Lives in Music

Three weeks from now, give or take, Moseley Park will jump to the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival - a three-day event that will bring you exactly that: Jazz, Funk, and Soul.  Some stellar acts are booked, and a whole host of up-and-coming and established local acts as well. I have listed some of the main names at the bottom of this post, but for full details, head over to the MoJazz website, which is pretty comprehensive.

There's an awful lot that goes into organising an event like this, and I sat down with Festival Manager John Fell, to talk about some of the challenges. It's fascinating stuff, and the stories that have emerged over the past two very difficult years are compelling: acts that refused to use the stage entrance... acts that came back the next day because they enjoyed themselves so much.... embracing the local dance scene, and much more.  

There's more to read about on the companion blog page, and here are just a few links to follow. 
https://mostlyjazz.co.uk/
https://www.thespecials.com/
https://www.cameonation.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatback_Band
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Charles

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Joe Broughton is a non-stop phenomenon. Years and years ago, I navigated the dusty corridors in the old Birmingham Conservatoire building, to write a blog post about the Conservatoire folk ensemble. It was a thrill, ducking and weaving through that old building, getting closer and closer to the explosive NOISE that Joe was whipping up. 50 or 60 students of all shapes and stripes, contributing to an exhilarating blast of music. Now, of course, under lockdown. the Folk Ensemble can't perform. But here's hoping they will, in a year's time. And many's the Conservatoire graduate, now making their way in music, who passionately missed the time they spent with Joe  

Since that time, I've talked to Joe lots, been to several Urban Folk Quartet gigs, and it's always been a complete pleasure. This is the first podcast he's done with me, and of course, a lot of the chat revolved around lockdown, which has stopped a lot of Joe and co's work in their tracks. It's not all doom and gloom, though – a chat with Joe is always a huge pleasure. 

Check out the links, mostly supplied by Joe himself, in the companion Blog post A Life In Music: Joe Broughton

Stephen Duffy straddles different genres in a way that few have ever done. He grew up in Birmingham; our conversation is littered with local references covering legendary studios, musos, and people. While still in Birmingham, he scored his first huge success as Tin Tin. In due course he went solo as Stephen Duffy, and later with his group the Lilac Time.  During that time, he has worked with some of the absolute biggest names in the business. Stephen has a pop past he can't erase – and he doesn't really want to, despite the elegant folk stylings he embraces with The Lilac Time. And he is still cooking up some major new projects.

The first half of this chat is a who's who of Birmingham Rock and Pop in the 80s, anyone who knocked around the Birmingham scene then will find much to enjoy. After that, there is a torrent of huge names. And massive, massive success arrived when Stephen was in his 40s... which also seemed to escape us all.  

If you want to follow up on some of the topics that crop up in this chat, there is a companion Radio To Go blog post on the Radio To Go Blog at radiotogo.com: A Life In Music: Stephen Duffy
But that's just the icing on the cake.

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series, along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

This third series of Lives in Music doesn't just concentrate on peoples' music journeys.
It also has one consistent thread running through everyone's lives: that of Covid 19, the resultant lockdown, and the effect it's
had on people's activities. My guest in this edition is someone you will almost certainly have seen if you've been to ANY live gigs in Birmingham over the past thirty or forty years. He's graced such bands as Ricky Cool and the Icebergs, The Destroyers, and Terry and Gerry, all in their pomp, along with dozens of other outfits and combos, permanent and casual.

But you may not even know his name.

You should, though: it's Mick Howson. Mick is a phenomenal guitarist. In fact, give him any kind of stringed instrument and he's at home. And of late he has turned to the Hurdy Gurdy. You're going to hear some of this instrument in this podcast,
along with collaborations and excerpts from elsewhere.

To explore more of the music, musicians and events mentioned in this podcast, check the detailed companion blog post: 'A Life in Music: Mick Howson', which you can find on the Radio To Go Blog at radiotogo.com. This post overflows with links to interesting musos and YouTube videos. 

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher, who is featured in this series along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3 also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

I first met Tom Hyland, when he was strutting his guitar stuff with an early version of the now long gone but much-loved Alternative Dubstep Orchestra. I've followed Tom since, first on my blog about the risky steps of going fully pro with Electric Swing Circus, as he dove head-first into Electro Swing. From the band came his Birmingham-based festival, Swingamajig, a record label, and a host of collaborations.

And then lockdown hit us, There's a twist to this series of Lives in Music. We're all stuck in lockdown, and so I am asking each guest about how it affect them. Tom has been hugely pro-active is taking some steps forward, from setting up a Crowdfunder to cover some studio costs, to collaborations recorded in a fabled Moseley Birmingham venue which currently can't host music events. Some very interesting approaches seem to be emerging, as you'll hear.

A chat with Tom always throws up lots of references. To follow these. best to double-check the companion Radio To go blogpost, which you can find here. 

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series, along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

This is a chat with Kris Halpin, who also trades as Dyskinetic. It's about making music solely by gesture and movement. An extraordinary new way to create, using Imogen Heap's magical Mi.Mu gloves. Disabled himself, Kris explains this with disarming frankness. The gloves are extraordinary things, and there's a sample in this podcast. But there's a key factor that informs Kris and his work: his disability. It led Kris to his involvement with the gloves, as he sensibly pointed out to their makers that these could a fantastic tool for musicians with disabilities, and they promptly took him on to help with their research. In this podcast, Kris deals with his disability – a very serious disability, which absolutely won't go away - with jaw-dropping openness, and I am hugely grateful. But there's an awful lot more. Kris has a very clear eye on his situation, and it turned out to be a jaw-dropping conversation.

There's a sample of Kris's work in the podcast, and if you want to explore more about the gloves and the people involved, visit the
detailed companion blog post: 'A Life in Music: Kris Halpin', which
you can find here on the Radio To Go Blog.

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series, along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

This third Lives In Music series concentrates not just on peoples' music journeys... it also has a consistent thread running through everyone's lives: that of Covid 19, the resultant lockdown, and the effect it's had on people's activities.

This episode is no exception, but there is a difference. We recorded this talk some eleven months ago, just as Sid
Peacock's Surge in Spring festival at Cannon Hill, the Midlands Arts Centre, was cancelled as lockdown came down on all our music activities. I settled down to edit our chat, and talked to Sid and Ruth Angell - who make a formidable musical team - about what might still be relevant – or even taking place. And it turns out there is a lot.

But what shoots though this episode is the to and fro between two very different musicians, with very different personalities, and even more different backgrounds, and how they collaborate. It also opens up a fascinating perspective on how some of the musicians in our town work together: the conversation throws up it's a veritable list of great players. Over and above that, there is the sweet story of how these two contrasting and brilliant people met and fell in love. 

There's a sample of Ruth's new album - an early demo mix - in the podcast, and if you want to follow up on things, know more, I have put links on the companion blog post: 'A Life in Music: Sid Peacock and Ruth Angell', which you can find on the Radio To Go Blog at radiotogo.com. 

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series, along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

Ross Grant is putting together – pure lockdown creativity at its best – an amazing series called Around The World in 80 Plays, collaborating at distance with musicians worldwide to produce some compelling joint work.

Normally I tend to court some of our more senior music citizens as guests in this series, on the grounds that the more you've done, the more you're likely to have seen and done amazing things. This episode's guest is slightly different. In this shot, Ross is playing with a colleague... in Johannesburg

Ross Grant is still ridiculously young, but he has packed all kinds of music making and some massively diverse experiences into his life. He is a director of the legendary and long-established Bromyard music festival; he has worked with the extraordinary Sistema music organisation; he grew up in a musical family with deep roots, and kicked around Moseley in Birmingham in his teens with the likes of Toyah and Oscar Harrison; he teaches and runs Zoom workshops... and more. 

There's a sample coming up in this episode, and if you want to know more, I have put links on the companion blog post: 'A Life in Music: Ross Grant', which you can find on the Radio To Go Blog at radiotogo.com. 

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series, along with Loz Kingsley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

I put most of this Lives in Music podcast episode together on the fifth anniversary of the death of a mutual friend, the great Paul Murphy, who both introduced me to Renny Jackson, and encouraged us in our different projects.

One of the things Paul had me do on his Thursday Song Writers Cafe nights was to interview each artist about their own creative process. Everyone , it turned out had a different approach. And I talked at length with Renny Jackson, originally from Birmingham, before he delivered a charming and articulate set. And this Lives in Music Episode focuses on Renny.

There's a twist to this series of Lives in Music. We're all stuck in lockdown, and so I am asking each guest about how it affect them. Now, as you'll hear, Renny is now based in Sevilla in Spain, where the oranges come from. The two influences come together in Renny's music. Obviously, we recorded our conversation remotely. Renny's take on the lockdown in Spain is an interesting variation on what problems face musicians in the UK. We'll also hear the impact Spain has had on this Brit.

A footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo Fletcher who is featured in this series along with Loz Kinsgley, here. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

In this edition of Live in Music, I'm talking with Loz Kingsley and Vo Fletcher, Mandolin and Guitar players of great skill and experience. I met this pair, I think, back in 1974, when they were doing a session at the old BRMB Radio. They were no slouches then, and they've only got better since. Vo plays with a bewildering number of talented people all over the midlands and beyond, and he gets together with Loz, who only returned to live work with Rhino and The Ranters, for regular and highly enjoyable sessions in some of the nicest boozers in the region. And of course, having spent nearly a year in lockdown, that's something I and many others have missed enormously.

They have, as you might expect, mighty track records, which you'll hear about. There's also some super live guitar and mandolin work to be enjoyed in this episode, along with a taster from Loz's new album, Vintage Mandolin.

Of course, references abound. To learn more about the music, the instruments and the musicians in this podcast, check  the companion Radio To Go blog post. 'A Life in Music: Vo and Loz', which you can find here.

One further footnote: the intro and outro flourishes I'm using in this series of Lives in Music podcast come from Vo himself. I asked him for a bit of live impro, and this was the result.  

The Lives in Music Podcast series has been running for about two years now. These are interviews with local musicians, looking at how music has shaped them throughout their lives. Series 3
also looks hard at how lockdown has had an impact. There are some lovely stories. To see all the artists, here's a link to every episode.

Vo Fletcher photo credit: Colston Halls