The Big Blue Blues Band Blog

It's About Time!

2008-08-28T16:28:27+01:00

It's about time I said a few words to all our friends out there who continue to support us around the pubs and clubs of the South East. May I say a special "hello & thanks" to Jules, Mick, Pete, Mike, Penny, Mark, Noela, Kate, Bones, Brendan, Jem and too many others to mention.

The gigs are still ticking over nicely for us, although we've lost a couple of regular venues that we've played for a long time through change of landlord and music policy. This year, we seem to have played many more private parties and functions which have been great fun and have their own special atmosphere.

On the guitar front I've recently acquired a brand new Gibson Les Paul which I hope to give an airing soon, so watch out for that!

We've just updated the gig listing today and may I draw your attention to a special gig at the Cinque Ports Club, Uckfield on 13 November. Graham, the promoter, is really giving this brand new live venue a push. Please come and support it if you can, he has a great roster of bands playing alternate Thursdays.

On behalf of myself and the boys, thank you again for your kind emails, comments and support recently and come say hello at a gig soon.

A Big Blue Hello

2007-09-23T21:20:29+01:00

Hello to one and all.

It's been a while and a few of you have been kicking my ass to update things on the site. I'd love to take this chance to thank everyone for their recent support in our run of gigs throughout the summer which have included festivals, private functions, charity events, band trips abroad and our usual bread and butter around the South East.

Thank you and hello to everyone who's recently joined up to our listings, we hope to keep you in with the blues for years to come.

Many people have been asking about our next recorded release and I can confirm we've made a few recordings of recent shows and we're trying to cherry pick the best, which ain't easy when you've got to live with it for the rest of your life!

You may have noticed a few super subs helping me out at one or two gigs. Special thanks to Simon White and Jim Riley on bass duty in the Oxford area and, of course, our old mate Dave Pearce helping us out on drums everywhere. It's great to hear other people's interpretations of our set and their contribution to the Big Blue mix.

I'm already looking ahead to next year and have a host of new venues that I'll be trying to secure bookings at, many of them supplied by you lot... I'll keep you all posted. Look out for a brief appearance from me at this year's Beer Blues Festival (Devon) on the Saturday night, the "Night of The Guitars" (as opposed to the "Day of the Triffids") - only joking, Jim!

On a personal front, I've moved house with the Mrs to Nutley, just north of Uckfield, south of East Grinstead so things have been busy. So forgive me if I've been a bit "slippery".

Once again, thank you for your support and input. Make sure you come and say hello at the gigs.

Very best. Love to you all,

Stuart - The Big Blue

Happy New..... Website!

2007-01-01T15:29:55+00:00

Happy New Year to one and all!

By now, I hope you've noticed our fabulous new website. I'm sure you'll agree it looks pretty dang fine!

Just finished our recent run of Christmassy gigs and would like to thank all who turned up at Pissaro's in Hastings, the Ypres Castle Inn in Rye and to all our friends who we saw last night when we played our private New Year party gig for the Pearsons near Hastings.

Hopefully, this year we'll have some new product for you. It's about time, isn't it?

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's supported us throughout 2006 and between us all we'll keep the blues alive.

Keep an eye on the website's gig listings, be sure to put your name on our mailing list (there's a sign-up box on almost every page of the new site) and make sure you come and say hello at the gigs.

Very best,

Stu

Beer Blues Festival

2006-10-18T15:21:13+01:00

I'd love to tell you about the 3 day blues event in Beer, Devon.... the one you should have all been at!

If you don't know Beer, it's a beautiful cove fishing village near Lyme Regis and it makes the perfect setting for the music we all love.

People from far and wide have visited the festival for the last 9 years, making great friends along the way and enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the area. We've been fortunate enough to play the event twice... fingers crossed for next year.

Guys, great to see you all again. Especially Roy, Helen, Judy, Claire, Sarah, Gavin, Richard, Dave, Paul, Jason, Mark (great party) and Albert.

Big Blue Blues Gigs

2006-09-12T00:08:09+01:00

Just to keep everyone posted with events, a date we were all looking forward to on 24 September at Bob Brunning's Blues Club in London has now been postponed by the venue due to a double booking. Some of you will know this was the event we were hoping to record for our next CD release. The date should be replaced for something later in the year but it's a little frustrating for us all as we've mentioned it to so many people.

Thanks for your patience. Hopefully, we can all adjust our diaries again soon.

For those in need of a Big Blue fix in the Sussex area, we have 3 gigs in a week in Barcombe, Framfield and Worthing - check our gig listings for further info.

While I'm here, and it's been a while, I'm reminded of one of our last gigs in Sussex at The Junction in Polegate on 23 July when the planets seemed to align for a truly memorable gig. Great crowd, great sound, great atmosphere, and I thought the band really sounded good and reminded me of why I actually do all this!

I hope another one like this will come along soon.

It dawned on me that we can't have a great gig without a good crowd so we really appreciate your support at the gigs.

Make sure you all say hello at the next gig you can make it down to.

Stuart Meets Gary Moore

2006-08-13T14:59:45+01:00

I have to tell you about my (brief) meeting with "The Daddy", Gary Moore, last night at Vibes From The Vines. I just couldn't resist a quick blag at the backstage gate so I could shake the man's hand. He didn't seem to mind sparing a couple of seconds of his time. I wished him luck (like he needed it) for the evening's performance and told him I was a big fan.

Later that night, he gave a top performance, underlining the fact that he's surely one of the greatest blues/rock performers in the world. I hope some of that magic rubbed off in the handshake as it's back to the drawing board for me!

We've got our own (beer) festival gig coming up in Barcombe - Barcombe Beer Festival on Friday 15th September at The Royal Oak. Should be fun. I might be able to spare Gary a few seconds myself if he knocks on my dressing room door (gents' toilets) to wish me luck. And I do need it!!

Never Judge a Book.....

2005-08-14T00:46:51+01:00

Just got back from a very enjoyable gig that didn't look too promising as we rocked up at the venue at 8pm. It looked a case of "a game of dominos, bottle of light ale and home for 'Match of the Day'" BUT with an enthusiastic, receptive and friendly audience, a more pleasant evening to play the Blues one couldn't wish for.

A swift return for The Big Blue is now on the cards for 17 September at The Alma, Framfield Road, Uckfield, East Sussex. Tell your friends there's a new venue around taking its music seriously and taking care of its musicians and its customers.

Keep it real.

Great New Venue

2005-07-19T10:56:13+01:00

I want to tell you about a welcome addition to The Big Blue venue roster, the Alexandra Hotel in the centre of Chatham, Kent.

Landlady and old friend from the Royal Albion, Maidstone, has recently taken over this large venue near Chatham Station. The bands are booked for Sunday late afternoon slots from 5pm and it seems to have been rather successful in the short time she's been there.

Our first gig there was last Sunday, 17th July, and we had a truly great afternoon. The acoustics, the atmosphere and the beer (Shepherd Neame real ales) all made for one of our best gigs of the year so far. We're next back there on 18th December and highly recommend that you put in a few miles to get there.

Full address and phone details are on the giglist page at our website www.the-big-blue.com.

How Bands get Shafted - Lesson 1

2005-07-14T23:57:29+01:00

Here's a scenario for you.....

A three-piece band, in 3 separate vehicles, make a round trip of nearly 300 miles in total to a venue that shall remain nameless (but here are some clues: fruit, orchard, West Sussex s**thole). They go on stage 5 minutes "late" after trying to order 3 glasses of water at the bar whilst charismatic lead guitarist dons his gladrags in the dressing room (gents toilet).

At 11.10pm they are informed their fee is being docked by 25% because of the 5 min delay in starting and for having the temerity to take a break between sets (the norm, to the uninitiated).

Conversation with guv'nor goes like this:

Guv: "I can only pay you this tonight"

Charismatic Lead Guitarist (CLG): "Why, was something wrong?"

Guv: "Yes, you started 5 minutes late and took a break"

CLG: "But we played 2 full sets and went down great"

Guv: "Don't care, here's your dosh, go home"

CLG: "I don't think we can play here again for you"

Guv: "That's up to you"

We've since heard that they're expecting us to turn up for a scheduled gig this Friday, 15th July, but I shall be having dinner with my wife and friends.

Shame, but at least Guv saved himself a few quid that night (and he'll be able to save a bit more with no band playing this week).

So let this be a lesson to you young whippersnappers out there. Remember, even venues you've played for ages, even when you've bent over backwards to entertain the punters and even when you've travelled hundreds of miles to play, they'll still bite your ass for a few pieces of silver.

Damn right I've got the blues!

Worthing Rockathon

2005-07-10T19:01:21+01:00

Just returned this Sunday evening from the Worthing Rockathon, a charitable event held at the Grand Victorian Hotel, Worthing, (one of our regular venues) where Geoff, the guvnor, happily took donations for struggling medics and doctors in Romania.

A big, Big Blue thank-you to Jay and Russ who helped me out on drums and bass, respectively, as Andy and Ben were otherwise engaged.

Things went very well and were still going strong when I left. If you catch this posting before 11pm tonight and you're local, get on down with your loose change.

We're looking forward to our next gig at the Grand Vic on 22 July where there's always a good atmosphere and good sounds.