COTD returns to St Stephens

The first Children of the Drone session at St. Stephens church since we took the summer off took place last night. Nice. Unfortunately, the rather excellent (of course) last piece of the first set didn't get recorded, and the second MiniDisc (whole second set) got wiped just as I was switching the device off, but fortunately I have a contact in Sweden who can recover such corrupted discs.

Richard - electric bass guitar, percussion
Keith - electric guitar, percussion
James T - piano, percussion, water, submerged gong, poetry
John - acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, voice, percussion
Vaughan - acoustic guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, voice, noseflute, percussion
Brian - keyboard, percussion
me - saz, balalaika, percussion

plus
Chris - acoustic bass guitar


James, Richard, Vaughan, John
This is a different Chris to the one who's been playing bass with us in recent weeks. This Chris once shouted out "Is that a saz?" to me as I cycled past him in Powderham Crescent with my saz (encased) on my back, late for a rehearsal, he pulling a trolley with guitar and amp thereupon. I shouted back "Yeah, well spotted!" in the friendliest voice I could, but felt a bit bad about not stopping for a chat, thinking this was probably an interesting local musician I should meet. It turns out he knows Keith. He stopped in to listen for the end of the first set, played some bass on one piece in the second.

Listen Here
When I got home, I listened to a bit of Radio 3's Late Junction with Vicky. A fantasy by Dowland (I didn't realise the extent to which improvisation is involved in these), something new (!) from Mary Margaret O'Hara - a suitably weird vocal interpretatation of a maritime-themed folksong from a compilation album of maritime-themed folksongs - I've wondered what she's been up to every now and again since I got her first and only album in 1988, and the wonderful "River Man" from Nick Drake. Lovely...