I
won't say there are bands for every occasion, but it's close.
Quicksilver is the band that has been going longest at barn dances,
ceilidhs and themed events. For Irish Music and Songs there is
Celadon. The Lavender Village Band comes from 1930's Cornwall
(via a film set) and offers period events and Music Hall. Newest (and
oldest) is Null Nomine Daunce playing Tudor, Medieval and 17th Century
dances, while filling a small niche is the 1805 Band for Trafalgar and
Jane Austen-style events. All are described in more detail below.
Quicksilver: This is my main band, which first appeared almost twenty years
ago (I was much younger then). For many years an acoustic trio of
fiddle, accordion and bass, we have now added others to the range and
scope so it can be anything from a duo, through a jazz band trio, to a
rock-y five-piece. All variations of barn dance, English, Scottish,
American and Irish are covered, as well as French Café, Italian, Jewish
and many more. We have done strolling and background music, and full
concerts at the South Bank. See under Quicksilver for full details of the CD, sound clips etc.
Celadon: One thing that Quicksilver has never done much is sing. For this I have
joined forces with Chris Sadler: initially we got together to do a
short cruise with an Irish theme (a story in itself) and so Celadon
was born. Chris’s vast experience of the London Irish music scene
brings real credibility and we have developed a few regular gigs each
year.
Lavender Village Band (pictured above): The next stage was an opportunity to appear as extras in the
village dance scene of the film Ladies in Lavender. We had a
fantastic day on set and met many people and some of the stars. At the
time we had an idea that we could launch a new style band in the wake
of the event, offering a great West Country repertoire. We even
took it to Cornwall in the autumn. In 2005, there was a Victorian
Christmas Market, where we discovered that we had a good, and
complementary, range of Music Hall material (see also Accordion
section). These events were a fantastic success, as was a family fun
day in Stoke Poges last summer. Chris and I now have a number of plans
to develop these ideas further, so watch this space.
Null Nomine and 1805 Band: As if that wasn't enough, there is also Null Nomine for a truly
historical experience (see Minstrel section), and the 1805 band (see
Trafalgar and Regency, in the Accordion section). If you add
this to the various other bands that Chris Haigh, Chris Sadler,
Bernard, and other colleagues are in, you will see that there is nearly
"a band for every occasion". If you let me know what sort of event you
want, I can recommend the best possible band, whether it's one of those
listed above, or a new variation, or I may even suggest you try one of
my colleagues.
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Bands