5 posts tagged “trev teasdel”

Here's Ian's ;atest review. October saw brilliant performances from Martin Newell, Rob Halligan and Gareth Davies Jones but unfortunately we had the lowest turn out for artists that travelled a fair distance. Regulars who didn't attend missed a treat therefore!
Ian takes up the story......

REVIEW OF THE WRITERS CAFE 3rd Oct 2007 by Ian

The Writers Café this month had fewer performers than the usual format due to having 2 special guests doing 2 sets each. But it was well worth it as they were wonderful entertainment.

Trevor did his usual sterling job as compere and the first act was Voicebox who are Café regulars. Voicebox are a group of 2 (sometimes 3) poets who perform poetry and playlets and organize a poetry night of their own in Billingham (The Write Room). If you want more details I am sure there is a link on the Café Vox site to their site. Tonight they started with a small play about the current regeneration plans in central Middleborough.

Voicebox

Bitingly satirical in a humorous way it makes its political points with pinpoint precision. I am sure the council would not be as amused as the audience was. They followed this with some poems, taking it in turns to recite them. These were varied in subject matter including the Great North Run, A night out seeing John Cooper Clarke (inspirational and influential Manchester punk poet) and “The Exterminator” about Foxes. Also the wonderfully title “Prisoner of Glenda” about how mates can change after they get married.

Nighfall in Sorrento book

Next Trevor read some of his poems including old favorites” Down Our Street” and “Hey up what’s The Crack”. Trevor has a book out with many of these in and again there are links to get this site on the Café Vox site. Hey Trev how about a free copy for that plug? LOL .

Then was the first set by the first guest this month. Martin Newell is a poet and singer with a good rock pedigree. He used to be in the band Cleaners from Venus and worked with Captain Sensible. He was an energetic performer and very funny and satirical. Talking about proper vinyl records he pointed out that if you were born in 1945 you would have been 33 in 1978. One poem in particular, “House in France” hit home venomously attacking the smug attitudes of many of those who buy a second home abroad. In his introduction he pointed out that this trend increased prices making it difficult or impossible for some locals to live in their own region. A problem also encountered in similar regions in our own country.

After the break we saw the first set by Rob Halligan and Gareth Davies Jones which was part of their TradeCraft tour. Tradecraft is a Gateshead based company who empower people in third world countries to produce good quality marketable goods that they then sell for profit while not exploiting these workers. Gareth pointed out its based on the old adage of give a man some wheat and you feed him for a week, teach him to grow his own wheat and you allow him to feed himself forever. As well as promoting this excellent cause their music was a sheer joy full of harmony, passion and beauty. For some songs Rob provided percussion using a box he sat on which while being an effective technique is fairly new to me, having only seen it previously when Surianne played the Café in August. Their vocals complemented each other and they both played excellent guitar. The outstanding songs of the first set was Butterfly
using the image of a butterfly trapped on the underground as a powerful metaphor and the beautiful Elanor.

They were followed by Martin Newell whose second set was even better than his first. He continued to use humour to poke fun at various targets and make his point effectively. He performed a poem about the birth of Rock N

Roll in the style of linguist Stanley Unwin that he wrote as a tribute to him when he died. The video of this can be viewed on the excellent Vox site (see top post). He was also very poignant as shown in the touching poem “It was just the way She went on”. And anyone who has posed in front of the mirror with a cricket bat, tennis racket or the implement of their choice would have related to the wonderful “I Hank Marvined” which ended with a cleverly ambiguous line about hiding in the shadows. His songs were remarkable to.

Martin then made way for the final act which was the second set by Rob Halligan and Gareth Davies Jones. I found their personal sites using the links on the Writers Café Vox site and found that they are normally solo performers who have come together for the Tradecraft tour. And it was probably to reflect this that they performed many of their songs solo in the second set. Taking it in turns to perform it was an excellent set. Rob Halligan performed a cover of Kate Bush’s “Babushka” and made it his own while

maintaining the integrity of the original. Gareth Davies Jones performed some songs that reflected the tranquility of his Northumberland home.

October showed once again the breadth of entertainment that can be found at the Café. Poetry, music, comedy. Some making political points, some personal ones and some just funny or silly. In Martin Newell we had all of this in one performer. The music of Gareth Davies Jones and Rob Haligan also had many of these qualities and it would be great to see them again.

I know most of you are reading this on the Vox site (and can therefore easily follow the links mentioned). For those of you who are seeing it elsewhere the URL is Writers Cafe on Vox This has now been developed into an excellent site (despite the reviews on it) with lots of news and information about the Writers Café. There are links to many of the performer’s sites which are well worth a visit also. There are pictures and video and audio clips as well and links to all sorts of related sites. It is well worth a good look and regular revist.
Ian

PHOTOS BY ROCKING BRIAN (STUBLEY) (The Writers' Cafe Photographer). Early photos darker than usual owing to the lighting being subdued for the filming of Penny Rimbaud.

Thanks to Dawn and Andy for door duty and to Ann and the staff at the Georgian.

WRITERS' CAFE REVIEW WEDS SEPT 2007 - GEORGIAN THEATRE

September saw a powerhouse performance from singer songwriter ODI ably supported by guitarist Dave Redfearn and the full on poetic anarchy from rock legend (and CRASS member) Penny Rimbaud.

BY IAN (links to his My Space)

This month’s Writer’s Café marked it’s 3rd birthday and proved that it is still going strong with a mix of new talent, established performers and guest artists. Opening the evening was Jamie Sample an experienced performer with a growing reputation but making his debut at the Café. As previously noted this is not the easiest slot of the night warming up the audience while some are still arriving. But Jamie’s acoustic pop and warm style set the tone for a good evening.

He was followed by another Café debut; poet John

Glasper read a poem called “To have a wild time”. A thoughtful piece well read with confidence. A performer to watch in future.

Trevor then perforformed some of his poems, including a new one about e-mail spam that had a bite to it. In contrast to the previous performers laid back reading Trevor’s work is suited to his fast delivery that prompted ODi to call him “The 50 Cent of Stockton”. Trevor and John Glasper showed the range of diversity in style possible in poetry, both excellent performers although very different.

Trevor was followed by Paul Hanafin who is becoming a regular at the Café. He had recently returned from a period of playing mainly covers in Spain. The evidence of tonight is that this experience has been well used and Paul played a storming set. His acoustic pop songs bounced along with maturity and style. His whistling on 2 songs was wonderful; a rare feat as I find whistling is often gimmicky or weak. Some songs had mixed moods and tempo in the same song and provided a rousing end to the first half of the evening.

The second half was opened by ODi. ODi is a female singer songwriter from Wexford in Ireland but currently based in Leeds. She was accompanied on vocals and guitar by Dave, who also played harmonica on the first song. More a musical partner than a hired musician the pair were enchanting performers who sang songs of fragile beauty. These included the sublime “What You Deserve” and the more poppy single “Crawl”. One was performed by Claire solo though the rest were performed by both, Claire also playing guitar on most. This duo were a delight with wonderful songs and would have been an excellent top of the bill and I for one hope for a return performance.

(More pics of Odi in the image gallery)
Odi My Space

Odi on bebo

Odi on Vox

Top of the bill however was Penny Rimbaud a man rightly described by Trevor as a Rock n Roll legend. I must confess here that I was, and still am a huge fan of his work with Crass. They were a highly politicized anarchist punk band of the late 70’s and early 80’s who achieved a lot and not just in the field of music. Penny is now a performance poet and he really put the performance into performance poetry. However this also was truly a double act with Louise providing musical support on flute and saxophone. This was a jazz based form and quietly set the mood for the words

and soared between them. Yet another example of music working in partnership with poetry. Penny still has all the anger and outrage that were evident with Crass, and it would be easy to dismiss him as another angry idealist. Easy but wrong, his work is filled with humanity and hope for those who listen. One work “America” was an angry blast at the might and its misuse by the government of that country (and by association our own). Yet he uses the “Bring me your huddled masses” motto of this country not only to devastating effect in his condemnation of it but as the beacon of hope it was meant to represent. And in the same poem while condemning the nation he mentions outstanding individuals thereby making the point that it’s not all Americans he condemns. The opening poem was a more personal offering; based around an incident when he was knocked of his bike it explored that experience and some aspects of modern life. From the opening moments of pure noise generated by flute and voice this was a performance that had visual power as well as Aural and Penny used the whole stage prowling round and crouching to make a point, and waiting in the wings as Louise took the metaphorical limelight.

THREE POETS, A FILM MAKER / PHOTOGRAPHER AND A WHITE HORSE

PHOTOS AND VIDEO BY TONY WHITTLE

Jingling Geordie Poet - Keith Armstrong was passing on the train between York and Newcastle when he noticed the

White Horse of Kilburn on the side of the Cleveland Hills, at Kilburn, near Thirsk and thought "That would make an interesting project". Keith, legendary poet and co-ordinator of the literary Northern Voices, did some research and discovered that 2007 was the 150th anniversary of the creation of Yorkshire's landmark White Horse.

The White Horse of Kilburn is not prehistoric like the other's around the country but the brainchild of John Hodgeson, the local schoolmaster who wanted to create Yorkshire's own White Horse. It is one of Yorkshire's best known landmarks and on a clear day is visible for over 30 miles. The horse measures 314 feet long (96m) by 228 feet (70M) high the eye is large enough for 24 people to sit on it. Above the landmark is the Suttonbank Glider station on the site of an ironstone fortress. The White Horse was camouflaged during the war years to prevent enemy aircraft using it to confirm their positions.

On Monday 10th Sept. Keith invited me to join him on the project and also Tony Morris - a Yorkshire folk singer and poet and resident of York Radio's folk programme. Keith's Newcastle friend, musician and photographer Tony Whittle did the filming and photography. We met up in Thirsk, despite Keith's train being cancelled, and taxied out to the Forrester's arms where we met up with Tony Morris. After a quick refreshment and visit to the Vistor's centre, Tony drove our motley crew up to car park below the White Horse. Tony had used his forsight and checked the location out before picking us up. "No good filming on the White Horse" he said "as the camera won't see the horse - just  a white background. Best film from the car park below with the horse above us". It was good advice. We hadn't realised how noisy it would be in the middle of nowhere! The sound of Gliders taking off and landing; jets zooming across the hills just as we started filming (it actually fitted in with one poem!); tourists driving up in cars; crows (there is one on the video as Keith starts his poems) and of course wind (not personal wind that is!!).

As we began spouting our quickly-got-together-odes, along with improvised music, bemused picnicers looked on at the surreal sight! Tony had brough a car load of obscure folk instruments including a guitar in Open D tuning and a lyre (which I dared to play through Keith's poem.) I'd never played one before but the improvisation seemed to work - we only did one take of each poem for the video and then I played the guitar through one of Tony's pieces (although this is on the original and longer video that wouldn't fit on Youtube.) There are poems and songs by Tony Morris on this vid and a poem each by Keith and myself. I wasn't too inspired by the White Horse but it was fun and interesting making the video.

Keith has arranged for the full set of poems (including some classic poems on White Horses) and the photographs and the video will become a touring the North Yorkshire libraries and arts cnetre with a couple of performances (including one in December at the Writers Cafe). They will also be a book (pending Keith finding the funding). All in all it's a contribution to the Anniversary celebrations of the White Horse of Kildale.

Below are some of the poems -

Flying out of John Hodgson’s brilliant mind,

inspired by Harrison Weir’s artistic pen,
it took Tom Taylor to land you here
in the ancient limestone
of wind-mocked Roulston Scar Cliff.
Thirty two laboured to craft you,
driven by the very Soul of Creation.

They gave you the gift of witness from this hill
and you have seen an awful lot
and are not left alone.
Your fine legs are pinned
to the side of Yorkshire
and these Tykes have mounted and whitewashed you,

drawn on you out of loneliness,
abused
and treasured you.

The rough days have flitted across your face
and the sun caressed your back.
Lovers have tried you on for size
and the skies have opened over you.

What wars, what landscaped wounds,
have passed you by.

Soldiers of God have marched on below you:
to stop your great heart hurting,
they hid you from the Nazis,
covered up your hail- lashed feelings.

Still, we will look after you,
knowing that you live on for future boys and girls
while we turn to rubble in Kilburn churchyard,
our eyes burn out,
our pulsing hearts close.

White Horse,
White Days
and Nights,
White Yorkshire Rose
in a colourful world:
this great steed belongs to all the Universe.
I do believe that
John saw that.
And we will continue
to feed this Horse’s lovely spirit
and, through its grace,
grow beautiful
ourselves.

KEITH ARMSTRONG

TALES OF THE WHITE HORSE OF KILBURN

From the Forrester’s Arms

With it’s galloping ales

I swear I saw a White Horse

stagger

Past Ragged Way and Little Acre

And come to rest

Upon the scar

Where gliders sneak and hover.

 

The horse with half a tail

And belly full of Black Sheep ale

Lay white among the grass

And counted every train that passed

Until it fell fast asleep

And dreamed White Horses of the past.

 

It dreamed of GK Chesterton

With Alfred and his ‘Visions of the King’

And placed their tale in the White Horse Vale

Where chiefs tanked up

With White Horse Ale.

And told their brave knight tales.

 

But me I came by plane

To Gatwick and then by train

Counting stations on the way

Alighting soon at Thirsk

taxicab to Kilburn

where I quenched a raging thirst.

 

From the cottage where I board

I swear I saw a knight with sword

Leap on the horse’s back

And gallop towards the railway track.

 

They spun around the Devil’s Leap

While villagers ran after them

In their sleep

And farmers chased them in a Jeep.

 

Next morning at English Breakfast

It was on the News at 7

Kilburn’s White Horse had made it down to Devon.

 

Horse were born to roam

They can’t be fixed in clay or stone

They are mobile like your phone

With souls that can’t be owned.

 

Now White Horses own the farms

And drink at night in the Forester’s Arms

And tell strange tales of human kind

I guess it helps them to unwind!

By Trev Teasdel

The Writers' Cafe began at the ARC (Plush Arts Centre in Stockton on Tees) in September 2004.

The first team consisted of Paul Williams, Trev Teasdel and Carmen Thompson (The Arc's Education Officer and poet in her own right). It was great team lasting almost two years before changes were made.

The Writers Cafe regularly got between 30 and 70 people each month - rarely lower than 30 and mixed Spoken word

with music, drama, film, even magic and dance. Mixing experienced artists with encouraging first time performers and experimentation.

Our first compere was Peter Vincent - a leading light and organiser on the North East Alternative Comedy Scene (below).

Below I'll introduce some more audio although the audio from the ARC

sessions (before we moved to the Georgian Theatre in Stockton) was via a hand held digital device you put on the table in front of you and which picked up your conversations and comments as the artist performed (sometimes embarrassingly!).

One of the bands we had on came from Australian but were resident on Teesside for a while - called THE GOOD -
Here is some Live audio from them at the Writers' Cafe in 2005.

Mark Hodgeson was another regular singer songwriter
reminding me of Al Stewart
He had some great songs.
a well honed guitar style - Here is his song Thorn performed live at the Writers Cafe in 2005. More audio and pics laters!