Three In A Bar

It’s Episode 40 and Seb and Verity return to their orchestral roots this week to chat to viola player and presenter Amy Thomas. Amy has been a member of the CBSO since 2009 and during #lockdown1 she turned her hand to presenting a series of behind the scenes videos for the orchestra. She is also a member of the Stringcredibles Quartet who specialise in performing, training and running protects for young people.

Conversation covers trialling for orchestras (both as trialer and trialist) and lockdown videos with her trumpeter husband, Alan Thomas. Think high production value, tense moments and a rug on the kitchen table with baked bean tins giving the illusion of movement!

Amy talks about her extensive costume habit; on stage, in the lockdown videos, and running dressed as full banana. They also discuss their love/hate relationships with YouTube including Dan TDM, Stampy Cat, and an old man painting his fence.

Seb and Verity ask Amy about her behind the scenes interviews and quizzes, discovering a disturbing fact about Simon Rattle along the way. They give her a taste of her own medicine with a quick fire quiz which she is disappoingly good at!

Email the show at: [email protected]!

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Leonie Hirst

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Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy_everest

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/amyeverest/

CBSO: https://cbso.co.uk/

The Stringcredibles: https://www.thestringcredibles.com/

Weinburg Symphony No. 3: https://open.spotify.com/album/0ypDENHRVMeYalGof0C6NY?si=vLAm0bw2Sra2x8M_fhzZLw

Stampy Cat: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uD683DmkCkw

To sponsor the CBSO runners in their challenge, raising money for Help Musicians Charity use this link: https://www.justgiving.com/team/CBSO

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This week Seb and Verity are crossing the Atlantic (virtually) again for a chat with tour manager, production manager and co-founder of Music Runs, Tom Carlson. They caught up with Tom on 19 Jan 2021 - the day before Joe Biden’s inauguration. Tom was feeling a mixture of relief and nervous expectancy about the following day, hoping for an excitement-free event.

Tom tells great stories from some of the many tours he has worked on, including weird and wonderful excursions in a mini van with David Byrne (Think a Creationist museum in Cincinnati and the former residence of a sex obsessed poet who invented fascism....links below!), a paid holiday in Bali with the St Vincent tour and wild parties with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Tom makes his feelings on festivals very clear....let’s just say, he’s not the greatest fan. Conversely, he and Seb both nostalgically recount stories of joyous times on tour in Japan.

They discuss Music Runs Charity, set up by Tom last year to support struggling independent venues and promoters in the US. Tom talks about some of the artists and playlists they contributed, there are some absolute belters, it’s well worth checking out! They also talk running on tour and the aesthetic beauty of the official Father John Misty Leggings.

There’s a link to the Music Runs website below and the playlists can be accessed in Apple Music/Spotify when you search for Music Runs.

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards.

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MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

Links

https://musicruns.org/

https://www.twitter.com/musicrunsdotorg/

https://www.instagram.com/musicrunsdotorg/

The museums Tom mentioned and some info on the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio:

https://creationmuseum.org/

https://www.vittoriale.it/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/opinion/dannunzio.html

Dysnomia by Dawn Of Midi:

https://open.spotify.com/album/4wCpIX2LVk3lZkh4crNPtJ?si=pQ6YtQmiSZKl0mCNxAcuOg

Biden&Harris Inauguration playlist:

https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/raedio-presents-Biden-Harris-2021-inauguration-playlist/pl.7132431700f346008f1245b2d56a2cd3

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This week Seb and Verity jump back into cyberspace to chat to London based, Dutch Singer/Songwriter and member of Bear’s Den, Christof Van Der Ven.

Christof has recently signed with Peermusic and talks about exciting times ahead this opportunity will afford him, writing and recording new material and collaborating with other artists. He’s also teaching himself piano with some big targets!

Christof discusses growing up in the Netherlands, busking in Galway, meeting his musical hero and an unfortunate incident at the US border that forms the story behind his song ‘From Montreal’.

Seb and Verity also ask him about his other life as a chef and get some great food tips. This unfortunately leads Verity to tell her Little Chef story AGAIN....

They chat about how Christof came to join Bear’s Den and he talks candidly about the period of anxiety and stress he suffered in his early days with the band. Thankfully, with the support of his band mates he came through the other side. Hearing Christof talk about performance anxiety so candidly is both reassuring and refreshing for anyone who might have experienced or be experiencing this themselves.

Christof plays two songs - Bravais Arc from his album You Were the Place, and Big Men At Heart which features on his recent Reworks EP. They are a treat not to be missed.

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards.

Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

Links

Https://www.christofvanderven.com/

https://www.bearsdenmusic.co.uk/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Christofmusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christofvanderven/

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This week Seb and Verity chat to drummer, MD and fixer, Bob Knight. Bob selflessly takes time out from homeschooling to escape - sorry travel - to his studio for their Zoom convo.

Bob has great stories and anecdotes about some of the legions of musicians he’s worked with over the years.....from having his Cajón blessed by Nicole Scherzinger, to standing in his pants with Sting via a joyous stint as MD on the Charlotte Church Show.

They ask Bob about working with his hero, James Taylor (not to be confused with the James Taylor Quartet....who he’s also worked with!) and the combination of excitement and nerves this created. He talks about starting out as a fixer, which involved disposable camera theft and a handmade scrapbook of artists. Bob has excellent advice for anyone starting out in this field as well as an insight into the perils of large scale fixing for megastars’ world tours - nerves of steel required!

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards.

Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

Links

Bob’s website: https://bobknightdrums.com/

Bob’s fixing website: https://bekmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyfame

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bobknight1

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Happy New Year! After a Christmas break and some slight technical hitches (Verity couldn’t remember her Macbook password) we are back with a fantastic guest to kick off 2021...It’s musician, concert producer, violinist, vocalist and advisor and educator on musical and theatrical projects, Lizzie Ball.

Lizzie chats to Seb and Verity about the Classical Kicks concert series she curates, their residency at Ronnie Scott’s (which brings together a hugely diverse range of genres) and how she wooed a bagpipe player in Edinburgh to come to London and play Metallica. No mean feat!

They discuss Lizzie’s work with her childhood hero, Nigel Kennedy and what an impact he has had on her career. Verity tries to draw to mind an incident involving Nigel and Gordon The Gopher on Going Live..... anyone else remember this?

Lizzie talks about touring with Jeff Beck, coping with the pressures of leading the live recording of Liam Gallagher’s MTV Unplugged album and Corrido, her immersive piece based on the life and times of Frieda Kahlo. Somehow, alongside all of this, Lizzie has recently qualified as a life coach and tells Seb and Verity about her passion to combine this with her performing and production work. Phew, she really does do it all!

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards.

Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

Links

Lizzie’s Website - https://www.lizzieball.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lizzieballmusic/

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/lizzieballvivo/

Classical Kicks at Ronnie Scott’s - https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/artists/classical-kicks?performance=2663-classical-kicks#

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It’s a right old festive shindig this week! In this episode we revisit our live-streamed Xmas party, recorded on Sunday 13 December at Phil Donnelly’s Arnos Groove Studios.

It was a brilliant evening with performances from Irwin Sparkes - AKA White Tail Falls, Jonny Abraham and the Hot Pops, The Estilo String Quartet and Phil Donnelly and Amy Bird. We were also lucky enough to have the incredible Mercury Shortlisted, genre bending composer, Anna Meredith In for a chat as well as some crazy capers with Father Christmas!

The livestream is on YouTube, so if you fancy adding the visuals (it might aid making sense of what exactly Father Christmas was up to....although not entirely) click here

This party was a free event but, as you’ll hear, throughout the evening we were raising money for Help Musicians Charity and also our fabulous performers. Fear not! You can still donate at Https://www.paypal.me/threeinabar if you enjoy what you hear. AND..... as an added incentive, anyone who donates £20 or more is instantly entered into our prize draw with the opportunity to win signed Anna Meredith or White Tail Falls vinyl.....or, some might say an even better prize - 5 album covers reimagined by Verity’s children and signed by Anna et al. Go on, get donating!

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards.

Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

Links

Our guests and performers:

Anna Meredith

White Tail Falls

Jonny Abraham and The Hot Pops

Fundi

Estilo String Quartet

Phil Donnelly

Amy Bird

Ian Whitehead

Recorded live at Arnos Groove Studios. In aid of Help Musicians

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This week Seb and Verity have revisited the joys of zoom to catch up with friend of the pod and their very first guest, Phil Donnelly.

Phil chats about branching out into production, live-streaming and mixing during covid times. He also explains his beef with Jamie Oliver, embarrassing technical hitches - as they encounter an embarrassing technical hitch and Verity’s pro plus fulled past.

BIG NEWS ALERT! The other reason Seb and Verity are meeting with Phil is to discuss the live-streamed Three In A Bar Christmas party, coming to you from Phil’s Arnos Groove studio on Sunday 13 December at 6pm....woo hoo!

We’ve got live music from Jonny Abraham and the Hot Pops, Estilo String Quartet, Phil Donnelly and Amy Bird plus amazing guests including Mercury Prize shortlisted, genre bending composer, Anna Meredith and Hoosiers’ front man Irwin Sparkes.

This will be a free event but we’ll be asking for donations for the Help Musicians Charity (see link below). Help Musicians has been a lifeline to many of our friends and colleagues during this difficult year that has decimated the industry. They have provided both financial and mental health support so we want to raise as much as possible to aid their continued invaluable work, as well as pay the musicians who are so generously giving up their time for us.

If you’d like to donate, there is a link below and there will also be a link on screen throughout the event.

Click here at 6pm on Sunday 13 December to join the party!

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This Show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members’ Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards. EXCLUSIVE: If you become a patron at any level this week you can ask a question to any of our amazing guests in our livestream episode! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

LINKS

Help Musicians Charity - https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/

To make a donation use this link: https://www.paypal.me/threeinabar/

Overture of Overtures - https://youtu.be/HdYQzoJCVho

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It’s episode 33 and Seb and Verity head south of the river to chat to trombonist, co founder of the Old Dirty Brasstards and all round top bloke, Chris Smith.

We don’t like favouritism here at Three In A Bar but boy, what a great host Chris was! In what felt as close to a social event as you get these days the wine was flowing and conversation covered Glastonbury - it may be the first time ever the world famous festival has been compared to Wigan - Spotify algorithms, the inception of the Brasstards and their speedy path to success.

Chris reminisces about his days at Junior Academy and they talk about their varied early experiences of singing in choirs....you genuinely won’t believe which of the three sang at the Proms. Verity’s mind is blown by some 80’s TV trivia and Seb reveals the difficulties he faced googling the ungoogleable Chrs Smith.

They quiz Chris on his extensive knowledge of Indie music, in particular his love of the Manic Street Preachers and they look to the future with what might be on the cards for ODB in the coming months.

SUPPORT THREE IN A BAR ON PATREON

This show is purely funded by our patrons. Join our Members' Club for a bonus podcast feed plus many more rewards. Click here: https://www.patreon.com/threeinabar

MEZZO PIANO PATRONS

Leonie Hirst

Anita Philpott

LINKS

Old Dirty Brasstards Website - https://www.olddirtybrasstards.co.uk

ODB YouTube Channel - https://m.youtube.com/user/OldDirtyBrasstards

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olddirtybrasstards

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ODBrasstards

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OldDirtyBrasstards

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We’re back with this week’s episode in 3, 2, 1 ......... and our guest is Heart DJ, journalist, author, podcaster, campaigner and influencer, Anna Whitehouse.

Seb and Verity drop in to Anna’s East London offices, lukewarm cava in hand, for a chat about the various strands of her eclectic career. She talks them through her journey from Practical Caravan magazine (tow bar specialist) to becoming host of a Heart show with a multi million listenership. They also discuss her unashamed love of pop, the art of a slick 15 second segue, giving relationship advice to Darren Day and working with a Spice Girl.

Anna chats candidly about her struggles with post-natal depression at a time when she was applying for her dream job in radio and the huge anxiety and pressure this created. She talks about pivotal moments that have shaped her career decisions and inspired some of her incredible campaigns, namely Flex Appeal.

In an unexpected U-turn, Seb and Verity chat with Anna about social media as a force for good (they turn on a penny, that pair) and Anna gives some excellent advice on how we can all create a positive online presence.

Thanks to the aforementioned cava, Anna tells us a great story about trying to pull H from Steps at V Festival. Keep listening to the end to find out more.

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Show Notes

@mother_pukka on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mother_pukka

Anna’s Website

https://www.motherpukka.co.uk/

Anna’s Heart Radio Show

https://www.heart.co.uk/radio/shows-presenters/anna-whitehouse/

Flex Appeal

Https://www.motherpukka.co.uk/flex-you-fools/

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It’s all about that bass, ‘bout that bass (you get the picture) with this week’s guest, Alice Kent.

Seb and Verity chat to Alice in early November as she’s putting the final touches to the latest video in her YouTube series Alice’s Musical Galaxy. She talks about becoming tech savvy, green screen issues and how she’s making string teaching exciting and vibrant for players of all ages and abilities.

Its a wide ranging conversation - at times underscored by the dulcet tones of tromboning from Alice’s partner, John Stokes... They cover everything from the Benedetti Foundation (Alice has tutored for them since it’s inception) to self defence lessons via folded Ross Kemp.

They discuss the adaptability of musicians and the highs and lows of a busy freelance career. Alice has played for virtually every professional UK orchestra you could name.

There is much discussion of Alice's incredible eyewear - jazz glasses no less - and a slightly awkward moment where Seb discovers he’d been at junior college with Alice for a couple of years and not realised. Gulp!

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Show Notes

Alice’s Musical Galaxy YouTube Channel

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCKPI98hhbf6vFtsVWULxEgg

The Benedetti Foundation

https://www.benedettifoundation.org/

Albert’s Band

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/series/alberts-band/

Instagram: @alice.kent0

twitter: @AliceKent0

Wynton Marsalis Playing Happy Birthday https://youtu.be/_Amwq43-lrM

Folded Ross Kemp

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