Jul 14
RossMusic bands, Bone Idol, Cambs, covers, Essex, guitars, Herts, live, Music, pub-rock
I’ve done it at last – I’ve joined another band. This one’s called Bone Idol and is based around the Herts/Cambs/Essex area.
We play your typical pub rock, but I’m hoping to bring a few new ideas in… if the guys will have them!
So, I’ve got a few things to do before my first gig on 21st August (The Chequers, Stotfold):
- Learn the set;
- Decide what tunings/guitars I’ll need… Probably my PRS, 0001 and Gold Top (in drop-D);
- Finish building (and testing!) my Airbrake power attentuator;
- Finish building the Booster and Phase45 pedals that are currently in pieces on my bench;
- Buy a Polytune;
- Rebuild my pedalboard.
Oh, and I’ve got a patio to re-lay and a conservatory that needs paint, flooring and skirting boards.
Priorities, eh? Who needs ‘em?
May 27
RossFun, Music Am-Dram, Buddy, Buddy Holly, Hertfordshire, local, Lytton Players, Mercury, review, SLP, Stevenage, theatre
Well, it’s done. Item number 2 on my “bucket list” is complete (#1 was to have a loving wife and kids – without them, the other items are meaningless) . Three and a half months’ rehearsal over in a flash.
Did I enjoy myself? Well, DUH! Standing on stage, playing the role I first saw twenty years ago, was simply an amazing experience. But it’s not really about me, it’s about the rest of the company and, more importantly, the paying public.
This is what the Hertfordshire Mercury had to say:
And do you know what? I’d do it all again tomorrow, if I could.
Mar 15
RossMusic, Musings Am-Dram, Buddy Holly, guitar, rock 'n' roll
No, that's not me. Not yet, anyway.
Let’s roll back the calendar about twenty years…
diddly-da, diddly-da, diddly-da
I’d just seen “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Several years earlier, my Nan gave me a tape cassette of Buddy’s hits that added another layer to my expanding collection of fifties and sixties rock ‘n’ roll music (for years, I felt that I’d been born in the wrong era. That changed again when I heard Guns N’ Roses!).
I was desperate to learn to play the guitar. One of the guys at school had a no-name electric for sale, which I duly bought. It was a typical “first guitar” – a dire strat copy with no truss rod, action like an egg-slicer, weak pickups and an annoying “thunk” when anything was played above the 11th fret. But it had six strings and a jack socket – and I thought I was the canine’s undercarriage.
I sat down with some of our music books (I’d played keyboards for years; learning tunes through the infamous “Busker” series) and tried to learn some chords. A, E, D, G and C swiftly followed. F proved to be a bit more challenging, so I chickened out and learned B7 instead. Another friend showed me “Wild Thing” and “Walk, Don’t Run” by the Ventures and I was hooked. I absorbed anything guitar related with relish and I set about learning every song on the “Buddy” soundtrack CD (the second CD I ever bought).
Let’s come back to the present…
diddly-da, diddly-da, diddly-da
Twenty years later, I’ve owned and parted with more gear than I ever dreamt possible. I’ve played at least a hundred gigs and, through the wonders of the electrick interweb, have met (and played) with a fabulous bunch of people (you know who you are). But all the while, Buddy’s music was there in the background… the chordal rhythm/lead style, the simple three-chord tricks of the early songs – everything.
In late 2009, I received an invitation to a Facebook event from one of my friends that’s been involved in am-dram musicals for many years… her company, the Stevenage Lytton Players, were holding auditions for a production of “Buddy” to run in May 2010 – was I interested in coming along? Er, yes please!
Audition rehearsals came and went. I would’ve been happy to be just part of the band; either on-stage or in the pit but hell – nothing ventured, nothing gained – I auditioned for the lead role. Now, I haven’t acted since junior school but the director must’ve seen something as, come audition day, I was nominated to play Buddy.
I know it sounds corny, but I’ve really been given the chance to fulfill a dream I had twenty years ago; to play the part of someone who’s had a profound effect on my life, in front of a paying audience. I’m still working hard on my lines (not to mention my Texan accent) and the songs are all coming flooding back to me.
So, if you’re not too far away, it’d be great if I could see some of you in the audience! The production takes place at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage, from Weds 19th through to Sat 22nd May 2010. Performances start at 7:45pm and tickets are available now from the Box Offices at both the Gordon Craig and the Stevenage Lytton Players.
And the rest… will just be rock ‘n’ roll.
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