memorable COTD session

13/09/2012, Cleave Cottage, near Whitestone, Exeter

This was the last Children of the Drone session to be held at James S's place, as he's moving (into an old showman's wagon) at the end of the month. Laura brought her dad, Patrique, along, who was visiting from France. I was coming down anyway for Henry's 60th birthday festivities, but this session would have been worth the trip from Kent. An unusual configuration of Droners, and everyone really listening. A particularly enjoyable social, as well as musical, occasion.

James S — iPad via Kaoss Pad, xylophones
Annie Q — clarinet, tenor sax, flute, vocals
Laura — cello
Patrique — acoustic guitar, vocals
Mick — electric guitar
James T — poetry, glockenspiel, percussion, submerged gong
Brian — keyboard (incl. keyboard percussion)
me — saz

Listen Here

Henry's 60th was a couple of days later. I got to spend a couple of days with the family helping set it up, which was fun. Four of Henry's current bands (a jazz group called Solid Ground, a blues band called Blue Suede Blues, a soul/gospel/R'n'B band called Lazy Lizard, and Fractal, the improv trio who I sat in with once earlier this year) played during the party, as well as Henry's niece singing some jazz standards with a guitarist. Henry asked Annie from COTD (flute, clarinet, saz, voice) and I (saz) to join Fractal (him on drums, Cliff on bass, John E on MIDI guitar) this time, so we played a late-night improv dance set. I thought it went quite well, really.

At one point, I looked up, and a bloke with a beard, glasses and flat cap had taken the mic and was rhyming skillfully, quite nuanced lyrics, very much in the flow of the music. I gradually realised this was none other than The Doozer (a.k.a. Sam, husband of Crystal who sings in Lazy Lizard). The Doozer used to be half of Critically Ill, alongside an MC called "DB" (where's he now?) who I saw many times in the early 00's in Exeter, mostly down at The Cavern during a golden age for the local hip-hop scene. We had Phi-Life Cypher, People Under the Stairs, Def Tex, Rodney P and Skitz, Jehst and many others pass through, always with Critically Ill supporting. A couple of bespectacled, skinny white ex-drama students, but they knew how to rock the party! I can still remember some of their lyrics, I heard them so many times. These days Sam's apparently a drama teacher in a secondary school (he left before I got a chance to say hello), but good to know he's still MC'ing.