fREAKjAM - The Rising Sun

Thursday nights gig was with the nations #1 jam type band, Ian Jam and the freaks. After a nice and casual jaunt to Slough, I arrived, waited for a bit and then gave Ian Jam a short lift to the front door of the abode and public house that we like to rock in each week.

As Christmas is only a few months away, it was yet again a fine turn out at the jam. Sets from such esteemed local music figures such as Red Rocket Mike, Cindi and Andy 'Bradder' Bradley, as well as the Gibson Brothers, Holly and Adrian! And quite literally a whole host of other celebrities that I can't remember! I must say how delighted I was to offend guitar players far and wide with my high action! You quite literally can drive a bus under there!

Pretend Pop Star Mark Chudley was in attendance, aided and abetted by the hardest working man in rock, Gary Reece. Gary and Mark played a fantastic set including a guitar swap-tastic 'Planet'. Fun for all the family!

Highlight of the night was the appearance of the 'young men of rock' with George, Lee and Chris. George in partic-ular played 3 superb songs on guitar, and then swapped to bass duites for Chris and his 'world of warcraft' guitar mastery. Lee, played some great drums and then went on to recite knob jokes to anyone in earshot. Bal was also in attendance, dressed in his 'Sunday Best'

The evening finished in the end on Sunday afternoon after everyone got a chance to play.

fREAKjAM - The Rising Sun

Thursday nights gig was was at the fREAKJAM in Slough with the titans of jam-rock, Ian Jam and the Healers. Tonight Rob 'The Mighty Mammal' Owen's was busy conducting his Irish charity work (which he does not like to talk about) so we were graced by the drumming prowess of Rob 'Metal' Utley on the drums. Its always a real pleasure to rock with Mr Utley, and I hope I get the opportunity to rock with him again soon.

The jam over the last few weeks has been going from strength to strength, and this week was an absolute blinder! Joining us from the 'fakkin' east' and Sandhurst respectively was George and Ral, and Lee Aaron and Bal. Both of these funky young cats have been enjoying the jam over the last few weeks and its a pleasure to see them! George did an excellent set, with a rousing reading of 'Enter Sandman' with my metal colleague on the 'sticks'!

Pretend Pop Star Mark Chudley was in attendance, as was the hardest working man in rock, Gary Reece. Gary was back to the 'fold' after sunning himself after going into a Rolling Stones style tax exile. I for one was glad he was back!

I must commend Sir PAPOS on his new graphite fuelled bridge, and once again I welcomed Ian Jam into my Spritzer for the short drive from the parking area to the public house.

May I once again thank all the happy jammers that were in attendance, and here's to many more jam sessions in the future!

10.5 - well I will give you that it is interesting!

Lee Aaron Band - The Prince Albert

Saturday nights gig was with paradiddle mad drumming sensation Lee Aaron at the Prince Albert in Walthamstow.

As the correct hour approached, I was lucky enough to be picked up by one of the Browning Industries fleet of vehicles and taken to this gig which was happening on 'other side of town'. It must be said that a trip in a Browning Vehicle with Lee is something between being interrogated by Al Qaeda and a Chubby Brown video. After discussing a random selection of topics, chewing some gum from one of the Browning chewing gum empires, we popped by the home of Tricky Ral. After catching up with George we were soon on the way to Walthamstow for what would be a monumental gig!

On arrival it appeared that the load in was down a rather stinky and darn stroke dank staircase, causing much jovial banter with Lee and the boys! Once into the pub it was not a bad size with a spectac-ular stage for friends and family alike. After making a radio mike repair using the gift of Sellotape and brown paper, we were soon up and rocking! I was originally going to use the Purple Music Man for the duration of the evening, but an intervention by Lee meant that Yoshi got an airing, much to the small crowds approval!

As we moved into the 2nd set, we we coaxed by the friendly bar manager to play a few extra songs, and our 2nd set lasted for 4 hours in the end! We played fast ones, slow ones, medium ones and the like. A cavalcade of fun for all.

The down spot of the evening was founder member Luke deciding not to attend our gig, rather spend his time 'down the dogs'. A 2nd and final public warning has been issued.

With some happy chatter with the landlord, we were soon packing up and heading down the road to home. My thanks goes to the Browning vehicle fleet, and I do the ask the question 'When was that then Barry' ?!

Rob 'Metal' Utley's Video Of The Week

I present - Bollywood Thriller!

fREAKJAM Slough

Thursday nights gig was at the fREAKYJAM in 'happy go lucky' Slough in Berkshire. As the Mighty Mammal was busy with his charity work, we were blessed by Rob 'Metal' Utley on the sticks and skins this evening.

What an evening! The night was a literal 'Who's Who' of the local and not so local music scene. Pretend Pop Star Mark Chudley was in attendance. Also in attendance was paradiddle mad young drumming sensation Lee Aaron, together with his minder stroke henchman Big Man Bal. Also joining us for the first time was George. George did a splendid set, featuring songs from Blink 182, Green Day and even the Who! His performance and vocals were superb! Also in attendance was Chris displaying his guitar mastery to one and all.

I am sure that I noticed Red Rocket Mike in attendance at one point, though my memory a week away can be full of mist.

Also in attendance were 3 members of acclaimed local rock band 'Daft?!'. These chaps are not daft at all, and rocked their way though 3 storming numbers, and I joined them for a beautiful and powerful reading of 'Paradise City'. Pure rock energy indeed!

The family Cook also made an appearance, together with sets from Cindi, matey and that bloke. The Gibson brothers were also in attendance.

All in all, a spectac-ular jam night for all involved and I went home somewhat sleepy but happy and safe in knowledge of a job well done.

Gotta love the quiche!

Lee Aaron Band - Rose & Crown

Saturday nights gig was with Superstar drumming sensation Lee Aaron at the Rose & Crown public house in Sandhurst. As many of your already know, this establishment falls just inside Big Man Bal's extensive estate, so it was very refreshing to see everyone bow or curtsey before the Lord Mayor.

Our R&C gigs often have a happening or theme that accompany them, and this one was no different. It was the landlords birthday, and what a better way to celebrate than with Bal, Ral, Tal and Lal! As it turned out, the landlord was late after a trip to France, but luckily he got there just in the 'Nick' of time!

The evening started with our special guest opening act George. George opened with a great little set of songs, accompanied by Ral and Lal on the bass and drums respectively. It must be said that in a very short space of time, George has really come on in the performance stakes leaps and bounds!! With his 'Caesar Approved' PRS SE he rocked through some classics and I was very impressed with his vocals indeed!

In the middle of the evening, another guest star Chris got up and wooed the crowd with his guitar mastery in a reading of 'Hey Joe'.

As the man of the evening arrived at his party, an old Guilty Party classic was revived in the shape of 'Parisenne Walkways'. I was very pleased to get the 'note' sustaining much to everyone's delight!

I must commend the pub for putting on such a fantastic spread and the many punters making the night a great evening. It was also nice to see Lindsay Dawn McKenzie briefly before the first set.

As we packed up and said our goodbyes, the only disappointment was the 'no show' of our manager Luke. Do you like the taste of KFC?

fREAKJAM Slough

Thursday night was the night - and no, it was not time for Crackerjack, it as time for a grand old time of jam session, that took place in Slough. At the Rising Sun public house to be precise!

Tonight was the night where I revealed to the world, my custom made CP case for my Duoverb chassis! Never again will I be 'caught short' at a gig with no spare amp - Oh no not me! I now carry a fully functional spare amp ready to plug in at a moments notice so the rocking can continue! Admittedly I paid somewhat over the odds for this flightcased miracle, but I am now a happy man.

When we first arrived and set about setting up, we could not begin our set due to a setback! There was some kind of bar billiards competition which did not finish until 9.30pm so we had to wait until the last 'spot' and '8 ball' had been potted. Once this important content had concluded the rocking doth commenceth.

We started the festivities with a truncated opening set, allowing 3 songs of house rocking before the assembled enjoyed the jam fun and games. It was once again a pleasure to see paradiddle mad Lee Aaron, and his minder stroke manager Big Man Bal. There were a number of sets through the evening, and it was nice to see Bradders Andy fresh from his joint tour with The Village People and the Dreamboys.

Pretend Pop Star Mark Chudley was in attendance, and I am sorry that I whipped Sir Ian Jam into a frenzy with contract madness!

As the traditional Adrian fuelled ending ended the night, I hopped in my little metallic red car and reflected on life, the contents of my fridge and the weekend ahead.

Chicken will probably last until the weekend, I would imagine.

Guilty Party - Slough Rugby Club

Saturday nights gig was with the South's Premier Show Band, The Guilty Party at Slough Rugby 'Club'. This was a short notice booking from the bastions of the show band circuit, so I was honoured to be included in this Saturday night 'shebang'

After a leisurely jaunt down the M4 to Slough, happily missing the turning on the motorway, I arrived on site to be greeted by all the members of the GP 'posse' where setting up and the like was taking place. Tonight on the cables and sound, I was pleased to see WWPaul in the house, or more accurately in the field!

First off, I must thank Lee for pulling that splinter out of my finger. I had been suffering with it for a few days, and thanks to Lee's skills, he was able to hone his 'paradiddle' to the offending sliver of wood, and it was simply a case of 'pain no more'.

The occasion was a family fun day at the 'Club' which entailed a large stage, a large dead pig being cooked and some complimentary beverages. The GP played their spectac-ular mix of songs, favourites and fast one / slow ones. I was very pleased to fill in the missing 'When was that then Barry' as uncle Ian was sticking to union rules in this respect.

As we moved into the 2nd set, we played a few Lee Aaron Band pardy numbers which wooed the dozens of revellers to dance the night away.

Finishing the night with 'That's the way I like it', we packed up, lugged some heavy gear and went our separate ways. Thankfully, I still had a can of Diet Coke in reserve!

Cheers!

Rough Justice - O'Neil's Woking

Friday nights gig was at O'Neil's Woking with the mighty and powerful rock band, Rough Justice.

Thanks to a 'last minute' cancellation, the RJ boys stepped in to rock the venue, must to everyone's delight! The evening had a very strange 'topsy/turvy' feel about the festivities. We really did peak in the first set! This was aided and abetted by the Hen night that were in attendance that decided to enjoy what we had on offer! In fact, thanks to their attendance, we did a 'quick change' the set to include your Mustang Sally's and the like. I must comment that The Stoner was on fire during the evening and really did 'reach a peak' during the Hen fuelled madness. His audience walk festivities reaching new heights, incorporating photography, rocking and STABS examination!

I decided to play Yoshi for the first set, and had a full moment of clarity. Its now a great guitar, but not a Rough Justice guitar! Playing Gary for the second hald restored the sonic karma.

The second set was a little quieter than the first, though we did rock just as hard to make uo for it. The Evans daughters were in attendance, with all the mayhem that the bring with them!

As ever, we concluded the set with Freebird where an audience walk guitar swap finale was the order of the day. I must yet again say that the Stoner guitar rig sounded superb!

My thanks to the attendance of the Camphill mob, and after avoiding drunken 15 year old girls vomiting in the road, dressed like prostitutes, I got home and encountered no troubles at all.

fREAKjAM - The Rising Sun

Thursday night blah blah blah....

To be honest I have forgotten most of what happened. But Pretend Pop Star mark Chudley was in attendance, I played Yoshi and gave PAPOS his Explorer back. Dave and Dave did a superb rock and roll (vegetable) medley and I was very pleased with my solo in Adrian's reading of Purple Rain. Actually, as I think about it, PPSMC got up for a great set and I of course handed my Les Paul to him to play (EC regulations you know). I did offend PAPOS by playing a solo on his guitar, sorry.

The Mighty Mammal and I re-introduced the lull back to the table and as a result chewed the fat.

After a succesfull pressing of the FNC button and a 'Chudley Chat', I went home and stayed out of trouble.

Mo'Rockan Soul - The Bier Keller

Saturday nights gig was with Mo'Rockan Soul at the Bier Keller, aka the Coppid Beech Hotel in Bracknell.

Quite simply.... what a gig! with the full compliment of band members, including the illusive Captain Text, we were all ready for one serious pardy! I had elected to wear my Vegas We Will Rock You shirt for the gig, so I knew that it was going to be a good gig! I was very surprised that other members of the band had not seen this great garment before! How they had all missed out!

After a late arrival by our keyboard maestro, we did not have much time for a sound check, so thanks to some help along the way from Mr DJ we set about performing our set of pardy classics. I had originally planned for a Guilty Party tribute intro to the set, but this was vetoed by the committee so a substitution took place and the festivities began. Thanks to the fact the Keller was ram packed, and the fact there were 4 hen nights in attendance made for a great night indeed! In fact, I think there were only about 10 men in the whole venue, with 4 of them on the stage! I was extra specially pleased with the fact that I ended up with a 'worst dressed' sticker on my back, yet later on those very same hens gave me a card that said 10/10 for me to gaffer to my guitar! The audience really did whip us into a frenzy, and in more ways than one!

Continuing the Guilty Party theme, we ended our set with Hey Jude, where the Boys, The Girls and the Boys and girls sang the na na na bit loud and proud! I would say that Mo'Rockan Soul Part 2 was even more popular than Mo'Rockan Soul Part one!

With LOF scores a flying, we all packed up our sorrows and lugged the gear up the stairs and on then to our homesteads. Probably the greatest gig at the Bier Keller that week!

She will be back soon!

Public Apology

I would like to publicly apologise for my behaviour at the jam last night. I for one am very sorry and it will not happen again. I can see that it caused distress, and I yes this morning I am feeling very shameful and 'dirty' if you will. I fully understand that anything past the 10th fret on PAPOS's guitar is a literal no-mans-land and should never be looked at, let alone played. I also fully accept that the notion on playing a solo on a PAPOS guitar is wrong and in fact in some States of America is a fellony.

I hope that this message goes some way to patching things up, and as a peace offering I would like to present the glorious and beautiful PAPOS F N' C button.