A Session Diary

A Merry Syncretic, Northern Hemisphere winter time greeting to you all.

Obviously this means nothing if you are living in the tropics which I think includes Ruislip, or the poles which errr doesn’t. It only works if you’ve got seasons and possibly only in the Old World. Or what is referred to as the Old World. The rest existed of course ( or did it? ) but some arrogant Old Worldians went and discovered it bit by bit. I’m sure the indigenous populations had their own festivals, religions etc and were quite happy without Christianity thank you very much. So Christmas in the Caribbean is a bizarre affair.

Talking of bizarre affairs, let us come on to the sessions. Thanks to Radio 4 for the format of this link.

Well the regular Wednesday Irish session has survived another year and is still at the same place. It is gratifying that it started in the George (Stone Street) and is back in the George (Molash) who are the most welcoming and friendly people to have ever taken us in. It doesn’t matter if the pub is empty or full of diners, we still get to play and despite our best efforts, we don’t normally manage to empty it completely. It’s also nice when visitors turn up or when our ‘irregulars’ drop by. We’ve acquired a very good piper this year who drops in when he’s in town (thanks Johnny) and Ford is a regular again with his irrepressible tunes, poetry and good humour.

The spin-offs are worthy of mention because the Unicorn at Bekesbourne continues to be a delight. The pub, Martin, the session – everything seems right. The last one was a bit of a treat, having Chris Taylor, Pete May and Adrian who rarely now play at Irish Sessions.

The Irish at the Chimney Boy is not so good. Not so well attended, not so nice a space but it does give some sessioneers a chance who can’t get to the others.

Talking of the Chimney Boy, the Thursday night session is still going strong with the same faces. I’ve heard some fantastic songs from Gavin (You can’t be a Pirate being a favourite and anything by Flanders and Swan), Helen (can sing anything as far as I’m concerned) and Ernie (although mixing up Barnsley and Bradford is unforgivable :-)). As far as the session goes, it’s great when Pip and Jo get in there and treat us to Northumbrian tunes.

The shining star in the session firmament (although no everbody’s cup of tea) is the Thursday session at the Canterbury Tales. Maybe it should be Tales of the unexpected.

Let me explain. There is a core of 3 – a band called Triskele who are well known to you all. There are other regulars too including a left-handed 5-string banjo player and a multi-instrumentalist, Johnny on the pipes when he’s in town and yours truly. The pub is often heaving with students and the atmosphere is buzzing. The music is often outstandingly good and so much fun but the conditions are cramped, it gets quite hot and you have to protect your instruments (both from damage and occasional use by others). There are no Tunes Police so anything goes although Celtic / East European fusion probably best describes it. Last Thursday we were treated to a pair of Belgians, one with a double bass and the other sang, played ukulele and clog danced at the same time. Without a safety net. Very impressive!. We’ve also had a stunningly good classical violin player. I mean seriously good. Brendan Power has had some tunes with us and if I’ve missed some I’m sorry. Anyway, the good bits far outweigh the bad bits and I hope it continues for as long as possible!

I just came across this conversation on Facebook. It’s slightly edited (to remove LOLs etc) and anonymize it slightly, but does this sound at all familiar?

Alexander
At session. Theyre playing coming round the mountain in g. Except for the guitarist next to me who is playing his own tune in a. Joyous

Alex  He doesn’t like ‘coming round the mountain’ then!

Alexander  OMFingG a hobgoblin childs percussion pack has emerged.

Alexander  A man looking remarkably like alan titchmarsh is now playing the bongos

Alexander  Going to drink a beer and see if its any more bearable.

That on my list of: ‘things i’ve sold from Hobgoblin that I know will come back to haunt me’ !! (Cajon’s are at the top)

Alexander Nope. Its house of rising sun variations

Alexander Singing i wanna go home. Haha. Its only ironic for me.

Don It’s a jazz session then….

Alexander More alex than don. Ha. Ooo drowsie mag was the closest thing to a tune. Why am i still here

Houston you are obviously in need of counselling for self abuse!!! more booze is my suggestion, it’ll ease the pain :)

Alexander Quite a nice vesion of spancil hill.. . Although its in Bbmin and a cf box is playing along in amin i swear to god

Alexander He was just biding his time. Gone into knick knack paddy whack

Alexander Cock of the north in d and c at same time. No joke

Alexander New low

Katherine  Why haven’t you left? x

Alexander Endurance test

Alex It’s a ‘Folkie get me out of here’ ..

Mark Grass them up then. Where is this torment? Then we can all be sure to avoid it at all costs and in all weathers.

Don Is the south coast bodd-ran squadron there?

Edward God save us from all goat bashers… X-P

Alexander No the goat whackers are not to be seen.

Alexander Bod squad . . Love it

Mark Couple of polskas in b flat. That tends to shut people up, or provides short term amusement.

Mark And NEVER go to the session in Cloughjordan. A piano player listens to the first note of the first tune, and that’s it. All together now “Humpty dumpty”.

Bronco It wasnt that bad for an english session… And u need to project more on the violin… Thats what i tell my students :-P

Fred I didn’t know you could use facebook in hell, Alex?

I can’t believe how long it’s been since the last post so apologies to any ardent sessiondiary fans who have been deprived of their regular fix! I don’t know how being retired actually gives you less time than when I worked but it does.

Anyway, lots has happened in the world of sessions so it’s worth a foray into the weird and wonderful world of the music session as observed by a humble sessioneer.

Firstly then the regular weekly Irish session which has been the topic of very mixed fortunes over the years. Not only is it still alive but it is reasonably well and sitting up, taking solid food and being cheeky to the nurses. This is due in equal measure to the absolute stalwarts who refuse to give in and the itinerants who are always most welcome. Susanna is back for a visit, Johnny has passed by again and we’ve had a variety of musicians drop in for an odd week. Yes, I know most weeks are odd. A disproportionate number of percussionists but that was OK. Honest, it was. They could keep time and everything. Without counting out loud!

One highlight was a visit by Fred the banjo (Freddie Legon) and his wife – a one time banjo player with Humphrey Littleton among others who enjoyed what we did. We discovered after he’d left that he’d put a pot behind the bar for all the musicians to have a drink on him. What a star! Sadly no longer playing because of Parkinson’s but a legend in his time. The audiences have become somewhat more appreciative of late so maybe things are looking up for the diddly-eye music :-)

Nice to see Ford back with us as well although we’ve lost a couple of regulars recently. Well, not lost, more like misplaced. I’m sure they’ll turn up somewhere.

Absolute scandal that the Hops Festival this year was not in any way shape or form either family or folk friendly. Several people have remarked on it. One or two without using expletives which shows great restraint and an education. No sessions organised at all and precious few folk bands. Wheeler Street got 16:00 on Sunday – great slot guys! If it’s like that again next year, I’m not going.

Still we pitched up where there was allegedly some kind of event (at the Bull – how far out can you get?). It turned out to be a sing-around in the garden. From what I heard it was a finger-in-the-ear, have-you-brought-your-copy-of-the-folk-book-of-penguins. All together now “page 97 – all 23 verses as slow as you can” kind of event so we slipped away before being spotted.

Barbs and I went in the bar, blagged a corner and got the landlords blessing to play. I had to leave after an hour and a half but I heard it grew and grew and was still going 5 hours later. Good on yer!

Broadstairs was ….. well, Broadstairs. Good sessions with Paul Lucas as usual and a couple of nice days. One with Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham and the other with Chris Taylor. Usual crowd in the Nelson. What more can be said?

The Tales continues to be an enjoyable if rather bizarre session at times. Where else could you hear a elderly transvestite singing parodies of Irish songs, Oops I did it again sung by a male with a 5-string banjo, Greek bouzouki music on a tenor banjo and somewhere a load of Irish tunes played very well.

Well just a reminder that this weekend is Deal festival and apparently I’m leading a session in the Ship from 2 – 5 on Saturday so if you want to pop in for some tunes, I’d be delighted to see you. It’ll be a mixed, whatever-happens session and I’ll probably lead mostly English. Unless a large Irish contingent turns up of course :-)

Right! Off to the George for the regular weekly Irish.

Over half way now – past the solstice and heading for harvest time. Not for a while though.

What’s on my mind this time? Well the perennial problem of getting people to sessions.

I have been to two recently which were very poorly attended. The first one was so poorly attended that we didn’t even try to play any music. The second was a struggle with just three musicians. Not that there wasn’t enjoyment to be had in both – just not quite what I was expecting.

Now why does this happen?

Well to start with, neither of the sessions has critical mass or at least barely makes it which means they are vulnerable to anyone dropping out.

There are certain alliances which means if one drops out for any reason, it usually means another won’t come. So this compounds the decline.

I suppose the question is (and we’ve been here before) – why do some sessions dwindle to critical mass or lower and when is it a good time to put them out of their misery as humanely as possible?

The answer to this mystery may never be known but various people have made comments in the past which may or may not be pertinent:

“young folk won’t want to play with fogies like us”

“You need an audience”

“Irish music just isn’t that popular anymore”

The solution? Well find a good session. I know that sounds like stating the blindingly obvious but as sessions get fewer, the sessioneers tend to congregate in fewer centres with more musicians and better prospects. By definition they are further away.

Or hold inclusive sessions that welcome all types of music and see which flavours come out of the mix. Not suitable for purists but if the choice is playing or not, what’s the alternative?

When is a session not a session?

This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time. I may have been slow to get here but there’s more to a session than just a group of individuals getting together with a common cause. I suppose the fact that there are now some sessions that achieve that mythical life makes me wonder about the others that are at worst, a group of individuals wondering what to play next. The act of forcing a reluctant tune out is palpable.

So what are the key ingredients for a session?

1.Musicians. Obvious I know but I use the term to distinguish players from worriers. 6 bodhran players do not a session make.

2.Musicians with leadership ability. Starting tunes, keeping things going. More than one is useful. If a session isn’t led, it is easier for it to be hijacked*.

3.Enthusiasm. Not much fun if nobody wants to be there.

4. Venue. It is important for space, comfort, amenities and acoustics. A friendly welcome is nice too.

5. Audience. Some say it doesn’t matter, but there is something about an audience that gives more life to a session.

6. Balance. A variety of instruments, styles, tunes, personalities.

7. Common repertoire. The inverse is prima donnas

8.Listening. Good sessioneers listen to each other and try to blend harmoniously.

9.Strength. Not only strength in performance but the strength to refuse requests for Duelling Banjos and the strength to maintain the integrity of the session.

10. Generosity. To other musicians especially. Allowing others to start and following them without taking the tune away. Can be a drawback if tolerance allows *hijacking.

I think that’s everything. Of course there are many things that can go wrong even when these elements conspire to produce a worthy session. *Hijacking is the most common. Usually it is singers that hijack sessions but I have known completely talentless tuneless tootlers do the same thing. Without leadership, (and a sense of identity) it is easy for a session to drift from one genre to another. We aren’t talking ‘guest Appalachian set’  we’re talking about all the musicians who can, changing sides and playing a completely different style of music. That’s a little bit selfish to all those who only play the style they turned up for. Another form of hijacking I suppose.

Anyway, Wednesdays continue as always but sometimes aren’t very sessiony – see the above reasons (2,3,5,6 mainly I suspect). Thursdays (Faversham) are much as before but at a different venue. In a way, the venue is better (not as hot, more space, car park). Pretty much ticks all the boxes but prone to song hijacking. Thursdays (Canterbury) and very lively and the closest to being a true session. A little bit of a problem with 1 & 7 sometimes but nothing that detracts from the overall sense of session.

Sundays at Bekesbourne have a sense of session, Sundays at Faversham less so. Part of this is 4 & 5. It’s amazing the lift that a small audience gives and it’s nice to be welcomed at the venue as well.