FRIDAY THE 13th - PART ONE and WHAT, NO BEER FESTIVAL?!

Easter came and went pretty damn quickly - as did the Summer and Winter (if that's what that very hot week, followed by the very cold and snowy week were!). However, the calendar suggests that we are still in April, which means that we are VERY busy!

The 2nd Leg of our Spring Pub Tour hits Porter's on Roe Street in Macclesfield this Friday the 13th!! A quick perusal of my encyclopaedia of gig dates reveals that the last time we played there was March 2011, so we are long overdue to give Michelle & John's patrons another dose! As ever, we'll be kicking off around 9pm, so don't worry about anything bad happening (as if anything could!) - just get there, and start your weekend with a bang! Possibly 3 new numbers in the set as well!

Next Thursday sees us playing at a wedding in Prestbury (yes Thursday!), and then we're back on the Pub Tour the following weekend - consecutive nights at The Wharf on Brook Street on Friday 27th followed by our return to The Old Ship Inn on Beech Lane the following evening. We'll be kicking off a little earlier at The Wharf (so the neighbours can get their beauty sleep!), so be there around 8:30, but Saturday night at the Ship will probabgly see the normal mayhem through to the early hours!

Apart from that, not much to report - Dave's been on holiday, but don't suppose we can class that as news, and we're all getting ready for the Beer Festival in May - about which a little explanation is needed! We're starting to lose count of the number of questions we've had along the lines of "Are you playing the Beer Fest this year? You're not - why not??". I've even had people say "Well if you're not playing, we're not going!" So let me clarify things a bit; as many of you will know, we have been privileged to play the best gig in town for the last 6 years - from the dark days of 2006, when we supported the Glass Onion Band from Ireland,( and Frank had to go to the loo about a minute before we were due to start!), through sharing the bill with the Screaming Beavers in 2008 and 2009 (and remembering to wear dark glasses to protect our eyes from their flashy suits!) to playing with Monkey Harris in 2009/10. When we were asked about playing this year (yes, we were asked!) we felt that 6 years was a good run (nobody else has ever done more than 3 in a row), and we wanted to enjoy the event for itself, and give someone else a chance! Believe me, there are moments when we regret that decision - probably every time we mention it to each other actually, and a return next year has already been mooted so, who knows - but all that is a long way away!

So this year, we will be on the floor of the house (probably literally!), along with the rest of the punters, and would urge as many of you as possible to get along and "drink for charity" cos it's all in a good cause! Monkey Harris are on again, along with our stablemates from the Storm Brewing Company, The Chinese Marbles - so get down and give them a cheer - not too loud, mind, we're very sensitive!

THERE'S NO GOOSE LIKE THE SNOW GOOSE!

Good God - I'm getting rather bad at this - just noticed it's nearly 7 weeks since ANY postings on here - apologies and time to put it right!

Gig news - since the last epistle, we've played 2 gigs, added a ruck of others, and scrubbed at least one, so it's not been exactly quiet! Gigs played have been:

• a welcome return to The Jolly Sailor, after a gap of a couple of years. Great to play at Glyn's gaff, and the small, but perfectly formed audience seemed to enjoy it - including a contingent of GooseFest organisers, who made the trip over from Goostrey to see if Steve's view that we are good enough to play at their festival in October was correct, or whether his judgement had been clouded by his imbibing activities at the party in Congleton in December! Happily, they were impressed enough to ask us to do it - just need to find the right date now!
• last Thursday saw our debut at The Snow Goose, which is rapidly becoming THE place to be seen in Macclesfield! Stuart & Nelly like their bands to start early, so we went on at 7:30, with an audience of about 2 - both of whom manfully supported us for the first few songs! After a while, more folk arrived (no doubt confused, because our posters said we weren't staring till 9 - due to a communication breakdown!), and, once the rest of the cavalry had arrived, the place was really rocking! Eventually, our "early doors" gig finished around 10:45, despite repeated cries of "More!", so maybe next time we'll go for the late start, and see what happens?! Stuart and Nelly both enjoyed it, and we have photos to prove it -

The gig list on the right is fairly up to date, and you will see that there are 3 more pubs for us to visit on our Spring Tour:

• Friday 13 April at Porter's on Roe Street - a welcome return (and a popular one if the reaction of Michelle, the landlady, is anything to go by!)
• Friday 27 April at The Wharf on Brook Street - another first for us, and we're delighted to be playing for Chris at his re-furbished and re-energised hostelry!
• Saturday 28 April, at The Old Ship on Beech Lane; as ever, this will be like coming home, and replaces the wedding gig that we had pencilled in for that date, but which has mysteriously been cancelled!

We hope to see loads of you at one, some or all of these, and we will be spending some time over the next 3 weeks, or so, polishing up some new numbers - so watch out!

Various other party gigs have appeared, but we will try to make sure these don't get in the way of public ones - wouldn't like people to be starved of good music, would we?! It really looks like Spring has sprung, the sap is rising, so what better time to get out of an evening and fill your ears with good sounds?

Finally, just noticed that the "ticker" for this piece of literary magic has gone over 6900 visits, so look out Mr 7000 - we're on our way! Will be interesting to see which country the 7000th person comes from, as we're still getting viewed in all parts of the world - whether that's by accident or design, is anybody's guess!

And, finally, finally: Quote of the day (this one from Stebbo): "Never argue with a fool - he will drag you down to his level, and then beat you with experience"

WE ARE SAILING - OR SLEDGING, MORE LIKE!

Hello again - the last 2 weeks have flown by, it's February already, the snow is about to fall, and it's time again to dust off our sledges and point ourselves in the direction of some music making!

The first holidays of the year are completed (Chrissie at great pains to point out (understandably!) that she and Paul were not away together!) and, before the second phase begins (for Hugh later this month, and Dave in March - au naturelle!), we're going to play a couple of gigs, to get rid of the ring rust and, hopefully, add a couple of numbers to the ever lengthening list!

First gig is a private party, this Saturday, and then next Thursday 9 February, we make a welcome return to The Jolly Sailor on Sunderland Street in Macclesfield. Now, those of you with long memories will know that the Jolly has had a somewhat chequered past; in fact, at one stage, there were more punters leaving the pub through the windows than there were through the door! However, over the last couple of years, Glyn has really turned the place round - great ambience, good beer, jazz music in the background (hopefully, not next Thursday!), and even a smart eaterie ("Muckers"!) upstairs. The re-generation of that part of town with the advent of other gathering places, like The Treacle Tap and The Snow Goose, has also helped to make it a much better place to be, than it was - the next challenge will be to get more than 2 people at a time eating in the Indian restaurant across the road (I suspect that will take a little longer!).

So, come next Thursday evening, we'll be there, and we hope to see the place full and jumping - I'm sure that, when they hear us, the punters in the Tap and the Goose will be hot footing it down the street as well - hopefully, in our direction!

Other gigs are in the pipeline; now that we've got several private parties in place, we're looking to sprinkle a couple more pub gigs around - we've been asked by Porters and the aforementioned Snow Goose to play, and we're looking for mutually convenient dates - so watch this space!

As ever, you can keep up to date (and even leave us comments - gulp!) on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/122280790779/ (how down with the kids are we??!!), so keep in touch.

What happens at an 18th Birthday Party??

Just a quick update, as it's too cold to go outside (funny how spoilt we get with all this mild weather!); we're gigging again tonight (more of that in a bit), and it's an opportunity to bring you up to date with our gig at The Windmill, last Friday.

The chalk board in the pub (above) threw us a bit when we arrived - we thought there was a support band on, until it was pointed out that Chilli & Hotpot was the sustenance on offer to the punters, and not a popular beat combo!

It was only 6 weeks or so since we had played at the same venue, so we were a little worried about "over-exposure" but, fortunately, there was little to fear. True enough, the crowd was a little thinner than usual to start with - probably as a result of the economic crisis or post-Christmas torpor, or whatever - but things soon picked up! As well as some welcome and familiar faces, there were many new "fans" to be converted, so we went for the tried and trusted "party" set! We use the first set as a "warm up" and opportunity to "test drive" some new stuff, but we've stumbled across what seems to be a perfect flow for the second set, which starts with "cheese" trundles through some heavier stuff into more modern material (via the odd glam rock and punk tune) ending triumphantly with full audience participation on "Delilah"! And, to prove that we appeal to many generations, here's some of our younger fans

a couple of our older fans

and, finally, a couple of previous band members, Frank Witt (looking suspiciously like an estate agent!) and Paul Hambley (looking suspiciously like a ventriloquist's dummy!)

The evening went from strength to strength, and the fact that we weren't allowed to finish until 12:15am said it all. We had a great time, and we hope everyone else did - thanks as ever for your support!

As mentioned, we're gigging again tonight - 18th Birthday Party at the Brewery (so not far to travel!); don't think we've ever played for such a young gathering before, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Just to be on the safe side, we've been practising "Nellie The Elephant" - don't worry, it's the Toy Dolls version, so we haven't completely sold out!

After tonight, there's a bit of a break until early Feb, as the holiday season has started again - not Dave this time, it's Chrissie and Paul that are off for some sunshine!

Before I close, a plea/request: you will see in the gig list that there is a provisional booking for a wedding on 2 May - unfortunately, none of us can remember where this is supposed to be, or who it is for! Maybe, it will become clear in the fullness of time but, if anyone reading this has enquired about a booking on this day, can you e-mail us via the link on the right hand side of the blog??

Quote of the day: Remember, a chicken is just an egg's way of creating another egg! (Samuel Butler)

2012, 6000 AND ALL THAT!

Well, here it is - 2012 has arrived - how did that happen?? A Very Happy & Healthy New Year to all our readers - we hope it brings you everything you want!

And what better way to start the year, and forget about return to work, economic crises, Eurozone meltdown etc., than to get some good music in your ears, and good beer down your throat?? You have the opportunity to do both on Friday 6 January, because we are back at The Windmill in Whiteley Green (a mere 6 weeks after our last visit!) to help celebrate what has become an annual event - The Local Ale Sale, where many delicious beers from the local breweries are laid on and great music is provided over the whole weekend to help it go down! We have the privilege of kicking the whiole thing off and, if it's anything like the last 2 years, it will be a great night - so be there early to get a seat, and then be prepared to get off it and dance!

Our last gig of 2011, as previously trailed, was at the Old Ship on the Friday before New Year's Eve (see above) - and suffice it to say that it was well into NYE itself, before we finished! In fact, I think we broke the record for set lengths that night - the first one lasted over an hour, and the second set ran from 10:25pm until 12:40am - that's right 2 hours and 15 minutes - even Bruce Springsteen would be proud of that! As ever, Paparazzi Pete was there to take photos, and you can see a selection on the Dazed and Confused Massive Facebook page (under the Photos tab) - including the welcome return of the, now legendary, Ali Unwin "Shoulder Surf" (her carrier did a great job of keeping her head away from the ceiling rafters!)

We have another gig booked for the following week, and at least one in February, so it looks as though 2012 will be another busy year, AND our fame is still spreading! After reporting previously on our 40 fans in Romania, I'm delighted to report that we have now been read by one person in each of Canada, India, Latvia and Morocco - as well as someone in Saudi Arabia!! I suspect the latter is a mega-rich oil sheik who is looking for a band to play at his daughter's wedding - so watch this space for the next instalment of Dazed & Confused On Tour!!

Oh, and by the way, the ticker passed 6000 hits just before New Year, so many thanks to everyone for sticking with this drivel!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO OUR ROMANIAN FRIENDS!!

You may be wondering about the title of this post, so let me explain. One of the little gizmos, that come with the Blogger tool that is used to create these literary gems, is a tracker that allows you to see how many times the blog is accessed, which posts are most "popular" (stretching the meaning of that word there!) and, surprisingly, where our readers are based. Unsurprisingly, the majority come from the UK but, in addition to a healthy band of followers in the USA, Netherlands and Germany, there have been 36 people accessing the blog from Romania!! This being the case, it's only right and proper to wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (or more accurately Crăciun fericit şi un An Nou Fericit!).

On which note, we roll on to the bin ends of 2011; just 4 days until the Big Ho Ho Ho, and only 11 until we kiss goodbye to the whole year! now, I don't know about you lot, but this year has just shot by - so much has happened that I'm really not too sure how it's all been fitted in. For D&C there has been the usual pot pourri of gigs, holidays, illnesses, fallings out etc., but it's been another fantastic year, and we've had a great time - not least because of the fabulous people (old friends and new) that we have met over the year, and this theme continued at Fizz's birthday party in Hertfordshire last weekend. Fizz & Tim live in a big house in Hertfordshire, and have wanted us to play for them ever since they saw us play at a wedding in a Welsh Castle 2 years ago - and they eventually got us. However, as you might expect with our band, nothing was completely straightforward! We'd made great plans to leave in plenty of time to arrive at F&T's house by 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, but last minute beer deliveries to the Snow Goose & The Ship (who, strangely, had not banked on much being drunk on Friday night!) meant that it was 1:45pm before the dirty white tour bus (i.e. the brewery van) pulled away - of course, the snow and ice, that was around until we hit Nottingham, didn't help either! Anyway. we eventually pulled up in their driveway at 5:00pm, so still had plenty of time to set up, and get back to the hotels for a shower and a couple of pints!

The gig itself was wonderful - even though the 100 or so members of the audience (in the living room, by the way!) were a little "hesitant" in the first set, I said to Hugh that they looked as though they were "poised to spring" (to use a feline analogy)! This certainly proved to be the case - from start to finish of the second set (which lasted a little over 2 hours) the dance floor was full of jumping, singing, dancing, sweating bodies! A human pyramid was built on the dance floor, Fizz gave us her own rendition of "Honky Tonk Women" and it was amazing that the final rousing chorus of "Delilah" didn't cause the plaster to drop off the ceiling!

All in all, a brilliant night and, although there was a hiatus in the morning when Matt's chauffeuse left without him, everyone got home safely. Many thanks to Tim, Fizz, and their guests, for their wonderful hospitality and participation.

So, the last gig of the year beckons and, as you will see from the pic above, as well as the publicity on our Dazed and Confused Massive Facebook page, we're going out with a bang at The Old Ship Inn on Beech Lane. As ever, it promises to be a great night, and it should be a good way to prepare yourselves for the following night's festivities, so get along if you can - the fun starts at 9:00pm.

It just remains for us to wish you all (and your friends and families) a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I KNOW, I KNOW - HAPPY HALLOWEEN, BONFIRE NIGHT....

...and nearly Happy Christmas!!

It was only when Jane O'Leary accosted me at a "WinterFest" (whatever happened to "ChristmasFest??) event last Friday with the words "You've not done your blog for ages, and I love reading it", that 2 things struck me:

1. It is a really long time since I did this (about 6 weeks, actually!); so long, in fact, that Dave has actually been on holiday and returned, since the last entry!
2. Jane must need some serious help if she enjoys reading this and knows how long it is since it was updated!

Anyways up - no excuses, apart from early onset what do you call it, and the fact that the weeks just seem to fly by, so I will try and rack my brains to recall what has happened since I last put finger to keyboard, and what is coming up - all before I disappear to watch City try and cling onto Champions League football against the Hun!

When we last "spoke", we were about to make a triumphant return to The Old Ship - we did just that and, although it's now just a hazy memory (for a number of reasons!), it was as splendid a night as we have come to expect there. There was plenty of the usual noise, heat and jumping up and down, and I believe plans are afoot to secure another gig there before the end of the year (more of that later).

In the middle of November, we played at the xxth Birthday Party (oh, alright 40th!) of Claire Smith - that's guitarist Andy's better half! It was a fantastic night - people arriving from all over the place, and music/dancing/singing continuing into the wee small hours. I can always tell when it has been a good night - I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning! On this occasion, it was tough, but not so much of a chore, as we went to the Remembrance Parade the following morning - wouldn't miss Micky Jones in his finery for anything (and the "livener" in the Jolly Sailor afterwards helped as well!).

Our last November gig was at The Windmill, where we have played several times before and, as ever, it morphed from a cabaret club atmosphere (because loads of people turn up for a meal beforehand) into a general free for all at the end! Ally Roberts actually brought a mob with her to celebrate her own xxth Birthday Party, and they kept the far end of the pub dancing, as well as the front bit! This gig saw the debut of 4 new songs - Copperhead Road, There's a Guy Works Down t'Chippy, Never Lookin' Back and (by special request of Paparazzi Pete!) Should I Stay or Should I Go? All of them, while needing the usual polish and lyric learning, seemed to go down well, and will, no doubt, remain for some time! We're due back at the Windmill on 6 January for our normal first gig of the year so, if you want to get rid of the first week back at work blues, you could do a lot worse (ignore the tbc in the gig list, I'll get rid of that!).

And so we approach the truly festive season (say it aint so, mama!), and we kick off our contribution with a return to Congolia on Saturday. It's the first time we've crossed the border since June 2009, and we are honoured to do it for some longstanding friends associated with Congleton Ladies Circle (who can ever forget their Ladies Night at the Clonter Opera?!). It's at Congleton Town Hall, but I'm afraid it's a private do, so you'll have to gather outside and listen, if you're not going! The following week, we're on the road - to Hertfordshire! We're playing another xxth Birthday Party - this time at Fizz & Tim's pad, and there promises to be plenty of fun and games, so we're making a weekend of it!

So no public gigs before Christmas, but we are loathe to let the year end without seeing it out in style so, although we can't play on New Year's Eve, we are trying to set a gig up at The Ship on Friday 30 December. Hopefully, this will happen, and we'll keep you posted, either on here or on our "Dazed and Confused Massive" page on Facebook.

It just remains for me to wish you all the very best, as you attack the streets of your various towns, to carry out that tribal activity known euphemistically as "Christmas Shopping" - remember, it's the thought that counts, so if doing that shopping doesn't bear thinking about - you're in trouble!