For a full blog go to the sweeney astray and industrial hedgerows blogger sites through google. O r follow Sweeney Astray on twitter.
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Got to recommend Seamus Fogerty, Pictish Trail and James Yorkston for coming down from Fife, Scotland, to do a Fence Collective gig in Lancashire and being humorous, natural and musically beautiful. Kind of folk meets dance beats meets story telling meets urbane sarcasm and warmth.
Seen our guest bass player Elliott Dryden play a few gigs with the Remedy too, one as support for Pete Townsend's brother at Darwen Library Theatre. And we managed to meet up and practice with double bassist Hannah Dacey (pictured) on easter break from the Royal College of Music London. And we had the usual laugh and took the usual bad photos.
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Full on weekend of music, beer and hobbits at Hurst Green with a craft marquee, a man carving Gandalf out of tree trunks, blue skies and Sweeney Astray playing a full band set in a crowded beer hall full of friends and general drinking punters. Had a great time drinking beer, sound engineering, wandering about playing host telling ridiculous stories and banging out songs on stage. Got to listen to my own favourite acts since I booked them. And a special place in the heart goes out to George Borowski and his fabulous band. Who else would've had a group of 20-somethings sat cross-legged singing "My Old Man's A Dust Man" inbetween full on rock and roll. What a great stage presence and a fab smile. Plus we loved the rainbow jumper.
Soloing on the Gretsch is a dream come true. Discovered my sound desk is tired and misses a few channels which involved some serious tinkering at times (thanks to Elliott Dryden's swift interventions and Anna Ashworth's patience). PLaying Like There's No Tomorrow and drinking cider for breakfast made a weekend to remember. Sometimes it was packed and it was always friendly. Looking forward to the next music event. Songwriters Live at Townsends Records on National Vinyl Day Saturday April 20th in Great Harwood. Performances at the back of the shop, queues out the door and Gren Bartley's fingerpicking countryfolk blues as well as more sets from Susie Jones Band and Sweeney Astray stripped down plus The Remedy. See the facebook events under Mike Kneafsey facebook for times. Feel free to friend request or join googleplus or follow sweeney astray on twitter.
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Recorded and mixed at the Hive in the Lancashire village of Chipping by local musician Neil Hunt coming home from one of the two pubs one late night. Neil plays bass on the track as well as doing the backing vocals and all the engineering and mixing. Mike Kneafsey wrote and sings the song. Anna Ashworth is providing percussion.
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Been full on lately with a mix of musical activity...organising events, half completing a bunch of new songs, lining up Sweeney Astray performances and teaching guitar full time for a living. Mostly it rolls, feel nice and good, sometimes it turns your head to mush. We're playing a set at the Acoustic Afternoons at a Beer Fest deep in the middle earth of the Ribble Valley but helping to organise it and do the sound. Sneaking Cloudspotting Festival beer mats onto Preston pub tables to help promote the Gisburn Forest secret but not secret mid summer weekend happening. We're playing it too. And we've organised and are playing at an instore all day Songwriters Live event at Townsend Records Great Harwood. Delighted to have ace folk-country blues guitarist Gren Bartley along. Katie still has a pot on her arm so can only sing for now and won't be playing guitar. Just agreed to organise and play at the JUne Acoustic Village at the fantastic 200 plus capacity Grand in Clitheroe. And I'll be going out and doing some music nights this week once I've change my strings...busy times.
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Overwhelmingly grand evening..so lucky to play with and know such a nice bunch of folk...Travelling Band sounded massive. We loved it and enjoyed our set. Anna and Elliott created a nice cool groove of rhythm and made it easy to sing and scatter electric arpeggio on some songs. Got the acoustic out too for the all mellow by the fireside thing. Katie sang unable to play with a broken wrist...then we all went to the Sun in Chipping and jammed til dawn with a bunch of musician friends in a country cottage (cello Bob, Neil and Sue and two of the Susie Jones Band). Can't argue with it!
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Weird really. Twenty minutes before I'm about to set off in a blizzard to watch the Acoustic Village (Harp and the Monkey headlining), I get a call from organiser Matt Evans - one of the bands have cancelled because of the snow will you come and do the gig. Sure, I say, and promptly ring Bob Cello and say...come on Bob...because Bob isn't practising with one of his orchestras because it's been cancelled because of the snow. Great!
We get there and Elliott Dryden is helping out on the sound desk. He just happens to play bass with us when he's not busy with his own band The Remedy. So we did four songs - Moon River Girl; Time; Red To Blue and Travel Light. There was a decent audience at the Grand of around 100 I'd guess. Really enjoyable.
Then myself and Bob carried our instruments in the crazy arctic weather to a friend's house. Bob was actually showered in sludge by a snow plough and confronted a shaven-headed large driver, but we all smiled. Then it was whisky til 3am and another typical night of music mayhem complete.
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considering it was a beer festival with people drinking beer and murmuring loudly about beer as a temporary madness-binge, the audience was pretty receptive. All in: it was a grand do.
Started with a mad flurry of putting up all the gear, trying to force open doors and being grateful for a young barman built-to-carry (thanks James) who immediately mucked in. Some dude in a yellow cagoule complained that the Remedy weren't acoustic because they had a bass player and microphones. But Hanna and Elliott rocked while me and Anna ate pie and peas.
A bizaare bunch of Mummers tried to force us to cancel Gary and replace him with them - people with colanders on their heads practicing the old traditional dancing and prancing of made-up newwold traditions (based on the old made-up new traditions of dancing and prancing and not quite being able to be heard). Somewhere between Morris Dancers of the ancient 1920s and raggedy town criers with swords, I put them in between Gary and The Remedy.
Ten minutes before we were playing Hanna the bass player hadn't turned up and Anna the drummer was asleep in the car recovering from a bout of food poisoning. She woke , Hanna turned up having driven the wrong way and back. We were off.
Personally I just love playing. Forgot to focus in on my guitar or the drums as my head went into a happy singing place. Afterwards someone said my songs were good but sad, I explained this was a northern indie tradition dating back to John Lennon of olde (not to mention Ian Curtis).
Then came The Musicateers for a jazz/swing knees-up of technical musical wizardry. The biggest cheer of the day came for Simon Brady's George Formby cover and the drinking went on into the night.
Congratulations go to the farmers boys for getting drunk on beer at a beer festival and rolling about in the hay -literally- and keeping it drink-focused. The events outside on a field in front of the majestic Pendle Hill must've been good but I was in playing. Falconry,a dog show, I can only imagine it...
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playing the beer festival tomorrow. Sorting out the acoustic afternoon and as Anna nd Hann have both got bad backs I'll be carting all the equipment on my own. The Remedy at 1pm. Our New Inn regular Gary Binks at 2pm. Myself Hanna nd Anna at 3pm and the Musikateers at 4pm which includes Bob Buller, another New Inn regular on cello.
Reply
Sweeney Astray / Blog
Spring Gigs
For a full blog go to the sweeney astray and industrial hedgerows blogger sites through google. O r follow Sweeney Astray on twitter.
Reply
Sounds of Spring
Got to recommend Seamus Fogerty, Pictish Trail and James Yorkston for coming down from Fife, Scotland, to do a Fence Collective gig in Lancashire and being humorous, natural and musically beautiful. Kind of folk meets dance beats meets story telling meets urbane sarcasm and warmth. Seen our guest bass player Elliott Dryden play a few gigs with the Remedy too, one as support for Pete Townsend's brother at Darwen Library Theatre. And we managed to meet up and practice with double bassist Hannah Dacey (pictured) on easter break from the Royal College of Music London. And we had the usual laugh and took the usual bad photos.
Reply
Middle Earth Beer Fest 2013
Full on weekend of music, beer and hobbits at Hurst Green with a craft marquee, a man carving Gandalf out of tree trunks, blue skies and Sweeney Astray playing a full band set in a crowded beer hall full of friends and general drinking punters. Had a great time drinking beer, sound engineering, wandering about playing host telling ridiculous stories and banging out songs on stage. Got to listen to my own favourite acts since I booked them. And a special place in the heart goes out to George Borowski and his fabulous band. Who else would've had a group of 20-somethings sat cross-legged singing "My Old Man's A Dust Man" inbetween full on rock and roll. What a great stage presence and a fab smile. Plus we loved the rainbow jumper.
Soloing on the Gretsch is a dream come true. Discovered my sound desk is tired and misses a few channels which involved some serious tinkering at times (thanks to Elliott Dryden's swift interventions and Anna Ashworth's patience). PLaying Like There's No Tomorrow and drinking cider for breakfast made a weekend to remember. Sometimes it was packed and it was always friendly. Looking forward to the next music event. Songwriters Live at Townsends Records on National Vinyl Day Saturday April 20th in Great Harwood. Performances at the back of the shop, queues out the door and Gren Bartley's fingerpicking countryfolk blues as well as more sets from Susie Jones Band and Sweeney Astray stripped down plus The Remedy. See the facebook events under Mike Kneafsey facebook for times. Feel free to friend request or join googleplus or follow sweeney astray on twitter.
Reply
Play That Game
Recorded and mixed at the Hive in the Lancashire village of Chipping by local musician Neil Hunt coming home from one of the two pubs one late night. Neil plays bass on the track as well as doing the backing vocals and all the engineering and mixing. Mike Kneafsey wrote and sings the song. Anna Ashworth is providing percussion.
Reply
The Winter in Spring Mix
Been full on lately with a mix of musical activity...organising events, half completing a bunch of new songs, lining up Sweeney Astray performances and teaching guitar full time for a living. Mostly it rolls, feel nice and good, sometimes it turns your head to mush. We're playing a set at the Acoustic Afternoons at a Beer Fest deep in the middle earth of the Ribble Valley but helping to organise it and do the sound. Sneaking Cloudspotting Festival beer mats onto Preston pub tables to help promote the Gisburn Forest secret but not secret mid summer weekend happening. We're playing it too. And we've organised and are playing at an instore all day Songwriters Live event at Townsend Records Great Harwood. Delighted to have ace folk-country blues guitarist Gren Bartley along. Katie still has a pot on her arm so can only sing for now and won't be playing guitar. Just agreed to organise and play at the JUne Acoustic Village at the fantastic 200 plus capacity Grand in Clitheroe. And I'll be going out and doing some music nights this week once I've change my strings...busy times.
Reply
Supporting the Travelling Band
Overwhelmingly grand evening..so lucky to play with and know such a nice bunch of folk...Travelling Band sounded massive. We loved it and enjoyed our set. Anna and Elliott created a nice cool groove of rhythm and made it easy to sing and scatter electric arpeggio on some songs. Got the acoustic out too for the all mellow by the fireside thing. Katie sang unable to play with a broken wrist...then we all went to the Sun in Chipping and jammed til dawn with a bunch of musician friends in a country cottage (cello Bob, Neil and Sue and two of the Susie Jones Band). Can't argue with it!
Reply
Blizzard Gig with Bob Cello
Weird really. Twenty minutes before I'm about to set off in a blizzard to watch the Acoustic Village (Harp and the Monkey headlining), I get a call from organiser Matt Evans - one of the bands have cancelled because of the snow will you come and do the gig. Sure, I say, and promptly ring Bob Cello and say...come on Bob...because Bob isn't practising with one of his orchestras because it's been cancelled because of the snow. Great! We get there and Elliott Dryden is helping out on the sound desk. He just happens to play bass with us when he's not busy with his own band The Remedy. So we did four songs - Moon River Girl; Time; Red To Blue and Travel Light. There was a decent audience at the Grand of around 100 I'd guess. Really enjoyable. Then myself and Bob carried our instruments in the crazy arctic weather to a friend's house. Bob was actually showered in sludge by a snow plough and confronted a shaven-headed large driver, but we all smiled. Then it was whisky til 3am and another typical night of music mayhem complete.
Reply
Middle Earth Beer Festival Hurst Green Village Hall
considering it was a beer festival with people drinking beer and murmuring loudly about beer as a temporary madness-binge, the audience was pretty receptive. All in: it was a grand do.
Started with a mad flurry of putting up all the gear, trying to force open doors and being grateful for a young barman built-to-carry (thanks James) who immediately mucked in. Some dude in a yellow cagoule complained that the Remedy weren't acoustic because they had a bass player and microphones. But Hanna and Elliott rocked while me and Anna ate pie and peas. A bizaare bunch of Mummers tried to force us to cancel Gary and replace him with them - people with colanders on their heads practicing the old traditional dancing and prancing of made-up newwold traditions (based on the old made-up new traditions of dancing and prancing and not quite being able to be heard). Somewhere between Morris Dancers of the ancient 1920s and raggedy town criers with swords, I put them in between Gary and The Remedy.
Ten minutes before we were playing Hanna the bass player hadn't turned up and Anna the drummer was asleep in the car recovering from a bout of food poisoning. She woke , Hanna turned up having driven the wrong way and back. We were off.
Personally I just love playing. Forgot to focus in on my guitar or the drums as my head went into a happy singing place. Afterwards someone said my songs were good but sad, I explained this was a northern indie tradition dating back to John Lennon of olde (not to mention Ian Curtis).
Then came The Musicateers for a jazz/swing knees-up of technical musical wizardry. The biggest cheer of the day came for Simon Brady's George Formby cover and the drinking went on into the night.
Congratulations go to the farmers boys for getting drunk on beer at a beer festival and rolling about in the hay -literally- and keeping it drink-focused. The events outside on a field in front of the majestic Pendle Hill must've been good but I was in playing. Falconry,a dog show, I can only imagine it...
Reply
Sweeney lands
playing the beer festival tomorrow. Sorting out the acoustic afternoon and as Anna nd Hann have both got bad backs I'll be carting all the equipment on my own. The Remedy at 1pm. Our New Inn regular Gary Binks at 2pm. Myself Hanna nd Anna at 3pm and the Musikateers at 4pm which includes Bob Buller, another New Inn regular on cello.
Reply
Testing
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