May, Nos da Cymru!

Contrary to the title of this blog, I'm going to start off talking about Manchester. So, this month I have had a lot of fun playing for a number of recitals at the RNCM. I played Electric Double Bass with Trumpet player Jack Tinker for a segment of his recital; this also featured the fabulous Liam Waddle on Piano. I also played Bass Guitar with drummers Joe Luckin and Dave McCarthy as part of their final recitals this month. Both were fantastic and energetic performances with fantastic grooves and great playing all round! So well done to everyone who did a recital this month, not just the ones I played for, it was great to see such great playing across the board! :)

Also this month, we were fortunate enough to receive a masterclass with the incredible jazz funk powerhouse that is Snarky Puppy! The band came to college, performed for us and also took time to workshop and answer our questions! All in all, it was a very inspiring masterclass and an honour to hear such unbelievable musicians! I think that a particular mention for Michael League is in order. Michael is one of the most incredible musicians that I've ever come across. As well as being an amazing bass player, he is also the brains behind the Snarky Puppy project. He is responsible for the majority of the writing and arranging credits with the band; which made me think, maybe there's more to this bass playing crack than standing at the back and making the floor shake.

Snarky Puppy at RNCM

Now, to Wales, kind of. My work with Spinoffs continues around the UK! This month we have performed in: Grange over Sands, Fleetwood, Blackpool, Prestatyn, Hafan Y Mor, Porthmadog, New Quay (Wales), Tenby, Burnham on Sea, Skegness and Watchet. West Coast and down basically. We've had a lot of fun this month with developing the show and generally mucking about on stage. At the start of this month, I invested in a Line 6 Relay G55 Wireless Guitar System which has made the whole show much more fun. It's a new found freedom to be able to run around a venue and confuse the heck out of people! Needless to say, we've had some great weather, some rubbish weather, but then it is the UK! A lot of fun was had by the whole band!

That's kind of it for May! Final stuff for the year is happening at college! Then a long summer break, punctuated with gigs of course. The end of year course gig at Band on the Wall is on the 12th of June if anyone fancies it? See you in June. (I realise it's June now...)

Alasdair