November, Royal Albert Hall and that...

November has been an extremely busy month for me. The majority of the first fortnight was taken up with the RNCM Session Orchestra project. For the first week or so rehearsing it, and then two gigs. The first concert that we did was in the RNCM Theatre which was immense fun. We played 2 hours worth of repertoire featuring everything from Michael Buble to songs from the musical Wicked, Earth Wind and Fire to Hairspray. The whole gig went extremely well, and everyone had a fantastic time. For me, it was the most self indulgent equipment set up I've ever used. This included my Overwater by Tanglewood 5 String Bass and my Overwater by Tanglewood Jazz Bass, but also my Electric Upright Bass and Frank Morgan's Fretless Squier Jazz Bass. Things only to be done once eh?

RNCM Session Orchestra in the RNCM Theatre

Two days later (Including an RNCM Sax Day Rhythm Section Workshop in-between) I was back with the RNCM Session Orchestra to play at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This was an amazing opportunity to play alongside the Greater Gwent Youth Orchestra and the "Out of Essex" project. The Out of Essex Project was fantastic fun, it involved the Session Orchestra working with 600 School Children from the Essex area. Together, the whole ensemble played Karl Jenkins' piece "Rondo Latino" which was an absolute joy to hear after the work that we put in to the project. We also performed Elbow's One Day Like This which sounded fantastic in the RAH. All in all, a once in a lifetime experience. I enjoyed it all immensely.

RNCM Session Orchestra, Greater Gwent Youth Orchestra and Out of Essex perform in the Royal Albert Hall

Two days after this, Spinoffs went down to Coventry to perform at the Keeping it Live function band showcase. We played very well on the day and have had a number of emails enquiring about booking the band! You can't ask for more than that! The diary is starting to fill up for 2014 which is great! Also this month, Spinoffs played at Selby Rugby Club for a birthday / wedding anniversary party. Shoutout to Charles Macdonald who depped for the band that evening.

Amongst the regular plethora of Jam Nights and Pub Gigs, a highlight for me was playing as part of a Jazz Trio at the Manchester Music Show at Manchester Central. The band featured myself on Bass, Liam Waddle on Piano and Will Unger on Drums. We played to a very appreciative audience and had a great day at the show!

And last but not least, the RNCM Revue show took place two days ago (bit of a theme here...). I enjoyed playing with The Hughes Brothers (Blues Brothers Tribute Band) complete with sunglasses and Duck Dunn head bob. Everyone loved the high energy performance given by Owen Hughes and Tom Stott as the Hughes Brothers and the backing band which included Myself, Ollie Harding, Charles Macdonald, Liam Waddle, Jamie Sharp and Aaron Wood. And to close the show, Keep Swinging did a high octane set of Pop songs which was a great way to end a fantastic evening of music.

Alasdair "Duck" Simpson playing with The Hughes Brothers in the RNCM Revue Show

That's it for now! I suppose we will have to wait for the madness that is Christmas to start! Fingers crossed I make it to 2014 alive.

Alasdair

October, What Happens on Tour, Stays on Tour

October has been an interesting one. A lot of adventures, a lot of college time missed, but all for the best! I'll try and sum up what's been going on...

So October started with a trip to Essex for me. The RNCM Session Orchestra Rhythm Section travelled down south to workshop an improvised piece with local schools; this is ahead of our performance of the piece with the schools as part of the Music For Youth School's Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London! We had a very enjoyable few days working with different Young People all across Essex. It was great to see such talent and enthusiasm across the board! It was also great to work alongside Paul (a lecturer at Guildhall School of Music and Drama) to create a really unique and exciting piece. And of course, it was great to be back in the capital.

The following Saturday saw a rehearsal with Classical Crossover singer Mark Llewelyn Jones and the band. This was a great opportunity to work in a different genre of music to what I'm used to. Mark was impressed with our interpretation of his songs from his album and is looking forward to our upcoming gig at The Atkinson in Southport.

Monday the 14th marked the start of the Atom Live tour with James Christy and the band! The whole tour was a fantastic experience, we performed to audiences in York, Darlington, Manchester, Lincoln and London. It was great to experience life on the road in a tour bus with your band mates. A special mention should go to our fellow Atom Live Bands: Vanderjact and Frost-D. Also, our Stage Manager Matt, and Tour Manager Trev were absolutely sound guys. It was a fantastic week, I'd do it all again at the drop of a hat. However, I'm sure the rest of the band will back me up in saying that we never want to have to walk bags and gear through London's Underground System ever again.

JC Band, Vanderjact, Frost-D and Matt on the Atom Live Tour

October including another storming gig with Spinoffs in York! Everyone had a great night, and we're looking forward to a function band showcase in Coventry next month! I'm very excited!

As you'd expect, with the Session Orchestra gig fast approaching we have been rehearsing hard at college! It's going to be an awesome gig, and I'd urge everyone without a ticket to get one for the gig on the 9/11/13 at RNCM! There's no excuse!

And finally I'm just at the start of another Ensemble Week at RNCM! The task this time around is to learn and perform 10 songs from the band... TOTO! Needless to say, I'm absolutely ecstatic about this. I have longed for the day when it would be socially acceptable to play AOR in a band in public. I'm looking forward to the end of the week gig immensely. But until then, there are some tricky unison riffs to see to. Yay.

Alasdair

September, Return to RNCM, Sort of...

Well, it's great to be back in Manchester. It's exciting to be back at the RNCM studying on the 2nd year of my Popular Music Performance Degree!

September started with gigs in Yorkshire, naturally. Mainly working with the New York Brass Band, I enjoyed doing a couple of gigs for the Doncaster Races and a notable club gig at Smokestack which was an absolute riot. Needless to say, it was a load of fun getting my Drum Kit chops back.

Moving on. Returning to RNCM saw me playing in a variety of "Fresher's week" related events. These included a playing for a Jam Session with Keep Swinging on the first night. It was great to see so many first years from my course get up and show off a bit. The confidence in this new crop of pop students is a little bit concerning! But needless to say, everyone had a great night. I also enjoyed playing with Pretty Young Things at the Fresher's Ball at the Palace Hotel in Manchester. We played a variety of Popular Music which went down a storm. A great time was had by all.

A picture from the Fresher's Jam Session. To date, my only picture with my Overwater Aspiration Artist 4 String Bass (Ruby)

As well as the Fresher's Events going on all week, I had the opportunity to play an Acoustic Set with James Christy at Waxy O'Connors Bar at the Printworks Complex. This was great fun to do and it serves as extra practice for our upcoming tour. (SEE BELOW) As well as this, I played with Jack Tinker, Joe Luckin and Matt Wilmot for a Jam Session at the legendary Deaf Institute, and Indigo Bar in Withington. Great well attended Jam Sessions with a fantastic array of talented musicians!

Heptonstall Festival was also a highlight of this month! A great event with some great artists and performers. James Christy and I performed an acoustic set, and we played a set with the full band later on that day! A great practice gig for the upcoming tour... (SEE BELOW) and a great response from new West Yorkshire fans.

The James Christy Band at Heptonstall Festival

More recently, I played a Showcase Event with The Spinoffs in Morley near Leeds! We watched a number of acts perform to earn the chance to get gigs at Havens Holiday Camps. These included two covers bands, a Katherine Jenkins tribute act, a Martha Reeves and the Vandellas tribute act and Katy Kerry (The UK's premiere Katy Perry show.) I really enjoyed the event, and I'm glad to say that The Spinoffs performed well. So we'll keep our fingers crossed for 2014!

And finally, the big one. Last Saturday I performed with Black and Gold function band at an event in Aberystwyth. The event was great! The band played well and the audience had a great time. It also counts as my first gig playing songs to Backing Track which was fantastic experience for me. The elephant in the room being that we didn't get back to Manchester until 3:50 in the morning. Ouch. A great gig all told though!

So, I've been back at RNCM, but still shooting about the places playing for anyone and anything. It can't be bad I suppose? Although, I might go and get some sleep now.

Before that, THE JAMES CHRISTY ATOM LIVE TOUR IS REALLY SOOOOON!

The dates are...

14/10/13 Fibbers - York

15/10/13 The Forum - Darlington

16/10/13 Night and Day Cafe - Manchester

17/10/13 The Platform - Lincoln

18/10/13 British Academy of New Music - London

I'll expect to see you there! Especially for the gig in my hometown of York! You guys have got no excuse!

Alasdair

August, Adventures in the North West

So August saw my return to Bass Guitar after my month of Drums in July. This month I've enjoyed a variety of gigs in a variety of different places mainly around the North West region of the UK.

A big part of August for me has been spent playing for Under the Covers Function Band. UTC are a group of professional musicians based in the North West who form function bands with the facility to accommodate up to three bands all performing at the same time on the same night. The material covered in the UTC project on the whole has proved to be rockier and more contemporary than most of the sets that I have played before, which is one of my main reasons for enjoying the gigs as much as I do! Anyway, UTC gigs have enabled me to see these North West locations: Liverpool, Northwich and Bollington.

I played another North West gig in Birch Vale near New Mills. The event was a festival called Groustonbury Festival where I played many Stax and Motown classics as part of The Soul Shakers Band. All in all a fantastic fun gig with other great bands and absolutely great weather.

Whilst not in the North West, The Spinoffs have also been hard at work! We played gigs at the Golden Lion in York and The Admiral in Hessle (near Hull) in the same weekend. (The one in Hessle was on the same day as my Soulshakers Gig near New Mills, but that's another story.) These gigs were a lot of fun and served as further exposure for the band!

New York Brass Band furthered my North West adventures with a trip to Wigan to celebrate the Wigan Warriors Rugby League team's triumphant return. The team won the Tetley's Challenge Cup two days before the event, and as such Wigan city centre was in high spirits. Another NYBB highlight this month was a wedding in Mattersey in Nottinghamshire which was great fun, and a lovely event!

And finally, I'm pleased to say that I spent a few days in Leyland (also in the North West - I realise that this theme is starting to get old...) with my good friend James Christy! Together we spent some time songwriting with a view to performing the songs as part of the band. To date, this was my first real experience of structured song writing not in a band context, so it was a new step for me, but definitely a great experience.

In other news, I did go on holiday to Spain with my family for a week which was nice! It was great to have the time out to be honest. Also, I have been arranging for the RNCM Session Orchestra in my spare time. The material that I'm arranging will be performed at the RNCM Session Concert in the RNCM Theatre on the 9th of November. So watch out for that one!

Anyway, the UTC website can be found at http://www.underthecoversband.co.uk, The Spinoffs' website is http://www.spinoffs.co.uk, NYBB are still at http://www.newyorkbrassband.co.uk, James Christy hasn't moved from http://www.jameschristymusic.com, and you can book tickets and find more information about the Session Orchestra gig at http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on/event/2012/rncm-session-orchestra1/.

What a lot to get through. Also, I'm aware that it's not August anymore, I should have got round to this sooner.

Alasdair

July, A Month of Drums.

I started July in France as a bass player. I had a great music tour with Ashville College Music Department enjoying a lot of great gigs throughout Normandy and surrounding areas. Throughout the week I enjoyed reading Guy Pratt's book "My Bass and other Animals," which I highly recommend to musicians, not just bass players. As per usual, I was listening to Pino Palladino, this time to his work with Paul Young. Octave pedal and fretless at it's best.

Back in the UK by the 6th of July, I spent the weekend at Durham Brass Festival playing with the New York Brass Band. We enjoyed busking in glorious weather during the days in Durham Town Centre, and playing in evening gigs at Spennymoor Town Hall, Belmont Parish Hall and "Jam Jah." (A jam session that saw performances from a variety of Brass Bands including Oompah Brass and Bad Ass Brass.) Following the Brass Festival, on Sunday the 8th we travelled to The Cumberland Arms Pub near Newcastle to perform a headline set as part of the Ouseburn Festival. A great adventure in the North East of England.

New York Brass Band at Durham Brass Festival

Another NYBB adventure took place on the 20th of July. We played at two weddings; an afternoon event, and an evening. While this doesn't sound like that big a deal, the afternoon gig was in Gosforth in Cumbria (Near Seascale) and the evening gig was in East Ayton in North Yorkshire (Near Scarborough). The playing was great! All in all it was a fantastic experience, but after 370 miles of driving on A roads, I was pleased to see my bed!

The weekend commencing the 26th of July saw a lot of exciting things. On the Friday, NYBB travelled to Perth in Scotland for Rewind the 80s festival. We enjoyed performing around the campsite and seeing a lot of excitable middle aged people who were exciting about seeing Rick Astley, Level 42, Starship and many more acts. It was also nice to see people who remembered NYBB from last year's festival as it made the event feel much more personal.

Saturday and Sunday saw consecutive Rugby League "Tetley's Challenge Cup" Semi Finals. The first of which was at Leigh Sports Village, which I can tell you is 256 miles from Perth (another exciting drive). We played on the pitch as the pre match entertainment which was fantastic fun. Wigan Warriors played London Broncos and hammered them 70-0. A great result for what was basically a home game...

Following an overnight at my flat in Manchester, we travelled to Huddersfield John Smith's stadium for the Warrington Wolves and Hull City FC game. Same deal, we played in the middle of the pitch to a bigger stadium and more people. This time due to poor weather conditions, we were able to do a 5 minute set on the pitch at half time which was also great! The final score was Hull FC 16, Warrington 12.

Kieran, Tim and Charlie Soundchecking at Huddersfield John Smith's Stadium

I've enjoyed playing drums a fair bit this month, however in other news. I've done a few bass gigs which have been good fun! The Spinoffs Band recorded a Promo Video in Witney near Oxford which I will link in due course. In very exciting news I have finally bought a MacBook Pro! I'm now very pleased to be using Logic, MainStage and Sibelius and doing more programming / sequencing / arranging work. Watch this space for that as well.

The Rugby Matches were televised on BBC 2, so that's another first for me! Although we were not the main feature, throughout the BBC coverage, you could hear the band playing and see us over the Pundits' shoulders! Haha.

The New York Brass Band can be found at http://www.newyorkbrassband.co.uk and on Facebook! Give them a like if you get a chance.

Also, like The Spinoffs on Facebook! You will see the promo video there first!

That's all for now! I look forward to returning to Bass full time next month! ;)

Alasdair

June, How to meet a Royal person.

The end of May saw the end of the first year of my BA Honours degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. However, I couldn't put my feet up for a Summer holiday straight away. So my month panned out as follows.

Chronologically, June began with the James Christy Band making a trip to Birmingham for the Atom Live Tour Audition. We had a great time, saw some fantastic bands and played an ace set. So following this, I am proud to announce that we got through; and following this the band and I will go on tour in October. Towns which we will be performing in will be Darlington, Lincoln, York, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Norwich, Bristol, and Brighton. Rest assured I am excited.

 The James Christy Band at Birmingham O2 Academy 2

Next on the list of things to do, a gig with the wonderful RNCM Session Orchestra at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The event was held for sponsors of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. This was an extremely exciting gig as it included a performance of the material that I arranged for the ensemble, a jazz band set with some fantastic musicians, and finally the opportunity to meet The Earl of Wessex. All in all, a fantastic gig, and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

 Members of the RNCM Session Orchestra meeting HRH Prince Edward

Following this, I returned to do a couple of gigs with the New York Brass Band! I have missed the guys and it was a pleasure to be back playing drums for them! It was a busy day gigging at Grassington Festival and The Wardrobe in Leeds in the same day, but an adventure all the same.

Another highlight was playing in the RNCM Revue concert! I was very proud to play as part of 5 ensembles in the gig. These were Illusions Jazz Quintet, Keep Swinging, The James Christy Band, A Group performing "For Good" from the Musical Wicked and finally, I depped for RNCM based function band Pretty Young Things which was a very enjoyable experience. I was smiling all night, it was a great gig altogether.

Finally, I'll say that I am excited to be going on a music tour to Normandy in two days time. I'll look forward to performing with a Soul Band, and a Big Band with some old friends. It'll be nice to get out of the country for a bit, maybe find some decent weather along the way... I don't know.

But for now, that was June. I'm home. I'm exhausted. Wow.

Alasdair

Musicals May

Ok, May is nearly done with, so here is my account of what has been going on this month.

In the first week of May I played Bass for my first show in Manchester! This was an exciting step for me as I have not really done a lot of pit type playing since I moved out of North Yorkshire! It was great to get back into it. I played Bass for Meighan Youth Theatre's Production of Les Miserables at the Garrick Playhouse in Altrincham. Needless to say, I had a fun week and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with such talented musicians and an absolutely superb cast.

The day after the last performance of Les Mis, I took part in the band call for Happy Days the Musical! For this musical I only played a couple of rehearsals and a couple of shows, but the experience was fantastic. The show was performed by the North Manchester Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society at Middleton Arena. Another great theatre group and another great team of pit musicians!

Another exciting event this month was the purchase of a new bass! "Ebony" is another Overwater by Tanglewood bass, making her my third. The reason this bass is different to my others is that it is my only Passive Bass Guitar. For the record, she is also my first Jazz Bass which is really cool. Ebony did her first gig on the 16th of May with the James Christy Band at Roadhouse in Manchester.

 Myself and "Ebony" at Roadhouse with The James Christy Band 16/05/13

And finally, I won't say too much, but Ollie Harding, Charles Macdonald and myself are part of some exciting studio type developments which will come to fruition in the near future! Needless to say, it's great stuff.

To finish, I will be travelling to London with my bass gear this Sunday! Don't get too excited though as I am actually changing trains at Kings Cross Station London in order to travel to a gig with "Spinoffs" in Witney near Oxford! I'm excited as this will be our first gig together however, I fear I may need some devine intervention for the trip to London with my Bass and Amp! Fingers Crossed.

See you in June.

Alasdair