Stag and Dagger Festival Glasgow 2011

--> This was the third Glasgow Stag and Dagger event and it was held at 7 venues across the city - O2 ABC1, O2 ABC2, The Art School, The Vic Bar, Stereo, Nice n Sleazy, Captains Rest.  The ticket price of £8 included a wrist band which gave access to all the gigs.  Stag and Dagger hold their main event in London, so it is good to know that they choose Glasgow as their second event.  I read recently that Glasgow is second only to London in the numbers attending Cultural events (this study induced theatre, galleries and concerts)  I headed first to the main venue the ABC and there I heard Clinic, Admiral Fallow, Rachel Sermanni, Withered Hand and headliners Warpaint from LA, the first girl band I've taken shots of.   I then made my way up to the Art School venue to see Broken Records, Sons and Daughters and Chad Valley. 
I had first heard Rachel Sermanni at the Celtic Connection Festival open mic in 2009 and I was impressed there with her subtle voice. Rachel was able to hold the packed venue with her guitar, songs and voice. She also performed one duet song with the lead singer from the band Admiral Fallow, Louis Abbott.
I've taken photos of Broken Records at several gigs in both Edinburgh and Glasgow over the past years. I always enjoy their set with their charged, melodic sound and brothers Jamie and Rory have good stage presence.  Admiral Fallow I had seen live before at King Tuts and in 2010 they picked up attention at the T Break Stage. They have good musicianship, melodies and vocal harmonies. Warpaint impressed the audience and they played an ethereal sound and the band describe themselves as experimental art rock. They were in soft-blue stage lighting which wasn't so easy to photograph! 
http://www.warpaintwarpaint.com/ 
Later I met Jamie Sutherland of Broken Records at the Art School and wished I'd had prints for him - and what a charming guy he is too!  After which I saw part of Chad Valley's energised and fun electronic set in the Vic Bar.
--> One of the main reasons I do music photography is for the emerging artists I follow. I enjoy artists that have honesty and something new to say with their voice and songs. While I also enjoy many older artists. Fortunately for Scotland we have a healthy grassroots music scene , which is respected the world over. Glasgow also offers a good number of accessible small and mid-size venues.  

Bats In The Attic

'King Creosote' from Fife - new album 'Bats in the Attic' with great harmonies and songs.

GREAT Headlines! It has been a week of stupendous headlines!

A Disney fairytale week! First the 'beautiful princess' Kate Middleton in a dress of ivory lace married her 'handsome prince' (Prince William) who wore an Irish Guard uniform with a scarlet jacket and blue sash. 

On Monday the 'baddie'  -  one of the most evil men of our times - was killed in a raid on his hide-out.

I saw a post about his death on a YouTube clip and I thought at first it was simply a joke!  On checking the BBC Breaking news, I found this was actually real!  In fact the American security team had watched the raid in real time in the White House Situation Room.    

**Producer George Martin: Known as 'The Fifth Beatle'

**'Arena: Produced by George Martin'  BBC 2 Monday25th - Awesome. A Legend.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arena

I highly recommend watching this program on BBC iPlayer.

Martin had  36 no 1's with the Beatles in the 60s..

(In my other life I am a record producer!)  He says that The Beatles didn't sound so great at first either... :

A very well made docmentary and such an interesting character!  I especially liked his comment that when the Beatles first arrived in the studio! 'Their music was rubbish - but importantly they made you feel good and they had charisma.' 

Also his reference to Degas' quote about his art  "It's not what you see, it's about what we make others see", in comparing this with what he hoped to achieve in sound. He hoped to 'paint' in the studio rather than to simply make a copy.

The program was followed by The Beatles  'A Hard Days Night', so many memories......!  P Keightley

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/arena

George Martin is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"—a title that he owes to his work as producer of all but one of 'The Beatles' original albums. He is considered one of the greatest record producers of all time, with 23 number one hits, an unmatched achievement.  George Martin, recognised as one of music's most versatile and imaginative talents, entered the music industry in 1950 after studying at the Guildhall School of Music and playing the oboe professionally in London. He began recording classical music specialising in the Baroque period. His later experience with jazz and pop led to his appointment as Head of the Parlophone in the EMI Group in 1955.
As a producer he has been responsible for bringing a host of artists into recording studios particularly in the humorous field with brilliant performers such as Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Flanders and Swann and the 'Beyond the Fringe' team - Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett. He has also worked with jazz artists Cleo Laine, John Dankworth, Humphrey Lyttelton and Stan Getz.