Monday 24 December 2012

Xmas Eve Folk & Acoustic Music Show


Here's the playlist for tonight's show on Acoustic Spectrum but it you'd like to listen to it before 9pm then you can do at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/the-folk-and-acoustic-xmas-eve-show-2012/
 

Richard Thompson - Don't Sit on my Jimmy Shands
The Low Countries - Carry On Christmas
Hayseed Dixie - Have a Drink On Me
Juey - Gin
The Long Lost Band - Twelfth Knight (King of December)
Michelle Shocked - Psalm
James J Turner - This Christmas
Manic Street Preachers - Last Christmas
Kenny Young & The Eggplants - There's Something Funny In The Water
The Bad Shepherds - God Save The Queen \ Mountain Road
KT Tunstall - Minature Disasters
The Albion Christmas Band - Winter Song
Kevin Henderson - Christmas Day I'da Mornin
Richard & Linda Thompson - We Sing Hallelujah

http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/radio-stations/as-radio-folk-roots-blues/


Tuesday 18 December 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 17th Dec

Here's the playlist for this Monday's show. After yesterday's failed attempt I've now successfully uploaded the file to Mixcloud.

Listen at mixcloud.com/cmbertram/the-folk-and-acoustic-music-show-15/

Duncan McCrone - Waiting Here For You
Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands - Belong
Patsy Matheson - Hundred Guitars
Jaywalkers - Our Sarah
Heather Bristow - Ghost of a Memory
Show of Hands - Coming Home
Karine Polwart - Salter's Road
Maeve MacKinnon - The Father's Song
Marc Nellis - You Must Know This By Now
Ottersgear - Eye of Eyes
Jamie Smith's Mabon - Huzzah
Ribbon Road - Closing Down Sale
Peter Nardini - Hogmanay
Kate Rusby - Elfin Knight

Here's my Song of the Year by Karine Polwart...

Friday 14 December 2012

Top 20 albums of 2012

Here are my 20 recommended albums of 2012 in date of release order. You can hear tracks from about a dozen of these albums on the next show which will be broadcast on Monday the 17th of December. My thanks go to all the promoters and artists who have sent me albums and mp3s over the last 12 months and a special mention goes out to to everyone who was involved with Diversity FM and to Neil King for inviting me to join Acoustic Spectrum.

Top 20 of 2012

Patsy Matheson - Stories of Angels and Guitars
Cam Penner - Gypsy Summer
Kim Edgar - The Ornate Lie
The Imagined Village - Bending The Dark
Duncan McCrone - Colourblind
Peter Nardini - Hug
Ribbon Road - Roadside Dreams
Jaywalkers - Early For A Thursday
Marc Nellis - House to House Cellar to Cellar
Karine Polwart - Traces
Macmaster/Hay - Hook
Nick Keir - The Edge of Night
Lau - Race The Loser
Jamie Smith's Mabon - Windblown
Maeve MacKinnon - Once Upon An Olive Branch
Lorraine McCauley & the Borderlands - Light in the Darkest Corners
Session A9 - Session A9
Show of Hands - Wake The Union
Heather Bristow - Ragged Souls
Ottersgear - The Quest for Rest

Best Album : Peter Nardini - Hug
Best Song  : Karine Polwart - 'Salters Road' from her album Traces
Best Gig     : Steve Knightley, Lancaster University, 9th February

http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/as-radio-folk-roots-blues/

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/

Monday 10 December 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 10th Dec

Hope you enjoyed the wintery songs on last night's show...

The Imagined Village - Winter Singing
James J Turner - This Christmas
Catherine MacLellan - Snowbird
Mary Hampton - Concerning A Frozen Sparrow
John Rigby - Walking Winter Skylines
The Bailey Sisters - Snows of Winter
The James Brothers - Rain and Snow
Kathleen MacInnes - Snow on Drumochter
Breabach - Scotland's Winter
Kate Rusby - Little Jack Frost
Sarah MacDougall - Permafrost
Simon and Garfunkel - Hazy Shade of Winter
Up In The Air - Thomas McElvouge's / The Barra Boys / Dark Days

http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/as-radio-folk-roots-blues/


Tuesday 4 December 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 3rd Dec

The Albion Christmas Band - Winter Song
Seth Lakeman - Lady of the Sea
Megson - Time to Get Up
Nick Keir - Middle-Aged Men
Richard Thompson - Old Thames Side
The Waifs - When I Die
The Low Countries - Putty
Wooden Horse - Yonder Calling
Cam Penner - Driftwood
The Long Lost Band - Twelfth Knight (King of December)
Lau - Stewarts
Cara Dillon - Bold Jamie



My plans for the rest of the year are as follows: Monday the 10th will be songs with a winter theme, the 17th will be a "Best of 2012" and on the 24th I'll be playing some Xmas songs and other stuff. I'll then be taking a break so there won't be a show on the 31st.

L
isten to previous shows at www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram

Here's The Long Lost Band with their video for Twelfth Knight (King Of December) filmed in and around Lancaster...


Monday 26 November 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 26 Nov


Ottersgear - Quest For Rest
Pilgrim's Way - A Pilgrim's Way
Pilgrim's Way - Framus / Jig Iolo
Jamie Smith's Mabon - Caru Pum Merch
Chas Ambler - Borders of Love
Kim Edgar - Blood, Ice & Ashes
Peter Knight's Gigspanner - Two Constant Lovers
Ottersgear - Walking With You
Iain Morrison - Dream of the Bear
Asewar (Relic) - Kuh (Mountain)


Ottersgear - new album "The Quest For Rest"
Order your copy from mikeykenney.co.uk/ottersgear

They are playing at the final ECP Promotions gig at The Yorkshire House in Lancaster Friday 7th December with King Twit + Sootytern
www.wegottickets.com/ecppromotions

Listen to previous shows at www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram

Tuesday 20 November 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 19 Nov

Here's the playlist from last night's Folk & Acoustic Music show. If you are interested in coming along to the ECP Promotions all-dayer in Lancaster this coming Saturday see this web page for ticket info http://www.wegottickets.com/ecppromotions

James J Turner - How Could We Be Wrong
The Coaltown Daisies - It's Better This Way
The Balkanics - Bucimis
Idiot Johnson - Happiness
The Cadbury Sisters - Barefoot
Emily Smith - Butterfly
The Existence of Harvey Lord - Dead Hen
Paul Levy - On The Hill
Sarah MacDougall - It's my Place! (and I want it!)
Juey - Holding On For You
Marc Nellis - The Silence in an Empty Room
Stephen Hudson - Golden Promises
Ade Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds - Whole Wide World
Nordic Fiddlers Bloc - Jenna Reid Of Quarff

Listen again at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/

9pm on Monday at http://acoustic-spectrum.co.uk//as-radio/

Sunday 18 November 2012

This Monday's show

A bumper edition of the Folk & Acoustic Music show this week with a total of 14 tracks, a few of which are by some of those appearing at the all-dayer gig in Lancaster this coming Saturday the 24th. For details of the line-up and tickets go to : http://www.wegottickets.com/event/186966

Other than that there'll be songs and tunes by James J Turner, The Coaltown Daisies, The Cadbury Sisters, Emily Smith, Sarah MacDougall, Juey, Ade Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds and The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc.


9pm on Monday at http://acoustic-spectrum.co.uk//as-radio/

Listen again at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/


Here are the Cadbury Sisters with their lovely vocal harmonies...


Tuesday 13 November 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 12 Nov

Here's the playlist from last night's show. If you want more info on Lazibyrd they are on Reverbnation and their interviewer Fanny Hatstand has her own web site - fannyhatstand.com

Kate Rusby - Elfin Knight (intro)
John Wheeler - Deeper In Debt
Al Scorch & the Country Soul Ensemble - Miss Rosie
Catherine MacLellan - Black Crow
Cam Penner - Gypsy Women
Michele Stodart - In Between
Terry Callier - Occasional Rain
Lazibyrd - Chattering Monkeys
Lazibyrd - interview
Lazibyrd - I'm Alright Jack
Arthur Wilson - That's The Way It Will Always Be
Didi Bergman - Blame It On The Day
Anais Mitchell - Our Lady Of The Underground
Neil Young - Already One

Next week's show will feature some of those appearing at the ECP Promotions all-dayer gig at the Park Hotel in Lancaster on Saturday the 24th of November including Idiot Johnson, Stephen Hudson & The Fiat Pandas, Paul Levy and Harvey Lord. More details on the Facebook page.

Idiot Johnson with a track from his last EP, Girl On a Train...

Monday 12 November 2012

On tonight's show

Some mostly American sounds for you on the Folk & Acoustic Music show tonight at 9pm plus two tracks and an interview with the group Lazibyrd. The interview was conducted by Fanny Hatstand (probably not her real name).

The show kicks off with the new single by Hayseed Dixie frontman John "Barley Scotch" Wheeler and will be followed by Al Scorch & the Country Soul Ensemble, Catherine MacLellan, Cam Penner, Michele Stodart, Terry Callier, Anais Mitchell and Neil Young. From this side of the pond, along with the afore-mentioned Lazibyrd, you'll be hearing Didi Bergman and Arthur Wilson.


Listen online at http://streams.museter.com/start/acoustic/



Here is a live version of one of the Lazibyrd songs on tonight's playlist...



Monday 5 November 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 5 Nov

Hope you enjoyed the show. As I said, next week I'll have an interview with the duo Lazibyrd along with a couple of songs by them. I've also just received half a dozen albums of new releases by bluegrass and Amerciana artists so it'll be less UK and more USA music on the next show. 

Fairport Convention - Around The Wild Cape Horn
Kris Drever - Patrick Spence
Karine Polwart - The Light on the Shore
Darwin Song Project - Trust in the Rolling Ocean
Show of Hands - Katrina
Ruth Notman - Hold Back The Tide
Angie Palmer - Columbus For A Day
Drop The Box - Edge of the World
Duncan McCrone - Harbour View Hotel
Macmaster Hay - Shipbuilding
Talitha Mackenzie - The Boatman
Peatbog Faeries - Fishing at Orbost


Listen again at www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram



Book extract - Hugh Cornwell, Dundee, 1999

I just saw on Twitter that Kris Drever (twitter.com/KrisDrever) has just played his first ever gig in Dundee. I hope it goes more smoothly than Hugh Cornwell's gig at the West Port on 29 May 1999...

While I had seen the new Stranglers line-up half a dozen times in the early 1990s it wasn't until May 1999 that I finally got to see Hugh Cornwell play a solo gig and quite eventful it was too. The West Port is a pub which has a room upstairs used for live music. While there were a couple of bouncers on the front entrance downstairs, the only staff upstairs were a barman and a chap on the sound desk.

Half way through the set a punter, looking more than a little drunk, made his way up onto the stage and stood at the side looking at Hugh. Hugh finished the song he was doing and then told the guy to “get off the fucking stage” three or four times before the guy wandered back into the crowd. Then a short time later the same individual got back up onto the stage. This time Hugh stopped playing midway through the song, walked over to him and without a word pushed him off the stage. The guy fell over, landed face down on the floor and just lay there. There was stunned silence from the rest of the audience. Hugh returned to the mic and completed the song as if nothing had happened and then walked off stage to rather muted applause. Meanwhile the stage invader was still lying motionless on the floor. Finally a bouncer arrived, picked the guy up and showed him the door.

No-one quite knew whether that was the end of the gig or not and some people left. But Hugh did return for an encore ending, rather suitably, with the Stranglers song, '(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)'.


If you would like a copy of my book "Drum Solos, Bottles & Bands - Memories of a Concert-goer 1981-1999" it is available
to buy in ebook and paperback from Smashwords and Lulu.com

Here's Hugh with an interesting cover of one of his best known songs...

 

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Another fine mess \ Playlist 29 Oct

Confusion at Acoustic Spectrum about who was putting the hour back on the server meant that all the shows, including mine, went out an hour early. The chap who got me involved with AS is as frustrated as any one with the poor service they are providing as he also presents a folk music show. He is now starting to look round for another internet radio web site which we can move to, unless we get assurances that the service at Acoustic Spectrum will improve.

I think I have been particularly unlucky with the technical problems as four out of the eight shows I have done have been affected. But I will carry on as I'm getting some positive feedback about the show and I'm reaching a wider audience that I was when I was just doing stuff on Mixcloud.

If you missed it, you can listen to the Hallowe'en show here...

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/the-folk-acoustic-music-show-08/

Steeleye Span - Bede's Death Song
Steeleye Span - The Unquiet Grave
KT Tunstall - The Girl and the Ghost
Jamie Smith's Mabon - The Gordano Ranter
Stuart Anthony - Angels and Devils
Bill Malkin & Band Wagon - The Ghost of The Mary Rose
Kathryn Roberts - The Drowned Lovers
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Bats in the Attic
Richard Thompson - Razor Dance
Kate Rusby - Sweet William's Ghost
The Folk - Here Come The Creeps
The Duhks - Death Came A Knockin'
Dave Rowlands - Jim Hardings Waltz
Richard Thompson - The Ghost of You Walks
Gin Goblins - Hammerama


Next week's show is one I recorded a couple of months back with most of the songs to do with the sea. I've edited it so it includes the track Katrina from Show of Hands' new album. Fingers crossed the show will go out at 9pm next Monday!

http://streams.museter.com/start/acoustic/

Saturday 27 October 2012

Scottish Mix & Hallowe'en show

I've uploaded a mix of a dozen songs by mainly Scottish artists from CDs I've been sent over the last couple of years. It's a mixture of traditional and contemporary, singers and instrumentals. Check it out here - 

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/scottish-selection-2010-12/

This Monday's show will have a spooky theme to it as it will be just a couple of days before Hallowe'en, so expect to hear songs about ghosts, graves, bats, drowned lovers and a tribute to Hammer Horror by the likes of Steeleye Span, KT Tunstall, Richard Thompson, Kate Rusby, The Duhks, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins and Gin Goblins.

Tune in at 9pm on Monday the 29th on the Acoustic Spectrum web site.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 22 Oct


Here's last night's playlist. If you missed it or would like to listen again, go to mixcloud.com/cmbertram

The Carrivick Sisters - If I Had Time
Hayseed Dixie - Mountain Man
Heather Bristow - Somebody's Cryin'
Dan Melrose - Migraine's Fame
Gillian Welch - Tennessee
Jaywalkers - Introducing...
Jaywalkers - Drag You Down
Jaywalkers - Dark Eyes
David Ferrard - Childhood Days
Seasick Steve - Whiskey Ballad
Tracy Moore - Mumbles The Cat
Mad Pudding - Vagabond
Angie Palmer - I Hear That Locomotive
Kate Rusby - Elfin Knight (outro)


I've had interest from two other bands about doing their own interviews, namely The Cadbury Sisters and Lazibyrd so hopefully this will be an occasional feature on the show. I'm now looking out tracks for next week's Hallowe'en edition of the show with songs about ghosts, graves, death and drowned lovers!

Remember to check out the Folk & Acoustic Show page on Facebook.

Saturday 20 October 2012

New feature on the show

I'm trying out a new feature this week which I'm hoping will become a regular part of the show. As I record my shows at home I am unable to do interviews so I've come up with the idea of asking bands to record a few minutes introducing themselves and their music to you the listeners. It's up to them what they want to include but I can provide them with some sample questions.

My guinea pigs for this are the band Jaywalkers. Two members of the band have recorded five minutes' worth which will go out on this Monday's show along with two tracks from their new album.

I sent some typical interview questions to get them started like


- how did you meet?
- how long has the band been together?
- what are your musical (and other) influences?
- what are your plans for the next couple of months? Any live dates?

So along with the Jaywalkers feature on this bluegrass edition of the show
there will also be tracks by The Carrivick Sisters, Hayseed Dixie, Seasick Steve, Gillian Welch and Angie Palmer.

 

The Folk & Acoustic Music Show
Mondays at 9pm on acoustic-spectrum.co.uk
Listen to previous shows at mixcloud.com/cmbertram

Tuesday 16 October 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 15 Oct


To coincide with the release of the new Show of Hands album 'Wake The Union' I included 2 tracks from it along with a track by Jenna Witts who guests on the album. There were also songs by Fence Collective members Down The Tiny Steps and HMS Ginafore, a John Martyn cover by Session A9 and an Indigo Girls cover by Chris & Kellie While plus a song from Nick Keir's new cd, The Edge of Night.

I'm planning on having a bluegrass theme in the next couple of weeks which will hopefully include an interview of sorts with members of Jaywalkers. The show will also include tracks by The Carrivick Sisters, Angie Palmer and Seasick Steve. 


Remember that you can listen at your leisure to previous shows on Mixcloud


Show of Hands - Now You Know
Nick Keir - Slow French Waltz
Chris & Kellie While - Power of Two
Bellowhead - London Town
Down The Tiny Steps - Infinitea
Jo Gillot - Travelling Raft
John Rigby - Dragon Mind
HMS Ginafore - Suzy 4 Jack
Show of Hands - Seven Curses
Merry Hell - Over The Border
Session A9 - One for the Road
Jenna - Wish You Were Here


Listen online on Mondays at 9pm at acoustic-spectrum.co.uk

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Top 25 Albums

If you're a music fan it's more than likely that from time to time you'll think about what your Desert Island Discs would be or your Top 10, 20 or whatever favourite songs, bands, albums, gigs. The other day my good friend Reza Mills posted a list of his 25 favourite albums of all time on Facebook so I thought I'd do the same. I quickly realised that I was going to miss out so many favourites that I decided to limit it to singers and bands who I have seen in concert, or in the case of Vivaldi, heard the piece in the concert hall.

So here is my Top 25 in alphabetical order. My favourite album of all time? I'll get back to you on that!

AC/DC - Back in Black
Big Country - The Buffalo Skinners
Cara Dillon - Cara Dillon
Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays
Dick Gaughan - Live at the Trades Club
Stephane Grappelli - Just One of Those Things
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
John Mellencamp - Scarecrow
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Motorhead - Another Perfect Day
Iggy Pop - Brick By Brick
Michelle Shocked - Arkansas Traveller
Spearhead - Home
Colin Steele - The Journey Home
The Black Crowes - Amorica
The Damned - Strawberries
The Stranglers - The Raven
The Who - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival
Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag
Throwing Muses - Hunkpapa
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 8 Oct

I didn't tune in last night but according to Wes the show was coming thru loud and clear which is a relief. If you missed it you can catch up on Mixcloud.

Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies - Watter's Coming Annie
Kim Edgar - The Steamy Note
Wes Martin - Exit Bert (jansch)
Bert Jansch - La Luna
Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands - Belong
James Yorkston - The Year of the Leopard
Jess Thomas - Inbetween The Cracks
Wes Martin & Hannah Duncan - River Bed
The Imagined Village - Get Kalsai
Kate Rusby - Who Knows Where The Time Goes
Dead Flamingoes - The Jealous Sailor
Rua MacMillan - Ooh, Pierre!



Here's James Yorkston with Jenny Casino aka HMS Ginafore performing Year of the Leopard...


Friday 5 October 2012

Red Rose Recovery Radio 5 Oct

As it is 50 years ago to the day that The Beatles released their first single, Love Me Do, I went for a Fab Four covers theme on my first broadcast on RRR Radio. Hope you enjoyed it. I'd never heard anything by Charlie Dore before but love her version of "Here Comes The Sun".

01 - I Don't Want To Spoil The Party by Rosanne Cash
02 - If I Needed Someone by Show of Hands
03 - Don't Bother Me by Kami Thompson
04 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps by Jake Shimabukuro
05 - Help by The Damned
06 - You Never Give Me Your Money by Glenn Tilbrook with Nine Below Zero
07 - Here Comes The Sun by Charlie Dore


Here's the video of Jake playing "While My Guitar..." Quite incredible playing!




Wednesday 3 October 2012

Red Rose Recovery Radio

I've been asked to contribute to the weekly broadcast which goes out on Red Rose Recovery Radio. They are an organisation which helps people with drug and alcohol problems in the Lancaster and Morecambe area and their radio shows started about a month ago. At the moment they broadcast on Friday afternoons between 1 and 4pm with the main presenters being Philip Cowles and Gordon Smith who were previously among the volunteers at Diversity FM.

So I've recorded a half hour feature which, all being well, will be going out this Friday at 2pm. I'll be playing some different stuff to what I do on Acoustic Spectrum and this first feature has been inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first single released by The Beatles. So I've chosen 7 songs covered by various artists including Rosanne Cash, Kami Thompson, The Damned and Glenn Tilbrook with Nine Below Zero.

You can tune via their web site - http://redroserecovery.co.uk/


Re my previous post, I'll be playing the Icepops and Jesta next time - I promise! This won't be a weekly thing though - just the occasional guest spot.

Saturday 29 September 2012

New time slot for the show

After yesterday's technical difficulties at Acoustic Spectrum, The Folk and Acoustic Music Show will now no longer be broadcast on Fridays. Instead the Monday 9pm repeat slot will become the main show time with the repeat going out at 2am the following morning. 

This suits me as I might be getting involved with Red Rose Recovery Radio which only broadcasts on Friday afternoons. I'm waiting for the powers-that-be to okay my involvement which will probably just be a 30 minute show initially. I'm planning on playing different music with more emphasis on rock, indie and Americana but we'll see how it goes. I'll still be featuring local bands with Icepops for Breakfast and Jesta lined up for my first show.

Stay tuned for more info!

Here's some Icepops for ya with their tribute to a certain radio DJ. No prizes for guessing which one!


 

Friday 28 September 2012

No show on Acoustic Spectrum today

Due to technical problems with their server, the show didn't go out at 1pm today. It seems that it wasn't just my show that has been affected as the evening shows aren't going out either. I've had an apology from Acoustic Spectrum which I can only pass on to the bands and singers who I know were looking forward to getting some airplay today.

As I posted on here earlier, I've uploaded the show to Mixcloud so you can have a listen to it by clicking on this link - http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/the-folk-and-acoustic-music-show-04/

Hopefully next week will be better. Here's some Richard & Danny for you...

CB




The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 28 Sept

I'm getting ahead of myself this week and posting the playlist in advance of the show. There's another presenter on Acoustic Spectrum who has a very fancy blog with all sorts of links and stuff on it which makes mine look rather plain. But it's only a playlist and if you're looking at this it means you have internet access and are no doubt perfectly able to use Google and YouTube to find out more info on the artists I'm featuring on the show. 

So coming up at 1pm (British Autumn Time) will be the following music for your enjoyment. I will upload it to Mixcloud this afternoon so you can listen at your leisure if you're unable to tune in at lunchtime today.

Show of Hands - Roots
Wilful Missing - Don't Be Scared 48
Philip Henry & Hannah Martin - Death and the Lady
Jame Smith's Mabon - Summer's Lament
Amy Rayner - Lost and Found
Richard
Thompson & Danny Thompson - Easy There Steady Now
Rich Tea - Simon's Fandango
Ponies - Show Me Love
The Coarse Envelope - The Ballad Of White Eagle
Karine Polwart - Salter's Road
Dick Gaughan - Whatever Happened


Listen online at www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk

I will add this link as you'll find stuff on Rich Tea on Andy Hornby's web site. Andy is also involved with a band called Northern Frisk who are also on his web site - www.andyhornby.net

As I posted on the show's Facebook page just now, I've got a quite different version of "Death and the Lady" on the show today by Philip Henry and Hannah Martin. If you'd like to know what the song is about, have a listen to Norma's introduction...


Friday 21 September 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 21 Sept

If you missed the show or would like to hear it again, the repeats are Monday at 9pm and Tuesday at 2am. If you can't wait until then, this show and previous ones are available to listen on demand at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/


Jaywalkers - Cool My Body Down
Maeve Mackinnon - Kind Friends and Companions
Fairport Convention - The Hiring Fair
Iain MacDonald - 21st February 2010
Session A9 - Miller of Dron
The Existence of Harvey Lord - Crowfield
Moll Baxter - 26th June
Flossie Malavialle - Au Suivant
Macmaster/Hay - Stay With You
Megson - The Cabman
The James Brothers - The James Brothers \ I Wallaby Free
The Existence of Harvey Lord - C U at 7

links...

http://theexistenceofharveylord.bandcamp.com/
http://www.molliebaxter.com/

http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/


Here's Fairport performing The Hiring Fair at a concert recorded at the Union Chapel in London in March 2012...



Friday 14 September 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 14 Sept

Annlaug - Ord Som Fell
Nordic Fiddlers Bloc - Halling From Trondheim
Karine Polwart - Don't Worry
Luka Bloom - Innocence
Mabon - The Tale of Nikolai, The Dancing Bear
Rupa & The April Fishes - Culpa de la Luna
John Renbourn - Sad News
New Zealand Story - Hey Boy
Ottersgear - Down in the Faery Glen
Nancy Kerr & James Fagan - Queen of Waters
Kim Guy - Perfect Day
Cara Dillon & John Smith - If I Prove False
Michael Chapman - Rockport Sunday

Intro music from Kate Rusby's Elfin Knight

To download the Johnny Dickinson benefit album, which includes John Renbourn's Sad News, please go to his web site -

http://johnnydickinson.net/download.htm

Other links...

http://newzealandstory.bandcamp.com/
http://www.mikeykenney.co.uk/ottersgear
http://soundcloud.com/kimguy


http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/

Friday 7 September 2012

The Folk and Acoustic Music Show playlist 7 Sept



Well, my first show on Acoustic Spectrum went out without a hitch this lunchtime. Hope you enjoyed the show and if you missed it, there are repeats on Monday at 9pm and Tuesday at 2am.

Steeleye Span - Van Diemen's Land
Ribbon Road - Leaving For Love
Miranda Sykes and Rex Preston - Trouble
Niall Kelly - Road
Patsy Matheson - Water is Over The Weir
The Low Countries - Summer's Last Hurrah
Marc Nellis - You Must Know This By Now
Battlefield Band - Lovers and Friends
Richard Thompson - Oops I Did It Again
Dead Flamingoes - Hold Your Fire
Daisy Chapman - Ring of Fire
Steve Knightley - Hook of Love
Rua MacMillan - Traditionally Incorrect

Intro music from Elfin Knight by Kate Rusby

Links...

http://soundcloud.com/thelowcountries
http://soundcloud.com/marc-nellis

http://www.acoustic-spectrum.co.uk/



Wednesday 5 September 2012

New radio show on Acoustic Spectrum

Yes folks, I'm going to be back on the airwaves with a new radio show on Acoustic Spectrum. They are an internet radio and TV station and I'll be doing a weekly hour-long show on Fridays at 1pm. There will be a repeat or two but I'm waiting for confirmation of the times. 

As they already have a folk music show called Along The Tracks I've decided to ditch the Off The Beaten Tracks name so the show will simply be called The Folk and Acoustic Music Show. It will be much the same as before with the emphasis on UK and Irish folk music along with the occasional track from around Europe and America. And I'll be posting playlists on here as before.

I've renamed my Facebook page to The Folk and Acoustic Music Show.


I've had confirmation that the show will go out three times each week 
Friday 1pm, Monday 9pm and Tuesday 2am


In other news my former Diversity FM colleagues Philip Cowles and Gordon Smith have been involved with setting up a new internet radio project based in Morecambe which coincidentally also has its first broadcast this Friday. They will be on air between 1 and 4pm each Friday so why not check them out after you've listened to my show? Find them online at Red Rose Recovery Radio.

Philip has also submitted a review of my book on Lulu and Amazon. The paperback is now available for the knock-down price of £5.59!

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Ebook half price on Smashwords

For the next 10 days there is a special offer on my ebook on Smashwords. I've been plugging the ebook on Amazon mainly because I'm more likely to sell copies on their .co.uk site to readers in the UK but I shouldn't ignore my potential customers on Smashwords.

So if you would like to download the ebook for the promotional price of $1.50 please follow this link and enter the coupon code QH98U (not case-sensitive). This offer will last until the 31st of August.

Along with the review written by Reza Mills on Smashwords there is now also a  review on Amazon by Phil Cowles which I posted on his behalf as he doesn't shop online. You can read his review here.

I have also been busy sending copies of the book to various magazines in the hope that one or two of them might print reviews so keep an eye on upcoming issues of Classic Rock, Mojo and Kerrang! 

And please check out my Facebook page where I am posting links to videos related to the book and other updates - https://www.facebook.com/drumsolosbottlesandbands







Thursday 16 August 2012

New OTBT radio show

After recording a few mixes recently I've felt more in the mood to record a cloudcast in the style of a radio show. This is partly because I've received some new releases by Niall Kelly, Heather Bristow and Macmaster/Hay, two of them sent to the YMCA where Diversity FM used to be based. It was purely by luck that a friend of mine, who works for the Post Office, noticed a letter on its way to me c\o the YMCA so I was able to get in touch with them and ask them to hang on to it. Otherwise I think the YMCA staff have just been returning any mail with "N/K at this address" on it. I suppose this is partly my own fault for not leaving a forwarding address and also because the Diversity web site is still up and running so some people might assume we are still in business.

So here is the latest cloudcast with me introducing the tracks and there's even a bit of me and Wes chatting from an old edition of the show from January this year.

Heather Bristow - Ghost of a Memory
Kris Drever - The Crown of London
Tarras - Joys of Brotherhood
O'Hooley & Tidow - Gentleman Jack
Kat Gilmore & Jamie Roberts - Tennessee Green
Rebekah Findlay - Blackbird Song
Gren Bartley - Sweet Traveller
Wes Martin - Our Worlds Lie Below
Duotone - Set It Down
MacMaster/Hay - Stay With You
Niall Kelly - Hand in Fire

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Paperback edition on lulu.com



After looking at a number of self-publishing print-to-order web sites I decided to go with lulu.com so my book is now available to buy direct from them. I ordered a copy for myself last week to check through and inevitably there were some mistakes that needed correcting. I've now uploaded the amended version and have sent off for another copy which will hopefully be okay. 

I decided not to include any photos in the book as that would have increased the printing costs but I'm happy with the way it looks. It makes it all worthwhile actually having a book to hold my hands! 






Thursday 26 July 2012

Web site update

Prior to having the book cover designed I had come up with my own layout featuring tickets from some of the concerts I mention in the book. But as my cover designer pointed out to me, I could well have got into trouble with that due to copyright issues with band and venue logos. So instead I've uploaded them to my web site.


The next step is to get some paperbacks printed as a number of people have asked for a copy of the book in physical rather than electronic form. So if you would like one, please let me know. There is an email link on my web site.

Sunday 22 July 2012

ebook extract

The first part of my ebook is available to read as a free download but I thought I'd post an entry here from later in the book. I saw Manic Street Preachers four times with the original line-up, the first gig being in London in 1991 (which is included in the book) and the second the following year in Dundee. But this extract is from two gigs in Glasgow in '93 and '94.

The book is available to download from amazon.co.uk and smashwords.com


Drum Solos, Bottles & Bands
Memories of a Concert-goer 1981-1999
Chapter 5 - The Fife Years

Manic Street Preachers
QMU & Barrowlands, Glasgow
1993 - 1994

In July 1993 the Manics announced a date at the Glasgow Barrowlands. It was a Saturday so I drove through to Glasgow in the afternoon getting to the venue in plenty of time, or so I thought. As I walked up to the entrance I thought it was looking suspiciously quiet and when I got to the door I saw there was a notice stuck on it. My heart sank as I assumed the gig had been cancelled. These days it's much easier for bands and venues to get information out to fans if a gig is cancelled but in the days before mobile phones and the internet you often only found out when you got to the venue. This happened to me at a Rolling Stones concert in London in 1990 and a few years later I drove the 80 miles from St Andrews to Aberdeen to find that The Wonder Stuff had cancelled their gig at the Music Hall.

But the good news that day was that the concert hadn't been cancelled - it had just been moved to a different venue, namely the Queen Margaret Union at Glasgow University. The bad news was that I had no idea where the venue was and they hadn't bothered to put any directions on the sign outside the Barrowlands. So I drove into the city centre and managed to find a student hall of residence and the janitor there pointed me in the right direction. By the time I got to the Union I'd missed one of the support bands but did hear Blaggers ITA before the Manics came on stage. My two main memories of that gig were firstly how impressed I was by Sean Moore's drumming and secondly how much Richey Edwards looked like he was enjoying himself. At one point a couple of girls threw a feather boa at him which he picked up and wrapped round his neck with a big smile on his face. It was tragic that his life subsequently took such a downward turn and that in 1995 he disappeared off the face of the earth.

I did see him one last time with the band in October 1994 at the Barrowlands. I never found out why they had moved to the QMU on the previous occasion but I'm guessing that they hadn't sold enough tickets. But by 1994 they were big enough of fill the Barras and had two very good support bands - Dub War and Sleeper. The mood was certainly much darker than on the previous tour which reflected the feel of their third studio album, The Holy Bible. I ended up out of pocket that night as I'd bought two tickets but had been unable to find anyone who wanted to come to the gig. As it wasn't sold out, the box office wasn't interested in taking the ticket off me so I stood outside and tried to sell it. I made a point of saying I only wanted the face value of the ticket but people avoided me like I was a tout. There was a chap begging near the entrance to try and get enough money for a ticket so I asked him if he wanted my spare one for whatever he'd collected. He said I was welcome to what was in his hat but it was mostly coppers which I didn't want to be weighed down with. I was going to go back to trying to sell my ticket but time was marching on and I didn't want to miss the support bands. The chap then said to me, “you can either give me the ticket and I get to see the gig or you can go in with a spare piece of paper in your pocket”. When he put it like that I gave in and handed him the ticket. He thanked me and said he'd buy me a pint inside but I lost sight of him once we'd got past security. I hope he enjoyed the show.

There have been certain bands which I have really connected with and in the early-to-mid 90s I couldn't get enough of Manic Street Preachers. When their second album Gold Against The Soul came out I played it endlessly. It wasn't a very happy time in my life and the Manics, with songs like 'From Despair To Where', were a great comfort to me. And I know I wasn't alone as many people could relate to Richey's depression, alcohol abuse and self-harming. I have followed the Manics since those days but stopped going to see them live several years ago mainly due to my tinnitus.

Friday 20 July 2012

Ebook published on Smashwords

My first ever book, "Drum Solos, Bottles and Bands - Memories of a Concert-goer 1981-1999" has today been published by Smashwords.com. It's all happened a bit quicker than I thought it would as I uploaded the manuscript this morning and, apart from one minor problem with the formatting, it's now available to buy. There is another part to the process whereby it is manually checked by Smashwords staff but as it has got through the Autovetter checking and conversion system (aka the charmingly named Meatgrinder), it is now available in various formats including Kindle, Epub, PDF and HTML. Here is the all important link - 


It is retailing for a very reasonable $2.99 and if you enjoy it and want to share the book with your nearest and dearest there is an option on the website to 'give as a gift'. 

If you do not own a Kindle, iPad or other electronic reader, there are PC options such as Kindle for PC and the Adobe Digital Editions reader, the latter of which I can recommend. To download a copy go to - 


But tell us more about the book I hear you cry! Well, here is the short description of it - 

"Recollections from a selection of concerts the author went to in the UK during the 1980s and 90s. Ranging from big names like Queen and ZZ Top to less well known bands such as Stump and Urge Overkill, the book describes events that made the gigs memorable such as a fire alarm going off during a gig, a guitarist performing an encore naked and a singer pushing a drunken fan off the stage."

It is divided into the following 5 chapters with these being some of the bands featured -

Chapter 1 - The Early Years                   
Sky, Queen, The Stranglers, Madness, Runrig

Chapter 2 - The Rock & Metal Years
Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, ZZ Top, Deep Purple

Chapter 3 - The Student Years
The Damned, U2 , Michelle Shocked, Stephane Grappelli, Ted Hawkins

Chapter 4 - The London Years
Jane's Addiction, Eric Clapton, Urge Overkill, The Who, The Cure

Chapter 5 - The Fife Years
Manic Street Preachers, Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Big Country, The Cramps

Saturday 14 July 2012

Yet more editing

Just when I thought it was nearly finished, my wife Sam took my manuscript away with her last weekend to proofread it. So I've had to spend the last few days correcting spelling mistakes, adding commas and expanding one or two entries. Of course the advantage of publishing electronically is that it is much easier to revise and update your book as it is merely a case of amending the .doc file and uploading it to Smashwords etc. again. But I don't want to be doing any more revisions of it than is absolutely necessary. Once it's published I need to move on to the marketing, selling and promoting of it, which is a whole new ballgame to me.

One thing to mention about ebook readers, such as the Kindle, is that there won't be an index as page numbers aren't used on ebooks. This is because different devices will format the text in different ways and readers can change the font and text size to suit themselves. What I will do is upload a more detailed contents page, on here and elsewhere, which will hopefully whet people's appetites and they'll buy a copy! I've just been through the manuscript again checking for spelling mistakes in the names of bands, musicians and so on as these will not be detected by the spellchecker. I discovered I'd misspelled the nickname of Motorhead's drummer calling him 'Filthy' Phil instead of 'Philthy' Phil. I'd also typed the name of Stranglers' bass player JJ Burnel as Brunel and he's someone you really don't want to upset!

Going back to the index, I've done one (of sorts) which lists the names of bands, singers, DJs, composers and even the name of one orchestra by chapter. What I'm going to do with that I'm not too sure. For anyone interested in such stats, there are 265 entries in this list but inevitably some are repeated. The Stranglers get mentioned in just about every chapter with Queen not far behind them. While I have seen The Stranglers more times than any other band, I only saw Queen once but they are still one of my favourite bands.

So that's this week's update. It feels a bit like 2 steps forward and 1 step back at the moment but I'm getting there. I should just mention that my health isn't great just now and I may be going in to hospital in the next few weeks but hopefully I'll get this finished before I'm admitted. It's nothing too serious but I need to get it sorted.

Thanks for reading my blog and as Black Oak Arkansas once sang, please keep the faith!

CB

Thursday 5 July 2012

"Drum Solos, Bottles and Bands" ebook

For all those of you eager to get a copy (a virtual one admittedly) of my first ever book, the waiting is nearly over! I have found someone to design the front cover though as he has disappeared off on holiday this week I will have to wait until Monday to get the finalized jpeg. It's a simple but hopefully eye-catching design. And if you don't have a Kindle, iPad or whatever to read it on, fear not, as hopefully there will be a paperback edition coming out later in the year.

In the meantime I have been doing some last minute editing and formatting for both Smashwords and Amazon. As my cover designer told me, it is best to publish on both web sites to maximize sales. So another little task I've been doing this week is writing descriptions of the book which will appear on the aforementioned web sites. This took more effort for Smashwords as you are limited to 400 characters or fewer. So this is what I've come up with, the subtitle of the book being "Memories of a Concert-goer 1981-1999".


SMASHWORDS description

Recollections from a selection of concerts the author went to in the UK during the 1980s and 90s. Ranging from big names like Queen and ZZ Top to less well known bands such as Stump and Urge Overkill, the book describes events that made the gigs memorable such as a fire alarm going off during a gig, a guitarist performing an encore naked and a singer pushing a drunken fan off the stage.


AMAZON description

The title of this book comes from the inevitable drum solos at rock concerts, the plastic bottles thrown in the air between acts at the Monsters of Rock festival and some of the many bands the author saw playing live around Scotland, at Castle Donington and in London between 1981 and 1999.

This musical journey starts in the sedate surroundings of Edinburgh's Usher Hall with Sky - the rock group formed by classical guitarist John Williams. We then move on to The Edinburgh Playhouse, Scotland's main concert venue in the 1980s, with the author attending concerts by big names such as Elton John, Madness, Iron Maiden and Motorhead. Two years at college in Aberdeen, seeing artists as diverse as The Stranglers and Stephane Grappelli, are followed by a move to London with the excitement of seeing Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall and The Who at Wembley Arena along with plenty of gigs at smaller venues. The final chapter sees the author return to his native Scotland and includes memorable gigs by Manic Street Preachers and Iggy Pop in Glasgow.

But this book is not just a list of bands and venues. Having been to over 300 concerts in those 18 years, the author focuses on events that made certain ones stand out - a smoke alarm going off midway through a Jane's Addiction gig, Captain Sensible of The Damned returning to the stage to play an encore wearing nothing more than his beret and sunglasses, and ex-Strangler Hugh Cornwell stopping half way through a song to push a drunken fan off the stage. There are also stories of unpredictable bar staff, overzealous security men, hard working road crews and concerts being cancelled or moved to a different venue with little or no notice.

Saturday 23 June 2012

Cloudcast for a cloudy day

A 45 minute mix rather than a radio show this week with a dozen songs and no chat in between. From the song titles, you can see that I was inspired by the very wet weather we're currently having here in Lancashire. Enjoy! (the music, not the weather)


Chas Ambler - My City Home
Kate Bush - Under Ice
The Existence of Harvey Lord - Where The River Runs Slow
Angie Palmer - Time of Thunder
Moll Baxter - Weatherman
Carole King - Out In The Cold
John Rigby - If I Had A Boat
Crosby Stills & Nash - Shadow Captain
Paul Levy - On The Hill
Martha Wainwright - Niger River
Ottersgear - Where Ottersgear Lies
Kami Thompson - Stormy

http://www.myspace.com/chasambler
http://theexistenceofharveylord.bandcamp.com/
http://www.molliebaxter.com/
http://www.myspace.com/plevyman
http://www.mikeykenney.co.uk/ (Ottersgear)

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Book update

After a period of inactivity on the book, I've now done some more editing and feel it might just about be finished. My wife Sam does proofreading as part of her job so had a look through my manuscript and confirmed what I had suspected - namely that the second last chapter needed some more work and the final chapter was rather disjointed and not nearly as good as the earlier part of the book.

In light of this I made the decision to scrap the final "Folk Years" chapter and have deleted some and re-written other parts of the preceding chapter. So the book now covers the years 1981 to 1999. This then leaves some of what I'd written left over for what could be the start of my next writing project.

I have signed up to the Smashwords web site with a view to publishing in various electronic formats with them. I found them via Steven Baxter's excellent book "Musings of a Monkey" based on his blog at enemiesofreason.co.uk

So the next steps are to format the text for e-publishing, re-do the cover design and that'll be about that. Then hopefully I might be able to sell a few copies!

CB

PS In case you're wondering what the book includes, the final chapter covers some of the concerts I went to between 1991 and 1999 and features the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, The Cramps and Hugh Cornwell.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Lancaster.Internet show 10 June 12

Playlist for the show which went out on Lancaster.Internet on the 10th of June.

It's a selection of songs by American and Canadian artists with an animals theme.

Alison Krauss & Union Station - Cluck Old Hen
Steve Earl & the Del McCoury Band - Texas Eagle
Michelle Shocked - Jump Jim Crow
Be Good Tanyas - Crow Waltz
Gillian Welch - Six White Horses
Flying Burrito Brothers - Wild Horses
Hayseed Dixie - War Pigs
Stephen Stills - Bumblebee
Neil Young - Birds
Tom Waits - Mockin' Bird
Suzy Thompson - Black Rat Swing

You can listen to the show on Mixcloud at 

Sunday 27 May 2012

Playlist for 27th May show

Listen to the latest show at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/lancasterinternet-show-27-may-2012/


Seasick Steve - You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
Kami Thompson - Gotta Hold On
The Long Lost Band - For My Sins
Lau - Dear Prudence
Peter Nardini - Bum
Icepops For Breakfast - Stuart Maconie
Megson - Working Town
Patsy Matheson - Water Is Over The Weir
Steve Knightley - Poppy Day
Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston - Trouble
Ribbon Road - Like A Bird
The Balkanics - Warsaw

Links...

http://www.thelonglostband.com/
http://icepopsforbreakfast.tumblr.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thebalkanicsband

Saturday 12 May 2012

OTBT on Lancaster.Internet 13 May

Here's the playlist for my second show on Lancaster.Internet which will be going out on Sunday the 13th May bewteen 7 and 9 pm.

Sandy Denny - John The Gun
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Please Read The Letter
Rab Noakes - Take This Letter
Angie Palmer - Notes From Underground
The Billionaires - Jump, Jive & Wail
Richard & Linda Thompson - It'll Be Me
Chris Bradley - To My Ears
Karine Polwart - Maybe There's A Road

Tracks 4 & 5 feature Lancaster-based piano and keyboard player 'Boogie' Bill Roberts. Bill currently has a residency at the Robert Gillow pub in Lancaster on Thursdays from 5 to 7:30pm. Check out Bill online at :

http://www.boogiebill.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/boogiebillroberts


Off The Beaten Tracks on Lancaster.Internet
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lancaster-internet

Saturday 28 April 2012

OTBT on Lancaster.Internet

My first Off The Beaten Tracks show on Lancaster.Internet will be broadcast on Sunday evening between 7 and 9 pm. I went along to familiarise myself with the equipment and so only took a few cds, one of which wouldn't play in the cd deck but I ended up recording a show. It is about 50 minutes long and this is the playlist. Hope you can tune in at http://bit.ly/IAFZoV

The Low Countries - Wino
Duotone - Turning Pages Over
Darwin Song Project - Heavy In My Hand
Darwin Song Project - We'll Hunt Him Down
Greenheart - Lemongrass
Greenheart - Walk In The Park
Moll Baxter - Passenger of Love
Duncan McCrone - Waiting Here For You
Seth Lakeman - Blacksmith's Prayer
Treacherous Orchestra - Superfly

For gigs in the Lancaster & Morecambe area check out Ron Johnson's page :


He also posts daily updates on his Facebook page :

Friday 20 April 2012

The end of Diversity FM... but we may be back!

Some news from Duncan Moore (ex-volunteer co-ordinator at Diversity FM) -

"After a couple of weeks discussion with Ofcom and putting a number of plans before them I am sad to say they have refused the license extension, this makes it impossible to seek a transfer to a new group. The reason for not extending the license was on 'legislative' grounds and their decision, which was taken at a senior level, is final. Sadly this brings 8 years of community radio history in Lancaster to an end, the transmitter will be turned off shortly.

However... the next round for community radio licensing for our region begins early in 2013 and I will be putting together a license application to bring back community radio to our district. I have recently spoken to a number of other people from the community radio sector in the north west who would be interested in forming a limited company to move this forward and I will have an initial meeting with them soon. I have today agreed to purchase the transmitter from the YMCA so it will stay in its current location until we need it. So watch this space!"

In the meantime the cloudcasts continue and I will hopefully be meeting up with Gordon Smith next week to talk about doing shows on Lancaster.Internet. 

The latest cloudcast includes two tracks from Duncan McCrone's new album 'Colourblind' and tracks by Didi Bergman, Chas Ambler, The Darwin Song Project, The Midden and Martha Wainwright.


Wednesday 11 April 2012

Internet broadcasting

There probably won't be a cloudcast this week partly because I've been away for the last few days but also because fellow ex-Diversity DJ Gordon Smith has set up an internet-based radio station and I'm going to get involved with that. There is a page on Facebook under the name Lancaster.internet and there will be broadcasts on Thursdays and Sundays from 6pm to 9pm.

Unfortunately I've just heard that Gordon is unwell so I'm not sure when my first show will be going out, but check the Facebook page and Twitter - @thebeatentracks - for updates.

I will carry on playing folk, acoustic and roots music but I'm going to make my playlists a bit more varied. The latest one includes a bit of boogie woogie from John Sylvester and a jazz number by the Dave Milligan Trio.

Do check out my cloudcasts on Mixcloud



Wednesday 4 April 2012

Keeping busy

Despite the closure of Diversity FM at the weekend I'm having quite a busy week. This week's cloudcast is recorded and will be uploaded tomorrow. I've gone for some oldies by George Harrison and The Pogues as well as recent tracks by Franka De Mille, David Ferrard and The Thyme Machine. 

I picked up the latest edition of Songlines magazine and there are some great tracks on the Top of the World cd by Fidil, Duotone and Treacherous Orchestra. I will probably include one or two of them in the next cloudcast.

I've updated the settings on my Soundcloud pages so you can now download any of the cover versions I've recorded. There's a link at the bottom of this blog.

On the book front I've decided to release it on Amazon for the Kindle market so I've been busy formatting the text, designing a cover and making final decisions about which images to include. It feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with it and hopefully it'll be available to download (and more importantly, buy) later this month. I'll then look into how I might get some actual books printed but one step at a time.

A few gigs to mention...

Gren Bartley
Thursday 5th April
Robert Gillow, Lancaster

Plainview + Boz Hayward + Jess Thomas + Joanne Levey + Marc Nellis
Thursday 12th April
The Yorkshire House, Lancaster

Martin Simpson & Martin Taylor
Friday 27th April
The Platform, Morecambe

Fairport Convention
Wednesday 9th May
The Platform, Morecambe



Friday 30 March 2012

New Cloudcast and final fling at Diversity FM

The latest cloudcast is a dozen songs by local artists who were featured on Tuesday's show. If you don't have time to listen to the whole 50 minutes there are links to the artists' pages on Soundcloud and other web sites.

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/off-the-beaten-tracks-04/

That pretty much wraps things up at Diversity FM apart from the final 12 hour broadcast we're doing tomorrow, that's Saturday from 12 noon to 12 midnight. I'll be there in the afternoon playing a few tracks and chatting on air with whoever else turns up. Reza Mills plans to be there sometime after 4pm.

We forgot to thank the guys at Diversity at the end of this week's show so I'd like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to Duncan, Tony, Chris and Jayne for giving me the opportunity to present Off The Beaten Tracks for the last 4 years. It's ironic that the radio station is being made homeless by the YMCA - maybe we can broadcast from the homeless shelter and sell the Big Issue to raise some cash.

Thanks again to everyone for tuning in and to all the musicians who have donated cds to the show. As Jim Morrison put it, this is the end, beautiful friend.

Colin Bertram

Twitter : https://twitter.com/#!/thebeatentracks
Soundcloud : http://soundcloud.com/the-beaten-tracks

Tuesday 27 March 2012

The final edition of Off The Beaten Tracks on Diversity FM

Playlist 27 March 2012

The medley features 30 second samples of tracks by the artists listed below and I'll include the full-length versions of songs in my next cloudcast. Wes and I will be taking part in the final day of Diversity FM this Saturday (the 31st) probably in the afternoon. We'll be letting people know when we're on air via Twitter - @thebeatentracks and @thatwesmartin

We want you all to sing along to "We'll Meet Again" at the end!

Thanks for listening to the show over the last 4 years and for reading the blog. I will continue posting here and 'broadcasting' on mixcloud.com

Show of Hands - Arrogance Ignorance & Greed
Roy Harper - Goodbye
Richard Thompson - I Ain't Fighting Anymore
Sibylle Baier - The End
Jo Gillot - River Pinn
Lancaster & Morecambe Medley featuring Greenheart, Ottersgear, Moll Baxter, Stuart Anthony, Jess Thomas, Rich Tea & Celia Briar, John Rigby, Ponies, Turnstone, Idiot Johnson
Dan Haywood's New Hawks - Farewell Comeback
Hayseed Dixie - Moonshiner's Daughter
The Low Countries - Goodbye (not)
Kate Rusby - Elfin Knight
Johnny Cash - We'll Meet Again

Gigs...

Last Harbour, The Low Countries & Nancy Kent
Thursday 29 March, 8pm
The Yorkshire House, £6

Greenheart and Maudling Hertz
Friday, 30 March 2012    7:00 until 8:00 pm
Lancaster Priory Church, £5 / £3

"Off The Beaten Tracks" on Diversity FM
Tuesday at 9pm
103.5 FM in the Lancaster & Morecambe area
Listen online at diversityfm.co.uk

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Today's playlist

Coming up at 9pm this evening but if you can't wait til then check out the cloudcasts at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/

Breabach - Glasgow of the Big Shops
Seth Lakeman - Feather in a Storm
Michael Chapman - Waiting For A Train
Judy Dyble - Talking With Strangers
Gigspanner - Picnic
Annlaug - Ord Som Fell
Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies - Watter's Coming Annie
Nancy Kerr & James Fagin - Rammed Earth
Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston - Sweet Pea / Mean To Me
Steve Knightley - The Galway Farmer
Gren Bartley - Sweet Traveller
Jamie Smith's Mabon - Fiddler's Despair
Fairport Convention - Breakfast in Mayfair
Steeleye Span - Bonny Black Hare

Gigs...

Hush #2
Idiot Johnson, Marc Nellis, Dave Wright (via Skype), Goldmundo
Sunday 25 March, 7:30pm
The Gregson Centre

Last Harbour, The Low Countries & Nancy Kent
Thursday 29 March, 8pm
The Yorkshire House, £6
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/156892

To celebrate the arrival of the 32ft pipes for the restored pipe organ
Greenheart and Maudling Hertz
Friday, 30 March 2012, 19:00 until 20:00
Lancaster Priory Church

"Off The Beaten Tracks" on Diversity FM
Tuesday at 9pm
103.5 FM in the Lancaster & Morecambe area
Listen online at diversityfm.co.uk

Thursday 8 March 2012

Cloudcast no 2

I've completed my second Cloudcast which focuses on singer songwriters, ranging from Sandy Denny to Kami Thompson. There's a bit more chat between tracks as I slowly get used to recording my own voice on my PC at home rather than in the studio.

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/off-the-beaten-tracks-02/

The news regarding Diversity FM is that we are still due to close at the end of March but there are on-going discussions about getting a new licence and funding so we may be back later in the year. But in the meantime there are three more shows to do. I hope you enjoyed Wes' solo effort on Tuesday. 

Some gigs to tell you about...

The Urban Folk Quartet
Friday 9 March
Melling Village Institute

Tel.01524221233 or e-info@greenclose.org for tickets

Bill Orrick/Jo Gillot/Sootytern/Idiot Johnson
Friday 9 March
The Yorkshire House, Lancaster

Doors 8pm, tickets £3

Last Harbour + The Low Countries + Nancy Kent
Thursday, 29 March
The Yorkshire House, Lancaster
Doors 8pm, tickets £6
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/156892

Monday 5 March 2012

Instrumental Cloudcast

I had a burst of enthusiasm at the end of last week and put together a second playlist on Saturday. This one is made up of instrumental tracks with a strong Scottish element thanks to cds I've received over the last year or so from Bob Buchan including new releases by Blazin' Fiddles, Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson and The Battlefield Band. It was in danger of being too much of a fiddle fest so I added tracks by Flook and Michael McGoldrick along with some lovely harp playing by Corrina Hewat. If you enjoy her track, do check out her album 'Harp I Do'.

I'll be featuring tracks by local artists on each Cloudcast and this one kicks off with Lancaster-based band The Balkanics who recently supported Moishe's Bagel at a sellout gig at the Gregson Centre in Lancaster. The other local artist is none other than my step-son Kish McGuire with his rendition of the Davey Graham classic 'Angie'.

Enjoy!

http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/otbt-instrumental-mix-01/