Sparrows record their third CD

Millie waiting for gates to open

The Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows were due to record Fully Fledged two years ago but the small question of the demolition of West Park Centre, with its recording studio rather got in the way. And what with all the moving and rehousing of all the pans, and the fighting for the centre not to close, and the brave face bit, - well,  it's two years later.

Sadly, by now, some of the Sparrows who were ready to record have left for pastures and sixth form colleges and universities new. Some of them are technically too old to be Sparrows, but here I put my foot down. I take a leaf from the book of Gove, who, when schools were jumping satisfactorily though the hoops, decided to make the hoops lower, or higher. Whether croquet or basketball [lower or higher] depends really on whether we are in a croquet or a basketball analogy.

Eventually we booked the new recently refurbished studio for the Saturday, but it turned out there was a conference in the next room. A studio was a studio I thought, and somewhere along the ceiling ducts there wouldn't be a sound leak. But no, or rather yes.

 It transpired it was a conference for the Deaf. And, although everyone else laughed I was thinking vibrations, and maybe the odd hearing delegate. Anyway we moved it to the Sunday 30 November. That's a simple sentence for rearranging everyone's plans.

Anyway the Sparrows got there when they could, some more or less worse for wear. [Actually in character, I rather thought. It brought back back memories of Joe and Henry when the Sparrows played live for the World Service - at 6 o'clock in the morning! The only way to get up at 5a.m they decided was not to go to bed, and the only way to stay awake was to drink all night. With the inevitable consequent results.]

Back to the present. Fully Fledged. Sparrows recorded eleven tunes: I Could Have Danced All Night, I Dreamed a Dream, Spirit of Trinidad, Sheherazade, I Will Always Love You, Jar of Hearts, Redemption Song, Under the Sea, We Nah Goin Home, Your Song, Bridge Over troubled Water. [Phone Leeds ArtForms to order a copy]

That's five calypso/soca, one reggae, two songs, arranged by Peter, and one written by Millie [her GCSE composition, for which she unsurprisingly got an A]. Nic engineered with Yi Bai assisting.

Then after five hours slogging we quickly dashed off a little Christmas "single/EP", Not So Silent Night. This is Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Last Christmas.

Sparrows were Claudia, Georgia, George, Chloe, Millie, Millie, Ashley, Naomi, Bella, Peter with leaders, Victoria and Bex. Plus Yi Bai, part playing, part technician, ex-Sparrow from the Albert Hall days. And to RRS Music Studio, 200 CDs were winging their to our Christmas stockings before the Day.

Foxwood back in Seacroft

Foxwood back where it all started in Seacroft for Margaret's big birthday 

Well, two gigs in one day. And Bex not taking the kids to either! What decadence! What madness! The upside of this is that it halves the number of times that we have to carry basses [and the rest!] up and and down a wet November garden.

 Leaving the Victorian grandeur of Morley Town Hall [where we have just played with East Steel] we head for a gazebo next to the bouncy thing in Margaret's back garden. This is the first time we have played since Sonny passed, so Margaret's birthday, the day after what would have been their wedding anniversary is very much tinged with sadness.

Natalie and I are both poorly with some sort of bad muscles; Margaret's recently broken arm is only just out of the pot, so it falls to Hazel to be the brawn of this outfit. She says she was too busy being naughty at school [ah, yes, I remember!] to learn anything about pans, playing, transport and care of. Well, she's not doing a bad job here!

When we come back later we are me, Bex, Natalie, Daisy, Sophie, Charlotte and Amy. Joe has given us a box of hats with lights on, which means not only can you see the music and the notes you are playing in the dark [but not at the same time!], but also the slug tracking its away across B flat [but as someone once said, we don't use B flat, so the slug lives].

This gig involves beer, and spending the following day on the sofa for me, but we played our socks inside our wellies off, and then Chloe and Natalie did a little duet. We secreted the pans away in Sophie's car, under tables and under the gazebo.







Rick. Diz and I recovered them the following day [a break from the sofa], after which the van gave up working. Good timing little blue van!

Please get better for next gig or tuning trip!

East Steel and Steelettes at Morley Town hall

Saturday Christmas Fair at Morley Town Hall. East Steel were me, Bex, Sophie, Anne, Lynn, Wanda, Kirsty, Pippa and Trisha. Yi Bai drummed for us, and the beginners' class, the Steelettes made their debut.

Steelettes were Joanne, Amanda, Jill, Kirsten and Lucy.

There was a large mirror at opposite end of hall, and I took some pics of us backwards.



The load in from the back doors was great. Onto the stage without having carry lumps of metal through the audience. Super.

We interspersed Christmas tunes with some of favourites. Best moment was when we played The Holly and the Ivy, with both Bex and I thinking the other must have taught it. We put a brave face on it.

The Steelettes joined us for a few numbers then we wound up and I I took the van over to Seacroft for the Foxwood gig in the evening. Next!

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows play Awards Ceremony at the Headingley Experience

I had to go to an MU conference in Cardiff, so, I left the Sparrows [Leeds ArtForms city-wide steelband] for the second time ever just with Bex [with support from Tim and Y Bai]. Rick, Y Bai and I took the pans over [that's shorthand] to the Cricket/Rugby Ground at lunchtime; I left Y Bai there to set up on his own, and satisfied that I had facebooked, phoned and hassled everybody as much as I could, I had to leave them to it. Though I was still arranging a taxi for Claudia with Josie and Annette as |I was leaving  .  .

 

I managed not to text them at all that day, but just kept saying, I wonder how it's going to Diane every so often.

 

Y Bai is ex-Sparrow from the Albert Hall days, back from his three year holiday in Scarborough, I mean his Music Technology degree from Hull, Scarborough campus! He is doing Work Experience with us at ArtForms, yippee!

 

Sparrows were Claudia, Millie S, Chloe, Millie C, Ash, Georgia [G2]; staff were Bex, Tim, Y Bai. The event was organised by Josie and her team, and was an Awards for Excellence Ceremony for Children's Services. I'll put up the pics as soon as I get them. Meantime here's Claudia with some balloons.

 

 

Foxwood Steel play Metropole Leeds

I love city-centre venues, especially Leeds city-centre. Wherever you live everyone can get a bus to the centre, walk, cycle or even drive - but parking is sometimes a hassle, or expensive. And I love early evening gigs at the weekend because there is just the possibility that we might get together socially afterwards for once!

 

 

 

So when asked would we like to play the Metropole, yes we would. And it was a late enough start to get us all from our daytime jobs, and an early enough finish to get Georgia up to her evening one. Yes, Debs, we were thirteen Foxwood players! Imagine that!

 

We were me, Bex, Daisy, Sophie, Stewart, Katie, Vicky, Natalie, Tim, Georgia, Fehmina, Charlotte and Varshika. The room lent itself to some lovely pics, and we had moments of four soprano pans at the same time.

 

 

 

Then we went out for a "debrief" at Carpe Diem. I walked home in the rain, and Tim left his new bike chained up in town. Some of them had to get up early the next day for music centre, and some of us didn't!

 

 

 

 

This week I have mostly been playing Redemption Song

 
 
 It's Black History Month, and Mr Stewart wanted some steel pannistes playing all the different year assemblies at Allerton Grange School, Leeds.






So we did. We played Redemption Song [one of my favourites] every morning for four days. At first it was just me and Claudia, then fortunately Josie and Sophie appeared and we were a quartet.





Can't show the audience as this a school assembly, but I can assure you there always was one.











By the end of the week, we had got quite good, and received our first round of applause [thanks, Year 11]

 

 

Leeds Pan Central play Little London Community Centre

Now then Debs - not in Carriacou, not in Dubai, but here in Leeds, and what's more right in the middle of this excellent "another fine mess". Yippee! Not only that, Debs, coming here today from Huddersfield you were here first. Ever thus.

 

 

 

 

When Lisa asked me to play Culture Day, celebrating the Day of the Older Person [actually October 1st], it was because she had seen Foxwood and Sparrows at Unity, and when I heard the good cause, I knew I wanted to do this one. Gig and workshop for older people with dementia, or with learning difficulties or with none of the above. And in Little London. Inner -city, local. [And it appears that the centre is soon to be demolished! Hmmm!]

 

 

Just needed to find a bandful who were part-time, flexi-time, out of work, on holiday or, in your case, Debs over here for some medical treatment. In the end we were me, you, Trish, Wendy, Georgia and Tim. I collected a few spare pans for the workshop; Little London Community centre was in the middle of a massive great building site; parking was tricky and limited; Wendy and Tricia agreed to meet up earlier and come down in the one car; I grabbed another pan from Sacred Heart, called in at home to pick up Gig, who wasn't there; found you: Deb; we unloaded, then I spent sometime parking in a tight spot.

 

When Tim texted to say he was at the Children's Centre Meanwood Rd, I read that to say Community Centre, Meanwood. After the parking and discovering that you and I appeared to be a duo, my stress levels rocketed. Then Trish and Wendy appeared; it turned out that Tim was at Little London Children's Centre, Meanwood Road, and then Gig appeared out of nowhere, but all too late. Set list! Never!

 

Debs, as you know, we went down a storm. The audience were enjoying the tunes so much they didn't want the workshop. We found as many songs as we could, that we all could play, or in some cases, couldn't! It was a success; I was proud. We didn't play every note properly, but we played as a team. People danced, clapped along, asked for an encore.

 

 

 

Leeds Pan Central is the name we have given to when our three Foxwood Panyard steelbands play together, and Foxwood Panyard is our Leeds Centre of Steelpan excellence. Foxwood Steel is private semi-pro, and Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows and East Steel are funded by Leeds ArtForms Music Service, but they all help each other out all of the time. And they're all great [not that I'm biased]