Grass Cuttings and News InBrief
British and Mainland
European News
Mainland European news | USA News
19th December 2002
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Sorry - I haven't time to chase news... British News (space to spare... for free...) Mainland European News I wish to thank everyone who attended and played at the 11th annual 'Charlie Gaisford' Memorial Concert on December 7th. We made over £400 for the RNLI, we had an attendance of about 150 which was a bit of a squash, next years concert will be on the 6th Dec 2003 at a bigger venue, probably at the Wallington Hall, Wallington, Surrey.
Acts that played were the.. Ray Whiteway-Roberts was the master of ceremonies Unfortunately Lilly Drumeva could not attend because she is still ill, we wish her a swift recovery. We had a very special celebrity guest in the audience....John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, apparently he is a very good bluegrass mandolin player !!
Mike Artes
It is with sadness that we report the recent deaths of two men of significance who have made a difference in the British Bluegrass Scene.
RUSSELL COOPER (Edinburgh) died at home on Wednesday
11 September, after a long illness suffering from a brain tumor. He was
surrounded by his band, Home Made Jam. The funeral was held on 21
September 2002. A lot of people travelled to it, especially from the Northeast
of England. "Many people played music and loads of people supported me in
every in every way," said Russell's widow
Betty.
Del Robinsons' Funeral was held at the Leatherhead Crematorium, Randells Road, Leatherhead, Surrey on Thursday 26th September. We will publish obituaries in due course. The Scottish Bluegrass Association has received a landmark grant of aid from the Scottish Arts Council . It will cover funding for festivals, workshops, concerts, library material, research and recording. The package includes a 'Bluegrass in the Schools' Programme. Full report Ian McIver (onetime Midnight Special) has recently moved into the Wrexham, Wales, area and is looking for seasoned players and a good lead singer to form a new Bluegrass Band. Details: 01978 752169 Write to Laurie Lewis writes: "We recently went to the UK, where we played at the A1 Festival of Music and Dance with great old-time banjo-player John Herrmann and amazing dancer Ira Bernstein (flat-foot clogging and jazz tap). We managed to squeeze in a few days of vacation, visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford (a collection of cultural artifacts from around the world with no seeming connecting thread, except that it's all strange and interesting) and the Tate Gallery in London. We experienced lots of rumbling and rolling on the Underground, historic sights including a visit to an ancient beech tree near the village of King's Cliffe, walks along canals on the northern Welsh border, jamming with fine English musicians and eating some great food (contrary to popular belief). Police raid on illegal Folk Club: The governments plans to tighten up on illegal folk singing and morris dancing on licence premises is already with us. Plain clothed Police will be diverted from other duties such as investigating house breaking, armed robberies etc. in order to stop folkies engaging in their disturbing illicit activities. The news item below is a true item from The Belper News... Belper Folk Club: Belper News Story 26-02-2002
One of Belper's longest-standing traditions came to an end last night
when Belper Folk Club held its last ever concert in the town. The club was
forced to close after under-cover police found out non-members were being
allowed into the members-only folk shows. Club organiser Trevor Steed could
not understand why the club had been raided. He said: "We just don't know
what we were doing to have the full might of the law brought down on us. The regular club nights were held at the Old King's Head on Days Lane. Resilient club organisers are now planning to move the concerts to a pub in Ripley. But the move will destroy links with Belper which have lasted almost 30 years. Trevor said: "It's just sad that it's now the Belper Folk Club at Ripley. We didn't want to move because we were becoming a well-respected folk club all over Britain." Amber Valley Borough Council. Andy Glandt writes (3 Dec 02): "I just want to inform you, that my new CD "Live in America" is now available. It was recorded during my this year's USA tour. To get more information and to listen to some soundfiles, please go to my website "There you can also get infos and soundfiles of the CDs "Tower Grass", recorded with the Fox Tower Bluegrass Band and "Bluegrass meets Eastern Europe", recorded with Lilly Drumeva from Bulgaria. "For everybody who is interested in my programme for children (Kinderprogramm) can now find an English version of this site. I wish you all the best and until next time."
EBMA's "European Word Of Bluegrass 2002" Cat. No: SCR-A16 In May 2002, the unofficial 5th European World of Bluegrass, affectionately known as EWOB (but see note below) was held in Voorthuizen, Holland. The event featured 45 bands from 15 European countries, and 4 artists from the U.S.A., the home of bluegrass music. Bands travel from countries as far-flung as Russia, Italy, and England to perform at EWOB, which is organised by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA). The musicianship, as well as the songwriting by some of the non-native English-speaking artists, is excellent. On this album, recorded "live" during the 2002 event, 26 groups each perform one number. NOTE: The acronym EWOB, used above, must not to be confused with the real original EWOB, which is still organised by the European World Of Bluegrass Association, EWOBA. The European Word Of Bluegrass (EWOB) was originated by Dennis Schutt, who, conjunction with the Nederlands Bluegrass Music association, NBMA, owns the copyright on the EWOB acronym [Ed]. SCR Productions can be reached at PO Box 628 - 2130 AP Hoofddorp - The Netherlands phone: +31 (0)297 347 101 Fax: +31 (0)297 347 488 There is a lot of confusion regarding the various uses of the term "EWOB". I have procrastinated on putting up an article on the misjustices but recent events have given me the impetus I need... I will try to get one up as soon as possible (but it won't be right away...)
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DEL ROBINSON (Leatherhead, Surrey)
of the Rocky Island Boys, died at home on Wednesday morning,
18th September 2002, after a battle against cancer