flossie suvara

My vinyl copy of Led Zep IV has Memphis Minnie credited, and it (my copy) is at least 20 years old.... Regards Flossie

It definately depends on your budget - My wedding was almost six years ago, and we weren't able to spend a fortune, but still had a great day. The ceremony was at Templar's park (Aberdeen Scout Campsite), in the outdoor chapel - mainly because I'm an Explorer Scout Leader. Our reception was at the Old Mill Inn - just down the road, and it was excellent - and very reasonable. It was an all inclusive deal, which included: Limousine to collect the bride Toast Drink Excellent meal (my wife was a vegetarian at the time and chose Macaroni Cheese as the vegetarian option - they had no problems with that) Photographer (To be honest, he was a bit pants - the photos were good, but half a spool's worth went missing and took ages to track down) One of the guys from the hotel also acted as a toastmaster, and did a very good job. We booked a ceilidh band - Gallik Bred, who were really good All in all, our day went fantastically well, and we had no problems with the Mill Inn - they were excellent in every way. We did have a look at various other places, including Norwood Hall (ouch) and The Maryculter House Hotel (oooyah!). Depending on what your budget is though, Aberdeen city and shire have heaps of fantastic places. A colleague of mine is getting married at Castle Fraser next year - if castle's take your mum's fancy, then try the National Trust for Scotland. Regards Flossie

www.frets.com Great site - more about repair than building, but extremely well supported by detailed photos and lots of tips. Regards Flossie

My family and I went last year, along with a pile of friends (and their respective families) and we had an absolute blast, despite the pishy rainy weather - great site (the main stage is below a terraced italian garden, so no problems with seeing the acts). Toilets got a bit grotty by the sunday, but that's par for the course for any festival, and queues at the food stands could be a bit long. Not enough litter bins either, but all of these points were raised on the website afterwards, and it's been promised that this year they'll be addressed. Plenty of stuff for kids to do - drumming/theatre/monster make-up/dance workshops, usual festival stalls and a really really nice vibe to the whole thing. We're going again - have already bought tickets. Regards Flossie

Charlie also played in local bands in the late '80s/early '90s. Dangerzone Fat Charlie's Geetar Band The Dreaming (who became Tinderbox) Good news that the kids are doing well and that Vanessa's clear of leukemia. Flossie

Dundee: - an acrostic Dirty Unwashed Necks Dogs Evident Everywhere Flossie

There was that Take That/Barry Manilow song - Cruden Bay Magic... Flossie

Can you narrow it down a bit? Folk music is a huge genre - do you mean singer/songwriter stuff, or traditional songs, or jigs/reels/strathspeys (also known in some circles as "diddly"? There are plenty of resources on the web for the latter (which is what I like to play): www.thesession.org - Irish traditional music site - lots of tunes http://www.btinternet.com/~troubleatmill/links.htm#chord - link page to singer/songwriter lyrics and chords http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ef//music/database.htm - database of folk dance music http://www.geocities.com/nacornett/tune.htm - page of links for tunes http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/ - heaps of songs and tunes http://www.blackflute.com/music/tunes.html - more tunes http://www.cpmusic.com/tradmus.html - more tunes, with midi and sheet music Some of the above sites use the ABC format - if you want to convert it into standard notation, then there's a resource which can do this at: http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html As a general rule of thumb, the majority of traditional Scottish and Irish tunes tend to be in the keys of C, G and D, and follow a three chord trick http://www.torvund.net/guitar/progressions/04-Threechord.asp Hope that helps Regards Flossie

Surely "Taste in Banjos" is an oxymoron.... (joking - it's just rare to see stringed instruments other than guitars/basses mentioned on this website - then 2 posts come along at once). Flossie (strummer of the poofbat (mandolin))

I'd agree with the above - the first one definately looks like a Kora (Alan Cynic - was Jali Nyama Suso gig at the Art Centre the one when he was supporting Robin Williamson? If so, I was there, in my very young folk music days) but by it's appearence I'd guess that it's a tourist souviner rather than a decent instrument.. The second is an oud - 11 strings (5 pairs and 1 single) and no frets, with rosette soundhole(s) The Kora is played by grasping the handles and plucking the strings with the thumbs. The oud is persian in origin, and is the forerunner of various instruments, including the (greek) bouzouki. However, the greek bouzouki doesn't have the backwards headstock, has frets and only has 3 or 4 courses of double strings. Regards Flossie

Once upon a time, many years ago, The Lorelei were known and famous (nay, infamous) for being a drunken shambling mess of a band. Not all of us all the time, but certainly everyone was guilty of playing when pissed at one time or another. It seemed so much fun. Unfortunately, it didn't stop for one of us, and drinking became the main reason for gigs - not the playing, not the performing, not being with his mates. Drinking became everything, and that situation led to the break up of the band. Now we've reformed (minus un-named drunken member, who, as far as I'm aware, is still a drunk) and we're looking forward to playing again - sober this time. But it makes me wonder (and I'm sure my fellow band mates will agree) - we were quite successful the first time round. We had a record deal, we gigged all over the country, we sold out lots of places. What would we have been like if we'd all made a conscious decision not to drink before a performance? My personal opinion reflects some of the previous replies - being drunk/stoned/wasted/f*cked up on stage doesn't make you any better. It just makes you THINK that you're better. Regards Flossie

200 motels did nothing for me I'm afraid - I just watched it so I could say that I have. "Head" - the Monkees film is a much easier to watch - (directed by Jack Nicholson I believe) and also stars Frank Zappa in a cameo (with a talking ox on a string). Bad News and More Bad News by the comic strip are also worth a mention. I'm fairly sure (although I don't have the exact facts at my fingertips, and can't be arsed googling) that "Bad News" came out before Spinal Tap. Eminently quotable and very funny. Not so much a movie as a documentary ("rockumentary") is "The Last Waltz" - film of The Band's final concert, with heaps of special guests (Dylan, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, etc) - great film. Regards Flossie

In the back of a van, in Brixton, in February, wearing someone else's ex-army greatcoat stuffed with newspapers to keep warm. or Cardiff Regards Flossie

Don't know of any local banjo specialists, but what type of tuning pegs does the banjo have? If they are friction pegs, then try applying powdered chalk to the outside of the peg and the inside of the hole - it may improve it's grip. Hope that helps Flossie

"9th clwb ifor bach, cardiff w/ enter shikari, flood of red + the blackout" The Lorelei played there in 1995 - be afraid - possibly one of the most bizarre gigs ever - we were supported by a variety of "interesting" local acts, including: A bizarre older woman who had a very nice singsong welsh accent, but who did John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" in a voice akin to that of beelzebub A bizarre gentleman dressed in 1970's velvet, who did a cover of the "I'm a big kid now" pampers advert A bitter scottish bloke, who had a song about getting busted and jailed for dope, addressed to the judge, entitled "You're just a wiggy bastard" The promoter also let us stay in his house, and it was one of the dustiest/dirtiest houses I've ever been in. Also, be warned - Clwb Ifor Bach is the name of the night NOT the name of the venue - we spent ages driving around the centre of Cardiff trying to find it. On the plus side, Cardiff city centre does do a nice line in martial arts/tatto shops.... Regards Flossie

I was in a band with Spike the talking cactus (or rather, the guy who did his voice) - mind you , that's going back a fair bit - May 1988 I think. Regards Flossie

Some good points made (albeit in a typically curmudgeonly way). However, I would disagree with the general premise that Aberdeen's music scene is not "vibrant" or "thriving". Outwith the narrow confines of these boards, Aberdeen's other music genres continue to flourish - despite some threads recently on the type of bands booked to appear at the Lemon Tree, it continues to put on some excellent bands from all over - the Rootin Aboot festival in April contains some very exciting acts from the folk/roots scene. Musical theatre in Aberdeen has a number of amateur groups, all doing well and drawing big audiences - even the Aberdeen Scout Gang Show (of which I used to be part of a loooong time ago) has all but sold out 6 performances at the Arts Centre. Given that the cast is relatively small (about 70), and the Arts Centre seats about 350 (I think), then this is more than just family and friends buying tickets. There are a number of excellent youth orchestras, playing to a high standard (classical, big band and Jazz) The Aberdeen Jazz festival is currently underway - again with performers from both local, national and international fields. Not knowing too much about the hip hop/DJ/Electronic music scene in Aberdeen, all I would say is judging by the posters I have seen around town, there is a thriving scene here - I couldn't tell you if the acts advertised are local or national, but there seems to be plenty of events happening. Concentrating more on what the majority of users of these boards would class as "the scene" - the main problem in my view is that the scene is too healthy - there are too many bands trying to play too many venues for too small a potential gig-going audience. I do agree however, that it is pointless complaining about poor attendance at gigs - some, as Camie mentions, are poorly attended due to external factors - weather, other events, etc. But bands must take responsibility for promoting themselves as much as possible. It's not just the venue/promotors job - it's their job too! The sheer number of bands in the "Aberdeen Scene" is proof of it's vibrancy. It doesn't matter if they're absolutely fantastic, mediocre, but with potential, or turgid dross. The mere fact that so many bands exist is a reflection of the interest of today's youth in playing live music and being in a band. When I first started playing in a band, there were between 12 and 15 bands playing in what would be now described as the scene. As time progressed (and there was a small bit of media/record company interest in the Aberdeen Scene in the early nineties) more bands formed. But there certainly wasn't the same eagerness to play music (and specifically guitar-based rock) as there seems to be today. I would agree that there are some bands appearing which shouldn't - they've not done the work, and are gigging too early - one of the downsides of the current Aberdeen scene is that it is too easy to get a gig. However, the suggestion that recording is something bands should concentrate on before gigging, is, certainly for the genres of music the majority of Aberdeen-music users favour, is not viable. When you play in a band, you need to play together to get better. Everyone starts out shite! Only by playing and playing and playing can you hone your craft and progress your music. And practicing only goes so far. Once you've practiced enough to be competent, it is playing live which puts the edge on the blade, so to speak. The adrenalin makes you work harder, you become more aware of what your fellow band members are doing, and you can push your creativity further. And bands don't concentrate on recording for two reasons: 1) They wish to hone their sound by playing live. Recording for bands in these genres is something you work towards, and only do once you're ready. 2) It costs money to record - even the cheap deals at Captain Toms are pricey for young bands. Playing gigs is one way to try and build up band funds - and due to the large number of bands and venues, the available cash paid to bands for performing has drastically reduced (in the early '90s, my band regularly got paid between 80 and 120 a gig - in the first year we were playing!) Not everyone has the home facilities to record the type of music they choose to play. If you are into electronic music, and have the equipment then it is much easier to record an excellent piece of work, and spend hours tweaking and polishing it until it cannot get any better. With a guitar based band scenario, then you are constrained by time and money. Finally, I really find Stripey's attitude to "kids" baffling - music is a movement - it must continually grow and change, in order to prevent it becoming stagnant. The willingness of venues to put on under age shows encourages the scene, and a comment on whether it is financially viable or not is not really relevant to the rest of the thread - it's up to the venue to decide what they want to do. When I was underage, there were NO venues putting on bands for under 18s. (Luckily, I looked 21 when I was about 14 (the beard helped), so I could still get into places). And everyone, not matter who they are, or what genre they are into, start off as "naive children" - Nobody springs from the womb with a fully honed musical taste. And why is a young person's opinion worth less just because they haven't listened to as wide a selection of styles and genres as someone a bit older. If they like something, then they like it, and that's all that should matter. It's very easy for older people to become "music fascists", and criticise what "the kids of today" are listening to - just as older generations have criticised younger people's tastes since time began. But they will develop their own views and no-one can change that. (Stripey - for future posts, here's a handy list of cliches you may wish to adopt "It's not even a proper tune" "It's just a bloody noise" "Bands/music were better in my day" ;->) Aberdeen's scene IS vibrant and thriving due to the number of bands playing - yes, some of these bands are rubbish. But the more all the bands play, the better they will become. Either that or they will stop playing, split up, start new bands, and foster more creativity Regards Flossie

Depends what you need them for - If it's for recording, then I'd give it a shot if I can fit the time in (although I'm pretty rusty). If it's to join a band fulltime, then I'm afraid I couldn't help. (also play mandolin, banjo mandolin, bodhran, recorder, etc) Regards Flossie

I'm sure I read somewhere that "back door man" in a blues context does not refer to anal sex, but instead the concept that as a husband comes in the front door, the back door man is leaving via the back door. "open my front door, hear my back door slam Reckon I must have one of them new fangled back door men" (Since I've been loving you) Regards Flossie

Irish band De Danann covered Eric Bogle's "All the fine young men" on their Ballroom album - apparently, it's the last anti-war song he was going to write (don't know if that's still the case, as I saw them on the promotional tour for Ballroom at least 15 years ago) - it's another cracking song. I've heard a rumour that he's playing Aberdeen this year, but don't know any further details. Regards Flossie

Hard to describe - there's MP3s available here: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=15569 alternatively, just go to soundclick.com and do a search. I was an original Suvaran, but due to the demands of parenthood, took a semi-permanent vacation almost 3 years ago. Various other things (one member relocated to Glasgow, another has a third child on the way in May, and a third is currently writing a dissertation) have meant that it's been all quiet on the Suvara front for quite some time now. Regards Flossie

I got tickets from my wife for a birthday present - although I'd never heard the band, I knew that Chris Thile was an awesome mandolin player. As I play the mandolin myself, I went along prepared to be gobsmacked, and I wasn't disappointed - absolutely stunning musicianship - not just from Chris Thile, but from all the band. Completely different atmosphere in the lemon tree too - no support, seated, no smoking - just a great concert. The covers they did were very good - again, proving the maxim that a good song is a good song, regardless of the style it is played in. I'd go and see Nickel Creek again definately - but first, it's time to get practising on the old poofbat. Flossie

Or is it in fact a bus shelter with glass sides??? Flossie