Lee kindly offered to do some recording for The Blue Yellows. A large and windswept haunted hall near the Cheshire/Shropshire border was the setting.

An inspirational message had been left for us on the door.

 The only downside of the whole thing was that Dave, our poor drummer was really suffering with terrible back issues, lugging equipment about and drumming itself, doesn't help. Get well soon! Em wasn't available yet at this stage, having recently given birth to little Heidi but will add her keyboard parts and any backing vocals sooner or later. :)

Tim Lee in Red, mixing for us, Simon prepares on the bass
while Dave runs through a track up on stage.

The night before, Tim had been preparing the
guide tracks I had made.

The Festival Spirit - Nantwich 'Jazz Fest Sunday'.

The gang set up.

March 27th, 2016

'Jazz Fest Sunday' as it's known is traditionally the busiest day of the festival where some 40,000 people pour in from surrounding areas to enjoy the music (and alcohol!). This was the most exciting day for me as there is nothing to beat the thrill of playing in a full band and the power, dynamics and emotion this can evoke.

We all seemed relaxed and played really well in the tiny stage area, though Simon said afterwards he couldn't hear the drums at all, many non-musicians are often surprised that hearing good 'on stage' levels for everyone in the band can be quite rare, especially in the often quick turn-arounds you have (an hour between acts in this case). 

It was great to play a full two hour set right through, you can really get into the zone and dig deep into the music, and have time to allow your set to make it's path and tell a musical story.

Tim Lee, whose brilliant solo performance I was lucky enough to catch, also took some great photos;

Me, in monocrome, photo by Tim Lee.

Dave 'The Groove' Coomer, lighting up the electronic kit.
Photo by Tim Lee.

Em, photo by Tim Lee.

Post gig, after loading up in Storm Kate's rain, I had a short break and something to eat before heading out again to catch Tim perform brilliantly in the Singer/Songwriter part of the festival hosted by The Cat Radio on the Blitz stage outdoors. I watched with Dayve Dean (whose set I had sadly, missed) while getting thoroughly drenched meaning I couldn't even feel my fingers when I was playing, luckily muscle memory played it's part but I'd definitely lost some intricacy in my playing.
A few brave (or tipsy) souls danced and sang along at times in the pouring rain, if that's not the festival spirit, I don't know what is!

Tim Lee Rocking the town center outdoor stage

I had cold hands!
Many thanks to Jonathan White for the photo.

Jonathan White, who took the above photo, also published an article about this year's festival at; http://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2016/03/26/nantwich-jazz-festival-packs-music-fans-into-town-venues/

Loving @TheBlueYellows with @Mattlj92 #Nantwichjazzfestival

— CharlotteBirch (@CharlotteyBirch) March 27, 2016

Now playing my favorite!!!! #NoTobaccoNoJesus @TheBlueYellows #MyJam 🌄🌄

— CharlotteBirch (@CharlotteyBirch) March 27, 2016

Watching the always awesome @TheBlueYellows at @nantwichjazz at @UnionNantwich BRILLIANT! pic.twitter.com/sPn5JvO9bt

— Tim Lee - Songwriter (@timleesongs) March 27, 2016

A local gig for me meant nipping home between gigs, Storm Katey making up for my soaking.

...and yet MORE rehearsals..

From last nights reheasal with the mighty Blue Yellows

No time for anything else right now, with several 2 hour slots at The Nantwich Jazz Festival approaching this Easter.

Last night with The Blue Yellows, who are sounding groovier and Funkier than ever.
Should be great!

Spring/Summer live dates confirmed so far (& more to come)...

The Easter Weekend Nantwich Jazz Festival alone will be pretty full-on!

The Real Santa.

Tim Lee, who played wonderfully before us,  and drummer Dave set up behind the curtain.

'Curtain up' or rather, open.

22nd November, 2015

Another charity concert for the Blue Yellows gang, this one with a definite Christmassy feel and another important cause; Crisis, the charity for single, homeless people. This being the relatively spacious environs, the Morton Jubilee Hall, Macclesfield.

Majenta was the wonderful organiser, a highly talented multi-disciplinary artist in her own right. A variety of acts and stalls entertained, including the young stars from Stagecoach and Santa himself. Indeed, Santa (clearly the real one) proved to be a nimble mover on the dance floor during our take on 'These boots are made for walking'!

In the circumstances we had to do a mega-quick set up and mega-minimal sound-check, which compromised our stage sound significantly, so most of the band couldn't hear various other instruments and/or themselves. I'm told it all sounded A-OK out front though, and the important thing on this occasion being the need to raise money for homeless people this Christmas. Well done all!

A further significant point. my first mince pie of the season!

£22.29 reserves a homeless person a place at Crisis at Christmas. Please consider giving. https://t.co/oPYqhCt9wy pic.twitter.com/bk0eJsm60H

— Crisis (@crisis_uk) November 19, 2015

Oxjam by Tram.

Oct 3rd, 2015

My first ever ride on a Manchester tram and I couldn't fault this wonderful service, one arrived as soon as I got to the tram station a couple of minutes after leaving the train at Piccadilly, same on the return, are they always that regular!? Clean, quiet, plenty of seats and cheap. Every town and city should have this.

There was a gorgeous, misty backdrop to the canals and buildings of Manchester from the often high vantage-point of the tram window, quite beautiful really, you could almost forget that the evil ones were arriving in town.

My stop was Chorlton, for the Oxjam Manchester Takeover. A great event and all for a good cause, my gig taking place in a cool and characterful bar, Strange Brew, were I enjoyed a gorgeous pre-gig black coffee (espreso-esque in it's tastiness) and one of the fabulous ales to keep the vocal cords lubricated, during.

I also got to see Richard Lomax perform, brilliant lyrics and tunes and not at all an Ed Sheeran sound-alike, unlike almost every other 'original' songwriter these days!

Talking of Oxjam, it's a good excuse to mention my next gig with The Blue Yellows and another one for the charity, in association with the fantastic Words and Music Festival, Nantwich. Radio Two favourites The Reads will also be performing.

Milefest 2015. Brilliant by Miles!

July 4th, 2015 (Updated 16th July 2015).

Dave & Me. Thanks to Michelle Jones Photography https://www.facebook.com/MichelleJonesPhotos

The BYs traveled the several hours trip into the glorious Gloucestershire countryside and Milefest, a lovely family-friendly festival which we have since learned raised over £8000 for the local Milestone School, a fantastic achievement for all involved, including all the lovely folk who came along.

There was only an astonishingly short 15 minute take-down/set-up slot between bands but somehow the FOH chaps managed to get us a good workable sound on stage and out-front. Quite an achievement in the circumstances. 

After our show on the Saturday of the two-day event, we returned for Mark Morriss (of The Bluetones fame) who was the entertaining headliner, followed by all the fun of camping over, in our case, in the 'quiet' field. 

Simon. Thanks to Michelle Jones Photography
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleJonesPhotos

Em getting the crowd going. Thanks to Michelle Jones Photography https://www.facebook.com/MichelleJonesPhotos

Myself & Simon. Thanks to Michelle Jones Photography 
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleJonesPhotos

I also had the plan of doing a sort of mini-rockumentary with my mobile phone. Mmm.. well most of the footage either didn't save or disappeared, and as you can see, Stanley Kubrick's got nothing to worry about (see youtube link below). 

Huge thanks are due to Michelle Jones for these great photos however - see more of her stuff at https://www.facebook.com/MichelleJonesPhotos

Recording takes TLC.

On Saturday we did some recording at TLC studios in Northwich, now just in case you're having trouble googling that, it's really just Tim Lee's house. Tim, also known as T.J Lee is a superb songsmith and guitarist who is a prolific producer of his own recordings (see the link to his brand new album below) and it was very kind of him to give up his time to do this. Hopefully you'll hear the outcome sooner or later! (Photos by Tim, apart from the one of him and pooch, Yuffi).

Check out T.J. Lee's superb new album "Blossom", HERE

http://tjlee.bigcartel.com/product/blossom-t-j-lee-and-the-special-guests