If you enjoy playing traditional English, Irish, French, Swedish or whatever tunes in a friendly relaxed atmosphere you may like to join our amateur Streetband which meets most Thursdays at about 8pm for a practice / rehearsal pub session at the Cork & Bottle pub, Barnstaple, Devon.
Current instruments include acoustic guitars, a soprano sax, several djembes, a melodeon, a mandolin, a didgeridoo and a tin whistle but all instruments that fit in sympathetically will be welcomed.
So if you play accordion, dulcimer, autoharp, bagpipe, balalaika, banjo, bodhran, bouzouki, concertina, didgeridoo, djembe, drum, fiddle, violin, guitar, harmonica, harmonium, hammer dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, jew's harp, lute, mandola, mandocello, mandolin, marimbula, melodeon, smallpipes, tin whistle, oud, ukulele, washboard, flute, cello, viola, double bass or any other acoustic folk tune sympathetic instrument and are local to us we would like to hear from you.
If you would like to get an idea of the tunes we play, a good place to start is by looking at The Greene Tunebook which can be downloaded from the bottom left hand corner of
Sheffield University Ceilidh Society web site (to which we are not related or affiliated). The Green Tunebook has lots of traditional tunes with chords and is a great place to start.
Our meet ups are on most Thursdays at the Cork and Bottle pub, Barnstaple High Street, from 8pm and are a cross between a rehearsal and a normal pub session. Sometimes we might spend ten minutes or more repeatedly going over a particular bit of a tune to try to get it right. At other times, we will whizz through several tunes we already know well. (Everything is done democratically and by mutual agreement.) Our practice spot is right at the back of the pub where nobody is bothered if we make the odd mistake but people can stop and listen if they want to :-)
As a band, last year, we performed at various places, including the streets of Barnstaple, collecting for the
North Devon Children's Hospice but this year we have been somewhat defeated by the Local Authority red tape and so are currently in practice and rehearsal mode which we are all quite happy with at present. If somebody joins us who likes dealing with red tape and is willing to do it for us, we may be tempted to venture out again for good causes, although at the moment, following a major reorganisation, we are working quite hard to increase our tune repertoire and may still want to wait until our new tune list has settled down.
So if you are an acoustic musician seeking to join a band or a pub music session from Abbotsham, Appledore, Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Bucks Mills, Clovelly, Combe Martin, Croyde, Great Torrington, Hartland, Ilfracombe, Lynmouth, Lynton, Mortehoe, Parracombe, Saunton, Simonsbath, South Molton, Westward Ho!, Woolacombe, George Nympton, Georgeham, Goodleigh, Heanton Punchardon, Horwood, Lovacott, Newton Tracy, Instow, Kentisbury, Kings Nympton, Knowstone, Landkey, Marwood, Meshaw, Molland, North Molton, Pilton, Queens Nympton, Rackenford, Rose Ash, Satterleigh, Warkleigh, Shirwell, Swimbridge, Tawstock, Trentishoe, West Down, Westleigh, Witheridge, Bittadon, Challacombe, East Anstey, Loxhore, Mariansleigh, Martinhoe, Romansleigh, Stoke Rivers, Twitchen, West Anstey, Barbrook, Chittlehampton, Chivenor, Lee, Northam, West Lynn, Yelland, Bickleton, Bradiford, Cadbury Barton, Chapleton, Clapworthy, Countisbury, Creacombe, East Ilkerton, Elstone, Ensis, Fishleigh Barton, Gunn, Halsinger, Heddon Mill, Hiscott, Lee, Lutworthy, Lydacott, Middle Marwood, Muddiford, Newton Tracy, North Buckland, Northcote, Pickwell, Spreacombe, St Johns Chapel, Trimstone, Umberleigh, Warkleigh, Watermouth, Watersmeet, Arlington, Ashford, Atherington, Berrynarbor, Bishops Nympton, Bishops Tawton, Bratton Fleming, Brayford, Brendon, Countisbury, Burrington, Chittlehamholt, Chulmleigh, Buckland, East Down, East Worlington, Filleigh, Fremington or any other place local to North Devon, why not come along to the Cork and Bottle pub, Barnstaple on a Thursday after 8pm and see if you would like to join our folk band? (If you are travelling far, it would be better to check with the Cork and Bottle first in case of a change of plans or check us out on
Twitter/DevonStreetband).
Bye for now
Rob
