Pickin' with Pudding
20/12/09 08:22
If you went to the Leigh School Carnival last year (and
if not, WHY NOT?) you would have seen approximately 60%
of the band Pudding perform there. They are awesome.
Front man Pete Force has a real talent for great song
writing, singing, and guitar playing, and he's backed
by truly world class musicians.
Nat and I had the privilege of hanging out with Pete and his lead guitarist Andrew Martin and their families last night and picking tunes until the wee hours, real jam style. It was great, even if I was completely out-classed and barely able to hold my own.
Now I am starting to really itch to play some gigs. We're in the middle of a hella dry patch! Any suggestions? Answers on a postcard please!!
Speaking of postcards, if you would like to receive a Real Actual Pipi Picker post card in the Real Actual post, send us in your address through the contact form and I'll get you one in the mail. Suitable for framing!
Jenine
Nat and I had the privilege of hanging out with Pete and his lead guitarist Andrew Martin and their families last night and picking tunes until the wee hours, real jam style. It was great, even if I was completely out-classed and barely able to hold my own.
Now I am starting to really itch to play some gigs. We're in the middle of a hella dry patch! Any suggestions? Answers on a postcard please!!
Speaking of postcards, if you would like to receive a Real Actual Pipi Picker post card in the Real Actual post, send us in your address through the contact form and I'll get you one in the mail. Suitable for framing!
Jenine
It's been busy!
24/11/09 19:53 Filed in: Festivals
Well. October was FULL ON. What a great time. We've
just got back from Harrietville in Victoria,
Australia, so there is too much to talk about.
But I should start at the beginning.
First: Kowhai Festival. It did indeed pour down with rain, but not the entire time, and it didn't discourage the crowd of listeners huddled into the beer and wine tent while we were playing! That was so much fun, and we really hope they have us again next year. (Hello? Dave? Dave?)
Where did we go after that? Matakana Farmer's Market? Yeah. The usual. It's good exposure. Though this time was better than any previous engagement, because Dave Hoskins from Heron's Flight brought us over some grape juice, and the lovely baker lady whose name I failed to get brought us delicious pastries. Yum! The funny bit: my bass instructor, the lovely and talented Barbara Hamilton (who reminds me too much of my dear, much-missed grandmother) was sitting right up front listening to us, which completely freaked me out to the point where I couldn't play nearly anything.
And the weekend after that? Ah, Bunker Folk Club in Devonport! Fun fun fun! Love those folks there.
And then we get to the BIG MOMENT. Wellington Folk Festival. The Pipi Pickers and families loaded up the cars and made the long drive south. Nat and I enjoyed a couple days with friends in Wellington first. Barry and Dee brought the chubblies* down with them later. We were warmly welcomed, and settled into our same cabin from last year. The weather was very very fine! So instead, everything else went wrong. They lost all power to the festival grounds for three hours, Richard Klein's fiddle bridge collapsed mid song in the opening concert, Jimmy Young's pipes just up and stopped working, and worst of all, Barry, our Barry, got very very ill Saturday. An early night and long sleep in didn't find him any better and Nat ended up having to rush him to the hospital where they found his blood pressure through the roof. Medication had him feeling better almost immediately, but he was in no condition to play with us at our 11:45 am set that morning! Nat raced back and in a panic, I asked Gerry Paul to stand in with us. We had something like 20 minutes to teach him 10 songs. But like a true professional, he had no problem AT ALL. We were also emboldened to ask Tim O'Brien if he would stand in with us on "What Does the Deep Sea Say" and "Ralph's Banjo Special." What an amazing time we had! Gerry was fantastic on rhythm guitar, and what can you say about getting to play with THE Tim O'Brien??? I fully expect that to be the Best Thing that ever happens to me. EVER.
There's video on YouTube, but I got a DVD from the Levin Folk Club and it is higher quality video, so I'm planning on posting it here and getting rid of our crappy song sample page.
We had a break after that, before heading off to Harrietville Bluegrass and Old Time Country String Music Convention. It was an AMAZING weekend. So many fabulous musicians! So much GREAT Bluegrass! We played 3 blackboard slots, Saturday and Sunday, and had a great time with that. Got to meet the Coolgrass fellas, and most of Bluegrass Parkway including the lovely and talented bassist/vocalist Maria Duff. Woot! Girl power. Also met and fell in love with the Canadians of "Hungry Hill." What great people, and GREAT pickers. So talented, so nice. We would love to see them tour NZ. And they seem keen, so you never know. Watch this space.**
OK, work to do, and then I'll try to deconstruct the DVD and get the clips on to here.
*chubblies: kids.
** I don't know why I pretend anyone but me reads this, but you never do know.
First: Kowhai Festival. It did indeed pour down with rain, but not the entire time, and it didn't discourage the crowd of listeners huddled into the beer and wine tent while we were playing! That was so much fun, and we really hope they have us again next year. (Hello? Dave? Dave?)
Where did we go after that? Matakana Farmer's Market? Yeah. The usual. It's good exposure. Though this time was better than any previous engagement, because Dave Hoskins from Heron's Flight brought us over some grape juice, and the lovely baker lady whose name I failed to get brought us delicious pastries. Yum! The funny bit: my bass instructor, the lovely and talented Barbara Hamilton (who reminds me too much of my dear, much-missed grandmother) was sitting right up front listening to us, which completely freaked me out to the point where I couldn't play nearly anything.
And the weekend after that? Ah, Bunker Folk Club in Devonport! Fun fun fun! Love those folks there.
And then we get to the BIG MOMENT. Wellington Folk Festival. The Pipi Pickers and families loaded up the cars and made the long drive south. Nat and I enjoyed a couple days with friends in Wellington first. Barry and Dee brought the chubblies* down with them later. We were warmly welcomed, and settled into our same cabin from last year. The weather was very very fine! So instead, everything else went wrong. They lost all power to the festival grounds for three hours, Richard Klein's fiddle bridge collapsed mid song in the opening concert, Jimmy Young's pipes just up and stopped working, and worst of all, Barry, our Barry, got very very ill Saturday. An early night and long sleep in didn't find him any better and Nat ended up having to rush him to the hospital where they found his blood pressure through the roof. Medication had him feeling better almost immediately, but he was in no condition to play with us at our 11:45 am set that morning! Nat raced back and in a panic, I asked Gerry Paul to stand in with us. We had something like 20 minutes to teach him 10 songs. But like a true professional, he had no problem AT ALL. We were also emboldened to ask Tim O'Brien if he would stand in with us on "What Does the Deep Sea Say" and "Ralph's Banjo Special." What an amazing time we had! Gerry was fantastic on rhythm guitar, and what can you say about getting to play with THE Tim O'Brien??? I fully expect that to be the Best Thing that ever happens to me. EVER.
There's video on YouTube, but I got a DVD from the Levin Folk Club and it is higher quality video, so I'm planning on posting it here and getting rid of our crappy song sample page.
We had a break after that, before heading off to Harrietville Bluegrass and Old Time Country String Music Convention. It was an AMAZING weekend. So many fabulous musicians! So much GREAT Bluegrass! We played 3 blackboard slots, Saturday and Sunday, and had a great time with that. Got to meet the Coolgrass fellas, and most of Bluegrass Parkway including the lovely and talented bassist/vocalist Maria Duff. Woot! Girl power. Also met and fell in love with the Canadians of "Hungry Hill." What great people, and GREAT pickers. So talented, so nice. We would love to see them tour NZ. And they seem keen, so you never know. Watch this space.**
OK, work to do, and then I'll try to deconstruct the DVD and get the clips on to here.
*chubblies: kids.
** I don't know why I pretend anyone but me reads this, but you never do know.
The Weather and the Water
09/10/09 19:27
Oh man, it's like worst case scenario time for this
upcoming Kowhai Festival weekend. The weather forecast
is absolutely miserable. It looks like winter is having
one last good go at us, at EXACTLY the time we're
supposed to be playing tomorrow! And I have a cold, so
the whole singing thing ... well, we'll just see how
that goes.
Good news! Lorina Harding is coming back to New Zealand in the new year and she'll be touring around! Make sure to catch her when she's in your area!
And a reminder: go see Tim O'Brien and the Two Oceans Trio on their October tour of New Zealand. Everyone needs more Tim O'Brien!!
- Jenine
Good news! Lorina Harding is coming back to New Zealand in the new year and she'll be touring around! Make sure to catch her when she's in your area!
And a reminder: go see Tim O'Brien and the Two Oceans Trio on their October tour of New Zealand. Everyone needs more Tim O'Brien!!
- Jenine
Wellington Folk Festival updates, Tim O'Brien in New Zealand
10/09/09 21:23 Filed in: Wellyfest
The timetable for the Wellington Folk Festival (subject
to change) has been released. We're on the stage on the
Sunday, at 11:45 am. You can be awake by then, right? I
know, sometimes it's hard after the all night sessions.
Work on it.
Just a note about Tim O'Brien's upcoming tour of New Zealand, which is to include Wellyfest. Go see him. Find when he is playing in your area and GO SEE HIM. See http://www.timobrien.net/sched.cfm for his schedule. The world would be a better place if we were all getting more TIM O'BRIEN.
Just a note about Tim O'Brien's upcoming tour of New Zealand, which is to include Wellyfest. Go see him. Find when he is playing in your area and GO SEE HIM. See http://www.timobrien.net/sched.cfm for his schedule. The world would be a better place if we were all getting more TIM O'BRIEN.
Back from the US
28/08/09 19:50
Nat and Jenine had a great time in the US this year.
Jenine attended Rockygrass Academy where she had a lot
of fun and learned a lot, without actually becoming a
noticably better bass player. Oh well.
Nat's Nechville banjo had a full makeover from the man himself and now sounds real pretty. He also has brought another, new Nechville back to New Zealand with him, which is up for sale. These banjos are not currently available in NZ or Australia. They really need to be played to be appreciated. The model we brought back with us has a wooden tone ring, and Nechville's patented "Heli-mount" system. Again, gotta play it to appreciate it.
October is going to be pretty full-on with four scheduled gigs. We'll look for you at one of them!
Nat's Nechville banjo had a full makeover from the man himself and now sounds real pretty. He also has brought another, new Nechville back to New Zealand with him, which is up for sale. These banjos are not currently available in NZ or Australia. They really need to be played to be appreciated. The model we brought back with us has a wooden tone ring, and Nechville's patented "Heli-mount" system. Again, gotta play it to appreciate it.
October is going to be pretty full-on with four scheduled gigs. We'll look for you at one of them!
Bye bye, Lorina
07/06/09 14:51
3 hour marathon of bluegrass at the Matakana Farmer's
Market yesterday. Man, that last 20 or so minutes are
hard. We're just so tired by that point, even just
smiling is difficult let alone singing and playing. And
it was OH SO COLD. Not as cold as it MIGHT have been,
though, and for that we were very grateful.
But, you know what I hate? I hate playing for three hours, and then getting ripped off by the stallholder right next to the bandstand who only has half a cup of soup left but STILL charges me $5 for it. Don't get me wrong, not all Matakana Stall Holders are thieving *****, just the one. And it left a bad taste in my mouth. Feh.
Nat and I went down to Auckland last night to see Lorina Harding's "Farewell Concert" at the Wine Cellar. Funky venue, we'd never been there before. I think it's where crappy old couches go to die. The place is full of them, so much so that you can't actually walk between them to get to the ones at the back.
We had fun, though. Peter the cook from Waharau was there, and Paul Symons. Janek Croyden, who plays pedal steel for Pudding was part of Lorina's band for the evening, as was her brother Warren on bass and backing vocals, and Janek's partner Warren on lead guitar. He's GREAT.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show and even more enjoyed hanging out with everyone afterwards until the wee hours of the morning. More than enough fun to make up for that long, hard slog back up to Leigh afterwards!
Farewell, Lorina! We didn't have enough time to really get to know you. Maybe our paths will cross again when we're in North America.
But, you know what I hate? I hate playing for three hours, and then getting ripped off by the stallholder right next to the bandstand who only has half a cup of soup left but STILL charges me $5 for it. Don't get me wrong, not all Matakana Stall Holders are thieving *****, just the one. And it left a bad taste in my mouth. Feh.
Nat and I went down to Auckland last night to see Lorina Harding's "Farewell Concert" at the Wine Cellar. Funky venue, we'd never been there before. I think it's where crappy old couches go to die. The place is full of them, so much so that you can't actually walk between them to get to the ones at the back.
We had fun, though. Peter the cook from Waharau was there, and Paul Symons. Janek Croyden, who plays pedal steel for Pudding was part of Lorina's band for the evening, as was her brother Warren on bass and backing vocals, and Janek's partner Warren on lead guitar. He's GREAT.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show and even more enjoyed hanging out with everyone afterwards until the wee hours of the morning. More than enough fun to make up for that long, hard slog back up to Leigh afterwards!
Farewell, Lorina! We didn't have enough time to really get to know you. Maybe our paths will cross again when we're in North America.
"Fan" mail
03/06/09 20:19
We received the nicest piece of mail the other day,
that I just had to post it up here. It's just nice to
know someone enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed
playing.
Thank you, Peter! You're welcome in the lounge at 124 whenever you're in the neighborhood!
Hi Jenine, I couldn't let last weekend pass without saying how much the playing of you, your other half and father-in-law meant to me. Sitting on the deck in the winter sunshine listening to your wonderful singing and all your friends creating my own "surround sound" experience is a memory I shall carry with me always. I hope we meet again. All my very best,Peter.
Thank you, Peter! You're welcome in the lounge at 124 whenever you're in the neighborhood!
Overdue updates
01/06/09 15:16
The gig at the Leigh Sawmill on May 15 went GREAT.
Nearly everyone we know turned out, it seemed. At
least, the place looked pretty full to me. We had a
great time playing. I felt like we were all really in a
groove together. Maybe someday they'll have us back
again.
Also had a great time at the Jane Gifford celebration in Warkworth. Well done to the organisers.
The photo page is broken. Sorry. I'll rebuild it soon. Richard Smallfield, a GREAT local photographer, took some shots of us at the Mill, and I'm hoping to get permission from him to put some of them up. They are beautiful, almost ethereal.
Had an AMAZING time at the Waharau Winter Shake-up over Queen's weekend. What great fun! We played so much music, and got to play with so many different musicians, people we've known a while, and new friends. Very special was getting Emily Giles of Forbidden Joe to sit in with us on "Summerfly" and backing up Lorina Harding on her song "35 Below." What a treat. The whole weekend was just like a big bottomless bowl of candy for us, and we're already looking forward to next year. Kudos to Rosie Holmes who, year after year, puts on this great "party" for 125 of her closest friends.
We're playing at the Matakana Farmer's Market this coming Saturday, and going to see Lorina at her CD release concert Saturday night, so it'll be a full weekend for us. We'd love to see you at one or t'other!
Further down the track: we are dangerously excited about the prospect of playing as "special guests" at the Wellington Folk Festival, which is being headlined by TIM O'BRIEN.
Nat and I head back to Colorado with the kids on June 26th, we'll be there for 2 months. I'm looking for a bass I can borrow, so if you know of one, please let me know. I am attending Rocky Grass Academy Bass Camp this July, in Lyons, Colorado. VERY excited about this.
Also had a great time at the Jane Gifford celebration in Warkworth. Well done to the organisers.
The photo page is broken. Sorry. I'll rebuild it soon. Richard Smallfield, a GREAT local photographer, took some shots of us at the Mill, and I'm hoping to get permission from him to put some of them up. They are beautiful, almost ethereal.
Had an AMAZING time at the Waharau Winter Shake-up over Queen's weekend. What great fun! We played so much music, and got to play with so many different musicians, people we've known a while, and new friends. Very special was getting Emily Giles of Forbidden Joe to sit in with us on "Summerfly" and backing up Lorina Harding on her song "35 Below." What a treat. The whole weekend was just like a big bottomless bowl of candy for us, and we're already looking forward to next year. Kudos to Rosie Holmes who, year after year, puts on this great "party" for 125 of her closest friends.
We're playing at the Matakana Farmer's Market this coming Saturday, and going to see Lorina at her CD release concert Saturday night, so it'll be a full weekend for us. We'd love to see you at one or t'other!
Further down the track: we are dangerously excited about the prospect of playing as "special guests" at the Wellington Folk Festival, which is being headlined by TIM O'BRIEN.
Nat and I head back to Colorado with the kids on June 26th, we'll be there for 2 months. I'm looking for a bass I can borrow, so if you know of one, please let me know. I am attending Rocky Grass Academy Bass Camp this July, in Lyons, Colorado. VERY excited about this.
Last minute addition
22/03/09 15:58
Got a call last week from Michael Young at the Auckland Bluegrass Club saying
their guest artist for April had cancelled and
they were looking for a replacement.
Unfortunately, it's 4 days before the Carnival which Jenine is in charge
of, so it is NOT ideal. But Barry says she should
"harden up," she can sleep when she's dead. So
look for us there on April 8th. And then come to
the Carnival on the 12th.
It's $5 for non-members to get in. Club starts at 8:00pm, with the first hour being their club "blackboard concert." We'll play from about 9:15 to 10:00. E-mail us with song requests. (Negative requests are good too, so if there's a song you seriously think we should NEVER PLAY AGAIN, tell us!)
It's $5 for non-members to get in. Club starts at 8:00pm, with the first hour being their club "blackboard concert." We'll play from about 9:15 to 10:00. E-mail us with song requests. (Negative requests are good too, so if there's a song you seriously think we should NEVER PLAY AGAIN, tell us!)
February notes
25/02/09 20:52
Well, we're busy again. After the great time we had
at the Whangateau Country Faire, we've since played at
the Matakana Farmer's Market and the Leigh Fishing
Contest. It's all been good fun.
We are all looking forward to playing at the Sawmill. It's become such a sought-after venue. We still pretty much think of it as our local, but it kind of really isn't. That's May 15, and we're hoping everyone who knows us comes!
News: Nat bought Jenine a pick-up for her bass for her birthday, so expect to hear a lot more BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM in the future!
We are all looking forward to playing at the Sawmill. It's become such a sought-after venue. We still pretty much think of it as our local, but it kind of really isn't. That's May 15, and we're hoping everyone who knows us comes!
News: Nat bought Jenine a pick-up for her bass for her birthday, so expect to hear a lot more BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM in the future!
After the drought
13/01/09 11:17
Right after we played with Forbidden Joe in Devonport,
most of Clan Torkington came down with a terrible
virus/cold thingy. The kids and I had bronchitis, Nat
had something else, no-one is quite sure what. But, we
were sick. As a result, we didn't play any music for a
very long.
Worst for me was the effect of the bronchitis on my throat. I couldn't sing a note. My throat felt like it was lined with powdered glass, and any attempt to sing resulted in scratches and squeaks and other unrecognizable sounds. It was terrible. But after two months, we seem to be more or less over it. We've had three big practices this week, and I don't know, I think we sound pretty good.
Music is becoming more and more like riding a bicycle, even after not touching it for a long time, it all comes rushing back. What fun. Now we're all looking forward to Whangateau and the markets. Also hoping to book a gig at the Leigh Sawmill in early May. And don't forget the Leigh Primary School Carnival, which everyone is required to attend and spend all their money.
Posted by Jenine
Worst for me was the effect of the bronchitis on my throat. I couldn't sing a note. My throat felt like it was lined with powdered glass, and any attempt to sing resulted in scratches and squeaks and other unrecognizable sounds. It was terrible. But after two months, we seem to be more or less over it. We've had three big practices this week, and I don't know, I think we sound pretty good.
Music is becoming more and more like riding a bicycle, even after not touching it for a long time, it all comes rushing back. What fun. Now we're all looking forward to Whangateau and the markets. Also hoping to book a gig at the Leigh Sawmill in early May. And don't forget the Leigh Primary School Carnival, which everyone is required to attend and spend all their money.
Posted by Jenine
National Radio
23/11/08 16:30
David Slack gave Forbidden Joe and us a plug on
National Radio after seeing us at the Masonic! (And
after letting us crashed at his place afterwards, which
was AWESOME, because his house is awesome and he’s
awesome and his family is awesome and we love them.)
Anyway, he also discussed the Masonic’s current redevelopment controversy really well. You can hear the brief piece on the National Radio website.
Thanks, David!
Anyway, he also discussed the Masonic’s current redevelopment controversy really well. You can hear the brief piece on the National Radio website.
Thanks, David!
With Forbidden Joe
16/11/08 13:06
Whee! What a great time we had at the Masonic in
Devonport on Friday. Big BIG thanks to Forbidden Joe
for inviting us to be their support band. And thanks to
our friends and family who came out to listen. The only
sad note for us was that Barry couldn’t be with us, as
he’s gallivanting around Australia.
We had an uncomfortable moment there when some locals attempted to enlist our help to promote their campaign to keep the tavern open by saying something on stage. We had no idea what we’d stumbled into. Seems there’s a big to-do down there at the moment as the owner of the building wants to close the pub and turn it all into apartments. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the Masonic in Devonport understands that this is a Very Bad Idea. It’s a terrible idea! I certainly support the locals’ desire to keep their 142 year old public meeting house open. But in the end we declined to use the owner’s stage to say anything about it, thinking that would just be in very poor taste. Anyway, we wish the locals all the luck in the world on their quest.
We just love Forbidden Joe. They are extremely talented and hard working and they deserve to be big rock stars. Learn more about them at their website. With any luck we’ll be able to play with them again at the Leigh Sawmill in 2009.
We had an uncomfortable moment there when some locals attempted to enlist our help to promote their campaign to keep the tavern open by saying something on stage. We had no idea what we’d stumbled into. Seems there’s a big to-do down there at the moment as the owner of the building wants to close the pub and turn it all into apartments. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the Masonic in Devonport understands that this is a Very Bad Idea. It’s a terrible idea! I certainly support the locals’ desire to keep their 142 year old public meeting house open. But in the end we declined to use the owner’s stage to say anything about it, thinking that would just be in very poor taste. Anyway, we wish the locals all the luck in the world on their quest.
We just love Forbidden Joe. They are extremely talented and hard working and they deserve to be big rock stars. Learn more about them at their website. With any luck we’ll be able to play with them again at the Leigh Sawmill in 2009.
Wellington Folk Festival
27/10/08 11:33 Filed in: Festivals
There’s a huge difference between playing music for
people who really don’t care for bluegrass and only
asked you to come because you’re the only band in town
(and cheap), and playing in front of people who are
there to LISTEN and who actually LIKE bluegrass. For
starters, you feel a lot less crappy.
Man, we had a good time at the Wellington Folk Festival. We did not take many photos. But the ones we did take are on flickr.
Friendly people, beautiful location, fantastic organization, terrific guest artists, great jam sessions, horrible weather (hey, if it was all perfect it would be boring). We’re so glad we went, we will most certainly go again.
(written and posted by Jenine)
Man, we had a good time at the Wellington Folk Festival. We did not take many photos. But the ones we did take are on flickr.
Friendly people, beautiful location, fantastic organization, terrific guest artists, great jam sessions, horrible weather (hey, if it was all perfect it would be boring). We’re so glad we went, we will most certainly go again.
(written and posted by Jenine)