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news summary 2004

This is the news summary for 2004.

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

January 2004

2004 started in a way that will take some beating. I joined Robbie McIntosh, Ady Milward, Nick Gomer and Chas Dickie for a wonderful afternoon at the Park Hotel, Weymouth. The place was absolutely jam packed and the atmosphere was superb. Nobody wanted to stop playing.

Little Dixie’s first gig of the New Year was at the Ropemaker’s, in Bridport on January 10th, and Johnny Mars and the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra convened at the David Lloyd Centre in Bournemouth on Saturday 17th. On the Sunday we had a great afternoon at the George Inn, Portland with C Sharp Blues, and that line-up regrouped at the Hope & Anchor, Bridport on Friday 23rd.

The vastly-improved False Pretences topped the bill at last Thursday's (29 January 2004) Jam on It session at Mariner's in Weymouth, which also featured an excellent set of original songs from the splendidly-named Jenny & Roseuncle.

On Friday 30th I went into Room With A View studios near Ringwood with Robbie McIntosh, Geraint Watkins and Paul Beavis to record a live-as-possible CD, to be called Funsbury Park, for the forthcoming German tour. The four of us were all in the same room, with vocals, piano, guitar, bass and drums going down live. We recorded and mixed ten numbers in one session, all first or second takes, and the vibe was excellent. My favourite recording experience to date, because it felt like a gig.

Saturday 31st was with the Ben Waters Band at a private party near Gatwick, and Sunday 1st Feb was with Ben again, at the Boom Boom Club, in Sutton United's clubhouse in South London. Both gigs were absolute belters.

February

Friday 6th Feb was the latest annual John Spencer/Mike Gallop memorial gig at Freshwater Holiday Park, Burton Bradstock, John and Mike were members of Custer's Last Blues Band (as were half the musical population of South West Dorset), and we celebrated their lives while raising money for musical projects in Dorset. This year's line-up featured Custer's, the Steamer Ducks, Gothic Chicken, the Fat Marrow Blues Band and Jess Upton and Steve Wilson. It was a great night, with Gothic Chicken stealing the show in my opinion. Marco in Viking attire, Al in a rather fetching dress, Tom dressed (and playing) back to front, and Luke in his skiddies! Over four grand was raised for the fund, all of which will go towards good causes (paying for instruments, lessons, funding musician's studies, buying instruments for schools etc) in Dorset.

Saturday 7th was Ben Waters' 30th birthday celebration, at Beaminster Town Hall, about six miles north of Bridport, Dorset. Ben's regular band was preceded onstage by another appearance from Custer's, with the finale seeing Ben's band joined by Mutter Slater and the incomparable Roger Bastible.

Sunday 8th was a bitter-sweet end to the Spencer weekend, as the Custer's line-up played at the Hope & Anchor in Bridport, Dorset, guv'nor Val Crabbe's last day in the pub. Val has been an essential figure in the blues/roots music scene in Dorset and Somerset for many years, and tears were shed at her departure.

A wondrous time was had by all on the German tour, from 12th to 22nd February, in the company of Robbie McIntosh, Geraint Watkins and Paul Beavis. We did nine gigs in ten days, from Hamburg to Munich, Hannover to Berlin and various points between.

We were treated to the usual German hospitality – great audiences, wonderful food, all the beer you could drink, great accommodation etc, all laid on via the fine folk at Sounds Promotion.

The 100 limited edition CD's, named Funsbury Park (now the name of the band), specially recorded for the tour, were sold out with two gigs left to do. There are plans for more recordings soon.

Three days after returning from the tour, the German connection was re-established by a session at Derek Nash's Clown's Pocket studio in Kent with Henning ‘Scooter' Otte, a German bluesman. Derek, Ben Waters and Ady Milward joined me on this session.

March

Little Dixie battled with the noise meter at the Hope & Anchor in Bridport, Dorset on Friday 5th March, after which (Fri 6th) the Ben Waters Band enjoyed the amazing vibe of a fine Arts & Crafts designed building in Painswick, Gloucestershire.

Thursday 11th March saw the start of a couple of weeks of intensive gigging with the Ben Waters Band at Weymouth Pavilion Ocean Rooms, Weymouth, Dorset, with Otis Grand & the Big Blues Band and John Crampton. It was a cracking night of blues and boogie, with a great turnout on a foul night weather-wise. Our opening set was followed by some truly authentic delta blues delivered by Crampton, aided by National Steel guitar, harmonica and stompboard. Otis and band saw out the night – I must admit I didn't realise what a great blues guitarist Otis was – BB King, Lonnie Mac and Peter Green came to mind as references.

On Friday night the Ben Waters Band played at the Forest Arts Centre in Hampshire, a great little arts centre that I've played at before with Ben, and with Big Bill Morganfield. Saturday night was at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset, again with Ben, again a great night, despite the fact that we had to improvise a PA on arrival at the gig. A triumph in the face, or possibly farce, of adversity.

We returned to the legendary 100 Club in Oxford Street, London on Sunday 14th for the final night of the Ben Waters Band mini-tour, and whaddya know? Another storming night, with Ben relishing the club's grand piano, and the whole band in fine form. As well as the usual London tourist mix, we were joined by four people from Oederan, in the old East Germany, who've become fans as a result of the band's regular visits there.

The Ben Waters Band played to a full house at Farnham Maltings, in Hampshire on Thursday 18th March, followed by a great performance at Fareham Arts Centre on Saturday 20th. Ben took advantage of the theatre's intimate setting to create an atmosphere that was equal parts Little Richard and Jethro.

Little Dixie regrouped at the George Hotel, Reforne, Portland on Sunday 28th March, at 4.30 p.m. As always, it was a great afternoon at the George, a tiny pub with a fantastic atmosphere, and an extremely discerning audience that knows its blues/soul/roots music inside out.

April

There was a Dixie debut at the Pen & Quill, Shuttern, Taunton, Somerset on Friday 2nd April, a gig slightly marred by the fact that some idiot forgot to bring the PA. Who was that idiot? Well, there’s no point naming names, is there? Let’s move on…

After one of those “I'm not lookin' forward to the journey home, neither” gigs with Little Dixie in deepest (and I do mean deepest) Devon on a foul night on Saturday 17th April, I had a last-minute sit in with USA blues/rock guitarist Colin John, Smudge Smith and Chris Page at the George Inn, Reforne, Portland, Dorset on Sunday afternoon. It was a great seat-of-the-pants experience, where you had approximately four seconds rehearsal before each number. The icing on the cake was having a go on Colin's 1932 National steel-bodied guitar – Colin was also generous enough to have the guitar passed around amongst the assembled local blues players, bringing a whiff of the Mississippi Delta to Reforne.

Portland's extraordinary tradition of the appreciation of blues-orientated live music continued with the return of C Sharp Blues for two gigs at the George Inn, Reforne. The first, on Saturday 24th April, featured a late appearance by Colin John. C Sharp returned on the Sunday 25th for another afternoon of original and vintage blues, after which I had to leg it off for a belting Little Dixie gig at the Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock, Dorset.

May

It was tough going last Friday and Saturday night, 30th April and 1st May. I had to put up with two consecutive gigs with the Ben Waters Band at the Sherborne Beer Festival in Sherborne, Dorset. Two nights of boogie, blues, rock'n'roll and beer. Ah me. It's a tough life, etc.

That was followed by an extremely pleasant Sunday afternoon at the Park Hotel, Weymouth, Dorset with Brahms & Liszt. Those of you familiar with rhyming slang will know that a band was never more appropriately named.

We had a pair of cracking gigs in lovely little boozers with Little Dixie last weekend – at the George, Reforne, Portland on the Saturday 8th and at the Hope & Anchor, Bridport on the Sunday 9th.

The Thursday night jam sessions have moved home. After a year and a half of great sessions at Mariners, we’ve to Finn’s, in Westham Road, Weymouth. The first session, on 13th May, was a great success. I had to miss the inaugural session at the new home, as I was playing with the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra in the restaurant at AFC Bournemouth’s new ground. The Orchestra were in fine form, as ever.

The Ben Waters Band broke new territory with a series of gigs in Helsinki, Finland. The gigs were great, and the whole Finland experience was one to remember. We played from 10p.m. to 3 a.m. in a jazz club called Storyville. The most bizarre thing was getting to the gig at 9.30 –ish in broad daylight, and leaving at 4am in the morning – in broad daylight! The normal Ben Waters Band line up (Ben, Clive Ashley, Ady Milward and myself) was augmented by jazz sax ace Derek Nash, a blinding player and a great geezer.

We had a wonderful unplugged-style Little Dixie gig at the Park Hotel, Grange Road, Weymouth, Dorset on Friday 27th May, without guitarist Richie Edwards but with percussionist extraordinaire Steve Mutter. The pub has been transformed by landlord Pete Smith into a great music-orientated boozer, which is far too close to my house for safety. We were even subject to attempted bribery by a visitor from Russia in an attempt to persuade us to carry on playing at the end of the night – I think the concept of closing time was foreign to him!

On Saturday, at midday, C Sharp Blues convened for an open-air gig on the sea wall at Chiswell, Portland, a fantastic setting for an afternoon of funky blues. On bank holiday Monday, in the noble hamlet of Burton Bradstock, Dorset, Little Dixie fired up at the Three Horseshoes at 9 p.m. to round off a great weekend.

June

On Friday 4th June, Little Dixie returned to the Ropemakers, West Street, Bridport, Dorset, accompanied by Speedy’s remarkable disco. On the Sunday, C Sharp reconvened for a gig at Finns, Westham Road, Weymouth that was a cracker once we got the PA sorted out.

The Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra’s single, the live version of Jumping Jack Flash recorded with ex-Stone Mick Taylor, actually snuck into the Top 100, but failed to make the Top 40 as we’d hoped. It would have been so funny to see all 22 of us shuffle onstage for Top Of The Pops!

The Ben Waters Band played at Royal Manor School on Portland, Dorset on Friday 18th June as a fundraiser for the Grove Infant School, also on Portland. This was Ben’s musical thank-you for the Grove school’s gift of a beautiful old grand piano, which Ben and friends had to manhandle down three flights of stairs, into a van, and into Ben’s dining room. The fundraising night was a great success, with Portland’s discerning musical public appreciating our efforts.

That was followed by a surprise 60th birthday bash on Saturday night in a field somewhere near Yeovil, where Ben and band were joined by the inimitable Roger Bastible. Foolishly, Ben challenged Roger to a drinking competition during the break, which, as Clive Ashley put it, was a bit like challenging Mike Tyson to a punching competition. Ben came second, unsurprisingly, but a great night was had by all, despite the fact that it was a f-f-fairly cold night.

We rounded off a great weekend with another Ben Waters Band gig, this one at the extremely exclusive Crooked Billet pub in Stoke Row, near Reading. We were treated to a three-course gourmet meal and all the champagne we could drink. Oh and the gig was good, as well. We’ll go back there if we get the chance, fantastic food, wonderful hospitality and an audience that was right up for it.

That was a weekend, that was. On Friday, 25th June the massed ranks of the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra assembled at Southwell Business Park on Portland, Dorset for the inaugural Spydafest, a weekend festival featuring blues, roots and world music bands from the UK, the USA, Australia and Africa, balanced with exposure for local bands. It was a beautiful evening and a stunning location, with Lyme Bay and the English Channel as our backdrop. The Orchestra topped the bill on the Main Stage, preceded onstage by my mate Ken Watkins, bluesman Michael Messer and his band, and Gordon Haskell and Paul Yeung.

The weather turned foul on the Saturday, leaving the organisers no choice but to put all the acts from the Main Stage and Stage 2 into the site’s Marquee. Little Dixie were scheduled to appear at the festival on Saturday afternoon, but we chose to pull out, as we’d have had time to play about three numbers. At least it gave the other bands a bit more of a bite at the proverbial cherry.

I sincerely hope that the poor turnout doesn’t dissuade the organisers from staging the event again next year. Given a bigger emphasis on local publicity, this could be a huge annual event.

On Saturday night, the Ben Waters Band had at rip-roaring gig at Beaminster School in Dorset as part of the Beaminster Festival. I’ll have you know that ripping and roaring at the same time is a not inconsiderable feat. It’s the first time the festival has embraced a rock’n’roll/boogie type band, and I gather that a certain amount of shell shock was experienced by some of the more genteel members of the audience.      

On Sunday afternoon, I joined Mike Biggs, Smudge and Padge for an afternoon of funky blues with C Sharp Blues. Our set included Mike’s ode to Portland ‘Pulpit Rock’, an anthem that surely should have been performed at the Spydafest.

July

Last Saturday, 3rd July, I enjoyed my first gig in years with erstwhile Steamer Ducks keyboardist Steve Burholt, when Brahms & Liszt regrouped to play at his mate’s wedding at the Larmer Tree in Dorset, a private event. Steve joined us for the gig, and it was a real pleasure, like he’d never been away.

On Sunday 4th July Little Dixie returned to the Hope & Anchor, Bridport, Dorset. A belting first set was followed by a nightmare battle with one of those sound monitoring devices that are the bane of musician’s lives. It seemed that the more quietly we played, the more often the bloody thing would cut off the power. Apart from being a complete pain in the arse and pissing off the punters, cutting off power in that manner is potentially damaging to valve amps like mine and guitarist Richie’s. Such a shame.

The Ben Waters Band played at Athelhampton House, near Dorchester, Dorset, for Thomas Hardy School’s prom on Wednesday 7th July. The school’s final year students found the band in particularly full-on form, which stood us in good stead for the gig on Friday 9th, when we played at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, sharing the bill with the Blues Band, fronted by erstwhile Manfred Mann vocalist and harp player and current BBC Radio 2 presenter Paul Jones. It was great event in a wonderful setting, in front of an audience of 1,500-odd appreciative punters. I think it’s fair to say that we more than held our own (missus) in comparison with one of Europe’s most famed blues acts.

On Friday 16th July I played at the Black Dog in Weymouth, Dorset with a scratch band put together by guitarist Tom Caufield, recently returned from studies at the Guitar Institute. Named Ginger Tom’s Blues & Soul Experience (nice!), It featured Tom and Tim Broad on guitars, Jack Duxbury on keyboards and Rob Davis on guitar, with guest appearances by Heavy Soul frontman Liam and the inimitable Trevor Lawrence. It was a great, great night.

On Saturday, 17th July, the Ben Waters Band performed in the unique setting of The Pit, a natural amphitheatre in Crondall, near Farnham, Hampshire. It was a wonderful gig on a beautiful summer’s night, with my old mucker Tim Broad guesting on guitar. I can say with hand on heart that it was the best gig I’ve ever done in an old clay pit.

On Sunday 18th, Ben and band played a 60th birthday party at Yeovil FC’s ground. The birthday boy is a huge Chuck Berry fan, so a lot of the night was dedicated to the works of the great man. We were joined on this occasion by erstwhile Werewolves of London guitarist Tony Farinha, who made a huge contribution to the night. I can say with hand on heart that it was the best gig I’ve ever done at Yeovil’s ground.

Little Dixie played outside the Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock, Dorset on Saturday 24th July as part of a fundraising day for the Cancer Care charity. Your scribe was unaware of the outdoor nature of this event before the gig, but was luckily saved from potential Lonergan bonce/ozone layer depletion hazard by drummist Ady Milward, whose sticks bag contained some heavy-duty UV protection stuff had been left there after his gig with the wonderful Dubshack at the last Glastonbury Festival.

Later that day, my serendipitously protected, follically-challenged skull was moved west to the Ropemakers in Bridport, a venue whose clientele always seems to ‘get’ what Little Dixie is about, appreciating Mutter Slater’s wonderfully-crafted songs.

On Sunday 25th July, the Ben Waters Band topped the bill at the Trowbridge Festival, playing to 4,000-odd thoroughly up-for-it punters, in a wonderful setting in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside. We had been preceded on stage by Richard Thompson (who gave a mesmeric performance), The Strawbs, the Eliza Carthy Band, Celloman, Kelly Joe Phelps and other major acts, which could have rendered little old us a little intimidated – far from it. The whole vibe of the place, organisers, sound crew, backstage folk and all, was relaxed and friendly. The sound was great, the beer was free - a thoroughly enjoyable experience all round.  

It’s unusual for a band to be given such a prominent slot on their debut appearance at such a high-profile festival (for example, it’s taken us seven years to work our way up to the main stage at the Cork Jazz Festival), and I can tell you that we relished the opportunity.

On Saturday, 31st July, the Ben Waters Band hit the boards again in Bentley, near Farnham, Surrey, a private party for some media types. The next day Ben and saxophonist Clive Ashley flew out to Canada for a couple of weeks of gigs out there. We’re hoping the whole band will be able to go out next year.

August

On Sunday 1st August, the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra played in the lovely setting of the Gloucester Docks as part of the Gloucester Blues Festival. The band got a tremendous reception from the crowd that lined the revamped docks area, with some punters’ heads popping up from narrow boats moored alongside.

Barrelhouse percussionist Pete Brown and the Orchestra performed a version of Sunshine Of Your Love, which Pete wrote with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce in Cream days. It was such a buzz playing Jack Bruce’s bass line alongside the man who wrote the lyrics for that classic composition.

I played with Tom Caulfield’s Blues and Soul Experience at the Black Dog in Weymouth on Friday, 6th August. The trans-generational line-up also featured Tim on guitar, Jack Duxbury on keyboards, Ady Milward on drums and Tom’s mate Ed on harmonica. We also had cameo appearances from Liam of Heavy Soul fame and the inimitable Trevor Lawrence.

The next day, Saturday 7th August, C Sharp Blues played on Portland, in a disused warehouse for a fancy dress birthday party. It was a real treat to play with Smudge, Biggsy and Padge again.

A wonderful jam session at Finns in Weymouth on Thursday 19th culminated in a unique and totally improvised blues/rap/scat jazz melange featuring the house band, rapper Amari and jazz vocalist extraordinaire Sue Hawker.

On Sunday, 22nd August we had a double bill of Little Dixie gigs. We played in the middle of a field as part of Bridport’s carnival celebrations, after which we scuttled off to the wondrously bijou environs of the George Inn, Reforne, Portland, where Mutter, Clive, Ady and your scribe fired up at 6.30pm. The George is one of those gigs that is such a treat to play, great hosts, discerning punters, a real joy all round.

On Saturday 28th the Ben Waters Band regrouped in a field near Bognor Regis following Ben and Clive Ashley’s Canadian jaunt. We played at the Middleton-on-Sea beer festival, a rather alien environment for me, of course, surrounded by hundreds of gallons of fine beer. The band went down a storm - the discerning drinkers wouldn’t let us offstage. I gave my new toy an outing, a half-size bass that I bought for a song on eBay.

Then, on Sunday 29th, Little Dixie continued the field theme when we played outside the Carpenter’s Arms, Chilthorne Domer, near Yeovil, Somerset. We shared the bill with Sneeky Pete and the Vipers, an excellent swinging blues band and a great bunch of lads that we’ve known for years. Also on the bill was a bravely-named rock band called Outhouse. Bassist Pete generously let me use his lovely Ampeg rig. Chas & Dave were top of the bill, but they arrived as we were leaving.

September

On Saturday 4th September I enjoyed a musical reunion with chanteuse extraordinaire Jess Upton and pianist Sammy Hurden, who were bandmates with me in the wonderful and sadly-missed Jess Upton Soul Band. With Jim Dvorjac on trumpet and Chris Page on drums completing the line-up, we played jazz standards and a little soul here and there for Jess’s mate’s wedding reception. Anyone who’s heard Jess sing will not be surprised to hear that she sings jazz as wonderfully well as she does soul, and, well, everything.

Marsha’s Fun Day, the all-day gig at the Fulwell Arms in Twickenham on Saturday 18th September in memory of my mate Phil McDonnell’s daughter, who was brutally murdered about 18 months ago, was a resounding success. Phil’s friends from the music world did him proud. There were wonderful performances from Nine Below Zero, Zoot Money, Snowy White, Raven’s Taunt, Sinnerboy and tons of others, including, of course, the Ben Waters Band. Our set went down really well, and we had lots of positive feedback from punters and members of the other bands.

A million thanks to everyone that made the effort to come up on the coach from Weymouth – it was obviously very important to Phil that his home town was represented at the event.

On Sunday 19th, I was privileged to witness a ‘secret’ P.J.Harvey gig at Evershot Village Hall in Dorset. Polly Harvey’s mum Eva invited me to the event a couple of weeks back, but I was sworn to secrecy, hence the lack of previous notice on this site. Polly arranged a similar event last year, but it was scuppered because somebody posted it on the internet.

The P.J.Harvey concert on that night was a joy to behold, an inspirational event. Polly’s current band is a seriously tight unit, and you get the impression that she’s very happy with the way the band is interpreting her songs. The whole band appeared to be having a great time on stage. Was it Polly that persuaded her guitarist and bass player to sample the delights of the notorious Red Cider, destroyer of countless West Country brain cells? We may never know. Their performance was obviously unimpaired (enhanced, perchance?) by their enthusiasm for local libational delicacies.

Polly’s band’s encores consisted of versions of blues/r&b standards like Hip Shake and Wang Dang Doodle, an acknowledgement perhaps of the music with which she grew up. Her mum Eva, Val Crabbe and Colin Browning, amongst others, have for decades persuaded the very best UK and USA practitioners of blues/roots music to head to the West Country to perform at venues like Evershot Village Hall, the Bell Inn at Ash in Somerset and the Eype’s Mouth Hotel and the Westpoint Tavern, both near Bridport, Dorset.

Performers at those venues over the years included appearances from Ray Harvey’s mates Ian Stewart (the ‘sixth Rolling Stone’), Diz Watson and USA boogie/blues/New Orleans piano icon Dr John perhaps some of the main influences on the musical direction of the young Ben Waters.

On Saturday, Saturday 25th September, I played with the Barrelhouse Blues Band at a private party near Corfe Castle, Dorset (proper posh that was!), the last gig before we set off with the Ben Waters Band for a tour of Germany.

October

We started the tour on Thursday 30th September with the launch party in Munchengladbach for Henning ‘Scooter’ Otte’s new album, which we recorded at Derek Nash’s studio last February. This was followed by five gigs around the Berlin area for the wonderful folk at Sound’s Promotions (Details on the ‘dates’ bit of this site or at www.benwaters.com or www.sounds-promotion.de). As usual, we were treated to the usual wonderful hospitality of our hosts, who treated us to all the Radeberger (the best beer in Germany) and bratkartoffel that we could handle.

The gigs ranged from arts centres to concert halls to bars, and were all sold out or jam packed. The reception was great at all of them.

There’s always the fear of anti-climax on the first gig back in Blighty, but we needn’t have worried. Little Dixie’s gig at the Ropemakers in Bridport on Sunday 10th October was a cracker, despite Ady’s throat infection and my broken rib (rigours of touring etc). I also had a chance to try out my new baby, a USA Fender De Luxe that I picked up second hand in Ringwood. It’s a beauty.

Then, one of those high spots in one’s musical career. Eight years after The Ben Waters Band’s debut in Cork in the front bar of the Imperial Hotel, we made it to the dizzy heights of the number one stage at the Metropole Hotel, about the best festival slot you can get without being a USA jazz legend or suchlike. Our gigs on Saturday and Sunday night were rapturously, nay bonkersly received by the Cork crowd. Ben, Ady and myself recorded a new original song, the intriguingly-entitled ‘Alcoholic’, in Ben’s back room immediately before the festival, and performed it on both nights – it went down a storm. I feel a hit coming on!

Little Dixie performed at the Ropemakers, West Street, Bridport on Friday 29th October, with Barney doing a splendid job on drums in Ady’s absence.

November

The boy Milward was back on board for the next Dixie outing, on Saturday 6th November at the splendidly bijou George Inn, Reforne, Portland. We debuted two new Mutter Slater compositions, the Thorougoodesque ‘Triumph Bonneville’ and ‘We’re In The Money’, a cautionary tale of the effects of sudden wealth. Two more cracking compositions for the Slater catalogue.

On Friday 19th November we were helping to raise around £350 for Children In Need with a gig with the Black Dogs at the Black Dog , St Mary Street, Weymouth. Lots of blues and lots of fun. On Saturday 20th Little Dixie returned to the Ropemakers, in West Street, Bridport for a gig that coincided with my birthday, and also Mutter’s wife Linda’s. It was probably a great night.

December

The Ben Waters Band’s second visit to the Storyville Club in Helsinki, Finland was a great experience. We flew out of Heathrow on a fairly mild winter’s morning and arrived in Helsinki where it was pitch dark by 4pm and snowing. It was like flying into the depths of winter.

Helsinki kind of makes more sense in winter, it seems more suited to it. Temperatures over the weekend got down to –3, -10 taking wind chill factor into it, but it was a dry cold that was fine if you were wrapped up properly. The city looked beautiful in a coating of snow and ice.

Werewolves of London guitarist and all-round good geezer Tony Farinha was playing with the band, and the gigs went really well. It was a kind of endurance test, though, playing two hour-and-a-half sets and third set of half an hour on three consecutive nights at Storyville, the same club that we played last May. The excellent food and free beer helped, though. All in all, a great weekend. I’m bloody knackered now, though.

There was another cracking jam session at Finns in Weymouth on Thursday 9th December, which was rounded off by a tribute to Pantera’s guitarist from Weymouth’s rock community.

On Friday 10th I played with John Burden, the inimitable Roger Bastible and my great mate of 25-odd years Paul Fancy at Haselbury Mills, near Yeovil, Somerset. It took about a number and a half to lock in with the chaps, having not played with them for years, after which we had a riot.

The Jess Upton Soul Band had a one-off reunion on December 18 th at Bridport Arts Centre, Bridport, Dorset and it was a huge success. The band was on fine form, like we’d never stopped gigging, and Jess was at her superb best. The place was mobbed and we had a riot.

Sadly, trumpet ace Matt Barge was unable to play following a horrific accident that left him with severe facial injuries and his son in intensive care. Matt was well enough (and brave enough) to come and watch the gig, and he’s in very good form despite everything. New York trumpeter Jim Dvorak took the trumpet seat for the gig, and did a splendid job.

On Thursday, 23 rd the Ben Waters Band played at the Weymouth Pavilion Ocean Room, with support provided by Take It Easy, a band of Portland teenagers with a big future. The gig was marred by a series of technical problems, but we grinned and got through it.

On Christmas Eve afternoon we had our now-habitual afternoon gig at the Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock, Dorset, a hugely enjoyable romp through the Dixie set with a few roast chestnuts bunged in for good measure. Altogether now: “So here it is, merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun…”

We had a pairing of gigs with the Ben Waters Band at the celebrated Bell Inn, Ash, Somerset on the 28 th and 29 th December, and both were rollicking good fun, with Chris Jagger on good form as guest one night.

New Year’s Eve saw Mutter Slater and myself perform as a duo for a one-off, back at the Three Compasses in Burton. No rehearsal, just pure seat of the skid marks of the pants stuff. We were joined by Some Bloke From The Audience, and it was lots of fun.

Chris Lonergan

© 2004 Galeforce Media Solutions, Dorset