The Shop Doorway

It's not often the Straynotes play in shop doorways. Rarely, if at all, will they do so in November and certainly not for a three hour stint. But this is a rather unusual doorway. The picture doesn't do it justice but Quayside Plaza is a restaurant with a Victorian-style shop front at the back. And behind the shop front is a shop full of curios from the four corners of the world.

Like restaurants everywhere, space is at a premium and Quayside Plaza is no exception. The doorway is too small for a table but just large enough for a small band. It's a good thing that Angelo doesn't feed us until we've finished playing; there isn't space for a band and two meals.

Angelo doesn't know why there is a shop at the back of his restaurant, at least not a Victorian shop. I did ask a local historian about it and he said he would take a look. Next time I see him I will ask him how he got on. Meanwhile I have tunes to practise.

Hallowe'en

The Straynotes have a busy schedule in the run-up to Christmas and have begun trawling their back catalogue for festive favourites. This, of course, is with a view to working a few seasonal numbers, or at least a suitable quote, into the December repertoire.Looking at the material prompted a discussion about whether or not pubs were 'havens from Christmas' - Christmas-free zones, if you like. I suppose 'each case on its merits' is the way to proceed and if the landlord is wearing a red nose and an antlered alice band then it probably means it's cool to Yule.

The last-festival-but-one, Hallowe'en, saw the duo version of the band playing in the brasserie at Dunston Hall. Somehow it just isn't the same without Paul and his bass. Even Andy's new friends (pictured) couldn't cheer him up. They're all called Ian, strangely enough. Hello, Ian!

(Hello Ian - Hallowe'en? Oh, never mind. Perhaps I'll find a better joke in a cracker.)

The Anniversary

It never ceases to surprise me how often people come up to the band and say, fervently, 'You're playing my kind of music!' The surprising bit is not that they like what the band plays, but the fact that they range in age from twenty-somethings to the over-eighties. (The under twenties just dance and smile.) Earlier in the year, at a function at the Norfolk Showground, we gave away a card to an enthusiastic music-lover. A week or two later he contacted us to ask if we would play at his Golden Wedding Anniversary party.

A fortnight ago the big day arrived and the band set up in a chilly marquee in the blue heart of west Norfolk. That's Andy in the picture, giving guest bassist Dave Pullin (right) and myself a master class in putting together the PA.

The tent soon warmed up as guests moved, sometimes in spite of themselves, to the infectious sound of Eastern Straynotes. It was an audience that knew the genre well, making the compliments we received all the more welcome. However, I think that must really must mark the end of the summer season. My fingerless gloves are at the ready but I make no secret of hoping that the nation's marquees have been retired until next spring.

Every so often someone takes the trouble to write to us after an event and this was one such occasion. Identifying marks have been removed but if you double-click on the letter it should open up big enough to read.

Urban Straynotes

On Saturday, Eastern Straynotes took part in the Magdalen Street Celebration in Norwich, organised by the Transition Norwich. In case you don't know, the Transition movement explores ways of coping with a post-carbon world: lots of discussion, education and experimentation. The reason there is someone on a bicycle at the front of the stage is because the PA was powered by pedalling. No mains power required, even to charge the battery. And the sound system was perfectly adequate.

The singer/guitarist in the final picture is Tom Foxe and it was he who devised, built and provided the PA. So it looks like amplified music will survive after the oil runs out. At least for a while. And while we waited for the end of life as we know it we partied on the October sunshine beneath the Magadelen Street flyover.

Despite the sun, the hand-warmers came out and I have a hunch that this was probably our last outdoor gig of 2010.

Back from our hols

First off, a trip to Great Yarmouth for Andy and me to play for diners at Angelo's 'Quayside Plaza' restaurant. It was our first time there and we were struck by all the artwork and 'ethnic' goods on display both in the restaurant and in a shop behind. Musically it was as if we hadn't had the long lay-off at all. We were tight and slick, helped in no small part by a responsive and enthusiastic crowd. Angelo chooses his patrons wisely.


On Sunday it was lunchtime jazz at The Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. Here were were joined by Paul on double bass, making us a feel like real band again. We certainly enjoyed ourselves and, judging by all the applause and foot-tapping amongst the coffee-drinking art lovers visiting this exceptional gallery, our audience enjoyed it too.

You may wonder why I mention the audience response but in restaurants diners are often concentrating on their food and conversation. Many are seated with their backs to the band or in alcoves where we may as well be a CD for all they know. And visitors to the Sainsbury Centre are often awed by the building and are unsure whether or not expressions of appreciation are appropriate. But an audience takes its cue from the performers and our enthusiasm on each occasion was infectious.

The summer break

A pared down line-up played at Earsham Street Café's foody night in Bungay, Suffolk yesterday. It was the last gig before a short summer break in which Andy will be doing some solo playing and Jonathan takes a puppet show to the Edinburgh Fringe.

We played a mixture of laid back jazz for eating and some hotter jazz and klezmer for between courses. The latter went down very well. We finished the set with a summery rendition of 'Stardust'.

Stainsby Folk Festival

You may wonder what a jazz/klezmer outfit like Eastern Straynote is doing playing at a folk festival. And as the rain came down on my drive from Norwich to north Derbyshire I was wondering the same. The last time I came to Stainsby was with The Crimson Muses back in 2007. It had been a very wet spring and early summer and had been raining solidly for 48 hours prior to my arrival. The whole place was a quagmire and pitching a tent was an impossibility. Fortunately all my children had found other places to be so my partner and I put the back seats down and slept in the back of the car. Calf deep mud didn't quite spoil the weekend, mostly because it actually stopped raining, but it was a close thing.

It had been dry for weeks leading up to Stainsby Festival this year but a couple of rainy days was enough to bring on the mud. Slippery but not deep enough to steal your boots. The Straynotes played on Friday evening and lifted any qualing spirits in the way they know best. Our own spirits had been lifted by seeing Gary Rudd's band, The Lost Padres, playing on the main stage immediately prior to our appearance in 'The Space'.

I had to leave early the next morning to catch up with work back home but took a couple of snaps before I went. It is a small but strange event, somewhere between a beer festival and a hippy reunion. Andy thinks this may reflect the proximity of the beautiful countryside to the M1 which can be seen cutting through the valley. The two food vans in the other pic would tend to back this up: the classic greasy spoon next to the authentic (food cooked by a real Tibetan) ethnic eatery. Neither could provide me with a cup of tea so early in the day, however.