Foxwood Steel plays the Weekend of Wonderful Things at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

We were on the tele last night playing a snatch from Buffalo Soldier [thankfully without the sound!], and now [July 15] we are off with the full band, which really is a much more satisfying sound.

We are me, Bex, Georgia, Natalie, Sophie, Katie, Vicky, Bart, Fehmina.





We were also alternating our sets with tamboo bamboo workshops from Chris from Bamboo Tamboo fame [see his website for details on this wonderful instrument, brought by him to wonderful life in the UK, and is as light as the pans are heavy!]

Katie and Bex showing they can still cut it with the athletics

There were other acts on all round the park, and we are back where Chris and I first tried a bamboo tamboo workshop, and where Tim and I got filmed and snapped.









Three Trinidadian artforms in one place: Zak Ove's statues, steelpans and tamboo bamboo. So very appropriate, and really very satisfying. Georgia came back form the café saying me and Tim had just been on Calender, when I looked later, yes, endless Buffalo Soldier - aloud!

 

Mini-Foxwood previsit Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and play at Harehills Lane Nursing Home

It was our [mine and Diane's] book launch on Wednesday, and I guess Tim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. From my point of view, he was in right place and absolutely right time.






For a start-off Emma has just asked if we could play the Old Folks Home, and for a second-off, Damon has just asked if Foxwood could do a press call for tele and the papers - for our gig celebrating the Weekend of Wonderful Things, including Trinidadian Zak Ove's statues.

In short, no one else was free, and Tim said yes to the challenge. What a hoot!



So it's a Friday in the school term-time, and only free-lancers and part-timers are free. This is where the unsuspecting Tim comes in. And I am so glad that he did. It was all a blast.

 


On the way to the Sculpture Park Tim asks "Will we be being filmed?".




Well, it was early!

At the park we meet Damon, have a cup of tea [of course] and head on down to X's statues. I have my trusty trolley with me, and we have two pans and a few of my lovely brand new tamboo bamboos [thanks, Chris]. Then we met the rabbits. Here's one.

We got filmed and photographed by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Look North and Radio Aire. It was a lovely fresh summer morning.

Then it was up to Stanningley to teach, then over to Harehills for our little gig. There we met Lamin playing a djembe, so our duo became a trio. And there wouldn't have been room for more. We played for an hour then zoomed over to see Natalie's bands, who were playing an event at City. of Leeds.

Foxwood Steel play Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Well Debs, You were there, so you know how good. 

 

What's really nice about the Sculpture Park is how welcome we are made. eg. from Damon W [programme and events co-ordinator]:

The event was fantastic and your input was a huge success on the day, I love the band, it is always my favourite part of the day to hear you guys play.

 

Thank you all very much for all your help. I am very grateful. The visitors I spoke to said they had a lovely day and really enjoyed the music! And you guys looked great playing around that sculpture. 

And it was great, the acoustics inside the centre surprisingly good. Well the whole day was great; nothing went wrong, so this blog will just be all great pics. And the pictures around the sculpture were great and indeed led Austin to uploads 27 to Facebook.

Come on Austin, that is beyond the call of duty!

Foxwood play Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Well Debs

This was a nice gig indeed. In three cars and a van we decend into the winter Friday evening rush hour on the M621/M1. Deciding to avoid the motorway in case an accident stops traffic altogether  I am in the van with Stewart and Tim doing 5 miles an hour as we roll up to the accident on the roundabout on the Dewsbury Road.  Consequently Bex with Nat, Sarah with Amy and Vicky with Katie all arrive before us.  Nothing new here, of course!

Play two sets as guests tuck into Caribbean dinner at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park Restaurant/Cafe, get watered and fed ourselves at half time. Then as we play the final hour and a quarter second set; the diners stop talking and seem to be treating it like a concert. In the absence of any dedicated melody players Bex and I am stagger out way through all the tunes, with Stewart and Natalie doing the odd number.

I ruin Help by playing the chorus chord sequence backwards on bass.  Bex sends everyone home with an Is Heat highlight moment. Sadly I have only got eight Sparrows CDs with me, as we could have sold twice that [and we are still paying off the studio recording!].

Then a peculiar incident to end. A teacher [in a primary school with a steelband] approaches asking for a copy of one of the tunes that is actually one of our signature tunes. I am taken aback by the boldness of the request, and I end up offending her by saying that I don't usually give our arrangements away. I don't mean to offend her but if everyone did the song, then we would have to stop doing it. [I think she thought we just read them out of a book]. Oh this is a conversation we have had before: what's fair game, and what is a question of we saw it first!

Thanks to Damon for booking us, for this cold November evening and of course for hosting us plus Sparrows in warmer times. Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Made for steelbands. See here: