KentFolk News June 2008

Oh, and there is another date as well for Laura Targett, see below.

But now last night was the Barnaby Rudge gig, and where were you ? - it was a cracker - Laura is now virtuoso, and the set was composed of an intersection of those pieces known by Chris and by Laura, and so extra interesting for it.
I have just uploaded a photo-report : www.kentfolk.com/gig_reports/2008/2008-06-16_Laura-Targett%2BChris-Taylor_Barnaby-Rudge_Broadstairs

Musicians can not come to Kent just for one gig, and as I said last month, it is not a question of "Which one do I turn up for ?" - support more than that or the publicans can not put the music on and we will all be the poorer for it. The Cajun gigs last month were also sparsely supported ... I will have to think about what music I try make happen in 2009 .....

I am afraid that the Monkey Puzzle concert in Littlebourne Thatched Barn for the Monday 26th of May of the Spring Bank Holiday is off - they are no longer all available on this date.

However there will be pub gigs, and late-breaking news, there will be a concert at the Steiner School with Greg Sheehan, Tim Edey and Brendan Powers :

Monkey Puzzle :

• Laura Targett : - fiddle, whistle.
• Lucy Randall : - bouzouki, whistle, bodhran, cajon.
• Pete Gazey : - a guitarist of great delicacy and subtlety.

There is a short photo-report from some of the things I saw at Sweeeps 2008 :
2008-05-03to04_Sweeps-2008

Sweeps Festival, Rochester, 2008.

Groanbox Boys, Sweeps Festival, Rochester, 2008.

And the Groanbox Boys have some video of both Sweeps and other Kentish gigs at :
groanbox.blip.tv/ (The video of them on the 3rd was taken by myself !)

Other reports :

2008-05-16_FitB_Phil-Beer_Reg-Meuross_Tom-Palmer

Folk in the Barn, 2008.

Debs built this excellent trio for a one-off gig - thanks !.

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Simple Simons, 2008.

The Annual Traditional Music Session in Simple Simons for Hope College.

2008-05-23_Jim-Leverton_+_Geoffrey-Richardson_Deal-Folk-Club

Deal Friday Folk Club, 2008.

Two Kentish Master Musicians go on the road again.

2008-05-25_Cajun-Dance_Dindon_Sauvage_Littlebourne-Barn

Littlebourne Barn, 2008.

Yves Langlois on fiddle, and Chris Taylor on guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and accordion.
- Some of the best Cajun music going.
Another excellent Cajun dance in the Littlebourne Thatched Barn.

Oh and the recording of Yves and Chris has had a first edit, so may be available in a while ....

2008-05-25_Truckstop-Honeymoon_Dealers_Sandwich

St. Mary's Church, Sandwich, 2008.

The Dealers on stage in St. Mary's, Sandwich.
- A very remarkable concert.

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Open Harp Surgery at The Barnaby Rudge, Broadstairs, 2008.

Nigel and Russell relaxing after the concert with The Dealers.

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Wrotham Arms, Broadstairs, 2008.

Two Kentish Master Musicians go on the road again.

And Folk & Roots have now accepted a review about Jim Leverton & Geoffrey Richardson : www.folkandroots.co.uk/reviews5.html

The Government is in the process of introducing the 'Violent Crimes Reduction Bill' whereby the sale and use of items such as swords will be prohibited unless for historical re-enactment or sporting activities.
(This actually mainly applies to curved swords - but why should dancers stop using them ?)
Currently, the government does not recognize dance as either a historical re-enactment or a sporting activity and therefore dancers are not included within the exemption for the purchase & use of swords with regards to the Violent Crimes Reduction Bill (VCR Bill).
Traditional folklore dances in England since as far back as 1700s have been known to use props such as sticks and swords as part of their dances. These dances are forms of art that are of great historical & cultural relevance. Banning the purchase of and, more importantly, the use of these swords may cause such dancing to die out.
It is crucial that sword dances are preserved & allowed to continue.
There is a petition which is up on the home office website.

Please show your support and sign the petition to get dance included so that we can continue to preserve and perform the beautiful art of sword dance.
Whether you are a dancer or not, your support is needed, and fast the closing date is 25th June 2008
More signatures are desperately needed; here is the link:

petitions.pm.gov.uk/dancers/

We the undersigned propose that dance be included as historical re-enactment or sporting activity within the exemption for the purchase & use of swords. HEALTH/FITNESS/SPORT: Dance promotes a healthy lifestyle & is often taught as a form of aerobic sport exercise. Other classes focus on technique & performance, at a professional level a good knowledge of fitness & physiology is required. Belly dancers & many other types of traditional folklore dancers learn to use various props, such as sticks & swords which requires a great deal of skill, takes years to perfect & requires absolute stability of the head & neck, & flexibility & power. Thus, Types of dance that use swords as props, are 'an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess' which is the definition of sport, therefore, should be included within the Sporting Activity exemption. HISTORICAL PRESERVATION: Swords have been used in many traditional folklore dances in England since as far back as 1700s. These dances are forms of art that are of great historical & cultural relevance, Banning the use of these swords will inevitably cause them to die out. It is crucial that they are preserved & allowed to continue.

Please sign-up - Beau

Selling individual MP3 tracks, and complete Digital Albums, over the web :
For some time KentFolk has been using PayPal to sell local musician's CDs. A new technology that I have wanted for some time, is now in place: - KentFolk can now sell individual MP3 tracks, either directly from the KentFolk web pages, with payment by CC or PayPal, or via the highly respected eFolkMusic www.eFolkMusic.org, in the States.

If you are a musician, group or band that would like to sell your tracks over the web, and of course this is particularly good for both CDs that have all sold out, as well as new tracks that are not yet on a CD, then please email me : Beau@KentFolk.com

I am limited in my time available to "turn the handle" on these, and it is very time-consuming, but will do what I can. As a preliminary offering, the 2003 Deal LifeBoat House shanty recording were the first available on the web - both in the form of a few individual tracks, and the complete recording - all net profit to the NLRI, after the CC/PayPal deductions.

MP3 music currently available on KentFolk, at www.kentfolk.com/#Mp3music :

• "The LifeBoat Men come ...."
  13 sea shanties recorded by KentFolk during the 2003 Deal Maritime Festival, at a live concert by Shanty Crew, Bosun's Call and the Deal Hoodeners, in the LifeBoat House, Deal on the 7th of September, 2003. - all net money to the RNLI!

• "The LifeBoat Men come ...."
  13 sea shanties recorded by KentFolk during the 2003 Deal Maritime Festival, at a live concert by Shanty Crew, Bosun's Call and the Deal Hoodeners, in the LifeBoat House, Deal on the 7th of September, 2003. - all net money to the RNLI!
• "Reasons to Rhyme"
  Two tracks from members of the Deal Folk Club : CD: "Reasons to Rhyme" - "He Rode the Waves" and "Mother Nature", with Sue Watson singing and Stuart Maclean on the guitar.
• "The Rattlaz : Songs of Peace & Protest"
  England is still experiencing hard times and the crow is still well and truly fixed to the cradle. Deportees are still with us in the form of migrant workers ... The voice in all these songs is the voice of compassion and understanding, the voice of hope and determination. We ignore this voice at our peril.
  Originally produced as a Concert for the Folkestone Literary Festival, 2006. Chris Tophill : Accordion / Piano / Mandolin / Vocals. Kevin Richards : Djembe / Percussion / Guitar / Vocals. Jack Pound : 6 & 12 String Guitars / Banjo / Harmoonica / Vocals.
• "Relig Oran : Tracks From The Dark Side"
  These three lads - all deeply experienced in Traditional Celtic and European music - are creating a genre of their own - I am using the term "Euro-Celt" to describe the music they are writing and playing. It looks back to our roots when the Celts were pan-Europe, and makes a strong statement for the present when the Tribes of Europe are re-finding what they have in common.
  Gordon Jackson - Andy Renshaw - Martin Sutcliffe
• "Martin Long : The Climbing Boy"
  "Martin Young : Botany Bay"
  Martin is a lad who has been around on the Faversham Folk scene for longer than I have known it, variously as Martin Long, and Martin Young.
  Martin is I feel very much in the old troubadour mold, in that the music can not let him rest, it very much defines who he is.
  The songs he sings, sometimes intensely personal, sometimes with local Kentish references, are mostly self-penned, usually both the tunes and the lyrics.
  The Climbing Boy: Title Track: Often small boys were taken in by Chimney sweeps and in return for a home were forced to climb chimneys and scour them out as they ascended. Rochester has an annual Sweeps Festival.
  Botany Bay: Title Track: is a double reference - to both the Botany Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - it was the site of a landing by James Cook - and also to the Botany Bay near Broadstairs in Kent - see cover photograph.
• "Happy Trails : White Sands"
  Choice Americana in harmony from a group of musicians who have been giving Kent top quality music for many years - Blues, Cajun, Appalachian, Country and now Americana from the South.
  13 songs where this Kentish band - Happy Trails - take an honest and affectionate view into what they have seen and heard on some of their many visits to the Southern States.

The KentFolk page on eFolkMusic is at : www.efolkmusic.org/ArtMusic/ViewArtist.aspx?a=0&AID=1570
Then go to the MP3 and Digital Album links.

Multi-level directories of News :
Do keep sending me news and items for both the calendar and this news section -
Please see the info at the bottom of the news pages for guidance as to good formats to send me news items for these pages, and for event listings for the calendars.
cheers, Beau.