Well, it's been months since I've done a blog....I've been meaning to let you know all that's been going on but I guess we've just been so busy doing it, I haven't quite got round to writing about it. So here goes....Musically, we've been having a storming time. We've played at some great festivals - we have to mention The Beggars Fair in Romsey at the start of July. We played twice in the afternoon - the sun was shining, the audience was warm - in all ways! - and we just had a terrific time Got introduced to a new real ale too: Crop Circle from Hop Back Brewery - grab a few pints if you can. We also played for the first time at The Mash Tun in Winchester which turned into a real gig and a half. We were due to stop playing at 11.00pm but at midnight we were still going strong and the place was packed! We're back there in October. It's a really great venue. Another place where we're making a return visit in October is the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly. We did an in-store performance there in June - a steaming hot Friday evening during the World Cup. Not the best time for a gig perhaps but happily a good few people decided to watch us instead of the football - it must have been the lure of a glass of wine and dish of peanuts that persuaded them! But, I've been moved to start doing The Blog again because in the last week we've had two storming gigs: at The Tudor Rose in Romsey last Friday (11th August) and then last night at The Plough Inn at Tiptoe. The Tudor Rose is a tiny pub right in the heart of Romsey. It's so small that Sam our violinist stands in the fireplace to play and I almost sit on the drums to sing! But we like that close, personal contact with the audience! Anyway, the audience was just great that night. Out came all the percussion instruments and, of course, now I have a cordless microphone there's no stopping me. We had a really lovely night and received several invitations to play in other venues as a result - including a bikers' rally on the Isle of Bute next August! There's no buzz quite like getting that kind of response to your own songs. And so, on to last night at The Plough. What a special night that was. Our great friends were over from New Zealand so they and a heap of other friends and family came to the gig. The Plough has a big, beautiful garden and play area so we could take all the kids along - including our own. How rock n roll is that? This meant that our special guest guitarist had his very own groupies because, for one night only, we were joined on stage by Charlie Roadnight who had flown in from New Zealand to play in a unique and dynamic version of one of our favourite songs 'Another Shot of You'! And what a perfomance he gave! Definitely the highlight of the evening. There's a photo of Charlie with fellow guitarist Alan Rose on the photos page of our website www.stateofundress.com We're back at The Plough on Thursday 30th November. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that we can persuade Charlie to fly over again ....!
But Summer is still with us and the festival season is not yet over. On August 30th we're playing at The Great Dorset Steam Fair in Blandford; then on Friday 1st September at Wallingford Bunkfest and finally on Friday 8th at The Cuckoo Beer and Music Festival at Hamptworth near Salisbury. For details of these and other gigs, do look at our gigs page on the website www.stateofundress.com We'd love to see you at one of them. I won't leave it so long next time to give you all our news.
Cheers!
Charlie
